Monopolis: Technology

Airships are lighter-than-air vehicles made of a silk balloon and a small gondola. Monopolis airships have a few advanced features including a skeleton within the balloon that holds it in an aerodynamic shape, and wing-rudders that can steer the airship with wind power. Controlling a wind-powered airship is difficult and they consume a lot of fuel just to keep the air inside the balloon heated.

Hydrogen provides better lift for baloons than hot air and is a lightweight fuel. Hydrogen is produced from methane waste gas, water-splitting hydrolyzers, and some kinds of bacteria. It is fairly expensive and difficult to store, although it's the only fuel that can be burned in large amounts without destabilizing the environment that sustains 100 billion beings.

Electricity - Elves ruled monopolis long ago. The company has discovered and learned to use some of their electricity-based technology, including electric motors and water-splitting machines that produce hydrogen.

Golems are engineered animals - like living machines. Some of the Elf population of monopolis belong to the Golem Master culture. They produce insect-like golems that can perform some specialized tasks more efficiently than intelligent or domesticated archosaurs.