Mansion Tour Part 1

Yuri was followed by his entourage, even Lithira, after she did whatever she needed to in the restroom, as he made his way down the hall. This section of the hall, and the rooms that were part of it, had clear science fiction themes going on. Yuri stopped after he came to a black door with the image of a fully mechanical world on it and turned a handle that almost blended into the door itself. On the other side, the immediate space of the room was dominated by what looked like an odd greenish-yellow carriage with purple windows, including the front. The whole room was a massive space forty feet wide with a thirty-foot ceiling, and the entire floor was an unusual kind of stone.

There were also various other items in the room, all considerably large. They all looked around the room in fascination at the chamber. After a moment, Thelsia spoke up, “What is all this,” she inquired.

“My garage,” said Yuri, “huh… it looks like the SUV has had some changes to its chassis.”

“I don’t think any of us are familiar with those terms,” said Inoshana.

“Alright,” said Yuri, “I’ll try to simplify some things and give you a bit of a tour around the house.”

“Thank you,” said Usagi, “I suppose you’ll be starting here.”

“Okay,” said Yuri, “this is my garage, or rather one of two. Anyway, a garage is basically a facility or addition to a structure for storing and housing vehicles; think of it as a sort of stable for vehicles. Now, you will turn your attention to the vehicle in front of us. It is a motorized vehicle known as an ‘automobile,’ it has that name because it moves about without the assistance of any creatures or external forces to go about where you want it; the way you steer it is a wheel inside the vehicle that turns the front wheels, some automobiles are equipped with an optional setting that allows you to steer with all the wheels for improved maneuverability.” He immediately noticed Usagi’s motions that showed she was taking mental notes while he talked. “The term I used for the vehicle is for the type of vehicle it is, it’s an acronym for its full its full name, but I’ll explain that later because I think I’ve rambled on about this enough.”

“Can I examine it later to see how it operates,” inquired Althana.

“Not until I’ve done my checks,” said Yuri, “I’ll let you know when it’s okay for you to examine, and likely do what you need to for reverse engineering it. But for the time being, you will not so much as breathe on this vehicle without my sayso.”

“Seems reasonable,” said Lithira while she gave the gnome a pointed glare, “and I’m sure Althana remembers what happened; she tried doing a project in secret. Not to mention, this looks like something she can’t just hide in the cupboards or shelves if she were to do that.”

“Point made,” said Althana with annoyance; her attention then turned to a tall thin blue box with a blue light atop its roof in the group of larger objects to the left of everything, “What’s that thing?”

“A mock-up of a very special vehicle from a beloved science fiction series,” said Yuri as he followed her gaze, “it’s based on a real law enforcement innovation that was discontinued well before I was born. So, naturally, nothing actually works; that’s all pretty much decorative; yes, you can technically go inside the box, but it’s rather confining.”

“What sort of innovation was this blue box,” inquired Malza.

“I’m told it was called a ‘Police Box,’ at least that’s the term I heard used regarding what it’s supposed to look like,” said Yuri, “it was designed for law enforcement officers, better known as ‘Police,’ to keep in contact with the local headquarters, that’s what the little device on the side with a bell and cup you put to your ear is for, and detain criminals in the box itself if needed.”

“Simple yet effective,” said Malza, “too bad the communication device is a mock-up; I’m sure the gnome would have loved to take it apart to see how it works.”

“I have improved versions of that device all over the house,” said Yuri, “and some are even in storage; I’ll see about getting Althana some of the older ones I think I can spare or do without later.”

“Well,” said Althana, “I think I know what my weekend is going to look like.”

They all turned around, and only then did the girls notice a box on the wall with vertical holes along its face and buttons at the side of the face. “What is that,” inquired Alma, having Yuri be silently thankful he had the foresight to design the halls to accommodate larger packages that required a dolly.

“It’s called an ‘Intercom,” said Yuri, “its name is short for ‘internal communication device,’ there are intercoms for use all over the house, each with a different sort of design, for quick communication with folks all over the house, there are actually two in the kitchen and dining room. But since I’ve been the only one living here, I didn’t really want to have staff that might misconstrue some of my items around the house living here with me; they’re mostly decorative; and functional, but still basically there for show.”

“I could probably apply this to my atelier,” said Althana in a speculative voice.

“I’ll give you a copy of the intercom schematic to look over later,” said Yuri, “as soon as I can remember where I stashed the copies. Anyway, follow me.”

They all began to follow Yuri as he headed back towards the entryway, “Where to next,” inquired Lithira.

“Back to the entryway,” said Yuri, “all these doors marked with symbols, letters, and numbers we are passing are storage closets for smaller various items and documents I don’t want to have out for display purposes. Some of the storage closets have spares of various items that need periodic replacing, soaps, blank papers, writing utensils, those sorts of things.”

“I’ll probably be rummaging through it all later,” said Lithira jokingly, “looking through that sort of stuff is right up my trail.”

“Please ask permission beforehand,” said Yuri, “it will help us have a better idea of where to find you if we need to find you for whatever reason.”

Shortly later, they were back at the entrance. “It really does look like a bit of hodgepodge,” said Lithira.

“That’s by design,” said Yuri, “the entrance is supposed to look like a blending of themes. Going down this way,” he resumed walking in the direction he said the kitchen was, they all looking a bit more clockwork as they continued on, “We will reach the kitchen in a few minutes. This side of the house is done up in a ‘Steampunk’ aesthetic, which means everything here is designed to look like older technology imitating newer technologies, and sometimes speculative technologies.”

“Makes sense,” said Althana as they entered the kitchen; everything was decked out in gears and such; even the counter and fridge moved with levers and dials. “I would love to have a room in this style; it appeals to me on a personal level.”

Yuri took a look at the analog clock, with ticking tags to display the date and time on the clock, as he went to open the door of the fridge to see what he would probably have to throw out, and did a double take. He had been here for months, but according to the date he was looking at, barely more than a few days had gone by. “I’ve been in this world for, what, five months?”

“That sounds about right,” said Thelsia, “why are you asking?”

“Because the calendar on the fridge is saying it’s barely been four days since I last used this stuff,” said Yuri.

“Another odd term,” said Althana.

“Fridge is the shortened form of ‘Refrigerator,’ it’s basically an ice box that keeps things cool without ice,” said Yuri, “and this drawer-like compartment is a separate section called the ‘freezer,’ its job is to keep things so cold they are frozen or in a nearly frozen state. There are some dials on the inside of the fridge for setting it both to however cold you want to make them, numbered from one as the lowest setting to ten as the highest setting. Most commercial models usually tend to cap out at five as the maximum setting.”

“Ooh,” said Althana, as Yuri went back to opening the fridge while muttering to himself about how time between dimensions makes no sense. “Can I…”

“You are not permitted to take this thing and analyze it or break it apart to see how it works,” said Yuri, cutting Althana off, “this unit is still very functional, and I am to keep it that way as long as possible.” He took a moment to think, “But there are some older models I decided to keep in storage for emergency use that are in one of the basements; you can take one of those and have fun with it. Same with the deep freezes I have down there.”

“I’m sorry,” said Inoshana, “what is a ‘Deep Freeze’?”

“A large chest-like freezer unit that has the capacity to get much colder than the freezer unit on the fridge here,” said Yuri casually as he pulled out some multicolored drinks in strange containers that were noticeably less rigid than glass.

“And what are these,” inquired Alma as she and the rest of the group accepted the containers with liquid in them.

“Sports drinks,” said Yuri, “they’re a special kind of beverage for active individuals to allow them to maintain active bodies for longer periods of time while quenching their thirst. If you want, I can trade them out for energy drinks instead.” He held up a small cylindrical can that was more tall than it was wide.

“What’s the difference,” inquired Althana as she handed her drink back to Yuri after inspecting the container.

“Energy drinks are designed more sound, keeping you awake when you start to feel tired,” said Yuri, “they’re not as friendly to your health as sports drinks; however, overconsumption of either over a short period of time can lead to some health issues.” He put the container Althana handed him away and handed her a similar container to his own.

“And what are these containers called,” said Inoshana holding hers up, “and how do we open them?”

“Those are a type of bottle,” said Yuri, “much like what you get some alcoholic beverages in, but the material they’re made from is more forgiving and less likely to break on you if you drop it accidentally. Anyway,” he put the drink he was holding on a shelf next to the fridge and made a holding and twisting motion as he said, “you open it by twisting the top portion off, then you can drink from the empty container. As for the cans,” he picked up his container and pulled the tab at the top, to which a metallic click and then a hissing sound was heard, “you just need to pull up on the tab.”

They all followed his lead and opened their drinks, “Well,” said Malza, “that’s not half bad!” Yuri noticed hers was purple, so that meant it was grap flavored, and chuckled to himself.

“After we finish our drinks,” said Yuri as he turned his attention to Althana, “I’ll show you the waste receptacles they’re meant to go to. And since there isn’t going to be anyone coming by to pick up and empty the bins, I’ll show Althana where to find them so she can empty them out and take the contents to her lab to play around with. Messing with the technological development of this world was always an issue I wanted to avoid, hence the drip feed and explanations that would help lead you to production without much input from me. But now that it is unavoidable, I’ll just let everyone go hog-wild on it all. Then I’ll show you to the bedrooms; I have quite a few here for entertaining guests”