If you’re familiar with Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island, you don’t need us to tell you how awesome the Nautilus is. Even as the first submarine ever constructed—all the way back in 1870—it was capable of traveling a distance of 60,000 nautical miles. What you may not know is that Captain Nemo’s legendary vessel was decked out with technological advancements so sophisticated they make your smartphone look like a stone tablet.
Here are just four of the many impressive yet little-known features of the Nautilus:
Super-Cavitation Drive
Yeah, we don’t know exactly what the word cavitation means, either. What we do know is that cav-drive allows the Nautilus to shift into what is essentially warp speed. Cav-drive is a form of propulsion that creates a sheath of air around the nose of the sub, allowing for zero water resistance. To put it simply, you can zoom from Alaska to Cancun in the time it’ll take you to remember how to spell phytoplankton.
Artificial Intelligence
The Nautilus’s technology is so advanced that it requires an AI system to control it. And the best part? It doesn’t obey your commands with an annoying synthetic voice. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider its feelings. The Nautilus is a very sensitive ship. So please don’t ask it to play your Morning Jams playlist over the speaker system. Unless it includes a few pieces by Bach at least.
Leyden Cannons
What kind of super sub would the Nautilus be if it didn’t have top-of-the-line defensive capabilities? One piece of alt-tech that Captain Nemo developed was the Leyden cannon, which can hold and fire a massive electrical charge. The technology is derived from research done by eighteenth-century Dutch scientists, who discovered a way to contain high-voltage electrical currents inside a glass jar. Students at the Harding-Pencroft Academy are also equipped with Leyden pistols, which shrink the technology into something that can fit in the palm of your hand. The pistols are meant for self-defense only—not high-intensity games of laser tag. That doesn’t come until after graduation.
Leidenfrost
Leidenfrost is a near-freezing sheath of water that encases the hull of the Nautilus when it needs to brave extreme temperatures. Think of it as a super cold force field. With Leidenfrost activated, the Nautilus can voyage through active volcano vents as if they were just hot springs. Bet you wish you had something like this the last time the water at your local public pool mysteriously got warmer.
Want to learn more about everything the Nautilus can do? Be sure to pick up Daughter of the Deep, on sale October 26th!