The acolyte wanders down the long stairways. She has just left her cell, overcome with a need stemming from a whole afternoon of observation. She was watching a creature, a being, a living organism, but try as she might she could not unlock it's secrets, they were hidden to her.
As every apprentice name-mage knows, the key to unlock the secrets of every organism is two words. Sometimes one word from a set is used in another set, but never the same two as any other set (unless, of course, some mage made a mistake in the past, discovery of which requires a revision of the scripture). These two words are set in writing along with descriptive components, sometimes the langua franca, sometimes in obscure tongues. The name mage must decipher these, find the appropriate words and components, and direct the key at the lock, so to say.
Not that this is an easy process. If the spell fails, it might simply fizzle, or might explode in unknown dangers. Such is the nature of what the name-mages call "bad taxonomy". But if the spell is right, then great understanding comes, the knowledge of all other parts of the picture, ideas, past and present, the myriad writings of thousands of long dead sorcerers. All the secrets of the creature are laid bare, and more deeper secrets can be sought.
She walks quietly. This is a church, after all. It was built long ago by the shamans, by the saints, tall gothic ceilings and heavy stone needed to contain knowledge. Somehow it survived the apocalypse, when the Scala Naturae disintegrated and the whole world was in chaos. But you know what happened next, I don't really need to say it. Darwin and others planted the Tree of Life, constantly changing and growing and branches dying making it more like a bush than a tree, but still it lived, held up the Temple of Nature, stronger even than the Scala had ever. Because, how could a crystaline lattice be stronger than a living support, changing, growing, a homeostatic system which constantly readjusts to changes in the temple...but I digress.
The acolyte is looking for a metaphysical identity to place on her creature of study. I say metaphysical, but you and I both know these things have weight, they weight more in our mind and on our understanding than the Sun and the Planets weigh on Newton's (blessed be his name) elipses. Names are powerful, they CREATE the world differently to our senses. And without a name, there is no key, no way to unlock the secrets, the great seeds within the archives of Knowledge.
She pauses by a door marked (Syrphidae: Insecta), and enters into a small dark room with shelves lining the walls, crammed to the ceilings with tomes, parchment, scrolls, boxes, vials, bottles and various tools. It's been a while since another person came down here, the shelves disorganized and dirty. Most workers just shove the scriptures in back where they found them, or worse, randomly, without any sense of order. With her robes rolled up she sets to work cleaning, just to get enough order so she can find what she's looking for, a particular document....dust fills the air.
Hours pass. The Acolyte has no idea how much time has gone by, she is so intensely in her work. The shelves are almost neat, cleaner, and closer (she thinks) to mirroring The Tree. She gazes around, eyes blurry, and finds the section holding the piece of interest. The shelf is almost empty, unused for lack of workers. By her estimation, it has been at least 30 years since someone worked directly from this shelf.
And there it is. She pulls it out, blows the remaining dust from the cover, and reads
A Revision of the North American Callicera, 1980, Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash.
Having reached her goal, it is completely understandable that everything else is forgotten. Never mind what more of organizing could be done, THIS is the most important thing at the moment. She runs up the stairs, back to her cell, back to the object of study, the lock needing a key. The acolyte opens the volume, reading the spells, viewing the components drawings. This spellbook is blessfully well written. Some mages were not so kind, making a sloppy job of it, adding poor component descriptions and few or no drawings. She chuckles to herself; could it really be that easy? The name, the RIGHT name, was right there, plainly written above excellent guidelines. The author had probed deeply and dissolved so much falsehood, he had worked those shelves to the edge of his limits.
The acolyte smiled, looked at her creature one last time, and spoke the words.
I have to definatly read this again when I get back home ..
I like your style of writing, it has a nice structure
I love this one.
Gives fantastic imagery. In my mind I see a scientist superimposed upon a wizard. Everything described in this way flickers back and forth between the two forms. A table covered in parchment, alchemical supplies and a crystal ball shifts seamlessly into a desk scattered with files, with lab equipment set up next to a laptop. It's beautiful.
As a further note, this was essentially my afternoon yesterday.
With a few liberties. :wink:
Hey Kai,
I finally had time to read your entire series up to now, and I must say that I've enjoyed it immensely.
This one, especially, has a really great feel and contains a lot of emotion.
Please consider bundling and pamphleting.
Love this one. I can feel myself there with you.
Bump, because this is going to be the basis of my NaNoWritMo. They say write what you know, so....
In this version of the world/universe, Names have power. The ancients knew it, it's a long standing thing. Aristotle wrote of it in detail. But, Names are tricky. They have to actually be Bound to something in a universal way and based around actual knowledge of the thing. Names of individuals are pretty much impossible to work with. But Names of species are within the realm of possibility.
In this world, Linnaeus is looked upon as almost a demigod like figure due to his figuring out the solution: the creation of universal names, Binomial Nomenclature. The universal Binding meant that the names could be used over time. After 200 years there were many Naming Universities, which are very much like natural history museums. Taxonomy had become extremely important, since species are constantly changing (Darwin, a great Namer himself, and Wallace, figured this out). You not only needed to know how to Bind, but to Unbind names so that groups could be revised. And you needed taxonomist scholars to do this.
There's also the practical sense of Naming, which is called Guiding. It's not quite control, more like suggestion. By using the name in combination with intent, Guiding could attract, repel, and suggest organisms into growing or behaving a certain way. I should add, all of this is not treated as mysticism, but as a science, though not all the fundamentals are understood. One could talk about how to Bind a Name with description to a particular species, how to determine the Name of species that an individual belongs to via knowledge and practice, how to Guide organisms with intent and words and Names, and it was all very organized despite not knowing how the fundamental physical interactions made it so. Science had also progressed, and technology was about at 1980s stage, but that doesn't mean that what Naming was doing was understood. And technology and Naming are not at odds. Governments are of course very interested. Thank Linnaeus that the name for the human species is incredibly complicated and difficult to Guide, and that only a few are skilled enough to do this on a very local level. But biological warfare is a distinct possibility, and has been used in the past.
So, in this world you have the Heroine, who something like a PhD student at a Naming University, pretty much a natural history institution. And she's working on Binding and Unbinding, and very much a taxonomist and entomologist, focusing on Syrphid flies. Part of the conflict I think is going to be based around the "megafauna bias", and her proving her worth, maybe some Old Order vs New Order, maybe some romance, probably not fulfilled romance. Overall, just a story about an insect taxonomist grad student in a world where Names hold power.
This is great! November's gonna be insane :lol:
a short 4pm blurb prior to A return to the '69 ChemicaL tail's
Top StORy | see time stamp | Leader Killed : today
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on November 01, 2013, 01:49:56 PM
This is great! November's gonna be insane :lol:
1980s stage/ad351/Carolus-Linnaeus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Linnaeus
May 18th 1980 began a time span referred to by the LiBraLL press as IRAN/contra
& by me as I'con/E.ron / the 5. Eruption of Mt. St. Helen'$ | {believe what U want |
tbc IN #ed{FFA500| CARLers |Much Later}
while the FFA500 opertunity exists a broader time frame & A Lib ref
i'LL call it the offing interval for lack of a proper phrase
Began in April of '58 at "id you mean: enewetak atoll?" :fnord: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enewetak_Atoll)
the next OFF.er.ING was '69 {11yrs| Later at PSU | LSD/chemical
& the not #00FF00=green "THIS? event in May of 1980 AS ABOVE
SOME WHEN LATE 80's -90'S there did exist a volume of books
on the PSU Library shelves carrying the official title Iran/Contra
they were of light brown-tan color each the same size & weight to the
one to their left Extending for probably 15 to 20 feet occupying a complete
shelf. By the turn of the century? Biologically speaking they had been removed
& so now i return to the evening news hour on PBS/OPB at 4pmpdT
Quote from: hirley0 on November 01, 2013, 10:54:48 PM
SOME WHEN LATE 80's -90'S there did exist a volume of books
on the PSU Library shelves carrying the official title Iran/Contra
they were of light brown-tan color each the same size & weight to the
one to their left Extending for probably 15 to 20 feet occupying a complete
shelf. By the turn of the century? Biologically speaking they had been removed
& so now i return to the evening news hour on PBS/OPB at 4pmpdT
"Biologically speaking"? What kind of libraries do you /have/ in Portland. :eek:
You don't really want to know.
http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/identify/eulophid.htm \
http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/identify/..%5Cadults%5Cjpg%5Ceulop1.ad0.htm >
The requested URL /~legneref/identify/..\adults\jpg\eulop1.ad0.htm was not found /
{ Bankowska, R. (1980) Fly communities of the family Syrphidae
{ http://www.pollinators.biodiversityireland.ie/
http://archive.org/stream/proceedingsofent2821980ento/proceedingsofent2821980ento_djvu.txt
1980s stage / Carolus Linnaeus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Linnaeus
Quote from: Kai on November 01, 2013, 11:44:12 PM
Quote from: hirley0 on November 01, 2013, 10:54:48 PM
SOME WHEN LATE 80's -90'S there did exist a volume of books
on the PSU Library shelves carrying the official title Iran/Contra
they were of light brown-tan color each the same size & weight to the
one to their left Extending for probably 15 to 20 feet occupying a complete
shelf. By the turn of the century? Biologically speaking they had been removed
& so now i return to the evening news hour on PBS/OPB at 4pmpdT
"Biologically speaking"? What kind of libraries do you /have/ in Portland. :eek:
12:27PM still pdT { i think
http://library.pdx.edu/
http://cat.pdx.edu/web.html
http://vikat.pdx.edu/searchAnd My Answer at 8:43am is the Library that Restricts My Access
My today question is about What Part of the Above
Link below if found has Fem -To weightQuote from: Kai on November 02, 2013, 12:56:46 AM
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 01, 2013, 11:46:40 PM
You don't really want to know.
They sound non-Euclidean.
sound Euclidean? and what pray say
is that????/ it reminds me of the Cambodian CD i once had. in my mind i could
hear very ancient sound being preserved in modern technology
My view of the (UM}? church was it was NOT popular,
that the ancient sounds were A thing of the past | TO BE FORGOTEN |
for some reason i was not of the popular opinion | that is just me |not.pop
.1 Ni"$/PSU's http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php/topic,31235.msg1148988.html#msg1148988
2: http://library.pdx.edu/ ? http://geology.pdx.edu/ ? http://geology.pdx.edu/node/67
3? http://www.multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/ref/search.html
:?? Scott Burns Retirement Party and Fund Raiser / Thursday October 24 7-10 pm
href="/burns_retirement_party/burns_retirement_party.pdf
anyway my mod 5 reader reports the pdf as broke
Maybe U have a more modern {{Hi'R)) number & CAN
:49
ad 425
ad 437 REM time?
B,S of the Burns/Burns edition of the floods
No i do not know if she or he got top billing i'LL try McLiB {Just A s
Vikat Cataclysms on the Columbia : the great Missoula floods. QE581 .A43 2009
McLiB http://multcolib.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1829846068
Listen: Lets count HIM out as reTIRED
THUS: the Question becomes????/ who was SHE {BURNS ? Maybe History?/?
.1 begin by asking http://web.pdx.edu/~virginia/ {{ she knew BuRns Well Enough
sort the series NYPD, CSSO, PPD, KGB, CIA, HS, HuB'{NEVER MIND
vi said: http://www.anthropology.pdx.edu/
&A: http://www.pdx.edu/ ? http://www.pdx.edu/schools-colleges ?/?
? http://www.pdx.edu/clas/ &
(http://www.pdx.edu/clas/sites/www.pdx.edu.clas/files/styles/pdx_collage_large/public/Scott%20Burns.png) 1:01:??
VAry funNY friend REMember U left BUHS in '65 I in '56 {got it
I was looking4 Her {Burns | not Him {Burns{yes it is confusing:.
http://www.pdx.edu/clas/my-portland-state-faculty-staff
http://www.pdx.edu/directory/?nsq=Burns
8 matching names for burns.
Scott Burns Chair, Geology - Liberal Arts & Sciences ? 11/2 2013
Marjorie Burns Emeritus, English - Liberal Arts & Sciences probably
Heather Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy - Education doubt.It
probably "English" whiTch is as obsolete as salmon RUN
Lets see if i can switch to something NeW
https://multcolib.org/ch%C3%BAng-t%C3%B4i-n%C3%B3i-ng%C3%B4n-ng%E1%BB%AF-c%E1%BB%A7a-q%C3%BAy-v%E1%BB%8B
^supposed to have blue background ? i do NOT know how to get the background bit lit
12:21 St on line interferance enter the pictures
2013 11/02 12:18 36,472 SimulateData.vi
well the :18 is pd while the :21 remains sT so Say an hour & 3
to refind .vi is truly beyond my grasp | even thou i was just there. :fnord: 2:17S (http://web.pdx.edu/~atkinsdb/teach/443/SimulateData.vi)
My guess going 4word is CHemIsTRee. now bak2 serials
Thư Viện Quận Hạt Multnomah kết nối các cộng
http://translate.google.com/#en/vi/
Multnomah County Library community connect
& in reVERSE
Quận Multnomah Thư viện kết nối cộng đồng
SKIPPING beyond :37
Callicera, 1980 v Callicera, 1980 {same O {{same o 0k K
3:21 http://www.pdx.edu/chem/home
CH 443 - NUMERICAL DATA ANLYS MDLG CH
The study of statistical analysis of experimental data and modeling of chemical systems using modern computational resources. Prerequisites: Ch 320/321, and Ph 223 or Ph 213. Concurrent enrollment in Ch 440/540 recommended. 2.000 Credit hours
CH 540 - PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
The study of thermodynamics, phase and chemical equilibria, solutions, electrochemistry, reaction rates and mechanisms, quantum mechanics, spectroscopy, electron transport, molecular modeling and statistical mechanics. Recommended: Ch 320, Ph 213, and Mth 253. 4.000 Credit hours
MTH 253 - CALCULUS III
Differential and integral calculus of functions of a single variable, analytic geometry, infinite series, and applications. Courses must be taken in sequence. Prerequisites for Mth 251: Completion of Mth 112 with a grade of C- or above within the last year, or passing at the necessary level on the mathematics placement test within the last year (see Math Department webpage at mth.pdx.edu for information).
4.000 Credit hours
1:47 iv no idea about the .wav ? maybe b4 3
https://archive.org/details/audio
You searched for: Callicera AND mediatype:audio
Your search did not match any it em's
http://www.erisbarandgrill.com/audio/CAL3.WAV
(http://www.erisbarandgrill.com/photo/math/CAL3.JPG)
THUS: Let me be as CLEER about that as i can B
i do NOT want to say anything about anything.
NOT a Musician.
i would like to be able to do it in viet namese ????/
http://translate.google.com/#en/vi/
an allocation for time 01:38:09 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclidean_geometry
ad 555 if_N she is busted? i may as well move 11/6=
http://translate.google.com/#en/vi/òõóô öoŏό ồọổộ ởợỗỏ òõóô öoŏό ồọổộ ởợỗỏ òõóô öoŏό ồọổộ ởợỗỏ
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 04, 2013, 02:13:06 PM
Quote from: Kai on November 04, 2013, 01:38:43 PM
Hirley, bạn không thể gửi shit như thế! Hãy loại bỏ nó! Hirley, you can't post shit like that! Please remove it!
We don't have any rules about bug pron. This IS, after all, AMERICA.
But if you want a thread split, we can do that.
/
Oh SHit shIT i did NOT KnoW
Hard to know which way to jump to avoid iT! i will try J (http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php/topic,35578.msg1310304.html#msg1310304)
526 55 616
Quote from: hirley0 on November 02, 2013, 09:37:00 PM
i would like to be able to do it in viet namese ????/ http://translate.google.com/#en/vi/
MY ANSWER TO NHK 7:11 QUestion
viet has most 4 letter words
B'cause it has many O's 0k
523 5:30psT apt 502 bbc? yeah: 5:47? Verdic / Bangladish 1971
514 current at = "PSU Library shelves"
HA
HA
HA
502 {my apt # http://cronodon.com/
http://cronodon.com/SpaceTech/SpaceTech_Intro.html
(http://principiadiscordia.com/forum/NewAvatars/avatar_7539_1350478520.png) / (http://cronodon.com/images/Alien_3a_gif.gif)
LoGal's bro babEE
ad 499 which apparently will take some time
For Reasons i sure do NOT understand {WHAT? Reason?/?
an allocation of space to be deleted as soon as possible } {ad 462-479@3:33&1/3
10:45pm ad 492} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acolyte
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acolyte#Anglicanism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Wales
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disestablishmentarianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissenter