The History Machine was built by LouiseBurke (a society member) and RobertBurke (her brother) during the 1850s.
It was built in the basement of the Society's warehouse at 12 Devon Lane without the awareness of the Society.
The purpose of the machine, according to the instruction manual, is to create a simulacrum of any place at period in time, for the education of the user. It operates by the means of a pedestal, upon which the subject, or a link to the subject is placed (the instruction manual is unclear whether a the complete subject, a representation of the subject, or a piece of the subject is needed).
When the battery (a human being) is loaded into the machine (via a cage, which drops into a pit in the well in which the pedestal and switch are located), the machine becomes active. The battery is sustained by the machine, and needs neither food nor water, but the 'mental strength' of the battery is used to power the machine, and this can be very draining if sustained for long periods.
The the machine is active, and there is a subject on the pedestal, pulling the lever will create a simulacrum behind the selected door. The object on the pedestal is unaffected by this process. There are 13 doors - 1 has no symbol and is a neutral door - it always leads back to the basement. The other 12 doors are marked with the sign of the Zodiac. The doors can be rotated so that one door faces the exit to the basement. That door is the selected door.
Which period of the subject's future or past is represented by the simulacrum behind the selected door depends on the door chosen. However, the relationship is complex. The symbols on the door are not related to this - they are simply symbols to mark the doors apart. Some experiementation with modification of the subject, and attempts at different doors may be needed to fine the chosen period, and not all doors will always open. It seems that some periods, for some subjects, exert a powerful attraction on the machine, and one or more doors will always lead there. For other subjects, the same door may open onto different simulacra each time it is tried.
The simulacra are viewed by stepping through the door. Each simulacrum will 'run' for a set period of time, then repeat. It will do this as long as there is someone within the simulacrum. The door is always visibile within the simulacrum, and it is always possible to leave at any time. It is impossible to interact with the scenes depicted by the simulacrum, or to bring any object from beyond the door back through it. Any object brought through the door on entring, and left within the simulacrum will be found on the pedestal on exiting.
<<< I designed the HistoryMachine as a resource for GMs to use as a source of information in their scenarios. This page represents what the instruction manual says about it - I'll put together a page on what it actually does at some point. If you're interested in letting the group use it in a session, contact me, and I'll either provide a bit more information on how it works, or provide a description of what happens, depending on what you'd prefer. -- AldenSpiess >>>
<<< Fixed up some typos. -- Steve McIntyre >>>