"B" is for...

BRITAIN

   Ah, Britain. That "scepter'd isle... this other Eden... this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England." The Bard of Avon put it so well. What Victorian Science Fiction universe does not include the British Empire, either as hero or villain, in it? One I'd not be interested in, I assure you. Let's be honest: Britain was the global superpower throughout the era we typically set our adventures and games and stories within. The whole genre is even named for their queen, Her Majesty Victoria, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India (God Bless Her!).

The Union Flag, Emblem of Empire

   Other empires, other races, other factions, however you like it, be they Russian, Fenian, German, French, Martian, Cytherean... there is always a Britain. And that's okay. The British were bloody everywhere in the last half of the 19th century. And were, for all intents and purposes, inviolable. They invented gunboat diplomacy.  A British woman's honour besmirched by some ruffian in the marketplace of Madripoor? Have the British agent 'encourage' the Khal to deal with the problem. Problem with the Khal of Madripoor? Send in a gunboat! And such gunboats we have in VSF - the ubiquitous Aphid-class, of Space: 1889 fame, and widely copied or adapted. Swoop in, fire a few shells, and watch the locals grovel in their place.

   Or perhaps you prefer a Wellsian fantasy? Invasion of England is another popular theme, thanks to Mr. Wells's tale of the Martians. And always, pluck and playing cricket win the day.

   I must confess, I am an Anglophile, myself. But anyone who tries to deny the system-bestriding colossus that is the British Empire of the day is only fooling themselves, whether we look at an alternate science fiction full of anachronisms or at the real history.

Breaking 50

Just to announce that I have finally broken 50 followers! Thank you, ladies and gents. Hope to keep you entertained.

"A" is for...

AETHER

    Or, more properly, the luminiferous aether (or ether, if you prefer). The luminiferous aether is that odd substance that fills the spaces between the planets, a fluid medium which carries lightwaves from the sun through space.

   The luminiferous aether was first theorized by Isaac Newton in 1704's Opticks. He claimed it was required for the effect of light refraction. In 1818, a French physicist named Augustin Fresnel proposed a theory that light was a transverse wave like sound, which would require a medium for propagation of the wave. That medium was 'the aether'. From this point on, until the late 1880s, no one disputes the existence of the aether, they merely have difficulty defining how it operates, and different theories about that are tested with mixed results.

   In Victorian Science Fiction, the luminiferous aether (usually abbreviated to simply 'the aether') is frequently used as a means of carrying vessels between the planets of our solar system. How this takes place varies from author to author, or gamer to gamer, as the case may be. Personally, I combine the ideas of Frank Chadwick's Space 1889 setting (a manipulation of electromagnetics to provide propulsion, the so-called 'aether propeller') and a sort of cold nuclear reactor, powered by a miraculous (and fictional) mineral I call 'handwavium.' Handwavium produces an intense heat via chemical reaction with acids, like vinegar. The acid is slowly consumed, but the process uses no oxygen, making it perfect for use in a boiler in space.

Victorian Science Fiction, A to Z

   Inspired by the Laughing Ferret, I believe I shall attempt to do a daily listing of items realting to Victorian Science Fiction, one item per day, in an alphabetical organization. Watch here for the first installment, tomorrow:

"A is for..."

News from Venus!

   Via Black Hat in Britain. It seems that in April there will be a new development in the lizardmen offered up, as per this notice on TMP. Available soon in the States by way of Mark "Extra Crispy" Severin and Scale Creep Miniatures.

   Um, yeah... these will complement my Khurasan lizardmen and salamanders as yet another tribal grouping of the lizardmen of Venus, a somewhat more civilized group armed with firearms! Oh yes, Venus is getting rather crowded.

Typical Infantry with Guns.

Lizardmen Priests. My favorites of the lot, actually.

   Images from TMP and Black Hat Miniatures, and not my own. If anyone objects, please let me know and I will remove. I just think they're brilliant.