The Motor Carriage Hits the Market
The launch of the motor carriage — and the army's researchers joining Daehan Motors turned out to be a huge boon for the lab.
Remembering how the prototype had shattered during its first test drive, they built the body out of steel. But all that extra weight meant they needed a far more powerful engine.
"Bwahaha! If we don't have enough power, we just slap on two engines!"
"Heh heh. Managing them separately would be a pain, so why not just link them together?"
Ideas no one had even thought of before. Connecting two combustion chambers really was far better than wiring two separate engines — the size barely grew, and there was so much less piping and wiring to fuss over.
"Ooh... now this is something. Let's call it a two-cylinder."
"Ah, because it's two engines?"
The army researchers gradually drifted to one side of the lab, itching to build tanks of their own. And the Daehan Motors researchers gathered separately.
"This should do it, right?"
"This is plenty for us!"
"Let's confirm the optimal fuel efficiency and RPM for this too!"
With two combustion chambers instead of one, they'd surely get about one and a half times the power. That was exactly what they'd been hoping for.
Everyone hurried to build the body and mount the engine.
"You know what? Like the military Ddareungi, why don't we put a cover over the driver's seat?"
"It'd be warmer in winter, and it would keep the rain off, right?"
"Exactly — and then we wouldn't need such a thick frame anyway."
Little by little, the motor carriage began to change shape. There was still no differential, so it remained one wheel up front and two in the back. The overall silhouette was still basically a rectangular box, but they raised a frame, stretched a canvas over it, and created a driver's cabin. Best of all, they built something to protect the engine itself.
"Huh? This is actually better!"
"Right? It's quieter, too — and now the fan's airflow actually focuses where it's needed."
Putt-putt-putt-putt.
The earsplitting racket from the early days had dropped dramatically with just a couple of steel plates added. Then came the shock absorbers.
Thud, thud, thud.
"So? Does it move much?"
One of them jumped around furiously on top of the carriage, but the vehicle barely budged.
"Hmm... hard to tell with just a person's weight."
"We'll find out during the test drive, I suppose."
The carriage hadn't broken back then simply because the frame was weak — the real culprit had been the lack of shock absorption. The researchers recalled that day and shuddered for a moment.
"How's yours over there?"
"This is pretty cozy, actually? We should do the back too."
A voice called out from the driver's seat, now fully enclosed in canvas. Apparently it was meant for when they'd have to sleep outside somewhere.
"Hmm? Good point. It would protect the cargo, too. Even better."
The motor carriage was slowly starting to resemble a wagon from a Western movie.
The researchers poured their sleepless nights into refining it. If this thing launched, it would be nothing short of a revolution for Daehan. Joy was written all over their faces. After all, work done joyfully is work done well.
Two years after Daehan Motors completed the two-cylinder engine, two years of steady refinement, the motor carriage was finally finished.
"Hmm? How do we even introduce this thing?"
"Good question?"
With no motor shows or major public gatherings anywhere in the country, they were at a loss for how to spread the word.
"Is that really so hard?"
"Why?"
"We just drive it around town, and people will come find us on their own, won't they?"
"You think so?"
They decided to drag the hesitant ones out for a spin. If nobody reacted, well, they'd figure it out then.
Putt-putt-putt-putt.
Why did a two-cylinder engine, of all things, remind them of a farmer's tiller?
"Alright, let's go!"
"Moving out!"
Three of them sat side by side in the driver's seat and set the carriage in motion. Eight more piled into the cargo bed — they'd recruited people to ride along, since hauling actual cargo would've felt silly.
Screeeech.
The brake released, and the carriage slowly pulled away from the research building. Its speed was about that of a person walking briskly.
"Hmm? The ride's not bad, actually."
"Right? Compared to that first test drive back in the day... ugh."
"Just thinking about it gives me chills."
The wheels were solid rubber, but even so they absorbed a fair amount of shock, and with the shock absorbers on top, it was far more comfortable than expected.
Thump, thump.
"Haha. This is kind of fun?"
That pleasant little bounce when they rolled over small obstacles and ruts had a peculiar charm to it.
"Doesn't it? Hey, find some more rocks or something to drive over."
They were having so much fun that an order came down to hit even more bumps.
"Keep that up and we'll end up wrecking it in one go again."
At that, someone recalled the shattered carriage and tried to stop them.
"Aw, come on. Better to find out now than have an accident later while we're out driving around, no?"
"Huh? I guess that's true?"
So they decided to run a little durability test while they were at it.
"Okay, I'm going to drive over some obstacles, so everyone hold on tight!"
"Got it!"
With the canvas sagging around them, nobody was about to go flying out, but there was no harm in being careful.
Putt-putt-putt-putt.
"Alright, shifting to normal gear!"
No wonder it had felt sluggish — they'd been driving in low gear the whole time. Now they meant to try the standard speed.
Clunk.
The grinding, mismatched noise of the gear engaging had faded to almost nothing compared to before. This was a machine calculated through countless mathematical formulas. Daehan had truly taken its first real step into mechanical engineering.
"Oof."
"Can't help the sudden surge, though."
Perhaps they still hadn't mastered a smooth clutch engagement — the carriage lurched a bit as it picked up speed. The speed itself was faster than expected, about a light jog.
"Wow? Eleven of us on board, and this is all it takes?"
"Not bad, right?"
Sure, it was slower than a horse pulling a rail cart along its track — but this thing could run anywhere, as long as it had fuel. And it wouldn't tire out until it broke down. No four or eight hours of travel followed by a rest stop, like a horse. Half a horse's speed would already count as a triumph.
Jolt, jolt.
"Yikes!"
"Oof!"
"Speed goes up, and so does the impact, I guess."
As the carriage quickened, the passengers began complaining of discomfort.
"Still, this much is acceptable, right?"
"Isn't it? Beats sitting in a saddle at least?"
What on earth were they talking about? Nothing on earth compared to the ride on Jorangi's back. Some people, frankly, could sleep right through it.
"Huh? You mean the Western horses, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. Not Jorangi."
The "horse" the employee meant was the massive breed imported from the West — that terrifying saddle that felt like it would shatter your tailbone. They were thoroughly unpopular in Daehan; only a handful of people kept them as curiosities or pets, marveling at the strange animals.
"Heh heh heh. Time for you all to quiet down. I'm about to shift into high gear."
The driver issued this warning to the back seat with a sinister chuckle. The impacts hit the rear harder, after all.
"Ugh... that's ominous."
"Keep your mouths shut so nobody bites their tongue."
"Mmp! Mmph!"
Clunk.
The driver shifted gears immediately. High speed, engaged. The pace jumped dramatically — maybe a touch faster than an early Ddareungi.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.
"Gah!"
"Oogh!"
"GAH!"
The backsides of everyone in the rear began bouncing high enough to fit a fist beneath them. The floor was a wooden plank with a thin steel sheet over it — and it felt like it was going to shatter their tailbones. Terrified of biting their tongues, they couldn't even scream; they just clung to the carriage railing, tears welling in their eyes.
"Khh!"
"Mmph!"
It was roughly meant as a plea to slow down, but it clearly wasn't reaching the driver's seat.
"Alright, now let's head into town!"
Putt-putt-putt-putt.
With the engine droning on unchanged, a frenzied joyride began — one in which only the driver was having any fun.
"Oof!"
"Ugh!"
"Hnnngh!"
The back seat was dying.
Mornings in Sinsi were always bustling. Trains came and went, and commuters rode their Ddareungi to work. And here and there, carriages rumbled by, loaded down with passengers — there still weren't enough Ddareungi for everyone to own one.
"Huh? What's that?"
"Am I seeing things...?"
The people around the station on the morning commute were all rubbing their eyes. Because a single carriage was tearing through town, making a racket quite unlike any Ddareungi.
Putt-putt-putt-putt-putt.
Along with it came passengers in the back with strangely distant, haunted eyes, and screams spilling from their tightly pressed lips.
"That thing? Isn't that a carriage?"
"A carriage? Doesn't a carriage need a horse?"
"Does it? Then what is that?"
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Something shaped like a carriage came bouncing through town. A little black smoke, too, for good measure.
"Whoa."
And it was definitely faster than a horse-drawn carriage. Ordinary carriages moved at a walking horse's pace, so they were never exactly speedy.
"What the—?"
As the horseless carriage overtook them, everyone was left utterly dumbfounded. It traveled belching smoke, so apparently it was something like a Ddareungi...
"Where do I get one of those?"
"I want one!"
"That's right — if you're a man, it's one of those over a Ddareungi any day!"
The sheer bulk, the thudding mechanical roar, the angular body — something about it just suited men. Between the Ddareungi's cute looks and its chirpy little sounds, the men had been feeling a bit wistful lately.
"Look at the cargo bed! How many people are riding back there?"
"Wait — so it's not just for driving around in?!"
Men commuting on their pretty little Ddareungi couldn't help but stare as the motor carriage roared past, spewing black smoke. Unable to see the rotting faces of the passengers in the cargo bed, people began chasing after it on their Ddareungi.
"Hey! Where'd you get that thing!"
"Stop right there!"
It was a familiar scene from somewhere — the Pied Piper. No, a piper of a carriage, herding people along while the back seat screamed, sweeping straight through Sinsi in a grand spectacle.
"BWAHAHA! It worked! Let's head straight to the company!"
"Oh... you planned this?"
"Ahem!"
It had been pure accident, of course, but somehow the publicity campaign had succeeded, hadn't it?
"Over there!"
"You little punk!"
"Where do you even live, huh?!"
Granted, they were now dragging an enraged mob behind them — but hey, they'd grabbed everyone's attention, hadn't they? A remarkably successful marketing strategy.
And with that, the researchers drove the carriage straight into the Daehan Motors grounds.
"Huh? Isn't this Daehan Motors?"
"No way... is that their new product?"
"They're going to sell that too?!"
"YESSS!"
Half the cargo bed was occupied by coachmen hauling water and feed for their horses — and by the men who'd never quite been satisfied with their Ddareungi. They began to erupt with excitement, because a new product from Daehan Motors, one that would satisfy them at last, was on the verge of launch.
Ddareungi were all the rage in Daehan, and now the motor carriage — the automobile — began spreading across the land. The automobile was especially pleasant to ride, and it could haul plenty of cargo besides.
"Wait, if it spreads this fast, what am I supposed to do?"
Haneul simply gained one more worry. The only oil field in operation at the moment was Baku — the Seneca Oil Field on the Eastern Continent was still under development.
"No, even with Seneca up and running, it won't be nearly enough at this rate..."
One careless move, and oil really might end up worth its weight in gold.
"I don't know where any other oil fields are..."
She knew the Middle East was full of them, but how was she supposed to know where they lay underground? That was precisely why she kept harping on everyone to find a way to survey for them...
"Ugh... beats me."
And in Daehan, the line of buyers waiting to purchase oil began growing longer by the hour.
It looked like they were going to need a plan.