Dear Victoria,

Everywhere I look there are people. Travelers, residents, business individuals and scientist such as myself fill the public spaces. It was so long ago that I was last here that my mind had forgotten the sheer number of bodies that occupy this city. Paris in all its glory! I had hoped that since the symposium was scheduled for late winter that the crowds would be less. That it seems is not the case. I have been so lulled by the sparse population in England and New Zealand that my first few moments upon arrival were a bit of a shock. Although it did take a moment for my mind to adjust, I am now dodging the passing civilians and weaving through the myriads of traffic like a pro. The years we spent living here, quickly coming back as a guide.

I went directly to the Louvre from the train station, not even stopping to drop off my luggage at the hotel. The excitement of once again entering our old stomping ground was too great to resist. The afternoon has been spent visiting our old haunts and making contact with key people before the symposium starts; A last engagement with the Louvre before my departure for another solar system and the start of the next chapter of my life.

One of my first stops after handing over my impediments to the concierge, was to our old friend the bone knight. How many hours did we spend trying to decipher his shield? Why were we so fascinated with this erroneous figure, tucked away in a side hallway between exhibit halls? It has never been identified and only mystery surrounds the purpose of this eerie piece. What the strange lettering on the shield means, not even the Rosetta stone has given a clue to the symbols.

As I stood there yesterday evening, it reminded me of something I should have mentioned to you before your departure. (Maybe I should say I should have asked you before your departure) When the equipment was returned to Oxford after its unfortunate adventure in New Zealand, several units required significant repairs before they were operational. During these restorations it was necessary to completely disassemble the pressurized inner compartments of a few units. Inside two of them I found replicas of symbols found around the edge of the shield held by the knight. Was this you’re doing? From what I remember, you completed the final potentiometer adjustment on these particular instruments before they were pressurized with nitrogen and sealed. It seemed a strange thing for you to do and also not to mention it to me, but I cannot imagine any other source for these ambiguous markings. Maybe as we once discussed, you feel they have magical powers, giving additional influence to the researcher for the success of their scientific endeavor. The idea that if a researcher included these mystical symbols in their calculation and setup, then there was an increased chance of a successful outcome. I know we jokingly spoke of this, referring to our childhood superstitions, but maybe you’re decided to put it into practice just to see the results.

I guess I will have to wait and ask you when I arrive at the end of my upcoming journey.  I never had the chance in the chaos before you left.

I must close for now.  The symposium on the neurology of music will be starting in an hour and I still must make my way from the hotel to the Louvre science center. My presentation is second on the docket.  Wish me luck. First I will be revealing the initial results from New Zealand. Then I will present an overview of your timeline on New London and my planned agenda on the Phycodurus 8.  It will be nice to speak openly of our current work.  This will most likely be the last time I can do this before my arrival in the Alpha Centauri system.

Tomorrow I will give you a thorough overview of the day’s events.  Hopefully there will be some additional revelations for me also; something to create a paradigm shift in my grey matter.

Love Always,

Annalis