Starting a new project. This type of pattern is so therapeutic.
The sound of cello music fills the lab as Annalis sits bent over her journal open on the experimental table. The Equine is visible in its full glory outside the open panels of the lab, relaying its influence to her deductions as she copies the results from her finished experiment.
“Glauert’s Eques Mass Spectrum Array.” She says to the silence around her. ‘Finally! A name to designate her obsession.’ She thinks to herself. The Equine seems such a brief name for such an enormous presence, but she has adopted this nomenclature for the Anomaly. Next to her journal, a printed copy of her sister’s latest report lies open to the data from the finished masterpiece, along with the final letter before her sisters departed for the research station. The numbers are amazing and Annalis runs her finger down the columns, caressing the results she has long awaited. “They are exactly as I imagined!” She voiced, again addressing the empty lab. One of the first things she had done after establishing herself at the station was to disable the automated voice response system. She had not realized how often she spoke aloud to herself until she encountered this system on the space station. The first time it had answered her, she had jumped out of her skin. The next time it was just annoying, and now it was disabled. It did however make her aware of just how strange her verbal conversations with herself were, and how often she conducted this one-sided dialog.
She looked up from the report and her gaze fell on the time display above the door leading out of the lab. “1900!!” she exclaimed, quickly closing her journal, trapping the report within its pages. She had nearly missed the opening window for the stations mess hall. The thought of again having to utilize the food unit in her quarters made her quicken her steps down the corridor leading from the lab areas into the habitation section of the Phycodurus 8. With 10 minute to spare, she joined the last diners in line for the evening meal. It was the only meal of the day which utilized the fresh produce from the massive greenhouse attached to the space station and Annalis regretted it every time she missed her chance to partake of the delicious offerings.
She received her tray filled with an aromatic and colorful assortment of delicacies from the woman across the counter. “Almost missed the window again Dr. Annalis,” the woman said as she added a slice of fresh bread onto the plate of Annalis. “I saved this back for you. It is always the first to go.” “Thank you Chef Emilia.” Annalis said, giving the woman a grateful smile. They always gave each other the honorary title to their names. They had become good friends almost immediately upon Annalis’s arrival and it was a running joke that she was constantly late or altogether missing the evening meal.
She took her tray with one last thanks to Emilia, and found an empty seat near the observation window displaying the Anomaly. The Equine was showing off its blue and green display at the moment and Annalis pulled from her lab coat pocket the letter she had started the evening before to her sister. Smoothing it out flat, she took up her stylus from the opposite pocket and continued from where she had left off.
……..
The scorching sun drops below the stone parapet, giving relief from the blazing heat of the Spanish summer. A warm breeze picks up the dust from the paving stones, caressing the footprints of countless visitors to the Alhambra terrain. The sky darkens and reveals a blaze of stars overhead and in the reflections of the pools and fountains of the palace. The sound of music echoes from the abandoned palace walls, carrying the melodious melody of the beginning of the festival. The breeze carries a touch of jasmine, picked up from the peasant gardens sprinkled throughout the hilltop complex. The resonance of laughter and festivities reach the portal, reminding the solitary figure which stands there that her sister awaits her presence.
Here I relate a wonderful memory of our visit to the Alhambra music festival. I can still feel the heat through my sandals and the memory of the scents that accompanied our trip there. I revisited the music that was presented during that memorable trip during my first days here and it felt as if I was there again with you. Dancing to the music with whoever was standing nearby and consuming the delicacies of the Spanish countryside. I have found these exercises are an important addition to my routine meditations and they improve the negative effect confined living is having on me. I still continue my daily practices, but I find the complete emersion into a memory as poignant as our trip to Spain does wonders for my physical and mental wellbeing. With the addition of aroma and sensory input, I have created an acceptable balance to the austerity of the space station. The Equine also plays a part in my continued recovery, supplying support and creative encouragement.
I still await your final report on the time spent with the rendition of the Equine to keep you company. Your initial findings were very encouraging, but as always I would like to see the numbers.The description of the dark hemisphere was a welcome addition to your other observations. I sometimes forget how the atmosphere and environment around a subject can affect them. It seemed to me from your musings that the austerity of the research center landscape had more to do with your reactions than the absence of the influence of the Equine. I have still to study the art pieces you produced during those tremulous three months in the other hemisphere, but I already can deduct from your descriptions that our joint production is not ready to replace the influence of the Equine yet. Even on a small scale. We will have to look deeper into the material and electrical field levels as you have pointed out.
On a happier note, I must report on the progress of the other task I was given. The first results are in for the effects the Equine is having on our control group of Aerial Moramets. They have been housed in an annex of the tropical gardens next to the observation lounge of the station. It is the closest enclosed area to the Equine and provides the maximum exposure for the AM’s. (As I have nicknamed them) They are thriving on the abundance of tropical plants and flowers that are available to them in the annex and also the many types of exotic foods that are grown for the kitchen seem to be to their taste. The research group has already seen increased cooperation between the creatures and a decrease in the malaise and illness that plagues their counterparts on Earth. I do not have any information on the group sent to New London, but hope to obtain that information in time. It was a relief when I returned to reality in the medical bay and was informed that my traveling companions had arrived as scheduled on the first shuttle from the Infinity. This was arranged by the Phycoduras 8 staff during my convalescence, along with the transfer of the group slated for New London. Simona’s team here on the Phycodurus has kept me informed of the progress of the hive on the station, but are still awaiting information on the New London colony. The project is still being kept very secret due to the backlash from environmental purists, but I was given permission to share this information with you. I hope within a few years there will be a thriving community of AM’s to support the all-important pollinators that are so scarce now on the planet. With the growing population, the need for more food production and more diverse supply will be paramount to the continued colonization of New London. I will now return to my music and research before it becomes too late. It is going to take me ages to go through the vast amount of data you have stored from the last year, not to mention your observation journal and renditions done on the dark side of the planet. My next deep dive will be into the vast deposit of letters you wrote me during you time on New London and the Equine journal. I want to do this after I have shared my finding on your isolation work with the Equine rendition. This way you can continue with your work while I look into your past.
I know you are very busy, but please write back as soon as you can. I want to know how it feels to be back at your studio under the full influence of the Equine again.
Love Annalis
Dear Annalis,
My heart is overjoyed at your safe arrival in the Alpha Centauri system. It is beyond description the way I have obsessed over your wellbeing. Dark thoughts have been my constant companion over the last months and the relief felt now that the burden of these has lifted is indescribable. Of course this worry could not have come at a more inopportune time. The bleakness of the landscape around the research station was detrimental even for a balanced and sane individual, but in the state I was delivered there, it was near disastrous for our project. Worry, depression, hopelessness and a limited diet all have taken a toll on me. It was a true test of the influence remaining in the work I produced and it screams insufficiency in its failure. As I said before, I will need to rethink the materials I have used and the amount of time the piece will need to remain in this quadrant of space before it can be used elsewhere.
I cannot help contemplating what my state now would be if I did not have the utilization of the painting during my hiatus at the research station. I assume I would be in a further state of neural decline, but the effective extent of the works presence is still not sufficient to deem the piece a success.
As to your cryptic description of where you have been and why you worried me so, I will leave that for another time. I can tell from your letter that it is not a thing to discuss over any type of electronic communication. A very concerning subject, but I can wait.
I do not regret the time I spent at the research station. It proved the useful application of the work we are doing, and also put a spotlight on the inadequacies. I now have a direction for improvement, and that was not clear to me until the end of this encounter.
I now return to my work. Maybe a bit more unstable, but determined as ever and happy to have you back in reality, and not in my mind alone.
Love Victoria
The Beaded Tapestry 
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