Field Test#

Editorial Note: A- — Jeff’s clinical documentation of capsaicin exposure captures the voice perfectly. The complete absence of moral reflection while he’s literally been gassed by his own deterrent device is devastating. The technical precision makes it worse. Minor concern: might be too on-the-nose as metaphor, but the mundane detail (servo malfunction, wind shift, nozzle pressure calculations) keeps it grounded. This needs to land late in Act II — after he’s already had surveillance “wins,” when the reader can see he’s escalating but he can’t.

Journal Entry — March 3

Servo response time inadequate. Wind compensation model failed. Capsaicin reservoir pressure miscalculated by factor of 1.8. Total system failure during controlled garage test at 11:47 PM.

The mechanism itself was sound. Standard hobby servo modified to trigger valve release. Nozzle angle set at 37° downward to account for drop rate at standard hover altitude (12 feet). Capsaicin suspended in food-grade propylene glycol at 1.2% concentration — approximately half the concentration used in law enforcement fog systems, well within non-lethal parameters. Reservoir capacity 45ml. Estimated dispersal radius 8-10 feet under still conditions. Sufficient for a clear message: you are being watched, and watching has consequences.

Test protocol: garage bay door open six feet for ventilation. Drone mounted on workbench at operational height. Remote trigger test from 15 feet distance. Wind conditions assessed as negligible — evening air, no through-draft detected.

First trigger: servo responded 0.4 seconds late. Unacceptable lag for field deployment. Aborted test, adjusted PWM signal threshold, re-tested empty reservoir to confirm mechanical function. Five successful dry runs. Loaded active reservoir.

Second trigger: immediate servo response, clean valve actuation, dispersal pattern visible in shop light. Then wind shift — garage door draft I hadn’t accounted for. Dispersal cloud reversed direction. Direct facial exposure before I could exit the space.

Initial sensation: mild heat, then escalating burn across mucous membranes. Eyes first — couldn’t keep them open, tearing immediate and involuntary. Nasal passages next, throat within seconds. Coughing reflex severe enough to cause rib pain. Skin exposure secondary — face, neck, forearms where I’d rolled up sleeves. Not the sharp pain of a cut. Persistent, diffuse, maddening.

Flushed eyes at garage sink for eight minutes. Wrong choice — water spreads oil-based irritants. Should have used milk or vegetable oil first, then flushed. Basic chemistry. I knew better and still did it wrong because my eyes were swollen shut and I was trying not to vomit.

Shower at 12:15 AM, cold water, soap. Moderate relief. Recontamination from towel — capsaicin transferred from hair to face. Second shower, shampoo first this time. Slight improvement. Eyes still burning at 1:40 AM when I’m writing this. Throat raw. Skin hypersensitive — even the cotton T-shirt feels like steel wool.

The failure wasn’t the compound. Concentration was correct, dispersal mechanics sound. The failure was environmental modeling. I treated the garage as a controlled space and it wasn’t. Garage door creates low-pressure zone, pulls air in unpredictably. Ceiling fan off but HVAC return vent was active — I never checked. Plus standard evening temperature inversion — cold air sinking, warm air rising, creates turbulence at threshold.

I built for static conditions. Field deployment will have wind, thermals, rotor wash interference, obstacles. The 37° nozzle angle assumes laminar drop pattern. Actual deployment will be chaotic.

Need to redesign from scratch. Options:

1. Increase nozzle velocity to reduce drift — but higher pressure means higher recoil, affects flight stability
2. Lower deployment altitude to reduce exposure time — but reduces effective radius, defeats purpose
3. Add wind sensor and abort threshold — but adds weight, complexity, failure points
4. Dye test first with talcum powder to map actual dispersal — should have done this first

The smart move is option 4. Test dispersal pattern under varying conditions before loading active compound. Map the chaos, then design around it. Standard engineering process. Should have followed it from the start.

Eyes still burning. Going to try milk compress, then ice. Capsaicin breaks down slowly — this is going to be a 6-8 hour exposure window minimum. Danny’s here this weekend. Can’t let him see me like this.

Thought occurred while lying on the garage floor waiting for my vision to clear: poetic, isn’t it? Weapon hits its maker. I entertained that for about ten seconds. Then I remembered I don’t believe in poetry. Wind shifted. Servo lagged. That’s it.

Note: Dispose of contaminated clothing separately. Don’t mix with regular laundry. Learned that the hard way with the towel.

Note 2: Garage floor is now contaminated. Capsaicin residue in propylene glycol carrier will persist on concrete for weeks. Need to seal that area or avoid it entirely. Add that to the environmental modeling failures.

Servo lag remains the primary mechanical issue. Everything else is correctable with better environmental data. But if the trigger doesn’t fire when commanded, the whole system is useless.

Going to lie down with cold compress. Document dilution wash protocol in morning if vision improves.

System status: non-operational pending redesign.