Esteemed colleague Anso.

It is by the grace of God that your missive reaches me, for the riotous ire of the fickle citizens of my fair city is in full force as I write these words.

The plans which you have sent me are of cunning design, and I must confess that I have not the skill nor the strength to carry them out. But you have struck fire in the heart of a feeble old man. My own time on this earth grows long, and soon I will know the eternal secret; the only thing left of me on this plane will be my thoughts and writings.

The device you have designed does appeal to my vanity, but along with my own thoughts I wish to preserve the teachings of those of genius that I have by chance surrounded myself with here in the golden city.

In future correspondence I will tell you of a student of mine who has traveled to the far lands of the Persian Empire, and brought back with him an ancient scroll describing a source of great energy. I believe such a thing may be of use to you in your devices.

Maestro Ficino