Waft Blinker-Net

In theory, it was brilliant. Brilliant, until you thought about it for more than a minute. A damned shame he didn't. - Daedalus Puff

The Waft Blinker-Net, also known as the Meteoric Net Launcher or the "stupid net thing", is a misguided, very Elignign attempt at creating a form of protective weapon against the destructive might of the Blinkers. Invented by Ahmed Waft just a few months into the Eligni settling Layman's Belt, it was one of the first ideas pitched to help defend the settlements from the stray blinkers that liked to collide with the half-built towns and cities. The theory on paper was remarkable: a giant launcher powered by raw Spectrocryst that would propell a vast net at the oncoming blinker, trapping it and stopping it from moving. The blueprints for this device appeared perfect, and quickly construction began on several; three at the beginnings of Caleb's Rest, four in Rivet's Reach and even one in what would later evolve into Verdigris Patina. Ahmed and his team were so certain in this new invention succeeding that it took until two were fully built to realise the fatal flaw that the Blinker-Net had. During a particularly vicious blinker storm, a reasonably small one came bearing down upon an early Caleb's Rest. Ahmed himself sat at the control seat, aimed the mighty launcher, and fired. The resulting effect was, to say little, underwhelming. It was upon the Blinker-Net collidiing with the encroaching blinker that Waft realised his collosal mistake: for a net to work, the target needs to have legs. A blinker, being a large chunk of rock and minerals, doesn't have legs. Indeed, a blinker doesn't rely on any propulsion other than the speed it had when it tore through space and the gravity that pulls it towards the Belt. Thus it was that Waft watched his genius, eureka device fail, resulting in a small, thankfully empty home getting crushed into a fine powder. Suffice to say, the Waft Blinker-Nets that had not finalised their construction were not finished. Some were retrofitted with newer, more productive ideas, whilst others were torn down to be recycled into something or other. However, the legendary first Waft Blinker-Net launcher sits atop a small tower in Caleb's Rest to this day, situated in the centre of Artificer's Foundry, as a reminder to all prospective inventors to think just a little harder on their blueprints before creating it. Of course, being Eligni, they never remember.

Utility

Initially the purpose was to catch and slow a blinker down so that it would not collide with anything delicate on the surface of the Belt. Of course, a net doesn't work to slow something powered by gravity, and so its initial purpose was not realised. It has, however, found use in other areas of Elignign industry.

Social Impact

Originally assumed to be a world-changing invention, the Waft Blinker-Net now serves as an excellent reminder as to why you should think through an idea before working on it. However, it has served a few strong purposes in the time since its invention. Some M.E.K.A units have a much smaller and more compact version of the Blinker-Net built into them to easily catch and move mined resources, and a couple of Alchemical Acquisitionists have been known to carry a much more portable version to catch new specimens for safer study.

Inventor(s)

Ahmed Waft.

Access & Availability

Only one Waft Blinker-Net still exists in its original form, standing tall as a reminder for inventors to think before they act. The original blueprints are available for free, however, and have be used and modified to create a series of more productive launchers that are able to break apart or even repel blinkers.

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