Aswaiteri

An Aswaiteri (Caseic pronunciation: [(ʔ)ə.swœyˈtɛ.ɹi]) is a Caseic precision timepiece, first invented by Ase Aswaite around 450 TT. It was a key element of Caseic industrialisation in the 400s and 300s TT.

Description

An Aswaiteri consists of a series of pendulums, each connected to a corresponding counting mechanism. Typically, the counting mechanisms are connected to a set of bells which indicate when the counter has reached a certain value. Most commonly, an Aswaiteri has three bells of different sizes: its biggest bell (Caseic: Ase ujai) is set to ring once per day; its middle bell (Caseic: Ase tofre) is set to ring forty times per day; its smallest bell (Caseic: Ase jumi) is set to ring thrice per middle bell ring.

Invention

The Aswaiteri was invented by and named after Ase Aswaite, whose name literally means "pendulum bell", around 450 TT. Aswaite then presented the invention to a factory owner in Bariyesa, who found it so useful that she requested that more of them be manufactured. The use of the Aswaiteri then spread throughout the Cajia Kingdom. Factories in the Chacya Kingdom initially publicly opposed the invention while trying to invent an alternative in private. Similarly, various industrial organisations in the Nacha Republic described the invention as "inherently of Ajia" and feared that it would lead to the mechanisation of humanity. Over time, the public opposition diminished as the benefits of industrial efficiency outweighed the perceived detriments.

Role in Caseic Industrialisation

The invention of the Aswaiteri proved to be useful for measuring the productivity of manufacturing workers, as their shifts could be counted by the number of bell-rings for which they were present. This measurement was also useful for the Caseic economy, as contracts could specify an exchange involving a number of bell-rings of work, rather than being forced to wait until the completion of a task before an exchange could take place. As such, more exchanges happened more often.

The increased precision of time measurement, and resulting increase in the velocity of commodities, improved the efficiency of manufacturing, leading to an increase in supply and hence effecting an increase in the average standard of living. This lead to more free time to invent, resulting in a feedback loop of innovation and invention that further increased the efficiency of Caseic manufacturing through the 400s and 300s TT.

Further Developments

Around the 400s and 350s TT, various inventors enlarged the Aswaiteri so that it could be placed in the centre of a town and hence synchronise with every local Aswaiteri therein.

On 30-12 39 PC, every Aswaiteri stayed in place and stopped ringing because time had stopped.