Sigh. I hate that I'm going to have to do this, but I don't really have a choice at this point.
I'm going to have to leave for a while.
I really don't want to. I've gotten quite comfortable in my tavern house here. I just don't have the funds to continue buying supplies, and I've been unable to make myself completely self-sufficient down here, despite my best efforts so far. Unfortunately, ghosts and lake water make for a pretty lousy diet. I've got an Age that makes lake pellets and an Age with a fruit orchard at this point, but neither is very good for feeding me on a regular and long-term basis.
I'm going to have to take a job in Carlsbad doing something so that I can start saving up for a return at some point in the future. I may not be able to come back for a couple of years, realistically, and I need to leave soon so that I have enough of a buffer in my supplies and funds to last for a while in case I can't get a job immediately.
I hate that I have to leave. But as much as I'll miss D'ni while I'm gone, I know I'll be back. I'm not sure when, but I will be back eventually. Until then, good night and good luck. To those of you who may find a way back into D'ni on your own, be careful down there.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Exotic Gardening, Day Only
Yeah, this Age really isn't big enough to merit another full day of exploration at this point. I'm really only still here because it's such a nice, relaxing space, though 200 years of neglect has made it grow a bit wild. Nothing is even remotely interested in being contained by the boxes, fences, flower beds, and formerly-sculpted topiaries. I imagine it used to resemble a bizarre formal English garden back in the day, but right now it's closer in appearance to some sort of crazy alien jungle. I think it's clear that this was a private garden Age for a wealthy member of D'ni society who either had a green thumb themselves, or paid a number of others who did to enable him to enjoy the fruits of their labor. It's got a very different feeling from the more unbridled and open "garden Ages" of Eder Kemo, Gira, Delin, or Tsogahl, all of which feel more like parks than gardens.
The whole Age – which my KI tells me is Eder Deeahno – seems to consist of an island with some pretty clear signs of heavy D'ni-made efforts to sculpt its final appearance away from a purely natural design. There are terraced rows of plants in one area, and a long-overgrown waterway wide enough for a small one- or two-person gondola cuts its way through the landscape at hard angles, now softened by years of growth and decay. The gondola itself is a small pile of rotten timber at this point. There's a hedge maze (for lack of a better word for it) that has almost completely choked itself shut. The waterway leads into it, and from the faint glimpses I've gotten through the slightly thinner hedge overgrowth around the entry point, there seems to be a fountain of some kind inside, with small stone bridges criss-crossing the waterway which are presumably retractible in some manner.
Other features include a small orchard of citrus-like fruit trees – which is good news and means I'll have some fresh, seasonal fruity additions to my collection of MREs, beef jerky, and canned goods. Elsewhere a waterfall that runs down the steep side of the island and into a series of stone waterways that at one time seem to have featured mechanisms for making sound and moving small art sculptures around, but the mechanisms have been totally frozen by rust. A wide stone walkway arcs out at a downward slope to sweep through the air around this installation, providing what I imagine are some really nice views. I opted not to tempt fate by walking out onto it without some closer structural inspection. The walkway then carves into the terrain, providing a colonnaded walk around the backside of the waterfall. This continuing downward spiral finally terminates in a small balcony at the base of the artwork that is built into the falls.
I can tell there used to be a Linking Book in a gazebo not too far from the link-in point, but it's mostly been decayed down to the binding at this point. Luckily, in addition to the Linking Book I brought with me, the DRC saw fit to put a Nexus Book on a second, covered pedestal to shelter it from the elements.
The weather here is pleasantly mild, and the sky has been relatively clear of clouds so far. The sun set a couple of hours ago, and the fireflies have come out to play since then. For as overgrown and wild as it is, it's still a nice place. I can see myself coming back and probably trying to re-tend the various gardens as a side project. Tending plants is a lot easier than shoring up buildings when you're all by yourself. I do think it would make a nice retreat, and I can see putting links to it in a public space once it's been cleaned up a bit for folks to visit and relax.
I don't think I'll be spending the night here though. It's too open to the elements, and I don't have my tent with me because the sand in Er'tsuda beat the crap out of its weatherproofing.
The whole Age – which my KI tells me is Eder Deeahno – seems to consist of an island with some pretty clear signs of heavy D'ni-made efforts to sculpt its final appearance away from a purely natural design. There are terraced rows of plants in one area, and a long-overgrown waterway wide enough for a small one- or two-person gondola cuts its way through the landscape at hard angles, now softened by years of growth and decay. The gondola itself is a small pile of rotten timber at this point. There's a hedge maze (for lack of a better word for it) that has almost completely choked itself shut. The waterway leads into it, and from the faint glimpses I've gotten through the slightly thinner hedge overgrowth around the entry point, there seems to be a fountain of some kind inside, with small stone bridges criss-crossing the waterway which are presumably retractible in some manner.
Other features include a small orchard of citrus-like fruit trees – which is good news and means I'll have some fresh, seasonal fruity additions to my collection of MREs, beef jerky, and canned goods. Elsewhere a waterfall that runs down the steep side of the island and into a series of stone waterways that at one time seem to have featured mechanisms for making sound and moving small art sculptures around, but the mechanisms have been totally frozen by rust. A wide stone walkway arcs out at a downward slope to sweep through the air around this installation, providing what I imagine are some really nice views. I opted not to tempt fate by walking out onto it without some closer structural inspection. The walkway then carves into the terrain, providing a colonnaded walk around the backside of the waterfall. This continuing downward spiral finally terminates in a small balcony at the base of the artwork that is built into the falls.
I can tell there used to be a Linking Book in a gazebo not too far from the link-in point, but it's mostly been decayed down to the binding at this point. Luckily, in addition to the Linking Book I brought with me, the DRC saw fit to put a Nexus Book on a second, covered pedestal to shelter it from the elements.
The weather here is pleasantly mild, and the sky has been relatively clear of clouds so far. The sun set a couple of hours ago, and the fireflies have come out to play since then. For as overgrown and wild as it is, it's still a nice place. I can see myself coming back and probably trying to re-tend the various gardens as a side project. Tending plants is a lot easier than shoring up buildings when you're all by yourself. I do think it would make a nice retreat, and I can see putting links to it in a public space once it's been cleaned up a bit for folks to visit and relax.
I don't think I'll be spending the night here though. It's too open to the elements, and I don't have my tent with me because the sand in Er'tsuda beat the crap out of its weatherproofing.
Exotic Gardening Prologue
Today I take off on my trip to explore the garden Age I found in the DRC tent all those months ago. I don't expect this expedition to last more than a day or two. I'll be posting back-dated daily reports once I get back to the City. Hopefully nothing there will kill me, since I still haven't found a link to Gahreesen that I can use to "borrow" a Maintainer's suit for this purpose.
Updates later!
Updates later!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Resurfacing
Mid-day update today.
It turns out that the guy who's been working in the DRC office is in fact a native Carlsbad resident, so I don't really have to worry about him vanishing on me in the future. I think he's gone on to other employment at this point though, because the DRC surely don't have the money to keep paying him. In any case, I'm glad he's willing to help drive me back and forth for a supply run. I've got enough funds for another couple of months, but I'm seriously approaching the point where I may have to take up a job in town to cover expenses. I really don't want to have to do that, because it'll slow my plans down considerably, but life being what it is, I probably don't have a choice.
I'll re-evaluate in the new year; my supplies should last me until then.
Anyway, I'm writing this while I wait at the edge of Zandi's property for my ride to get here. I still haven't made an excursion into the garden Age; I've spent most of my time since my last update trying to figure out what I need and how much it'll cost. I ultimately decided to save the trip until I get back to D'ni tomorrow so it's not rushed.
It turns out that the guy who's been working in the DRC office is in fact a native Carlsbad resident, so I don't really have to worry about him vanishing on me in the future. I think he's gone on to other employment at this point though, because the DRC surely don't have the money to keep paying him. In any case, I'm glad he's willing to help drive me back and forth for a supply run. I've got enough funds for another couple of months, but I'm seriously approaching the point where I may have to take up a job in town to cover expenses. I really don't want to have to do that, because it'll slow my plans down considerably, but life being what it is, I probably don't have a choice.
I'll re-evaluate in the new year; my supplies should last me until then.
Anyway, I'm writing this while I wait at the edge of Zandi's property for my ride to get here. I still haven't made an excursion into the garden Age; I've spent most of my time since my last update trying to figure out what I need and how much it'll cost. I ultimately decided to save the trip until I get back to D'ni tomorrow so it's not rushed.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Colonizing
Oy, quick update before I collapse.
It's been a hectic three days since I got back from my hike in Er'tsuda. The trip exhausted a large portion of my supplies without really getting me much of anything in return, so I've been re-rationing the remaining gear until I can make a return trip to the Surface and do some more shopping in Carlsbad. Should be able to make that happen in a few days; coordinating anything with the last straggling employees of a virtually non-existent organization is really difficult (in less bizarre terms, I have to get a hold of a DRC lackey who can come pick me up at the Cleft). Aside from that, I've been pouring over both the DRC's notes and my own looking for information about the DRC-stamped garden Age I found a while back at the research tent. Other concerns and my then-plentiful supplies made the Age a low priority on my list, but now it's moved up the ranks a bit, as my supply of cash has been getting low, and coordinating these Surface trips gets more and more difficult each time they're necessary. I think this will be the last for a while, and will refresh my stores of non-perishables like canned goods and jerky, which I can supplement with fresh food from the garden Age if all goes well.
I still need to locate another spare Nexus Book to take with me, in case the DRC's own way back was again lost in the intervening years since their last expedition. I've been contemplating trying to find a Gahreesen Book as well, so I can steal a Maintainer's Suit for these initial trips just to make sure nothing nasty happens to me. Bacteria, viruses, chemicals, and even plants and animals can all be potentially deadly out in the Ages. Having an extra layer of protection is always a good idea, I think. The trick is just getting a hold of one. I guess I'll burn that bridge while I'm crossing it, as Dr. Watson was fond of saying.
In other news, the tavern is looking more and more like home now. I've probably reorganized the main dining area five times since I first moved in and got it all straightened up, trying to keep my growing piles of paperwork – as well as the copious volumes of material I've found from the DRC – properly categorized and uncluttered. I think I've finally hit upon a layout that does so without breaking up the flow of the room itself, so it's still easy to get around. In the past couple of days I've also been tinkering with one of the wall-mounted holographic projectors to see if I can get it working again. Nothing so far but a few unpleasant shocks from the circuitry, unfortunately. Did I mention that I'm better at orienteering than engineering? I don't think "Restoration Engineer" was ever really a very good summary of my talents, heh. I'm usually pretty good with electronics, though, but working without schematics or even a frame of reference, it's really rough going.
Okay, it's late and I'm exhausted. Hopefully I'll have more exploration-oriented updates in the next few days.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Er'tsuda Expedition, Day 14
Wow, what a hike.
The past eight days have been long and largely dull, though I did cover a lot of ground and get a much better handle on how the whole harvesting operation must have worked back in D'ni's heyday.
About 20 minutes from the factory, the canyon split into four sub-canyons, with a harvester track leading into each. Determined to get an idea of what to expect if my harvester ever starts working again, I continued to follow its track into the unknown. Beside me, the irrigation canal forged an angular path along the base of the canyon.
Eventually, the walls of the canyon widened a bit, and I entered what can only be described as a forest. Plants not dissimilar to those in Er'cana towered above me, thick as a pine tree forest back on Earth and in some cases just as tall. The irrigation canal apparently still functioned well enough to provide a regular flow of water to these plants, and they thrived after the Fall. Some seem to have infiltrated the canal itself, so some repair work will no doubt be necessary once this initial overgrowth is dealt with. Assuming the harvester blades are capable of cutting through growth this substantial, it might be a good idea to clearcut some of this for future use and replant it with seeds or spores (or whatever) from these now-ancient specimens.
Interestingly, the walls of the canyon themselves gave me a pretty solid idea of just how overgrown the plantlife here had gotten. In some of the naturally narrower parts of the canyon, the walls had been widened at the height where the harvester blades once passed, creating an odd and distinctive shape that served as a handy benchmark for roughly how tall the plants needed to be to be harvested efficiently. This benchmark was easily forty feet over my head, and in some cases the plants stretched thirty feet above that. Hardly what I would call optimal harvesting conditions now.
It would also seem that at least some of these plants had seen the last days of the D'ni empire, as the growth above the harvest line was considerably thinner than that below it, indicating that the plants can be cropped off at the top and still continue to grow. To what extent this may still be true in this now-forested mess is unclear. I'll have to remember to get a hold of a botanist at some point now as well to try and get some answers.
After walking for eight days through dense, inhospitable forestry to find little of ultimate interest besides the fact that the harvester tracks are at least fundamentally intact for several miles despite the overgrowth of the plants, I'm ready to get back to the cavern and do some more exploring in the city. Funny how fast my interests can change, but I've had enough of this dry and dusty place for now. Hopefully I can come back in the future with more assistance and get this place up and running again. It'll take more than what I have at my disposal right now to make that happen though, so for now, it's back to D'ni.
The past eight days have been long and largely dull, though I did cover a lot of ground and get a much better handle on how the whole harvesting operation must have worked back in D'ni's heyday.
About 20 minutes from the factory, the canyon split into four sub-canyons, with a harvester track leading into each. Determined to get an idea of what to expect if my harvester ever starts working again, I continued to follow its track into the unknown. Beside me, the irrigation canal forged an angular path along the base of the canyon.
Eventually, the walls of the canyon widened a bit, and I entered what can only be described as a forest. Plants not dissimilar to those in Er'cana towered above me, thick as a pine tree forest back on Earth and in some cases just as tall. The irrigation canal apparently still functioned well enough to provide a regular flow of water to these plants, and they thrived after the Fall. Some seem to have infiltrated the canal itself, so some repair work will no doubt be necessary once this initial overgrowth is dealt with. Assuming the harvester blades are capable of cutting through growth this substantial, it might be a good idea to clearcut some of this for future use and replant it with seeds or spores (or whatever) from these now-ancient specimens.
Interestingly, the walls of the canyon themselves gave me a pretty solid idea of just how overgrown the plantlife here had gotten. In some of the naturally narrower parts of the canyon, the walls had been widened at the height where the harvester blades once passed, creating an odd and distinctive shape that served as a handy benchmark for roughly how tall the plants needed to be to be harvested efficiently. This benchmark was easily forty feet over my head, and in some cases the plants stretched thirty feet above that. Hardly what I would call optimal harvesting conditions now.
It would also seem that at least some of these plants had seen the last days of the D'ni empire, as the growth above the harvest line was considerably thinner than that below it, indicating that the plants can be cropped off at the top and still continue to grow. To what extent this may still be true in this now-forested mess is unclear. I'll have to remember to get a hold of a botanist at some point now as well to try and get some answers.
After walking for eight days through dense, inhospitable forestry to find little of ultimate interest besides the fact that the harvester tracks are at least fundamentally intact for several miles despite the overgrowth of the plants, I'm ready to get back to the cavern and do some more exploring in the city. Funny how fast my interests can change, but I've had enough of this dry and dusty place for now. Hopefully I can come back in the future with more assistance and get this place up and running again. It'll take more than what I have at my disposal right now to make that happen though, so for now, it's back to D'ni.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Er'tsuda Expedition, Day 6
Early update today. Still no success getting the harvester going. I think that it, along with most of the rest of the machinery in this Age, will need to wait until I can get a few more folks "down here" to assist me, since mechanical engineering is not my forte; I'm more into orienteering. On the bright side, I have plenty of documents and manuals to show to whatever linguists and mechanics I eventually manage to con into taking over for the DRC...
Rather than spin my wheels – no pun intended – any longer I've decided to pack up and hike along the track for this harvester to see if I can get a better lay of the land outside of the factory. I spent most of the morning breaking down camp and assessing my supplies. I figure I can be gone for 10 days at the most if I take it easy and ration my food and water well. The weather has so far been fairly favorable, so hydration shouldn't be a huge problem, even in a desert-ish environment like this one.
Assuming the rest of this Age is anything like Er'cana, I have a reasonable idea of what to expect along my hike, but I'm still likely to be surprised along the way. Will probably not have an update until I get back from the hike, though since these entries are all being back-dated anyway, it won't really matter in the long run.
Rather than spin my wheels – no pun intended – any longer I've decided to pack up and hike along the track for this harvester to see if I can get a better lay of the land outside of the factory. I spent most of the morning breaking down camp and assessing my supplies. I figure I can be gone for 10 days at the most if I take it easy and ration my food and water well. The weather has so far been fairly favorable, so hydration shouldn't be a huge problem, even in a desert-ish environment like this one.
Assuming the rest of this Age is anything like Er'cana, I have a reasonable idea of what to expect along my hike, but I'm still likely to be surprised along the way. Will probably not have an update until I get back from the hike, though since these entries are all being back-dated anyway, it won't really matter in the long run.
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