ADA Drive Room

The central axis for all the analysis engines onboard the Dauntless lies in the Ada drive room, or central processing Core. The Ada core outshines the main engine room in complexity, activity and inhospitableness but not in power. The mechanical portion of the main analysis engine is bathed in a constant drizzle of misty oils and graphite in an atmosphere of nitrogen. The collective din of an incalculable number of levers, gears and rods is nigh deafening. The machines are illuminated in a red light that moderates temperature. The engine room can only be entered wearing special protective suits with self- contained Environmental systems. The machines themselves are also deadly as the exposed gears could grind any unwary technician into meatloaf in seconds. Through the airlock, in the control room, system operators, with minds almost as sharp as Babbage himself, man countless buttons, knobs, switches and dials that regulate the operation of every computational apparatus. Data card banks relentlessly circulate memory plates to and from the system through magnetic conveyor conduits.

Analysis engines can be found in every section of the ship being used for every manner of calculation, data manipulation or control. All of these systems, with the exception of personal MACs, are connected to the central axis through a mechanical interface.