The Gearshift Laboratory

The purpose of this nearly six thousand square foot expansion to the laboratory facilities of the already massive campus of RIM Tech is two fold. One half of the building will be classrooms and lecture theatres, for classes, as well as department offices. A suite of offices, three larger lecture halls, a library and two smaller testing/examination writing class rooms. The other half however is where the hangups with its construction lie. The whole reason for this facility being built is a relatively new program and field of study. Magi-tech Armament Engineering. This discipline has spawned from the initial study of Automotans and is how enforcement models are armed, but also has seen the development of a few small handheld weapons as well as larger scale arms. As such this addition to the massive campus includes a patch of cordoned off land just outside of Rydan city limits that the university has taken control of, as well as storage and lockup facilities for the lab work and excursions for later year students learning how these larger devices work.

The program is a three year specialty that can only be entered into after completing a three year introductory Engineering Common Core program.

The project has been frozen for years, it was first proposed in 1561, by the afore mentioned professor, and former military engineer, Marius Debbldiv. The initial permits were not hard to get, and metaphorical shovels were in the ground by early 1562. However the problems began once the architectual plans and facility purposes were more fully outlined, and the butting of heads has been long and ardous over balancing safety with function.

The crux of the issue is that the idea of study, and indeed potentially advancements be possible for students so committed during their studies and lab hours. Yet magicore engines are sensitive things, but also very dangerous. Any facility testing or manufacturing such goods needs to reinforce their structure's outer walls with obsidian-lead plating. That in and of itself is a non issue. However Debbldiv, in line with their vision of not just study but experimentation, hands on learning and potentially even grant programs targeting improvement or advancement, wanted to go with the industry standard for actual production and professional manufacturing facilities, a much lesser one inch thick layer. Meanwhile the nation wanted to go with the near dampener choking level that is standard in educational and training facilities, a much higher four inch thick layer. For years neither side would budge and Debbldiv had to take his case through the courts, and from there it was shunted into court ordered arbitrations, a third party stepping in to represent 'the people' of Rydan such as it were, and thus negotiations began again.

For a long time it seemed the project might have to get scrapped, for the two parties both gave a little, but no one was willing to give in completely. For his part Debbldiv was willing to add a full inch to exterior walls. For the part of the government they countered with three instead of four, but everywhere. However just as it seemed there would be no breaking point to this and the arbitration efforts would fail, suddenly the government seemed to have a change of heart.

They came to the table willing to accept one and a half inches on interior adjoining walls to other parts of the campus (including ceilings and floors) and two inches on exterior of the same. Furthermore they accepted a ninety-ten split, ninety percent lead and ten percent obsidian instead of demanding the more common (and wildly more expensive due to obsidian being far rarer a material) seventy-five to twenty-five split. This was a massive shock to anyone following the case, as it basically looked like the government had suddenly just folded, just acquiesced on more or less all fronts. Though no proof has as of yet come to light, from the onset rumors of bribery began and have not really ever quieted since. But without proof, then that is all they are is merely rumors. The project resumed on the first of Fenrok in 1576 and has an estimated completion date of early Agun 1577, so nearly a year and a half away.

The structure is meant to be, as is most of RIM Tech, a high tech one of steel, stone, and glass. The laboratory will have all the latests improvements, steam powered mechanical apparatuses and a veritable ensemble of tools and built in structures to allow a wide variety of all sorts of testing and experimentation scenarios and conditions. Furthermore it will come with state of the art crafting tools and facilities as well as storage lockups. It is meant to be be very modern, utilizing specialized tech and paid for magickal safeguards and locks for security as well as having its own automotan patrollers that will act as the night watch over the facility, and in specific the laboratory in tandem with regular campus security personal.

The obsidian-lead alloy plating on the walls is the primary means of disaster prevention and defense. Should anything go wrong in a test or experiment the idea is to limit the potential near limitless expansion and expulsion of energy a magni-core reactor of any size can experience if it begins to have a full on meltdown. Both those metals dampen magick, seeming to have anti magick properties, obsidian far more so than lead of course. So the idea here is less to protect anyone or anything within the facilities, more so to avoid catastrophic spreading of said incidents.

To prevent theft or other such acts or worse wanton vandalism or acts of foolhardy property destruction from those whom know not what they fiddle with, the facility comes with its own automotan guards, as well as having locking mechanisms of at least three types on every door that might lead someone to dangerous materials or objects you do not want people untrained or unknowingly messing around with.