Clockwork

[erinflight]

It doesn't arrive in the basement. Instead the basement becomes it.
One minute, there is only dark spaces, old boxes, cobwebs.
The next there is the machine.

The human eye, the human brain could describe it, but it could never contain it.

There are gears, thousands, millions? of them. There wires shaped from copper, tin, gold, and other metals which can not so easily be named. Each component, individually, can be understood. But together? No.

At the front of the machine are two booths, input and output.
There is a copper panel, a knob, a key. Written around the knob are the words Rough, Coarse, 1:1, Fine, and Very Fine.

From the knob hangs a sign. It is hand written, the words are barely legible. It reads:
SCP-914. Disappearing, going. Where? Don't know!
Careful, careful, irreversible. Safe? No!
Euclid? Possibly. Keter?
IRREVERSIBLE

Comments

[there_is_no_such_thing_as]

Henry stares at the result... at least it should mean the same output will change objects in the same way.

One origami rose is input at Fine.

[erinflight]

The machine returns an intricate origami forest.
The trees are folded from hundreds of colors of tissue paper.
Each tree is perfectly formed, down to each individual twig and leaf.
The leaves rustle in a nonexistent wind.

[there_is_no_such_thing_as]

Henry and Gabe stare at it in wonder. The Origami Forest is carefully placed on a table so it isn't damaged.

Noticing a pattern, Henry draws a stick-figure in a sheet of paper and inputs it at Fine.

[erinflight]

The machine returns an extremely detailed pencil sketch of Henry.

[there_is_no_such_thing_as]

Henry smiles at the sketch.

[unadalturedstrength]

"Aha! You like this thing! This means is my turn!"

Under Henry's protestations Gabe inputs a paper plane at Very Fine.