WOLFISM LI from Wolfie's blog

AGE OF STEEL AND FIRE

Leviathan has been maturing like an organism these last few thousand years – just not uniformly in all parts of its body. Different pockets of the human race have advanced at different paces, though in modern times uniformity has been spreading, thanks to the unifying power of technology. I divide the stages of advancement according to the evolving modes of transport that characterized migration and colonization, the two principles that play the largest roles in Leviathan’s maturation. It’s by studying these stages that we open the mental door to what I call Hyperborea.

The first stage of migration and colonization was the Age of Hoof and Grass. The hooves in question were of course on the feet of horses and oxen, which got their energy to move by eating the grass they found on the way. Examples of such migrations were the Mongol invasions of present-day Iran, Iraq, the Caucasus, and parts of Syria and Turkey; the Proto-Indo-European migration westward from the Pontic steppe in present-day Ukraine and Russia; and the Teutonic and Celtic “barbarian” invasions that swept across Europe during the days of the Roman Empire.

The second stage of migration and colonization was the Age of Wood and Wind. The wood in question was used in the making of great ocean-going ships, which got their energy to move primarily from the blowing wind. These migrations were westward from the various nations of Europe, across the Atlantic ocean to the shores of North and South America and nearby islands, or else south from the various nations of Europe, down into Africa, and sometimes back north again along Africa’s other coast, sailing both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The third stage of migration and colonization – the one in which Western Man currently finds itself – is the Age of Steel and Fire. The steel in question is used in the making of modern vehicles, all of which are (and always have been) powered by fire, be it in coal furnaces (heating water into steam) or in the carburetors of internal combustion engines, or still more advanced technologies, such as nuclear, in military ships, icebreakers, and submarines. The iconic migration via steel and fire was the building of railroads, either across the United States or across Europe. Some think the mass production of pistols and rifles defeated the American Indian, or else maybe small pox and other microbes, and these of course played major roles - but also key was the locomotive, which brought more white men out west than the indigenous tribes could hope to contend with (especially after the ravages of European germs).

Today the most iconic steel and fire transport is the airplane, by which man can cross oceans in hours. But this mode of transport will one day be eclipsed by something still greater: the rocket ship. Today, the Age of Steel and Fire has yet to express its full potential. Trains, cars, trucks, and airplanes cross continents, yes, and jets, ocean liners, and oil tankers cross oceans, but continents have been crossed since the Age of Hoof and Grass, and oceans since the Age of Wood and Wind. The frontier that only steel and fire can cross is cislunar and interplanetary space. Man has sent expeditions out into this great expanse but has not yet built settlements on lunar or Martian territory. The day for that is rapidly approaching. I hope to see it in my lifetime and have a reasonable shot at doing so.

Reading at length on the foregoing and deeply contemplating it will open your mental door to Hyperborea should you care to join me there. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!