#quote is a paraphrased passage from The Mote in God's Eye

[longwayhome-laststop]

"YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED," THEY TOLD HIM. "NO ONE CAN."

TO WHICH THE THIEF REPLIED, "I HAVE A YEAR NOW THAT I DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE, AND A LOT OF THINGS CAN HAPPEN IN A YEAR. THE KING MIGHT DIE, THE HORSE MIGHT DIE, I MIGHT DIE... AND WHO KNOWS? MAYBE THE HORSE WILL SING."

[DAY 31]

Given how difficult it's been to find a librarian, I'm hard-pressed to believe that anyone on this planet is literate.

Luckily, I don't actually need the book I'm looking for, although it would be a massive boon to have. Mostly I just needed something to do that's not farming. Plants grow quickly in the outpost, I think that golden flower has something to do with it, so I'm not exactly strapped for food.

I am strapped for air, though—not an entirely unanticipated challenge, but I'm going through respirators much faster than I'd like. Safe places with altitudes low enough to breath comfortably are few and far between... another point deducted from the overworld, another point granted to the strange lush ruins I've made a home in.

The Freydis is still out of range; I've made my own company in the creatures that live up here, though I still don't know their proper names. Cod and Salmon remain, though Salmon now carries the feather of a very large, bright bird I've tamed. (They still have not eaten the fish I gave them.) The small bird does not have a name yet, nor does the large one. I have Bert and Ernie now, who are... clams... I think. They climb the walls and ceilings of the ruins and hide when I get close.

I should probably domesticate animals I can farm, but an underground outpost isn't very conductive toward that. The only creature of any real use at the moment is the large bird, who let me saddle her and takes directions well enough that I'm not afraid to fly with her. I still hate how vast the sky is here, but I have to admit it's a convenient way to travel. There's also no way I would have otherwise found the massive floating island I sit on now—let alone been able to get up to it.

There aren't any librarians up here either, at least not that I've seen, but I don't mind exploring. At least so long as my respirator holds. The whole reason I'm this far outside of the designated area if because I need to find a librarian that has some idea how to make this thing last longer.

Lack of contact from the Freydis has me a bit wired, too. Sent a message yesterday and it bounced. Trying not to think about it. May be that they've already started surveying at the other pole, they'll circle around soon enough.