Cupid Fact File No. 001 — The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids

***Cupid Fact File #001 — The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids*** is a prose story, written by Aristide Twain. A *Cupid Fact File*, it features the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids, the Creator, Aphrodite, and, in their debut, the Cupid Prime and the Old Prefect of Chemistry. The story also mentions Cupid, Conquest-932 and the Scarlet Wings, as well, in their first mention, as the Council of Frogs and Prototype-000.

## Description

Like other *Cupid Fact Files*, the short story purports itself to be a digitized version of a file from the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids' Archives, detailing information about a target that is, or was once, of interest to the Crew. In this case, it is the very first File, which describes the broad strokes of the history and makeup of the Crew itself, from their creation (details of which, such as the Creator's, are redacted) to their pocket dimension's regulations against recreational freefalling!

### References

* The Clockwork Cherubs were originally designed by a "Creator" in the Prime Universe.
* The Creator created the flightless Prototype-000 before the Cupid Prime; in the process, she realized she needed to invent an anti-gravity engine to allow her creations to fly. She patented the latter invention, which proved lucrative.
* The Cupid Homeworld is described as resembling “a vast expense of pure blue skies filled with solid clouds upon which creatures weighing up to 100 kilograms can step without fear.” It is confirmed that the Creator designed the Homeworld as well as the Cupids themselves.
* The Creator now lives as a recluse in her manor in the Homeworld, sending out new designs for the automated Great Foundries to bring into reality when the time comes to create a new batch of Clockwork Cherubs.
* Fog Ships were created, and improved over time, by the Celestial Foam Network based on “schematics for basic dematerialization circuits and conceptual drives” left behind by the Creator before she exiled herself.
* The Cupid Love Potion is also patented. It was originally meant to be created by the Department of Chemistry based on the Creator's formulas, but after the old Prefect lost the formula, the Cupids resorted to asking Aphrodite herself to produce some for them.
* Multiversal authorities such as the Council of Frogs would frown upon any attempts by the Cupids to take over other universes fully rather than simply influence them.

### Continuity

* The *File* makes a partially-redacted mention of a Cupid base on the planet Venus in the 97th Cosmos. This explains the presence of Cupids at the end of *The Wellsians* (2019) while also setting up the then-upcoming prose story *The Resurrection of the Wellsians* (2019), which had this base as its main setting.
* The Celestial Telescopes were first mentioned in *Cupud Fact File #177: The Green Gorillas* (2019).
* The Interdimensional Tavern is referenced, as well as the fact that it is unadvisable for Cupids to spend too much time there; it was previously the subject of its own Fact File, *Cupid Fact File No. 124 — The Interdimensional Tavern* (2019).

## Behind the scenes

This short story was exclusive to the short story collection *The Quintessential Cupid*, released in 2019.