Moving Day

Thank goodness for elderly relatives with money! I had that unworthy thought as I placed the key in the door of my house in Mayfair. The cottage was many decades old and small, but it was in my price range in the upscale area. I placed my valise on the floor and took a deep breath.

But perhaps I should begin a little earlier in the story.

*** 

I packed the last of my few possessions and turned to look back at my railroad car-cum-house. My sister Kathy looked impatient, tapping her foot and staring pointedly at the carriage waiting below.
"Everything is packed, you've turned the gas off, and we've said good-bye to everyone still left in the neighborhood," Kathy said. "The carriage driver is waiting for us, and time, in this case, is most definitely money."

"I know, I know… I just can't help feeling that we're leaving something behind that we shouldn't be."
Kathy tossed her hair back. "The house is so small that we can hardly have overlooked anything. Now, down the stairs with you, sister, before I send you out the emergency hatch."

"One day you should try it," I said, before realizing that there would be no other days here.


Chez Jameson on Aether Isle, in the shadow of the Sky City

Only a few weeks earlier I had received an urgent note from the Guvnah. Workers at the other end of Aether Isle, where we lived, were digging on unoccupied land and had discovered buried munitions. Had they detonated, no building would be left standing on the island, and even the great Steam Sky City above us might have been badly damaged. Munitions experts arrived to remove the bombs safely. They were almost entirely successful - but the "almost" was a  costly one. One of the workers stumbled in moving one of the last crates of explosives, spilling the contents of the crate. The explosives inside detonated, killing the worker instantly and setting off the few remaining crates. Though the damage to structures on my side of the island wasn't bad, the explosion ripped open a sealed chamber that contained various toxins, likely the byproducts of unsuccessful experiments that had taken place on the island over the years. The toxins ran into the wells on the island, hopelessly poisoning the drinking water supply. The Guvnah wanted residents to move as soon as possible for our own safety.
As this was Aether Isle, the list of possible culprits was lengthy: Mr. Denver Hax, Mrs. Fogwoman Grey-Volare, Miss Glorf Bulmer,… at this point, I was trying to remember what possessed me to live nearby so many dangerous people. Ah, yes: the price was right.

Kathy and I discussed where we might be able to afford to live. Our finances were somewhat precarious at the time, and we were concerned that the best we would be able to manage would be rooms in one of the less savory streets of Victoria City. (Oh, you didn't think Victoria City had unsavory streets? Let me assure you, Dear Reader, that parts of that eminent city should be burned down; no decent person should be seen there.) Then we received a second urgent note, this time with much better news than the first. "Aunt" Petunia, an elderly friend of ours who, when her health declined, stayed in the Tamrannoch sanitarium until she passed away, had left Kathy and me a generous legacy.

 
The Mayfair property at night.

The timing could not have been better. With that money, we were able to find a small piece of property in Mayfair. The property itself was wooded, but we were able to make arrangements to have a ramshackle house moved from a nearby property onto ours. I wasn't sure why the neighbors had not burned down the house as an affront to the eye and a drag on nearby property values, but I was grateful they had not. Contract in hand, we made arrangements to leave the house on Aether Isle.


The house last Christmas.

[OOC notes: The Guvnah did, in fact, discuss restructuring Steam Sky City into a homestead sim, requiring some shifting of residents. As always, he was wonderfully helpful in matching me up with a property that suited my needs. In addition to changes in SSC, I heard that Dundee and Windemere would both be disappearing. Sad news, but I'm hopeful that a slightly smaller Caledon will be a significantly stronger Caledon financially.]

Travelogue: Steam Sky City, Part 2

Just as other landowners have left Aether and Dreadnought Isles, the sky city has seen its share of ownership changes as well. Externally, at least, the old girl looks much the same.



The engines still toil away...



…keeping the big propellers turning:



The control room is as impressive as ever (despite the annoying plywood cube floating about):



The bridge is an  equally-impressive sight:



Some of the old residents are still aboard, including ZenMondo's Code Poetry & Steamworks, Hax Autonomous Experiments, the Worlds' End Cafe  & Salon and its accompanying gallery, Crimson Pirate's Looter's Emporium, Writer Steam Works/E. Laval/Kheph's Creations, Blue Moon Teahouse and Tea Garden, Miss Bulmer's cafe, Unzipped, Saltair Arts, and others I know I'm forgetting.

At the same time, some new faces are aboard: Piffle (an art gallery), Starspirit Design, Chrono Clothiers, Steam Pink (another art gallery), Art by Starbrook Designs Ltd. (mad scientists like their art, too - the city is chock-full of galleries!), The Eclectic Co., and Sorroman's Solutions. My apologies if I left anyone out!

Let's hope that these good folk will help keep the lights on and the propellers turning in the city. Especially as I'm in the likely landing zone.

Travelogue: Steam Sky City, Part 1

In my haste to move north through Caledon, I realized I had skipped over my own home of Steam Sky City, as well as its neighbor, Glengarry. Oops. Correcting this oversight, I returned to Aether Isle. Below, the CAT station, facing Chez Jameson:



Some of Miss Glorf Bulmer's holdings:



Alas, it appears that Mr. Denver Hax has abandoned several of his properties. Mr. Hax was one of my many interesting neighbors. Miss Samm Florian's Labyrinth and Shop is still doing well, however:



Also on Aether Isle: the Edison Yacht Club (owned by Miss Sera), Miss Bulmer's Resource Centre, and Miss Magda Haiku's spot, the cleverly-named Magda's Lea.

Across the water is Mr. Hax's Temple of Eris Discordia:



Dreadnought Isle has taken a hit, losing, among other things, the long-standing pumping station. Alas. In its place is Mr. Fire Broono's lighthouse, dubbed the Light at Oxbridge:



The lighthouse warns travelers from Oxbridge that the sky city is ahead…and is our next destination.

It's the Most Wonderful Time...

It's good to know that, when everyone else is viewing the world through peppermint-colored glasses, Mr. Denver Hax is there to keep things in proportion.

I was observing that the ground level of Steam Sky City seemed to be growing land mass, with little islands popping up in the large body of water beneath the sky city, when one in particular caught my eye: Santa's Ghetto. Not all is spic and span in the North Pole.

Take these two snow-bandits, for example. One has a bat, the other has a cosh, and both seemed to have done a number on one of their kind. (Who knew they bled?)

Of course, what would Christmas be without too much rotgut to drink and passing out in a pile of garbage beneath a dead tree? (Oh, so your Christmas is so much nicer?)

Not that there isn't plenty to eat here. Why, reindeer slow-roasted on a spit is just the thing to take the edge off one's hunger.

And this little guy seems to have missed the spirit of the season, hasn't he?

Don't miss a trip to Lapland, where Santa himself may be in attendance. The old guy has some kinks they tend to keep out of the holiday shows; ladies may wish to keep out of range of grabby hands.

Fa la la la la...

Christmas in Caledon

While Rhianon is in New Babbage, hoping to help solve the problem of the Dark Aether, I set up our Christmas decorations. It keeps me out of trouble.

It's not clear I've been entirely successful at the keeping out of trouble part. Let's just say it's a work in progress.

What Does This Button Do?

I just can't help myself...

Mr. Hax's mysterious new site on Aether Isle beckoned me. The control room was filled with dials and levers.

Hmm, what does this button do?

Whoops.

As the missile launched from its underground silo, I was grateful for the blast-resistant bunker. The heat blossomed around me, and the ground shook with the force of a moderate earthquake. Beyond the immediate din, I thought I could hear glass shattering.

I hope I didn't inadvertently start a war, or anything like that.

A Minor Mishap

Walking along Aether Isle the other day I noticed that Miss Glorf Bulmer seemed to have had an experiment go awry.

Quite the mess! I hope no minions were hurt - they are so hard to train.

The sign in front of the establishment is less than entirely reassuring. It reads:

Do not be alarmed. There has been a minor incident, within the health & safety guidelines for this Establishment.

There is no cause for concern.

However, as a visitor, you may wish to take simple precautions regarding debris, NBC hazards and tentacle monster attack if you:

• Are under 18
• Are over 80
• Have a compromised immune system
• Do not want a compromised immune system
• Are over 18
• Are under 80
• Are pregnant
• Are thinking of becoming pregnant
• Are related in any way to anyone who has ever been pregnant

Enjoy your visit. The Management.

Neighbors

My new neighbors on Aether Isle:

First, Mr. Jerimiah Cansworth has this charming house on Glengarry border near the southern end of the island.


I should say he had such a house, as it is no longer there, at least as of this writing, though he appears to still be the landowner of record. Perhaps the house merely shifted into a nearby dimension that is not visible to us, and will return soon.

Mr. Excalibur Steamlander's cottage is coming along nicely. Mr. Steamlander is, of course, the editor of his eponymous electronic newspaper, and maintains offices in the Sky City above. This cottage on the water below appears to have been dredged from some watery Atlantis, but is in remarkably good shape.

Mr. Hax's Junkyard - Buyer Beware

I was delighted to see that the small property next to mine was now occupied. Then it hit me: this was Steam Sky City (well, Aether Isle, but the principle is the same), and one's neighbors are often...different.

"Yoo-hoo!" I called out, holding the pie I had taken with me as a prop. It was a real pie, just not of my own making. It wouldn't do to poison the new neighbors on the first day.

As I neared the building, however, I saw that it was not a residence but a brick shop, and one in run-down condition at that. The structure nearly abutted Miss Samm Florian's shop and maze and had a back that was open to the water.

Although the shop was empty, it was clear that the proprietor was none other than Mr. Denver Hax, whose earlier Laboratory was just down the road a bit.

He calls this shop The Junkyard, and it contains bits and bobs, including the Mark I Drama Reactor shown below. Drama, as it turns out, is a fine fuel source but just a tad unstable.

There's also the ever-popular Guvnah in a Jar:

There's even a time machine (pictured below, far right) and a teleportation device that seems to have only one destination and a unique way of getting one there (below, center). First-generation products often leave room for improvement.

Come to think of it, there was a great deal of broken glass in the shop. Perhaps not every device was ready for sale. Ah well, I'm sure Mr. Hax has a generous return policy - your heirs can take products back for a full refund.

Into the Sky City

It was time to venture into my large, overhead neighbor, the Sky City. I hadn't been there since the last Mad Scientist Convention, so I was prepared for some changes, and changes I found in spades!

The Control Room was the same...

...as was the end of the city nearest Oxbridge Village, with the Steam Man statue looking over the Looters' Emporium on the left and xxx on the right.

The latest incarnation of Miss Mari Moonbeam's Moonbeams store seems to be in the grasp of a giant hand.

Miss Glorf Bulmer's cafe is dominated by the geared clock on the wall:

Mr. Red Quixote has his wares in the cleverly-named The Eclectic Company:

Next door is Mr. Balpien Hammerer's InMotion Store:

Across the stern is Lady Dawn Starbrook's Starbrook Designs, Ltd....

...and her Blue Moon Teahouse, a touch of Japan in the Steam Sky City.

Also on the aft side is one of the few spots that has remained unchanged: the Worlds' End Cafe and Salon (Miss Magdalena Kamenev, proprietress).

Below, the mighty engines that keep the city aloft:

Next to the Caledon Air Transport offices is Miss Erehwon Yoshikawa's Aetheric Engineering shop, specializing in Fantastical Accessories and Impossible Devices, both of which are desperately needed.

Circling around to the fore starboard side, Dr. Garth Goode has his shoppe, Goode Inventions, stocked with a variety of indispensible doo-dads on the first floor and books on the second. (That reminds me to put out my force field to zap any intruders.)

Looking down the corridor on the starboard side, the first shop contains Kheph's Creations, Writer Steam Works, and E. Laval Aether, carrying a wide selection of Steampunk merchandise. Next is Miss Magdalena Outlander's Luxuria Mystic, carrying limited edition prints. Further down is Hax Autonomous Experiments (Dr. Croquet Hax, prop.).

Last, but not least, are the Steamlander offices (Sir Excalibur Longstaff, ed.).

Whew! I didn't get to every nook and cranny in the city, but that's quite enough for one day. I plan on keeping a careful eye on what my lofty neighbors are up to, so prepare for updates.

More of Aether Isle and Dreadnought Isle

I continue my stalking of my new neighbors.

Continuing south down Aether Isle, past the Labyrinth, Miss Glorf Bulmer has The (insert function) Resource Centre, certainly a versatile name.

The Centre comes complete with a plant that seems...vaguely threatening. "Down, boy!"

Sir Zen Wormser has his long-standing FreeFlow Academy of Code Poetry across the way. Should you venture inside, and should you see a box that says "Do not touch," I urge you to heed the warning.

In the foreground below is Miss Magdalena Kamenev's soothing spot, Magda's Lea. Behind it is the Volares' L'Engle Tesseract Generator.

Inside the domed building are a set of mysterious controls...

...and some heavy-duty equipment. If you have not experienced the sensation of the generator, I quite recommend it.

On the other side of the city is Dreadnought Isle, home to Miss Elixia Writer:

Dreadnought Isle also contains Mr. Burton Newell's Pumping Station, which helps ensure a clean water supply to the city, despite any stray body parts that might otherwise be in the system.

Next, I venture into the city!