Denver Slipstick [TL4+2]

[Moe Lane]

Disclaimer: I was assured that there would be no math.

Denver Slipstick [TL4+2]

Description: a precisely calibrated and etched aluminum slide rule, with a reversible slide and T-bar. The slide is actually doubly reversible; turning the slide over deosil, widdershins, and then deosil again will reveal a new set of markings that glow faintly blue and seem to be derived from alchemical symbols and other medieval occult markings. Needless to say, the Denver Slipstick registers as magical on standard scans.

Use: Aside from the usual benefits of having a slide rule, use of the Denver gives a +1 to all Thaumatology or Ritual Magic rolls (no defaults!).

They found the Denver Slipstick n an estate sale in, obviously enough, Denver. Its magical nature was only discovered when somebody was scanning something else for magical residue, and detected the enchantments on the item in passing. Although ‘enchantments’ may be a bit much; it’s more like the Slipstick was constructed in a high-mana area, and picked up magic through osmosis. Even the glow on the slide seems more ‘organic’ than deliberate.

Interestingly, the mundane settings on the Slipstick match standard Imperial and metric units of measurement, so it can be used as a regular slide rule. But it’s the arcane ‘side’ that’s the most interesting. When the appropriate authorities finally gave it to some mathematicians to play with, they eventually reported back that this part of the Slipstick seemed designed to get answers for an odd variant of calculus that was clearly derived from the standard version, but with enough variations to get subtly different answers.

This excited the researchers, of course. In fact, two of the most dedicated mathematicians are now feverishly working seventeen hour and fifteen minute days (three ten minute meal sessions, three five minute sessions for personal hygiene and bathroom breaks, and eight hours uninterrupted sleep) to backwards engineer what they at least think is an actual, no-fooling mathematical model of magic. The insights that they’ve gotten so far have already paid for the program, so the work continues.

What? Yes, of course they’re high-priority kidnapping targets. Did this question really need to be asked?

PDF can be found here: http://moelane.com/2019/08/07/denver-slipstick-tl42/

[Dustin]

For a second, I thought this was an Infinite Worlds parallel where humanity exists on a giant slide rule.

Come to think of it, one could do something interesting with tectonic plates as a calculation engine operating on a geologic timeframe.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Dustin

For a second, I thought this was an Infinite Worlds parallel where humanity exists on a giant slide rule.

I keep misreading it as “Denver Slapstick” and assuming it’s a parallel where the Roaring Twenties involve a lot of eyeball pokes and “Nyuk nyuk nyuk” is commonly heard in the streets.

Originally Posted by Dustin

Come to think of it, one could do something interesting with tectonic plates as a calculation engine operating on a geologic timeframe.

That [i]would[/] be rather interesting.