Roussel's Wheel

How do you visualize what is impossible even to conceive of? In the late XVIIIth century, the head of the Corbu Family asked precisely that question to four leading mathematicians and philosophers of the time. A substantial lump of money was promised to the first one who would be able to provide a device capable of such a feat. Delphine Roussel's entry in the contest was what she called a "metaphysical componium", latter known simply as "Roussel's Wheel". It is said that only one prototype was ever built, and whatever we know of this device is almost exclusively derived from the sole surviving Roussel notebook. At the express demand of her sponsor, all her notes and relevant correspondance were handed over to her sponsor along with the machine at the closure of the contest. But Roussel could not bring herself to surrender her personal diary, even though it contained many musings relevant to her work for Corbu during the year of her life entirely consumed by the strange invention she was putting together at the time. Thus, even though in all probability Roussel's Wheel has remained securely locked within a Corbu vault for the better part of seven centuries now, we can somewhat speculate about what her inventor tried to accomplish.
The first relevant entry in Roussel's journal, dated May 16 1784, sets the tone. In a quickly scribbled page, Roussel tries to grasp what is being asked of her: "Is it possible to build a device that will allow us to imagine the unimaginable?" She responds emphatically: "YES! If that machine can only break our damn langage."
In the months that follow, the diary becomes more and more incomprehensible. Roussel documents her experiences with fasting, sleep deprivation, hallucinogenics, linguistic disorientation. She remains silent for three months, and tries just about any ritual she can have access to. All the while, she strives to design a mechanical device that would reproduce the estrangement she experiences. Clearly, she was deeply familiar with Vaucanson's automata. But, as she writes, her device would have to accomplish the exact opposite of what Vaucanson was striving for. He had tried to make alien mechanics act in ways that were ordered and familiar. She would have to use her own mechanics to make the familiar feel profoundly alien. Did she come even close to her goal of simulating what a contact with the Sirakoth would feel like? It seems that only the Corbu family knows. What we do know is that she won the contest, received Corbu's money, and left to live the rest of her life in some unknown country. All traces of her laboratory and former life vanished during the French Revolution. The sole publicly surviving volume of diary was discovered in a pitiful state by a book dealer passing through a local market in a small colonial town of Southern Mexico in 1982. Fortunately, he had the text photographed and sent to a friend before succumbing in a tragic fire that consumed his house and his adjacent library.
The records of the Capraria auctions do not indicate that the Wheel was ever put on the bloc by the Corbu family.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

Given Roussel's background, it is speculated that her "metaphysical componium" is a mechanical device. If we go out on a limb and suppose that the prototype she handed to her sponsor was, indeed, only a miniature model of her machine, then we can come to the conclusion that one would enter Roussel's Wheel rather than use it from the outside. If such is the case, then there is no telling what destabilizing experiences one might live once inside the machine.

Significance

If Roussel's Wheel had been a failure, it would have been a prime candidate for the Capraria auction. Corbu's contest was a public affair. Roussel's reputation as an inventor was second to none in the 1780's. There were sufficient leaks from her diary to indicate that she, indeed, had been working on a device for Corbu, but not enough information around to conclude whether or not her work was as successful as hoped for. Selling the device would no doubt have brought a significant trade-in for the Corbu family, and enhanced its prestige among the corridori. It could also have occupied competitors for some time, sending them down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out whether they had acquired a real asset, or simply been had. In any case, many corridori organizations would have taken the risk. So, it is significant that the Corbu had never, ever, spoken of Roussel's Wheel in public. In the World of the Corsa, that is more than enough to whet the appetite of adversaries.

Rarity

Available informations indicate that there seems to be only one prototype in existence. However, the Corbu family has been in possession of Roussel's model, and most of her notes. It is likely that other exemplars of Roussel's Wheel were built. It is even possible that the Corbu family continued to sponsor improvements to the concept over the centuries. The wildest speculations circulating go even as far as to affirm that Roussel's model was but a miniature and that a full-size version of this device could be as large as a space station.

Weight

unknown

Dimensions

unknown

Base Price

priceless