Night at the Museum

The operation at the labyrinth was a great success! 

This is in no small part due to the fine members of the Societas and our allies who answered my call for help. I would have thought myself lucky if one or two would take up the task, but I think nearly all that had time, nobly and selflessly offered their assistance. In order of joining of our fleet, I'll list them here so that I not forget to whom I owe last night's success: Razic Shazih, Gaun Arel, Lunarisse Aspenstar, Tiberius Arthuron, Krisha Kashada, Roland Cassidy, Jason Moradian. I also note that paladin (and now Khan) Arline Kley put a vessel to our disposal, TES Laus Deo.

With such a formidable fleet at my disposal, I could focus the fitting of my Stratios class exploration vessel on relic analyzers and on armor tanking, and leave the firepower to the rest of the fleet. It worked magnificently well, the armor on my ship was barely scratched.

The first destination of our fleet was the Museum Arcana, in Zimse. Its curator owns rare copies of the key to enter the Takmahl Labyrinth in Aphi. After showing some credentials to the museum's gatekeeper, Thador Udokas, we were let in. 

I've never in my career seen such a chaotic and badly maintained museum. It is probably underfunded, but that is no excuse. It is a "space" museum, and some architect bureau no doubt thought it would become famous for building a museum out of cans scattered in a seemingly random way all over the grid. Modern art in architecture, probably won a prize. However, it is definitely not very handy for the visitors. No wonder even the curator needed help to find things. The last item, a ritual text of sorts, was completely lost, no matter how many of these exhibit cans were opened, there was no sign of it. Luckily, Razic Shazih had found a copy amongst his loot of earlier missions, and was kind enough to transfer it to me, so that I finally managed to have the key of the labyrinth.

It's not merely a badly maintained museum: the other scandal is that thieves and probably Boulette's thugs were out and about and trying to prevent us from completing the curator's mission. It was quite satisfying to see them being shot out of the sky.

With both the key and the map in my possession, we could venture forth to the labyrinth itself. But that is a log entry I will complete tomorrow, I am too eager for now to go back to study the artefacts I collected. I will make a better museum for these items!

[to be continued]

Interruption

The preparations for the expedition to Zimse and Aphi are on hold for the moment, as Gottin's Lamp is about to move back from Nasreri to its earlier home.

I almost forgot to fret about the library! Or perhaps it is because I already witnessed one move that I have now more confidence in it. The most precious items have been packed well in advance and already moved piecemeal. The bulk of the collection will move along with the Lamp itself. 

This time, I worry a bit more about the chapel. It's been handled by expert craftsmen, like before. But its all-wooden structure needs disassembling and reassembling, and this always comes with additional wear and stresses for the wooden boards and planks. 

My own quarters are easy to move, I travel through life without much material possessions and do not have much things to pack. As for the stuff piling up in my hangar: that's mostly unsorted junk collected on previous expeditions that I was intending to get rid of anyway. There's a company called "Highsec Buyback" that you can ask to come collect all your hangar junk and they'll even offer you some isk for that. Good riddance mechanical parts and broken shield emitters.

Then there's of course Mittens. For the moment she stays on the Indagatrix, I'll bring her over to a cat hotel at our new home, while the Lamp is being moved. That's because I do not feel at ease to keep her on the Indagatrix in case we get attacked by gankers or pirates - I do not want to put her life at risk. I do realize with some degree of guilt how inconsiderate this feeling is towards my crew, but then again they signed up for the job knowing the dangers, Mittens did not...

Improved resolution

Novan explored the labirynth, and took pictures. Compared to today's graphics, they are very low quality. 

In fact, all of the footage that I found, from any capsuleer, dates from years ago! 

Imagine how much more information we get with our modern scanners and imaging technology! The resolution, the sharpness, the vividness of the colors has evolved so much in such a short timespan. Even in the two small years that I am a capsuleer, I've seen so much improvement in the visualization our ships can make of their surroundings.

I must image the Talocan gates and the Takmahl space temple, I'll be the first to publish these images in modern times! Ah, perhaps the blood raiders have more footage, but none of that is available to Imperial scholars.

Therefore I toil and work the concord hacking sites to obtain the necessary isk to buy this Stratios vessel. I kept only what I needed to replace the Indagatrix, profits above that going into the skillbook fund or other charity. God provides, wightstorm comms relays are present close to Nasreri.

The map and the key

I've been studying Novan's notes and ship logs over the last few days. It has helped me map out the labyrinth using the data on the artifacts. The Talocan statues all look towards the sun, giving an orientation to the cogwheels. This orientation allows to find the correct acceleration gate to go to a next grid, charting a way through the labyrinth.

While the artifacts are a map, they are not the key. Novan mentions that several capsuleers possess keys to the labyrinth, and that these keys can be obtained from the curator of the museum Arcana in Zimse. 

It is a place I've been meaning to visit for a while, but I have only recently improved my standings enough to even be allowed in the museum...

From Novan's notes I also understand that the labyrinth is fiercely guarded by Blood Raider cultists who see themselves as successors to the Takmahl. This operation will require help from my friends in LUMEN, and an upgrade to my Anathema class vessel. Minotaur-class enemy ships will carve through its hull with ease, and it appears no less than a Stratios class ship is required to safely travel the labyrinth. 

Luckily it's Yoiul season, and Concord offers good bounty...

Novan's notes

My first instinct was right, the chapel room is a map!

The Talocan Ten are not idols, nor are they gatekeepers for a treasure room. They do not represent star systems either. Rather, Reinhart Novan's research shows that they represent ten complexes in Aphi, with a set of Talocan acceleration gates at each complex. And the cogwheels are not keys for these gates, but pointers to help navigate the map. The statues help place the cogwheels in the right direction, indicating a spatial orientation of the complexes with respect to each other. 

Let the treasure hunters be damned, this leads to historical information rather than gold: a hidden Takmahl space cathedral! I haven't heard about the Takmahl constructing space cathedrals, so this one could hold valuable artifacts and relics stolen from Athra!

Raid

An unpleasant surprise awaited at my return to Jakri. There's been a raid on our expedition! The cogwheel artifacts are stolen.

How did the thieves get past security? The upper sections of the temple are publicly accessible and tourists are checked for guns and explosives at the entrance. We reached the lower section - inaccessible to the general public and sealed years ago - via the upper, newer part. However, the thieves penetrated the temple via a new tunnel they dug to the lower sections from the metro line.

The raid was well planned, and executed with brute force. The slaves, still trying out all combinations, were threatened at gunpoint to relinquish the artifacts.

Very few people knew the details of our exploration - Munan, a handful of members of the Jakri Archeological Society, the Holder who committed slaves, and the overseer of the slave contingent. All appear above suspicion. The overseer reminded us that any one of the slaves themselves might be implicated. And indeed, among those who survived thorough interrogation by the overseer, two confessed to relaying information to Boulette's gang.

It matters little, I have documented the artifacts, there is little more to learn from them. Also, the scanning can continue and it is still not revealing any hidden rooms adjacent to the chapel room. Moreover, Novan's documentation is convincing me that this is not about a hidden treasure room at all.

A breakthrough

A breakthrough! The images of the Talocan Ten - sculptures and stone carvings in Jakri - have found a match in our library's database. They appeared in the work of Reinhart Novan, explorer and member of the Societas.

Novan investigated the Takmahl and their connection with the Ametat and Avetat, before disappearing about seven years ago for deepspace explorations from which he has not returned (yet). Not only has he left a log of his explorations, but also extensive records and documentation material. I remember having studied those before, and this is probably why I subconsciously recognized the imagery. 

In Novan's documentation the Talocan Ten are shown in a different place: apparently the Jakri chapel was not the only place devoted to them. I am eager to read up, and I am forwarding the information I already found to Munan, but for now I must go and enact Saint Nick the Destroyer for the kids...

Negative result

We are bumbling like a bunch of amateurs.

One of the Talocan statues' fingers broke off. It is supposed to be one of the axles on which the cogwheels should be fitted. Probably it broke from putting these things on and off to test the various combinations. Although Munan is in all states and would like to have the slave responsible for this drama flogged, personally I think that this just proves the appendages weren't axles at all. 

Moreover, the initial scans (not conclusive yet) do not reveal any hidden passages or doors from the chamber.

I'm starting to think there is no secret mechanism leading to a hidden chamber. Munan disagrees, though, and wants to continue the search.

Meanwhile, I'll have to interrupt this search to go to Tanoo, and play Saint Nick for the children there. First, I'll drop by Nasreri to consult the library and do some research there, try to cross reference the Talocan imagery with our databases.

Exploring the chamber

The slaves, graciously put at our disposal by a local Holder, are starting to complain. They cannot keep up the high pace of testing one combination per second, it takes them about ten seconds and they make a mess at keeping up the systematics - they confuse which combinations they tested and which not. 

Moreover, the chamber becomes unbearably hot. It is deep below ground, not ventilated, and has a lot of slaves crammed in there to swap the cogwheels. This approach is not going to work.

The scanning equipment has arrived and we are transferring it to the chamber. X-ray will be used to see if there are hidden doors in the chamber. To find hidden rooms that lie deeper in the structure, we have a muon tomography device. Its only drawback is that we can not probe for cavities below the chamber, as it uses cosmic ray muons.

During the scanning phase, the slaves can not continue checking various combinations, as the bulky equipment makes moving around in the room more difficult.

Appendages

Munan pointed out that there are ten portraits of Talocan in the room, and ten cogwheel artifacts. Upon closer inspection, each of the carvings or bas-reliefs appears to have a protrusion that can be an axle of some sort, on which the cogwheel fits. These are fingers that stick out, tongues, toes, and another more inappropriate appendages of the human body.

Ten axles, ten cogwheels: the question is which one goes where. Munan believes the correct combination may unlock another chamber. There are 3628800 possible combinations. If we get the slaves to try out one per second, working day and night with crews relieving each other, we should be done in about two months.

Having set the slaves to work, in the meanwhile we are bringing in scanning equipment, echo, ultrasonic, and x-ray, in order to detect hidden chambers nearby.

The Talocan-Takmahl link

We were able to access the chamber where the artifacts were found. It is a Takmahl chapel - although that word may be misleading. A space like this had many functions, only part of which are related to religion. It is a place to reflect in silence, a place where some rituals take place. In their case, blood sacrifices. It also is a place where a certain knowledge or information is stored. Ledgers, administration, scientific information. Rather than keeping it in a central location, the Takmahl often tended to keep it decentralized and sorted by subject, and put in a chapel dedicated to that subject.

The room has statues and depictions of men and gods, but the peculiar thing is that most of the stone carved figures depict the Talocan. Or at least, how the Takmahl thought the Talocan looked like: people wearing a space suit and helmet in the shape of a snake or monster.

The Talocan are a civilization that existed long before the Takmahl. When the early Takmahl (descendants of Sani Sabik fleeing from Amarr) settled in the Araz constellation, they found abandoned Talocan technology and this gave them the tools for survival, and a boost to change their colony into an empire of its own. So, later, the Takmahl included the Talocan in their mythologies. They considered the advanced technology to be a gift  from their blood god, left behind by the snake-helmeted servants of the blood god.

The chamber was clearly dedicated to the Talocan, and to preserve some knowledge about them. How do the cogwheels fit in? I have to cross reference the depictions, carvings and statuettes in this chamber with the information on the Talocan we have at the Society's library.

The lower chambers

With the tunnel cleared of debris and reinforced, we can finally access the parts of the site where Lord Or'nold found the artifacts. The tunnel leads down and narrows, but its ceiling becomes higher. Near the ceiling, the walls move apart a bit. The changing aspect ratio gives a strange impression, as if you are entering a place made for thin giants. At the same time, you feel small and your eyes are drawn downwards as you descend the stairs at the end of the tunnel. These narrow trapezoidal passages are typical for Takmahl temple architecture on Jakri, according to my guide.

At the bottom of the stairs you arrive at an intersection, in the middle of which stands a thin column, engraved with horizontal lines at the bottom and swirls at the top, evoking some sort of creature that splits the space in two. There are traces of earlier reinforcement work above the walls. The place corresponds to the descriptions of the Or'nold expedition. However, the footage was low quality, so it is certainly worthwhile to see this in person. The chamber where the artifacts were found according to the reports, is sealed - presumably by the Or'nold expedition itself, to enclose its atmosphere and protect it from oxidation and decay. We are taking no risks, though, and are first carefully examining the composition of the air in the sealed room before opening it up again.

The tunnel

Part of the passageway connecting the upper parts of the temple to the lower level has collapsed since it was last explored. It is filled with rubble and one would need to crawl through like a spelunker.

Munan blames the collapse on the expanding city above. Construction and heavy machinery cause underground vibrations that harm the complex. Somewhere above this deep tunnel, there's a new metro line.

We started with mapping drones. These can fly through the tunnel taking footage and measurements. This confirms that the chambers beyond are still intact. With some funds that I was happy to donate to the local Holder, we now can use a team of slaves to clear out the tunnel and reinforce it. They're reinforcing it with synthetic fibre concrete, and Munan complains they're just building a modern tunnel with no respect for the old stone walls.

Sunken Plaza

The old site consists of a large building, the "New Temple", which is now a tourist attraction. It used to be isolated in the plains of the barren world of Jakri IV. However, the expanding city of New Tuz engulfed it, and it is now hard to find in between the houses of a newly developed residential area. Some residents turned their house into souvenir shops and mock Takmahl restaurants, serving blood sausage and other "paleo-diet meals".

However, below the streets and houses of New Tuz, the complex extends deeper and further than the New Temple. The Jakri Archeological Society identified several structures beneath the level of the New Temple. With my guide Munan, we'll be heading to the Sunken Plaza, accessible from the Circular Plaza between the New Temple and a collapsed gallery of the Old Temple. There we'll access tunnels under the lateral platform, where Lord Or'nold found the cogwheel artifacts.

Guide on site

My mail to the Jakri Archeological Society bounced around between ten different persons, leaving a growing trail of messages each appended to the next, a chronicle of the search for the right person to help me. 

It landed on Munan Aabacyon, a very friendly man who would be first in any alphabetical name-calling. Munan is passionate about Jakri's history and the Takmahl, so once we got in touch we got along very well. He can guide me around the site where lord Or'nold found the artifacts long ago. It's now a tourist attraction in the city of New Tuz on Jakri IV, a temple complex. The Or'nold expedition's excavation is not part of the tourist parcours, as it is not easily accessible. But now I've found me a guide.

Post-apocalypse Jakri

When the Amarr exploratory fleets finally arrived in the Araz constellation, the Takmahl empire had long collapsed. The collapse of their civilization was so complete that the survivors reverted to an uncivilized state, keeping the form of some traditions without knowing what they meant or what their origins were. Cannibalism was rampant, and they scavenged for food and tools. Medicine and science had been forgotten.

At first, they must still have remnants of the technology from the pre-collapse Takmahl. But they did not know how to repair this technology, nor how to produce new items. As nature started to take over the buildings and temples in the cities, the survivors were not much more than tribes of wildlings wandering around amongst the ruins. Violence for the scarce resources further reduced the already decimated post-apocalyptic survivors. For nearly a thousand years, the post-collapse tribes wandered or settled in the decaying ruins of the once-advanced Takmahl civilization, from time to time finding artefacts of great power. What a strange magical world this must have been to live in!

Impression of ruins on Jakri IV, with encampment, at the time of
its discovery by Amarr explorers. By Brandon Gobey.

In some way, this is a small mirror version of what must have happened to the cluster during the dark ages, when we lost the capability to go to space and while the abandoned jump gates stood idle. Humanity's speculated parent civilization never came back for us, and we were left with its decaying ruins and artefacts to build new worlds of our own. But for the inhabitants of the planets in the Araz constellation, who had long forgotten their origins, Amarr came back.

Back to the Araz constellation

I've more or less recovered from my recent assassination. Not much hope to get justice, and I'm not very driven to pursue the matter accross the border from the Federation. Let's call it capsuleer indifference to our own death. Boulette keeps claiming I never made it to the appointment.

I haven't heard back from the expert in the matter, dr. Valate. Perhaps this is for the best, she's Sani Sabik after all.

In stead, I've been preparing to head out to Jakri IV, in the Araz constellation, where the artefacts were found centuries ago.

Yes, again.

I knew it, from the moment I woke up without the constant nagging pain in my right knee. 

This is a fresh clone. 

Which can only mean one thing: I am the victim now of a double homicide. Murdered twice by the orders of the same criminal. I refuse to identify my body back in Oursulaert, in Federal space. Who knows what I suffered before. Perhaps I've been tortured. I don't want to know. I don't want to be exposed to my own remains any more.

Boulette actually tries to get away with it: he contacted me to tell me I never appeared for our appointment. I told him I woke up in a clone backup I made because I didn't trust him. He said that dying is an acceptable excuse to be late for a meeting. I answered we would not be meeting again, and he acted all offended that I would think he got anything to do with my demise. 

I'll continue to research the artefacts without asking the help from criminal kingpins.