Born of a soldering iron and some unfaithful screws

[sovay]

I know my knowledge of the American nineteenth century is like most people with the Russian Futurists, but can somebody explain to me why it still took me until this afternoon to hear about John Murray Spear's New Motor—a mechanical Messiah built by Spiritualists in a barn in Lynn, Massachusetts, mystically birthed by one of its female followers and eventually smashed to pieces by an honest-to-God angry mob? Steampunk, give it up. You can try on all the brass and goggles you like: actual history was weirder than you.

(Courtesy of Dean Grodzins, who also asked me why I write about ghosts. At first I said I didn't, and then I talked about dybbuks for fifteen minutes straight.)

Comments

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

That's pretty awesome.

Thanks!

I like to think it sounds better than "Archaeological Technician (Seasonal)", which was my actual Park Service job description. We used to sometimes refer to ourselves as "Raiders of the Lost Garbage Dump".

Of course, there's always the possibility it did work in our world—or is going to—just not on the schedule Spear was aiming for.

Interesting idea, that, if a little bit disturbing.

You wouldn't even have to squint very hard to claim the Singularity might be the coming of the wireless Messiah.

Eschatological speculation aside, I'd suspect there's a paper in there, arguing that the notion of the Singularity is a development of the same impulse in American society as Spear's New Motor, or something like that.

[sovay]

Eschatological speculation aside, I'd suspect there's a paper in there, arguing that the notion of the Singularity is a development of the same impulse in American society as Spear's New Motor, or something like that.

I wonder if anyone's written it. Paging Peter Watts?

[obzor-inolit.livejournal.com]

Well, maybe all this really works in our world on the principles that Spear described, and computers are powered by spirits etc. (a lot of writers described such a world where magic evolved instead of technology... Harry Turtledove comes to mind)

[sovay]

Well, maybe all this really works in our world on the principles that Spear described, and computers are powered by spirits etc.

You write it, I'll read it.

[obzor-inolit.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I'll think about it.

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

Well, maybe all this really works in our world on the principles that Spear described, and computers are powered by spirits etc.

Interesting idea! If you write it, I'd be interested to read it.

As a kid I briefly thought of writing a story where it turned out that automobile mechanics and people like that actually had to do magical rites as part of repair work, but I quickly realised it wouldn't fly because suspension of disbelief would be impossible--too many people can do a certain amount of work on these things themselves. There's a lot more potential with computers, although maybe I say that because I can't programme to save my life. ;-)

I'm thinking Tom Holt had a throw-away line or two in one of his novels (Who's Afraid of Beowulf? or something like that?) where an evil sorcerer from the Viking Age who was still living in modern times revealed that he'd actually invented computers as part of his plot to take over the world. That still leaves a lot of room for you to run with this.

(a lot of writers described such a world where magic evolved instead of technology... Harry Turtledove comes to mind)

Indeed. Poul Anderson wrote a couple of fun ones as well: Operation Chaos (1971) and Operation Luna (2000).