In those days: Belated Preface in the Form of a Letter to a Dear Friend.

[Kai]

Dear H.T.,

Today was a day best forgotten. You know the class in which we both currently participate, and the overwhelming project not suited to the credit we are receiving. We've discussed our mutual discomfort in excess. I spent this entire day fighting in vain to make some sort of progress, stumbling through software and analyses and frustration without bounds. And there are still no results in sight. Our professor, my advisor, has failed at professing and providing advice, experimented on students with no time or want for such experiments.

I am realizing some things. First, I am truly excellent at systematics. I have a keen eye for diagnosis, a vast memory for minutia, a great drive for understanding the nature of species and their relationships. You would agree, I think, that I could take any group of organisms and become a world expert in their study, given the time and resources.  I love life, I love my work, I love my current occupation as a Trichoptera diagnostician, I love being a student. I understand the importance of what I do, just how vital it really is. So it is not my own worth that is at fault. And, despite some unsavory people, this is a beautiful place to grow and learn, with enough good people to hold me here. Everywhere is The City, and this small area is at least one of the more pleasant sections.

However, I am still faltering...I am being held back. My advisor not only does not inspire me, but it seems he unconsciously conspires to bring me to a point of not caring. I should not be feeling disinterest in what I love! Yesterday, the visiting student told me about her advisor, a person who inspires her to do great things. When I heard this, I felt so empty, that I was missing something essential, that I was carrying extra weight on my shoulders every where I go. It seems, were it not for his library I would have found somewhere else to be.

In the enclosed stories I mean to recapture, distil and bottle the essence of that which I find so perfectly wonderful and inspiring: the majesty of life and the universe, of roots and beginnings, of science through the lens of myth, of the power of names, of the Magic Well, and the Tangled Bank. Perhaps I can hold it close and take a sip now and again to pull me through this unfortunate situation.

Sincerely Yours,

~Kai

[Freeky]

That was really good, Kai. 

[Kai]

I actually sent this, btw.

My friend suggested I share "In those days" with some worthy people when I leave this university.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

I bet you could get this series published.

I enjoyed it immensely.

[Kai]

Thanks. It's nowhere near finished yet though.

Think of these as chapters.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

Thanks. It's nowhere near finished yet though.

Think of these as chapters.

Awesome.

[Doktor Howl]

Thanks. It's nowhere near finished yet though.

Think of these as chapters.

I'm getting some experience in this sort of thing.  If you want to publish it through SSP, I can do that.

[Kai]

Thanks. It's nowhere near finished yet though.

Think of these as chapters.

I'm getting some experience in this sort of thing.  If you want to publish it through SSP, I can do that.

That would be really cool, though I don't know what sort of audience there is for writing like this.

It would need editing in any case. Thanks!

[Doktor Howl]

Thanks. It's nowhere near finished yet though.

Think of these as chapters.

I'm getting some experience in this sort of thing.  If you want to publish it through SSP, I can do that.

That would be really cool, though I don't know what sort of audience there is for writing like this.

It would need editing in any case. Thanks!

Let me know when you're ready.  Another option would be to put it in The Audio Book of the Dead, if it isn't long enough for a book of its own.

[Kai]

Thanks. It's nowhere near finished yet though.

Think of these as chapters.

I'm getting some experience in this sort of thing.  If you want to publish it through SSP, I can do that.

That would be really cool, though I don't know what sort of audience there is for writing like this.

It would need editing in any case. Thanks!

Let me know when you're ready.  Another option would be to put it in The Audio Book of the Dead, if it isn't long enough for a book of its own.

We'll see.