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RonSWEF
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Technology and Such
The Modern Naval Vessel – A Simplified Guide
The modern aethership is a complex device, a technological wonder whose workings baffle the uninitiated mind. This guide will explicate the basics of the workings of one of Her Majesty’s ships of war. It is intended for the layman, and will by no means make one an expert at the use or maintenance of the described devices.
Propulsion and Manoeuvering:
The Aether Sails: Aether Sails are just that, sails designed to catch aetheric winds. To be more detailed, however, aether sails are made of a heavier grade of canvas than those used by wet-naval vessels, treated with a mixture of chemicals and processes to allow them to be moved by aetheric flow. To attain the speeds necessary for interplanetary travel, most aetherships field a very wide spread of ‘sky-sheets’ compared to the typical wet-naval ship. Almost all vessels are rigged with three to four masts, spaced evenly around the ship in a X- or Y- pattern. The masts are usually placed toward the front of the vessel, and in most cases are made of oak timbers reinforced with steel, to stand up to not only the stress and strain of aether sailing but the occasional chainshot attack as well. On smaller vessels the masts can be unshipped and folded back along the hull for easier docking, but most large vessels are forced to transfer everything from ship to shore and vice versa via gig or cable-lift, to avoid damage to the masts and spars.
Manoeuvering Vanes: At the rear of the vessel are the manoeuvering vanes, a quartet of large rudders used for steering the ship. All four of them can be moved separately to cause to ship to turn, rise, sink, or roll at the Helmsman’s command. The Topsmen can also trim the sails to achieve similar effects, but on the whole the manoeuvering vanes are sufficient for the purpose. Note that the vanes are not aether-treated, relying on atmospheric pressure instead.
The Gravity Keel: The gravity keel is vital to the operation of an aethership, if it fails then the crew must not only contend with whatever events caused its malfunction but the sudden and complete lack of the gravitational pull necessary for efficient operation. Aetheric turbines power the gravity keel, a series of fans that are turned by the aetheric currents even when the ship is not under sail. The rotation of the turbines is used to provide both mechanical and electric power to the ship, thus allowing for electric lamps rather than oil, plumbing rather than hauling around buckets of water and sewage, and most importantly, gravity rather than floating about. Most of the mechanical power from the turbines goes into spinning ‘gravity discs’, wheels containing purified and compressed aether in sealed compartments. While the Royal Academy of Science would never publicly admit it, they have absolutely no clue why these discs generate gravity, only that they do.
Also of importance is the fact that the gravity keel must be kept shielded with plates of lead whenever it is operating. Exposure to an unshielded keel can result in illness or even mutation. Again, the Academy of Science has no idea why.
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6/Dec/04, 10:54 pm
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RonSWEF
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Re: Technology and Such
Important Devices:
Aetheric Echometric Device: The Aetheric Echometric Device (commonly known as the echogram, Her Majesty’s Navy does not have a passion for acronyms) is a relatively new piece of equipment, and only in the last ten years has it become remotely feasible for shipboard use. It consists of an antenna attached to the ship’s foremost spar that senses disturbances in the aetheric flow such as landmasses, storms, or a gravity keel. A babbage (see below) translates the aetheric ripples into sound, and it is up to the echogram’s operator (usually the Aetheric Officer) to deduce what is a ship and what is meaningless noise. It is a very inexact device at best, but a skilled operator can detect an approaching vessel from a thousand miles away.
Radio: Radio has become the standard for short-ranged communications over the last twenty years. It functions exactly as it does in our world, but the British Empire considers it to be a governmental resource rather than a public one. Therefore you will see radios being used for ship to ship communications or official business but commercial broadcasting hasn’t come about yet.
The Aetheric Signaler: This device is another wonder brought about by the invention of babbages. The Aetheric Signaler gives a ship the capacity to send and receive long-range transmissions from virtually anywhere in the solar system. It functions by directing a narrow stream of aetheric pulses on a path toward a designated point, where the receiving babbage decodes the transmission. The transmission beam is so narrow that being more than five miles off-position will result in it being missed altogether, therefore the beginning of every such message includes the position, heading, and speed of the sender. The bottom line of this device is that by using it, a ship sailing out past Jupiter can signal a colonial outpost with a message to be passed on to the Admiralty on Terra, and can actually receive a reply in only a day or so. Aetheric signalers are relatively secure due to the tightness of their transmission paths and the vastness of space, but transmission codes do change on a regular basis.
The Babbage: Invented by Charles Babbage in the early 1830s, the analytical engine (essentially a mechanical computer) was initially considered to be something of a hoax. The Royal Academy of Science attempted to laugh him out of the scientific community, but his position as Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge (a position once held by Lord Newton himself) made him difficult to dismiss. He was able to complete a small prototype, which he presented his designs to Grand Admiral Atherton. Atherton immediately saw the device’s potential and took both it and Babbage to see Her Majesty Victoria I. Babbage was given the royal command to develop and perfect the device, as well as the financial means to do so. It was a long and arduous process, but in 1891 (twenty years after Babbage’s death) the first analytical engines began to appear on the ships of His Majesty’s Navy. They were bulky, slow, and their clockworks were easily knocked out of alignment, but they quickly proved an invaluable aid to interstellar navigation.
The modern babbage is a miracle of miniaturization, a device that can calculate the position of Venus three weeks from now, translate a message into aetheric code and back again in minutes, and draw a relative position map for an asteroid cluster (using a display rather like an etch-a-sketch), in only eighty cubic feet of space. It’s still vulnerable to sudden shocks and debris in the gears, but a great deal easier to repair and recalibrate than its antecedents.
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"Oh God, oh God, we're all gonna die?"
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7/Dec/04, 12:40 am
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RonSWEF
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Re: Technology and Such
Armament:
Cannons: The smoothbore cannon is still the weapon of choice for naval warfare, but it has undergone a few upgrades. The chief improvement has been the introduction of breech-loading cannons and packaged shot. Cannonballs, powder, and a blasting cap are packaged together in pasteboard tubes, which are slid into the cannon similar to a bullet. When the firing mechanism is triggered, the cannon fires much like a pistol, a hammer strikes the cap which ignites the powder. The cannon must still be swabbed out between shots (to extinguish any embers and expel any remnants of the tube), but all in all these advances have made gunnery faster and safer.
Chainshot: Chainshot consists of two smaller cannonballs connected by a length of chain. This type of shot is excellent at breaking masts and spars, but is less likely to penetrate a hull.
Grapeshot: Grapeshot is the naval equivalent of a shotgun. A grapeshot round fires hundreds of marble-sized balls at its target, doing very little harm to a ship’s hull but tearing any crewman caught in the blast to shreds. Grapeshot is only effective at very close range.
Doubleshot: Doubleshot rounds are just that, two cannonballs and some extra powder. While the effective range of the cannon drops, the extra impact inflicts greater hull damage.
Rocket Shot: Developed first by the Shogunate Navy, Rocket Shot is intended for softening up a target from long range. The iron casing of the rocket is packed with a slower-burning powder that carries the rocket up to three miles before the nose charge of gunpowder and iron spikes detonates. An impact trigger at the rocket’s tip ensures that striking an object before reaching the maximum range will detonate the charge as well. Not as effective as regular shot, but capable of inflicting damage at a much greater effective range.
Lesser Equipment: Though not as wondrous as the above devices, there are a number of small items that are invaluable to life in aether-space:
Aether Compass (tells you the direction of the local aether flow)
Hand Lamp (uses a tiny aetheric turbine to power a light bulb, can also be used for signalling)
Portable Radio (roughly the size of a hardcover book)
Grapnel Gun (uses a gunpowder charge to fire a grappling hook at a target. Usually comes with 100’ of silk line)
Gig (a small aethership roughly thirty feet long with two collapsible masts and minimal navigational equipment. Used for ship-to-shore activities)
Sidearms (the average officer is usually issued a Navy-issue revolver and a light sword (rapier, saber, or epee) which they may wear while on duty. Aside from marines, enlisted men are only armed as the occasion requires)
Notebook (a smart officer carries pen and paper with him at all times for a wide variety of purposes. Reading another’s notebook without permission is extremely bad form)
Marine Rifle (a long-barreled rifle with an attached telescope sight. Used for picking off enemy crewmen)
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"Oh God, oh God, we're all gonna die?"
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7/Dec/04, 1:50 am
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