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Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 1:47 am — Post subject: How Minkata could have been. ***SPOILERS***
Greetings, Mystarians!
The following is my account of how Minkata might have turned out, if it had been designed just a little bit differently.
Minkata
As I touched the panel, that had the picture of the new age in it, I started to feel a little uneasy. At least, linking no longer made me dizzy. It seemed to take longer for this link. I knew that when I arrived, I would feel a little disoriented. I didn't expect it to last long, though. After a few months of using these books, I could usually prepare myself enough that I didn't fall flat on my face after arriving in a new age. Still, in spite of preparing myself before the link, I was completely unprepared for what awaited me. The link was long enough, that my mind started wandering. It was like a small daydream. Everything was still black. The thought occured to me: Do I even have a body? Suddenly, I was surrounded by an unpleasant sensation everywhere. It was extremely intense. There was also this flash of brightness. I couldn't move. The sensations only lasted for an instant. As the panic subsided, I realized that I was in a desert. My legs were buried in the sand. The heat was uncomfortable, but bearable. For an instant, though it had felt as if I was on fire. The contrast in temperatures, between where I had come from and here startled me. The urge to bury myself in the sand, until the heat went away subsided. As I started thinking clearly again, the thought occured to me to go back to my Relto, in order to find more appropriate clothing. I already wanted to empty out my shoes, and wash all the sand off in my waterfall. It was very hot, I wanted to get my suncreen. I was just about to link out, when I saw a man sitting on a chair, beside a huge wooden structure. There was a small cooler beside him.
Zandi
"Hello, again. I see you made it here. Welcome to Minkata. My name is Zandi. I know, you must be confused right now, but you shouldn't be afraid. You will eventually find the answers that you are looking for. Maybe not in this age, but soon. Look around, that's the best way to uncover this age's secrets. If you need help, check with me."
There were two chairs there. Zandi was sitting in one. The other looked good for sitting in. I sat down. "You look like you could use this." He offered me some sunscreen. "Go ahead and keep it." he added, "It won't leave your inventory anyway." I put it on. "Thanks!", I said. He tipped his hat, then continued reading his book. I decided to ask him a question, so I walked up to him. At first, he didn't seem to notice me. Then he spoke, "Hello again. I see you made it here. Welcome to Minkata....." I decided to do some exploring. Upon looking at the structure, I realized that it was made from large bones, instead of wood. There was what appeared to be a skin on top, that made a roof. I guess, it was like a small kid's fort, or some sort of a lookout platform. Inside the structure, I saw some sort of huge stone with symbols carved into it. The whole thing resembled a big pumpkin or perhaps a Japanese lantern. It had ropes going around the entire structure. Even though the ropes were loose, I just couldn't squeeze through enough to get inside the structure. I somehow felt that the stone was important, and getting inside this structure was the key to things. Maybe, there's another building somewhere. I saw three suns ahead of me. I decided to head toward them for a while.
Follow the Sun(s)
As I headed toward the suns, I noticed how windy it was. I guess, I was always aware, but leaving the structure made it more apparent. I could see sand drifting, and was begining to wish I had brought a towel. As I continued on, the sand drifts started getting thicker. Suddenly a wave of panic hit me. I looked around, but I couldn't see my footprints. I did manage to see the structure in the distance. I breathed a sigh of relief. That may have been a mistake, because I got sand in my mouth. I started to run back to the structure. Thinking back, I could have just Relto'ed back. I was much too distracted to think about that, though. I reached the structure. Zandi was still sitting there. I decided to talk to him. He barely looked up from his book and said,
"Did you happen to notice another book in the library -- before you linked here?"
I thought to myself. I realized that I was so busy standing in line to get to the new book, that I really hadn't taken a good look at the library. I seem to remember something else on the pedestal, but there were so many people in line that I didn't want to hold everyone up. I went back to my Relto.
The Library
I linked to my Relto, then I cleaned up a bit. It felt good to get the sand out. I knew that I would probably just get dirty again fairly soon, but it still felt good. I decided to look in my wardrobe. I debated between long pants and shorts. I had confidence that Zandi's suncreen would protect me. It did a good job on my face. I couldn't decide if I wanted more protection from the sand and sun, though. I thought about flip-flops or sandals. Those would probably just get stuck in the sand, and I'd lose them. In the end, I went with long pants and boots. I put on a short sleeve shirt, though. I wore a hat to keep the sun out of my eyes. For the heck of it, I decided to put on the pair of goggles that I'd found. Feeling refreshed, I linked back to the library. The Nexus linked me just outside of it. I met other explorers along the way. One remarked on my goggles. In actuality, I was pretty tired at this point, but the actual thought hadn't occured to me yet. I went to the library, and waited in the small line. When I finally got to the pedestal, I started to examine the book. "What is that?", a fellow explorer asked. "I'm not sure yet." I responded. I began to look through it. "It seems to be a book that has some symbols in it.", I added, then began to look through the book more thoroughly. One of the explorers said, "Excuse me." I stepped to the side, as he made his way to the other book. I decided to take some Ki-photos, so as not to disturb the rest of the explorers in line. The third explorer in line asked me, if I was making double prints. I thought about it a moment, then I finally realized what he was asking. I agreed, got his Ki-number, then sent him my photos. His name was Jim. Pretty plain compared to some of the other handles that I'd heard in the cavern, but he seemed nice enough. The line had gotten a little larger, since I stepped out of line, so I decided to use my own Minkata book.
Returning
I returned to Minkata. I knew what to expect this time. Even so, the link was a little jarring to my system. I saw Zandi sitting there. I decided to talk to him.
"Why don't you try climbing that structure in the middle? That might give you some perspective.", he told me.
All this time, and that thought hadn't occured to me. I began examining all the ropes around the structure. Finally, I saw some fairly tight ropes that seemed to be intended as ladder. I grabbed on to them and began to climb up. The roof was indeed some sort of thoroughly baked animal skin. Surprisingly, it held my weight. It was thick enough, and it had dried enough that it felt solid. I wasn't going to try to use it as a trampoline though. Wait a minute! I decided to see, if I could somehow get to the inside part through the roof. The skin was much too tough, and the wind and sun had hardened it way too much. It looked fragile, but it wasn't. I even tried jumping on it. Not even the sound of a crack. I counted myself lucky, and elected not to do it again. The top had some sort of colored sunburst symbol on it. In all honesty, it reminded me of a compass. Directly in front of the long point was a red flag. This looked like "North" to me. I tried looking around. I could see other flags. I couldn't see any other structures. I tried looking through the holes in the roof, to see if I could see the stone on the inside of the structure better. No luck on that. After straining my eyes, looking for landmarks, and wishing that I had binocculars, I jumped down.
"Maybe, you should have a look at those flags.", Zandi suggested.
The Flags
I decided to look at the flags, as Zandi suggested. I walked on over to the red one first. It had what I have grown to recognize as a D'ni number on it. In the past, I had lucked out, and I hadn't had to directly deal with these things. My friends had acquainted me with the numbering system, so I knew a few basic numbers. It was a two "digit" number. "Oh great!", I thought. I had remembered seeing another flag in the distance. I climbed back on the roof, spotted that one, then began to head towards it. I made sure to look back now & then -- to make sure that I didn't lose sight of the structure. I reached the flag, and I saw a three "digit" number. I began to despair. I made my way back to the structure. I began to walk back. I was feeling tired. It hadn't yet occured to me yet to Relto out. I would run now and then, when I realized how long it was taking me to get back. I'd then run for as long as I could, until I just couldn't. I would then walk, until I felt like running again.
Answers
I reached the structure again. I was exhausted. As I got within range, Zandi spoke up,
"You know, that book reminds me of a treasure map, "30 paces east, 100 paces north, etcetera"
I sat down in the shade of one of the large bones. I was getting tired of running around. I decided that I wanted to call it a day. I activated my Ki, and I began looking at some of the photos that I'd taken. I marvelled that this device could only hold 15 holographic photos, while my digital camera at home could hold thousands. I reasoned that holographic images must require a lot more memory. I looked at the first page that I had photographed. I saw a sketch of a flag, and an English number next to it. I began to think about what Zandi said. The distance was certainly longer than 125 paces, but I was pretty sure that it was a distance, now. I looked at the other number that was in the righthand corner. This one said "625", and the symbol matched the other flag that I had found. I slouched down a little bit. I began to think of the differences. My head was killing me. The distance of the two flags to the structure seemed proportional to the numbers written on the page. The other symbols on the page seemed to be compass directions. I reasoned, that they all must form a map of sorts. I felt even more tired, as I thought about what it was going to take to follow those directions. I finally decided it was time to go back, and to get some rest. I got up. I walked over to Zandi to tell him goodbye.
"Still having trouble?" He asked. Zandi shook his head. "You know, if you just start heading that way a little bit, you will find a hole in the ground. I think that things will become more clear then."
I did feel a little intrigued. I decided to do what he said one more time. He pointed roughly northward. I made careful note of where he pointed, and I decided to follow that route exactly. I saw lots of craters, or maybe they were tree stumps along the way. The entire ground of this place was covered with them. Suddenly, I saw, a hole in the ground! I studied it carefully, and I was pleased to find a ladder leading down.
More Questions
I climbed down the ladder into a small cave-like room. I saw a stone, that looked exactly like the one in the "cage". I wished that I had some paper & chalk with me to make a rubbing. Instead, I rubbed my finger along its surface. When my hand reached the symbol in the middle, everything went dark. When I woke up, I wasn't nearly as tired. I did feel very thirsty, though. It was much darker than it was earlier. I could tell that it was night time. I looked at the stone more thoroughly. In english it said, "Find your path in the stars". My mind was functioning a lot better now. I was pretty sure what it meant. I climbed up the ladder. Sure enough, I saw constellations. Mindlessly, I chose one, and I walked toward it. I soon found a weird floating symbol. As I walked up to it to examine it, weirdness happened. I heard a loud noise, and everything started spinning. I began to catch myself, as I realized that it was the sky that was spinning. The constellation that I had been watching moved. Once more, I followed the constellation. It led me back to the cage. Zandi was nowhere to be seen. The cage was broken down, and I could see the stone inside clearly. I walked up close to it to examine it. It was exactly the same as the stone in the pit. This was confusing. Once again, I touched the stone -- without really thinking. Darkness. Night disappeared, and was replaced by the blazing heat again. I could see Zandi just outside the cage, but just out of range. I looked around, and I was trapped inside this cage. There was some sort of glowing, floating symbol in the cage with me. I was starting to get frustrated. I linked out, then linked back. I walked up to Zandi, and I was going to demand an explanation.
He said, "So, you found the hole? Good. Listen, my cooler is out of drinks. I have to go now. Good luck on the rest of your quest. Zandi then left, leaving behind a cooler, and a chair."
The following is my account of how Minkata might have turned out, if it had been designed just a little bit differently.
Minkata
As I touched the panel, that had the picture of the new age in it, I started to feel a little uneasy. At least, linking no longer made me dizzy. It seemed to take longer for this link. I knew that when I arrived, I would feel a little disoriented. I didn't expect it to last long, though. After a few months of using these books, I could usually prepare myself enough that I didn't fall flat on my face after arriving in a new age. Still, in spite of preparing myself before the link, I was completely unprepared for what awaited me. The link was long enough, that my mind started wandering. It was like a small daydream. Everything was still black. The thought occured to me: Do I even have a body? Suddenly, I was surrounded by an unpleasant sensation everywhere. It was extremely intense. There was also this flash of brightness. I couldn't move. The sensations only lasted for an instant. As the panic subsided, I realized that I was in a desert. My legs were buried in the sand. The heat was uncomfortable, but bearable. For an instant, though it had felt as if I was on fire. The contrast in temperatures, between where I had come from and here startled me. The urge to bury myself in the sand, until the heat went away subsided. As I started thinking clearly again, the thought occured to me to go back to my Relto, in order to find more appropriate clothing. I already wanted to empty out my shoes, and wash all the sand off in my waterfall. It was very hot, I wanted to get my suncreen. I was just about to link out, when I saw a man sitting on a chair, beside a huge wooden structure. There was a small cooler beside him.
Zandi
"Hello, again. I see you made it here. Welcome to Minkata. My name is Zandi. I know, you must be confused right now, but you shouldn't be afraid. You will eventually find the answers that you are looking for. Maybe not in this age, but soon. Look around, that's the best way to uncover this age's secrets. If you need help, check with me."
There were two chairs there. Zandi was sitting in one. The other looked good for sitting in. I sat down. "You look like you could use this." He offered me some sunscreen. "Go ahead and keep it." he added, "It won't leave your inventory anyway." I put it on. "Thanks!", I said. He tipped his hat, then continued reading his book. I decided to ask him a question, so I walked up to him. At first, he didn't seem to notice me. Then he spoke, "Hello again. I see you made it here. Welcome to Minkata....." I decided to do some exploring. Upon looking at the structure, I realized that it was made from large bones, instead of wood. There was what appeared to be a skin on top, that made a roof. I guess, it was like a small kid's fort, or some sort of a lookout platform. Inside the structure, I saw some sort of huge stone with symbols carved into it. The whole thing resembled a big pumpkin or perhaps a Japanese lantern. It had ropes going around the entire structure. Even though the ropes were loose, I just couldn't squeeze through enough to get inside the structure. I somehow felt that the stone was important, and getting inside this structure was the key to things. Maybe, there's another building somewhere. I saw three suns ahead of me. I decided to head toward them for a while.
Follow the Sun(s)
As I headed toward the suns, I noticed how windy it was. I guess, I was always aware, but leaving the structure made it more apparent. I could see sand drifting, and was begining to wish I had brought a towel. As I continued on, the sand drifts started getting thicker. Suddenly a wave of panic hit me. I looked around, but I couldn't see my footprints. I did manage to see the structure in the distance. I breathed a sigh of relief. That may have been a mistake, because I got sand in my mouth. I started to run back to the structure. Thinking back, I could have just Relto'ed back. I was much too distracted to think about that, though. I reached the structure. Zandi was still sitting there. I decided to talk to him. He barely looked up from his book and said,
"Did you happen to notice another book in the library -- before you linked here?"
I thought to myself. I realized that I was so busy standing in line to get to the new book, that I really hadn't taken a good look at the library. I seem to remember something else on the pedestal, but there were so many people in line that I didn't want to hold everyone up. I went back to my Relto.
The Library
I linked to my Relto, then I cleaned up a bit. It felt good to get the sand out. I knew that I would probably just get dirty again fairly soon, but it still felt good. I decided to look in my wardrobe. I debated between long pants and shorts. I had confidence that Zandi's suncreen would protect me. It did a good job on my face. I couldn't decide if I wanted more protection from the sand and sun, though. I thought about flip-flops or sandals. Those would probably just get stuck in the sand, and I'd lose them. In the end, I went with long pants and boots. I put on a short sleeve shirt, though. I wore a hat to keep the sun out of my eyes. For the heck of it, I decided to put on the pair of goggles that I'd found. Feeling refreshed, I linked back to the library. The Nexus linked me just outside of it. I met other explorers along the way. One remarked on my goggles. In actuality, I was pretty tired at this point, but the actual thought hadn't occured to me yet. I went to the library, and waited in the small line. When I finally got to the pedestal, I started to examine the book. "What is that?", a fellow explorer asked. "I'm not sure yet." I responded. I began to look through it. "It seems to be a book that has some symbols in it.", I added, then began to look through the book more thoroughly. One of the explorers said, "Excuse me." I stepped to the side, as he made his way to the other book. I decided to take some Ki-photos, so as not to disturb the rest of the explorers in line. The third explorer in line asked me, if I was making double prints. I thought about it a moment, then I finally realized what he was asking. I agreed, got his Ki-number, then sent him my photos. His name was Jim. Pretty plain compared to some of the other handles that I'd heard in the cavern, but he seemed nice enough. The line had gotten a little larger, since I stepped out of line, so I decided to use my own Minkata book.
Returning
I returned to Minkata. I knew what to expect this time. Even so, the link was a little jarring to my system. I saw Zandi sitting there. I decided to talk to him.
"Why don't you try climbing that structure in the middle? That might give you some perspective.", he told me.
All this time, and that thought hadn't occured to me. I began examining all the ropes around the structure. Finally, I saw some fairly tight ropes that seemed to be intended as ladder. I grabbed on to them and began to climb up. The roof was indeed some sort of thoroughly baked animal skin. Surprisingly, it held my weight. It was thick enough, and it had dried enough that it felt solid. I wasn't going to try to use it as a trampoline though. Wait a minute! I decided to see, if I could somehow get to the inside part through the roof. The skin was much too tough, and the wind and sun had hardened it way too much. It looked fragile, but it wasn't. I even tried jumping on it. Not even the sound of a crack. I counted myself lucky, and elected not to do it again. The top had some sort of colored sunburst symbol on it. In all honesty, it reminded me of a compass. Directly in front of the long point was a red flag. This looked like "North" to me. I tried looking around. I could see other flags. I couldn't see any other structures. I tried looking through the holes in the roof, to see if I could see the stone on the inside of the structure better. No luck on that. After straining my eyes, looking for landmarks, and wishing that I had binocculars, I jumped down.
"Maybe, you should have a look at those flags.", Zandi suggested.
The Flags
I decided to look at the flags, as Zandi suggested. I walked on over to the red one first. It had what I have grown to recognize as a D'ni number on it. In the past, I had lucked out, and I hadn't had to directly deal with these things. My friends had acquainted me with the numbering system, so I knew a few basic numbers. It was a two "digit" number. "Oh great!", I thought. I had remembered seeing another flag in the distance. I climbed back on the roof, spotted that one, then began to head towards it. I made sure to look back now & then -- to make sure that I didn't lose sight of the structure. I reached the flag, and I saw a three "digit" number. I began to despair. I made my way back to the structure. I began to walk back. I was feeling tired. It hadn't yet occured to me yet to Relto out. I would run now and then, when I realized how long it was taking me to get back. I'd then run for as long as I could, until I just couldn't. I would then walk, until I felt like running again.
Answers
I reached the structure again. I was exhausted. As I got within range, Zandi spoke up,
"You know, that book reminds me of a treasure map, "30 paces east, 100 paces north, etcetera"
I sat down in the shade of one of the large bones. I was getting tired of running around. I decided that I wanted to call it a day. I activated my Ki, and I began looking at some of the photos that I'd taken. I marvelled that this device could only hold 15 holographic photos, while my digital camera at home could hold thousands. I reasoned that holographic images must require a lot more memory. I looked at the first page that I had photographed. I saw a sketch of a flag, and an English number next to it. I began to think about what Zandi said. The distance was certainly longer than 125 paces, but I was pretty sure that it was a distance, now. I looked at the other number that was in the righthand corner. This one said "625", and the symbol matched the other flag that I had found. I slouched down a little bit. I began to think of the differences. My head was killing me. The distance of the two flags to the structure seemed proportional to the numbers written on the page. The other symbols on the page seemed to be compass directions. I reasoned, that they all must form a map of sorts. I felt even more tired, as I thought about what it was going to take to follow those directions. I finally decided it was time to go back, and to get some rest. I got up. I walked over to Zandi to tell him goodbye.
"Still having trouble?" He asked. Zandi shook his head. "You know, if you just start heading that way a little bit, you will find a hole in the ground. I think that things will become more clear then."
I did feel a little intrigued. I decided to do what he said one more time. He pointed roughly northward. I made careful note of where he pointed, and I decided to follow that route exactly. I saw lots of craters, or maybe they were tree stumps along the way. The entire ground of this place was covered with them. Suddenly, I saw, a hole in the ground! I studied it carefully, and I was pleased to find a ladder leading down.
More Questions
I climbed down the ladder into a small cave-like room. I saw a stone, that looked exactly like the one in the "cage". I wished that I had some paper & chalk with me to make a rubbing. Instead, I rubbed my finger along its surface. When my hand reached the symbol in the middle, everything went dark. When I woke up, I wasn't nearly as tired. I did feel very thirsty, though. It was much darker than it was earlier. I could tell that it was night time. I looked at the stone more thoroughly. In english it said, "Find your path in the stars". My mind was functioning a lot better now. I was pretty sure what it meant. I climbed up the ladder. Sure enough, I saw constellations. Mindlessly, I chose one, and I walked toward it. I soon found a weird floating symbol. As I walked up to it to examine it, weirdness happened. I heard a loud noise, and everything started spinning. I began to catch myself, as I realized that it was the sky that was spinning. The constellation that I had been watching moved. Once more, I followed the constellation. It led me back to the cage. Zandi was nowhere to be seen. The cage was broken down, and I could see the stone inside clearly. I walked up close to it to examine it. It was exactly the same as the stone in the pit. This was confusing. Once again, I touched the stone -- without really thinking. Darkness. Night disappeared, and was replaced by the blazing heat again. I could see Zandi just outside the cage, but just out of range. I looked around, and I was trapped inside this cage. There was some sort of glowing, floating symbol in the cage with me. I was starting to get frustrated. I linked out, then linked back. I walked up to Zandi, and I was going to demand an explanation.
He said, "So, you found the hole? Good. Listen, my cooler is out of drinks. I have to go now. Good luck on the rest of your quest. Zandi then left, leaving behind a cooler, and a chair."
_________________
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