Tosra & The Auction, day 37

Steam

I wake up with Kari snuggled up against me, and Kari who is already awake, makes me understand exactly how much she appreciated the evening. How well I played the role she wanted and how I fulfilled her hopes and took them further, and what she loved most. Increasingly Kari takes on an excited 'squirrel on speed' persona, and it's too early for that. It was nervous to play a dominant role. Trying to read her body and actions, and be sure that it was safe, and to not damage the tremendous trust she gave me, while trying to be attentive so she wouldn't have uncomfortable pressure points, cramps, panic or difficulty breathing. Taking in consideration how exuberant Kari is right now, I hope it doesn't happen too often, because I can't really relax and I can't show that to keep the illusion she wants. I will not show her or Jane 'Sunstone' that I have in my comic folder. Kari's excited face and tongue stop my wandering thoughts.

When Jalida knocks and say that breakfast is in 30 minutes, Kari gets annoyed that we can't continue to cuddle and have sex, but I play on her fetish, pull her head towards mine by the ring in her leather collar, and say that it is not her choice; it is mine - and I'm content and hungry. Kari's smile and how she bites her lower lip says all I need to know. We really need to shower before breakfast and I look forward to the bathrobes that Jane made them order.

The last thing Kari takes off just before we leave my bedroom is her the leather collar, and she puts it along with the rest in it's leather bag. I am rewarded with another smile when I order Kari to wash it herself. We both know that she wouldn't let anyone else see or wash it, and now it will be the last part of our game, and when the doors open she is stately gracious Kari once again. She may be the King's niece, but sometimes behind closed doors she likes to pretend to be at the other end of the scale, which is a bit ironic considering how she feared becoming basically a bed slave in some far away country. But a game she controls or harsh reality are two completely different things.

I almost feel sorry for Caecilia and Elvira who will clean up and change all the bedding. Again. Luckily, we have so many sets and they have become accustomed to it. Actually, not any luck. Kari have made sure that we've bought several sets. It was a really good idea that I got the building team to do insulation between the floor and the ceiling below. Of course for sound dampening and heat insulation, but an unexpected bonus is that the sawdust and planer shavings absorb liquids, instead of it dripping on the floor below. That would have been embarrassing, and Kari loves the beautiful floors and insulation. I wonder how long it will be until I need to replace the insulation? It must not start to smell.

Alith gives me a playful jab that they wash my bedding several times more than any of the others, and basically every time after Kari spent a night. I answer that it just means I'm doing something very right, which Alith nods in agreement with, and with a wide smile whispers that she knows I'm doing something very right. We can probably see that exchange between us as a win for the both of us.

I summon all sambos, guards and Jane in the workshop, and I point out and show the funny brass and wooden construction that stands in the workshop attic by the attic window. Jane is deliberately one of the last I let in, to her annoyance, but she immediately understands what it is and shouts;

"Oh. My. God! A steam engine! You've made a bloody steam engine!"

Jane's enthusiasm surprises and puzzles them, and she hurries up the stairs and starts looking at it and poking, so I chase after, and lightly slap away her fingers.

"Bad Jane! Bad!"

Jane just grins.

But I'm somewhat pleased. Okay, I'm damn pleased. I say it is harmless, but order them to stand back a bit. It is dangerous to get fingers and long hair in rotating machines, and just like the copper radiators, some parts will get hot. I climb down and turn on the faucet, steam starts to flow and the steam engine starts to move, faster and faster. The steam is recycled and circulates down to the steam boiler and the pressure is very low, but it works. The steam engine works!

Most just stare and are shocked, but Jane makes happy exclamations and impressed say; "It is so quiet! Is there any steam leaking out? Bloody hell!"

She is right. The machine makes a somewhat classic steam engine sound, but not loud or bad. It helps that everything is well balanced and well lubricated at a relatively low pace, and use a very low pressure for a steam engine. But it's a bit magical that I just open a faucet on the wall, and then the machine starts to rotate.

Okay, it is very magical for everyone except Jane, who's just impressed with how well I've made a steam engine. I actually don't know enough about the history of the steam engine to be able to answer her what time period this steam engine corresponds to, but it is probably the first part of the 19th century, which makes Jane happier. There is still a lot that can be improved, not least fit, seal, lubricant and more. And just because the steam engine works, doesn't mean that it is reliable, and I wonder how much maintenance it will require.

Iselin, Ciara and Kari have been involved in building the parts, and recognize them, and Caecilia and Alith have often been here in the background and watched from the small sofa, but they too are so shocked. I turn off the faucet to show how the machine stops, and I let them try to touch the steam engine and feel that the steam cylinders are very hot, just like I said. I have previously explained the steam boiler and the radiators to them in a very simple way. Water boils and gets hot and creates steam. The steam rises and is led via the pipes, where continued steam presses on from behind. The steam makes the radiators warm, but at the same time cools the steam so that it becomes water drops that flow back down to the tank outside the steam boiler. The thin water pipe from the water tank ensures that the water level is the same in both as the water in the steam boiler evaporates, without wasting heat on the return tank's water. And the steam just circulates around.

Instead of heating a room, this device, this machine, uses the hot steam from the boiler to move the crankshaft, which rotates the large heavy wheel. I unscrew the two vents and show how the flywheel can be rotated by hand, and those who have seen the parts understand what it looks like inside. I have unfinished parts for other steam engines to show them. The machine is basically all brass and wood, and it's just steam. I have not trapped any creature or spirit in the machine. The parts move but are as dead as the carriages and wheelbarrows. Instead of a person or horse pushing, it's the force of steam. I close everything back up again, and I let Iselin open the faucet and the steam engine starts to move and build up speed.

Given that Jane usually seems rather uninterested in most of what I have done, her bouncing happiness is overwhelming, and after a "Please, please, please!" and fluttering eyelashes, I let Jane stop and start the engine too, and she gives me a happy hug and kiss on the cheek and congratulates me. I let everyone try to turn off and start the engine. It's good that they can, but they have gotten used to faucets for water. The only difference is that this faucet has a protective leather wrap. It gets hot.

So I explain why Jane is happy, by saying that the rotating force is incredibly useful, and it is the basis of an industrial society, where machines replace labour from persons or animals. To lift a sledgehammer and continuously hammer on something. Lift loads like a winch. Pump water without getting tired. Sawing wood. Grinding grain. There is so much that can be done. There are simple foot-trampled lathes and grinding wheels, but this is much more powerful, and with a better and more powerful steam boiler, the power will increase by a huge amount. As long as there is wood to burn in the basement, this machine will not get tired, and it is as strong as a horse.

To show it, I stop the steam engine, connect the line shaft and turn on the steam again. Torque is built up, and now there are two flywheels that rotate and some smaller drive wheels, but they begin to understand how heavy that is to move, and the machine does it, faster and faster. As long as the boiler in the basement is kept warm, it will rotate. I loop a rope via a block in the roof, then around one of the drive wheels I'm building for a lathe or saw, and I ask Jane to step on that foot pedal when I say so, and step off when the rope has started to lift me up. Jane is immediately ready, because she understands what's going to happen, and I just say;

"Engage."

Jane steps on the pedal, the rope is fed up at a high pace, and I am ready and flex my arms and legs as I'm quite quickly lifted upwards, before I let go and fall back down on the floor with my knees bent. Tada! With the flywheels at working speed, it is barely noticeable that I was lifted more than a meter high.

There is a cacophony of exclamations and comments, but I silence them and while I remove the rope I explain that with the right kind of steam boiler and mechanics, even that little engine can slowly row a ship, and a carriage doesn't need horses to pull it. With a powerful steam boiler, that engine is stronger than four horses, and it only needs wood or coal when it is used. No food. A more powerful boiler, means a more powerful engine, and everything can be made bigger. Much bigger.

Steam power has come to Alfheimr, and this is a day to celebrate!