The Great Ships — Morgan L. Bauman

(A steampunk short story, approximately 5000 words long, set during the Meiji Restoration in Japan.)As technological revolution dawns in Japan, the imperial government utilizes hidden factories to produce the great ships--steam-powered vehicles capable of flight and intended for combat.The late 1860s in Japan set the stage for rapid change. Spontaneous movements break out protesting the strict roles enforced by society; the imperial government overthrows the shogunate and rewrites the religious doctrines for the nation even as so-called New Religions spread like wildfire. Social upheaval and unrest fill the nation. And then, one clear day, talismans fall from the sky...