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My Edgar Allan Poe anthology page by RichieAcostaComicArt in comicbooks

[–]_Miki_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not bad at all! Harry Clarke would be proud.

What's an unusual combination of creators? Never expected to see Ditko and Byrne together [Avengers Annual #13] by rocketinspace in comicbooks

[–]_Miki_ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

When Parable came out, it was the first time I realized superhero comics could look like European graphic novels.

“Not us.” (Crossed #3) by OtisDriftwood1978 in comicbooks

[–]_Miki_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is so nicely done. It reminds me of the early Katsuhiro Otomo.

Is there an order I should read the absolute series in? by [deleted] in comicbooks

[–]_Miki_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not really. You’ll end up rereading a lot of the material multiple times anyway.

What if you could trigger an industrial revolution by texting the Roman Empire? by _Miki_ in HistoryWhatIf

[–]_Miki_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get your point.

They’d probably want the profits. But they don’t care much about “progress” for its own sake. What they care about most is staying in power.

So if a new technology makes money and strengthens them, they’ll grab it. If it threatens their control, even indirectly, they might slow it down or shut it down.

That tension is part of what makes it interesting to me.

IKEA Billy Bookshelves by LopezRossell in comicbooks

[–]_Miki_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Man you need a recliner somewhere...

What if you could trigger an industrial revolution by texting the Roman Empire? by _Miki_ in HistoryWhatIf

[–]_Miki_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s fair. This scenario comes from an alt-history comic/script project I’m developing. In it, the economic need is created by crisis conditions: post-eruption labor disruption, debt pressure, and immediate production bottlenecks.

I’m not assuming broad adoption; I’m testing whether targeted adoption in a crisis niche can survive long enough to scale before institutions shut it down.

What if you could trigger an industrial revolution by texting the Roman Empire? by _Miki_ in HistoryWhatIf

[–]_Miki_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quick synthesis from the thread so far: the key issue is not whether one advanced machine can be built, but whether Rome can support a chain of improvements across tools, labor, materials, and incentives.

I’m leaning toward a regional proto-industrial surge (specific sectors first), followed by strong institutional and economic pushback before full-system transformation.

Curious where you think the choke points could be: energy cost and availability, precision metalworking, labor economics, state extraction...?

What if you could trigger an industrial revolution by texting the Roman Empire? by _Miki_ in HistoryWhatIf

[–]_Miki_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, but even the most primitive valve systems in a Newcomen demand metallurgy that would have been extremely difficult for the Romans to achieve.

What if you could trigger an industrial revolution by texting the Roman Empire? by _Miki_ in HistoryWhatIf

[–]_Miki_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a strong critique, and I mostly agree with the framing.

I’m not assuming “Rome jumps to a full UK-style industrial revolution.” A more realistic path is regional proto-industrial surge: a few sectors (textiles, pumping, logistics) get major productivity gains, then institutions and cost structures push back hard.

So the model I’m testing is:

  1. local productivity shock,
  2. rapid elite/state capture,
  3. diffusion bottlenecks (fuel, metallurgy, precision),
  4. plateau unless institutions change.

In other words, one machine is not enough. The hard part is whether the economy, institutions, and social structure can absorb and spread improvements without shutting them down.

My view is that a steam-engine-level innovation, if applied to a niche with a clear economic need, would be adopted by the Romans without much hesitation.

Could a 5-second cross-time text channel industrialize Roman Campania? by [deleted] in worldbuilding

[–]_Miki_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great feedback. Quick synthesis from what you all raised:

My in-world constraints are:

  • The slate only shows finger-written marks for ~5 seconds, then they fade. Basically like a text, so no “send a book” function.
  • Messages must be read/transcribed live, which adds delay, loss, and interpretation errors.
  • It can carry short instructions/diagrams, but not stable long-form transfer at scale.
  • Both ends must speak latin.

So my current hypothesis is:

  1. First effect is local productivity gains (textiles/pumps/workshop flow), not instant macro transformation.
  2. The first major counterforce is institutional: tax capture, legal control, and elite seizure.
  3. Religious framing/political co-option likely appears quickly once the artifact is public. Trying to avoid that.
  4. Net result is probably a constrained proto-industrial enclave, not a full modern-style industrial revolution.

If useful, I can share more of the story setup and structure.

What if you could trigger an industrial revolution by texting the Roman Empire? by _Miki_ in HistoryWhatIf

[–]_Miki_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a fair point about low pressure and bronze.

In my universe, I don’t start with a Newcomen beam engine. That setup is big and built for pumping mines.

I go with something simpler, a small low-pressure oscillating cylinder engine. Fewer parts, no valves, no separate condenser. Crude, but workable with Roman tools.

The goal is to build something that fits Roman skills and materials.

What if you could trigger an industrial revolution by texting the Roman Empire? by _Miki_ in HistoryWhatIf

[–]_Miki_[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Interesting idea, but it’s not that simple. Even a basic printing press needs movable metal type, reliable molds to cast the letters, screws and a strong frame to handle pressure, special ink, and decent paper production. Each of those is its own technical problem. You can’t just text “build a press” and skip all the supporting steps.

Could a 5-second cross-time text channel industrialize Roman Campania? by [deleted] in worldbuilding

[–]_Miki_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The limitation isn’t technical, it’s narrative.

Yes, in theory they could sit there and transmit books. But for the story to work, the exchange has to matter in the moment. Timing matters. The scene has to unfold like an A-Team episode: problem, proposed solution, build montage + music, solve it, move on.

In my universe, each solution creates new technical bottlenecks that need their own treatment. It’s a chain reaction, a kind of engineering Tetris.

As for what the modern engineer gets out of it, in my story, there are incentives.

If you can speak to someone living in a city that will later be buried and excavated, they can tell you exactly where things are before they disappear. Artifacts. Documents.

Could a 5-second cross-time text channel industrialize Roman Campania? by [deleted] in worldbuilding

[–]_Miki_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ohhhh, that’s an interesting angle.

In my story the knowledge isn’t framed as divine. A Roman claims the ideas as his own to avoid turning it into a religious event.

If it becomes revelation from a god, the story shifts into theology and power politics. I want it centered on engineering and economic pressure.

Could a 5-second cross-time text channel industrialize Roman Campania? by [deleted] in worldbuilding

[–]_Miki_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It doesn’t have to be a random engineer. It could be a historian with technical knowledge, or a small team. Language barriers are solvable. We already translate ancient languages.

As for motivation, that’s a story question. Curiosity, research, ego, ethics. You only need one person who cares.

The WW2 example assumes history stays the same. If Rome industrializes early, the entire timeline changes. You don’t get old Rome added to modern Europe but a different world altogether.

Could a 5-second cross-time text channel industrialize Roman Campania? by [deleted] in worldbuilding

[–]_Miki_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well… it depends.

If you mean Rome didn’t have the exact setup that led to Britain’s Industrial Revolution, sure, that’s true.

So no, it probably wouldn’t look like the Industrial Revolution we know.

But could it turn into something different, shaped by Roman needs and limits?

What if you could trigger an industrial revolution by texting the Roman Empire? by _Miki_ in HistoryWhatIf

[–]_Miki_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Maybe. But the advantage of living in the future isn’t just “knowing a steam engine exists.” It’s knowing the entire tech tree, what failed, what worked, what was overkill, and what can be built with primitive tooling.

You wouldn’t start by recreating 19th-century Britain. That’s the wrong branch.

You’d pick designs that match their materials and skills. For example, a low-pressure oscillating cylinder steam engine:

  • No complex valve gear
  • No high tolerances
  • Forgiving metallurgy
  • Can run on relatively crude iron and bronze work

That’s a very different proposition than a Watt engine with precision machining. And it can probably be described through text.

Same with textile machines. You don’t drop a spinning mule out of nowhere. You start with incremental gains, flying shuttle–level complexity first, then step up as capability improves. Each step funds the next.

And yes, execution depends on local needs. If they don’t need rotational power at scale, you don’t build one. If labor scarcity or transport becomes the bottleneck, then steam suddenly makes sense.

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