At the site

A shuttle brought me from the FDU station to the excavation site on Umai. The archeological expedition complex consists of a few buildings on the surface, and a landing pad. Gravity is so weak here that walking gets difficult, you need to shuffle rather than step if you don't want to end up doing aerial acrobatics. It takes a bit to get used to.

There are three shafts leading down to the site. Two small personnel ones, and a larger one to bring down equipment. The tomb complex itself was discovered by high-precision gravimetric scans, and it is about one kilometer deep down below the surface. It's pressurized but has a rather low oxygen content so that breathing masks are required.

Mitsiro Nakubara is now running the site - I had wrongly taken him for a student, he is assitant professor. He was working together with his former thesis promotor. Mitsiro strikes me as an ambitious person, eager to make a mark and publish in archeology's most prestigious journals. 

He's trying to force the workers to continue the exploration of the site, but they have gone on strike. That's a strange Gallentean thing, where workers just refuse to do their work and no-one can force them to do it. I have no idea how they then get fed, but I am not here to figure that out. Mitsiro wants me to soothe them, by going down there on my own to confront the ghost in the tomb.

First, I'll make a clone I can revert to. Not that I believe in ghosts, but what little we know about the Yan Jung tells us they were technologically very advanced, so there could be defensive systems preventing intrusion in the tomb. That is the most logical explanation about this so-called curse.

Recent turmoil in Eugales

I arrived in Eugales - in the picture below you can see Eugales V to the left, and its first moon Umai to the right. It is a smallish moon, in close orbit to the planet. There a Federation Defense Union station in orbit, a convenient place to dock up, get my bearings, and rest before taking a shuttle to Umai.

The Eugales system lies in the Gallente-Caldari warzone, and has changed hands many times between the Federation and the State. But its long-time inhabitants are -or rather were- the Neopians, a culture that is open to advanced AI lifeforms. This is banned by Concord, so the system was often under scrutiny by DERAIL, a part of Concord that enforces the AI ban. The Triglavians are also not too keen on AI lifeforms, and recently raided or destroyed an underground lab on Eugales IV. On top of that, the Black Eagles, a secret service of the Federation, raided Eugales VI searching for, you guess it, illegal AI networks. 

All this activity, recent and intense, had led to the decision of the United Neopian Federation to move out to MHC-R3, where Concord and the Federation have less influence.

Despite the departure of the Neopians, the tension was still palpable in the Federation Defense Union station...

The Yan Jung civilization

Little is known about the Yan Jung, one of the ancient spacefaring races. The main archeological finds are in the Deltole system, in the Sinq Liason region. That is quite far away from Eugales!

Most Yan Jung artefacts date back to more than thirteen thousand years ago, yet this was an advanced civilization, perhaps a remnant from the civilizations before the dark ages, one of the last to fall. 

There have been rumors of artefacts found on Matar, and in Anoikis, and speculations that the Yan Jung were precursors to the Talocan, or that the two cultures merged. They do appear to share an advanced knowledge about gravitational technology.

So, proving the presence of a Yan Jung colony in Eugales would be something of a bombshell in archeological circles. The United Neopian Federation did major excavations here, but are still analyzing the finds. It is good that Mitsiro and his team are still giving some academic competition, such finds should always be backed up by other, independent investigations.

Salmon salad and the Curse

The situation with Mitsiro in Eugales has worsened. Apparently, the workers helping in the excavation of the tomb have seen a ghost, a spectre of some sort coming at them. They refuse to continue working.

On top of that, one of the graduate students on the project became sick, and had to vomit violently several times during the day. Mitsiro blames it on the drinks during social night on Thursday, and salmon salad that might have been laying out in the sun too long, but it exacerbates the belief in a curse by the workers. 

Also, it does not explain whatever the workers saw. Perhaps it is mass hysteria by those not protected by the faith.

Whatever it was, I apologized to the representative of the Neopians that has been entertaining me while I wait for Governor Brezia. I think I should give Eugales a visit before things get worse.

Neopian settlements in MHC-R3

The cholocate museum was nice.

Also, I learned that the Neopians resettled on the storm planet MHC-R3 VI and the temperate world of MHC-R3 III. A visit will likely take me planetside. We have offered and delivered assistance with moving some of the artefacts and archeological finds, but to be honest I think they accepted out of politeness towards us and did not really need much help. 

Still, the offer to safeguard some of the artefacts they found by keeping them in our highsec station vaults stands. I have not yet heard back from the Governor, but will remain on stand by for a bit longer before I go to see what is going on in the Eugales dig. I figure I can always quickly scoot back here if I do get an audience.

Gateway to Syndicate

I have reached MHC-R3, and was happy to discover there is an I-RED Astrahus in the system. These are our Syndicate allies, so I can safely tether up and dock whenever I want. 

The Neopians learned from Eugales, and keep their structures off the scans. Even probes do not reveal the location of the arcology and the structures that have been moved. I could only find an Athanor belonging to the "Manqci", probably local heathens engaging in peaceful mining operations.

I will remain in the Astrahus, aptly named "Syndicate Visitor Center". The system is, after all, a gateway into Syndicate from Placid. After disembarking I received several folders about local exhibitions and attractions for visitors, as well as tourist information about the region at large. Ranking high among the advertised tourist attractions is a chocolate museum and factory at the Astrahus station itself. So, I'll know what to do while waiting for an audience with Governor Brezia (I assume she took on the usual title of Intaki Syndicate station leaders).

Two birds, one stone

The infomorph wellness center in Tar is absolutely amazing. Your worries and anxieties are lifted from you, like a yoke lifted from a horse. You feel lighter and at ease - at peace with the world. And this is achieved through the calming environment, rather than through chemicals. I installed a clone here (which only cost me 1 isk) and intend to come back and relax when I need it.

As I was preparing to leave, I got a message from the Neopian federation. It seems I can catch two birds with one stone on this journey! Earlier, I had offered help from LUMEN's library to safeguard relics and artifacts from the Reliquary project - they need to be kept safe from the troubles that the Neopians have with the Federation and Concord in Eugales. It appears I can combine the transport of precious artifacts with helping Mitsiro!

The Neopians and House Brezia are suspected to host sentient AI's, and this has drawn the attention of Concord's DERAIL division as this type of AI is forbidden in the core empires under Concord law. 

As a result, the structures of the Neopians have come under attack - including the precious Reliquary project. They relocate to the MHC-R3 system, which probably lies outside of the control of the Federation and Concord, being a null-sec system in Syndicate. But still, they may need help in finding a safe home for some of the artifacts they have recovered, and this is where LUMEN can help. I've arranged for transport of these artifacts to our library in Mehatoor, and I look forward to oversee and coordinate this in person. 

Indulgence

I continued my journey to Eugales, passing the piracy hotspot of Vecamia without any trouble. 

In Tar, a system on my route, I noticed that one of the structures in the system was the famous "Infomorph Wellness Center". This is a station maintained by Chatelain Auxiliary Response. They work together with our allies of I-RED to offer relaxation and rest to capsuleers. They have a beautiful resort, called "Kalmintra Tree", with all the services to help one find inner peace.

I gave in to temptation, and booked a night at the resort...

Towards Eugales

My curiosity overcame my reservations and I decided to help out Mitsiro. He was very happy and relieved when I told him. 

Their site is in the Eugales system, a system that is contested between the Federation and the State. It is a controversial place in archeological circles... Recently, ancient underground structures were discovered on Umai, the first moon of Eugales V. Surprisingly, this undergound structure was still running on low power! The structure became known as the Umai Reliquary Complex. 

In a bold move, the United Neopian Federation extracted a chunk of the moon containing the underground site using a moon mining drill laser. They moved the chunk first to a Raitaru, and then to the orbital complex around Eugales VI, where they could investigate it in detail. There was a lot of criticism about this brute force excavation and the damage it may have caused! Yet, in the end I believe it saved the Reliquary Complex from mining operations by other corporations who were not interested in archeology at all.

Mitsiro's site is not a part of the Reliquary Complex, but it is also on Umai. It is near the north pole of the moon, a place that luckily has little value to the mining industry and is left undisturbed by mining operations.

Making my way from Amarr to Eugales today, I received a warning message that the piracy activity in Vecamia was at an exceptionally high level of activity. So I stopped in Lor, where our blessed alliance has industrial activities. I'll resume my journey tomorrow.

A cursed tomb

I have been contacted by an archeologist student from the State, Mitsiro Nakubara. His thesis promotor stumbled on an ancient Yan Jung ruin, and was leading an international team to survey it, but Mitsiro thinks it is a "cursed tomb". Some of those that ventured inside died under various mysterious circumstances. Mitsiro's supervisor became ill as he was studying the tomb - he was feeling flu-like symptoms and then suddenly died of a heart attack.

Another senior researcher took over the task of mapping out the tomb and studying the paintings on its wall, but he died in a traffic accident just two days later.

A digger - a local hired to remove the sand or dirt on the tomb - fell to his death from the scaffolding around the tomb.

These events, taken together, have caused enough of a stir that the other locals refuse to continue to clear the site. Mitsiro knows I am also interested in archeology, and moreover I am a capsuleer. If I should die of some curse, I reclone... 

He asked for my help, and I must admit I am intrigued... 

History tours

Foundation day went well - we organised a history tour for capsuleers, bringing them to famous space sites around Amarr. It is an activity that we have been organizing for a couple of years now, and every time there are a bunch of new capsuleers that take the tour. I was happy to see some folk from out of the Empire for this one. Capsuleers from the Federation also attended! 

This must be a result of the "détente" between the Empire and the Federation. We are starting to get curious about each other, now that we are no longer formal enemies at war. It is a good development, and I would very much like to find capsuleer tours of the Federal highlights. There are a lot of very interesting sites there, both for natural phenomena and for historical recollection.

Trouble in Syndicate

We're having an influx of refugees and fortune-seekers from Syndicate at the moment. There's a conflict going on there at the moment, and some stations are being evacuated. Saccade, the (in)famous station where Evelyn Arnoux is governor, is one of them.

I did not have the opportunity to meet our missionaries active there, but I know there was an active church on that station. My personal recollections are not altogether positive, as I was one used as a vessel to bring a designer virus containing proprietary information stored in its DNA to Saccade. It gave me a bad case of hallucinations before wearing off...

Lord Garion brought a patient there that we should give the highest care before turning him to the Avarr estate for further treatment. Apparently a cousin of the governor. He didn't want spiritual guidance but preferred a set of specialized drugs requiring special permissions. That, and the finest Thukker whiskey.

Statistics

As Foundation day comes closer, we are making preparations for it. Celebrations at the chapel, cake at Gottin's Lamp bar. And perhaps ship blessings.

During coffee break discussions yesterday I argued that blessed ships, by the definition of blessing, should last longer for any given capsuleer, provided the capsuleer in question does not horrendously sin after the blessing.

Slowly, a project in statistics started to dawn on me. I can compare the average (or, alternatively, median) time for unblessed ships to get lost with that of blessed ships. A clear statistically provably significant difference would constitute a proof of divine providence. If there's no difference, it still does not prove anything - as there are many complicating factors - but if there is, it's a smoking gun that the atheists in the cluster cannot ignore.

I look forward to gathering my empirical evidence.

Battling entropy

I am using the rare moment of relative quietness to clean up my work space. My living quarters I keep very minimalistic, but my desk at the library, and the little room I use as some sort of office, that is a different affair altogether.

My desks are landscapes of paper piles of various heights and dubious structural stability. 

The two largest stacks are severely tilted, and each one separately would certainly fall over, but they lean against each other to give each other stability and together they do not collapse. They look like a metaphor for some couples that I married in the Chapel.

I scribble a lot of notes while working, and they go on a pile. I get brochures and advertisements, and when I plan to go through them later, I put them on one of the piles. Conference notes - or notes I took during interesting lectures? When I get back to the library, I put them on my desk, to sort and summarize later. Interesting papers I think I must read? Same thing. Official letters I get? After reading them I drop them in the office to sort or store later. In the end it all gets buried in big piles of paper that I do not dare to throw away, because perhaps there is still something important in there that I want to keep. 

Today, I sifted through them, and chucked anything I have no use for any more in a cardboard box used for moving. In this case it will move to the trash. I have not done this in a while, and as I got deeper down to the bottom of the piles, I dug deeper into the past. It is like an archeological excavation: layers deeper down were buried in a more distant past. 

From time to time, the excavation reveals a forgotten treasure. I found a souvenir I bought at the Achur monastery I visited two years ago on a cultural exchange programme, some sort of charm for good luck, still in its original wrapping. I had forgotten about it. Also, I was shocked that already two years have passed.

I also found a small cordless scewdriver. I vaguely remember buying it as a gift for one of the library assistants that complained about how many screws there are in the new book cases. I have no idea how it got snowed under with papers. Perhaps I put in on my desk and put a few papers on top to hide it. And then forgot about it.

Then at some point one finds nice papers that still look interesting to read. That is when I start to hesitate and slow down, and get more picky about what to throw away. That is the danger. When you start doubting whether to throw away this piece of paper that you have not looked at in years and did not even remember you had, you must steel yourself, and chuck it out anyway.

Today, I got rid of five large boxes worth of paperwork (of which I throw away four and keep one) and looking at my pristine desk I am satisfied with my clean-up. 

The cycle can start again.

Quiet days

It's been relatively quiet these days, it must be the calm of the summer.

Well, of course there is the usual. Ishta is in trouble and on trial in a monastery that is suspected of human traficking for the cartel, and we have had a drug-addicted capsuleer slave in the chapel, sedevancantist influences amongst our holders, piracy, and blasphemy.

I have not heard back from Yun-Hee. She promised to let me know about her departure. I guess she is still preparing herself. With the relative calm now at the Lamp, I have time to think about her words, especially that she can no longer see meaning to her existence. Perhaps it is linked to the fact that those who do not believe in God have difficulty finding any meaning in creation?

 

On suffering

I kept following the discussion on the InterGalactic Summit (IGS). It has turned about the everlasting question of evil. Is God himself evil because there is so much suffering in the world? One can turn this around and equally ask: if God is truly evil and hateful, why is there so much good in the world? This is also part of a discussion I have with one of LUMEN's own. I record in these logs part of this discussion, perhaps for future use: 

"It is easy for people in the IGS to depict God as a clockmaker, bent over some intricate machine with cogwheels and springs. These people stand behind God and tell him, “I would put that piece here”. In such a narrow and mechanistic vision of the act creation, where moreover we think we know it all, it is natural to be angry if the universe does not live up to our vision of how it should be, if it does not deliver what we think we are entitled to. But creation and reality are not mechanistic, deterministic, following the laws of cause and effect. Heck, even at the deepest level of our understanding of physics, the world is not deterministic, and a cause can have many different effects. To me, creation can be corrupted by the acts of the creatures living in it – if it weren’t then the world would be a soulless, dead place. To prevent us, God would have to take away our soul – in stead He freely became vulnerable to allow us to exist."

Race and religion

I am not in the habit of reading or consulting the International Galactic Summit (IGS) forum, but when a contribution of the Directrix-Emerita appears, I do get a 'ping', or warning.

Nicoletta Mithra can rightly be called a capsuleer Doctor of the Faith, and her writings always offer valuable theological insights. 

This time around, there was an argument about the superiority of Amarrians over other races. That was the opening paragraph of the discussion as stated by some fervent but misguided youngster. Lady Mithra clearly laid out that the duty of all faithful are the same regardless of race. We are not selected as God's chosen because of our genetic makeup, but because of how we live. Here is a pearl of wisdom that she shared: "The first and most important convert in the life of any True Amarr is themselves."

Later in the discussion, the argument somehow turned to theodicity. In that regard, I need to talk to one of our own LUMEN capsuleers who blasphemed saying she would kill God if she met Him.

Award money

The award money for the writing contest has been disbursed. I've added it to the skillbook fund, which now has been more than replenished! With this, our library can fund courses for very advanced skills. I have sent out a message to all LUMENeers to remind them of this. 

That way, I can combine benefits of winning an insane amount of money with my vow of poverty...

A farewell

For immortal beings, we remain so very fragile.

Yesterday I had a long conversation with Yun-Hee Yubari, a capsuleer that I met before on several occasions. I never got to know this shy Achuran very well, but I have always appreciated her for her kindness. I think we first met when she was working at Café Marlinea in Mehatoor's 24th Imperial Crusade station. She gave up on that job soon after LUMEN (the café's main client) moved to Nasreri. She followed us there and did some security jobs. We shared tea at her home and garden. After LUMEN moved back to its Mehatoor headquarters, we lost contact.

Recently, she informed me that she no longer wanted to live. Not just reclone and wipe some memories, as I at first thought, but biomass without recloning.

Our first instinct, hard-wired in the oldest vestigial folds of the brain, is to preserve life at any cost. Send her to the medbay, perhaps with force, and try to change her mind. Yun-Hee had foreseen such a reaction, and agreed to meet me on the explicit condition that I would not spend my time trying to talk her out of her decision. Having no other option, and no real power over fellow capsuleers, I conceded.

So we talked about life, and her feeling of not fitting. Her feelings of constant sadness, tiredness of life, an inability to find meaning. It became clear to me that she has taken a long time to consider and think through her decision. It is not on a whim, or because of some acute problem. She has been suffering mentally for a long while, and there is no solution to it. It would be unjust of me to force her to prolong this suffering indefinitely.

I am grateful that she explained this to me, as it offers some consolation, and a way to accept her decision at a rational level. But deep down I cannot escape the feeling that I failed to save a life, not yesterday, but years ago.

((ooc: if the topics discussed in today's blog affect you or if you're struggling with these issues, please know that there are always people you can turn to. In Eve's community we have "broadcast 4 reps" and on their resources page your can find links to professional help and programs.))

The investigation

I talked to the handmaid of lady Raleigh, to find out if her ladyship has any associations with Sedevacantists or with Disciples of Purity. Ishta happened to be present also. It appears we form a good investigative team despite -or perhaps because of- our different approach and character. It is not a "bad cop, good cop" thing like in a Nugoeihuvi crime movie, perhaps it is more of a "naive chaplain, former criminal" thing. Anyhow, in many ways we complement each other. 

Istha saw right away that the handmaid was an addict, a slave to the drug called 'Exile'. I realized this somewhat later, when the handmail refered to our beloved Empress as 'her catty ness', and then started a ramble on Gallente cat people. No sober handmail in the Empire would do that. We brought her to the medbay for detox.

Some good came from her drugged state, nevertheless. "In vino veritas": the drunken person lets their guard down. They even say that in some places, like Nakri, if you do not drink your vodka while the others in your company do get drunk, this is seen as suspect behavior - you clearly have something to hide. 

Anyway, from the handmaid's slurred mumblings I could make out that lady Raleigh has not been meeting in secret with Nauplius (whom she calls 'knee up phallus'). At the very most she can be accused of composing slightly inappropriate poems about the Empress.