The Mechanical Era

Kant was forced to choose from the variety of people in the crowd. He pointed out his finger and said "You there. Come in front." a man, wearing a clean black shirt and a yellow tie comes forward.

"What is your question?" Kant asked.

"Well, your majesty. I am a mechanical engineer working on this project, and I think I will be speaking for everyone here when I ask this question.

First of all, can I ask multiple questions? Because I think we all have many similar questions in mind." he asks.

"Multiple questions are fine," Kant replied.

"Alright. Thank you, sir. Now, my first real question is whether you can specify what the locomotive will be primarily made out of.

I think it would be beneficial for us to know what we will have to design your products with as different materials have different will lead to different power outputs and such," the engineer asked.

Upon hearing what he said, a lot of them nodded in agreement. It appears that this one had popped up into their mind. They all now waited for Kant to give a solid and clear response, which he delivered.

"Well, I intend the locomotive to be made primarily out of steel. I chose steel because it will allow the components to be stronger, to allow them to have more power, while the train itself will be lighter," he answered.

The was a little confusion among the mechanical engineers, who wondered why he would choose such an expensive material to build his mechanical machine. Kant, seeing the confusion among their faces, asked a question himself.

"Is there something wrong? Do you all not have experienced working with steel?" the workers nodded in disagreement.

"No. No. Sir. It is just that... you said steel? Isn't that expensive, sir?" he asked. Kant, upon understanding what the confusion was about, just smiled.

"Ah. That was what you were confused about. Well, not really. Not anymore that is. Thanks to a steel mill I have set up a month ago, I have been able to receive a large quantity of steel. I hope that answered your question and cleared out any confusion." Kant answered.

"It did. Thank you, sir."

The man coughed a little, before moving on.

pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ "Now, my next question is about the horsepower of the vehicle. I am sure that you want it to be able to carry a lot of stuff around at a fast distance. Since the horsepower directly affects how much it could carry, how much do you want?" he asked.

Kant thinks about it for a minute and does a few calculations in his head. Considering the size of his kingdom, he would want the train to be able to reach his destination in under a day at least.

"Well, with our current knowledge, skills, and materials, I expect we should be able to reach about 100 horsepower at the maximum. Although, anything more than that would be welcomed if it is not traded in for reliability or safety," Kant replied.

"Alright. Third question. What speeds would you want the train to be able to achieve with how many carriages locked onto it?"

"Hm... if the steam engine locomotive can carry around 150-200 tons at the max speed of around 20-30 miles per hour, I will be happy with that. Besides, this will be our first real attempt, isn't it? It won't have to be crazy." Kant replied.

"I see sir. Do you expect 100 horsepower would be enough to do that?"

"I do think so, yes. I have done some calculations on the matter, and came up with that figure, although I am willing to accept the possibility that I could have made an error," Kant acknowledged.

"Do you have any questions remaining?"

"Yes sir. Only about 3 left from me. Shall I go on or am I asking too much?" the man asked, getting a little uneasy at the fact he might have annoyed the king in some way. Kant brushed it off with a smile and replied...

"Oh no. It is fine. One cannot ask too many questions when it comes to engineering. Please, go ahead." With his answer and expression reassuring the engineer, he coughed twice before asking.

"Alright. So... What tracks are we going to be working with?" he questioned.

"What do mean? Can you please elaborate on what you meant?"

"Well, I am asking what kind of tracks we will be working with. How wide will they be? What will they be made out of? That kind of thing," the engineer elaborated.

"Ah. In that case, the tracks would be around 4 feet 8.5 inches wide. The rail lines will be made out of steel, just like the locomotive will. As I expect there to be a high amount of traffic and demand, it is best to use the strongest material available in mass quantities." Kant answered.

"Alright. What about any other accessories? Would we have to incorporate gauges as we did with the final product of the steam tram?"

"Not for now. What I want to be built first is a working prototype of a steam engine locomotive. Accessories like gauges, whistles, and such can come later.

Only once we achieve satisfactory results, are when we move on to how to add in those additional, yet useful, components into the locomotive," Kant explained.

"Now, I believe you have one more final question?"

"Yes sir. When would you want this prototype to be built? I think it would help us to know how long you are willing to wait before you get any results," the mechanical engineer asked.

Upon hearing the final question, Kant's mind drifted into thought. When did he want the steam engine locomotive to be built? From what he knows, it was the 10th of Folia, with there being only about 4 months left till the year ends, including this one.

The more time he gives, the better the prototype could turn out theoretically, however, give them too much time, there might not be a result until the deadline as they would suffer under procrastination. With this information in mind, Kant had come up with a time frame and spoke out.

"I expect a fully working prototype by the end of the year," Kant answered.

"I hope that is enough for you all?" he asked. They nodded.

"Yes sir. It is."

"Good. Now, does anyone else have any more questions?" he asked. None of them appear to raise a hand. With that, Kant said his goodbyes, wished them good luck, and left the building back to the palace.