Reading: the Last Oracle by James Rollins
Music: Lou Reed
TV/Movie: The Lost World (1925)
Link o' the Day: list of Falling Off the Shelf columns


This week saw the arrival of an old envelope bearing no address, stamp, nor any other marking. Stuffed inside with the letter on yellow-cracked paper was an old hand compass that no longer appears to work. I suspect a hoax.

Dear Perry,

Do you remember?

Do you remember the river and the serpents? And the old native with the missing arm who warned us of the Great Tree at the river's head?

Do you remember that Dutch woman on the beach? The one with the empty eyes, like lead, who spoke in riddles and warnings? The one who never slept nor ate?

Do you remember how Turpin, Chance, and Gavin took the left-hand tunnel and were heard from, but never seen again? I still suspect those messages were a hoax and that something nefarious was waiting for us that day.

Do you remember the pearls?

Do you remember how the night glowed? The odd music that came through the jungle whenever the night glowed? And how everything else, all birds, insects and manner of beast became eerily silent?

Do you remember that island, Perry, with the large turtles, so large the natives built their homes upon their backs? Do you remember the hints that those turtles were mere babes?

Do you remember the eggs, and the wailing sounds they made when they hatched? And how... oh Perry... how human those things looked?

Do you remember the crater we found in the middle of the black jungle and the large purple flowers that ringed the site? Do you remember the bits of metal that were there one moment, and gone the next? I not only believe we were being watched, but that we still are!

Finally, dear Perry, do you remember that island at all? If so, please speak, Perry. Please speak before your silence dooms us all.

Yours so very sincerely,

Arthur

The second piece of mail comes from my mysterious old friends with the rag paper and crimson ink. As usual, it's a folded letter sans envelope. There are some rust-colored flecks of something in the creases, and a few bits of hair. Otherwise, I'm not really sure what they're asking about.

To Whom It May Concern:

Is this yours? We think it might be yours. It's not ours.

So it must be yours.

(unsigned)

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Putting our nose to the grindstone today. I got a lot of work done yesterday--actually, this whole week, but I have some special goals in mind for the TumbleTap projects, so I think that's going to be getting most of my attention today. That, and a movie book, and I'm considering pulling together some notes I collected a while back on a sea-shanty book I've been considering writing. I have a bunch of poems to start sending out as well, both for myself and a friend whom I'm acting as agent for because he's currently overseas.

As expected, the Van Alexander book went off to the printer yesterday. That's another job out the door. I have to fix some tables and figures for the medical journal, but that won't take very long. All in all, it's been a fine week for work.

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Because I can occasionally be shameless, today's link leads to something of mine. It's a list of Falling Off the Shelf columns that I've written for ForcesOfGeek.com. The most recent entry discusses the works of David Eddings who passed away recently, and past entries include reviews of books, graphic novels, webcomics, and other such things of interest to me. I sometimes delve into other subjects. Twenty-four columns and counting.

Cheers!