Steam Wars, Underdogs and Nonconformity

As Steam Wars developed over the years it was never my intention to necessarily write an underdog story. That is to say an adventure in which the protagonists are seriously outmatched and must contend, in whatever way, against tremendous odds (Lord of the Rings comes to mind, also Rogue One). Of course, it needn’t be that grand or epic. A simple human story about an individual overcoming a roadblock, personal or otherwise, can be quite powerful. It’s our ability to empathize with such struggles that makes these stories so popular.

In setting out to write about the characters in my epic steampunk saga I kept finding myself drifting back to two in particular. Two who, at least on the surface, seem polar opposites. Why I picked them, exactly, was something I didn’t find out until I got to writing.

1. Tunney the Gunny.

That’s gunny as in “gunnery sergeant,” a rank my fictional United States Steam Force adopted from the Marine Corps. Bill Tunney is already, in his thirties, a hardened veteran, a two-fisted hard-living, sometimes arrogant, sometimes devil-may-care, fighting man. According to US Steam Force General Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, “The gunnery sergeant is who everybody wants to be, even the generals.” Nicknamed “rig boss” (the warrior-shaped crewed fighting machines in Steam Wars are called “steam rigs”), the gunnery sergeant is responsible for all armaments and ordnance, as well as weapons-training and boarding drills, aboard a steam rig.

Tunney tries to look like he cares less than he does; grim, jaded, normally a man of few words. But when the chips are down he is more of a humanitarian than he would ever care to admit. He would just as soon risk his life for another than breathe.

He is also rude, outspoken, and all too willing to take a swig on duty from Duff’s ever-present whiskey flask; that being Chief Fireman Duff, Tunney’s pal and principal enabler; a man for whom the term “boilermaker” describes both occupation and beverage of choice. For Tunney, rules are made to be broken, if they’re inconvenient for him. Which makes him an ongoing frustration for top Steam Force brass, even for his other pal, Tolliver Randolph Cribbs, who shot past Tunney in rank despite being a good deal younger (Tunney would never aspire to being an officer or anything other than NCO). Basically, when it comes to Tunney, as far as USSF is concerned: can’t live with him, can’t live without him.

2. Lucy in the sky… with airships.

By far the most eccentric character in Steam Wars is Lucy Tillencrest. Frankly, in a story centered largely on the experiences of a fighting rig crew, she provides a necessary balance, a representation of all things wonderfully outlandish in steampunk. In fact, Lucy is the daughter of John Chandler Tillencrest, the genius responsible for the development of so much steam technology, including the fighting rigs. Born into money, she was given everything except what she longed for the most: respectability as a brilliant inventor and engineer in her own right. Such were the times.

But this is perhaps what fueled her drive in the direction of, shall we say, more creative areas. We’re talking about unique inventions such as her patented ambulodeon (a walking machine controlled by an organ keyboard she plays in the cockpit) or her wide variety of airships. She was clearly the inheritor of the Tillencrest talent.

A perfect example of the method to her madness is her work-machine, the super-stylish high hat lifter, aka the “peeping tom.” No piece was more widespread in its outrageousness. Many adored it, many found it patently absurd. But none could resist it. It remained the most efficient, not to mention best-selling, window washer/construction machine of its time. Its wonderfully bizarre appearance gave Lucy the last laugh, all the way to the bank.

So her eccentricity is the message. She gets attention. Including the attention, and respect, of one Teddy Roosevelt; one of the few who has no qualms about a Victorian lady contributing to the efforts of the Second Steam War, between the United States and its allies and the Prussian Empire. For Lucy, the nonconformity of her patented creations is of tantamount importance; they are the natural expressions of who she is.

In everyday interactions, Lucy gets her voice heard no matter what it takes. There are few society gatherings where she has not shocked at least somebody. If she gets a rise out of them, her work is done.

3. When a Tillencrest meets a Tunney.

At first blush, it may seem as though I’ve deliberately picked opposites for discussion. Not a bad idea; a study in contrasts. The always elegant Lucy, done up in Victorian finery. Even tinkering with engines or flying airships her coveralls or goggles and leather aviator suit (of her own designs) are consistently immaculate. Versus Tunney, perpetually unshaven, in Steam Force striped shirt, flat hat (adopted from the Navy), riding pants, puttees and ammo belt that never quite look clean, usually chewing a rarely-lit cigar stub.

In fact, it would appear that these two embody the opposing poles so important to Steam Wars, and perhaps to steampunk in general. That surprising study in contrasts that make it so fascinating. Lucy is the style, the opulence, the physical beauty, the inventive genius. Tunney is the rumbling furnace, shoveled coal, grinding gears and shooting pistons that make it all run. The wrought iron to her gleaming brass.

This is of course all surface. Scratch a little, we find something interesting. The seeming opposites have more in common than first realized.

Both are brash and outspoken. They speak their mind and act on it, no matter what the rules. Both refuse to take no for an answer. What’s more, they are mavericks who refuse to blend in with the herd, sometimes contrary just for the sake of it. Told something must be done a certain way, they quickly find their own: nonconformists who do not suffer fools lightly. Nor do they like to be pinned down or catalogued. They not only think outside the box, they live there.

4. True confessions are the best confessions.

I have a fondness for underdogs. Not only is the young nation of the United States an underdog on the world stage of the 1890s (especially under the shadow of the Prussian Empire), but the fledgling Steam Force itself, an offshoot of the other, more established, armed forces, has yet to gain any respect. It’s Teddy Roosevelt’s experiment and, some think, a crazy one. In many ways, Tunney, within that rather tenuous framework, personifies this fledgling outfit. As does Lucy by default.

Now at the risk of pure indulgence I will confess that some of those attributes shared by Tunney and Lucy are, shall we say, somewhat familiar to me. Especially the parts about nonconformity and refusing to follow the pack and a strong resistance to being pigeon-holed as any one thing. In many ways, I feel like I’m still that blue-collar guy slogging along. I just happen to write and stuff.

So I see Tunney, for all his flaws and attributes, as something of a working class hero. And Lucy, in her flights of brilliance and fancy, as the woman ahead of her time. In my Steam Wars graphic novel, in one of the stories, they meet up, and it’s admittedly a bit prickly.

But it won’t be the last time.