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Execution chamber design

Ireth

Myth Weaver
Not sure if this belongs here or in Research; please move if necessary.

I'm having trouble figuring out a workable design for an execution chamber used by the villainous black-elves in my latest novel. It's called the Sunroom, and it's basically that -- an underground cavern with a ceiling that can be opened to show the sky above, and most importantly the sun. Any unfortunate black-elf who's executed this way is left tied up in the sunbeam, and is very quickly turned to stone.

The problems there are obvious. I can't have the whole room open to direct sunlight, or else the black-elf guards who escort the victim would be petrified as well. Also, the sun moves, so I can't have just one small hole for the sunlight to shine directly through -- that would make the attempt in vain if the sun were at the wrong angle for an execution. It would work for suspense purposes if I showed a black-elf being executed onscreen, since having them wait to die like that would be torturous, but I'm going in the opposite direction for this scene. What's death to my villains is liberation for my hero.

The hero in question, a Fae named Cadell, is a captive of the black-elves. After being tortured by mooks and questioned by their leader, he insists that he must be in the sun for three hours every day or he will die, which the black-elves don't want, in case there's anything he can offer them, like information or servitude. So a pair of mooks bring Cadell to the Sunroom to sunbathe for three hours. Which brings me to the above question: how can I ensure that Cadell would be in direct sunlight the whole time, with the sun's movements accounted for? I don't intend for him to stay in the sunlight the whole time, since he will soon be freed, but the question must be asked anyway, for the sake of the orders given to the mooks.

One idea I'd had was for the ceiling of the cavern to be made of some sort of crystal that would act as a focus for the sunlight, beaming it down on a single point in the room (kinda like a magnifying glass used to burn ants). The crystal would obviously be covered somehow in a way that the covering could be removed and replaced from a distance, probably by the use of levers and such. Another was that a single opening in the roof would direct the sunlight to a mirror or a network of mirrors, which would also focus the light and be movable depending on the angle of the sun. But I'm not sure which idea is better, or how either of them would work. Advice and other ideas are appreciated -- thanks in advance!
 
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CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
I was thinking of Mirrors as I read your post. A Parabolic [or technically a Toroidal [I think - I never listened in Physics]] Mirror would focus the sunlight to a spot/area and let the sun arc over head. I think the mirror would have to be an arc as well as curved to have it stay focused. As long as you don't try to look [or prove] too hard at the maths, something about it's gracile curves might get passed as a description.
As you say A simple cloth could be dropped over the mirror or have it knocked to one side levers and cams to let those not so tolerant of Vitamin D in to the Torture Chamber...

If they can mould crystal, they could build a light pipe. A crystal lens at the surface that collects daylight from all over and then a very reflective [polished stone/metal/glass] tunnel that ends in an iris/lens. The sunlight would reflect down and around the pipe and the lens/iris lets it be opened and directed as needed - down below.
[In Real-World they use a high-tech version [fiber-optic cables] to get daylight in to internal offices.]
 

Butterfly

Auror
I like the crystal idea best. It seems more fantastical...

I'd imagine the mirrors would come with some sort of fire hazard. With sunlight you get light and a beam that heats up, focused on one point will cause a fire, providing it's on some sort of combustible material. (The reason why you shouldn't keep your make-up mirror on your windowsill). Same with magnifying glasses.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
Well, I doubt fire would be much of a problem. The chamber itself is hewn of solid stone, and the black-elves petrify in the sun long before their clothes would be a fire hazard. I doubt my hero will get much more than a sunburn before he's freed.
 

Trick

Auror
You can go complex if you want and if that's the case, ignore the following. A simple 3D trapezoidal room would work for the three or more hours of sunlight dilemma becuase it's opening would be significantly wider than it's base. Access to the chamber could just be magical, or very thick, black curtains that the condemned are thrown through. The interior walls of the room could all be mirrors, including the interior on the door, If that appeals to you. Also, the door could be sliding on a track so that no Dark elves but the condemned come in contact with the sun, since a sliding door can be easily pushed closed from the back, while the pusher remains in the dark.

Anyway, I could draw what I mean and post it if it perks your interest but if not, no big deal.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
It's an interesting idea, but it doesn't quite work for a few reasons. I need a way for the black-elves to be able to see Cadell, as they've been instructed to watch him for the three hours (though without going into the sunlight themselves, of course), so curtains aren't feasible. The black-elves won't petrify as long as they stay out of the sunbeam, which is why I wanted the light to be concentrated in one spot and not able to spread through the room. There has to be room for the escorts to move in and out without harm, and preferably a method of directing and/or blocking the light at times, so the petrified ones can be moved out of the way after each execution without anybody else getting hit by the light. The whole room is full of the stone black-elves, in varying stages of breaking down.
 

Trick

Auror
I don't know the tech level of these elves but might they have one-way mirrors? Also, they could have a mechanical roof that closes, blocking out the sun when necessary - this doesn't have to be electric, it could be chain and pulley and powered by donkeys or something.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
I don't know the tech level of these elves but might they have one-way mirrors? Also, they could have a mechanical roof that closes, blocking out the sun when necessary - this doesn't have to be electric, it could be chain and pulley and powered by donkeys or something.

One-way mirrors technically don't exist even in our world -- they're just normal windows, and the rooms on either side have different amounts of light in them, which affects the amount of reflection or transmission from one side to the other. It's just smoke and (pardon me) mirrors. XD

A mechanical roof is more or less what I was thinking in the first place, with the crystal dome and the movable cover. Still waffling on that one though. :)
 

Trick

Auror
From Wikipedia, "A one-way mirror... is a mirror that is partially reflective and partially transparent. When one side of the mirror is brightly lit and the other is dark, it allows viewing from the darkened side but not vice versa. "

That sounds like exactly what you need... just sayin
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
That sounds like exactly what you need... just sayin

True, but the problem is, the light would shine right through the glass at the watching black-elves and petrify them, which is counter-productive whether the person on the other side is the hero or a mook being punished. I have to think of what works for the mooks, not just what's most beneficial for the hero.
 

Trick

Auror
One-way mirrors technically don't exist even in our world -- they're just normal windows, and the rooms on either side have different amounts of light in them, which affects the amount of reflection or transmission from one side to the other. It's just smoke and (pardon me) mirrors.

I doesn't sound like you're writing in our world. Make them magical. You could call them Mook Mirrors. Sorry, not trying to be stubborn, just bored and this is interesting
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
I doesn't sound like you're writing in our world. Make them magical. You could call them Mook Mirrors. Sorry, not trying to be stubborn, just bored and this is interesting

No worries. :) You make a good point; I haven't really defined what magic the black-elves have, if any. Only their leader and her henchman have actually demonstrated magic, and that's because the leader is not only a sorceress, but also half black-elf, half light-elf; her henchman is her full-blooded light-elf half-brother, who learned a few tricks from her over the years.
 

Trick

Auror
Well, it's sounds like your options are open in the magic-field. For a writer, open options, IMHO, are both the best and worst thing that can in happen in a myriad of situations.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
Well, it's sounds like your options are open in the magic-field. For a writer, open options, IMHO, are both the best and worst thing that can in happen in a myriad of situations.

Too true. Now I just need to decide exactly how I want Cadell to escape, and maybe that will help the room layout issues resolve themselves. Or maybe the reverse would be better?
 

Trick

Auror
Well, I'd say that the way a character escapes is more important than a building layout but that may just be me.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
Well, I'd say that the way a character escapes is more important than a building layout but that may just be me.

Well, he'll be using the layout of the room to his advantage when he escapes, so I'd say it's fairly important as well. If he can, he'll try to get the mooks into the sunlight to kill them. The question is how, and that really depends on the layout.
 
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