Comments on: An End to the War and a Friendship http://www.clockpunk.com/2008/an-end-to-the-war-and-a-friendship/ Field Sounds: a podcast of field recordings regarding the research of Dr. Julius T. Roundbottom, steampunk naturalist. Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:04:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Dr. Venitius http://www.clockpunk.com/2008/an-end-to-the-war-and-a-friendship/comment-page-1/#comment-188 Dr. Venitius Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:03:48 +0000 http://www.clockpunk.com/?p=267#comment-188 Aha. I believe I have found the answer to another mystery posed before. If indeed, this totem is an aetheric mind net, as postulated (A mystery, to be certain, as far as I know the field, this is an impossibility.) then the appearance of the Bird Queen's appearance is solved. The simple truth is that the Bird Queen has no appearance, it is the viewer that shapes what he sees. In your case, Professor Roundbottom, it was the massed consciousnesses of the multiple birds that gave it energy and animation, but your own mind that gave it form. The photonic capture you did has further solidified this appearance in the minds of those in the know, and quite likely the Bird Queen will stay in this appearance for all who view her for a very long time, a century at least. This leaves two mysteries. The first may be a bit personal, so I take no offense should you request me to desist in my inquiry, but dear Professor, whom does the Bird Queen resemble to you? And why would you associate this person with birds? This may not even be a conscious association, to use the new-fangled terminology, but for some reason, in the depths of your mind, you chose this form for her. As a personal curiosity, I have to wonder who it is. More tantalizing is this association with the Boggarts. Now common wisdom holds that boggarts are, to be charitable, intelligent as the muck they swim through. I am not alone in this association. However, you find a colony that both has signs of higher thought and this totem. Now, depending on the powers of this aetheric mind net, it is possible that each boggart mind would be working in tandem. Much like a boat full of rowers can archive higher speeds for less effort then a single rower, so perhaps all the simple minds of the boggarts under the influence of this totem, might have worked to increase the intelligence of all. The real test of this postulation will be by observing the birds and the boggarts in the Park. If the boggarts begin to act in a more standard way, while the birds begin to become more and more clever.... well, one had best watch your shiny possessions. A hyper-intelligent magpie might be a thief to be frightened of indeed. One final thought: it is possible that the aetheric mind net might work differently with different species. Certainly, you did not come across a 'Boggart Queen' though this adventure. So it is possible that with birds it focuses their collective into an individual, among boggarts it enhances each individual. What are it's affects upon humans? Certainly the fact that You, Welterschmidt and Miss Watkins worked through the night quite frantically without sleep, yet seemed none the worse for it is a tantalizing detail, though without further study, it is pointless to speculate. Aha. I believe I have found the answer to another mystery posed before. If indeed, this totem is an aetheric mind net, as postulated (A mystery, to be certain, as far as I know the field, this is an impossibility.) then the appearance of the Bird Queen’s appearance is solved. The simple truth is that the Bird Queen has no appearance, it is the viewer that shapes what he sees. In your case, Professor Roundbottom, it was the massed consciousnesses of the multiple birds that gave it energy and animation, but your own mind that gave it form. The photonic capture you did has further solidified this appearance in the minds of those in the know, and quite likely the Bird Queen will stay in this appearance for all who view her for a very long time, a century at least.
This leaves two mysteries. The first may be a bit personal, so I take no offense should you request me to desist in my inquiry, but dear Professor, whom does the Bird Queen resemble to you? And why would you associate this person with birds? This may not even be a conscious association, to use the new-fangled terminology, but for some reason, in the depths of your mind, you chose this form for her. As a personal curiosity, I have to wonder who it is.
More tantalizing is this association with the Boggarts. Now common wisdom holds that boggarts are, to be charitable, intelligent as the muck they swim through. I am not alone in this association. However, you find a colony that both has signs of higher thought and this totem. Now, depending on the powers of this aetheric mind net, it is possible that each boggart mind would be working in tandem. Much like a boat full of rowers can archive higher speeds for less effort then a single rower, so perhaps all the simple minds of the boggarts under the influence of this totem, might have worked to increase the intelligence of all.
The real test of this postulation will be by observing the birds and the boggarts in the Park. If the boggarts begin to act in a more standard way, while the birds begin to become more and more clever…. well, one had best watch your shiny possessions. A hyper-intelligent magpie might be a thief to be frightened of indeed.
One final thought: it is possible that the aetheric mind net might work differently with different species. Certainly, you did not come across a ‘Boggart Queen’ though this adventure. So it is possible that with birds it focuses their collective into an individual, among boggarts it enhances each individual. What are it’s affects upon humans? Certainly the fact that You, Welterschmidt and Miss Watkins worked through the night quite frantically without sleep, yet seemed none the worse for it is a tantalizing detail, though without further study, it is pointless to speculate.

]]> By: Daniel Mortlewood http://www.clockpunk.com/2008/an-end-to-the-war-and-a-friendship/comment-page-1/#comment-187 Daniel Mortlewood Tue, 21 Oct 2008 01:06:26 +0000 http://www.clockpunk.com/?p=267#comment-187 My good Doctor, Congratulations on a successful culmination of your project. I write to you to thank you for your writings here and the influence they've had on me. Once I was convinced of your stories of the Boggarts ability to talk it opened up another world to me. In my local area we've had some trouble with the aboriginal primates. Similar in stance to a human, but possessing none of the spark of sentience that we have. Why they barely have the sense of a common dog. This was the common understanding but keeping your story of the Boggarts in mind I attempted to engage with the animal. Imagine my delight to discover that these creatures have what appears to be a complex language of their own. After a week of visits I was able to speak enough of this "savage's" language to explain my excitment for strange fauna. He coaxed me upstream from the nearby weir and showed me such an amazing sight. Auquatic Puff-Vipers. Water snakes that inhale until their bodies are perfect spheres, then heat from the hot springs and gently lift up into the trees where they wait before dropping down onto their prey. All this would have been moot if not for your fascinating story. Thank you. My good Doctor, Congratulations on a successful culmination of your project.

I write to you to thank you for your writings here and the influence they’ve had on me. Once I was convinced of your stories of the Boggarts ability to talk it opened up another world to me. In my local area we’ve had some trouble with the aboriginal primates. Similar in stance to a human, but possessing none of the spark of sentience that we have. Why they barely have the sense of a common dog.

This was the common understanding but keeping your story of the Boggarts in mind I attempted to engage with the animal. Imagine my delight to discover that these creatures have what appears to be a complex language of their own. After a week of visits I was able to speak enough of this “savage’s” language to explain my excitment for strange fauna. He coaxed me upstream from the nearby weir and showed me such an amazing sight.

Auquatic Puff-Vipers. Water snakes that inhale until their bodies are perfect spheres, then heat from the hot springs and gently lift up into the trees where they wait before dropping down onto their prey.

All this would have been moot if not for your fascinating story. Thank you.

]]> By: Dr. A.M. Acadine http://www.clockpunk.com/2008/an-end-to-the-war-and-a-friendship/comment-page-1/#comment-186 Dr. A.M. Acadine Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:06:34 +0000 http://www.clockpunk.com/?p=267#comment-186 It astounds me that your former colleague did not think to ask the Boggarts and the Birds about this mystery artifact; certainly those who made and use such a device would provide an understanding which his planned dissection of the thing could only offer in part and with great investment of time and effort. Scoundrel aside, your story is a fascinating one, Dr. Roundbottom! It reminds me of a side-investigation to my own work: I have oft hypothesized a kind of collective awareness, facilitated by interaction with human minds, for the hibylik or nightmare-demons of Ottoman Anatolia. Indeed, I have found evidence that altering human consciousness under certain conditions has a profound effect on local hibylik behavior and interaction. Unfortunately I’ve not submitted this work to any journals of merit; while the implications of these experiments have been intriguing, they have not been enough to distract me from my main purpose out here in the wild lands of old Empires. Perhaps, with the revelations of your work behind me, and mayhap even your assistance, I may take a closer look at this particular mystery. I would appreciate any information you have at your disposal which you have not already divulged. Also, while once offended creatures of these sort tend to be much harder to contact, it may still be worth your while to try where your colleague did not: asking both the boggarts and the Bird Queen about this artifact could provide valuable insight into its inner workings, as they are. I understand that you may fear to contact the Bird Queen or the Boggarts again, for your own sake or for the sake of the fragile peace your work has forged, but I urge you not to forget the greater good of science. I cannot imagine where my work would be today if I had let the fear born of my first contacts with this region’s Jinn guide my future investigations I certainly would never have sat down to afternoon tea with a fire-spitting Ifrit and been told that the ring of Solomon, that grand legend, still waits in the Holy Lands for the great minds of men (or, if I may indulge myself, women) to reach out and pluck it from the sands! In short, if I had let fear guide my actions and not the glory of science, I would still be sitting in Constantinople picking fleas from the mattress of a half-rate boarding house from hell. Who knows what still greater adventure the denizens of your park could give you? It astounds me that your former colleague did not think to ask the Boggarts and the Birds about this mystery artifact; certainly those who made and use such a device would provide an understanding which his planned dissection of the thing could only offer in part and with great investment of time and effort. Scoundrel aside, your story is a fascinating one, Dr. Roundbottom! It reminds me of a side-investigation to my own work: I have oft hypothesized a kind of collective awareness, facilitated by interaction with human minds, for the hibylik or nightmare-demons of Ottoman Anatolia. Indeed, I have found evidence that altering human consciousness under certain conditions has a profound effect on local hibylik behavior and interaction. Unfortunately I’ve not submitted this work to any journals of merit; while the implications of these experiments have been intriguing, they have not been enough to distract me from my main purpose out here in the wild lands of old Empires. Perhaps, with the revelations of your work behind me, and mayhap even your assistance, I may take a closer look at this particular mystery. I would appreciate any information you have at your disposal which you have not already divulged. Also, while once offended creatures of these sort tend to be much harder to contact, it may still be worth your while to try where your colleague did not: asking both the boggarts and the Bird Queen about this artifact could provide valuable insight into its inner workings, as they are.

I understand that you may fear to contact the Bird Queen or the Boggarts again, for your own sake or for the sake of the fragile peace your work has forged, but I urge you not to forget the greater good of science. I cannot imagine where my work would be today if I had let the fear born of my first contacts with this region’s Jinn guide my future investigations I certainly would never have sat down to afternoon tea with a fire-spitting Ifrit and been told that the ring of Solomon, that grand legend, still waits in the Holy Lands for the great minds of men (or, if I may indulge myself, women) to reach out and pluck it from the sands! In short, if I had let fear guide my actions and not the glory of science, I would still be sitting in Constantinople picking fleas from the mattress of a half-rate boarding house from hell. Who knows what still greater adventure the denizens of your park could give you?

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