The Retrofit #
The engineers repurpose two steam engines for maritime use. Marcus supervises as workers pry the bronze engines from the factory floors.
At the docks, Rufus and Siro build secondary internal walls around the engine spaces. "If the fire can't jump the gap, the wood won't weep," Rufus says. Siro meticulousy seals the paddlewheel joints: "The hull must flex, but the axle must be rigid."
Two merchant ships are transformed, their new paddlewheels and tall iron stacks marking them as something entirely different. "Livia," Marcus observes, "they don't look like merchant ships anymore."
"They look like the future, Marcus," she replies.
Wide shot: The "Fire Ships" steam out toward the grey horizon, trailing plumes of black smoke. Gaius whispers: "May Neptune have mercy on their strange hearts."