Great Discoveries Require Great Equipment

PHOEBE

”And I am sure you will.” Phoebe said encouragingly. Remi had the worst luck she had ever seen a single person possess, but he was smart and sincere. If anyone could find the best in this, it would be him.

It was probably for the best that Remi did not wait for Pim, because frankly Pim didn’t know what he was looking for, having never encountered clay. But he had encountered jerky, and some poor artisan had left some in a desk drawer somewhere. Nose to the ground, Pim was on the hunt, as if prowling the undergrowth of a forest, a deer in his sights. This jerky would be his…unless Phoebe caught on like she always did. ”Pim.” she snapped at him in clear warning. The baby dragon ‘roared’ his upset but begrudgingly returned.

She watched curiously as Remi molded the clay, a smile curving her lips as it took shape. ”It is a near perfect representation. You’ve a natural talent for sculpting!” she praised. Pim clambered up onto the desk again, pausing at the sight of this other dragon. He sniffed it and snorted, whining in confusion. It looked like another dragon, but it sure didn’t smell like one!

I look up to the little bird
The flies across the sky
And I, I wish that I could be that bird
And fly away from here

it's hard to see beyond what's in sight

The sound of Phoebe's positive reaction along with Pim's negative one made the alchemist laugh out loud. Holding the still-moist clay out to where he thought the dragonling was, the alchemist let his fingers turn into talons and gently gouge the bottom of his sculpture. "Care to do the honours?" He asked the dragon, finding something immensely satisfying at the thought of claws raking through clay.

Twitching his lips, the alchemist leaned back into the chair. "Let us try something harder. Before you mentioned there might be things you needed for the medical clinic?"

but when you tilt the light I realize

Coding base by Sky!

PHOEBE

Pim startled at having the dragon thing shoved forward towards him, his wings splaying out, but and tail lifted into the air as if prepared to pounce. He was a bit confused by his request and looked at Phoebe first. ”Do what he is doing.” she said, scraping some of the clay out with her fingers. Pim sniffed it again then tentatively scratched at the clay…then did so with more vigor, growling with excitement. ”You uh…may need to do some patchwork.” she said with a light laugh. ”And I might need to get a scratching post.”

The mention of the clinic brought her back to the reason for her visit. ”Yes! I was hoping you could make something like a reverse telescope…so instead of seeing things very far away, seeing things that are very small. So…an extraordinarily powerful magnifying glass I suppose.” she said.

I look up to the little bird
The flies across the sky
And I, I wish that I could be that bird
And fly away from here

it's hard to see beyond what's in sight

Remi chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Yes, many of the posts and railings in the guildhall bear a number of teeth-marks in them. Eventually, you get used to it."

At the mention of a reverse telescope, the alchemist tilted his head gently to the side as he considered. "What size, are you thinking? Is this to see inside the body?" Remi asked, wishing very badly that he was able to see so that he might sketch something out for Phoebe's reference.

but when you tilt the light I realize

Coding base by Sky!

PHOEBE

Oh, teeth marks on her railings? Yeah, she was going to have to get gnawing and scratching posts. No destroying the house just because they could, that was a new rule. But for now, Pim was perfectly content to dig at the clay, making quite the mess.

”Not inside the body…though that’s a good idea too, I am going to come back to you on that one.” she said with a grin. ”So, all matter in the world is made up of these tiny little…things. Or…ugh, I don’t have a word for it uhm…” she tapped her chin in thought. If she was going to talk about these things she needed a word for them. They were…units? That sounded like measurement. Blocks? Too childish. ”Cells. Let’s call them cells. And they are very, very tiny. So this thing you make would need to make it so I can put some sort of matter on one side of the lens, and then when I look through the other side I will be able to see these tiny, itty-bitty cells…but the device itself shouldn’t be too big I think because I will want to be able to write notes while I look at it, or manipulate whatever is on the other side of the lens without walking back and forth.” she said, trying to be more detailed in her description.

I look up to the little bird
The flies across the sky
And I, I wish that I could be that bird
And fly away from here

it's hard to see beyond what's in sight

As Pheobe began to explain, Remi folded his hands on the desk before him listening intently. It had been his thought too that the world was made up of smaller things, things too small for them to see. It made sense given his work on alchemy, though he'd never properly named anything before. "Sells." He repeated, head tilting slightly wondering why she had picked such a term.

"So...by matter you mean things like wood? skin? blood? And this lens would make it so you could see all the smaller things that it is made up of?"

but when you tilt the light I realize

Coding base by Sky!

PHOEBE

”Do you think that is a good word for it? I just…sort of made it up right now.” Phoebe said with a small smile. She had thought of the body as a house, and all the little things were the rooms that made it up, but rooms was too odd sounding. So she had quickly deduced to cells, like jail cells – perhaps a morbid interpretation but with a bit more flexibility to have its meaning twisted maybe.

”Yes, exactly! Skin, blood, wood, leaves, hair, anything really. And like a telescope lens makes it so you can see the stars, the lens in this would let me see these tiny little cells that make up the skin and blood and wood and such.” she said, repeating what he said to really confirm they were on the same page. ”And they are really tiny, Remi. I don’t think there is a good enough comparison for just how small these things are.” She noticed then that Pim was about to claw all the way through Remi’s sculpture and quickly picked him up off the desk.

I look up to the little bird
The flies across the sky
And I, I wish that I could be that bird
And fly away from here

it's hard to see beyond what's in sight

"You are asking the wrong person. I used to label my new alcohols in order of when I made them. Creativity is not normally my strong suit. But if you like cells, then cells it shall be." He said with a smile.

Nodding his head Remi frowned again, wishing very badly that he could sketch something out so that Phoebe could approve the design first.

"Alright. Imagine this, if you can. The lens portion will need to be encased to keep debris and extra light from filtering in. I can make it swivel potentially, but if it will always be focused on the sample, perhaps fixed is better. Below the lens will need to be an opening for your samples...Perhaps large enough to fit a stick or so, or a piece of cloth. A wide base so that if you are looking at something large it can sit easily, but not too large that you cannot move it around." Pausing, Remi chewed his lip thoughtfully. "Does that sound about right?"

but when you tilt the light I realize

Coding base by Sky!

PHOEBE

Phoebe grinned and laughed a bit. ”Well…I suppose if I am the first one to talk about them medically, I do get to name it what I want, don’t I?” she said. It would be a discovery in a way – sure the gods knew about them but humans? This was totally new to them, or to her at least and she assumed to most people too.

She listened quietly to Remi’s description, closing her eyes briefly to try and imagine it. It was a difficult task, since what she was asking for didn’t exist, and was rather an amalgamation of many things. But she trusted Remi, and what she could conjure up in her mind did seem feasible. ”That sounds about right to me.” she said after a moment’s pause, petting the top of Pim’s head. "I agree it doesn't need to swivel...but maybe there should be a way to adjust the focus, depending on the size of the sample?"

I look up to the little bird
The flies across the sky
And I, I wish that I could be that bird
And fly away from here

it's hard to see beyond what's in sight

With a grin, Remi shook his head. 'Ahh, that is where the magic comes in." He said with a laugh. Closing his eyes simply because of habit, Remi raised his hands ever so slightly and began to concentrate. Pieces began to appear, neatly fitting together until the device that he'd just described was assembled before them. The crucial piece though, the lens, would take considerably more effort.

Taking a deep breath, the alchemist focused intently on what it was that Phoebe needed. The constraints of what it could do, the cells it was apparently meant to show. Holding out his hands, slowly but surely a lens began to appear. It glistened like an opal in the sun, radiating all sorts of colours as it was tilted in the light.

Opening his eyes, but of course not seeing, Remi raised the lens. "You will have to screw it in, to the base." He instructed, lips twitching sadly for just a second.

but when you tilt the light I realize

Coding base by Sky!

PHOEBE

Phoebe watched in awe as Remi made perfectly designed pieces out of thin air. Even Pim was captivated, watching wide-eyed, tail flicking with excitement. Not that he fully understood what was going on, but Phoebe was excited so he was too. ”You are amazing, Remi. Simply amazing.” she praised, a big grin on her face. The crowning jewel, the lens, came last, and she watched in amazement as the opalescent thing came into existence. Its rainbowy exterior seemed fitting, considering it was inspired by visions brought to her by the kaleidoscopic Frey.

The hint of his sadness was not lost on her as she carefully took the lens. ”This is great! Now I will have practiced it with you here, in case I ever need to take it off to clean it.” she said, twisting the situation to be a positive one. She looked where the lens was supposed to go and ever so carefully screwed it in, Pim scrambling onto Remi’s shoulders again to watch. ”Alright! Let’s see if it works!” Phoebe said, placing her hand on the viewing platform before looking into the now encased lens, holding her breath.

I look up to the little bird
The flies across the sky
And I, I wish that I could be that bird
And fly away from here

it's hard to see beyond what's in sight

Remi smiled, hearing the sympathy in Phoebe's words and listening as she put her own sunny spin on the situation. The reality was, Remi was blind now. He was going to have to get used to situations like this.

Sitting back, unable to see what Phoebe was using or what her findings might be, Remi just tapped his fingers gently on the table as he waited.

---

Congrats! Phoebe has received the following item

Micro-Lens: A magical lens that allows her to see between 1μm - 100μm.
Click here for a chart with examples.

but when you tilt the light I realize

Coding base by Sky!

PHOEBE

The midwife gasped, a grin spreading across her face. It wasn’t a perfect view, her hand shaking from her excitement. But in the brief moments she sawthem. Little circular things with dots in the middle. Cells. Pim lifted his head and roared squeaked triumphantly for whatever it was that made Phoebe so happy.

”Oh Remi it’s perfect! It’s perfect! I can see them! I can see what Frey showed me, the cells!” she said, bouncing up and down before managing to tear herself away from the device. ”Oh thank you so much! I could never repay you for this, it is truly fantastical!” she said, hugging him tight.

I look up to the little bird
The flies across the sky
And I, I wish that I could be that bird
And fly away from here

it's hard to see beyond what's in sight

Remi grinned broadly, then wrapped an arm around Phoebe as she hugged him tightly. His smile was wide, his pale-eyes cloudy but cheerful. "I am glad that it works. I hope it lets you do whatever it is you want it for." He said patting her arm gently.

"Thank you for coming to see me here. I will certainly let you know if I need anything though." Remi added, leaning back slightly and offering a blank smile up to where he thought Phoebe was.

~FIN

but when you tilt the light I realize

Coding base by Sky!