Questions for Jim Cinder Spires 2016

[nedserD C B yrraH]

I am eagerly awaiting  The Olympian Affair. I am going slightly mad waiting for Peace Talks.

I thought I would steal an idea from the DF Spoilers and start a thread about questions that people want answered. While CS is not a classic detective framework like the DF, we all have a lot of questions.  Normally this thread would get started shortly before a book tour begins and since PT doesn't have a release date yet, this may seem premature. However, this year Jim is the Literary Guest of Honor at DragonCon, Sept 1-4. I know the Alt History track has an Cinder Spires Q&A with Jim this year in addition to all his Urban Fantasy Track appearances and it got me excited.

To my mind, good questions don't try to pin Jim down but rather seek to genuinely explore the world. There are already a lot of great questions here. I just wanna get them all in one place. Thanks CuriousFan for your work in that department in the DF and the inSpiration.   With that in mind here are a few questions I would like answered.

Are there more types of Crystals than we have been seen thus far?
Are the spires identical?
Have they circumnavigated the world?
Do weapon crystals channel etheric energy causing the blast, or are they releasing energy from a reserve?

[knnn]

A couple of worldbuilding ones:

• Spirestone is said to be black.  What is the source of light within a spire?  Is it like the diffuse lighting in the interior of a mall?  What about effects like night/day?
• How does sewage work in a spire?  Are there miles of  pipes under the ground?  What about recycling (you pretty much need modern levels of recycling or you’ll run out of minerals to grow food very quickly)?  It’s said that the Habbles can add things like vatteries/buildings.  Are there regular existing hookups to the sewer system?  Do the current Spire inhabitant know how to fix the drains if they get stuck?  What do they use instead of toilet paper (used to be sand/rocks, but those don’t really exists in Spire.  The Romans used some sort of sea sponge at the end of a stick - also not really available).  Maybe a bidet, but don’t you still need to wipe with something?
• How does sewage work in a spire?  Are there miles of  pipes under the ground?  What about recycling (you pretty much need modern levels of recycling or you’ll run out of minerals to grow food very quickly)?  It’s said that the Habbles can add things like vatteries/buildings.  Are there regular existing hookups to the sewer system?  Do the current Spire inhabitant know how to fix the drains if they get stuck?  What do they use instead of toilet paper (used to be sand/rocks, but those don’t really exists in Spire.  The Romans used some sort of sea sponge at the end of a stick - also not really available).  Maybe a bidet, but don’t you still need to wipe with something?
  
• With Iron rot being such an issue, what about Bronze usage?  A bronze sword would be heavier, but you wouldn’t have nearly the amount of maintenance.  A better example would be that pistol Grimm uses.  If the barrel was made of bronze, you would need to worry about corrosion (and subsequent explosion).
  
• Does the shroud stop physical projectiles (probably not, since they feel wind while diving), do some of the bigger warships have physical cannons (i.e. the shoot metal balls or spirestone rubble?
  
• The shroud stops energy blasts.  Why doesn’t it interfere with your own energy canons?
  
• A spire is apparently pockmarked with numerous small hatches throughout (enough to allow a regiment of Auroran marines to enter).  Is there a significant black market using these side paths (thus avoiding the tolls on the main staircases)?  Do they pay local cats to keep these side paths clear?
  
• Is “steam power” used anywhere in a spire except for warships?  Also, how do they generate the steam?  Are they burning coal (if yes, where do they dig it up from), or is it by using the residual heat of mass glove crystals?
  
• At one point, master Ferus asks for woolen socks, and leather is certainly available.  Does the meat from the vats include fur, or is there some other source?
  
• There is a Spirearch and nobility, but at one point it is mentioned that the spire is a democracy, including the ability to fire leaders who don’t succeed.  Is this like the House of Lords/House of Commons in Britian?  How exactly is power shared?  What about the Navy, how independent is it?
  
• The word “bitch” is used a bunch of times (also “son of a”), which comes from the original meaning of “female dog”.  Were there dogs in the past (was there a great cat/dog war that the cats won)?  It is mentioned that the signs on the inns refer to “mythical creatures”.
  
• How many Spires are there?  Do they all look the same (dimensions/ number of floors, etc).
  

[Dina]

Are cats like Rowl in all the spires?

How many Spires are there?

And one about the story itself. Are our main characters coming back in Olympian Affair?

[WonderandAwe]

Are there female Warriorborn?

[Dina]

^ I've been wondering about this too!

[Romulan Cmdr]

What is the normal lifespan of cat in Cinder Spires? In our world, if Rowl was the same age as 'Little Mouse' in human years, he would be old cat.

[nedserD C B yrraH]

Yes there are female Warriorborn and the avg life span of a cat is 60-70 years. WOJ DCon 2016

[Dina]

THANK YOU!!!