An Uru Story

Introduction:

I am a big Myst and Uru fan.
I wrote this for a forum a long time ago (before Until Uru).
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My Uru Story

by Geist von P.A.
Literature / Prose / Fiction / General Fiction / Short Stories
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I found a page today.
There was a picture on it, just like the others i had found so i assumed it was a relto page.
This one had, what i guessed to be some kind of fish in among seaweed.
I placed it into my relto and in a small flicker of light the page had become part of my book.
I flipped the book to the front page and placed my hand on the window panel and linked.
In an instant i was standing on the docks, facing my imager.
It didn't take me long to find out what the page had done to my relto,
Actually I heard it be for i seen it.
A splashing sound coming from my rite.
I turned to see that where open space had been around my tiny island there was now water, it was everywhere.
Clear light blue water that extended into darkness as it got deeper.
Around my island i could see little flat fish swimming around in the weeds and pebbles that lay at the bottom.
with out thinking...I jumped off the docks and into the water.
As if to prove to myself that i was not dreaming.
The cool water stunned me for a few second and that is when i realized that my island in the sky was no longer a floating island as i had always thought, now it was actually an island.
I swam with the fishes for a little more then an hour.
It was great!

As i sit by the fire that i had made from debris I had found laying around, I can't help but remember how i got here.
The journey that brought me from my little home in a small town back east.
It appeared to me in a dream one night.
I could see it vividly in my mind as i slept, I could see a giant rock formation like a volcano and along side it was a crack in the earth with what looked like the night sky inside.
To me it was a calling, as if something was telling me to go.
After a rather long train ride. 'It was a train, i remember since i hate to fly'.
I started walking... walking?
Yes, until a nice couple in a beat up VW Bus picked me up.
They had asked me "Where i was headed?".
I replied "I'll know when i got there".
As i looked out the window of the bus i tried to imagine how anything could survive
in such a dry place.
As i watched the dry brittle landscape roll by I found myself day dreaming.
What can it mean, why am i drawn to this place?
Just as i got my barring i glanced to the right to see the same rock formation that i seen in my dream.
"STOP!" I shouted.
I hopped out of the van and loaded my gear. I thanked the kind couple as they wished me luck on my journey, I waved good bye as they disappeared into the horizon.
As i turned on my heel i was reminded of Neil Armstrong's famous worlds as he stepped of the the small space shuttle.
Though in my case the part about the "one giant leap for mankind" didn't seem to quite apply here.

It was a brisk walk...
I wish i could say i enjoyed it but the constant fear of rattle snake bites kept me ever weary and i jumped at every little movement.
At one point i caught a glimpse of a horned lizard as he ran under a bush, probably thought i was going to eat him, heh-heh...

I had reached the volcano only to find that the surrounding area had been sealed off with barbed wire. Yet, the only thing i could see inside the fence was a trailer.

Well i wasn't going to come all this way and after months of preparation only to be turned away by some dinky barbed wire fence.

That was one year ago.

As i lay next to the fire i think of all the friends i had made since i arrived.
"A recurring dream"
They explained when i asked them how they got here.
I couldn't have imagined how many people had been called here by the same dream.
Further more, how was that possible?
I had been wondering that since i found the others.
It doesn't matter i guess, what matters is that i am not alone in this quest.
It's a good thing since i would have never been able to get past some of the obstacles that i had to face.

D'ni never ceases to amaze me...
As i looked out over Ae'gura i could see Kerath's Arch illuminated by the algae's soft fluorescent orange glow.

It almost makes you feel as if you are in some kind of dream world.
In a way I guess I am...

I came to Ae'gura to collect some more samples of the algae to take back to my lab on Teledahn.
I had been doing some research on the algae in a fish tank to try to bring it back to full health but so far i have only been able to make it mutate into a black slimy ooze.
At least the 'Shroomie' likes to feed on it.

I also collected some water samples from the fountain in Bevin in a small pitcher.
I linked out...

'I don't think I will ever get past the cold tingling sensation after linking worlds',
I thought as i opened my eyes to see my relto hut.

As i headed to my bookcase i gathered a few pieces of fire wood that i had stacked next to the hut a few days earlier.

Back at my lab i studied the the water sample from the fountain to assure that i could use it in my tests.

My findings are as followed...

~The water from the fountain is very much like the lake that surrounds D'ni, so i presumed that it comes from the same source.

However it seems that the fountain water is somewhat different in that it is missing a certain antigen in which the algae feeds.
So if it was from the same source then the fountain water would have the same antigen...(?)

No, the fountain water is definitely spring water, therefor it it clean.~
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'Up until now i have just been giving the algae different chemicals to see what the reaction is and thus far i have failed.

Perhaps i should take a different approach to my studies to better understand how & why the algae glows'.

I could feel the room getting colder as the fire lay dieing in my makeshift stove that sits between the desk and my bed.
The room was dark, the only light was that from the tank light flickering.
I keep it on only because the thermal reflection window shutters i installed make it so dark that i can't even see my hand in front of my face when they are closed.

(*They are basically a sandwich of insulation. made from pieces of the caps from the giant mushrooms wrapped with reflective sheet metal with a wood planks backing from the crates that were already here, brought by the DRC.)

I had also made a temporary door for the hall that leads to the elevator out of some mushroom stalks that i had tied together.
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I sat up, and sitting on the side of the bed with my head in my hands looking at the floor i started to contemplate the past 3 weeks of study.

The algae contains tryptophan synthetase, a protein in which the algae lives on, but it still won't glow.... "Why won't it glow?"

I threw another piece of wood in the fire and ignited it with a fire marble.
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I grabbed a piece of fruit from the bowl on the end table.
Rolled it around in my left hand then took a bite as i paced the small room in my stocking feet, glancing at the tank everyone once in awhile in disgust.

"pfftt... I guess all this tank is good for is fish..." - as i shook my head.
"I should have known trying to bring back dead fungus was a bad idea..."

I sat down and laced my shoes as if i had to be somewhere in a hurry, even though i didn't. But i had to take a walk, i had to get out and away from this frustration for a while...

I leaned over to grab my back pack that I had tossed on the floor, slipped it on as i reached for the nexus linking book from under the bed.
I opened the cover placed my hand on the window and linked.

(The book landing on the bed)

It has been three weeks since i left the caves on that disappointing and frustrating day.
I came to the surface to spend time with my family over the holidays, not to mention to just escape from cabin fever...


As i said my farewells as i packed my things to head back to my Relto and my lab on Teledahn i couldn't help but wonder if i will ever get the algae to glow and in the back of my mind i really didn't want to go back at all.

I had such a good time visiting with my wife and spending time with both her and my families.

~I guess I was really homesick after all and perhaps that is what has fogged my judgement on my studies.~

I placed the last item in my backpack, Kissed my wife good bye and promised her i would not be gone as long as i had been.
I stood back and and with tears in her eyes i opened the linking book placed my hand on the panel, "I love you" she said. Just as i vanished.

My Relto appeared as a tear rolled down my cheek, I already missed her and to see her in that state cut me a little deeper for leaving her behind.

(I had taken pictures of both of our family's over the holiday with my KI so all i had to do was look at my KI and remember what a wonderful family i have)
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I linked to Bevin to see if anything had changed or if anyone was there.
There hasn't been that many people to the hoods or the cities lately but once in awhile we would gather to chat about what is going on in our lives and to talk about the city or just to shoot the breeze.

As i stood next to the fountain i listened...
The sounds of the cave was calming and soothing and a sigh of relief came over me.
I yelled out "Anyone Here?!?".
"Yea, Ova Here!" i heard coming from the light garden.
I met the gentleman by the dome light that sits in the center of the light garden.
"Hi, how's it going?" i asked.
"Not bad, yourself? The young man answered.
"let me guess, you are finding marker?"
"Yep" he told me.
For awhile we talked and struck up a friendship (which isn't hard to do in this place).
I noticed the time from the hood clock and as much as i was regretting i had to go to Teledahn, back to my study and what i thought in my own way a 'cell'.

~It was something i started out of curiosity and just something to to keep my mind busy not to mention my hands. Now it has turned into a mission.
I don't get paid for what i am doing and i don't know if anyone else is trying what i am trying since i never talk about it with anyone but my wife.~

I bided the young man adieu as i linked to the Nexus and then to teledahn.

As i walked on the catwalk from the small hut where i linked in i pressed the blue button to call the elevator.
I boarded the open elevator, pressed the button to go up and braced myself as i was lifted in the air.
As i reached the top level i could see a soft white bight light streaming through holes that were in my make shift mushroom stump door.
I know i had left the.. Or at least i thought i left the blinds closed and the fire to the stove would have long gone out. The light of the tank is a soft warm glow never lit up the room that much.
I placed my hands on both sides of the door and opened it, laying it against the wall as i shielded my eyes with my arm until my eyes adjusted to the light.
Once adjusted the light wasn't that bright but gave off the same effect as a midmorning, Like when the sun has risen fully but is sitting just above the horizon on a clear summer's day where everything is lit up but still had the softness of a light bulb.
The light was coming from the tank no doubt, but how?
I studied the tank, there was about 4-1/2'' (inches) of the glowing algae.
From what i could tell it had doubled in size from a mear 1/2'' (inch) when i last left it.
Well... Now the only thing i have to figure out now is how i made it glow (?).

I can rule out using any of my old methods of using different chemicals added since i had used brand new samples that i had gathered a few weeks prior to me leaving and doing all my tests in test tubes leaving the tank untouched.

It would have to be an outside source but how when no one has access to my age and nothing can get in, not to mention nothing is out of place in the room.

Taking my backpack off and tossing it to the floor i began to start a fire in the stove. All the while my mind racing, thinking about the algae.
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The past two days of not being able to find how the algae glows as left me stumped once again.
I have noticed that during certain hours of the day the algae would dim back to it's lite orange glow, such as in D'ni. Other times it would grow back to the brighter side.
I have read that the algae does this in the DRC journals, so i know the algae has in 'some way' been brought back to full health.

I grabbed a piece of fresh fruit that i had brought back with me when i returned from the surface and took a few bites and laid it on top of the tank, couched down as i began to search my back pack for my journal that i had been keeping on the study of the algae.
As i stood paging through the book i reached for the fruit only to find that it was not there.
I looked at the top of the tank, ~"ok, i know i laid it there. It must have fallen"~.
I searched on the ground around the tank, even behind the tank and i still did not find it.
I stepped back and looking at the tank wondering what happen to my snack i seen it in the tank itself.
As i began to roll my sleeve up to get the fruit out i noticed the algae start to pulsate.
I studied it to try to figure out what it was doing, clearly it was having some kind of reaction to the fruit.
As i studied the tank i notice something at the bottom of the tank, something small and wrinkly. "what is that?"
I reached my hand in and plucked it from the stone bottom of the tank, I looked at it in amazement.
I laughed out loud as i realized what it was.
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2 days later....
After doing tests on some new algae samples that i gathered from D'ni i have come to the conclusion that the Vitamin C along with Aminos that where in the fruit that is what caused the algae to grow and glow they way it did.
I examined the change under the microscope as i placed a small piece of the fruit into the petri dish next to the algae.
like flies to a dead carcass the starving algae surrounded the piece of fruit like white rice on a paper plate in a snow storm.
It wasn't long till the algae started to glow but since there wasn't enough fruit to go around it still had a faded glow to the color, but none the less i had found it's food source and thus on the rite track to replenishing the lake back to stock health.
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The only thing i had trouble with is how did the D'ni keep the lake so healthy?
For the past few days that i arrived back the algae in my tank would Glow and then dim according to D'ni time.
Not until today had the algae started decreasing in it's brighter glow.
I figured it was hungry so i through in a half slice of fruit and it began to glow brighter again.

The only speculation i can make on how the D'ni was able to keep the algae healthy is they would dump massive amounts of fruit into the lake.
I have no proof of this and since most of the books in the library are so badly decayed and in the D'ni language i was unable to get any information form them at all.

~ Would it be plausible to link fruit from their harvest ages just to feed the lake...?
Why not, they linked foods from the age for themselves to eat.
If my little tank only grew hungry after several weeks of being gone then that means the D'ni would only have to harvest and feed the lake once a month, if that...
....... Yes, that must have been the way the D'ni had done it, I am almost sure of it.~

...To Be Continued ??

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NOTE:
Please note that my story came before the release of Er'Cana and this letter.
One has to wonder about the comparisons.

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KImail subject: Er’cana Pellets

As many of you have already discovered, the Age of Er’cana provides a way for you to contribute to another aspect of the restoration. The pellets made in Er’cana can be used to provide nutrients to the algae that is [are] responsible for the light that the lake in the Cavern emits.

We have conducted extensive tests with the algae and have concluded the “feeding” will gradually make it healthier. Given enough time and nutrients, the algae may even return to the cycle it once had before the Fall of D’ni.

Be aware that this process will likely take many months. The algae has been mostly dormant for almost two hundred years. It will not be restored overnight.

Also be aware that certain recipes can actually damage the algae. If you see steam or bubbles or worse, then that recipe is doing more harm than good. Please eject the rest of the pellets of the recipe and try another recipe.

The best pellets will result in a bright orange glow.

Thank you in advance for your contributions to this effort.

The DRC