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I've been working on Ravenloft stuff recently, but here's a bit more from the world of True Tales of the Ley Line Patrol: magitech.
This time: Tomes and Image Mirrors.
Magitech: Tomes
One of the most important pieces of magitech is the Tome. These are sturdy hardcover books about the size of a large spiral-bound notebook, only heavier with an imbedded crystal in its front cover. The oldest and smallest have 100 pages; the newest and largest have over 10,000. Most people have 500- or 1,000-page Tomes. Several daemons (spirits that have been shaped for a purpose) are bound to each Tome.
A person may write or draw on one or more blank pages and then instruct the recording daemon to file the page away as a chapter—the title will then appear in the Tomes table of contents. To go to any particular chapter, the user merely needs to be able to locate it in the table of contents and then instruct the searcher daemon to bring it to the front; the next page will be the requested chapter. Searcher daemons can also find specified keywords (which do not need to be contiguous) within filed chapters and alert the user to their location(s). Recording daemons can also erase part or all of a chapter, freeing it for further use (once all the pages are filled, the Tome can’t have any more information written into it). All writing remains in the handwriting of the person who write it, although a feature available in newer Tomes is the printer daemon, which can transcribe handwritten words into neatly printed text. It can also take and play back dictation (in the speaker’s voice) and can even, in some models, transcribe and play back music. Other information can be scanned into a Tome with a printer daemon by placing it on a blank page and commanding the Tome to ink (incorporate) it in; multiple pages can be scanned at once, although they will take up a corresponding amount of space.
There are several other types of relatively new daemons as well: guardian daemons, which keep unauthorized people from using the Tome by requiring a spoken command word to use—unauthorized viewers see nothing but gobbledygook; timekeeper daemons, who keep calendars, alarms, and to-do lists; translator daemons, who can translate languages; duplicator daemons, which will make a copy of anything—written work, pictures, and so on—inside the Tome onto a piece of blank paper placed on top of the page (it can even copy in full, albeit slightly grainy, color); and probably the most important type, the fetcher daemon.
Fetchers can carry information to and from other Tomes. A user can declare specific pages and chapters to be available either to a few people or even to be publically accessible. The user can even make a secondary table of contents which is open to public viewing. Personal letters can also be sent using a fetcher (these letters are called “T-mail”).
Daemons are fast but not instantaneous. It can take ten or more seconds to retrieve a filed chapter and much longer to send and retrieve information from one Tome to another; the fetcher has to actually travel the physical distance between its home Tome and its destination, contending not only with distance but with spiritual traffic along the way—it typically takes about a minute plus about two to five seconds per mile of travel. Traveling along a ley line decreases this time but low-magic areas increase it. A fetcher can only be used for one task at a time, so those who can afford it buy extras so they can send or retrieve from multiple sources at once.
Librums are large Tomes or collections of linked Tomes dedicated to gathering, storing, and disseminating information. Librums are expensive but not prohibitively so, so while most are owned by companies or organizations, some people (or groups of people chipping in) buy or rent one for easier, private networking. Most Librums are read-only but some provide areas where subscribers can add information (such as providing archives in which people can store their work for others to see). Most require a nominal subscription fee for access or act as mail-order catalogues—it’s possible to send money through a Tome by placing the money on a blank page or a special and sending it as a T-mail (the money then disappears and reappears at the Librum’s physical location). In response, unscrupulous people have created bandit daemons who can sneak into Librams and even private Tomes to gather information, and some can even waylay fetchers in mid-flight. It’s becoming increasingly common to send a guardian daemon with the fetcher, or to buy stronger armed carrier daemons, who can fight off bandits.
Access to Librums usually requires a nominal subscription fee, although some unscrupulous people have created bandit daemons and use them to get information from Librums and even other Tomes for free; some bandit daemons can even waylay fetchers in mid-flight, so it’s becoming increasingly popular to send a guardian daemon with the fetcher, or buy stronger armed carrier daemons, who can fight off bandits. It’s also possible to send money through Tomes, either to other people who need it or to buy things through a catalog, by placing the cash on a blank sheet and sending it through T-mail (although without an attending guardian daemon, bandits are prone to stealing it).
In addition to its use in speeding up communication in the work place and providing fast personal mail, the use of fetchers and public or semi-public Librums and Tomes have popularized specialized forums, amateur writing groups (many a Librum has become an archive for fanfic), play-by-mail games (either role-playing or turn-based), and, of course, porn. There are currently experiments in sending moving pictures and sound through Tomes but at the moment, it’s still limited to text and still images.
***
Magitech: Image Mirrors (IMs)
The smallest IMs have mirrors that are about 12” by 14” and can hold five station crystals (in addition to the included four basic ones) and cost around 300‡. Deluxe models have mirrors up to 6’ wide and have space for forty or more crystals; these can cost over 2,500‡. Tiny portable IMs have 6” screens and space for five crystals (the four basic and one additional). Special units can be bought to increase crystal capacity and speaker systems improve sound quality. Each crystal is about an inch high and half an inch in diameter and typically has the station’s name and logo etched into it.
IMs come complete with a control wand, with which the user can change stations, control the volume, and turn the IM on and off.
This time: Tomes and Image Mirrors.
Magitech: Tomes
One of the most important pieces of magitech is the Tome. These are sturdy hardcover books about the size of a large spiral-bound notebook, only heavier with an imbedded crystal in its front cover. The oldest and smallest have 100 pages; the newest and largest have over 10,000. Most people have 500- or 1,000-page Tomes. Several daemons (spirits that have been shaped for a purpose) are bound to each Tome.
A person may write or draw on one or more blank pages and then instruct the recording daemon to file the page away as a chapter—the title will then appear in the Tomes table of contents. To go to any particular chapter, the user merely needs to be able to locate it in the table of contents and then instruct the searcher daemon to bring it to the front; the next page will be the requested chapter. Searcher daemons can also find specified keywords (which do not need to be contiguous) within filed chapters and alert the user to their location(s). Recording daemons can also erase part or all of a chapter, freeing it for further use (once all the pages are filled, the Tome can’t have any more information written into it). All writing remains in the handwriting of the person who write it, although a feature available in newer Tomes is the printer daemon, which can transcribe handwritten words into neatly printed text. It can also take and play back dictation (in the speaker’s voice) and can even, in some models, transcribe and play back music. Other information can be scanned into a Tome with a printer daemon by placing it on a blank page and commanding the Tome to ink (incorporate) it in; multiple pages can be scanned at once, although they will take up a corresponding amount of space.
There are several other types of relatively new daemons as well: guardian daemons, which keep unauthorized people from using the Tome by requiring a spoken command word to use—unauthorized viewers see nothing but gobbledygook; timekeeper daemons, who keep calendars, alarms, and to-do lists; translator daemons, who can translate languages; duplicator daemons, which will make a copy of anything—written work, pictures, and so on—inside the Tome onto a piece of blank paper placed on top of the page (it can even copy in full, albeit slightly grainy, color); and probably the most important type, the fetcher daemon.
Fetchers can carry information to and from other Tomes. A user can declare specific pages and chapters to be available either to a few people or even to be publically accessible. The user can even make a secondary table of contents which is open to public viewing. Personal letters can also be sent using a fetcher (these letters are called “T-mail”).
Daemons are fast but not instantaneous. It can take ten or more seconds to retrieve a filed chapter and much longer to send and retrieve information from one Tome to another; the fetcher has to actually travel the physical distance between its home Tome and its destination, contending not only with distance but with spiritual traffic along the way—it typically takes about a minute plus about two to five seconds per mile of travel. Traveling along a ley line decreases this time but low-magic areas increase it. A fetcher can only be used for one task at a time, so those who can afford it buy extras so they can send or retrieve from multiple sources at once.
Librums are large Tomes or collections of linked Tomes dedicated to gathering, storing, and disseminating information. Librums are expensive but not prohibitively so, so while most are owned by companies or organizations, some people (or groups of people chipping in) buy or rent one for easier, private networking. Most Librums are read-only but some provide areas where subscribers can add information (such as providing archives in which people can store their work for others to see). Most require a nominal subscription fee for access or act as mail-order catalogues—it’s possible to send money through a Tome by placing the money on a blank page or a special and sending it as a T-mail (the money then disappears and reappears at the Librum’s physical location). In response, unscrupulous people have created bandit daemons who can sneak into Librams and even private Tomes to gather information, and some can even waylay fetchers in mid-flight. It’s becoming increasingly common to send a guardian daemon with the fetcher, or to buy stronger armed carrier daemons, who can fight off bandits.
Access to Librums usually requires a nominal subscription fee, although some unscrupulous people have created bandit daemons and use them to get information from Librums and even other Tomes for free; some bandit daemons can even waylay fetchers in mid-flight, so it’s becoming increasingly popular to send a guardian daemon with the fetcher, or buy stronger armed carrier daemons, who can fight off bandits. It’s also possible to send money through Tomes, either to other people who need it or to buy things through a catalog, by placing the cash on a blank sheet and sending it through T-mail (although without an attending guardian daemon, bandits are prone to stealing it).
In addition to its use in speeding up communication in the work place and providing fast personal mail, the use of fetchers and public or semi-public Librums and Tomes have popularized specialized forums, amateur writing groups (many a Librum has become an archive for fanfic), play-by-mail games (either role-playing or turn-based), and, of course, porn. There are currently experiments in sending moving pictures and sound through Tomes but at the moment, it’s still limited to text and still images.
***
Magitech: Image Mirrors (IMs)
The smallest IMs have mirrors that are about 12” by 14” and can hold five station crystals (in addition to the included four basic ones) and cost around 300‡. Deluxe models have mirrors up to 6’ wide and have space for forty or more crystals; these can cost over 2,500‡. Tiny portable IMs have 6” screens and space for five crystals (the four basic and one additional). Special units can be bought to increase crystal capacity and speaker systems improve sound quality. Each crystal is about an inch high and half an inch in diameter and typically has the station’s name and logo etched into it.
IMs come complete with a control wand, with which the user can change stations, control the volume, and turn the IM on and off.
