The Beaded Tapestry

                                                               Delphi

The vibrations draw her attention as soon as the projected extensions of conscious thought touches the small orb floating in the vicinity of the energy source. Rhythmic throbbing echoes out into the air surrounding the fragile creatures. It does not emanate from the life organ of the small beings, but is produced by them all the same. Music. She plucks the name out from one of the thought wavelengths present within the small dwelling used by the planet’s occupants. The sound travels through the empty space between the spinning orb and her coordinates. There is a delay from when the sound reaches the creatures hearing organs and the point in time the wavelengths reach her sensors. She squeezes the space between her location and the creatures so the music is experienced simultaneously amongst them. She wishes to examine the creature’s thoughts in conjunction with her own and the time delay caused by the great distance between her and the planet would affect the outcome of the experience. She begins to analyze the different visionary patterns the sounds produce within the minds of those closest to the music source. She feels the emotional response generated within them as the music progresses. The intricate structure of the wavelengths produced by the vocal organ of the performers mix with the various organic instruments to produce a harmonic offering that sparks an inner awakening within her. Euphoric attachment to a long deceased companion flows through the thoughts of one creature, creating a connection between her past and the thought patterns the current complex wavelength produces from her exposure to the musical ensemble inside the structure. Visions of the individual’s entire life filter through her sensory system, absorbed as visual frequency waves radiating down her ever expanding limbs. The increase in information combined with the overwhelming emotional emissions assist with the growth rate of her complex neural system. Additional flowing feather-like structures unfold on the ends of her extended limbs. New spectral color ranges add to the existing library of data within her network, allowing her to transmit new displays and patterns, She hesitates to send waves back to the humanoid fearing it will alter, or altogether halt, the current stream of information the creature has in response to the music. The need to reach out is too great and she sends a small push toward the planet, adding a touch of sympathy in her transmission for the sadness the music inflicts on the creature. An aura of well- being and gratitude surrounds the message to assist with the repair of the individual’s psyche. A noticeable change comes over the humanoid as her message reaches across the vast space to settle within the mind of the woman. A softening of the intense melancholy the music had produced occurs. The woman’s mind turns to more pleasant thoughts provoked by the music. An almost palpable sigh of content travels down her neural receivers, creating again new growth and spectral variations as she withdraws her attention from the quaint scene and returns her vision inward.

I needed to relate this passage from the Equine journal first to you Annalis before I continued with the rest of my letter. My entire experience this evening has been flavored by this Equine entry and I wanted to set the stage before continuing with my narrative. 
I have just returned from the music conservatory and I am sitting down to record the experience as soon as possible before the wonder of the evening dissipates. The performance began just after Alpha Centauri fell below the horizon and the large artisan hall was filled to capacity. Acoustic panels translucent to the sky above allowed an unimpaired view of the full splendor of the Equine above. No clouds marred the evening’s spectacle and all eyes remained fixed on the vision above, as if the entire population were viewing it for the first time. As the lights dimmed, a hush fell over the crowd in anticipation of the opening number. My seat slowly reclined back to allow a direct viewing of the sky above as the music commenced. It is beyond my feeble literary powers to attempt to describe the sound filling the auditorium this evening, but for you I will try. As the music progressed my mind flitted through every emotion I had ever experienced throughout my entire life. Compassion, pain, love, despair, all were equally endured as the music reverberated around the perfect acoustical space. I felt I was the Equine itself, experiencing the human condition throughout our history on a pure emotional level. The sensations of joy were equally as welcomed as the experiences of sorrow, and my mind revelled in each new offering from the musicians. Vocals and instrumentation combined in such a way that it was difficult to distinguish one from another. The Equine above pulsed and oscillated in response to the vibrations felt through my seat, sending full spectral rainbows down it’s flowing limbs, engaging visual senses as well as oratory. I had to remind myself that this was no visual aberration created on a screen but a real sentient being experiencing the performance in union with the audience.
I heard an audible intake of breath from the audience as the music came to a close and we were once again returned to our seated positions, I realized my face was damp with emotion and noted several people nearby dabbing at their own eyes. A slow murmur rose within the auditorium as the crowd awoke from the euphoria of the performance. I could not bring myself to even speak to another human being for fear that the spell would be broken, so I quickly ducked out of the hall, foregoing the after reception and silently walked back to my lodgings. The Equine was my only companion, hanging in the sky above as I made my way through the darkened streets. 

Upon returning to my rooms I immediately took up my dream journal and read the aforementioned entry. I had already read this passage at my studio, but it had now taken on an entirely new significance, and the need to read it again was overpowering. I know now that our project will not be complete without this added concept. My response to the Equine has never been this intense and the added emotional connection I experienced tonight has given me much to contemplate. I must step back from my original vision for our project and see how to incorporate this extraordinary addition to the experience. I know it will put a strain on an already complicated task, but if you had been with me tonight, I know you would be of the same mind. The Equine experience is not complete while we omit this sensory addition. I only wish that you had been able to attend. I have been altered in a very significant way. It remains to be seen if it is for the best.

My love Always,

Victoria

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