Background: Etheric Travel

In 1877, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla developed the Etheric Propeller, a device that allowed ships to travel from Earth to the Moon. On its maiden voyage, the first successful spaceship, the Daedalus IV, successfully landed on the Moon and almost immediately raced back to earth because of the massive swarm of giant spiders that greeted it after landing on the lunar surface. Still, it became obvious that Etheric travel was the new coming technology, and in the wake of the United States losing the Civil War and giving up substantial parts of its territory to the CSA and the 500 Nations the country needed something to boost its pride. Nothing puts a spring back in a nation's step like flying its flag on new territory, and both Venus and Mars presented brand new challenges for American knowhow and ingenuity.

There are two general types of spacecraft; the massive Etheric Zeppelins serve as cargo haulers and transports for passengers in a noticeable lack of comfort or style. Most of the human civilizations on Mercury, Venus and Mars are barely self-sustainable, with shipments of machine parts, Calculation Engine punchcards, alchemical reagents and other industrial-age goods making it possible for the settlements on the other planets to continue to function. The outposts on Mercury are the least able to look after themselves without outside help; then the pitiless Martian deserts show the next greatest degree of difficulty to survive. Venus, with its frequent rainfall and almost frighteningly fertile soil, is capable of supporting a frontier civilization nearly indefinitely--and it's certain that on that planet, at least, industry and the infrastructure necessary for its development will eventually rise.

Etheric Transports are the other types of space ships, and they range in size from one or two man vessels to naval warships. Travel in the Etheric void is risky in dozens of ways; the void between worlds is bitterly cold (though far from absolute zero) and the Ether is not breathable for more than a few minutes before lack of oxygen will cause a sapient being to pass out and eventually die from asphyxiation. For obvious reasons, the various Etheric ships are sealed against the cold and emptiness of the void (though portholes and fore and aft viewing windows are necessary for piloting). The naval and commercial ships also have Etheric Void Suits in storage in case repairs or combat needs to take place outside the ships' hull; the suits are constructed of rubber-laminated canvas and look similar to deep-sea diving suits. It's dangerous to go out the hatch into the void in one of the suits, and suicidal to do so without either tying one's self to the hull or wearing magnet-soled boots. The Etheric Navies of the USA, CSA, Peachtree and other spacefaring nations have all invented a medal of their corps of engineers for meritorious service while fixing problems in Etheric transit; nearly all of them have been awarded posthumously.

Despite the name, the Etheric Propeller doesn't churn up the ether to move a spaceship forward; instead, it's more properly understood as a device that can refract gravity. Under manual control or run by a Calculating Engine, the Propeller forces an Etheric vessel through an atmosphere or through the interplanetary void. Transit is rapid between the planets (specifically, Etheric ships move exactly at the speed the plot requires, but several weeks at least to go from one of the inner planets to the other or to the asteroid belt). At the time the campaign starts, there are no outposts on Jupiter or its moons or farther out but the USA and Peachtree have designs on every planet in the outer solar system. As things stand now, though, the asteroid belt is the very end of the Etheric frontier.

Traveling from one planet to another takes a great deal of mathematical precision; the ship, the planet it left from and the planet it's going to are all moving in curved arcs either towards or away from each other and making the trip in as little time as possible is usually requires a mathematical prodigy, magical divination, or a Calculation Engine.

Space, food and water are at a premium on Etheric voyages, and passengers are advised to bring reading material (the larger transports, whether military or commercial, tend to carry as many books as possible and lend them out freely to the passengers. As the alternative to boredom on an Etheric transport is disaster passengers are advised to just shut up and re-read the same newspaper one more time. Food for the first day or two out of port is usually lavish, but after a while it's inevitable that the passengers are given "tack and tins"; hardtack with tinned seasoned meat-and-vegetable paste for every meal. Since it's impossible to compress a liquid, water (and beer and wine and the inevitable rum rations) are also in short supply. Generally there's enough food and water for the crew and passengers for the trip plus three weeks as a margin for safety. The 

There is no wireless communication in 1899 world, either on Earth, between planets, between ships or from ships to shore (of any planet). Ships with staff wizards can use telepathic communications, but barring that method, Etheric ships are forced to use signal displays like Aldis lamps, flags or (on the newest models) a display panel controlled by a Calculation Engine. Signal towers on the ground direct ships to their landing sites on any of the planets with flags or lights of their own, although nearly every Etheric Transport is constructed so that it can land on the ground without destroying crucial parts of its structure so a landing outside of a space port is possible in almost every case.

Space ports on Earth, Venus and Mars all recognize the difficulty in communicating between the various planets (there's a lag time of two to four months for round-trip communications). Because of this there's a postal facility that stores mail and packages for Etheric sailors free of charge (landing fees and import taxes pay for the maintenance of these facilities). Generally an Ether sailor lives a vagabond life; it's one of the attractions of interplanetary travel for the people who live that life. The call of the Void is just as strong as that of the sea, and the inner planets comprise a new frontier that beckons to people whose lives were shattered by the decade-plus Civil War. There's risk in the new frontiers, but with painful memories or the devastation of a family back on Earth, there's always something in the American spirit that calls for pulling up stakes and trying something new somewhere far away. And it's hard to get farther away than Mars.