The Beaded Tapestry

Dark tree rise from the forest floor, towering over the rich loam blanketing the world below. The branches shift with the air currents, creating an elaborate dance of shadows and dappled light. The air is full of floating debris, cast off pieces searching for an Earthly hold to begin a new life. The ground is soft and springy under bare feet as they make their way through the undergrowth. The world evolves into an open meadow as the forest boundary is passed; changing from a dark subtle world, into a bright colorful canopy of pastel blossoms and green foliage. Ferns unfurl their spiral fronds in a welcome gesture to the suns presence, blanketing the landscape in a phosphorescence that blinds the eyes.

The forest debris follows into the open space, frolicking in the added air currents once suppressed by the dense covering of trees. Above, the Anomaly seems to gather these spores into its arms, caressing the pods to open and release their trapped life force into the creatures’ network. Flashes of energy appear throughout the expansion, creating an astonishing light display across the heavens. Slowly the emerged offspring float back down to the surface, alighting on the rich soil of the meadow. Small shoots reach their limbs into the now still air, longing for the contact with the creature above that has now been broken.

Dear Victoria,

The strange dreams have returned once more and I welcome them. I feel like these seeds, adrift in a current which I have no control over. It is the idle before the storm as I await my departure window. The trip from Earth to the space transfer station was without incident and I now wait in my small station quarters for the next leg of my journey. My stop in Calais was all about bureaucracy and I thank father, as you did, for his diligence in knowing the correct processes. Although I saw much chaos among my fellow passengers, my processing was methodical and I quickly found myself seated, with all proper credentials in hand, on the shuttle. Many who were at the departure desk alongside me did not make it onboard and the shuttle lifted off without a full docket. The restrictions father warned me about are now hampering the unprepared travelers. Because of this, I now must wait on the space transfer station, since many of the potential travelers are destined for my ship. The Infinity is now holding orbit around the Moon, waiting for the release of its cargo still stuck on Earth. The administrator, who arranged my unforeseen stay here, told me the departure will not delay us more than three days. I cannot imagine the strain this is causing to the passengers left on Earth. Most are permanent immigration seekers who underestimated the restrictions, but there were also a few researchers who are finding additional roadblocks to their access to New London. Again the influence of the Louvre has paved my road forward, not to mention the relentless accuracy of father’s paperwork skills.

My precious cargo from Professor Simona is safety on board the Infinity along with my research equipment. I am scheduled for boarding tomorrow afternoon when the cruiser makes its pass of the space transfer station. One more leg of the journey, then the long haul to the Alpha Centauri system will be next. I have been in this confined space for two days now and I am ready to move to a less oppressive location. It is very utilitarian here with no common gathering places. Meals are dispensed from an automat in my quarters and other than my short appointment with the station admin, I have not met another soul on board. The leg of the station where I am housed is only for transient persons and seems to be almost deserted. On my short walks to the administration office I have not run into anyone. According to the passenger docket of the Infinity, there should be over six hundred passengers sharing my journey. Although I am by choice a solitary creature, this imposed isolation has made me crave engagement. I think I will utilize the common areas on board the Infinity more than I thought I would once I am established there. For now I will endeavor to endure this forced confinement and dream of more spacious quarters for the remainder of my journey.

I will write to you upon my installation on board the cruiser.

Love Annalis

The awareness of parched grass cushioning my spine awakens me from my slumber. I open my eyes to a dark canopy pricked with early evening stars. Fall leaves litter the floor surrounding my makeshift bed and create a colorful backdrop to my meditation.

Above me the heavens are alike to an open book; with stars arranged as words telling the history of the cosmos. Soon I will enter that timeless story, traveling away from this unfinished tale, onto a new adventure.

I came for one last visit to my favorite meditation spot. It is in full autumn splendor, showing me how incredible this planet can be before saying farewell. I was trying to calm my erratic thoughts, but with the exhaustion these days bring I have fallen asleep in place of meditating. I awoke with my writing pad open to a blank page and full night almost upon me. The sky above spoke wonders to me and I had to start my correspondence with you by giving a description of the view from my prone position. It does indeed feel like the beginning of a new book to me or maybe better, finishing the final chapters of my current tale. It has been a beloved novel if I think of it this way. One that will be read many times with enjoyment, even though parts of it are difficult to endure. Now it is time to close this tale and start anew. An unopened story is now staring at me from the bookcase, beckoning me to peruse its pages.

There is less than a week before my transfer to Calais; then a day there full of administrative nightmares before I board the shuttle to the space transfer station. My secret fellow travelers will already be in stasis aboard the Infinity, as arranged by Simone, and I will only need to make some small last minute arrangements when I myself arrive. The security around this covert induction of the species into the New London Environment has been heightened and the transfer time table had to be escalated. That is why I will not be escorting these ambassadors of the species on the trip to the Infinity. I now will only need to escort the creature from the Infinity to the Phycodurus 8 and supervise the process of the close exposure to the Anomaly. After these select few have completed this encounter I will make the prearranged transfer of the population to the scientist slated for their care planet side. I hope nothing goes awry with this transfer or I will be responsible for two hundred unhappy pollinators looking for a planet to harvest. Only this small portion of the three thousand travelers will be part of this close exposure experiment, but Professor Simona hopes this genetic adjustment will propagate over the next generations once they are established on the planet surface. It will be interesting to see how this additional influence from the Anomaly will alter these candidates. I believe she is hoping for enhanced communication and community Involvement. We will have to see. I believe once the entire population is established on New London that we can discuss openly the progress of this project. I hope this is the case as I would like to receive updates on their progress.

With my departure quickly approaching, there is a melancholy here that I did not expect. I now understand fully your letters from the onset of your own journey to New London. The excitement is there, but also the apprehension for what the future holds.

I close this story now as my next letter will begin with my departure from Earth and all the joy and anticipation that disembarkment will bring.

Love Annalis

Dear sister,

It is not always nice to have someone sit you down and explain what a mess you are about to make, but that is exactly what Father has just done! I made the mistake, (or maybe not) of telling him about my decision to pursue this new discovery instead of heading to the Alpha Centauri system.  When I returned to Oxford, I found him camped out on my doorstep, briefcase in hand.  I knew he meant business. He sat me down in a very professional manner and explained all the repercussions (both personal and legal) that I would face if I veered from my research path.  It took some effort on his part, but I am now back on track with my original plans.

I realize now how insane my change of direction would be. There were of course contract issues and legal black holes I would have fallen into, but the logistic problems are way beyond anything I imagined. My arrogance in reference to these points is beyond measure and I thank father for his interference. I have not abandoned this new endeavor completely. Arrangements have been made for the continued monitoring of this new activity in space, but other than that, I will now stick to my original scheme. (and of course legal obligation ,as father pointed out most strongly)

This episode has made it very evident that my mental state is still reeling from the trauma experienced in New Zealand. Will this occurrence haunt my subconscious for the rest of my life? Flavoring all aspects of my decision making! If it does, will this taint the work we have taken on? If it distorts the final product we hope to produce, this will not be of any use to anyone. I also feel this year of delay has disturbed my judgement and confidence. Father brought all this up also and assured me that as soon as I reached the research station and began my intense study of our test subject, all this mental insecurity and uncertainty would dissipate. I hope he is correct.

I have now placed the dark entity in the foreground.  It is not gone from my vision, but my way forward is clear and I will attempt to keep its influence to a bare minimum. 

I now have a month for my final preparations before I board the Infinity.  The transport is slightly smaller than your ship the Derringer since most of the passengers are business and research travelers.  As I mentioned earlier, the restrictions for travel off-planet have been tightened, so few permanent immigrants will be accompanying me on my trip.  Only persons travelling on a limited time permit are not facing these new regulations. Since my time in the system will be limited to five years or less upon arrival, father did not have issues with my permissions to leave Earth.  

Let us hope you and I can finish what is needed before our time is up.

Love 

Annalis

Dear Victoria,

Here I sit, beneath the peaked roof of the dragon temple. The dark interior is a quiet oasis and the cloying scent of resin brings back vivid memories of our last visit here.  The moment I entered the triangular doorway of the Norwegian structure, my thoughts turned to you and your attachment to this region. I at once sought a comfortable perch to begin my letter to you, seeking solace in a one way conversation.

I decided to take one last trip before leaving Earth and realized this secluded village was the ideal destination.  Mixing the need for succor with a desire for your presence,  I headed for the village of Urnes.  We spent our last joint holiday with our parents here and the memories are a joy to recall.  It has been more than ten years since we were last here, but nothing much has changed.

After dropping off my things at the lodge I climbed the steep path to the black stankykje, perched on the top of the hill overlooking the village. Even from a distance I could see the ornate roof rising over the trees and could detect the smell of dark pitch used in the protective coating of the wooden structure. I will stay only a few days here before heading back to Oxford, but I needed the comfort of your spirit which is prolific here. That sprite is already healing the deep wound within me; a wound that has created a deep chasm between my head and my heart. Being unable to discuss this new discovery of the dark Anomaly is eating into my rationale like an infection. I have lost my ability to distinguish what is real and what is imagined.

I sit now at a crossroads.  One road leads to a clear and straight path with no questions or uncertainty.  The other direction is arduous, with blind curves and no defined direction.  Making the decision whether to pursue the more difficult course and abandon years of research and planning is eating away at me. 

So here I sit, summoning your spectre once more to assist my decision making in the most unlikely of places. This is one of the locations I feel your Atua the strongest. Not only because of the spiritual path you have chosen in life, but also because of our shared fascination with this area.

I am torn between my desire to chase this new element and the duty I have to the Louvre and our original research subject. The facility in New Zealand has confirmed that my initial readings from the Smoo cave laboratory have merit. My sense of responsibility to follow through with my journey to the Alpha Centauri system is at war with my desire to chase this new element to it’s source. As insane as it sounds, I am seriously considering heading in the opposite direction from my origin destination and begin the chase for this new detected signal. You are already heading to our first subject and I cannot help but think we also need to study this dark mirror. It will take an extreme effort to adjust my travel plans (and I am not even sure there is an option to find transport to this part of space), but I must look into the possibilities of chasing these new readings. How important is this aspect to our research? Will it offset our final product with this signal originating closer to Earth? Should we include these measurements in our calculations? If we do, will it have a negative effect on the influence of our product? These questions and dozens more go on and on in my head. Thus I have come here to discuss with you a solution to this conundrum.

I will end now and try to guide my path with your help and use this wondrous location to meditate on my problem. Which one to choose will dictate my life for the coming years.

I will let you know what we decide.

Love Annalis