Wherein you get to see a pagan technomancer in full Overkill! mode...
Presents for my girls...
I watched on camera as Atropos maneuvered Sumpter out of the garage, and into space. A sealed transparent tank filled with water rested on the drone's back, and silver foil covered half of the tank along its length. Everything was looking good so far; Spare was already out there, outfitted with an array of lenses and mirrors that I'd rigged up, and in position. Soon....even as I thought that, Sumpter hit its target point, and the tank lit up as the focused moonlight hit it. I grinned. "Right. That's that. Can you keep it there all night, Atropos?"
That got a snort from the speaker. "Of course I can, sonny. It's not like you're asking me to asteroid race."
I grinned. "Of course not." I looked through the windows of the cab, and smiled at the sight of the Lady in the guise I enjoy most, the full moon. Admittedly, she was looking particularly stunning tonight, since we were no more than a couple thousand miles away, between her and the Earth. I stared for a few minutes, then shook my head and got up. "I'm going to go catch some Zs, Atropos. Once this is done, I'm going to be really busy with this project, and I'll want to be fresh for it."
"Are we ever going to find out what you're making? You've been collecting things for months, and to be honest, a lot of them are strange." Atropos' tone was filled with curiosity - not surprising, all of my girls were wondering exactly what I was making.
"You'll see. I can't hide the making from you, but I want the product to be at least a bit of a surprise, if it works. Night, dear." That got an amused snort as I headed out to bed. Tomorrow was the day that I could actually start putting things together. It would be interesting to see what happened, finally. But...there was still a long way to go.
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Everything was in place in the Garden, arranged before my altar. Pride of place was held by a large empty growth tank, of the sort that I used to culture handwavium. That was what I hoped to do tonight as well, though with a growth medium that was...unusual, to say the least. I was dressed in comfortable clothing - a good thing, because this would probably take a while. I could have gone skyclad, I suppose, but I actually felt more relaxed this way, and that was important. Taking a deep breath, I took a couple moments to center myself, and then started in. Taking up my sword from the altar, I started to walk in a circle around the area, casting the circle. "I consecrate this circle to the ancient gods. Here may they manifest, and give their blessings to their child." When the circle was complete, I moved back to my altar, and asked the Lady's blessing on the water and salt. The water was some of the moon-charged water I'd prepared, and the salt was sea-salt from Greece. I'd need all the connections to Greece that I could get for this, since so little was known about one of the Powers that I really wanted invoked. After combining the two in my chalice, I cast the circle again in salt-water, then returned to ask the blessing of the Lord. I had a small incense burner already going and asked the Lord for the blessing of Fire, then for the blessing of Air over the incense I'd prepared. Dropping a little of the incense on the burning charcoal, the scent of rosemary and sage rose up, and I picked up the burner by its chains and walked the circle the third time. Replacing the burner on the altar, I went to each of the four quarters of circle, lighting the candles there and calling on the protections of the Powers of Air and Fire, Water and Earth. When done, I moved back to my altar, and raised my hands. "This circle is bound, with power all around. Between the worlds, I stand with protection at hand." I closed my eyes to rest for a second, taking a long, slow breath. OK, the circle was cast. Time for the main event.
Opening my eyes, I looked up at the Garden's sky, where an image of the full moon still shone. "Lady....I am come here tonight to create, to make a gift of love for those I call my daughters. Grant your blessing on this endeavor, and grant whatever power you will to its outcome. So mote it be." I bowed my head a moment, and then reached for the first offering. Taking a jug, I poured water into the tank, following it with several more. As I worked, I chanted quietly. "Water from Greece...from Boeotia, where once the spring of Mnemosyne was known, and from Mount Helicon and Mount Parnassus, beloved of the Muses, the daughters of Mnemosyne." With the tank filled halfway, I took the next offering - individual paper pages of a Greek dictionary, and scattered them one at a time on the surface of the water. "Mnemosyne, Titan, Goddess of Memory, Creator of Words, I invoke thee and ask thy aid in this task. Lend the power of Memory to this creation."
From a bag, I took forth black feathers and let them drift onto the water. "Raven feathers, from Norway. Muninn, Memory, Companion to Odin and brother to Huginn, I invoke thee and ask thy aid. Lend your power of Memory to this task as well, to make it doubly strong."
Next came Egypt - ibis feathers, papyrus scrolls, and papyrus leaves joined the rest of the material in the tank. "Ibis feathers from Egypt, as well as papyrus from that land. Djehuti, known to the Greeks as Thoth and associated with their god Hermes, Inventor of Alphabets and Writing, God of the Sciences and Scribe of the Gods...I invoke thee and ask thy aid. Lend the power of writing, of scribing to this task, so that Memory might be preserved."
Silver-white pieces of birch bark joined the mixture. "Birch, on which the first letters were laid. Oghma, called the Honeymouthed, God of Communication, and Creator of the Ogham Alphabet...I invoke thee and ask thy aid. Lend the power of writing to this task, so that Memory might be preserved."
Finally, I added more raven feathers. "Raven feathers from the Isles. Bran the Blessed, God of Writing, whose name means Raven, I invoke thee and ask thy aid. Lend the power of writing to this task, so that Memory might be preserved, three times over."
Taking up a stick of hazelwood, I carefully stirred the mixture three times deosil, then reached for more. First, several large bags of hazelnuts were added. "Hazel, the tree of Wisdom, whose nuts contain all knowledge. Lend thy power to this task, so that this might create containers for knowledge." I followed that with a large container of elderberries. "Lady Elder, protector, sacred to Bran and tree of ravens, add thy strength to this task to aid in the preserving of Memory." Then came a bucket filled with small twigs. "Alder, protector, preserver of ideas, and beloved of Bran, add they strength to this task, for the preservation of Memory." Finally, I added several large handfuls of leaves. "Ash, protector, relative to Yggdrasil the World Ash, beneath whose roots the Norns dwell...add thy strength to this task to aid in the preserving of Memory." I took up my hazel rod, and stirred the tank three more times.
Picking up a box, I started to drop more leaves into the tank. "Parsley, aid to communing with the Lady in her Aspect as Mother, lend thy power to this task, and bring balance to this mix. Alder for the Maiden, Elder for the Crone, bring completion to the trinity and add the Mother's power to what must be done." I continued my soft chanting as I added the next item - numerous handfuls of needled sprigs that gave off an aromatic, almost pine-like tang. "Rosemary, used by the Greeks to sharpen their memories for study, add thy strength to this task and enhance Memory. Rosemary...for Remembrance." After that, came four or five large handfuls of grey-green leaves. I smiled, reminded of breakfast as I took in their spicy scent. "Sage...aiding intelligence, sharpening wits. Add thy strength to this task , that Memory shall be clear and sharp." A song drifted through my head, and I smiled again. Done one way, these were the ingredients for a love spell. But they had their memory aspects as well, and remembering was what the song always brought to my mind. To complete the quartet, I picked up a large jar and poured a stream of thick, dark-gold liquid into the tank. "Honey from Greece, thyme honey that is beloved there. Honey, that preserves and prevents corruption, add thy power to this task, to preserve Memory and prevent its corruption." When the honey finished pouring, I put the jar aside and reached for the lancet I'd prepared earlier. Pricking my index finger, I carefully dripped three drops of blood into the tank. "Blood, a sacrifice to help power what I wish done. As this is for my daughters, let my blood guide this working, to grant them the gift I would see them have." Pressing my fingertip for a second to stop the bleeding, I then picked up my rod again, stirring three times to finish the task.
Putting the hazel stick aside, I reached for the final item for the tank. As I poured the handwavium into the mixture to inoculate it, I closed my eyes, and tried to draw on the power of the Earth. It was a lot harder to get the feeling that I usually did, of energy flowing up through my feet...not surprising, since I wasn't actually on the planet. But our orbit was close to Earth, and I'd arranged the ship so that the planet was at least beneath me. As the last of the handwavium went into the tank, I tried to direct what feeling of energy I'd managed to call into the tank. Opening my eyes, I put the handwavium jar aside, and then closed and sealed the culture tank. Going over to the altar, I took up my dagger, and held it out as I chanted, "Lady and Lord, bless this task, that it might come to a successful end. In the names of your Aspects invoked tonight, and by the powers of the ancient gods, I bind all power within this circle into this spell. So mote it be." I felt the prickling of the hairs on the back of my neck, the feeling I always got when I drew a strong ritual to its end, and I smiled.
I started around the circle one last time, extinguishing the candles and telling the Elemental Powers to depart, with my thanks. Back at the altar, I spoke quietly, "To all beings and powers of the visible and invisible, depart in peace. May there always be harmony between us. My thanks and blessings." Taking up my sword once more, I cut the circle as I chanted, "The circle is open, yet ever it remains a circle. Around and through me always flows its magical power."
With that last bit done, I started to clean up...glancing over at the tank and wondering what the handwavium would make of the growth medium I had set for it. At any rate, I had time now to put together the actual physical items for this project, since I knew it would be a while before the mix in the tank was ready.
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I smiled a little as I rubbed the extra-fine sandpaper over the surface of the case in front of me, then ran a fingertip over the area. Silky-smooth....just the way I wanted it. I put the sandpaper aside, and then looked at the case. It was one of four, the largest of the set....and the building of them had started many months before. I couldn't just go to a lumberyard for my materials...even if all I'd wanted was the oak or the ash that I used. Given that I'd wanted alder, elder and hazel as well, I'd needed to go looking for the trees myself - especially since I'd needed to ask the trees for the use of their wood in order to do this properly. After that, my dad was able to help - thank the gods he did carpentry. He'd helped me get them rough-sawn and drying to season properly, then later got them cut up into the pieces that I'd needed for this. But it'd taken time. At least I'd been able to use that time to gather all of the other items I needed for this. My cousin was a metalworker and amateur blacksmith....and was more than happy to make all of the various fittings I needed for the cases and their contents. He was also happy to have the chunks of nickel-iron asteroid that I'd given him, both as raw material and payment, since he wanted to try making a few swords of 'starmetal' for some fans he knew. He thought they'd sell rather well, and I didn't mind supplying him.
Leaning back and looking over the cases, I shook my head. The last month or so had gone by quickly as I'd worked to assemble things - and there'd been so much to assemble. Alder frames, with thin planks of hazel forming the interior walls except for one plank of ash on each side to serve as protection on those quarters. Oil infused with rosemary that I'd asked Mnemosyne to bless, rubbed into the interior wood. The 'ventilation screen' woven of narrow, thin strips of oak and elder set in a frame of the same woods and then embedded in the rear wall. Very thin strips of cedar attached along the tops and bottoms of the sides, to make the cases into cedar chests, a traditional image of storage and preservation. The outer facing of thin oak panels put into place, then came the fun part - the innards. Just preparing all of the quartz had taken forever; all of the crystals inscribed on their bases with the names of the five powers that I'd invoked for their aid, arranged in a circle that would form a pentacle if lines were drawn between the names. I'd prepared mugwort and rosemary in more of the water I'd gotten from Greece, and used that to clean the crystals afterwards. Rosemary for memory, and mugwort because one of its traditional uses had been to clean crystals and mirrors for divination, and it seemed to fit in my mind. Gold leaf rubbed into the inscriptions to make them visible. Brackets from my cousin were next, installed along the length of the two long sides. The motorized track that ran along that length in the middle, with the five laser pointers (each with a different wavelength) set on a small motorized arm, so that they could be aimed at the crystals. A small cooling unit in each case, just to make sure things didn't run hot...besides, you could argue that it made each case a mild coldbox, which was another symbol of something that preserved. Piezoelectric sensors attached to the brackets, then the crystals set into place...with each crystal arranged so that the side inscribed with Mnemosyne's name was against the sensor before the brackets were tightened to secure everything properly. And that was just the three smaller cases. The one I'd just put aside was for Fate, since the three Sisters could access it as well through her...and it was larger, with more crystals, and a double set of laser pointer arrays. I was thinking each color and combinations of colors might encode and read data....and a double set would allow intensity to encode as well, which....well, if each possible combination was a memory 'layer' in a crystal, then the smaller cases would be able to do 31 layers for each crystal. But the big case....well, there were 1023 unique combinations with two pointer arrays. I had a feeling the small cases - each the size of a cooler - would be impressive. But the big one, closer to the size of a large trunk - if it worked like I wanted...that should be something else again.
I shook my head. Time to get back to work - there was still more to do before things were finished. The holes for the data and power cables were already in place, but I couldn't add those until after I stained the wood.
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The cases were almost done now....gleaming a rich brown, with each of my daughters' names inscribed on her own case in Greek. A simple line drawing of a raven was inscribed on the front of each case as well, and they shone gold against the brown wood, where I'd taken gold foil and crushed it into the lines. The last step for this portion was the clear-coat resin I was putting on to protect everything. I opened the container of resin, stirring it up with a hazel stick, and then took out the small container I'd prepared ahead of time. Opening it up, I poured a pale whitish-yellow dust into the resin, stirring it slowly. "Amber, that which preserves what it contains, one of the oldest preservers...add thy strength to this resin. Like calls to like...so let this resin draw upon thy nature to preserve what is contained within." Once it was mixed in well, I took out a small little pillbox, and carefully poured another bit of dust into the mix, stirring it in. This had been expensive, though not as bad as it would have been if what I'd ground up had been gem quality. "Emerald, enhancer of intellect, add thy strength to this working. As my birthstone, the planetary stone for Taurus as amber is the sun sign....tie me once more into this endeavor, to help create these gifts to my children." When done, I loaded a sprayer, put on a mask, and started to coat the cases with the resin.
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The cases were curing; I wanted to let the resin dry for a few days before I added the handwavium. Now, it was time to check and see what had come of that portion of this project. I sat before the container, taking a deep breath. If this hadn't worked, I'd have to start this portion over, though at least I'd have the cases ready. Reaching out, I snapped the locks open, and lifted the lid. And blinked. Okay...this was different. Putting the lid back all the way, I stared down at the handwavium in the tank. It was a color I hadn't seen before - a rich red-gold, leaning almost towards brown-gold...like one of the darker honeys, or ambers. Taking up a hazel stirring rod, I stirred the contents slowly, drawing the rod up to watch the liquid slowly drip back into the tank. It was about the consistency of a thin honey, as well. Using the rod, I stirred a bit more; as far as I could tell, everything had been consumed, transformed into this new strain. Nodding to myself, I got up just long enough to get a large sample jar, and I ladled some of the new strain into it. If this worked, I'd want to try to preserve this strain. It would have...possibilities. Sealing the jar and putting it aside, I set about the main work - transferring the handwavium into four different containers, each clearly labeled with one of my daughters' names. Once that was done, I set the main culture container aside to be cleaned later, and turned my attention to the portions I'd divvied up. I'd had to use one of those little rotary tools to get this next bit, with the sanding wheel handwaved. And it had been the part that had worried me the most, since I didn't know if it would hurt the girls. Fortunately, it hadn't seemed to cause any problems. Into each of the portions, I added the tiniest bit of dust. "By the law of contagion, let this dust allow ye to connect to my daughters. Removed from their cases...once connected, always connected. " I stirred the portions of handwavium up well, then sealed them and set them aside. Once the wood cases were cured, I'd apply the handwavium, and we'd see what we got.
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The big day had arrived. I'd applied the handwavium the day before, with...appropriate music playing while I worked: Please, Mr Compatibility; I Built A Better Model Than The One At Data General; Do It Yourself (You Can Build A Mainframe From The Things You Have At Home); The World Inside The Crystal; Deep Space, Cyberspace. Every positive computer song I could find, put on repeat play while I was finishing up. Then I let it cure overnight. Now I'd get to see the results...whatever they were. Entering the workshop, I blinked. "Ok....that's different." Going over, I regarded them with an arched eyebrow. They hadn't changed in appearance too much. Well...except for the trees. From the top of each case, near the back, a miniature tree had sprung forth. Peering at them, I hmmed. Oh, I recognized them. How could I not, after having looked for their counterparts when I was searching for wood? Clotho's case had a small alder rising from the top, and Atropos' case had an elder. That made sense to me - maiden and crone. Lachesis had a small grove on her case - hazels from the look of them. And was that...? I blinked, and looked closer. A dark spot on the case....water? I reached out a fingertip and touched it. Hard, smooth...no, it just felt like the resin coating the cases. But it LOOKED like a pool of water. There was a small flash of movement deep within the pool. I closed my eyes, and nodded. "Ok....salmon to go with the hazels." Fate's case had a larger tree on it. While the others had trees around six inches tall or so, the one on her case came to nearly a foot - a tall ash, three big roots disappearing into the lid of the container....and what appeared to be a small pool of water under the hollow of the roots. I hrmed softly. Fate was always the one I associated more with the Norns. It wasn't surprising she'd get a representation of THAT particular tree on her case. I shook my head, then shrugged, calling out. "OK, girls! Ready to try your presents and see if this worked?" All four of them answered, fairly close to as one, and definitely in the affirmative. "Let's see how good I am at this crafting business when it's not alive, shall we?" With that, I started to crate the cases off to hook up, to see what we'd gotten.
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Jason's Logbook
Wow. That's pretty much all I have to say. Once we'd gotten everything hooked up, the cases DID show up as available memory to the girls, so I'd managed that much as least. Fate had tested the transfer rate, and copied a hundred gig of files to her case in about thirty seconds, which had both of us happy. But they've been playing with the things for weeks now, and even the Sisters haven't gotten the percentage of used memory to change. That was almost scary...if THEY had that much, the amount of data that Fate's might be able to hold... They originally started out joking about downloading the internet. Now, I think Fate was actually considering doing it. Or at least trying to see how much she could get. And I'd found another side-effect of the handwavium, besides the trees. Most of the time, it wasn't too distracting...well, except for Fate's. Her case....worried me, a tiny bit. When Clotho used her case, we'd sometimes hear what sounded like a raven's caw coming from inside. Lachesis...well, hers was quieter. You'd sometimes hear a scratching...like a pen on rough paper. When Atropos was accessing hers, we'd usually hear what sounded like another bird call. Checking, we'd confirmed it was that of an ibis. Of course, that wasn't the only sound from her case; sometimes we'd get what sounded like the cries of a primate - a baboon in this instance. She didn't seem surprised - she even said once it started happening that she liked Djehuti, so I guess it made sense. That worried me a little, too. But Fate's case....well, whenever she was writing anything to it, there was always the faintest murmur of sound - someone talking. Her voice is rather distinctive, so I could tell it was hers, but the words were too faint to make out. I was pretty sure it wasn't English, and from little I could hear, I was willing to bet it was Greek. The bit that always spooked me was when she accessed the case. I could hear her ask questions...and another female voice, still too soft to understand but clearly in the same language, would answer back. Yes, it's probably just a quirk of the handwavium, but I AM a pagan, and some small part of me keeps insisting that Mnemosyne - and possibly some of the others that I had invoked - had taken up residence in the containers. Needless to say, I'm very polite and respectful around all of them...just in case.
I've tested the new handwavium strain as well. I dipped my old MP3 player in it; the thing was only a 1 GB player, and I was curious as to what would happen. It didn't appear to change much, though the handwavium did appear to change the battery into something that didn't need recharging - some sort of power cell? The menu was now in Greek as well, which took a bit of time with the girls to translate everything for me, so I could figure out what I was seeing. When I connected it up to check the memory size, however....well, if I wanted to, I could EASILY put my music collection on it - ALL of it - because the thing now registered as one PETAbyte. Up six orders of magnitude....I'm going to have to keep this new strain growing, and experiment a bit more. It definitely looks interesting. Fred might like some, too. I know he can't keep David supplied in enough memory, and it would be fun to see what he could come up with using it. I'll have to talk to him about it, see if he wants some to play with.
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So - this is me in full overkill mode. I figure the handwavium strain is mostly centered around creating/enhancing memory devices. At this point, I don't think it would do much else. But if you want that, it does it very well indeed. I'm not even sure at what amount of memory I'd put the cases. I figure the three smaller ones are above the petabyte level, though I'm not sure by how much (since at least part of the handwavium's effect would have had to have been directed towards making the cases WORK), but Fate's case...well, no matter how you look at it, it's probably scary. Anybody have any thoughts on this? Things you'd do differently, things you hate, or like? Or suggestions for the amount of memory? I'm curious as to what you think. Let me know.
Presents for my girls...
I watched on camera as Atropos maneuvered Sumpter out of the garage, and into space. A sealed transparent tank filled with water rested on the drone's back, and silver foil covered half of the tank along its length. Everything was looking good so far; Spare was already out there, outfitted with an array of lenses and mirrors that I'd rigged up, and in position. Soon....even as I thought that, Sumpter hit its target point, and the tank lit up as the focused moonlight hit it. I grinned. "Right. That's that. Can you keep it there all night, Atropos?"
That got a snort from the speaker. "Of course I can, sonny. It's not like you're asking me to asteroid race."
I grinned. "Of course not." I looked through the windows of the cab, and smiled at the sight of the Lady in the guise I enjoy most, the full moon. Admittedly, she was looking particularly stunning tonight, since we were no more than a couple thousand miles away, between her and the Earth. I stared for a few minutes, then shook my head and got up. "I'm going to go catch some Zs, Atropos. Once this is done, I'm going to be really busy with this project, and I'll want to be fresh for it."
"Are we ever going to find out what you're making? You've been collecting things for months, and to be honest, a lot of them are strange." Atropos' tone was filled with curiosity - not surprising, all of my girls were wondering exactly what I was making.
"You'll see. I can't hide the making from you, but I want the product to be at least a bit of a surprise, if it works. Night, dear." That got an amused snort as I headed out to bed. Tomorrow was the day that I could actually start putting things together. It would be interesting to see what happened, finally. But...there was still a long way to go.
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Everything was in place in the Garden, arranged before my altar. Pride of place was held by a large empty growth tank, of the sort that I used to culture handwavium. That was what I hoped to do tonight as well, though with a growth medium that was...unusual, to say the least. I was dressed in comfortable clothing - a good thing, because this would probably take a while. I could have gone skyclad, I suppose, but I actually felt more relaxed this way, and that was important. Taking a deep breath, I took a couple moments to center myself, and then started in. Taking up my sword from the altar, I started to walk in a circle around the area, casting the circle. "I consecrate this circle to the ancient gods. Here may they manifest, and give their blessings to their child." When the circle was complete, I moved back to my altar, and asked the Lady's blessing on the water and salt. The water was some of the moon-charged water I'd prepared, and the salt was sea-salt from Greece. I'd need all the connections to Greece that I could get for this, since so little was known about one of the Powers that I really wanted invoked. After combining the two in my chalice, I cast the circle again in salt-water, then returned to ask the blessing of the Lord. I had a small incense burner already going and asked the Lord for the blessing of Fire, then for the blessing of Air over the incense I'd prepared. Dropping a little of the incense on the burning charcoal, the scent of rosemary and sage rose up, and I picked up the burner by its chains and walked the circle the third time. Replacing the burner on the altar, I went to each of the four quarters of circle, lighting the candles there and calling on the protections of the Powers of Air and Fire, Water and Earth. When done, I moved back to my altar, and raised my hands. "This circle is bound, with power all around. Between the worlds, I stand with protection at hand." I closed my eyes to rest for a second, taking a long, slow breath. OK, the circle was cast. Time for the main event.
Opening my eyes, I looked up at the Garden's sky, where an image of the full moon still shone. "Lady....I am come here tonight to create, to make a gift of love for those I call my daughters. Grant your blessing on this endeavor, and grant whatever power you will to its outcome. So mote it be." I bowed my head a moment, and then reached for the first offering. Taking a jug, I poured water into the tank, following it with several more. As I worked, I chanted quietly. "Water from Greece...from Boeotia, where once the spring of Mnemosyne was known, and from Mount Helicon and Mount Parnassus, beloved of the Muses, the daughters of Mnemosyne." With the tank filled halfway, I took the next offering - individual paper pages of a Greek dictionary, and scattered them one at a time on the surface of the water. "Mnemosyne, Titan, Goddess of Memory, Creator of Words, I invoke thee and ask thy aid in this task. Lend the power of Memory to this creation."
From a bag, I took forth black feathers and let them drift onto the water. "Raven feathers, from Norway. Muninn, Memory, Companion to Odin and brother to Huginn, I invoke thee and ask thy aid. Lend your power of Memory to this task as well, to make it doubly strong."
Next came Egypt - ibis feathers, papyrus scrolls, and papyrus leaves joined the rest of the material in the tank. "Ibis feathers from Egypt, as well as papyrus from that land. Djehuti, known to the Greeks as Thoth and associated with their god Hermes, Inventor of Alphabets and Writing, God of the Sciences and Scribe of the Gods...I invoke thee and ask thy aid. Lend the power of writing, of scribing to this task, so that Memory might be preserved."
Silver-white pieces of birch bark joined the mixture. "Birch, on which the first letters were laid. Oghma, called the Honeymouthed, God of Communication, and Creator of the Ogham Alphabet...I invoke thee and ask thy aid. Lend the power of writing to this task, so that Memory might be preserved."
Finally, I added more raven feathers. "Raven feathers from the Isles. Bran the Blessed, God of Writing, whose name means Raven, I invoke thee and ask thy aid. Lend the power of writing to this task, so that Memory might be preserved, three times over."
Taking up a stick of hazelwood, I carefully stirred the mixture three times deosil, then reached for more. First, several large bags of hazelnuts were added. "Hazel, the tree of Wisdom, whose nuts contain all knowledge. Lend thy power to this task, so that this might create containers for knowledge." I followed that with a large container of elderberries. "Lady Elder, protector, sacred to Bran and tree of ravens, add thy strength to this task to aid in the preserving of Memory." Then came a bucket filled with small twigs. "Alder, protector, preserver of ideas, and beloved of Bran, add they strength to this task, for the preservation of Memory." Finally, I added several large handfuls of leaves. "Ash, protector, relative to Yggdrasil the World Ash, beneath whose roots the Norns dwell...add thy strength to this task to aid in the preserving of Memory." I took up my hazel rod, and stirred the tank three more times.
Picking up a box, I started to drop more leaves into the tank. "Parsley, aid to communing with the Lady in her Aspect as Mother, lend thy power to this task, and bring balance to this mix. Alder for the Maiden, Elder for the Crone, bring completion to the trinity and add the Mother's power to what must be done." I continued my soft chanting as I added the next item - numerous handfuls of needled sprigs that gave off an aromatic, almost pine-like tang. "Rosemary, used by the Greeks to sharpen their memories for study, add thy strength to this task and enhance Memory. Rosemary...for Remembrance." After that, came four or five large handfuls of grey-green leaves. I smiled, reminded of breakfast as I took in their spicy scent. "Sage...aiding intelligence, sharpening wits. Add thy strength to this task , that Memory shall be clear and sharp." A song drifted through my head, and I smiled again. Done one way, these were the ingredients for a love spell. But they had their memory aspects as well, and remembering was what the song always brought to my mind. To complete the quartet, I picked up a large jar and poured a stream of thick, dark-gold liquid into the tank. "Honey from Greece, thyme honey that is beloved there. Honey, that preserves and prevents corruption, add thy power to this task, to preserve Memory and prevent its corruption." When the honey finished pouring, I put the jar aside and reached for the lancet I'd prepared earlier. Pricking my index finger, I carefully dripped three drops of blood into the tank. "Blood, a sacrifice to help power what I wish done. As this is for my daughters, let my blood guide this working, to grant them the gift I would see them have." Pressing my fingertip for a second to stop the bleeding, I then picked up my rod again, stirring three times to finish the task.
Putting the hazel stick aside, I reached for the final item for the tank. As I poured the handwavium into the mixture to inoculate it, I closed my eyes, and tried to draw on the power of the Earth. It was a lot harder to get the feeling that I usually did, of energy flowing up through my feet...not surprising, since I wasn't actually on the planet. But our orbit was close to Earth, and I'd arranged the ship so that the planet was at least beneath me. As the last of the handwavium went into the tank, I tried to direct what feeling of energy I'd managed to call into the tank. Opening my eyes, I put the handwavium jar aside, and then closed and sealed the culture tank. Going over to the altar, I took up my dagger, and held it out as I chanted, "Lady and Lord, bless this task, that it might come to a successful end. In the names of your Aspects invoked tonight, and by the powers of the ancient gods, I bind all power within this circle into this spell. So mote it be." I felt the prickling of the hairs on the back of my neck, the feeling I always got when I drew a strong ritual to its end, and I smiled.
I started around the circle one last time, extinguishing the candles and telling the Elemental Powers to depart, with my thanks. Back at the altar, I spoke quietly, "To all beings and powers of the visible and invisible, depart in peace. May there always be harmony between us. My thanks and blessings." Taking up my sword once more, I cut the circle as I chanted, "The circle is open, yet ever it remains a circle. Around and through me always flows its magical power."
With that last bit done, I started to clean up...glancing over at the tank and wondering what the handwavium would make of the growth medium I had set for it. At any rate, I had time now to put together the actual physical items for this project, since I knew it would be a while before the mix in the tank was ready.
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I smiled a little as I rubbed the extra-fine sandpaper over the surface of the case in front of me, then ran a fingertip over the area. Silky-smooth....just the way I wanted it. I put the sandpaper aside, and then looked at the case. It was one of four, the largest of the set....and the building of them had started many months before. I couldn't just go to a lumberyard for my materials...even if all I'd wanted was the oak or the ash that I used. Given that I'd wanted alder, elder and hazel as well, I'd needed to go looking for the trees myself - especially since I'd needed to ask the trees for the use of their wood in order to do this properly. After that, my dad was able to help - thank the gods he did carpentry. He'd helped me get them rough-sawn and drying to season properly, then later got them cut up into the pieces that I'd needed for this. But it'd taken time. At least I'd been able to use that time to gather all of the other items I needed for this. My cousin was a metalworker and amateur blacksmith....and was more than happy to make all of the various fittings I needed for the cases and their contents. He was also happy to have the chunks of nickel-iron asteroid that I'd given him, both as raw material and payment, since he wanted to try making a few swords of 'starmetal' for some fans he knew. He thought they'd sell rather well, and I didn't mind supplying him.
Leaning back and looking over the cases, I shook my head. The last month or so had gone by quickly as I'd worked to assemble things - and there'd been so much to assemble. Alder frames, with thin planks of hazel forming the interior walls except for one plank of ash on each side to serve as protection on those quarters. Oil infused with rosemary that I'd asked Mnemosyne to bless, rubbed into the interior wood. The 'ventilation screen' woven of narrow, thin strips of oak and elder set in a frame of the same woods and then embedded in the rear wall. Very thin strips of cedar attached along the tops and bottoms of the sides, to make the cases into cedar chests, a traditional image of storage and preservation. The outer facing of thin oak panels put into place, then came the fun part - the innards. Just preparing all of the quartz had taken forever; all of the crystals inscribed on their bases with the names of the five powers that I'd invoked for their aid, arranged in a circle that would form a pentacle if lines were drawn between the names. I'd prepared mugwort and rosemary in more of the water I'd gotten from Greece, and used that to clean the crystals afterwards. Rosemary for memory, and mugwort because one of its traditional uses had been to clean crystals and mirrors for divination, and it seemed to fit in my mind. Gold leaf rubbed into the inscriptions to make them visible. Brackets from my cousin were next, installed along the length of the two long sides. The motorized track that ran along that length in the middle, with the five laser pointers (each with a different wavelength) set on a small motorized arm, so that they could be aimed at the crystals. A small cooling unit in each case, just to make sure things didn't run hot...besides, you could argue that it made each case a mild coldbox, which was another symbol of something that preserved. Piezoelectric sensors attached to the brackets, then the crystals set into place...with each crystal arranged so that the side inscribed with Mnemosyne's name was against the sensor before the brackets were tightened to secure everything properly. And that was just the three smaller cases. The one I'd just put aside was for Fate, since the three Sisters could access it as well through her...and it was larger, with more crystals, and a double set of laser pointer arrays. I was thinking each color and combinations of colors might encode and read data....and a double set would allow intensity to encode as well, which....well, if each possible combination was a memory 'layer' in a crystal, then the smaller cases would be able to do 31 layers for each crystal. But the big case....well, there were 1023 unique combinations with two pointer arrays. I had a feeling the small cases - each the size of a cooler - would be impressive. But the big one, closer to the size of a large trunk - if it worked like I wanted...that should be something else again.
I shook my head. Time to get back to work - there was still more to do before things were finished. The holes for the data and power cables were already in place, but I couldn't add those until after I stained the wood.
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The cases were almost done now....gleaming a rich brown, with each of my daughters' names inscribed on her own case in Greek. A simple line drawing of a raven was inscribed on the front of each case as well, and they shone gold against the brown wood, where I'd taken gold foil and crushed it into the lines. The last step for this portion was the clear-coat resin I was putting on to protect everything. I opened the container of resin, stirring it up with a hazel stick, and then took out the small container I'd prepared ahead of time. Opening it up, I poured a pale whitish-yellow dust into the resin, stirring it slowly. "Amber, that which preserves what it contains, one of the oldest preservers...add thy strength to this resin. Like calls to like...so let this resin draw upon thy nature to preserve what is contained within." Once it was mixed in well, I took out a small little pillbox, and carefully poured another bit of dust into the mix, stirring it in. This had been expensive, though not as bad as it would have been if what I'd ground up had been gem quality. "Emerald, enhancer of intellect, add thy strength to this working. As my birthstone, the planetary stone for Taurus as amber is the sun sign....tie me once more into this endeavor, to help create these gifts to my children." When done, I loaded a sprayer, put on a mask, and started to coat the cases with the resin.
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The cases were curing; I wanted to let the resin dry for a few days before I added the handwavium. Now, it was time to check and see what had come of that portion of this project. I sat before the container, taking a deep breath. If this hadn't worked, I'd have to start this portion over, though at least I'd have the cases ready. Reaching out, I snapped the locks open, and lifted the lid. And blinked. Okay...this was different. Putting the lid back all the way, I stared down at the handwavium in the tank. It was a color I hadn't seen before - a rich red-gold, leaning almost towards brown-gold...like one of the darker honeys, or ambers. Taking up a hazel stirring rod, I stirred the contents slowly, drawing the rod up to watch the liquid slowly drip back into the tank. It was about the consistency of a thin honey, as well. Using the rod, I stirred a bit more; as far as I could tell, everything had been consumed, transformed into this new strain. Nodding to myself, I got up just long enough to get a large sample jar, and I ladled some of the new strain into it. If this worked, I'd want to try to preserve this strain. It would have...possibilities. Sealing the jar and putting it aside, I set about the main work - transferring the handwavium into four different containers, each clearly labeled with one of my daughters' names. Once that was done, I set the main culture container aside to be cleaned later, and turned my attention to the portions I'd divvied up. I'd had to use one of those little rotary tools to get this next bit, with the sanding wheel handwaved. And it had been the part that had worried me the most, since I didn't know if it would hurt the girls. Fortunately, it hadn't seemed to cause any problems. Into each of the portions, I added the tiniest bit of dust. "By the law of contagion, let this dust allow ye to connect to my daughters. Removed from their cases...once connected, always connected. " I stirred the portions of handwavium up well, then sealed them and set them aside. Once the wood cases were cured, I'd apply the handwavium, and we'd see what we got.
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The big day had arrived. I'd applied the handwavium the day before, with...appropriate music playing while I worked: Please, Mr Compatibility; I Built A Better Model Than The One At Data General; Do It Yourself (You Can Build A Mainframe From The Things You Have At Home); The World Inside The Crystal; Deep Space, Cyberspace. Every positive computer song I could find, put on repeat play while I was finishing up. Then I let it cure overnight. Now I'd get to see the results...whatever they were. Entering the workshop, I blinked. "Ok....that's different." Going over, I regarded them with an arched eyebrow. They hadn't changed in appearance too much. Well...except for the trees. From the top of each case, near the back, a miniature tree had sprung forth. Peering at them, I hmmed. Oh, I recognized them. How could I not, after having looked for their counterparts when I was searching for wood? Clotho's case had a small alder rising from the top, and Atropos' case had an elder. That made sense to me - maiden and crone. Lachesis had a small grove on her case - hazels from the look of them. And was that...? I blinked, and looked closer. A dark spot on the case....water? I reached out a fingertip and touched it. Hard, smooth...no, it just felt like the resin coating the cases. But it LOOKED like a pool of water. There was a small flash of movement deep within the pool. I closed my eyes, and nodded. "Ok....salmon to go with the hazels." Fate's case had a larger tree on it. While the others had trees around six inches tall or so, the one on her case came to nearly a foot - a tall ash, three big roots disappearing into the lid of the container....and what appeared to be a small pool of water under the hollow of the roots. I hrmed softly. Fate was always the one I associated more with the Norns. It wasn't surprising she'd get a representation of THAT particular tree on her case. I shook my head, then shrugged, calling out. "OK, girls! Ready to try your presents and see if this worked?" All four of them answered, fairly close to as one, and definitely in the affirmative. "Let's see how good I am at this crafting business when it's not alive, shall we?" With that, I started to crate the cases off to hook up, to see what we'd gotten.
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Jason's Logbook
Wow. That's pretty much all I have to say. Once we'd gotten everything hooked up, the cases DID show up as available memory to the girls, so I'd managed that much as least. Fate had tested the transfer rate, and copied a hundred gig of files to her case in about thirty seconds, which had both of us happy. But they've been playing with the things for weeks now, and even the Sisters haven't gotten the percentage of used memory to change. That was almost scary...if THEY had that much, the amount of data that Fate's might be able to hold... They originally started out joking about downloading the internet. Now, I think Fate was actually considering doing it. Or at least trying to see how much she could get. And I'd found another side-effect of the handwavium, besides the trees. Most of the time, it wasn't too distracting...well, except for Fate's. Her case....worried me, a tiny bit. When Clotho used her case, we'd sometimes hear what sounded like a raven's caw coming from inside. Lachesis...well, hers was quieter. You'd sometimes hear a scratching...like a pen on rough paper. When Atropos was accessing hers, we'd usually hear what sounded like another bird call. Checking, we'd confirmed it was that of an ibis. Of course, that wasn't the only sound from her case; sometimes we'd get what sounded like the cries of a primate - a baboon in this instance. She didn't seem surprised - she even said once it started happening that she liked Djehuti, so I guess it made sense. That worried me a little, too. But Fate's case....well, whenever she was writing anything to it, there was always the faintest murmur of sound - someone talking. Her voice is rather distinctive, so I could tell it was hers, but the words were too faint to make out. I was pretty sure it wasn't English, and from little I could hear, I was willing to bet it was Greek. The bit that always spooked me was when she accessed the case. I could hear her ask questions...and another female voice, still too soft to understand but clearly in the same language, would answer back. Yes, it's probably just a quirk of the handwavium, but I AM a pagan, and some small part of me keeps insisting that Mnemosyne - and possibly some of the others that I had invoked - had taken up residence in the containers. Needless to say, I'm very polite and respectful around all of them...just in case.
I've tested the new handwavium strain as well. I dipped my old MP3 player in it; the thing was only a 1 GB player, and I was curious as to what would happen. It didn't appear to change much, though the handwavium did appear to change the battery into something that didn't need recharging - some sort of power cell? The menu was now in Greek as well, which took a bit of time with the girls to translate everything for me, so I could figure out what I was seeing. When I connected it up to check the memory size, however....well, if I wanted to, I could EASILY put my music collection on it - ALL of it - because the thing now registered as one PETAbyte. Up six orders of magnitude....I'm going to have to keep this new strain growing, and experiment a bit more. It definitely looks interesting. Fred might like some, too. I know he can't keep David supplied in enough memory, and it would be fun to see what he could come up with using it. I'll have to talk to him about it, see if he wants some to play with.
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So - this is me in full overkill mode. I figure the handwavium strain is mostly centered around creating/enhancing memory devices. At this point, I don't think it would do much else. But if you want that, it does it very well indeed. I'm not even sure at what amount of memory I'd put the cases. I figure the three smaller ones are above the petabyte level, though I'm not sure by how much (since at least part of the handwavium's effect would have had to have been directed towards making the cases WORK), but Fate's case...well, no matter how you look at it, it's probably scary. Anybody have any thoughts on this? Things you'd do differently, things you hate, or like? Or suggestions for the amount of memory? I'm curious as to what you think. Let me know.