Science! Edited Transcript

Viv Trafalgar: Ladies and Gentlemen, Jasper, Serafina, Jed and I are pleased to welcome you to the April edition of the Aether Salon - Science! I would like to thank each and every one of you for joining us today.

As many of you know, the Aether Salon meets to discuss steam and Victorian topics on the third Sunday of each month, in Palisades and Academy, New Babbage. We have been doing so since October '08. This is our 25th salon and I hope you are all as excited about being here today as I am.

Just a few matters of housekeeping before we get started. If you are standing in the back, please move forward onto the maze so that you can be assured of hearing the speaker. Please hold your questions until the end, and as a courtesy to all, please turn off everything that feeds the lag: all HUDs, scripts, Pi shooters, AOs, and so on. Please no weapons, non-Euclidean geometry, inflammatory rhetoric, Time Machines, or bad ties. Your cooperation is appreciated.

Edited and unedited transcripts will be posted this week on aethersalon.blogspot.com so you can revisit today’s merriment, read transcripts of past salons, and for a laugh, peruse “overheard at the salon.” Please join the Aether Salon group and receive notifications of future salon events, click the lower right hand corner of the large brown sign by the entrance. We sincerely appreciate the support we receive from everyone in the community and we humbly thank you all.

Many fine people have contributed to today’s salon: We are grateful to Miss Canolli Capalini of Capalini Fine Furnishings for the wonderful salon chairs. We appreciate all of you who have contributed to salon. As a reminder, all speakers' fund jar donations go directly to the speaker. Now I will turn the stage over to Miss Sera for the introduction of today’s speaker.

Serafina Puchkina: Thank you! It is my great pleasure and privilege to introduce today's speaker.

Miss Bookworm Hienrichs first arrived in New Babbage nearly three years ago, after a year of desultory poking around in other, far-flung places of this world. She slowly began integrating herself into the community, despite her distinct lack of mechanical prowess, eventually becoming an event photographer for the monthly Piermont Landing balls and Aether Salons. She also joined the New Babbage militia, and is currently one of the liaisons for the Consulate of Europa Wulfenbach.

From an early age, Miss Hienrichs has had a very deep interest in the physical sciences--though she admits to being much less versed in the life sciences. She studied physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology during her schooling, and still enjoys reading about the latest discoveries in these fields.

Please join me in welcoming Miss Bookworm Hienrichs.

Bookworm Hienrichs: In many areas of life, if you want to know where you're going, it's a good idea to know where you're starting from. This is certainly true in the realm of speculative fiction, including Steampunk. So if you want your ideas on the state of science in a Steampunk setting to be plausible, it's best to know what the state of science in Victorian times actually was, and then build realistically (so to speak) from there.

I should, I suppose, insert a disclaimer at this point. I've not actually read much speculative fiction, nor have I read anything from the Steampunk genre--at least, not yet. So I'm not sure how much authors in this area would agree with me. But it seems right to me, and, well, it gives me an excuse for this talk.

Also, as stated in my biography, I haven't much background in the life sciences, so this discussion will focus on the physical sciences. And we certainly cannot cover everything--that would probably be an entire year's worth of Salons. Instead, I'll hit a few highlights in the areas of physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology.

One of the major developments in physics throughout the 19th century was in the area of electromagnetism. In 1820, Hans Oersted, a professor at Copenhagen University, was conducting electrical and magnetic demonstrations for some of his students. He noticed that when electrical current from a battery was switched on and off, a nearby compass needle was deflected from pointing toward magnetic north. This was the first indication to scientists that there is a link between electric and magnetic forces.
Soon afterwards, Michael Faraday began his pioneering work in electromagnetism. In 1821, he created the first demonstration of converting electrical energy into mechanical force by building a homopolar motor. This motor consisted of a free-hanging wire dipped in mercury, on which a magnet was placed. When a current was passed through the wire, a circular magnetic field was created around the wire, and the wire rotated around the magnet.

In 1831, Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, by discovering that a moving magnetic field generates an electric field. Building on this, he soon discovered the property of mutual induction - a charge of current in one electric coil creates a current in another nearby coil.

Late in his career, Faraday developed the concept of field lines (he called them lines of force). This is a visualization of the actions of electromagnetic forces, and are used and taught today.

However, Faraday was not a mathematician. He made many discoveries in electromagnetism, but through experimentation and observation. He wasn't able to take the next step and explain these systematically. That was left to James Maxwell, who, in 1873, published a series of mathematical laws and equations that explained Faraday's discoveries and provided a complete description of the interactions among charges, currents, electric fields, and magnetic fields. (These equations were later simplified by Oliver Heaviside into four equations, now called Maxwell's Laws.) Maxwell had also, in 1864, determined that light consists of electromagnetic waves.

Now--ever wonder why Aether (or Ether) is such a prevalent word in our realm? Well, let me give you a bit of background. In Classical time (the Greeks, in other words), the aether was regarded as the pure essence the gods lived and breathed in. For the more scientific/philosophical Greeks, such as Plato and Aristotle, aether was the "fifth element." (No, not the cheesy Bruce Willis vehicle.) The other four elements--earth, air, fire, and water--had specific properties, and were subject to change. Aether, however, was the pure element; it had no qualities--heat, moisture, etc.--at all, and was incapable of change.

The concept of the ether (or aether) carried down through the years in various forms, and was used to explain various phenomena. By the 19th century, we have the Luminerferous Aether, which was viewed as a space-filling substance of field. It was believed to occupy every point in space, and acted as an absolute frame of reference for the universe. Once Maxwell showed that light was an electromagnetic wave, the aether was seen as the medium through which such waves could propagate. There seemed to be an easy--well, relatively easy--way to prove this. The motion of the aether past the Earth as the Earth orbited the Sun would create an "aether wind," which would affect the speed of light. Light would travel slower going "upwind" as it, in a sense, fought against that wind, and would travel faster going "downwind," as it added the speed of that wind to its own speed.

Throughout the 1880's, Albert Michelson and Edward Morley conducted a series of experiments using an interferometer, which could compare the time for light to reflect from mirrors in two directions. If the light was propagating through a luminiferous aether, there would be a change in phase of the light after it was split to head to the two mirrors. Can you all see the diagram? One light beam is split into two, and sent in two different directions, then reflected back to hit the same detector. Since the light beams are traveling in two different directions for a time, they should be traveling at *slightly* different speeds, and they'll be out of phase with each other when they reach the detector.



In 1887, Michelson and Morley published their results--one of the most important *negative* results ever obtained. They found that the speed of light was unchanged, no matter its direction. This was the first nail in the coffin for aether (or ether). This result also goes on to form part of the framework for a certain theory by one A. Einstein. (General Relativity - 1905).

The main developments in chemistry during the 19th century involve atomic theory and the periodic table. In 1808, John Dalton published an account of his atomic theory. Now, atoms themselves were nothing new--the ancient Greeks had first developed the idea of matter being made up of atoms, and had coined the term. Dalton, however, was the one to develop the idea of considering the relative weights and characteristics of atoms, and seeing how those fit together.

His theory, basically, stated that all matter is made of atoms, which cannot be divided or destroyed. (Well, *we* know they can, but not by chemical means, which was the only thing Dalton could consider at the time.) All atoms of a given element are identical in mass and properties. (Also not true, as we now know of isotopes.) Chemical compounds, he determined, are formed by the combination of two or more types of atoms. He also estimated atomic weights by the mass ratios in which they combined. However, his equipment was crude, so his estimates weren't very accurate.

Yes, lots of caveats and howevers in there. But at the time, this was rather revolutionary, and it laid the groundwork. Just three years later, one inaccurate aspect of Dalton's work, the atomic weight estimates, was improved by Lorenzo Romano Amadeo Carlo Avogadro di Quaregna e di Cerreto, Count of Quaregna and Cerreto. (*There's* a name for ya!) Avogadro discovered equal volumes of gases of any kind, if held at the same pressure and temperature, contain the same number of molecules. Differences in the masses of those gases, therefore, are related to their differing molecular weights. This discovery meant that one could gain more accurate measures of atomic sizes and weights.

Unfortunately, this discovery wasn't well known for nearly 50 years. This is partly because Avogadro was a rather private, retiring person. But it's also due to the fact that chemistry, as an organized science, wasn't that old at that point, and there were few opportunities to disseminate information.

As a result of this, not just news, but common conventions, such as nomenclature, symbology, and organization of elements, were slow to arise in chemistry at first. Hence the welcome given to Dmitri Mendeleyev (or Mendeleev) in 1869, when he first presented his periodic table of the elements.

Mendeleyev actually wasn't the first to try this. Just a few years earlier, an amateur English chemist named John Newlands had made the suggestion that a certain arrangement of the elements would show a repeating of properties. He arranged them in a pattern of eight, and actually called it the Law of Octaves. Not, perhaps, the wisest idea, as the idea was not only not accepted, but even mocked. (Wags in the audience at gatherings would ask him if he could get his elements to play them a tune.) Newlands eventually gave up on trying to get the idea accepted.

Mendeleyev used the same principle as John Newlands, but grouped the elements in patterns of seven. He listed the elements in rows in order of their atomic weight, and would start a new row when the chemical properties of the elements began to repeat earlier elements. His improvements over Newlands included leaving gaps on the chart for undiscovered elements, and, when necessary, ignoring the order suggested by atomic weight in order to better line up the chemical properties. (Later discoveries showed that he was ordering the elements by atomic number, which differs some from atomic weight, as it is based on the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom.)

In astronomy, a major development was in the area of spectroscopy. Spectroscopy is the process of studying the properties of an object by studying the light it emits. When a material is headed to incandescence, it emits light characteristic of the composition of that material. For instance, sodium, when it burns, emits a very characteristic yellow light. That material will also absorb light of the same wavelength, so if a light source is, in a sense, emitted behind a material, the spectrum of the light source will have dark lines that align with the properties of the material.

In 1816, Joseph von Fraunhofer, a glassmaker and manufacturer of optical instruments, invented a much improved spectroscope. When he used the spectroscope on the sun, he found hundreds of dark lines in the spectrum.

John Herschel, in 1823, was one of the first people to suggest that chemical analysis could be done by means of spectral analysis. However, he, and others, were hampered by the fact that they didn't realize that minute sodium impurities in their experiments were skewing their results. William Swan, in 1856, finally got the right amount of purity needed.

In the 1850's, Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff conducted more detailed experiments, analyzing spectra of various elements. Kirchhoff then made a detailed study of the spectrum of the sun, comparing it to the elemental spectra. Based on this, he concluded that the outer layers of the sun must contain iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, nickel, and chromium.

In 1864, William Huggins turned spectral analysis to other bodies in the sky. He discovered that nebulae and galaxies were different things entirely--nebulae have spectra of gases, while galaxies emit spectra of stars.

Then, in 1868, both Pierre-Jules Janssen and Joseph Norman Lockyer discovered absorption lines in the sun's spectrum of an entirely unknown element. This new element, called helium, wouldn't be discovered on Earth for 30 years!

Another important astronomical event in Victorian times was the discovery of Neptune, based on pure mathematical prediction. A Frenchman named Alexis Bouvard made detailed observations of the planet Uranus, and detailed discrepancies in its orbital path, compared to what Newtonian physics predicted. He hypothesized that there must be another planet beyond Uranus, which was affecting its orbit. In 1846, Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier spent months in complex calculations based on Bouvard's observations, and on August 31, announced to the French Academy his prediction of the position of this unknown planet. In September, he sent a letter about this to Johann Galle at the Berlin Observatory, and on September 23rd, Galle and Heinrich d'Arrest discovered Neptune within one degree of Le Verrier's predicted location.

Now, there's a rather interesting wrinkle in this. An Englishman named John Couch Adams was working on the same problem at the same time. However, he privately mailed his results to the Royal Greenwich Observatory two days *after* Le Verrier announced his prediction in France. Adams was also 12 degrees off in his prediction. But consider--if Charles Babbage had actually built his Difference Engine, and Adams had had access to such a device...Well, things might have turned out differently. (See what I mean about looking for plausible changes? *grin*)

In the field of geology--which I really couldn't skip--the story in the 19th century is more about debates over fundamental viewpoints rather than specific discoveries. The main debates were over the origin of rock strata--the look of the Earth--and over the age of the Earth.

In the late 18th century, one aspect of the debate over rock strata had developed--the Neptunists vs. the Plutonists. The Neptunists, with their main proponent Abraham Werner, believe that all of the rock layers of the Earth formed by the precipitation of material in a world-covering ocean. The Plutonists, led by James Hutton, believed the Earth and its rock layers formed through gradual cooling and solidification of molten masses.

A related argument that developed in the 19th century was catastrophism vs. uniformitarianism. Those who favored catastrophism said that the Earth's formation and history were a result of the accumulated effects of catastrophic events over a relatively short period of time. The key to uniformitarianism, which was popularized by Charles Lyell in the 1830's, is the phrase, "The present is the key to the past." Changes arise from slow-moving forces that are still at work today and can be studied, and the structure and appearance of the Earth today resulted from the steady accumulation of minute changes. A book by Lyell containing this theory was given to a certain young man who was setting out on a survey mission on the HMS Beagle. (More about that certain young man in a bit.)

Attempts to settle these arguments led to extensive work throughout the 19th century studying the stratigraphy--the layering--of rocks. Several scientists, for instance, used fossils to distinguish between rock layers, and tie rock layers together over distance. All of this work created the stratigraphic column, and relative dating of rocks and fossils.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, attempts were made to determine the age of the Earth through scientific means. The Comte de Buffon, a natural scientist in the 18th century, studied the cooling rate of iron, and based on that, estimated the age of the Earth at 75,000 years. Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz, one of the founders of thermodynamics in the 19th century, estimated the age of the sun (and therefore the Earth), based on luminosity and energy output from gravitational contraction, to be 20-40 million years. Lord Kelvin, in 1862, also studied cooling rates of materials, and came up with an estimate of about 100 million years, though he later revised that down to 20-40 million years.

None of this, though, satisfied the geologists who favored uniformitarianism. Their more observational theories led them to estimate that it would take at least hundreds of millions of years to create all of the rock strata seen in the Earth. This debate wouldn't be settled until the discovery of radiation, and the development of radiometric dating of rocks in the early 20th century.

Now, of course, this talk wouldn't be complete without at least touching on one particular scientist--Charles Darwin. He actually made his name, though, as a geologist and natural scientist long before publishing _On the Origin of Species._ When he went on the voyage of the Beagle, it was as a gentleman naturalist and companion to the captain, Robert FitzRoy. It was Captain FitzRoy who gave him a copy of the first volume of Charles Lyell's _Principles of Geology_, which had a profound effect on him.

Darwin conducted geological and natural history surveys during the voyage. He developed a theory on the formation of coral atolls that supported Lyell and uniformitarianism. He found a treasure trove of mammal fossils in Patagonia. He saw stepped plains of shingle and seashells as raised beaches, meaning the land had been elevated numerous times.

He did also observe biological specimens, including finches and tortoises in the Galapagos islands, and rheas in South America, and noted their differences. But Darwin wasn't as trained in biology or zoology, so these observations received somewhat shorter shrift. (He neglected, for instance, to note which finches and which tortoises came from which islands--he later had to rely of Captain FitzRoy's notes for that information.) When he returned from the voyage, he concentrated on other writings--the coral atolls, observations showing that the South American landmass was slowly rising, and classifying the barnacles he'd collected on the voyage.

A theory of evolution was coming to him in fits and starts, and he did work on it off and on, as other work, and health, permitted, but it wasn't until he learned that another naturalist, Alfred Wallace, had a draft paper outlining a similar theory that Darwin dusted off his notes and published the theory we all know so well.

Well! In this 50 minutes, I've managed to give you a quick introduction to just a small sample of Victorian scientific advances in the real world. Granted, the science of our world is more advanced in some cases--and downright mad, in other cases. But all of it, I think, still needs to be built on this basic framework. Move too far outside that framework, and the results become less and less plausible. One can, instead, know the framework, and then consider how that changes because of the event or events that create the Steampunk genre. I've given you one example of that, with the discovery of Neptune. A built and working Difference Engine would, conceivably, have sped calculations and results in a variety of discoveries in physics and astronomy. What other changes there might be--well, those I leave to you to figure out. And I look forward to reading about your discoveries.

Thank you.

Viv Trafalgar: Holocluck Henly has the first question, please go ahead Holocluck. (Darlingmonster, you're next)

Holocluck Henly: Thank you. Question: about this 19th century battery. when did we start to harness electricity this way which people could use for experiments?

Bookworm Hienrichs: Batteries were actually an older invention. The first one was the Leyden jar, in the mid-1700's, which "stored" static electricity.

Darlingmonster Ember: Were any discoveries of the 19th centure suppressed?? That would be interesting.

Bookworm Hienrichs: Suppression of discoveries? That I don't know about, Miss Ember.

Darlingmonster Ember: aha, so they were suppressed. Thank you

Bookworm Hienrichs: There is a very amusing anecdote about that, related to Darwin and evolution. Not quite suppression, but somewhat similar. A Scottish gardener named Patrick Matthew had come up with similar prinicples of natural selection the same year Darwin set out on the Beagle. Unfortunately, he published that work in the appendix of a book called 'Naval Timber and Arboriculture.' So it was missed not just by Darwin, but really the entire world. He made a fuss about it. In a letter to the 'Gardener's Chronicle.' Darwin did actually apologize.

Viv Trafalgar: Please give your warmest thanks to our fantastic speaker, Miss Book!

Linus Lacombe: Thank you for an enlightening presentation, Ms Book

Viv Trafalgar: There's a small token of our appreciation in front of the stage - scientific equipment for your laboratories, created by Mr. Jasper Kiergarten, who regrets not being able to be here. Please mark your calendars for next month's Salon! We'll be posting news about that very soon - it's very exciting! Thank you all so much for coming, and thank you Book for teaching us more about Science!

Solace Fairlady: A wonderfully delivered and very informative talk Miss Hienrichs, thank you so much!

Science! Unedited Transcript

[14:01] Jimmy Branagh: 'ell Mr. Linus!
[14:01] Bookworm Hienrichs: Hello, Sky!
[14:01] Tepic Harlequin: hi Jimmy :-)
[14:01] Sky Netizen: Howdy Book!
[14:01] blakopal Galicia: hi solace, hi jimmy!
[14:01] Serafina Puchkina: Welcome Miz Netizen!
[14:01] Jimmy Branagh: Ya seem prickly today, Nathaniel!
[14:01] Bela Lubezki: good evening
[14:01] Jimmy Branagh: Hoy Miss Dar!
[14:01] PJ Trenton aims his camera at Miss Hienrichs and has a sense of deja vu
[14:02] Bookworm Hienrichs gets a titch more nervous at the turnout.
[14:02] Nathaniel Lorefield: lol, av I found in my inventory. DIdn;t know I even had it
[14:02] blakopal Galicia: hi viv
[14:02] Rowan Derryth wonders if Miss Book is going to be blinding us...
[14:02] Jimmy Branagh: Hoy Miss Viv!
[14:02] Bookworm Hienrichs: Hello, Bela!
[14:02] Bookworm Hienrichs chuckles at PJ.
[14:02] Jimmy Branagh: Hoy Miss Bela! Miss LillieJay!
[14:02] Jimmy Branagh: Miss Rhia!
[14:02] Jimmy Branagh: Frau Lowey!
[14:02] Nathaniel Lorefield: That's okay, ya didn;t put yer chair in me. Trust me, you;d know if you had, lol
[14:02] Bela Lubezki: hello
[14:02] LillieJay Mills: Hello Mr Jimmy !
[14:02] Viv Trafalgar: Hello Bela!
[14:02] blakopal Galicia: hehehe
[14:02] Rhianon Jameson: Hello there, Mr. Jimmy
[14:02] Viv Trafalgar clears her throat
[14:02] Serafina Puchkina: Hello Bela
[14:03] Viv Trafalgar: Hello everyone!
[14:03] Jimmy Branagh: Hoy Miss Jed! Miss Sky!
[14:03] Tepic Harlequin: ello Miss!
[14:03] Viv Trafalgar: Ladies and Gentlemen, Jasper, Serafina, Jed and I are pleased to welcome you to the April edition of the Aether Salon - Science!
[14:03] Solace Fairlady Hooooooooos!!!
[14:03] Linus Lacombe: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[14:03] Viv Trafalgar: I would like to thank each and every one of you for joining us today.
[14:03] Jimmy Branagh: 'ello Mr Yang! Hoy Tepic!
[14:03] LillieJay Mills applauds
[14:03] KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds
[14:03] Jimmy Branagh: Hoy Caspian!
[14:03] Viv Trafalgar: As many of you know, the Aether Salon meets to discuss steam and Victorian topics on the third Sunday of each month, in Palisades and Academy, New Babbage.
[14:03] Viv Trafalgar: We have been doing so since October '08.
[14:03] Darlingmonster EmberDarlingmonster Ember applauds
[14:03] Viv Trafalgar: This is our 25th salon and I hope you are all as excited about being here today as I am.
[14:04] Viv Trafalgar: Just a few matters of housekeeping before we get started.
[14:04] Viv Trafalgar: If you are standing in the back, please move forward onto the maze so that you can be assured of hearing the speaker.
[14:04] Bookworm Hienrichs: 25? My goodness!
[14:04] Solace Fairlady nods vigorously
[14:04] Viv Trafalgar: Please hold your questions until the end, and as a courtesy to all, please turn off everything that feeds the lag: all HUDs, scripts,
[14:04] KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds
[14:04] Viv Trafalgar: Pi shooters,
[14:04] Viv Trafalgar: AOs,
[14:04] Viv Trafalgar: and so on.
[14:05] Satu Moreau: Belated hello, Jimmy!
[14:05] Jimmy Branagh waves to Miss Gabriell
[14:05] Viv Trafalgar: Please no weapons, non-Euclidean geometry, inflammatory rhetoric, Time Machines, or bad ties.
[14:05] Viv Trafalgar: Your cooperation is appreciated.
[14:05] Gabriell Anatra waves
[14:05] Bookworm Hienrichs laughs.
[14:05] Viv Trafalgar: Edited and unedited transcripts will be posted this week on aethersalon.blogspot.com so you can revisit today’s merriment, read transcripts of past salons, and for a laugh, peruse “overheard at the salon.”
[14:05] Holocluck Henly decides to continue to sit in the chair
[14:05] Rhianon Jameson mentally goes through that list again.
[14:05] Viv Trafalgar: Please join the Aether Salon group and receive notifications of future salon events, click the lower right hand corner of the large brown sign by the entrance.
[14:05] Linus Lacombe hopes my tie is not prohibited
[14:05] Nathaniel Lorefield wonders if he counts as a weapon
[14:05] Viv Trafalgar: (oh no, Linus, yours is fine!)
[14:05] Viv Trafalgar: We sincerely appreciate the support we receive from everyone in the community and we humbly thank you all.
[14:05] Viv Trafalgar: Many fine people have contributed to today’s salon: We are grateful to Miss Canolli Capalini of Capalini Fine Furnishings for the wonderful salon chairs.
[14:06] Viv Trafalgar: We appreciate all of you who have contributed to salon. As a reminder, all speakers' fund jar donations go directly to the speaker.
[14:06] Jedburgh30 Dagger: Your taste in neckwear is impeccable Linus
[14:06] Viv Trafalgar: Now I will turn the stage over to Miss Sera for the introduction of today’s speaker.
[14:06] Viv Trafalgar: Sera?
[14:06] Linus Lacombe: whew! Thank you
[14:06] Serafina Puchkina: Thank you! It is my great pleasure and privilege to introduce today's speaker.
[14:06] Gabriell Anatra: Some of us may be classifiable as munitions, if one cares to stretch definitions a bit.
[14:06] Serafina Puchkina: Miss Bookworm Hienrichs first arrived in New Babbage nearly three years ago, after a year of desultory poking around in other, far-flung places of this world.
[14:06] Serafina Puchkina: She slowly began integrating herself into the community, despite her distinct lack of mechanical prowess, eventually becoming an event photographer for the monthly Piermont Landing balls
and Aether Salons.
[14:07] Serafina Puchkina: She also joined the New Babbage militia, and is currently one of the liaisons for the Consulate of Europa Wulfenbach.
[14:07] Serafina Puchkina: From an early age, Miss Hienrichs has had a very deep interest in the physical sciences--though she admits to being much less versed in the life sciences. She studied physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology during her schooling, and still enjoys reading about the latest discoveries in these fields.
[14:07] Serafina Puchkina: Please join me in welcoming Miss Bookworm Hienrichs.
[14:07] Jimmy applauds
[14:07] Serafina Puchkina applauds
[14:07] Jimmy Branagh: Yay!
[14:07] Viv Trafalgar: Yay Book!!!
[14:07] Jedburgh30 Dagger applauds
[14:07] Gabriell Anatra smiles
[14:07] Beq Janus applauds
[14:07] Viv Trafalgar: oh er,
[14:07] Solace Fairlady applauds
[14:07] Rhianon Jameson applauds
[14:07] Linus Lacombe: *:-.,_,.-:*'´ `*. HoOoOoO!¸.*´`'*:-.,_,.-:*
[14:07] KlausWulfenbach Outlander smiles
[14:07] Bookworm Hienrichs smiles.
[14:07] KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds
[14:07] Viv Trafalgar applauds
[14:07] LillieJay Mills applauds
[14:07] Darlingmonster Ember applauds
[14:08] Bookworm Hienrichs: Thank you, one and all.
[14:08] Annechen Lowey: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[14:08] Kimika Ying: applauds
[14:08] Bookworm Hienrichs: Before I start, I just want to say a big thank you to Sera, Viv, Jed, and Jasper for all they've done in creating and continuing these monthly Salons.
[14:08] Linus Lacombe: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[14:08] Bookworm Hienrichs: They are such a treat, and one of the things I look forward to each month!
[14:08] Jimmy applauds
[14:09] Darlingmonster Ember applauds
[14:09] Rhianon Jameson nods in agreement
[14:09] Solace Fairlady applauds
[14:09] KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds
[14:09] Holocluck Henly applauds
[14:09] Jimmy Branagh: Oy get 'alf me education 'ere!
[14:09] Bookworm Hienrichs: I also want to say thank you to Mr. PJ Trenton for filling in on photographic duties today.
[14:09] Bookworm Hienrichs grins.
[14:09] Darlingmonster Ember: I get his other half
[14:09] Jimmy Branagh chuckles
[14:09] Darlingmonster Ember: grins
[14:10] Bookworm Hienrichs waves to Breezy.
[14:10] Satu Moreau chuckles at Darling.
[14:10] Viv Trafalgar whispers Hello Breezy!
[14:10] Jimmy Branagh waves to Miss Breezy
[14:10] Viv Trafalgar: (and returns to paying attention)
[14:10] Bookworm Hienrichs: In many areas of life, if you want to know where you're going, it's a good idea to know where you're starting from. This is certainly true in the realm of speculative fiction, including Steampunk.
[14:10] Solace Fairlady waves to Lady breezy
[14:10] Bookworm Hienrichs: So if you want your ideas on the state of science in a Steampunk setting to be plausible, it's best to know what the state of science in Victorian times actually was, and then build realistically (so to speak) from there.
[14:11] Bookworm Hienrichs: I should, I suppose, insert a disclaimer at this point. I've not actually read much speculative fiction, nor have I read anything from the Steampunk genre--at least, not yet. So I'm not sure how much authors in this area would agree with me.
[14:11] Bookworm Hienrichs: But it seems right to me, and, well, it gives me an excuse for this talk.
[14:11] Bookworm Hienrichs grins.
[14:11] Darlingmonster Ember: gasp
[14:11] Rhianon Jameson laughs
[14:11] Bookworm Hienrichs: Also, as stated in my biography, I haven't much background in the life sciences, so this discussion will focus on the physical sciences.
[14:11] Serafina Puchkina smiles
[14:11] Darlingmonster Ember fans herself to not swoon
[14:12] Bookworm Hienrichs: And we certainly cannot cover everything--that would probably be an entire year's worth of Salons. Instead, I'll hit a few highlights in the areas of physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology.
[14:12] Solace Fairlady fans Dimmie also
[14:12] Bookworm Hienrichs: One of the major developments in physics throughout the 19th century was in the area of electromagnetism. In 1820, Hans Oersted, a professor at Copenhagen University, was conducting electrical and magnetic demonstrations for some of his students.
[14:12] Linus Lacombe hands over the smelling salts to Ms DME
[14:13] Bookworm Hienrichs: He noticed that when electrical current from a battery was switched on and off, a nearby compass needle was deflected from pointing toward magnetic north.
[14:13] Bookworm Hienrichs: This was the first indication to scientists that there is a link between electric and magnetic forces.
[14:14] Bookworm Hienrichs: Soon afterwards, Michael Faraday began his pioneering work in electromagnetism. In 1821, he created the first demonstration of converting electrical energy into mechanical force by building a homopolar motor.
[14:14] Linus Lacombe notes that the first scientist on the slide was eating toast
[14:14] Bookworm Hienrichs: This motor consisted of a free-hanging wire dipped in mercury, on which a magnet was placed. When a current was passed through the wire, a circular magnetic field was created around the wire, and the wire rotated around the magnet.
[14:15] Bookworm Hienrichs: In 1831, Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, by discovering that a moving magnetic field generates an electric field.
[14:15] Bookworm Hienrichs: Building on this, he soon discovered the property of mutual induction - a charge of current in one electric coil creates a current in another nearby coil.
[14:15] Bookworm Hienrichs: Late in his career, Faraday developed the concept of field lines (he called them lines of force). This is a visualization of the actions of electromagnetic forces, and are used and taught today.
[14:15] Satu Moreau's typist has a pair of scissors that got magnetized just sitting on his desk.
[14:16] Bookworm Hienrichs: However, Faraday was not a mathematician. He made many discoveries in electromagnetism, but through experimentation and observation. He wasn't able to take the next step and explain these systematically.
[14:16] Bookworm Hienrichs: That was left to James Maxwell, who, in 1873, published a series of mathematical laws and equations that explained Faraday's discoveries and provided a complete description of the interactions among charges, currents, electric fields, and magnetic fields
[14:16] Bookworm Hienrichs: (These equations were later simplified by Oliver Heaviside into four equations, now called Maxwell's Laws.)
[14:17] Bookworm Hienrichs: Maxwell had also, in 1864, determined that light consists of electromagnetic waves.
[14:17] Bookworm Hienrichs: Now--ever wonder why Aether (or Ether) is such a prevalent word in our realm? Well, let me give you a bit of background.
[14:17] LillieJay Mills wonders if he used a silver hammer
[14:17] Linus Lacombe: :-)
[14:17] Bookworm Hienrichs: In Classical time (the Greeks, in other words), the aether was regarded as the pure essence the gods lived and breathed in.
[14:18] Solace Fairlady chuckles having wondered that herself
[14:18] Bookworm Hienrichs: For the more scientific/philosophical Greeks, such as Plato and Aristotle, aether was the "fifth element."
[14:18] Viv Trafalgar nods
[14:18] Bookworm Hienrichs: (No, not the cheesy Bruce Willis vehicle.)
[14:18] Rhianon Jameson laughs
[14:18] Jimmy chuckles
[14:18] Linus Lacombe: hehe
[14:18] Gabriell Anatra: He did know something of Maxwell's Demon.
[14:18] Bookworm Hienrichs: The other four elements--earth, air, fire, and water--had specific properties, and were subject to change.
[14:18] Bookworm Hienrichs: Aether, however, was the pure element; it had no qualities--heat, moisture, etc.--at all, and was incapable of change.
[14:19] Bookworm Hienrichs: The concept of the ether (or aether) carried down through the years in various forms, and was used to explain various phenomena.
[14:19] Bookworm Hienrichs: By the 19th century, we have the Luminerferous Aether, which was viewed as a space-filling substance of field.
[14:19] Bookworm Hienrichs: It was believed to occupy every point in space, and acted as an absolute frame of reference for the universe.
[14:20] Bookworm Hienrichs: Once Maxwell showed that light was an electromagnetic wave, the aether was seen as the medium through which such waves could propagate.
[14:20] Bookworm Hienrichs: There seemed to be an easy--well, relatively easy--way to prove this. The motion of the aether past the Earth as the Earth orbited the Sun would create an "aether wind," which would affect the speed of light.
[14:20] Bookworm Hienrichs: Light would travel slower going "upwind" as it, in a sense, fought against that wind, and would travel faster going "downwind," as it added the speed of that wind to its own speed.
[14:21] Bookworm Hienrichs: Throughout the 1880's, Albert Michelson and Edward Morley conducted a series of experiments using an interferometer, which could compare the time for light to reflect from mirrors in two directions.
[14:21] Bookworm Hienrichs: If the light was propagating through a luminiferous aether, there would be a change in phase of the light after it was split to head to the two mirrors.
[14:21] Bookworm Hienrichs: Can you all see the diagram?
[14:21] Linus Lacombe: Yes
[14:21] Viv Trafalgar: not quite yet
[14:21] Jimmy Branagh: Yep
[14:21] Rhianon Jameson nods
[14:21] LillieJay Mills: almost
[14:21] Bookworm Hienrichs waits a bit, so it'll rez.
[14:22] LillieJay Mills sees it now
[14:22] Bookworm Hienrichs: One light beam is split into two, and sent in two different directions, then reflected back to hit the same detector.
[14:22] Bookworm Hienrichs: Since the light beams are traveling in two different directions for a time, they should be traveling at *slightly* different speeds, and they'll be out of phase with each other when they reach the detector.
[14:22] Rhianon Jameson: Clever chaps
[14:22] Darlingmonster Ember: rather
[14:23] Solace Fairlady nods
[14:23] Bookworm Hienrichs: In 1887, Michelson and Morley published their results--one of the most important *negative* results ever obtained. They found that the speed of light was unchanged, no matter its direction.
[14:23] Holocluck Henly nods silently
[14:23] Nathaniel Lorefield: my apologies but I must go: (
[14:23] Bookworm Hienrichs: This was the first nail in the coffin for aether (or ether). This result also goes on to form part of the framework for a certain theory by one A. Einstein. (General Relativity - 1905).
[14:23] Bookworm Hienrichs: ((Bye, Nathaniel--you can read the transcript later!))
[14:24] Gabriell Anatra: Ah, yes, I recall something of this.
[14:25] Bookworm Hienrichs: The main developments in chemistry during the 19th century involve atomic theory and the periodic table. In 1808, John Dalton published an account of his atomic theory.
[14:25] Bookworm Hienrichs: Now, atoms themselves were nothing new--the ancient Greeks had first developed the idea of matter being made up of atoms, and had coined the term.
[14:25] Bookworm Hienrichs: Dalton, however, was the one to develop the idea of considering the relative weights and characteristics of atoms, and seeing how those fit together.
[14:26] Linus Lacombe: three cheers for the periodic table!
[14:26] Bookworm Hienrichs: His theory, basically, stated that all matter is made of atoms, which cannot be divided or destroyed. (Well, *we* know they can, but not by chemical means, which was the only thing Dalton could consider at the time.)
[14:26] Bookworm Hienrichs: All atoms of a given element are identical in mass and properties. (Also not true, as we now know of isotopes.)
[14:26] Bookworm Hienrichs: Chemical compounds, he determined, are formed by the combination of two or more types of atoms.
[14:27] Bookworm Hienrichs: He also estimated atomic weights by the mass ratios in which they combined. However, his equipment was crude, so his estimates weren't very accurate.
[14:27] Bookworm Hienrichs: Yes, lots of caveats and howevers in there. But at the time, this was rather revolutionary, and it laid the groundwork.
[14:28] Bookworm Hienrichs: Just three years later, one inaccurate aspect of Dalton's work, the atomic weight estimates, was improved by Lorenzo Romano Amadeo Carlo Avogadro di Quaregna e di Cerreto, Count of Quaregna and Cerreto. (*There's* a name for ya!)
[14:28] Linus Lacombe: goodness
[14:28] Darlingmonster Ember: sue that portraitist....
[14:28] Eva Bellambi smiles
[14:28] Jedburgh30 Dagger: Avogadro!
[14:28] Rhianon Jameson: Indeed, Miss Ember.
[14:28] Holocluck Henly: the man was crushed by his own name
[14:28] Bookworm Hienrichs chuckles.
[14:28] Jimmy Branagh: 'ee's got chameleon oyes.
[14:28] Rhianon Jameson: Wasn't he in Lord of the Rings?
[14:28] Bookworm Hienrichs: Avogadro discovered equal volumes of gases of any time, if held at the same pressure and temperature, contain the same number of molecules.
[14:28] Jimmy Branagh: Bet they move in all directions on they're own.
[14:28] Jimmy Branagh: their
[14:29] Serafina Puchkina: Jimmy!
[14:29] Bookworm Hienrichs goes back and amends "time" to "kind."
[14:29] Holocluck Henly tries to suppress a snicker at the nobleman's revelation
[14:29] Jimmy chuckles
[14:29] Bookworm Hienrichs: Differences in the masses of those gases, therefore, are related to their differing molecular weights. This discovery meant that one could gain more accurate measures of atomic sizes and weights.
[14:29] Darlingmonster Ember: ah
[14:30] Bookworm Hienrichs: Unfortunately, this discovery wasn't well known for nearly 50 years. This is partly because Avogadro was a rather private, retiring person.
[14:30] Bookworm Hienrichs: But it's also due to the fact that chemistry, as an organized science, wasn't that old at that point, and there were few opportunities to disseminate information.
[14:30] Holocluck Henly: I'm not surprised.
[14:30] Bookworm Hienrichs: As a result of this, not just news, but common conventions, such as nomenclature, symbology, and organization of elements, were slow to arise in chemistry.
[14:30] Linus Lacombe: I can practically hearing him yell at the kids to get off his %*%$* lawn
[14:30] Beq Janus: By the time they'd annoucned his arrival at the ball everyone else was on their way home
[14:31] Tepic Harlequin: i't very interesting, Miss, friad i have to go feed the kittens...
[14:31] Darlingmonster Ember smiles
[14:31] Bookworm Hienrichs: Hence the welcome given to Dmitri Mendeleyev (or Mendeleev) in 1869, when he first presented his periodic table of the elements.
[14:31] Jimmy Branagh: Oy geus it wos all very hit or miss.
[14:31] Bookworm Hienrichs waves to Tepic.
[14:31] Jimmy Branagh whisper bye Tep!
[14:32] Bookworm Hienrichs: Mendeleyev actually wasn't the first to try this. Just a few years earlier, an amateur English chemist named John Newlands had made the suggestion that a certain arrangement of the elements would show a repeating of properties.
[14:32] Holocluck Henly: Take care Tepic
[14:32] Bookworm Hienrichs: He arranged them in a pattern of eight, and actually called it the Law of Octaves. Not, perhaps, the wisest idea, as the idea was not only not accepted, but even mocked.
[14:32] Bookworm Hienrichs: (Wags in the audience at gatherings would ask him if he could get his elements to play them a tune.)
[14:32] Rhianon Jameson snickers
[14:33] Darlingmonster Ember: snerks
[14:33] Bookworm Hienrichs: Newlands eventually gave up on trying to get the idea accepted.
[14:33] Bookworm Hienrichs: Mendeleyev used the same principle as John Newlands, but grouped the elements in patters of seven.
[14:33] Linus Lacombe: Law of Octaves...has a musical ring to it
[14:33] Bookworm Hienrichs: He listed the elements in rows in order of their atomic weight, and would start a new row when the chemical properties of the elements began to repeat earlier elements.
[14:34] Bookworm Hienrichs: His improvements over Newlands included leaving gaps on the chart for undiscovered elements, and, when necessarily, ignoring the order suggested by atomic weight in order to better line up the chemical properties.
[14:34] Bookworm Hienrichs: (Later discoveries showed that he was ordering the elements by atomic number, which differs some from atomic weight, as it is based on the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom.)
[14:35] Bookworm Hienrichs: In astronomy, a major development was in the area of spectroscopy. Spectroscopy is the process of studying the properties of an object by studying the light it emits.
[14:35] Bookworm Hienrichs: When a material is headed to incandescence, it emits light characteristic of the composition of that material. For instance, sodium, when it burns, emits a very characteristic yellow light.
[14:36] Bookworm Hienrichs: That material will also absorb light of the same wavelength, so if a light source is, in a sense, emitted behind a material, the spectrum of the light source will have dark lines that align with the properties of the material.
[14:36] Bookworm Hienrichs: In 1816, Joseph von Fraunhofer, a glassmaker and manufacturer of optical instruments, invented a much improved spectroscope. When he used the spectroscope on the sun, he found hundreds of dark lines in the spectrum.
[14:37] Gabriell Anatra: That is still one of the foundations of astronomy.
[14:37] Bookworm Hienrichs nods.
[14:37] Bookworm Hienrichs: John Herschel, in 1823, was one of the first people to suggest that chemical analysis could be done by means of spectral analysis.
[14:37] Holocluck Henly: indeed
[14:37] Bookworm Hienrichs: However, he, and others, were hampered by the fact that they didn't realize that minute sodium impurities in their experiments were skewing their results.
[14:37] Linus Lacombe: oops
[14:37] Darlingmonster Ember: darn
[14:37] Bookworm Hienrichs: William Swan, in 1856, finally got the right amount of purity needed.
[14:37] Darlingmonster Ember: hate when that happens
[14:38] Bookworm Hienrichs chuckles.
[14:38] Jimmy Branagh: Th' old fly in th' teleporter problem ...
[14:38] Rhianon Jameson laughs
[14:38] Linus Lacombe: like having salt in a would
[14:38] Linus Lacombe: wound*
[14:38] Solace Fairlady: I told you to stop buying your Sodium on the street corner my love...
[14:38] Bookworm Hienrichs: In the 1850's, Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff conducted more detailed experiments, analyzing spectra of various elements.
[14:38] Viv Trafalgar: I rather admire Mr. Bunsen.
[14:38] Bookworm Hienrichs: Kirchhoff then made a detailed study of the spectrum of the sun, comparing it to the elemental spectra.
[14:39] PJ Trenton: Honeydew?
[14:39] Sky Netizen chuckles
[14:39] Viv Trafalgar shoots Mr. Trenton a Look.
[14:39] Bookworm Hienrichs: Based on this, he concluded that the outer layers of the sun must contain iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, nickel, and chromium.
[14:39] PJ Trenton hopes it wasn't "The Look"
[14:39] Rowan Derryth taps Mr Trenton with her parasol.
[14:39] Bookworm Hienrichs: In 1864, William Huggins turned spectral analysis to other bodies in the sky. He discovered that nebulae and galaxies were different things entirely--nebulae have spectra of gases, while galaxies emit spectra of stars.
[14:40] Bookworm Hienrichs: Then, in 1868, both Pierre-Jules Janssen and Joseph Norman Lockyer discovered absorption lines in the sun's spectrum of an entirely unknown element.
[14:40] Bookworm Hienrichs: This new element, called helium, wouldn't be discovered on Earth for 30 years!
[14:40] Linus Lacombe: How did they make their voices sound all high and squeeky before that?
[14:40] Kimika Ying: Practice
[14:41] Holocluck Henly: You dont really want to know
[14:41] Solace Fairlady: wlking into fence posts
[14:41] Rhianon Jameson grimaces
[14:41] Solace Fairlady: *walking
[14:41] Linus Lacombe winces
[14:41] Jimmy Branagh: ((Castrata))
[14:41] Bookworm Hienrichs: Another important astronomical event in Victorian times was the discovery of Neptune, based on pure mathematical prediction.
[14:41] Darlingmonster Ember: ah, lovely
[14:42] Bookworm Hienrichs: ((A pity the Clockwinder isn't here for this part. *grin*))
[14:42] Breezy Carver smiles charming photo of him
[14:42] Bookworm Hienrichs: A Frenchman named Alexis Bouvard made detailed observations of the planet Uranus, and detailed discrepancies in its orbital path, compared to what Newtonian physics predicted.
[14:42] Bookworm Hienrichs: He hypothesized that there must be another planet beyond Uranus, which was affecting its orbit.
[14:42] Bookworm Hienrichs: In 1846, Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier spent months in complex calculations based on Bouvard's observations, and on August 31, announced to the French Academy his prediction of the position of this unknown planet.
[14:43] Bookworm Hienrichs: In September, he sent a letter about this to Johann Galle at the Berlin Observatory, and on September 23rd, Galle and Heinrich d'Arrest discovered Neptune within one degree of Le Verrier's predicted location.
[14:43] Holocluck Henly: Uranus travels on its side as I recall
[14:43] Darlingmonster Ember: oooh, good math
[14:43] Breezy Carver smiles
[14:43] Bookworm Hienrichs: Now, there's a rather interesting wrinkle in this. An Englishman named John Couch Adams was working on the same problem at the same time.
[14:43] Bookworm Hienrichs: However, he privately mailed his results to the Royal Greenwich Observatory two days *after* Le Verrier announced his prediction in France. Adams was also 12 degrees off in his prediction.
[14:43] Beq Janus: (a wrinkle in uranus?)
[14:44] Serafina Puchkina laughs
[14:44] Brother Lapis: At least someone in this town appreciates math.
[14:44] Darlingmonster Ember: coughs
[14:44] Rhianon Jameson: Darn math errors!
[14:44] Bookworm Hienrichs: But consider--if Charles Babbage had actually built his Difference Engine, and Adams had had access to such a device...Well, things might have turned out differently.
[14:44] Linus Lacombe: he forgot to put down two and carry the four
[14:44] Bookworm Hienrichs: (See what I mean about looking for plausible changes? *grin*)
[14:44] Viv Trafalgar nods
[14:44] Darlingmonster Ember: I got my first kiss based on pure mathematical prediction.
[14:45] Rhianon JamesonRhianon Jameson grins at Miss Ember. "Well done!"
[14:45] Bookworm Hienrichs: In the field of geology--which I really couldn't skip--the story in the 19th century is more about debates over fundamental viewpoints rather than specific discoveries.
[14:45] Bookworm Hienrichs: The main debates were over the origin of rock strata--the look of the Earth--and over the age of the Earth.
[14:46] Linus Lacombe: The age of the earth question, still debated in some circles
[14:46] Bookworm Hienrichs: In the late 18th century, one aspect of the debate over rock strata had developed--the Neptunists vs. the Plutonists.
[14:46] Breezy Carver: ah the good earth .. :) always prevails ..
[14:46] Bookworm Hienrichs: The Neptunists, with their main proponent Abraham Werner, believe that all of the rock layers of the Earth formed by the precipitation of material in a world-covering ocean.
[14:47] Bookworm Hienrichs: The Plutonists, led by James Hutton, believed the Earth and its rock layers formed through gradual cooling and solidification of molten masses.
[14:47] Bookworm Hienrichs: A related argument that developed in the 19th century was catastrophism vs. uniformitarianism.
[14:47] Bookworm Hienrichs: Those who favored catastrophism said that the Earth's formation and history were a result of the accumulated effects of catastrophic events over a relatively short period of time.
[14:47] Bookworm Hienrichs: The key to uniformitarianism, which was popularized by Charles Lyell in the 1830's, is the phrase, "The present is the key to the past."
[14:48] Bookworm Hienrichs: Changes arise from slow-moving forces that are still at work today and can be studied, and the structure and appearance of the Earth today resulted from the steady accumulation of minute changes.
[14:48] Bookworm Hienrichs: A book by Lyell containing this theory was given to a certain young man who was setting out on a survey mission on the HMS Beagle. (More about that certain young man in a bit.)
[14:49] Jimmy Branagh: Mr. Darwin.
[14:49] Bookworm Hienrichs grins.
[14:49] Bookworm Hienrichs: Attempts to settle these arguments led to extensive work throughout the 19th century studying the stratigraphy--the layering--of rocks.
[14:49] Holocluck Henly: I was thinking of another Charlie
[14:49] Bookworm Hienrichs: Several scientists, for instance, used fossils to distinguish between rock layers, and tie rock layers together over distance. All of this work created the stratigraphic column, and relative dating of rocks and fossils.
[14:49] Bookworm Hienrichs: Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, attempts were made to determine the age of the Earth through scientific means.
[14:50] Bookworm Hienrichs: The Comte de Buffon, a natural scientist in the 18th century, studied the cooling rate of iron, and based on that, estimated the age of the Earth at 75,000 years.
[14:50] Bookworm Hienrichs: Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz, one of the founders of thermodynamics in the 19th century, estimated the age of the sun (and therefore the Earth), based on luminosity and energy output from gravitational contraction, to be 20-40 million years.
[14:50] Bookworm Hienrichs: Lord Kelvin, in 1862, also studied cooling rates of materials, and came up with an estimate of about 100 million years, though he later revised that down to 20-40 million years.
[14:51] Viv Trafalgar: not a large margin of error...
[14:51] Bookworm Hienrichs: None of this, though, satisfied the geologists who favored uniformitarianism. Their more observational theories led them to estimate that it would take at least hundreds of millions of years to create all of the rock strata seen in the Earth.
[14:51] Bookworm Hienrichs: This debate wouldn't be settled until the discovery of radiation, and the development of radiometric dating of rocks in the early 20th century.
[14:52] Bookworm Hienrichs: This debate wouldn't be settled until the discovery of radiation, and the development of radiometric dating of rocks in the early 20th century.
[14:52] Bookworm Hienrichs thwaps things.
[14:52] Bookworm Hienrichs: Now, of course, this talk wouldn't be complete without at least touching on one particular scientist--Charles Darwin. He actually made his name, though, as a geologist and natural scientist long before publishing _On the Origin of Species._
[14:53] Bookworm Hienrichs: (Quite the stutter there, eh? A whole sentence!)
[14:53] Bookworm Hienrichs: ((Beat that, Porky!))
[14:54] Gabriell Anatra grins
[14:54] Rhianon Jameson chuckles
[14:54] Jimmy chuckles
[14:54] Serafina Puchkina pats Miss Book's hand
[14:54] Bookworm Hienrichs: When he went on the voyage of the Beagle, it was as a gentleman naturalist and companion to the captain, Robert FitzRoy.
[14:54] Bookworm Hienrichs: It was Captain FitzRoy who gave him a copy of the first volume of Charles Lyell's _Principles of Geology_, which had a profound effect on him.
[14:55] Holocluck Henly: Naturalist eh?
[14:55] Bookworm Hienrichs: Darwin conducted geological and natural history surveys during the voyage. He developed a theory on the formation of coral atolls that supported Lyell and uniformitarianism.
[14:55] Bookworm Hienrichs: He found a treasure trove of mammal fossils in Patagonia. He saw stepped plains of shingle and seashells as raised beaches, meaning the land had been elevated numerous times.
[14:56] Bookworm Hienrichs: He did also observe biological specimens, including finches and tortoises in the Galapagos islands, and rheas in South America, and noted their differences.
[14:56] Bookworm Hienrichs: But Darwin wasn't as trained in biology or zoology, so these observations received somewhat shorter shrift.
[14:56] Bookworm Hienrichs: (He neglected, for instance, to note which finches and which tortoises came from which islands--he later had to rely of Captain FitzRoy's notes for that information.)
[14:57] Satu Moreau chuckles softly.
[14:57] Bookworm Hienrichs: When he returned from the voyage, he concentrated on other writings--the coral atolls, observations showing that the South American landmass was slowly rising, and classifying the barnacles he'd collected on the voyage.
[14:57] Bookworm Hienrichs: A theory of evolution was coming to him in fits and starts, and he did work on it off and on, as other work, and health, permitted...
[14:57] Bookworm Hienrichs: but it wasn't until he learned that another naturalist, Alfred Wallace, had a draft paper outlining a similar theory that Darwin dusted off his notes and published the theory we all know so well.
[14:58] Rhianon Jameson: Nothing like a little competition to spur publication.
[14:58] Darlingmonster Ember: grins
[14:58] Holocluck Henly nods
[14:58] Viv Trafalgar grins
[14:58] Bookworm Hienrichs: Well! In this 50 minutes, I've managed to give you a quick introduction to just a small sample of Victorian scientific advances in the real world.
[14:59] Bookworm Hienrichs: Granted, the science of our world is more advanced in some cases--and downright mad, in other cases.
[14:59] Darlingmonster Ember smiles
[14:59] Rhianon Jameson: Indeed.
[14:59] Beq Janus: ((If you are ever in the UK. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/home-of-charles-darwin-down-house/ ))
[14:59] Viv Trafalgar - "Thank you Book! Marvelous presentation!"
[14:59] Bookworm Hienrichs: But all of it, I think, still needs to be built on this basic framework. Move too far outside that framework, and the results become less and less plausible.
[14:59] Linus Lacombe: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[14:59] Kimika Ying: applauds!
[14:59] Darlingmonster Ember applauds
[14:59] Rhianon Jameson applauds
[14:59] Jimmy applauds
[14:59] Darlingmonster Ember: wonderful
[14:59] Serafina Puchkina applauds
[14:59] Sky Netizen applauds
[14:59] Jimmy Branagh: Yay!
[14:59] KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds
[14:59] Beq Janus applauds
[14:59] Breezy Carver: ✰·.·´` Claps Very Loudly!! ´`·.·✰
[14:59] Darlingmonster Ember applauds
[14:59] Satu Moreau applauds.
[14:59] Gabriell Anatra applauds
[14:59] Holocluck Henly applauds
[14:59] Jimmy applauds
[14:59] Solace Fairlady applauds
[14:59] Breezy Carver: YAY!
[14:59] Kimika Ying: Well done!
[14:59] LillieJay Mills applauds
[14:59] Breezy Carver: Book
[14:59] Viv Trafalgar: EEEEP ! She's not finished ladies and gents!
[14:59] Bookworm Hienrichs: ((Eep! Got a bit more to go...))
[14:59] Jimmy applauds
[14:59] Rowan Derryth: Great talk!!
[14:59] Annechen Lowey: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[15:00] Viv Trafalgar facepalms
[15:00] Satu Moreau: Oops!
[15:00] Darlingmonster Ember: grins
[15:00] Jimmy Branagh laughs
[15:00] Bookworm Hienrichs: But all of it, I think, still needs to be built on this basic framework. Move too far outside that framework, and the results become less and less plausible.
[15:00] Rhianon Jameson nods
[15:00] Bookworm Hienrichs: One can, instead, know the framework, and then consider how that changes because of the event or events that create the Steampunk genre.
[15:00] Bookworm Hienrichs: I've given you one example of that, with the discovery of Neptune.
[15:00] Bookworm Hienrichs: A built and working Difference Engine would, conceivably, have sped calculations and results in a variety of discoveries in physics and astronomy.
[15:01] Viv Trafalgar: that would have been a thing to see
[15:01] Bookworm Hienrichs: What other changes there might be--well, those I leave to you to figure out. And I look forward to reading about your discoveries.
[15:01] Bookworm Hienrichs: Thank you!
[15:01] Viv Trafalgar: A science fair!
[15:01] Holocluck Henly: :)
[15:01] Jimmy applauds
[15:01] Bookworm Hienrichs: (Yes--now I'm done. *grin*)
[15:01] Rhianon Jameson applauds again. :)
[15:01] Beq Janus: thank you Book, brilliant.
[15:01] Viv Trafalgar: Oh thank you so much Book - even more wonderful than before!
[15:01] Darlingmonster Ember scribbles a note to publish discoveries soon
[15:01] Solace Fairlady applauds
[15:01] Darlingmonster Ember applauds
[15:01] Jimmy Branagh: Thanks Miss Book!
[15:01] Sky Netizen cheers
[15:01] Jimmy applauds
[15:01] Satu Moreau chuckles, applauding.
[15:01] Serafina Puchkina: Yes, thank you so much, Book!
[15:01] Darlingmonster Ember applauds
[15:02] Rowan Derryth applauds more
[15:02] Viv Trafalgar is a little red faced. mutters "must be getting old..."
[15:02] Viv Trafalgar: Ladies and gentlemen, if you have questions for Book, please IM me
[15:02] Bookworm Hienrichs waves a hello to those who came in after she started.
[15:02] Jimmy Branagh: Thet wos really great. Oy'm gonna need th' tanscript on it though.
[15:02] Viv Trafalgar: there are quite a few of you here, and we'd like to keep it orderly. no rushing the stage, no tossing petticoats... this is not the new world.
[15:02] Beq Janus: The laws of physics suggest that we are all weighed down with heavy Linden coinage. Take the opportunity to lighten your load and drop a few coins in the Salon collection box outside this building (and in Miss Book's collection pot too)
[15:03] Bookworm Hienrichs laughs.
[15:03] Rhianon Jameson coughs gently at the "New World" remark. :)
[15:03] Viv Trafalgar: Holocluck Henly has the first question, please go ahead Holocluck
[15:03] Breezy Carver smiles
[15:03] Viv Trafalgar: (Darlingmonster, you're next)
[15:03] Holocluck Henly: Thank you
[15:04] Holocluck Henly: Question: about this 19th century battery. when did we start to harness electricity this way which people could use for experiments?
[15:04] Jimmy Branagh: ((RL has been pestering me for 15 minutes. Gotta run. Thanks again Miss Book!. Byeee all!))
[15:04] Rhianon Jameson waves goodbye to Jimmy
[15:04] Serafina Puchkina: Bye Jimmy
[15:04] Solace Fairlady: Sage travels Master Jimmy!
[15:04] Linus Lacombe: Bye Jimmy
[15:04] Holocluck Henly waves bye to jimmy
[15:04] Solace Fairlady: *safe
[15:04] Viv Trafalgar: (bye Jimmy!)
[15:04] Jimmy Branagh waves and slips out quietly. Sort of ...
[15:04] Satu Moreau: Thank you for the learning, Ms. Hienrichs.
[15:05] Bookworm Hienrichs: Batteries were actually an older invention.
[15:06] PJ Trenton: (great talk Miss Book....see everyone later)
[15:06] Rowan Derryth waves politley
[15:06] Bookworm Hienrichs: The first one was the Leyden jar, in the mid-1700's, which "stored" static electricity.
[15:06] Viv Trafalgar: (thank you PJ!
[15:06] Linus Lacombe: Good bye Mr Trenton
[15:06] Serafina Puchkina: bye Rowan!
[15:06] Beq Janus waves farewell to the departees
[15:06] Linus Lacombe is now wondering what they did with these batteries
[15:07] Darlingmonster Ember: Were any discoveries of the 19th centure suppressed?? That would be interesting.
[15:07] Bookworm Hienrichs: Quite a few things, Mr. Lacombe. *chuckle*
[15:07] Rhianon Jameson: Primitive MP3 players - Victrolas mounted on shoulders.
[15:07] Bookworm Hienrichs: Suppression of discoveries? That I don't know about, Miss Ember.
[15:07] Darlingmonster Ember: aha, so they were suppressed. Thank you
[15:07] Solace Fairlady: Well thats because they were supressed
Well thats because they were supressed
[15:08] Solace Fairlady: jinx:)
[15:08] Bookworm Hienrichs snerks.
[15:08] Darlingmonster Ember: jinx
[15:08] Rhianon Jameson laughs
[15:08] Gabriell Anatra: Some evidence of continenta drift was suppressed, though not very well. They simply didn't have enough evidence yet.
[15:08] Bookworm Hienrichs: There is a very amusing anecdote about that, related to Darwin and evolution.
[15:09] Bookworm Hienrichs: Not quite suppression, but somewhat similar.
[15:09] Darlingmonster EmberDarlingmonster Ember ears perk
[15:09] Bookworm Hienrichs: A Scottish gardener named Patrick Matthew had come up with similar prinicples of natural selection the same year Darwin set out on the Beagle.
[15:09] Gabriell Anatra nods
[15:10] Bookworm Hienrichs: Unfortunately, he published that work in the appendix of a book called 'Naval Timber and Arboriculture.'
[15:10] Viv Trafalgar: oh dear
[15:10] Darlingmonster Ember: omg
[15:10] Rhianon Jameson: Not a good choice.
[15:10] Darlingmonster Ember: poor man
[15:10] Bookworm Hienrichs: So it was missed not just by Darwin, but really the entire world.
[15:10] Linus Lacombe: And this was never on the Times best seller list, I assume
[15:11] Satu Moreau chuckles softly.
[15:11] Holocluck Henly doesnt fancy the term Matheism
[15:11] Bookworm Hienrichs chuckles.
[15:11] Holocluck Henly: Perhaps it was for the best
[15:11] Viv Trafalgar: Well he must have been a bit frustrated!
[15:11] Linus Lacombe: I don't know, Mathewsian sounds like a nice adjective to me.
[15:11] Bookworm Hienrichs nods. "Yeah, he made a fuss about it. In a letter to the 'Gardener's Chronicle.'
[15:11] Bookworm Hienrichs grins.
[15:12] Darlingmonster Ember: grins
[15:12] Rhianon Jameson shakes her head.
[15:12] Darlingmonster Ember: wonderful
[15:12] Viv Trafalgar: Oh gosh
[15:12] Viv Trafalgar: really he had a grand idea of scale
[15:12] Viv Trafalgar: May I ask if there are other questions for Miss Book?
[15:12] Bookworm Hienrichs: Darwin did actually apologize.
[15:12] Darlingmonster Ember: he suppressed himself
[15:12] Rhianon Jameson giggles
[15:13] Viv Trafalgar: All right folks!
[15:13] Viv Trafalgar: Please give your warmest thanks to our fantastic speaker, Miss Book!
[15:13] Linus Lacombe: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[15:14] Solace Fairlady Hooooooooos!!!
[15:14] Rhianon Jameson applauds enthusiastically
[15:14] KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds
[15:14] Darlingmonster Ember applauds
[15:14] Serafina Puchkina applauds
[15:14] Sky Netizen applauds
[15:14] Solace Fairlady cheers
[15:14] LillieJay Mills applauds
[15:14] Gabriell Anatra smles
[15:14] Linus Lacombe: Thank you for an enlightening presentation, Ms Book
[15:14] Serafina Puchkina: YAY!!!!!
[15:14] Viv Trafalgar: There's a small token of our appreciation in front of the stage - scientific equipment for your laboratories
[15:14] Viv Trafalgar: created by Mr. Jasper Kiergarten, who regrets not being able to be here
[15:14] Annechen Lowey: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[15:14] Rhianon Jameson: Oooooh...
[15:14] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Oh, splendid.
[15:14] Gabriell Anatra: Thank you. :-)
[15:14] Viv Trafalgar: Please mark your calendars for next month's Salon! We'll be posting news about that very soon - it's very exciting!
[15:14] Sky Netizen: Excellent!
[15:15] Viv Trafalgar: Third Sunday in May! 2pm slt
[15:15] Darlingmonster Ember: !!! SCIENCE !!!
[15:15] Darlingmonster Ember: Huzzah!
[15:15] Bookworm Hienrichs: Thank you all--and I'm glad I didn't bore you.
[15:15] Viv Trafalgar: Thank you all so much for coming, and thank you Book for teaching us more about Science!
[15:15] Bookworm Hienrichs smiles
[15:15] Darlingmonster Ember: not at all
[15:15] Darlingmonster Ember: fabulous
[15:15] Solace Fairlady: A wonderfully delivered and very informative talk Miss Hienrichs, thank you so much!
[15:15] Serafina Puchkina grins: Thank you, Miss Speaker and thank you, gentle audience
[15:15] Rhianon Jameson: Far from it, Miss Hienrichs
[15:16] Kimika Ying: Thank you again, this has been most interesting!
[15:16] Serafina Puchkina: This was great!
[15:16] Gabriell AnatraGabriell Anatra nods

Sunday, April 17 at 2 pm slt
Babbage Palisade & Academy of Industry

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Babbage%20Palisade/254/60/106
and
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Academy%20of%20Industry/2/56/106

In the realm of speculative fiction, to know where one is going, it's best to know where one is starting from. This is just as important to
our stories here in the Steamlands as it is to the published books of our genre. Join Miss Bookworm Hienrichs for an overview of Victorian science, including the areas of physics, astronomy, and geology.

Why construct your latest invention using mere smoke and mirrors when you can, during the course of an enjoyable Salon, fill your toolbox with the innermost workings of actual SCIENCE!

Join us on Sunday, April 17 at 2 pm slt

Salonistas,
Viv, Jed, Jasper, & Sera

Heroines! Edited Transcript

Serafina Puchkina: As people are getting their chairs, I clear my throat and begin: A gracious welcome to you. We are thrilled, pleased, and giddy with glee to welcome you to today’s Aether Salon, entitled Heroines! Thank you all for joining us today. Bear with us today, for we have a bit of a problem: Miss Viv refuses to return to reality and won't be with us today.

As many of you know, the Aether Salon meets to discuss steam and Victorian topics on the third Sunday of each month, in Palisades and Academy, New Babbage. Today marks our second year of salon. When Miss Viv and I sat in her drawing room over two years ago to discuss our dreams and plans for a salon, neither of us knew how the idea would work or if we’d be run out of town on a rail. Thank you all.

Those folks wearing sashes are past speakers of salon whom we are recognizing today. Please give them a round of applause.

A few matters of housekeeping before we get started. If you are standing in the back, please move forward onto the maze so that you can be assured of hearing the speaker. Please hold your questions until the end, and as a courtesy to all, please turn off everything that creates lag: all HUDs, scripts, AOs and so on. Please no weapons, rogue scripts, unmetered poetry, or incendiary devices. Your cooperation is appreciated.

Edited and unedited transcripts will be posted this week on aethersalon.blogspot.com so you can revisit today’s merriment, read transcripts of past salons, and for a laugh, peruse “overheard at the salon.” Please join the Aether Salon group and receive notifications of future salon events, click the lower right hand corner of the large brown sign by the entrance. We sincerely appreciate the support we receive from everyone in the community. As a reminder, all speakers' fund jar donations go directly to the speaker.

Next month’s salon is Aestheticism! with Miss Rowan Derryth on Sunday, November 21. We promise to have Miss Viv back by then. Miss Jed will introduce today’s speaker. Miss Jed?

Jedburgh30 Dagger: Thank you Serafina. Thank you all for coming today. I want to take a moment to thank the other staffers for the Salon for their dedication and efforts to make all of this come together. Not to mention all of you who have faithfully supported and attended the Salon since its inception.

Let me tell you a little something about our speaker. Bookworm Hienrichs once described herself as the least Steampunk-ish person living in New Babbage. She came to town about the same time I did, around two years ago, and has become an active member of the community.

She has described herself as a straight-laced Victorian woman, who isn’t a builder or an engineer. Book has also said she is an ordinary human, with no special talents or powers, yet finds herself comfortable around fae folk or people from unknown lands.
Miss Hienrichs enjoys photography and has captured many memorable images from the Salon and from the monthly Piermont Landing balls.

For all her time in town, she has always claimed that ‘nothing exciting ever happens to her’, that all the goings-on in the city seem to move around her. She has had the occasion to live that statement down, as she has found herself involved in many other events in the city, from joining the Militia to facing down certain doom and disaster in the streets.

Bookworm Hienrichs: I must admit, when I was asked to speak at this Salon on the subject of Heroines, I was quite hesitant. After all, what do I really know about the subject? But then, as I began investigating the topic, I grew more and more interested in it. And I think--at least, I hope--I may be able to share some insights with you.

It may seem as if there are few heroines, past, literary, or contemporary, for Victorian women to emulate--especially when compared with the number of heroes to find. However, if one is willing to look beyond the standard stereotype of heroism, one can find many heroines, with lessons to teach us.

This discussion cannot, of course, cover them all, so I will just mention a few highlights--those of the past, and those here in our midst. Our first stop is in the Bible, when Joshua and the Hebrews were just starting to conquer the land of Canaan. Joshua sent two spies to the city of Jericho, where they stayed at the house of Rahab, an innkeeper...or *cough* prostitute, depending on the translation.

Bookworm Hienrichs blushes a little, and quickly moves on.

The king of Jericho found out about them, and sent soldiers to her house. But she hid the spies on her roof, under stalks of flax, and told the soldiers that yes, the men had been there, but had left just before the time the city gate would close. After the soldiers left, she let the two men out the window by a rope, as her house was actually part of the city wall. So what lessons can a heroine learn from Rahab? Well, first, know where the good hiding places are.

Now, that may not *sound* very heroic, but it is actually very useful--not just for hiding oneself when one is in danger, but to hide oneself when one is following or watching someone else, or to hide others if they're in trouble. Getting to know the less-traveled passageways, the unused rooms, the convenient piles of crates or junk--all this will be helpful to any heroine here in New Babbage. The urchins, of course, are past masters at this.

The second lesson is to know how to lie well. But sometimes, for the greater good, lying is necessary, and when that time comes, the lie had best be believable. That may sound strange--especially coming from me. But sometimes, for the greater good, lying is necessary, and when that time comes, the lie had best be believable. Rahab didn't try to insist that the two spies hadn't been there--she knew that would never be believed. Instead, she said that they'd headed for the gate at dusk--an entirely plausible thing for them to do, as closing time would likely be busy, and so it would be easier for them to slip out. So, through a good lie, Rahab saved their lives.

Our other Biblical examples come from the book of Judges. Early in the history of Israel, they were led by "judges," who could settle disputes in times of peace, and act as rallying points in times of war. Deborah is the only woman judge mentioned in the Bible, but she obviously served in precisely the same function as any of the male judges. She was also a prophetess--which doesn't mean she foretold the future, but that she received and passed on messages and directives from God.

She was truly, at this time, the ultimate authority in Israel--though Israel was under the thumb of Jabin, a Canaanite king, and his general Sisera. Deborah was not afraid to use the authority given her. She did not doubt God when He said the time had come to defeat the general Sisera. She was not afraid to gather the troops of Israel, and appoint their general, Barak, even though this action would certainly capture the attention of Sisera.

Nor was she afraid to tell Barak off when he publicly expressed his trepidations by insisting that she come along, telling him that the ultimate glory of winning would go not to him, but to a woman. That woman was Jael--who wasn't even an Israelite. She was the wife of Heber the Kenite, who was actually a descendent of Moses' father-in-law.

Despite this blood tie, Heber did have good relations with King Jabin, which made their tents the logical place for Sisera to flee when his army was defeated by Barak and the Israelites. Jael welcomed him into her tent--*her* tent; this was a time when men still often had several wives, who would each have their own rooms or tents. She gave him milk to drink, and consented to keep watch while he slept. But once he was asleep, she took a tent peg and hammer, and drove the peg into Sisera's skull, killing him.

It is an unfortunate fact of life that most women are physically weaker than most men. While we can take some steps to increase our strength, it oftentimes is not enough. Thus, heroines must be willing to use any advantage that is given them, as Jael did, to accomplish their goal.

Most everyone knows the basics of the Arabian Nights, the Thousand and One Nights, the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments--whatever you want to call it. But not everyone may know the details, which are very interesting. Scheherazade was the daughter of the grand vizier of a sultan. This sultan had discovered his wife in flagrante delicto with a household officer, and so rather soured on marriage and women. So, once he'd disposed of his wife, he decided that the only solution was to marry a virgin, sleep with her for one night, then have her killed in the morning.

Bookworm Hienrichs: What?!

Myrtil Igaly: ARGH, the Doc!

Ahnyanka Delphin gasps as Dr. O suddenly appears.

Bookworm Hienrichs raises up.

Doctor Obolensky: Well, good afternoon.

Serafina Puchkina gasps

Stereo Nacht: Hm?

Sky Netizen's eyes widen

Jedburgh30 Dagger: What the...

Rhianon Jameson: This is most unexpected.

Bookworm Hienrichs shrieks once, then collapses.

Doctor Obolensky: And, enough of that drivel, don't you think?

Ahnyanka Delphin: Poor form, Doctor! Don't interrupt the story!!

Serafina Puchkina: The doors! Look at the doors!

Breezy Carver looks at the Doctor out for a stroll ??

Mahakala Omegamu: Gasp!~ ^o^ someone stop him!

Stereo Nacht: Herr Baron? Any orders?

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Hold.

Myrtil Igaly: uho...

Ahnyanka Delphin gasps as she notices that they're trapped.

Stereo Nacht: Yes sir.

Doctor Obolensky: Now, before you all get all irate, allow me to remind you of two things.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander glares in irritation

Bianca Namori: blinks thinking she heard a gun cock.

Myrtil Igaly: Miss Book!!

Doctor Obolensky: One, Miss Heinrichs will be more or less no worse for wear in a half-hour or so.

Ahnyanka Delphin looks up at Miss Bookworm with concern.

Breezy Carver Gasp !!!!

Jedburgh30 Dagger growls

Rhianon Jameson thinks it fortunate that she kept her pistol beneath her skirt

Breezy Carver: but bt she was talking !!

Doctor Obolensky: And the second, that you all have, for the last few minutes, been breathing South Patagonian Deathflower pollen.

Breezy Carver: what did you do ???

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Is that all?

Myrtil Igaly: South wha?

Sky Netizen frowns and sniffs

Breezy Carver: what does that mean ??

Doctor Obolensky: Which I'll pass on the antidote too, once I'm done, provided you all behave.

Serafina Puchkina clutches her throat and staggers

Myrtil Igaly: meh, it's open air, how could that affect us!

Annechen Lowey frowns, "Poor manners are not excused by your self-importance, 'Doctor'. "

Rhianon Jameson coughs politely

Mahakala Omegamu wonders where isa botanist when you need one!

Doctor Obolensky: For those of you immune to such things, well, just consider your neighbor's well being.

Breezy Carver covers mouth

KlausWulfenbach Outlander looks impatient

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Get on with it, Obolensky.

Bianca Namori whispers: Someone wasn't hugged enough as a child.

Serafina Puchkina cries about poor Book

Doctor Obolensky: After all, you should be more appreciative of me saving you from this deluded woman's ramblings.

Breezy Carver Gasp !

Doctor Obolensky: But on to the subject at hand.

Ahnyanka Delphin flutters her hand to fan herself as she starts to feel flushed.

Rhianon Jameson: Wha....?

Breezy Carver: how Rude !

Doctor Obolensky: Heroines.....silly and useless.

Bianca Namori: tries to hold back her laughter, being completely delighted by the turn of events.

Stereo Nacht clenches teeth, and puts her hand behind her back, just in case...

Jedburgh30 Dagger grits teeth

Rhianon Jameson waves the pistol

Sky Netizen hisses

Breezy Carver: Evil !

Doctor Obolensky: Women have no real place in the world of Heroism.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Watch the footprints, that's my Liaison you're nudging.

Ahnyanka Delphin's eyes narrow as she frowns at the Doctor, "I don't care what your ideals are... it's never appropriate to interrupt a performance!"

Annechen Lowey growls.

Stereo Nacht abstains to roll her eyes, so not to get them off the Doctor...

Rhianon Jameson nods in agreement with Miss Delphin

Doctor Obolensky: Oh, assassins, yes. Storytellers, liars, cheats, all are excellent work for the woman out to make a name for herself.

Breezy Carver ponders What a great big Ham !!

Bianca Namori: cackles even more.

Doctor Obolensky: Not to mention, the culinary arts, and propogating the species.

Serafina Puchkina growls and looks over at the barred doors

Doctor Obolensky: But heroism requires more than any mere woman can manage.

Ahnyanka Delphin raises an eyebrow as she listens.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander goes from irritated to bored

Doctor Obolensky: Notice none of her examples included any women involved in a life-or-death duel on a rooftop in a thunderstorm.

Bianca Namori: Oh my...you knocked her out for a speach!? Really?!? Just a speech?! No murder?? No suspense?!?! And you call yourself a villian...-sighs dramatically and slums in her chair-

Rhianon Jameson: Naturally - we're not *stupid*

Jimmy Branagh searches his pockets for fruit to throw.'

Doctor Obolensky: Well, if you insist, Miss Namori, I'll kill you later.

Bianca Namori: Oh how delightful! You think you can! Adorable...

Ahnyanka Delphin secretly hands Jimmy a rotten tomato.

Doctor Obolensky: Now then....I'll open the floor to questions on the subject. Please follow the rules of order.

Breezy Carver why are you you here again ?

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: When are you leaving? And can we help?

Doctor Obolensky: Well, I thought I had explained that.

Bianca Namori: When -are- you going to kill me? I need to pencil it in.

Sky Netizen thumbs through "Robert's Rules Of Order" to figure out if killing is acceptable.

Doctor Obolensky: Really, for a group that supposedly is concerned with learning, you really are quite dull-witted.

Stereo Nacht: DO I need my pistol?

Rhianon Jameson tries to remember the lessons: know back alleys, lie well, use any advantage...

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: It's your field effect, Obolensky.

Annechen Lowey: We just know when there is dross offered instead of true knowledge.

Myrtil Igaly: he says girls can't be heroines

Doctor Obolensky: Hmmm....you have no interest in Heroines? I thought that's why you all turned up.

Annechen Lowey: We have interst in true heroics, not your inane babble.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Obolensky... are you trying to tell us a secret? Are you actually a heroine after all?

Doctor Obolensky sighs.

Doctor Obolensky: Very well, I suppose you all will just have to die to the toxin.

Myrtil Igaly: Well Miss Book IS an heroine.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Frau Lowey, how are the supplies in the Consulate lab?

Annechen Lowey: Fairly well stocked, should not be a problem.

Doctor Obolensky: Good evening all. I had hoped for some interesting discourse....but apparently you all are all the same rabble as the rest of them.

Stereo Nacht: Sir, he said he *has* the antidote. What about taking him down, then taking it from him?

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Sehr gut, before we died of tedium.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Use precision, damen. We wouldn't want to break the container.

Bookworm Hienrichs suddenly leaps up and snatches the ElectroCane from Dr. Obolensky.

Rhianon Jameson cheers Miss Book

Doctor Obolensky: ((And this ladies and gentleman, is the kind of reason why you all don't see me much anymore.))

KlausWulfenbach Outlander smiles, pleased at his Liaison's reflexes.

Breezy Carver: ✰·.·´` Claps Very Loudly!! ´`·.·✰

Ahnyanka Delphin cheers for Miss Bookworm!

Bookworm Hienrichs: *I* -- have had *enough* -- of being *electrocuted*!

Mahakala Omegamu applause!

Doctor Obolensky: ((Good evening))

Bookworm Hienrichs punctuates each phrase with a slam of the cane against the floor, creating sparks and a sizzling noise. Then she casts aside the now-ruined cane.

Jimmy Branagh: Yay Miss Book!

Bookworm Hienrichs glares after the departing Dr. Obolensky.

Marion Questi: I suppose he made up the toxin thing....

Bookworm Hienrichs: Honestly! This is the *third* time this year! Are those villains *trying* to permanently damage my nerves?

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Blood tests at the Consulate after the Salon for everyone.

Jimmy Branagh: Thet wos a foine example of wot Miss Book is talkin' 'bout!

Annechen Lowey: Though it is likely he is a poor botanist, and had no idea what he wwas using.

Bookworm Hienrichs sits back down, a little shakily.

Rhianon Jameson sneezes from the Evil Pollen

Myrtil Igaly: we're still stuck in here and people can't come in

Rhianon Jameson: An airship can simply lift us all out.

Bookworm Hienrichs rubs her forehead, wincing.

Serafina Puchkina: That evil Doctor! What can we do?

Stereo Nacht: I always have my jetpack with me. Should I try from outside?

Mahakala Omegamu is rather disappointed nobody stood up to fight the menace

Bookworm Hienrichs: Ach. That always gives me such a headache.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Fraulein Book performed excellently as a heroine in this case. She awaited her moment to act.

Stereo Nacht: Yes, I must admit I wasn't much worried for her - I have heard she had had some excellent training.

Bookworm Hienrichs smiles weakly.

Jasper Kiergarten: it seems we are still stuck in here, however

Bianca Namori: slips to the back of the room and heads back to...work.

Jimmy Branagh: Nah. Do a little cloimbin'

Stereo Nacht: Hm. Metal bars. Acid, or heat?

Rhianon Jameson now regrets the short skirt, but reflects that she has new bloomers.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Try a lockpick first. Less entertaining, possibly more productive.

Jasper Kiergarten: hmm

Jasper Kiergarten: what do you think Jed?

Ahnyanka Delphin: Do we get to hear the rest of the speech about Scheherazade?

Bookworm Hienrichs: Oh, dear...

Jasper Kiergarten: we apologize for all of this, er, funny business, everyone

Rhianon Jameson: We don't need to - we have our own, in-the-flesh heroine!

Bookworm Hienrichs: I do hope you'll excuse me, but I don't know that I'm up to continuing.

Bookworm Hienrichs rubs her forehead again.

Jasper Kiergarten: methinks we should figure out these doors, and perhaps get Miss Book to a comfortable place so she can rest

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: The Consulate isn't far.

Jasper Kiergarten: *bangs on wall*

Myrtil Igaly: maybe we can climb up the wall and then go fetch a saw or something

Jasper Kiergarten: perhaps. You urchins are better suited for that, perhaps?

Jimmy Branagh: Oy bet Oy can get out an' foind some dynamite!

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Good work.

Jasper Kiergarten: they're open!

Bookworm Hienrichs starts the the clanging sound.

Ahnyanka Delphin applauds, "Excellent work!"

Jasper Kiergarten: excellent work Jed

Jedburgh30 Dagger: Jed says Voila

Bookworm Hienrichs: Thank you, Jed.

Jimmy Branagh: Awww ... Oy wanted to use dynamite ...

Serafina Puchkina: Jed saves the day!

Ahnyanka Delphin: Miss Jeddie saves the day.. AGAIN!

Myrtil Igaly: another time Jimmy

Jasper Kiergarten: everyone, we are so sorry about this rude and dreadful interruption

Rhianon Jameson: Quite exciting, Mr. K.!

Serafina Puchkina: Miss Viv will be so sad to have missed the excitement. She will be properly miffed at Doc O

Jasper Kiergarten: Unfortunately, I fear that Miss book is in no condition to continue her presentation

Jimmy Branagh: Awww, well it wos a great presentytion anywhys!

Ahnyanka Delphin nods at Mr. Kiergarten and gazes with concern up at Miss Bookworm, "Do you need any help getting home, darling?"

Serafina Puchkina: We thank you for your forbearance and we will resolve this matter with the Doctor, never fear

Jimmy Branagh: AN' she should get some rest after thet nefarious display

Bookworm Hienrichs smiles as well as she can. "Thank you, all."

Victor1st Mornington: awwww wasnt nefarious at all, was only the old doctor showing his love for the general populace of new babbage...

Jasper Kiergarten: thank you all for coming today, hopefully we can get the evil scrubbed out in time for the next Salon.. a heck of a way to celebrate two years of Aether Salon...

Serafina Puchkina: I agree, Jasper. Hope Miss Viv isn't miffed at us!

Stereo Nacht: Well, one could say we had some entertainment! ;-)

Jimmy Branagh: Oy think it's an annivr'sry ta be remembered!

Ahnyanka Delphin applauds and grins, "Wonderful job all! Even if it was so rudely interrupted!"

Bookworm Hienrichs: Here's to two more years, and more!

Jasper Kiergarten: cursed Docter Obelensky

Bookworm Hienrichs smiles.

Jimmy Branagh: "Miss Book Beats Stuffin's Out Of Evil Doctor, Audience Applauds Wildly!"

Serafina Puchkina: May I use that in the transcript, Jimmy?

Jimmy Branagh: SUre!

Mahakala Omegamu: Yes... I was sitting in the audience... awkward at the Dr. O's intrusion.. and I was sitting there thinking to myself from the event "Okay, some woman is going to stand up and stop this mess I hope" But then I realized after it all stopped "Good gods, thats exactly the type of feeling keeping people from becoming heroic to begin with" People expecting whoever they idealize to be heroic at the time taking action

Bookworm Hienrichs: Thank you, again. I hope I'll see you at the next salon.

Ahnyanka Delphin: One of the reasons that Miss Jed is such a great heroine in my opinion... she doesn't have the patience to wait for someone else to take care of it... she just does it herself.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Who else do you all consider heroic?

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Other than the remarkable Fraulein Bookworm and Fraulein Dagger?

Ahnyanka Delphin: Oh.. we have so many here in New Babbage.. though I wouldn't count myself as one of them.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Come now, name some names.

Ahnyanka Delphin: The ladies of the Fire Brigade I adore passionately for their heroism...

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Good example.

Stereo Nacht: Anyone who gets things done without double-thinking gets my admiration, sir!

Ahnyanka Delphin: Who would you add to the list, Herr Baron?

Jimmy Branagh: The New Babbage Militia has syved the dye many toimes.

Jedburgh30 Dagger: *points at Sera*

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: My mother would be my first example.

Ahnyanka Delphin nods in agreement with Jimmy.

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Remarkable woman.

Stereo Nacht: And as such, most people of the steamlands would be considered heroes and heroins, in my book.

Jasper Kiergarten: As always, the speaker's fund goes entirely to our speakers

KlausWulfenbach Outlander: A Spark and a leader, yet one who did not hesitate to get her hands dirty when a task needed to be done.

Heroines! Unedited Transcript

[14:05] Ahnyanka Delphin smiles up at Mr. Quintessa, "Welcome, doll! Please feel free to ask Mr. Kiergarten for a chair and have a seat."
[14:06] Mahakala Omegamu: Ahh, much better, thankyou
[14:06] Sunset Quintessa: htank you Ahnya
[14:06] Serafina Puchkina: As people are getting their chairs, I clear my throat and begin
[14:06] Serafina Puchkina: A gracious welcome to you. We are thrilled, pleased, and giddy with glee to welcome you to today’s Aether Salon, entitled Heroines!
[14:06] Serafina Puchkina: Thank you all for joining us today. Bear with us today, for we have a bit of a problem: Miss Viv refuses to return to reality and won't be with us today.
[14:07] Rhianon Jameson: I don't blame her.
[14:07] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Ach.
[14:07] Breezy Carver: awww
[14:07] Serafina Puchkina: As many of you know, the Aether Salon meets to discuss steam and Victorian topics on the third Sunday of each month, in Palisades and Academy, New Babbage.
[14:07] Serafina Puchkina: Today marks our second year of salon. When Miss Viv and I sat in her drawing room over two years ago to discuss our dreams and plans for a salon, neither of us knew how the idea would work or if we’d be run out of town on a rail. Thank you all.
[14:07] Bookworm Hienrichs smiles.
[14:07] Breezy Carver: wavess to darling Myrtal
[14:07] Serafina Puchkina: Those folks wearing sashes are past speakers of salon whom we are recognizing today. Please give them a round of applause.
[14:07] Serafina Puchkina claps
[14:07] Myrtil Igaly waves back fondly to Miss Breezy
[14:07] Rhianon Jameson applauds
[14:07] Jimmy Branagh waves to Myrtil
[14:07] Bookworm Hienrichs applauds enthusiastically.
[14:08] Sky Netizen applauds
[14:08] Breezy Carver: Myrtil even .. sigh new key board makes me stutter grins ..
[14:08] Mahakala Omegamu claps his hands appreciatively
[14:08] Myrtil Igaly pinches Jimmy
[14:08] Stereo Nacht: (And I managed to miss it for so long? Ah!)
[14:08] Breezy Carver: ✰·.·´` Claps Very Loudly!! ´`·.·✰
[14:08] Linus Lacombe: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[14:08] Serafina Puchkina: thank you, honored speakers
[14:08] Stereo Nacht: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[14:08] Myrtil Igaly applauds
[14:08] Ahnyanka Delphin applauds and grins up at Miss Bookworm.
[14:08] KlausWulfenbach Outlander hastily pulls his sash out of his pocket
[14:08] Marion Questi applauds
[14:08] Serafina Puchkina: A few matters of housekeeping before we get started. If you are standing in the back, please move forward onto the maze so that you can be assured of hearing the speaker.
[14:08] Breezy Carver: grins at the Baron
[14:08] Serafina Puchkina: Please hold your questions until the end, and as a courtesy to all, please turn off everything that creates lag: all HUDs, scripts, AOs and so on.
[14:09] Serafina Puchkina: Please no weapons, rogue scripts, unmetered poetry, or incendiary devices. Your cooperation is appreciated.
[14:09] Serafina Puchkina: Edited and unedited transcripts will be posted this week on aethersalon.blogspot.com so you can revisit today’s merriment, read transcripts of past salons, and for a laugh, peruse “overheard at the salon.”
[14:09] Serafina Puchkina: Please join the Aether Salon group and receive notifications of future salon events, click the lower right hand corner of the large brown sign by the entrance. We sincerely appreciate the support we receive from everyone in the community.
[14:09] Serafina Puchkina: As a reminder, all speakers' fund jar donations go directly to the speaker.
[14:09] Linus Lacombe wonders what is up with al the sages
[14:10] Linus Lacombe: sashes
[14:10] Serafina Puchkina: Next month’s salon is Aestheticism! with Miss Rowan Derryth on Sunday, November 21. We promise to have Miss Viv back by then.
[14:10] Serafina Puchkina: Miss Jed will introduce today’s speaker. Miss Jed?
[14:10] Jedburgh30 Dagger: Thank you Serafina.
[14:10] Breezy Carver: ✰·.·´` Claps Very Loudly!! ´`·.·✰
[14:10] KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds
[14:10] Mahakala Omegamu claps
[14:10] Jedburgh30 Dagger: Thank you all for coming today. I want to take a moment to thank the other staffers for the Salon for their dedication and efforts to make all of this come together. Not to mention all of you who have faithfully supported and attended the Salon since its inception.
[14:10] Sky Netizen applauds
[14:11] Linus Lacombe: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[14:11] Jedburgh30 Dagger: Let me tell you a little something about our speaker. Bookworm Hienrichs once described herself as the least Steampunk-ish person living in New Babbage. She came to town about the same time I did, around two years ago, and has become an active member of the community
[14:11] Ahnyanka Delphin applaues the efforts.
[14:11] Jimmy Branagh applauds
[14:11] Jedburgh30 Dagger: She has described herself as a straight-laced Victorian woman, who isn’t a builder or an engineer. Book has also said she is an ordinary human, with no special talents or powers, yet finds herself comfortable around fae folk or people from unknown lands
[14:11] Jedburgh30 Dagger: Miss Hienrichs enjoys photography and has captured many memorable images from the Salon and from the monthly Piermont Landing balls.
[14:11] Breezy Carver smiles
[14:11] Jimmy Branagh applauds
[14:12] Jedburgh30 Dagger: For all her time in town, she has always claimed that ‘nothing exciting ever happens to her’, that all the goings-on in the city seem to move around her. She has had the occasion to live that statement down, as she has found herself involved in many other events in the city, from joining the Militia to facing down certain doom and disaster in the streets.
[14:12] Ahnyanka Delphin wonders who is taking photos today...
[14:12] Breezy Carver laughs
[14:12] Jedburgh30 Dagger: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome today’s speaker, Miss Bookworm Hienrichs
[14:12] Stereo Nacht: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[14:12] Jimmy Branagh: Yay Miss Book!
[14:12] Jedburgh30 Dagger: applauds
[14:12] Breezy Carver: ✰·.·´` Claps Very Loudly!! ´`·.·✰
[14:12] Myrtil Igaly applauds
[14:12] Sky Netizen applauds
[14:12] Rhianon Jameson applauds
[14:12] KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds
[14:12] Scottie Melnik applauds
[14:12] PJ Trenton: ''*·.¸ APPLAUSE ¸.·*``
[14:12] Breezy Carver: ✰·.·´` Claps Very Loudly!! ´`·.·✰
[14:12] Jimmy Branagh: applauds enthusiastically.
[14:12] Bookworm Hienrichs blushes and smiles. "Thank you, Miss Dagger."
[14:13] Bookworm Hienrichs: I must admit, when I was asked to speak at this Salon on the subject of Heroines, I was quite hesitant. After all, what do I really know about the subject?
[14:13] Linus Lacombe: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[14:13] Ahnyanka Delphin beams up at Miss Book and claps.
[14:13] Breezy Carver grins
[14:13] Stereo Nacht whispers: Good day Miss Namori!
[14:14] Bianca Namori: Ms. Nacht! -squish-
[14:14] Bookworm Hienrichs: But then, as I began investigating the topic, I grew more and more interested in it. And I think--at least, I hope--I may be able to share some insights with you.
[14:14] Breezy Carver nods nods
[14:14] Bookworm Hienrichs: It may seem as if there are few heroines, past, literary, or contemporary, for Victorian women to emulate--especially when compared with the number of heroes to find.
[14:15] Bookworm Hienrichs: However, if one is willing to look beyond the standard stereotype of heroism, one can find many heroines, with lessons to teach us.
[14:15] Linus Lacombe waves to Frau Lowey
[14:15] Breezy Carver: waves to Miss Annechen quietly
[14:15] Bookworm Hienrichs: This discussion cannot, of course, cover them all, so I will just mention a few highlights--those of the past, and those here in our midst.
[14:16] Bookworm Hienrichs: Our first stop is in the Bible, when Joshua and the Hebrews were just starting to conquer the land of Canaan.
[14:16] Jimmy Branagh waves to Frau Annechen
[14:16] Bookworm Hienrichs: Joshua sent two spies to the city of Jericho, where they stayed at the house of Rahab, an innkeeper...or *cough* prostitute, depending on the translation.
[14:16] Annechen Lowey waves hallo and attends to the lecture.
[14:17] Bookworm Hienrichs blushes a little, and quickly moves on.
[14:17] Bookworm Hienrichs: The king of Jericho found out about them, and sent soldiers to her house. But she hid the spies on her roof, under stalks of flax, and told the soldiers that yes, the men had been there, but had left just before the time the city gate would close.
[14:17] Breezy Carver ponders house of rehab
[14:17] Linus Lacombe thinks good guy prostitues are almost a Biblical meme
[14:17] Bookworm Hienrichs: After the soldiers left, she let the two men out the window by a rope, as her house was actually part of the city wall.
[14:17] Ahnyanka Delphin chuckles at Linus.
[14:17] Bianca Namori: ponders brownies.
[14:18] Bookworm Hienrichs: So what lessons can a heroine learn from Rahab? Well, first, know where the good hiding places are.
[14:18] Bianca Namori: Hi Sera. -twinkles her fingers in a wave-
[14:18] Breezy Carver feels hungry
[14:18] Linus Lacombe laughs
[14:18] Mahakala Omegamu smiles
[14:18] Bookworm Hienrichs: Now, that may not *sound* very heroic, but it is actually very useful--not just for hiding oneself when one is in danger, but to hide oneself when one is following or watching someone else, or to hide others if they're in trouble.
[14:18] Ahnyanka Delphin blows a kiss back to Bianca and then turns back to Book.
[14:18] Bookworm Hienrichs: Getting to know the less-traveled passageways, the unused rooms, the convenient piles of crates or junk--all this will be helpful to any heroine here in New Babbage.
[14:19] Bianca Namori: winks at Ahnya.
[14:19] Bookworm Hienrichs: The urchins, of course, are past masters at this.
[14:19] Bookworm Hienrichs grins at Jimmy and Myrtil.
[14:19] Myrtil Igaly smiles back
[14:19] Jimmy Branagh waves to Miss Book.
[14:19] Bookworm Hienrichs: The second lesson is to know how to lie well.
[14:19] Bookworm Hienrichs: But sometimes, for the greater good, lying is necessary, and when that time comes, the lie had best be believable.
[14:20] Linus Lacombe: hehe
[14:20] Bianca Namori: snickers.
[14:20] Bookworm Hienrichs: ((Whoops...))
[14:20] Jedburgh30 Dagger smiles
[14:20] Bookworm Hienrichs: That may sound strange--especially coming from me. But sometimes, for the greater good, lying is necessary, and when that time comes, the lie had best be believable.
[14:20] Ahnyanka Delphin flashes a grin.
[14:20] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: It can save lives.
[14:20] Linus Lacombe: effective lying
[14:20] Bookworm Hienrichs: Rahab didn't try to insist that the two spies hadn't been there--she knew that would never be believed.
[14:20] Bianca Namori: Claro.
[14:20] Bookworm Hienrichs: Instead, she said that they'd headed for the gate at dusk--an entirely plausible thing for them to do, as closing time would likely be busy, and so it would be easier for them to slip out. So, through a good lie, Rahab saved their lives.
[14:20] Bookworm Hienrichs nods at the Baron.
[14:21] Stereo Nacht: (Cally it "distorting truth", if it makes you feel better about it!)
[14:21] Bookworm Hienrichs chuckles.
[14:21] Annechen Lowey: "selective editing"
[14:21] Bianca Namori: Don't scold your friend if they're a liar, they can be saving your life someday. -snickers-
[14:21] Bookworm Hienrichs: Our other Biblical examples come from the book of Judges. Early in the history of Israel, they were led by "judges," who could settle disputes in times of peace, and act as rallying points in times of war.
[14:21] Ahnyanka Delphin chuckles at Frau Lowey.
[14:21] Jimmy Branagh: "Docufiction"
[14:22] Bookworm Hienrichs: Deborah is the only woman judge mentioned in the Bible, but she obviously served in precisely the same function as any of the male judges.
[14:22] Bookworm Hienrichs: She was also a prophetess--which doesn't mean she foretold the future, but that she received and passed on messages and directives from God.
[14:22] Breezy Carver: looks t Jim big word child !!
[14:22] Linus Lacombe thinks there were probably a lot more female judges tha history records, and probably quite heroic ones too
[14:22] Jimmy Branagh grins
[14:22] Bianca Namori: nods in agreeance with Linus' thought.
[14:23] Myrtil Igaly: He likes to say big words he read in books even if he doesn't know them..
[14:23] Bookworm Hienrichs: She was truly, at this time, the ultimate authority in Israel--though Israel was under the thumb of Jabin, a Canaanite king, and his general Sisera.
[14:23] Bianca Namori: It comes with the gender Myrtil darling...-winks-
[14:24] Ahnyanka Delphin chuckles at Myrtil.
[14:24] Jimmy Branagh: Oy know them awl. Oy loike ta learn thngs, which Oy'm troyin' ta do roight now listenin' ta Miss Book.
[14:24] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Good man.
[14:24] Bianca Namori: sniggles.
[14:24] Bookworm Hienrichs smiles at Jimmy.
[14:24] Bookworm Hienrichs: Deborah was not afraid to use the authority given her. She did not doubt God when He said the time had come to defeat the general Sisera.
[14:25] Bookworm Hienrichs: ((*waits a bit to see if Breezy makes it back online...*))
[14:26] Bookworm Hienrichs: She was not afraid to gather the troops of Israel, and appoint their general, Barak, even though this action would certainly capture the attention of Sisera.
[14:26] Breezy Carver Ouch !
[14:26] Bookworm Hienrichs: ((WB, Breezy!))
[14:27] Breezy Carver: ❤*:•;•:*¨¨*:THANK YOU:* *¨¨*:•;•:* ❤
[14:27] Breezy Carver: ((aww Dear Book what a perfect herione !!)) ..
[14:27] Bookworm Hienrichs: Nor was she afraid to tell Barak off when he publicly expressed his trepidations by insisting that she come along, telling him that the ultimate glory of winning would go not to him, but to a woman.
[14:29] Bookworm Hienrichs: That woman was Jael--who wasn't even an Israelite. She was the wife of Heber the Kenite, who was actually a descendent of Moses' father-in-law.
[14:29] Myrtil Igaly: What a family!
[14:29] Bianca Namori: What a mouth full!
[14:29] Breezy Carver: My MY !
[14:29] Bookworm Hienrichs: Despite this blood tie, Heber did have good relations with King Jabin, which made their tents the logical place for Sisera to flee when his army was defeated by Barak and the Israelites.
[14:30] Bookworm Hienrichs: Jael welcomed him into her tent--*her* tent; this was a time when men still often had several wives, who would each have their own rooms or tents.
[14:30] Breezy Carver: Yes safe it seems as well smiles well it seems
[14:30] Rhianon Jameson blushes
[14:31] Bianca Namori: giggles.
[14:31] Breezy Carver grins
[14:31] Bookworm Hienrichs blushes a bit herself.
[14:31] Breezy Carver smiles
[14:31] Ahnyanka Delphin cocks her head to the side and ponders, chuckling a bit.
[14:31] Breezy Carver snickers
[14:31] Jimmy Branagh: "Circuit training"
[14:31] Bianca Namori: gafahs.
[14:31] Jimmy Branagh snickers
[14:32] Myrtil Igaly slaps the back of Jimmy's head
[14:32] Bookworm Hienrichs laughs.
[14:32] Breezy Carver now now .. grins
[14:32] Bookworm Hienrichs: She gave him milk to drink, and consented to keep watch while he slept. But once he was asleep, she took a tent peg and hammer, and drove the peg into Sisera's skull, killing him.
[14:32] Annechen Lowey: Long as everyone was happy.
[14:32] Rhianon Jameson: Oh my.
[14:32] Breezy Carver Gasp !
[14:32] Stereo Nacht ponders, as her travellings has led her to strange place and peoples...
[14:32] Jedburgh30 Dagger: Booyah
[14:32] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: That would ruin his chances at revivification.
[14:32] Bianca Namori: Boom headshot indeed!
[14:33] Jimmy Branagh: Whoa
[14:33] Breezy Carver laughs
[14:33] Jedburgh30 Dagger: Pays not to fall asleep first, methinks
[14:33] Breezy Carver: listens for head shot !
[14:33] Linus Lacombe: And tht is why they called him "Old Peg Head" thereafter
[14:33] Ahnyanka Delphin: Wow... what a wake up call...
[14:33] Myrtil Igaly: Must remember that one!
[14:33] Ahnyanka Delphin laughs and tries to cover Myrtil's ears.
[14:33] Bianca Namori: What are you talking about Ahnya? He -didn't- wake up! -laughs-
[14:33] Breezy Carver laughs
[14:33] Ahnyanka Delphin: Oh, I'm sure he did for a moment or two!
[14:33] Bianca Namori: laughs.
[14:34] Breezy Carver terrible way to go go ...
[14:34] Linus Lacombe: "I've got a skull splitting headache"
[14:34] Bookworm Hienrichs grins at the byplay.
[14:34] Bianca Namori: Oh Linus! -blushes and laughs-
[14:34] Ahnyanka Delphin giggles at Linus and then settles down.
[14:34] Bookworm Hienrichs: It is an unfortunate fact of life that most women are physically weaker than most men.
[14:34] Breezy Carver sigh
[14:34] Bianca Namori: nods in sad agreeance.
[14:34] Rhianon Jameson bats her eyelashes
[14:35] Bookworm Hienrichs: While we can take some steps to increase our strength, it oftentimes is not enough.
[14:35] Stereo Nacht mutters: there are way to make up for it... (smirk!)
[14:35] Breezy Carver nods nods
[14:35] Bianca Namori whispers: sshh...Stereo...let them think there isn't any hope.
[14:35] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: She's not talking about clank implants.
[14:35] Myrtil Igaly: Luckily they're smarter
[14:35] KlausWulfenbach Outlander mutters, 'Deadlier at least.'
[14:35] Jedburgh30 Dagger: depends on which men
[14:35] Breezy Carver: straightens sash and smiles
[14:35] Bookworm Hienrichs: Thus, heroines must be willing to use any advantage that is given them, as Jael did, to accomplish their goal.
[14:36] Stereo Nacht: Ahem. Sorry. I though this was all good allied society... ;-)
[14:36] Linus Lacombe: Cunning quite often trumps brawn.
[14:36] Annechen LoweyAnnechen Lowey coughs quietly.
[14:36] Breezy CarverBreezy Carver looks up
[14:36] Jimmy Branagh: ((Darn AFK for a bit))
[14:36] Myrtil Igaly: ((HB!))
[14:37] Bookworm Hienrichs: Most everyone knows the basics of the Arabian Nights, the Thousand and One Nights, the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments--whatever you want to call it.
[14:37] Ahnyanka Delphin flashes a grin and nods, "A fascinating story!"
[14:37] Bianca Namori: nods excitedly.
[14:37] Bookworm Hienrichs: But not everyone may know the details, which are very interesting.
[14:38] Bookworm Hienrichs: Scheherazade was the daughter of the grand vizier of a sultan.
[14:39] Bookworm Hienrichs: This sultan had discovered his wife in flagrante delicto with a household officer, and so rather soured on marriage and women.
[14:39] Rhianon Jameson tries to suppress a giggle, and fails
[14:40] Jedburgh30 Dagger: In flagrante Delecto
[14:40] Bookworm Hienrichs: ((D'oh!))
[14:40] Rowan Derryth: Love that term!
[14:40] Stereo Nacht holds back a snarky comment about the sultan's way of treating his wife *before* she went for better... ahem.
[14:40] Bookworm Hienrichs: ((*thwaps the typist*))
[14:40] Bookworm Hienrichs: So, once he'd disposed of his wife, he decided that the only solution was to marry a virgin, sleep with her for one night, then have her killed in the morning.
[14:40] Stereo Nacht: Oh, I think you were right, Miss Hienrichs, and Mr. Dagger just played with words...
[14:41] Myrtil Igaly: "disposed of his wife" hmm...
[14:41] Rhianon Jameson: A strong incentive for the women of the sultanate to shag the nearest guy.
[14:41] Mahakala Omegamu thinks "of course, thats 'logical'" o_O
[14:41] Bookworm Hienrichs: How he expected to get any heirs out of this, I don’t know.
[14:41] Breezy Carver: nods .. yet again . ((ww )) closing .. others sigh smiles
[14:41] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: (Fraulein Dagger, Captainess.)
[14:41] Bianca Namori: Very educational.
[14:41] Stereo Nacht: (Eek! Sorry!)
[14:41] Jedburgh30 Dagger: One night stands were tough back then
[14:42] Marion Questi thinks he must have been a rather poor sort of Sultan to have had only the one wife..
[14:42] Ahnyanka Delphin can't wait for Book to be able to finish the rest of the story.
[14:42] Bookworm Hienrichs: What?!
[14:42] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Red fire!
[14:42] Myrtil Igaly: ARGH, the Doc!
[14:42] Ahnyanka Delphin gasps as Dr. O suddenly appears.
[14:42] Bookworm Hienrichs raises up.
[14:42] Doctor Obolensky: Well, good afternoon.
[14:42] Serafina Puchkina gasps
[14:42] Stereo Nacht: Hm?
[14:42] Sky Netizen's eyes widen
[14:42] Jedburgh30 Dagger: What the...
[14:42] Rhianon Jameson: This is most unexpected.
[14:42] Bookworm Hienrichs shrieks once, then collapses.
[14:42] Doctor Obolensky: And, enough of that drivel, don't you think?
[14:42] Ahnyanka Delphin: Poor form, Doctor! Don't interrupt the story!!
[14:42] Serafina Puchkina: The doors! Look at the doors!
[14:42] Breezy Carver looks at the Doctor out for a strole ??
[14:42] Mahakala Omegamu: Gasp!~ ^o^ someone stop him!
[14:42] Stereo Nacht: Herr Baron? Any orders?
[14:43] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Hold.
[14:43] Myrtil Igaly: uho...
[14:43] Ahnyanka Delphin gasps as she notices that they're trapped.
[14:43] Stereo Nacht: Yes sir.
[14:43] Doctor Obolensky: Now, before you all get all irate, allow me to remind you of two things.
[14:43] KlausWulfenbach Outlander glares in irritation
[14:43] Bianca Namori: blinks thinking she heard a gun cock.
[14:43] Myrtil Igaly: Miss Book!!
[14:43] Doctor Obolensky: One, Miss Heinrichs will be more or less no worse for wear in a half-hour or so.
[14:43] Ahnyanka Delphin looks up at Miss Bookworm with concern.
[14:44] Breezy Carver Gasp !!!!
[14:44] Jedburgh30 Dagger growls
[14:44] Rhianon Jameson thinks it fortunate that she kept her pistol beneath her skirt
[14:44] Breezy Carver: but bt she was talking !!
[14:44] Doctor Obolensky: And the second, that you all have, for the last few minutes, been breathing South Patagonian Deathflower pollen.
[14:44] Breezy Carver: what did you do ???
[14:44] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Is that all?
[14:44] Myrtil Igaly: South wha?
[14:44] Sky Netizen frowns and sniffs
[14:44] Breezy Carver: what does that mean ??
[14:44] Doctor Obolensky: Which I'll pass on the antidote too, once I'm done, provided you all behave.
[14:44] Serafina Puchkina clutches her throat and staggers
[14:44] Myrtil Igaly: meh, it's open air, how could that affect us!
[14:44] Annechen Lowey frowns, "Poor manners are not excused by your self-importance, 'Doctor'. "
[14:45] Rhianon Jameson coughs politely
[14:45] Mahakala Omegamu wonders where isa botanist when you need one!
[14:45] Doctor Obolensky: For those of you immune to such things, well, just consider your neighbors well being.
[14:45] Breezy Carver covers mouth
[14:45] KlausWulfenbach Outlander looks impatient
[14:45] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Get on with it, Obolensky.
[14:45] Breezy Carver and crosses legs ..
[14:45] Bianca Namori whispers: Someone wasn't hugged enough as a child.
[14:45] Serafina Puchkina cries about poor Book
[14:45] Doctor Obolensky: After all, you should be more appreciative of me saving you from this deluded woman's ramblings.
[14:46] Breezy Carver Gasp !
[14:46] Doctor Obolensky: But on to the subject at hand.
[14:46] Ahnyanka Delphin flutters her hand to fnan herself as she starts to feel flushed.
[14:46] Rhianon Jameson: Wha....?
[14:46] Breezy Carver: how Rude !
[14:46] Doctor Obolensky: Heroines.....silly and useless.
[14:46] Jimmy Branagh: ((kback))
[14:46] Bianca Namori: tries to hold back her laughter, being completely delighted by the turn of events.
[14:46] Myrtil Igaly: ((welcome back Jimmy))
[14:46] Stereo Nacht clenches teeth, and puts her hand behind her back, just in case...
[14:46] Jimmy Branagh: ((thx))
[14:46] Breezy Carver: (wb wb wb ))
[14:46] Jimmy Branagh: ((thxthxthx))
[14:46] Jedburgh30 Dagger grits teeth
[14:46] Doctor Obolensky: As you can tell from the examples given by this deranged harridan.. >nudges Book with the toe of his shoe<
[14:46] Rhianon Jameson waves the pistol
[14:47] Sky Netizen hisses
[14:47] Breezy Carver: Evil !
[14:47] Doctor Obolensky: Women have no real place in the world of Heroism.
[14:47] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Watch the footprints, that's my Liaison you're nudging.
[14:47] Ahnyanka Delphin's eyes narrow as she frowns at the Doctor, "I don't care what your ideals are... it's never appropriate to interrupt a performance!"
[14:47] Jimmy Branagh whispers 'ello Mr. Katsu
[14:47] Annechen Lowey growls.
[14:47] Stereo Nacht abstains to roll her eyes, so not to get them off the Doctor...
[14:47] Rhianon Jameson nods in agreement with Miss Delphin
[14:47] Katsu Malik: Hello Jimmy
[14:47] Doctor Obolensky: Oh, assassins, yes. Storytellers, liars, cheats, all are excellent work for the woman out to make a name for herself.
[14:47] Breezy Carver ponders What a great big Ham !!
[14:47] Bianca Namori: cackles even more.
[14:48] Rhianon Jameson is suddenly hungry
[14:48] Doctor Obolensky: Not to mention, the culinary arts, and propogating the species.
[14:48] Serafina Puchkina growls and looks over at the barred doors
[14:48] Doctor Obolensky: But heroism requires more than any mere woman can manage.
[14:48] Ahnyanka Delphin raises an eyebrow as she listens.
[14:48] KlausWulfenbach Outlander goes from irritated to bored
[14:48] Marion Questi notices that there are no refreshments set out...
[14:49] Doctor Obolensky: Notice none of her examples included any women involved in a life-or-death duel on a rooftop in a thunderstorm.
[14:49] Ahnyanka Delphin ((*laughs* Brava Baron!))
[14:49] Bianca Namori: Oh my...you knocked her out for a speach!? Really?!? Just a speech?! No murder?? No suspense?!?! And you call yourself a villian...-sighs dramatically and slums in her chair-
[14:49] Rhianon Jameson: Naturally - we're not *stupid*
[14:49] Jimmy Branagh searches his poclets for fruit to throw.
[14:49] Doctor Obolensky: Well, if you insist, Miss Namori, I'll kill you later.
[14:49] Breezy Carver grins !
[14:49] Bianca Namori: Oh how delightful! You think you can! Adorable...
[14:49] Stereo NachtStereo Nacht grins at Miss Jameson - then remembers being an airwoman...
[14:49] Bianca Namori: giggles behind her hand.
[14:49] Ahnyanka Delphin secretly hands Jimmy a rotten tomato.
[14:50] Doctor Obolensky: Now then....I'll open the floor to questions on the subject. Please follow the rules of order.
[14:50] Bianca Namori: wonders where Ahnya keeps those things.
[14:50] Breezy Carver why are you you here again ?
[14:50] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: When are you leaving?
[14:50] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: And can we help?
[14:50] Doctor Obolensky: Well, I thought I had explained that.
[14:50] Bianca Namori: When -are- you going to kill me? I need to pencil it in.
[14:50] Sky Netizen thumbs through "Robert's Rules Of Order" to figure out if killing is acceptable.
[14:50] Katsu Malik: Will there be cake?
[14:50] Breezy Carver: can we review ?
[14:51] Ahnyanka Delphin giggles back at Sky.
[14:51] Bianca Namori: The cake is a lie...
[14:51] Breezy Carver: this is Babbage
[14:51] Mahakala Omegamu ponders cake or death
[14:51] Jimmy Branagh: ((Gah, can't rez tomatoes))
[14:51] Bianca Namori: Just like this mans ability to be a good villian.
[14:51] Doctor Obolensky: Really, for a group that supposedly is concerned with learning, you really are quite dull-witted.
[14:51] Stereo Nacht: DO I need my pistol?
[14:51] Rhianon Jameson tries to remember the lessons: know back alleys, lie well, use any advantage...
[14:51] Linus Lacombe: ((that was some crash))
[14:51] Breezy Carver snickers
[14:51] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: It's your field effect, Obolensky.
[14:51] Annechen Lowey: We just know when ther is dross offered instead of true knowledge.
[14:51] Bianca Namori: falls out of her chair laughing.
[14:51] Jimmy Branagh: Hoy Zaida
[14:51] Breezy Carver: it is so hard to understand why you are soo Evil
[14:52] Breezy Carver: Gosh !
[14:52] Saffia Widdershins: The Primgraph has cake
[14:52] Saffia Widdershins: we always have cake
[14:52] Jimmy Branagh: The Doc is offerin' us the comic relief of th' evenin'.
[14:52] Ahnyanka Delphin buffs her fingernails and gazes down at them, "It entirely depends on the interest that we have on the subject matter, darling Doctor..."
[14:52] Rhianon Jameson: I think the insufficient-hugs explanation works, Miss Breezy.
[14:52] Myrtil Igaly: he says girls can't be heroines
[14:52] Ahnyanka Delphin chuckles back at Saffia.
[14:52] Bianca Namori: Oooh, cake...yes...
[14:52] Breezy Carver: nods i concur !!
[14:52] Bianca Namori: sits up still laughing.
[14:52] Breezy Carver: lets give him hugss
[14:52] Doctor Obolensky: Hmmm....you have no interest in Heroines? I thought that's why you all turned up.
[14:52] Rhianon Jameson: Focus, Miss Namori!
[14:52] zaida Gearbox: pbbbbbt to doc o
[14:52] Breezy Carver: children you go first
[14:52] Ahnyanka Delphin nods at Scottie, "The Clockfinder for example!"
[14:53] Myrtil Igaly: go give him hugs?
[14:53] Jimmy Branagh: Oy'd bring up Professor Nishi, but she wos a bit before yaw toime, Doc.
[14:53] Breezy Carver: yes
[14:53] Annechen Lowey: We have interst in true heroics, not your inane babble.
[14:53] Breezy Carver: many many hugs
[14:53] Ahnyanka Delphin grins over at Miss Jed.
[14:53] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Obolensky... are you trying to tell us a secret? Are you actually a heroine after all?
[14:53] zaida Gearbox: *huggles miz breezy* ah'd rather eat a rotten egg dan hug doc o
[14:53] Rhianon Jameson snickers
[14:53] Doctor Obolensky sighs.
[14:53] Bianca Namori: I...can't...-titters- focus!! He's a ruuuubeeee....-cackles-
[14:53] Doctor Obolensky: Very well, I suppose you all will just have to die to the toxin.
[14:53] Ahnyanka Delphin ponders the Baron's question with a merry twinkle in her eyes.
[14:53] Myrtil Igaly: Well Miss Book IS an heroin
[14:53] Breezy Carver: hugs the cute child Zaida gives her a cookie
[14:53] zaida Gearbox: ((that's only ICLY - OCLY i totally hug doc o))
((that's only ICLY - OCLY i totally hug doc o))
[14:54] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Frau Lowey, how are the supplies in the Consulate lab?
[14:54] Bianca Namori: ((I'd give him a hug too...and scrub down with acid after))
[14:54] Breezy Carver: Doctor would you like a cookie too ?
[14:54] Breezy Carver smiles
[14:54] Annechen Lowey: Fairly well stocked, should not be a problem.
[14:54] Breezy Carver coughs coughs
[14:54] Doctor Obolensky: Good evening all. I had hoped for some interesting discourse....but apparently you all are all the same rabble as the rest of them.
[14:54] Stereo Nacht: Sir, he said he *has* the antidote. What about taking him down, then thaking it from him?
[14:54] Ahnyanka Delphin: Rest of who, darling?
[14:54] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Sehr gut, before we died of tedium.
[14:54] Rhianon Jameson: What Miss Nacht said.
[14:54] Vivi Boxen: Ola
[14:54] Annechen Lowey: I would rather loot the body.
[14:55] Jimmy Branagh laughs
[14:55] Myrtil Igaly raises her hand
[14:55] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Use precision, damen. We wouldn't want to break the container.
[14:55] Breezy Carver the Doctor some cookies to go in a tin
[14:55] Bookworm Hienrichs suddenly leaps up and snatches the ElectroCane from Dr. Obolensky.
[14:55] Linus Lacombe: Takes rabble to know rabble, Doctor O.
[14:55] Stereo Nacht: blade or bullet?
[14:55] Rhianon Jameson cheers Miss Book
[14:55] Breezy Carver: YAY!
[14:55] Annechen Lowey: Both.
[14:55] Doctor Obolensky: ((And this ladies and gentleman, is the kind of reason why you all don't see me much anymore.
[14:55] Sky Netizen grins
[14:55] KlausWulfenbach Outlander smiles, pleased at his Liaison's reflexes.
[14:55] Breezy Carver: ✰·.·´` Claps Very Loudly!! ´`·.·✰
[14:55] Ahnyanka Delphin cheers for Miss Bookworm!
[14:55] Bookworm Hienrichs: *I* -- have had *enough* -- of being *electrocuted*!
[14:55] Mahakala Omegamu applause!
[14:55] Rowan Derryth cheers!
[14:55] Saffia Widdershins: aha!
[14:55] Breezy Carver: ✰·.·´` Claps Very Loudly!! ´`·.·✰
[14:55] Doctor Obolensky: ((Good evening))
[14:55] Bookworm Hienrichs punctuates each phrase with a slam of the cane against the floor, creating sparks and a sizzling noise. Then she casts aside the now-ruined cane.
[14:55] Stereo Nacht: Yes Ma'am!
[14:55] Jimmy Branagh: Yay Miss Book!
[14:55] Saffia Widdershins applauds
[14:55] Bianca Namori: Huzzah!! She's awake.
[14:55] Marion Questi: Ole!
[14:56] zaida Gearbox: offers doc o another heartfelt pbbbbbbtttt
[14:56] KlausWulfenbach Outlanderr applauds
[14:56] Jimmy Branagh applauds
[14:56] Vivi Boxen: Heya
[14:56] Gabriell Anatra: I take it something has possibly gone wrong?
[14:56] zaida Gearbox: yay miz book!
[14:56] Bookworm Hienrichs glares after the departing Dr. Obolensky.
[14:56] Annechen Lowey: Pfft, just Oblensky.
[14:56] Marion Questi: I suppose he made up the toxin thing....
[14:56] Bookworm Hienrichs: Honestly! This is the *third* time this year!
[14:56] Bianca Namori: realizes laughing in a corset is NOT the best idea.
[14:57] Linus Lacombe: Is he prone to making thinks up?
[14:57] Bookworm Hienrichs: Are those villains *trying* to permanently damage my nerves?
[14:57] zaida Gearbox: *hugs loki*
[14:57] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Blood tests at the Consulate after the Salon for everyone.
[14:57] Jimmy Branagh: Thet wos a foine example of wot Miss Book is talkin' 'bout!
[14:57] Loki BaynLoki Bayn hugs zadia and waves to jummy
[14:57] Annechen Lowey: Though it is likely he is a poor botanist, and had no idea what he wwas using.
[14:57] Jimmy Branagh waves back
[14:57] Bookworm Hienrichs sits back down, a little shakily.
[14:58] Rhianon Jameson sneezes from the Evil Pollen
[14:58] Bianca Namori: resist throwing a ball at Loki.
[14:58] Myrtil Igaly: we're still stuck in here and people can't come in
[14:58] Linus Lacombe: probably just something he harvested from the dead weeds around his door step
[14:58] Rhianon Jameson: An airship can simply lift us all out.
[14:59] Bianca Namori: brushes off her skirts and wipes away a tear.
[14:59] Bookworm Hienrichs rubs her forehead, wincing.
[14:59] Serafina Puchkina: That evil Doctor! What can we do?
[14:59] Linus Lacombe: We can mock him in effigy
[14:59] Vivi Boxen: Was going on? babbage changed quite abit
[14:59] Vivi Boxen: Doctor O back on the rampage?
[14:59] Stereo Nacht: I always have my jetpack with me. Should I try from outside?
[14:59] Mahakala Omegamu is rather disappointed nobody stood up to fight the menace
[15:00] Bookworm Hienrichs: Ach. That always gives me such a headache.
[15:00] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Fraulein Book performed excellently as a heroine in this case. She awaited her moment to act.
[15:00] Rhianon Jameson: Indeed.
[15:00] Gabriell Anatra: Ah, made it over.
[15:00] Linus Lacombe: I came back after a crash, and the rapscallion of a cad was already wreaking his havoc. He ran off like a coward before I had my wits about me.
[15:00] Stereo Nacht: Yes, I must admit I wasn't much worried for her - I have heard she had had some excellent training.
[15:00] Bookworm Hienrichs smiles weakly.
[15:01] Vivi Boxen: Yes letus cause some havoc
[15:01] Jasper Kiergarten: it seems we are still stuck in here, however
[15:01] Bianca Namori: slips to the back of the room and heads back to...work.
[15:01] Jimmy Branagh: Nah. Do a little cloimbin'
[15:01] Stereo Nacht: Hm. Metal bars. Acid, or heat?
[15:01] Rhianon Jameson now regrets the short skirt, but reflects that she has new bloomers.
[15:01] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Try a lockpick first. Less entertaining, possibly more productive.
[15:02] Jasper Kiergarten: hmm
[15:02] Linus Lacombe looks at Ms Stereo's electrified cattle prod and behaves
[15:02] Jasper Kiergarten: what do you think Jed?
[15:02] Ahnyanka Delphin: Do we get to hear the rest of the speach about Scheherazade?
[15:03] Bookworm Hienrichs: Oh, dear...
[15:03] Jasper Kiergarten: we apologize for all of this, er, funny business, everyone
[15:03] Rhianon Jameson: We don't need to - we have our own, in-the-flesh heroine!
[15:03] Bookworm Hienrichs: I do hope you'll excuse me, but I don't know that I'm up to continuing.
[15:03] Bookworm Hienrichs rubs her forehead again.
[15:03] Jasper Kiergarten: methinks we should figure out these doors, and perhaps get Miss Book to a comfortable place so she can rest
[15:03] Bookworm Hienrichs: ((Head-On--Apply directly to the forehead!))
[15:04] Sky Netizen: ((ha!))
[15:04] Jimmy Branagh: ((LOL))
[15:04] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: The Consulate isn't far.
[15:04] Stereo Nacht: No back doors? Sorry, It's the first time I come here...
[15:04] Jasper Kiergarten: *bangs on wall*
[15:04] Jimmy Branagh: ((Hammer through the TV))
([15:04] Myrtil Igaly: maybe we can climb up the wall and then go fetch a saw or something
[15:05] Jasper Kiergarten: perhaps
[15:05] Jasper Kiergarten: you urchins are better suited for that, perhaps?
[15:05] Jimmy Branagh: Oy bet Oy can get out an' foind some dynamite!
[15:05] Vivi Boxen: I have a hover chair?
[15:05] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Good work.
[15:05] Jasper Kiergarten: they're open!
[15:05] Bookworm Hienrichs starts the the clanging sound.
[15:05] Ahnyanka Delphin applauds, "Excellent work!"
[15:05] Gabriell Anatra: Oh I can get out easily, but I imagine some may have difficulty.
[15:05] Serafina Puchkina applauds
[15:05] Sky Netizen applauds
[15:05] Jasper Kiergarten: excellent work Jed
[15:05] Stereo Nacht: Oh! Nice!
[15:05] Serafina Puchkina: Very good!
[15:05] Stereo Nacht: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[15:05] Rhianon Jameson: Yay!
[15:05] Vivi Boxen: Might work?
[15:05] Jedburgh30 Dagger: Jed says Voila
[15:05] KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds
[15:05] Sky Netizen: That's my boss!
[15:06] Bookworm Hienrichs: Thank you, Jed.
[15:06] Bookworm Hienrichs smiles.
[15:06] Linus Lacombe: `*.¸.*´ APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´APPLAUSE `*.¸.*´
[15:06] Gabriell Anatra: Ah, good.
[15:06] Jimmy Branagh: Awww ... Oy wanted to use dynamite ...
[15:06] Serafina Puchkina: Jed saves the day!
[15:06] Mahakala Omegamu: Bravo
[15:06] Myrtil Igaly: hehehe
[15:06] Ahnyanka Delphin: Miss Jeddie saves the day.. AGAIN!
[15:06] Myrtil Igaly: another time Jimmy
[15:06] Rhianon Jameson: Maybe next time, lad.
[15:06] Vivi Boxen: NAHHHH You dumb Jimmy... not powerful enough
[15:06] Jimmy Branagh: Yay Miss Jed!
[15:06] Vivi Boxen: Yer need a tesla beam of somesort
[15:06] Jasper Kiergarten: everyone, we are so sorry about this rude and dreadful interruption
[15:06] Vivi Boxen: with 2.21 gigawats of energy
[15:06] Victor1st Mornington chuckles
[15:06] Rhianon Jameson: Quite exciting, Mr. K.!
[15:06] Linus Lacombe: 1.21 just will not cut it eh?
[15:07] Serafina Puchkina: Miss viv will be so sad to have missed the excitement. She will be properly miffed at Doc O
[15:07] Jasper Kiergarten: Unfortunately, I fear that Miss book is in no condition to continue her presentation
[15:07] Jimmy Branagh: Hoy Mr. Victor!
[15:07] Gabriell Anatra: 1.21 should be sufficient. Provided you have time.
[15:07] Gabriell Anatra grins
[15:07] Jimmy Branagh: Awww, well it wos a great presentytion anywhys!
[15:07] Ahnyanka Delphin nods at Mr. Kiergarten and gazes with concern up at Miss Bookworm, "Do you need any help getting home, darling?"
[15:07] Vivi Boxen: Well Mar-gab the only energy source that can produce that kind of energy is a bolt of lightning
[15:07] Ahnyanka Delphin applauds for the presentation.
[15:07] Serafina Puchkina: We thank you for your forbearance and we will resolve this matter with the Doctor, never fear
[15:07] Jedburgh30 Dagger: Jolts to the head will do that
[15:08] Rhianon Jameson agrees with Jimmy and gives Miss Book a big round of applause.
[15:08] Jimmy Branagh: AN' she should get some rest after thet nefarious display
[15:08] Serafina Puchkina: thank you Miss Book
[15:08] Jimmy Branagh: Thanks Miss Book!
[15:08] Linus Lacombe: Unfortunately nobody knows when ad where lightening is going to strike!
[15:08] Rowan Derryth: wonderful!
[15:08] Mahakala Omegamu claps
[15:08] Alden Cortes: ☜ «´¨`•°..Im CaNaDiAn..°•´¨`»☞
[15:08] Bookworm Hienrichs smiles as well as she can. "Thank you, all."
[15:08] Jimmy Branagh applauds loudly
[15:08] Serafina Puchkina applauds
[15:08] Linus Lacombe: Thank you Ms Book!
[15:08] Sky Netizen applauds loudly
[15:08] Marion Questi: Thank you Miss Book.
[15:08] Victor1st Mornington: awwww wasnt nefarious at all, was only the old doctor showing his love for the general populace of new babbage...
[15:08] Saffia Widdershins: Thank you - I'm glad I was in time to catch some of it. And now to bed - a day's sightseeing with Miss Derryth in the real world has tired me out!
[15:08] Saffia Widdershins: :-)
[15:08] Victor1st Mornington: *giggles*
[15:08] KlausWulfenbach Outlander applauds
[15:09] Linus Lacombe: Good night Ms Widdreshins
[15:09] Rowan Derryth: Indeed, but a fabulous day it was!
[15:09] Jimmy Branagh waves to Miss Saffia
[15:09] Myrtil Igaly applauds
[15:09] Rowan Derryth: Glad to have made it back for the excitement though!
[15:09] Gabriell Anatra: Unfortunately I managed to miss the excitement. Again.
[15:09] Stereo Nacht: That is what lighitng conductors are for, Mr. Lacombe...
[15:09] Rhianon Jameson: Rest well, Miss Hienrichs. Indeed, that sounds like an excellent idea for me as well. Good evening, all!
[15:09] Gabriell Anatra: I may need some sort of time machine..
[15:09] Serafina Puchkina: thank you all for coming today. The tip jar funds will go to Miss Book who will need it to recover.
[15:09] Stereo Nacht: And good night Miss Widdershins
[15:09] Stereo Nacht: Need anything Miss Hienrichs?
[15:09] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Gute Nacht, those leaving.
[15:09] Jimmy Branagh: Oy got ... oh never moing.
[15:10] Jimmy Branagh: moind
[15:10] Bookworm Hienrichs: No, thank you, Captain Nacht. I think I'll be all right.
[15:10] Jasper Kiergarten: thank you all for coming today, hopefully we can get the evil scrubbed out in time for the next Salon..
[15:10] Stereo Nacht: Glad to hear so.
[15:10] Jasper Kiergarten: a heck ofd a way to celebrate two years od Aether Salon...
[15:10] Serafina Puchkina: I agree, Jasper. Hope Miss Viv isn't miffed at us!
[15:10] Mahakala Omegamu: I'd say
[15:10] Stereo Nacht: Well, one could say we had some entertainment! ;-)
[15:11] Jasper Kiergarten: meep
[15:11] Jasper Kiergarten: me too
[15:11] Vivi Boxen: Miss viv... better not be me I am MR viv
[15:11] Jimmy Branagh: Oy think it's an annivr'sry ta be remembered!
[15:11] Ahnyanka Delphin applauds and grins, "Wonderful job all! Even if it was so rudely interrupted!"
[15:11] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Heh.
[15:11] Bookworm Hienrichs: Here's to two more years, and more!
[15:11] Sunset Quintessa: yes a wonderful speech
[15:11] Jasper Kiergarten: cursed Docter Obelensky
[15:11] Bookworm Hienrichs smiles.
[15:12] Ahnyanka Delphin winks over at Mr. Mornington, "Hello there! I didn't see you sneak in... love to see you again!"
[15:12] Mahakala Omegamu: I must say, I had rather an epiphany during the event though
[15:12] Jimmy Branagh: "Miss Book Beats Stuffin's Out Of Evil Doctor, Audience Applauds Wildly!"
[15:12] Victor1st Mornington blushes and waves
[15:12] Serafina Puchkina: Oh?
[15:12] Vivi Boxen: Still got this snowball gun.
[15:12] Bookworm Hienrichs: ((I gotta get going--need to get back to house and dog-sitting stint, and let the poor guy out!))
[15:12] Ahnyanka Delphin gazes over at Mr. Omegamu, "Ooh?"
[15:12] Serafina Puchkina laughs at Jimmy's headline
[15:13] Serafina Puchkina: May I use that in the transcript, Jimmy?
[15:13] Jimmy Branagh smiles
[15:13] Stereo Nacht: Good bye MIss Hienrichs! Take care of yourself!
[15:13] Jimmy Branagh: SUre!
[15:13] Vivi Boxen: If Dr O attacks
[15:13] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Gute Nacht, Fraulein Bookworm.
[15:13] Serafina Puchkina: Bye Miss Book
[15:13] Mahakala Omegamu: Yes... I was sitting in the audience... awkward at the Dr. O's intrusion.. and I was sitting there thinking to myself from the event "Okay, some woman is going to stand up and stop this mess I hope"
[15:13] Ahnyanka Delphin blows a kiss to Bookworm, "Take care, darling!"
[15:13] Jimmy Branagh: Noight Miss Book. Get some rest.
[15:13] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: I had to hold Frau Lowey back, actually.
[15:13] Ahnyanka Delphin chuckles at Mahakala.
[15:13] Mahakala Omegamu: But then I realized after it all stopped "Good gods, thats exactly the type of feeling keeping people from becoming heroic to begin with"
[15:13] Vivi Boxen: Nah guns dumb
[15:14] zaida Gearbox: tank you miz book
[15:14] Mahakala Omegamu: People expecting whoever they idealize to be heroic at the time taking action
[15:14] Bookworm Hienrichs: Thank you, again. I hope I'll see you at the next salon.
[15:14] Gabriell Anatra: Dr Obolonsky does lend a bit of unplanned excitememnt to affairs, yes.
[15:14] Ahnyanka Delphin: One of the reasons that Miss Jed is such a great heroine in my opinion... she doesn't have the patience to wait for someone else to take care of it... she just does it herself.
[15:14] Bookworm Hienrichs smiles and waves.
[15:15] Jasper Kiergarten: she does indeed
[15:15] Serafina Puchkina: I agree, Miss Delphin
[15:15] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Who else do you all consider heroic?
[15:15] Stereo Nacht smiles without answering...
[15:15] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Other than the remarkable Fraulein Bookworm and Fraulein Dagger?
[15:15] zaida Gearbox: *pats maui*
[15:15] Ahnyanka Delphin: Oh.. we have so many here in New Babbage.. though I wouldn't count myself as one of them.
[15:15] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Come now, name some names.
[15:15] zaida Gearbox: *looks at all the other urchins* now what we gonna do?
[15:16] Ahnyanka Delphin: The ladies of the Fire Brigade I adore passionately for their heroism...
[15:16] Ahnyanka Delphin winks over at Miss Sera.
[15:16] Serafina Puchkina grins
[15:16] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Good example.
[15:16] Jimmy Branagh: ((I'm gonna have dinner as soon as the bell rings.))
[15:17] Vivi Boxen: ((I am gonna have to finish my psycology homework
[15:17] Stereo Nacht: Anyone who gets things done without double-thinking gets my admiration, sir!
[15:17] Ahnyanka Delphin: Who would you add to the list, Herr Baron?
[15:17] Jimmy Branagh: The New Babbage Militia has syved the dye many toimes.
[15:17] Jedburgh30 Dagger: *points at Sera*
[15:17] zaida Gearbox: what you wanna do maui?
[15:17] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: My mother would be my first example.
[15:17] Ahnyanka Delphin nods in agreement with Jimmy.
[15:17] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: Remarkable woman.
[15:17] Stereo Nacht: And as such, most people of the steamlands would be considered heroes and heroins, in my book.
[15:17] Ahnyanka Delphin: Ah! An excellent example.
[15:17] zaida Gearbox: what you doing now myrtil?
[15:17] Jasper Kiergarten: ((As always, the speaker's fund goes entirely to our speakers)
[15:18] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: A Spark and a leader, yet one who did not hesitate to get her hands dirty when a task needed to be done.
[15:18] Myrtil Igaly: I'm gonna go back home for a while I think