Thermodynamics of the waste land

Chapter 2: The First Law of Survival

The Stirling engine was making a thump-thump-thump* sound that echoed through the grand hall. It was like a heartbeat that brought some order to the northern wasteland. The hot air coming from the copper vents had pushed the frost back. Created a warm place inside the manor.

Rowan stood in front of the spinning iron axle his hands on a railing as he looked out the broken window. The Frost-Stalkers had gone back into the blizzard stopped by the warm air.. Rowan was not happy.

He was looking at the horizon. The ice rifts in the sky were pulsing. To people it would look like the breathing of a wild elemental deity.. To Rowan, who knew about engineering the pulses were happening at exact times. Three short bursts, one time to get stable and then a big spike in energy use.

It was like a cycle. A mechanical exhaust loop.

"Hey master " someone said.

Rowan turned to see Cora Blackwood coming towards him. The blue color had left her lips. She had a healthy look now because of the warm air. She had bandaged her wounds with clean cloth and her eyes were sharp and focused on him.

"The men have locked all the doors on the outside " Cora said, stopping a feet away to look at the engine. "The hall is staying warm. I have never felt this without using a high-grade fire array. How did you make this happen without using energy?"

"I did not make the rules Cora " Rowan said, wiping some black grease from his cheek. "I just followed them. The empire teaches that magic is a right, a power of the mind.. Magic is still here with us. It works with things around us. If a spell uses energy to make ice that energy does not just disappear. It has to go. I just made a way to catch that energy and turn it into work."

Cora looked confused trying to understand what Rowan meant. "Work? You mean like labor?"

"I mean like mechanical power " Rowan explained, pointing to the spinning axle. "The cold outside is something we can use. The stronger the blizzard is, the the difference in temperature between outside and inside. The the difference, the faster the engine spins and the more heat we get. The storm is helping us survive."

Before Cora could say anything Orin Clay came up carrying an iron kettle filled with melted snow water. He put it down near one of the vents watching in amazement as the water started to simmer.

"This is like a miracle " Orin said, shaking his head. "If Lord Julian knew you could make fire without stones he would have killed you instead of sending you away. He would not want a 'weak' son to be better than his sons."

The mention of Julian Vance made Rowan feel a surge of anger. He remembered the day his family tested him. His brothers, Caelum and Zane had shown they were very strong breaking stone pillars with their sword-qi. When it was Rowans turn he had failed to do anything.

"My father is a man who only understands power when it comes from a sword or magic " Rowan said coldly. "He does not understand efficiency.. That will be his problem."

Rowan walked over to a desk near the engine, where he had laid out some charcoal and parchment. He started drawing some shapes.

"We survived the night but this engine is a fix " Rowan said, asking Cora and Orin to come around the table. "The seals are made of animal fat and ash. They will break in a week because of the heat and friction. If the seals break the engine will. We will freeze."

Cora leaned over the table looking at the drawings. "What do you need to make it work for a time?"

"We need good rubber or mechanical seals, which we cannot make now " Rowan explained, tapping his charcoal on a drawing of the estate. "So we need a reliable source of heat that does not depend on the blizzard. According to maps this place is on top of a dormant geothermal vein. The people who built this manor chose this place because the ground was warm in late autumn."

Orin nodded slowly. "Yes the old people used to say the soil here could grow crops in late autumn.. When the ice rifts opened the cold went into the earth and stopped the vein."

"The cold did not stop it " Rowan corrected. "It just suppressed it. The ice rifts are taking the heat out of the earth.. If we dig deep enough past the frozen ground the earths core should still be warm. We need to build a well."

"We do not have machines or people who can cultivate the earth " Cora pointed out practically. "My soldiers are trained to fight, not to mine ground."

"We will not use picks " Rowan said, smiling coldly. He drew a hollow tube with a pointed tip and a spiral channel. "We will use some of the high-pressure steam from our engine put it into an iron drill bit and let the heat melt the frozen ground. The weight of the iron pipe will push it down into the earth. Once we hit the vein the pressure will bring hot water to the surface."

Orin stared at the design his mouth open. "You want to make the earth give us water?"

"Exactly " Rowan said. ". Once we have hot water we can heat the whole courtyard. We can build greenhouses. We can grow food."

The word *food* was important in the air of the hall. The settlement did not have food and the idea that they could grow crops in the frozen wasteland was enough to give them hope.

"If you can do this Rowan " Cora said, her voice less formal, "the people here will follow you into the ice rifts.. We have a problem now."

She took out a frozen communication talisman from her pouch. It belonged to the border network used to send alerts between outposts.

"Before the blizzard cut the signal I got a message, from Sector 4 the place controlled by the Thorne family " Cora reported, looking serious. "Idris Thorne is the governor appointed by the capital. He is a man who survives by taxing hunters and hoarding magic stones."

"What did the message say?" Rowan asked.

"He knows you were sent here " Cora said, looking at Rowan. "He knows your family took all the resources from this estate before throwing you out. His scouts saw the heat coming from our manor during the storm. Idris thinks you brought a hidden treasure of high-grade fire stones from the capital to help you survive." Cora looked into Rowans eyes. "He wants eighty percent of our fuel by tomorrow evening. If we do not give it to him he will stop us from using the southern trade pass the path that is not blocked by ice rifts."

Rowans eyes narrowed. The people who wanted power were already looking for weaknesses. Idris Thorne wanted to take advantage of a discarded prince not knowing that the "treasure" was not a vault of gems but a mind that knew physics.

"Let him come " Rowan said quietly his voice cold. "We will prepare a welcome for the governors tax collectors."

"Are we going to fight them?" Orin asked, holding his broadsword. "We are outnumbered four to one if he brings his guard."

"No " Rowan replied, looking at his drawings. "We do not have the resources to waste on a fight. We will use the environment. We will use the energy they think is a curse."

Rowan turned his attention back to the parchment. Started to write down the details for his thermal drilling rig. The grand hall was changed into a workshop over the next twelve hours. Rowan was in charge. He made sure that old iron bedframes were melted down and made into long pipes.

The pipes were connected together to form a line. By the day a big wooden structure stood in the middle of the courtyard. The structure was connected to the engine inside the manor.

"The pressure is just right " Rowan yelled over the sound of the wind. He was wearing gloves and a protective apron. "Orin please release the lock. Let the weight go down."

Orin pulled a lever. The iron pipes made a noise and the hot drill bit went into the frozen ground.

A loud hissing sound was heard as hot steam came out of the drill bit. The ice in the ground turned into water instantly. Mud and boiling water came out of the hole hitting the structure. The pipe started to go down into the ground.

"It is working " Cora called out from the watchtower. "The frozen ground is getting softer."

"Please keep the steam pressure steady " Rowan said. He was looking at the pressure gauge he had made. "If the pressure goes down the mud will freeze inside the pipe. Break it."

The drilling went on for three hours without stopping. They reached fifty feet then one hundred feet. The ground around the hole started to get softer. The air in the courtyard got warmer.

Suddenly the pressure gauge went up high. The colored oil inside the gauge went to the top.

"Rowan the pipe is shaking " Orin yelled. The whole wooden structure started to shake

A deep rumbling sound was felt under their feet. It sounded like an animal waking up under the manor.

"Please get back everyone " Rowan shouted. He grabbed Orin. Pulled him towards the main building.

The hole made a loud noise. Then a big stream of water shot up into the air breaking the top of the wooden structure. The water was full of minerals and heat. It melted the snow around the courtyard.

The geothermal well was now open. As the steam went away a pool of water was seen. The water started to flow into the trenches Rowan had made.

Cora came down from the watchtower looking worried. "Rowan there are riders coming. They have the Thorne family flag. Idriss men are here."

Rowan wiped the mud from his face. Looked at the gate. He was not worried anymore.

"Orin please close the steam valves on the engine " Rowan said calmly. "Send the heat into the trenches leading to the front gate. Lets see how Idriss men handle the change, in air pressure."