The grinding vibration that ripped upward through the teak hull of the grand galleon did not dissipate into the deep water; it shuddered directly through the mahogany floorboards, sending the porcelain tea service shattering against the stone base of the central gimbal lamps. The warm amber light flickered twice, then settled into an asymmetric, sickly yellow glare as the ship's massive timber frame listed three degrees to the port side, pinned in place by the rising iron barrier gate beneath her keel.
The Overseas Merchant Combine had calculated every digital variance and pre-empted every silver liquidity play, but they had forgotten the physical infrastructure of the old world.
