Man one year ago nearly

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

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.

Nothing Happened

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

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

Here we go again!

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.

The deafening silence:

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.

Transition

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!

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

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?