Wood-burning automobiles could replace the rickshaws. Cranes could be run by donkey-engines. The ships themselves could have their wheels powered by steam. Or perhaps, he thought, rails could be laid across the Xurdimur, and locomotives would make the ships obsolete. No, that wouldn't work.
Iron rails cost too much.
And the savages that roved over the grassy plains would tear them up and forge weapons from them. Besides, every time he suggested to the Duke a new and much more efficient method of doing something he ran dead into the brick wall of tradition and custom. Nothing new could be accepted unless the gods accepted it. The gods' will was interpreted by the priests. Green could make a fight against the theocracy, but he didn't feel it was worth while to become a martyr.