Plants from every land had been cooked down to yield their oils, animals of every description had been rendered, but only the oozing black sludge proved to be a adequate and reliable supple of the lubricants need to free the new machines from the binding friction that plagues all works of metal. The sludge was distilled to liberate its many components. Each with different properties. Some suited for lubrication under a verity of different mechanical demands. Many of these components were found to readily support a flame, not unlike the precious coal. Soon this new curiosity was similarly enslaved in the generation of steam. This discover lead to the exploration of all the formally investigated lubricants and any number of other materials as possible sources of the vital energy needed to generate steam.