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Obduction Backer |
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 6:15 am Posts: 587
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Mod note: This topic split from Uru Photography
Dear Mr. LeDeay,
I'm writing as a representative of the D'ni Research Association (DRA), an organization active for several years now, based in Europe but with members from around the globe.
We've been enjoying your postings here, and have been following them with enthusiasm. Generally, DRA members have approved of the way you have assimilated D'ni history with your own observations, and the care with which your photography has respected the intents of the original Agewriters, as we understand them.
However, we now find that we must take exception to several matters in your recent postings.
We notice that in recent weeks, you have increasingly stated your own personal theories as fact rather than conjecture, and you have in many cases failed to support these notions with either any generally-accepted science, established history, or even your own further research. You have mingled these assumptions adjacent to established history and writings, perhaps to give your findings greater credibility. We have further concerns, to be stated later.
As an example, let's look at several items in your recent post regarding the Age of Teledahn, in no particular order.
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You writeQuote: "They installed the feeders to lure the arthropods close to the dock, where they could be shot at with the cannon. The arthropods do not eat the spores spread by the feeder devices. Instead, the spores excite the flappers, which do feed on them. The increased flapper activity is what lures the arthropods." The DRA's observations cause us to believe that the flappers do indeed feed on the spores, but only the airborne spores, and not in an isolated fashion. The flappers also seem to require some part of the algae that feeds on the decaying spores, and may actually be grabbing bits of algae each time they briefly land on the water's surface. An adhesive slime component of the algae may also be what enables them to stick and ingest the airborne spores: we surmise that their incessant flapping/floating motion is really just their incessant need to feed on spores!
The devices you refer to as "feeders" may only supplement the algae growth in places where there are no large spore-bearing mushrooms in the immediate vicinity; we're not certain. But we are sure that the spore-dispensing devices are not only for the flappers, otherwise there would not be a dispenser where there are no flappers present.
 We believe that the arthropods ("shroomies") either consider the spores a delicacy as well, or the spores spread the mushroom scent as a potent lure for the shroomies. Not that we understand why the D'ni would have wanted to lure the arthropods, unless they too hunted them for food. We know the gun on the bayside walkway was installed not by the D'ni as you state, but by Sharper at the DRC's request (see Sharper's Journal, 6.1.01). But we estimate the dispenser at the end of that same walkway, like the rest, was likely there from D'ni times.
There is no evidence that mechanical dispensing of spores in any way "excites the flappers", as you state with certainty: our tests show their activity remains exactly the same, whether or not spore dispensers in their immediate proximity are used.
The DRA think this algae cannot grow in salt water, and the dam ("barricade gate") may also help in retaining the fresh water from the waterfall that feeds the lagoon. Obviously some freshwater leaks through the barrier, even when the gate is open. But the fact is that, even with the gate lowered for prolonged periods, the algae do not grow much beyond the barrier; our guess is that a freshwater/saltwater equilibrium is somehow established at that point, possibly due to the very calm, current-free conditions in the saltwater bay.

In summary, our speculation is that - the material you said "resembles Sargasso seaweed" (a saltwater flora) is a type of freshwater algae. The open water beyond the barrier is salt water; the open water seen on the opposite side of the Age is a large body of fresh - but relatively stagnant - water, where the algae can proliferate. - the mushroom spores decay quickly once in water; the algae require the decayed spores both for nutrients and for ph balance - the flappers require both the airborne spores and the algae for survival; they cannot be found where this combination does not exist (and are therefore not seen in the open saltwater sea area) - the arthropods/shroomies are essentially saltwater creatures, but can certainly tolerate fresh water when feeding on mushrooms and flappers. They can be lured by the mushroom scent imparted by the spores - Since - aside from possible use as shroomie lure - the dispensers have no directly observable effect, we are not positive of their purpose, nor who built and placed them.
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You describe Quote: Level 1, The pumping tank: A fairly large cylindrical tank below the hut room, normally submerged well below the hut room's waterline. It has an intake hole in the ceiling and an outflow pipe on one side of the wall. A ladder leads up to the metal bowl at the base of the hut room through the intake hole. We believe the tank was actually what you describe as the large "metal bowl at the base of the hut room". This was filled with water that, we think, very, very slowly filtered from the lagoon through the base wall of the mushroom that forms the central tower, and once provided a source of potable water for the Age's inhabitants (even though it did absorb the spore drop within the hut room).
The much narrower vertical pipe at the tank's base - that you claim was the tank itself - is in fact not much wider than the horizontal pipe leading away at the bottom. This horizontal pipe is long broken, corroded, and at its far end leads to a near-vertical open end, so we cannot surmise its original destination. Nor can we determine the exit point for the real drain that lies below the grate at the base of the vertical pipe, or where the actual pump lies. We have also tried to refill the tank: the control's safety devices require the Hut hatch to be re-closed, then the safety can be reengaged and the tank's drain sealed from the panel controls. But the tank refills too slowly to be seen, if at all.
You state that spores were collected into the large buckets carried by cable to the third floor of the main tower, where a fan drew them...Quote: "...into a series of pipes that led down to the hut room's ceiling. The spores fell into the room, and drifted down to the water below the hut. When there were enough spores in the water, the giant pump in the bay (which has been nicknamed the “Giant Hairdryer” due to its appearance) would draw the spore-laden water through a long underground pipe that terminated in the pumping tank." When the added weight of a stowaway passenger causes an automatic bucket release inside the tower, the fan does indeed draw the residual spores into tubes there. But there is no indication that these tubes lead "down to the hut room's ceiling". On the contrary, the vertical tube below the fan ends in a wire mesh basket, probably intended for heavy contaminants that were not drawn into the horizontal tubes leading away from the fan. There are pipes leading along the hut room's ceiling to just below the hut floor, terminating in a box that can be seen when climbing down the ladder, but we believe these are for some of the system controls rather than for water or spore flow: you can see that the pipes connect with an area near the control panel in the room above, and do not go to the location of the fan and pipes there.
Also, the DRA's tests show that the spore fall in the hut room is constant, unaffected by the fan's activity... or lack thereof. Test for yourself: stand in the hut room and watch as another explorer is dropped from a bucket in the room above. There is no increase in the amount of spores falling within the hut room. Since the rate of spore drop remains the same even when the fan has been off for very long periods, we have to assume that the spores are generated only by the enormous mushroom forming the tower, and that - even though the mushroom is missing the majority of its head - this is still very much a living, functioning organism.
You claim:Quote: "When the spore slurry reached the pump, the spores were filtered out and dumped into a transport which was tied to the dock next to the pump." We have already stated our belief that the spores decay rapidly on exposure to water. There would be little advantage to wetting the spores in the hut tank and then drying them out again after a short trip to the "hair dryer" since, as we both agree, the spores can be blown through tubes in their dry state. The original large tube beneath the tank leads 120 degrees AWAY from the destination at the saltwater harbor and the "hair dryer" (though we are still uncertain as to the destination of the drain beneath the tank-bottom grating).
Collecting all the above pieces, the DRA's best estimate is that: - the fans in the tower mechanical room push the spores through horizontal tubes that enter the mushroom's wall but exit at an unseen point below water level, traveling toward the saltwater harbor where the tubes exit through solid rock and terminating at the "hair dryer" device - this device's size is mostly due to its function as a storage hopper as well as possibly performing some other processing functions - this device seems to contain a fan - the land-side end shows what are likely intake vents - but the fan may be used both as a pulling (draw) for the spores on their way from the tower dump station and as a blower (push) when emptying the hopper's contents.
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In the prison cell, you claim as fact that Quote: "... the bones there belong to unfortunate slaves that were trapped when the Age was abandoned" and you state with certainty that the bones in the cell are those "of the last prisoner".
But look at the image below, taken with one of our members for size reference. The shackles in the Age are all scaled to fit human-sized creatures (or perhaps even slightly larger). The bones are clearly not from any human, nor from any Bahro, nor from anything that would have fit in the shackles. We very much doubt these could be from any prisoner of that cell.
 Even what might be a thigh bone appears to be disproportionately large, relative to bones that are likely a ribcage of a separate, smaller though still large creature. The DRA theorizes that these are the remains of entire carcasses of various cattle-like animals so far unseen in this Age, thrown to these prisoners to devour.
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The above are but a few examples where you have stated your unsupported opinion as unequivocal fact. Worse are instances where you may be using altered linking books, or altering images in order to sensationalize your findings.
You claim Quote: "There is a telescope in the office has a view of the ridge the “sun” passes in front of, and if you watch, you can see the radiant part of the disc pass with the ridge clearly behind it". Then as proof you show us an image supposedly taken from a vantage point unattainable from any path intended by the Writer of the Age. (link)
First, the "radiant part of the disc" is not attached to the disc at all, it is a common optical phenomenon known as a lens flare.
In the image above, the sun of course still remains a small disc in the sky.... but the disc is not even visible because it is entirely obscured by the camera's lens flares. The dirtier the lens, the more scratched it is, the bigger the lens flare - and we can see that the office's telescope has both of these flaws. Yes, the DRA understands that this sun flare is also visible to some extent without using the telescope, but the lenses in our own eyes are also to some extent imperfect.
The actual sun image through the office telescope:
The Teledahn sun itself does not pass in front of any solid objects in the Age - as it was written.
Likewise, you have posted images that appear to have originated from linking books originally written by the masters, but have been subsequently altered by other writers.
For instance, you posted the below Relto image. If the circled structure is available through a page in the Ages associated with this forum, please tell us the location of that page.
If the structure is not available in the Ages associated with this forum, then we urge you to post such images at the forums that are associated with these variations on works of the original Agewriters. Posting such images in connection with scholarly research suggests that such additions are in fact the work of the original Writer, which could in turn cause explorers to feel they had searched insufficiently, failing to locate a Page that was never present at all.
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Intuitively or implicitly, we all understand that no matter how skilled the master Age Writers may have been, they were not entirely godlike; no matter how large and detailed their creations may have been, they could not go on writing forever. Their Ages are not infinite universes and therefore must have limits. And every explorer has seen and felt those limits, placed intentionally - both for the safety of its inhabitants and to maintain the integrity of the writer's work.
It also seems that each Age was also written with a purpose, and once that purpose was fulfilled the Book was considered complete. It is understandable that other explorers, wanting more, would be tempted to alter copies of the original books.
The DRA could, of course, alter linking books ourselves or alter snapshots with image editing programs, to create previously-unseen phenomena. We could travel beyond the intentions of the original Writers, to show "flaws" in their work. We could post these images and then create fanciful theories about their causes and origins. We know you promised to show "...some of the things that are hidden from view normally." But this is a delicate edge, and we think there are already enough unsolved mysteries here to work on, without inventing them by going beyond the Writer's intended paths.
We applaud your research and writing so far, and look forward to your future postings.
We think that your work is likely to be lasting, referred to by future generations of explorers seeking answers.
For this reason, we respectfully request that you make an effort to differentiate your own speculations from the generally accepted D'ni history that you quote and paraphrase.
And, since you are in a sense creating a piece of D'ni history here, we ask that you exercise more care to avoid violating the intentions of - and limitations established by - the Ages' original authors.
thank you,
Emor D'ni Lap
D'ni Research Association
Last edited by Emor D'ni Lap on Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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