World of Steam & Rust

It is 1915, but not the one you know.

In Europe, the old empires stand on the brink of war, and war zeppelins darken the skies. In the East, China has spread its influence as far as the South American Coast, and may soon come into conflict with America, which has annexed Mexico, and is looking further south. But the plans of the great powers may all soon come to naught, for something new has come into the world.

On every continent, in every nation, holes have appeared, in the sky, in the ground, in the water, that seem to lead to another world. Some are no more than pin-pricks in reality. Some could swallow a battleship whole. Some seem to provide an instant conduit from place to place. A man entering one in Zurich might well come out another in the wilds of the Canadian Rockies an instant later. Others have no exit, and those who enter them are never seen again.

All are leaking.

Some emit strange gasses. Others birth weird animals and insects. Still others alter the environment around them in subtle, unsettling ways, and may eventually change the whole world.

Empires of Steam and Rust is a shared world e-publishing venture featuring the writing talents of Bob Vardeman, Steve Sullivan, Jean Rabe, Mike Stackpole, David Lee Summers, and Sarah Bartsch.   Every month (or so), one of us will publish a new story that will explore the world that we have created and bring fresh wonders and horrors sure to thrill and amaze.

Each story will be available from its respective author as an e-book, and there may be a compilation somewhere down the line.