Philippe Chambas
Philippe Chambas asked Naomi Novik:

Looking in to the future of this universe If they did Billed Air planes like craft What do you think it might look like? And would the Dragon's Be big fans or upset at the intrusion to there air space? Love your Books Thank you.

Naomi Novik I think Temeraire dragons would hate airplanes and would conversely be utterly delighted by balloons and zeppelins, although not to the satisfaction of the passengers, since the dragons would try and play with them. Also the interaction between firebreathers and any hydrogen-based aircraft would be short and lamentable.

My suspicion is that in the Temeraire universe, the future of aviation looks very different than in our own -- I haven't worked out in my head exactly what it would be, but I suspect that aircraft would at least initially end up built up *around* dragons, out of progressive enhancements that would allow dragons to carry more people, fly further distances, work in concert to fire bigger weapons, etc. Smaller incremental changes are easier to make, so if you've already got a dragon to start with, you'd probably worry less about getting off the ground, and more about being more effective in the air. You might eventually get around to "replacing" the dragon inside, but I suspect not until roughly the same time we get around to replacing the people inside cars.
Naomi Novik
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