Aiken Frost Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 And sending someone on a regular train route is much easier and cheaper than having a flying sorcerer constantly on call for routine communications. Or is it? To send a guy on a train, you have to use a train. IE: a lot of fuel, it is limited to specific schedules, accidents in the line could interrupt the path to begin with and etc. A coinshot is one of the most common allomancers and all he needs is a feel beads of a inexpensive metal and his monthly/weekly/whatever payment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aradel Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 A bit off topic but being something of a fan of airships I've long had a rather whimsical desire to go back in time and do whatever I had to do to make sure that radio announcer during the crash did not get on the air. Preferably involving a heavy blunt object. Footnote on my bucket list: If I ever become ridiculously rich and compelled to be buy something random, it would have to be an airship. No contest. Also, I believe Wax mentions that coinshots work as messengers. The broadsheet advertisement for electric lights reads "Send runner to [such and such address]" Presuming that 'runner' was put there on purpose, I'd say that these messengers are common. It wouldn't be too far a stretch to say that Wax could probably outrun a train if he had enough steel to burn. (I'm assuming that allomantic steel is fairly cheap.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deus Ex Biotica Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 It wouldn't be too far a stretch to say that Wax could probably outrun a train if he had enough steel to burn. (I'm assuming that allomantic steel is fairly cheap.) Yet again, Wax does outrun a train, seemingly easily. (He could not outrun a telegraph, but that's a whole different issue) the debate of Coinshots versus mundane messengers is one of price and availability - Pony Express riders could just be any orphans, after all, but Allomancers know they could get good wages in several fields. The same goes for Steel Ferrings, Thugs you expect to Drag, etc. So, I suspect that both super-couriers and more mundane ones are used. -- Deus Ex Biotica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discipleofhoid Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Footnote on my bucket list: If I ever become ridiculously rich and compelled to be buy something random, it would have to be an airship. No contest. Also, I believe Wax mentions that coinshots work as messengers. The broadsheet advertisement for electric lights reads "Send runner to [such and such address]" Presuming that 'runner' was put there on purpose, I'd say that these messengers are common. It wouldn't be too far a stretch to say that Wax could probably outrun a train if he had enough steel to burn. (I'm assuming that allomantic steel is fairly cheap.) Far from being a stretch what would limit an allomancers speed? Air resistance and gravity vs the total amount of force that they can put out in a steel push. Considering they can flatten buildings with a flared steel push that is an incredible amount of force. I don't see how going over the 90 MPH that is the top speed ever claimed by a steam engine would be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djerf Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 This is electricity for light bulbs to a few very rich houses, which is not hard to do. Telegraphy, while not hard to do, is not easier then power distribution, it only requires less power. Communication is also more vulnerable to pulsers and sliders. Also, for telegraphy someone would have to had thought up a binary code and I can imagine that no one had up until AoL (post apocalyptic, every one speaks the same langue, no wars and the fact that they don’t have a very large cultural and individual pool to draw ideas from). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyodor Posted December 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) Or is it? To send a guy on a train, you have to use a train. IE: a lot of fuel, it is limited to specific schedules, accidents in the line could interrupt the path to begin with and etc. A coinshot is one of the most common allomancers and all he needs is a feel beads of a inexpensive metal and his monthly/weekly/whatever payment. I don't think that there are THAT many coinshots. It seems like a lot of effort to keep one on call every time you want to put in an order for supplies, ask questions, convey news, etc. As I mentioned earlier, the most common use of telegraphy was to notify train stations that trains were late. Telegraph stations by the 1850s were handling so many messages a day that they needed to set up switching stations, etc. It was so much better than everything else even in the age of trains that it was mass-distributed everywhere in the civilized world. Edited December 13, 2011 by fyodor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyodor Posted December 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 This is electricity for light bulbs to a few very rich houses, which is not hard to do. Telegraphy, while not hard to do, is not easier then power distribution, it only requires less power. Communication is also more vulnerable to pulsers and sliders. Also, for telegraphy someone would have to had thought up a binary code and I can imagine that no one had up until AoL (post apocalyptic, every one speaks the same langue, no wars and the fact that they don’t have a very large cultural and individual pool to draw ideas from). Telegraphy is much easier than power distribution in terms of the types of technology needed, understanding of electromagnetism, etc. They must have some means of generating electricity which requires a pretty good understanding of electromagnetism. They have working electric fans, etc. This is all much more complicated in terms of E&M understanding/application than telegraphy. As I said, if this was some sort of chemical application or the germ theory of disease, or refrigeration, I'd buy it, but telegraphy is a vastly simpler application of the electromagnetic principles you need to understand to do power generation/distribution/motoring, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterAhlstrom Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 The major advantage of telegraphs in the short term comes from financial gain from up-to-date knowledge of far-flung markets, political information, or timely military intelligence. None of these are a very large concern when the vast majority of the population is concentrated in a single city that contains just about all of the major markets and politics that there are on the world. The rest of the population is also fairly close, either in the Elendel Basin or not worth talking with (and still not that far away) in the Roughs. There also doesn't appear to be any warfare so far on Scadrial. This. The technology level is meant to be about 1910 New York, but their electrical wires are mostly underground, and technology lags 1910 in certain areas and is ahead in certain areas (especially metallurgy). Let's say that internal combustion engines are at 1910 level, metallurgy is decades ahead, and anything involving electricity is decades behind. Also, I have no idea at all about the current state of medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyodor Posted December 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 This. The technology level is meant to be about 1910 New York, but their electrical wires are mostly underground, and technology lags 1910 in certain areas and is ahead in certain areas (especially metallurgy). Let's say that internal combustion engines are at 1910 level, metallurgy is decades ahead, and anything involving electricity is decades behind. Also, I have no idea at all about the current state of medicine. Just so I'm understanding you, you're confirming that there is no telegraphy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurkistan Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 The major advantage of telegraphs in the short term comes from financial gain from up-to-date knowledge of far-flung markets, political information, or timely military intelligence. None of these are a very large concern when the vast majority of the population is concentrated in a single city that contains just about all of the major markets and politics that there are on the world. The rest of the population is also fairly close, either in the Elendel Basin or not worth talking with (and still not that far away) in the Roughs. There also doesn't appear to be any warfare so far on Scadrial. This. The technology level is meant to be about 1910 New York, but their electrical wires are mostly underground, and technology lags 1910 in certain areas and is ahead in certain areas (especially metallurgy). Let's say that internal combustion engines are at 1910 level, metallurgy is decades ahead, and anything involving electricity is decades behind. Also, I have no idea at all about the current state of medicine. *Pats self on back* 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deus Ex Biotica Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 The technology level is meant to be about 1910 New York, but their electrical wires are mostly underground, and technology lags 1910 in certain areas and is ahead in certain areas (especially metallurgy). Let's say that internal combustion engines are at 1910 level, metallurgy is decades ahead, and anything involving electricity is decades behind. Also, I have no idea at all about the current state of medicine. Also lagging behind: weaponry. We were starting to move from double-action revolvers to semiautomatics in 1910. But, of course, it makes perfect sense that a world without large-scale wars would be lagging behind in weaponry (and, to a lesser degree, medicine), so I really like that. -- Deus Ex Biotica P.S. I second the request for an unambiguous yes/no on whether Scadrial has telegraphs, assuming that such a thing is know. But, either way, thanks for the detail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windrunner Posted December 14, 2011 Report Share Posted December 14, 2011 This. The technology level is meant to be about 1910 New York, but their electrical wires are mostly underground, and technology lags 1910 in certain areas and is ahead in certain areas (especially metallurgy). Let's say that internal combustion engines are at 1910 level, metallurgy is decades ahead, and anything involving electricity is decades behind. Also, I have no idea at all about the current state of medicine. If I had to speculate on the current state of medicine I would say at the level of New York 1910 at least, or possibly above. With such a small population all living in a relatively close area the risks of a deadly disease wiping out the population would be greatly increased. This would create pressure to make medicine that is better at protecting themselves. Of course I'm no expert. I love how technology progresses at different levels on Scadrial, it makes so much sense and yet is always a little unexpected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arondell Posted December 14, 2011 Report Share Posted December 14, 2011 If I had to speculate on the current state of medicine I would say at the level of New York 1910 at least, or possibly above. With such a small population all living in a relatively close area the risks of a deadly disease wiping out the population would be greatly increased. This would create pressure to make medicine that is better at protecting themselves. Of course I'm no expert. I love how technology progresses at different levels on Scadrial, it makes so much sense and yet is always a little unexpected. An interesting issue with technological advancement in all areas of science is at that some point all fields start have an interconnected dependency. I would expect a lagging development in electricity to really start to hold other fields back until it can "catch up". Past the roughly 1910 tech level it just becomes so critical to just about everything. Another aspect of course is just serendipity. Developments in many fields of science happened because a researcher by chance noticed an odd effect and wondered why that happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReaderAt2046 Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Another aspect of course is just serendipity. Developments in many fields of science happened because a researcher by chance noticed an odd effect and wondered why that happened. Chromnium Ferrings, anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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