Creating something new, day 7

IUDs & Boomstick

After getting up from bed, I make a T template, and carefully verify its dimensions according to the information I have, and make a T-shaped two part mold in clay around the template, with a built-in melting chamber and channel in the mold. The mold is flat and thin so it dries and harden fairly quickly, and weak heat helps. Since I don't have any fire inside my room, I'm doing this work out in the longhouse commonroom, and I have quite a lot of curious eyes on me, but no-one say anything. Iselin just take everything in, and I do give her bits of information when she asks.

I shouldn't heat the mold much, only about 180C, and while the mold heats up I locate suitable HDPE plastic (recycling triangle code 2). Cut pieces and fill up a portion of the chamber in the top of the mold, and then presses down with the wooden stick I used as a template. Some plastic finds its way into the needle-thin end channels, and out between the two part mold. Sandcasting would have been nicer, but this is easier and faster, and I can reheat the plastic to fix flaws, unlike casting aluminium or bronze. I miss my casting silicone and all my other stuff for making mold and casting, but I mostly 3D printed. Well, there won't be anymore of that, so my design and printing history will end at about 600 3D prints. Its kind of ironic that I have all the software I need on my tablet, and I should be able to build a crude 3D printer in a couple of years. I just can't make the control board to connect that printers motors and mechanics to my tablet, or create plastic filament. I really wish I hade experimented and make bioplastics at home.

When the mold cools down and I take out the finished little plastic T, I'm really pleased and quite impressed with how good the quality is. I immediately start heating up the mold for the next cast, while I cool down the plastic T in a bowl of cold water. Test how durable it is, and that it bends and flexes as it should and that it doesn't have any sharp edges or is dangerous. I am so nervous that something will go wrong with this whole project. That something I have done will harm the women around me - my girlfriends and friends. Just that thought is really unpleasant. That's why I chose HDPE plastic. It is the best plastic I know of and have with me, and shouldn't leach anything unpleasant, be carcinogenic or degrade and fall apart. It is HDPE that is used in pill cans and many toys for toddlers, and food containers, which should mean it is safe enough for being inside their bodies for years. Its also HDPE plastic that's used in the fresnel lens for heat detectors as the non colored version is IR transparent. A big advantage of 3D printing stuff and many different projects over the years. It have taught me a lot about plastics, not least things that can be printed or should be avoided due to gases and other things, and if you can't easily buy the plastic but need it, then you have to improvise. I'm quite good at that. Iselin's been staying at my side all this time, and she's really fascinated by the whole process, and white plastic. Ciara, Alith and Bodil are also curious and excited about it.

When the next T is cast, I carefully trim the edges and clean it up. Heat up a needle and melt a hole in the bottom of the T for the string. I carefully wrap the T parts in copper wire and make sure the ends are rounded and tucked under. It should be done. I make six more. Make a small giggle as the number six in Swedish is sex, and its spelled and written the same as the act of having sex, and these are to make sex safer. Sometimes I'm so childish and easily amused.

I have enough HDPE plastic for many more, but I postpone it for the future. I only have seven women around me anyway. Check that the finished IUDs fits in the brass tube I have, and flatten the tube a little while I bend it a bit to make insertion easier, and then I make sure that all edges are rounded and there isn't anything sharp. Iselin entusiastically fetch a thin branch we debark and can use as a push rod, and cut it and mark its lenght.

They're all gathered here, and have been watching my work, so I shows them the little IUDs I've made. Kari, Gunhild and Hillevi are completely mystified over the others excitement, and I remember that I told them when we where in Skiringsalr during our first trip to Borgarsandr, but Iselin is quick to ask if she can tell them, and when I nod she enthusiastically informs them that this little sejd thing prevents a woman from becoming pregnant. It is inserted with this tube in where the baby grows in the womb, and the woman never gets pregnant at all. And this can be done a few days after having sex, it still prevents the pregnancy. I confirms to Kari that this is sejd from Midgard, and it reduces the risk of pregnancy to about 1 in 200. So if we have sex on the days that are most 'dangerous', before the woman bleeds, this will lower the risk of pregnancy to about 1 in 200, and it works for maybe 5 years or more. We have to test that duration, but the plastic can be reused, so don't throw it away. I will save the mold. The woman can pull it out with the help of the string, and have a child a few days later.

Kari's eyes glows as she stares and carefully inspect the IUD. I should probably be worried, as she seems to like sex but I may have missed how much, as its all so new for her - its basically a week since she was a virgin. I too am tired of using condoms made from animal intestines, and I so miss disposable latex condoms. They're so much better and more practical.

I inform them that I intend to buy a ship, because we and the Academy need one, and that we will go to Skiringsalr where I have a project with a sejd woman - Fjölkunniga Liv. She's trying to create IUDs from materials available here, and to test that it works and is safe for women. Then the knowledge will be spread to other sejd women. I want Liv in Skiringsalr to be the one who insert the IUDs in those who want them. Which quickly - and expected - are all three of my girlfriends. Since I've made seven, the guards are whispering, and Alith wonders if that offer extends to them as well, and I confirm that I don't want to treat them differently in something this important, and they thank me for the offer and accept, except Hillevi. She doesn't want an IUD, but she feels honored that I offered it to her. I tell her that I'll save her IUD, and should she regret it in the future, just let me know. We will visit Skiringsalr in the future, or they could learn how Liv does it.

The women are all distracted, so I starting casting lead minieballs outside. I don't want lead fumes inside. There isn't even a chimney to help pull the fumes outside. The lead minieball falls through the barrel, so when the rear end expands from the pressure, it should be good and make a good seal. The cast bullets also match nicely with the brass sleeves and require just a little filing before they can be gently tapped into place. When I have cast 30, I return to my room and start making my first batch of cartridges.

I cut the brass cups to the right length for the blackpowder weight I have chosen, drill the hole in the bottom and seal it by gluing on a thin piece of paper on the outside and seal it with lacquer. While I wait for them to dry, I shape a wooden rod to match the back of a minieball. When they're all dry I put on my eyeprotection and start with finer blackpowder for safer ignition, and hold it in place with the thinnest little piece of toilet paper I had with me, pour in more blackpowder and pack it gently in place with the wooden rod, press the ball in place, and gently deforms the brass edge into the corresponding recess in the lead ball, and add a thin layer of lacquer to seal the minieball to the brass cup. I want them waterproof.

My first cartridge. I sigh with relief. Nervs. This might literally blow up in my face.

Improvise a leather face protector that I hang from my ears. Then I carefully make 20 more, of which 4 with sulfur-free blackpowder. I quickly improve my craft, and mark numbers and what is what with my waterproof overhead pen on the outside of each cartridge. The sulfur free also gets a small mark in the brass cup before I add the blackpowder. They all look so beautiful lined up in front of me. Their purpose isn't beautiful, but I'm happy to be done with them. I really hope they work, and work well.

I use a few pieces of thick wooden planks to make a square shield for the first shots, with a jack I can let the stock tube of the cane go through, and a hole to see the sights. As long as I keep my head away from being in line with the barrel, should it explode, the thick wood can protect me from most of the effect, and I have my polycarbonate sunglasses as eye protection. To protect my hand I use a thick piece of leather with a cutout so it can fit around the grip, and rest it on top of my hand. Decide to bring my thin hiking gloves too.

I have tested the canes durability and function before, but I didn't hold the weapon in my hand. Holding and firing the gun for the first time will be ... 'anxious'. Even though it's her day off, Alith entusiastically volunteer to accompany me down to the test area on the beach. She knows what I'm going to do, as I told her yesterday. Its nice, since I don't have to postpone the test for tomorrow. But then again, she gets to see a dangerous weapon being tested, so its probably what she likes to do on her free day anyway. Bodil also joins us, but must stay just out of sight and keep an eye out so no-one approaches, and we again use the protected little slump with some trees to direct the sound out to sea, and cut down on the chance that someone might see what we're doing.

My weapon cane is so wonderful and so dangerous, and it's not just me as its proud creator saying that. After a while - and many jealous glances and actual drooling - I let Alith shoot two shots, and she has found something more desirable than my knife and sword. She's shaking with adrenaline as she gently returns the cane to me. She's really giddy.

It really feels like there's no delay in ignition, and I guess the short 40cm barrel means that the blackpowder doesn't completely burn, because there is a big could of smoke and a bit of flame. Or I just that I never fired a blackpowder weapon before. I hardly fired any real weapon before. I try the sulfur-free cartridges and they all work too, with almost non-existent smoke. I will use sulfur anyway. It should be functionally safer and give a slightly higher output speed. Its impressive muzzle effect might be useful too. I can bring a couple of sulfur-free cartridges with me in a future cartridge holder if I need to shoot at a distance, and be more covert.

It also works well to shoot through the weakened wooden protective plugs. The protective plugs protects the barrel, and mean I can use the cane in mud and snow without plugging up the barrel or damaging the barrel against stones. It will also stop the barrel from making ugly marks in my mansions oak floorboards, because that would only annoy me. I don't plan to fire through the plugs, but in an emergency its good to know that I can.

Is a bit of work to clean the barrels, but I should be able to fire at least 4 shots before residue buildup will become a problem. It seems that the lead ball scrapes away the previous shots residue quite effectively, and the minieball shape is partly for the bullet to expand to the barrel. It can be fired with residue in the barrel. Replacing the barrel also works well. After I fired a shot, the brass cup seem to have deformed to the barrel, which I should have expected, but I can quite easily get it out with the edge and the gripping pits I've made. I also try to flick out the spent cartridge cup, which doesn't really work without trying a few times, but I will try to polish the cartridge position better. The spent brass cup is warm, and with all the inspecting and testing the rate of fire is low anyway.

The bayonette lug for accessories in the front, works well as a front sight, although its slightly off on one of the barrels, so I won't use that one and will mark a black line to use instead. The rear sight works, but I correct it a little with my multitool.

The barrels arn't rifled and the precision at a distance is poor, but I can hit a wide tree about 20 meters away with all 3 shots I try. Good enough. We can both hear the bullet hit a cliff about 200m away when I test, and Alith is even more impressed. I could force a simpler rifling brotsch/reamer through, or make a simple rifling tool to carve rifle groves in the barrel in the future. It would stabilize the ball in flight, and thus decrease spread and making it more accurate and give it longer practical range. But this isn't a hunting rifle - it is for defense and surprise at close range. I can't really test its spread anyway, so I save three cartridges, and will reload a few more tonight, including a couple of sulfur-free cartridges.

My weapons cane can be considered done, tested and proven, even if it will be modified and added to.

When we return from the beach, I'm glad to see Iselin, Ciara and Gunhild waiting go down to swim and practice swimming, and I'm especially glad that Bodil shouts that she will quickly leave her gear and join them, after I give her okay to do so. She seems to have overcome her fear of water. Alith seems quite happy to have a moment to herself in their bedroom.

I reload some cartridges, fix the rear sight a bit, and add that black line to the barrel. I polish the cartridge position, and decide to make two simpler strap mounts. It feels so wrong to walk around with a cane in my hand, and it will sometimes be in the way or I might just want to have both hands free, so I want to be able to hang the cane on my back by giving it a simple variant of a rifle strap. I make a strap bracket just below and covering the grove where the tube separates, so the stiletto can be removed and the seam is hidden by the bracket. As a bonus, the cane will hang a little higher up as well. I make a ring clamp behind the bayonet lock in the front of the barrel. When I'm doing this I realise that I will only have this on one barrel, so I add it on the one with a faulty frontsight lug, and add a small frontsight on the clamp. I will need to add some form of quick release in the future, to facilitate barrelchanges. I cut a narrow leather strap and sew it as a simple adjustable rifle strap. It will do for now, and I should have a craftsman make a finer strap in the future. My cane should look nice.

They return from the beach, so I gather everyone and show them my new Sejdmann cane. I say its dangerous, which Alith's strong nodding and big eyes confirm, but they probably hadn't doubted that, considering how it sounded from the beach, the faint smoke they also saw from here, and Iselin and Ciara was there when I tested my blackpowder mini cannon. Hillevi takes a couple of steps back from the cane. I say I also built another thing and show a cartridge and say that these too are dangerous. Don't hit them, don't expose to fire - leave them alone. As long as no one sees me reloading, they won't know that there is a cartridge in the cane. Only Alith knows that secret.

It's so tragic I can't say what I really want, but they don't deserve it and the situations wrong too. They wouldn't really understand. So damn tragic. Quoting 'Ash' would be awesome. But in any case, I now know what to call my cane, and it is groovy. Can I have it engraved or etched in the metal on the upper tube? Maybe on the side of the grip? Argh, I would like to say:

'Alright you primitive screwheads. Listen up! See this? This .... is my BOOMSTICK!'

Bodil is honored to carve the flashlight grip for my Boomstick, so we discuss patterns and make sure its going to match.

Kari lies in her bed and thinks, as she's listening to Iselin and Robert trying to be quiet in his bedroom, but it makes the whole thing a little cuter. She also hears faint sound of moving fabric and other faint sounds from Alith's bed, and this isn't the first time. But Alith is discreet and considerate, although Kari is a little worried that Alith with an IUD will be tempted to have real sex with Robert, because she has noticed how Alith sometimes is when she's close to Robert, and how Alith behaved on the beach. Alith probably wouldn't say no to becoming Robert's concubine if he offered, but at the same time she seems to take her guard duty seriously enough.

Kari is a little jealous of Iselin and wishes it was her in Robert's bed, and preferably without any other woman in his life so she could have all his nights and all the sex herself, but she has patience and she will get her fair share of Roberts nights. Something that will be even more enjoyable and more intense with the extra security that that funny little white T with copper can provide. Kari really want to feel Robert without anything between them. Without anything else complicating their sex. That such a small thing can be such powerful sejd.

Wrong. Technology.

Of course, Robert is absolutely right. A sufficiently advanced technology is sejd for others, the difference is that technology works every time. Do everything right, and the results are almost guaranteed. Technology can also be improved and understood, although she doesn't understand why it works. Robert probably does, and when he trust her enough; he will tell her. She is impressed that Robert has had the IUD project running for so long, and before he even met her. How quickly he realized IUD's value and how it will change so much, for so many women, both for the better and for the worse of course. Kari just wishes that Robert wouldn't give away such enormously valuable knowledge completely free. It would have been so incredibly powerful to control, but it will still be beneficial, and further peoples belief in believing Freya brought Robert to Alfheimr, and increase their belief in his power and might.

She finds herself smiling wickedly as she thinks about how it could be used to stop some womens ambitions - or their fathers. Or powerful men who won't produce heirs. If the women around the man don't have children, it must be because of the man, or that the Gods have cursed him. If only it could be inserted without the women's knowledge ...

... which it really can without much difficulty. Its no more difficult than drugging someone's wine or mead, and insert the IUD when they're unconcious, as it apparently shouldn't really be noticed and it suppose to go quickly. Without the pull-out string. Or use a trusted sejd woman to do it. It tickles Kari when she thinks of all the possibilities. Robert has inspired her to start seeing opportunities.

She needs to talk to that Liv and find out if Liv is willing to cooperate, but she seem to be a close friend with Jarl Skiringe, and Kari don't want give her that idea. The most discreet option is probably that Kari tries to be helpful and learn, so that she can help Hillevi if she chose to have an IUD in the future, and then teach a maid here in the capital to insert IUDs. A maid who is willing to listen to certain suggestions, and who could be given special work from time to time. Kari could probably get the King to invite suitable men with his wives, concubines and mistresses to a banquet or two. Preferably a big one where there's many attending and much feasting. Robert has already given her powerful arrows to her quiver and he is such a wonderful wonderful man in so many ways.

Kari just have to be careful so Robert never follows the idea back to her. Never. Just that the idea comes from her would be a betrayal, and he will probably not forgive more, and her future with Robert is more valuable than anything else. That future is everything. Probably best to not take that risk, and forget the idea.

Kari doesn't worry that Robert - like many powerful men - will sometimes order a maid to his bed if she wants to keep her job. But its still a double-edged sword to ensure that future female staff have IUDs inserted, so that all women around Robert become safer and don't accidentally, or deliberately, try to become pregnant from him. Unfortunately, IUDs can entice Robert to have sex with their staff, but the biggest risk is probably that some of the staff want to have sex with Robert. Many lower maids or slave women see the bed as a good way to become free-necked, or gain status and favoritism from their master or Lord. Sex is a means many women use to their advantage if they can - even if they don't like their master - and Robert will be a target. He's too desirable, attractive and fantastic in bed, and with Iselin and Ciara he has proved that he doesn't care about a woman's status to make her his concubine or wife, and give her a life of honor and luxury.

But in the end, Robert can still have sex with the staff - with or without an IUD - and a small white T with copper make that safer from consequences. It's her duty to make sure that Robert doesn't have unwanted children when he is a little careless, or falls for lust. It is her honor to give Robert children. And Iselins. Maybe Ciara too.