Shape of the labyrinth

Linear algebra is a most beautiful thing. Some mathematical number crunching turned my list of measured distances in a nice list of coordinates (in km): 

Now, it is important to keep in mind that the list of distances is invariant to any translation or rotation of these coordinates. In other words, you can shift the origin of the coordinates to any point you want, for example center it on the gate. You can also rotate everything however you want, for example to have the line between the gate and "site 0" correspond to north direction on the map. So, the numbers themselves matter less than the relation between them. This spatial relation is shown by visualizing the sites in a three-dimensional plot (again, coordinates in km):

Note that the labels have been given by capsuleers exploring the place, without knowledge of the spatial layout of the labyrinth. The rooms of the labyrinth are almost laid out on a plane. But a two-dimensional map can not get the distances right, the 3D map does (to within 20 km, i.e. an error not visible on the scale of the plot), proving that the sites are not exactly on a plane. The holy rock and the entrance gate are "highest". There's an upper level, with sites 3,4,8,9 and a lower level with the other sites.

What is already clear about the connections between the sites, is:  

• the sites are not always connected to the closest nearby sites. Although site 0 is indeed connected via ancient warp portals to 6,4,1,2, for example site 5 is connected to 1,4,7,8.
• the orientation of the warp gates on the octagon of gates is not related to the orientation of the connections in real space (this could also be seen from the direction your ship warps to).

These data hold more mysteries, I am certain of it. There is no obvious glaring hole in the labyrinth that would hint of a hidden room, but perhaps I need to play more with the visualisations, and turn this thing around in my head. 

Distance matrix

I am tired but grateful. I completed the matrix, and even added some columns. They are, from left to right (and up to down) "entrance to the labyrinth", then rooms 0,1,2,3,4,6,5,7,8,9 (yes, 6 and 5 are swapped because that is how they are most easily traversed), and finally the "holy rock". Twelve rows and twelve columns giving the distances (in km).

The error bar on these are about 50 km - probably due to the fact that the drone was not always put right in the middle of the octagon of warp gates.

I will start the analysis tomorrow - for today I am too tired and stressed out from running away from blood raider battleships.

PS: the distance matrix is shown below as a heat map:

Preparations

Mission preparation. Supplies, check-ups of the probes, engine maintenance. 

I restocked on simple T1 small drones, eleven different kinds including a mining drone and civilian mining drone. They're quite disposable and just have to hover around somewhere without drawing too much attention. Hopefully they will not be eaten too quickly this time by the blood raider labyrinth patrols. 

Over the weekend, even a backwater like Aphi can get a bit crowded, especially with explorers. So, the next attempt at measuring the distances sometime during the week.

A first attempt

My first attempt at getting the distance matrix was marred by several problems. Firstly, the labyrinth was not empty at all this time, the rooms teeming with blood raider minotaur battleships. Probably they have notices our earlier incursion and sent in reinforcements. I had to slip through their defenses to deploy the different drones in the different rooms.

However, there is another problems. The enemies tend to destroy the drones I leave around. I didn't make it to the central theatre, the ten drones I left in the the ten rooms started the get whittled away so that I could not take all measurements. 

I am left with a woefully short matrix:

The rows (and columns) go from room 0 to room 9, and the last row (and column) is for the central theatre. It should be symmetric (the small differences of the order of a few dozen km come from the positioning of the drone within the room. I could remove some question marks by symmetrizing the matrix, but it is clear that at this point I only have enough information to determine the relative spatial locations of rooms 0,1,2,3,4 and 6. Perhaps not too bad for a first try.

Real-space map

So, on to plans to map out the labyrinth. I have a "topological" map, that tells me which room is connected to which other room via the ancient acceleration gates. However, what I want is a three-dimensional, real-space map of the locations of each room. 

To obtain this, I have a plan. 

I'll leave a different drone in each of the ten rooms. I can then combat scan the drones to obtain their locations.

The distance between the different rooms in the labyrinth is too small to see the layout of the labyrinth from the solar system map in the scanner. All the drones will simply appear to be on top of each other, even at maximum zoom. So, I'll need to triangulate it, using the recorded distances in km between the various sites/drones. In any room, when you point the ship to a drone in another room, you can read off its distance, even if you can't warp to it.

Mathematical handbooks provide algorithms that take the distance matrix Dij between room i and room j, and return the coordinates of the set of points that satisfy the distance matrix. Those points will reveal the geometry of the labyrinth! Note that my distance matrix (being symmetric, and having zeroes on the diagonal) contains 45 distances to be measured; and if I include the central point, the holy rock, this goes up to 55. I'll be busy for a while!

Flares

I returned to the labyrinth, for a more in-depth study.

First, I tried to see if the key could be bypassed. I dropped a drone in the first room of the labyrinth, the one you access after entering the labyrinth via the warp accelerator at its entrance.

The drone was visible and warpable after being probed down by combat scanners. So, I did scan it down, and tried to warp to it. Rather than landing on the grid of the first labyrinth room, I landed on the warp accelerator at the entrance of the labyrinth - regardless of having the key or not having it in my cargo hold. I could not warp to the dropped drone, over 73 thousand km away.

After the drone study, in the first room, I remarked something I had not noticed before. Flares! 

On the image above you see the Aphi sun below, the octagonal warp gate complex in the middle, and above: flares. These give bursts of energy, about every ten seconds. Something appears to explode at the base, and a vertical pillar of fire erupts from them, and after the eruption the flare dies down and goes quiet for a couple of seconds, only to repeat the cycle after that. They are not solar flares, as they're clearly disconnected from the sun. 

There are more flares than there are labyrinth rooms; I count seventeen of them. They seem to be located on a plane, and they are static - they flare up periodically but always in the same place. Perhaps some of them coincide with the location of other labyrinth rooms? Perhaps they indicate hidden rooms in the labyrinth? I do not know. I will explore.

Prophecies

Studying the artefacts I've stumbled upon authors that link the "holy rock" at the center of the labyrinth to a prophecy about the apocalypse - by a Gallentean, nonetheless. In the prophecies of Macaper, the third disaster that befalls the world before the apocalypse is “roaring stone that silences the world.”

Usually this is associated to an asteroid impact on Rumida a while ago. This low-angle impact resulted in a blast so loud that it deafened most of the planet's population - hence the silencing of a world. So, commonly, this part of the prophecy is considered fulfilled. 

However, there are some that claim that this part of the prophecy is related to the space rock worshipped by the Takmahl, and that it will still do something. Something that the Takmahl knew, and worshipped it for. The believers in this theory tend to be conspiracy adepts - many of whom also link the lost Takmahl civilization to the Triglavians. If that sounds wrong to you, that's because it is. The space rock was first considered special by the Talocan, and they -or the various Jove offshoots- are much more likely to be linked in some way to the Triglavians.

Bio-engineering and cybernetics

Many of the texts and remnants from the Takmahl space temple point to the importance of cybernetics and bio-engineering in their civilization. When we think of cybernetics, we think of augmenting a human with implants, nanocoatings, perhaps artificial limbs. But the core of the system remains the human.

From the recovered pieces it appears to me that it may have been a two-way concept in the Takmahl empire. Robotics and machinery based on rudimentary AI were "augmented" with biological grafts, such as nerves and ganglia for fast preprocessing of sensory inputs, or organs for the careful control of enzyme reactions turning plants into food. Biodroids could be anything from a mere 10% to 95% biological and were designed for specific tasks mostly related to argiculture on barren or ocean worlds. 

The blurring runs in both directions. Just as mechanical systems are mass produced nowadays, biological bases for the biodroids were mass produced in clone factories. As the Takmahl inherited the blood religion from the Sani Sabik ancestors, one cannot help but think that also the sacrificial victims were factory produced...

Money musings

One of the three vows that I took at the onset of my quest to retrieve holy relics of the Empire, was a vow of poverty. 

I shall not accumulate wealth or ships beyond what is necessary for my quest. That is why you will not find me at the helm of a Victorieux luxury yacht any time soon. A few well chosen exploration vessels, some ISK to replace them if they get destroyed, and some ISK to organize expeditions, that should suffice.

Nevertheless, I feel that I have splurged a bit in extreme luxury now that I bought a Stratios-class exploration cruiser. Sure, it was necessary to survive in the Takmahl labyrinth, the Indigatrix would not have made it out in one piece. But still, including the (non-blingy) fittings the thing costed 400 million ISK.

The latest addition to my fleet, and the Aphi expedition itself, depleted my balance down to 15'531'950 ISK. Despite the fact that I returned plenty of overseer's personal effects found during the ice storms in and around Nasreri, I had to dip into my ship replacement fund. I'll need a bit of work to get it back up to its usual level (75 million, the replacement cost of the Indagatrix).

Oh, there is still 549'707'500 ISK on the skillbook fund, but I do not consider that money mine. It belongs to the library. Perhaps I should remind my fellow lumeneers of the possibility to buy skillbooks with this fund, it has been underused the last few months.

Also, I have by now a fine collection of artefacts from the ancient races, mostly Takmahl. This should be worth quite something on the market, but I will not sell them. After I finish studying them, I'll put them to good common use in a museum.

Moving back in to Mehatoor

We're back in Mehatoor. The move of the Lamp went well, although there is still a lot of unpacking to do for the library. The chapel seems OK, but there hasn't been any stress test yet.

I'll miss being close to the Amarr Civil Service bureaus, but then again it is nice to see café Marlinea again and the other places I got used too.

Mittens doesn't care - our quarters look exactly the same. However, she is absolutely thrilled by the presence of a large amount of cardboard boxes to jump into and sit in.

A holy rock

At the center of the Talocan labyrinth lies... a rock. A large, somewhat elongated and spiky asteroid made of minerals that are worthless to mine.

What is the significance the Talocan attached to this strangely shaped asteroid in close orbit to the sun of Aphi? Is the rock created by a natural process or was it sculpted? Why did the Talocan build this elaborate labyrinth around it? There are no clues I could find from the rock itself, it is absolutely barren. Scans reveal no structures in or on the rock - although I do not dismiss the possibility that the Talocan knew how to fool scanners. There are these strange spikes, rising like a demonic crown at each end. There also seem to be some crevices and caves, as can be seen from this zoomed in image of the rock's surface:

We have no idea what the rock meant to the Talocan, but what we do know is that it became a holy place for the Takmahl. Over the centuries, a vast space industry grew around the rock, centered around a massive space temple where the sacrificial blood flowed day and night. Around it arose a sprawling complex, with libraries, prisons for the sacrifice victims, smaller subsidiary temples and chapels, places for pilgrims to rest and dine, and souvenir shops. 

After the fall of the Takmahl empire thousand years ago, the Takmahl religious space hub around the rock started its inexorable decay. The only thing that now remains of it are twisted fragments of the temple, space ruins and rubble, drifting around the rock, locked by its weak gravity. Among this rubble, you will find library logs from the library chapels and transcript logs from the pilgrims. Pieces of the temple still contain various artefacts and ritual texts. And plastic replicas of the rock inside a snow globe from the souvenir shops can also still be found. Finally, of course, there are profitable remnants of Talocan technology that we still use in applications such as specialized armor plating. 

The ruins and the rubble accrete in a disk around the rock's equator. They are floating in a cloud of dust and also organic particles that turn out to be vaporized frozen blood flakes. Below is a closer look at a part of the debris ring:

I've been able to retrieve a large amount of artefacts and remnants of logs, and they will keep me busy for quite a time to come. Also, thanks the help of the Lumeneers, I now have a key to return to this place at leisure (although I'll need to be careful at the rock, as there are blood raiders who still come here hoping to find something holy to them).

The Labyrinth

Using the key from the curator, we were able to access the labyrinth near the star in Aphi. Each site is shaped as an octagon, with spacetime anomalies at each point: 

The Talocan were master weavers of spacetime. The anomalies act as acceleration gates that warp vessels to other points near the sun in Aphi. However, they do not look like any acceleration gates that I have seen before. Rather, they resemble small wormhole portals. The effects of gravitational lensing can be seen at their outskirts, and a bright central energy nucleus lies at their center. Below is an image that shows a portal in closer view, along with the Stratios for scale.

There are no structures to keep these wormholes stable, like the structures you will find at jump gates or the usual acceleration gates. The portals seem perfectly stable by themselves, although only four out of eight will be traversable. I do not know whether that is because they did actually destabilize over the milennia, or whether they never were meant to work. Perhaps the octagon had a special meaning for the Talocan - as it does for the Takmahl - and the closed portals serve only to complete the octagon.

I find this an absolutely wondrous place, and I can only imagine how much more wondrous it must have seemed to the first Takmahl that discovered this site. It was clearly beyond their own technology - I think it is even beyond ours still. Perhaps the Takmahl realized this was a remnant from an ancient alien civilization, that we now know to be the Talocan. Perhaps they saw it as a sign of their Blood God, left for them near this blood red star. Perhaps they saw opportunity to learn new technology. Whatever it was, they stopped their decade long odyssey in the desert of space to settle here, in Aphi and the surrounding systems, even though the constellation is poor in temperate planets. 

Who knows what other Talocan ruins and artefacts they found? From all the Sani Sabik who fled Amarr after Queron's purges the Takmahl were the only ones to successfully create a thousand year interstellar empire. Some speculate the Talocan technology is the reason for that - although I prefer to believe the power of the stolen Avetat helped them.

We did not encounter any resistance in the labyrinth. It consists of ten sites, interconnected through the portals. For completeness, and reference, I add the map of the labyrinth to his log entry:

((ooc source attribution: This map comes from Eve University,
https://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Labyrinth ))

There are still remaining questions I want to investigate about the labyrinth in the future, such as the spatial geometry of the labyrinth. Are the sites forming a pattern? Does that pattern reveal hidden chambers in space? Now that I am in possession of a key to the labyrinth, I will be able to visit it again at leisure.

The labyrinth leads to a central stage, where the mystery of this Talocan construction deepens... 

[to be continued]

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.

Preparations

I made an appointment to meet mr. Boulette and bring him the cogwheels tomorrow. The place where we'll meet is again his horrible restaurant on Oursulaert. I've made myself a clone backup just in case.

In parallel, I've made appointments with the cluster's outstanding experts on Takmahl history. Hedion ones. There's also a famous Sani Sabik researcher, dr. Valerie Valate, that I would like to consult on this finding. 

Sometimes science has to transcend the geopolitics of the moment - I understand this can not be the case when one investigates things that can have military applications. Or, perhaps, even any applications at all. But Takmahl history is fundamental science and may relate in the end to problems -like he Triglavians- that we face as a cluster, as a common group of nations. Is it not good then that academics of the entire cluster get together? Isolationism is counterproductive in the search of our common origins, in the fundamental truths of the universe.

Biting the bullet

I'll have to meet that unpleasant mr. Boulette again. He has been sending me messages, alternating between kind and angry. Sometimes he talks about offers of money and prospects of gold mountains. The next mail he'll be uttering death threats. Ultimately, he wants to complete his collection of the cogwheel artefacts and he knows I have made progress there.

I have not made progress is in understanding the meaning of these artefacts. My first intuition is that it is a kind of starmap, but I haven't found anything in the archives of old charts. Perhaps it plots a course through Anoikis? Did the Takmahl understand enough of Talocan technology to build a wormhole?

Here's where Boulette comes in. He claims the pieces are part of a larger machinery - one that unlocks a vault to the gold bullion of the Takmahl empire at its end. I need to find out how he came to this conclusion.

Starmap search

A busy week - there is a strike of the hangar workers and crews in Tanoo, and I was asked to relay their worries to the directorate at LUMEN.

Apart from that, I've been puzzling - trying to decipher the meaning of the numbers on the ten cogwheels. The different numbers link the different cogs, even though they do not seem to fit. They do create a network: assuming the numbers on the edge of the cogs refer to center numbers, I've come up with the following graph:

The wheel labeled nine has a link to a final marking. I have tried to map the nodes on to stellar systems and the links to jump gate connections between them. I have not yet found a correspondance, but this will require more poring over ancient starmaps.

The tenth cogwheel

Only historical documents, which have been released to the public domain, are freely accessible. Even then, the help of an expert in navigating the obscure databases is more than useful. I would not even have been able to navigate the most basic query forms, but Fifth and Sixth knew the acronyms and the jargon and were able to find the record of lord Or'nold from ages ago.

The tenth and final piece of the puzzle was bequeathed to a local museum documenting the history of human settlement on the Jakri system. We also found out that, unfortunately, the museum burned down, and probably the final cogwheel is lost. However, the will was very nicely documented with pictures of all of the items, including the one I was after. The picture is good enough to make out the numbers on the wheel, and although it is not clear what its dimensions are, it is probably the same size as the other nine.

The collection is complete (well, virtually at least).

The Lumen Effect

"Yeah, it's all about one year old, plate armor and battle drones got installed when you lot moved in", the Fifth Assistant to the Scrivener General said, casually, after I remarked the place looked new.

He continued, "Nasreri office was a quiet place before. Stable power structure in the station. No major Holders about to die and have their will be read out. Lady Tigith was the next one we all supposed would pop, but she's probably still decades away."

I asked, "But that didn't change when we moved here, right?"

Sixth answered, "Actually it did. The Imperial Bureau of Statistics has found a significant correlation between the presence of LUMEN headquarters and vicious Holders dropping dead prematurely in the neighborhood."

"Yes, especially Holders that have a... bad reputation about their methods of reclaiming", Fifth explained, "so, when you got here the office was expanded and we installed a special reinforced room where Lord Dalgray's last will and testament could kept safely."

Sixth muttered "You capsuleers really have no idea about the amount of administrative nuisance you bring along, do you?"

Indeed, the Scriveners do make you feel guilty about asking for a favor.

Meeting with the notaries

Among the noble houses, disputes about inheritance can become really vicious. The Amarr civil law notaries (or scriveners as they are known in the Empire) are often the ultimate victims of such fights. I had no idea notaries specializing in inheritance were under such pressure and threat in the Empire. They do set up the final will and oversee its signing, and when family members disagree or want to pick a fight, the notaries are usually blamed for fraud and they or their families are attacked personally.

Probably that is why I was thoroughly searched for weapons, and then led to a place that looked like a blast-proof interrogation room with stun gun turrets. And why I was met by two masked notaries wearing full defensive body armor, and carrying guns. 

They introduced themselves as the Fifth and Sixth Assistants to the Scrivener General, Folders of the Gilded Frock, and Certified Fellows of the Worshipful Guild of Scriveners of Upper Genesis. It's an ancient profession, with ancient titles.

The Sixth Assistant immediately started shouting at me, telling me that I should tell him what the heck my problem is, and I'd better do that right now or he'd beat me to pulp. He was held back by the Fifth assistant who then pulled him back into the hallway out of the interrogation room so Sixth could cool off. The Fifth assistant then told me that his colleague has been under some strain, he lost a family member after a scrivener's error was found, and also he is known to be very aggressive. The Fifth assistant continued by telling me he liked my face ("very Amarrian", he said) and he would help me, but I'd better comply because he didn't know how much longer he could keep Sixth in check.

Clearly, they were playing good notary bad notary with me.

The tension immediately eased when I told them I didn't want to contest any inheritance or will, and agreed to sign a written statement asserting just that. Although they did not completely trust me, they agreed to help.

Appointments via galnet

Scandalous. The bureau for heritage matters can only be reached via a website, and appointments for a face-to-face talk need to be booked via the website too. The earliest appointment is on December 12th! That's partly because you have to make the appointment in the region where your current home station is now and perhaps the Nasreri office is understaffed, seeing that the Holders on station are not about to die and have no heritage feuds amongst their heirs expected in the near future.

On-line complaints desk connected me to some snooty fifty-year old kid in a comms center, who works every day for another corp. Probably he did Quafe complaints desk yesterday and the bureau of heritage matters today. Needless to say he couldn't help me. 

Thank God the Amarr Civil Service is in the same station as SFRIM's current headquarters, so I could march down there. It is a bit shameful that I used my capsuleer credentials to demand to see a bureau manager: I don't see how a commoner would manage and that is plainly wrong. Anyway, I got an appointment with an inheritance notary warden in a couple of days. I was asked to come unarmed, I wonder why.

Movie night

The movie night went well, I think the movie about faith and friendship was generally well received. And it offered our capsuleers some well earned relaxation.

Perhaps I had hoped that the movie would help Haruka Lightrain to realize that her attempts to force a friendship with Praefecta Isimazu are not working out, but she's a hard nut to crack (I mean Haruka). 

The purposefully confusing title 'Sense of Faith' will work in our favor when trying to supplant the heretic movie of similar name in the most used search engines. A large sum of money was paid to these search engines to make it so...  

It also helps that Nugoeihuvi corporation agreed (again, ISK flowed) to help on the distribution of the movie. They were also kind enough to provide comfortable armchairs to turn our multipurpose room in a movie theatre for the evening.

Invasion

The war zone agreements, known under the ugly acronym CEMWPA, were concluded in order to contain war and prevent an all-out offensive between the four core powers. Unfortunately, they are now breached by all empires except Amarr. Yesterday, most blatantly of all, the Federation launched a well-prepared full-scale invasion of the Placid region, occupying war zone systems with a view of taking them out of the war zone for good. Our friends in the State are understandably furious about this.

The Equilibrium of Mankind heretics would be very happy with this evolution towards all-out war... I do hope our blessed Empress Catiz can follow Heideran the Good's example in keeping peace between the core powers, and find a way to renew the war zone agreements. 

Search for the final piece

The trip to Oris was fruitful, I was able to study the five cogwheels present at the Arjam library and museum and create replicas. 

There is only one of these objects missing to complete the picture. To locate it, I studied the (known) history of the artefacts, from the records of the Arjam library. It was part of a cache retrieved by an archeological expedition on Jakri IV, stayed for a long time in the collections of House Or'nold, and was bequeathed to PIE after the last lord from that house died without heirs. 

Next step in this research is perhaps not a visit to the Jakri system, but a visit to the Amarr Civil Service administration bureaus for heritage matters. I'll try to find out if the other pieces of this locking mechanism were in lord Or'nold's will, given to other parties.

Trip to Oris

I'm following up on the lead I got from Boulette about a possible Takmahl vault. The Arjam library on Oris has in its collections five of the cogwheels of the vault's unlocking mechanism. 

Rather than stealing them, as the rascal wants, I can just go over and study these artefacts. Lord Lok'ri was kind enough some time ago to give me access to the Arjam museum and its research facilities, so I can have the items scanned to make copies. Also, I can use the library's data repository to find out more about the origin of these artefacts.

Boulette will not know that I give him copies. He thinks he can use me for his purposes but it is I who will use him, and extract as much knowledge as I can from this common thief.

Blood raider praise

Turnur is still burning. 

Meanwhile, the behavior of the Amarr militia capsuleers are increasingly under scrunity. Their attacks on the neutral observers of the cataclysm, and the ensuing all-out brawl has been applauded by the blood raider's leader Omir Sarikusa, calling our militia Amarr capsuleers 'faithful to the great truth'. Whatever that means, it's bad.

The Empire has been purging heresy in its ranks after the Equilibrium of Mankind cult caused a disaster on Kahah last year. I think it is now about to do the same with its capsuleers - the order of St. Tetrimon and the Ministry of Internal Order are already dividing up the tasks and responsibilities.

I think that thusfar, the blood raider elements in the militia have been tolerated due to the military success of the capsuleer militia. But with the fall of Egmar and Vard, the patience of whomever is protecting them may be running thin.

The aftermath

It is over. Turnur's star is still there - no doubt thanks to the courageous men and women who stayed on the transmuter till the last minute. It did however release a massive burst of hard X-ray radiation, followed by a explosive coronal mass ejection. Everything up to seventy million kilometers out was vaporized, including the transmuter and Upwell stations. After the burst, the star appears to have stabilized again.

Turnur I is left a burning ember. The superluminal energy burst ignited its atmosphere, and turned the surface into molten magma. Only in the deepest caves, on the planet's night-side, could anything have survived. Matter ejected from the planet is forming a red glowing ring around it. The Republic station in orbit is badly damaged, its external structures detonated and it is venting gases. The highly protected core of the station is still functional. God also spared the other planets from this type of destruction.

With the twisted psychology that promised immortality entails, capsuleers flocked to the system to observe the event, indifferent about losing their ship and their clone. Everyone and their sister came to watch. And inevitably this same psychology of indifference to death led to an orgy of killing, a capsuleer against capsuleer massacre the likes of which no factional warfare could ever bring to Turnur. There could not have been a starker contrast between the Empyrean irreverence of death and the suffering of millions in the system. God will strike the capsuleer class down for this blind mockery... Open your eyes, faithful, at the revelation of God's absolute might that was witnessed tonight!

Before the cataclysm

The discontent and rebellious atmosphere that I noted yesterday amongst our own capsuleers appears more widespread than I thought. There have been protests at Hedion university. And the Royal Houses take different - but not incompatible - stances. 

Houses Kor-Azor and Ardishapur advocate free evacuation, which some interpret as a thinly veiled criticism with the Throne, given that it must have been the Empress who gave the go-ahead to test the Stellar Transmuter technology.

The good news that our scientists have been able to collect all the stellar observation data that they needed is offset by the fact that they are unable to reverse the instability of Turnur's star. There's other good news: the evacuations have been mostly completed - save perhaps for these strange tribes that want to stay on Turnur I.

Capsuleer discontent

The vigil went well, and I am glad we got to send out our prayer to the wider capsuleer community.

Baseliners dare not speak out as strongly as the capsuleers, but they are downright scared. There's end-of-the-world talk and all sorts of ridiculous rumors, from the second coming of Jamyl to giant space squids engulfing Turnur I.

As for capsuleers, I am worried about the reaction to what is happening in Turnur. In LUMEN's ranks, there is a lot of discontent, and even outright anger at how the Empire handles the situation. Some even want to attack the stellar transmuter, regardless of our scientists there who try day and night to get it under control. I have never experienced such a rebellious atmosphere before. I tried to instill some calm and serenity, and bolster confidence in the Empress and the Privy Council among our capsuleer members.

Aria tried to channel that discontent and propose people help ARC in their evacuation effort - but the demands for that fleet, covert cyno or blockade runner, are for the more experienced ones only. Also, I hope ARC doesn't get into a fight with the navy or with Amarr militia...

Prayer vigils for Turnur

The news coming from Turnur is very unsettling... Amarr Certified News seems to confirm that the star has become unstable and is heading for an unknown catastrophy three days from now.

There's a lot of anxiety and unrest right now, not only with capsuleers but also with the baseliners. Some fear for a clusterwide catastropy, God wiping the slate clean after an excess of sins also by his chosen people. Other point the finger of blame to marshall Sirdan Xer Qosh, or even the royal Sarum heir. Still others are confident that all is still running according to how the Empress has planned it and that there will be no catastrophy, but instead new jump gate routes will open, perhaps between Arshat and Turnur, or towards the Triglavian-held systems. There are even rumors that some spread about this event as hailing the coming of the 'true emperor' of sedevacantism...

To allay the fears, and put to rest all kinds of unsubstantiated rumors, I am holding prayer vigils for Turnur and its inhabitants in the Chapel. We will pray to God to forgive us for our sins and to have mercy on us and especially on the people of Turnur, while acknowledging that it is not our will that prevails but God's will.

Today the vigils will be for baseliners mostly. Tomorrow, after the Syndicate week is over, I think I will also set aside some time for a prayer vigil for capsuleers. They are just as troubled about what is happening, even though they pretend they have everything under control.

The cogwheels at Arjam

Crazy man, this mr. Boulette, but he has intriguing information about a Takmahl secret vault. These vaults do exist, I have seen some of them, and in the latter part of their empire they were indeed used to hide away valuable items. So, I am intrigued and would like to follow this lead, as his description fits historical examples and the examples I have seen with my own eyes.

Now, he wants me to break into the Arjam library on Oris - in the PIE compound - and steel five of these cogwheels. As I said: crazy.

Especially since lord Lok'ri a while ago gave me scholarly access to the library and its collections, so I can just go there and have a look at these items. Boulette thinks there is something supernatural about them, more than the mere brass they are made of, and we need the originals to open the vault. But personally, I think this is just silly. 

I did agree to go and have a look, but urgent news from Turnur is delaying my trip...

Treasure hunt

I met mr. Boulette in his kitschy restaurant. We were seated in a private room. The see-through floor to Oursulaert III was off-putting. We were served oysters fried in the fat of some nearly extinct cetacean, topped with kaviar from some fish that actually is extinct in the wild. The drink was some extremely expensive wine, I already forgot the story behind it, I didn't drink it.

After some preliminary chit-chat, he came to the point. According to Boulette, the brass cogwheel is part of a mechanism that can unlock some sort of vault. There are ten such gears, and he has already collected four. Well, three, now that I have one.

He got all excited trying to rope me in for his treasure hunt. He explained that this secret vault holds the gold of the Takmahl empire. It was built just before it's fall. The gold was stowed away by their Emperor at the last moment before the Imperial family was caught and murdered by a revolutionary mob. The gears combine into some sort of combination lock which has to be dialed in, in just the right way, to open the doors to halls of gold.

I've never heard of this nonsense, nor have I ever encountered anything like it in the academic literature.

But Boulette was adamant. He wants my help to get the other cogwheels, and "then we'll split the gold". 

He's figured out where they are.

Five of the remaining six cogwheels are in the Arjam library at the PIE chapter house on the Lok'ri estates in Oris.

Le Phat's at Oursulaert III

I looked up Le Phat's on Galnet. Last time I planned a meeting with mr. Boulette I ended up dead, which is a most unpleasant experience. Especially when you have to identify your own corpse in a mortuary of the local law enforcement. So, I wanted to see what to expect, this time.

Le Phat's looked like a place designed by someone obsessed with appearing rich but lacking any sense of esthetics or good taste. 

Marble, gold, expensive decorations. No unifying theme: it was a mixed bag of kitsch objects that poor serfs in feverish dreams may associate with richness. Statues in gilded plastic, bad reproductions of famous paintings, gemstone studded leather seating, inlaid stone tabletops,... a cacaphony of styles and fakeness. A see-through floor from which Oursulaert III was visible, on which antique tables in Heideran III style are placed. A champagne pool and fountain with a lightshow. A grand piano combined with exotic dancers. 

The good news is that it is located in a busy and well policed part of the station, with no criminality to note. It is safe to go for the body, although it will be an assault on the senses.

Dinner Invitation

In the list of objects given to us by Boulette's lawyer, the large brass cogwheel is not listed separately, it appears to fall under what he listed as "farming equipment parts, miscellaneous". That in itself makes it instantaneously suspect to me: it's not from farming equipment. That would not require such a nice brass alloy with sculpted numbers on it. And it doesn't explain why it is packed separately.

As soon as I inquired about that specific piece through my lawyer mr. Van Geneughten, I got a message from Boulette, not his lawyer but the man himself. He's inviting me to Oursulaert, in the Federation, for dinner and a chat, in restaurant "Le Phat" in the station orbiting Oursulaert III. 

I'm not very familiar with Gallente food, and although it's supposed to be good I prefer good old traditional meals over fancy exotic stuff. I hope they don't serve food too spicy, I'll take some stomach pills with me just in case.

Rummaging through the rubble

I've been going through the crates that Boulette so desperately wants back. There's nothing in there that could possibly have sentimental value for him. At least, that I can imagine - it's mostly broken parts, space rubble with little value. There's a strongly damaged pearl necklace that could still have some value, perhaps, to a museum. 

The most valuable item of the lot is implant circuitry. I analyzed it but it does not contain any data that could be retrieved. It looks like a standard part of a not very unusual implant.

One thing in the rubble caught my attention because it was carefully packaged inside its own box. But it turned out to be more rubble: a rather large polished brass cogwheel with some numbers on it, perhaps once part of an ancient decorative clock. I checked that it does not have circuitry in it. It looks remarkably well preserved with little trace of dezincification or oxidation so it looks much younger than isotope analysis has revealed it to be.

There must be something about either the implant circuitry or the brass cogwheel that I still haven't figured out.

Items of sentimental value

I sat together with my lawyer to discuss mr. Boulette's proposal, to end the impasse over the relics and artefacts that I retrieved from his criminal hands. He's willing to let go of most of his ownership claim, save a few boxes of sentimental value, for which he's even willing to pay me. Hah! That level of groveling probably means I am set to win this claim in court anyway. 

Mr. Van Geneughten said agreeing would save time and money, but he's also suspicious. Or he wants more billable hours from his capsuleer client. Anyway, he's right that I should check the contents of the crate and that we should request a detailed list of these "personal items".

Triglavian apples

The situation in the warzones deteriorate further, probably much to the liking of the Triglavians. Egmar, the second rebel system where transmuter technology is tested is now also back under Republic control. Clashes also continue in Athounon, between our Caldari allies and the Federation, again over some Triglavian technology.

There's an ancient tale of five queens banning together in a corner of old Assimia, whose combined might withstood the assaults of our crusades to reclaim their people. The Emperor sent a beautifully crafted golden apple to them, with the finest diamonds laid out as dewdrops on the apple, and an inscription that said "to the most beautiful". At first, they joked about the gift, but the dual venom of jealousy and vanity started to work its way through their veins and in the end it broke their alliance.

The tables are turned now. The Triglavians gave token technology as apples of discord, to fan the flames of conflict between their enemies, and do it in the form of "proving" they so much like.

Anyway, apart from these cluster-sized worries, I have more manageable worries to tackle. Repacking and securing precious items from the library for the move. And finally meeting up with my lawyer and mr. Boulette's lawyer to hear what that scoundrel wants to propose.

(ooc: of course the tale is based on the Greek myth of Eris' apple of discord)

The price of rare items

The fundraiser held last Saturday had a rare item for auction, a signed first edition of the Peace of the Two Swords, in which our beloved Empress lays out her doctrine. It would have been a nice item for our library, but I grossly underestimated the value of such items.

One and a half billion isk.

I considered if I could ever loan that amount (and pay it back if I got a loan that big). Probably not. I am keeping my funds to a minimum in accordance with my vow of poverty - to keep only what I need for my quest. So, prize money and other additional income goes into the skillbook fund, which is fairly well used, even new members are aware of it. 

But perhaps I should rethink my strategy. If I am to obtain relics by buying them from wealthy collectors, I should start a special fund for that too: the relic buyback fund. Just like the skillbook fund, I should open this us to all our corp members, in case they encounter a relic and want to bring it back to the empire. I'll have to emphasize they cannot keep the item, but should return it to the theology council in Amarr...

Not Again

It appears the library and the chapel have to undergo yet another move. Dangerous for the ancient manuscripts and scrolls, and as with any move something inevitably will get damaged. 

For the chapel, a careful dismantling and rebuilding needs to be assured. In the wooden construction, the many planks and wood strips have adapted to each other and form a huge puzzle.

I am stressed about the possibility that the transports will be attacked by pirates... That would be truly disastrous. Why do we have to move again, anyway? The library found its home in Nasreri, it's fine there...

Also Mittens won't be happy about this, I'm sure.

Brotherly strife

It appears the rift between the largest Amarr militia group and LUMEN is now complete. The militia group 'local is primary' to which also lord-consort Newelle's Sarum Vanguard force belongs, have set our pilots kill on sight. 

This could not come at a worse time, as the tensions between the Empire and the Republic mount in the warzone. All Amarr forces should unite under the banner of God to smite the enemy. Yet God has willed it differently.

Vard has fallen

Vard has fallen to the rebel forces, helped by barbarian sellswords. Worryingly, this is one of the systems where the Empire is testing new stellar harvester technology. 

We have been defending the Empire's right to deploy and test this technology, and not too long ago we felt insulted by other powers' distrust. Now that our enemy is invading one of the systems earmarked for the test, this distrust and fear becomes much more relatable.

The Societas, usually engaged primarily in peaceful means of reclaiming and using force only against pirates and heretics within the Empire, is slowly getting more and more drawn into the active part of the conflict with the Republic. Donations of ships and means to prince Seraghis' warzone battle group, Task Force 641, have been increased. And our own operations in the warzone are increasing. Even last night our own Nix Pardus, cyber knight and fleet commander, led an expeditionary fleet to the frontline. Celebrations of cooperation in the framework of Edencom are pushed into the background, making place to a fundraiser for a war chest...

Haruka

Haruka Lightrain, family of Hikari Lightrain and not to be confused with the latter, appears to be a young mind trapped in a capsuleer body. She is struggling with ... well, with many things. One of them is an exaggerated admiration for praefecta Isimazu, and an urge to befriend her. 

It's a busy time for activities in the Societas, with a war chest fundraiser ball next week, but once this dies down then I'll try to organize a screening of the documentary on faith and friendship. Since I think this will be particularly useful for Haruka, I've roped her in in organizing movie night. She'll be responsible for snacks and drinks. That way, she'll also see the documentary and hopefully it will help her put things in perspective...

Thesis defense

I have to admit, I was nervous for Jason's thesis defense. It was a public defense, with jury - to insure a full peer review and remove any doubt of favoritism. Jason took a rather controversial stand, arguing in part for a reform of Holdership. Even though that was only a tiny part of the thesis, it stood out against the more straightforward chapters.

Luckily, the jury appreciated his answers, as well as his answers to questions from the audience. Paladin Arline Kley - emergency holder of Niarja - and Lord Esna Pitoojee were prominent members asking intriguing questions.

I am proud of Jason, and happy it ended well - he got his certificate, and it is yet another barrier passed on his way to becoming Holder and step in his father's footsteps.