Tetrachloroethylene

Tetrachloroethylene (Teodora Renata Eccleston) is the last one of the Chloroethenes House and she owns a dry cleaning business and works for both humans and Chemicals. She is mostly known as Perchloroethylene and it is very rare to see someone call her Tetrachloroethylene. As of 2024, she is 185 years old, but she lies about being older to seem more professional. Her friends and customers call her Perc for short because Perchloroethylene is too long to say. The famous Organochlorides Vinyl Chloride and Trichloroethylene are her siblings. Her father is living in India and it has been a long time since she saw him. She witnessed her Chlorocarbon friends being forced to "retire" by humans, Tetrachloroethylene thinks she would be next and this upsets her.

History

Tetrachloroethylene was created in 1839 in France. Her early life is unknown, but it is thought that she spent her early life with Carbon Tetrachloride who introduced her to dry-cleaning later in the 20th century (around the 1930s). Tetrachloroethylene had a career in veterinary medicine that started in 1925, right after C. Tetrachloride. Tetrachloroethylene loved dry-cleaning. She allowed Trichloroethylene, who started dry-cleaning a decade before her, to work with her. Trichloroethylene saw Perchloroethylene as a rival and considered herself superior to Perchloroethylene. After Trichloroethylene lost her job in dry-cleaning, Tetrachloroethylene became more dominant in the area. There had been many other Chemicals that tried to overthrow her from dry-cleaning. Some Hydrocarbons, Trichlorotrifluoroethane and Propyl Bromide I attempted to replace Perchloroethylene, but none of them was as successful as she was. Three of her dry-cleaning industry opponents (C. Tetrachloride, Trichlorotrifluoroethane and Trichloroethane I) were executed for their crimes against the ozone layer.

“	Don't call me "Perchloroethylene" outside of dry-cleaning. I am "Tetrachloroethylene" or "Ethylene Tetrachloride" here in the clinics.	”
	— Tetrachloroethylene, 1950

Some Chemicals have speculated that Perchloroethylene was trying to replace, or even "be" C. Tetrachloride, as early as the 1860s when Perchloroethylene was calling herself "Protochloride of Carbon" which was the first name of C. Tetrachloride.

Personality

Perc is a very sweet and tolerant person. Tetrachloroethylene is never seen getting angry at anything or anybody. She has a human-like personality and acts as if she has empathy. She likes talking with other Chemicals and her human customers. Tetrachloroethylene welcomes her customers with a smile. She let humans get close to her and let them touch her hair or even hug her which is not allowed usually. Despite being happy most of the time, she always looks very exhausted. Tetrachloroethylene is very obedient and accepts all customers, rarely asking questions about garments and stains. She is liked by most if not all, customers. Some people do not like her dominating the dry-cleaning industry and claim that her work is hazardous. Perc fears that humans will force her out of this industry.

She tells everyone that she is English and over 200 years old. However, humans believed her little lie. In reality, Perchloroethylene is French and 184 years old. In contrast, C. Tetrachloride pretends to be 184 years old and fakes being French. Tetrachloroethylene is very fluent in French, Italian and German.

Appearance

Tetrachloroethylene has dark blue hair, pale light skin and dark red coloured eyes that are typical of Chlorocarbons. Her hair is curled at the ends. Perc has soft makeup to make her face look more "alive and human". She is often seen either wearing her Chemical uniform or a dress resembling the human fashions of the mid-20th century. Her uniform consists of a long dark blue coat with short sleeves, a light blue cotton shirt with long sleeves, black cotton trousers and black leather boots. Her name tag reads "Tetrachloroethylene".

She is very slim and therefore looks tall. Despite that, she weighs about 100 kilograms because of her body's density.

Just like most of the Chemicals, Tetrachloroethylene doesn't breathe except for speaking and does not blink much. Sometimes her customers notice and point it out. Her smell and voice are strangely different from other Chlorinated Solvents; Tetrachloroethylene has a sharp smell and unusually high voice for a Chlorocarbon.

Tetrachloroethylene is not allowed to leave the shop after several incidents of running away (often together with TCE).

Gallery

Tetrachloroethylene sitting on a drum of an obvious chemical, smiling
The previous one but in colour
Perchloroethylene for paperdoll
2024
Tetrachloroethylene (centre) with Trichloroethylene (left) and C. Tetrachloride (right), Germany, 1925
Young Tetrachloroethylene, unknown time^[1]
Tetrachloroethylene in 1925^[1]