Today we have a Guest post from SMOKE AND IRON author Rachel Caine, who is here to discuss some of the ancient technology she researched in writing her Great Library series.
One of the most fascinating things I uncovered in writing my young adult novels about the Great Library of Alexandria were the multiple references to technologies that qualify as astonishingly advanced … if not downright science fictional. I incorporated (and yes, enhanced, for fictional purposes) many of these things into the books, but I thought it’d be interesting to discuss a few of them in detail.
1. The “Death Ray” of Archimedes.
Archimedes was certainly one of the best known inventors of the ancient world; he was a resident of the island of Syracuse, and was held in such high regard by the enemy Romans that the general in charge gave orders that under no circumstances was Archimedes to be killed. He was that valuable a catch.
Proof of this is how long the island held off the highly capable Roman fleet … for almost two years, thanks to Archimedes’ inventions, which included a crane-operated giant claw that could pick ships up from the sea, raise them, and smash them back down; a wide variety of catapults and ballistas set to varying ranges of operations, so that no matter how far or near the Romans might be, they would be mercilessly attacked. All these were described in detail by the historian Polybius, and the whole story is a fascinating read. (Sadly, Archimedes’s story didn’t end quite as well; even though his security was ordered by the Roman general, a rank-and-file soldier thought he was a crazy hermit and killed him out of hand. Bet that went over well with the boss.)
But the most science fictional of all Archimedes’s inventions–which has been debated through the ages, and attempted on the show Mythbusters, and most recently by MIT–has to do with his Death Ray, which was (at least in theory) a giant array of highly polished metal mirrors designed to catch the sun, amplify and intensify it, and burn ships at sea. Mythbusters failed to achieve a result, and pronounced it “busted,” but the MIT experiment was much more successful. Even with 3 mirrors misaligned, they were able to set fire to a mock ship in the middle of a parking lot. So if Archimedes was able to approximate a laser in 213 AD, and then everyone forgot about how to do it, that’s pretty amazing stuff. The stuff of science fiction.
2. The many inventions of Hero(n) of Alexandria.
Hero (or Heron, spellings vary) of Alexandria was an inventor and mathematician who taught at the Alexandria University (Musaeum), and was certainly comparable to an ancient Da Vinci. He invented the steam engine in the form of the aeolipile; he invented vending machines and wind turbines, and created a fully automated theatrical play that lasted a full ten minutes and was in a self-contained cart, with special effects.
He also may have been one of the first “programmers,” in that he was able to program a cart to follow a path simply by a set of strings wound around the axle. Oh, he also invented the force-pump fire engine, which was reinvented in … the late 1800s.
His most science fictional invention? Hero also built temples that were almost completely automated. A priest lit a fire, which started a steam engine that cranked open the massive doors. A pneumatic system (also driven by steam) created a trumpet blast. As worshippers entered one at a time to make their offerings, they stood on a stone that displaced sand beneath, setting off a series of automated events, including (according to some reports) moving statues of the temple god, who even “spoke” (though the priest interpreted their words).
He was about one step away from creating actual robots.
3. The Antikythera
But even so, there weren’t gears involved, right? Wrong. The ancients had steampunk before steampunk was remotely cool. Case in point: the Antikythera mechanism … a metal case containing at least 30 intermeshing gears that functioned as both calendar and orrery. Almost 2000 years ago, these might have even been common trade items. We only know about their existence because of a shipwreck that preserved one of these devices. You can watch a video that includes the reconstruction of this device here: https://www.youtube.com/
Combine gears with the inventions of Hero, and you have … automata. Hero would have almost certainly used gears in his “moving statues.” And from there, we can combine that with Talos, the giant bronze god of Crete … who, according to legend, also moved. Automaton gods, lasers, and more are now possible building on this within the context of an ancient world. There’s even a poem by a Greek tourist to Crete in the period, who referred to the statues on every corner that moved to watch him as he passed. Creepy or cool? You decide.
I think we’ve fully arrived at science fiction, and it might not have even been fiction.
So what made all that amazing technology collapse?
Two things: first, the nature of libraries in the ancient world. They were more “information vaults” than libraries, designed to glorify the power of the country than to share and spread that information. And second, of course, the lack of a simple, easy way to reproduce and distribute vulnerable original writings. Until the printing press there was no fast way to create multiple copies of anything, no matter how valuable or important. And that left all of the records, details, and drawings of these inventions vulnerable to wars, fires, floods, and other disasters. Few survived.
By changing one simple thing–preserving and expanding the Great Library of Alexandria in ancient times–I created the world of my Great Library series … a world of automata gods and monsters, a world where information is both hoarded and distributed. A world where individuals don’t own books, the Library does. But really, the only SF/F element I introduced was an alchemical/magical system by which the Library can distribute information by automatically copying it onto the pages of a blank book upon request. A paper-based Internet, with original data stored within the Great Library itself.
But having created such a world, I had to introduce the one element that would change it: the forbidden, long-suppressed invention of the printing press. And with four books out in a five book series, it’s time to enter the Library!
Thanks for joining me on this ancient excursion. Now enjoy this YouTube video of a 240+ year old automaton writer! https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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Rachel Caine is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than fifty novels in a diverse range of genres and categories. She’s been honored with multiple awards from RT Booklovers Association and the Texas Library Association, and was honored with two spots on the 2012 “Most Favorite Books of UK Schoolchildren” list.
She started writing at 14, and wrote steadily (but privately) until the age of 28, when she got her first novel deal for Stormriders (as Roxanne Longstreet). She published several horror novels under that name, and switched to romantic suspense as Roxanne Conrad. In 2003 she launched into the urban fantasy genre under the name Rachel Caine. In 2006, she created the Morganville Vampires series in young adult, and premiered the TLA-listed novel Prince of Shadows in 2015, and the new Great Library series with Ink and Bone in 2016. Smoke and Iron is the latest in that series.
