The Cumaean Canal

From The Fifth City Wiki
(Redirected from Cumaean Canal)

An engineering marvel, this route to the Surface is constructed from colossal arches supporting a series of locks. Its iron pillars strain the laws of perspective. Just looking up at it makes your neck hurt.[1]

The Cumaean Canal is the primary route for sea travel between the Neath and the Surface.

The Gate to the Underworld[edit | edit source]

"Here, the dark waters run down from the surface, from a brighter sea..."[2]

After the Fall of London in 1862,[3] an unnamed explorer eventually discovered a return route to the Surface.[4] Contact was reestablished,[5] and construction of the Cumaean Canal began that year thanks to the joint efforts of Surface governments and the Masters of the Bazaar. The process was quick; engineers exploited natural hollows where possible, but the rest of the excavation relied upon a combination of conventional methods, the esoteric powers of the Masters, and the might of the Stone Pigs.[6]

Located a short shipping distance south of London,[7] the Canal consists of a vast series of locks supported by colossal arches,[8] arranged in an ascending squared spiral.[9] Ships bound for the Surface ascend the locks; those from the Surface descend.[10] Entry from the Neath is regulated through the Albertine Gate,[11] where vessels undergo inspection before being admitted.[12] At its base, in the Staging Area, temporary half-legal hostelries in long-moored ships and cafés cater to zailors and travellers,[13] though the Bazaar’s dislike of competition and London's laws prevents permanent pubs or wine-shops.[14] The Canal reaches the Surface at Lake Avernus in southern Italy,[15] a site the Romans believed to be the entrance to Hades.[16] Its final stretch was built overland, running past the town of Bacoli and into the Gulf of Naples.[17]

Alongside the Travertine Spiral, the Cumaean Canal remains one of the principal arteries linking the Neath to the world above.[18] Though the Canal does not carry the volume of trade of a traditional commercial thoroughfare,[19] it is indispensable as the chief channel for importing goods between the Surface[20] and the Neath.[21] Imported items are valued at twice their original price, making the route highly profitable for enterprising traders.[22] The Canal is also a lively theatre for the intrigues of the Great Game,[23] but Surface governments ensure that it remains surprisingly well-maintained and efficient all the same.[24]

The Locks[edit | edit source]

This section contains spoilers for the following Exceptional Stories: Say it With Flowers, Lamentation Lock. Proceed at your own risk.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.

"There are various staging points around which small trading posts have sprung up. Zee captains travel up as far as their courage takes them, Surface captains venture down to meet them."[25]

Various staging points and trading posts have sprung up along the ascent of the Canal, where captains meet to barter goods and resupply.

Symphysis Point[edit | edit source]

"Symphysis Point is a small but bustling staging station. Wan zailors mingle with their Surface counterparts. There is a healthy exchange of knick-knacks and gewgaws – the items doubling in value when moving from Surface to Neath, or Neath to Surface."[25]

Symphysis Point is a busy staging station located several locks up the Canal.[26] It has a single restaurant, with a potato-based menu[27] marketed to zailors sick of ship rations;[28] a quaint little gift shop offering cheap handmade souvenirs;[29] and a ship repair shop to service vessels traveling the Canal.[30] The station is owned by the Brooding Captain[31] and managed by his Royal Enforcers.[32] Workers are typically Surfacers who rotate in twenty-one-day shifts, long enough to earn wages yet short enough to return safely to the Surface before sunlight would prove fatal.[33] Increasingly, however, the Enforcers extend contracts past that limit, trapping workers below with no hope of returning.[34]

Lamentation Lock[edit | edit source]

"Lamination Lock, 'e says." One zailor tries to tap his nose and misses. "Issa bank. Or an 'ostipal. Or a prison or summat."[1]

The Warden

Lamentation Lock is a stone building set into one of the giant gates which punctuate the Canal, placed about halfway up to the Surface.[35] The Lock and its Warden are the subject of many tales and mysteries; different accounts state that Lamentation Lock is a bank, a hospital, a prison, or a summit.[36]

In truth, the Lock is a little bit of each. It is a place filled with thieves, murderers, and spies, and some of their ill-begotten loot.[37] It attracts those running away from trouble - which is often of a personal, psychological character, but at times includes prosecution or intrigue. While everyone is free to enter, the Warden does not permit his inmates to escape easily.[38] Most who enter have no reason to leave anyway, as they might be trying to forget their past and the memories of what led them to Lamentation Lock.[39] Only by coming to terms with oneself can one leave the Lock,[40] though there was never truly anything (aside from the Warden) preventing them from leaving.[41]

The place itself is divided into three Wards[42] (Violent Ward,[43] Thieves' Ward,[44] and Traitors' Ward),[45] and most visitors-turned-inmates find their home in one of these. They spend their time scheming, planning, and brawling with other inmates, but they never quite find the right time or opportunity to leave and put their plans in motion.[46]

Scientific Inspirations[edit | edit source]

"There are a few things about the canal I still don't fully understand, in fact. Surely the pressure and the differentials of height make it difficult..."[47]

Sequence of operation of a canal pound lock

A lock, in a canal, is a walled chamber with gates at both ends that allows boats to move between stretches of water at different heights. The water level in the lock can be changed to match either the higher or lower stretch of canal. Once the boat is inside, the gates shut behind it, sealing it in. If the boat needs to go uphill, water is let into the chamber through sluices. The chamber fills, and the boat rises with the water. If the boat needs to go downhill, water is drained out until the chamber matches the lower water level, and the boat sinks with it. When the water in the lock matches the next stretch of canal, the gate at the far end opens, and the boat sails on. In essence, a lock is a water elevator.

The Cumaean Canal appears to operate on this same principle, but magnified to a scale that beggars belief. It seems to consist of an immense sequence of pound locks, each chamber bounded by gates and independently adjustable, stacked one atop another in a square spiral descending into the Neath. On the Surface, the most ambitious example of this technology is the lock system at the Three Gorges Dam in China, where ships are raised or lowered by about 370 ft (113 m) over a staircase of five chambers.[48] By contrast, while the peculiarities of Neathy geography make this measurement suspect, geographers estimate the vertical distance between the Surface and the Neath to be roughly one mile (1,600 m).[3] If we take that estimate at face value, it would mean that the Cumaean Canal manages an elevation change some fourteen times greater than the world’s largest Surface locks. A marvel of engineering indeed.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lamentation Lock, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Cumaean Canal Staging Area, Sunless Sea
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "London Stolen By Bats!", Failbetter Games
  4. ↑ Harjit: Surface Contact, Mask of the Rose "Harjit: It seems we have had news from the Surface now. Some voyager who found their way back above. I wonder why it took so long to find the way."
  5. ↑ After Surface Contact, Mask of the Rose "For once, I know just what I'll see in the paper. "CONTACT ACHIEVED WITH THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH" "TRAVEL POSSIBLE VIA ZEE ROUTE" "MAIL COLLECTED FROM ABOVE" It goes on and on like this. I spend a good part of the morning devouring the pages. There are hardly any pictures – it's too early for illustrations. Nonetheless, the paper's correspondents paint a vivid picture of the perilous travel back to the environs of Italy."
  6. ↑ Travel to the Surface, Sunless Sea The engineers of the Canal took advantage of existing caves and passages where they could. In ancient times. this was a passage to the Underworld, they say. But still, the labour must have been staggering. The story goes that the Masters of the Bazaar lent their arts and allies to the task, but the Surface nations play down the fact. Certainly, some of the tunnels look blasted or tunneled, others look... dissolved? "Stone pigs," a stoker whispers. "Stone pigs."
  7. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "The Cumaean Canal is a short trip south along an established shipping lane. Yet no part of the Unterzee is entirely free from menace."
  8. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "An engineering marvel, this route to the Surface is constructed from colossal arches supporting a series of locks. Its iron pillars strain the laws of perspective. Just looking up at it makes your neck hurt."
  9. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "There is no view to linger on except the eery shaft of the canal, rising in a vertiginous squared spiral. But there is cold, clear air to breathe. [...]"
  10. ↑ Say it With Flowers, Fallen London "After a thorough examination of your ship by customs officials, it is passed to travel. The ship begins the monotonous journey upwards: nosing into a lock; waiting as the ship bobs upwards; nosing forwards once more."
  11. ↑ Fulfill your Admiralty Commission, Sunless Sea "Row out and meet a contact at the foot of the Albertine Gates. The password is 'the Empire Remembers'."
  12. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "Traversing the structure is an exercise in patience. First come the formalities while documents are checked and the vessel inspected. Then, the careful navigation into the entrance canal while steamers exit, laden with Surface goods. Finally, you settle into the rhythms of ascent: the short journey forward; the closing of each lock gate; the airy, lazy elevation as the waters flow and the lock fills. Yard by yard, you rise, until the cavern floor is lost far beneath and you seem to be sailing through space."
  13. ↑ Drop off the August Travel-Writer, Sunless Sea "In the middle of your afternoon tea, a crowd rushes by the café. [...]"
  14. ↑ Listen for Surface gossip, Sunless Sea "This would be a prime spot for a pub or wine-shop, but the interests of the Echo Bazaar, and the laws of London, prevent it. They don't like competition. Still, there are temporary half-legal hostelries in long-moored ships. Here you trade stories with suntanned Surface sailors - stories of Paris and Batavia, the Lost Fires and the Final Isles..."
  15. ↑ Avernus, Sunless Sea "The Canal emerges in the little lake called Avernus. A warm breeze ruffles blue waters. You and your crew shelter like vampires from the light, with awnings, curtains, broad-brimmed hats. Poplars, birdsong, the warmth of the Campanian sun."
  16. ↑ Lake Avernus: Roman era, Wikipedia "Avernus was of major importance to the Romans, who considered it to be the entrance to Hades. [...]"
  17. ↑ To Naples, Sunless Sea "The very last stretch of the Canal runs overland to the bay by Bacoli. Then it's an easy run down the Tyrrhenian coast into Naples."
  18. ↑ You Asked, We Answer: Part 2 (and the Scientific Expedition), Failbetter Games "Two thoroughfares connect the Neath to the surface: the Travertine Spiral and the Cumaean Canal. [...]"
  19. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "For a commercial thoroughfare, the canal is lightly used. Every twenty minutes or so, a steamer puffs by. What goods could be on the descending ships? Strudels and sachertorte from Vienna; gowns and hats from Paris. Produce from places of busy boulevards and sunshine."
  20. ↑ The Sunlit Special, Fallen London "Imported from the Surface through the Cumaean Canal. Not recommended for those susceptible to nostalgia."
  21. ↑ Buy a train ticket to Vienna, Sunless Sea "Parabola-linen crumbles in sunlight. The mushroom wines of the Neath are not kindly received in the wine-shops of Italy and France. Prisoner's honey loses all its virtue. But in the coffee-houses of Vienna, Darkdrop Coffee is the new sensation. It's not so very far by train. You could travel by night."
  22. ↑ Say it With Flowers, Fallen London "Symphysis Point is a small but bustling staging station. Wan zailors mingle with their Surface counterparts. There is a healthy exchange of knick-knacks and gewgaws – the items doubling in value when moving from Surface to Neath, or Neath to Surface."
  23. ↑ Listen for Surface gossip, Sunless Sea "A card game ends badly when one Surface sailor knifes another for all the usual reasons. The other players scrabble from the coins that spill from her pockets, but you snatch up a scrap of paper they overlook. Curious markings; dates, times, code-names. Spy's work?"
  24. ↑ Gather information for a Port Report, Sunless Sea The gates open and shut. The locks remain free from sabotage. If anywhere besides London is safe in all the Unterzee, it's here. The Surface nations have an interest in keeping the way open.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Say it With Flowers, Fallen London
  26. ↑ Say it With Flowers, Fallen London "You will go towards the sunlight - but not all the way. You're heading several locks up, to Symphysis Point."
  27. ↑ Say it With Flowers, Fallen London "The cafe is frequented by sailors and zailors eager for a break from the food served aboard their vessels. The menu is potato-based, although each potato dish is offered with roast chicken or 'sausage'. There is no indication what meat the sausages are made from. The cafe is doing a thriving business. [...]"
  28. ↑ Say it With Flowers, Fallen London "Despite its name, the cafe has no pretensions about its meals. They are simple, stodgy, warm and filling - the perfect antidote to too long subsiding on ship's rations."
  29. ↑ Say it With Flowers, Fallen London "The window display is a miniature series of locks - made from matchboxes. About forty matchboxes up is an arrow made from cardboard. On it are the words: You are here!!!"
  30. ↑ Say it With Flowers, Fallen London "A permanent workshop serves ships travelling in both directions. Those working here will be the first to hear any gossip."
  31. ↑ The Princess' shrug is elegant. "I ordered the pair to pass on information about Symphasis Point, on the Cumaean Canal. My brother owns it. [...]"
  32. ↑ Say it With Flowers, Fallen London "The Princess' messenger is unlikely to survive the journey. Further, the situation at the Point is delicate. To ensure the Point remains open - vital for the passage of high-value goods and the health of those traversing the Canal - I have had to hand its management over to my Enforcers. If I am forced to give it my attention, there will be repercussions. My sister's interference is reprehensible."
  33. ↑ Say it With Flowers, Fallen London "This group live on the Surface they do a twenty-one day shift at Symphysis Point before swapping with a group from above. The money's good, they're plied with extraordinary tales by travellers, and, so long as they don't overstay or suffer any fatal wounds, they've found that they've no trouble with the sun on their return."
  34. ↑ Say it With Flowers, Fallen London "[...] He signs off the contract extensions - even when he knows a worker will be down too long to return. "But I have to, don't I? Someone has to, or this whole place would stop working." He shakes his head, nobly unwilling to place the guilt on another, absolute that there is no other way. The port is sympathetically passed back to him."
  35. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "Later, you do some library research on the Cumaean Canal. Sure enough, halfway up is an institution named Lamentation Lock. The gazetteer is vague on its function, but it seems to accept visitors from both the Neath and the Surface. [...]"
  36. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London ""Lamination Lock, 'e says." One zailor tries to tap his nose and misses. "Issa bank. Or an 'ostipal. Or a prison or summat.""
  37. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "It's simple, really. A friendly word with one; an hour later, a friendly word with the other. This-is-what-he-said about your pickpocketing. This-is-what-she-said about your pet weasel. The glares intensify, until the two are brawling. The inmates gather to watch, and you have your pick of their abandoned loot."
  38. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "You stagger back, struggling to free your arms. Firm hands steady your shoulders. You turn— it's the warden. You can see him. You can breathe. Although you have a crushing headache. "Many of our residents think of escape. But even if you were to leave this building, you would not be truly free." He gestures to the three Wards. "Look deeper.""
  39. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London ""...Knife-and-Candle was where it went wrong for me." [...] She grips the iron frame of her bed and squeezes. The metal groans. "I only came here when I began to see their faces at night. My victims. I know. What a d__n cliché.""
  40. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London ""Coming to terms with one iniquitous aspect of yourself is the way one leaves Lamentation Lock," the warden says. "But perhaps you are a special case.""
  41. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "There is nothing to stop you leaving. Was there ever? As you usher the trio through the doorway, the warden gives a crooked smile in farewell."
  42. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "Built into the weighty structure of the Canal itself, this might be the entrance hall to a fortress. Doors lead to three named Wards. But there is only one exit – and it seems intended to contain rather than protect. Are the others here its inhabitants? Or inmates?"
  43. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "The warden studies you as you speak. "These are the combats you can share freely, I think? At a dinner party, for entertainment. But there are others you don't like to talk about. If you mean to leave this place, there is somebody in Violent Ward you should speak to. That should help you.""
  44. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London ""I noticed that you did not feature in any of those stories. Presumably you had an alibi." He touches the tips of his moustache. "You'll have realised by now this place is no simple currency exchange. But it's not a prison either, not exactly. You should speak to the inmates of Thieves' Ward; one in particular.""
  45. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London ""It sounds like you are drawn to intrigue. Drawn to hidden motives and unseen powers. Mixed yourself with a fascinating group of people. I wonder how you represented yourself to them, at the time." He seems lost in thought for a moment. "You will find more in Traitors' Ward. Some are still trying to leave.""
  46. ↑ Lamentation Lock, Fallen London "You join the group to hear their plan. "First, we smash that Urchin girl that set fire to my shoes in Veilgarden," he says. "Next, my landlord from Wolfstack, scum that he is. Then we take on my late father. Beat him to within an inch of his life, like he beat me. Then we're getting out of here." This is not an escape plan! Yet the rest of the group watch him, nodding and pounding fists into palms. They seem mesmerised. When you move on they barely notice."
  47. ↑ Mr Pages: Various Inquiries, Mask of the Rose
  48. ↑ 7 of the World's Most Impressive Canal Locks, Popular Mechanics
Retrieved from "https://thefifthcity.wiki/w/index.php?title=The_Cumaean_Canal&oldid=22326"