Gothic Steam Phantastic

Aether

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The word aether or ether turns up in many steampunk settings. But what is this aether actually? A quick overview of the aether and the possibilities it has.

Ether
There is such a thing as aether, usually spelt as ether, in real life. This is not exactly what this article is about, but it needs to be mentioned all the same.
The best known kind of chemical ether is diethyl ether: it is used as anaesthetic in surgery (source: Wikipedia). Mortals breathing the air of the gods loose consciousness.

The air of the Greek gods
In Ancient Greece, the gods were supposed to inhale aether instead of normal air (source: Wikipedia). This divine use might have resulted in the believe that aether was somehow a magic element. It may also be the reason why steampunk space is filled with aether: the gods lived "up there" in heaven, and "up there" are the stars, the planets and the moon, too.

The fifth element
In the spiritual world, aether is the fifth element next to earth, water, fire and air. Aether is not only the fifth element, but also the most important. It stands for the centre, for the element that stands above the others, it stands for the spirit or the soul itself.
There are not many sources on the elements that also mention aether. Some writers claim that knowledge of the aether, being the element that brings it all together and is essential for some al-chemical processes to work, is secret knowledge that has been hidden during the middle ages.
To be frank, it has happened before that recently "discovered" things have been labelled "secret knowledge", even if it turned out the first to mention it just made it up. Nevertheless, this implies great intrigue and conspiracy theories.

Magic element
In science-fantasy, aether is usually a scientific explanation for magic. Magic in a scientific surrounding has to be explained, yet it must stay an enigma - a tightrope walk between the scientific and the fantastic. By explaining magic as "using the aether", where aether is a particle that makes magic work, most scientists are happy enough.
Because aether is supposed to work as particles of some kind, a lot of semi-scientific theories based on known physics and chemicals can explain a lot of magic.

The substance of vacuum
Aether, be it magic or some other kind, is in some steampunk the stuff space is made of. Aether makes it possible to travel through space, being both the substance the ships sail in or on, and it makes it also possible to breath and not have inconveniences caused by a lack of gravity.

Carrier of information
Aether has also been known to be the substance that carried light (luminiferous aether). It was in the 19th century not known how light could travel through vacuum, so it was assumed there was something -aether- that carried the light from far away stars through space. How light exactly "works" is still difficult to explain, so the aether theory is as good as any for those who are not scientific highbrows.
Furthermore, as the radio was invented, it was normal to think that radio-waves travelled through the aether as well. This use of the word aether is still popular: "sending something through the ether" for broadcasting a radio-show. There is (in Holland) also a word "ether-pirate" for those who broadcast illegally. Of course, in steampunk, the aether-pirate can be something quite different!
Aether is still used in a way to carry information: those who work with computer-networks must be familiar with the word "the ethernet": a way of making a network.

Sons of Ether
In the role playing game "Mage: The Ascension" the Sons of Ether are introduced. This is a more or less secret society of scientists who pick up any idea and make it work. There are as many cells in these societies as there are ideas, the highly individual Son of Ether has nothing more in common with his brother that the way of looking to "weird" inventions. Although ether is supposed to be one of the materials they work with, they have not a very strong relation with it - not more than other in this role playing game.

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© Yaghish, 2003
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