The plumbing was finished (mostly). The smell was gone. But Oakhaven had another problem.
Darkness.
"Candles," Taylor muttered, squinting at her blueprints in the dim flickering light. "They smell like tallow. They drip wax on my diagrams. And they are a fire hazard."
She slammed her hand on the table.
"We are entering the **Age of Electricity**."
[System Message: Slow down, Tesla. You haven't even invented the steam engine yet. You are trying to run before you can crawl. Intelligence: Borderline Delusional.]
"I don't need a grid!" Taylor argued with the blue screen. "I just need a **Voltaic Pile**. Copper discs. Zinc discs. Saltwater soaked felt. Primitive batteries!"
***
[The Spicy Stack]
"You want us to stack... coins?" **Ren** asked, looking at the pile of copper and zinc washers Taylor had forged.
"It is a battery, Ren. It stores the power of lightning."
Ren took a step back. His hand went to his sword.
"Lightning is the weapon of the Gods," Ren whispered. "If we trap it, will Zeus come to collect rent?"
"No gods. Just chemistry."
Taylor stacked the discs. *Copper. Felt. Zinc. Copper. Felt. Zinc.*
"Now," Taylor said, holding two wires. "Touch them together."
*ZAP.*
A small blue spark jumped between the wires.
"AHH!" **Luna** screamed, diving under the table. " Sorcery! The metal is angry!"
**Ria** leaned in close. She sniffed the ozone.
"It smells... spicy," Ria noted. She extended her tongue toward the exposed wire. "I wonder if it tingles like Szechuan pepper?"
"DO NOT LICK THE SCIENCE!" Taylor shouted, swatting Ria away.
***
[The Filament Problem]
"We have power," Taylor said, ignoring Ria (who was now trying to cook a sausage on the battery). "Now we need a light source. A bulb."
She held up a glass jar (made by their blown-glass disaster earlier). Inside, she had rigged a piece of carbonized bamboo.
"Bamboo filament," Taylor explained. "Like Edison used. If I run the current through this... it should glow."
She connected the wires.
The bamboo strip turned orange. Then yellow. Then...
**FLASH.**
A brilliant, harsh, unwavering white light filled the room.
It was blinding. It cast stark, razor-sharp shadows against the walls. It revealed every speck of dust, every crack in the plaster, and every pore on everyone's face.
"MY EYES!" Ren shouted, covering his face. "It is the Sun! We have stolen the Sun!"
"It's... it's beautiful," Taylor whispered, shielding her eyes. "500 Lumens of pure, unadulterated visibility."
**Violet** hissed. She retreated into the farthest corner of the room, pulling her hood up.
"I hate it," Violet growled. "It kills the shadows. It leaves nowhere to hide."
***
[The Critic of Lumens]
Suddenly, the door flew open.
**Viscount Valerius** stood there. He wasn't wearing his mask.
The harsh electric light hit his face. It illuminated a small scar on his cheek that was usually hidden by shadow. It showed the bags under his eyes. It showed the imperfection of his skin.
Valerius shrieked.
"TURN IT OFF!"
He threw his cape over his face like a vampire exposed to dawn.
"It is hideous!" Valerius screamed from beneath the velvet. "It is an **Interrogation Light**! It has no soul! It has no romance!"
"It allows us to read at night!" Taylor countered.
"It reveals too much!" Valerius wept. "Beauty lies in the mystery! In the flickering dance of a candle! This... this is **Truth**! And I hate the Truth!"
He pointed a shaking finger at the glowing jar.
"It makes my skin look dry! Destroy it!"
[System Message: He has a point. You look like a potato under a heat lamp. This lighting is unflattering. Charisma: -20.]
"Fine!" Taylor groaned. "We can modify it!"
***
[The Lampshade Compromise]
"We need diffusion," Taylor sighed. "We need to scatter the photons."
She looked around the room. Her eyes landed on **Luna's** spare petticoat (which was hanging on a chair to dry).
"Luna. Give me that skirt."
"My Lady?" Luna gasped. "That is my undergarment!"
"It is now a piece of engineering equipment."
Taylor grabbed the white lace fabric. She draped it over the glass jar.
The harsh white light was instantly softened. It turned into a warm, glowing orb. The shadows became gentle. The light was golden, not blinding.
Valerius lowered his cape. He peeked out with one eye.
"Oh?"
He walked closer. The diffused light made his skin look smooth again. The scar vanished into the soft glow.
"Better," Valerius whispered. "Much better. It is... flattering."
He looked at the lace-covered jar.
"You dressed the light," Valerius nodded approvingly. "You gave the naked sun some clothes. I accept this. It is decent."
He turned to Taylor.
"You may keep your 'Electric Candle'. But only if you put little hats on all of them. I want silk hats. With tassels."
"Lampshades," Taylor corrected. "They are called lampshades."
"Hats!" Valerius insisted. "Or I will turn your battery into a pumpkin!"
***
[The Shadow Monster]
As Valerius left, pleased with the "Hats," Taylor slumped in her chair.
"We have light," she murmured. "We have plumbing. We have concrete."
Suddenly, the light flickered.
The battery was dying. The voltage dropped.
The shadows in the corners of the room grew long and distorted.
**Violet** stepped out from behind the bookshelf. In the dying light, her shadow didn't match her body. It looked... monstrous. Massive claws. Several extra limbs.
"The light is dying," Violet whispered, her voice echoing strangely. "Good. The dark is safer."
Ren drew his sword, staring at Violet's shadow.
"Captain," Ren said, his voice trembling. "I think the shadow is hungry."
"It's just a trick of the light, Ren," Taylor yawned, blowing out the battery. "Go to sleep."
But as the room went pitch black, a low, guttural growl echoed from the corner.
And it didn't sound like Violet.
[Ding!]
[Quest Complete: Let There Be Light]
[Technology Unlocked: Incandescent Bulb (Primitive)]
[New Danger: What lives in Violet's shadow?]
---
### **Author's Thought**