Technically Fantasy

The renovations continue here at the Maple House. The polite and energetic crew have spent their days vigorously scraping paint in the foyer...right outside my front door. Que "nails on a chalkboard" sound...a sound that never bothered me before. But, I'm pretty certain that I've never gotten to listen to it for hours! haha! Hammers and scattered prying sounds, punctuated by loud bangs are enthusiastically produced by the percussion section. There is also Spanish language pop music for ambiance. Don't get me wrong! Although, I know about as much Spanish as a toddler, I love me some Spanish rock n roll. And, I happen to think there are some pretty good rap songs, too. Ahh, the love songs...sigh. Who cares what the words are? Am I right? Maybe, not really knowing what they're saying lets the beat come through to me better. I don't know. I just know that Aires and Isabo don't like to cooperate with all this going on!

It is pretty impossible to get fully immersed in The Mark with all those background sounds. I don't even listen to music when I'm along for the ride with Aires and Isabo. The house is silent. But, I don't even notice. I'm there with them.

So, the work crew's arrival has signaled the halt of fantasy writing today, as well as, yesterday. But, blog writing, I can do. It doesn't take as many of my cylinders as running around in The Mark. So, a good day for a post!

Technology in Aires' and Isabo's version of Earth developed a little differently than in the one you and I inhabit.

Let's see what the timeline regarding steam engines, gunpowder, and swords looks like in our (real) world first.

Steam engines

In Ancient Greece, an inventor named, Hero (cool name, right?) built a contraption that was powered by steam. It caused a sphere to revolve. They weren't really sure what to do with it. It was really just considered a novelty. Hero must have been a lot of fun at parties. Bet he was a hottie, yeah? I mean, you had to come up with your own fun back in the First Century AD. Must have been too much wine flowing for anyone to consider replacing the sphere with a wheel, or a gear or two. Although, I believe that this could also be considered the precursor of a disco ball...maybe they had some mirrors on that sphere?

The first historically recognized steam engine was put to use in Spain during 1606 by Jeronimo De Ayanz. He used it to pump water from mines. This same guy is credited with the invention of air conditioning. Pretty cool cat! Bet he'd like the construction crew's radio station, too!

So, as far as steam power goes...you can bet that shade tree "mechanics" in little villages all over the world were tinkering away for over fifteen hundred years. Just because history doesn't credit anyone with using a steam engine to power a vehicle before the 1700s, certainly doesn't mean it didn't happen. The old farmer outside the village around the river bend was probably just considered a nut job...til he showed his steam powered boat, or wagon, or plow, or whatever to some rich guy who had the gold to make it happen on a widespread scale.

Gunpowder

Sometime around 850 AD, Chinese alchemists were pursuing one of their, purportedly, favorite past-times. They were trying to create an elixir to add years to the human life span. Imagine their surprise when their experiment blew up in their face, literally! It took until about the 13th century for Europe to get their hands on it. But, by then, the Chinese had been using gunpowder for everything from fireworks to cannons, fiery arrows, and grenades for hundreds of years. In the 15th century, people started figuring out how to shrink cannons down to a more portable size. From then on, firearms began to slowly replace swords.

Swords

But, before you get too excited...They were still training how to fix a bayonet to your rifle in Marine Corps Boot Camp in the 1980s. Wonder if they still do? Let me go look...Okay, I'm back. As of the most recent information I could Google (2014)...Yes, they do. I also read an account of bayonets being issued in Iraq. They may not be getting utilized in battle. But, the training is still there.

The sword, an evolution of the daggers and knives of the Copper Age, is said to have developed during the Bronze Age. The Bronze Age time period varies, depending upon what region of the world you are examining. In China and Egypt, it started around 3000 BC. Europe took until about 2300 BC join the party. By 1200 BC, pretty much every ambitious civilization was pounding out some swords. I'm sure some people were still throwing rocks...But, hey, some people still do that now. Humans will always figure out how to use what they've got to do what they need to do.

Technology in the Books of Aires: The First Sign

No, there are no dragons in Aires and Isabo's world. But, they are cool. Aren't they?

The Mark is a country that trades heavily with its allies. They have spent centuries developing their trade routes and relationships with their neighbors. So, their technology is infused with ideas and techniques that come from outside sources.

They have blacksmiths. They have iron. And, they are skilled in the crafting of swords and other weapons of steel. Some use techniques similar to those developed by ancient Chinese and Japanese weapon-smiths. Each craftsman makes things the way they like to make them. So, there is a wide variety of daggers, swords, axes, hammers, etc, for members of The Host of The Mark to choose from. The Mark is rich in mineral deposits and metals are readily available to them. So, most still use these types of weapons.

Gunpowder and it's uses, as mentioned above, have only recently been introduced to The Host of The Mark. This technology was a betrothal gift to King Rainson from Queen Margreth's Father, Cyning Hrolf of The Wicing. Hrolf has enjoyed a lifetime of pursuit of the sciences. (I think Prince Arnesse comes by his fascination for experiments from Hrolf.) Hrolf's encouragement of scientific advancement has served his country well. Instead of it hanging around powering a disco ball, Wicing scientists took that crazy, steam powered contraption and figured out how to stick it in a ship. See what science and math can do, kids? ha-ha! They are separate sciences. But, in no way is it illogical that they could not be developed in the same time frame. Or, by the same culture.

As for the Korterie, they were banished from The Mark long, long ago. The leaders of men never thought that the defeated Korterie would survive being set out from the shores of The Mark in a few dilapidated boats . People thought that the ocean never ended in that direction. We're talking thousands of years ago. And, no one had ever quite gotten around to sailing (or steaming) far enough to prove that assumption wrong...until the Korterie showed up on the horizon, eons later. Their culture has developed an entirely different system of technology, dependent on their use of Engar. But, that is a whole other post!

On a side note, Hrolf still hasn't gifted a steamship to Rainson. Did they have a rough visit during Epoch? No one's talking...