ITTHOBAAL’S INVENTIONS 6 – RETRACTABLE LADDER
MUSIC
(SOUND OF A QUILL)
ITTHOBAAL
Dear parchment of productive pastimes, dear vellum of viable inventions!
The year is 1468, it is midweek, and Leonardo and I have just come up with the most joyful idea:
The retractable ladder!
I cannot wait to tell you how it works!
Imagine a ladder but welded out of metal rather than cut out of wood. It must be a strong metal, of course, and light. Copper, perhaps, or a fine steel, thin as a sword.
The ladder's legs are hollow, and cut into concave pieces, each fitting into the next. This way, the whole ladder can fold into itself and become small enough to hide in a knapsack, or a sack of hay!
You can then pull it out, lengthening it, creating from this small bundle, an outstretched ladder!
When you extend it, a system of latches clicks into place and ensures the ladder does not collapse again when you step on it!
(LAUGHS)
Oh, the applications! Oh, so many applications!
The idea came about during one of our many long late-night talks. Arthur suggested I take Leonardo under my wing, since we share so many interests and fields of study. Arthur felt like Leonardo might need someone to discuss ideas with, so he would not get lonely.
It was a fine idea! Leonardo and I are both fascinated by anatomy, intrigued by engineering, tickled by tantalizing theories and swept up in the swirling whirlpool of science.
We have spent countless nightly hours at the local cemetery digging for corpses to study and...
(CLEARS HIS THROAT)
...repurpose.
(PLAYING WITH WORDS)
We have delved into the philosophy of tangible matter, and many matters more tangible than philosophy.
(MORE SERIOUS)
But we have found another commonality between us that time and time again becomes the topic of our conversations. Leonardo is a young man, he knows less of love than he should wish. I am an old man, and I know more of love than I should wish. Yet both of us know what it means to love… a man.
(CHUCKLES)
"Florenzing"!
What a stupid word! As if it was invented just now, here in Florence! As if it has not always been around, always been just another form of love.
I have come to think of myself as a sort of mentor to Leonardo. Not in science - in many areas he is by far my superior! No, I have taken it upon myself to be his mentor in love. Not in a romantic sense, our friendship is purely platonic. No, rather I try to warn him away from obsession and towards joyful love, avoiding the pitfalls I fell into with...
(EMOTIONAL) with Behrem.
(MATTER OF FACT)
Over time, attitudes change, change back and change again. People are different, but what differences are cherished, and which ones are shunned, vary from culture to culture, decade to decade. However, regardless of whether your uniqueness is treasured or not, if you are different, it also means you are an outsider. And belonging to a minority is (SIGHS) always challenging.
When things are bad, you need your community, your family, your... found family…!
Who else can understand you and give you the support you need?
And not all communities are that easy to find... It is easy to become isolated.
But even when things are alright, you can feel a desperate need for someone to speak to, someone who knows what you are saying, who can share in your joys, laugh with you!
Especially, perhaps, when it comes to matters of the heart.
(MELANCHOLIC) As a young man, I had someone. A special someone… but it was only the two of us.
Looking back, I wish I had had a mentor at that time. A guide, a friend. Someone who simply knew, without me having to explain.
That is what I try to be to young Leonardo, and I think he appreciates it.
(EXCITED)And it was during one of these late night talks that we tried to figure out the best ways in which you could covertly visit the bedroom...
(CHUCKLES) ...of your secret lover!
One particular problem came up, namely how to enter through a second or third story window, should you wish to avoid the front door.
When visiting a secret lover, one often wishes to avoid the front door.
A rope could suffice, of course, but a rope can be hard to climb. It requires strength and agility. And Leonardo is not the strongest lad. In between his studies, technical inventions and creation of artworks, there is little time for physical exercise. So, he thought a ladder would be a much preferable choice.
But you do not want to be seen sneaking around town late at night carrying a ladder...! A ladder is rather unwieldy. It is hard to carry one around and go unnoticed. So what to do?
(CHCUKLES) Well, now you know! Just bring Kamak and Leonardo's retractable ladder! It fits under your cloak or skirt!
Oh, what delightful idea! A ladder designed to ensure secrecy. The ladder is already a tool made to reach where you cannot normally reach. The retractable ladder doubly so! It gives you access to balconies balustrades and bedrooms that were otherwise out of your reach, not just physically, but metaphorically too!
There are few things more satisfying than adding metaphor to practicality!
The ladder also has its use in other covert operations, of course. It could indeed be a very useful tool for our disappearances.
Leonardo and I shall start experimenting building a prototype tomorrow. However, I suspect our conversation will soon drift from the complexities of metalwork to the complexities … of the heart.
(SATISFIED SIGH. HE SOUNDS EXCITED AGAIN)
Until next time, dear almanac of accomplishment, dear transcript of triumph, until next time.
END.