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Description
Laughing Lifting Gas
Serial Number: 00012

Internment Information: “Artifact” was collected in 1938 from the primary source with crude gas containment devices and a vacuum pump. According to records, our London branch found a man in 1938 who claimed that he produced the artifact every time he laughed 'whenever his birthday fell on a Friday.' TDB kept tabs on this individual (one [redacted]) for the rest of his life, and his claim seemed to be borne out by observation. He never caused problems for TDB and did not make his condition widely known to the public. He sadly passed away in 1956.

Since its internment, it has been transferred to more and more modern and updated containing vessels. Unlike many other artifacts, this one does not 'replenish' itself automatically and some does leak out over time. We have produced enough of this artifact to fill four (4) Class K Gas cylinders (each containing 244 cubic feet of gas at STP) and placed them at separate facilities to ensure that a catastrophic failure of one vessel would not cause us to loose our entire supply.

Containment Protocols: Moderate to high. Though the artifact has no discernible effects other than its primary documented use, the possibility exists for the catastrophic failure of a vessel to infect dozens of people, leading to unrestrained vertical ascent. This danger is mitigated somewhat by the fact that the subsequent decent (if it happens) is usually slow enough that serious injury doesn't occur.

Description: The artifact is a colorless and odorless gas that our best equipment still can't manage to identify properly. Modern equipment and spectrographic data still insist that this gas is mostly comprised of 'garden variety' carbon dioxide. Staff psychics report that the gas is 'psychicly active' and that it is similar to other 'normal' items that have been imbued with psychic power, though the artifact does not correspond to any other known psychicly empowered object.

Effect: When a person inhales the gas in sufficient quantities (research is ongoing as to the exact threshold) and then the person laughs, ('a good strong laugh,' it seems giggling and chortling will not do) then the gas takes effect. Upon successfully 'activating' the gas, two things happen within the recipient. (see note 1) Firstly, they become positively buoyant in air, though with little upward thrust (only about five to ten newtons, despite whatever clothes the subject is wearing at the time). Secondly, the gas they exhale is transformed into more of the artifact. Thus it is possible to generate more of the gas by having an individual produce it. If let 'leak out' into the atmosphere, psychics report that the gas looses its psychic charge after about ten minutes. If captured and contained, the gas seems to retain its charge indefinitely.

As one might expect, a single recipient of this artifact can eventually infect others that are in the same room if they laugh and are not wearing a gas mask or breathing apparatus. The artifact can be captured by attaching a vacuum pump and a mask to an infected person while they are under the effects, though this process does not seem to alter their buoyancy.

Having a person stop laughing for a sufficient amount of time (around ten minutes) will see them slowly returned to the ground safely. This process can be expedited to near-instantaneousness if sadness is induced in the subject (though the rate of decent is still slow enough to generally prevent injury). Once returned to the ground at full weight, the subject has generally freed themselves of all effects of the gas and can start laughing again with no danger of 'taking off,' unless they inhale another dose.

Inflation has not been discovered as a side effect of this artifact. The helium amplifier has no known effects on this artifact, implying that it is not a helium-related effect.

Note 001: A third effect has been noted in certain individuals. Some individuals, while under the effects of this artifact, develop a slight psychic aptitude. This aptitude is very limited, and only persists as long as the individual is under the effects. While under the effects, some test subjects have demonstrated the extraordinary ability to 'hang' their personal affects (hats, jackets, etc.) 'on thin air.' This, as far as we can tell, psychically charges an object with a field similar to the artifact, allowing them to defy gravity so long as their owner defies gravity. It seems this ability only extends to objects that weigh as much as a few kilograms. Larger objects (like tables) apparently are not subject to such effects.

Description
Laughing Lifting Gas
Serial Number: 00012

Internment Information: “Artifact” was collected in 1938 from the primary source with crude gas containment devices and a vacuum pump. According to records, our London branch found a man in 1938 who claimed that he produced the artifact every time he laughed 'whenever his birthday fell on a Friday.' TDB kept tabs on this individual (one [redacted]) for the rest of his life, and his claim seemed to be borne out by observation. He never caused problems for TDB and did not make his condition widely known to the public. He sadly passed away in 1956.

Since its internment, it has been transferred to more and more modern and updated containing vessels. Unlike many other artifacts, this one does not 'replenish' itself automatically and some does leak out over time. We have produced enough of this artifact to fill four (4) Class K Gas cylinders (each containing 244 cubic feet of gas at STP) and placed them at separate facilities to ensure that a catastrophic failure of one vessel would not cause us to loose our entire supply.

Containment Protocols: Moderate to high. Though the artifact has no discernible effects other than its primary documented use, the possibility exists for the catastrophic failure of a vessel to infect dozens of people, leading to unrestrained vertical ascent. This danger is mitigated somewhat by the fact that the subsequent decent (if it happens) is usually slow enough that serious injury doesn't occur.

Description: The artifact is a colorless and odorless gas that our best equipment still can't manage to identify properly. Modern equipment and spectrographic data still insist that this gas is mostly comprised of 'garden variety' carbon dioxide. Staff psychics report that the gas is 'psychicly active' and that it is similar to other 'normal' items that have been imbued with psychic power, though the artifact does not correspond to any other known psychicly empowered object.

Effect: When a person inhales the gas in sufficient quantities (research is ongoing as to the exact threshold) and then the person laughs, ('a good strong laugh,' it seems giggling and chortling will not do) then the gas takes effect. Upon successfully 'activating' the gas, two things happen within the recipient. (see note 1) Firstly, they become positively buoyant in air, though with little upward thrust (only about five to ten newtons, despite whatever clothes the subject is wearing at the time). Secondly, the gas they exhale is transformed into more of the artifact. Thus it is possible to generate more of the gas by having an individual produce it. If let 'leak out' into the atmosphere, psychics report that the gas looses its psychic charge after about ten minutes. If captured and contained, the gas seems to retain its charge indefinitely.

As one might expect, a single recipient of this artifact can eventually infect others that are in the same room if they laugh and are not wearing a gas mask or breathing apparatus. The artifact can be captured by attaching a vacuum pump and a mask to an infected person while they are under the effects, though this process does not seem to alter their buoyancy.

Having a person stop laughing for a sufficient amount of time (around ten minutes) will see them slowly returned to the ground safely. This process can be expedited to near-instantaneousness if sadness is induced in the subject (though the rate of decent is still slow enough to generally prevent injury). Once returned to the ground at full weight, the subject has generally freed themselves of all effects of the gas and can start laughing again with no danger of 'taking off,' unless they inhale another dose.

Inflation has not been discovered as a side effect of this artifact. The helium amplifier has no known effects on this artifact, implying that it is not a helium-related effect.

Note 001: A third effect has been noted in certain individuals. Some individuals, while under the effects of this artifact, develop a slight psychic aptitude. This aptitude is very limited, and only persists as long as the individual is under the effects. While under the effects, some test subjects have demonstrated the extraordinary ability to 'hang' their personal affects (hats, jackets, etc.) 'on thin air.' This, as far as we can tell, psychically charges an object with a field similar to the artifact, allowing them to defy gravity so long as their owner defies gravity. It seems this ability only extends to objects that weigh as much as a few kilograms. Larger objects (like tables) apparently are not subject to such effects.