Quin is in one of his workaholic modes. He removed a small crystal engine from a sailboat we found in Waysmeet and is trying to get it going. This, of course, involves long sessions in the workshop and lab on Touchstone, and little conversation beyond the occasional monosyllabic response to questions from colleagues.

Apparently the crystal engine has some similarities with the larger mechanism whose pieces were revealed after the landslip on Curiosity in the summer months -- the ones he got me to help pack into crates for later removal to his workshop.

He managed to reassemble that engine -- you can see it to the left of the building in the foreground of the photo of Touchstone above.

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Resources for open-source Uru: OpenUru; rel.to
Cross-world story and project planning: Devokan forums

For several days the island of Reki has been inaccessible. Seen from Tannhauser the island seemed to shimmer like a desert mirage. Telemetry signals form the spheres experiment were garbled by very deep selective fading and intense multipath. Finally yesterday the effects stopped and I could finally travel to the island and retrieve the recorded data. It showed that another sphere had intersected the captive one and was partially captured. Things only returned to normal when the containment system power levels dropped low enough to release the new sphere. I'll need to rethink the containment system. No other permanent effects were observed on the island.


Eureka! I think I got it. A counter- rotating magnetic field not at the containment cage, but around the control and power conditioning crystals. That should work as long as the lines of force do not intersect the crystal or the control pads. If the magnetic lines get into the crystals or even the control pads then most of the system control would be lost.

Electromagnets would be best for this but that means a heftier power source.

The small boat on Waysmeet is working! Quin reinstalled its engine a day or so ago.

It is straightforward to operate. Board it at its dock near Skysong, and sit in the rear seat. The merest touch launches the boat.

Quin has set it up to follow a path automatically, as a kind of ferry. It sails slowly round the entire tree village, giving plenty of time to take in and enjoy the sights.

It is a lovely addition to the region!

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Cross-world story and project planning: Devokan forums

It's coming up to a year since the original Devokan was burned up by its sun, and still the nature of the orbs that seemed to "rescue" elements of it exercises the minds of those involved -- and new friends too.

Over on the Devokan Trust forum, a thread that started simply to record their appearance has developed into a discussion of various experiments and attempts to capture and control them, with contributions from Quin, Nal, Filbert, ametist and Mat.

Then a new explorer, Zenoc, has recorded his own thoughts on this intriguing phenomenon in his journal, along with discoveries he made using restoration links.

For the new forum is not just about the Devokan regions. There are other stories and journals to discover, for example about ametist's Moysenland, and Kemy's and Zuri's explorations and Ages.

I hope you'll enjoy reading them -- I certainly have!

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Cross-world story and project planning: Devokan forums

It looks like Quin might be planning another expedition. Here's what he has just posted on the Devokan Trust forum:

Quinquifid wrote:

I am still irritated with myself over that lapse in experimental procedure with regard to investigating the spheres' nature and actions. In fact, I am minded to move to observation rather than active experimentation. It seems that Ms Nalates and Mr Filbert have parallel experiments underway, so such a change in focus on my part would seem appropriate.

A day or so ago, I linked to Tao, the area M Shenn and Mlle Leah are working on in Restoration. M Shenn was there, and Miss Paislee arrived soon after. The ensuing conversation suggested the next step that I should take.

Quote:

Shenn: time is not stable here ... strange age ... and very interresting too ... i still to have a lot to learn about this
Quinquifid: As we all do, sir. There are strange things that happen around these spheres.
Shenn: maybe sphères are dancing in time or maybe singing ...
Paislee: Perhaps they resonate at certain frequencies that vary?
Shenn: i do feel they souls sometimes ...
Quinquifid: You are not the first to suggest they are sentient
Paislee: Reminds me of a novel I read long ago. I cannot remember the title sadly.
Shenn: and sometimes things disappear and come back later ... strange age isn't it ?
Paislee: It is a wondrous age. As if in a dream.
Quinquifid: It is strange. But beautiful.
Shenn: beauty can be strange ... we can't understand at all ... just to feel sometimes
Paislee: I certainly cannot. But, one can be moved by it without understanding it.
Shenn: we are open minds ... but mind can't feel all ... there is some ways out of mind
Quinquifid: Although I try to use mind and thought, like my aunt, I do have some intuition.
Shenn: good ... i'll be happy if you stay here sometimes
Quinquifid: I would like to very much, sir

M Shenn then kindly set up one of the age's small homes, which are suspended in the central tree's flying roots, for my own use. The plan is to observe the instabilities M Shenn mentioned if at all possible. It might offer some clues as to the unexpected reappearance of my aunt's previous home island of Skysong from the past.

He included a photo of the Tao homes. They are beautiful, even though his camera malfunctioned so that the colour was bleached out:

Tao Houses

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Once again, the world of Restoration is inaccessible. It must have started sometime on Thurday evening. Both Mat and Shenn seem to be OK. Mat sent me a message me yesterday evening, and Shenn even came across to the Inn in Winterfell Reverie. However, I've yet not heard from Paislee -- I hope she is OK.

Quin, it seems, was not in Touchstone when the communications and linking blackout fell this time. His logbook includes a new entry:

Quinquifid wrote:

Just two days after writing my last entry, the world of Restoration became inaccessible once more. I fire up the transporter, but it stops abruptly in the middle of its startup cycle. Fortunately, other worlds are still accessible (otherwise I wouldn't be writing this, of course).

I have spent a little time in Ahra Pahts, investigating Prin Pahts in particular. Through my trusty geological hammer I was able to obtain samples of the different crystals there, carefully removing them from places that I don't think will be noticed. These samples I have taken up to my apartment in Shell 415 for later analysis.

The apartment is taking shape: the door and walls are finished and some furniture has been delivered already. It is good that Dot's apartment across the courtyard has tea, coffee and biscuits. I have raided those more than once over the last few days.

I suppose I had better check supplies in Shell 415 -- again

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I needn't have worried about Paislee. She sent me a note while I was in Winterfell Reverie, and over the weekend we spent a happy time together putting the world to rights, as well as sorting out the terracing in front of the Inn.

Quin too turned up, lodging in the Flyer in the sky above, while starting up fresh experiments in the small workshop he has on the land below the inn.

I think we all were worried about the length of time that Restoration was inaccessible. Fortunately, communication was finally restored earlier today. I have checked the various islands around Waysmeet and all seems well there.

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I should add that the data recorders on Reki show no entries between Friday afternoon (my time) and Monday evening. Its as if the Restoration became frozen in time. Needless to say it is hard to troubleshoot without data.

The only change I have seen is that the air has become quite hazy in some places. The haze should reduce with time.

Thanks for the report, Holmer -- and it is good to hear from you!

With the anniversary of the loss of the original Devokan's world fast approaching, I've been looking over some of the photos I took of the farewell celebration on 7 February 2010 and finally posted them to Flickr.

Here's one of the orbs hovering over the standing stones that mysteriously (re)appeared during the original Devokan's last week or so.

Orb over Standing Stones, 7 Feb 2010

Here's another photo from the sequence, of the same orb but taken from a different vantage point. It's strange how the angle of light seems to affect the orb's appearance.


Devokan with Orb, 7 Feb 2010

Having recently visited the Lost Stonehenge -- an Uru age discovered by Karkadann -- I am beginning to wonder what "coincidences" might be at work here. Accordingly I contacted Quin, suggesting that he might check it out.

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Quin is back from his explorations, and has made a note in his logbook:

Quinquifid wrote:

A most interesting day, linking to the Lost Stonehenge. For once, Ms Dot's insistence was not misplaced. I have seen the artefact at the end of what might be called the Avenue Island at least once before, and that was recently in the wood near Devokan Dusklight in Winterfell Reverie -- it looked most out of place in that medieval realm. However, it disappeared overnight, along with the wood's inhabitants; Time Lords, they called themselves.

This put me in mind of a passage in one of my aunt's journals. She too had come across these Time Lords (it seems she belongs to a parallel organisation, the Sisterhood of Time).

It is strange how often my attention has been forced upon Time in recent weeks. First, my aunt's stricture to Ms Dot to install a "Celestial Clock" mechanism; then Ms Nalates' experiments with the Devokan orbs to reach back in time to facilitate the transfer of an ancient D'ni building to her North Restoration; then the unexpected appearance of my aunt's old home of Skysong; and most recently M. Shenn's enigmatic utterances about Tao.

And to Quin's last paragraph, I would add the following from Holmer's post above:

Holmer wrote:

It's as if the Restoration became frozen in time.

Just what is going on here?

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Quin suggested that I might ask Karkadann for more background information about the Lost Stonehenge. I did (I was going to, anyway), and here's Karkadann's reply:

Karkadann wrote:

The Lost Stonehenge -- was it was some form of Ancient Tardis that was somehow torn out of our known reality and stored in deep space so that it would not fall into the wrong hands?

Perhaps it was recently rediscovered by The Doctor, who was just curious about what the older versions of the Tardis looked like.

Who would have thought it was sitting under our noses in England all this time?

An early Tardis? Was that why it appeared in our lost world just days before the original Devokan's destruction? And why was the orb hovering over it?

What exactly did we lose with the loss of Devokan? And what more have we gained with its loss?

Something deep is going on here.

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Cross-world story and project planning: Devokan forums

I wrote:

What exactly did we lose with the loss of Devokan? And what more have we gained with its loss?

Here's an OOC answer to that question.

It's now just over a year since we let go of Devokan and its companion area in SL. What has been gained in that time is remarkable to my mind.

First, Andy let me have an office in his Neolbah within Uru itself; he also allowed the updated Serene to become part of the Devokan story in the unfortunate episode when Quin altered the descriptive book.

Then ametist and D'Lanor are developing Shell 415 in Ahra Pahts as an HQ for the fictional Devokan Trust. Look out for its next release in a few week's time -- some good things to look forward to!

And what of the regions on OSgrid? Here's a map of just one area. While many of these regions are connecting seas, they give room for the islands to 'breathe' (something that was difficult in SL). There are also plans for sky builds above some of the sea regions.


OSgrid regions, 9 Feb 2011

Shenn and Leah have four regions in the north (top).

Holmer's five regions are to the south. He has others elsewhere on the grid, some of which are mentioned in his story posts in this thread and on the Devokan Trust forum.

Paislee and I look after the area centred on Waysmeet, Paislee being the main builder and artist, and I the story teller.

Nalates is working on four regions centred on Nalands, her home island. Again, there is a story behind them.

Then Mat has some wonderful regions of his own, which also have an ongoing story behind them -- he and Paislee work together on some. He recently posted screenshots on the Devokan Trust forum.

If you have access to OSgrid, search for kamali on the world map and visit the art gallery Mat has set up with Paislee's input -- it is a record of the many islands, regions and areas that people have created over the past year, besides being a visual treat in its own right!

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Something seems to be brewing over on Tallis, Mat Mahogany's home on Restoration. His diary on the Devokan Trust forum is an interesting -- and worrying -- read.

Then Quin seems to be back after one of his "disappearances", judging from the latest entry in the Touchstone logbook:

Quinquifid wrote:

I went away for a few days as the anniversary of the destruction of Devokan's home world approached. While the pain of that loss has eased, it still has power to suddenly disrupt thought.

But the anniversary came and went without major incident.

I am back at work now, setting up an experiment in the third area of Shell 415. I am excited by what might be possible using a combination of the crystals from Prin Pahts and those I have brought across from the ancient mines we have found on Touchstone in Restoration.

The crystals each have a distinctive "hum". I've worked out a way to "tune" them, but need to rig up a control panel.

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Ametist and I were sitting in my apartment in Shell 415, enjoying a cup of coffee together and putting the world to rights, when I heard the doors of Quin's apartment slide open. Since there were various things I needed to discuss with Quin, I asked ametist to excuse me and walked across the courtyard.

Quin was on edge. He had just been to Tallis, Mr Mahogany's island, he told me, in response to a letter from him that had been delayed by over a week.

Mat has released a very powerful orb in Tallis, one that looks very similar to those that destroyed Devokan Touchstone and Devokan Skysong in April/May of last year. "It seems he is planning to use the orb to somehow propel himself back in time -- all in the name of trying to find his missing brother," Quin said.

He showed me some of the photos he took. Mat's plans are obviously well underway -- he has already modified one of Shenn's vehicles to use with the orb, and has parked it strategically beneath it.


Tallis Orb -- 16 Feb 2011

Quin sighed: "I am not sure what I can do in these circumstances other than to monitor developments. As it is I am neglecting my own work both in Tao and in Shell 415---"

I almost felt guilty when I told him what else needed his attention...

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Quote:

I almost felt guilty when I told him what else needed his attention...

Well, that little comment has come back and bitten me! I was enjoying a lazy day over in the Devokan Trust's land in Winterfell Reverie, when Quin linked in and started to berate me in that tight-lipped way of his.

The problem as I see it is that he has never learned to delegate -- he assumes all the work himself, whether from the belief that no one else CAN do it, or whether from the inability to understand others' willingness or even desire to take on such responsibility.

I tried to calm him down, to get him to list the matters he was concerned about, to work out ways to take some of the pressures from him. I pointed out the abilities and skills of ametist and D'Lanor, suggesting that they might be able to implement some of his planned experiments for Shell 415.

Quin's biggest concern was about the Celestial Clock, being able to install it somewhere in Winterfell Reverie where it would be safe and correctly perform its regulatory function (I had mentioned that I had found the Clock's designer during the chat on Wednesday). Apparently the Clock is mentioned many times in his aunt's journals, and I too remembered her injunction to find it as a matter of urgency (events got a bit in the way of that).

So we brainstormed possibilities for a while -- a good ploy, in fact, for Quin's mood lifts considerably when he plays with ideas. In this case, though, I came up with the option we eventually settled on: to re-use and adapt a wonderful structure re-created by Uru explorer Dialyser Sommer during the last exile from the Cavern.

I contacted Dialyser straight away, explained what we needed to do, and he agreed! More later...

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