The success of the fully automated factories, powered by the Hydroelectric AC Grid, had stabilized the industrial sector. However, the next logical leap—personal mobility, portable machinery, and aviation—was impossible with the current technology.
* Steam Engines: Too heavy, too slow to start, and required massive amounts of water and solid fuel (coke). The power-to-weight ratio was insufficient for anything smaller than a train.
* Electric Motors (AC): Excellent power-to-weight ratio, but they were tethered by the wire. Battery technology (Voltaic Piles) was too weak and heavy for anything but signaling.
"We have solved energy at the macro level (the grid), Hemlock," Alex stated, looking at the schematics for a rudimentary 'personal transport carriage' that required six mules to pull it.
"But we have a fatal flaw at the micro level. We need a prime mover that carries its fuel within itself, starts instantly, and weighs less than fifty pounds. We need to convert the potential energy of our kerosene and subsurface assets [Chapter 33] into immediate kinetic force."
The solution was the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), utilizing the highly flammable, light fractions of his refined petroleum.
***
The first challenge was controlled, instantaneous, and repetitive explosion. The combustion of fuel within a sealed chamber was an act of high-risk engineering. Alex tasked Marcus and the SCRD (Syndicate Chemical Research Division) with mastering the Four-Stroke Cycle.
* The Fuel: They started with the most volatile product of the refinery: gasoline (the lightest fraction of crude oil, previously a dangerous waste product).
* The Ignition: Steam engines used fire. The ICE needed an instant, clean spark. Alex revisited his electrical research, inventing a simple magneto (a coil and magnet assembly) to generate a high-voltage spark at the precise moment of maximum compression—the spark plug.
* The Sealed Chamber: The cylinder and piston required a level of sealing integrity far exceeding the steam engine, as the pressure generated by combustion was exponentially higher.
Garth's team used their high-precision Bessemer tooling to mill the cylinders with near-perfect tolerances and developed the world's first metal piston rings to seal the chamber against the escaping force.
***
The resulting engine was built to operate on the principle of cyclical, controlled explosion:
* Intake: Piston draws the air/fuel mixture into the cylinder.
* Compression: Piston compresses the mixture.
* Power: The spark plug ignites the compressed mixture, driving the piston down.
* Exhaust: Piston pushes the spent gases out.
The first prototype was a chaotic, oil-leaking, ear-splitting disaster. It often misfired, seizing violently or exploding its seals. Alex, treating each failure as a data point, meticulously refined the process: optimizing the carburetor (the device that precisely mixed air and fuel) and perfecting the timing gear (the cam system that synchronized the valves and the spark).
After months of intensive, isolated work in a remote Syndicate facility, the first functional ICE ran continuously for thirty minutes, emitting a rhythmic, powerful thump-thump-thump. It generated more power than a small steam engine but weighed less than a hundred pounds.
***
The ICE was immediately applied to two critical logistical bottlenecks.
The first application was the personal mobility carriage. The first automobile—a rudimentary three-wheeled frame—was designed by Marcus and powered by the small ICE. It achieved an astonishing speed of twenty-five miles per hour on the Syndicate's asphalt roads (Chapter 35).
The strategic value was immediately evident.
The AGC Security Foremen, previously dependent on fast horses and runners, were equipped with these 'mobile motors.' Their response time for securing rail yards and Coaling Stations dropped by 70%, drastically reducing theft and ensuring the integrity of the TGS-mandated infrastructure. The cost of maintaining the Syndicate's stable of over 500 horses was suddenly eliminated.
***
The true, ultimate goal of the ICE was aviation.
Aluminum (Chapter 34) provided the light structure, and the ICE provided the power-to-weight ratio. Alex immediately funded a secret division, Project Icarus, to begin designing fixed-wing, motorized flight using the light, high-density power of the gasoline engine.
***
The head of the AIWU visited the testing facility and watched the loud, terrifying machine zip across the track. "My Lord," the worker said, "you are spending fortunes on machines that serve no purpose. Why are you building this small engine when you have a dam that lights up the world?"
"The dam solves the problem of mass power," Alex replied, adjusting a fuel line.
"This engine solves the problem of individual freedom and logistical flexibility. The man who controls the portable power source will control the last mile of global logistics. When we master this, we will move beyond the constraints of the earth."
The Internal Combustion Engine secured the Syndicate's dominance in high-speed, decentralized logistics. Alex had created the engine that would eventually power his global dominance beyond the fixed tracks and wires.
Next priority: The reliance on fragile glass bulbs and large, complex electrical switches for lighting is the final hurdle in mass consumer goods. To fully monetize the domestic market and complete the automation of the home, Alex needs to invent the mass-produced, durable, and highly precise plastics for insulators, casings, and low-cost consumer goods.