The Naval Architect #
In the modern cellar, Lucia designs the Steamboats. She balances the physics of weight distribution and insulation: "We use firebrick and a bed of sand around the firebox. If a spark jumps to the cargo, she's a floating funeral pyre."
She sketches the propulsion: side paddlewheels and a tall smokestack. The strategic cost is high—they must sacrifice two of their seven working factory engines. "Weight is everything on the water," she notes.
Ulysses sends the blueprint: the "Fire Ship" is born.