“What do I think Twilight? Not a better place beyond the Aetheric plane. But, if a spiritual hyperreality existed, a Tartarus of the spirit, to punish the wicked? That would be nice.” – S. Glimmer, reply to T. Sparkle
— “Reflections”, Autobiography by Starlight Glimmer
The kirin and zebra were alone in the enclosed courtyard of an old, repurposed hotel near the palace at dawn. The zebra doctor was working with Professor Bullpen in the tennis court of the Bullring Hotel. The lobby had been converted into a hanger where a large airship was under construction. Professor Bullpen himself was already quietly working inside the hanger.
Red Leaf was angry. Very angry.
“YOU!”
Now Red Leaf was on fire. The Zebra Dr. Sakai Nyarai just stared, taking in the burning flames of the Nirik.
“YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD” Red Leaf bellowed. The asphalt around his feat had melted.
The doctor took a step back from the intense magical heat. “My family thinks I am. My countrymen too.”
“I WAS IN THE WATER FOR FOURTEEN HOURS!” shouted the kirin turned nirik.
Dr. Nyarai had to take another step back from the blazing creature. “Please Red Leaf, I am very sorry my friend. I was being used.”
“BY WHO OR WHAT?”
“I do not know. Something on the ship. Some… evil force took control of me. It made me start the fire. The bull in the red fez with the green tassel said I was not the only one.”
“IRON HOOF?”
“I don’t know who he was, I never met him before.”
“YOU ARE LYING”
“I am not. Why else am I still alive? I am so sorry Red Leaf. The marines had me, I thought I was going to die. That I deserved to die. I am trying to make amends.”
The nirik diplomat stood there burning for a moment longer. Then the fire went out. “How are you still alive? What happened?”
I think the bull in the fez with the green tassel spared me, some others. They took me from the soldiers. They told my government I was dead.
With a sigh, Sakai began to talk. Red Leaf was at first unconvinced by the doctor’s explanation, but eventually accepted the Zebra’s apology. They agreed to meet again in a few days. They ate lunch together and then Red Leaf departed.
—
“So how did that go?” asked Professor Bullpen. The rotund professor waddled towards his contraption.
Sakai sighed. “It could have gone better.”
“How hot do they get when they get like that?”
“You know, I do not know. Hot enough to melt asphalt. Its magic, so who knows? I don’t think anyone has done any tests.”
“Hot enough to burn your silk?”
“Oh yes definitely. Hot enough to melt jewelry. Red Leaf told me the ambassadress Fern Flare she, melted her gold necklace and burned her entire dress, right in the hall to the King’s throne room.” The rotund professor wandered away to check on the aluminum struts.
--
The internal baby-balloon idea and the sintering for making aluminum strips for the keel was working out well. If they could just get the power source to turn the blades, Ferdinand was sure it would fly.
Dr. Nyarai finished coating the fabric with his solution of sodium borate and boric acid. The dried silk swatches were withstanding all the direct flame tests so far.
The hot steam baths were not helping cool tempers.
Ferdinand’s turbine was not the problem. An old equestrian design of nickel and steel, it was just barely within the manufacturing capabilities of Istanbull. Bullpen had been working on it off and on for close to twenty years. The problem was the steam source. Recapturing the feed steam meant that frequent refilling of the boiler wasn’t an issue. It hadn’t been ready for the manatee, but it was ready now. The issue was just boiling water.
Coal was just too heavy.
“Hey Sakai. I had a thought,” said Ferdinand turning to the zebra alchemist. “What if we didn’t burn the fuel?”
“What?”
“I mean maybe there is an energetic reaction we could do that we could reverse. We could run the boiler for a while. Reverse the reaction on the ground, where there is more fuel then do the reaction in the air again. Something maybe we only need heat for?”
Dr. Nyarai considered for a minute. “Magnesium. We could burn magnesium steam. It would give off hydrogen which we could also burn or use for the envelope and make magnesium oxide and then magnesium hydrate. We could drive off the water from the magnesium oxide and re-run that. If we had the energy, we could reduce it back to magnesium powder using a chloride and electrolysis with iron and carbon electrodes. But forget that part. We can start the trip with magnesium powder. Drawing off the hydrate is easy. It floats.”
I believe we can buy magnesium metal in Zebrenica, and coal along the way to reduce the hydrate, or chop down trees. Yes, I believe we can. If we stick to the coast, I can think of 5 places we can stop along the way. We’ll be going with the wind once we’re north of the sea and the trades.”
“I had another idea, Ferdinand. How long do you think a nirik can stay angry for? Long enough to dehydrate magnesium?”
“A hundred seconds at least. Red Leaf was on fire for that long this morning. Let’s talk to Bullpen.”