005 -- Modern Machines

Complete transcript of an interview in the popular Cimbrian journal, "Modern Machines." Lieutenant and test pilot George Reynolds being interviewed by Lance Harrington about the new generation of steam cavalry. (continued from page 14)

Lt. Reynolds: So as you can see, Lance, there are several different types of mount, each fulfilling a very different role in the Cimbrian military.

Lance Harrington: That's fascinating, George. Let's talk about the mounts themselves. First of all, what powers them these days?

GR: Cambric, as usual. Most of our bots have four rods -- two standard rods that are in all the time, and two more that we activate when going into combat. The second two are engineered to release their energy over a much shorter time span and last about an hour, while we can operate for about two and a half days on the first set. This is why that supply train I mentioned earlier is so important when we're in the field.

LH: So your mounts are steam powered?

GR: Yes, and no. The cambric heats a boiler, but the steam is used to run a pair of engines that power most of the systems on each walker. Most of the actual movements are controlled by hydraulic fluid. There are also some electrical systems on the walkers, but that's a new invention and I'm not allowed to go into too much detail about it.

LH: What can you tell us?

GR: Well, I can say that it has to do with how the walker's movements are controlled. In the first few generations of machines, the pilot was seated at a bank of levers, or if he was lucky at a primitive control yoke. Now, however, it's a much more intuitive system -- each pilot is actually secured by their abdomen in an upright position, and their hands and feet fit into special grips. As they move their arms and legs, the walker's arms and legs move with them.

LH: But how do the pilot's movements translate into movement in their mount?

GR: That's where the new electrical systems are so vital. The pilot's control grips are mounted on a system of levers that allow a full range of motion. These levers, in turn, control a series of voltage regulators that feed electricty into a carefully manufactured cambric control core. Given certain inputs, then, the core produces certain electrical outputs, and through a system of electromagnets these electric impulses are transmitted to the hydralic systems.

LH: But I though cambric was only useful for storing and releasing heat?

GR: So did we, the control core is new and really sets this generation of cavalry apart from the older ones. Only recently did a Cimbrian inventor discover a way to make it interact with electical charges as well. It involves a combination of chemical etching and alloy layering -- quite expensive, but with the right tools an expert craftsman can etch an entire logic pattern onto a very small amount of cambric. We're still refining the process; every few months the mounts get their control cores pulled and replaced with new ones.

LH: So what does this new control system mean, big picture?

GR: Well, it means much faster mounts, first of all. Speed of movement was limited by the controls more than it was by our hydralics. Also, it means that pilots can be much more precise with their movements. We were really hampered by clumsy control yokes and complicated lever systems in the early generation of steam cavalry.

LH: What else is new? Anything you can tell us about?

GR: That's really the biggest change. Armament is still mostly sabres. We've got a couple types of mount that use carbines, but we still don't have a really reliable way to reload. Also, we're working on a tactile feedback system using pressure plates to give the pilot even more feedback about his environment, but that's still in the development phase as well. We've got to tune it so that they notice small forces but the impacts from combat don't break the pilot's arms!

LH: Sounds like an exciting time to be a cavalry pilot! Thank you so much for coming in, Lieutenant Reynolds. It's been a pleasure.

GR: Likewise.