mark_asphodel | Arc-Light Punk?

I have a theoretical interest in steampunk, though I can really only point to Laputa: Castle in the Sky as "steampunk" I have watched, enjoyed, and remembered. My true love lies, apparently, with the very timeline that steampunk displaces-- early electrical technology circa the War of Currents, the era of arc lights and dynamos. The main artifact of pop culture I can think of offhand that fits that label is the film The Prestige, which featured a Nikola Tesla subplot (and, IMO, had a echo of the Tesla/Edison rivalry in the feud between the main characters). There should be more of that, but in the meantime I soak up that arc light romance as best I can by way of visits to any vintage power plant I can gain access to. And when that doesn't work, Henry Ford's collection o' stuff can work in a pinch.

Anyhow, I spent a chunk of the day visiting Folsom Powerhouse, a gem of a hydroelectric plant that ceased operation in 1952 and has been lovingly maintained as a state park thanks to a cadre of volunteers. In terms of technological history, Folsom is momentous, but I genuinely enjoy exploring old power plants in general and hydro plants have their own unique beauty. I love the great intricate wheels, the long galleries with their vaulted ceilings, the marble switchboards and the other elements that show that these plants hail from a time when men took immense pride in these places. They were marvels of the day; the first transmissions from Folsom were greeted by a "Grand Electric Carnival" in Sacramento. Then again, disused power plants are serene places, like cathedrals-- or ruined temples. Standing at the Folsom Powerhouse today, surrounded by lilacs passing out of bloom and irises bursting in, I heard not the surge of water, the thrum of machinery, or the buzz of transformers, but birdsong. The penstocks are empty and the dynamos are still.

I really want to do something with that love-- somewhere inside of me is a novel about industrial Detroit, fantastic or otherwise. But in the meantime, I may channel that desire into a FE alternate universe, in part to salve my disappointment with a "steampunk" novella someone put up on ffnet some months back. I can actually connect arc light technology to my beloved Archanea, as the designers' notes spoke of fabulous dragon technology that the system of magic supplanted when the divine dragons allowed humans to inherit the earth. Well, suppose that Gotoh was charged with guiding humans through a technological universe instead of a magical one. I think I can do something with that. Maybe.