The Beaded Tapestry

Dear Analis,

I have completed the transfer of the metrology equipment from the repair facility to the arranged transport heading for my studio. The units have been thoroughly tested for functionality where possible and I performed a visual check of all the pieces that could not be checked electronically. When I was examining the internals of the atmospheric scanner I came across an odd thing. Since none of the repair reports mentioned it, I assumed it was not something noticed or instigated by the repair crew. Inside the unit, located next to your manufacturing label was a strange mark. It was not etched into the titanium casing but appeared to be integrated into the material itself. Almost as if it was a flaw in the raw metal used to produce the casing. The symbol tickled some memory in the back of my mind. Hidden away in one of the dark recesses of the Louvre in Paris there was once a grave marker on display. A macabre skeleton over two meters tall bearing a shield before it. On the shield there was an inscription engraved in some ancient language and below this was a symbol. Until this day, the meaning of the inscription has not been successfully translated and the symbol remains a mystery. That symbol was clearly visible inside the casing of the unit sitting in front of me. I question if this is something you did since we were both fascinated by this item when we viewed it during one of our frequent explorations of the museum. I distinctly remember you mentioning it several times over the next several years after its discovery, and you even suggested delving into the mystery ourselves. 

I have copied the symbol as it appears on the unit at the bottom of this letter. When I return to my studio I will compare it to the research notes I have from my time at the museum. I created a graphite rubbing of the original shield and I believe a digital copy of this is somewhere with my past research. It could be only something you did as a unique identification marker for your patented equipment, but since you did not mention this before and it is not on any other pieces of your equipment, I wanted to let you know what I found. If it was not put there by you, I can only conclude it was done by the repair facility or the person who sabotaged the units. 

And yes, I am now convinced after a close look at the damage to the units, that it could not have been an accident during transport. The units that were inoperative not only had components that were tampered with, some of them had parts that were altogether missing. This could only have occurred if the cases had been opened to access the internals, as not even pieces of the missing components were present. None of the outer cases showed any type of damage other than scratches around the couplings. A cold chill travels down my spine when I think of this in combination with the trip from Earth. I do not know if it is possible to remain out of stasis for part of the trip here, but if there had been a saboteur aboard the Derringer, all the inhabitants of the ship were at risk lying helplessly in stasis. The damage was more than likely done after the equipment left the Derringer, but just the thought is disturbing. With this discovery and the additional disappointment of the meeting with the Flynn Foundation this afternoon, I am on the edge of panic trying to get a grasp on the situation. 

There was no message waiting for me from Dr. Falton when I arrived at the Delphi headquarters. Only a low level public relations representative who gave me a cold prearranged overview about what the foundation wants to accomplish with their research. She had no medical statistics available for me and no information on when, or if, Dr. Falton would be in contact. I will have to find another way to communicate with him as I now have little confidence that working through the foundation’s official channels will be successful. Hopefully tomorrow will bring me more success when I visit the planetary metrology division again. I am not holding my breath but I at least must try before I involve the Louvre. At least I will have the promised musical performance tomorrow night to pull me out of my despair if this also produces no results. The historical data of the solar flares over the last few years will be a unique source of comparison to my future data , but will not be necessary for my own observations. I only hope to get a longer time frame to study than my research window on New London allows, and this seemed to be the only avenue to obtain this information and the data from the solar episode on the Phycodurus-8. In all probability, I will once again run into a brick wall.

I have now returned to my lodgings on the high street, half a block from the music center. The hotel has an excellent restaurant on the ground floor and I have just finished my dinner before I return to my room to change for an evening in the city. Since my arrival in Delphi, my thoughts have frequently turned to Nikolas. I passed many places we visited together on the boat ride to the hotel and the meal tonight was reminiscent of the dishes Nikolas often described to me. It made me aware of how much I miss his company and the promise I made to visit him. For now I will have to make due with my memories and distant correspondence as there is still so much to achieve before you arrive from your long voyage. 

I will leave you for now. I want to lay out my things for tomorrow in anticipation of the concert before I go out for the evening. I only hope my required events during the day do not dampen the entire evening.

Love Always

Victoria

Dear Analis,

The first leg of my journey to Delphi is complete and a harrowing trip it was. The train route through the mountains was treacherous from damage caused by the passed winter and a heavy storm followed our passage the entire way. The layover in Newton was longer than predicted but other than the departing passengers, no one else was allowed to disembark. We remained at the station for over three hours, watching the white flakes quickly cover the city in snow as the storm overtook us. The high winds were the major delay to our departure and the train trembled with the strength of the tempest outside as we sat waiting to resume our journey. We are once again underway as the winds have subsided and the heaviest part of the storm has now moved off to the north. According to the reports the remainder of our route to Delphi is free of interruptions with only a scatter of rain showers predicted as we near our destination. Since Delphi is located on the sea coast the climate should become a bit more accommodating as we near the end of the journey. 

I completed the initial outline of Katryna’s training as I sat in the station waiting out the storm. Because my apprenticeship with Master Denon in Paris was so enjoyable, I have modeled my plan from this experience. This is not something I have much adaptation for and the Equine will also have to be factored into the equation so I will use what know and not and stick with my former mentors program. I plan to begin with the neurological scans since this will allow me to chose the best venue for Katryna and also parallel my own work requirements. I will then proceed to a more traditional format starting with the production and mixing of colors. Katryna may prove helpful in my search for a canvas foundation as she is more versed in the materials found on New London. These steps will take her training through the initial two months then we can move on to the more complex aspects of perspective and inception. I have decided not to delve to deeply into the technical aspects of our product during her training since this will not be of any benefit to what Katryna is striving to achieve. It would also compromise some of the security aspects of our project. Instead I will concentrate on increasing her ability to put vision onto paper and allow the transfer of what she receives from the Equine to be accurately portrayed as a visual aide for her clients. This will also leave time for my own research into her abilities and steer away from the confidential areas of the Louvre project.

This trip to Delphi will be the first occasion I have to dip into the wardrobe mother sent with me. The various outfits have been stowed away in their original packing envelopes since I left Earth over two years ago. I fearfully unpacked one of the elaborate ensembles before this trip to check the condition after its long trip. Amazingly as soon as the void field of the envelope was released the sapphire and silver garment unfolded to regain its original form. I found myself staring down in admiration at the diaphanous skirt and bejeweled bodice. I always knew what an excellent designer mother was, but she has outdone herself on the pieces she created for my journey. I did not have the heart to tell her I would have few occasions to wear formal attire but this concert in Delphi will be an excellent chance for me to showcase what she has achieved. I did not unpack any more of the remaining eleven envelopes she sent since the sapphire outfit met my full expectation for how I want to present myself at the performance. I will be representing one of the most prestigious museums that exist today and the deep blue ensemble will hopefully stand out among the other patrons. I am not normally someone who relies on the notice of others but since I have been isolated now for several months with only construction workers as companions, it will be nice to socialize with a more artistic crowd. Mother assured me not all of her offerings were this impractical so I hope once I explore the remaining packages I will find something more suitable to country life, I cannot see myself painting in this blue cloud of a dream but it will be an honor to represent our talented mother’s work on a new planetary society. 

Unfortunately before I can enjoy this wonderful event I must get through several necessary missions. The task of securing the long missing metrology equipment is foremost on my agenda as well as making contact with the Flynn Foundation. I have decided that if I am unable to meet with Dr. Falton in person then I will not share my Equine research during this visit. I may instead leave the digital scan of my current rendition with the Louvre representative in Delphi and arrange directly with Dr. Falton to pick it up from her. I will have to find a cryptic way to inform him of this arrangement before proceeding with this plan, but I hesitate to hand over the piece or any information about my Equine research to anyone else at the foundation. Call it paranoia or instinct but I cannot dismiss this feeling of a connection between the loss of communication from Dr. Falton and the death at my studio. Since the new painting of the Equine has some features that I have never seen depicted before in any previous work I am not willing to share this information with anyone but you Analis. It is only necessary for Dr. Falton to see them as I need his input on the new expansion toward his facility. The growth of the appendage flowing toward the sector of space of the children’s research station is becoming more and more evident. It is not as pronounced as we have seen from Earth a year from now but within several months it will be evident to everyone. It would be nice to have some inside information from the Flynn foundation about what is occurring there at this moment that could cause the Equine to react this way. As Dr. Falton has been the only person at the foundation to be forthcoming with any information relating to the work there I feel the need to share what I know with him.

I will close for now as the movement of the train is quickly putting me to sleep.

I remain your trusted confidant,

Victoria

Dearest sister,

I am once again aboard the Geo-train heading toward the city of Delphi. The last three weeks since my mountain excursion have been extremely productive and I felt enough has been accomplished to allow this necessary trip. When I received the message on my wrist pad last week that the metrology equipment was at last repaired, I made the required arrangements to travel to Delphi to handle it personally. My trust in the safe transport of these delicate pieces was greatly tried on its journey from Earth and I feel more secure handling the transfer myself. This way I am also able to inspect the equipment before they leave the repair facility and ensure all units are operational before they are loaded on the ground transport I hired. I will also need to arrange payment seeing as the estimate I received from the administrator was much higher than he originally quoted. All the more reason to check all is in order before removing the equipment from the facility.

I have had little time to write to you since my trip into the mountains. My work and the material testing have consumed every minute of my days and most of the time well into the night. I again postponed Katyna’s arrival as I wanted to ensure the project timeline was again on track before beginning her training. We have agreed to her move to the studio a week after my return from Delphi and I am using some of my free time on this journey to map out her apprenticeship.

The sustainability test on the samples of sage and pytherium have produced the predicted results and I have sent this data to your research lab by secure strip beam. The sage is an ideal wavelength carrier as we had hoped and appears to retain its properties well beyond the two hundred year mark we targeted for. The lifetime of the wavelength cycle for the turquoise has also tested well within tolerance during the second batch of tests and I have four more substances under observation at this moment. I will need to replenish my supply of the pytherium from the herbal shop on this trip as I have had no luck discovering a local source for this elusive material. My small supply purchased months ago has been totally consumed by the most recent Equine rendition and the additional analyses needed after my failed attempt during my illness. The material has amazing properties and is proving to be particularly promising on the neurological spectrum, promoting calming wavelength emissions as well as providing a vibrant green tint for my paintings. I only hope the herb shop I visited before has more available then the last time. I attempted to contact the proprietress before my trip but with no success. Not everyone is technically connected here, Some by choice but others because of the lack of available technology that plagues some of the areas of New London. There are many things I have taken for granted from my life on Earth that are not near common here and it becomes more apparent the longer I remain away from my former life. 

I have transformed the charcoal drawing I created on the last night of my camping trip into a full color version. The results show the increasing complexity of the Equine and the new forms it is revealing to my increasing perspective. I will use this piece for the spectral measurement carried out by the modified optical enhancement unit. From what I gather from your instructions all sections of the painting needs to be connected to sensors giving a full reading of the emissions of the material acting in unison. This should be the last piece of data you will need to begin your work upon arrival at the station. Although not all colors are yet natively sourced, it will give you an excellent model to compare to the real Equine emissions that are currently being collected by your enhancement unit on the Phycodurus-8. The few messages I have received from the planning officer aboard the space lab have inferred that all seems to be going as planned with your instructions. There have been no reports of trouble aboard the station since my departure but I am baffled there have been no further solar flares from Alpha Centauri. It will be interesting to see what readings from our own metrology equipment are produced pertaining to the solar flares once I have them at the studio and operational. I still have not received permission from the officials to have the historical data released even though I have contacted them several times about the inquiry. One of my planned missions while I am in the city is a personal appearance at their office to resolve this issue. Maybe that will activate their memory about my request. I have not involved the Louvre representative in this struggle, but it may come to that in the end.

I also will be meeting with the Flynn Foundation in Delphi. Unfortunately I will not be meeting with Dr. Falton this trip as he is currently off planet. This is a great disappointment since we had arranged to meet during this time frame and I have much to share with him about the movement of the Equine structure. The Doctor has been oddly quiet these past months and I have only received short responses to my messages. He mostly gives his reassurance that our agreement is still in place but there is no other usable information in his replies. On the slight chance he might become available during this visit I have included a copy of my latest view of the Anomaly in my travel sachet. I felt reluctant to include this information with the last message I have sent him due to security concerns and hope sharing a copy in person will be possible.

I will only be in the city for five days but I have arranged a small treat for myself during my visit. There is a small music conservatory located just a few streets from where I will be staying. Every month the conservatory gives a performance of music inspired by the Equine and the Louvre representative has arranged for me to attend. It is one of the arts I greatly admire but truly do not comprehend, You know I cannot carry a tune to save my life and all attempts by our parents to coax any type of musical aspirations from me or you failed catastrophically. In my mind I realize it is all just mathematical arrangements but I once heard mother refer to us as the musical equivalent of Cinderella’s step sisters. I believe that was around the time both our parents ceased their endeavors to bring out the music in us. It now only makes me appreciate this form of art more and I am looking forward to this opportunity. I can only make music with my colors as it pertains to the Equine and this will be an occasion to expand my senses to the oratory zone. Equine vibrations were also something we discussed during our initial study and after reading through the last entries in my Equine journal I find myself even more drawn to experience this interpretation of the Anomaly. I know this sounds a bit cryptic, but you will see what I mean when I relate the next Equine entry. I want to have the additional experience of the conservatory concert to enhance my understanding of the entries before I relate them to you. There are two separate journal passages describing the Equines first encounter with the inhabitants of New London and the oratory reference in each entries does not seem to be coincidence with my chance to attend this conservatory performance. I will wait till after the concert before attempting to read these again and transcribe them to you.

The landscape is slowly becoming green again as we climb into the mountain range surrounding Newton. I will not stop there this leg of the journey but have planned to do so on the return trip. I need to replenish my supply of coffee and hopefully a new supply of pytherium as I stated earlier. The train will only be in the station for an hour before resuming the journey to Delphi so I will have no time to disembark. The stopover is longer on the return trip and I plan to do my supply errand then. It is a pity I was unable to find a pytherium source near the studio, but I think my best option is to grow the plant myself. I will have to ask the herbalist if this is possible in the dry conditions surrounding my home. I know producing my own coffee is not an option so I will just have to be frugal with my new acquisitions this trip as my last supply ran out too quickly.

I find it difficult to grasp that I have been on Nova Britannia now for over six planetary months. The time has sped by so quickly as I struggle with my project schedule but is still seems an eternity till you are due to arrive. It is only another half year but the waiting is excruciating.

Miss you terribly,

Victoria 

Dear Analis,

I write to you on my final morning before returning to the studio. A light frost covers the entire mountainside heralding the coming of colder weather. The cup of camping coffee I hold in my hands is a welcome warmth as well as a vivid reminder of the trips we took with our parents long ago into the woods and highlands of Scotland. Father standing over the campfire, checking his small coffee pot to ensure the beverage was strong enough and the grounds did not infuse into the fragrant liquid at the bottom of the contraption. I do not have such a coffee producer, but the small press I do have works almost as well and no chance of unwanted residue in the bottom of my cup is an added bonus. The clear skies create the ideal conditions for these cold mornings and also present the most amazing views of the Equine. I found it near impossible to go to bed last night and leave the spectacle of the creature to the night. The creative mind within me was stirring and I sketched the Anomaly well into the early hours of the morning. I finally pulled myself away from my work when the frozen grass crinkled beneath my hand as I adjusted my position on the ground. The action wrested me out of my stupor, making me aware how cold and late it had become. It was not a waste as a study of my night’s work this morning has proven enlightening. Although my renditions are only in charcoal the surprising additions to the Equine form are increased in details I was previously not cognizant to in earlier versions. I am aching to return to the studio to work again with my colors and also to study the new acquisitions from this expedition. Yesterday I found another source of turquoise and a small sample of aquamarine. The aquamarine is not a sufficient enough quantity for a paint source but will be adequate for a tint and chemical analyses. I am reluctant to leave the area without additional samples but I must return today as my supplies are depleted and Addison will be expecting my arrival.

I have continued my study of the journal each evening when I returned from my explorations. The entrancing entries send my mind wondering in new directions and offer strange emotions to play along with the described visions as they unfold. I will transcribe another short offering in this letter as it helps me to interpret the meaning of my rambling words in the journal. The following conversation was located about halfway through the book. The material between this entry and the first one I reproduced earlier is only a collection of my thoughts on our project and how the move to New London has affected my life. It seems to really be the ramblings of my fever induced subconscious justifying my departure from Earth and the abandoning of our parents. I did not find anything truly helpful with these entries other than the guilty conscious of a sick woman so I will not include these in my corresponse to you. What follows is the next entry from the point of view of the Equine.

There is a sense of life nearby this emerging point. Complicated minds with the ability to comprehend exist within mental reach. The hunger for communication on any scale is almost an overwhelming sensation, threatening to overpower the logic needed to remain stable. The anticipation of contact after being denied for so many millennia eclipses all other thoughts. The transmitted wavelength is subtle but produces an immediate reaction in the nearest creature it encounters as a small vision of it’s form is sent into the mind. A violent mental withdrawal is sensed proving that the vision is too much for the simple mind to comprehend and she withdraws the touch. There was present only an instinctive quality within this creature’s mind and she decides to search for another possibly better candidate. Slowly she expands her probe further afield and senses a scattering of thoughts and energies more focused of purpose than mere survival. Three spherical bodies orbit the blazing heat source in this quadrant and the source of these cognizant energies is on one of these orbs. She focuses on each separately and finds the object of her search. The orb closest to the star contains the comprehensive cerebrums she is seeking. Not all are pleasant to perceive but a handful emit energy and wavelengths that please her. 

I have transcribed the entry word for word as it is written in my journal. I catch myself correcting the entries into proper grammatical form as I read but since this changes the significance of what transpires I have resisted this impulse. I feel myself drawn into the mind of the Equine as I study the pages and experience the raw emotions portrayed by the creature during the revelation of its first moments after emergence. I am uncertain if the feminine nomenclature is inferred by the Equine itself or if my own impression of the communication gave that designation to the conversation. I have never felt any type of gender related influence from my experiences with the Anomaly so I believe this is only my own mind sorting out the plethora of information transmitted by the creature during my illness. I will have to discuss this with Katryna as she has never referred to any type of gender related interaction within her readings. I have believed all along since you placed the seed within my thoughts that the Anomaly was an intelligent being but I designated it as a neutral creature neither feminine nor masculine. I believe I will retain that impression as I sense the Equine is beyond our ability to label it with such a binding concept as gender. It is apart from our understanding and to succumb to these conclusion we are falling short of the true appreciation of its nature. 

I must stop now and pack away my camp for the trip down to the studio. I have achieved what I set out to do here and am now ready to return to work.

I remain your loving sister.

Victoria

Dear Analis,

You have once again returned to my dreams and your appearance has renewed my sense of calm. Although the words spoken between us are beyond my memory I still retain the beautiful imagery that accompanied our conversation last night. The azure waters of the lake were back with schools of silver fish dancing above the white crystal sands. You reached below the surface and dug your hands into the fine sediment, bringing a full handful of the fine material above the water holding it to catch the rays of the sun. The grains sparkled like the stars in the sky and you laughed as you poured them back into the water, scattering the fish in all directions. I awoke with a renewed sense of purpose, pushing the tragedy of the last few days firmly from my mind as I headed out for my second day of exploration. I traveled to the extreme allowed distance to be able to return to my campsite before dark and came upon a series of shallow caves carved out by water long vanished from this part of the mountains. Although it was very small, I found a deposit of turquoise midway from the opening in one such cave. It will be just enough material for a small batch of emulsion and a little extra for initial research. It is now safety packed away for my return to the studio and my hopes for this excursion are again high. Unfortunately the gypsum deposits in this area are interlaced with iron and are not suited for the project’s needs. Iron is one of the few materials that is useless to the project as you know, promoting decomposition in the material and producing random interference signals within the paint. I hope to find another gypsum source for the canvas base but for now my turquoise find sustains my sense of success. Combined with your visit last night I felt once again a return to my former self and believed it was time to study the journal. I relate here an exact passage from one of the pages that I perused last night. It seems to be a piece from a conversation I had with the Equine in which it is relating its origins. I have not altered the words as I wanted you to have an exact transcription of what was written with no inference from me. 

The entry reads as follows:

A wash of emotions flood through me, bombarding my senses until I am no longer myself. I am floating in a vast expanse of space, slowly unfolding my compact body which has for so many ages been compressed. I sense the area around me and revel in the absence of the confinement that had plagued me for most of my existence. Brilliant hued tendrils unfold from my core, like the petals of a long imprisoned flower and expand into the empty blackness. There is no witness to this miraculous emergence as I am alone with no sense of life within the reaches of my consciousness. Fear and uncertainty attempt to overwhelm the initial calm as awareness of new groups of sensations are sensed nearby. The crushing presents of the dense dark matter that had enveloped this life for the entire first stage of its existence was no longer there. The emptiness and vastness of this space is almost beyond comprehension. The total vacuum of these new coordinates was intriguing but strived to overtake the calm within. So much room to expand and explore.
This is just a sample of the entries in my journal. I have only scanned a small portion of the book but it seems to hold visions of the Equine’s arrival into this sector as experienced through my eyes. As I read the entries I was at once transported out into space, envisioning all that had been depicted to me during my illness. It was if I was watching an all encompassing film experience showing the vision first hand shared by the equine. I have not yet discovered any items relating to you but I am only a third of the way through the memorandum as some of my writing is difficult to read. A few pages are even illegible and no matter how much I tried, my imagination could not decipher the handwriting. It seems to be mainly a revelation of the history of the Equines arrival in the Alpha Centauri system and what has occurred up until this moment. The entries start out describing how I myself are reacting to the Equines revelations but then they morph into a first person description narrative. A part of me questions this rendition as a product of my delusional mind but I hold on to the hope that it is indeed the Equine who guided me in my writing. I feel a new level of connection to the creature hovering above my camp site tonight and I am now convinced of the intelligence and sense of purpose of this incredible being. I am not sure how this information is going to help our cause but I now feel the Equine is a part of our incorporeal correspondence. I also now suspect why this journal and Katryna’s presence at my studio might post a threat to whoever is spying on our project. Proof of the origins and purpose of the Equine would be against the beliefs of many of the radical groups on New London, especially the Cultivist. Their philosophy of maintaining the autonomy of New London and the necessity of keeping all information about the Equine sacred would be compromised if it was public knowledge the creature was conversing and seemingly collaborating with a meer Earth born human. I should have seen before the kind of threat our project poses for these extremist groups. If the Equine is cooperating with us to bring a small piece of it’s magic to Earth that would greatly undermine all the cultivist community stands for. Not only the renegades but for the core group as well. I only hope the man who was killed did not relate too much in detail what my journal contained in his message before he was discovered. If we are lucky the final message he was trying to relay was his first attempt to pass on the information about my journal entries and Katryna’s presence to his superiors.
I will close for now, The journal is calling for my attention and I want a few minutes with it before I sleep. I have one more full day here in the mountains before my planned return to the studio. Hopefully tomorrow will bring me success in the search for the illusive lapis lazuli blue or whatever Neo-Britannia material is the alternative.
Love

Victoria

                                               Desert Mountains

Dear Analis,

I am writing to you from high above the river valley, perched on the edge of a gypsum rock fall. The beautiful pale material is scattered in all directions and gives the impression of fresh fallen snow. Although it is colder here than at the studio below, it is not yet the correct conditions for more than a chilled wind. I have left the chaos of the studio site for a few days to protect the little sanity I have left. The investigator arrived four days ago and after a thorough inquiry returned to Newton yesterday. He arranged to have the body transported from the site the day before and escorted Fells personally. Addison pleaded on his behalf to allow Fells to remain on site but the inspector would not allow it. He did agreed that the circumstances read as self defense, but he still needed to follow the correct protocol and complete the official process in Newton. Since Fells will need to remain in custody during this procedure, his departure was necessary. There is also the question of the man’s own safety as the Cultivists will now suspect something is amiss with their mole. Addison is now back at the studio scrambling to replace his two lost workers as the inspector estimated it would likely take several weeks before Fells could possible be returned. I sent a message to Katryna postponing her return and arranged a quick escape for myself. I headed up the mountain early yesterday with survey map in hand hoping a material expedition would clear my head and return the needed tranquility to my world. The studio is now only a place of strife and I hope it can be returned to its previous atmosphere of peace and creativity once I return. I have seen the effects of tragedy on my work and I will not risk this catastrophe flavoring what should be the apex of my art.
The view of the Equine when I arrived at my camp site last night quickly assured me that my decision to take this trip was justified. The once subtle blue tones propagating through the arms of the array were noticeably pronounced from my new vantage point. They almost venture toward an indigo shade and the rhythmic movement within the Equine was reaching out to my shattered nerves, calming my thoughts with amazing adeptness. I sat for several hours in the deep darkness of the desert mountains counting the falling stars and observing my companion in space. I awoke this morning with a new enthusiasm for life that has been missing over the last week. I had even been hesitant to study my lost journal since it was recovered, fearing the incident would flavor how I interpreted the entries and any insight I gained from them. The journal is now safety tucked away in my satchel and I hope by tomorrow I will be ready to study it. I agreed with Addison to make no mention of the book to the inspector. Fells knew nothing about the discovery as he was not present during our search of the dead man’s things and as it did not add anything to the investigation we chose to keep the information to ourselves. I was reluctant to give the journal up to the inspector as It may have been weeks before it was returned if at all.
The variety of material in this area has not been a disappointment so far and I have already collected several samples as I made my way up the mountain yesterday. I picked out a base camp site within a small protected alcove of rock etched out by the constant winds blowing through the canyon. The sound through the stunted pine trees is also adding to the tranquility of this spot and gives some color to the pervasive white and grey of the surrounding terrain. I hope to remain here three days before returning to the studio. This should be enough time to collect ample samples to keep me busy through the cold season and recover my ability to concentrate so I can return to my work. This excursion was part of my plan all along but I was not expecting to be using it as therapy as well. I will try to cover as much territory as possible each day to obtain a diverse sample selection from the surrounding area. The camp site is mainly surrounded by gypsum deposits and granite but the survey shows heavy metal deposits only a kilometer away. I will head there today for my first search, working my way up into the higher elevations. Semi-precious minerals are rare in this part of the planet but Addison informed me that relatives of the turquoise and aquamarine family are present within the area and with a bit of luck I can obtain some samples. Since I will need a vibrant blue color for my rendition that carries the correct wavelength signals of the native source material I am hoping to find one here. It is too much to expect a local source of lapis lazulis or ultramarine but I can still dream.
I have become very dissatisfied with the colors I brought with me from Earth. We were correct in our belief that the materials for our project would need to come exclusively from New London. I have struggled to capture the exact tint to correctly depict the Equine form and no matter how intricate my mixing has become the Earth materials are not adequate. I even question the oil and acrylic base I am now using from the imported supplies and have come to the conclusion that I will need to search for a local alternative to this color stabilizer before I progress any further with the project. When I return to the studio the final phase of the sustainability test will be complete and I will know for certain that the native materials hold the signals required for the finish work to deliver. I am already planning that the numbers will be ideal and the next steps can be put into place. This is a bit shortsighted of me to place such trust in these test given the mix base but I am focusing on the next stage at this point and all my hopes are that it will produce the needed results. I must see the positive now as the negative is straining to drown me. 

I am alone here on this mountain but I am not lonely. The Equine and your constant presence are here with me as a reminder of the incredible vision we are creating for humanity.

Love Always,

Victoria 

Studio – New London

Dear Analis,

I have disturbing news over my lost journal and am struggling with what the repercussions from this discovery will be.  Addison came across the book among the items belonging to one of his team.  An altercation broke out between two of his workers and one of them was fatally injured during the violent confrontation.  The man that was killed was apparently a mole placed within Addison’s team by the Cultavists.  I am not certain if he was connected to the renegade group or a more official branch but as he is now unable to answer any questions I don’t think we will ever know.  One of his fellow worker, a man named Fells,  discovered  him using the electronic communication equipment inside my studio and confronted him.  There was a half finished message on the screen and Fells could see my name and Katryna’s name standing there before the man could block his view. During the ensuing struggle for control of the room, Fells claims to have stabbed the man in self defense.  All I know for sure is what I witnessed myself.  Addison and I were busy inspecting one of the storage units and we heard a loud outbreak coming from the small room that contains the communication equipment.  By the time we entered the room the first man was dead, stabbed through the heart.  Fells claimed he was attacked first as he tried to secure the message from the other man.  Hiis story seems to be true as  Addison discovered a small molecular dissembler in the palm of the assailants hand, which was trapped beneath his fallen body.  I do not know where he could have obtained a weapon of this magnitude since I have only seen one of this type in the hands of the riot police on Earth.  It is illegal for a private citizen to possess this type of fire power on Earth and is completely banned on New London.  Luckily the man had been unable to wipe the message he was busy with and we were able to retrieve what he had completed. It was indeed a message about Katryna and myself.  It described the nature of her arrival here and the date.  There was also a short description of what she provided for her client and her assumed abilities relating to the Equine. There was  also some details about my work here and the possible repercussions this interference could have on the Cultivist agenda for the planet. It also included a list of the equipment present in my lab. Some were mentioned by name but the unique equipment built by you was only physically described as he could  not have known what their use was.  Fells is a New-Britannian the same as Katryna and they view spying and subterfuge very darkly. When Addison and I searched the dead man’s personal area after the incident we found my journal inside a locked case along with a wrist pad and charge unit.  When we studied the charge unit we could see that it had been damaged recently and would not have been able to charge the wrist unit anymore. This would explain why the man had risked using my communication equipment to attempt an outgoing message. He must have been using the wrist pad up until now to send information, but I assume the appearance of Katryna and the fact she is a well known Equine link prompted him to risk contact with his superiors by alternate means. We have informed the security forces in Newton of the occurrence as Addison believes this is beyond the limited staff in Medici. The Newton division are arranging an investigating agent to be sent  here and have asked us to detain Fells until they arrive. Addison has already moved the body of the alleged spy  to the construction storage container used to store the ice molds for the clay bricks. He also placed the man’s possessions within his  personal lockcase for safekeeping. . It will be several days before the inspector arrives so I am happy this option is available.  Fells seems accepting of his situation and Addison has allowed him to continue his work unimpaired till the authorities arrive.  Since the crew is now down one man already this seemed the best option.  

I am happy to have recovered my journal but the circumstances in which is was taken and then recovered has opened up some disturbing possibilities. I do not have the heart at this time to delve into the contents of the journal as I am still disturbed by the activity yesterday.  I hope by tomorrow I can steel myself enough to study my scribbles as I suspect something within the journals  pages prompted this man to instigate it’s theft. Katryna is scheduled to return in two days and I struggle whether to postpone her arrival until after the inspector has completed his inquiry. I could use her steadfast company to calm my mind but I do not want her  to become involved with this tragedy as she was not here at the time. I myself do not feel safe at this moment  and since I do not believe the death of this man will cause the Cultivist meddling to cease I am not comfortable risking her presence. I do not know why these people feel threatened by my work but if a molecular dissembler and secret wrist units are involved I feel fairly certain it is bigger than a disgruntled construction extremist.  Addison has worked with this same team for over two years and no one suspected there was a spy in their midst. There has been many security sensitive builds completed by them and this revelation is not sitting well with Addison.  He has been in contact with the head of his division to let him know about the potential leak and also to request a replacement for extra personnel to complete the build.  The man that was killed specialized in the water production and reclamation equipment and there is still work to be completed that Addison cannot do himself.  The studio and outlying buildings are still connected to the water storage tank so it will not disturb operations,  but once this storage is depleted the air to water extractor will need to be operational.

I will stop for now as my eyes are slowly closing on their own.  This is the first time since I arrived here that fear has entered my realm of thought.  Fear for myself, but also for you.

Love,

Victoria

My dear Analis,

This letter must be fully dedicated to my meeting with Katryna and the amazing outcome.  She arrived four days ago riding on the back of a Roan no less, with no prior warning or message to herald her coming.  She informed me that it was best this way as a spontaneous meeting always produced the best results. My instincts were correct and she definitely has seen a mutual benefit in seeking a friendship between us. Not only has she agreed to be a subject for my research but she also has informed me of what I can do for her.  The relationship she has with the Equine has been progressively changing over the last few months and she feels I am an influence on this alteration somehow.  From what she describes the change is not necessarily a bad thing but some type of metamorphosis occurring that needs my involvement to progress to the next level. I am only at the tip of discovering how this will be propagated between myself and Katryna but I will keep an accurate record for all interactions as they unfold. The first task at hand is for me to achieve a thorough understanding of exactly what Katryna’s abilities are. We spent our first day together discussing the extent of her relationship with the Equine.  Her gift has always been an internal process that materialized just after her tenth naming day. The Equine began to send her visions of places she had never been  and people she did not recognize.  At first she pushed them away as echos of nightly dreams but that quickly changed as she neared her sixteenth year.  A man came to visit her family at their farm and she recognized him from one of her visions.  He was a grain merchant from Delphi who had come to negotiate a new contract with Katryna’s grandfather.  Although she had never met him she knew that he had three sons near her age and that the youngest was gravely ill. During the meeting between the two men, katryna barged into the room and informed the man that his son needed to be taken to a doctor connected to the Flynn foundation.. Her grandfather looked at her intuitively and asked her how she knew this.  He did not question the validity of her words but only the source.  Katryna quickly related the increasing visions and where they came from. Her grandfather only acknowledged her explanation with a nod of his head and motioned for her to leave the two men to their business. Katryna left in total confusion and sought out the solace of her room.  The next day her grandfather called her to his study.  She sat in his big armchair next to the hearth as he paced back and forth across the hardwood floors. After several minutes he pulled up a chair and quietly explained what was occurring between  the Equine and Katryna. During the first years of colonization,  among a select few of the  first New-britannians, there manifested an  ability to  converse with the denizen floating above their planet. Her grandmother had been one of the first to encounter this wondrous gift and it seemed Katryna had also been blessed with this ability.  Her grandmother had died before she was born but her grandfather had retained all of her journals recording the Equine encounters she had experienced.  He handed her a box and informed her the records  now belonged to her. That was the beginning of Katrynas path to understanding the relationship she learned to cherish during the last few years.  Over the past few months that relationship has changed.  She has been receiving communication from the Equine that includes things she is again unfamiliar with. Where normally she has alway received images of people and places she now receives visions of inanimate objects as well.  I gather from her short description of some of these items that they are technology not present on New London, but from Earth.  This is one of the reasons she believes I am best suited to assist her with this transition.  Because her gift has always been an internal process she recorded her visions as her grandmother did, in a journal as written word.  She believes that at this progression of the conversations a visionary record must be started and she requires me to assist her with this.  In other words she wants to become my apprentice and learn to paint.  Teaching is not one of my strong points and I hesitated at first to her request. Unfortunately this is the only way she would agree to my research involving her so I have conceded to her request. I will need to clear this agreement with the Louvre representative but I will portray her as closer to a test subject than as an assistant.  I do not want to delay my work waiting for the long drawn out clearance process needed for her to be an official member of our project.  It is slightly deceptive on my part but I do not want to lose this opportunity.

The Equine has also begun to show Katryna visions that include so many visual symbols that there is now a necessity for her to interpret these into pictorial form.  During her last few session with clients she claims to have missed many of the hidden information given by the Equine because she could not record in enough detail without including some type of sketch. In the past her written record was enough to give a true meaning to her clients of the Equine message but now the details and subject matter are beyond the ability of a written description and she now needs a supplement to her recording methods. She believes I am the answer to her dilemma. I realize this might also propagate delays to our final work but I know it will also bring more benefits in exchange,  

I still have not discovered what became of my journal which I used while ill.  The doctor did not know anything about it and as I suspected Katryna did not either.  She did remember it in my room on her previous visit but adamantly states it was still on the bed table when she left. I grapple with how it could have disappeared but I have not given up hope yet. I still have no recollection of those dark conversations but I do feel the emotional echoes left by the experience. I have planned a mountain excursion at the end of this week and once I return I will see if meditating on the subject will recover some of these recordings.  

After staying for three days Katryna has now returned to her home to make preparation for a two month stay at my studio.  I will first train her to use the distillation equipment since the first step for any apprentice is the production and care of painting materials. I have restarted the sustainability test on the copper and sage and fired two new clay holding containers to supplement the large gourd use for the distillation unit. The finished clay product  has turned out to be a perfect alternative to the rare river gourds and the raw material is readily available. They are also convenient to store the final mixed colors in since they do not distort the final tint and can easily be created in any form. I only need now find the correct canvas base material and I hope the mountain region will deliver as I hoped.  Since I will need additional supplies to accommodate Katryna and her upcoming apprenticeship, I will keep this in mind a I look ahead.

My planned return to Delphi for the repaired equipment is also quickly approaching and I can arrange for additional supplies there. I am amazed at how quickly the time is passing and also aware of how much there still is to accomplish before I am prepared for our joint part of the project to begin. I am not sure how I will adjust to Katryna’s  constant presence but if it will allow me to study her and her abilities I think it is well worth the sacrifice on my part. We will see what effect it has on my relationship with the Equine. I have had no further memorable dreams over the last week but I still hope for a return of what occurred during my illness. At the least a message from you.  It need not be fish this time. Any creature will do.

Love

Victoria

Dear Analis,

The wonders of Autumn have arrived.  I assume that is what it is called on New London for lack of a new designation.  I apologize for the long gap between correspondence  but I became ill after exposure to the prolonged storm and have just recovered enough for cognizant thought to be possible.  The village physician assured me that it is a common occurrence for newcomers to become ill after first exposure to the rainy season here. The lungs must adjust to the new microbes present in the soil of this region and they only become airborne when the humidity rises above the fifty percent level. They are not deadly for the most part but I have spent a very agonizing three weeks switching between high fever and delirium,  to a strength sapping cough and lung infection.  It is similar to the adjustment all young children experience when first exposed to the wonders of school and all the new viral and bacterial carrying occupants they meet there. Addison himself was not subject to this experience but several of his imported crew were so he knew exactly what was happening to me and contacted the doctor at once. I now have been given a clean bill of health and can resume my normal activities.  I wish I had been forewarned about the possibility of this exposure but since it is not usually as severe as was my case nobody deemed it necessary. Understandably my work has suffered and my workshop has stood dark and unoccupied for the duration of my illness.  I also have lost part of the window for my mountain excursion and will have to limit my plan to one trip to study and gather the afore mentioned materials.  All I can do now is pick up where I left off and see what damage has been done to the project timeline. I will have to restart the delicate sustainability tests as I was in no state to continue with the required process when the unit completed its run two weeks ago. The numbers were contaminated by the materials prolonged time spent in the test units and all will need to be recalibrated and returned to basic settings before I can begin anew. I could try and save the initial test run but I fear this will only add more delay if the data proves false. I made the decision to cut the time loses and start with fresh samples.  It seems a terrible waste of time but there is no room for error this early in the process.

The heavy rains lasted for six days and have transformed the land around the studio into a tropical jungle.  After the water had receded, plant seeds long dormant in the soil sprang to life and seemed to grow meters overnight, The ground is now covered in thick yellow vines snaking every direction with brilliant chartreuse blooms every few centimeters. I vaguely remember glancing out the window in my delirium convinced I had been transported to a fantasy land.  The crew says they will only have a brief lifetime and after a few more weeks will retreat once again into the ground to await the next deluge.  This will not likely occur again until the spring so I am taking in the site of so much plant life while I can.  Once the vines have gone this marks the unofficial start of the cold season here.  After that only the hard frozen ground will be visible for the duration of the cold cycle.  Nova Britannia has a longer orbit around its star than Earth so the seasons durations are slightly longer.  The planet has a five hundred and fifty day cycle around Proximus with a slightly longer day of twenty seven hours.  Since my studio is located in the equatorial zone the seasonal changes are not as extreme as in the northern and southern hemispheres of New London but it still means the season’s last several weeks longer than on Earth.

Unfortunately Katryna made her appearance during my illness and  although Addison assured me she was here I cannot for the life of me remember a thing about it.  She even remained a few days to help during the height of my delirium and promised to return after the illness had run its course.  I sent a message today to inform her that I have recovered and hoped to hear from her soon.  Although I know now it is not related to her visit a strange thing has occurred during my illness and I am trying to sort out the particulars.  A piece of my research has gone missing. When I first fell sick I realized it was the perfect opportunity to study the response of the unconscious mind to the Equine presence. I remembered you once lectured on the changes that occur to the neurological signals of the brain when the body temperature rises during short term illness. The resultant delirium increased the internal conversations the person had in their mind as recorded by the elevated brain activity on the attached neural scanner.  This memory triggered an idea in me to record what was occurring in my brain during the depths of my malaise. If it had been practical I would have connected the scanner to my addled head, but as I was in no state to run this sophisticated piece of equipment I placed a journal next to my bed as my only alternative.  For the duration of the next three weeks I was not always lucid about what I recorded in the book but I do know that I did write in it frequently.  There were vague memories of conversations with the Equine and also with you that I scrambled to record before the echo was gone. Some of the entries were illegible but I recall close to the end of the delirium, as I was once again aware of at least what planet I was on, that the journal was nearly full and that I would have to find another. The next time I was again awake in my room the journal was not on the side table. Addison swore to me that other than the normal crew no one else has been on site but the doctor and Katryna.  Since her visit was before I was conscious then it was not possible for her to have taken it as I saw it when I awoke the first time. I can only suspect the physician moved it on his last visit or accidently picked it up with his own equipment.  He will be here tomorrow for my final assessment so I will discuss it with him then.  It is nowhere in the house or workshop and I can think of no other explanation. Since it is only the scribbling of a delirious artist I can see no value for someone to take it, but for me it is a heartbreaking loss. I remember none of the Equine experiences when I was incapacitated but I am left with the same impression as occurs when I have a beautiful dream. There still remains that residue of extreme happiness and excitement I experience  when something amazing occurs during my sleep. As if the answer to a long sought after question has now been revealed and I realize my true purpose in life and why I exist. Sadly the echo of this revelation is still with me but what it was does not remain.  If I wrote these thoughts down in the missing journal what a loss that will be if I cannot recover it. Since your conversations are also supposedly recorded there I will put energy into this search,  Addison did confirm that the journal exists as he saw a book lying on my bed table throughout most of my illness,  At least I know it is not a figment of my idled mind.

I am aching to begin work again and so in order for me to start fresh tomorrow I will close for now. I hope I can write tomorrow with good news over the journal.

Love always,

Victoria