New Year's Eve and Day[]
"Akemashiteomedetougozaimasu, minna!" (Translated: "Happy New Year, everyone!") - Bunnie Mei Rabbotou
The challenge of taking care for 365 (366 for leap years) days makes is
truly something to reflect on when the old year comes to a close.
Fontraile is no exception for marking this auspicious occasion with
celebration, lights and display. And of course a state-of-the-art
Technopolis grade New Year's Eve Shimmer Ball digitized into existence
as through matter-wave conversion and dropped at the 1-minute countdown
via electromagnetic tether and static accumulator system. Funded in part
through Queen Brooke and in part by UCIAT budget, and in part by the
Tokugawa Family, every year is a challenge to one-up the previous year's
luminous symphony of lights, LED's, holograms, lasers, strobes, and
video graphics while at the same time preventing unintentional mishaps
or
certain people from amping up the ball-drop or using unauthorized pyrotechnics
from nearby locations. This of course being facilitated with heightened
security measures, employment of Rabbot Dojo's advanced class ninjas,
and keeping Alfred Matthew Dente as far away from things as possible
just to name a few.
Handled primarily by the UCIAT technical staff, the hardware is handled
by Dr. Volt Arcade and Dr. Nikita Lynx while Princess Violet Tokugawa is
in charge of coding all the software. Drew White has been known to
handle additional (authrorized) pyrotechnics and collaborating with
Sally Acorn with any sound systems for the post-ball drop festivities.
New Year's Shimmer Balls have been known to impliment increasing numbers
of lights and display through the years, now extending into the range
of several billion, radiating megawatts of color, light, and flare in
conjunction with holographic/hololythic displays, sweeping colored laser
lights, strobes, wire-grid pattern neon tubes and other implements. The
huge power demands have necessitated improving power supplies, actually
moving the system off the Miranda Power Grid (as not to repeat two
consecutive years of miscalculated power drain) and into its own
self-contained power unit which has ranged from a cold-fusion battery
core to solar-fusion reactor to the now-standard eco-friendly electrium
arc reactor.
Due to previous unauthorized modifications and mishaps, security now
dictates that the Shimmer Ball be completed in Dr. Lynx's personal lab
and then downloaded to the drop site via tachyon-burst matter-wave
construct and reassembled via matter-wave conversion similar to the
storage system in Sally's CHRONUS watch.
Miscellaneous safety measures include providing light-sensitive races
(dark-element aligned, vampires, persons with photophobic eye
conditions, etc) with protective eyewear, specialized cloaks, and other
implements. On occasion, unexpected complications has necessitated the
engineers (Volt Arcade) at ground zero to use Hazard Barriers to protect
against said "st'nanks".
While the holiday itself takes the majority of the focus, it is viewed
as a double-special occasion as it marks the birthday of UCIAT member, Mitzi Mozzarella.
Mitzi often celebrates by wearing a formal sparkling gown and strappy
icepick sandals and sometimes with a very green, lime-flavored birthday
cake and ice cream.