The Beaded Tapestry

Dear Sister,

A short break in the sunshine to rejuvenate the spirit, but soon the sun will be hidden by the autumn mists. Sadly, blue algae mares the once pristine waters flowing past my current perch. The astronomical project taken on by the World Balance council has been using their full resources to return the Earth to a livable and prosperous PH level, but even after fifty years there are still signs that much work is ahead.

Since my last letter the effects of my illness have diminished significantly.  My recovery has progressed enough that I now feel up to resuming my plans for a lab here on campus. I have mimicked the arrangement that I sent with you, and it will duplicate the overall settings that I shared with you in the project parameters. This way I can make a comparison set of data in three locations simultaneously. We determined that even though the anomaly’s influence here on Earth is weakened compared to that in the Alpha Centauri system, there is still data to be considered. The electronic contamination will have to be considered of course, since my present location is not as remote as the lab in New Zealand, But I believe it will be possible to adjust the filtering for this. I will arrange everything so it will automatically begin recording data two years from now.  That will correspond with your arrival in the system and the start-up of the readings there. We will receive many questions about this decision.  The main one will be the time shift.  Why are we studying data on Earth from signals sent two years ago from the Anomaly?  Why not start the recording now?  I am not ready to address our observation about the block time influence used by the phenomenon.  It is hard enough to explain to myself how the Anomaly uses time. I cannot imagine how to explain it to someone else. Let us just say there is no separation between the Earth and the Alpha Centauri system in the view of the Anomaly.    Its influence is everywhere at all points in time. Bridging the gap between this location in space and your future destination with no regards for time.

It will take much of my spare time to complete the alignment of the units before my own travels, but I see it as the only alternative.  All the geographic mapping will need to be recalculated for a different reference point given this new location.  New Zealand is no longer an option and I must come to terms with losing a year of work focusing on that area.   Of course all our original alignments were for that location, but that ship has already sailed.  I have come to the realization that returning there after my full recovery is complete will not leave enough time to complete the needed work.  I will run out of time.  I hope this difficult decision does not disrupt the first output of the project.  Having an accurate correction factor to adjust the final piece will be paramount to its success.   The influential piece will not have near the emotional and physical response from its audience if it is not tailored for its final resting place inside the Louvre on Earth.

Tomorrow the units for the setup will arrive via transport from New Zealand.  I would have preferred to supervise the packing and loading myself, but I am under strict travel restrictions from the regeneration technician.  Even the short trip from North London to Oxford is prohibited.  The doctor requires that I be no more than ten minutes transport distance from the clinic for at least another week.  The sixteen hour hyperflight to New Zealand is out of the questions. I gather from his warnings that the neural connections in my arm were compromised by the bacterial infection that invaded my system. I only realize now how precarious my condition was during my illness. I promised him I would be more careful for the remainder of my regeneration.  I will still conduct my biweekly lectures, but no student interactions afterward are allowed. I am now questioning my close proximity to the blue tinted water as I sit here writing to you. Who knows what this prolific organism will do on contact. 

I will write again tomorrow.  I want to get in as much conversation time as possible before you enter the big sleep.  

Love Annalis

Darkness creeps to the edge of the bed and peeks over the footboard at my prone body. I am riveted in place, there is no escape.  The ebony shadow flows over the wooden frame and begins the envelopment of myself. Screaming will come to no avail as I am alone.  No one to witness my struggles or relieve my fears in this moment of panic. The feeling of being eaten alive is strong, losing my grip on this world one centimeter at a time. Pulled beneath a blanket of terror, persistently making its way upward toward my head. I raise my arm to block my face, attempting to stay the progress by keeping as much of my body out of the reach of the darkness. My extremities are no longer within this sphere. Leached away by the black force, I feel my body slowly melting into the surface beneath me.  There is no pain, only fear.

My movement draws the attention of the room.  A medical attendant quickly comes to my side, administering a cocktail of drugs into my system.  I see the creature at my feet retreating, slowly making its exit as I lose consciousness. 

Dear Victoria,

A small piece relating to my illness last week.  The dream keeps replaying in my mind and I hope to relieve these thoughts by relating the episode to you.

The vision is so vivid.  I cannot begin to solve how to remove it from my daily thoughts.  When evening approaches and the light begins to fade from the world, the reverie returns, haunting my step until I sleep.  The episode is always accompanied by a moment of panic, increasing my respirations and evoking a tenseness along my spine as the fear during the true event returns.  I must calm myself using methods taught by you. I never needed these before, but am grateful for your diligence and insistence that these practices become part of my knowledge base. I am puzzled why the accident that took my arm does not inflict these types of visions.  This pattern has become a part of my daily routine since the illness and I hope that by relating it to you it will bring it out into the open and dispel the phantoms hold on me.

I realize this also concerns our ever nearing separation.  The thought of no contact with you for three years brings me to tears.  For me the pain will be most evident over the next year waiting impatiently to begin my own long journey.  For you the pain will be endured at the end of your travel, spending a year on a new world with no contact or assistance from me.  The best hope is that we have made our preparations with enough foresight to withstand whatever complications may arise.  Careful preparation that will give you the tools and knowledge to face any issues with competence. My apologies for this dark letter.  I realize I should be sending you encouragement and support before your first trip out of our solar system.  Instead I bring you cryptic and foreboding words. 

I promise my next letter will be different.  Full of hope and encouragement for the future.

Forgive me,

Annalis

A short project to clear the creative pallet

Dear Victoria,

Thank you for including the encrypting instructions with your last letter.  I realize now how cautious my last letters were and welcome this added security.  It makes it possible to relax my guard and be more candid and direct in my messages to you.

I have indeed begun to change my analyses of the anomaly.  Shortly after your departure I came across some historic records produced by the original settlers of Neo-Britannia.  The records were over two hundred years old and describe the original settlers first few decades of exploration. There have been many published reports from the scientific and government sectors of the planet, but this is the first information I have come across that originates from the agricultural community. The account is fascinating and I am curious why I had not encountered it before.  The narrative describes the unique relationship some of their members fostered with the Anomaly.  ‘An inner dialog with the creature was something a privileged few had the fortune to experience.’ To quote the text. ‘Sharing everyday events and experiences through some type of brain wave emissions.’ I discovered these exact entries mixed in with the agricultural reports of the growth potential for certain regions of the planet along with the struggles face by the incorporation of bees into the planetary environment. The reports were logged, strangely enough, by the neurosurgeon who was stationed with the group during their initial years. Their original base was setup just outside of what is now Delphi.  They farmed a large section surrounding this location and produced long running logs of their experiences.

It was an odd place to find this type of activity record, so I can imagine why it has remained unknown to my sphere of research.  I am excited by the prospects that this entry bring up in my mind.  It plays right in with the ideas about the Flynn Foundation and the growth we have seen in that direction of space.  It will be interesting to see what you find upon your arrival.  A lot can happen in six years.  I wish I could be there.

How disappointing that your view of Mars was so distant.  I had envisioned a much more spectacular view during your pass by.  At least you have your real firsthand view of the Anomaly to look forward to at the end of your stasis. I am not sure you remember, but I am not allowed to consume caffeinated beverages during my regeneration.  I think you must have forgotten this or you would not be torturing me with you frequent references to our favorite drink. I did enjoy your description of the coffee corner on the vessel, but could you please refrain from mentioning the c-word.  The craving for a dark rich espresso is exquisite and I sometimes wonder if this absence is worse than the nerve signals ignited by the regeneration.

I am very surprised but overjoyed that you have made a friend on board. I envy your prospect of sampling the experimental cuisine of New London since this is something I will probably never get to experience.  I will just have to live precariously through you for now.  This will be especially important once I am established on the space station.  I do not believe the menu will be very exciting.  I only hope they have a fresh vegetation habitat established by the time I reach the system. There was not one mentioned during my first trip briefing, but it was in the long term system description.  It will make all the difference to my palate if there is a fresh grown variety of substances to enhance the onboard diet.  We will have to see.

I will stop for now.  I have a lecture in two hours and I still need to complete my morning therapy.  Please do not worry, I am taking it slow.  No twelve fingered sister will arrive in the Alpha Centauri system.

Love Always,

Annalis

I am always exploring interesting place to inspire a new letter for me book. This cafe was very small and crowded, but offered some surprising ideas. Letters from Oxford – offering 17 was written here. It will be a while before it is published though.

Dear Victoria,

At last I am able to respond to your letter. The illness that has consumed me over the past few days was indeed not related to my regeneration.  It was however debilitating and I spent the two days in the medical facility under heavy sedation. The surgeon whose care I am under was concerned that the infection would interfere with my recovery. One of the students who came to my lecture last week was carrying a strain of the bacteria responsible for scarlet fever. Although this in not normally a serious illness and easily treated with antibiotics, my reaction to the contagion was extreme.  Due to the various substances that I am required to consume to keep my regen on course, I was very susceptible to the bacterial strain he was carrying.  Another thing missed by the explanation from the prep team.  It was a very rare occurrence according to the medical staff, but still the possibility was there.  I am now released for normal activities, although still a little weak.

I will write to you again soon.  It was not possible for me to read your past two correspondences yet.  I just wanted to inform you that I am alive and recovering.

Love,

Annalis

Back to my most productive writing location. I do not know why, but I write my best stuff here at the Nijmegen train station. It must be the thought that here is a jumping off spot. A place to begin and journey anywhere in the world. Another Oxford letter down on paper. Now on to editing.

Dear Victoria,

I have escaped to a quiet corner of the Bodleian library to write my next correspondence to you. This late in the evening the library is near deserted and I welcome the absence of enquiring voices and curious onlookers.

There is but one remaining comfortable seat left in this section of the college, and I have made this wingback chair my refuge whenever the outer world threatens to overtake my sanity. The return to lecturing has brought back the reason I quit teaching years ago. Even now, hours later, my brain still pulses from the bombardment of questions from my audience. Both the profound and ridiculous are equally trying, negating my ability to concentrate on anything other than maintaining my frustration. I have come to my oasis by the fire, curled up on the tapestried cushions, to sort out my options. It helps to write it out to you, picking through the events that have lead me to this point. I yearn for the analytical person who fled when my arm disappeared. She would be more than capable to control these events. I realize the need for my activities here, keeping my tenure open at the college as my body regenerates and retaining access to the lab facilities for my continued research. I only struggle to relate to my audience a subject I no longer believe. In the past five years, my studies have taken my knowledge so far away from what I need to relate in my weekly presentations that it seems a farce to me.

I want to share what we have discovered during these last years of research. I know this if forbidden, but I feel foolish passing on information to these eager minds that in recent discoveries, negates their existence. We both are aware how groundbreaking my studies have been for the Louvre. It is difficult to relate the lie when the truth hides itself within the confidentiality of our project. What will these people think when the true nature of my findings are announced years from now. Will they look back at my lectures with disdain, knowing I was well aware of the deception? Saying I was hiding the truth behind a veil of secrecy and subterfuge. This is necessary, I know.

To announce the discoveries we have made about the nature of the Anomaly in the Alpha Centauri system now would be premature. I just find it difficult to base an entire lecture on the chaotic structure of the array, informing an entire auditorium of academics that there is no parallel between the neural structure of the brain and the signal pattern detected from the system. We both know how untrue that is. Attempting to debate this question with the crowd has drained my system. It is hard to take the wrong side of the argument, knowing you are promoting misinformation. I am only relieved I have only two lectures a week. I do not think I could survive more than that.

The reconstruction engineer I have been assigned to here at Oxford has been very encouraging about the progress of my regeneration. He said if all goes at this pace I will be able to return to my normal activities within six months. That is several months ahead of my original timeline projected by the surgeon. So very encouraging. It is too soon at this point to arrange a return to London, but the anticipation of an early commencement of my own research for the Louvre will allow me to survive my time among the academia. I love Oxford, but the subterfuge is against my nature. I only hope I can hold on to our closely kept secret long enough to return to the London Headquarter of the foundation.

Tell me about Mars in your next letter. I would love to see it through your eyes as you make the red planets acquaintance.

Love, Annalis