A slice of IC life

Man one year ago nearly

2011-01-31T23:36:00.004Z

So another year passes with not a single thing restored....again. Yeesha was right "Find a way, make a home". I will have to interpet that as, make new ages ourselves. If we can get into the nexus machine that isn't going to happen. yeah I know some have written new linking books but not for the masses but for their own purposes. Yes they share them with select groups and individuals outside the cavern. But what about the rest of us.

I have scraped all my experiements and stopped linking to other worlds for the time being. I just wasn't finding anything of value that I could plunder and it was costing a small fortune. What with supplies, tools and equipment. Hope things change soon. I have a morgage to pay for. :D

Embrace

2010-07-17T21:04:00.007+01:00

What happens to the newcomers to the cavern, are they welcomed, embraced with D’ni fascination or are they ignored. I have heard it is the later which upset me as I was embraced, encouraged and was accepted. What has gone wrong?

I linked into the city the other day and on the way back from the Library I meet a new explorer. I made a point of stopping to chat. Found out his name was Glehn and that his first time in the cavern was two weeks ago. I welcomed him and offered help. The chat wasn’t that long as he was in the middle of helping to calibrate the Great Zero. I thought “how hard was that”. I then meandered my way deeper into the city and shouted Shorah to a congregation of fellow explorers. I was just ignored. They probably thought “loud mouth Kiwi”. Not one person even took the small time to say hello back. No this can’t be, we can’t have surface life and manners being DRAGGED down there.

I blame the DRC, no more classrooms full of people listening to the ResEng of the day. No more patrolling the city looking for trouble makers. Mind you one cry of a Bahro and the DRC would scatter. There seems to be no proper welcoming committee to embrace the newcomers. No Bahro Glyphs tours (no these don’t contribute to the problems in the cavern I just miss them). Haven’t seen a Cavern Crier yet. In fact I don’t think I have seen an official green shirted Greeter either. Yes there are the Guild recruiting and profile raising events and numerous other types of events happening. It is the grass roots of the community making it presence known and felt in the Cavern that made the difference last time. They proved it can be done. Remember “behaviour breeds behaviour”.

What we need is more exploring together, more fund raising events...arr I mean group activities and a bit more give than take. To be honest I wish I had the answers. Maybe the Guild of Peasants can help.

For now I think my time would be best spent exploring these new ages that keep popping up, some old ages and some newly written. See if there is anything of value that can be plun....I mean used for good.

It would seem that humans are destined to write some worthy ages. Give it some time I think we will see some D’ni quality ages appear. Let’s hope we don’t make the same mistakes as the D’ni did. ~~Short on copper? Write a special mining age that is copper rich~~. Strike that last comment.

Impressed

2010-07-16T23:15:00.012+01:00

...by the folks at the Guild of Messengers. Impressed with what has been done to the website, in getting the word out about our services. They have used the modern forms of internet communication, ie: Facebook and Twitter to raise the Guilds profile and to better serve the cavern community. There is a rumour floating about that a new publication maybe in the Guild’s future, distant future. This time though I won’t be doing much, apart from distributing. If they want me as Graphics/Photography helper then cool. If they don’t I would be happy with that also. I think it needs more artistic people than I to make a good e-zine. After my time with the TCT doing the Archiver, helping Blutec with the Guild paper and then doing most of it myself, after Blu left, has given me an insight. Like I have said before, “Jack of all trades and master of none”.We need masters now.

I still won’t commit to doing anymore than I have stated I would do. Don’t want to let anyone down. But, yeah there is always a but, I am surprised to see so few newcomers. Some old members haven’t returned, some that did contribute in helping the community which is a shame. They all had value in their own way that I cannot deny or begrudge.

I may sound like I am contradicting myself with only doing a small part but that is what it’s all about. More people doing small things, then we don’t get burnt out. Plus it helps with commitment. Heavy burdens drive people away. Lighten that load and things get more enjoyable and therefore tend to last longer.

I wish other people can see the benefit of helping the Guild of Messengers. What satisfaction one can get in helping others; trust me it is a great feeling even though you don’t get much thanks for it. There are a few that show their appreciation and that goes a long way. The more news about events

and ideas, fan fiction, news on fan ages, proper interviews of the community members etc, the more people will be interested in what the cavern has to offer.

Also I like to think I made a difference. Collating a list of forums from all over the world to bring them news and publications like the guild paper, the TCT Podcasts, and general news about the cavern hopefully helped to give them a feeling of belonging to this vast community we truly have. As in “I see you”. I think that is another worthwhile practice to restart. I will see to that next week.

Nothing Happened

2010-07-16T15:24:00.008+01:00

At a loose end on Saturday 10^th of July I popped into Ae’Gura, around 11 am KI time to see nothing happening. Among the 40 odd explorers waiting for nothing to happen was OHB (Orange Haired Boy). Ten minutes into all the nothingness OHB’s arch enemy, named OHB's Arch-Nemesis, popped in to the city and proceeded to taunt OHB. This taunting was followed by the Arch Nemesis’s walking and talking robot bomb called BOMB, catchy name, appearing.

Of course OHB was alarmed at this revelation and suggested to his Arch Nemesis that the two of them should talk in private. Arch Nemesis suggested his own Relto for the conversation. This gave Arch Nemesis the opportunity to relieve OHB of his Relto book and cage him. Fortunately OHB still had his KI. One thing could save OHB, the community working together to deactivate the BOMB.

But OHB Arch-Nemesis overlooked one important thing; the cage was too close to the BOMB’s design plans. OHB could, at a stretch, reach these designs giving valuable information regarding the deactivation code. Code being the operative word. With OHB still pocessing his KI he was able to contact an Explorer in the city with the information, a code that needed to be unlocked.

In the meantime Explorers we busily testing the BOMB. Getting to close to the bomb made it reset the countdown which when you think about it, is perfect as it would never go off. Being somewhat sadistic some wanted to see what would happen if the BOMB was left to its own devices and therefore reach “0”. I was ready to link out if that happened.

The amusing part of all this was what the BOMB said. If we touched the BOMB it would say, in a voice that resembles John Cleese the famous Monty Python star, “I don't like being touched, thank you. It bothers me” and “EXCUSE ME! Saying "please DON'T touch me" does NOT mean "GO ON! Do it AGAIN!" followed by “It's hard to know how I could be more CLEAR about this! You are invading my personal space, and I would like you to stop it!” and would then proceed to restart the countdown.

BOMB also became all self conscious with us talking and starring at it. “Please do not speak to me while I'm counting. I am just a simple counting and exploding device, and am not equipped for philosophical discourse. Don't talk to me...don't...don't talk to...I'm...I'm just doing a tricky bit! Eight hundred and one. Eight hundred. Six hundred and...eh, I mean seven...seven hundred...seven hundred and...DAMN. DAMN DAMN DAMN!!! This is very unfair of you know you! A bomb needs to be in an appropriate frame of mind for blowing up! Calm, focused, and purposeful. Again it would reset the countdown.

It wasn’t long before tension rose in the City and some Explorers couldn’t take the stress and started to take it out on each other. Soon after a consensus was formed, nearly all the Explorers worked together in deactivating the said BOMB. I was hoping that the Bahro would help out by spiriting the BOMB away, linking it to a deserted age to happily blow itself up but alas that never happened. After about six long hours some clever clog figured out the code and finally averted disaster by deactivating Mr. BOMB.

I must admit I was very happy doing nothing for six hours. That was the best nothing I have seen in years.

You can get a full transcript of the event over at the Guild website plus some folks caught the action on camera:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJPx217gCl8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D14I_ZaOYMQ

Once Called, forever smitten

2010-07-09T17:41:00.001+01:00

Well I didn’t think I would ever get out of that hole called depression. I can now see the light, the lake light revealing the cavern that is D’ni. Never thought I would get back there, never thought I would still be welcomed back at the Guild. I have offered to do some minor things. Not sure I could handle much more at present.

It does amaze me though with all the tales of compassion and understanding, well the lack off I should say, down there and among the ole ages of D’ni that some don’t change their attitudes. Instead some find it better or easier not to change, easier not to understand why something is done. In spite of this I am still drawn, to add my bit to the restoration.

Not the restoration to the cavern but to the D’ni art of age writing. That is where the future lies. As I have said before, need to fund my trips off-world somehow. :D

Bahro alert!

2010-02-25T17:42:00.005Z

So by the 25^th of February the Bahro had made their presence known again. Yep got to get my hard hat on just in case.

For all you new explorers if you see a Bahro with a big patch of skin missing it is probably too late, no point in running.

I feel like a Yo-yo

2010-02-25T00:24:00.001Z

Thank goodness I don’t look like one.

Something happened today that has depressed me to the point of no return. Return to doing anything to help the community. Well not entirely true in the sense I may help in other ways, I just haven’t decided yet. At least there is symmetry. It was the explorers that breathed life back into me, not the cavern, D’ni or Yeesha but the people. They opened my eyes to the possibilities within me for which I will be forever grateful for. But some of that community have now pushed me further away.

As long I as I can remember I have helped others not for money or a pat on the back but because it is the right thing to do. Also I get great satisfaction from helping others more than helping myself. But when the intent is pure and clear, to get is thrown back at you twisted and distorted I had to ask is it all worth it. The answer I came up with is NO.

Here we go again!

2010-02-19T23:24:00.002Z

Well I just couldn’t stay away but this time will be different. Gone are the days of doing so much I get stressed out. I have resumed a small part of my duties over at the Guild. I will keep it at the level it is. There are some very capable people over there trying to make a good go of it. I will try to support them as much as I can but they will have to organise themselves without me. I have faith that they can pull it off. I am not that much use to them apart from staying in the background and out of their way.

I think it is about time though that we got an office down there. So many new explorers coming in everyday but this time from all over the world. The word has certainly got out. But I fear without an organised support network these welcome new explorers might return to the surface taking their money with them. Not everything is about money I grant you but keeping this amazing underground city preserved needs money and manpower.

But what of the threat of the Bahro, is that still there, do these new comers know that danger could be around every corner or above. Might be wise to wear the DRC provide hard hats. Make the Bahro think twice...maybe. And what of Yeesha is she still lurking, watching and waiting. Old Atrus must be by now that infirmed by old age or even deceased. I wish she would pop in and give us an update on him. I often think of how kept going all those years and what of Marrim.

Oh well we may never know. But I do hope we find out....before I die....which is some way off....I hope.

Oh it's Open

2010-02-09T21:09:00.013Z

Ok not quite yet! Nothing changes, one minute it is open then it's not. I thought I would have been more excited. Time to try something new. I am pretty sure my days at the Guild are over. I just have no passion for it anymore.

If there was more dedicated people around I might feel different but the plain fact is there just isn't. Yeah I know I am disabled which allows me more time to focus on projects. But many hands make light work. One person does one job properly and so on, and you have enough, then things will work a lot better and smoother. Some say "oh but it is only a cave" yes it is but you are dealing with people's time and dedication. Isn't that something to consider when stepping to do something and not doing it. I see people commenting on how it should be done but do nothing themselves.

If the cavern is to survive and this time it must or it will close forever people, need to start to or at least learn how to "work" together and to leave the ego in a little box in the corner.

I think I will carry on and see if I can get some cool technologies out of this. Bound to be some new ages found so I can plunder...Oh I mean legally obtain new gadgets and gizmos. Pocket size is good but backpack size is ok.

That's it for Uru for a while.

2009-11-15T17:35:00.003Z

With no access to a publicly open cavern for some time to come I am leaving the paper behind and moving on to develop my artistic side. Join me as I venture into the world of 3D renders and Digital art at my new blog.

Easier to learn with Digital?

2009-08-08T15:04:00.001+01:00

Some of you already know of my artistic stagnation for which changed when I found Uru. I have now had a close encounter of the Digital SLR kind.

I remember the day well at the tender age of 11 being told, by the art teacher to forget art and go and do whatever I wanted for the duration of the art lesson. Added to the problem of low self esteem, I believed him. But I have always being drawn to photography, why I have no idea. Whilst living in New Zealand I never had a descent SLR camera. When I came back to the UK I finally got a Pentax SLR. The camera came without any information on how to operate it and this was before the days of the prolific internet. I tried for years to educate myself but this was made harder by having to use film; costly process for trial and error learning. The thieves that ended up with this camera would have turned a nice profit with all the wildlife photography equipment they nabbed. Shame I was in a block of flats/apartments and neglected the contents insurance. That cut my photography learning short and learned a valuable lesson of insurance.

Fifteen years later: I found the cavern and bought a small pocket camera which served me well. Recently I brought a Canon EOS 350 D DSLR. Yes it was cheap because, well let’s face it 8 million pixels is so last year. Ok maybe a few more years older than that. Anyway it is brand spanking new one complete with case, battery charger and one EFS lens. One problem, the salesman (if you can call him that) forgot to mention the omission of a Compact Flash card, missed out on an extra sale there. The reason is that one has a choice of cards to use, type 1 or 2. Mind you it was somewhat cheaper going through E-bay for that where I got a 4 MB Extreme 3 Sandisk card. Later I will get a 16 MB one for when I go on holiday. It been a nearly three weeks since I got the card and it has been raining all the time. This gave me the chance to sit down a read the booklet from cover to cover. In a way that booklet has educated me more about Aperture and Shutter Speed settings, among others, than anything I have read previous. I did manage to play a bit the other day. Man I need glasses as I set the camera on landscape for a close up of a dragonfly. I love the auto focus part of the camera, came in handy for that dragonfly. Not needed so much for photographing flowers though. I got a shock to see what size pictures the camera can take. 3456 X 2304 and at 72 DPI that’s about 121 X 80 CM big. That is a big picture!

A few days ago a good friend of mine suggested I use the Flickr site that I set up for the BBC SpringWatch programme. Good Idea I thought so I have started with the first three pictures from the new camera and a few details along with it, yes even the mistakes. My hope is to share what I learn and therefore see the progress in quality (I hope) as I grow.

It's been Ages.......again

2009-07-21T19:02:00.005+01:00

Well I finally did it. I am a messenger in name only oh and in paper only. Yep I have stepped back from Guild duties to concentrate on the newspaper and age writing or searching for more D’ni books. The DRC can’t have them all! It was a hard decision to step back. In fact I am still not sure if it was the right move. Have to risk sometimes!

Now that I have some time on my hands I went back to Fens to clear away the final remnants of my work there. Now I know I am not the most observant of folks but I am sure that linking book wasn’t there before. Oh Toroolbah is looking nice.

Also while I was in Fens I noticed that the low rumble that came from the other side had been replaced by a more high pitched call. I wonder if it is the same creature, finally gone through puberty. Well not everything has to sound deeper, does it? It will be sad to end my time at Fens. Have to pop back for all time sake in the future. Time to move on!

Bimevi has a strangely familiar looking rotating statue in the age now. Got to find out how it floats like that. Some sort of anti gravity device may be. Could be worth a patent or two but first I need to figure out how it works.

Also on my list of visits made recently was Tochoortahv, one of the Third Path’s ages. Glad I wasn’t there when that lunatic set fire to everything. Whoever it was is a skilled stone mason, nice clean lettering. “Outsiders will not learn the Art”. Yeah try stopping us. Then the next time I linked in I find it renamed Cass with the fire damage cleaned, wall hangings and an opening which leads nowhere, yet.

When it comes to age writing I am well not hesitant just cautious. I will be taking this slowly. Also I would love to uncover more about the D’ni. Not the leaders but ordinary D’ni folk. This means money and resources that I don’t have...yet. To go to parts that the DRC stopped us from going. There must be more books which survived the fall, uncontaminated, letters and all sorts of written documents down there.

Where shall I go next?

Got it!

2009-07-05T23:38:00.003+01:00

YES. Finally, as a reporter this is great, as a person with feelings this hell but news is news.
This is what I do; this is why I became a messenger. (But not now)

Extra Extra

2009-07-05T00:15:00.000+01:00

Just when I thought things were getting too quiet, something happens. I will have to don my reporters cap on and get moving on this. All I will say is that someone is not happy with us humans writing linking books.

Right anyone seen my pencil sharpener?

Patience!

2009-06-24T21:02:00.004+01:00

Patience is a virtue. Whoever wrote that never had to wait and wait I would suspect. Patience is ok when you know or even have a chance of something at the end. Say like trout fishing in a lake full of live food. Dryfly just won’t cut it but you try anyway as there is the possibility of a catch.
Ok I can still get to Relto and all the ages that I have already been to but to be alone forever. No, I would pack it all in first, burn my Relto book and be done with it. Yeah right!
But the longer things drag on the worse it is going to get. Apathy for the restoration is rife. Mind you I would imagine the restoration of D’ni is well good and buried. I hope I am wrong. I truly believe there are plenty more like minded people out there that have no idea D’ni exists. Ok I don’t want to see graffiti anywhere but it needs more publicity. We need to force some change. Force who though, who is stopping the instancing really? - The Bahro, Yeesha or the DRC with some technology found on some far off land and if so for what purpose? It is all a mystery. We need a change in the status quo. No not five band members.
Breathe....Szark......breathe...........

Back to reality for a moment: Trying to figure out how to write a descriptive linking book is proving to be a great challenge. Not for the faint hearted. I see it as a lucky dip. You make sure you don’t have any contradictions and obviously stable but at the end of the day where you link to is totally arbitrary. Also what you write is not always what you see. I will definitely have to dust off that maintainer’s suit I obtained sometime back, can’t be too careful.

Another month another paper! It is getting harder and harder to find news. Yes I see a lot of ages being written but until they are finished, so we can have a gander, we can’t review much. Mind you we haven’t reviewed any ages at all. We were hoping that the GoMa would make their findings public and give us their reviews. It would have also been great to get an explorer’s point-of-view when they finally get the linking book. It would have to be an honest review and not a pat on the head for the writer though.

Not much news coming from the DRC either in fact they have been more quiet than normal, if that is possible. Only joking guys.

Apart from the paper and news feed my guild work is nonexistent. Actually I don’t think anyone is doing any guild work at all when I come to think about it. Mind you I suppose there is not much to do.

In the mean time I have some experiments to finish up in Fens and some more domestic duties to take care off. Now where did I put that hydraulic excavator?

Course adjustment 10 degrees right.

2009-06-10T22:48:00.008+01:00

Wow! Is it been that long? Home life has kept me busy. Spring is always a busy time in the garden. Maintaining a house, need I say more?

Life is heading in another direction, no longer interested in Guild affairs, just in the news-flow and newspaper, has released some self imposed stress. I have now started the long process of deciphering and learning the ancient D’ni art of writing descriptive linking books. I have been drawn into the possibilities, well in the fact that they are endless. I am not that that good with languages, ok absolutely terrible but concepts and logic is another matter. So maybe I have a chance in writing a stable link to a stable age. This is where I feel patience will pay off. Gehn shows how it shouldn’t be done. So I must approach this with caution, learn as much as I can to start off with. Once I feel I have enough information I will start writing my first descriptive linking book. I see this is going to be the biggest challenge to date, soil composition, air quality, dynamic forces and so on to learn about. At least I have a rudimentary understanding on how our planet works. Which I suppose is a good place to start; I wouldn’t want to have a non-breathable atmosphere. But I will be relying on my guild siblings, yes the Guild of Writers over the coming months, years. Recently I meet a writer that just lives a few hours from me. I won’t mention his name as I may have to kidnap him to relieve him of his valuable knowledge. He is safe for a couple of weeks as he has just left the country, but “he’ll be back”. Mawhahahahaha

...........only joking Bob.

I feel my spirits lifting as I encroach into this new tangent of D’ni history, maybe I find something interesting or maybe something interesting finds me. I feel life may never be the same, on the side of good that is. Always looking forward and never behind but always remembering what has come to pass, lest we forget the mistakes of the past.

What’s my Motivation?

2009-04-14T00:07:00.005+01:00

It has been a year since we saw each other in the cavern and I find myself with more motivation than I thought I would have. This came apparent when we recently had some assembly problems with the guild paper and I had to take the bull by the horns. Spending four eighteen hour days to learn a new program Scribus, to assemble a newspaper, was well worth it. First time for everything! I must give credit to Scribus and their Wiki for they made it an easy learning curve. Why, because it is a team effort and I just couldn’t let all their hard work go to waste. I also thought about all those community members that either like or rely on the paper. After all this is why we do it.

I had to think about this when I started to get involved with the guild. I had to ask myself “who am I doing all this hard work for”? Was I doing it for the right reasons? And what are those reasons? Not easy questions to answer at first. I suppose like most people we do what makes us happy as individuals. At first this was true of me. After a short time I started to get pulled into “the community spirit” and being a loner this was a struggle. I saw people helping each other not for money or for a favour returned but for the sheer pleasure of doing so. I had finally found likeminded people. This is why I do what I do, it is my calling. Not the calling of my parents or peers but the calling of my heart.

From this involvement I have met people that inspired me to broaden my creative skill. I know that at my age I may not get as good as others but for me it is an achievement and one that I continue to expand. So I write and post my pictures in the hope I make someone think, smile or encourage them that it is never too late to learn (some things). Not sure if I could manage brain surgery though, hopefully you get the drift.

The DRC stained glass project, which I never took part in, gave me an idea and inspired me to make my own Minkata stained glass whilst learning to use Photoshop. I approached this as though I was making it out of glass, thinking about the glass cutting technology and so on. After a month this is what I came up with.
Oh and I must get back to Fens again soon.........

Alone in a Crowd

2009-04-10T17:26:00.005+01:00

Most of my life I have enjoyed my own company. I have been to places and in situations alone that would make most freak out or at least turn timid. But I survived and continue to do so. I have never had to rely on anyone for anything. Well after leaving home at a very young age that is and even then I couldn’t rely on anyone. I have always felt being on the edge of society looking in. To be honest I like it here on the edge. So it has come as a shock to realise I miss having company. I miss the pubic cavern. I miss those chance meetings that may spawn new friendships. I miss the chance to find out more about the D’ni and the Bahro. I miss.........

Talking of Bahro I had a close encounter with one the other day. Scared the... Well it startled me put it that way. It seems a few explorers have reported such sightings in their private instances. Could this be a portent of change?

Also Tweek beat me to it with this “The Bahro”. I know it's not a competition and to be honest I haven’t done much on that front for some time now. I am glad that someone has got around to collating information regarding the Bahro. Nice read and it has already caused some discussion on the DRC forum. There is nothing like a good debate to clear the synapses.

No I don’t like being alone anymore.

The deafening silence:

2009-03-23T23:57:00.005Z

It is way too quiet out there. It is eerily quiet in fact. It seems that we are all holding our breaths, waiting for some historic event to unfold. I hope something happens soon. I want my public instance back. I wonder who is in charge of Bahro affairs.

For me it has been a busy time but a chance encounter the other day solved my new age problems. No not “new age man” but a way around that that “Age Manager”. Now I have access to newly written books. I haven’t been anywhere yet. - Too busy at home to do anything but eat, work and sleep. I have sample results backing up from Fens that I need to take a look at. I have been popping back every so often to collect samples found on dry land. Being a swamp anything that falls in is never seen again. I’m hoping that the unnamed birds miss their usual target and give me a working sample. Remarkable field of science Poology, it can tell us so much about diet and DNA. Following this procedure developed for testing bustards (Otis tarda) faeces should help me no end. But getting the samples will take time and patience oh and money. Need to get some more patents on the next trip out. I hope these ages are rich with new technologies. Something innocuous but profitable and beneficial to the environment is what is needed. That should refill the coffers.

Taking of patience unlike Tweek the Sandscrit did not want to stop a pose for me. Must have been something I did of or did I smell wrong?
Arr now I remember, that could be it. I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that fried chicken. They could be related. Well you never know. See what happens when the DRC or Maintainers aren’t around. People breaking out of the Pods, mind you it was easy. It is only a matter of time before someone looses more than there wallet.

End of the beginning:

2009-03-03T13:52:00.003Z

That was a long three weeks. Three weeks away from the lonely cavern and ages. Spending so long travelling this globe have I forgotten my home? Why do I miss these far off lands in god knows what point in time, so much? Even alone I miss it all. Especially after these past weeks, I need to get away again. I know there are some new ages available. I need to source them other than going via that Age manager. He/she don’t like me. I must have written something he/she didn’t like.
I love the Guild work, don’t get me wrong but you can’t beat a bit of exploring. It’s good for the soul.

But so much more fun with others. That is why I love the guild work so much, the people. We have just moved to a new website so things are a wee bit hectic at present. That has got some excited to have everything in one place, finally. I confess I am one of those. I think this is the start of a new era for the Guild of Messengers. We might just have a fighting chance of attracting new or old explorers to come and help. One can only hope. Guild elections are in April. That should be interesting. There seems less and less of us but we still manage to fight on.

High but not enough:

2009-02-07T09:37:00.005Z

Oh that is nice, the scheduling worked, just put the wrong date in. Oh well next time.

Hum.... mellow, peaceful and almost transcendental! Spending two full days and one night in Fens was the best thing I could have done. I set up camp at the observation platform. Made sure everything was sterilised after lugging it up there. Don’t want a repeat of what happened in December.

Whilst there I started to record the other animal, bird and insect calls. It is hard to figure out how many species there are. One bird or insect might have a number of different calls so observation is paramount. I could spend months in the place. Anyway to cut a long and boring story short I got my picture. I manage to get some good shots on the first day. These creatures seem to be following a set route which made it a bit easier. Has to be the feeding route? This fairly large bird like animal looks like it came out of one those asic periods on earth.

Yes I got up high but I need to be higher. I will have to settle for this at present. I have a plan to release a small balloon up into the atmosphere to collate air samples. I can use a long tether. This will make retrieving it a lot easier I hope.
There am I being ever so careful on my explorations what happens when I get back home? I go a slip on the icy snow and damage myself. - Hence why this update is now and not sooner. I am house bound for a while until I heal.

I should have taken up knitting.

Perseverance

2009-01-29T19:00:00.002Z

After a week of back and forth to Fens, stopping at Relto for respite I finally managed to build my way up the top of that huge upright rock. This was after restarting from the ground up. My mistake was not using its weight for it instead of against it. Leaning the scaffolding in towards the rock face gave me a bit more stability. It’s still a bit rickety but I managed to brace the structure to the already built viewing platform. It won’t last long but that’s the point, minimal environmental impact. Apart from the tarred rope everything is bio-degradable but to be safe I will take it all way when I am done.

How many bamboo poles does it to take to get a photo? I don’t know I didn’t bother counting them but it’s a few. This morning I made the final push and got the top platform completed. I want to get a few shots off before the 30th. My editor is leaving me in charge, so to speak, for a couple of days so I need to be on call. Someone please invent a Quantum phone. Mind you then I would have to buy a mobile phone then a laptop. Na I like to be unreachable.

Tomorrow I will haul my camera equipment up. Hopefully I can get a good close-up from there. It was getting late by the time I had finished. I had some guild business to attend to. Also I had to put this post on a timer. So I hope it goes on as I will be big bird spotting at the time. I will report back in a couple of days. I did get a closer glimpse of my quarry even though it was still some distance away. I will pick it back up tomorrow. A bit of shopping in the morning and back to it. I am going to stop over for the night. I will use the viewing platform to sleep. That way I can get an early start so I can get back in time for newspaper duties.

Now I must remember to take the lens cap off this time...

Structure

2009-01-15T20:20:00.005Z

I have finally got some time to myself and what do I do? Not take it easy for one. Since I have written enough for Next month’s Newspaper I thought I would take a break and finish up at Fens. It has been a long time coming. When I finally got back to fens I thought for a horrible moment that my flying friends had gone, and then came their cries.

My observations to date make me wonder what they eat. I have never seen them land, that doesn’t mean they never do. I have never seen them chase their food which makes me think that this thick air is full of plankton type creatures. Are they some kind of filter feeder filtering the heavy air? This is all supposition as I have not been able to get high enough to take air samples. The only true way is to take a leaf out of Douglas Sharper’s book and shoot one. With a tranquiliser I mean and pump its stomach but I can’t control the creatures fall. So I must observe and take samples. Now to get higher!

It’s surprising once you start how quickly things start to come together. I won’t be long before I can see if I can get high enough to at least get some pictures. The upper air sample may need a more drastic approach. There may be no other way.

But I do need to get a move on as more and more ages are being written and I have fallen behind. Plus I find myself in a weird position of not being able to get to any of the ages that are not in the more popular refurbished library. Some writers are opting to use the old system of an Age manager. Whoever he or she is, one thing is for sure I am unable to get my grubby hands on the books. I will have to find another way around this problem.

For now back to the scaffolding. Darn I need to tar some more rope........

Methinks I think too much!

2009-01-03T00:36:00.008Z

With a new year brings what? More days to do fun stuff like explore new ages in far of lands, in what time or universe no one knows and to have another birthday. I am going to start the New Year not by making a resolution but by continuing to grow and expand my mind. To ponder the possibilities of what this New Year might bring. Will we cope with the burden of responsibility of the restoration? Are we going to restore or just make new ages? Will some make a home in the cavern if so how will the Bahro feel about that? But most of all when do we get the keys?

I am so eager to get down there to set up my new desk. The one that the Guild promised me ages ago. They want to stick me in the GoMe Hood right in front of the link in point. This so they can show off their new mascot. What did Semp call me; yes that was it “The Tireless Messenger”. All I need it a snazzy outfit. How about a Yellow cloak with SK or TTM in big letters on my chest? I hope they don’t read this or they just might do it. The cloak I mean. I don’t mind sitting in the hood waiting for people to link in. It is a good way to help others and maybe to recruit some.

I feel we might have had a breakthrough in the Guild’s organisation. Hopefully we will be ready to help new and old explorers alike. I am feeling up about my guild work lately. I should hope so as I will put most of my time into the Guild, well I need time to play.For something totally different: As you may be aware I do a little photography and I purchased Photoshop a while back to aid me in this digital world of image manipulation. I have been practicing and with all its bells and whistles that this program has, the filters are much left to be desired. Don’t get me wrong there are good and you can get some really good results. Then a friend showed me Alien Skin Software. Well my mouth started to water, then after seeing the prices I had to have a drink. Not water either. - Choices always choices. - Then a lie down.
Nice filters though and I will just have to do some thinking on this.

Respite

2008-12-24T13:37:00.002Z

After the trials and tribulations of late I will get back to my exploits in the New Year. I am needed here on the surface. Oh well such as life.

I am not one for Christmas as I am a pagan but I try not to judge. I have had my celebrations on the 21st. I haven’t dressed any trees this year. I don’t think the local council liked it last year. Well I did use bio-degradable dressings. But there is something good I can take from the traditional western Christmas and that is good will to all people.

Therefore in the true spirit of Christmas may I wish you all the best and to remember what we have been through and what is to come in the New Year. Too take that Christmas spirit beyond the 26th through in to the future.

May Yahvo hear our calls!

Cryptosporidium Fensoni

2008-12-13T12:18:00.001Z

One little mistake, one lax moment of focus, if I’m not careful this age exploring will kill me. Tests came back which showed a mutant form of protozoa, luckily for me not lethal. Got the doctor looking at me funny, should have seen his face. I did tell him he wouldn’t believe me. I think he wanted me to wear one of those “one size fits all” jackets. He did go on to say that this protozoa was similar to the parasitical form of Cryptosporidium but strangely different. Nasty little blighters! I had the water form Fens tested privately. I have it on good authority that all dangerous samples are destroyed. Well there are other explorers out there looking for new medicines, new technology and new foods. I just want to make sure it goes to the right people so it is not misused. I wouldn’t like to be responsible for wiping out the human race. It doesn’t look good on the CV.

Yep it came from Fens. So please don’t drink the water. Boil for fifteen minutes or use a high quality travelling water filter. I think I picked mine up from hand to mouth. It could have been on my clothes, drinking vessel or the bamboo poles. From now on I am going to link back to Relto for refreshments. Plus I need some gloves.

I have missed a lot these passed weeks. I see more new ages have been released with some not finished yet. I did have to go in a take some pictures. Some explorers don’t realise I am only a messenger. I don’t mind really. It is a good excuse to get away for a few hours without exhausting myself.

I wonder what the D’ni survivors think about us writing ages. But do they know? If they are like Atrus then I would suspect they wouldn’t mind. Just cautious of the enormous responsibilities connected with writing ages, especially if the ages are inhabited. We don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past. - Both D’ni and human alike: Paragon of animals indeed.

Wow! I went off track there. Don’t know where that came from. As soon as I am fit I will finish off my Fens project. I have lost a few pounds due to the illness and just before Christmas. - Time to fatten up again. Well that is my excuse and I’m sticking with it. I have a lot MORE ages and journals to catch up on.

Below Par

2008-11-23T14:38:00.001Z

Progress in Fens has been slow. My water purifier doesn’t seem to work in Fens as I might have picked up something that is making me sick. I don’t want to jump to any conclusions so I sent some blood off for analyses. I should get the results back soon. Plus I had some articles to write for the Guild’s paper and the Archiver.

Another reason for my delayed work in Fens is that I recently made an excursion in to an alternative world. Catchy name SecondLife, gees I haven’t finished with my first life. Whoever wrote this massive age had no concept of D’ni writing. But the good part is that somehow they found a way to stop the Bahro instancing interference. Now I can meet up with other explorers like the ole days. So that is nice.

Not sure when I will get around to finishing my work in Fens. By the way things are going in my life at the moment, it could be a few weeks. It is a shame as I like spending time in Fens. The sounds of birds, insects and those big flying creatures even that beastie in the distance adds to the calming effect of Fens.

Swamp thing:

2008-11-13T18:10:00.002Z

Shamed by Erik, Tweek and Whilyam’s lack of fear I returned to investigate Fens further. Boy did I look stupid. Forever cautious is my motto perhaps too cautious. As I said I went shopping and bought the incorrect equipment. - Equipment for what? - Big honking flying, well soaring, bird like creatures high in the tree canopy. I wanted to get up high enough without disturbing them so I could study and photograph them. Everything else is pretty much low down but those up there, that’s what I love. Yes I am a bit of a bird watcher. But my camera-attachable telescope and binoculars are way too weak to get a good shot of them from the ground. I can’t afford to upgrade. – Well not after buying all that climbing equipment. – Besides bound to be more ages to explore in the future.

When I first saw the trees I thought a throw line, few ropes and a bit of tackle is all I need. Due to the trees not having any branches higher up made it more difficult than I initially thought. If I had made more of an effort first time I would have noticed that. “What do you see?” I am going to tattoo that on the inside of my eyelids. Hold on how would I see it? Have to give that some more thought.

This is going to take longer than I thought. I don’t want to use lumberjack boot spikes, they will damage the trees. I am a tree hugger by the way. Ban the chainsaw, save the trees and all that. I have an idea, how did the BBC get up in to the rain forest canopy?...

...A few days and a lot of research later I came to the conclusion that I would need bamboo poles to construct scaffolding with a platform and hide on top. I think I know a spot. From there I could observe these flying creatures with little interaction as possible. Just my being here might have altered things already. - Microbes, viruses and all that.

I did look at the possibilities of a hot air balloon for one person. I found three options one; the usual propane, two; helium and the third well solar. - Yep solar powered balloons. All three have drawbacks cost, time it takes to make and the size. So scaffold is the quickest and least destructive method with bamboo being the lightest and cheapest. I have to make a few links to get to Fens and I will need to make many trips. I can see this age is going to keep me occupied for some time. It’s about time I got started...

Divergence!

2008-11-08T20:30:00.001Z

Some of you know that I do a little writing for the GoMe newspaper. So when I found some of my journals that where saved from drowning (I had forgot that I had put them up higher than the flood line. – I was too busy with all the wet and damaged stuff to notice them until now) I thought about the Stories and Journeys section of the newsletter. I offered and they accepted. For those of you that are interested check out the November edition of the “Where R U Uru?” newspaper where I will start way back. Then over the coming months I will be sharing a little more. These will be the edited highlights of my early journey, as space is a premium. I hope you enjoy. Oh and by the way don’t worry only a few journals survived, I wouldn’t want to bore you. How many? You will have to wait and see...

X marks the spot!

2008-11-05T19:54:00.006Z

Where my thoughts are I don’t know. I forgot to mention that we had some elections ourselves, at the Guild, recently. Marten your GM (Guild Master) stepped down for another to take the baton. Lynnutte is our new GM and she has a whip. I think, no, I know that Lynnutte will do a good job. Mind you there’s not much pressure at the moment as we can’t get in to a public instance. Public instance means work, yes please.
Anyway on top of that we had some change around. I finally shed the inter-guild liaison chair. Woot! I am not really a good people person but I am trying. I know Leonardo will do an excellent job. The depth of Leo astounds me for someone so young. Sorry but it is true.

That's me in the GoMe uniform, cheesy pic or what!

Six months. That’s how long I think it will be before everything collapses, if we don’t get a public instance going. It’s all the Bahros fault and Dr. Watson. Yes there are always consequences even when doing the right thing. No good deed goes unpunished, remember. The writers and maintainers will still be going; I don’t know what would make them stop.

Personally I would like to see us keep going as long as possible. Perhaps there is a solution out there somewhere.

Szark’s law!

2008-11-03T16:11:00.008Z

As you can tell I have made it back in one piece. My wife is a bit dismayed, oh the plans she had.

Why is it every time I want to get away something always gets in the way. This time was no different. First off I took the wrong equipment with me to Fens, well not so much wrong but not quite right. - My fault for not reconnoitring the area first. I know that some of the Arbourists climbing tackle will come in handy. The ascender and “single point attachment fibre-light ladder” will definitely get some use in the coming months.
On top of all this the Guild couldn’t leave me be. I thought best to deal with the e-mails while I was back on the surface. Who knew? So while they are all distracted with the newspaper I will take the opportunity to go back to Fens with the correct equipment. The trick is getting high enough and those trees don’t have any branches. The roots could be a possibility. The throw line I bought will do the trick. I hope it is high enough. Well shall see...

Gone Fishing...I wish.

2008-10-27T22:25:00.005Z

Things have been hectic lately so much so I am going to take a week off. I have finally got all the equipment needed. - Ready for a 4 to 5 day excursion to Fens. I will write a brief and post it here when I get back.

“Last Will and Testament - check, Life and Travel Insurance - check and Passport - check”. - No, not my passport that was my wife making sure, if for some reason I don’t return. She loves me really............I think, I hope, yeah she does.

Seymour Green?

2008-10-18T23:31:00.007+01:00

I have finally got a good excuse to take a break. - A rest from researching the Bahro. Don’t ask it’s complicated to say the least. There are so many holes in the information.
Anyway I went by the GoMa offices the other day. They had a new linking book in. It had just been verified as safe by the maintainers. Nice bunch of folks over there at the GoMa. Why I never became a maintainer I don’t know. Oh yeah I remember why, because that suit is too hot and stuffy.
This latest non-D’ni book is the second of Whilyam’s ages I have visited. The first was Maw, a devilish age indeed. That reminds me I need to go back there with some climbing tackle. - Got to find me a why out!
Any way back when public instancing was working in the cavern I happened to meet fellow explorers, Whilyam, Janaba, Hitana and Erik. .
They helped me out with taking some photos for the Archiver. That day provided some fond memories. Ever since then I have followed their journeys as much as I can.

I rushed off to get myself ready and after a few hours I placed my hand on the linking panel...
I am pretty used to linking by know but this one took my breath away. It wasn’t the linking but the thick humid air of Fens. It felt like linking in to a brick wall. So much so I had to sit on some crates that were conveniently stacked near the link-in point.
Unfamiliar sounds, high above, penetrated the thick mist but from where I was I couldn’t see who or what was making them. Finally I became accustomed to this strange thick atmosphere and removed my jacket and started to have a look around. I noticed I was surrounded by some sort of pea green marsh. Not knowing how deep it was I started to search for a stick.

What the! I nearly wet my pants. Before I had time to find a stick, a thundering sound filled the air which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It unnerved so much I immediately linked out. Back home I formulated a plan; this could be a dangerous age. Besides before I linked out I spied a building with a ladder close to the link-in point. I will have to investigate that but I must be properly prepared. I think I should ask Whilyam about that sound. I don’t know what the creature was that made that sound but one thing’s for sure it is darn big. It sure has got my interest perked though. I will go back, but armed I don’t know. - After all the Maintainers did say it was safe. Plus I’d rather shoot things with a camera. Mind you if some big angry beast is chasing I could always throw the camera at it...

Seeing the Unseen

2008-10-04T18:30:00.007+01:00

The more I think about the Bahro the more drawn in I get; they are an enigma that’s for sure. It struck me the other day, whilst kneading the bread dough, why. Why have them as slaves, some of the D’ni went to great lengths to control these winged Bahro. You must admit, a being that can link at will is not an easy thing to control. Let’s look at that control for a moment; every government has some sort of control over its citizens, whether its laws, with varied levels of enforcement, doctrine or liberal guidance, either way control is necessary at some level. Unfortunately the Bahro were not citizens but slaves and in order to be useful, controlled they would have to be. But four totem poles and a tablet, how mystic! And what about that radiating spiral symbol on the back of the Bahros’ heads; looks D’ni to me but I am not too sure. I think this spiral is similar to the one under the tree in the cleft.

Which begs the question of why four poles and a tablet? Yep I have a theory. What if the Bahro (totem) poles were one level of control, maybe a physical control of some kind? And maybe that branded radiating spiral symbol on the back of their heads is part of the Gahrohevtee (Great Words). Gahrohevtee is the collection of symbols (concept, ideas etc) that the D’ni used to write linking books. These special symbols are different to the ones the D’ni used for their written language. This branding could be a restricting concept of some kind, to stop them from linking at will. Or maybe it was used to bind the Bahro to the Tablet. And the Tablet itself was the actual control mechanism. This would make more sense as Dr Watson smashed the tablet which gave back the Bahros’ free will. This still doesn’t answer the question of why, why go to all that trouble. Ok there are a ton of questions but this is like peeling an onion, one layer at a time......

Least I am trying!

2008-09-17T17:44:00.014+01:00

I know that I will never rise in the ranks of the guild and I am happy with that. The main thing is that I tried and put all my effort in to trying. Yes I have grown and am better for it, but I have now come to an impasse. I do have something good to offer, so what if it is donkey work, someone has to do it. Workers are the backbone of any society or community and without us things would grind to a halt, and anarchy would ensue. This is something that the D’ni lost track of, in my opinion.

Knowing ones place in society or a community isn’t about class and in my opinion I think it is destructive. But having a place or a purpose, if you will and finding that place can be difficult for some, it was and is for me. But what is important? Well personal growth for one, to strive to be better than a year ago; the willingness to learn new skills and how one uses them, for progress not for hindrance. Something else that I think is equally important is how one behaves towards others. Behaviour breeds behaviour after all and that goes for the good and the bad. It is also up to others to realise that the differences between us make up the whole. How we look and react to the differences between us all as a community says a lot in my book. I am the least, but at least I try to keep my feet on the ground and a level head and not to judge others by my own standards, to tolerate the different, and even to embrace it. Rant over.......

Where was I, oh yes the GoMe well with this experience under my belt I am finally starting to get an idea of what I am good at/for and what I am not, regarding this underground restoration. It’s not about thinking big all the time or being on a level above others, mind you I have never been like that anyway, “competitive”. It is about what we do for each other and why we do it. Most of the time intent is more important than the deed.

I consider myself to be intellectually sound, but highly educated I am not. After all these years, my lack of education has come back to haunt me. So what do I do in this world of literacy and high standards? Well step back a bit for one and re-evaluate my position in the guild. That will not stop me from growing further though, I have started something now that will endure as I have endured. I never thought I would love being involved in this type of community but it happened, why, because unlike the D’ni there are some that embrace the differences and try to make something good no matter what your background.

It has slowly become apparent to me that I am good for the “behind the scenes” work. Now this is ok if we had more volunteers. Yep volunteers, as we work towards the restoration for love, not money. It is always hard to find backers for big projects like this, I suppose no one has thought about the prospects of the travel industry doing well out of weekend breaks in an age far, far away. Hmmmm “Linking Mile points”, how would you calculate that? It would definitely give them all a headache trying to work that one out.

Now this volunteer work is also good as I have an innate sense to help others as much as I can, not for a pat on the back but because it is the right thing to do; so yes I am a serf through and through, the least and proud of it...

Anth-bahro-pology

2008-09-06T16:41:00.010+01:00

Man, times are tough up here these days, petrol prices on the increase, that is why I like to link places – it doesn’t cost much right. What does it cost to link, well I don’t know about the cost these days but for the D’ni of old, well the price was pretty high I would say; the cost to themselves, to their society and the costs to the other races that were subjugated and turned in to slaves. These are the type of things I lie awake at night thinking about, which ultimately led my thoughts to the latest Bahro situation. Yeah I know that aren’t coming to the surface but they are still down in my instance of the city, with their deathly screeching cries echoing throughout the great expanse.

Now when I say Bahro, I mean the ones that are the here and now, you know the ones that have been drinking that stuff that gives you wings. Ok, if you didn’t know that the Bahro had wings - I can only apologise. Anyways if you are not familiar with the Bahro or the term Bahro I shall endeavour to explain the best I can. Now I am now expert but far as I can tell this term stems from a derivative of the D’ni language when the people split up and went off to another world called Terahnee, covered in the Book of D’ni; one of the myriad of written works that is out there for all to see. As far as I can tell from what is out there, Bah means Beast and Ro means People or Person, so Bahro, beast people or the Least. The Least, that is what the D’ni calls the lower classes of society. What they call themselves is unknown but the Bahro have seemed to have adopted the term. Perhaps they don’t have a name. I saw an article the other day in issue 15 of the Archiver, saying that the Bahro are a different creature as the ones that were imprisoned in Teledahn. Hummm I wonder...

Transition

2008-08-02T22:14:00.008+01:00

I can feel the tension in the air of late as we all wait for the public instancing barriers come down, everyone changing this and that, new groups popping up, established groups giving themselves an overhaul . Everyone is busy and hoping that there are ready, some are and always will be ready, but a budding guild in its infancy; well we are doing our best.

Well nothing much has happened since I last wrote, I haven’t written much at all in fact and that bothers me. There are a few articles floating about but nothing meaty, nothing to get my teeth into. GoMe is keeping me really busy, or am I keeping myself busy, hum, I will have to ponder that one...

...pondered long enough, who cares as long as I am happy and nothing or no one suffers, like making my colleagues look silly. Another thing I learnt this week is always whisper the word liaison when in the company of other seasoned explorers.

After last weekend I am expecting the GoMe rule book to land on my door step, an updated version with a section titled: How to act like a Modern Guild Member. Ouch!

I distracted myself earlier by doing some exploring and checked out some new ages that have come on to the market recently; I wouldn’t call it a black market as such, more like grey market and it is not as though we pay for them. Some good writing skills emerging, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them getting as good as a D’ni student before too long; looks around to see if there are any writers lurking.

It has been suggested by my fellow Guild members that I need a desk in our Bevin, gees we are already planning on redecorating and we haven’t even got back down there yet. Could you imagine a GoMe yellow Bevin; might brighten the place up a bit. Hope I get a nice comfy chair... hey let’s face it there is plenty of room, might as well get a bed down here as well. Well you try to do an all nighter when you have a Guild meeting on and then have travel home again. Nope, I having a cot in Relto and a Bed in the Bevin, now where do I put it? Yes definitely need a comfy chair, one of those recliners, yes that should do it.

I still wonder if the Bahro are playing nice and will we be in danger if we do back down as a group; well the most we saw of the Bahro was in the public instances and on occasion in Relto, and that was only when there was a public gathering. Ok I hear them in the cavern when I am down there by myself but I have never seen one. So I conclude from this that they do not like crowds...there are in need of some therapy I think.

I saw this the other day and it is something I will remember and nourish with good intent.

A clever person turns great troubles into little ones and little ones into none at all.

MORE work! MORE fun!

2008-07-15T23:13:00.005+01:00

Well I haven’t had much time lately, haven’t been anywhere near a linking book for weeks now, I’m getting withdrawals. Plus all my journals and most of my photos were destroyed, so there was only one thing for me to do, bury my head in my work. Since the DRCs’ announcement, that cavern will open back up sometime in the near future, but under another new name; MORE, an acronym for Myst Online Restoration Experiment. I wonder if there is a Guild of Acronyms, down some musty old basement where a couple of people throw acronyms at each other until one sticks, can I get a job there please.

Where was I, oh yes, an experiment for whom and what purpose and what’s with the online bit? The online bit; probably means that we will get public instancing back, in the same way as IMing works on the internet as in a members only instance, it must be. I wonder if the Bahro are playing nice. I think the experiment bit is to see if the community, overseen by the DRC, can make the restoration happen without a financial backer. It appears that the DRC will use our cavern entrance and members fees to cover running costs. It’s been rumoured that they will charge 25 American dollars for six months, now that’s a good deal. Far as I can see this whole venture will be based on trust, trust on both sides of the camp. The DRC working with the community; some will find it ok, but some groups have been anti-DRC for a long time. I see friction a head, but I hope not.

Saw a good one the other day, MOREon, but my favourite is MOREish, I love word play, seems such an intelligent sort of humour and whit.

Can’t keep my mind on one thing presently, ok that’s it, since the announcement we at the Guild of Messengers and at The Cavern Today Archiver have been franticly trying to get all the relevant information out to the community. Well they do say you learn from your mistakes, and these last few weeks have been no different, what a learning curve we are all on, especially at the GoMe where we are all newish to the guild and are just starting to get things together. But as with both community based groups, we are so short staffed, but we have had a few new recruits though, before and after the good news, but we need MORE. Sorry could resist the pun. What’s a messenger to do?

I suppose I am lucky to have the time and money to be a fulltime explorer and prospective Guildsmen, sorry Guildsperson. I must give at least 4 to 5 hours a day to my messaging duties, which include writing, which I know is too much for others, but as the old saying goes, many hands make light work; then I might have more time for exploring and analysing, fun.

Time to have a nosey over at the GoW to see if any new ages have been found, they like to call it written. You don’t write an age; you write a link to the age, Gehn couldn’t understand that and look what happened to him. I often wonder how he would have turned out if he never went to the GoW at the age of five and stayed with Anna for a few more years.

Wow my brain is fried; all I can see is the GoMe logo...............

The New D’ni

2008-07-09T18:53:00.011+01:00

Find a way, make a home; both Yeesha and Dr Watson said it and now it is real. Yes, some explorers have taken this literally and found new homes to gather and explore, whilst trying to keep the cavern community together. But this could also be interpreted for us, the surface dwellers, to write new ages. This has lead to a heated debate, among the explorer community as to whether we are ready for this great responsibility. Yes humans have been writing ages for some time now, how they started no one really knows and some don’t seem to care, maybe one day we’ll find out. But what matters is that we can write descriptive books, well some of us can. We know this because Ti’ana (Anna) herself was human. Admittedly she was taught by the D’ni but nevertheless Anna did have the capacity to understand the concepts of writing ages. Catherine, Atrus’s wife, wrote an amazing age which turned the known laws of the D’ni Art on its head, again not D’ni but Rivenese. But not everyone can write these amazing books, me included, just in the same way that not all D’ni could. History has taught us that writing ages is not an easy task and comes with great responsibility and this is where the debate has split the explorers into different camps, with different and sometimes strong views and ideas. Here are just a couple of those views.

Explorer written ages, it’s an affront to the Art, some have inferred. Others have said I’m paraphrasing here, don’t reopen the cavern at all, forget it and move on. I think the latter would be a shame, just to walk away from the biggest Archaeological find of our time, yes a real shame. The things we could learn! Well MORE on that later.

Personally I have explored some of these newly written worlds, some I only stayed for a short while, due to certain instabilities, but some are just outstanding. Like sitting in the cave in Maw, looking up at the sky and listening to the bird song, all the while trying to figure a way out, or going for a starlit paddle in Zephyr Cove, absolutely stunning. I am impressed how far these and other explorers have come in such a short time. I say a short time because relative to the D’ni learning process for writers, it is short.

These modern day writers are still making great progress and to think they have had no formal training like the D’ni of old, it is a true testament to their dedication. I don’t see it as an affront to the Art but as homage to those skilful writers. Perhaps writing and then walking around the age can give the writer a certain perspective on how a good descriptive book was written, but this too can be fraught with danger. Gehn and Esher spring to mind not to mention geological and environmental instabilities. Maybe that’s the point to learn, to grow and to better ourselves through this collaboration of knowledge. Not to take things for granted, to use this ancient Art for good, together as a community. But whatever the future holds there is one thing I am sure of is that the D’ni will live on through us; are we the new D’ni?

Break in transmission

2008-07-06T14:00:00.009+01:00

Well that’s it, my journals and half the photos are gone, gone as in damaged beyond hope; boiler leaked and flooded the basement and guess where my journals were kept? So I decided to delete my last entry and then continue with some MORE up to date thoughts; as we continue towards the re-opening of the cavern.

If never rains but it pours, well in this case floods.

New kid on the Blog

2008-07-01T17:38:00.015+01:00

I am starting to write this blog now because I have just learnt how to and just for the love of writing. No, not to write, learnt how to set a blog up. Mind you looking at my writing one might think I have, just learnt to write. Now if I happen to entertain you along the way, then I can only apologise for that, I don’t mean to. I have come to realise how cathartic writing ones thoughts down and sharing them can be, so I decided to start a journey of public scrutiny. Maybe, hopefully I might learn something as well.

Boring! I am going to start at the beginning so bear with me. I suppose there is one blessing; I only came to the cavern in November last year.

October 2007:
Where have I been hiding all these years? It was there all this time, and I nearly missed it. I have been on the internet for some years now; I got bored waiting, due to having a 56k modem, so I didn’t do much surfing. That all changed, (that’s not the only thing that changed), when last October I bought a brand spanking new computer, not the top of the range but well worth the money. Anyways, this enabled me to get broadband. I don’t usually get lucky like this, but this just made my day. Because we had been a long standing customer and paid our bills well before they are due, our cable company gave us the top speed for a snippet of the cost, whey hey! A couple of weeks went by and while I was surfing the web, I came across a site called the DRC.

All those years and I never knew that a civilisation used to live down there, but who were they really, were they human? And to top it off I found out that there were a bunch of humans down there, from all over the world, trying to build a community. Why, what for, who would want to live down there? I asked myself these questions, but for some reason it felt like I was meant to be down there as well. But, whatever the reason I had to get some coin together so I could see for myself, as well as organising payment methods, which took a few weeks.

It was November by the time I got my first, ever, piece of plastic so I could pay for my personal linking book. Linking books, I didn’t, couldn’t and still can’t get my head around this, where did this technology come from. At the time I thought it was just part of a game and not real, but I know better now, eight months later. If you don’t know what I am talking about then you will have to find out for yourselves. I can’t tell you everything, I would be here forever. Anyway was this linking safe, I thought, let’s face it, it is all down to trust. Trust that the place you’re linking to is safe, trust in what I had read and trust in this organisation, the DRC. I supposed it was the attraction of the unknown. But not only that, it awakened the explorer in me; I had a thirst that I couldn’t quench, a thirst for knowledge. Now that I knew it was real and not just part of someones vivid imagination, I did the deal and in no time at all I was on my way. With my heart pumping I opened the book....

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