Tigra
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Chapter 209: Chill in the Frost
🕑 Added 2025-02-17 19:27:27 +0000 UTCThe heat of the roaring fire, air thick with steam and smoke. Tom felt comfortable for the first time in some quite a while. His limbs still remembered the bite of the wind and how stiff and slow they had all been. His tail had been worst of all. He had feared it may well fall off, but as he clutched it the feeling was returning.
As he looked up from his warm comfy spot he did not understand what he beheld, yet he did. Perhaps it was Joelina who had no ability to comprehend what she was looking at. The myriad of pipes, chattering gauges, and levels as the artificer deftly worked the monster of steel and brass. What had not long ago seemed such a dead icy behemoth was spitting with heat and life as they thundered across the snow and ice.
Who knew how fast they were moving as Joelina turned to gaze through one of the small portholes, looking to the world outside. Endless ice and snow as far as the eye could gaze. Was it a walk? A run? A dragon’s bounding gallop? The only indication was the spray of snow and the roar of the machine as it thundered. Hissing steam and pounding pistons sang a frightful dance. Raw yet perfectly in sync, like a barbarian taught to sparrow dance.
Yet there was no deft darting around. The machine only marched forward like a well drilled soldier or a boulder of fire and steel. For the crudeness of the machine it was surprisingly comfortable, it must be said.
The inquisitor seemed to revel in the machine as much as Joelina struggled to understand what it was, what she was truly looking at. It did not stop the inquisitor from sharing in his excitement.
“Marvelous isn’t it? A shame such things are lost relics to us. But the ice preserves. And keeps nosey little goblins at bay. Did you know at one time this would have been as normal a thing as buying a deerskin for winter? Back then I doubt they would bother with such barbarity. No, nice woven sheets wrought by mechanical hands in whatever pattern your heart may desire. Brought to your door by a servant machine. A better time.”
“Are you quite sure, Sir?” Joelina questioned, sounding almost timid. The cold must have exacted quite from toll on the woman, and she was not yet recovered. Tom could feel her uncertainty, and her skepticism with everything she was beholding. She did not trust the machine, nor Harvik. She was most certainly on her toes, as much as her foggy mind would allow.
“You shall see, soon enough, you shall see. What of you two? Are you liking what you are seeing?” The inquisitor carried on questioning, turning to the other two new cadets. “She may have proven my favorite thus far, but rest assured, I shall have use of you two yet as well.”
Estafan and Tritari gave Joelina an uneasy side glance at the insinuation that they had not yet risen to meet the inquisitor’s standards. It was evident that he expected great things, or to simply be proven right that they were a poor excuse for recruits. It had not seemed like a competition betwixt the three of them, save perhaps in who would survive ’till the end.
“It is befitting of the sanctums under the city, Sir Inquisitor.”
“That it is. Estafan, have you seen the sanctums many times? Some of the secrets deep within perhaps?”
“I have seen them once, Sir, during our training.”
“Once, pah,” Harivk scoffed, turning his attention away from the young cadet who ducked his head, fearful he had made a mistake of some kind. “They truly are cutting the meat from the bone. This, this is the very reason for us to exist. The first reason for there being an inquisition. The wonders of the old world. To preserve them, hoard them like greedy dragons in a children’s tale.
“But Sir, is that not the job of the archivists?” Tritari spoke up, evidently having more of a spine than the young man, or perhaps simply less common sense.
“Within the great vaults and archives, yes. But how was it all to get there, hmmm? That was our job. To find all this lovely technology and return it for safekeeping as the world fell around us.”
Joelina stared at the man blankly, feeling little stir from his exuberant speech. Her mind cast back to their lessons. This was not quite how she remembered the stories of old. Much was locked away for the future, yes, but far, far more was sealed for good reason. Technology deemed heretical, the building blocks of their realm condemned to destruction, only records of their horror kept as warnings for those who would come after. So who was right? The teachers at the crucible or the venerable inquisitor? They were here to learn, to absorb. To become true inquisitors.
She did not intend to disappoint.
“Does this have anything to do with where we are going, Inquisitor?” Estafan spoke up again, seemingly more frightened of being left out of the conversation than making a fool of himself.
“Indeed, we are going to see one of the last great wonders of the world. Maybe the last which has not been brought home to the claws of the archivists to lock away. For it cannot be moved and it lies much beyond their timid reach.”
“Another machine then?” Joelina half asked, half stated.
“Oh you have no idea.”
She did not smile or frown, or show much of anything, she simply stared blankly at the inquisitor as he returned the gesture, bright piercing eyes burrowing into her as he scoffed.
“Looking forward to it.”
Tom could feel it was not quite so. Inside she felt as dead as she looked. Why was that? He could feel her mind racing as she turned her gaze to the window once more. Little if anything had changed, the serene snow still gliding past, like it had from Jarix’s back but a few days ago. A couple humans and a sled team and they would make this little trek without even breaking a sweat, he thought. But for dragonettes, what lay beyond might as well be space.
He chuckled to himself before he settled in to watch the view along with Joelina. It had been some time since last he had one of these dreams, and perhaps he would finally find answers. He could not claim he enjoyed them, but… They were by no means as scary as they had once been.
As time slipped past he felt her head grow heavy and start to nod, or perhaps he was falling asleep in the dream. Could he do that? It was hard to tell really, the steady thumping of the engines, the click and whirr of the controls and injection pumps. The occasional ratcheting of the steering mechanism adjusting the skids. Calming sounds to any engineer, and soon enough he blinked. Or maybe it was her.
With a jolt she shifted. She had been sleeping; she was not supposed to sleep. Within a moment she was bright awake once more, looking around to see if anyone had noticed. The mood had changed within the ancient snow treader. It was quiet, darker. The only light was the red glow from the firebox and the iridescent blue of the dials dancing in the night. She had slept for hours it would seem. Her back was stiff and crooked
As she glanced around the others seemed to have followed her example quickly enough, though still she cursed herself. Sleeping at her post, how stupid could you be? The artificer still sat at the controls, peering out through the tiny window that looked ahead down the side of the boiler.
She got up, walking to the opposite window and staring forwards into the nothingness. Bright white lights shined ahead, though they showed nothing but falling show and a few score feet of white nothingness extending into the distance.
“You should keep sleeping. You will need the strength.” The calm and collected voice of Glazz came from behind her. Joelina did not need to turn to know the imposing woman was watching from further back in the cabin, shrouded in darkness.
“But I should not need the sleep.”
“The cold is draining. Sleep while you can. Trust me. I know well enough.”
Joelina turned to look into the darkness, seeing nothing but inky black and faint outlines of fiery glow. “And why is it we will need all this strength, all this labour, holy machines roused, favors called. What is so important up here? We are heading into the den of the beast, are we not?”
“You must know what they will not teach you. This is the only way.”
“Why not simply teach us then? Why go to the trouble? We are here as cadets.”
“What we have to teach goes beyond additions to what you know. War is coming, Cadet. We won’t win with lies.”
“A mighty heretical thing to say in the company of inquisitors.”
“Thus we ride north. The truth does not care for dogma. Sleep, you will know soon enough. That something must be done and it must be soon.”
“I do not have a choice in seeing, do I?”
“Of course not, but do not pretend you do not want to know,” Glazz replied in good humor.
Joelina found that despicable about the older woman; she could not stand joking and jesting on such serious matters. They were accusing the very teachings of the inquisition of being false. Though in what regard she did not know. Such blasphemy they had been taught to stamp out like an errant flame in a hay barn… But she could not help but wonder just what did they have to show them? And why bother with a mere three cadets?
“Sleep now, you goat headed fool. You will not get the time in the morning.”
Joelina did not furnish her with a proper answer, simply turning to her spot and setting about arranging something marginally more comfortable. Though it was little more than a sack to lean on as she once more sought to drift off to sleep, mind racing. What was it they were going to see? And why would they not simply tell them?
Tom had to agree he was asking the same questions, and in a moment of contemplation the memory flashed once more with a jolt. They were slowing down. It was the brakes, or perhaps just steam being cut to the engines. Joelina looked up to see what was going on. Light had returned. They had driven through the night.
The wind was howling around the cabin outside. Peering through the porthole, she saw nothing but white as the artificer worked the steering box, turning them left and giving Joelina a view of whence they came. Long straight tracks, three of them. Two narrow outer like rails cut into the snow, and the wide long upchurned center path.
As they made it to a full left angle turn, the machine shuddered and they came to a final stop in but a moment, much to the delight of Harvik who gave the artificer a hearty slap on the back. “Well done, thank you. We have arrived. Keep her warm. We will not be long.”
“Of course, Sir, I shall await your return.” The poor man at the controls looked to Joelina to be a spent force. Perhaps an assistant would help him in his duties while he got some much needed rest.
“Are we going back out into the cold?” Joelina questioned, making no efforts to hide her displeasure or discomfort as she finally moved from her uncomfortable spot, stretching her limbs and cracking her neck as she did.
“Yes, refill your hot water bottles there. Leave your equipment, we must be swift if we do not want to freeze to the floors. Do not fret, it shall be worth the trip.”
They did as they were told, the long since cooled liquid dumped into a small grated receptacle. The machine did not waste it would seem. With a hiss a steady stream of scalding hot water poured from the little spout, filling each skin and bottle with speed and ease.
‘Ooh gotta remember that part, definitely useful,’ Tom thought to himself as the little group prepared. Much of their party had been left in the hangar along with the dragon Chaika. They were using an oven there to keep warm while they waited for Harvik’s return. Joelina hoped it would be a quick return, and Tom could not blame her. He didn’t know how far north they were, but he doubted it had gotten warmer.
The lever was pulled and the clank of the door locks releasing could be felt through the floor. Soon the doorway parted in two and they slid out and to the side, opening the cabin to the biting wind.
Harvik did not flinch in the face of the chill. He seemed to revel in it, just like his dragon, standing in the doorway and reveling in his self importance or whatever else was driving this expedition. “Very well, let us be off. Follow me and be swift about it. Or you shall freeze to the floors.”
Joelina stepped up to the doorway and was blasted with a freezing wind so terrible that it tore an involuntary gasp from her. He and she closed their eyes and the blackness overtook the memory. Only the howling wind remained. Then his eyes shot open once more to a new visage. The snow covered landscape around Bizmati keep, covered in snow, and the biting wind blowing against his mostly bare body.
“This is for that snow shit!” Jacky called out and he felt himself go weightless. And he screamed as he tumbled out the window for a fraction of a second before the line went taut and he swung back against the wall, having fallen no more than a few feet.
Still it had been a rather harrowing wakeup call as he dangled there looking around, trying to regain his bearings. He was hogtied, hanging from the bedroom window wearing nothing but underpants in the biting cold. For a moment he had honestly thought Jacky was about to kill him. Some cruel nightmare. But as he heard her cackling from above, he slowly started to comprehend what was going on.
“THAT WAS NOT FUNNY!” he objected vehemently as he dangled with the wind, scraping against the stone wall.
“Well, I didn’t think it was very funny yesterday!” Jacky shouted in reply, evidently finding it very funny indeed.
Then a further chorus of laughter joined in as Tom looked to the neighboring window, finding Sapphire and Fengi both sticking their heads out to watch, laughing at his misfortune. Behind him more laughter, Bo and Pho by the sounds of it.
“Did you all get up to watch this?!” Tom questioned, annoyedly. “It’s bum fuck o’clock.”
“Sure did!” Sapphire replied as the laughing slowly started to die down. “Well worth it I’d say.”
“This means war.”
“Just remember you are outnumbered,” Fengi added with a grin as she went back inside, Sapphire lingering a moment longer before retreating with a final snicker.
‘Hoooo, I’m gonna get you all for this.’
“You comfy down there?” Jacky questioned from above, still chuckling to herself and evidently very proud of her actions.
“No,” Tom replied flatly, not wishing to beg but damn if it wasn’t uncomfortable out here.
“Awwww, you wanna come back inside?”
“Yes.”
“There is a good human, now if only you weren’t so heavy.”
“Says you,” Tom replied as he felt himself getting pulled back up ever so slowly.
“I’m big and strong, you are small and round.”
“I am hardly round, at least not really anymore.”
“Must be those stupid weights then, pheew, I’m not sure I can haul you up,” Jacky said as the progress towards the window stopped.
“I am not wearing them, I was sleeping,” Tom protested.
“Must be residual weight or something then. Gosh you are heavy.”
“Jacky, don’t you dare.”
“Sorry, I need a little break.” And with that he was lowered back down. “I’ll try again in a bit.”
‘Oh I am so gonna ruin your morning tomorrow.’
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The joys of winter, stuck inside all day, not much proper light to be had unless you were going outside and fuck that. The snow just kept falling, covering everything in feet’s worth by now. At least there was no need for them to shovel the path leading down to the warehouse wood barn for the firewood as Tom had attacked the task with gusto. Saph wasn’t quite sure why, but he seemed to find the whole thing very enjoyable.
In her opinion shoveling snow in howling winds and freezing temperatures sat somewhere between laying in the infirmary with a stomach infection and cave exploration. Naturally they should all have suspected that the human was in fact up to something and not doing it out of the goodness of his heart. One evening a day or so later when Jacky had been sent for firewood she had barely made it outside the door before they all heard a shriek followed by Tom laughing.
Apparently he had constructed a snowdrift atop the protrusion which formed the double doors leading inside held up by some wooden boards and planks, complete with a string to pull to bring it all crashing down on whatever unfortunate soul attempted to leave the keep.
He had done Jacky the service of excavating her afterwards, but she had been chilled to the bone by then and spent the rest of the evening in front of the cooking fires trying to warm back up again. Most people might have decided to call a truce after a near death experience like that, but Jacky wasn’t most people. Thus rather than calling it quits, Tom had soon found himself running half-naked around the keep one morning searching for various belongings.
When Shiva had forced him to actually do something productive a few hours later, a few of his usual items had still been missing. Namely his boots, replaced with some smaller less clunky footwear which Sapphire hadn’t seen him use much.
According to Unkai, Tom still hadn’t found everything even three days later. In retaliation Jacky had shown up at the breakfast table with various black scribbles on her face looking less than pleased. And thus the prank war had begun in earnest. There had been a few cases of collateral damage, and a few who ended up in on it.
Unkai walking through a shower of flour, Fengi having her chamber pot borrowed, Balethon getting locked in his room for half a day. He did deserve that though after nicking some of Tom’s tools, including a couple wrenches which the human had ended up needing. The poetic part was said wrench being used to jam the door of course.
But you only have the fun you make, and a prank war wasn’t the worst way to spend the winter. Sapphire had tried not to get involved, as she was sure it would go downhill quickly. She had helped Jacky out a few times in setting some things up or finding stuff she needed, but nothing to tie her to the scene of the crime. Nunuk did end up having to get involved once or twice when things got out of hand. Mostly in regards to snow related escapades.
Sapphire was certainly glad she’d never come back to an ice cold bedroom after a long day’s work and no hotrock waiting her for. So there she sat in the library, rubbing her horns as she tried her damndest to parse out page after page. She would make sure she was valuable in the future, Sapphire silver streak rayland was not gonna become an ankle weight. Tom had brought so much and she would be damned if they let some inquisitorial nerd be the one to translate it all. No offence intended towards Edita.
She had never foreseen herself doing this sort of work, since she had always been the outdoorsy type. Flying, shooting, even when she was little she had always been playing games where she could prove she was faster or just plain better than everyone else. She hadn’t even learned how to read properly until coming to Bizmati keep. She had known what signs and the like said, how to sign her name and that sorta thing. But reading a book? That was something Apuma had managed to rub off on here. Even if it hadn’t been a choice in the beginning.
And here she was, playing the scribe. She had already served as translator for Paulin and Victoria a few times. But it was damn hard, and she had not made a ton of sense for much of it. But what could you do? Half of all this didn’t make sense even if it was correctly translated.
It would have been so much easier to help Essy and Ray with the uniforms, but she was the only one who could do this, plenty others could sew. So she soldiered on. She was keeping a list of things she couldn’t understand. Just copying the letters down wasn’t that much of a challenge, even if it had her thinking about Linkosta’s time in the capital. That woman used to write down everything, still did if given the chance. But now she was spending her days playing with magical runes, spells, and enchantments together with her father. Though Apuma had also been taking an interest in Sapphire's work.
The old man would always be there for his daughter first, though. It was only right. For backup Sapphire had Fengi and Maiko, when they could be bothered. Neither were bookworms by any stretch. But they could at least read. Maiko was even halfway decent at it, writing too. Likely a result of the nice schools his parents had put him through while they were away on the job.
Of course there was a bit of selfishness involved as well. Things were looking great for them at the keep, but she wouldn’t just be rich because she was a huntress at the keep. She wanted to climb the ladder and make sure she was at the top. Especially as new people inevitably would start flooding in.
And if she was the best at reading Tom’s stuff, there was no way she wouldn’t end up with some fancy well paid job. And it would help them keep the stuff to themselves at the keep. Maybe she could translate works which they then sold to places that need them. She was currently trying her best with one of his books on farming, surely that would be a best seller if they could get a translated version printed.
“S-E-E-D…” She sounded out the letters, consulting her notebook to see if she had it down already. It took some paging before finding what she needed. “Ahr seed as in grass seed, but what is C-O-A-T-I-N-G? He’s said that before, but what was it?... something about painting? Oh it was about the white enamel on our armor… what has that got to do with seeds?” She held up the book to look closer at the word as if that would somehow magically make her understand.
Then the doors opened, revealing Dakota with Lothal on her tail. “Ahr Sapphire, have you seen my mother?”
“Uhm, no?” Sapphire replied honestly. “Not seen her all day.”
Dakota sighed to herself. “Oh well, do you know if Jacky has hauled Tom back inside?”
“I think so, pretty cold out there.”
“Yes, we cannot have him get sick.”
“Can humans even get sick from cold?”
“I would rather not find out. Oh and Sapphire, Raulf believes it is going to get colder, much colder. Storm is coming, perhaps one bad enough we shall have to turn in until it passes.”
“Oh that’s a bummer. And here I was being productive and everything. How long we got?”
“A couple days at least, we shall have to see. He has been wrong before with his predictions, least of all when this far away. And I see that, yes, keep up the good work. I shall have to see where Nunuk wandered off to. Perhaps she has found Paulin, would explain why she is not in here looking over your shoulder.”
“If that’s why, please let them be. I do not need the archivist asking what it all means. I barely know. Do you know what a Coating is?”
“Not in the slightest. I shall see about keeping her busy. Take care now. We shall need translators desperately in the future.”
“That’s the plan, good old Sapphire the book worm.”
“Surely it beats knitting.”
“I don’t know about that to be honest.”
“Oh my. Is it really that bad?”
“It’s farming, but it’s talking about painting the seeds I think.”
“Are you sure it’s not about soaking them first? I know Raulf sometimes does that with water before planting.”
Sapphire just looked up at the gilded huntress, glaring at her a little bit.
“Right of course… I shall see if I can find Raulf, perhaps he can help enlighten you.”
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Well it was official. A storm was coming, and it was going to be a nasty one. For now work continued on the various parts that would be needed for the boiler and steam engine as well as piping for the whole keep, but there was no way they would finish up before the storm hit. Maybe he could use the time laying pipe around the keep, or assembling what he could on the steam engine. The boiler was mostly on Shiva and Edita thanks to all the delicate joinery that had to be done. But screwing together old fashioned mechanicals, that was right up Tom’s street.
He did have most of what would be needed for the adorable little engine. Single cylinder double acting, much of its construction was brass with a little bit of steel and cast iron thrown in for wear surfaces and bearing cradles. In his mind it was going to be a rather pretty little thing, maybe 5 horsepower or thereabouts, plenty to drive everything inside the workshop and the smithy if needed. The old electric motor they had been using was little more than a horsepower if he had to guess.
But naturally he did have another major project to consider if the keep would be joining the dragons in their slumber. His plans for a Christmas celebration. Or maybe just call it a winter fest.
‘What was it the old vikings called it? Was it just the winter solstice? Oh wait no you fucking idiot it was Jul, wasn’t it? The name just stuck… But that was more of a week spent drinking and whoring, so maybe Christmas would be a better choice. Certainly more child friendly. Oh well, that’s a question for later,’ Tom thought to himself as he worked the mill, planing off the cylinder head for the little motor.
Unlike with an internal combustion engine, there wasn’t much going on up top. Pretty much all it was aside from a top cover and a gasket surface was the little drain cock so the cylinder could be emptied of water after sitting still.
‘One day we’re gonna have to make combustion engines too… Even if they are gonna have to run on Ethanol. That is going to be such a pain with carburetors, really not looking forward to that… Maybe something could be done with flash powder… or maybe diesels would be smarter, just run them on vegetable oil or something.’
“It is going to be lonely when everyone goes to sleep, isn’t it?” Edita then questioned, out of the blue. They had been working in silence, and Tom had honestly become lost in his own thoughts as he slowly cranked the mill over the soon to be dead flat surface.
“Probably. I will have Rachuck, but I don’t think I’m gonna see him that much down here.”
“Oh right, sorry… But at least you will have your work, that always kept me company.”
“That I will, there will be no time to get bored,” Tom replied with a sagely nod as he dropped down the cylinder head, the pass now complete. ‘Gotta make Christmas decorations, too… and I have to get a tree somehow.’
“Yes, there is always more to do. That was also true back in the big city… Uhm… Tom, do you know how it is to hibernate?”
“Me?” he questioned, looking to her, confused. “Not the faintest clue, we don’t do it, remember? Actually I don’t even think we can.”
“Oh yeah, that makes sense… It’s just. I’ve never tried it before.”
Tom glanced around the forge, grimacing, as no other dragonettes were found, Shiva having gone for more charcoal. “I would just ask someone else, maybe Essy? Or Shiva? I’m sure they have tried it many times… Why haven’t you ever done it?”
“Oh it was always plenty warm all year inside the sanctums, it doesn’t even really get any colder at all for winter.”
“Oh right… Yeah I guess that tracks being inside a mountain and all that.”
“Yes, it is always the same temperature deep within. It can get cold though, if you go far enough down.”
“Hmm… yeah… floating islands, I suppose you end up getting close to the bottom and then it gets colder again. So it stays pretty much the same all year round?”
“Varying only by fractions of degrees.”
“Does that do anything for how high the islands are?”
“I heard people discuss it before. Some seem to think so, others say it is the weight of all the snow. What we do know is that the islands do indeed sit lower in winter. But there are many opinions on why.”
“Right, I see… And what do you think?” She did look a little coy, not wishing to answer, so Tom egged her on a little with a hand. “Go one, it’s not like I know.”
“I believe the additional mass added by even several inches of show is irrelevant compared to the combined mass of all but the tiniest of floating islands.”
“So the cold makes them sink closer to the ocean?”
“No, the variation is too tiny. But they do sink. It is part of why the weather gets so much worse for winter.”
“Because we are closer to the water?”
“Yes, many storms do not reach our islands, but in winter, it can become very bad.”
“Oh yeah… I guess that makes some sense. We fly over the tops of even small hurricanes up here I bet. Or at least the worst of it.”
“Yes,” Edita confirmed, nodding twice. “The believers think that the increase in temperature from the lower altitude stops our descent. I remain unconvinced.”
“And the cold of higher up helps limit how high we go… though the little test we did liked to hover even as it was. It didn’t just keep on going up.”
“Indeed, according to the ancient texts the essence of flight becomes less potent as altitude increases, as there is further down to the heart of the world against which it pushes.”
“Uhm… Right.” It was Tom’s turn to nod in agreement as he tried to parse what she said. ‘I guess it means the oil pushes against gravity… like a boat hull against water, to make lift. I suppose that makes sense… somewhat.’
“Yes, it is part of the reason certain grand vessels could not go quite so high as those who were smaller and lighter, allowing nimble vessels to escape, or run blockades. Some were even said to be able to go higher than dragons.”
“Better bring a thick coat for going that high, am I right?” Tom joked as he took a moment to think for himself.
“Oh yes, but I would much rather stay down in the machinery spaces where it is nice and warm. And you can hear the engines slowly turning over… It is going to be so much nicer once we get your grand engine constructed. I shall sleep next to it every night.”
“I don’t know about grand, more like energetic midget I think, but I suppose we can wrap it up in a blanket or two so you can hug it to sleep without burning yourself,” Tom joked, feeling it was at least a little funny. Edita didn’t laugh though.
“No no, that would risk fouling the mechanisms with thread and cloth. I shall sleep next to it, the radiant heat and steady thump shall be all I require for a good night’s sleep.”
“Right… Yeah again, I don’t know about steady thump, but I guess we can work on a slow idle if it’s just pumping water around the keep. Might need a bigger flywheel though.”
“It has a wheel that flies?”
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Comments
jonas rasmussen
Yeah they were used a lot her, Nazi's took every drop of fuel. Tom would be well familiar. and just like ethanol it is a spark ignition fuel so it will run just fine, with modifications of course
Barzdonas
Then talk about fuel comes, I always remember WW2 invention- gasifier. Relatedly simple thing to create combustible gas from wood that can be used as fuel for internal combustion. If I remember correctly in this case ethanol engine could take gasses from gasifier after adjustments
Michael Halpern
i was mostly just commenting on Tom's idea for internal combustion, for now its steam all the way.... i was NOT trying to put any internal combustion before steam, steam is dead simple and can run on any fuel i apologize for not making that clear
jonas rasmussen
look I can tell you a hundred reasons why it's being done the way it is, but you won't remember in a week cause we have talked internal combustion vs steam before but you can't remember for more than a month
Michael Halpern
fair enough this is ine area i dont know that much about still wasn't the Otto cycle developed specifically because the fuel was easier to produce than gasoline? i know that's conventional diesel, not biodiesel and even then untill you get to marine engine scales they are going to be significantly pickier about what you feed them than a turbine, which is completely out of the question.
jonas rasmussen
I'll go with the ine you can do in your back yard without 200 years of industrial base behind you i think
Michael Halpern
pick your poison, processing various oils to flow well, or getting ethanol to light consistently
jonas rasmussen
good luck with the fuel pumps lol
Michael Halpern
there's not much reason not to skip straight to diesel with the lower gravity. even for smaller things like chainsaws they could just use cold steam instead.
jonas rasmussen
Congrats on answering if she knows what a flywheel or not, probably the different term then, by power of deduction
Michael Halpern
... How does Edita not know about flywheels unless she knows of them by a different term? they are essential to even out the power in a steam engine, well most steam engines, not to mention if they want to put a governor on it, which wouldn't hurt as they need to be able to get close enough to the right RPM for the lathe and mill. can't do that with out a known input rpm..... a tachometer would be an interesting challenge i have no idea how early ones were done
