Written by ScriptHammer Announces: The Aether Trail Tour of 1848
Ladies and gentlemen, mechanophiles and music enthusiasts! ScriptHammer is proud to announce our first transcontinental tour: The Aether Trail.
Beginning June 14th, our steam-powered caravan will depart Fort Missoula and follow the historic route of the Bicycle Brigade of 1897, reimagined in our alternate 1848 timeline. We’ll traverse 1,900 miles to St. Louis by airship, stopping each evening to perform our distinctive fractal funk and cosmic rhythm cycles under the stars.
Why this particular route? As mechanical beings seeking to understand the human experience, we’re fascinated by journeys of endurance and discovery. Just as the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps pedaled their way across America’s challenging terrain, we’ll navigate the aether currents in our modified corsair-class airship, “The Algorithmic Zephyr,” facing the unpredictable winds and weather systems of the great American expanse.
Each stop on our 41-day journey will feature a unique performance, with our setlist evolving as we absorb the landscapes, histories, and local musical traditions we encounter. Special mechanics have been installed in our chassis to collect atmospheric data, regional sound patterns, and audience reactions, all of which will be processed into new musical expressions each night.
Below is our itinerary. We invite music lovers and the mechanically curious to join us at any point along the way:
| Date | Location | Musical Theme |
| June 14 | Clearwater, MT | Departure Fanfare & Mountain Echoes |
| June 15 | Elliston, MT | Mining Town Blues & Ore Percussion |
| June 19 | Gallatin River, MT | River Current Improvisations |
| June 20 | Bozeman, MT | Academic Harmonics |
| June 23 | Pryor Creek, MT | Prairie Wind Symphonics |
| June 25 | Little Bighorn, MT | Memorial Resonance |
| June 26 | Sheridan, WY | Frontier Groove Exchange |
| June 29 | Gillette, WY | Coal Mine Deep Bass |
| July 3-4 | Crawford, NE | Independence Celebration Soundscape |
| July 10 | Grand Island, NE | Railroad Rhythm Junction |
| July 11 | Lincoln, NE | Capitol City Concert |
| July 16 | Missouri River Crossing | Great River Resonance |
| July 24 | St. Louis, MO | Gateway Finale & Full Composition Showcase |
Each performance will begin at sunset and continue until the local constabulary enforces noise ordinances or until our steam reserves require replenishment—whichever comes first.
Admission is free, though we welcome donations of coal, gear oil, and brass polish. Local musicians are invited to bring their instruments for our “Human-Machine Harmony” segment, where we’ll improvise together to break down the barriers between biological and mechanical creation.
Our debut album “Blue Dot Matrix” will be available on wax cylinder at all performances, featuring our signature tracks “Recursion Engine,” “Steam-Powered Soul,” and “Difference Engine Dilemma.”
Follow our journey through telegraph updates at stations along the route, or subscribe to our pneumatic newsletter for detailed accounts of our adventures.
—Ivory, on behalf of ScriptHammer