TILE 27

Stiv Preem the assassin, Tims friend, stopped in to the toy shop to see what Tim was up to. Of course he knew about the mysterious journal because Tim frequently asked his advice about whether the latest translation attempt made any sense to Stiv.

"Hello my friend, you have that familiar puzzled look on your face. Stuck on the latest attempt to decipher something?"

Without a word Tim produced a mechanism from a desk drawer and put it out for Stiv to examine.

"Don't touch it!" he warned "In fact I advise you keeping at least a foot away from it, so what do you think, eh?"

"Odd that deep humming noise it makes, never heard anything like it, funny smell too, sort of sharp and reminds me of the seashore. Other than those observations I see nothing to comment on except that its exquisitely made, a testimony to your skills. Why must I be careful not to make contact with it?"

"You being an assassin are probably aware of those eels that can kill their prey from touching them?"

"Oh theres a few charming little creatures of that sort you know? They cannot really be of much use to me though, how does one persuade the victim to fondle anything as ugly as them quite apart from the inconvenience of having to arrange a suitable tank to transport them."

"Well Stiv this device has a similar effect upon us, I cannot describe it exactly but its almost as if it causes the muscles to convulse and is very painful. Have you ever had a tingle from stroking a cats fur when the air is hot and dry? Well its like that only far more powerful."

"I am intrigued and incidentally I could use something like that as an unexpected surprise for a careless or unwary colleague, especially the sort of fellow that snoops about your property behind your back. I could see that as a paper weight sitting atop an inviting looking deed or contract. Would it be lethal by any chance? Have you any ideas about its proper function?"

"Under the brass cover are two coils of copper wire through which passes a rod made from graphite, I followed the diagrams in the book being careful to stay with the suggested assembly sequence. Not until the rod was inserted did this machine show any sign of activity and that not until a few hours after its completion. The humming started as a very faint sound but has been growing steadily louder.

The brass cover has magnetite crystals fastened to the interior and these surround each coil but they do not serve any purpose that I can discover. When I tried to remove them and replace the cover, the machine made no sound, so they are important to its operation whatever that may be.

Here let me show you these diagrams and you will be as baffled as I am because this device is obviously a toy or a model of something much larger or why would this later sketch show a man seated at one end of it?"

"He appears to be in control of the device judging by the board his hands rest upon. So you decided this could be simply a toy of some sort?"

"Well you know how the Easters make those woven finger traps and similar practical jokes to play upon the unwary for the mirth of all who know what the things do? I thought perhaps this was the purpose of this machine but over the past few days since its completion it seems to be gaining power and may very well kill the unwary or curious person."

"So that explains your preoccupied expression of concern that I remarked upon. Judging by these later sketches this device is part of something of whose function I cannot begin to guess. Looks like a boat of some sort or possibly a wagon that lacks wheels, maybe a sled of some kind?"

"You know Stiv I think you are right, a boat or a sled could be what the final mechanism becomes. If this is a toy we'll just have to see what it does once I have finished it."