Mira Hasta-Rur wrote: > > He escorts her into the dark shop. Inside it smells of old wood and > > oils. There are clocks and other small things on display in here. > > Mira is attracted to a table displaying small crystal globes. > > Inside the globes are images of the falls with a perfect little > > rainbow arcing from the top of the cliffs to the tiny village > > below. Looking closely she see that this is a holographic > > projection and the details are perfect. The water is flowing, the > > rainbow is shimmering and there are even tiny little birds flying > > around inside the globe. > > > > "May I help the Sianna and the Si?" asks an elderly woman as she > > comes out from behind a wooden counter. > > "These crystal globes have incredible detail," Mira says, "But I'm > really captivated by your display of clocks. You carry such a broad > range of styles. I think I'd like to see something that will remind > me of how this shop smells; old wood hand rubbed with oil. Intrigue > me." The old woman returns to her wooden counter and stoops down removing something from a shelf there. She sets an object on the counter top. The object is covered with what appears to be a gray cloth, but when she turns on a lamp and directs the light toward it, Mira sees that the cloth is some sort of shiny gray plastic material. With a smile the woman lifts the plastic material saying, "We keep this covered for its protection, you know." As she removes the covering you see a rectangular box, about 30 cm high and half that wide and deep. The box is made of a dark wood with a pronounced grain that forms a swirling pattern. The pattern in the grain seems to sparkle and flow under the light of the lamp, almost like the swirls of a fast flowing stream as it passes over a rocky bottom. The wood of the box has been carved to enhance the effect, bringing it out here, and restricting it there to enhance the feeling that the wood itself is a river of yellow and light brown water flowing through a dark brown stream bed. "This is wood from the Povem tree. Its wood grain reacts like this to light. Isn't it lovely?" Near the top of the box in a circular inset an analog clock has been set. The clock's hands are silver, and gleam in the light and the numbers around the outside rim are red LED's. A small oval platinum relief is inset just below the clock, "Press here, and the door opens giving you access to the controls." the old woman demonstrates, "You can adjust the time, or set the clock to any planet's time system here, and also set it to play any of the several tunes that are stored inside." She lifts the clock and shows you the bottom, "The mechanism can be accessed here. The wooden casing removed so the clock's hardware can be repaired or serviced. Although, that shouldn't be necessary for many, many years. We guarantee this piece to work flawlessly for 40 years." Eris AKU
