Part 46: The conclusion to Smoky Skies!

FINAL UPDATE: The conclusion to Smoky Skies!

When last we left, our brave man Clinton Alderdice was surrounded by foes and threats, and attempting to finish off the villainous Orlin nation in the competition of Industrial Empires!



Ah, what a beautiful country this is. I must remember to preserve it after we wipe out Curnow and his slime!



Artillery, hey? In great quantities, too. Two can play at that game. Forces, ATTACK!



Master, the artillery and the landship cannons are completely destroying Yekaterinburg's defenses! The city is ours!



Excellent! We need only put a provisional government in place…they shall be allowed to rule themselves as they see fit. And with it comes much-needed Aetherium deposits, which I need to construct the new air fleets!



I feel quite good about this. Declare another holiday for the men!



Ahh, lovely. I'm glad we appropriated the plans for this magnificent structure from the ruins of Old France. That's another wonder on our scorecard, too! But for it to count, we must first research Noblesse Oblige. What have we researched lately?



Master, this opens up "Captain of Industry" as a title we can compete for! Whosoever produces the most, er, production from any one city shall have the title.

Then I shall see to it that our factories hammer out more material than ever! But do see to it that we find a new source of fuel sometime, would you, Igor? The coal dust irritates my eyes.



Blast! Euruch is producing just as much as we are, exactly! Ties are of no use in this competition!



Master, the Pentagon wonder would allow us to upgrade our army more cheaply!

But we have far too much on our plate as it is! Perhaps once I'm done putting the screws to Ignace Curnow we can focus upon that.



More luddites! How in blazes did they lay hands on a battleship? More importantly, don't they know the meaning of the word "hypocrisy?"

Perhaps they've found a way to power it with nothing but hamsters running on wheels.

No matter. Landship, destroy their camp! Our more civilized neighbors want it gone.



My time is now! Orlin is eliminated!



Hmm…he may be right about one thing. Euruch's factories are somehow pumping out far more product than our own. Unless we improve production we are going to never get that title. Still, this gives us the Big Ben wonder!

Master, we've researched Difference Engines! We could install them in our cities; their calculations could automate industrial processes immensely!

An excellent idea, Igor! I'll add them to the list of things to construct.



Excellent, our science needs the boost.



Confound it, Luther, you're supposed to be the genius here! Why are you stealing my research?

I have a slight confession to make: I never invented anything! I just make it all up as I go, and my students merely assume the scribbles that make sense are my instructions, and the ones that do not, are merely puzzles for them. I need your research!

You--you cad! I take back everything nice I ever said about you!



More luddites, damaging our vital rail lines! Let's see how they enjoy being bombed from the skies!



Oh, dear. Well, every cloud has a silver lining. Should I manage to destroy his fleets, his competition for "Defender of Science" shall be destroyed as well.



Ahah! Yes! "Nobles must act nobly!" Now all our collected national and world wonders shall pay for us, giving us TWO titles! I am now the "Grand Philanthropist!"

An industrious young zoetrope artist named Walter has also proposed constructing a massive "theme park" in the mountains. A fairy-tale castle that will bring delight to the masses, and profit to the nation.

An oversized playground? Bah, that will never make any money!



Terrible news, sir! Euruch has captured Vedria! They shall soon turn their sights upon us, I fear!

For some strange reason he seems fixated upon land fleets. Landships are vulnerable to airships…construct more battle-blimps! And prepare a telephone conference with Cyrus Rotheram!



Sir, could I persuade you to…turn your armies against another target?



A steep price, but a bargain in the long run. Octavius' profits will falter and leave us in the running for winning the "largest breadwinner" title!



Hahahahaha! I love electricity! It makes my hair stand at end and puts a spring in my step! I do believe I shall test whether or not regular application of current improves the body's functions.

It seems our agents caught and killed a Pulias spy, sir! We have Octavius on the phone, personally apologizing for the incident.



Well. It seems everyone's in the business of saying one thing and doing another these days…



Oh, my. SUCH an army. It seems I did well to divert the wrath of the dragon this time. However, time is on my side!



He's upgraded his landships to a model that obsoleted my own, but my air fleet surpasses his, and my best city currently outproduces his. But three more turns and I shall be the victor!



Should we run out of luboric for our land fleet, we can now produce a certain quantity of it ourselves in our cities, sir! I doubt it should be a problem at this rate, though.



Ah, now that we've got a working Difference Engine in all our cities, we've managed to get Babbage off his dithering ass to finish the Analytical Engine in Marseille! Its calculating abilities should automate our factories immensely!

CLINTON!



I know it was you, you, you who turned Euruch against me! And after I took it upon myself to warn you of their plots!

Forgive me, old chum, but war makes monsters of us all. Not that it matters…for I have won!



…what?!

…what!?

That was so…sudden. I thought there would be a grand battle…

Fools, this was no contest to see who could kill one another, just a contest of beating everyone at their own game. I possessed the superior society. Worry not, however. Today you have lost…but tomorrow we shall face a brave new world!



(Yes, it was over that fast. If you do it right, you can win with the first three titles…which makes things end really quickly.)



NEXT TIME: I take a big break for a few months, then come back with a Brave New World thread!