Under Construction
It is very good that Thorn is a quick student because the project is a big one. First Arlen teaches him the basics of working with glass and that isn't easy because he has not done it for a long time and has to relearn some himself. They start with cheaper glass and remelt things and remake until they both have the hang of it and Arlen is happy to find that his manual dexterity gets just a little bit better with practice and focus. He might have to have Thorn do the most delicate work though. It's amazing how good Thorn is at anything artistic. It reminds him of Einrich a little, and that hurts in a way he tries not to think about when he is alone late at night. His guest room at the Crumrin Mansion is very nice, even if he sometimes doesn't leave the lab until very late at night to get some sleep.
When they have made all the glass chemistry equipment he could possibly need and then probably a little more, Arlen starts to move on to the actual heart itself. Every single step is very important and it starts with the materials for the glass itself. This will not be ordinary glass. Like the material Arlen's hands and heart are made from it is a magical kind of living glass, capable of repairing itself from minor damage the same way a living body's cells regenerate. It takes a long time just to mix the minerals and magic together for the raw stuff before there is enough ready to melt into glass to be shaped. Thorn has a few days of almost nothing to do while Arlen almost lives at the lab absorbed in his work.
There are drawings and measurements and all kinds of details for every tiny piece of the heart. Arlen spends some time talking Aloysius into giving him lots of medical specifications and personal information before he even starts making diagrams, and even as good as Thorn is getting at working with glass they will have to remake many of the pieces over and over again before they are right for his exacting standards. There is also a big glass box, made very carefully and sterilized and carefully sealed. Each piece for the heart when it is finished and perfect in dimension has to be sterilized and cleaned, and piece by piece the heart is put together, suspended in the box, like it's some big rectangular robotic torso. Aloysius Crumrin's new heart is on display in the center of the lab as it grows from a few little tiny glass valves into a weird transparent organic work of art.
When they have made all the glass chemistry equipment he could possibly need and then probably a little more, Arlen starts to move on to the actual heart itself. Every single step is very important and it starts with the materials for the glass itself. This will not be ordinary glass. Like the material Arlen's hands and heart are made from it is a magical kind of living glass, capable of repairing itself from minor damage the same way a living body's cells regenerate. It takes a long time just to mix the minerals and magic together for the raw stuff before there is enough ready to melt into glass to be shaped. Thorn has a few days of almost nothing to do while Arlen almost lives at the lab absorbed in his work.
There are drawings and measurements and all kinds of details for every tiny piece of the heart. Arlen spends some time talking Aloysius into giving him lots of medical specifications and personal information before he even starts making diagrams, and even as good as Thorn is getting at working with glass they will have to remake many of the pieces over and over again before they are right for his exacting standards. There is also a big glass box, made very carefully and sterilized and carefully sealed. Each piece for the heart when it is finished and perfect in dimension has to be sterilized and cleaned, and piece by piece the heart is put together, suspended in the box, like it's some big rectangular robotic torso. Aloysius Crumrin's new heart is on display in the center of the lab as it grows from a few little tiny glass valves into a weird transparent organic work of art.