The following story involves members of the steampunk society. "Steampunk" is a sci-fi subculture that offers a romanticized view on technology.
The combination of clean fuel, steam, electricity and mechanical wind-up devices appealed to people in world complicated with the problems connected with coal, oil and nuclear power.
The term became popular during the 1980s, as sci-fi tales became popular, steampunk gradually spread into other art forms such as graphic art, fashion, music and literature.
The steampunk look reflects the Victorian and early Edwardian eras (roughly 1801-1910) Corsets, gowns, frock coats and top hats, lace-up boots and goggles,
Steampunkers accept the fact that everyday items can perform unconventional tasks. For example, a watch may double as a time machine, or a compass could navigate you not only through the world, but the stars as well.
As the steampunk subculture started to grew, groups of "steampunkers" began to meet for social events in homes and clubs catering to those who embraced this lifestyle.
Dressed in their steampunk clothes and baring their steampunk gadgets, they meet and celebrate this ideology.
My wife I became involved with the culture and attended an annual steampunk ball. We used the persona of two turn-of-the-centuries ecologists working for PEW (Preventing Earth Warming), an organization dedicated to that task.
I was concerned that as the population grew, and the forests producing oxygen diminished, all the exhaled carbon dioxide would overpower the existing oxygen supply, thus raising the overall earth temperature, resulting in cataclysmic consequences.
I had invented a small working model of a machine that would detect heavy concentrations of carbon dioxide, draw it into containers which would then convert the CO2 into oxygen and release it back into the air.
My wife was attacking the problem from a different perspective. Her theory was that millions of women going through menopause and experiencing "hot flashes," were also contributing to the increase in Earth warming.
Her device would scanned them, detected their body temperature, and if necessary, she would spray them with the hormone estrogen to help control their high temperature and the heat they were radiating.
We arrived at the gothic looking building where the ball was being held. It was very exciting to see our fellow steampunkers and the variety of machines and gadgets they brought with them.
After doing some mixing and sharing of information I was eating some hors d'oeuvre and wine when I noticed my wife was missing.
