Eder Gira Age Survey

Commissioned by the D’ni Museum of Arts and Sciences

Professor Almaron Master Archivist and Groundskeeper

Team Members:

Expedition Leader: DLordofTime, Geologist, Meteorologist, D’ni Linguist Consulting Scientist: Ainia, Environmental Anthropologist, Zoologist, Botanist Consulting Scientist: Deck 15, Interstellar Geologist, Astrophysicist Coordinator and Liaison: Nev’yn, Research Consultant & Cultural Studies Support

April 2012

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Contents Contents ................................................................................................................................... i Ainia: Sunday 3/18/2012 Personal Log ............................................................................ 1 Ainia: Saturday 4/7/2012 Personal Log ........................................................................... 1 Deck 15: Sunday 4/8/2012 Personal Log .......................................................................... 3 Nev’yn: Monday 4/9/2012 Personal Log ........................................................................... 4 Ainia: Tuesday 4/10/2012 Personal Log ........................................................................... 5 Ainia: Friday 4/13/2012 Personal Log .............................................................................. 5 DLordofTime: Friday 4/13/2012 Expedition Log – Geological Survey ......................... 6 Ainia: Saturday 4/14/2012 Personal Log ......................................................................... 8 Ainia: Sunday 4/15/2012 Expedition Log – Fauna Survey ............................................ 8 Ainia: Monday 4/16/2012 Personal Log ......................................................................... 18 Deck 15: Tuesday 4/17/2012 Expedition Log – Astronomical Survey ....................... 24 Ainia: Tuesday 4/17/2012 Expedition Log – Fossil 1 Survey (Supplemental) .......... 24 Ainia: Wednesday 4/18/2012 Confidential Log ............................................................. 24 Ainia: Thursday 4/19/2012 Expedition Log – Flora Survey ........................................ 27 Ainia: Thursday 4/19/2012 Personal Log ...................................................................... 35 Ainia: Friday 4/20/2012 Expedition Log – Cultural Structures Survey .................... 35 Ainia: Saturday 4/21/2012 Personal Log ....................................................................... 47 Ainia: Saturday 4/21/2012 Personal Log ....................................................................... 47 Ainia: Saturday 4/21/2012 Expedition Log – Offsite Survey ....................................... 47 Ainia: Saturday 4/21/2012 Personal Log ....................................................................... 52 Ainia: Sunday 4/22/2012 Personal Log .......................................................................... 58 Ainia: Monday 4/23/2012 Personal Log ......................................................................... 59 Ainia: Tuesday 4/24/2012 Personal Log ......................................................................... 59 Ainia: Wednesday 4/25/2012 Personal Log ................................................................... 59 Ainia: Thursday 4/26/2012 Personal Log ...................................................................... 60 References ........................................................................................................................... 61

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Ainia: Sunday 3/18/2012 Personal Log Made a preliminary trip to Eder Gira earlier today to do a quick assessment of my upcoming work. It looks like the extant flora and fauna for Upper and Lower Gira can be done in a weekend easily. The cultural architecture shouldn’t take long either. However, there is a partially excavated medium-sized fossil in one of the caves of Lower Gira (which I have labeled—imaginatively—Fossil 2) that will need a great deal of work. And then I will need to hike down to the abandoned settlement to finish the cultural/archeological assessment. Altogether, I will need most of the month of April to get this done, I think. The fossil will need delicate work and the hike may take a long while as the trek down from Lower Gira is very steep and looks a bit treacherous. Todo list:

• Get some Butvar and Vinac adhesives for stabilizing Fossil 2 • Stock up on plenty of plaster casting • Schedule a planning meeting with the rest of the team

Ainia: Saturday 4/7/2012 Personal Log Made camp today with the rest of the team. There are four of us this time and so we needed to spread out between the Lower Gira caves behind the waterfalls. The caves make for good shelter, though the waterfalls’ constant noise can be tiresome. We’ll see how well I sleep tonight. For now, we are leaving the second lower cave empty so I can excavate Fossil 2 easily. I hope to get started on that first so we can make that cave available for supplies and analysis work. With so many team members, quarters are getting cramped already. The unearthed fossil was discovered and excavated by the DRC, according to all the information I’ve been able to gather. Unfortunately, once they ran out of funding, they abandoned the dig site here. The bones have been deteriorating since then, most likely from exposure to the air and humidity. I have decided to finish the excavation, documenting as much as I can, and then to pack up the bones in several of our crates. Fortunately, we have plenty of packing material; and even if not, it should be a simple matter to return to the Cavern and get more from the Museum’s storage. We brought plenty of supplies (including the ingredients for my four-alarm green chile stew). Don’t know how she managed it but Deck 15 has scrounged up some nice equipment for herself. It looks like she will stay very busy here.

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Deck 15: Sunday 4/8/2012 Personal Log

Found a nice plateau within a reasonable climb in Upper Gira where I’ve set up my telescope and some supplies. I should have an unobstructed view of the two moons throughout the Gira night. Glad I remembered a flashlight so I can keep it dark while making my observations. The lanterns the others are using in the caves would be problematic with their constant ambient light. I should be able to submit a preliminary report to the Professor after a few nights’ observations.

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I was really lucky to find such a nice Skywatcher ‘scope, and in such good shape too. I’ll keep all that to myself for now, though; what the others don’t know won’t hurt them…

Nev’yn: Monday 4/9/2012 Personal Log

KI mail to Leo and Luna: Hey, guys! I hope everything is going well back there! The base camp is all set up here. Ainia and I have plans of finishing the excavations of the fossil skeleton begun by DRC starting tomorrow or the next day. I have to say being here takes some time getting used to, between the constant “drum” of crashing water from the waterfall and occasional hissing steam of the vents. Still it’s a nice change from the constant hectic motion of surface life, or the stillness of the cavern. I have to say the nights here do give you time to think. Well, anyway...Enough of such ruminations. I’ll get to the point of this message. It occurred to me...Has anyone spoken to NoorMax recently? Is he planning to provide another puzzle/crossword/etc.? Could someone try contacting him if they get time to ask? Otherwise, I’ll do so when I get back this weekend.

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Sorry for the bother! Just thought I’d send a message as much as a reminder for me as anything else...Well, gotta go! Ainia has made chile for dinner from a recipe she picked up from a guy in New Mexico. TtyLaterz!!! -Nev ***End of Log Entry***

Ainia: Tuesday 4/10/2012 Personal Log Got started on excavating Fossil 2 today. Nev’yn volunteered to help—good man! Things are going much more quickly with an extra pair of hands. The bones are pretty fragile and gluing is a tedious job. Luckily, even though the humidity is fairly high here behind the waterfall, the bones are dry. So the Butvar is working nicely for stabilizing the specimens. Once we get all the bones treated and set, we can start wrapping them in plaster and then pack them up in crates. If we’re lucky, we should be done by Friday. In the meanwhile, I should be able to get a start on my other survey duties since the glue and plaster will take a bit of time to dry out. The Professor should be pleased with this addition to the Museum’s specimen collection.

Ainia: Friday 4/13/2012 Personal Log What a relief to have Fossil 2 packed away safely. It will take the whole team several trips to transport everything as we used about 10 crates to get everything safely stored. But it’s a nice feather for the Museum’s cap and a great accomplishment to have preserved the skeleton. It probably would not have survived for more than another year or two exposed to the open air in its state. I’m not sure why there is such a dramatic difference in the condition of the two fossils here. Perhaps the large one is a great deal older and had petrified completely before becoming re-exposed. If the Fossil 2 skeleton is relatively recent, then the premature exposure to air must have initiated or accelerated a deterioration process. Could be related to the temperature, humidity or even acidity of the soil. Lots of factors to investigate. Nev’yn and I finished filling in the excavation site—it looks absolutely pristine! It helped to pour water over everything and smooth it out. Once it dries completely, we can use it for storage and a makeshift lab. A day or two should be long enough, so by the close of the weekend we will finally have more workspace.

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DLordofTime: Friday 4/13/2012 Expedition Log – Geological Survey

KI mail to Professor Almaron: Ok, this Age has proven to be far more interesting than its sister Age, Eder Kemo, mostly due to all the fossils lying about the place. However, that’s not my department. Yet. Anyway, this is a decent sized Age, with two distinct areas: the first being where all the steam vents are (Upper Gira), and the second having all those fossils (Lower Gira). I’ll start with the first, since as I write, the light level is rapidly dropping, and by the time I am done, I’ll need the light from the steam lamps.

Upper Gira This part of Gira is the more volcanically active of the two, containing many high-pressure steam vents, and a river of lava peeking out from the rock. The vents are likely fueled by water from the other part of Gira seeping through the rocks, and collecting in an underground lake, which is then heated by the lava, boiling it, and the steam then worms its way through cracks in the rock, building up immense pressure, before finally blasting out of the vents in regular blasts, a few seconds apart, and lasting about a second.

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The landscape here seems to have been formed in similar ways to the second part of Gira, both the surroundings, and the internal structures. Indeed, it seems that the river originally flowed throughout all of Gira before the third waterfall formed, diverting the water to off of the plateau. The hole through which we can see the lava appears to be a fault of some sort, but definitely a chasm. In fact, it seems similar to what the Stranger found in the Selenitic Age, which Atrus wrote about in his journal for that Age. It makes me wish that Myst still had its library. I would die for the chance to read through those books, and link to Atrus’ original Ages, just for the chance to explore something new. The bridge here may well have been formed naturally, but if it did, it’s one heck of an achievement of nature. If it’s artificial, it’s even more impressive.

Lower Gira Moving on to the second region of Gira, it is substantially more suited to supporting life than the other, due to the presence of liquid water. This comes into Gira from a source beyond what I can see, since even the rocks in the upper pool don’t get me high enough to see over the top. I hate being short. Anyway, this could be some sort of spring, or maybe it’s a river flowing from some other area we can neither see nor access. Whatever the source, it comes down over a small pair of waterfalls, behind which are two caves. These seem likely to have been created by the waterfalls, as we find similar caves back on Terra behind waterfalls. Judging by the size of them, the ledges that form the roofs of the caves are likely to collapse, relatively soon. Of course, this could be tomorrow, or a few hundred years. We’ll never know until it happens. At the bottom of the waterfalls is a small pool, and then a second pair of waterfalls. Behind these are more caves, likely formed under identical circumstances to the upper caves. The tunnels connecting them are likely to be artificial expansions of tiny natural holes formed by water erosion. Like everything D’ni-made, the stonework is flawless. Impossible to differentiate between what is natural and what is not. At the bottom of the second falls, we have a large lake inhabited by Gira Rays. From here, the water flows into a stream, and then down another waterfall, into a lake at the bottom. I won’t dare go down, for fear that I’ll lose my Relto book and get stuck. So, we shan’t know where the water goes next, though it likely goes out beyond the plateau we can access. There is also a separate waterfall feeding directly into Ray Lake from a separate, also unknown source. The intriguing spires around the edges of the plateau are likely to be remnants from a time before the ground level is where it is currently. What is likely to have happened is this: The plateau is mostly flat, and largely composed of softer rock surrounded by harder rock. As the river flows, it erodes away all this softer rock, excavating out the central hole, leaving behind the hard rock, which forms spires. The gaps between said spires would be where the rock was thin enough to allow the

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water to break through, and form other waterfalls. And thus, we have the landscape we see today. The softer rock would likely be composed of volcanic ash and rocks containing iron, giving it its red colour, as we see on Mars. The harder rock would just be these rusty rocks. The dry ground in this part of Gira, the spires, and also the ledges the waterfalls come off from would be hard rock, whilst there is little of this softer rock left, though it may still exist. ***End of Log Entry***

Ainia: Saturday 4/14/2012 Personal Log I’ve been working in bits and pieces all week (between gluing sessions with Fossil 2) on my fauna survey. Had a chance to talk with DLT toward evening and he pointed out to me that there are numerous (perhaps dozens) of mostly-buried Fossil 1 bones throughout the cave complex. Yikes, how in the world did I miss them?? We had a lengthy discussion about whether or not this is a single individual or a graveyard. Since the animal is so enormous, DLT is inclined to think it’s probably an individual and pointed out that particularly if it is a predator, it would have had a huge territory. It’s frustrating that we have yet to find a skull or even a single tooth, which would tell us a great deal about what type of animal it is (was). I also asked him about what this might tell us geologically with the individual bones being so widely scattered both horizontally and vertically. I’m particularly wondering what it might tell us about the geological activity in this area after this creature died. DLT said he will look into this and get back to me. And he suggested that we name Fossil 1 a Pahrahbah, which is D’ni for big beast. Works for me! In the meanwhile, I have a lot of fossil documentation to catch up on. The Pahrahbah is proving more and more enigmatic; I keep finding new data and now have to revise all my old theories (again!). Guess this means the archeological stuff will have to wait. On the bright side, it’s been quite a fruitful weekend so far—and there’s still tomorrow.

Ainia: Sunday 4/15/2012 Expedition Log – Fauna Survey

KI mail to Professor Almaron: Note: Further fauna data will be reported later when I hike to the abandoned settlement to assess the archeological features there. Have assessed the Upper and Lower Gira fauna with results detailed below:

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Gira Ray • Indigenous to Lower Gira, waterfall pool area • Dull purple and brown mottling in daylight • Blue, purple and white bioluminescence in dim light or night • Single central eye • Apathetic to human presence • Population has remained stable at 4 individuals for at least 10 Terran years • Food source unclear (possibly microscopic plant or animal matter in water);

need to take water samples and test

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Forest Hawk • Similar to Terran varieties of hawks • Highly territorial • Spend most of time hunting while soaring on thermals • Population has remained stable at 2 individuals for at least 10 Terran years • Hawk 1 patrols Upper Gira area • Hawk 2 patrols abandoned settlement area

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Gira Fossil 1

• Fossilized remains of extremely large animal scattered throughout Lower

Gira waterfall area • Ribcage and 6 large bones in various states of exposure above ground outside

waterfall cave complex • Numerous minimally exposed bones inside waterfall cave complex • Possibly mammalian or reptilian • Remains appear stable and in good shape (solid, few cracks, little damage

apparent)

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Ribs

• Intact and in-situ, set of 10 (5 pairs) • Partially buried (approx. 80% exposed)

Femur

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• Lower half buried (approx. 50% exposed)

Tibia

• Mostly buried (approx. 5% exposed), only partial (approx. half) upper

extremity exposed

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Pelvis

• Pubis mostly exposed (approx. 90%)

• Ischium mostly exposed (approx. 80%)

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Radius

• Partially buried (approx. 70% exposed)

Scapula

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• Mostly buried (approx. 10% exposed), only tip of inferior angle exposed

Other

• 17 or more located throughout waterfall cave complex • Buried in cave walls, floors, ceilings • Unclear why protrusions are only within caves (none in tunnels or external

cliff faces) • Lower Cave 1: 2 bone protrusions • Lower Cave 2: 3 bone protrusions • Lower Tunnel: none • Upper Room 1: 6 bone protrusions (3 may be part of single bone, perhaps

vertebra) • Upper Tunnel: none • Upper Cave 1: 2 bone protrusions • Upper Cave 2: 2 bone protrusions • Upper Room 2: 4 bone protrusions

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Gira Fossil 2 • Medium-sized (approx. Terran sheep-size) mammalian or reptilian remains in

Lower Cave 1 behind Lower Gira waterfalls • Quadruped, tailless (or tail bones were disintegrated and lost) • Remains in very fragile state, will be unable to assess until stabilized and

transported to climate-controlled laboratory environment

Overall Assessment • Living animal populations remain stable in Upper and Lower Gira areas • Need to investigate food source for Gira Ray • Fossil 1 (Pahrahbah) appears ancient; remains of single animal here; need to

organize research team to unearth and analyze remains; transportation could be problematic because of extreme size of individual bones (how to use linking technology?)

• Fossil 2 stabilized successfully and packed in crates; will be delivered to Museum archives when finished for the weekend.

Concerns • Extreme care must be used with Fossil 2

***End of Log Entry***

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Ainia: Monday 4/16/2012 Personal Log While on the surface after delivering the Fossil 2 crates, did some online research regarding both Gira fossils and stumbled across what appear to be some old DRC records. I’m guessing they used some sounding equipment at one point to document all the large bones of Fossil 1, as it looks like there are sonograms for several of the visible bones, but also for some bones that must still be buried somewhere in the Lower Gira area (perhaps inside the caves). A most fortunate find; it will enable us to plan a future excavation much better.

Most likely the pubis, part of the animal’s pelvis, which can be viewed near the exposed ribcage.

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Most likely a femur/tibia-like leg bone. One of these bones is about half exposed by the pool, the other is nearly completely buried nearby.

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A series of vertebrae, all still completely buried somewhere in Lower Gira.

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Most likely the ilium, the third pelvic bone; still completely buried somewhere in Lower Gira.

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Most likely a scapula, nearly completely buried by the pool; only part of the pointed tip is exposed.

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Yoiks! Almost missed this sonogram as it seems to have been scrapped, possibly because the exposure doesn’t appear to have developed properly. But it’s marked as “pelvis—300m??” on the back, which means I’ll have to revise all my previous sonogram labels, as well as my assessments of the Fossil 1 bones. This certainly doesn’t resemble any Terran pelvis I’ve ever seen. And if I’m reading the inscription correctly, it is absolutely huge! I suppose the size might explain the problem with the exposure/development… Plus, if it really is 300 meters tall, then where in the heck could it possibly be buried?? It’s hard for me to even begin to imagine its true size. I have never seen a pelvis that looks even remotely like this before! The Pahrahbah must have been one really bizarre looking animal. I suppose we can start watching for fossilized footprint impressions up here, though they would probably so huge, we might not even recognize them as such. Guess this means I’d best survey for this from as high up as I can climb. I’ve scaled the steam tower in the past and remember the view from up there to be incredible, so that’s a good place to start, I suppose. Vertigo, here I come!

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Deck 15: Tuesday 4/17/2012 Expedition Log – Astronomical Survey

KI mail to Professor Almaron: TBD ***End of Log Entry***

Ainia: Tuesday 4/17/2012 Expedition Log – Fossil 1 Survey (Supplemental)

KI mail to Professor Almaron: Just a quick KI note to you, Professor. All theories and bets are off regarding my prior assessment of Fossil 1. The names and functions of all bones likely will have to be revamped completely after we are able to excavate and study all of the specimens. I’ve found some old DRC images that imply we have found only the smallest bones from the skeletal remains thus far! If I’m interpreting the DRC notes correctly, then the pelvis alone was 300 meters tall. So this would have been an incredibly enormous creature. ***End of Log Entry***

Ainia: Tuesday 4/17/2012 Personal Log Sent a quick KI mail to the Professor explaining the latest discoveries regarding the Pahrahbah. Hope he doesn’t see me as a complete fool for all my prior theorizing. Oh well, that’s all in the past now. Managed to climb up the steam tower today and got a couple good photos of Upper and Lower Gira from there. Unfortunately, it looks like the erosion has been so dramatic throughout that there’s not much hope for finding any complete or even partial fossilized footprints for the Pahrahbah. A pity really, as that would have provided some vital information about this animal. Note to self: Is it possible the pelvis sonogram is for a completely different creature? If not, it’s almost impossible to develop any sensible construction for all of the bones we’ve found thus far. If so, things would make a bit more sense, with all but the 300m pelvis belonging to a single smaller animal… Guess there’s no use in fretting over things. Gotta move on and get the rest of my work done. I’m falling behind.

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Looking toward Upper Gira from the top of the steam tower.

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Looking toward Lower Gira from the top of the steam tower.

Ainia: Wednesday 4/18/2012 Confidential Log

KI mail to Nev’yn: Found more of those artifacts. As before, I won’t include them in my report to the Professor and won’t mention them to the other team members.

Artifact Type 1 • 2 in Upper Gira, above Nexus link-in site and above lava pit • 1 in Lower Gira, in upper waterfall cave

Artifact Type 2 • 1 in Lower Gira, by Gira Ray pool

Artifact Type 3 • None found

Artifact Type 4 • 1 in Lower Gira, near lower waterfall

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***End of Log Entry***

Ainia: Thursday 4/19/2012 Expedition Log – Flora Survey

KI mail to Professor Almaron: Note: Further flora data will be reported later when I hike to the abandoned settlement to assess the archeological features there. Have assessed the Upper and Lower Gira flora and have documented at least 8 species of plants here. Results are detailed below:

Caloe Gira • Grows in Upper and Lower Gira • Hardy succulent with double-layered radiating leaves • Long slender leaves are bright green with central pale green striping, curling

toward ends • Center appears to be a single primitive blossom, a bit similar to Terran

passion flowers

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Urn Shroom • Grows only in Upper Gira • Large, thick urn-shaped clinging plant, pale mottled coloring similar to Gira

clay and cliff colors (pale pinks, oranges, and yellows), with striping around orifice

• Tends to cluster on vertical faces • Possibly carnivorous, narrow internal neck always exposed horizontally

(possibly a lure for insects or small animals?) • See whether it’s feasible to collect a small specimen and study in greater

depth

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Gira Prayer Plant • Grows in Upper and Lower Gira • Very similar in appearance to Terran variety with oval leaves, red veining,

distinctive leaf pattern • Appearance differs from Terran in that all plants radiate a single layer of 6

leaves; leaves alternate coloring between pale green with interior dark green patch and central pale stripe, and dark green with central pale stripe; random brown mottling on leaves (blight? scorching?); leaves do not open/close with changes in light levels

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Thorny Vine • Grows only in Upper Gira • Thick woody pale green vines originate from high elevations and trail

downward • Extremely long and sharp spines enable plant to cling tenaciously to sheer

rock faces

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Cliff Grass • Grows in Upper and Lower Gira • Tall vertical clustering grass or thin reed, pale yellow-green • Very thin elongate reed-like leaves • Grows only on cliff faces

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Grass • Grows in Upper and Lower Gira • Very similar to Terran varieties • Medium to dark green in color, thinly clustered, tall elongate leaves • Grows in patches by itself or near Caloe Gira and Gira Prayer Plant

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Lichen • Grows only in Lower Gira • Grows on rock faces in humid areas • Frequently grows alongside Grass and Gira Prayer Plant

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Gira Baobab • Grows only in forested lower elevations, beyond Gira proper • Tall with flat horizontal branches and leaf clusters, medium to pale green

leaves • Will assess in more detail during hike to abandoned settlement

Overall Assessment • Most plant species thrive in both Upper and Lower Gira with only a very few

preferring one zone or the other • All are well-adapted to desert-like climates • Unclear how isolated this set of life zones may be; views from the cliffs imply

this is an isolated high-elevation area and that much of the remainder of this Age is a temperate forested zone.

Concerns • None

***End of Log Entry***

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Ainia: Thursday 4/19/2012 Personal Log Another long but rewarding day. There are many curious aspects to the flora here. I’m suspicious that the Urn Shroom is carnivorous, though in peering through the narrow neck, I see no spikes or hairs to prevent an insect or animal from crawling back out. I am very curious to examine the interior but am ambivalent about causing harm to one of the plants. Although the life forms here appear resilient in this harsh environment, this life zone is extremely small. I would not want to risk causing unintentional harm to the delicate balance…

Ainia: Friday 4/20/2012 Expedition Log – Cultural Structures Survey

KI mail to Professor Almaron: Note: Further cultural data will be reported later when I hike to the abandoned settlement to assess the archeological features there. Have assessed the various cultural structures within Upper and Lower Gira with results detailed below:

Upper Gira

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D’ni Linking Book and Pedestal

• D’ni-made carved stone pedestal in Upper Gira, using Kemo native stone, with contrasting bands of stonework from an unknown source

• Houses the Nexus linking book for this Age • Note: Book and pedestal are in an unprotected area, presumably because this

part of Gira receives no rainfall or inclement weather

Steam Vents

• 6 native-made wood movable vent covers • Use wooden pegs and stripped bark fiber (cane?) as fastenings • Unclear if materials are native (but is highly likely); will need to check later

during hike to village • Simple mechanical interface • Dimensions cover the natural steam vent which is powered by the

lava/volcanic activity in the area • Vents appear to be interconnected with an underground network, as closing

off any one steam vent increases the pressure at the other vents

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Steam Tower

• Native-made housing carved directly into Upper Gira native rock tower, enhanced with rounded wooden roof and round carved stone roof cap

• Three extending antennae, purpose unclear (but possibly to vent excess heat/steam)

• Incoming heat/steam through five large wood bark pipes extending upward from lower lava flow

• Outgoing heat/steam path unclear (possibly buried) but presumably goes to steam lamps in Lower Gira

• Steam tower purpose unclear overall, but possibly regulates outgoing energy flow, channeling it to Lower Gira and settlement as needed

• Bark pipes appear extremely heat resistant and flexible; shorter wooden bands used to seal and interconnect pipe lengths

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Guard Rails

• Native-made series of 7 interconnected stone and wood structures forming a guard rail along cliff edge

• Polished and carved native stone pedestals surmounted by columnar native wood housings topped with antennae

• Columnar wood housings possibly are repurposed steam lamps (excess or broken)

• Interconnected by flexible wooden poles • Purpose of antennae unclear (purely decorative?)

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Lower Gira

Archway

• Native-made series of 6 oblong native stone towers carved and enhanced with native wooden fixtures with antennae and interconnected with flexible poles

• Materials identical to those used in Upper Gira guard rails • Columnar wood housings identical in design and size to those used in Upper

Gira guard rails • Columnar wood housings possibly are repurposed steam lamps (excess or

broken) • Purpose of structures unclear (purely decorative?)

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Kemo Linking Book and Structures

• Link-out structure: Native-made series of 5 carved oblong native stone towers (3 tall, 2 short), retaining wall and flooring; enhanced with native wooden fixtures with antennae and interconnected with flexible poles; native wood plank flooring and back wall fastened with wooden pegs; D’ni-made linking book pedestal constructed from repurposed steam lamp parts; houses Kemo linking book

• Link-in structure: Native-made series of 4 oblong native stone towers carved and enhanced with native wooden fixtures topped with antennae and interconnected with flexible poles; link-in location from Kemo

• Materials identical to those used in Upper Gira guard rails and Lower Gira archway

• Columnar wood housings identical in design and size to those used in Upper Gira guard rails and Lower Gira archway

• Columnar wooden housings possibly are repurposed steam lamps (excess or broken)

• Note: Book and pedestal are in an unprotected area, presumably because this part of Gira receives no rainfall or inclement weather

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Steam Lamps

• Native-made series of 4 lamps throughout waterfall cave complex, controlled by push button atop wood housing

• Native wood plank base surrounding columnar wood housing topped with steam vent antenna

• Powered via underground conduits from steam tower in Upper Gira (presumed)

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Spare Parts

• Native-made spare parts scattered throughout waterfall caves • Includes columnar wood housings, steam vent antennae for steam lamps, rope,

hexagonal basket-like structures (use unknown)

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Gateway

• Native-made wood plank gateway leading to upper-level waterfall caves • Controlled by wooden lever mechanism • Planks fastened with wooden pegs

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Maintainer Marker

• D’ni-made raised steel fixture with amber glass cover surmounted by bronze fittings/Maintainer symbol

• Located in first upper-level cave in Lower Gira • Establishes GZ linking coordinates for Age of Eder Gira

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Beyond Gira

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Abandoned Settlement

• Viewed from a distance, settlement appears to consist of adobe-like constructions, displaying similar stylistic elements to native-made structures in Upper and Lower Gira: rounded shapes, long antennae at tops

• Further data and assessment will be possible later when the settlement is visited

Overall Assessment • Only two structures here appear D’ni in design, the Nexus book pedestal and

the Maintainer marker • All other structures appear native-made with some being repurposed later by

the D’ni for their own needs • Cannot find any conduits exiting the steam tower, so it’s unclear how and

where the harvested energy is being used; since it’s fairly likely that this is how the steam lamps are powered, the conduits must be buried somewhere

• Need to investigate whether a steam pipeline exists between Upper/Lower Gira and the settlement below

• Flexible poles and antennae are hollow and appear to be from bamboo-like plant; need to take samples and compare with Kemo bamboo

• Lower Gira possibly an ancient paleontological site containing naturally unearthed fossilized remains of extinct fauna; unclear whether fossilized remains were moved and/or used by the natives for ceremonial or other purposes, or if the remains are in-situ (location of ribcage is suggestive of the former)

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Concerns • None

***End of Log Entry***

Ainia: Saturday 4/21/2012 Personal Log It’s the big weekend. Had to make a quick trip back to the surface late yesterday, so didn’t get back until late last night. But I slept well in my Lower Gira cot and feel rested and ready for the trip. Had a quick breakfast with the others before starting the long hike to the old village down below. Double-checked my KI functionality with the other team members and agreed to check in with them every two hours. If they don’t hear from me, they will know to start a search party. Climbing down from the steep cliff faces that separate the volcanic areas of Gira from its forests, I dropped my camera. I’d thought it was secured in my backpack, but apparently the storage pocket ripped open when the backpack got caught on a sharp rock outcropping. I’m now at the bottom of the cliff safely, but my camera is lost and probably irreparably damaged anyway. I’ll have to take pictures with my KI in the meanwhile but don’t have that much space left in its memory. I will have to try my hand at drawing much of what I find since I can’t afford to lose my only means of communication. In the past, I’ve had my KI simply stop working if the memory got overloaded. I will inform the rest of the team of my status and then get started on the long hike through the forest toward the settlement.

Ainia: Saturday 4/21/2012 Personal Log Have been traveling through a dense forest, finding much unexpected flora and fauna along the way. I was able to get a few decent pictures with my KI but the last picture did something odd to the background, so I will have to play it safe and start drawing important finds by hand. I’m worried that the KI is nearing its memory limits and will continue having trouble taking photographs. At all costs, I need to preserve the ability to communicate with my team and to send KI mail to the Professor. Thankfully, I came prepared with some extra paper and several pencils and pens.

Ainia: Saturday 4/21/2012 Expedition Log – Offsite Survey

KI mail to Professor Almaron: Note: This report is highly abbreviated as I am now forced to take most notes by hand and to hand draw most illustrations. This is because my KI is nearing its memory limit and so I must be conservative to save resources. Have hiked to the abandoned settlement and assessed flora, fauna and archeological aspects with results detailed below:

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Flora

Gira Baobab

• Very similar to Terran varieties, with thick trunks and spindly branches; flat horizontal branches and leaf clusters

• Some extremely aged trees are hollow, offering potential shelter to other varieties of plant and animal life

• 50+’ in height • Strong candidate for wood used in Upper and Lower Gira structures (need to

collect samples for later analysis and comparison)

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Gira Maple Bush

• Leaf very similar to Terran maples, with 5 serrated lobes, large veins and deep green coloring

• Low-growing bush, preferring shade to open sunlight • No blossoms observed

Gira Moss

• Very similar to Terran varieties, low-growing, bright green, spongy, prefers shade to open sun

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Fauna

Tall Tree Creature

• Co-present with Gira Baobabs • Distinctive fin structure on head and back, with raised head crest • Four arms, two legs, wing-like protuberances from upper shoulders • Mottled dark grey/white back, head, limbs, lighter grey face and underside • Legs appear fused with very old Gira Baobab trunk and root system • Unclear if this is a symbiotic relationship or if this creature has evolved a

Baobab-like lower body • Possibly intelligent, though am unable to communicate with it • Speaks in a variety of grunts and chirps • Seems non-threatening, though not necessarily friendly • Creature can move limbs but not “walk”

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Overall Assessment • Entirely new varieties of life here in lower elevations • Damp and temperate environments (forest and swamp) • Some surprising similarities to Terran life forms • Some dramatic differences from Terran life forms

Concerns • None (will reassess later)

***End of Log Entry***

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Ainia: Saturday 4/21/2012 Personal Log The boundaries between flora and fauna are getting blurrier and blurrier here. There are two tree-like creatures I’ve encountered. I was only able to get a KI photo of one of them before the KI started acting up. I’ve made a drawing of the other.

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The Squat Tree Creature is much shorter than the other and has no visible limbs at all. Only the sunken face makes it clear that this is more fauna than flora. It is much less animated than its cousin; the only discernible movement is in the face. Its eyes are quite active; but so far, it remains silent. It’s hard to tell if it even has a mouth. Had to pass through a swampy area in approaching the village. Not sure what kind of plants these really are. They show characteristics of trees (trunks, branches) and fungi (spongy, bulbous shapes). Really quite amazing and enigmatic. Used some green lichen and dirt to add color to the drawing; not sure how well it worked out, though. Think I’ll keep things simple in future drawings; I need to aim for speed rather than beauty. I’ve already spent several hours drawing the Squat Tree Creature and these swamp plants, plus writing up my notes by hand.

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One of the swamp denizens. This fellow seems a combination of both insect and frog, having four spindly front legs and two enormous hind legs. Can’t think of a good name for him just yet… I’m sure DLT will think of something appropriate in D’ni.

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The Manta Bird, a strange bird-like creature (note the Mantis-like front claws). Calling it a bird may be something of a misnomer since there are no apparent wings; but its feet and beak are very bird-like. It has a similar horned crest and spine fins as the Tall Tree Creature. I wonder what adaptive advantage they offer.

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A variety of bizarre and fascinating insects lives here in the swamp. The Clawed Worm seems to be quite an efficient hunter. Its claws are particularly well-suited for capturing its favored prey, the Colorpillar, with the Colorpillar’s elongated crest being an easy grab for the Worm’s long claws.

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I’ve finally arrived. As it appeared from a distance, the abandoned village uses the same designs and technology we see at the steam harvesting areas in Upper and Lower Gira. Similar steam lamps can be found everywhere here. The preference for round buildings, dome roofs and planked wood is here too. The long antennae are graceful but still enigmatic. Their use is clear with the steam lamps but with most other structures, they still appear decorative, just as in Upper and Lower Gira. Rather than mud bricks, the dwellings are made from cut stone blocks overlaid with a white mud plaster. Even the wood roof planks are whitened. I am guessing that the stones were quarried from one of the many sheer landforms nearby. The village itself is in a relatively open area just beyond the swamp. Although I still have found no actual conduits, it seems most likely that the power resources here

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are piped directly from the Upper Gira steam tower. Very odd how I have been unable to find anything beyond the bark pipework leading from the lava power source up to the steam tower itself. Altogether, it’s taken me two Gira days (20 hours) to get this far (punctuated with observations of the local wildlife, taking flora/fauna/soil samples, my written notes and illustrations, several rest breaks and a few long naps). I will need to eat and thoroughly rest up in order to tackle the exploration and documentation of the entire settlement. This village appeared deceptively small from a distance. I’m debating about heading back to Relto and base camp or staying here. I’d really rather not repeat today’s long hike tomorrow morning… A settlement linking book would be very handy, though at this point is a hopeless pipe dream.

Ainia: Sunday 4/22/2012 Personal Log Decided to camp out here in one of the old dwellings. They are actually quite cozy and the steam lamps generate a comfortable level of heat. I awoke nicely rested and had a quick breakfast. I decided to start with an overall survey and tally of the buildings. After a brief walk, I’d counted a dozen buildings of varying sizes in the immediate settlement area and found a footpath leading toward the cliffs. Following the path, I found several work buildings, apparently intended for shaping and polishing the stone blocks quarried from a nearby cliff face. So it would appear that the natives might have built their settlement purposely near to the quarry. This particular cliff appears to have a very large deposit of this particular rock, which is similar in color and texture to the dark reddish cliffs in Upper and Lower Gira. The upper layers of the cliffs that we can see readily from Lower Gira are more of a chalky grey color and consistency. I’m hypothesizing that the chalky rock was used for the whitewash finish we see in the completed buildings. I suppose this would keep the buildings cooler, as the darker stone they build with would probably get quite hot during the day. I’ve harvested samples of both the quarried rock and the chalky layer for DLT’s analysis later, since he expressed a keen interest in studying this geology. Who knows, maybe my last status KI message will encourage him to make the hike down here and join me? If not, at least I won’t have to pack the samples very far. I do love my Relto book. Anyway, after examining the quarry and work buildings, I followed a network of footpaths. I found a few isolated huts but overall it seemed to be a honeycomb of trails, though several paths eventually wandered back to the settlement itself. So perhaps these footpaths were used to hunt and gather food? Perhaps the huts were used by herders? This might explain all the wandering trails—perhaps they were grazing paths used by the natives’ version of sheep or cattle. It wouldn’t be surprising if the villagers domesticated some of the wildlife… Between the forests, swamp area and cliff grasslands, I’m sure they had a wide variety of plants and animals to provide sustenance. As the sunlight began to dim, I headed back to the settlement and found things here inexplicably eerie. Very different from last night when I arrived and settled in for a

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good rest. Walking through the village itself, I kept thinking I saw things moving in the shadows. Whenever I would turn my head, there was nothing there, but it kept happening over and over. It feels kinda creepy, almost as though the ghosts of the villagers know I’m here and aren’t sure if they like my presence. Enough of this, I need to eat some dinner and then get some sleep.

Ainia: Monday 4/23/2012 Personal Log Got a KI message from DLT this morning saying he won’t be able to join me here. Apparently Nev’yn has disappeared. It sounds like DLT and Deck 15 assumed he’d headed back to the Cavern to talk to the Professor or perhaps to take care of some Messenger business. But they haven’t been able to raise him via KI or find him in the Cavern. And nobody they talked to in the Cavern had seen him. Apparently Professor Almaron hasn’t heard from him recently either. So the two of them are mounting a search of Upper and Lower Gira just in case he fell and got injured. This is worrisome news. I’ll keep an eye out for him here just in case he decided to hike down to join me. I suppose he might be having KI troubles too. Knock on wood, but so far mine still is working, though I continue to worry about the memory limits. I wonder, though, if I should call off the settlement survey and help with the search for Nev’yn. If he’s been hurt, then time would be of the essence… And I’m getting the shivers just thinking about those ghostly shadows last night, wondering if they were trying to warn me about Nev’yn in some way. Maybe he really is lost or injured. Ok, better safe than sorry. This settlement isn’t going anywhere and can be studied later. I’m heading back toward camp to help with the search. I’ll go ahead and hike back via a more roundabout path so I can search the forests and swamps more thoroughly for Nev. Guess I’ll be packing out DLT’s rock samples after all. Oh well.

Ainia: Tuesday 4/24/2012 Personal Log Been staying in touch with DLT and Deck 15 all day but no news yet on Nev’yn. They know I’m taking a longer route back just in case Nev’yn climbed down here and got lost. I’ll try to collect a few more plant and soil samples on my way back, though will leave our “plantimals” alone (the Tall and Squat Tree Creatures). I’ve run into a few more of each type in all my wanderings down here. They don’t seem to mind my shouting Nev’yn’s name, which is something of a relief. I have no idea what I’d do if I triggered some sort of hostile response from them. Think I’ll bed down for the night in one of the hollow Gira Baobabs. Hope there aren’t any nasty nocturnal creatures that bite or go bump in the night.

Ainia: Wednesday 4/25/2012 Personal Log Couldn’t find any sign of Nev’yn in the forests or swamps, so climbed back up the cliffs into Lower Gira. DLT and Deck 15 are nowhere to be seen, so I presume they

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still are searching elsewhere for Nev. However, they aren’t answering their KIs either… The waterfall caves still are filled with all our gear and specimens, so they haven’t yet broken camp. Not sure what I should do next, though it’s probably best to wait here for a while and see if they return.

Ainia: Thursday 4/26/2012 Personal Log All three arrived back here at camp just in time for breakfast. Turns out that Nev’yn found an underground cave complex filled with more fossils and native artifacts. Apparently something in the cave walls blocks out KI signals. Understandably, Nev’yn didn’t realize his messages weren’t reaching us; and he got so absorbed in what he’d found that he lost all track of time. Nevertheless, he gave us (at least me) quite a fright. I’m glad he’s back and am eager to see these caves for myself. However, chances are good that we will simply need to plan a future expedition for a longer period of time and with a much larger crew. We now have three big projects to deal with here, the Pahrahbah excavation, the lower settlement survey and now the exploration and documentation of this cave complex. I can only suppose that the Professor will be as excited by this as we are. Perhaps he will decide to come see things for himself.

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References • Chiso: http://chiso.uruslasthope.com/ • Dahtamnay’s Flickr web pages:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dahtamnay/3769597988/sizes/m/in/photostream/

• D’ni Zoological Society: http://www.explorerslodge.org/ • Guild of Cartographers: http://cates-associates.net/uru/ • Melinda Rose’s web pages: http://www.melinda3d.com/ • MystLore: http://en.mystlore.com/wiki/Main_Page • Stephan Martiniere’s web pages: http://www.martiniere.com/

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