Steel steam and flame

Doyle nodded as he spoke, as if to confirm that he was indeed right: "The front can be regarded as another area isolated from the empire, because almost all of the people who stay here are soldiers, and their own nature It creates a different environment. If you are not used to it, you can apply to patrol outside. It is full of ancient natural scenery. I don’t know how long you will stay here, but in spring and autumn, the scenery outside is the most beautiful. In summer It’s just a sweltering heat, coupled with the endless sound of cicadas. Winter is just like this now, it’s better to stay in the base.”

"And many people died during this period. It seems that there is a powerful sniper outside. The kind with super long range, and the type that changes positions after shooting. It is very troublesome and makes many people not want to Out. I originally wanted to send out a large number of people to encircle and suppress, but the Far Sea Commonwealth seems to have made a lot of noise on the front. On the contrary, the Volcano Base can't figure out the specific situation and dare not make big moves. Be careful. , it is difficult to avoid being ambushed by snipers in the jungle. There are ballistic lines to judge the location, but it is not very accurate."

The Volcano No. 7 Warehouse is so large that it has drilled out less than half of the interior of a mountain. Now the buildings Cassia saw following Lieutenant Doyle were all used by management, and the real warehouse did not appear in his eyes.

"It's at the foot. I heard what the boss said. Because it is an important material for war preparation, safety must be the first priority. The excavated storage space is very large, several times that of this base. It is very deep. It seems to have gone deep into the ground, but the specific depth It's a puzzle, and the passage in is also a secret." Doyle led Cassia and said while walking, "It says it's a warehouse, but to be honest, I've been here for a long time. I don't know what the warehouse is like. I know. Maybe it's because the official position is lower." There was a bit of self-deprecation here, and Cassia wanted to comfort her with a few words, but couldn't think of the right words to say.

The ground of the base is also a hard concrete structure. In some wide areas, daylight-style lamps are used to replace the original cold-colored lights, which gives the cold base a little warm feeling. But next to the lamp, the same thing can still be seen. Cassia discovered such a strange phenomenon when he was first escorted into the base.

It is a pipeline for transporting gas, and there are completely exposed red copper pipes for steam. Red copper pipes used as output power are very common, and the main operations of the base also rely on those milky white steams. This base, like most prosperous areas in the empire, has been fully equipped with all kinds of applicable electrical appliances and power transmission equipment, including electric lights, as well as panels that use differential engines to control different colors of iron powder to display things, Cassia Saw a lot too.

It feels like every component around is a good thing, but the gas pipelines and the gas lamps connected to the pipelines are well preserved and have obviously been carefully maintained on a daily basis, but they seem too abrupt in such a military base. Steam is an indispensable power source. From the birth of the empire to the present, even though it has been impacted by the emerging energy sources of electricity caused by limestone in the middle of history, it still maintains its position as the main form of energy and has never been shaken in the slightest.

But gas lamps are familiar to Cassia. In the small town, such things have been with him day and night for five years, and their familiarity is no less than the knowledge of steam machinery that he has completely memorized in his head. and transmission principles. But in such a base that closely follows the development of the empire's science and technology, Cassia cannot understand the reason for retaining such things.

"It's caused by human factors." Cassia asked Doyle, and he replied.

"The explanation is, I don't know either." Doyle said with a smile on his face, "No one seems to know that the newcomers on the front line have many similarities, whether it is about gas lamps, or we can meet again in the future. I can't understand the lime lamps or even the most basic torches. Although there are extremely simple things like electricity and electric lights, why have things like gas lamps and lime lamps not been eliminated, but are still appearing in Inside a base like this.”

Doyle imitated the tone of the recruits who had just completed the first period of training and were assigned here: "Isn't it a waste of money? They ask us to do maintenance every once in a while. Is it because we are too busy? Wait a minute. , there are so many words like this! But no reasonable reason has come out for so many years, and a few superiors who may know the truth have not said anything, and just told us to just obey the orders with peace of mind. In the end, he said, "It's all caused by human factors." ’, there’s absolutely nothing to say about it.”

"Man-made reasons?" Cassia repeated it again, unable to figure out the possible hidden meaning.

"Yes, human reasons. After I was promoted to lieutenant a few years ago, I found the opportunity to ask the reason again, and the answer was the same." Doyle looked over, "It seems that the confidentiality level is very high, and you need to have a matching identity to know the answer. . But at present, it seems that, at least as far as I know, the major is half-informed. Perhaps it is also because we are in peacetime. There are many frictions with the enemy on the front, but it cannot escalate into a war at all. Both sides are fine. I’m used to it being blown up again and again.”

There was also a lot of helplessness in Doyle's words: "Anyway, if you see some strange things here, you just have to rely on human factors for the reasons. This is also what the superiors taught me. I am stupid and can never figure out the meaning. But when I think about the fact that the war was originally caused by people, everything can be explained by this 'man-made reason'. It feels like it is just used to fool us, and it just gets better after so many years of getting used to it, and it doesn't affect anything at all. It's like It’s the same reason why the electricity flowing in the wires above our heads has not replaced steam power throughout history.”

"What do you think is the reason? There is no reason for the Empire to leave good things unused, right? Comparing steam and electricity, each has its own advantages, but in summary, electricity should be on the winning side. But the fact in the Empire is that hot steam It has always occupied an unshakable position, and electricity will always play an auxiliary role. And in some important machines and structures, there is not even the slightest trace of electricity. Like the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine, this is equivalent to one of the heart of the empire. , except for the matching radio device, it is all steam hoses and gear shaft parts. In terms of design ideas, it can also be seen that the scientists of the empire have never thought of using electricity to drive the gears forward."