Post by The Lace of Ages on Sept 20, 2020 0:37:30 GMT
From the introduction of A Study of Technology in the Fourth Age by Lussin Tovare, Headmaster of the Academy of the Rising Sun. Unpublished.
The Fourth Age dawned in the aftermath of the Last Battle and the death of the Dragon Reborn. By all rights, the world should have stopped moving for decades to recover from the damage it suffered at the hands of the Dark One's thralls. Humanity is more resilient than that, however, and the heroes of the last Age ensured that progress would continue. The Lord Dragon, Rand al'Thor, had particular foresight in this matter, investing the School at Cairhien with the knowledge and skills it would need to preserve and expand knowledge, and so our forebears set in motion the steady expansion of technology across the Westlands.
The steady march of time has seen progress in every field imaginable, from farming to plumbing to factory work. Industry has come to the Westlands, on the back of steam and powered by natural law and the One Power. This fusion of innovation and tradition is unique to (most, but I digress...) nations of the Dragon Compact, thanks to the relatively harmonious working relationships between channelers and the innovators designing our technology.
But where to begin, if we were to describe how different the world is today to someone from the time of the Dragon Reborn? Would we talk of the factories that have begun to form along the riverbound great cities, their goods transported in Sea Folk ships powered by steam, and riverbound ships of all nations using with paddle side wheels for faster movement? Would we talk of the many conveniences that most now take for granted, such as the wonders of modern plumbing, the mass proliferation of the printing press, the wondrously steady lights containing a spark of the Power within? The fearsome gliders might certainly attract their interest, another marvel of technology and the power combined: the science of generating lift and the mastery of Air, particularly among the Sea Folk Windfinders and the Asha'man of the Air Legion, used together to enable flight in a way lost since the Age of Legends.
Perhaps we might surprise them, instead, with our lack of knowledge in an area they knew quite well. Indeed, black powder and the fireworks derived from it remain all but unknown in the Westlands, thanks to the strictures of the Dragon's Peace backed by the Aiel's...vociferous disagreement. Of course there are always rumors from Mayene and Illian of rogue Illuminators or strange weapons, suggesting that this knowledge hasn't died out completely.(It is my belief, not to be repeated elsewhere, that the Aiel have merely forced the knowledge underground, to our detriment. It's only a matter of time until something quite nasty comes of it, though I hope to be long dead by that point if the Light is willing.)
In any case, the world is remarkably changed, largely for the better. Gaps persist, of course; the steam engines remain of limited use in many places, owing to the difficulty in powering them while they work. Sea Folk are perhaps the most efficient with this technology, though their methods are...proprietary, shall we say, and they don't let outsiders close enough to examine them. The little I've gleaned of them over the years suggest that it requires Sea Folk Windfinders and Steammasters working in concert with the Power, something that could not be easily or efficiently replicated. There is always room to improve, and I believe the Academy continues to make great strides in uncovering areas of interest to examine.
The Fourth Age dawned in the aftermath of the Last Battle and the death of the Dragon Reborn. By all rights, the world should have stopped moving for decades to recover from the damage it suffered at the hands of the Dark One's thralls. Humanity is more resilient than that, however, and the heroes of the last Age ensured that progress would continue. The Lord Dragon, Rand al'Thor, had particular foresight in this matter, investing the School at Cairhien with the knowledge and skills it would need to preserve and expand knowledge, and so our forebears set in motion the steady expansion of technology across the Westlands.
The steady march of time has seen progress in every field imaginable, from farming to plumbing to factory work. Industry has come to the Westlands, on the back of steam and powered by natural law and the One Power. This fusion of innovation and tradition is unique to (most, but I digress...) nations of the Dragon Compact, thanks to the relatively harmonious working relationships between channelers and the innovators designing our technology.
But where to begin, if we were to describe how different the world is today to someone from the time of the Dragon Reborn? Would we talk of the factories that have begun to form along the riverbound great cities, their goods transported in Sea Folk ships powered by steam, and riverbound ships of all nations using with paddle side wheels for faster movement? Would we talk of the many conveniences that most now take for granted, such as the wonders of modern plumbing, the mass proliferation of the printing press, the wondrously steady lights containing a spark of the Power within? The fearsome gliders might certainly attract their interest, another marvel of technology and the power combined: the science of generating lift and the mastery of Air, particularly among the Sea Folk Windfinders and the Asha'man of the Air Legion, used together to enable flight in a way lost since the Age of Legends.
Perhaps we might surprise them, instead, with our lack of knowledge in an area they knew quite well. Indeed, black powder and the fireworks derived from it remain all but unknown in the Westlands, thanks to the strictures of the Dragon's Peace backed by the Aiel's...vociferous disagreement. Of course there are always rumors from Mayene and Illian of rogue Illuminators or strange weapons, suggesting that this knowledge hasn't died out completely.
In any case, the world is remarkably changed, largely for the better. Gaps persist, of course; the steam engines remain of limited use in many places, owing to the difficulty in powering them while they work. Sea Folk are perhaps the most efficient with this technology, though their methods are...proprietary, shall we say, and they don't let outsiders close enough to examine them. The little I've gleaned of them over the years suggest that it requires Sea Folk Windfinders and Steammasters working in concert with the Power, something that could not be easily or efficiently replicated. There is always room to improve, and I believe the Academy continues to make great strides in uncovering areas of interest to examine.
