Razon's camera

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Razon's camera
World of Origin Earth (Legion)

Razon's camera is a device which takes photographs of the past, developed by Balubal Razon in conjunction with Azari Laboratories. A second version, capable of using instant film but incapable of looking very far back in time, was re-created based on the first by Stephen Leeds.

Appearance and Function

Razon's original camera appeared to be an ordinary medium format camera.[1] Stephen's recreation was a big, old-school camera, the kind used by news photographers decades ago, so presumably similar.[2][clarification needed] It was more user-friendly than one of those, however.[3] Both versions could be attached to a tripod.[4][3]

The camera uses a special kind of flash bulb which allows it to do take images of scenes as they were in the past. This bulb burns out after a very limited number of uses.[5] The light from the flash is referred to by Arnaud as penetrating time,[2] but little else is known of how exactly it functions. It will take a picture into the past as if the camera was in the place it is in now,[6] and it will always illuminate the area with its flash, sometimes resulting in poorly composed photos.[7] It produces photos on film in medium format, which must then be developed.[4] The version that Stephen re-creates has been modified to use instant film.[2]

History

Razon came to Azari Labratories with only a picture of George Washington and a non-functional prototype camera. After eighteen months of work, funded by the lab, he had a reliably functioning prototype.[6] To prove that the camera works, Razon, potentially accompained by Azari employees,[9] took pictures of famous places and people during the past, such as Elvis[7] and the Lone Cypress.[10] These results were further validated in the lab of Azari Labratories under rigorous experimental conditions.[7] They also took photos of Sandra, hoping to use them as a bribe to enlist Stephen's help when the camera went public.[7][4] It is likely they did the same for many important people.[4] Razon wished to take photos that would help solve mysteries such as the Kennedy Assassination and the Patterson-Gimlin bigfoot video, but Azari declined.[4] Razon then stole the camera and took it to Jerusalem to take a picture of Jesus.[6][4] Shortly afterwards, the Abu Sayyaf captured the camera, along with Razon himself.[1] Stephen and Monica went to search for the camera,[6] eventually falling into the hands of the Abu Sayyaf as well. Razon refused to repair the camera and was subsequently killed by the Abu Sayyaf. The escape of Monica provoked a shooting match during which all of the terrorists are shot. One didn't die, however, and pulled the pin on a grenade, thus destroying the camera.[1] However, Stephen was able to save the flash bulb.[5]

In order to re-create the camera, Stephen worked with a new aspect he manifested just for this purpose, Arnaud.[5] Stephen spent many nights working on it, with Arnaud guiding his hands. By the time he went chasing after Sandra, Stephen had a working model, although it can't go back very far before the photos begin to deteriorate in quality. Arnaud was unsure how Razon got around this limitation.[2] Later that day, Stephen gave it to Barb to take photos of the fairgrounds going back half-hours earlier that day, revealing the presence of Kyle and Sandra.[3] The camera was left in Stephen's limo while Stephen infiltrated Walters and Ostman Detention Enterprises, and afterwards, Stephen used it to take a picture in which he (but nobody else) can see his aspects.[11]

Notes

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