(Continued from part XLIX.)

Emilly went to the railing and pointed. "But, see where the fire's burning? That's what remains of the Gray Area. Lina pushed the rest into a 'door', she said, into a dead universe. I asked how dead, and...she said she didn't know."

"Which was the...?" Deebs asked.

Emilly shrugged. "I have no idea. She said something about Limbo...28? 38? Something..."

"No, sorry, I mean, what was the Gray Area?"

"Oh...the flagship of the Gearhaven fleet."

Deebs blinked at her. "...that's going to play havoc with the taxes."

"The Gray Area is the normal visiting ship, or the ship we send out on expeditions, while the Grown-Up Conversation is our more...ah...aggressive ship." Emilly considered. "Which he's actually brought to Haven, actually, and no one's said anything..."



Deebs looked out across the bay once more. "Is the electrical arcs and the like containment, or the edge of the Rift?"

"At any rate, we didn't bring the Gray Area to Haven. How would we explain flying a steampunk airship over a future settlement on a desert moon?"

Deebs smiled. "Aesthetics."

"Point." She followed where Deebs was looking.

"Near as we've been able to figure...those are the rift horizons. They fluctuate, but it seems to be between two and three at any given time."

Deebs smiled. "I have occasionally brought out my Martian flyer, just because of my history...May I?"

Emilly nodded, and the air shimmered, and a Martian flyer landed delicately on the balcony.



"Oh, she is a pretty thing."

"One of these days," Deebs said, "I am going to rewrite my picks to reflect all the versions of Mars that have been an influence on me. That, for instance...That is straight up Martian chronicles."

Emilly nodded. "Very cool. If you're planning a flyover, though, be careful!"

"It occurs to me that a Space 1889 vibe might be a good dressout for coming to visit."

"And there's still an active rift we need to take care of in the round tower in front, at the top..." She looked over at Deebs and grinned at her comment. "It might."

"This probably needs a dose of Mad Science, with the very best in advanced maritime technology. S: Something like the Nautilus, with her aetheric power plant to fuel a Gate-crasher."

"Ooh, indeed."

"How much of a hurry are you in, to clear this...nuisance?"

Were it done, t'were best it were done quickly, Emilly thought. But she simply nodded. "The biggest problem are the followers, because they DO follow, and at this point, the new ones cluster. The old ones, it was just one at a time, but that mass hits me and I can barely move."

"Hmm..." Deebs said. "To ADAPT a Nautilus, or build out a vessel...Do they respond to attack? Or gunfire?"

Emilly tilted her head, considering.

"I envision beams coming out of the Nautilus' 'eyes', sewing the rift shut at a distance, rather than going in and slugging it out."

"Well, Lina said they responded to a high amount of fire, but...she was the one burning, so I don't know how hot it was? I didn't see any char marks inside the house, which is good....but she did get rid of the two lurking on the upper level." She looked out over the flickering rift arcs. "I have no desire to explore the new rift."

Deebs nodded. "So des'."

She leaned forward, something catching the light. She angled her torso over the railing. Was she seeing flat squares of...energy? Over the water?

"Oh, what NOW, that wasn't there this afternoon...Ack--" She froze. "One of the tentacle beasts is on this side..." She began to breathe again when it didn't turn towards her. "It seems too far away from us to target."

"Now, would that normally work? Straight energy beam? Sounds slightly different. Or a pulse cannon."



Deebs pulled out a gun the Duchess didn't recognize, aiming it at the creature. A thick beam of humming yellow light hit the thing.



She shot again. It shrieked, but otherwise, didn't seem affected.



"Hmm." Deebs touched the belt of her silk tunic, a slim structure unfolding from her back. Narrow slight thrusters pushed her up, it seemed mostly with air, not solid fuel, and she got out a larger gun. This one shot a narrower beam of green, that sounded like radio static.

She settled back to the balcony, folding away the jetpack, as they watched the chunks of monster fall and sink into the dark waters.

"Or perhaps an Anbaric Orb--it could be used to channel ALL THE LIGHTNING."

"Well! That seemed to work. Thank you!"

"My pleasure. Those beasties really do need to Be Dismissed."

"They do."

She summoned the Martian flyer again, climbing in. "More on the flip! Because...SCIENCE!"

"Yes!" She waved as Deebs left, making sure she didn't attract the attention of the tower of flailing limbs by the lighthouse. Then she sighed, and returned to the library, to see what else they had on dimensional anomalies.

(Continued in part LI.)

(Continued from part XLVIII.)

Some hours passed. Hours of dodging tentacle beasts, trying to track down what they were, where they came from. Having to hide on the lower levels, only in certain rooms. The heights seemed clear, but the desert wastes were no help. Their research simply wasn't there.

But she heard a new voice on the comm.



"Just looking in, to see if I can be of aid. Just because, neh?"

Emilly looked up from the book she was reading. Deebs was a belt miner they'd met in Haven. She was also a registered Companion with the Guild. She was also from at least some multiverse's version of Mars, she thought.



"Depends. What do you know about tentacle monsters?!" she asked, somewhat hysterically. "But barring that, on Haven-based things? I think things are fine. I did have a chance to ask Cody a couple nights ago about the plan to park the weaponry on the roof, and he said yes, that can't be done. Also reminded me that's what the militia is for. Also reminded me my best 'help' is to hide in the store, or hide in the church during Reaver attacks."

She heard Deebs laugh.

"They really are trying to keep this from being the WAR zone. Of course, they should be stomping on the Pryxians, but it's not my moon, not my 'benevolent' monarchy."

"Mmhmm," Emilly said, slightly distracted. "Of course, it depends on how much the Pryxians are paying the UAP in rent."

"It's why I have several perfectly good Cutter, Corvette, and Frigate designs, in a storage cube in my inventory."

She tilted her head quizzically. "Hmm?"

"Strictly speaking, they SHOULD clamp down on my Belter side action...because if you're used to living in the Belt, and mining its resources, well...there's a LOT of resources."

"They should!" Emilly said. She could almost see Deebs' wicked grin.

"But I am quiet, and deft, and don't rock boats. Even the boats as should founder."

"Ahem." But she grinned. "It is true, though." She closed the book, thinking for a moment. "Hiro's more of a...make ALL the waves guy."

"I saw the big hunter-killer boats he did for y'all. Justine was so happy. And now...tentacle beasts." She paused a moment. "Are we talking alien menaces, hentai fun, or...?"

She shook her head. "Interdimensional monsters from an unstable rift, I think. But that's not Haven, that's....elsewhere."

She suddenly realized that, stealthing into Haven as they did, even their business partners, like Deebs, may not know about Gearhaven.

"I know too many things, actually," Deebs said.

Emilly was startled until she realized Deebs was talking about the monster invasion.

"The latest ones came through when our security pushed an airship through a rift SHE opened...and we're going to need to talk to her about that, that is a HUGE power set to have...."

Deebs chuckled. "Okay, are the monsters in this reality-plenum?"

She shrugged instinctively. "Well, at Gearhaven. Which..." She sighed. "So far, we're keeping separate from the Haven line of things. Because--that opens a can of worms we do not want James, et al, to wrestle with."

"Sound. Were your dimensional beasts here, they'd shut down the invading monsters instantly."

Emilly nodded.

"They had problems, BIG ones, with godmodders and power-stackers back when this was splintered rock. The sim owners and senior stakeholders Don't Want Warfare and HYPERPOWER anything. But I travel all manner of places."

"And the thing is, we don't want to godmod, we don't want to be superpowered, we just want to PLAY without James stomping on everything. Because if ANYTHING drives us into smuggling? That man will."

Deebs chuckled again. "As to the Duchy being planetary/system nobles, meeting the UAP on treaty terms--that would be a long time coming."

"It would. Though we are tempted to check into sovereign nation status, and what it would entail."

"Hey, are you in a locale that can receive visitors? Just for because."

She left the library, walking upstairs, carefully checking for tentacles, and moved to the study. "I think it's safe?" She brought her in.

"What's the dress code?" Deebs asked.

She grinned. "I'm standing in the public study of a steampunk tower on a sim with treehouses, a lighthouse, and face-shaped islands on a dark sea, I think we're fairly loose on dress."

Deebs appeared in front of her in a long, wine-colored ao dai patterned with flowers. She bowed deeply. "Your Grace."

Emilly shook her head. "Pish." She looked out on the balcony, wondering if it was safe.

"It's my first time in Gearhaven."

"Welcome to Gearhaven." She walked to the doors out to the balcony, stepping out and looking around. "Okay...I THINK it's safe."



She watched Deebs walk out, and take in the bay. The rifts, the arcing ball lightning, the bit of the Gray Area still burning. The tentacle beasts.

"That is quite a problem," she murmured.



"It is. And if you look towards the lighthouse, there's an...amalgamation of...things."



She looked, trying to peer around the bulk of the central tower. "No, can't quite see them from here. May be wise..."

(Continued in part L.)

(Continued from part XLVII.)

"Other...wait. You mean, the green-purple tentacles that have been hovering around the ship, those are some sort of...of...MOTHER creature??" Emilly put her head in her hands. "Oh, I hope you're wrong."

"Hmm," Lina said. "Okay, crazy idea..."

Oh, gods, what now?

"Umm...how fired will I be if I, say...push the Gray Area to a dead dimension? Say the same limbo I was trying to push these guys into. I think they'll follow. Think it over?"

"The Gray Area? The ship, you mean?" Justine asked.

"Yep. It's stuck to it."

"Right."

Justine sounded sure...Emilly was filled with dread. But she also didn't want to get closer.

"It goes in, they'll follow...I hope."

Emilly swallowed. "How dead?" she finally asked.

"It's a limbo. It's like what happened to mine, just nothing there. It's still space, just...nothing in it."

"Err..."

"If it helps, you can tell Hiro it was my idea when he gets back, and I'll take the blame, 'cause it will be me pushing it out of space and time."

Emilly sighed. "I'm not sure it can be rebuilt in this state, anyway."

"I'm used to cats giving me dirty looks. I have a Russian blue," Lina said. Which made Justine laugh, and Emilly blinked, thinking briefly of Hiro as a house cat glaring at the security officer.

"Well, I can help him build a new one," Lina said.

Meanwhile, Emilly crawled under one of the treehouses, through the stand of bamboo between them, under the other one, and edged her way around to the far side of the lighthouse, watching one of the tentacle beasts turn in her direction, and move towards her. She froze. It froze. She moved again. It began to move again.

"That's just...creepy," she murmured.

Lina sighed over the comm. "One right below me. So far, my flying is keeping it off me."

"Oh, THAT'S what's happening, I thought it was trying to find me!"

Lina laughed. "Sorry."

Emilly froze again by the stairs up to the top of the lighthouse, having not looked up before walking forward, and flattened herself against the ground as the one in midair flew over her. Slowly.

It reversed, and moved back towards Lina, who used her armor propulsors to back away. She took the opportunity to sneak over to the garden, and climbed the outside of the tower to check on the rift she already knew they had on the sim, pulling herself over the railing. And heard an angry hiss.

"ACK!" she yelled.

"What?" asked Lina.

"There's one right below me! It seems...trapped. And angry!"

"Okay, that's weird. There's two in the rift, so...so...." Lina paused. Emilly pressed against the door to the tower.

"Well, I say let's push the ship though the rift. Unless you have a better idea--I'm all ears!"

Gad, that seemed like an impossible undertaking, and Emilly said so.

"Well, that is that, but...umm...Just note, after I push the Gray Area through, I may, umm...pass out."

Emilly blinked. Edged towards the outside of the tower again. The hissing monstrosity followed her underneath the raised stairway, flailing wildly.

"It's a big job," she murmured finally.

"Yeah...So someone, please get me, okay? Woops--"

Emilly straightened. She looked. No idea where Lina was.

"Oh, dear--you didn't go through with it, did you?"

"Not yet, silly. I'm going to open the gateway under it and let it fall in, but...it's so big...it's going to take a lot of power to keep it open."

She carefully climbed back onto the tower, pressing flat to the metal, and edged around to the front, trying to get a better perspective.

"Okay," Lina said. "Here we go--"

"There's still a monster over my room!" Justine yelled.

"There are monsters everywhere," Emilly muttered.

"Okay, that didn't work out, quite....trying that again...in 3...2...1...Open sayyyys MEEEEEEEEE--"

Emilly wished she didn't sound quite so gleeful about that. She finally was close enough to the front of the tower, though. She saw a large gate of...light, she supposed...open up in the water, under half the Gray Area.

"G'bye, Gray Area, sorry I never got to fly ya--"

She watched, somewhat astonished, as three sections of the Gray Area slowly sank into watery light. She looked over, brow furrowing, as the fourth section tilted, sank further, but held.

Of course that's the section on fire, she thought. She watched Lina plummet from the sky into the bay.

Ah, hell...

She dove from the tower into the water, hoping she was quick enough to avoid the attention of any nearby tentacle beasts, put an arm around her, wheezed at the weight of the armor, and half-swam, half-dragged her to the junk anchored in the bay. She pushed her up over the railing, and then collapsed beside her, panting.

I have had enough today, today, she thought. Really, happy to be done with this at any time...

(Continued in part XLVIX.)

(Continued from part XLVI.)

"Anywho..." Lina finally continued. "Look, monster, you need to go, and this place is my responsibility to protect, so--off you go!"

Emilly tilted her head. She heard something--odd. A...hissing? Not exactly. A...very...organic...hum...a hum, she slowly realized, she knew. She swallowed, turning to Justine, putting a hand on her arm. "She opened a rift!" she hissed.

"What?"

"A rift! On Gearhaven!"

Back at Gearhaven, another thin, thin thread of sound in Lina's head.

{{Niis de a umadea...Ol zir g a clock umadea...}}

Lina gritted her teeth and pushed the second monster through, along with bits of the one she'd slided to collops with the net gun.

"I really hope no one's in that limbo, or I may get a rude letter, or whatever..."

Justine's eyes went wide. Rift? she mouthed. Emilly slowly nodded.

"All right, pushed the other monsters in. Armor mode off--eep!"

"Eep what?" Emilly said, panicked. "What eep?"

"Armor mode not off, repeat not off!"

"Why--"

A new voice heard over the comm. Male. Tentative. "I...think I may have drawn them off, or...I've been trying to..."

Emilly rubbed her forehead. The lighthouse keeper. Of course.

"Drawn them off...how??" she asked.

"Just by being outside, in range," Lokizen said. "I'm in the garden, trying to lead them away."

"Oh, no, they weren't in the garden yet..."

"Seems they don't want to follow me."

"'Course not," Lina said. "'Cause they want me to take my armor off."

Emilly blinked. "Gender-based?" She thought ferociously for a minute, before shaking her head. "Wait, that doesn't make sense, they chased Rusty into the music room..."

"I'm outside now," Lina said.

"Good--"

"Okay, how did they come back from limbo?" Lina asked. "They have to be dimensional-based..."

Unbeknownst to those in Stormhold, Lina kicked in her suit's thrusters, rising into the air. "What in the nine is happening in the sea?" they heard her ask.

"Everything," Emilly said dourly.

"Holy cats." Lina looked around. "Did an airship go down?"

"The Gray Area crashed...somehow."

"Yep...I think I know where the unwanted guests came from."

"Oh?" Emilly asked.

"Well, they are coming from it...I think the crash caused a rip in the fabric of space and time."

"I think you're exactly right, Lina." Justine nodded. Emilly continued to look concerned.

"Aww, crap, not again...I need to fly."

"We'll be home soon--" Emilly started.

"We will fight again later," Justine said.

"No, I fly to keep 'em off me--I mean, I'm in the air to try to keep one off me."

"Good luck, Lina!" Lokizen cried through the comm, and there was the subtle tic of that communication link closing.

"Umm, you too--say, how did the Gray Area crash?"

"That's what we're trying to find out!" Emilly said.

Lina sighed. "I am so fired...well, might as well take a look..." Another pause, and then "There's something green coming out the top of the ship in the water."

Emilly nodded. "It's fairly toxic." She made her apologies to the group, told Justine she was returning, and folded a bit of local space to rearrange her on Darktow. She swam across the small channel to the shore temple, turned around, and cried out in startlement.

"There are more of those things next to the island!" she said.

"They're all over the Gray Area, too," Lina said. "Umm...maybe I seen too many docs, but...what if they're here to save the green thing?"

Emilly blinked. "Green thing?" She peered around the back of the shore temple, and watched a new clump of tentacle beasts try to snatch Lina out of the sky. The previous ones had been black, these were...red, yellow, and...yes, green. What now?

"Am okay," Lina said breathlessly.

"Good..."

"I tried ta get close, but they really don't want me near the ship."

She agreed. "They really don't."

"So...that means they're protecting it."

"But why?"

"So, we either kill it, or put it somewhere else. That's what I'm tryin' to figger out--I mean, they look nothing alike..." Loud sound of disgust over the comm. "Goddess. I'm so dense..."

"What?"

"It's the mom...I'm willing to bet, or--the other sex of the species--"

Thin voice. No closer. No stronger. But present. {{Why do you think only one thing can access the rift?}}

(Continued in part XLVIII.)

(Continued from part XLV.)

A yell over the comm as she was in transit.

"Gearhaven is under attack!" Justine said. "The second floor of Steam Towers is infested with tentacle monsters and face-hugger eggs!"

The Duchess nodded out of habit. "Yes! Do be careful, there are also wandering tentacle beasts that will harangue, if not actually injure."

"My rezday is the day before Guild term graduation day, coincidentally," Justine said in a dry voice. "Assuming I SURVIVE TENTACLE MONSTERS..."

She landed in Stormhold, moving quickly to the upper reaches of the library.

"Yes, and we should do something about that. The rezday, not the tentacle monsters." She thought, opening the door to the meeting room, seeing Justine. She tapped off the comm unit. "Well, we should do something about the tentacle monsters, too."

One of the readers in the group looked up, startled. "What kind of tentacle monsters?!"

Justine grimaced. "The handsy kind with no appreciation for personal boundaries."

"The hell," she heard Lina's tinny voice over the comm in Justine's ear. "Armor up!"

Oh, no...Not while we're away... she thought. Great. What else was going to happen? She touched her comm unit back on as she found a seat for the group.

"Where is everyone? I'm in armor and here!"

"We're in Stormhold at the What Are You Reading group," Justine murmured. "The monsters have to wait."

It wasn't like they were going anywhere, Emilly thought.

"Aww..." Lina sounded genuinely disappointed. "I was like...burn, monster, burn!"

Emilly nodded. "I get that! But, also pledged to be here."

Justine nodded. "Yes. I also want to burn the monsters down."

"Well, where the bloody hell is it?" Lina asked.

"Did you go up to my partlor, Lina? Where you and I were cuddling yesterday? They're in there!"

"Right," Lina said decisively.

But the next thing they heard was not comforting.

"Umm....well, damn..."

"What, Lina?"

"Umm...it's following me...Umm help..."

They facepalmed at nearly the same moment.

"What are you going to--"

"Netting it up," Lina interrupted. "Net gun attack--"

"Good idea!" Emilly said.

"That's it, demon mood fire...Fire, fire, raging higher..."

The Duchess began to worry about Steamopolis.

"Good on ya!" yelled Justine, and was shushed by one of the librarians.

Meanwhile, Lina was singsong chanting into the comm. "Fire, fire, raging higher, making music like a choir..."

Emilly was obscurely reminded of a scene from an old fantasy film, before the penny dropped.

"You're not--"

"I am the fire," Lina pointed out helpfully.

Oh, no.

"I can imagine fire saying that, yes..."

"Fire dancing all over me and burning the monster...'cause it will not stop touching me..."

"Lokizen might be there!" Justine said. "Please don't fry him!"

"Well, tell him to stop touching meeee--" Lina said.

Emilly tilted her head. "Isn't he in the Lighthouse? The Lighthouse looked okay..."

"No this THING is in the house and it's trying to get in my armor! Like I will let that happen, this is NOT a hentai, buddy!"

"Oh, good gods," Emilly muttered.

"This better not be Hiro as an Elder god!" Lina shouted. More sounds of firing as she spoke, or--just--fire??

Emilly shook her head. "Nooo, I doubt that."

"Good, 'cause I heard his voice in my head."

Emilly blinked. "What?"

"Hey, I know, I'll just push the monster into a dead zone in the multiverse--"

What??

"Hmm, which one," their security officer mused. "Ooh, yeah, Limbo 38..."

A thin, thin thread of sound from where Lina stood, carting monster bits to the shore.

{{Hello...Lina?}}

"Okay, now, I know you heard that--" Lina said.

Emilly looked at Justine. They both shrugged and said, nearly at the same time--"Heard what?"

There was a long, long pause.

(Continued in part XLVII.)

(Continued from part XLIV.)

Oh, this would not do, this would not do...



She stood, fretting. Little Athena had nearly instantly fallen asleep next to her brother. She noticed she'd broken several claws, and she wondered when that had happened. All too soon, her attention was drawn back to her sick boy, and her sleeping girl, because--Athena was now kicking in her sleep.



She knelt down, because she'd now tossed and turned enough to end up across the floor by some distance. She was muttering something. She leaned in.

"...addy...lp...lp Daddy...HELP--"

The last was a yell, freezing her in place. She'd discovered she had one remaining bottle of vitamins in her inventory, and she'd just set it up, and was about to start the feed, when Athena startled awake.

"Darling," she murmured. "Are you--"

"You have to help, Mama!" Athena pawed at her legs.

The Duchess tapped the vitamins, watching Enoch's progress, and invited Athena into her lap. "How can I help, kitling?"

The soft ping of the bottle emptying drew her eyes back, breathing a sigh of relief that he was better, rolling over and snoring lightly. Athena snuffed and leapt off her lap.

"Mama!" she demanded.



"Yes, dear?"

"Daddy's in danger!"

She sighed, nodding. "Yes, darling, but--"

"No! You need to find him!"

"We're trying--"

"Mama!" Athena stamped her paws. "I found Daddy!"

She nodded. "You did."

"But we came back here."

"Yes..."

"So you need to help! We would have gotten Daddy back if he hadn't been here!"

The Duchess blinked, confused. "What?"



Athena rolled her eyes, going to the basket of toys, batting one angrily into the room, and flopping down on it, squinching her eyes shut. Emilly watched, perplexed, at Athena steadfastly ignoring her, even more puzzled by Enoch wandering behind the door and peering at the wall.

What on earth....



Athena refused to talk to her past that. So it was several hours before she could get away, changing--with some difficulty--back to her human face, pulling on a dress that didn't smell of sugar, metal and brick dust, and descended down to Darktow Island.


It's always darkest before the dawn, she thought hysterically, the deep of night just starting to burn off with hints of early cobalt blue, and...what was she looking at now? The Gray Area in pieces, arcs of lightning around new rifts opened, toxic fog, fire, and...who was on the shore??


As dawn broke, and the sky lightened enough to see what was truly happening, she was not at all comforted. And--were those--tentacles?? Floating tentacles?

(Continued in part XLVI.)

So, this made my afternoon surreal.

[16:48] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I have a weird question!
[16:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): The first time my kittens got sick, I bought Get Well supplements for them. Recently, one of mine got sick, and I didn't have the Lindens, so I just waited it out, hoping that tip actually worked?
[16:49] Yxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i have weird ansers!
[16:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr):



Well...he's fine now...but...now one of his legs is a different fur color??
[16:49] Yxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: if a cat has access to food, it will get well after 7 days w/o the vitamins

Which is definitely useful, for anyone that has KittyCats cats.

[16:50] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Right, but...what about the back leg?
[16:50] Bxxxxxx Bxxxx: put him into 2d mode and back out. His leg color should fix
[16:50] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I will try that!

Yep, that's kitten-shaped nightmare fuel.

[16:51] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well, that's terrifying beyond all reason.

Whyyyyyy. But I popped Enoch back out again, after snapping a third pic (seen below).

[16:51] Bxxxxxx Bxxxx: It is your region, having lag issues lol
[16:51] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I'll restart the sim. :)
[16:53] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): And...nope. Leg still different color, but I'll check after the restart.
[16:53] xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: you can try either putting him in low prim and back to 3D mode, or sending him to the cattery and back for those kinda things too. SL is weird
[16:53] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Apparently! :)
[16:54] xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: that second pic really was terrifying hahahaha
[16:55] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I know!
[16:56] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I have no words.
[16:57] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I have put KittyCats into 2D mode before, and they were not like that!
[16:57] xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i haven't seen them like that before either that's super weird lol

It really is.



And why no ears?! WHY?!?

[16:58] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Sim restarts...sim comes back...leg still white.
[16:58] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Okay! May file a ticket, then. :)
[16:59] Oriana ღOreoღ Wild (djwildone): I had a kitty one time that appeared to be a different color that doesn't exist... I think it was [Fxxxx] came over and I even sent a pic of what I was seeing... when she came over she seen a completely different thing then I did... maybe get a second person to see it .. might be you need a cache cleaning or something
[16:59] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I can check that too!

Because the other explanation? Enoch's trying to shift his shape, and...he's bad at it. :D

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XLIII.)

They arrived...somewhere else. It was fall. Evening. Scent of cypress in the air. She held Athena tight to her, creeping through mostly silent streets, slipping into shadowed passages whenever someone did pass by. She didn't immediately recognize the language.



Ahead, a half-completed temple. She inched up the stairs, still holding her kitten, crouching and peering through a gap between one nearly-finished wall and the doorframe. She could make out through fitful, flickering light stacks of wood, large, uneven bricks, finer-quarried sections of stone.

She had to get closer. She started to stand up, and crouched down again. Two figures approached the doorway. She slipped into the nearest hedge, watching them as they passed. They weren't...human, she didn't think--rougher features, reddish skin, and--did one have horns?

She watched as they walked to a cart nearby, each easily picking up a pallet of bricks and walking back into the temple. She waited a few heartbeats, then followed. She needed a closer look.


She crouched down again, behind another large crate of building materials, and peered around the side. And again, she was perplexed at what she saw. If she was correct on the general time period they were in...wherever they were...they didn't have access to highly refined metals, yet...she could have sworn she was staring at modern scaffolding.

But modern scaffolding aged and pitted, scaffolding upon which stood more of the...not human figures...and yes, at least two also had wings. What was...where was...she?

She crept out of the temple, mystified, and it wasn't until she was halfway down the stairs that Athena whispered "Daddy's here."

What?

"What do you mean, dearling?"

Athena nodded to a place behind the temple. She crept through the dense undergrowth, and finally stared in stupefaction at the shore, where a very bedraggled Hiro was partially out of the water. She looked up, and she could just make out overhead the Gray Area.

Wait. Two Gray Areas?? One was shimmering almost, but not completely, over the first. What could have caused--

And there was a bright light--

Swept into the air, spinning in circles, reaching--for Hiro, for ground, for the ship, even she didn't entirely know--with one hand, clinging to Athena with the other, spun in place to face the eerie purplish glow--



And she was through. Falling, doing her best to roll first, protecting the kitten with her own form, landing heavily in the silken mist still drifting on the floor of the tower. She blinked. Rift. Ghostly tentacles. Home.

"But Daddy--"

"Precious, we will find your father. I promise."

When she could stand, she took the stairs carefully down, tracked down the nearest port pad, and shot up to the nursery, where she settled Athena in, the others clamoring to know what had happened. They had no food left, and she dashed off to fill the bowls, and when she came back...

...Enoch had fallen sick.

What now?!

(Continued in part XLV.)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XLII.)

"No, this isn't the right version," Athena murmured.

"What was that, sweetness?"



Reality slid...sideways, her vision blurring unpleasantly.



Well, the ruins were still there, but...the sky was the color of a bruise, and the glow was...almost viscous against her skin. What in all the hells...

"Still not right," came Athena's small voice. Oh, no--



This version of...wherever...featured a high, almost metallic buzzing sound, getting closer. At the same time she realized she was repeating "No no no no" over and over, she heard Athena saying the same thing. And she saw...things...beyond the viridescent glow...getting closer. At least they were in agreement.



And this version of the terrain tasted like sugar and iron shavings, and that was not better, and the things were getting closer still--



"There, Mama! There!"

She leapt for the (much smaller) glowing rift, and--she sincerely hoped--for home.

(Continued in part XLIV.)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XLI.)

Finally, she found Athena again!



...which lasted all of a minute, before gravity--what little there was--flipped, making her dizzy. She ended up clinging to one of the floating rocks. She could hear her little girl, close, but she couldn't see her, until it suddenly struck her--she was on the same rock! She was that close!



She gritted her teeth, creeping forward, disregarding the swoops her stomach did trying to tell her to stop passing through shifting gravity fields, until she'd made it to the other side, and scooped her daughter into her lap. Safe, at last.



"Mama, what's on your--"

"Never mind, dearling. Never mind. Now, can you show me how you got in?"

The kitten looked around. "No...but...I know where we might go next."

She sighed. "Where?"



Athena jumped up, bounding from rock to rock until she suddenly took a sharp turn. There was a sizzling sound. Oh, not again!

She leapt into the air, closing her eyes. There was another shearing gravity shift, and she landed...somewhere. On the other side.



There was ground, and there was...sky, at least, she thought it was sky, and there were...ruins? Bizarre, translucent ruins, but...ruins.

Now where were they?

(Continued in part XLIII.)

There was a thing that came up in ISC chat earlier...Leaving names in because there are no guilty to protect, per se. So.

[08:44] Kara2016: Did hear that LL is going too increase the linden exchange rate?
[08:44] Grimoire Hexem: yeah.
[08:44] Grimoire Hexem: it's 3$ per every 10k L
[08:45] Zantyago Mannonen: so evey linden is worth more or less=
[08:45] Justine (justinejohndory.amethyst): every linden will cost us more.
[08:45] Zantyago Mannonen: WHAT?
[08:45] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Err....no....
[08:45] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): 10K in Lindens is currently $41.67, not $3.00?
[08:46] Grimoire Hexem: they're adding a tax.
[08:46] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): In addition to the $1.49 they already charge?
[08:46] Isobel DeSantis: They're increasing the $1.49 - that will now be the minimum
[08:46] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Ugh.
[08:47] Kara2016: i use the Instant buy(Market buy) not the Best rate buy(Limit buy)
[08:47] Isobel DeSantis: Mari sent a notice about it the other day - it changes on the 22nd

The notice Miss Mari sent goes thusly:

Not polite [ but we're family ]
to discuss money but Linden is raising the BUY, not sell Linden dollar transaction fee eff 4/22 to 7.5%, $9.99 cap, $1.49 minimum (current max). So, if you long term rent you may want to save a bit and stock up before 4/22 to cover your tier for a while
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/7770-infrastructure-investment-update-buy-fee-change-effective-april-22/. {in case of error website info rules}

And I say again: Ugh.

[08:47] Grimoire Hexem: they must pay tribute to the new Amazon Cloud overlords.
[08:47] Isobel DeSantis: yeah, this is the instant one as well, [Kxxx]
[08:47] Isobel DeSantis: Those of us outside the US already pay a huge exchange rate charge to Tilia

Which sounds like the advent of Tilia gave the Lindens the ability to charge fees above and BEYOND VAT, which (at least personally) I think is a terrible idea...

[08:48] Kara2016: it may not be that bad..
[08:48] Zantyago Mannonen: CURSE YOU BEZOS
[08:48] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well, bother. I appreciate her suggestion to stock up before the 22nd, but that assumes one has enough TO allow stocking up before the 1st.
[08:48] Isobel DeSantis: they give us the worst exchange rate of anywhere in the world!
[08:48] Isobel DeSantis: ikr, Emily?
[08:48] Isobel DeSantis: When my bank was giving $1.30 to the £, Tilia gave $1.18
[08:49] Isobel DeSantis: They make more on selling Lindens than anything else, I would think [08:49] Kara2016: Just be glade you are not paying $40.00 for $500.00 Rays on top of a $20.00 membership..
[08:50] Kara2016: a week
[08:50] Isobel DeSantis: what are Rays?

Yeah, I have no idea. I never played on Red Light District, Utherverse, or Oasis, though I'm sure there are other adults-only virtual worlds.

[08:50] Isobel DeSantis: "Linden is raising the BUY , not sell Linden dollar transaction fee eff 4/22 to 7.5% , $9.99 cap , $1.49 minimum(current max) "
[08:50] Kara2016: i used too be on an adult virtural site..those were the currancy
[08:52] Isobel DeSantis: I normally buy 15,000L at a time - so my transaction fee will go from $1.49 to about $4.50
[08:53] Kara2016: Thats a lot of Lindens..I like 2,500
[08:54] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Part of the annoyance with the new fee, for me? I had started buying my largest lump-sum amount of Lindens at the start of the month, TO avoid hitting that fee again and again, buying L$1K here, L$500 there.
[08:54] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): With this, it's basically making us choose--either accept the higher fee for the larger lump sum, or LET us charge you $1.49 for every smaller transaction.
[08:56] Isobel DeSantis: My rent is about 7500L$ a week Kara
[08:56] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) nods
[08:57] Isobel DeSantis: Yeah it's capped at $9.99 which is about 30,000L$
[08:57] Isobel DeSantis: maybe 35,000
[08:57] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Still no. $9.99 is L$2397 in Lindens.
[08:58] Kara2016: if i bought 5,000L NOW, IT WOULD BE 22.33$
[08:59] Isobel DeSantis: I mean if you buy more than about 35,000L$ at a time, your transaction fee won't go up
[08:59] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): It won't go up from that four-buck-plus figure, probably not, no, but that's still more than double the fee for transactions $9.99 or less.
[08:59] Isobel DeSantis: so you can buy 50,000L$ and pay the same transaction fee as someone buying 35,000 is what I'm trying (badly!) to say
[09:00] Isobel DeSantis: not $4 - the max is $9.99 Emily
[09:00] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): The FEE is $9.99??
[09:00] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Oh good gods.
[09:00] Isobel DeSantis: Yes
[09:01] Isobel DeSantis: it's 7.5% with a max of $9.99

Thanks, I hate it.

[09:01] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Do they...want...people to stay in SL?
[09:01] Isobel DeSantis: currently the max is $1.49
[09:01] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Because this is how you drive people off a platform.
[09:01] Isobel DeSantis: From Thursday, the MINIMUM will be $1.49
[09:02] Kara2016: SO THE NEW FEE WILL BE 9.99?
[09:02] Isobel DeSantis: the new maximum, Kara
[09:02] Kara2016: sory for the caps.
[09:02] Isobel DeSantis: the new minimum will be $1.49
[09:03] Kara2016: what i seeibng now is the transactiuon fee of 1.49
[09:03] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Right, but it's not the 22nd yet.
[09:03] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): It's the 18th.
[09:03] Isobel DeSantis: that's the current maximum yes
[09:03] Isobel DeSantis: it WILL be the minimum
[09:04] Kara2016: oh, well.

Now, I should add that since I captured this, I linked the forum URL to Hiro, and his perspective is that this is a good thing? To encourage people not to carry huge amounts of Lindens on their accounts (he suggests potential money laundering concerns, and maybe that's a thing?), but also, to make money in-world and not buy through the Lab.

Which, again--are they trying to discourage people to buy Lindens? Isn't that Second Life's chief microtransaction? Why would they want to make it less desirable to buy the in-game currency?

(Roleplay entry, but also mostly dialogue over description. Continued from part XLI.)

The last thing Emilly wanted to do was attract the attention of the clown-faced imp on the shore, and really didn't want to risk getting close to the tentacle...things...over the bay, so out of expediency, she dove into the waters and swam for Steam.



She saw...something...off in the far distance of the Dark Sea, but shook her head. She had larger concerns.



She clambered up the bank and moved towards the garden, and got snared by floating tentacles. She fought her way free, stumbling against the garden wall.



She got snared again, and the thing flew, dragging her along the walls of the tower, spinning in place on the balcony outside the main study. She got away again, diving low, opening the study doors and slamming them firmly in the mass of writhing black tentacles outside.

[1:50 AM] RoseDrop Rust: Em emememem
[1:51 AM] RoseDrop Rust: I am under attack.
[11:34 AM] Emilly: Where are you?
[12:06 PM] RoseDrop Rust: Last I looked, I was in the music room. I was chased down there from Justine's rooms by some sort of beasts.
[12:06 PM] Emilly: They're in the house?

[12:37] RoseDrop Rust: Emerly?
[12:38] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Yes?
[12:38] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Oh, gods, are you still in the music room?
[12:38] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): AAAAAAAAH
[12:39] RoseDrop Rust: Yes!
[12:39] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): How in the HELL....I came into the public study and got attacked!

The beast in the house reached through the open study doors, pulling her into the hall beyond, pinning her to the parquet. What were these things?!



Oh, gods. There were eggs. Outside Justine's parlor. Why were there eggs?! What was...

[12:39] RoseDrop Rust: Cowering near the piano. with a globe of something created by a tune ...
[12:41] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I swam across from Darktow, I tried to make my way through the garden.
[12:44] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I had to fight my way through the bamboo! Those beasts are everywhere.

The thing seized her again, dragging her down the hall, where she half-fell down the stairs, but by the time she rolled into a breathless ball, while she could still hear it shrieking upstairs, it was upstairs.

[12:44] RoseDrop Rust: Oh Em!
[12:44] RoseDrop Rust: I am so confused!
[12:45] RoseDrop Rust: What kind of, what can they do?
[12:45] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) breathes out.
[12:46] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well...Flying's bad. Simplest of things, I do it without thinking about it, and I got snatched out of the air and nearly dragged into the house.
[12:46] RoseDrop Rust: I was so scared I was talking to myself.
[12:46] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): And there are....eggs...near Justine's parlor.
[12:46] RoseDrop Rust: Eggs?

She sincerely hoped they didn't hatch, or if they did, it was well after they'd cleared the house of everything else.

[12:46] RoseDrop Rust: [F*ck]!
[12:47] RoseDrop Rust: I made an ..... energy ball.
[12:47] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Fascinating!
[12:47] RoseDrop Rust: from the piano.....

She made her way to the music room, tilting her head as she looked at the poet.

[12:48] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): You...I thought you were casting, my apologies
[12:49] RoseDrop Rust: "Casting?"
[12:49] RoseDrop Rust: If it is a science? Is it not magic to some?
[12:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well, I suppose that makes sense.
[12:50] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): There is integration between what we think of as magic and what we know as science, after all, at the highest levels. Or the smallest, considering quantum mechanics.
[12:52] RoseDrop Rust: This may be a philosophical discussion we should pursue...Still, there is the matter of the monsters.

She flicked her eyes to the mantel clock, running times in her head. The Stormhold reading group was meeting soon, and she had said she'd tried to be there. Of course, that was before an entire flagship collapsed into the bay...

[12:53] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) I'm close to due on another sim, but--if you use the port circle in the corner, and go to Darktow or the lighthouse, you *should* be clear of the beasts, and can go wherever you need to? And I'll meet up with Justine in Stormhold, and figure out what to do.
[12:53] RoseDrop Rust: What is a "darktow?"
[12:54] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): My apologies, it's the small island. Just be careful, it's *very* close to the debris of the Gray Area.
[12:56] RoseDrop Rust looks for the circle and will go to darktow ...
[12:56] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) nods. Fair winds to your sails.
[12:56] RoseDrop Rust: Emerly ....
[12:56] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): This is going to be...nuts.
\[12:56] RoseDrop Rust: What will you do?
[12:57] RoseDrop Rust: What do you know of these beasts?
[12:58] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Right now? I don't know anything. But I'll learn. I do know they likely came through the rift we've been observing on Tannhauser Station, which is....disappearing in sections, which may be part of the problem.
[12:58] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) hugs him and disapparates to elsewhere, hoping he makes it to Darktow intact.

(Continued in part XLII.)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XL. Written by Rosedrop Rust.)

The next day, the poet took a port into GearHaven. It had been a long day...and he soon discovered he was under attack!

"What the hell? It’s moving with me. Some kinda...black...blobby...tendrelly thing!" He headed downstairs to see if he could shake it.

"Okay, that worked, but I can hear it on the roof. Damn! That is other-worldly. I wonder if Emilly knows of this thing. I swear it felt like it was following me."

Rusty checked for damage, and thankfully, wasn't specifically damaged, but he also agreed he was shaken up.

"Wait a minute!" he cried out. "Those were Justine's rooms. I wonder if it is attacking other parts of the upstairs!"

Rusty paced a little. Standing still didn't seem like a good idea yet.

"I could just hang out in the music room. There is a piano. Somehow, I don't think music...hmmm...some songs are demon chasers...and I have been experimenting with a composition suggested by physics to have some power possibilities..."

Rusty headed for the music room.

"This would be too easy..."

About then it occured to him he had been talking out loud, and became embarrassed at babbling in the face of danger.

"And I am actually toying with the idea of seeing if playing the piano would help. Okay, it usually helps me..."

He wanders into the music room and sat down at the piano. He tried to remember the combination of notes the computer spit out that correlated to that theory of frequency-based power generation. He played some of the tune he remembered. He realized there was more to it. Luckily, once he's heard a tune he retained it. He and his friends had won a fair amount of bets insisting they could tell what town someone was from just by how they hum a simple tune. He had the ability to read the soul of a person by how they played. It was like handwriting analysis, or lie detectors, but he was rarely, let's say never, wrong. He was told he had psychic powers, but he just knew what was being said when someone played an instrument. Their desires, confidence, and anxieties. He could tell when they were born, likely what city, from the phrases they picked up coming into maturity in certain places. People used to sit around and watch him do it at parties.

After a while, it became a bore. He was not convinced he had any "powers", he was surprised everyone couldn't hear it. It helped him know what to play to best complement just about any composition. Producers lined up around his studio to try to book him. It began to get on his nerves.

Right now, he had a monster on the roof and wasn't sure if he could read it like he was able to read frat boys. He needed a plan. In the meantime there was this computer-generated composition. He began to play and the sheet music on the piano stated to rattle.

"What the hell?"

He kept playing, and a strange glow started coming off the strings. It rose above the strings in what looked like a glowing ball. He stopped and stood. He reached for the ball. He could move it. It was a bit like holding an angry cat, he thought, as he held it out from him.

Then the tentacle-whatever crashed through the door of the music room, and he threw up the glowing ball in front of him like a shield. The thing hissed, flailing, but didn't seem to be able to get past the curve. He hit the comm, set it to wideband, and yelled.

"Help! I'm trapped in the music room!"

(Continued in part XLII.)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XXXIX.)

As she was pulled into the distortion field, she lost her grip on Athena's tail and panicked. It was hard to remember to breathe, then it was hard to breathe, once she was through.



She was pulled through the rift into light: searing light, unearthly radiance beating at her eyes, burning her skin. Her body reacted before she even consciously sorted things out.



The radiance began to fade, and she fought to make out shapes. She felt...odd, not...quite herself, but...before she could focus on the cause, she saw her. Her little kitten, was she--swimming? Floating? Either way, she was alone!



She leapt off the rock formations she'd landed on, and found herself floating as well. What was holding her up? She tried to look behind her and--it wasn't wings. It was...was...

Flash of utter icy dread through her. The tendrils the succubus had had, so many years ago, the succubus she thought she'd parted ways with forever in lost Valruna, and now...there they were. What did it mean?



She caught sight of her little girl again. Spiraling down...or was it up? It was so hard to tell. She dove after her.



There! She saw her again, little grey paws moving as if on a walkway only she could see. Maybe there was, she thought frantically, maybe she knows something I don't--



--but in the meantime, what was happening to her?!

(Continued in part XLI.)

Oh, this one's going to be...fun...

Dear Ms. [name],

Oh, hi--am I not off your mailing list yet? I've told you twice, thanksbutno, take me off. Seems...not to have taken?

I want to have your name and intentions taken to Fátima for the 104th Anniversary of the most amazing historic event.

How...is that going to work, precisely? How can you take my name to a place?

Would you like that?

I have no idea. Why would I want that, again?

Click here [link given] to add "[name]" to the ANF banner in Fátima!

Ohhh, I get it now. You want to put my name on a banner. To take TO Fátima. Silly idea, but okay.

Yes, that is correct, on May 12th, the eve of the 104th Anniversary of Our Lady’s first apparition at Fátima, Portugal, our ambassadors will carry your name on the unique America Needs Fátima Banner during the Fátima celebrations and candlelight procession.

No thanks.

They will also present your intentions to Our Lady of Fátima on the exact spot where she appeared.

No thanks.

Join me and thousands more, by having your intentions delivered to the very spot where the Queen of Heaven appeared to the three shepherd children so long ago.

Sounds like a cash grab.

Though we have all been dealt a trying hand this past year, Our Lady has been with you and I every step of the way.

And as uncertain as the future looks for America right now, I know she will stay by our sides through it all.

She will never abandon her faithful children!

Good to know, but, thing is, I'm not actually Catholic? Sorry if you have that impression. I've tried to correct that by unsubscribing.

So, [name], what better way to thank her for her sweet maternal protection--nd lay our present difficulties at her feet--than to participate spiritually in the annual Fátima celebrations?

I can think of lots of ways. Most of them far more direct than carrying a banner with a bunch of names on it.

Click here to have your name added to ANF’s Banner carried through the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima.

No, but good luck with that. Really.

Because you love Mother Mary so much,

That's assuming a great deal about me because once you offered a free scapular with the image of Mary of Fátima, and I accepted...

because you want her Immaculate Heart to Reign over all this troubled world and because you have supported ANF with your prayers and sacrifices in the past

Err, no, I paid you a pittance once to send me a rosary chaplet, because that was a bit nicer than the scapular, but I haven't paid you a single centime since--and won't, in all likelihood.

--for all these reasons, and more...

Right, we're back at cash grab again.

...I want to offer you this beautiful spiritual experience absolutely FREE!

The hell you say.

So what are you waiting for? Click here now [link given] and send your name and intentions to Fátima this May for the 104th anniversary celebration of Our Lady’s first apparition at Fátima, Portugal.

No, but thanks. I'm going to try again to get off this mailing list,

I remain your friend,
In Jesus and Mary,

Sure, whatever,

Robert Ritchie
Director, America Needs Fátima

I mean, look. As far as religious hucksters go, I don't think this group is entirely terrible, which is why I'm leaving their web page link in. They are operating from a prophecy from one of the children that says fairly clearly, world go boom unless Russia worships Mary. Which...no, on multiple levels, but I can see why they're invested.

But my sideline interest in Marian cults doesn't respond to this level of froth. I don't care if someone carries my name through the streets of Fátima. Why does it matter? It certainly won't matter to the residents of Fátima. It won't matter to the people carrying the banner. And it's certainly not going to be "FREE", as they said. There will be a fee for doing this, at some point, I guarantee it.

So no, thanks, I'm going to try to get off your mailing list again. Good luck with the world saving.

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XXXVIX.)

Thaumaturgy is the purported capability of a magician to work magic or other paranormal events or a saint to perform miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking. A practitioner of thaumaturgy is a "thaumaturgus", "thaumaturge", "thaumaturgist" or "miracle worker". A saint, who is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness or likeness or closeness to God, may be claimed to have performed miracles, which are events not explicable by natural or scientific laws.

In the 16th century, the word thaumaturgy entered the English language meaning miraculous or magical powers. The word was first anglicized and used in the magical sense in John Dee's book Mathematicall Praeface to Euclid's Elements (1570). He mentions an "art mathematical" called "thaumaturgy... which giveth certain order to make strange works, of the sense to be perceived and of men greatly to be wondered at".

All major religions and all cultures in the world have some form of Thaumaturgic beliefs.

In the following chapters, I will articulate how the golden age of Magic and Sorcery was actually the 20th and 21st century, and how Clarke’s third law is the driving zeitgeist of the age.

The most powerful and influential magicians of the the 20th century were not Crowley, Gardener or Carroll but actually Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone and Tony Robbins or arguably Alan Greenspan, Werner Van Braun and Heisenberg.

The following are quotes from these magicians. My advice to any serious student of these arts is to read these works for yourself and find the common themes.

Similar to many great magicians, he was accused of being a fraud and a con man. Nevertheless, he did not let facts get in the way of a good story. He knew that the mythology had power to help people achieve things in the physical world. Much of his beliefs became the staple of positive thinking movements.

Napoleon hill attributed his beliefs to a "secret" Andrew Carnegie taught him. He then validated the secret talking to many powerful and wealth people of his era. Including: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and Edwin C. Barnes (an associate of Thomas Edison). Hill reported that Carnegie had given him a letter of introduction to Ford, who Hill said then introduced him to Alexander Graham Bell, Elmer R. Gates, by William H. Taft, Cyrus H. K. Curtis, Thomas Edison, Luther Burbank, E.M. Statler, Edward W. Bok, John D. Rockefeller. Rufus A. Ayers, John Burroughs, Harvey Samuel Firestone, Elbert H. Gary, James J. Hill, George Safford Parker, Theodore Roosevelt, Charles M. Schwab, Frank A. Vanderlip, John Wanamaker, F. W. Woolworth, Daniel Thew Wright, and William Wrigley, Jr.

However, these claims have proven to be false or greatly exaggerated. It seems just as authors of other religious and mystic texts, Hill appealed to other figures for credibility and to provide plausibility for the teaching.

These issues notwithstanding, the thoughtforms and mythos created by Hill became one of the most powerful uses of magic in history which propelled people to even greater highs of accomplishment.

In 2017 the Vatican released and allowed the publication of a fragment of the Codex Magisterium. This manuscript had been kept secret in the Vatican Secret archive for an unknown number of years.

The saying of St. Collis seem to echo teachings of Napoleon Hill. However, the manuscript was dated to the early middle ages. The fragment is translated below:

The wisdom of Magus Adept Hill:

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

The starting point of all achievement is desire.

A goal is a dream with a deadline.

Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache, carries with it the Seed of an equivalent or greater Benefit.

If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.

Any ideas, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.

Don't wait. The time will never be just right. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.

Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it.

Most great people have achieved their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.

Success comes to those who become success conscious.

Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.

When your desires are strong enough, you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve.

The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.

Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and never the result of selfishness.

Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune or temporary defeat.

Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.

It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others succeed.

Success is good at any age, but the sooner you find it, the longer you will enjoy it.

It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project.

Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.

When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.

A positive mind finds a way it can be done; A negative mind looks for all the ways it can't be done.

The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.

Deliberately seek the company of people who influence you to think and act on building the life you desire.

You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.

You give before you get.

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

The ladder of success is never crowded at the top.

The more you give, the more comes back to you.

Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.

Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.

When you have talked yourself into what you want, right there is the place to stop talking and begin saying it with deeds.

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

Plan your work and work your plan.

You can think your way into or out of almost any circumstance, good or bad.

Procrastination is the bad habit of putting of until the day after tomorrow what should have been done yesterday.

If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.

No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire it.

Keep your mind fixed on what you want in life: not on what you don't want.

Everyone faces defeat. It may be a stepping-stone or a stumbling block, depending on the mental attitude with which it is faced.

Life reflects your own thoughts back to you.

If you do not see great riches in your imagination, you will never see them in your bank balance.

Action is the real measure of intelligence.

You become what you think about.

To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.

There has been significant debate on how a magical text previous unknown could have mirrored exactly self help literature authored in the early 20th century.

(Continued in part XL.)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XXXVIII.)

"With every mistake we must surely be learning."

~The Psalms of St. Harrison, Codex Magisterium Metaverse

Hiro activated the Cryo chamber. He knew the Beta was on the way north to Thule, Epsilon was in Jerusalem, Gamma was being sent to Ophir from Sheba, Delta was being sent to Egypt, the most dangerous of all the fragments.

He had completed much of the Books. All were combined in two large volumes and one small epistle: the Codex 1: Magisterium Metaverse and the Codex 2: Quantum Grimoire and the Epistle of the Blue Avatar. He sent copies to all instances of himself.

El spoke. "Five copies delivered."

Hiro looked puzzled. "Five?"

He rubbed his forehead. Forget it, he thought. "I am tired." He activated the cryo pod and drifted off, not sure when he would be awakened by his other fragments still in the world.

(Continued in part XXXIX.)

(Roleplay entry. Written by Miss Justine! Continued from part XXXVII.)

JUST PICK A REALITY AND STICK WITH IT

Rusty and Justine were cuddling on the loveseat in her parlour while he decompressed from his evening show, when her wrist-com beeped. Idly she looked at the screen, expecting a goodnight message from Emilly. Instead, her eyes widened as she saw an alert from the Fringe Lab in Tannhäuser. Cursing herself for taking the night off she leapt up.

"I need to go to Tannhäuser." Looking back and seeing the confusion on his face, she added, "Do you want to come?"

"Yup!" he replied with a smile. "What’s Tannhäuser?"

Laughing she took his hand and pulled him up, "I'll tell you on the way," and headed for the shuttle.

======

MESSAGES

"STAN, silence the alarms." Justine pulled a lab coat over her dress as she entered the Fringe Lab. "Lights up." Heading to the Quantum Containment module, she swept a hand over the console, waking up the display. Rusty followed nervously behind, looking a bit awe-struck, arms folded across his chest as if he were cold.

Justine threw the data from the console onto a holo display that quickly surrounded her. She'd left the local Hiro-instance in the quantum containment cube "live", systems set to monitor for activity in the neural net consciousness or evidence of further quantum data transfer from Hiro Prime. A frown spread across her face and she cringed guiltily, seeing evidence that local Hiro-instance had awoken and suffered a moment of severe panic before the safety protocols cut in. She chewed on a fingernail, chastising herself. "I should have been here."

The data scrolled by until she reached what had triggered the alert notice.

STAN: Messages.

From Hiro. Hiro Prime.

Justine felt the world disappear around the edges as she read,

Em - I am not sure how this is getting to you. I know it is. I feel a presence when I focus. It seems like it is me or a version of me.

This timeline corrupted deeply. I fear that our adversary (the serious one, not the pirate princess with a taste for pork) has captured power in a very early stage of this civilization.

I am going to use the Cryogenic units salvaged from the Gray Area to try to sleep until you find me. It is only three thousand years. I will have to awaken multiple times to recharge the units. Perhaps move the vault but luck and Magick, I should see you very soon.

I have some downtime so I have been composing some texts that maybe influenced this time line? I will send a copy of the text soon. Love as always -

your Hiro, Duke of Gearhaven, Archduke and Caliph of the Sphinx Hegemony, First Consul of the United Civilizations and Timelines.

P.S. In the library, I left a short translation of “Thaumaturgic Dynamics and the 21st Century Economy” by Jean-Pierre Kalifa. Might be helpful.

Justine read the message a dozen times, her ears ringing. At some point she realised Rusty had come to stand behind her hands gently rubbing her shoulders. "Adversary?" he asked.

"I need to talk to Emilly," she murmured, then more loudly, "STAN, locate Emilly. Has she been sent an alert? I need to talk to her."

"Emilly Shatner-Orr is not present in this reality," the mechanical voice of the Sphinx-Templar Automated Network replied.

"I'm sorry, what?" Justine asked, that familiar sensation of not knowing what the hell was going on washing over her.

"Emilly Shatner-Orr is not present in this reality," STAN helpfully repeated.

"Well...which reality is she..." She paused to take a deep breath, let it slowly back out. "STAN, spawn a process and find Emilly using all available resources."

"Acknowledged. Engaged."

Justine turned back to the holo-display and moved to the next message. Her eyes filled with tears as she saw it was sent to her.

Justine - By now you will have surmised that something has gone wrong. Hopefully, part of the Gray Area will be home. Knowing the engineer in you, you will have found some items are missing. Power systems, Cryonics. The quantum Mechanical drive is destroyed. I am going to attempt to use the Cryogenic Tech and make it home.

Love you,

your Hiro, Duke of Gearhaven, Archduke and Caliph of the Sphinx Hegemony, First Consul of the United Civilizations and Timelines.

P.S. Jung and Pauli were friends. See the transcribed article.

Choking back a sobbing laugh at the gross understatement of that she forced her eyes to focus, reading the brief personal message again and again before turning her attention to the longer postscript.

"Classic [f*cking Hiro," she muttered with a small smile, "can’t say anything without making an academic treatise out of it." She knew better than to dismiss it, though. If Hiro took the time to send it, it was important. Now if only she could figure out HOW it was important. For the hundredth time, she really wished Emilly was there.

She downloaded the messages and accompanying quantum entanglement measurements to her datapad and turned to Rusty. "Let's go home, I need to do some reading." Then she paused, seeing his eyes aimed over her shoulder.

"What?"

"Justine, there’s another message," he said, pointing.

On the screen, text scrolled.

"57.) OsF., or Voso.-The Fifty-seventh Spirit is Oso, Ose, or Voso. He is a Great President, and appeareth like a Leopard at the first..."

The two of them stared at the image of the Seal of Ose in silence for a long while. That doesn't look like anything to me," Justine said, an itching ache forming behind her eyes with the struggle to remember something she wasn't sure she knew in the first place.

Rusty’s eyes narrowed in concern. "Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?" he whispered, watching her face for a reaction.

"No," she whispered before shaking herself out of her reverie, "STAN? Is Lina present in this reality? Can you locate her and ask her to meet me in the Steam library?"

"Lina Rodex is present in this reality," STAN replied with more sarcasm than was really warranted. "Message sent."

Justine took a deep breath reminding herself again of the futility at getting frustrated at a pre-sentient AI and downloaded the third message to her datapad as her wrist com pinged. Answering it she heard Lina's cheery voice, "What’s new, sis?"

“Lina, I need you to search the Gearhaven library for a volume titled 'Thaumaturgic Dynamics and the 21st Century Economy. It's in there somewhere."

"I can probably find what you need a lot faster through Memory Alpha, boss," Lina replied.

"Sorry, no, has to be the actual physical book. And it’s in the library. I'll be there in a bit."

"Roger that, sis. I'll find it." The call dropped.

"Ok, now I think we can go home," she said to Rusty. She paused for a moment, crouching beside the quantum entanglement cube housing the Hiro-instance. She leaned her forehead against the cool metal, thoughts swirling and she felt dangerously close to losing her grip on all the threads again. "Hiro," she whispered, thumping her forehead against the box gently, "I don't understand. I can’t do this. And where the [f*ck] is Emilly? Why can't you two just stay in the one reality? Honestly." Drawing in a shuddering breath, she took Rusty's hand and led him back through the station to the landing dock.

(Continued in part XXXVIX.)