20: Inventory

The packet of notices and letters was in with the instruction manuals for some of the items provided by Gloriosky and Spaulding. Looking through it all, I've decided to relate some of these items in this narrative so that they might be recognized by the reader should they ever encounter them.

There was a canvas roll that contained several glass bottles and vials that contained a white to silver-colored substance. In some cases, it was a liquid, and in some it was a powder. In looking through the manuals and information, I figured out that these were Aether cells. Apparently, they contain Aether that has been captured during transit between times and distilled in some fashion and packaged for use as energy producing devices. In short, they are similar to batteries with the exception that they are recharged by being exposed to any transit through the Aether. In some cases, they also contain ectoplasm or other refined substances to create particular types of energy needed for specialized devices. They ranged in size from a 1 milliliter vial to a 100 millileter bottle, all stoppered and sealed, with a small tube or wire coming out of the top.

These made me wonder about how much of this stuff was necessary to operate the Velocitor, and how I would refuel the great beast when the time came. I realized I would have to take the time to read that manual pretty soon.

The roll was attached to an odd leather bound book that instructs one how to manufacture a multitude of devices that are powered by Aether cells. Everything from Aether lamps to time machines were described, along with the modifications needed to make many ordinary items perform extraordinary operations should the need arise to improvise. The book was incredibly light and flexible, and was titled "The Standard Guide to Aether Cell Devices for the Temporal Traveler" by Hyram Foote, Ph.D. and published by Miskatonic University Press. This particular book was the 87th edition, published in "1917 Constant".

There was a rather thin flat box with an odd leather helmet type device that had eye spaces that were covered. It had a small clip on the back of it, about the size of a 5 milliliter Aether cell. Looking at it closer, I saw that the space did indeed have a small "5" in the middle of it. The manual that matched it identified it as a Necrograph. In operation, one apparently places a 5 ml Aether cell in the clip, connect it to the helmet at the provided location above the clip, and one can then use the helmet to speak with anyone who is deceased. I thought for a moment how this might be nice, but I then remembered the letter that I found in the front of the box. Gloriosky had used a Necrograph to make E.B. Farnum leave him alone by reconnecting him with his deceased mother. Thinking about it that way, it brought whole new meaning to the old saying about a blade cutting both ways. I certainly have several people I'd sooner not meet again, and especially so now that they have passed on. I decided to leave it in the flat box and placed that in the file box before I moved on.

The orientometer was a truly fantastic device, as the manual shows. By carrying it, one can always know exactly where one is in time and their geographic location on the earth. Thinking about that, it occurred to me that it might be either extremely useful or not useful at all if one travelled to another planet somewhere. I have decided not to concern myself with that particular worry. As an innocuous instrument, I have included that manual in these writings, so one might identify such a device if they ever encountered one out there in the world.