Some Words Concerning Aetherships
The 3rd Royal Expeditionary Fleet consists of five ships: the "Waterloo," the "Trafalgar," the "Hastings," the "Balaclava" and Victoria's flagship the "Sovereign." They are in appearance similar to airships - and were in fact derived from the designs that were secretly commissioned by President Grant from Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin of Germany and built in utter secrecy by Queen Victoria's finest shipwrights.
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| The HMA Sovereign, sketched from the observation deck of Water Station Victoria, in high orbit around Venus. |
There are, however, several very important differences between these and the current trend in airships. First, they are exponentially larger than their earthbound counterparts. This is due to the large amounts of Hydrogen they need to burn to escape Earth's gravity. The deliberate burning of Hydrogen is another difference. As they ascend through the upper atmosphere, the Hydrogen bladders expand to the point of breaking, and while this is alleviated a little by their airtight aluminum hulls, they still need to vent Hydrogen to avoid potential catastrophe. As Hydrogen is extremely flammable, they vent it through special nozzles in a cone-shaped structure on the rear of the hull, just aft of the fins. This structure is fireproofed, and works like the ancient Greek aeolipiles described by Hero of Alexandria. Upon its venting into this structure, the hydrogen is ignited, and the resulting conflagration provides enough thrust to push the ship right out into the aether.
A curious thing happens when your in the aether: the laws of gravity appear to be suspended. I've been informed by several members of the Royal Science Academy that these laws are not in fact suspended, but that the weightless state that fills the void left by gravity's departure is right in line with Newton's Law. I am forced to believe them, for it was they who advised - again in accordance with Newton - that we install steam jets about the outside of the hull with the intent of spinning the vessel when it enters the aether. The result is a temporary re-assertion of gravity about the inside of the ship, but it comes at the expense of any orientation with the stars.
Instead, navigation is achieved mathematically, using an invention that was only briefly made public by a Dr. Charles Babbage. This analytical engine is capable of computing the necessary navigational calculations in much less time and with far more accuracy than the human mind could hope to achieve, and without it we would never have made it beyond our own atmosphere.
