Researching Nineteenth Century Diving for Brass and Glass 3
When I was writing Brass and Glass 3: The Boiling Sea, I knew at least some of my characters were going to need to dive into that Boiling Sea in order to find the treasure they were looking for. But my setting is steampunk and roughly analogous to the nineteenth century in terms of technological influences. Yes, it’s steampunk, so it doesn’t have to be historically accurate (hence why I have an automaton who basically has artificial intelligence). But I wanted to at least get a good sense of what the real-world equivalents would have been.
I’m not a diver. I most DEFINITELY would not have been a diver in the nineteenth century. The diving suits, once they were developed, were bulky, heavy, and uncomfortable. And if you wanted to dive to the bottom of the ocean (thankfully in a place that wasn’t AS deep as it could be), you’d probably need a diving bell.
My characters had to have BOTH, as they needed to get to the bottom of the Boiling Sea and then “walk” on the ocean floor. During the preparations for part of the plan leading up to their dive, the two characters who have to make the dive have a brief conversation on the subject:
“Okay, assuming what they make works at all, I guess that could be useful. I just … how do you even test something that prevents something you can’t see?” Athos asked.
“Faith, I guess,” Svetlana said. “Faith in science beating out the inexplicable weirdness of the world.”
And that’s definitely what you need to go deep-sea diving in a nineteenth-century-inspired diving bell and suit–faith in science (and diving equipment engineering, in particular)!
You can read more of my intrepid heroes’ adventures in Brass and Glass 3: The Boiling Sea!
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