Nautilus

     In the Setward Isles of the Untamed Empires realm, the first century after the Pulse War was a time to take stock and reform a rudimentary society. The second century was a time of consolidation for the empires that emerged. Not only was it a time of great exploration, rediscovering the Old World beyond the ocean, but also a time of great scientific advance.

     People relearnt basic manufacturing techniques and skills in metallurgy, chemistry, and many other fields that made steam technology possible. As scrap Celestium made its way back to the New World and the eager labs of the imperial academies, the first augmentations of steam tech with Celestium began. Often with catastrophic results. It was an unpredictable science, soon christened ‘Mad Tinkering’.

     Because of the dangerous nature of the work, the most visionary tinkerers were forced to either join the secret labs under imperial patronage or flee across the ocean. Many went to the Old World, where there was space for privacy and plenty of prospecting for Celestium. Others never got that far, settling in the tropical islands of the Setward Isles instead.

     Plenty of Celestium was being hauled out of the turquoise waters around the Isles by Yr200. A small proportion of the scavenged technology that wasn’t skimmed off the top by foppish local governors ended up being sunk back into the sea in the form of nautili. Although in short supply, these “man-powered turtles” swiftly changed the way that explorers and islanders alike looked at warfare, trade, and exploration in the shipping lanes and off the charts.

Safety issues

Every nautilus was the individual creation of a mad tinkerer, sometimes for their personal use, sometimes as a commission for a wealthy (perhaps foolhardy) patron. Essentially a steam-powered submarine, there were many things aboard which could kill the entire crew if they went wrong. Throw into the mix a hostile sub-aquatic environment with some mutated predators able to swallow most nautili in a single bite, and an unstable global weather system that brought terrible storms to the Setward Isles each year. The functional lifespan of most of these vessels was measured in weeks, perhaps months. Only a very few lasted years before being lost… generally with all hands.

On the other hand, the invention of the nautilus was the first time since the War that most of mankind was able to get to the bottom of sea to explore a new frontier – the cities of the Ancients that were sunk during the War. That alone made the risks worthwhile for some.

Realms > Mortal Realms > Elements > Untamed Empires
Features Of Realms > Technology

Created by: MMK. Last Modification: Tuesday 26 of May, 2009 22:45:45 UTC by MMK.

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