RE: [DL] The Power of Steam!

["Matthew M. DeForrest" <mmdeforrest@worldnet.att.net>]

Hi, James.  You pose an interesting question:

-----Original Message-----
But where does steam come from, boys and girls? Water,
of course. I've noticed that all of the steam powered
gizmos here and there list their ghost rock usage, but
not their water usage, and since ghost rock burns
pretty damn hot, I'm guessing that water would be used
pretty fast. Where do you put the water in your
flapjack machine anyway?
--------------------------

Well, I can't say where the flapjack machine keeps its water supply, but I
can tell you what I have done to resolve the problem in my campaign:  The
water exists in a sealed system -- one that has the water pass through the
turbine and then re-condenses the water by running it through a refrigerated
system (air conditioners and refrigerators cool by taking a gas and running
it into wider pipes, reducing the pressure and cooling like evaporating
alcohol, to oversimplify), also run by the steam engine.  The system, one of
Hellstrome's early patents, has been altered (and counter-patented: notably
by Smith and Robartes), pirated, and licensed.  While the system requires
occasional refilling, it can be topped off when picking up more ghost rock.
Even with the competing systems, the patent licenses gave him enough money
to set up Wasatch Industries.

Now, the player with the Mad Scientist (Dr. Dexter Doom) hasn't asked about
this yet, but I wanted to have an answer.  Like you, I wanted to come up
with an explanation for how the steam engines don't run out of steam too
quickly.

I hope this explanation helps.  Take care.

Matt