Spatial Recognition

Posted on 01 Apr 2021 @ 10:23pm by Sylvie Hardt - Surrat Gallery & Aiden Dhow
Edited on on 02 Apr 2021 @ 7:28pm

Mission: M2 - Sanctuary
Location: The Lacuna Gallery
Timeline: MD 02 2200
1105 words - 2.2 OF Standard Post Measure

The rumbling of his stomach alerted Aiden to the fact he hadn't eaten since he arrived to the station earlier that day ... how many hours ago? Glancing around, he realized he'd been here nearly eight hours - sorting boxes, unpacking art pieces for Ms. Hardt, and now straightening up the clutter left behind by the delivery people in the first place. He thought he remembered his new employer mentioning that they were 'about finished' an hour ago. He knew she'd headed to the back, but he wasn't sure if she had quarters there - and therefore it was private space - or if her living space was separate from the shop.

Before he could think to ask, Aiden happened upon a crate that had yet to be unboxed. Curious, he looked it over, but couldn't find any indicating numbers that matched with the chart Ms. Hardt had left behind. Either it was an extra, something personal, or maybe something that had been mixed up in the delivery. All the same, he figured it wouldn't hurt to open it up and at least get an idea of what was inside. Breaking the seal, he pried the lid open and set it aside before sorting through the packing material to get at whatever was stored inside.

At first, Aiden wasn't sure what he was looking at. It was ... some small, box-like device with a front cylinder that shifted size and position at a touch. The end of the cylinder was detachable, and when he removed it, Aiden revealed a flat, round surface that was either glass or an equivalent. Along the upper portion of the box were several knobs and buttons, as well as on the back side, opposite of the cylinder, but nothing he pressed seemed to have an effect.

At a loss of what he was holding, Aiden set it aside and went back to the crate. There were a collection smaller boxes - each holding a different cylinder like the one on the device, but of different lengths - some almost flat, while others were nearly half-as long as his forearm and widened considerably at one end. Each one was capped with a sturdy cover over the same glass plate on one end. Each was set out alongside the original device as he continued sorting through the packaging, his hunger forgotten for the moment as curiosity took its place. Surely there was something in here that explained his findings and would help make some sense of their origin.

"Curious of my curios, are we?" Sylvie Hardt's tone was unreadably chilled.

Aiden glanced up, eyes wide, then settled back down. "The box wasn't marked," he stated, thinking that would explain in part. "And I don't really know what any of this is, so I was trying to figure it out."

She finished making a note in a ledger and extended him a handful of physical credit strips. "For your labor. Why don't you take the old manual camera too. I believe there is a guide included and the film can be replicated."

Even as he accepted the credits, Aiden peered at her. "The what?" At her gaze downwards he realized she was talking about his find. "What is ... a camera?" He'd heard the term used before; had used devices labeled such, but none had ever looked remotely like this. Or came in so many different pieces.

"You're not serious." She waited a beat and when Mr. Dhow's expression remained unchanged, sighed impatiently and nearly kneeled, bending a knee to lift out the camera from the rest of the collection of accessories. "You load the film in this back door. It's light sensitive, and remains closed within until you complete the roll. Then you simply peer through this window, adjust your focus and lighting and press this button to capture the moment. Point-and-shoot if you will. The lens opens for a fraction of a second and the film is exposed to the light causing the film to capture a negative image which can later be developed in a chemical bath and exposed onto emulsion paper in a dark room to recreate the image. It's quite the process. I did toy with it for a time." She handed it back to him. "Perhaps you can figure it out."

Aiden took the device in his hands, turning it over to look at what she had pointed out even as his mind attached meaning to the parts. “I never knew they looked like this before,” he offered simply. I’ve seen things that captured images, but they looked different. And what about those?” He pointed to the other pieces. A part of him was irritated at her incredulous tone. So he didn’t know what the thing was – that didn’t make him an idiot. Just … uninformed. He settled the camera back in its nesting and poked around in the box to try and find the manual she had indicated was in there.

"Lenses and filters mostly, for various focal lengths and effects. There should be a flash attachment. An extendable tripod." She stood and dusted her hands of the whole thing. "All sorts of bric-a-brac. Take it all. Can you be back in the morning? I've another delivery to be received."

"Yeah," he stated, a little awed and more than a bit irritated - not so much at Ms. Hardt herself as just how much research this ... thing ... was going to take. Which, if he thought about it, wasn't a bad thing, really. Aiden had wanted something, and if he was still able to ask questions now and then - providing he caught the woman in the right mood - this could certainly be something. Glancing up, he nodded. "Yes, I can. What time do you want me here?" As he waited for her to answer, Aiden set about packaging everything up and tucking it back into the crate.

"They're meant to arrive at seven thirty, but if you come by nine that would be fine." She was already distracted, looking into her record keeping and walking back to her office without so much as a good-night.

Standing with the crate, Aiden adjusted it until he could get a comfortable angle and headed for the door. On the way, his stomach took the chance to remind him he had at least one more stop before finding his quarters. It didn't seem as insistent this time around, but he figured he might as well take care of it now rather than waking up to an even worse ache in the morning. Flipping the latch behind him, he headed out.