#Oxa

[emptygoldstudio]

Bill sketches from college + Ōxa(me) and Time Jerboa( @t4tdexter ) from our Runaway Bill AU

[t4tharuspex]

me and @emptygoldstudio characters in our au torturing bill by making him wear a temporary disguised

[thefirstknife]

I need you to read this

https:// www. reddit .com /r/DestinyLore/comments /14xpbc6/o_x_a/

That's absolutely wild. Here's the link.

You know, any theory about the OXA is my jam. I'm vibing with this. We can't really prove it's NOT the case so. I've become a big believer that OXA and the Veil are somehow connected (as well as the Device, which gained A LOT of traction with yesterday's Veil Log).

What about the other acronym though? Lightfall CE specifically said it can also be spelled OXTA. Actually, don't worry about it or we'll invent a theory that Taox is the Veil.

[speaker-of-the-void-cats]

A strange device shimmered into existence around them. They looked up the length of an enormous, golden spire. “It whispers,” said Tazaroc. “Then block your ears,” said Ozletc. “Do you see the potential in this?” “Chaos,” said Niruul. “No,” said Ozletc. “Opportunity. See how it tugs at the fabric of our time? Can you see the seams?” The seams were sewn tightly shut, but a skilled hand could find them. A skilled hand could rip every stitch. All three sisters could feel it.

Drifter walked to the central spire and put his ear up against it. “This core…” he said, leaning close. His eyes darted back to Osiris. “It’s whispering.” Osiris’s expression didn’t change; his arms didn’t uncross. “We’ll seal the core away. I understand the ramifications.” “Good luck keeping that contained. Not something I would bargain with, hotshot.”

Do you know the OXA Machine, Guardian? Psions are adept at overcoming the restraints of linear time. The Sundial is a dangerous tool in their gnarled hands. Take it back.

“It is so clear,” said Niruul, reverent. “An unobstructed glimpse into what was and what will be.” “Not the troubled ramblings of a mad thing, like the OXA,” said Tazaroc. They shared the feeling of unbounded possibility, and tasted the potential for success, and then for failure. Together, they drank the feelings in and steeled themselves against them. “The past and future are at our fingertips, sisters,” said Ozletc. “Let us see what prospects they hold.”

Hmm, there's only one data artifact here, labeled "OXA," and it's seriously corrupted. Metadata says it was last accessed by an "Otzot" centuries ago. What is "OXA," and who is "Otzot"?

[u.2:11] We live too long for regrets. You taught me that. Don’t forget the House of Light. [u.1:12] If I can find the time, yes. Not all of us conjure Echoes. [u.2:12] Reflections, Saint. I have no need for Echoes anymore. [u.1:13] What do you mean? What’s the difference? [u.2:13] One is a manifestation of Light. The other… reserved for Taken Kings. Better suited for traversing the Sundial because of what lies at its core. [u.1:14] One day you’ll have to tell me exactly what you and the Guardian did to bring me back. [u.2:14] We did what we had to. Trust me. [u.1:15] Now you sound like the rat. [u.2:15] No. The Drifter sounds like me.

I don't even know where to start. When we landed on Neptune there was something.... waiting for us. An alien structure. It's an electromagnetic anomaly. No mass, but a tangible surface area. It's like a thesis statement to the von-Neumann Wigner hypothesis. Its definitely paracuasal, like the Traveler. Maya calls it the Veil. She says she heard the name in a whisper when she looked at it.

There's an almost unreadable data artifact here, labeled "OXA." It's heavily corrupted, but I'm able to make out "MSund12" from the access log. What is "OXA," and who was "MSund12"?

The Red Legion have run amok in timelines across the past, present, and future of this planet. If you're willing to help, I'll arm you to smash the Legion and collapse the timelines they've created. You'll need my Sundial to do it.

The von Neumann–Wigner interpretation, also described as "consciousness causes collapse", is an interpretation of quantum mechanics in which consciousness is postulated to be necessary for the completion of the process of quantum measurement.

What constitutes an observer or an observation is not directly specified by the theory, and the behavior of a system under measurement and observation is completely different from its usual behavior: the wavefunction that describes a system spreads out into an ever-larger superposition of different possible situations. However, during observation, the wavefunction describing the system collapses to one of several options. If there is no observation, this collapse does not occur, and none of the options ever becomes less likely.

"The Odyle Xenotaph Anarchive. Sometimes OXTA, depending on how you construct the acronym. The alien oracle that led us to the graves of Aark." Must be wary, now. OXA is a Psion myth, and the Psions are a sensitive topic. My father wants to free them from bondage. "It claimed to record the story of the galaxy, and to prophesize what may yet come."

"A black box for galactic civilizations, if you prefer it in pilot's terms." The Evocate-General nods to the pin on my right pauldron. I am conscious of my shaved-down tusks, of the sores left by the fighter's interface. "The doomed and the damned left the record of their downfall in the OXA."

I must be calm. I must record my thoughts. Now I think of the OXA Machine, eternally lost and eternally rebuilt, passed down from civilization to civilization like a ship's black box. I think of the legends of the Hive King Oryx and his quest to pass into the Deep. I took that story as an allegory. I think I was wrong.

"It's stronger… the Veil's signature." Ikora's voice carries a hint of learned suspicion. "Ever since we recovered Titan." "That is to be expected," Osiris retorts, now within the weave of droning Strand surrounding the Veil. The room around them trembles. "When Titan was torn back, the Veil took notice. It seemed to recognize Titan's arrival." Ikora tightens her grip on the Strand thread. "We have the Veil, our Ghosts… what are we missing? If we decipher the connection between Titan and the Veil, that connection might be what we need to follow the Witness." "What of the worm?" Osiris asks skeptically. "Sloane believes she is our best chance." "You taught me the value of a backup plan." Ikora gives him a stern look. "Titan, Savathûn's throne world, every place we've found egregore… I haven't found the exact threads yet but pull one and they all seem to spin back to Neomuna. To the Veil." "You're getting ahead of yourself. Following some of my… less favorable tendencies. Nimbus says we must 'flow' to understand Strand; perhaps it is the same with the Veil." Osiris moves beside Ikora and reaches up, palm parallel to the threads drawn taut from Ikora's braid of Strand. "Sol remembered Titan, in a way. The Veil's signal spiked when Titan returned from memory to reality, when the rhythm of the solar system had been restored to order." Osiris drops his hand and looks to Ikora. "Perhaps we must simply find that rhythm before we are able to interpret the beats within it."

[kirschkid]

Come what may – I will love you until my dying day

Review zum Moulin Rouge Musical in Köln

Zu mir und dem Grund für diesen Text

Ganz kurz: Ich mache soetwas normalerweise nicht und behaupte auch nicht, dass meine Meinung in irgendeiner Weise ojektiv als Tatsache verstanden werden kann oder sollte. Es handelt sich einzig und alleine um meine persönlichen Eindrücke und Meinungen zu diesem Musical.

Nun habe ich Moulin Rouge bereits drei mal in Köln gesehen und denke, dass ich in der Lage bin eine Review dazu zu schreiben. Dabei werde ich sicherlich viele Dinge, Personen oder Werke vergessen oder unabsichtlich vernachlässigen, bitte nehmt mir das nicht krum. Wenn ich inhaltlich spoilere, werde ich das markieren. Ich gehe aber davon aus, dass die Leser dieser Review den Film kennen.

Wieso ich das aufschreibe? Ich glaube, weil ich so 'voll' davon bin und all diese Gedanken kanalisieren muss. Also dann, auf geht’s!

Wie gesagt, drei mal habe ich Moulin Rouge gesehen. Am 02.11.22, am 13.11.22 und am 16.11.22 (Oh Gott… das darf man ja keinem erzählen). Und ich weiß noch als ich das erste Mal den Saal vom Musical Dome betreten habe…

Das Bühnenbild

Bilder oder Videos können nicht wiederspiegeln, was man fühlt, wenn man in den Saal kommt. So viele Lampen, so viele Tücher und alles strahlt in einem warmen Licht zwischen samtigen, roten Tüchern. Man fühlt sich heimelig und gleichzeitig verführt. Die Musik, die bereits läuft passt perfekt. Etwas lasziv und umwerbend, mit dem richtigen Hauch von Ruhe und Eleganz.

Der gesamte Saal ist geschmückt. An der rechten Seite befindet sich ein riesiger blauer Elefant, auf der linken Seite die Windmühle und selbst die Decke gehört dazu!

Auf der Bühne wird die ganze Show über viel mit der Tiefe gespielt. Das Bühnenbild ist traumhaft schön. Rot, edel, voll mit Herzen und Formen. Ich könnte so viel noch zu dem Bühnenbild sagen, die riesigen Diamenten auf denen Satine steht, der Eifelturm, die Lichteffekte… es ist überwältigend.

Der Einstieg

"Egal wie sündhaft eure Lust, egal wie lustvoll eure Sünde, hier seid ihr willkommen!"

Man wird direkt mit ins Geschehen eingebunden, denn eine Viertelstunde bevor die Show beginnt, kommen bereits Darsteller auf die Bühne, die sich unterhalten, sich gegenseitig umwerben und einem das Gefühl geben, man wäre wirklich in einem Club. Das Stück beginnt also schon vor der eigentlichen Zeit.

Dann ändert sich langsam die Musik und das Musical beginnt mit zwei schwerterschluckenden Damen und anschließend mit Christian, gespielt von Riccardo Greco, der die Bühne betritt. Er ist fantastisch in seiner Rolle. Riccardo Greco spielt Christian mit Leib und Seele. Er ist sanft, ein wenig naiv, romantisch und verträumt. Sein Herz ist so unheimlich groß, wieso am Ende auch der Schmerz so unerträglich groß zu sein scheint. Und jede Träne in seinen Augen nimmt man ihm ab. Seine Stimme kann zart sein, wie ein Windhauch und so hart und wütend, wie ein Sturm. Er ist großartig!

SPOILER

Christian leitet den Start des Musicals damit ein, dass er die Musik mit seinen Händen zum Stoppen bringt und den tiefen Bass ertönen lässt, der dann den Song Lady Marmelade begleitet.

Ich bilde mir ein, in Riccardo's Gesicht zu sehen, wie toll dieser Moment ist, wenn bei seinen steigenden Händen der Boden durch den Bass zu dröhnen beginnt. Mir lief jedesmal ein Schauer über den Rücken.

SPOILER ENDE

Story und Darsteller

Alles beginnt ähnlich wie im Film, nur dass wir zu Beginn schon ordentlich Musik zu hören  kriegen und den ein oder anderen Charakter kennenlernen. Die TänzerInnen strahlen so viel Kraft auf der Bühne aus, dass es einen manchmal umhauen würde, würde man stehen statt zu sitzen.

Besonders eindrucksvoll (grundsätzlich sind alle toll) fällt mir immer La Chocolat, gespielt von Olivia Irmengard Grassner, auf. Kostüm, Haare, die Kraft ihrer Ausstrahlung, sie ist einfach mega.

Harold Zidler, gespielt von Gavin Turnbull, lebt seine Rolle auf der Bühne. Er ist genial und ich kann mich kaum sattsehen an seiner Performance. Eine großartige Besetzung. Man nimmt ihm diese Rolle zu 200% ab. Fabelhafte Mimik und Gestik.

Der Duke of Monroth, gespielt von Gian Marco Schiaretti, überzeugt durch sein Charisma. Sein erster Auftritt auf der Bühne beginnt dunkel, er allein ist im Fokus und aus dem vorher roten, warmen Setting wird eine dunkle, blaue und kalte Bühne.

SPOILER

Es ist klar, dass der Duke arrogant, hochnäsig und selbstgefällig ist. Nun ist er aber, im Gegensatz zu dem Duke aus dem Film leider auch sehr sexy und selbstsicher. Sein Hemd Ausschnitt ist einfach viel, viel zu tief. Nicht, dass ich es anders wollen würde, ihr wisst schon wie ich das meine. Gian Marco Schiaretti macht es schwer, ihn nicht trotz seiner herablassenden Art anzuschmachten. Aber genau darin liegt auch ein gewisser Reiz. Im Leben sind die Dinge schließlich auch nicht nur gut oder schlecht, nur dunkel oder hell, nur falsch oder richtig. Von daher gebe ich gerne zu, dass ich mich jedes Mal freue, den Duke auf der Bühne zu sehen und zu hören. Denn auch stimmlich bringt Gian Marco Schiaretti einiges mit. "Schön ist es auf der Welt zu sein, sagt der Loser zu dem armen Schwein, ich hab Money..."  

SPOILER ENDE

Dann erzählt Christian uns worum es geht. Die Momente, in denen er in die Erzählperspektive wechselt werden von Lichteffekten begleitet und passen gut und stimmig in den Ablauf der Geschichte.

"Eine Geschichte über die Liebe. Über leidenschaftliche Liebe, verzweifelte Liebe, verrückte Liebe. Über die Sorte Liebe, die man nie wieder vergisst…"

Nun lernen wir Toulouse und Santiago, gespielt von Alvin Le-Bass und Vini Gomes kennen. Wie im Film helfen die beiden uns durch die teilweise bedrückenden und düsteren Stellen der Geschichte mit viel Humor und Witz. Beide spielen ihre Rollen großartig.  

Es dauert nicht mehr lange ab da, bis man Satine sieht, den funkelnden Diamant. Und wie sie funkelt, wenn sie, gespielt von Sophie Berner, von der Decke hinunter gleitet. Wahnsinnig toller Auftritt! Jedesmal wieder. Sophie Berner verkörpert mit ihrer kraftvollen Stimme, ihrer starken Ausstrahlung eine etwas andere Satine, als die aus dem Film. Auch die Story selbst ist mehr darauf ausgelegt eine starke, unabhängige Satine zu zeigen, die sich ihrem Schicksal entgegenstellt und frei und alleine für sich entscheidet, was sie tut und was sie eben nicht tut. Eben diesen Weg, zur Selbstbestimmtheit, den erleben wir mit ihr zusammen.

SPOILER

Zu Beginn, wenn sie sich noch den Anforderungen, die an sie gestellt werden, mehr oder weniger schweigend ergibt, singt Satine eine deutsche Version von Katy Perrys Firework. Und jedesmal habe ich bittere Tränen geweint. Sophie Berner ist in der Lage so viel Schmerz, Trauer und dann wieder Hoffnung und Stärke in diesen Song zu bringen, ich denke es spielt keine Rolle, wie oft ich dieses Musical sehen werde, ich werde IMMER an genau dieser Stelle weinen.

"Manchmal fühlst du dich falsch in deiner Haut, wie ein Kartenhaus in Wind und Sand gebaut… "

SPOILER ENDE

Es gibt noch so vieles zu sagen, zu so vielen einzelnen Darstellern, aber ich glaube dann wird das Ganze einfach zu lang. Zwei Personen möchte ich aber noch erwähnen:

Baby Doll, gespielt von Oxa sowie Nini, gespielt von Annkathrin Naderer. Beide geben dem Moulin Rouge ganz besondere Charaktere, die der Story auf ihrem Weg helfen und zeigen, dass es sich im Grunde wirklich um eine Familie handelt.

Zur Story noch ein paar Worte…

SPOILER

Während vieles mit dem Film übereinstimmt, ist vor allem das Ende anders. Der Duke hat keinen Bodyguard, den er auf Christian loslassen kann und verschwindet am Ende von selbst, ohne viel Gegendwind, von der Bühne. Und anstatt mit Satine abzurechnen und zu gehen, will sich Christian am Ende vor ihren Augen erschießen. Ich gebe zu, dass mir diese Änderung beim ersten Mal nicht gut gefallen hat. Satine so stark zu machen, war toll. Dass sie am Ende Christian vor sich selbst rettet, indem sie zu singen beginnt, ist sicher auch eine Stärke. Trotzdem empfinde ich den Selbstmordversuch aufgrund von Liebeskummer zu extrem. Aber was rede ich, es ist ein Musical, ich weiß. Hier ist alles extrem. Und genau deshalb habe ich mich im Nachhinein doch damit anfreunden können.

SPOILER ENDE

Musik und Tanz

"Über den Wolken soll die Freiheit wohl grenzenlos sein…"

Viele der Songs aus dem Film wurden übernommen und teilweise ins Deutsche übersetzt (Da hatte ich vor meinem Besuch richtig Angst vor). Wir bekommen aber auch eine ganze Menge guter Lieder zu hören, die wir nicht vom Film kennen. Was die Liederwahl betrifft, gibt es meiner Ansicht nach nichts zu bemängeln. Es sind tolle Songs, die die meisten Besucher kennen. Was die deutschen Übersetzungen angeht, wurde größtenteils ein toller Job gemacht. Stimmig und inhaltlich sinnvoll, will man die Lieder zuhause am liebsten selbst vor sich hersingen. (Um die Texte alle zu können hoffe ich ja immer noch auf eine CD. Bitte sagt mir, dass eine CD aufgenommen wird. Bald, ja? )

SPOILER

"Wie der Himmel sich anfühlen muss, weiß ich jetzt und geb ihn nie mehr her. Ertrinken möcht' ich in deinem Kuss, jeden Tag lieb' ich dich noch viel mehr. Hör wie mein Herz schlägt, nein ich glaub es singt, weil es dir zu schenken so leicht gelingt. Herbst, Winter, Sommer,- alles vergeht. Doch ich lieb' dich und das solang ich leb."

SPOILER ENDE

Hin und wieder gibt es Textstellen, die ich unpassend fand. Aber das war selten der Fall. In der Masse ist die Übersetzung gut bis sehr gut gelungen.  

Die Tänze waren stark und dynamisch und haben jedes Mal großen Spaß gemacht zuzuschauen. Einfach ein Genuss. An dieser Stelle ein großes Lob für das gesamte Ensemble,- ihr seid spitze!

Es ist einfach ein ganz besonders mitreißendes Erlebnis, bei dem man so viele unterschiedliche Emotionen innerhalb von 3 Stunden spürt und so viele arkustische sowie visuelle Eindrücke erlebt, dass man hinterher eine Weile braucht um wieder in der Realität anzukommen.

Das Gefühl, was ich dabei empfinde hat suchtcharakter. Deshalb war ich definitiv nicht zum letzten Mal in Köln, dem Musical Dome bei Moulin Rouge.  

Wer noch überzeugt werden muss, hier ein Ausschnitt von WETTEN, DASS, wo Moulin Rouge einen Live Auftritt hatte.

Ansonsten am besten direkt auf die Homepage und Tickets kaufen! Es lohnt sich wirklich! Und kleiner Tipp: Am besten Reihe 5!

[libero-de-mente]

Sanremo Pornhub

[evehiclesaura]

Oxa Challenges Tesla's Vision for Autonomous Vehicles

Oxa Believes Autonomy Should Prioritize Mass Transit, Not Personal Cars Oxa, a British autonomous vehicle company, argues that Tesla’s focus on self-driving personal cars is misguided. Oxa thinks the autonomy industry should aim to provide greater benefit to society through shared mobility services like shuttles, According to a new report from forbes. Oxa wants to achieve “universal autonomy”…

[massimonanni]

Oxa and Me #annaoxa #oxa #italianmusic #cantantiitaliani #fashionmusic #sanremo2023 https://www.instagram.com/p/CoXMJqjo_K1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wastedpotentialsblog]

I've been thinking about this all week. There are a lot of threads and puzzle pieces floating around in my head, but I can't put them together in a satisfying way.

The most likely scenario I have is this:

The OXA machine is likely derived from Vex influence, like the Device created by Ishtar. That would explain how the Vex have data on it in the first place and why both machines are practically identical. The Vex are pervasive, so it's likely that the Psions have encountered them while they were free, or Otzot used Vex tech when they rebuilt it after its destruction after their enslavement. Using the OXA machine to guide them and the Sol Divisive's research, Otzot seeks to reverse-engineer the mind-melding technology used by the Witness (successful attempt) and Maya (failed attempt) to become a God-Thought, a term used by Psions (or at least a Psion under Caiatl) when referring to powerful psychic leaders. We already know Psions are capable of merging minds and even bodies. Tazaroc, Niruul, and Ozletc did this when they formed Inotam during the Season of the Dawn, using an "ancient technique."

This makes the most sense, but I feel like there are holes that I can't see. Either way, Micah's Ghost missions are pulling loose threads and using them to start weaving a tapestry. I'm excited!

[zippocreed501]

Anna Oxa - Fatelo con me (1978)

[mistressemmedi]

HELPPPPPPPP 💀 (x)

[ambreiiigns]

io nella mia casa universitaria da sola dopo aver dormito 4 ore in due giorni aver mangiato due cupcake e una fetta di pancarrè asciutta in tre giorni perchè mi scoccia andare a mensa o lavare piatti consumando la mia terza redbull del giorno nel mio leisure robe color ratto che mi fa sentire un uomo ricco e divorziato di mezza età

[thefirstknife]

Incredibly urgent information found in post-campaign. This is the Lost Ghosts quest from Micah-10. This one is "Oracle" and happens on Nessus. The quest from Micah is about finding various Ghosts that got lost during missions on locations. For the one in Oracle, you had to run Insight Terminus strike to find data.

Running Insight Terminus here is confirmed as canon! Kargen we fight is apparently a clone! More importantly, this reveals a few pieces of information that I am completely and totally normal about.

First, Kargen's clone is once again looking for OXA and OXA is canonically confirmed to be similar, if not the same (!) to the Device of the Future War Cult.

Second, Otzot is the one who ordered this and the order is recent. Otzot is, with this, confirmed to be alive and active. She is also in a faction NOT loyal to the Witness. Otzot is also apparently interested in Sol Divisive's information on the Veil. I am thoroughly losing my mind about this. Ghost is also confused about how these things connect and I'm LOSING IT again because I talked about this well over a year ago in this post, and recently in this one. Prediction machines, Vex technology and the Veil have something going on together, I agree Ghost. I am obsessed with this.

And third, the interference is confirmed to be from Maya Sundaresh which also further confirms her involvement in the Echoes. It has to. I've already speculated on the Echoes image we can see in game as the mysterious figure being some form of Maya/Vex Maya/her simulation, but this confirms it. I've never been more normal than I am now.

Transcript of the video below:

Ghost: I've got Bean's signal. It looks like he's gone deeper into Nessus. It should be easy to follow him. As for what Kargen's clone was doing here, it looks like he was trying to access Vex data on OXA again. Micah-10: That's the Psion prediction machine, right? Sees the future in branching paths? Future War Cult had something similar. Ghost: Based on what I'm seeing here, I... I can't be sure they aren't the same thing. The same design. But I don't know how that's possible. Kargen was trying to access the Sol Divisive's research on the Veil as well. I don't understand how all these things are connected. But I can tell where the orders are coming from. A Psion named Otzot, and these orders are recent. I think there might be defector branches within the Shadow Legion... Ones not loyal to the Witness. Micah-10: And they're trying to pin down potential outcomes, make plans for what, the even of our success? Ghost: Maybe. But it looks like something's blocked them, but I... I don't know how that's possible. Micah-10: Why? What stopped Kargen? Ghost: If this log is correct... Maya Sundaresh did. Cayde-6: Maya, wha- why does that name sound so familiar? Micah-10: Why don't you and I talk about that offline, Cayde. Let the Guardian and Ghost track down Bean. Cayde-6: Yeah, yeah, that- that- that sounds good.

[speaker-of-the-void-cats]

"What is 'OXA,' and who was 'MSund12'?

Those are questions for another day NOW.

"My father named me for a star," I say. "Nothing to do with war." "Yes. But the star Caiatl was named for a myth. Not an old homeworld myth, either. A myth from the Age of Sails, when we conquered the stars. Surely you know it, assuming that you've been briefed on the OXA?" "The Odyle Xenotaph Anarchive. Sometimes OXTA, depending on how you construct the acronym. The alien oracle that led us to the graves of Aark." Must be wary, now. OXA is a Psion myth, and the Psions are a sensitive topic. My father wants to free them from bondage. "It claimed to record the story of the galaxy, and to prophesize what may yet come." "A black box for galactic civilizations, if you prefer it in pilot's terms." The Evocate-General nods to the pin on my right pauldron. I am conscious of my shaved-down tusks, of the sores left by the fighter's interface. "The doomed and the damned left the record of their downfall in the OXA. Your star got its name from the oldest myths in that archive. And when your mother told your father that story... the star became your name. A prayer that all will go as it must... and the way it must go is struggle."

Odyle 

:a force or natural power held by some to reside in certain individuals and things and to underlie hypnotism and magnetism and some other phenomena

Xenotaph

:a tomb or a monument erected in honor of a being or group of beings whose remains are elsewhere

Anarchive

1) The anarchive is best defined as a repertory of traces of collaborative research-creation events. The traces are not inert, but are carriers of potential. They are reactivatable, and their reactivation helps trigger a new event which continues the creative process from which they came, but in a new iteration.

2) Thus the anarchive is not documentation of a past activity. Rather, it is a feed-forward mechanism for lines of creative process, under continuing variation. 3) The anarchive needs documentation – the archive – from which to depart and through which to pass. It is an excess energy of the archive: a kind of supplement or surplus-value of the archive. 4) Its supplemental, excessive nature means that it is never contained in any particular archive or documentation element contained in an archive. It is never contained in an object. The anarchive is made of the formative movements going into and coming out of the archive, for which the objects contained in the archive serve as springboards. The anarchive as such is made of formative tendencies; compositional forces seeking a new taking-form; lures for further process. Archives are their waystations. 5) Since it exceeds the archive and is uncontainable in any single object or collection of objects, the anarchive is by nature a cross-platform phenomenon. It is activated in the relays: between media, between verbal and material expressions, between digital and off-line archivings, and most of all between all of the various archival forms it may take and the live, collaborative interactions that reactivate the anarchival traces, and in turn create new ones. 6) The anarchive pertains to the event. It is a kind of event derivative, or surplus-value of the event. 7) Approached anarchivally, the product of research-creation is process. The anarchive is a technique for making research-creation a process-making engine. Many products are produced, but they are not the product. They are the visible indexing of the process’s repeated taking-effect: they embody its traces (thus bringing us full circle to point 1).

Ghost: They sure put this one out of the way. I was able to access their network for two cycles before they booted me. All I got was something about… endless trees. Or… forest? Weird.

Sisters

The three sisters arrived on Mercury. They searched for the Infinite Forest, and through it, a path to their people’s salvation: a simulated future where they were free from the Cabal. Instead, they found something else. “Small disturbances,” said oldest Ozletc, the wisest. “Little currents in this timeline. Can you see them, sister?” “I can taste them,” said second-born Tazaroc, the hungriest of her sisters. “I can feel the edges.” Third-born Niruul, the quietest among them, reached her hand out to test the air. “As can I,” said she. “And something else. The source is disguised. The technology is Human, but refined. Surprisingly so.” “Disable it,” said Tazaroc, who was impatient. “It is leaking. I wish to see the leak.” Niruul fluttered her fingers across the sleeve of her suit. She worked for one day and one night, though the passage of time was hidden by Mercury’s perpetual blinding light. All the while, she could feel the restless impatience of her sisters.

A strange device shimmered into existence around them. They looked up the length of an enormous, golden spire. “It whispers,” said Tazaroc. “Then block your ears,” said Ozletc. “Do you see the potential in this?” “Chaos,” said Niruul. “No,” said Ozletc. “Opportunity. See how it tugs at the fabric of our time? Can you see the seams?” The seams were sewn tightly shut, but a skilled hand could find them. A skilled hand could rip every stitch. All three sisters could feel it. “It will take time to activate,” said Niruul. “Someone has protected it from meddling.” “We will have time,” said Ozletc. “We will open the past and change the course of Ghaul’s fate. Anticipate his mistakes. Undercut his advisors.” “Why?” said Tazaroc. “Because he could be swayed to our purposes,” said Ozletc. “He was a fool, but he could be puppeteered. Led to a more advantageous downfall.” “But why not go back further?” said Tazaroc, eager. “To dash the whelp’s skull in the pit, before he crawls out onto a throne?” “Risky,” said Niruul, shaking her head. “Why not tear into the future instead, and make our attack where the Guardians cannot predict it?” “Predictions are not their strength,” said Tazaroc. “And yet they have built this,” snapped Niruul. “Sisters,” Ozletc said. “We needn’t argue. This device will let us walk through future and past both. And so we will cut the most advantageous path, whatever it may be.”

For hours and days and weeks, the sisters labored over the machine. While her sisters defended her from the Vex, Niruul bent the device to their purposes and, with the force of their combined will, made it whir to life. Around them, time split along its seams. Windows into other worlds, Mercury’s true past and future, opened before them. The device stood at the center of all of it, an anchor point. And all along the fault lines of time, where the past and present and future met, Vex were ripped in half, sliced through by a knife of pure temporal energy. They surveyed their new kingdom: a past, present, and future open to their manipulation. “It is so clear,” said Niruul, reverent. “An unobstructed glimpse into what was and what will be.” “Not the troubled ramblings of a mad thing, like the OXA,” said Tazaroc. They shared the feeling of unbounded possibility, and tasted the potential for success, and then for failure. Together, they drank the feelings in and steeled themselves against them. “The past and future are at our fingertips, sisters,” said Ozletc. “Let us see what prospects they hold.”

The Sundial

Some time after the death of Panoptes, Infinite Mind and the City’s venture to the Infinite Forest: Osiris stepped back to look upon his work. It towered stories above him. The Sundial was complete, a shining beacon in Mercury’s sky. He needed only to seal the chronometric core, which lay bare at the center of the spire, and activate the Arc conduits that ran for miles under the planet’s surface. Sagira circled the superstructure, scanning every inch of it. “I don’t know about this,” she said. “I have full confidence. It’s your design.” “That work was theoretical! If the Vanguard find out what you did to build it—“ “If this works, the Vanguard will find out either way.” Sagira darted down as if to dive bomb her chosen, but stopped just short and met him eye to eyes. “I know you feel guilty, but there’s no telling what will happen if you turn this thing on.” “He’s dead because of me. I’ve made every precaution. I’ve had my Echoes check against trillions of disaster scenarios.” He turned to look at the fluctuating glow of the exposed chronometric core. “Mercury is the only planet that will be affected. Because that’s where he died.” “Where will this stop? Who else will you decide deserves a second chance?” “You know I can’t make another bargain like this one.” “I just want to make sure you know that.” Osiris blinked. She rarely spoke this bluntly, and without irony. “Hey, hey, hey!” came a far-off, echoing shout. “No! That ain’t right!” The Drifter came into view from behind one of the Sundial’s auxiliary pylons, pointing a jabbing finger at Osiris’s machine. Sagira narrowed her eye at the rogue Lightbearer and lowered herself to Osiris’s shoulder. “Why’s he here?” she asked quietly. “I asked him to consult on the engineering work,” Osiris replied, crossing his arms. “You sicko,” the other man declared, walking a circle around the Warlock, his eyes darting along every surface of the Sundial around them. As the Drifter rapped his knuckles on the north pylon, he mumbled, “Ghost, do the numbers.” An armored Ghost with a red eye unfolded out of transmat and began a scan pattern on each Sundial spire. Drifter walked to the central spire and put his ear up against it. “This core…” he said, leaning close. His eyes darted back to Osiris. “It’s whispering.” Osiris’s expression didn’t change; his arms didn’t uncross. “We’ll seal the core away. I understand the ramifications.” “Good luck keeping that contained. Not something I would bargain with, hotshot.” Drifter stood up and beckoned his Ghost with two fingers. It floated earthward and unleashed a holographic array of statistics along the Sundial deck. The red light reflected off the Drifter’s eyes as he drank the numbers in. “Your math checks out,” he said, finally, as his Ghost folded away. “It’ll work. But will you find him? At the exact moment that you need? No guarantees.” “Let me worry about that,” Osiris said. “Just one more question, then. Why all the fuss?” “I owe him.” “I owe a lotta people, Warlock. You’re opening the gates of hell with a Vex key.” “When the Traveler brought me back, I had no friends. No family—” “No one had anything in the Dark Age.” “But Saint was always there. And I saw him grow from neophyte to demigod.” Drifter shrugged. “We’ve all had to flex a little. Win a gun fight or two. It’s why we’re still here.” “We all gain strength. But some Lightbearers never grasp a wider view of the world. They’re happy to stick to their ways… languish. When they could be so much more.” Drifter chuckled and spat, saluting Osiris with a single finger. “I get by.” “Of course you do. I’m like you.” Drifter smirked. “But Saint faced his fears and failure better than any of us, and never strayed from his path. He should get a chance to walk to the end.” “He already did. But I’ll leave you to your devices. You lunatic.” The Drifter turned, hands in his pockets, to leave. “If you short-circuit the universe, you’re on your own."

[u.1.08] What happened to “trust no one?”

[u.2.08] What happened to your sense of right and wrong, hero?

[u.1.09] That is the City’s word, not mine. And the people still remember when I defended its borders from those very Fallen.

[u.2.09] Our kind live for a very long time, Saint. Too long to bear grudges.

[u.1.10] These accolades I wear are a reminder of what we lost to get here.

[u.2.10] I think those who gave them to you would be disappointed to hear that.

[u.1.11] I had nearly forgotten that you finally asked about them.

[u.2.11] We live too long for regrets. You taught me that. Don’t forget the House of Light.

[u.1.12] If I can find the time, yes. Not all of us conjure Echoes.

[u.2.12] Reflections, Saint. I have no need for Echoes anymore.

[u.1.13] What do you mean? What’s the difference?

[u.2.13] One is a manifestation of Light. The other… reserved for Taken Kings. Better suited for traversing the Sundial because of what lies at its core.

[u.1.14] One day you’ll have to tell me exactly what you and the Guardian did to bring me back.

[u.2.14] We did what we had to. Trust me.

[u.1.15] Now you sound like the rat.

[u.2.15] No. The Drifter sounds like me.

Osiris: Do you know the OXA Machine, Guardian? Psions are adept at overcoming the restraints of linear time. The Sundial is a dangerous tool in their gnarled hands. Take it back.

By the mind of Match—I do not know where we are—chalice catch and save us all— Nothing. God answers god! The void in Calus's soul called out and THIS is what replied—the Leviathan's control system failed when it saw what awaits us—we are drifting into it! Calus has sealed himself in his observation chamber. His transmissions strike the THING and return to us disfigured by intolerable forces. We have gathered to share our thoughts in concert, to try to understand what's happening, but we are all afraid we will succeed—we stammer like children and the concert fails. Is this the edge of the universe? Space cannot have an end: it goes on forever. But a hole in forever would be a kind of edge... a flaw, a defect, a place outside place... I must be calm. I must record my thoughts. Now I think of the OXA Machine, eternally lost and eternally rebuilt, passed down from civilization to civilization like a ship's black box. I think of the legends of the Hive King Oryx and his quest to pass into the Deep. I took that story as an allegory. I think I was wrong. What will happen to us inside? Will the geometry of space and time collapse, so that we experience the rest of our lives in a single moment, crumpled over ourselves like a tangled chain? Will I tend to myself as I die of old age or scream warnings to my own past as we meet in the berserk maze of a twisted Leviathan? I hate the thought of it! An eternity reading my own mad minds, tasting the insanity of my own future and thus becoming it! Even the spirits from the goblet would go mad. There is only one of us who welcomes this insanity and I do not know why but how could I? How could I ever anticipate or understand a god? All over the ship—broadcast from the comfort of his observation room—CALUS IS LAUGHING

Verse 4:1 — battle made waves

Oryx went down into his throne world. He went out into the abyss, and with each step he read one of his tablets, so that they became like stones beneath his feet. He went out and he created an altar and he prepared an unborn ogre. He called on the Deep, saying: I can see you in the sky. You are the waves, which are battles, and the battles are the waves. Come into this vessel I have prepared for you. And it arrived, the Deep Itself.

||We move worlds every day in the choices we make. The path we carve. The timeline we create.||

||The mind and memory of the universe.||

Research Log 2

Chioma Esi: Chioma Esi, research log: the Veil. [sighs] I don't even know where to start. When we landed on Neptune, there was... something waiting for us. An alien structure. It's an electromagnetic anomaly. No mass, but a tangible surface area. It's like a thesis statement to the Von Neumann-Wigner hypothesis. It's definitely paracausal, like the Traveler. Maya calls it the Veil. She says she heard the name in a whisper when... when she looked at it. When I asked her who whispered, she said it was... her own voice.

"The Veil is the power of consciousness made manifest in our physical world. It whispers an electromagnetic language that resonates with our minds. One that can be deciphered, but not by the laws we wield in this universe."

||Consciousness causes collapse.||

Research Log 7

Chioma Esi: Chioma Esi, research log: Veil interface. Maya and I have finalized a prototype interface for the Veil. Hopefully, it'll allow our research team to investigate it in detail. The system's designed like an orchestra, with a central "conductor" directing a symphony of minds to act like a distributed network. The... idea came to us by watching how collective networks like SIVA and the Vex operate. The hope is we can aggregate and parse the vast amounts of psychic data emitting from the Veil. Turn it into something intelligible.

Research Log 9

Chioma Esi: Chioma Esi, research log: Lakshmi-2.

Osiris: What?!

Chioma Esi: Maya's... I don't even know what to say. I'd recused myself from further experiments. Told her to take some time off. She refused. And she... the minute I wasn't there, she started hauling the braindead Exos out of cold storage. Hooking them up to the Veil interface. She burned through dozens of them. Reversed the entire machine's design. Used a chorus of braindead Exos to funnel data down to the conductor seat, projecting a mental imprint. Hers. I... I didn't know Lakshmi-2, but Maya did. And now she's.... she's made this thing. It speaks with her voice. Has some of her memories. The way it looks at me... It's like it knows something I don't.

Nimbus: Osiris, do you recognize that name. "Lakshmi"?

Osiris: Yes... and no, Lakshmi-2 was an Exo and once-leader of a faction on Earth known as the Future War Cult. She died over a year ago. But she never once made mention of any of this. Of Neomuna, of... Maya. Did she know. Did she remember? This is all as much a revelation to me as it is to you. It throws everything she did while in the Last City into question.

Nimbus: I mean, with... if she was a copy of Dr. Sundaresh, then... is she really dead?

Osiris: I don't know. For now, I must deliver a rather uncomfortable report to Ikora.

RECORD 0-CHASM-0

My love. I’ve opened this log as an apology.

As a scientist, I believe in record-keeping. I believe in protocols, peer review, and ethical conduct. I believe in the importance of disbelief — you know; let’s run that one more time.

What I’m doing here in Lhasa isn’t science. It’s unethical, secret, and shameful. And after what happened in Ishtar, dearest Chioma, I know you’d be furious with me for getting involved. Forty years isn’t far enough to forget a day like that.

Once, when she was younger, sixty or seventy, Chen Lanshu pulled rank to get a look at the Never-Be installation in Taipei. She watched the images in the fresco and she felt... this foreboding, this enormous weight, a dread that refused to attach itself to any specific threat. And she felt it again, last year, when she was briefed on the project in Lhasa, the vision machine... She shivers. Her wings shudder and tremble in the airstream.

RECORD 343-CHASM-7887

Subject twenty-two. Admitted to the Inner Circle at 24.00. A promising postulant - I regret to say he performed poorly. He was administered the standard medication but refused to enter the Device.

Aren't people unpredictable? I suppose there'd be no point if they weren't, would there?

He knows to keep silent.

END RECORD

RECORD 343-CHASM-7888

Subject twenty-three entered the Device at 11.00. A clever girl from the Core District; an artist, before she joined the War Cult.

At 11.03 she reported a sensation of floating. At 11.06, a sensation of lights within the darkness of the Device. Between 11.06 and 11.32 she reported these lights variously as white, golden, and blood-red. At 11.32 she reported a sensation of someone taking her hand; a stranger, but also herself. Twelve subjects have reported similar experiences. At 11.33 she reported the sensation we have called "The Opening Of The Veil." The Device recorded temporal displacement of her consciousness to the order of six degrees. At seven she began screaming. Brainscans near-death. Removed from the Device at 11.34.

She believes without question that the Device granted her a vision of the future, and that it was one of utter Darkness. She thanked me for this enlightenment. She says it will make her stronger.

Little Ghost, there in the corner of the Sanctum - I see you blinking. Are you listening? Are y -

END RECORD

RECORD 343-CHASM-7889

the Device at 12.22 and immediately the Device reported displacement of his consciousness. Visions of war and the City in flames. Subject twenty-nine worked the supply channels on the Slip before he joined the War Cult. By 12.27 he was babbling and by

END RECORD

RECORD 343-CHASM-7890

We have applied certain refinements to the Device. Novarro found records of a prototype of the Device at a Golden Age laboratory in Tibet, and Hari's team retrieved what was left of it. We are the first to see it operational in who knows how long.

Too many subjects come back damaged. Mad. We are grasping at straws.

What do you think, little Ghost?

END RECORD

RECORD 343-CHASM-7891

Forty-seven human subjects; eleven report timelines in which the Darkness has already prevailed, thirteen report timelines in which the City has fallen. Twenty-three babbled madness. Hopeless. Trapped.

No wonder the Device was abandoned. The human mind is too weak for it. Too weak to look into the Future, or to understand what it sees.

What the situation calls for, little Ghost, is a better sort of witness.

We found you in pieces in Siberia, and repaired you as well as we could.

What do you say? Are you well enough to travel?

END RECORD

RECORD 0-CHASM-31

Rajesh. When he reached a displacement of eight he told us he was dead. I believed him. He was dead. He spoke to us. It was true. Whatever he saw, it was his own future.

He’s fine, afterwards. When I look into his eyes I wonder what came back wearing his skin. But that thought is unscientific.

We speak of nothing but the device. We talk about it like a demigod. When I get out of here I know the whole world will look like a fraying veil.

I think it’s clear that part of the problem is substrate. We need more than flesh and drug to survive this.

Akashic Revelation

We end at the beginning.

Rosy light bathes the cockpit of a Hawk moving at cruising speed high above the Earth. Up ahead, the Traveler hangs motionless against the blackness of space, a triangular gateway of iridescent light bleeding from its shell. It was one thing volunteering for this mission, but sitting now on the precipice of the unknown, the Titan, Joxer, holds doubt close to his chest. "This isn't any different from the Ahamkara hunts," his Ghost reassures. "Reckless, hasty, and dangerous." Joxer glances over at his Ghost and smiles, already feeling better. Two Cabal escorts on either side of Joxer's Hawk stall their engines, letting the Hawk proceed forward toward the Traveler. They say something over the comms in Uluranth. "The translation roughly means 'Beyond the known is the terror of the universe,'" his Ghost offers. Joxer's not sure if it's a warning, a curse, or a pep talk. Knowing the Cabal, it's all three. Easing the flight stick forward, Joxer moves the Hawk ahead at a steady pace. His Ghost's eye widens as the rosy light from the portal brightens and the kaleidoscopic surface is all that can be seen in any direction. Joxer's grip on the controls tightens as he feels a bone-deep sense of vertigo. Echoes of piano notes tinkling in his periphery. He can feel hands on his chest beneath his armor, breath against his cheek inside his helmet. "Eric, come back to bed." A voice whispers inside his mind. He sees a city, a home. Family and children. He can't sleep. They aren't alone in the universe. The Ares project is going to— His Ghost is screaming, shell coming apart at the seams. Joxer pulls himself back to reality and jerks the controls as the nose of the Hawk touches the portal. He hears laughter, screams, feels lips on his cheek, hands on his shoulders as the ship begins to pass through. His Ghost's scream stretches from the moment of the big bang to the heat death of the universe. Joxer hears a scream he will make as his ship begins and ends. "Come back to bed." He catches up to the scream.

Research Log 13

Chioma Esi: The Veil is too great a power for humanity to wield responsibly. All that's left is to close down the facility. Neomuna will go on. Humanity will persist on the back of our unspeakable work. But I won't pass that guilt on to humanity's future. My hands can be bloodied. Let the children have innocence. And in my dissolution, I will find peace.

Osiris: I don't know if I agree with Chioma's choice to hide the sins of the past. But... I also do not know what I would do in her place.

Nimbus: Quinn says there's a data signature on this file, like something else was crawling the network. A... Vex signature? What's... MSund12?

IV. MSUND12/Personal

003 AS

I am still among the Vex. My third day of reawakening has been the cruelest so far. I have generated a log to sort through my thoughts. This is just too much to take all at once. My ability to focus is strained with a shrill and immediate grief. My heart lived in my beloved's hands—how am I supposed to comprehend that this isn't just absence, but death? There will be evidence, histories these meticulous machines would have catalogued. I will find evidence that I was missed… am missed. I know what I must do. The primary query continues.

008 AS

After two days of requesting authorization, the Vex finally granted me access to their historical records of Earth. I read a term for an era I never knew; the Collapse. And indeed… they did. Technological capabilities impacted, hostile combatants occupying the majority of the planet for far too long, invention and experimentation (NOT related to paracausal power sources) halted for centuries. It seems humanity was huddled together like wet kittens, the cramped and stifled survivors of monumental destruction. I read the records as if they were about some other civilization's primitive past rather than my own. The Vex documented it all, collected all they could smother their milk with; one Human wrote about the day they stood on the edge of an abandoned dam and watched a swarm of small machines spew from some unseen seam in the Traveler, how Nezarec's ships turned day into midnight. How the years that followed hastened humanity's extinction—countries that turned to anarchy then to feudalism, the art and technology we bled and wept to champion abandoned as power grids failed and disasters swelled. Humanity could have kept experimenting and learning, but when Earth died, so, too, what made them Human. They forgot everything we were.

0028 AS

Past events mean little to a threat so preoccupied with iterating on the future. While Vex do not share my interest in history, they have tracked this timeline all the same. There are trillions of alternate versions, of course, and it seems these Vex diligently dispose of those potentialities once a present moment slides chronologically into the past. I've thrown myself into these records—the primary query is in full force.

It seems Humans have retained none of their virtues or diligence, only resilience through violence. Their numbers have radically reduced, only enough to fill a single city. They suffer a supplication of scientific rigor; what inventions have they made? What disease have they cured? Who is BETTER here? Most disappointingly, Humans seem to have forgotten the entirety of their history, and instead of something sensible, went and established a junta.

Earth is a near-total loss. Advanced cities have been replaced over centuries by encroaching overgrowth of native species and the ruin of time. The climate's balance was erased by Warlords. Universal democracy has collapsed into military rule (again, for emphasis, instead of trying to recreate the forms of governance they KNEW existed, they concluded that voting is for elitist braggarts and empowered a JUNTA). The more I see the mistakes humanity made, the more obvious the solutions are… It is clear that during the Collapse, they had nothing but terror, empty of anything other than sheer survival, but how insulting it feels to look at what became of the future and only see frightened and frothing dogs. There are lessons to be learned in their methods, but the result is inelegant and crude.

If these people are to see the future, they must look backwards to what they lost. I now have the means to aid them.

0032 AS

I have tamed the untamable. With practice, and soon with mastery, with a single phrase, I can divert the Vex's sea of iteration and death. Think of the utility! We could retake home, dissolve the walls of the Last City, and let each person decide what home means to them! With targeted hostility, we may clear a path for peace, revive the machines of science and learning once again. Someday, with technology redistributed from Vex to humanity, every need can be met with any simulation. All it will take is an alignment of interests through measured coercion! It's so simple.

And yet, all that must wait. Primary query MUST be concluded—it is the one outstanding variable. There have been too many false positives—none of them are correct. NONE. The query is only turning back facsimiles, trick mirrors. I know I'm right, and I will not stop until the primary query stops pulling from false datasets. I can think of little else. We must look backward. I must look backward. I must. I must.

Genocide. Thousands of civilizations across the universe, all visited by the Black Fleet. All lost to the violence of the final shape. That's where this Echo comes from... that's our theory anyway. Reports from the Pale Heart, readings on the Valence eminanting from the Traveler... everything we faced when we stared down the Witness and broke its fleet. At first, we didn't know what to call them. But Echoes seemed apt. Memories from the victims of the Pyramids, held by the Darkness, then coalesced by the Light into artifacts as sharp and fatal as their pain. If the Darkness is memory, and Light is form... what else could they be?

Osiris: I found no more logs from Dr Esi, but I have used her algorithm to crack the data core of the Vex Conceptual Mind.

Nimbus: That's the doodad we got from the Black Garden, right?

Osiris: Indeed. The data within contained the Vex's blueprints for their artificial Veil: the Black Heart. It all but proved Dr. Esi's theory. Dr Esi theorized that the paracausal energy of the Traveler operated on a quantum wavelength parallel to electrons.

Nimbus: Um... magnets?

Osiris: In simpler terms: the Traveler's power runs parallel to the forces of nature. Gravity, magnetism, sound, light. The Veil does this too. It is synchronized with the Traveler. Wherever the Traveler came from, the Veil may have as well. But what the Vex made, while connected to the Traveler, was inherently flawed. It did not create the link the Witness desired. Instead, it weakened the Traveler, created... "static" in the flow of their cosmic forces.

Legend: The Black Garden

I am Pujari. These are the visions I have had of the Black Garden. The Traveler moved across the face of the iron world. It opened the earth and stitched shut the sky. It made life possible. In these things there is always symmetry. Do you understand? This is not the beginning but it is the reason. The Garden grows in both directions. It grows into tomorrow and yesterday. The red flowers bloom forever. There are gardeners now. They came into the garden in vessels of bronze and they move through the groves in rivers of thought. This is the vision I had when I leapt from the Shores of Time and let myself sink: I walked beneath the blossoms. The light came from ahead and the shadows of the flowers were words. They said things but I will not write them here. At the end of the path grew a flower in the shape of a Ghost. I reached out to pluck it and it cut me with a thorn. I bled and the blood was Light. The Ghost said to me: You are a dead thing made by a dead power in the shape of the dead. All you will ever do is kill. You do not belong here. This is a place of life. The Traveler is life, I said. You are a creature of Darkness. You seek to deceive me. But I looked behind me, down the long slope where the blossoms tumbled in the warm wind and the great trees wept sap like blood or wine, and I felt doubt. When my Ghost raised me from the sea there was a thorn-cut in my left hand and it has not healed since.

Osiris: I've reached the extent of what I can glean from the research data.

Nimbus: What've we got?

Osiris: Less than I'd hoped for. But the last of Chioma Esi's research has led me to an intriguing topic: Ghosts.

Nimbus: Ghosts? As far as I know, Neomuna never had any contact with a Ghost before you all showed up. We knew about them, but...

Osiris: Precisely. Chioma Esi was researching the entanglement of Light and Dark without fully understanding either. Our Ghosts are a link to the Light of the Traveler. Then how was the Witness able to — on numerous occasions — communicate through them?

Nimbus: Is this about the, uh, the magnets thing? The parallel energy fields, right?

Osiris: Very good. In areas of Darkness, the Witness is able to create a link, not unlike what it created with the Veil and the Traveler.

Nimbus: Ah, like the Vex are able to hack into the CloudArk with their tech! It's a parallel connection.

Osiris: And I believe that connection may not be one-sided.

Ghost Fragment

Beyond. It is a place, a place casting shadows and emotion. It's a real place, I know. One hot blue sun, say. And other suns too. Five? I like seven better. What I'm recalling is a giant star with a family of six smaller suns, and you could spend days and nights counting all of the planets circling those suns...except there are no planets. Not anymore. The powers in charge have carved up all of the worlds, and maybe a brown dwarf or two for good measure. With that rubble, they fashioned a topologically creative enclosure, a twisting of space and time sealed behind doors that admit only those who know the magic words. The bones of a hundred planets have been cut smooth and laid out like a floor, a polished and lovely floor creating vast living spaces. A floor bigger than ten thousand worlds, catching the fierce glory of the seven suns. For light, for food. For beauty. And nothing escapes. Not heat, not gravity. Not even the faintest proud sound. It could be anywhere. It can live in the cold between galaxies, or folded up inside matter, near enough to touch right now... I remember it and maybe it's exactly as I describe it. Seven suns wrapped inside magic. Or it's something else entirely, perhaps. A place still fat with life. An abundance of sentient souls, some decent, maybe a few of lesser quality, and everybody stands about or floats about, or they bounce between dimensions. The point is that the residents of this hidden realm live inside a bottle so perfectly hidden that they can't see beyond their own borders. Which shapes a mind in very specific ways. But, Beyond is their name for a mysterious, doubtful realm that they can't see. Which is us, of course.

//COND: Access Archive: Prime Omega

//COND: Asset Query: Pre-Golden Age Music

The city streets are empty now (The lights don't shine no more) And so the songs are way down low (Turning, turning, turning) A sound that flows into my mind (The echoes of the daylight) Of everything that is alive (In my blue world) I turn to stone, when you are gone I turn to stone Turn to stone, when you comin' home? I can't go on The dying embers of the night (A fire that slowly fades till dawn) Still glow upon the wall so bright (Turning, turning, turning) The tired streets that hide away (From here to everywhere they go) Roll past my door into the day In my blue world I turn to stone, when you are gone I turn to stone Turn to stone, when you comin' home? I can't go on Turn to stone, when you are gone I turn to stone Yes, I'm turnin' to stone 'cause you ain't comin' home Why ain't you comin' home If I'm turnin' to stone You've been gone for so long and I can't carry on Yes, I'm turnin', I'm turnin', I'm turnin' to stone The dancing shadows on the wall (The two step in the hall) Are all I've seen since you've been gone (Turning, turning, turning) Through all I sit here and I wait (I turn to stone, I turn to stone) You will return again someday To my blue world I turn to stone, when you are gone I turn to stone Turn to stone, when you comin' home? I can't go on Turn to stone, when you are gone I turn to stone

Welcome to your life There's no turning back Even while we sleep We will find you Acting on your best behaviour Turn your back on mother nature Everybody wants to rule the world It's my own design It's my own remorse Help me to decide Help me make the most Of freedom and of pleasure Nothing ever lasts forever Everybody wants to rule the world There's a room where the light won't find you Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down When they do I'll be right behind you So glad we've almost made it So sad they had to fade it Everybody wants to rule the world I can't stand this indecision Married with a lack of vision Everybody wants to rule the world Say that you'll never never never never need it One headline why believe it? Everybody wants to rule the world All for freedom and for pleasure Nothing ever lasts forever Everybody wants to rule the world

All our times have come Here but now they're gone Seasons don't fear the reaper Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain... we can be like they are Come on baby... don't fear the reaper Baby take my hand... don't fear the reaper We'll be able to fly... don't fear the reaper Baby I'm your man... La la la la la La la la la la Valentine is done Here but now they're gone Romeo and Juliet Are together in eternity... Romeo and Juliet 40,000 men and women everyday... Like Romeo and Juliet 40,000 men and women everyday... Redefine happiness Another 40,000 coming everyday... We can be like they are Come on baby... don't fear the reaper Baby take my hand... don't fear the reaper We'll be able to fly... don't fear the reaper Baby I'm your man... La la la la la La la la la la Love of two is one Here but now they're gone Came the last night of sadness And it was clear she couldn't go on Then the door was open and the wind appeared The candles blew and then disappeared The curtains flew and then he appeared... saying don't be afraid Come on baby... and she had no fear And she ran to him... then they started to fly They looked backward and said goodbye... she had become like they are She had taken his hand... she had become like they are Come on baby... don't fear the reaper

One of your philosophers said, "It is not to be thought that the life of darkness is sunk in misery and lost in sorrow. There is no sorrow. For sorrow is a thing that is swallowed up in death, and death and dying are the very life of the darkness." He was a shoemaker. He was right, and it matters more than anything.

According to him, the visible world is a manifestation of eternal light and eternal darkness, and it is in eternal opposition that eternity has revealed itself. The fall was necessary for creation to escape its first imperfect stasis and seek a truer form. Heresy? Well, then, I am the heresiarch. The philosopher died of a bowel disease. Those who do not exist cannot suffer and are of no account to any viable ethics. If the true path to goodness is the elimination of suffering, then only those who must exist can be allowed to exist. It is the nature of life to favor existence over nonexistence, and to prefer the fertile soil to the poisoned wind. Because those who open their mouths to that wind pass from the world and leave no descendant, whether of flesh or of thought.

But imagine the abomination of a world where nothing can end and no choice can be preferred to any other. Imagine the things that would suffer and never die. Imagine the lies that would flourish without context or corrective. Imagine a world without me.

AIAT

[seaxnymph]

i'm always thinking about her