Ancient tapes

A Type 2, Utho era tape

*This article is about the basic information and history of tapes. For tape maintainance and usage, see Tapedeck.*

Ancient tapes are a variety of Utho era magic artefact, they are extremely versatile and appear to have had numerous uses in Utho culture, but the knowledge of how to properly manipulate them has been almost entirely lost. They seem to primarily have been created to store complex magical constructs, such as spells far beyond the power of anything modern technology can currently produce, and due to their longevity the contents of these tapes can often be utilized to its original purpose.

## Appearance

Ancient tapes come in two varieties, Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 tapes are generally more common, smaller, less powerful and cheaper than even poor(but functional) condition Type 2 counterparts

### Type 1 tapes

Type 1 tapes are comprised of a metallic frame, usually silver or gold plated measuring 11cm x 5cm, and a spool of tape wound around two sprockets mounted to the center. Usually, these frames are held together by small rivets. Two holes are present on each side of the frame, giving access to the sprockets which can turn freely. Between these holes is often (but not always) a small window through which can be seen a length of thin black tape, usually wound relatively tightly around both sprockets. They normally weigh between 30g and 100g

### Type 2 tapes

Type 2 tapes take the form of a metal box casing, usually silver or gold plated. This casing measures approximately 23cm x 14cm x 3cm. One of long edges is attached on a hinge, such that it can lift up to reveal the tape within. A type 2 tape normally weighs between 0.5kg and 0.7kg but particularly ornate examples have been recorded up to 1.2 kg.

Approximately half way down one of the large faces of the casing are two D-shaped windows near each short edge of the face which protects the inner mechanism from damage. Through these windows can be seen two bobbins, with a length of black tape wound tightly around them. The bobbins are held in place by bearings, usually made of ruby, that are sometimes fixed through holes to the outside of the casing. Between the two windows can usually be found embossed a description or name of the tape, usually in YukLyd although there are numerous records of tapes marked in other languages, and some examples of tapes not marked at all.

On the opposite face two sprockets are embedded into the casing. These attach directly to the bobbins that hold the tape. Two round semicircular 'catch holes' are positioned directly adjacent to the hinged edge of the casing. Through these holes the reverse edge of the exposed tape can be seen.

## Usage

Tapes are useless without a compatible tapedeck. These machines are often more expensive than the tapes themselves, but are versatile and can run any tape with which they are compatible. Type 1 tapedecks are generally small, portable devices not much larger than the tapes themselves. Type 2 tapedecks are large, bulky devices usually installed in permanent locations. They vary in the exact functions they perform, but a basic tapedeck will perform "Rewind", "Manifest" and "Stop" operations as these are critical for the safe operation of most tapes.

For a complete list of tapedeck functions, see tapedeck.

### Rewind

In order to correctly manifest the contents of a tape, it must first be fully rewound (attempting to run a partially rewound tape will result in unexpected behaviour, or may not work at all). This can be done manually, by rotating the exposed sprokets, but this process is unreliable and may result in damage to the tape especially if it is of type 2. The rewind function rotates the left spool anticlockwise, and will stop automatically at the beginning of the tape rendering it safe to use.
The Rewind button is usually the leftmost button on a basic tapedeck, and is usually marked with a triangle oriented with one corner facing to the left.

### Run

With the tape in a safely rewound position, pressing the manifest button will active the effect of the tape. The machine will begin winding the at first empty, right hand spool in a clockwise direction, pulling the tape through the reader. While the tape is being wound its effects will manifest, and will continue to do so until it is stopped or reaches the end. Some tapedecks have readouts that will list the time remaining, but if this is not the case one can estimate how long a tape has left to run, by observing the amount of tape left on each spool. Type 1 tapes usually run for around 10-15 minutes, whereas type 2 tapes can run for 60-90 minutes

The Manifest button is usually the rightmost button on a basic tapedeck, and is usually marked with a triangle oriented with one corner facing to the right.

### Stop

It is often necessary to stop the running of a tape before it has completed its cycle. This can be done by pressing the stop button, when it is pressed both spools will stop, immedeately demanifesting the effect of the tape. While it is theoretically possible to continue running a tape from where it was stopped, the technology to do so has not yet been developed, as such the tape must be rewound to its beginning before being utilized again. If a tape is terminated early, only the part that has been pulled through the reader will be subject to degradation. Tapes that are frequently used for short spells, will often pick up in power later on during their runtime, as the fresher, unused tape reaches the reader.

The Stop button is usually located between the Rewind and Manifest buttons and is normally marked with a square, sometimes coloured red.

### Tape Degradation

An unfortunate property of the tapes is that the manifestation process damages the delicate structure of the concepts they contain, as such repeated uses of a tape will weaken it until eventually it becomes unusable. Type 1 tapes can typically be run between 7 and 10 times before reaching 50% degradation, at which point they are generally considered unusable. For type 2 tapes, this number is closer to 50.