Britain’s top industrial and military minds have combined efforts to combat the ongoing depredations wrought by the beasts that have flooded into our world over what is now generally known as “The Bridge”.
Building on an idea first proposed by Viscount Cardwell, the government has revealed a new machine of war wherein a field gun is housed inside a boilerplate armored box. The armoured gun box in mounted on an innovative off-rail, steam powered wagon based on George Stephenson’s later railway locomotive designs. The technological marvel is referred to as a St. George’s Chariot, in the hope that it too will be an effective dragon slayer.
The boiler plate armour is reportedly capable of resisting both the dragons’ teeth and claws while the powerful field gun fires a new hardened steel projectile capable of penetrating all but the thickest of dragon scales. The projectile is given greater range and accuracy thanks to rifling grooves cut into the gun’s barrel.
An innovative shell design combines a fulminate of mercury igniter cap and a new type of explosive charge developed by the young Scandinavian scientist, Alfred Nobel. The substance, known as dynamite, has an explosive force of nitroglycerine but is far safer to handle. The penetration capability of the steel shell combined with the explosive force of the dynamite is expected to give British troops a killing advantage that they have heretofore not enjoyed.
Some concerns have been raised by members of the Liberal Party that the machines provide the troops with a false sense of security. Their scientist point out that, while the plate armour resists claw and tooth, it is not at all effective against the fiery breath of male dragons.
Additionally, there have been rumors that, while safer than nitroglycerine, the dynamite explosive and its igniter caps are both rendered very unstable under certain conditions. Heat buildup from the steam boiler combined with jarring motions are rumored to have caused spontaneous explosions during the trial phase of the new weapon’s development.
In rebuttal, War ministry officials, speaking for Viscount Cardwell, point out that dragon and beast hunting is an “altogether dangerous business”. Officials went on to point out that, “Despite any difficulties in the development and testing phase of this new war machine, the resulting protection it will give our dragon hunting troops is far more than they have enjoyed up to this point.”
This paper applauds the genius of British science and innovation combined with that of our noble Scandinavian allies as we seek a means of reining in the terror from another universe that plagues our beleaguered planet. We say, “Shame!” to anyone who does not recognize that the fate of the Nation, the Empire, and indeed humanity hangs precariously in the balance. It is time for all men of good character to step forward with any innovation that will put an end to this systematic eradication of the British race.