Done and Done

[Xeno Gilder]

Well I think I finally got it, been doing crazy research every day for over a week now, though I have yet to read any significant amount of actual Steampunk story/novels. Personally, I felt that I had to satisfy myself that the technology could actually be functional. So after some pretty extensive research (at least what can be accomplished in a weeks time of nearly constant reading and note making), I'm......nearly ready.

[Xeno Gilder]

When you first started writing Steampunk were the limitations of steam technology a concern?

[Jeremy Brandon Murphy]

not at all. In my opinion, though I'm no scholar of Industrial revolution, steam power was an abandoned technology. Abandoned to pursue developement of newer technolgies like internal combustion. Much like solar cell tech, which is SLOWLY being refined to be more affordable and efficient. A big part of the genre for me is the "what if" factor. "What if" we had not abandoned and had continued to, refine steam technology. "what if" a sociopathic mad man had made the Nautilus and inhabited the ocean's depths. "What if" there was a a time stream where society abandoned all aspects of personal choice to a faceless "Big brother" regime. I know that, for example, voltage alone cannot power machines to great affect, but "what if" a bright young engineer could develop a way to harness ambient static charge and convert it to a useful power source for a large airship like in my writing. In short, there's no steam punk tribunal that can tell anyone how to craft their tale. Wells, Verne, and the rest wrote from the playgrounds of the mind, not a technical journal.

[Jeremy Brandon Murphy]

before anyone slaps my wrists with a literary "ruler", I know that 1984 was more punk than steam, you get my point. Be only as limited as you wish to be:)

[Xeno Gilder]

Good points indeed, personally though I thought it best to start from scratch in the things I want to write about (Steampunk wise). I thought it would be interesting to expalin why steam technology became an obsession, which for the characters in the story Im thinking about, is truly that. Like they never moved onto other technologies because of it, and by doing so they have made the world a dirty dangerous place. The highest death rate in my world would be for those who simply walk out into the street, only to get flattened by some huge Steam powered vehicle. Also came up with the idea to explain the reason why every single steampunk character is always wearing goggles :)

[Jeremy Brandon Murphy]

I know why one of mine wears goggle's at times. He's a craftsman and metal smith. Not concerned with other author's reasons why. Glad you found an angle that''s comfortable for you. good luck:) Sounds good, by the way.

[Jeremy Brandon Murphy]

plus, steam isn't kind to eyes

[Xeno Gilder]

Yeah I figured with all that steam everywhere, you will eventually have a very rusty and corroded world, particularly if the technology gets out of hand. In mine there is a kind of disorder that has evolved, an obsession with the mechanical, some people are barely human anymore, but rather a mass of bolts and steam. A type of Body dysmorphic disorder (concerned with body image), though there is something which is causing it-a mystery.

 

[Jeremy Brandon Murphy]

Awesome!

:)

[Xeno Gilder]

Those are a few of the things the story will deal with,the rest is a secret at this point. :)