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The Imperial Turga Canal
Sular
Member
By river it is a hundred miles from Thul Ka to the sea. Overland, the distance is less than forty miles. These facts have long irritated the city and the imperial officials alike, for a shorter route connecting the city with the sea would be of the greatest importance to the trade of the city and the power of the empire. Various schemes had been proposed over the centuries, but all failed to make any real headway. The rough and broken hill-country that separates the city from the sea, haunted by bandits, bothersome tribes of Athig Nda, stony outcroppings, and a general inhospitable desolation were effective barriers to most schemes. The want of money killed all the rest.
It seemed that the long route of the Turga would be the only line to the sea until thirty years ago, when a combination of new hydraulic technology, a favorable economy, and an ambitious alliance between the Emperor and the Mayor of Thul Ka all conspired together to cut a vast canal through the hills and connect Thul Ka to the coastal town of [Needs a Name] thirty-five miles away. Plans were drafted, new hydraulic engines commissioned, and huge gangs of laborers lined up to cut the canal. Eventually, after much wrangling, bribes, the odd murder, and the general necessary corruption it takes to begin any large project, the canal work began.
The Imperial Turga Canal Company was created to oversee the great undertaking, against the vociferous objection of the Worshipful Company of Pipefitters who consider that all great works of industry should fall under their purview. The counter-argument was that the canal would not be wholly within the city, and thus the Pipefitters had no standing to challenge the Company. That argument was grudgingly accepted but to this day the Pipefitters are still bitter about the loss of control over the project even as their members labor to work upon it.
Today, with the canal nearing completion, talk of the immense cost of the undertaking (cost overruns more than doubled the pricetag) has resurfaces, especially in light of the now fragile Mugrobi economy. Many voices are raised against the canal and point to it as a reason for why the country should shy away from vast projects. Others point to the potential future rewards of the canal will eventually far outpace the overruns.
It seemed that the long route of the Turga would be the only line to the sea until thirty years ago, when a combination of new hydraulic technology, a favorable economy, and an ambitious alliance between the Emperor and the Mayor of Thul Ka all conspired together to cut a vast canal through the hills and connect Thul Ka to the coastal town of [Needs a Name] thirty-five miles away. Plans were drafted, new hydraulic engines commissioned, and huge gangs of laborers lined up to cut the canal. Eventually, after much wrangling, bribes, the odd murder, and the general necessary corruption it takes to begin any large project, the canal work began.
The Imperial Turga Canal Company was created to oversee the great undertaking, against the vociferous objection of the Worshipful Company of Pipefitters who consider that all great works of industry should fall under their purview. The counter-argument was that the canal would not be wholly within the city, and thus the Pipefitters had no standing to challenge the Company. That argument was grudgingly accepted but to this day the Pipefitters are still bitter about the loss of control over the project even as their members labor to work upon it.
Today, with the canal nearing completion, talk of the immense cost of the undertaking (cost overruns more than doubled the pricetag) has resurfaces, especially in light of the now fragile Mugrobi economy. Many voices are raised against the canal and point to it as a reason for why the country should shy away from vast projects. Others point to the potential future rewards of the canal will eventually far outpace the overruns.
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