[Flashback] Mad Science (Minerva)

by **Valerius Nitrozian** on May 16th, 2012, 3:36 am

As Minerva simply tossed the clothes back, the slave’s eyes widened. She looked from her master to her, wondering how she should react. As Minerva demanded trousers, she couldn’t help herself. She blurted out, „But you are a woman! Don’t you want to look pretty? All of the women in this house wear dresses or skirts!“ She made a face as she took a closer look at the person that her master had dragged into his home. In her opinion Minerva’s attire was completely unacceptable, and he hoped Valerius would just allow her to burn her clothes rather than drying them. Personally she would rather die than wear men’s clothes!

Valerius was rather amused by the vehemence with which Minerva had declined the pretty, feminine clothes. The corners of his mouth twitched, and he looked at her as if she had just said the most funny thing ever. Should he insist that she wear the skirt? It was a nice skirt, probably more expensive than any clothes she owned, but if he insisted, she might refuse to build her machine, and he would never find out what exactly she knew – or she would build a machine that would hurt him!

He let out a loud sigh and turned to the slave. „Tuuli, bring her a pair of pants in Rhysol’s name so that she shuts up!“ The slave frowned – in her opinion he should not have given in that easily – but she nodded and disappeared only to return a moment later with a pair of pants. They kind of resembled her current pants, seemed fairly sturdy and even had little pockets in them, but they were a nice shade of red and had a bit of embroidery on them. Tuuli had even brought her a blouse that was a little less frilly. It just had a bit of lace around the collar.

„These are the least feminine clothes I could find“, she insisted. „I’m afraid that my master’s relatives like pretty things. Now come with me so that we can get you out of your wet clothes. I don’t think my master would like it if you got a cold. He said he wants you to build something for him.“

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on May 16th, 2012, 4:41 am

"Oh, aye, sure, I'll just frilly myself up an' look pretty fer yer Bossman!" Tock said in a whiny, sarcastic tone, holding her hands up in mocking gestures of daintiness. Then she dropped her hands to her sides and glared at the woman. "Ya should be ashamed of yerself!" she told the woman. Thrusting a thumb against her own chest she said, "I ain't need ta be pretty fer no man! I's a workin' girl!" She kept glaring at the woman until Valerius sent her scurrying off, shaking her head in disgust.

She still frowned at the new clothes that were brought, but shrugged, pulling off her tool belt and tossing it on a chair, then kicking off her boots. "Oy, ya don't know proper work clothes if'n 'ey fell on ya!" she said, pulling her shirt off over her head, not caring in the least that she was still in front of Valerius. She had an undershirt on, though it was no more girly or frilly than anything else she wore. "Ya better know 'ese frills an' lace ain't gonna survive a proper workshop," she continued, stripping off her pants to reveal equally plain panties and not the least bit of modesty. She snatched the dry clothes from the woman and pulled them on without concern for the fact that she was getting changed in front of two strangers.

She finished redressing and pulled her boots and tool belt back on, looking down at herself with a frown. She was tempted to cut the lace off the damn blouse right then and there, but it wasn't worth the time.

She turned to Valerius and planted her hands on her hips, not giving the least damn whether he'd watched the 'free show'. She hadn't revealed anything she considered inappropriate, after all, and she certainly wasn't a prude. "Awright," she said, rubbing her hands together, "where's my stuff? I wanna get started!"

by **Valerius Nitrozian** on May 17th, 2012, 9:11 am

The slave looked at Minerva as if she expected her to do just that, to make herself look pretty for her master. Although she would never say it out loud – she was in no position to criticize House Nitrozian – it was about time in her opinion that her master had a pretty woman at his side, even one that was a little weird. He was twenty-two, in Rhysol’s name! And she didn’t understand why she should be ashamed of herself. Of course she was only a slave and somebody else’s possession, but as a slave of House Nitrozian she had a far better life as the slaves of House Lazarin for example. Her masters never abused her and treated her with respect for the most part.

Meanwhile Valerius looked at her in confusion as she started getting undressed in front of him. Had she not been told that she could get changed in the next room? He caught his slave’s gaze and gestured for her to leave. Minerva was already standing in front of him in her undershirt. There was no point in telling her to go somewhere else now. It would be a scandal if anybody saw a half naked woman in the corridor!

So he just crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her as she put the blouse and the pants on. He wasn’t affected by her almost-nudity at all. The look on his face was cold and indifferent, as if he were staring at one of her machines rather than a young woman. Seeing her like that didn’t do anything for him.

„You are right, I don’t know proper work clothes“, he remarked and shrugged. „There is no need. I have other people working for me, and the clothes you are wearing now need only last as long as you are in my house.“

„Your stuff will arrive soon“, he answered. A few chimes passed while he impatiently waited for the slaves to bring the things he had ordered. Finally he heard a knock on the door and opened it. Several boxes were placed in the middle of the room.

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on May 17th, 2012, 1:24 pm

As soon as the stuff arrived, Tock set to work. She pulled a table over to the middle of the room, emptying it of the trinkets and decorative items that it housed and setting them on the floor. Then she took out paper, ink, and quill from the items brought to her, and began to draw.

Any good creation began with a good set of blueprints. At first she hadn't been sure what to make. Valerius just wanted 'something to impress him.' But what would impress a man like that? She knew next to nothing about him, except for his secret code writings and his high and mighty attitude.

So she decided on something that catered to those features. A sketch soon followed, with careful numbers lined up in the side of the page to dictate dimensions. Then once the basic outline of what she had in mind was designed, she started with some basic geometry. What she had in mind required certain parts on the inside to fit together just so, without room for error. She had to calculate the total area of the inside of the device, so that she could be sure there was room for the right number of gears. Then she had to calculate the radius and circumference of the gears, to know that they had enough room to move, turn, and then lock the desired parts into place. The final design ended up with twenty metal strips, two inches wide by an four inches long, that had to fit between the gears cleanly.

Some more numbers had to be worked out to get the parts moving in careful unison. Each metal strip would have two gears connected to it, one on either side. The metal strips had grooves drawn in on them to allow the gear teeth to lock into. The turning of the gears would extend or retract each strip. She needed to work out the numbers carefully, in order to know how many degrees the gears would need to turn for the swing radius of the outer arc to move the metal strip exactly two inches in and out.

It took her hours into the night to finish the design. By the time she was finished, if Valerius looked over at them, he would see drawings of a square two feet on each side. The metal strips lined the outer edges, with gears connecting them all to a central point. A very large central gear connected them all. Arrows were sketched next to each gear to indicate the direction of movement. The large gear in the middle touched one of the gears connecting to each strip, as well as a secondary gear in between it and the smaller, tertiary gear connected to each strip. When the large central gear turned clockwise, each of the main gears it touched around the edges turned the opposite way, and the secondary gears turned the smaller tertiary gears so that they also moved clockwise. Once the design was interpreted, one could see that this design would cause the main and tertiary gears to move in unison, one clockwise on one side of a metal strip, the other counter-clockwise on the other side, pulling the metal strips inwards when the large gear turned counter-clockwise or extending them out when it turned clockwise.

The strips extended or retracted into a frame around the main piece, fitting into carefully designed slots. There was no apparent means to power the turning of the gears, no crank or winding device that would give the energy of motion. There was no handle to turn them. Just the large central gear that looked as though it would have to be manually spun in order to move the other parts.

OOCI have a specific design in mind for what these blueprints represent, but unless Val can deduce it by looking at them based on my descriptions, I'm not explaining what it does until I am finished. That way it can be a surprise!

by **Valerius Nitrozian** on May 19th, 2012, 3:52 am

Valerius cleared his throat as Minerva just pulled a table over and put all his stuff on the floor. He didn’t agree with this at all, so he ordered a slave to pick all the stuff up again and put it into a cupboard in the meantime. He didn’t want anybody to accidentially step on his precious possessions. His dog in the meantime was just lying on the floor, head on its paws and watched Minerva closely. It hadn’t decided whether the strange woman was friend or foe yet.

While Minerva made her sketch, Valerius sat in his comfortable arm chair, a drink in hand and watched her with interest. That interest soon waned though as it turned out that she wouldn’t be finished anytime soon. He hadn’t had any idea that she intended to spend the night at his place!

Somewhat bored the Nitrozian soon wandered off, leaving only the dog to guard her and a slave in front of the door in case she decided to steal some of his things. The dog was still lying there and staring at her.

When he returned, he saw that she had drawn some kind of square. He stepped closer to her and looked over her shoulder, and then he shook his head. What was that suposed to be? A box that opened on touch? A box that grew legs and moved on its own? Something that would explode or swallow him whole?

„Explain please“, he said to her. „What is that?“

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on May 19th, 2012, 5:10 am

Minerva cast a glare at the man when he started looking over her shoulder. She didn't like to be 'supervised'... she was from Sunberth, and wasn't keen on anyone acting like he was the boss of her. She also didn't like having to explain herself.

"Oy, ya said, 'Surprise me,' aye?" she replied. "Well, 'at's what I's gonna do. Take a few days ta finish, 'course," she gathered up her drawings and set them to the side, then starting going through the supplies that had been delivered for her. She pulled out some of the pieces of wood and laid them on the table, then reached into her backpack for her tools. She had limited supplies that she could carry with her, which was why she'd requested more tools to be brought along with the parts she'd asked for. But she preferred to use her own tools whenever possible.

She clamped the wood down to the side of the table and took out a saw and a ruler, making some measurements and marking where she needed to cut, fully intending to start sawing right here. "Can't rush genius, aye?" she said as she lined up the measurements. "Take tonight what fer ta get the main parts ready. Most o' tomorrow puttin' 'er together. 'En..." she scratched her head, thinking it over, "maybe a full day, o' a wee inta the second fer the magic. But don't worry none... She's gonna be a 'beaut when she's done, aye? Aye."

Animation wasn't by any means an 'instant' magic. It wasn't like Reimancy or something where you could raise your hands and get a flashy effect. The item to be Animated needed to be built first, which took a lot of work. Then the Animation process itself was long and had multiple steps. But the results could be quite amazing.

Intending to get some progress done tonight, she raised her saw and began to cut the wood.

by **Valerius Nitrozian** on May 21st, 2012, 4:58 am

„Ah, yes, I think I said that“, Valerius remembered. „Surprise me then.“ He just hoped that it wouldn’t be a bad surprise. The thing she had drawn looked slightly suspicious. And would it really take her days to make this thing? He made a face. He didn’t like this at all. How was he supposed to explain her presence to his parents? What if she met his family? What if she saw things she wasn’t supposed to see? He had thought that she would be finished in a bell or two, but then he grudgingly admitted to himself that he didn’t know a lot about gadgeteering or magic.

„Do you want to sleep in a guest room while you work on this … thing?“[/b] he asked her. He wasn’t particularly happy about having her in the house all the time, but he needed to at least make the offer, despite all the problems that were connected with the presence of such a strange woman in his house. Nobody could say that he wasn’t polite.

As she practically called herself a genius though, he couldn’t help but look at her doubtfully. What he had seen and heard of her so far hadn’t exactly convinced him of her intelligence. The poor woman was delusional!

„She?“ he repeated. „Why do you call the thing a ‚she‘?“ Was she just being her usual quirky self or was she going to build an artifical woman for him, some kind of female golem? He frowned. He didn’t like that idea at all.

The dog in the meantime gradually came closer as she began cutting the wood and prodded the pieces with his paws.

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on May 21st, 2012, 9:26 pm

Minerva shrugged at his offer of a room. "Aye, whatever, mate," she said. She didn't much care where she slept. She didn't have a home. She had stayed with the wizard in Syliras for a year and a half, but that hadn't really been 'home'. She'd just slept in a tiny corner room in his apartments. She'd never really settled in any one place since leaving home.

She carefully cut the boards that would make the main frame of her invention, double checking each measurement before she cut. "She's a 'she', cause's she's gonna be alive, mate," she said. "Ya done wanna see magic? Well, she's gonna 'ave a soul, aye? Aye. An' ya gotta respect 'er. Just cause she's done gonna be made o' wood an' metal, ain't done mean she ain't got feelin's."

For the rest of the night, she worked on assembling the main body of her creation. The boards, once cut, were carefully nailed together in the form of what looked like a simple wooden box. She aligned the outer frame first, checking with a carpenter's square to make sure the angles all lined up perfectly, then nailed a set of wooden boards across the bottom securely. The top was slightly angled, and she attached it with a set of simple hinges from the supplies Valerius' people had brought.

After this, she took a block of wood and went at it with her chisels. She cut out a round section in the top of the block, carefully cutting and scraping out large shavings of wood until the block had a two inch deep impression cut out. Then she started rounding it out with files, working slowly and humming all the while. The chisel work had left only a roughly circular shape, and the files took out the rough edges and smoothed it until it was a nearly perfect circle.

She sanded the shape out next, smoothing it down to a fine polish. Then she attached the block to the upper right corner of the box where it would serve as a holder.

As the night wore on she knew she'd be forced to finish the rest of the work the next day. "Ya got access ta a proper metalsmith shop?" she asked Valerius. "I needs ta smelt up some parts..." She hadn't been expecting to work in the man's living room, and while she could do carpentry here with her own tools, she needed access to something bigger to make the gears she needed.

OOCWe can fast forward to the next day after your post if you like. And then in my next post I'll do a long montage scene of the next stage of crafting. Metalsmithing takes like, several hours of melting, several more hours of cooling, so it'll be like a good full day's work, and then we can rp Minerva coming back to the house with the completed parts after the long day's smithing.

by **Valerius Nitrozian** on May 25th, 2012, 12:16 pm

As Minerva just shrugged at his offer of a room, the Nitrozian looked at her incredulously. He had just offered her the opportunity to stay here instead of at an inn or sleeping outside like a beggar, and that was how she reacted? She seemed to be rather ungrateful, and the fact that she still called him mate irritated him further. It was only because he really wanted to see what kind of machine she was making that he didn’t say anything, but tried hard to maintain his self control.

He didn’t pull his dog back though as he started examining Minerva’s building materials. If the dog was in her way, she could try to get rid of him on her own!

„Alive?“ That statement was met with raised eyebrows. Valerius didn’t know a lot about magic, but he was pretty sure that magic didn’t allow you to make living things, otherwise the Ebonstryfe would be made up of magical warriors rather than human beings. „If you say so. I’ll treat her with respect – if she really turns out to be alive.“ That was something that he doubted. Her claims were nothing short of ridiculous.

Well, at least she was not making some kind of perverted artificial woman as he had feared. Her creation began to resemble a box more and more. But how could a box be alive? He made a face, and then he just came to the conclusion that Minerva was insane.

„Yes, I do“, he replied as she asked him about a metalsmith shop after what seemed like an eternity. „We can go to the Defiled Blade.“ His family didn’t own it, but he was pretty sure that they would give him access. Maybe he’d promise them better conditions the next time they did business with House Nitrozian.

„By the way, did I ever ask you for your name?“ He couldn’t remember. Maybe she had told him, and he had just forgotten because she was such an insignificant woman.

by **Minerva Agatha Zipporah** on May 25th, 2012, 4:11 pm

Tock snorted at the man's attitude towards the idea that her creation was alive. She'd show him. She made a mental note for an adjustment to the personality she'd be birthing. It was a pity she wasn't skilled enough to give this baby a complete, complex personality. But even within her amateur limitations, she had an idea of a way to have the Automaton teach this man some respect.

"Tock," she replied when he asked her name. No way she would share her real name. She'd left that behind in Sunberth and never looked back.

She made some careful adjustments to the creation to make sure the lid opened and closed clean and smoothly, then set it off to the side until the next day.

"Awright," she told him, "tomorrow 'en..." She took whatever room he had to offer, not really caring if it was a fancy schmancy one, or if he stuck her in the servant's quarters. Though either way, she would he up at dawn, and insist on being taken to the smithery right away.