The way things could have been
“The USSF Jefferson, 1896 ajax class rig” by Larry Blamire
I was looking up something on Jules Verne the other day and, in yet another bolt of synchronicity, since I’m reading Thomas Pynchon’s steam- and crystal-driven “Against the Day” at the moment, I discovered the cult of steampunk. Never knew it existed. Completely out of the loop, once again.
There are even sub-genres to this kitsch-intensive sub-genre of science fiction: Melancholic and Nostalgic Steampunk. I hung up my studded dog-collar a long time ago and could never find any sense in thrash music, but there are obviously other things happening that are interesting. I really do have to get out more.
With Verne supplying some of the Victorian Era-Industrial Revolution artefacts, devotees have created a fantasy world where the future is mechanical, and preferably steam-driven, bells and whistles ready with the alarm.
The above (copyrighted) painting is by the deeply embedded Larry Blamire, who has a website full of this great creativity called Steam Wars. See the rest.
