A Beautiful Questions – Author Frank Wilczek
The Grand Design – Author Stephen Hawkings
A Brief History of Time – Author Stephen Hawkings
The letters of Vincent van Gogh
Eye of the Beholder – Author Laura J. Snyder
Reductionism in Art and Brain Science – Author Eric R. Kandel
Studio – New London
Dear sister,
The rain is pounding the desert floor outside and the world has turned from a brilliant clear vision to a grey misty outline. The construction came to an abrupt halt as the skies above my home opened up to a surprising deluge of moisture that has not abated for the past three days. The change in weather was much celebrated by the members of the crew as this marks the beginning of the rainy cycle for this part of the globe and a relief from the incessant heat. Any type of moisture is welcomed here and Addison has assured me that it will not propagate any delay in relation to the completion of the project. His timetable included this expected halt to outside work and the members of his crew are now busy within their temporary workshop preparing for the final stage of the build. For me the change in weather is not so fortuitous since the grey overcast has completely obscured my view of the Equine and brought to a cessation any new material expedition for the duration of the storm. I have been able to catch up on my lab notes and organizational tasks but as you are well aware these are not my favorite pastimes. The lab and studio are now in too much order for my comfort and I feel my creatively slipping away while I gaze at the neat rows of acrylic paint containers and stacked empty canvases. The distillation units now stand idle in the conservatory as the additional humidity in the atmosphere outside does not promote the needed environment condition to produce a desirable finished product. The sustainability tests are still in their initial run on the first material subjects and the two week test will not be completed for three more days. This leaves me limited things to do at this time and I will need these results to continue to the next stage.
I do have positive news. I received a communication from Katryna answering the request I left her when I was in Medici. She has agreed to a meeting at my location but gave no indication when. It seems from her message that she has prior engagements for the next few weeks then she will contact me again. Her tone in the correspondence was noncommittal about my referred request of scientific study but we will take it one step at a time. I now have her electronic contact point for my message center so there is no longer a need to relay messages through the village center. I worried about using such a public form of contact to relay my request to Katryna and I hope she read between my cryptic wording to realize the jist of my intended message. I can now be more clear on my request as my private electronic system if far more secure than the public one at the village hall. It is a welcome divergence to think over what her visit will bring to our work and I am using this weather delay to map out a plan if Katryna agrees to be my research subject.
The loss of the visual stimulation from the Equine has an alarming effect on me. I was under the impression that even though the Equine is now out of sight that the emanations would not diminish. It may be only the gray world outside but I was sadly wrong in my assumptions. As the days of rain have continued my mental clarity decreases and my mood has slipped into a shallow depression I am struggling to climb out of. I should be used to this type of weather as days of sunshine are as rare in our homeland of England as rain is here, but I realize now that the visual spectrum is paramount to my relationship to the Anomaly and it’s visual absence is affecting that connection. I am afraid if this weather persists I will need to travel away from the site, at least until the skies clear. Addison assured me that although the storms at this time of year are frequent they rarely lasted over a few days. I hope he is correct about this one as three days already seems an eternity without my companion.
Before the cold weather sets in I have planned an excursion to the desert highlands east of the studio location. The rains have delayed this plan slightly but I should be able to squeeze at least two trips in before the conditions are too cold for outdoor activities. There are reportedly a diverse selection of mineral and metal deposits in the upper elevations and I want to take some samples for the next stage of the project. The new survey I received while on the Derringer shows a large gypsum source ten kilometer from the studio. This would be an ideal medium for the enhanced canvas foundation I would like to experiment with for my renditions. Once the colors and materials are finalized I will need to find a more stable base for the final work and this seems an optimal material to begin exploring. The molecular stability along with the spectral neutrality of the Earth variety of gypsum were promising in our initial study and I am confident the New London version will serve. Once the winter sets in it will not be practical to travel to the higher elevation since snow is very common over the one kilometer altitude mark and normally last for several months. I hope there is a long enough gape in the rain to allow for the trips.
I have spent several days thinking about the extra personnel I will be acquiring in the next month or so. When the construction is finally complete I will be ready for a research assistant and someone for domestic services. The food synthesizer is adequate during this stage of the project but I am not keen on spending the next few years eating algae and soy based proteins out of a machine no matter how creative the flavoring. The Louvre rep I met with in Delphi has already arranged for a qualified assistant and instructed me to contact her when I am prepared for him to be sent. She also gave me a contact in Newton for the domestic situation. There are two women and one man that were previously employed by Smithsonian employees living in Delphi. The families have now returned to Earth after completing their assignments and their staff has been left without positions. Since the work on the information program the Smithsonian produces for most of the inhabited galaxy is near as sensitive as the work we are doing, the security clearance of their staff is adequate for our needs. This leaves the three candidates free to pursue other employment. From what the Louvre rep said they are all three willing to relocate to my area of the world in order to retain their security status. I will of course have to meet them first as I only need one person but from their background paperwork their credentials are good and they come highly recommended.
The land around the studio is now a muddy bog and I have not stepped outside since the storm began. I had a moment of panic when the sky opened up and I saw the huge drops begin to pelt the outside of my clay home. Visions of being left standing in a huge melting mud pit passed through my thoughts before I remembered Addison’s reassuring lecture on the durability of the clay construction. There was no threat of the storm damaging the structure but being more familiar with rows of red brick houses I did experience that short burst of panic. It is indeed an amazing material and my lab equipment has given testament to that. The environmental readings have not drifted an iota from the tight specifications needed and the residential part of the structure is warm and inviting. The renewable energy has also proved itself infallible as there has been no power dips or failures in the last few days. Addison shutdown the fusion reactor over a week ago as the solar, kinetic and wind farms are fully operational. Since I now have placed almost the full load on the source at this point it seems there will be no issue with what has been installed per our estimations. It is comforting to know that some things are progressing as expected. The weather on the other hand is at this moment not cooperating.
I wish you could project some optimism and confidence from within your static condition as I need it at this time.
Love,
Victoria
Studio, New London
Dear Analis,
It has taken almost two weeks but finally I have achieved a workable balance between the scientific focus I require to continue my investigation and the overwhelming draw of my art. The creative brain within me revels in the night view of the Equine so I give my full attention to my painting during the darkest hours of the planet’s daily rotation. The remaining time is split between the needed research i strive to continue and the required routine of daily living. The construction activity is now focused on the far side of the studio site as all work has been completed on the central residence and studio structure. I can easily block this distant activity from my routine as there are few interruptions that need my attention. The lab equipment is fully functional and the environmental tests have produced results well within the required parameters. I struggled for several days with the neurology units as they were last used on Earth. The wave scanner was out of calibration and needed to be completely retuned after I checked the initial numbers. I have done as you directed and conducted a third readout of my brain spectrum to compare to the baseline scan we performed on Earth and the second performed in your new lab on the Phycodurus-8. Since your instructions specified that the calibration parameters were to be as narrow as possible before the test was conducted, I believe this is why the setup took me so long. I will perform one more scan in just over a month on myself and I will then send the information to your database. The data from my Earth scan and the test done on my visit aboard the station are already uploaded and waiting for your perusal.
As you have directed, I did not conduct any type of comparison between the three test. You were very mysterious about this point but I deduce it has something to do with tainting the evidence with my own perspective. Hopefully by next month I will have pictorial scans from one of the New Britannians to add to your database. I have been unsuccessful in securing an agreement with any of the locals for this process, but I still have hopes of making contact again with Katryna. My first visit to Medici last week was very interesting but did not produce the expected contact with her that I had hoped for. All I discovered was that she lives east of the village and only comes into town a few times a month. I have left a message at the village hall and hope she will not be long in responding. If I have not heard from her within the next month Addison has offered to transport me there on his next supply run. There is a clay source used for the build located in the general area of her home and he is willing to make a short detour. I hope it does not come to this as I hesitate to be away from my work at this time.
During my short visit to Medici I was able to explore the east part of the village. The majority of the structures are constructed of the local clay blocks and the architectural arrangement hints of the communal concepts used by the followers of Arcasanti. Although it deviates from the societies that have popped up on Earth over the last century the similarities between eastern Medici and these territorial saving villages are evident. The eastern section of Medici consists of one large structure of interconnecting buildings arranged in a compact octagon surrounding a central village community hall. One side of the structure is bordered by the river and the remaining seven sides by food and energy farms as mandated by the New London planetary charter. Residential units and shops are equally mixed as you move around the structure and all surround the central building housing the community hall. This structure built in the center of the octagon is the only building with windows on all sides. The surrounding buildings only have windows facing the center. I am sure it has some purpose but I will have to do some investigation as my driver did not say when I asked. It is logical that there is a security aspect to this type of arrangement but I am not certain this is the case. The entire top of the structures including the town hall are covered in thick turf for insulation and oxygen production per the planet regulations and it makes for a very colorful display. I saw quite a variety of businesses within this part of Medici and it seems I will be able to purchase most of my necessities from local sources. I was able to pick up the custom tapestry cushions I ordered for the window seats during my time there along with a few other white goods for my sleeping room. One of the things I did to create my work balance was to move back into the residential part of the studio. I realized in order to sustain any level of concentration on the research side of my work, I would need to return to a normal sleeping arrangement and not dream surrounded constantly by my renditions of the Equine. Even a simple thing as arranging a shopping trip for linens removes me from the overpowering stimulus of the studio and allows me to refocus on the required plans to move forward.
Tomorrow I will begin the sustainability test on the sage and copper. These two substances have shown the most promise for wave carriers within the painting and I hope their wavelength characteristics show they are able to sustain the signal for the required timeframe we have allowed for. I left these tests till now as the environmental stability of the studio is so critical to the end results. As I said, the lab is now at optimal conditions for the instruments and I can focus my full concentration to the last leg of testing for these initial substances. I will be using one of my first equine renditions produced here for the test subject since the acrylics have had the most time to stabilize. It is not my most accurate portrayal but I want to rule out erroneous readings from the possibility of molecular instability in the newer works. My perception has shifted significantly since I produced these earlier works and I am fascinated with what my brain has added to the more recent Equine images. We were so convinced that once my brain began to adjust to this new world my explicit memory would take over and I could train myself to relate what I see to my pre-existing experiences. Instead my brain is reverting to its implicit memory. Unconsciously pulling comparisons from my past that are instinctive and involuntary. I am excited to see how my scan has changed between the three readings but as your instructions forbad this I am hoping you can make sense of the changes that are occurring within me. Since I am not a Perceptual Neurologist as you are I will have to wait for your input. At least by that time I hope to have a native scan for you to work with.
I await your arrival with less patience each day.
Love
Victoria
Dear Analis,
The first set of extrapolated data is now on it’s way by strip beam to your laboratory on the Phycodurus. It will be so difficult waiting for ten months until you arrive and are able to tell me what you find in the numbers. I am having trouble staying grounded and I need your analytical mind to keep me in check. If I analyze the results with my scientific mind I see much promise in my progress so far. It appears our research is taking a step toward the type of results we hoped to obtain during our original groundwork. The issue is that when I view the results from an artistic perspective I lose all sense of reality and my mind jumps to visions of the amazing things we will be able to achieve here and I forget all about what we ultimately need to achieve. The variety of colors and shades that have emerged from my experiments with the surrounding material are without comparison to anything on Earth. The entire back wall of my studio is covered in the studies I have completed over the last weeks and I find myself waking from the depths of sleep with new visions aching to be depicted on canvas. My living quarters are now available for my immediate occupation but I find myself reluctant to leave my work space and I have moved a small sleeping mat into the work area so I can sleep surrounded by my depictions of the Equine. I had the data to send to you for over two weeks before I finally pulled myself away from my painting long enough to set up the messaging equipment yesterday. I am slightly upset at myself for becoming so obsessed but if you can imagine a new world that offers colors in which you have never experience in your lifetime it is understandable that is is beyond my weak mind to resist. I will not be able to scan any of this new work into my digitized system as the program does not have the reference to interpret these new additions to the visible spectrum. I see now the issue with photographic representation of the Equine that now exist on Earth. It is impossible to capture it accurately with the currently available equipment. I am hoping I can alter my scanner program to meet this challenge in the future but for now you will have to be satisfied with only the data from my research and your own view of the Anomaly. I must admit that I have done nothing else over the last week but paint so I will need to shift my priorities in the coming day to return to my material trials.
Each day my vision adjusts to this new world and the Equine reveals more and more of itself as it drifts in the sky above. As my brain learns to interpret this new environment, new colors and hues are added to the limited spectral catalog I experienced on Earth and the internal structure of the creature becomes more apparent as my enhanced eyesight progresses. The surrounding countryside has also transformed and I now see the local terrain emerging into an unrecognizable fairy world. The browns and greens of the desert basin and the green and blues of the nearby river was the limit of my pallet when I first arrived. Now that has all changed into a fascinating world of azure waves and brilliant indigo shades that I never in my deepest imagination knew to exist. My hands are stained an unexplainable color from my constant mixing and my surrounding work space is a chaotic dream of splashes and overflows from various mishaps. I am now occupied with my fourth full rendition of the Equine and the distillation equipment I built is constantly in use. I have constructed two more units but neither work as well as the original model. I suspect it has something to do with the container used for the collection of the finished product. I have only found one of the original type gourds that is large enough for the purpose and I am constantly on the lookout for another. I had to use glass flasks from my lab equipment as substitutes for the last two constructs and these produce a much different end product that does not mix well with the acrylic base. I will attempt to produce a container from the local clay next and hope this results in a more adequate vessel than the items from Earth. The gourd is perfect but even though I have been on the lookout during my weekly stroll to the river bank I have been unable to find another of an adequate size.
Since the completion of the living quarters there is now only a skeleton crew left on site to complete the finishing touches to the building and surrounding support structures. Addison says everything will be completed and operational before the onset of the cold season and he assures me that with any more than the three workers currently here, we will only get in each other’s way. That gives us just over three months left for the completion of the build, then the site will be fully operational. Addison has given me a local contact in case I have issues with the environmental equipment and another person for the sustainable energy. Since I have been involved in the bulk of the build activities I am fairly comfortable with all the various equipment and hopefully I will be able to solve most problem that arise. There is a supply and transport service schedule to visit the site every months and I can always send a message if more assistance is needed.
I received a message earlier this week from Nicolas. It was so comforting to hear from him and find out how his project is progressing. From his letter I could feel that his enthusiasm for his work has escalated and that his expectations have also been surpassed. He states that the work and results are far beyond his original ideas and that new possibilities come to him everyday. He described a few of the dishes he has created for his clients and a little bit about the effects his food produces. He was slightly vague on that last point but I suppose he also has his trade secrets to protect. After I finish my letter to you I will write a return message to him as I have not contacted him since my arrival at the site. I also want to ask him if he is also experiencing the visual adjustments to the new planet as I am. I have asked Addison about the same thing but I only get a strange shake of his head and nothing further. I hope to arrange a visit at the end of the build to visit Nicolas at his location. I would like to see first hand what he has produced and if it could possibly be beneficial to my work. He may be reluctant to share on this level but from the different materials he mentions in his letter I feel certain we can both profit from this shared knowledge. I only hope Nicolas feels the same.
I have made arrangements to travel to Medici at the end of this week. It will do my brain good to be separated from the studio for the day and I need some additional supplies that I prefer to choose for myself. I hope it will allow me to reset my priorities as I have neglected the research portion of my work over the last few weeks. I will also attempt to locate Katryna and convince her to visit me at the studio. Although I still feel her presence it has taken a backseat to the overpowering experience of my art. I still feel a need to reconnect with her but I will have to be delicate in how I bring my needs across. I do not want to dissuade her by giving her the idea that she is a research subject, but the scientist in me feels that is exactly what I want her to be. Hopefully we can come to a mutual understanding and work together. For all I know she may also want to study me. As I said in my last letter, I feel she has unfinished business with me.
It is at times like these that I really need your analytical mind for guidance. You can see from my letter that there is no focus in my life at this moment. As you have not come to me in a dream since my arrival at the studio site I beg you to repair that omission.
Love you always,
Victoria
Studio Site New London
Dear Analis,
The meditative effect I experienced on the Phycodurus 8 has returned but with the added intensity of the full unobscured illumination from the being above. I feel the Equine’s presence as soon as I rise in the morning and it drives me through my day, pulling me back to remain focused on the present whenever I drift from my intended task. I know this will sound strange but I feel that it is happy I am here and seems to find a purpose in guiding my scattered thoughts. I don’t know what I would have done if not for that dragoon. I would probably still be unpacking my clothes.
My thoughts keep returning to the train journey here and my conversations with Katryna. The manner in which she shrugged away my doubts concerning her abilities still haunt me even weeks after the encounter. She gave me the impression of being much older than her limited years and I can still recall the strange flash of green in her brown eyes when I questioned the validity of her gift. It was not anger that I saw in her young face but a knowing glimpse into the absolute confidence she possesses in respect to anything relating to the Equine. I have not seen her since leaving the train platform in Medici but I feel her presence every day as if she is watching over my shoulder as I continue my research. It is a bit unnerving and no amount of meditation has been able to relieve this sensation. Soon the studio will be fully operational and I will have time to return to Medici and seek Katryna out. It might be only an errant idea from my subconscious but I feel she has unfinished business with me and I need to address it. Unfortunately she did not share her residential information with me but as she has lived in the community for several years it should not be difficult to track her down.
I have returned to my practice of Hermeticism in the last few weeks. Not only as a relief from Katrynas presence but also to direct my focus to the tasks at hand. I find myself trying to do four things at once and the ongoing distraction of the construction does not help. There is no sea here to sit beside and meditate to the rhythmic waves but I am able to converse with the Equine and that is far better than any beach could offer.
The studio is now complete and the framework for the attached residence is in place. There is a team of seven builders on site at the moment including Addison and the work is moving quickly toward completion. When complete the residential dwelling will have two large bedrooms, an open plan kitchen and eating area along with living space that runs the entire length of the structure. There is a door connecting the living area directly to the studio and room for a small office in one corner near the entrance to the kitchen has been planned. I brought few books with me from Earth as my digital library is quite extensive but I still arranged to include a small built in book shelf along one wall of the office corner. It will be positioned directly next to one of the deep set window seats and I have ordered covered cushions from one of the shops in Medici to create the ideal sketching and reading area. It seems frivolous to arrange something of this nature with everything else that must be done but somehow the act of performing these types of domestic house arrangements are comforting. It brings my mind back to a normal place after the chaotic activities over the last few months.
Addison has turned over the assessments he performed on various local materials before my arrival here and I will verify his findings as one of my first tasks. He did not include plants in his choice of material but mostly concentrated on minerals from the surrounding area. I have a list of fifteen substances to validate from his investigation. He only had use of a crude set of local instruments before my arrival here but his preliminary finding are promising on five of the heavy metals. Along with the pytherium and sage, this gives me a total of six different materials with promise. I have analyzed the first data from the sage distillation and compared it to a similar plant I studied while still on Earth. Although the spectral results are similar when compared to the desert sage from Mexico, the New London sage has very unique electrical properties. It may be an ideal candidate for the carrier signals within the planned Louvre masterpiece but it is too early to be certain. I still need to test the sustainability of the new sage but I will not be able to do this until the delicate Chronometer and spectral equipment have stabilized in their new environment. They are now set up within a sealed mini lab and I will not have access to them until the studio atmospheric testing is completed. I should be done with those tests early next week and if the readings are acceptable that will be the final phase for the lab to be declared complete and operational. I have also completed unpacking the remainder of the equipment from the Derringer and luckily they all seem intact. It seems the meteorology equipment was the only victim on the trip from Earth and I will not be short any research tools for the actual project.
By the end of this week I will have enough new data to justify a strip beam message to the Phycodurus for your archives. Hopefully when you arrive there will be so much for you to do the sadness of our separation will be bearable . I know it is helping me.
Love always
Victoria
Studio Build Site
Dear Analis,
After several failed attempts to sit down and write you a letter, I am finally able after three weeks to put down more than a few words before an interruption pulls me away. Complete exhaustion is the only way to explain my current condition but I am ecstatic with the progress we have achieved so far bringing the studio into reality from the visions I have carried for so many years. Addison is well versed in the local building practices and I have learned much about desert construction and renewable energy planning working with him in the last few weeks. The buildings on site are completely constructed from blocks made of the local clay and they use a curing process similar to the adobe bricks found in the southwest regions of the Americas. Since the clay produces a near perfect insulated structure once bonded, it is the material of choice here for the extreme temperatures. To an extent I was prepared for the heat but not for the drastic drop in temperature that occurs as soon as Proxima drops below the horizon. The site location in the high mountain desert creates an ideal vantage point to observe the Equine but promotes an environment of extreme temperature variations over the course of the day. Even now in mid-summer I awake to frost on the ground and clouds of misted breath as I hurry between my temporary quarters and the studio structure. Once inside the brick building and the door is sealed the temperature quickly stabilizes to a constant eighteen degrees centigrade. A narrow veranda is currently under construction that will completely encircle the studio and living quarters. Once completed this feature will provide an outer barrier against the temperature changes and allow the studio to remain at the optimum temperature and humidity for the delicate environment needed for the equipment. The veranda will be completed by the end of the week and I can complete the installation of the last pieces of equipment required to fully begin my work. There will be no need for additional environmental controls as the clay material acts as a constant control of the space within it. The walls are well over seventy centimeters thick with deep set thermal windows inset into the bricks themselves. Permanent window seats are built into the deep wall of the structure along the entire length of the east end of the building and i can imagine it will be my favorite seat for that first cup of morning coffee before beginning work. A large conservatory will be added at the west end of the building to allow for an art studio with unobstructed views of the Equine. Although it will also be enclosed using thermal glass similar to what we installed in your laboratory, the glass panel will be constructed for easy removal to created an open air room with unobstructed one hundred and eighty degree views of the surrounding countryside and the sky above. I have no time at the moment to think of such luxuries as sky gazing and enjoying a cup of coffee but it is a feature I look forward to enjoying. I hope to acclimate myself to this new environment enough that I am able to enjoy working outdoors in the darkness of night as I originally planned. Unfortunately I was deceiving myself in my dream to begin this practice as soon as I arrive. I will have to continue my practice so far of painting outside during the day and painting from the protected walls of the studio by night. At least until my body becomes a desert dweller.
My temporary quarters are not as nice as my future home. I am now housed in a canvas tent with just enough room for a bed and the few possession I find necessary during this construction phase. It has a small environmental conditioner to stave off the heat and cold but I am counting the days until my permanent residence is complete. The block shell of the residential section is all that is complete so far as the main focus has been on the work space. The use of wind and solar technology here is fascinating and the site will be independent of the need for outside energy sources once all phases are complete. At this time a small fusion generator has been installed for temporary use and from what Addison has told me it was not an easy permit to obtain even for a short time use. It is not the power source of choice here on New London as it uses a non-renewable energy core. Since it was exported with the rest of the equipment from Earth It was allowed under strict conditions. It can be used during the construction phase of the project and retained for emergency use if a future need arises but it must be monitored for emissions at all times and must be removed from the planet after the work here is complete or five years. Whichever come first. There is much debate here over nuclear material deterioration and this was the compromise made by Addison for agreement of its use. It places a time limit to my time here but it is within the deadline set by the Louvre contract so it does not deter from my plans.
I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at the train station in Medici that the stark desert had gradually flourished into a green oasis as we neared the area. The village is built along the banks of the Theomine river which flows for many kilometers across the country separating the desert floor from the high mountain region to the east. A green belt flanking the river extends several kilometer from its banks and is the lifeline for this area. The village is built on both sides of the river with an incredible ornate bridge spanning the fast moving water connecting the two communities. Katryna informed me that over four thousand people live in the surrounding areas with the majority centered around the west side of the river. The studio site and the forty acres are located one hundred and fifty kilometers north up river from the village and half a kilometer from the river bank. The site benefits from the green belt surrounding the river and access to the water rights were granted in the land use permit.
Every day my appreciation of this new type of terrain grows and I begin to see beauty where before there was only sand and scrub brush. Each passing day there are new wonders to explore and the addition of the ever present Equine in the sky above adds to the mystic of my new life here. I put aside an hour a day as close to the coming of evening as possible to walk to the edge of the property and gaze at the darkening sky and the full splendor of the Equine. There is a total absence of sound and light during this special closing of the day as I watch the Equine emerge from the blackness of space. It is what I wait for every day and it never fails to take my breath away. I find it more difficult every time to pull myself away and return to my current task. The only reward is knowing that soon I will be able to place my full energy in this pursuit but for now this hour will have to be enough.
Although the construction of the site has encompassed most of my time I have made room for a bit of research into the surrounding area and what resources are available on my little slice of New London. The underground container that once held the construction supplies has turned out to be an ideal storage location for the materials I have gathered so far. There are natural mineral deposits near the edge of the property and I have collected several promising components for my study. Along with the minerals there are also many useful plants nearby including a variety of the pytherium plant that I spoke of earlier, This was a fortunate discovery as the first tests I performed on the sample I purchased in Newton have proved it has some amazing properties. I spent the entire day today installing the spectral scanning equipment for the material analysis as that will be the ultimate test to prove its value to our finished product. By the end of the day tomorrow I will have the first set of data in hand to outline my process and begin to plan for the needed schedule in the coming months. The final piece of the puzzle will be in place with the installation of the delicate equipment next week then I can concentrate on results. Along with the pytherium I have already mixed a few other plant materials with the acrylics I brought with me. The results have not disappointed so far and the completed end products show promising readings from the basic tests. An oil distilled from a relative of the sagebrush has produced the most vibrant green I have ever used and I have chosen this material as my first research victim after the pytherium. The historic distillation apparatus we studied during our research has proven easy to construct and extremely efficient. Using the ancient designs I found in the medieval section of the Louvre archives I easily replicated the distillation unit. The required construction material was obtained from the surrounding area including the large gourd used to collect the final product. Within a few days I had my first specimen in hand. I have altered the historic plans only slightly as the original was used for medicinal purposes but it has turned out to be amazingly operational. I have included a drawing of the finished design along with a detailed step by step procedure for the production of the oil with this letter so you can add it to your research material. As soon as I have correlated the data I have so far on the sage and pytherium I will also send it your way.
Love as Always
Victoria
Geo-train
Dear Analis,
I am writing you on my last day aboard the train and the final moments of my long journey here. It has been a wonderful experience and a small part of me regrets that it is coming to an end. The landscape surrounding this leg of the journey is stark desert as far as the eye can see and I am struggling to find beauty as I watch the world pass outside. I have never observed such an absence of life in all my travels and it does not comfort me knowing I will be surrounded by this environment for the next few years. I know from our surveys that this part of New London was desert terrain but until this point the full extent of what that meant was not evident to me. I hope as we near the end of the journey that some signs of life will appear. In the last hour I have not seen one glimpse of a tree or shrub, only the occasional succulent. What is visible is some type of cacti vaguely similar to the inhabitants of the North American desert but nothing I can put a name to. My cabin mate has told me they are called ground huggers as they grow so closely to the soil. On the edge of the desert when we first exited the mountain range there was a multitude of these denizens. They came in many different shades of green and ranged in size from a few centimeters to well over four meters across, spreading their tentacle like appendages to take full advantage of the limited moisture here. As we traveled further into the desert they became fewer in number and variety. At this point I only see the smaller variety and most of these are so pale green that they are almost invisible on the desert floor.
There have been a variety of travelers sharing my cabin over the last four days. Most of them were traveling to Newton and are now gone, but one young woman has been with me the entire journey. Her final destination is the village of Medici located two hours south of my studio site and I have learned many interesting things about the area from her. Katryna is a native of New London and has lived in the village for the last two years. Her great grandparents came here as farmers almost a hundred years ago and her family has made the planet their home ever since. I asked her what a farmer was doing in this environment and she laughed as she explained that most of her family was settled near the green belt area three hundred kilometers from Delphi. She relocated to the desert area of the planet as the conditions were ideal for her work with the Equine. She was now traveling home after her annual visit to see her family and was excited to resume her work after being absent for several weeks. I sometimes forget the obscure reports we studied while on Earth during our research phase of the project and my conversation with Katryna has brought back clarity to these studies.
Katryna explained that she is able to interact with the Equine by interpreting the waves emanating from the creature. She is one of the Neo-Brittanians as the natives call themselves and Katryna is the embodiment of what that name infers. Since the original scientific designation of the planet was Nova Brittania, they use the root of this designation to distinguish themselves from the rest of the population here. As a fourth generation New Londoner her genetic makeup has been exposed to the Equine for almost a century and from what she explained the resulting mutation manifests itself in different ways. Strangely she has none of the cybernetic enhancements that adorn most of her contemporaries here and I am curious how she is able to process the Equine information. I was not brave enough to probe for further information as she was very reluctant to speak of the mechanics of her abilities and changed the subject quickly. She did relate several of her Equine experiences in detail and I have made notes of what she related in my journal for future reference. It is worth further investigation and it might prove useful to our projects outcome as within her words I glimpsed a hint of the neurological evolution we suspect is occurring here due to the Equines presence.
I have been so intensely focused on the abilities of the natural products on the planet that I had completely neglected the human factor. I am going to revisit this line of study when I am settled and I hope to convince Katryna to be involved. I explained to her that I was very skeptical of this type of ability as during my research I found no scientific proof or basis for this type of manifestation. She only shrugged her shoulders and smiled indulgently. I could see from her reaction that my response was not a new one for her but that she is completely secure in her worth. I am not converted yet but it is one thing to read about something in a report, and yet another to have it speaking to you from across a train berth. I was fascinated by her many Equine encounters and in spite of our very different beliefs we have quickly become friends. I have learned much from her about what to expect once we arrive in Medici, but she has told me nothing to relieve my concerns about the desert conditions. She assured me that I would quickly adjust to this type of living, and although the surrounding desert is as stark as our current surroundings, the village itself and the area around my studio site are prolific with desert life. She is a bit younger than you and I, having just celebrated her twenty-sixth birthday, but I felt somehow that she was older and she was speaking to me as if to an older sibling. I find that although we grew up on different planets and come from opposite walks of life we still share a connection.
I was disappointed last night that you did not revisit me in my dreams. I am still dwelling on the previous night and I have tried to push these thoughts to the back of my consciousness in order to think about the more pressing plans for the next few months. There is so much to arrange and this will be my last chance to relax and contemplate the core of my art before my life takes a dramatic leap into activity. Meditation is near impossible on the train with the many distractions and I have given up in frustration. I will hopefully have a chance to steal a few minutes each evening during the next few hectic months to continue the practice so I can allow at least a portion of my brain to stay focused on my art. I also hope you will continue to visit my dreams and guide my work.
You are forever in my thoughts.
Love Victoria
Geo Train- Sub continent
Dear sister,
I must begin my letter by first relating a dream I had last night on the train. In my dream I found you standing near a lake gazing at a small school of fish swimming close to the shore. As I drew near, you turned and smiled at me. “I have solved the equation at last. See in the water below. It is written on the scales of my new friends.” You stated this clearly then turned and dove into the clear blue water disappearing from my site. I awoke in my sleeping compartment with tears streaming down my face struggling for meaning in what I had seen. I felt a sudden desire to observe the Equine so I threw open the window screen and gazed out at the sky. The night was clear as the train rushed through the dark and I studied the unobscured Equine floating above with additional critique hoping for some inspiration to interpret my strange encounter with you. I then felt an overwhelming sense of serenity pass through me. Sinking back down on the bed, my confusion transformed into the realization that it was only a dream. The sense of loss and panic I experienced as you disappeared below the surface was so real I still fight back the tears as I write this.
I know the dream was caused in part by the total absence of you from my life at this time, but I questions if that is the sole message here. This is the first time in my life that I have ever been completely cut off from communication with you. I realize now it is placing added strain on me that even the Equine struggles to contain. I have turned the events of the dream over and over in my head, but still have come to neither rhyme nor reason as to the meaning. I returned to bed for the remainder of the journey to Newton but I never was able to find sleep again. I have spent my visit to the city in a mental haze, as lack of sleep and my mental distraction did not promote clarity. It seems essential to understand what the dream could mean, other than your absence, and I will continue to meditate on this when my mind is clearer. We have always retained a close connection even when separated and I believe there is something vital you may be trying to tell me.
I am now back onboard the train, having spent the better part of the day in the city of Newton. Although smaller than Delphi, Newton still utilizes all the environmental and minimalist technologies used across the entire planet. Back on Earth, I was initially skeptical when researching the strict regulations required of the colonists in order to establish themselves on New London. Nonetheless, I am now amazed at how they have kept to these philosophies. They have created an environmentally conservative planet preserving the natural beauty of the terrain, even in the higher population areas. I described in an earlier letter how the use of low light oil lamps to illuminate the streets minimized the distortion of the visual effect from the Equine, but they also have the added benefit of the lowest emissions of any light source known to exist. The lighting in the cities does not allow for full preservation of the splendid Equine view from the countryside, but compared to conventional lighting it is a great improvement. The use of the local equestrian stock also assists with the conservation process along with the aforementioned geo-trains.
I quickly found the Newton’s Orb Café after exiting the train station and it was not a disappointment. The beverages they produce from the hybrid coffee bean developed for cultivation on New London is nearly indiscernible from the Earth version. There is a pleasant alteration to the taste that I can only describe as nutty. It brings back memories of the pine nuts we picked in Spain on one of our vacations there, only sweeter. I sat for almost an hour in the quaint café savoring my beverage and gazing out the window at the passing people. The storefront contained a hexagonal window commonly used here and I enjoyed the distorted picture it created. The outrageous prices in the attached shop did not discourage me from purchasing several varieties of coffee roasts and a small service set made from the local clay. Each region of New London uses different currency so I have had to rely on my electronic account for purchases so far. When I arrive at the studio site I will find the proper regional currency and convert some of the Louvre credits to tradable coin. Credit is ideal for most of my business and personal needs, but I have found here that the local merchants and street vendors prefer the in hand variety. I made a final stop at an herbalist shop before I returned to the station. I was curious to see first-hand the various new botanicals available here and, if possible, discover some of their uses. I had meant to seek a shop in Delphi but ran out of time. The owner of the Newton’s Orb directed me to a small shop several blocks away and I spent a very enjoyable hour speaking to the woman there. She was full of useful information and suggestion for my research. I only vaguely outlined my work, but it was enough for her to open up on the subject. She also showed me a botanical book written by a local author and I will try to procure a copy for myself once I am settled. She had only one copy and was reluctant to part with it, referring to it as her main reference. She had many recommendations for herbs that enhance the relationship between the mind and the Equine. Most were involved with improving creativity and wellness, but one in particular was recommended for its electrical enhancement properties within the human nervous system. I took a few notes but as she was quoting portions out of the book she recommended, I will wait and take my research directly from the original source. I purchased a small supply of the discussed substance called pytherium and hope it turns out to be a useful adjunct to my research. If it is, I will attempt to find a source more local to the studio.
We are once more traveling at full propulsion toward my final destination. The terrain has begun to change, passing through heavily forested mountains. Newton is located in a deep valley surrounded on three sides by mountain ranges and a flat plain to the south. We travel first through the northern mountain range bordering the valley and will continue to for most of the night. The altitude is well over a kilometer here and I have seen signs of snow topping the visible peaks. It is high summer in this part of New London, making me wonder how extreme the winters must be here. I now am grateful the studio site is in the equatorial desert region, although I might revise my opinion once I experience the summer heat. We will have to see.
Please visit me again in my dreams tonight, but if you do please be less cryptic.
Love always,
Victoria
There is something very satisfying about filling a blank book with a story created out of my imagination. I only wonder now that it is full if my new blank book will be as inspirational as this one has been. As you can see I wrote in every available space. I am reluctant to let it go.
The Beaded Tapestry 
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