Lightscratch Paper Technology / Science in The Epoch of Black Glass | World Anvil

Lightscratch Paper

While we have such inventions as the telegraph these days, or organized courier services when you need to guarantee a message is received, the shadows between cities used to be a far greater barrier for communicae across countries, continents, and the world. There were not many willing to traverse that darkness ad hock, and there are always the times were a sender cannot wait for the next convoy to leave for the location they need.   Lightscratch paper is the solution and is still made use of today by friends, lovers, and military officials for its immediacy, accuracy, and it's ability to communicate in secret. As long as no one finds the writings, of course.   There are two components to the process, the first being the paper itself; which is developed in specifically requested batches through a process that is a combination of papermaking and Oscraft. A Daemon is woven into the batch as it reaches the final stage of pressing, which is what allows for it's distanced communication. This paper will then have to be split between however many intended senders and recipients there are before they scatter to the four winds.   A word of advice. If you are interested in purchasing Lightscratch paper, do it in far greater quantities than you might expect to make use of. It is better to have extra than to run out when your correspondence partner is two oceans away and now can no longer get your messages regarding sending a new sheef out.   The second component is a crystal plate, called a transcription plate, one for each planned correspondent. These plates are made in blocks, similar to how the paper must be made in a batch, then cut and polished so that they look similar to a decanter of wine in the end. These act as a sort of mailing address for any messages written upon the lightscratch paper.   So, to use the system as is intended, one writes out their message on a piece of lightscratch in its entirety, then lays out that page on a flat surface and places the transcription plate atop the paper. When the linked plate is placed upon an empty piece of lightscratch, it will inscribe the message of the first page onto the second.
Inventor(s)
Lun Haephestus
Related Species

It's common practice to simply keep the translator plate on top of an empty sheet of lightscratch, in the event someone wishes to contact you, but it's not strictly necessary. The receiving translator plate will have a slight glow to it when a message has been sent, but has not been transcribed.


Cover image: by Night Cafe Ai Art, modified by myself

Comments

Please Login in order to comment!
Jul 25, 2023 12:43 by Marc Zipper

What a fun idea love the fact that they have to buy the stuff together to make it work and how it works very interesting

Let's have fun creating the impossible, building new worlds, and all types of possibilities. Valcin