Utility
Running a palm over the stone will show predicted weather for the following day. Each swipe of the palm moves the prediction forward a day. Closing your palm over it and holding it there for 10 seconds turns it off.
Discovery
It was found in the
Place of Spirits by the
Vellich after it was abandoned by the
Jakunguh when they left
Vellikka after deciding the planet wasn't going to be the next great holiday destination. The Vellich believe it was a gift from the Great Spirit (see:
Where The Spirits Come From).
It is actually a
Peacekeeper invention which uses data stored in the
Pachian home galaxy predicting weather patterns on each planet even beyond the borders of the
Peacekeeper Territories and the
Peacekeeper Alliance. The location technology and bio-reactivity technology were both developed for other purposes and have been reused for this.
Availability
Across the university, this particular item is widely available, although perhaps not the most popular method of relaying weather information. The technology is often embedded in other devices or vehicles.
On
Vellikka there are 72 Weather Seers, most of which have been spread out across different settlements, particularly around the
Laykan Bay and
Asil where knowing what weather conditions are likely to be are particularly important.
Complexity
To the
Vellich the Weather Seer is impossibly complex. It's the closest thing to magic they can imagine. How could anyone know what the weather will be like before it happens?
To the rest of the universe, the technology behind the device is fairly straightforward, and any complexity comes from combining these elements together. The weather data and location technology are both open source (to other
Peacekeepers) and easily accessible to be used for whatever project they may choose as long as a percentage of revenue earned goes back into the
Peacekeeper Alliance. The bio-reactivity technology is unique to this model and is less readily available.
Social Impact
The Weather Seer has allowed
Vellich living in some of the more tempestuous areas of
Vellikka to be more prepared for things like
The Rising Tide. In this regard it has saved many lives.
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