Technology and Modernization Quotes in Mortal Engines

In case we didn't get it already: military technology kills and poisons the earth. Why isn't more effort put into technology that saves people and heals the earth?

This is a blunt way to put this, and it makes Dr. Vambrace seem really evil (he kind of is). But Dr. Vambrace's technology isn't all that different from the bombs and missiles we already have; it's just that we don't always think of these things as "new and inventive ways to kill people."

This is a strange touch of sci-fi so late in the story. Do you think future books will explore this bit of quantum technology? Do you think anything like this is possible in the real world?