'I think you dropped this'
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 17:16:46 +0100
From: "Scarlett Kiteway" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: newsletter@thescarlettkite.com
Subject: It's Scarlett - Allain tells me more about Viendenbourg
Hi. My name's Scarlett Kiteway, I'm 20 years old and I live in Perplex
City. Last year the Cube - a very precious object - was stolen from the
Academy where my dad, Sente, is the Master. The Cube was concealed
somewhere on Earth. We need to find it and get it back.
Some pretty weird things have been going on in my life lately. First my
friend's computer was targeted by a military trace originating in
Tanraga when he searched for the phrase "Reynolds ionizer". Then I
found
the same phrase in a note written by a dead journalist, along with the
word Viendenbourg. At the military archives, an old man gave me a map
of
Tanraga, with a place marked Viendenbourg, but other maps of that area
show nothing there at all. Now I'm travelling through Tanraga myself
with my boyfriend Brede and two friends. We'll soon be within walking
distance of Viendenbourg. But I think I'm being followed. I thought I
saw the old man from the archives here on the train. And now a guy I've
met on the train, Allain, says he's going to Viendenbourg too.
There's a lot going on in Perplex City; maybe by sifting through all
the
clues that are out there, you'll find out who stole the Cube. But I'm
following my own lead. My story is here and you can follow it with me.
-----------------------------
I couldn't believe it. Allain was going to the same mysterious location
as me!
I must have jumped in my seat when he said the word Viendenbourg,
because Brede said "What's up, honey? Is everything OK?" I told him I
was fine; I was longing to ask Allain what he knew about Viendenbourg,
why he was going there, how he'd found out the name, but I didn't want
to seem too curious. Luckily for me, Brede was interested as well.
He said: "What do you mean, you're not sure it exists?" Allain smiled
and looked down at his hands.
"I know, it sounds pretty insane doesn't it? The thing is," he leaned
forward, "you know I'm a student at Edyta College?" We nodded. Edyta
College is fairly prestigious - it's a rival school to Marmalejo where
Brede and I study. "And I guess you must be able to tell that I'm
interested in a lot of different subjects, right?" We nodded again.
"It's almost a problem, actually. I'm supposed to choose a subject of
special interest next year, but I haven't been able to. Anyway a few
months ago, among all these other projects, I got interested in
studying
the history of, you know, the war."
Brede and I both breathed in sharply. We knew about the war, of course.
Everyone does. But it's not something you talk about. It's a dark part
of our city's past - we've moved on. "I can't explain it," said Allain,
"I was drawn to find out more. I even started reading through some of
the material in the military archives. It was there that I first heard
about Viendenbourg." Brede and I were very quiet now. "You know that
material, it's mostly, well, fragments. So much knowledge has been lost
from that time, even the technological developments of the final 50
years are mostly gone. And no one wants to try to retrieve them."
Brede shifted in his seat. I could tell this conversation was making
him
uncomfortable. What Allain said was true - everyone knows that
technological advances were made during the war, but given where they
led, no one wants to try to get them back. "I know that's what everyone
thinks," Allain continued, "but the more I looked at those fragments
the
more amazed I was. From the documents, they had AIs far in advance of
our own, and medical and health developments that were just...
astonishing. I decided to try to piece some of that knowledge back
together."
Suddenly, Brede stood up. His face was pale. He looked calm, but
determined.
"I'm very tired," he said, "I think I'll go to bed. Are you coming,
Scarlett?" I looked at him. I knew why he was leaving. A lot of people
feel like Brede does about the past - best left forgotten. You can't
move forward while looking back. But I had to know about Viendenbourg.
"In a few minutes," I said. Brede looked at me. He said nothing, turned
and walked toward our carriage. Allain and I looked at Brede's receding
back, and then back to each other. There was a little pause, then he
continued.
"I worked in the military archives for weeks, piecing together records,
trying to make some sense of formulae and notes. Sometimes a hint of
meaning would seem to be within my grasp, but then it dissolved again.
I
felt I was getting nowhere. And then, one day, an old man with white
hair came up to my desk. He said: 'I see you've been working on ancient
technology.' I nodded. He said: 'You'll never get anywhere with those
old notes. You need the originals.' I smiled and told him that the
originals had been lost centuries earlier. He looked at me, and then
handed me a data button and said: 'I think you dropped this'."
He told me the rest of the story, but I felt that I'd heard it already.
Allain had also received a map showing Viendenbourg, he'd also compared
it to modern maps and found that there was nothing there. And now he
was
also travelling to Viendenbourg. There was a long silence after he
finished. I had to make a decision, but I felt it had almost been made
for me. Perhaps it was stupid of me, but I felt I wanted to trust him,
at least as much as he'd trusted me. I said: "I also met that man in
the
archives. He gave me a map of Viendenbourg. And I'm going there too.
And
there's something else... I think I've seen that man on this train. I
think he's here." And I stood up, said goodnight, and went to bed.
That was a week ago now. I've spent the past week trying to make things
up with Brede. We've walked through some of the most beautiful places
there are, but sometimes, as we're walking, I catch him looking at me
strangely. As if he didn't know me at all. I can't explain it to him. I
thought of trying to tell him the whole thing but somehow, now that
it's
linked to Allain, I don't feel I can. We haven't talked about it. We
haven't seen Allain this whole week of walking but today we reached the
train again. While Brede was getting our luggage, I sneaked a look at
the passenger manifest and found out which compartment Allain is in.
And
about an hour ago I went along there to talk to him.
As I reached the carriage, I heard raised voices. Or, at least, one
raised voice. It was Allain, shouting. It was as though he was talking
to himself, although he paused occasionally. He was shouting: "You
should never have told her! You should never have trusted her! Now
she'll find out everything!"
--
I'm planning to send you an email once a week about my investigations,
but I won't be offended if you want to unsubscribe. If you really don't
want to hear about my adventures, just send an email to
unsubscribe@thescarlettkite.com.
If you think your friends would be interested in my emails, then you
can send
them to www.scarlettkite.com and there's a signup box on the sidebar.
Until next week.
Scarlett
scarlett@thescarlettkite.com
http://thescarlettkite.com
From: "Scarlett Kiteway"
To: newsletter@thescarlettkite.com
Subject: It's Scarlett - Allain tells me more about Viendenbourg
Hi. My name's Scarlett Kiteway, I'm 20 years old and I live in Perplex
City. Last year the Cube - a very precious object - was stolen from the
Academy where my dad, Sente, is the Master. The Cube was concealed
somewhere on Earth. We need to find it and get it back.
Some pretty weird things have been going on in my life lately. First my
friend's computer was targeted by a military trace originating in
Tanraga when he searched for the phrase "Reynolds ionizer". Then I
found
the same phrase in a note written by a dead journalist, along with the
word Viendenbourg. At the military archives, an old man gave me a map
of
Tanraga, with a place marked Viendenbourg, but other maps of that area
show nothing there at all. Now I'm travelling through Tanraga myself
with my boyfriend Brede and two friends. We'll soon be within walking
distance of Viendenbourg. But I think I'm being followed. I thought I
saw the old man from the archives here on the train. And now a guy I've
met on the train, Allain, says he's going to Viendenbourg too.
There's a lot going on in Perplex City; maybe by sifting through all
the
clues that are out there, you'll find out who stole the Cube. But I'm
following my own lead. My story is here and you can follow it with me.
-----------------------------
I couldn't believe it. Allain was going to the same mysterious location
as me!
I must have jumped in my seat when he said the word Viendenbourg,
because Brede said "What's up, honey? Is everything OK?" I told him I
was fine; I was longing to ask Allain what he knew about Viendenbourg,
why he was going there, how he'd found out the name, but I didn't want
to seem too curious. Luckily for me, Brede was interested as well.
He said: "What do you mean, you're not sure it exists?" Allain smiled
and looked down at his hands.
"I know, it sounds pretty insane doesn't it? The thing is," he leaned
forward, "you know I'm a student at Edyta College?" We nodded. Edyta
College is fairly prestigious - it's a rival school to Marmalejo where
Brede and I study. "And I guess you must be able to tell that I'm
interested in a lot of different subjects, right?" We nodded again.
"It's almost a problem, actually. I'm supposed to choose a subject of
special interest next year, but I haven't been able to. Anyway a few
months ago, among all these other projects, I got interested in
studying
the history of, you know, the war."
Brede and I both breathed in sharply. We knew about the war, of course.
Everyone does. But it's not something you talk about. It's a dark part
of our city's past - we've moved on. "I can't explain it," said Allain,
"I was drawn to find out more. I even started reading through some of
the material in the military archives. It was there that I first heard
about Viendenbourg." Brede and I were very quiet now. "You know that
material, it's mostly, well, fragments. So much knowledge has been lost
from that time, even the technological developments of the final 50
years are mostly gone. And no one wants to try to retrieve them."
Brede shifted in his seat. I could tell this conversation was making
him
uncomfortable. What Allain said was true - everyone knows that
technological advances were made during the war, but given where they
led, no one wants to try to get them back. "I know that's what everyone
thinks," Allain continued, "but the more I looked at those fragments
the
more amazed I was. From the documents, they had AIs far in advance of
our own, and medical and health developments that were just...
astonishing. I decided to try to piece some of that knowledge back
together."
Suddenly, Brede stood up. His face was pale. He looked calm, but
determined.
"I'm very tired," he said, "I think I'll go to bed. Are you coming,
Scarlett?" I looked at him. I knew why he was leaving. A lot of people
feel like Brede does about the past - best left forgotten. You can't
move forward while looking back. But I had to know about Viendenbourg.
"In a few minutes," I said. Brede looked at me. He said nothing, turned
and walked toward our carriage. Allain and I looked at Brede's receding
back, and then back to each other. There was a little pause, then he
continued.
"I worked in the military archives for weeks, piecing together records,
trying to make some sense of formulae and notes. Sometimes a hint of
meaning would seem to be within my grasp, but then it dissolved again.
I
felt I was getting nowhere. And then, one day, an old man with white
hair came up to my desk. He said: 'I see you've been working on ancient
technology.' I nodded. He said: 'You'll never get anywhere with those
old notes. You need the originals.' I smiled and told him that the
originals had been lost centuries earlier. He looked at me, and then
handed me a data button and said: 'I think you dropped this'."
He told me the rest of the story, but I felt that I'd heard it already.
Allain had also received a map showing Viendenbourg, he'd also compared
it to modern maps and found that there was nothing there. And now he
was
also travelling to Viendenbourg. There was a long silence after he
finished. I had to make a decision, but I felt it had almost been made
for me. Perhaps it was stupid of me, but I felt I wanted to trust him,
at least as much as he'd trusted me. I said: "I also met that man in
the
archives. He gave me a map of Viendenbourg. And I'm going there too.
And
there's something else... I think I've seen that man on this train. I
think he's here." And I stood up, said goodnight, and went to bed.
That was a week ago now. I've spent the past week trying to make things
up with Brede. We've walked through some of the most beautiful places
there are, but sometimes, as we're walking, I catch him looking at me
strangely. As if he didn't know me at all. I can't explain it to him. I
thought of trying to tell him the whole thing but somehow, now that
it's
linked to Allain, I don't feel I can. We haven't talked about it. We
haven't seen Allain this whole week of walking but today we reached the
train again. While Brede was getting our luggage, I sneaked a look at
the passenger manifest and found out which compartment Allain is in.
And
about an hour ago I went along there to talk to him.
As I reached the carriage, I heard raised voices. Or, at least, one
raised voice. It was Allain, shouting. It was as though he was talking
to himself, although he paused occasionally. He was shouting: "You
should never have told her! You should never have trusted her! Now
she'll find out everything!"
--
I'm planning to send you an email once a week about my investigations,
but I won't be offended if you want to unsubscribe. If you really don't
want to hear about my adventures, just send an email to
unsubscribe@thescarlettkite.com.
If you think your friends would be interested in my emails, then you
can send
them to www.scarlettkite.com and there's a signup box on the sidebar.
Until next week.
Scarlett
scarlett@thescarlettkite.com
http://thescarlettkite.com
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