The Beaded Tapestry

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