Revision as of 00:14, 25 March 2016

Participants

• Fenris
• Flora

Date

24/3/479

Log

A knock on the door, a tailflick as Flora waits. "Yes? Flora was going to offer a LongTech Industries' employee for the development," she mumbles, her tail swishing, perhaps a bit annoyedly.

The door opens to reveal a tall, rather intimidating doberman in the long, black coat of a spyguard. "Highlady," he says, with a slight nod, "Please, come in. I apologize for any inconvenience. Did you bring any guards with you? I fear they will have to wait outside." The tall canine ushers Flora into the closed apothecary and firmly closes and locks the door behind her.

"No guards," the she-cat mumbles, shaking her head. "Just Bastet. She's coming with," the she-cat notes, resolutely, as she gestures to the golem moving close behind.

The tigress's tail continues flitting behind her, her gaze moving out over the apothecary. "Too bright. Won't work. Will ruin the pictures. Red light only, too. Needs to be red.

"I am well aware, Highlady," the spyguard says, inclining his head toward a door behind the apothecary counter, though he seems just a little displeased with the way the golem pushes him aside while he tries to close the door. After the mechanical cat has passed, he locks up and leads the way into the back room.

Back here, the lone window has been carefully covered and a heavy curtain blocks the door to the front of the shop. A long table and a number of wide, flat dishes have been laid out, with small mathemagical lamps giving light to the room. The canine mutters something and traces a finger along each lamp, causing it to dim to a lurid, red glow. "Will this do, lady?" he asks.

"Better. Good enough. Probably," the cat mumbles, pulling out her flasks. "Name?" she questions, brow raised, her tails still twitching. It's clear she isn't exactly pleased with the arrangement, considering she's basically handing over her company secrets to a complete stranger.

"Need flat bed. Glass. Also tongs," she continues in either case, as she places her flasks, marked with specific tags, onto a free countertop.

The big doberman perks an ear and looks a little confused at the questions. "What do you mean na-" he starts, then seems to have a sudden realization, "Oh yes, just a second." The dog's features start to shift and soften a bit as his ears start to stretch. And stretch. And stretch. His short, dark fur becomes fluffier and lightens to reveal striped, tiger patterns and it is not long before Fenris stands where the doberman was only a moment ago. "Sorry about that," Fenris says, "I don't like to walk around in public wearing the uniform. Not as myself anyway. No one will hire a musician that they know is a Spyguard, after all." The burly bunny reaches under the table and produces the requested items. "Anything else we need?" he asks, apparently oblivious to the possible, and probable effects this kind of reveal could have.

Flora raises a brow, her tails twitching behind her as she watches Fenris take the shape of, well, Fenris. "Few things," she mumbles, pulling out a stranged, folded-up construction from her bag, only to unfold it as a tripod of sorts, with a hook underneath. "Magical lamp here, off. Then the cloth over it. Will take a good while after development."

"And Flora expects friend Fenris to keep the process a secret. If any other Spyguard need to know, it goes through Flora," she mumbles as she pulls out a couple of sheets of paper, wrapped up in cloth. Finally, two photo-slides. "Camera is easy. This is the hard part, yes. And the unsafe part. Need to work out a safer way to work with the chemicals, sometime."

It doesn't appear she's responding to the new knowledge -just- yet.

"Of course," Fenris says, "That is why Sirus sent me. He thought that maybe a familiar face would make you more comfortable. The tiger striped rabbit stands and watches Flora work with rapt attention. "Just tell me what you are working with as you go along," he says, "I think I can follow if you talk while you work."

"Chemicals are marked. LongTech will supply them like that. Don't remove markings, should be okay. Timing is important, and no re-using chemicals," the she-cat notes, her ears flicking lightly as she pulls out a leather bag, containing a pair of leather gloves, clearly bleached by some of the chemicals. "Always use gloves. Not the worst chemicals LongTech uses, but still not good. That one will damage clothing, and will hurt. No lasting damage, as far as Flora knows. May whiten fur. Awful to get out.

"That one, not so bad," she mumbles as she gestures towards a canister of what seems to be salt.

Fenris stands a little back, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat. "I hate to ask," he says, "But are you saying all of this from experience?" The bunny is a firm believer in learning from other people's mistakes. Mostly. He pays careful attention to both the ingredients and the process.

"Well, some lasting effects. Red skin, mostly. Hurts, apparently. Flora hasn't tried herself. Don't intend to try. Or intend to see what happens when it's not removed quickly. Vapors are awful. Have to get it from vapors. As for experience... Not always Flora's. Is not a bad substance, though. Can rinse of with water. Use as much water as necessary. Always have water nearby. Soap seems to help. Flora isn't sure why, but it helps with the pain, and it reduces redness of skin afterwards. Use a lot of both. Several minutes. Continue for a while even after it stops hurting."

The cat's tail flicks behind her, before gesturing at the other bottle. "That one only hurts. Maybe some red skin, but far less serious for both. So use the gloves, yes. And an apron," she notes as she pulls the latter from its own pouch. "Closed, leather shoes, too. No open shoes. If shoes are splashed, get new ones. Safer."

"Understood," Fenris says, watching Flora work, "I believe there is a spot for that right over there, if necessary." The rabbit points out a small, curtained alcove. "They work with some nasty stuff here sometimes," he says, "I chose it just to be safe." He looks down at his fluffy, exposed lower legs and takes a small step back, away from the pain inflicting chemicals.

Flora moves about for a bit, getting everything set up. One flatbed on a magically-powered heater it fits on, the other on the table itself. With careful motions, the now-protected feline pours out the dangerous liquid into the lower flatbed, while the upper bed is filled with water, gently tipping the cannister and dropping in the salt-crystals. "Avoid splashing. Keeps the workplace safe. This needs to be heated," she notes, placing a thermometer into the water. "Always clean the thermometer afterwards. Can use a big bowl for this one too

Now, the pictures," she adds, taking one of the slides, and sliding the front-panel up, and carefully taking out the slide with the tongs. "Won't see any changes for the negative. That's why time is important. Need to time the first bath right."

"How hot?" Fenris asks about the heated solution, "And how long should the first bath last? Do you use a sand glass?" The lop eared bunny walks slowly around the table, examining the many tools and chemicals without touching.

"Flora counts... Have a clock in the workshop for the employees," the she-cat notes, before gesturing at the dial on the thermometer, which seems to mark one temperature in particular, different from the standard marking. "That hot. Keep it that hot," the she-cat notes, simply waiting for the first bath. "Can move it around, goes faster. Harder to time. If a lot of pictures should be processed, can fill a big bath, and hang them in, for good coverage," she notes, still visibly, if silently, counting.

Fenris stands in silence, letting Flora do her counting without distraction. He can only wonder why Sirus wants someone to be able to develop his pictures. It is not like taking a covert picture is likely to happen. Not like those devices with Creator magic. Imagine the possibilites of Creator moving portraits! And not simply from a spyguard perspective. The rabbit had been a little worried, expecting more of a reaction from Flora when he was revealed as a Spyguard.

"So... How long?" the she-cat finally ventures, asking about Fenris's affiliations while still counting out, before holding the paper up. "Rinse well with water," the she-cat notes, before dipping it in a separate, water-filled bath. "Do not put it right in the other one. If slow, precise development is needed, there is an alternative. Can use a brush, and brush that," she notes as she points at the first liquid, "onto the paper. Heat helps," she adds. "more control, takes longer. Results in a better picture. Much better. Will show with the positive, where it matters more," she explains, before dipping it in the final solution. "Can just sit there for a while. No hurry."

"How long?" Fenris mirrors the question, "What? The Spyguard thing?" He looks pensive and takes a seat on an empty patch of counterspace. "A while. Couple of years now," he says, "I was recruited shortly after the Small Folk Murders. It was part of why I couldn't accept your offer of knighthood."

"Flora understands, yes. Either case, after that bath, rinse again. Different water. Never re-use the same bath. Can use the same baths at the same parts in the process, but never for different parts," Flora notes as she sets the fourth bath down, filled with water. "After rinsing, carefully dry."

The rinsing and drying doesn't take too long, and Flora seems satisfied with the process.

"This is the negative. Won't show a clear image. But it's there, yes."

That was easy. Fenris had honestly expected at least a little more surprise. "Negative?" the rabbit asks, "Does that mean it is a bad image? I thought we just had to put the right chemicals on the paper and the picture would show up."

"No. Flora will explain. The paper is special. It changes when light hits it. Red light, less change. Which is why Flora uses red light to work. But... The parts hit with light become black. So something bright becomes dark. Negative. Black is white and white is black. So a negative," the cat notes with a smile.

"The negative is small. Will be making small positives too, but... They can be much bigger. Flora will show that later. Not today."

The cat turns down the heat on the heater, then removes her safety-gear and takes the now-dry photo.

"Now, need to make a positive."

Fenris watches with interest. "So do you mean that it doesn't matter what size the negative is?" he asks, "You can make the. . um, positive any size you want?"

"Within reason. A too small negative means no details. But yes. Smaller is possible, bigger is possible," Flora notes as she brings the developed negative over, putting it down, before briging another piece of paper to fenris, along with a brush. "Carefully brush this side with the first solution, and heat gently, yes. Easier with magic, friend Fenris can do it. Then under the light, and the negative pressed on top."

Fenris does as instructed and takes the paper and brush. He gently coats the paper with the solution and channels just a touch of fire math, sending warmth evenly through the canvas. "Pass me the negative," he says taking the blurry black and white page and pressing it against the blank sheet, "How long do I need to hold it?"

A small chuckle, a shake of the head, before pointing at the cloth-covered light. "Put it there. Negative on top... Lamp on, and cloth covering the whole. Will take a while. At least thirty minutes," the she-cat notes as she leans back, taking a seat in the mean time. "Will make the positive, then need to do the same process on that.

"I could almost paint a portrait in this time," Fenris jokes, following Flora's instructions and laying things out, "I wonder why it is that Sirus wants all this. I just think of anywhere that a picture like this would help me for anything other than a portrait and I just feel like the process takes too long."

"-this- process takes long. The making of the slide that becomes the negative takes five minutes. Can friend Fenris copy everything in a report in an enemy camp in five minutes?" Flora asks with a raised brow, her tail flicking behind her as she waits.

"And, more importantly... The negative can be re-used. Many copies can be made of the same photo, meaning it can be reviewed by many beings."

"Yes," Fenris says, "I could. But that is not really the point. I'm not really sure what my point was. Just making conversation." Honestly, the burly bunny looks a little uncomfortable in his Spyguard coat. He probably does not pair the coat with his actual face very often.

"Flora doubts everyone could. And it's not just reports, of course. Other things, as well. Approaching armies, camps. It makes some things easier. Other things, not so much. And, of course, Flora hopes to improve the speed, but... It's difficult, of course. Takes time. But still. Imagine being able to do it in one minute. Less. Flora believes it's possible, but it'll take time. Improvements."

"Perhaps it's not immediately useful now, but... Flora imagines the Spyguard would want to be at the forefront of technology. Perhaps it's an investment for the future. A trial. Flora doesn't know. All Flora knows is that mister Sirus is interested."