Terra Nova Research Base, Antarctica.
RAIN-892: “Set of original red Fiestaware”
Published on 1985 [no further updates]
Manufactured by the Homer Laughlin China Company from 1936 to 1973, the Fiesta dinnerware, also known as “Fiestaware” is one of the staples of modern Americana culture, with bright and solid colours and a traditional Art Deco style of concentric circles. Due to the affordability of the pieces and sets, and the designs as well, it was not just one of the most recognisable brands, but also one of the most sold during its time and the years afterward.
Back in those days, the glaze used to give the pieces of the sets had a special component partially responsible for their glossy look. The compound used to create a vitreous layer had traces of uranium. So, in different degrees, all Fiestaware pieces were radioactive. Some more, some less, but almost all of them had the traces of it.
Most American houses had pieces or sets of Fiestaware lying around; much like lead-laced paint. It amazes me how many dangerous things they usually have in their homes, but I digress.
Belonging to Ève Curie after her nationalisation in 1958, this particular set of red Fiestaware is like a trifle of radiation. Though Ève is the only member of her immediate family not devoted to the study of Physics, she had direct interaction with other artefacts that caused radiation poisoning. Namely, RAIN-7229 (Marie and Pierre Curie’s shared Nobel Prize) and RAIN-1130 (Irène Joliot-Curie’s Medal of Honour).
Regarding the proprieties of this artefact, each of the pieces has the ability to absorb radiation and to disperse it at the will of the user, or the object itself. The amount of radiation varies depending on the number of pieces of the set are working together. The set is comprised of eleven pieces: four cups with their saucers, a sugar bowl, creamer, and teapot. Each of the pieces rises the cap on 100 millisieverts, and can cause from chromosomal change to death within days. This information made RAIN-892 one of the most dangerous artefacts that can be ported inside a suitcase. As such, it was put on a “Retrieval under extreme caution” watchlist on its discovery on 1962.
A few days after the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Mrs. Curie had a small state sale. Among the objects for sale, was the infamous dinnerware. A couple of teams were dispatched to deal with the nuisance and to guarantee the retrieval of the artefacts in a secure container to be sent for processing at the closest base, Lawson Creek in Roanoke River, before being sent to Terra Nova.
Luckily, this part of the mission was easily done. Two of our agents managed to make themselves look like a couple looking for thrifts and managed to acquire the set without much predicament. The pieces of the artefact were secured inside lead boxes with padded interiors, and inside a larger lead box, before being shipped to the Lawson Creek Base. This, this is the point when things went completely wrong.
As far as we could reconstruct after, since a few pieces required extra padding, the consensus was to send all in two different shipments. The first one arrived in perfect condition two days after. The second one didn’t. We are not sure if the thing was lost in the mail, was stolen, or simply collapsed into itself and into nothingness, as it had happened before. It took us a couple of weeks to figure out which of these scenarios was the appropriate one and turned up to be the first one. One of our agents had miswritten the destiny address and the large box ended up sitting in the dead letter storage for a month. In the time, increasing amounts of radiation had been leaking to the environment around it. By the time we could create a containment crew, the entire postal office had to be destroyed.
This put us in hot waters with the United States government, who had come looking for soviet nuclear weapons hidden there. It took a massive operation of modifying memories, provided by the [REDACTED], which had been founded in [REDACTED] to [REDACTED]. It is also noted of appreciation the work of [REDACTED], who, despite not working for RAIN anymore and having a primordial role in the creation of [REDACTED], guaranteed us with internal knowledge of enough of the government mechanics to deal with the issue in an efficient manner.
Ariel Bonheur, Chief Archivist.
Attached note from the Overseer’s Office.
Ariel,
This is a new part of the regulation, but all mentions of [REDACTED], [REDACTED], [REDACTED], [REDACTED], and [REDACTED], must be redacted from reports from now on. This is especially important in mentions of [REDACTED] in any report that doesn’t specifically relates to their work as an active member of this organization.
I know this is getting increasingly absurd, as more rules and notions to redact things as [REDACTED] is making the writing of reports more and more difficult. I’ve scheduled an urgent meeting with the members of the Board so they can explain themselves with this attitude, I hope you can attend.
Kind regards,
R.
PS. We missed you on the welcome breakfast for the team of the new base. Is everything okay?
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