Hrm... Let's bring in my alter ego...
Quote: Benjamin M. Rhodes, Semi-Mad Scientist, Master and Commander of the RoughridersAnd there you have it.
I believe what Manytales is trying to say is that the effect of Handwavium on Gray Tape (henceforth refered to as 'GT') is to give it the remarkable
ability to prevent Wave-contamination. Granted, this is one thing that GT is capable of, but Manytales is somewhat mistaken on the matter.
The use of GT dates back to the very beginings of our society as we know it. I should know since I was among the first out there. GT was used in copious
amounts to seal batches of Handwavium to prevent leakage when one Fen would ship a batch to another. The reason why was simple. When the Fen in question was
sealing up a batch of the Wave, they'd usually have one thought overiding everything else: "Please, dear God, don't let this leak."
And so, when the Wave began to affect the GT itself, it took on qualities of forming hormetical seals as well as having a stronger and longer lasting hold.
Not only did it make for an effective barrier against Wave-contamination, but it held much better than the un-Waved version. Fen were quick to notice this
and started using GT for just about any form of patchwork that needed to be accomplish. The results, more often than not, weren't pretty to look at, but
the fixes were effective and lasted long enough for more permanent solutions to be applied.
Today, GT is still prevalent in our society. It has, and always will be the stuff you can use to fix anything, especially with a little help from Handwavium.