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Obduction Backer |
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:46 pm Posts: 847 Location: The Cleft, New Mexico
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Another journal entry from March.
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Saturday 30 Mar 2013
The Star Fissure
…The daggers which mysteriously appeared around the island, and the lava filled fissures were made possible by her (Katran’s) odd style - which I cannot explain. And although Catherine and Anna intended for the lava filled fissures as part of their plan to rescue Atrus while still leaving Gehn trapped in his Fifth Age, the Star Filled Fissure was not intentional or anticipated.
To me, it remains the most mysterious object in all the D’ni histories…
--RAWA, September 17, 1997
* * * *
…Riven’s instability was caused by Gehn’s tampering, and was further affected by the mysterious Fissure…
--RAWA, June 27, 2001
* * * *
I am discontinuing regular observations of the stars beneath the Fissure. Although I’ve been able to track the dark cloud-like formations that migrate through the starfield and have proven that their paths are cyclical, without proper instrumentation it is pointless to continue. My general theory concerning the nature of the Fissure has remained unaltered since it first appeared. It seems that the fabric of this Age has been breached in a way that permits matter to be hospitably exchanged between two discreet but overlapping spaces—much like a Link, but the apparent physical contradictions surrounding this juncture defy logical reason: The great column of wind that was formed when the Fissure first appeared suggests a vacuum as one might expect in space, yet my early experimentations revealed the presence of a breathable atmosphere. That Atrus and Catherine threw themselves into the void is further evidence that it might be safe to travel, but without knowing its true nature I cannot take the risk myself. It is also difficult to say what would happen if I were to reopen it after so long—but it is likely that the results would be catastrophic, given the changes that have occurred in this Age since that time.
--Gehn, 82.5.8
* * * *
…As with many of my views over the years, my thoughts regarding the origin of the Fissure have changed—I have recently begun to wonder whether it was actually an unexpected by-product of the changes Catherine and Atrus wrote into this Age during their escape. Certainly by casting their Linking Book into the void they trapped me here quite effectively, but I do not believe that Atrus intended the Book to be lost in this manner: much better to destroy it than to risk the possibility of its falling into unknown hands. Also, had they foreseen the creation of the Fissure, they would surely have thought that the vacuum it created would eventually consume the atmosphere of this planet, a fate which Catherine undoubtedly would have deemed unacceptable for her home world. If I had not been there to supervise the construction of the seal this is most certainly what would have happened, for the villagers were far too frightened to even approach the vortex without my urging. I hold onto the belief that it was an unintended consequence of their writing for another reason as well: I prefer to think that my son had meant for this Age to be merely a prison for me, rather than a death sentence.
--Gehn, 83.2.10
* * * *
I have heard that in the days immediately following Gehn’s confinement on Riven, he attempted to determine the feasibility of navigating the stars beneath the Fissure—for he had seen the Myst Book fall from Atrus’ hands into that very same space. To this end, he would have people—alleged transgressors of the law—thrown into it so that he could observe their fate. The telescope which still stands there is one he had built for these callous experiments.
It is said that they did not die, but what became of them remains a mystery; it appears that the limits of Gehn’s optics prevented him from learning their fate.
The star field beneath the Fissure is not as it seems, it is a gentle space, as hospitable to life as a flowing river. This is how Atrus explained it, after he had fallen into it. But much more than that we’ve never understood, and we were never able to conclude upon its origins, but the visions tell me that it was born out of the will of the Maker, perhaps for some greater purpose that we cannot yet understand.
I still remember Atrus’ words from his journal:
“I realized the moment I fell into the fissure that the book would not be destroyed as I had planned. It continued falling into that starry expanse…”
There must be some greater reason behind it.
--Katran, date unknown
* * * *
And though I am unable to understand how, the very flow of stars that brought my Myst book into worthy hands, I am sure served as a safe passage home for my friend.
--Atrus, date unknown
* * * *
I have been wondering about the star fissure today… We know that Atrus fell into it at Riven when escaping from Gehn there, and that Gehn occasionally threw rebellious Rivenese into it, hoping to learn more about the fissure’s nature. And the Myst Linking book dropped by Atrus into the fissure landed at the Cleft; and later several Rivenese artifacts also landed at the Cleft when Riven collapsed into the fissure.
And we see a similar (or the same??) fissure in Relto when the four Bahro pillars from their cave Age are activated. It’s almost as though these fissures are Bahro portals; portals into a sort of hyperspace dimension. The connection between Riven and the Cleft was/is predictable; stable. The same is true of the Relto fissure and its connection to the Bahro cave. Stable wormholes? Bahro-created conduits? Is this a demonstration of how Bahro linking technology really works? Is the multi-verse riddled with these conduits?
[Reveal] Spoiler: Looking upward during freefall Another odd phenomenon we see if we look upward while falling through a Bahro star cave fissure; the Bahro cave appears to be a hollow rocky globe, having a single hole at the “bottom” (how is it that gravity even works here? What really determines “top”, “bottom” or any direction?). And the globe is surrounded by a dark region, almost as if there is a void of some sort between the globe and the surrounding stars. If my very rough calculations are anywhere near the mark, I believe we link out from this Age just as we reach the star-side edge of the void in our free-fall. And the fact that we fall at all also indicates that gravity somehow works here.
Perhaps this void is a pocket of sorts, a bubble traversing space/time similar to the linking bubbles we see in Watson’s quest through the four Ages and K’veer. If so, then this bubble could contain whatever characteristics the Bahro wish it to have, such as breathable air and gravity. After all, their lamps inside the globe are able to burn endlessly as the sparks drift downward…
So did the Bahro design the star fissure? If so, how? Why? If Gehn was once a Tablet owner, did he force the Bahro to create this? It seems unlikely he wouldn’t have understood the fissure’s nature if that was the case…
Whatever the original purpose, the fissure does appear to be another example of Bahro Linking technology. And that they created it deliberately to connect Riven with D’ni; and Yeesha designed the analogous Relto fissure to connect to the same place. Or perhaps the fissure is like the Keep, existing in many places at once, piercing dimension and time, creating a sort of wormhole between desired destinations. If this is so, then the Bahro have none of the limitations with the Art that the D’ni experienced. They are not limited by the Tree of Possibilities at all… Their Links go to the exact destination they choose, anywhere, anywhen… that is, the Bahro choose the destination themselves and the Tree of Possibilities is no longer part of the equation.
Wow.
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Last edited by Ainia on Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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