Travel

Airships

When charged Aetheric lift crystals fight the pull of gravity, allowing the hydrogen envelopes of airships and aerial platforms to lift more than normal. Altitude is adjusted by either ballast bladders or aerial screws. Navigation can be done by propellers powered by either steam or diesel engines, a few eschew engines for the lighter and quieter sails.

Automobiles

Automobiles, and other vehicles with combustion engines, are uncommon but popular among the middle to upper class.

Diesel/Gasoline

These are loud and give off darker dirtier smoke than the steam. Combustion engine cars are custom built and handmade in the Republic of Texas. A few of the companies have started to roll out a generic model of car affordable to the middle class (with financing). Only certified Combustion Technicians are allowed to work on Republic of Texas engines. Republic auto companies have sold cars to individuals in other countries, but usually at a premium.

Steam

Steam cars run quietly, but take awhile to warm up. They require a firebox and large boiler, a steam car is able to run on anything that burns and water. Steam cars are mass produced by factories in both the Union and Confederacy.

Trains

Coal engines are the most popular, but diesel engines have been developed and used by Texas lines for some time now.

Other:

• Elevators: Mechanical elevators exist in taller, nicer building of the Junction. They are operated by lever and a qualified operator.
• Horses: While not on the cutting edge of technology, horses and horse drawn vehicles are still very much in use.

Communication/Media

Telegraph is the most reliable way to communicate over long distances. Cables run along railroad tracks enabling stations to provide each other with up to the minute information. Telegraphs can be sent via radio waves but doing so requires both transmitter and receiver to be tuned to the same frequency, and is subject to anyone else on the same frequency to "listen in" on your conversation.

Teletypewriter is a miniature analytical engine that links a telegraph and a typewriter translating the Morse code and English (or any preset language) allowing the message to be typed at one end and printed at the other.

Telegrams

Radios are still relatively new, and not reliable enough for regular communication. The receivers are bulky and transmitters are built into a building. They are not used widely enough for regular broadcasts.

Telephones are the cutting edge technology for communication, but require direct connections. Switchboards can allow a phone network to function between more than two handsets. Telephones are still too expensive for any but the extremely wealthy to own.

Picture cameras can now fold up into a box roughly the size of a large book. They require a steady hand or a tripod to prevent a blurry picture from developing.

Phonographs that can read and record wax cylinders are relatively common.

Power

Electricity

AC

Tesla broadcasts his alternating current wirelessly across the Junction. The system is subject to atmospheric interference and fluctuations in power. The transmitting tower is located on top of T.E.S.T. labs and customers set up receiving induction antennae to access the system. Rooftops are littered with such induction antennae.

DC

Edison generators provide reliable power, but don't transmit very far. Businesses and residential blocks are able to purchase E.G.E. generators to power their establishments and homes. The paths and parks of each Whispering Woods block are lit by Edison's bulbs.

Mechanical

Steam

Diesel

Diesel engines and diesel engine technology are carefully protected by the Republic of Texas.

Clockwork

Wind-up springs are probably the most portable form of power. Precision components allow for intricate devices to be constructed without the need for bulky generators.

Gas

Gas light is still used in the poorer areas of The Junction, and in building complexes that can't afford an Edison generator. The methane collected from the stockyards is sold to individuals for lighting and cook stoves.

Hydrogen is used to provide lift to airships and the floating cities.

Medicine/Health

Prosthesis

A perpetual time of war sees no shortage of injuries and loss of limb. Prosthetic limbs have come a long way from stiff wooden replacements and hooks for hands. Advancements in clockworks and heavier mechanics allow for articulated replacement limbs that match functionality of the original flesh and bone. Some prosthesis are able to provide abilities beyond normal human function.

Advanced surgical techniques have allowed biological prosthesis to be transplanted from others. The donor limb or organ must be fresh. Moreau Medical specializes in transplants from animals that improve upon human senses or physical prowess.

Aethersphere

The Aethersphere is a realm of pure thought, it is also known as the astral plane, the dreamlands, and the spirit realm. One type of aether crystal forms a link between our world and the 'sphere, the inventor Charles Babbage was able to integrate one into his difference engine design and store data in the 'sphere. Some shaman are able to enter the aether through combinations of herbs and meditation.

Aether Resonant Crystal

(ARC, functions like a server): ARCs serve as a way to store entire box car of information in something that may be no bigger than a couple decks of cards. Each crystal forms a node in aether space the nodes and information stored there in can be accessed through an aether scope or an aether diver's helmet. The crystal's setting allows the crystal to resonate and can be tuned to share a frequency with other crystals. Sharing a frequency means sharing a node in the aether, no matter where the crystals are taken in physical space. This is great for franchises that wish to share information across the country instantaneously.

Scientists have been able to synthesize the aether crystals related to the 'sphere. Growing these crystals are easier and cheaper than harvesting natural ones, however the synthetic crystals are of far lower quality than the natural ones.

Aether Scope:

An aether scope allows one to interact with data stored at an attached or linked node. The 'scope resembles a typewriter with a portrait mirror set where the carriage return should be, all attached to a heavy desk enclosing complex difference engine. Using a 'scope provides an extremely limited means of interacting with what is stored on the crystal node. Any serious manipulation of the data must be done though a dream inducing aether helmet.

Nodes:

Each ARC creates a secure area in aethersphere, the center of a node is a gateway allowing the user to return to their consciousness. Multiple ARCs sharing a frequency use the same node in aetherspace, and increases the secured area in aetherspace. Additional linked ARCs also allow for additional users to access the same node at once. ARCs with similar harmonic frequencies can have their nodes linked forming more secure areas within the overall node. Many corporations use a complex multi-ARC, multi-frequency matrix to handle information of differing clearance levels.

Nodes created by synthetic crystals have a much weaker security.

Aether Diver:

An aether diver is someone who projects their consciousness into the aether through a node. Though the Aether divers can infiltrate other networks or nodes. However if a diver loses her way back to the entry portal her mind may be lost to the Aether. Most divers create a tether to allow them back to their entry portal so they don't get lost.

Internal Core Entity (ICE): Simple entities created in the Aether to guard information and nodes. The strength of the ICE is dependent on the quality of the aether crystal.

Aetheric Lovelace: