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Due to some of the love I was sent about a idea I decided to write a little chapter story about it... hope you monkeys enjoy it.

Footsteps falling like the mercy of a summers rain, and Dr. Keeton had finally entered his private suite. He always felt more at home on a aether ship, the quiet of the void between planets was his to live in. The shuttle here was no help, the 2 hour trip turned 2 days. "Damn Baltic parts" was all he would say to fellow traveler. That was no longer a concern, only the 2 week trip to the red planet and his University lecture.

It had happened, he had seen it but a few years ago. For almost 2 decades the Pneumatic analytical engine (P.a.e.) had been the tool and toy of Nobility, Governments, and the Educated. It was the unseen partner of the working man. Now they wanted to know and use it. It was in 15% of all homes, in 52% of all businesses both common and complex. They wanted to know! He was more then happy to teach.

"What most know" His note began " Is the name of Charles Babbage, Who's ideas, theory's, and inventions are credited with creating this modern machine. What most fail to account for is its true creator, M. P. Craft. It was he who realized the mistake of Babbage." at this point Dr. Keeton had to pause and search his papers for the quote he needed. "the gears and springs of Babbage while powerful are slow and imprecise a monster. Mother nature has built a better beast in the vary air around us. only two years after Babbage's 1822 paper Craft had built a faster version of the Difference Engine. One using a Pneumatic cylinder as a binary switch. At this point Babbage conceded the point and joined Craft, only to over shadow and steal credit. The fall of 1829 would bring the building of a machine known as the Craft room. This was the first analytical engine, and while slow and weak by today's standards it was indeed a marvel. Craft and Babbage quickly put it to use in creating its successes. Power by a massive steam engine housed it an adjacent building, it ran formula for 5 years. The craft room 2, as it was so named, then ran the same function. Two and half years later not only did there come a newer faster analtytical engine, but one the size of a 6.096 X 6.096 X 2.4384 meter Room. Considering the first craft rooms sat in a 24.384 square meter building, one could understand the feet accomplished. not only that but the system started at 20 KSC (kilograms per square centimeter. pressure) to a amazing 1 KSC. 1 year 9 months and the system was faster and smaller then ever.

In 1860 we see what can be regarded as the identifiably first P.A.E. While it stood at 304.8 centimeters in hight and measured 91.44 x 152.4 centimeters. It was a still a more modern machine." at this point had to pause. the knocking of his door had removed him from the intellectual space in mind was occupying. He walk to the door rubbing his eye out of stress. He was greeted by a ships steward. "so very sorry to disrupt you sir, the captain would like a word"....

if you all like I can finish out the "History" lesson.

Reminds me of Space 1889 that was a really great game. I have no idea what happened to my copy of it.

I would leave things purposely vague unless you've really done your calculations. There are people that know this stuff and will do the math after you've written it and say "this is wrong" which can be really annoying when you're just having fun with a game.

Cool story-ette. Goes to show how useful writing fiction can be when bedding down one's setting.

I'm not really familiar with the genre, but I like when you get into the history lesson. Good piece of background if it's being used to intro your game.

I'll work on more latter this coming week, to be honest I'm playing with real word facts and adding in to them. its amazing to try and do historical sci-fi fiction, when the research is there. even just a little research.

sorry this took so long, life what you going to do?

"....Lorence rubbed his eye as he poured himself back into his desk chair. The captain took so much of his time telling him they would be 3 days late he could only go to sleep afterwards. "Oh well. New day, New start" Dr. Keeton thought to him self. Finishing his personal meeting with earl gray, he set the cup down and started back on his speech. " In June of 1860 a Scottish Private, Aulay Campbell, managed to revolutionise the P.A.E. with out thinking. Stuck with the task of using a P.A.E. with a broken steam engine to do inventory calculations, he began to look at the pressure need to power the machine. His answer is one of the few reasons we can have a personal P.A.E. By combining a bellows, the treadle for a sewing machine, and a old bag pipe he created the means by which P.A.E.s would become powered. While a few addition have been made (a fly wheel for one) Private Campbell's design holds true. Do note that steam engines and the newer Kinetic batteries still power many P.A.E.s its the trundle that rains king. That invention had another effect, With ease of power at there finger tips they need a better way to share info. At this time, and for a while after, programs were stored on thin perforated Flats of wood. Measuring 21.59 X 27.94 X .635 centimeter thick, hundreds of them made up even the most simple of programs of this time. The answer was all around them. By hooking up 3 separate telegraph lines to 2 different P.A.E.'s the first 2 station connection was built. The two technologies have have strengthen each other over the years, modern multi-line home telegraphs (with translation) are all built of the first connections principles. No one entering the modern field can deny with out the modern Telegraph system the Logic Grid would be impossible."

The pressing need for food cause a refreshing hour pause in Dr. Keeton's work. He spent the meal in a waking slumber, waxing on in his own mind of the new theoretical additions that may be soon in coming. Wireless networking of radio, Thin band information translations and more danced about his mind as he ate. Returning to his speech he continued..."While the size reduction and speed of P.A.E.'s was still progressing, nothing new to the system was added till 1874. Then invention of Magnetic to Pneumatic switches allowed for the creation of a new input device, The Type board. With a press of a key, information could be entered with out a Perf card. It would also lay the ground for the locational motion Input Knob in 1887, know as a Lmik, but first another piece of equipment would need to be invented. In 1881 Shelford Bidwell show the prototype of a device now known as a Televisor. While it was rudimentary, extensive P.A.E. computation where run to improve its function. 1886 the first great black and white Televisor screen was created, a complex machine that used Electrostatic Arc Lighting bulbs and a spinning perforated disc to create moving and still images. The next year the Lmik was born. The next year Rupol (Royal Unified P.A.E. operation language) was invented at a Oxford/Army think tank. At this point we had an almost perfect system; input, reusable output, computation, and communications. It would be in 1898 that one man would make in all complete. We have to thank one gentle man from Denmark for what is the most important element of the P.A.E., Valdemar Poulsen. At the time he had a gained a patent for a sound recording device (the Telegraphone), a British think tank (Royal minds limited) called on him to work with idea. By using magnetism modulation over steel wire, they could encode a sort of vibration that could be read by reversing but not removing the process. With in 6 months the prefected the system to read and write information on .254 millimeter diameter steel wire wrapped around a 7.62 centimeter diameter cylinder. As we know data rods are a standard to this day, and the hard cone (the on-board storage device in all P.A.E.s)is based from the same technology. Mr. Poulsen to this day is still creating amazing new leaps in data storage. At the turn of the century late decade the standed for what we now use was presented to the scientific comutity. You see it be side me, the base unit with out televisor, type board, Lmik, and Tel-graph link is that 1 meter X half X half box. the Treadle is all that you need to power it, it come with Pneumatic powerless reset (with out which you'd have to finish the last computation you did before final restarting should the pressure stop working). It is the new way of the world"
Dr. Lorence Keeton fell back in the chair, his speech was done. The long trip there, however, had long to go...

hope you still like it.

The only thing that jumps up at me is the use of metric. I'd probably go back to Imperial - it would feel more like the time its set in. A minor niggle.

Keep it up, sir.

Wow, Kumi's really into this one. I've never seen him write this much. I'm in awe.

Go go go Kumi!

I tend not to write much because I have a minor Non-verbal learning disorder. Beside not spelling things well (something more common in the US then we like to think) my brain short circuits when trying to translate thought to physical fine movement (pen to paper writing, drawing, etc). Added to this the slow rate I some times have to type makes to where I lose train of thought easily. I have how ever been trying to over come this, hence the story.


;p

Non-verbal as in body language or only with written word? My son and I are HFA and dyslexic. I wrote a kids picture book to explain what being a social NLD is like. In any case, even more kudos to you! It'll never go away but working at it can help build up coping mechanisms and you can make a lot of progress. I learned that my conscious memory can't handle spelling but my motor memory could after two decades of typing (and a lot of help from spellcheck).

Keep it up!