#even less now after thaw of eons

[reginrokkr]

Given that it pertains to an item description from the pre-download, I'll be dumping under cut a brief discussion of it!

"I don't want to be your enemy, nor do I plan to destroy anything... Destruction... is not my end goal. It is not a matter of anyone's desires, but an inevitable conclusion. Embrace IT... You will come to realize that resistance is futile."

This item is related to Dreamless, which is going to appear in the new Somnoire event and it got me seriously thinking back on the 1.0 story. What she says here makes me wonder if it's just about her or also about that ominous moon (I guess this one would take the name of plenilune void?) and how confusing it is based on what happened. Sure, Phorolova awakened all those TDs herself which added a lot to the chaos, but still it does give some food for thought. Moreover, I wonder if Geshu has come across this himself and if it may have to do with his ultimate disappearance (still hoping that he'll make it as a playable character on his own and not... what some people have been theorizing aka Geshu = Scar).

It's also interesting the thought that the Fractsidus know about this and seek to press "human evolution" to guarantee their survival, messed up as it is. In a way it's like they have given up all hope to not reach to that conclusion where all humans need to undergo that evolution in order to survive.

[mynameisdreartblog]

Vacation Resorts 1

Aries: Adare Manor. “Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.” I don’t know who said that, but me makes me wanna act ballistically. «And why do you suspect that phrases like these trigger a response within you?» <Réamoinn pauses for a moment, stretches their arms into the air while using this opportunity to crack their knuckles further.> I honestly don’t know. I know saying ’I don’t know’ is a copout, but… «There’s no such thing as a copout here; this is a therapy session.» Right, right, but I feel like this is highly transactive, and I’m not offering anything of value: There’s “nothin’ in me noggin” as my mum used to say. «Well, just understand that not having the right thoughts available at the pristine moment is a perfectly normal thing in sessions, so don’t beat yourself up over it… However, I will inform you that I only have so much time for a single session of an entire day, so the more time you spend, the more you should ensure that your words are, uh, ‘quality over quantity’ as we say.» [,] <Réamoinn slouches to the side of the therapeutic sofa and begins to do that weird quirk where they jitter randomly: Likely an operative test of the body’s stimulate functions.> «Are you shivering? You look like you’re shivering; are you cold?» Aye, no. A thermostat’s not gonna heal the cold of my heart, doc. «Uh-huh, and what do you mean by the “cold of my heart”?» I thought the simile was obvious, but it basically means that I feel as if my ability to change things by myself has frozen over, and now I need something external to thaw it out of its icy state. «That sounds quite dramatic, so it must be a real detriment for you, I’m guessing.» Oh, you don’t know the extent of it, doc. You feel like a human time-capsule: Absolutely divorced from any power you have in the present to do something about the pit you’re being sucked into, and you have to accept it because there’s literally nothing you can do but wait for time to change your situation. «You know, I think what you’re describing is really applicable to a lot of other people.» I don’t doubt it, aye.

Gemini: Awanjiwo. <Thinking to themselves> I spilt goat’s milk all over my transistor, but it’s not like I needed that anyways: There’s a map of this entire scheme in my head, and it’ll be relevant so long as I keep using it. <A sudden change of psyche emerges> I could’ve given this back to that poor boy I saw earlier who had nothing for entertainment other than rusty cans, dirty footballs, and his flesh and blood companions. That kid could’ve grown to appreciate the internal workings of the radio, and who knows what education he could pursue after that… That kid could’ve became a stellar engineer! He could’ve founded the cure for cancer, mild discomfort, or working in general! No, what I decided to do with my time on Earth was keep something to myself that I never really needed: How will that reflect in eons when I’m gone? I won’t be relevant after that, but it still matters in the moment, right? But why does the ’moment’ matter; what even is the moment? Does anybody else experience the ‘moment’ differently? <A bird comes by to lick up the milk, now spilling onto the cabin floor: Rambling ensues in Truce’s mind as they contemplate why they’re here and what the radio’s dysfunction means for the ripples of the future.> [,] <A distant yelling is heard across the beach, and like that, all of Truce’s tangents cease and they perk their ears towards the sound.> Oi, what the bloody hell was that? <The signals become louder and resemble static more and more, beginning to overstimulate Truce.> Aargh, cut that crap out! Who the goddamn hell is there and why are they loud! <Truce’s hand-radio starts crackling, making them pick it up and inspect it. Suddenly, a rather clear transition comes through.> «Truce! Yes, you: The Truce who just came here from the western tip of Japen Island. Come in… Respond to me! I can see you right through my binoculars.» Then what’s the purpose of using the damn radio? Just yell at me if you’re that close for Christ’s sake. Lord knows you’re not the first stalker I’ve dealt with in my life. Fuck off, will you? […] «I mean regardless, we’re at a plane-crash site not far from where you currently are, so we’re at least worth interacting with, right?.» <Truce sets up a makeshift fire.> Yeah, get back to me before the plastic I melted collapses my lungs. <Truce throws his radio two feet out from him.>

Scorpio: Hanhwa Resort Seorak Sorano. Now, I interact with a lot of weird counselors every day, but the one I remember the best was from last year, and their name was Sonnim: They were short (as far as I’d know compared to my view), they’d always show up at the weirdest times, and they were always bossy but she said she’s like that because “you need to balance prohibited and bad behavior.” She made a big deal out of the most silly things, and I always wanted to say to her that I wasn’t really hurting anyone by doing it, so it’s not really bad. It’s worse because she also punishes me when I do truly hurtful things: She’s consistent! <Juyeon kicks her legs into the air from her spot on the bench, flicking one of her shoes off and narrowly hitting another kid.> It gets worse when I try to talk to her about it: She doesn’t seem to like honesty. <A cohort of red squirrels gather around Juyeon’s position at the recess bench.> Did I mention she’s short? I know my mom told me not to mock people for their height, but boy, she is short. I mean, I’m short even compared to other girls, but I take one glance at her and she makes me feel more confident about myself. <Juyeon kicks her legs into the air a second time, this time her other shoe remains on while the contrast between that and her shoeless foot is still present.> I’m bored… I don’t know, I think I liked it better before when there was less politics in all of it: It was about the raw fun of it all. <One of the squirrels from earlier returns to Juyeon after she kicked up an acorn beneath her feet with acorn in its cheeks: It stares down her contemplative reflection for a solid amount of time before moving onto another site in the playground.> Those weren’t even the worst parts of the whole thing… <Daylight fades and a moody night envelopes the sky: Colors start to glisten intensely as the emotions become stronger.> I don’t think she was even justified despite what she always told me. She was pretty mean all things considered. I remember her saying to me once “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”, and I respond with “I don’t kiss my mom on the lips if that’s what you mean; that’s gross.” <Electricity surges through the landscape which now looks like a mental breakdown visually translated. That one red squirrel from earlier races against the corruption with great finesse: This scene seems to be one of trauma, but that isn’t the case. All that’s there is just profound confusion.>

Capricorn: White Point Beach Resort. I hate just hearing the word “neat” in response to something positively eventful happening in my life, like showcasing the class a odd and interesting fact: “Odd and interesting” being the phrase I ingrained into myself to make me feel better. Just saying the word “neat” provokes an emotional response so barren and dreadful that one might as well not have said anything. There’s no desire to dig deeper into the cave of knowledge presented in front of people, and it’s especially more insulting when you discover that cave for them. I present my work to other people because I want to hear their perspectives too, but not everybody’s inclined to give their own unique perspective: If only they understood how truly irreplaceable and ephemeral it is, then they’d take stronger advantage of it… Back to how much I hate the word “neat”, if I just wanted to hear a word that invokes such a boring and unemotional character, like myself, then I would just recite what I think my character is in a mirror, like myself. What’d be more imaginative is the filler of words you’d usually associate with cussing, also conveniently monosyllabic, like “shit”, “cunt”, “fuck”, or “merde” if you’re feeling poignant. These words imply an insulting quality, but that’s arguably more unique than the thousands of “neats” I hear that become unique in their own collective nature. [,] I have no other emotions besides founded frustration and unfounded frustration, and that’s one painful polarity to define your life by, right? Good thing I don’t do that: Why would I? [,] If you’re gonna ask whether or not I know I sound like an asshole, I do. I think I do, but the subjective values of what makes someone an asshole are flipping my judgment to and fro. [,] I… I’m growing exhausted by all of this: It must be because of my exhaustive personality or the fact that this music is far too energetic for the situation at hand… Perhaps it’s because I camped out in freezing weather last night? No, my body is too resistant to the cold for something like that. [,] Am I in the wrong here? Nah, my students need to understand the value of liberal education through the brutality of its strict twin.

[sciencespies]

Ancient lake discovered under Greenland may be millions of years old, scientists say

https://sciencespies.com/nature/ancient-lake-discovered-under-greenland-may-be-millions-of-years-old-scientists-say/

Ancient lake discovered under Greenland may be millions of years old, scientists say

The remains of a giant, ancient lake have been discovered under Greenland, buried deep below the ice sheet in the northwest of the country and estimated to be hundreds of thousands of years old, if not millions, scientists say.

The huge ‘fossil lake bed’ is a phenomenon the likes of which scientists haven’t seen before in this part of the world, even though we know the colossal Greenland Ice Sheet (the world’s second largest, after Antarctica’s) remains full of mysteries hidden under its frozen lid while shedding mass at an alarming pace.

Last year, scientists reported the discovery of over 50 subglacial lakes beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet: bodies of thawed liquid water trapped between bedrock and the ice sheet overhead.

The new find is of a different nature: an ancient lake basin, long dry and now full of eons of sedimentary infill – loose rock measuring up to 1.2 kilometres (three-quarters of a mile) thick – and then covered by another 1.8 kilometres of ice.

(Columbia University, adapted from Paxman et al., EPSL, 2020)

Above: The lake basin (red outline), fed by ancient streams (blue).

When the lake formed long ago, however, the region would have been free of ice, researchers say, and the basin would have supported a monumental lake with a sprawling surface area of approximately 7,100 square kilometres (2,741 square miles).

That’s about the same size as the combined area of US states Delaware and Rhode Island, and this massive lake would have held around 580 cubic kilometres (139 cubic miles) of water, being fed by a network of at least 18 ancient streams that once existed to the north of the lake bed, flowing into it along a sloping escarpment.

While there’s no way of knowing right now just how ancient this lake is (or if it filled and drained numerous times), we might be able to find out if we could analyse the loose rock material now inside the basin: a giant time capsule of preserved sediment that could give us some clues about the environment of Greenland roughly forever ago.

“This could be an important repository of information, in a landscape that right now is totally concealed and inaccessible,” says lead researcher and glacial geophysicist Guy Paxman from Columbia University.

“If we could get at those sediments, they could tell us when the ice was present or absent.”

The giant lake bed – dubbed ‘Camp Century Basin’, in reference to a nearby historic military research base – was identified via observations from NASA’s Operation IceBridge mission, an airborne survey of the world’s polar regions.

During flights over the Greenland Ice Sheet, the team mapped the subglacial geomorphology under the ice using a range of instruments measuring radar, gravity and magnetic data. The readings revealed the outline of the giant loose mass of sedimentary infill, composed of less dense and less magnetic material than the harder rock surrounding the mass.

It’s possible, the team thinks, that the lake formed in warmer times as a result of bedrock displacement due to a fault line underneath, which is now dormant. Alternatively, glacial erosions might have carved the shape of the basin over time.

In either case, the researchers believe the ancient basin could hold an important sedimentary record, and if we can somehow drill down deep enough to extract and analyse it, it may indicate when the region was ice-free or ice-covered, reveal constraints of the extent of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and offer insights into past climate and environmental conditions in the region.

Whatever secrets those deeply buried rocks can tell us about polar climate change in the ancient past could be vital information for interpreting what’s happening in the world right now.

“We’re working to try and understand how the Greenland ice sheet has behaved in the past,” says Paxman. “It’s important if we want to understand how it will behave in future decades.”

The findings are reported in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

#Nature