Gadgets in The Feeler’s World
This is an introduction to the technology in the world that I created with my book, The Feeler. This book features humans with special abilities.
For example, some have the ability to sense others’ emotions, like my main character, Cora. Others can discern what others are thinking—they’re called Readers. Also, Movers manipulate objects with their minds.
Why am I discussing Askovians in an article about gadgets?
The family members of the Askovians are called Askovs and together represent about ten percent of the human population. They also have a disproportionate amount of the total human wealth. This is because they own mines on the moons of other planets.
What is the most powerful element Askovs extract during mining?
Alythium. This is a crystal found on the moons of Earth, Mars, and Jupiter. Applying a mild electrical current to this crystal alters localized gravity. It’s used in hover cars, flying trains, lifts, and a whole host of other gadgets.
Alythium also serves as the financial powerhouse for the elite Askovs. Whoever owns a mine that excavates alythium becomes instantaneously wealthy, and all family members benefit from the abundance and power. Additionally, these mines are difficult to keep secure; therefore, those with special abilities are the ones who control them.
What types of technology use Alythium?
Let’s start with the hover car. When I imagined this, I was thinking of that hover car from the Jetsons. You know, it’s oval with a glass dome and large enough to seat an entire family.
But over time, I adjusted my ideas of what the hover car could look like. Basically, it’s a platform which is circular or oval. It has a seating area, maybe a U-shaped cushioned seat, with a table and a meal crafter in the middle. I’ll cover the meal crafter in a later article.
There is a front to the car where you could operate the controls. But it isn’t necessary because every car comes with its own AI, and you only need to tell it where you’re going, and it gets you there in the safest way. These cars fly at whatever speed or whatever altitude you need, and they work by simply lifting off of the ground and propelling forward.
Hover cars don’t need roads. So you could fly over fields, down mountains, and over oceans. The capital city has a grassy main street with pedestrians criss-crossing to reach shops, while hover cars maneuver overhead.
Another version of the hover car is the floating train. The floating train doesn’t have tracks, but it does have long cars that can seat hundreds of people. It floats over uneven ground, like rocks, grass tufts, and more.
The antigrav lift is an elevator, and it has alythium at the tops and bottoms of each lift car. It works by altering the amounts of electricity going through the alythium, which is controlled by an AI. It can vary how quickly it travels up and down in the lift shaft.
Let me know what you think of my gadgets in The Feeler’s world in the comments below.