nick_garou | Val and the ray gun, take 2

I met up with Val this evening just on the outskirts of town to look this ray gun over that the mage had been carrying. She'd been keeping it stashed in the umbra, so... That's actually pretty smart as it'd be inaccessible to probably about 90% of mages that way. And it'd make it a bitch to scry for too unless the mage had substantial skill in Correspondence and a dash of Spirit magic at the same time.

It wasn't a talisman. It was more of a focal artifact--kind of like my lightsaber. A prop for doing a one-trick-pony magical effect. So it was basically nothing but a useless hunk of plastic (because it was plastic with wires inside) to anyone but a mage. And even then the mage would need to have knowledge and skill within the proper spheres to get it to work, which means it would effectively be useless to them because they could work the same magic via their own props--or sans props, even. (I mean, hell, I could pull off that stunt with no props at all.) So, basically, harmless and worthless.

Okay, not entirely worthless. I keep a small stash of tass in my lightsaber to draw upon as a power source and to amplify the energies. It looks like Mr. Smith had done the same thing. He had a little battery "clip" for the gun that held a single unit of tass in it. I ejected that and pocketed it for my own use. Waste not, want not.

I think Val was right about the guy having been a Son of Ether mage. An Entropic scan indicated Wyrm was not involved. And there wasn't much in the way of Weaver resonance--although I suspect Smith was a Pattern mage--not uncommon for the Ethers. But it wasn't over-the-top like a Technocrat's magic would be. And it was too 1950s sci-fi flick. A Technocrat's gun would look more like a real gun. And it probably wouldn't shoot Prime-charged lightning bolts. (Nasty.)

Oh, one thing I did notice? The ray gun had no seams on it. It wasn't a plastic injection mold. It was probably done on a 3D printer, which was paused periodically while the wires and circuits and the moving parts were installed.

Val's going to ask the wolf with the mage's tablet if she can have it. Val mentioned how she knows a trick where she could simply take it and make the wolf forget she ever had it. That.... gave me pause. Had she taken something from me in the past? Would I have noticed it? But she also mentioned it had significant risks (presumably to herself--so it's not foolproof). I recommended against that course of action. I would not be surprised if she were killed if she got caught stealing from the garou. I suggested instead that she ask the wolf in private and explain the hazards that could be present in such a device--including being a possible threat to the sept and potentially the caern. If the wolf refuses to cooperate, then go over her head to someone further up the food chain. I imagine that would make life hell for the wolf, but hey, they'd been given the easy way option first.

The meeting went well. I didn't feel like Val was being smarmy this time, and I didn't have the urge to club her across the head. I must have just been cranky the last time we talked. Damn, I can be a cranky SOB.