The Technology of Premier Esprit: Power, Innovation, and Divide

johatfieldsoa
Aug 2
4 min read

In Premier Esprit, technology hums like a heartbeat—steady, essential, and too often ignored by those who live closest to its pulse. In Éthéré Coeur, doors open at a touch, voietrams glide soundlessly along light-marked paths, and relier signals pass between towers like whispers. These marvels are unremarkable to the elite. Expected. Invisible.

But beyond the golden fence—beyond the city itself—in the scattered towns and forgotten villages where stone crumbles and wood is more precious than light, technology becomes myth. A single automatram trundling down a dirt path can feel like a visitation from a forgotten age. A flickering étincelle lamp means safety for one more night. And a functioning siphon hub is a miracle—its hum a sacred sound. No one in those places questions how the machines work. They simply pray to the Great Heart they don’t stop.

And deep in the vaults of the Pylône de la Science, ancient devices lie dormant, their mechanisms long forgotten, their purpose indecipherable. Some whisper they were not built but manifested—and that no modern person truly knows what they do.

Vide: The Artificial Résonateur

Vide is the pinnacle of ingenuity. She is a Solenoid-powered design. The final creation of the Projet de Marionnettes, a scientific attempt to replace fragile human emotions with artificial precision. Built from salvaged designs older than memory, she walks with calculated grace and answers only to Sommet commands.

She can generate protective barriers just like a siphon—a being that can combat Phases without fatigue, fear, or flaw.

And yet . . . some say they feel her gaze. That she frequently searches the ancient archives, her eyes lingering on images of the ruins below the Paramount.

The Hub: Solenoid & Siphon System

Every functioning town is built around a hub: a core composed of a humming barrel-shaped siphon and its connected cylindrical Solenoid. The siphon draws Solenoid energy and passes it through a distributor, generating the barrier that keeps Phases at bay.

The barrier is invisible, intangible—but absolute. Its failure is death.

No one dares tamper with a Solenoid. Even the ingénieurs, who build the Solenoid shells, only maintain the external siphon.

Étincelle: The Spark That Binds

All systems in Premier Esprit run on étincelle, a form of controllable energy that sparks like lightning. It courses beneath roads, through walls, and into every essential mechanism. If Solenoids keep the realm safe, étincelle keeps it alive.

Étincelle powers soulevers, trams, lighting veins, and even the quills used on vigiles. At night, entire cities pulse faintly with its glow.

Soulevers: Airships of the Realm

Large, floating vessels powered by étincelle and operated by complex control systems. Some resemble cargo ships with wing-like fins; others are elegant, private craft reserved for the elite. Aérien opérateurs require rigorous training and, for the largest ships, chief opérateurs that never leave the control console as they direct the sub-opérateurs.

Reliers: Long-Distance Communication

From small desk models to council-issued devices mounted in tower control rooms, relier units allow speech and command to leap across distance. Their reach binds the nation—barely.

Relier communication is not always stable. Storms, interference, or flight can warp signals, making messages garbled or delayed. Still, it’s the only way some cities keep in contact with the wider world.

Archivistes are trained to listen for nuance, for tone. Because sometimes, what’s not said is the warning.

Dévoilers: Keys of Recognition

Small, polished cubes. Black as stone, veined with faint light. A dévoiler is not inserted—it is touched. When the correct person lays a finger upon it, a line of light races across its surface and something opens: a door, a hatch, a vault. Sometimes . . . something hidden.

Each is bonded to its user and cannot be forced. Attempts to tamper usually end in silence. Or worse.

Vigiles: Metal Tablets of Memory

Slim metal sheets, cold to the touch and etched with light. Their primary tool, archivistes use vigiles to read, write, and edit government data—visible only through the lens of their feather quills and coded gestures. Vigiles directly connect with the Paramount library in the Bibliothèque de l’Archiviste.

Automatrams: Operated Ground Transit

These public transports are an essential part of life in the Paramount, and a symbol of power beyond. Older automatrams clank, groan, and spew warmth from their clay-pot shaped recycler engines. But the newest models are sleek, efficient, and can hover for short stretches—perfect for difficult terrain.

Automatrams require a human opérateur who steers, stabilizes the engine, and manages the levers. In the Trough, those opérateurs are often bribed for trips beyond the copper gate. In the Market, they are indispensable.

Only cleared automatrams may enter the Crest.

Voietrams: Silent Lightpath Gliders

Voietrams move like ghosts. They float silently through the Crest on grooves of embedded light. There is no driver, no sound, no pause unless signaled by code.

These are reserved for the elite. Their paths never extend beyond the golden fence, and no one in the Trough has ever ridden one.