The King's request was reasonable. The Steam Wagon was deafening. But the vibration was the real enemy.
Arthur sat in the workshop of the Capital store (which was currently sold out again). He was sore. The ride had bruised his tailbone.
"The rigid chassis transmits 100% of the road impact to the passenger," Arthur muttered, drawing a diagram. "We need shock absorption."
He looked at a piece of steel wire.
"If I coil this," Arthur mused, wrapping the wire around a metal rod. "It gains memory. It wants to return to its original shape."
He pressed down on the coil. It sprang back.
[Physics Unlocked: Hooke's Law (F = -kx)] [Blueprint Created: The Helical Compression Spring.]
...
Arthur originally designed the springs for the wagon's suspension. He installed four massive coils above the wheels.
He tested it by jumping up and down on the wagon bed. It bounced softly.
"Success," Arthur noted. "Ride quality improved by 300%."
But then, he looked at the pile of smaller, rejected springs on the floor.
He looked at his bed in the corner of the workshop. It was a standard medieval bed: A wooden frame with a sack filled with straw. It was lumpy, full of bugs, and hard.
"Straw..." Arthur scowled. "Straw compresses. It loses loft. It attracts vermin. Inefficient."
He looked back at the springs.
"What if..."
Arthur grabbed a wooden frame. He aligned fifty small steel springs in rows. He tied them together. Then, he covered the metal grid with layers of wool and cotton batting. Finally, he stitched a durable fabric cover over it.
He pushed his hand into it. It yielded, then supported him.
He climbed onto it. He lay down.
It was like floating on a cloud compared to the straw sack.
"Spinal alignment optimal," Arthur sighed, closing his eyes. "Pressure points alleviated."
Sarah walked in, holding a ledger. "Young Master, the Guild of Wainwrights is complaining about the smo—"
She stopped. She saw Arthur lying on the strange white rectangle.
"Young Master? Are you... napping?"
"I am testing the Pendelton Orthopedic Sleep System," Arthur mumbled, half-asleep. "Sarah, burn the straw mattresses. We are entering the age of the Innerspring."
End of Chapter 15