I’ve been giving some more thought to “A Bolt from the Blue”, mostly to various directions I could take the characters in the eighteen years between the start of the climate changes (as covered in the story that centers around the Great Christmas Blizzard) and when they reach a crescendo.
As of the end of “Children of the Storm”, Georgia lives on a boat with her son Gunston, and they’re primarily based in Japan; she studies the local culture and really enjoys the environment, even up to the point of running around in kimonos (which in that world are still the go-to clothing in Japan). The idea I have is that her family and friends gradually come to live with her…which means she might need a bigger boat, hehehe.
Or would she even have a boat at all? Consider that already Kolya, who’s a friend of Georgia’s family (and a relative of some of the other characters), and a billionaire heir by the way, is an underwater adventurer type known to travel in submarines. And submarines offer many advantages over a conventional sailboat like Georgia has at the end of “Children of the Storm”, which would be even more relevant in an environment where extreme weather is a constant danger: submarines can dive underwater, which insulates the crew from severe weather; submarines can also travel much faster than sailboats, especially nuclear submarines (which Georgia’s would be; nuclear propulsion is standard in this universe).
Georgia is supposed to be an antique rather than modernistic type…but with the technology and technique of her era, and the riches she has access to, she could easily overcome that problem. Consider a submarine that has a teak “deck” surrounded by an arched glass roof, somewhat like the observation deck on the Seaview in “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”, which (unlike the Seaview) retracts upon surfacing, giving an experience much like the deck of a sailboat. There could even be retractable masts with sails, which could help to really propel the vessel if desired or necessary.
A submarine also has the decisive advantage of being able to use underwater docks, which would be more in keeping with the sort of facilities likely to exist in Ancapa Island in this universe, which is where Katenka, Kolya, and Marina are supposed to be making their home by 2064 (when this new story takes place). Kolya even already has submarines, so a submarine dock would be an obvious feature to add: it also has the advantage of keeping the natural environment as pristine as possible (a tunnel extending from underneath the island to well offshore underwater would be in keeping with the universe’s approach to infrastructure), insulating against weather for those who wish to approach the island by sea (not to mention for the dock itself: many a dock in California has been destroyed by heavy weather, and that’s without a weird climate change amping things up), and being a lot stealthier (nuclear submarines are essentially invisible when they want to be).
So submarines it is. What sort of submarine? Georgia would no doubt want enough facilities to hold everyone: herself, her son Gunston, her aunt Decca, her friend Henrietta, her other friends the Slovenian triplets, and their ever-expanding family of kids (and companions for Gunston!), not to mention various guests…and there will be guests. Henrietta loves to host parties, and so does Decca, parties that are as social as they are erotic, as choreographed as they are sensual, as elegant as they are hypnotic, as heart-pumping as they are psychedelic.
In as much as Decca will want to live with Georgia after a few years have passed, and in as much as Decca is Henrietta’s mentor, I picture her taking Old Dominion Dance Studio and transferring it plank-by-plank from that shopping mall in Nashville to the new ship. Originally I was thinking Georgia’s sailboat (or yacht), but now I’m thinking it’ll be transferred into the submarine. The Slovenian triplets, also from Nashville, will also be transferring their home into the submarine, that penthouse at the top of the Grand Old Opry Tower, plank by plank: it was rented by their mother originally, and they are devoted to her memory. There’s no way they’d just leave the home she bequeathed them and poured so much of her soul into: no, they’d take it with them.
So we’re talking about a fairly large submarine. But in this universe there are very large nuclear submarines out there; even including the submarine arks like I conceptualized in a slightly different context (insulating against doomsday risks like all-our nuclear war). Speaking of which, Georgia’s submarine might even take inspiration from these submarine arks: I’m picturing aunt Decca even not abandoning her winery concept, but rather integrating it into the submarine itself, by starting a hydroponic or aeroponic vineyard on board, which provides a delightfully science-fictional touch.
As for the design and aesthetic of the submarine, I’m picturing very heavy Japanese inspiration, such as tatami mats, sliding doors, screens, sitting on the floor with furniture to match, and all that good stuff. The exterior might not be typical of today’s submarines: I’m picturing the entire top half being given over to the glass arch (dome?). But the lower half would be relatively conventional, consisting of multiple levels of residences, common areas, and various hardware, even if there are many more windows than is typical for today’s submarines.’
So you’d end up with a relatively classic submarine profile, but one where the top half is transparent and filled with air, almost a bit like a cutaway view or a diorama, if you were viewing it from the outside looking in.
This classic submarine profile might aid in the use of supercavitation as well, which could enable the submarine to reach truly extraordinary speeds for an ocean-going vessel. Supercavitation is already documented to enable submerged objects to reach speeds of up to 230 miles per hour; for an object like a manned submarine it’s much more difficult to control, but with near-future technology this may well be a solved problem, so Georgia’s submarine may well be able to speed along at 200 miles per hour underwater…or more. Of course supercavitation comes with disadvantages as well: the bubbles it forms tend to be very noisy, which defeats the objective of stealth, and that very noise is quite disruptive to marine ecosystems (whale song is drowned out, for example; already it’s a problem with our conventional propellers, let alone this), which could create conflict in the story. More on that later, though.
I’m liking the submarine concept: like the sailboat idea it underlines that in an age of climate change people in this universe are shifting to a more mobile and robust lifestyle, in order to adapt to extreme weather, and a submarine ups the ante by letting the crew insulate themselves from weather altogether (if seas get rough, you can just dive!), as well as offering a stealthy aspect. There’s also the whole “OMG another world!” aspect of submarine life, so tantalizingly and richly explored by Jules Verne in his “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, with his Captain Nemo character and his submarine Nautilus. Georgia and company always had a gothic steampunk vibe about them, so as odd as it might seem to look at their previous stories, I think the Nemo Option will suit them very well.
Welcome aboard the Old Dominion…