#ancient scientific instruments

[beauty-funny-trippy]

#ancient scientific instruments #astrolabe #astronomy #astrology #astronomical #instruments #science #armillary sphere #steampunk #art #aesthetic #digital art #vintage #artwork #mountains #stars #planets #moon #gif #beauty-funny-trippy

[sixteenseveredhands]

Prehistoric Figurine of a Harp Player, from the Cyclades (Greece), c. 2700-2300 BCE: this figurine was shaped from a block of solid marble and then slowly sanded into form using pumice and emery

The figurine depicts a musician with a frame harp, an instrument that originated in the Near East and then later spread to the peoples of the Aegean. A sound box forms the section along the base of the instrument, and a small protrusion can be seen near the top of the harp's frame; some experts have argued that this protrusion might represent an ornamental carving of a waterfowl's head, while others argue that it represents a musical extension that facilitates the projection of sound (a feature that often appears on the stringed instruments of the ancient Near East).

This piece measures 35.8cm (about 14 inches) tall.

Musical performances like this are rarely depicted in Cycladic artwork. Depictions of male characters are similarly rare, representing only 5% of the Cycladic sculptures that are known to exist. When male figures are depicted, however, they are frequently shown playing musical instruments, as seen here.

Figurine of a Harpist, c. 2800-2700 BCE: a similar example of a Cycladic sculpture that features a musician with a frame harp

The Museum of Cycladic Art provides a more detailed explanation of the process by which these figures were created:

As we can deduce from the few unfinished figurines that have been discovered so far, the first step in the process was to roughly shape the raw piece of marble into a figure by the impact of a mallet. Emery powder was then used to abrade the surface until it obtained the desired shape and size. Once the desired shape was achieved, the surface was smoothed carefully before the fine work of carving the details started. At the end, the figurine was polished to a high degree that is still amazing.

And according to The Met:

Many of these figures, especially those of the Spedos type, display a remarkable consistency in form and proportion that suggests they were planned with a compass. Scientific analysis has shown that the surface of the marble was painted with mineral-based pigments—azurite for blue and iron ores, or cinnabar for red.

The Cycladic Islands (also known as the Cyclades) are a group of about 30 separate islands in the Southwest Aegean, off the coast of mainland Greece. These islands contain a wealth of natural resources, including marble, emery, pumice, obsidian, and an assortment of precious metals. The prehistoric peoples of the Cyclades made use of these resources for many different purposes, but the marble figurines/sculptures that they crafted during the Bronze Age are perhaps their most famous creation.

The vast majority of these figurines are stylized depictions of the female form. The cultural significance of the sculptures remains unclear; they may have simply been created as decorative pieces/artwork, without any additional function, or they may have been used as fetishes, totems, religious idols, grave goods, or votive offerings.

Sources & More Info:

The Getty Museum: Figurine of a Harp Player

The Met: Cycladic Harp Player

The Met: Early Cycladic Art and Culture

The Museum of Cycladic Art: Techniques

#archaeology #history #artifact #ancient history #prehistoric art #art #sculpture #music #greece #cycladic #bronze age #anthropology #harp

[txtbeomi]

“You’re hurt”

Siren! Taehyun x Fem! Reader

Note : Pls this was so rushed💀 forgive me if there’s any mistakes I didn’t proof read this I’m too lazy-

~~~~~~

Y/N, an intrepid marine biologist fueled by boundless curiosity, embarked on a research expedition to a remote coastal region where the ocean concealed its deepest mysteries. Armed with scientific instruments and a passion for understanding marine life, Y/N sought to unravel the enigmatic secrets hidden beneath the waves.

In her pursuit of knowledge, Y/N encountered an ethereal melody that seemed to whisper through the currents.

This haunting song led her to the elusive Taehyun, a siren whose scales gleamed with an eerie luminescence, reflecting the shadows of the ocean's secrets. Taehyun's eyes, once filled with the innocence of the sea, now bore the weight of mistrust and corruption.

Y/N’s eyes gleam over his features, awed by them and unable to believe her eyes and what she’s seeing, despite her shock, she still notices a few wounds which are embedded on his skin, making her frown a bit

In Taehyuns perspective, hes shocked yet wary of who dared to enter his domain, by accident or not

Their initial meeting was a clash of worlds, with Y/N's curiosity contrasting sharply with Taehyun's guarded demeanor. Taehyun, scarred by encounters with humans who sought to exploit his mystical abilities, regarded Y/N with suspicion. However, Y/N saw beyond the corrupted facade, sensing a wounded soul yearning for redemption beneath the surface.

“Leave human” Taehyun hisses at the intruder, his tail tensing up in warning

“You’re hurt” Y/N says, frowning, her eyes raking over the scars and wounds

“I said, leave.” Taehyun says more firmly, growling at her, hiding his wounds away

“No” Y/N says, although she should’ve run away, feared the siren, but she was not

Undeterred by Taehyun's reluctance, Y/N picks up an olive branch and extends the olive branch of understanding.

Taehyun who was surprised but wary of her actions, dwelled back into the sea.

Y/N, although a bit disappointed, excitement coursed through her veins as she returned everyday to the same spot to catch glimpses of him

The Days turned into weeks as Y/N patiently observed the siren from a distance, respecting his boundaries while continuing her research on the mesmerizing but corrupted underwater world he inhabited.

As Y/N continued to research, Day by day, taehyuns body was getting worse, his skin which was a clear shining and beautiful scale-embedded skin, was starting to have black spots

Y/N was getting worried, although having to research about the mystical in the sea? She puts aside that work and researches on what caused taehyun to be like this, not only him but also the other sea creatures.

Months pass by and Y/N's genuine care and determination to heal Taehyun began to chip away at the walls surrounding his heart.

As Y/N continues researching, she finally finds her answer, it was the industry near by which was affecting the water very badly. She immediately leave for a few days to handle the situation.

Taehyun on the other hand, had thought she had finally given up after noticing her absence for the past few days, hating her for the slightest hope she had given him about fixing the entire thing, fixing him

About a few days later the problem was solved, the industry had to pay fine for damage including the people who had stayed by the sea and used the water, having gotten multiple illnesses from it.

The next few days Taehyun notices there was less corruption of the chemicals in the sea, was it fixed?, he questioned himself, was it…her work?

As the corruption waned, the siren's true nature emerged—a being of enchanting beauty and ancient wisdom, no longer burdened by the shadows that had tainted his existence.

Y/N returns after the whole commotion is over, searching for taehyun despite the ungodly hour in the night, she calls out for him a few times before he emerges from the sea, shock paint over Y/N’s face, his scales and skin shining brightly mover than ever, his beauty even more enhanced after all the evidences of him being sick gone.

Y/N's unwavering dedication and Taehyun's gradual healing led to a profound connection that bridged the gap between their worlds. The once-corrupted siren now stood as a guardian of the ocean, his songs echoing a melody of redemption and renewal.

~~~~~

P.S : Y/N's research took on a new purpose as she documented the process of cleansing and restoring balance to the underwater realm. And she became rich.

#kang taehyun #txt taehyun #taehyun x reader #taehyun fluff #taehyun imagines #txt #txt post #tomorrow x together #yeonjun #soobin #beomgyu #hueningkai #txt x reader #txt x you #txt x y/n #txt x moa #txt moa #txt fluff #txt fanfic #txt fantasy au #txtbeomi

[misterlemonztenth]

03-15-24 | Today in 1879 Albert Einstein was born in Wurttemberg, Germany. He would be 145 today. He died in 1955 in Princeton, NJ.

Happy Birthday Albert.

Here are some insights from the one and only Albert Einstein. He is most known as a popular scientist who dramatically changed humanity’s engagement with the world. This post illuminates some of his equally amazing insights beyond the science and beyond the physical.

“I didn't arrive at my understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe through my rational mind.”

2. “Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. Matter is spirit reduced to point of visibility. There is no matter.”

"Time and space are not conditions in which we live, but modes by which we think.

Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, determined by the external world."

“Time does not exist – we invented it. Time is what the clock says. The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

“I think 99 times and find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me."

"The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why.”

"A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

"Our separation from each other is an optical illusion."

“When something vibrates, the electrons of the entire universe resonate with it. Everything is connected. The greatest tragedy of human existence is the illusion of separateness.”

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”

“We are souls dressed up in sacred biochemical garments and our bodies are the instruments through which our souls play their music.”

“When you examine the lives of the most influential people who have ever walked among us, you discover one thread that winds through them all. They have been aligned first with their spiritual nature and only then with their physical selves.”

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self.”

“The ancients knew something, which we seem to have forgotten.”

“The more I learn of physics, the more I am drawn to metaphysics.”

“One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike. We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us. It is entirely possible that behind the perception of our senses, worlds are hidden of which we are unaware.”

“I’m not an atheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books.”

"The common idea that I am an atheist is based on a big mistake. Anyone who interprets my scientific theories this way, did not understand them."

"Everything is determined, every beginning and ending, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect, as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper."

“The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It will transcend a personal God and avoid dogma and theology.”

“Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.”

“Everything is energy and that is all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you can not help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.”

"I am happy because I want nothing from anyone. I do not care about money. Decorations, titles or distinctions mean nothing to me. I do not crave praise. I claim credit for nothing. A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future." misterlemonztenth.tumblr.com/archive

#misterlemonztenth #original post #albert einstein #portrait #princeton

[earthling-defense-force]

@fat-fuzzy-saiyans

An ancient stone statue was found hidden in the mountains around Mount Paozu. A stone carving statue of the mythical creatures known as Oozaru. One that seemingly bled from its mouth. So the EDF had taken it in.

"Let's see if we can find out just what you're hiding." Bulma muttered to herself using a large pair of industrial gloves and metal tongs to carefully place the statue onto an observation table surrounded by countless and needlessly expensive scientific instruments. As head of R&D she was the one tasked with unlocking the mysteries of this stone statue.

"Analysis shows its construction is of simple stone, but clearly this isn't some ordinary stone carving. There's got to be something we're missing." The blue haired scientist commented tapping a microphone attached to her lab coat making sure her audio notes were being recorded as she frantically tapped away at a large tablet in her hands.

#fat fuzzy saiyans #anon ask #muse: bulma

[kesbeacon]

And the items generator update is LIVE! This is a massive update, with new content in virtually every area, and two entirely new types of found everyday items that you can generate: textiles and containers (with their contents).

Stay tuned this week for an art bonanza of characters modelling magic items!

Some example items under the cut:

a magnificent dulcimer made of bone and bright lead. it bestows knowledge upon you, but it can only be used a limited number of times. it is spoken of in dusty academic tomes. it was made by a dying god, in a time of wondrous learning and high dreams.

a printed novel by a grifter with the best of intentions. its subject is magical lifehacks.

an ancient pack of cards. it has been implicated in the highest crimes of state.

an oval bronze coin. it has an ear of corn on it. it is not recognised by any country you have visited.

a patched pair of embroidered gloves made of cotton.

a fragile envelope. when you cut it open, you find sketches by a god.

an elaborate bag. when you part the folds, you find records of taxes owed and unpaid by a vicious warlord.

an elaborate scientific instrument made of rough granite and translucent flesh. it bestows the power to wound the invincible upon you, but it is already partially broken and drained. it was the possession of a legendary wizard. it was made by a wizard's captive.

#generator #fantasy #magic items #rpg #magic #as always made with 0 ai; all handcrafted artisanal work here lmao

[convexicalcrow]

Hermit Horror Week 2023 Day 1: s8/game mechanics

what if the one hermit who consistently gets his ass possessed also got his ass possessed by moon big. what if that happened.

-

The moon was big. Cub was very certain of that fact. Whether that was due to it coming closer, or growing bigger, that he was less sure about, to be honest. He was also floating into the air, and he'd constructed a Very Scientific instrument to measure it's progress. It was definitely getting worse. Perhaps anyone else might have gone mad from not sleeping, but not Cub! He thrived on insomnia! Even the phantoms made him laugh, the silly creatures. They were just weird flying dogs, right? Yeah! Nipping at his heels, just being a nuisance, nothing to worry about!

He'd needed no real convincing to join the Mooners. Mumbo's explanation made as much sense as any as to why the moon had decided to crash into their world. And it was definitely crashing, right? Sure! Why not? Made about as much sense as anything else. Of course the moon would be lonely and sad about all the Hermits sleeping the night away! So if sleeping was what the moon detested, then he wouldn't sleep! Easy! He could do that without even thinking. And he'd have more time to work on his projects. The enchanted desert still wasn't finished yet.

-

The shadows dancing in the corner of his vision didn't seem weird. Why would they? The moon being so huge in the sky had messed with the shadows and everything looked weird. Simultaneously too bright and not bright enough. Everything looked like the colour had been drained from it, like the world was now in monochrome.

It definitely couldn't be the not sleeping, though. Sure, it had been weeks now, but he was fine! He didn't even feel tired anymore! Just a bit of Vex magic and some regen potions here and there and he was fine. Never felt better!

-

…his name is cubfan135…

-

The Octagon seemed…

Cub blinked. Thought he'd seen something- but there's no way it moved, right? No, of course not. That was silly. It had legs, sure, but it couldn't walk. Nah, nah, he was just seeing things, that's all. Just the weird-

The Octagon screamed-

Cub shook his head. No. He was seeing things. That wasn't right. There was no swirling mass of deep blackness there. There was no vortex threatening to swallow the world. The amethyst wasn't singing because there was no amethyst. It wasn't a black hole, it was just the deepslate not reflecting enough light to-

-

"Cub? You okay, my dude?"

Ren's voice shimmered through the air. Cub closed his eyes. Perhaps he was falling-

-

No. He was floating. The moon had come to reclaim her child and Cub reached for her eagerly. The moonlight was all he could see; faint whispers filled his mind, but he was so used to that it didn't even bother him. Probably just the Vex again, they did that a lot. Nothing to worry about.

He was lying on a cloud, dripping moonlight from his fingers. They fell to earth, making the ground shake. He smiled serenely as the moon whispered all kinds of things to him. This was just a dream. He was fine. Nothing to worry about.

-

Cub was placing sand in the hot sun. He was digging up sand in the hot sun. He'd grown used to the strange visions he was seeing now. If he looked at the sun, it turned into a falcon. His mind was running a million miles an hour with the most absurd thoughts he could come up with. Was he going mad? Probably. Didn't matter, though. He just thought of one of the ancient Pharaohs putting minigolf in their pyramid and burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, sand slipping through his fingers as he wandered elsewhere into his mind.

-

…his name is cubfan135…

…his name is cubfan135…

-

Cub was gazing up at the moon. Ren was beside him. He had joined some other moon cult, or so he'd said. Cub didn't really understand his ramblings about moon rocks or potatoes, to be honest.

"She's demanding heads, Cub. She wants- heads. I can feel it, bro. It's what she tells me to do," Ren murmured.

"Then I guess that's what you gotta do, Ren," Cub said.

"It feels like she's…" Ren paused. "I don't want to say possessed? But maybe- maybe she's possessed me. I don't know. You know what that's like, right?"

"Possession? Maybe, maybe," Cub said.

-

Red eyes stared at him across the enchanted desert. Every night they were there, like a predator stalking prey. But not stalking, just watching. Red eyes and a dark shadow. Perhaps a wolf. Perhaps a Rendog, Cub thought and laughed.

Was it a portent of bad things to come? Well, maybe. But the moon was still insanely huge in the sky, so like, maybe there were other more direct warnings, you know? Anyway, the red eyes didn't move. Didn't approach. Made no sound. Just watching. Weird. But as long as it left him alone, Cub decided he really didn't care.

-

Thunder. Lighting didn't really seem all that impressive with all the moonlight drowning it out. Cub was standing on top of Pearl's base, watching Boatem. It was quiet. He didn't know how long he'd been up here. He just knew the moon was filling almost the whole sky, and the levitation effects had left him with sore legs from falling back to earth so often. He felt… paralysed. Been a while since he felt this scared. The moon was whispering; his stomach growled. It had been a while since he'd fed the moon the Vex. She They hungered for blood.

-

…his name is cubfan135…

…his name is cubfan135…

…his name is cubfan135…

-

There was one cavern carved into the canyon that Cub didn't remember building. It was tucked away behind a lot of dripstone; you couldn't even see it from the outside. But he'd fallen into it, and found himself looking at some kind of shrine. Something - a conduit? - floated above it, giving off a powerful energy that drew him in. Images flashed into his mind: the moon crashing, rabid dogs hunting, the ocean turning red, his sword covered with blood. Then, whispers, whispers, the moon was whispering to him. Feed me. Bring me their heads. Feed me. I am. Moonatrix Octa.

-

There was a section of wall in his main base where he'd carved a notch in the stone for every day he hadn't slept. There were so many now that his initial neat tallies of fives had devolved rapidly into marks that had no organisation whatsoever. He'd tried counting them once, but he'd got lost around 54, and started again, where he'd got lost at 81, and then again at 43. Honestly, he wasn't even sure they were actually the right tally marks, even though he remembered coming in here every night to carve another one. Fuck, he was tired.

-

He heard chanting as he flew over Boatem. Saw Ren and Doc circling Mumbo chanting his name. You know, just normal Hermit things. They were wearing some weird robes, but that's all Cub really took in before he crashed into Scar's mountain and had to pretend like he hadn't actually done that as he brushed the snow off and steadied himself on the wall of Grian's observatory. He watched the scene before him, seeing Ren and Doc throwing potions and wielding axes. Man, those moon cults must be getting worse if they're dancing around Mumbo and dropping spiderwebs at his-

-

Cub respawned, having no memory of how he'd died. He lay in bed, and he didn't notice anything weird until he turned his head to see Doc sitting by his bed, clearly holding Ren back as he growled and bared his teeth at him.

Cub pulled back. "Hey, no, you-"

"We left your stuff in a chest. Sorry about the murder, but we needed your head," Doc said.

"What- wait, what happened? Why's he-?" Cub said. "Do I even want to know?"

"Moon's big." Doc shrugged, as if that was that.

Ren snarled. "Moonatrix Octa thanks you for your sacrifice."

-

Cub stared at his hands in the moonlight. He was sure they'd turned purple. That's definitely a thing that could happen, right? He laughed, and it was the kind of laugh that masked deep fear. He closed his eyes as the ground shook, steadying himself against a tree. When he looked again, his hands were covered in blood. He looked up. Red eyes watching. Sharp fingers clawed his shoulders. Harsh whispers. Feed me. Bring me their heads. I am nearly here. Not long now. I must have them. You can save them all. Behold my wrath, I am Moonatrix Octa.

-

Cub held a Vex head in his hands. Didn't know why. Didn't know how he'd even got one. He didn't remember raiding a mansion. He wouldn't kill Vexes for one. He was better than that. But clearly it meant only one thing: the Vex were calling.

"So your moon rock possessed you, hey, Ren? Well. You know nothing of possession," Cub said as he put the mask on, his body transforming into his Vex form.

The moon whispered eagerly, egging him on. He took his sword, stomach hungry for blood, and flew straight to the Octagon. This would be easy.

-

…his name is Renthedog…

…his name is Renthedog…

…his name is Renthedog…

#hermitcraft #fanfic #hermithorrorweek2023 #cubfan135 #rendog #docm77 #hermatrix lore #hallucinations #delusional thinking #possession #vex cub #moonatrix octa #hc8 #moon big #back on my moon big bullshit again sorry not sorry #what happens when you don't sleep and have a penchant for being possessed by things #idk how many of these prompts i'll do but here's one at least :D

[talonabraxas]

The Golden Sun Disc of Mu Talon Abraxas

Held by ropes of pure gold in a shrine in the greatest Temple of Divine Light of the Motherland of Mu was the gigantic Golden Disc of the Sun. Before it, on an altar, which was a pillar carved out of solid stone, there blazed the eternal white Light of the crystalline Maxin Flame, the Divine Limitless Light of Creation. About 30,000 B.C. the Maxin Light went out on the Altar because of the evil of some of the priest-scientists of Great Mu. The Sun Disc remained in its shrine, however, until the time of the final destruction and submergence of 10-12,000 B.C.

As we said before, this Disc was not merely used as an object of adoration, nor was it the symbolic representation of our Solar Sun. It was also a scientific instrument, and the secret of its power came originally out of the dim past in the time of the Elder Race. In part, it was an object of adoration because it served in ritualistic temple services as a focus or point of concentration for those meditating. It also served as a symbolic representation of the Great Central, or Cosmic Sun, which, in turn, symbolizes the Creator. As a scientific instrument it was used in connection with a complex system of mirrors of pure gold, reflectors and lenses to produce healing in the bodies of those who were inside the Temple of Light. Indeed, that is why it was called Temple of Divine Light. Besides all these functions, the Sun Disc was a focal point for concentration of a dimensional quality. When the Disc was struck by a priest-scientist, who understood its operation, it would set certain vibratory conditions which could even bring about great earthquakes and, if continued long enough, might bring about a change in the rotation of the Earth itself. When attuned to a person’s particular frequency pattern it could transport this person wherever he wished to go merely by the mental picture he created. It was, therefore, an object of transportation.

The Golden Sun Disc of Mu was not made of ordinary gold, but was transmuted gold, and unusual in its qualities in that it was a translucent metal similar, evidently, to the “metal you can almost look through” of the UFOs.

Lord Muru brought this Disc with him when he journeyed to Lake Titicaca, and it was placed in a subterranean temple at the Monastery of the Brotherhood of the Seven Rays. Here, it was used not only by the students of life daily, but also by the Masters and Saints from the Mystery Schools throughout the world so that they might be teleported back and forth to sit in Council or to partake of some Transmission Ceremony.

When the Incas came to Peru, and come they did, for they were not native Quechua Indians, but came from a land across the Pacific, they established a highly spiritual society on top of the ruins of the great culture that had belonged to the Colonial Empire of Lemuria. The High Priests of the Sun of Tawantinsuyo–the name of the Inca Empire–built their Coricancha or Temple of the Sun exactly on top of an older structure dating from very remote times. From ancient records in their homeland across the Pacific they learned of the Golden Sun Disc of Mu and they knew it had been removed from the doomed continent and taken to a new land where Lord Muru had founded an Inner Retreat or Sanctuary.

Once in Peru, the Incan High Priests searched long for the Disc but were never able to locate it. However, when they had reached the place on the Spiritual Pathway where they could use the Disc to the benefit of all their people–the native, indigenous tribes they had amalgamated into an empire–as it had been used on Mu, then it was presented to them for their daily use in their Temple of the Sun at Cuzco.

The Inca Emperor at the time was a Divine Mystic or Saint, and he made a pilgrimage to the Monastery at Lake Titicaca, and there Aramu-Muru, as Spiritual Head or Abbot of the Brotherhood, gave the Disc to the Emperor. Several Brothers from the lake were directed to journey with him to the capital of the empire, Cuzco. Here the Disc was placed in a shrine that had been prepared for it, and it was secured with golden ropes as it had been held in ancient Lemuria. Even today, the holes through which these ropes passed can be seen at the Convent of Santo Domingo in Cuzco which is built on top of the Pre-Inca and Inca Sun Temple.

The Incas called their Temple of the Sun Coricancha, which means Place of Gold or Garden of Gold. This was because of the magnificent, solid gold, life-sized figures of men, animals, plants and flowers that were placed in a real Garden of Gold adjacent to the Sun Temple. But the priest-scientists called the Temple Amarucancha. On some of the stones at Santo Domingo today you can still see carved serpents (amarus) and that is the reason, they say, that some knew the Temple as Amarucancha, or, Place of the Serpents. However, that is not the real reason. Amaru is a form of Aramu, which is one of the names of Lord Maru. There are large snakes in the Andes which are still called amarus. Lord Maru’s name concerns a snake because his title is similar to that of another world teacher, Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed Serpent of the Aztec Empire in Mexico. Therefore, the Temple of the Sun at Cuzco was named for Aramu-Muru, head of the Monastery at Lake Titicaca, for it was he who enabled them to have, at last, the Golden Disc in their Sun Temple. Within this greater Temple there were smaller temples or shrines dedicated to the Moon, the Twelve Planets (Stars), and to the Seven Rays.

The Brotherhood of the Seven Rays became the leading force in the spiritual life of the Incas, and they learned the use of the Disc from ancient records left by the wise Pre-Incas who were Lemurian colonists. The Disc remained in the Coricancha at Cuzco until word reached the priests that Don Francisco Pizarro had landed in Peru. Knowing full well what was going to take place, sorrowfully they removed the Disc from the Cuzco shrine and returned it to its place in the subterranean temple at the Monastery. The Spanish conquerors never saw it.

On January 21, 1956, Beloved Archangel Michael of the Sun gave an address at His Retreat at Banff, in the Canadian Rockies. The following is an excerpt:

Many of the Temples used on Atlantis and Lemuria have been raised into the etheric realms. Some day they will be lowered again when man is spiritually ready to receive them. It has happened that one or more of the precious stones used in the construction of these Temples have been put in the hands of a High Priest or Head of a Spiritual Order where they form a connection with the Celestial Hierarchy. There are several dozens of the stones from My own Temple in the possession of individuals at various points on the Earth’s surface today…

The Golden Sun Disc of Mu is one of the precious stones referred to by Lord Michael. And it was put in the hands of the Head of the Brotherhood of the Seven Rays, Aramu-Muru. The Disc will remain at Lake Titicaca until that day ‘when man is spiritually ready’ to receive it and to use it once again. On that day the Golden Disc will be taken out of its subterranean chamber and placed high above the Monastery of the Brotherhood. For many miles the pilgrims of the New Dawn will see it once again reflecting the glorious rays of the Sun. Coming from it will be an undeniable tone of purest harmony that will bring many followers of light up the foot-worn path to the ancient gate of the Brotherhood of the Seven Rays, and they shall enter the Valley of the Blue Moon for fellowship in the Father.

Excerpt from Secret Of The Andes

[alolanlan]

ideas for a mdzs ATLA au

- the Lan as the air nomads except instead of a flowy, go-wherever lifestyle, they have rules to keep them “tethered to the earth”. the lan forehead ribbons work in the same way, with them only releasing their earthly tie to the one who they can trust to bring them back - spouse and family. the colors would swap to the typical cloud recesses colors instead of yellow, orange, and dark red.

- the Nie and Jin taking up the earth kingdom. ba sing se could be where the jins have walled themselves in to protect themselves from the war, while the rest can be nie territory.

- the Jiang as the water tribe except instead of replacing the north and south pole tribes, they replace the swampbenders. so yk how the tribes at the poles are seen as the main waterbending groups while swampbenders are seen as a subculture hidden away in the earth kingdom? yeah, switch the status of the groups. the Jiang sect can live in Lotus Pier and have the combined prestige as the canon north and south waterbending tribes and while there are waterbending tribes at the poles, they’re isolated and closed off from the rest of the world (intentionally; im thinking baoshan sanren is the leader of the southern water tribe in this au).

- the Wen as the Fire Nation, obv. that’s pretty much all I have to say.

- Cangse Sanren was the last avatar. Baoshan Sanren took her in to the Southern Water Tribe after finding Cangse living on the streets of an earth kingdom port city. Cangse Sanren was trained in waterbending first, then traveled around the world to master other forms of bending. She’s taught airbending by the Lans, earthbending by the Nie, and learns waterbending by the Jiangs (and falls in love with a nonbender Jiang sect servant, Wei Changze, in the process).

- Wei Wuxian is born a waterbender. When his parents die in a hunt for a resentful spirit, he grows up on the streets. He’s eventually found and taken in by the Jiang sect to teach him waterbending.

- Jiang Yanli is a nonbender and Jiang Cheng is a waterbender. Instead of becoming a whip, Zidian could send an electric charge thru the water and make his water whip extra dangerous?? idk if that would work scientifically but it would be neat

- Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen are airbenders that channel their bending thru musical instruments

- Nie Mingjue is the general of the earthbending army and he sends Nie Huaisang to the island of Kyoshi to keep him safe, unaware he’d become a Kyoshi Warrior (i think they’d make an exception for him gender wise??)

- Wen Qing is a nonbender in the Wen sect that found a new way of healing that focuses on chi points, similar to how waterbending healing works but using acupuncture needles instead. Wen Ning is a rather weak firebender but his aim with a bow and arrow is amazing

- the Jin are either a clan of metalbenders or nonbenders. Jin Zixuan and Meng Yao would both be nonbenders i think.

- anyway, onto the plot.

- the cloud recesses arc is pretty much the same except everyone is there to learn more about airbending culture and spirituality and see how it can be applied to their own bending.

- just like in mdzs canon, the Wen end up attacking the Lan sect first and it’s devastating. not to the point of total genocide like in atla canon, but a shit ton of people die. Lan Xichen flees with ancient airbending scrolls and Lan Wangji is captured at the temple he’d been defending.

- Xuanwu of slaughter is a rlly angry spirit creature kept prisoner in a cave, wangxian once again defeat it

- Lotus Pier is burned but there are more survivors considering they have waterbending to put out the fires. Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan are both killed in direct combat with the Wens and Jiang Cheng gets his bending taken away by Wen Zhuliu (a bloodbender like Amon in tlok that can block people’s bending abilities).

- Wen Qing and Wen Ning help the Yunmeng sibs escape Lotus Pier but there’s nothing anyone can do to help him. Wen Qing puts him in a medically induced coma to keep him from putting strain on his injuries but then she and her brother have to go, leaving Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian. When they hear Wen Chao is hunting them down, Wei Wuxian takes off to lead them away but is running on fumes to the point where he gets captured. Jiang Yanli, meanwhile, takes her brother to the Golden Carp Tower in Ba Sing Se, where her connections allow them to take refuge.

- He’s thrown in the Burial Mounds, a place where resentful spirits roam freely, devouring anyone who dares step foot in their territory. He spends a few days hiding for his life before he’s discovered by a spirit.

- the spirit looks deep into his heart and sees that all he truly desires is to help Jiang Cheng and everyone else. the spirit takes pity on him and makes an offer: it will teach him the bending technique needed to help his brother, but in return he has to gift the spirit his ability to waterbend normally. he accepts and the spirit teaches him bloodbending.

- through the spirit’s teachings, Wei Wuxian is able to master the art of bloodbending (Wen Zhuliu is a bloodbender already, but he’s no master). The cost, however, is high - bloodbending deteriorates the bender’s mind, body, and spirit and if he’s not careful it will consume him.

- three months after being thrown in, he leaves the Burial Mounds. first thing he does is find Jiang Cheng in Ba Sing Se and use his bloodbending to unblock his waterbending. he leaves before Jiang Cheng wakes up or Jiang Yanli spots him and the return of JC’s bending is seen as a miracle.

- Anyway. Sunshot Campaign happens!! Wei Wuxian is a BAMF that controls the blood in recently dead bodies to create a zombie army! Lan Wangji is Concerned but also uncomfortably turned on! Meng Yao goes undercover and kills Wen Ruohan!

- to be continued. probably

#mdzs #mdzs au #mdzs fanfic idea #atla au #bloodbender wei wuxian #waterbender jiang cheng #airbender lan wangji #mdzs atla au

[heavyanddissolved]

Johann Michael von Loën was a German enlightenment writer and statesman, and the uncle of Goethe. He had a very detailed and elaborate ex libris, or bookplate, which would be pasted on the inside of the front of his books to show that they belonged to him.

It depicts the idealised but not unrealistic library of a wealthy man of the times, with tall bookshelves framed by decorated columns, surmounted by playful festoons and statuettes, probably depicting ancient deities or allegorical figures. Special cabinets hold rare manuscripts, and on their sides hang scientific instruments. The cabinet on the left has an unfolded reading surface, indicating recent use. In the middle of the large room is a generous piece of wooden furniture, perhaps holding reference works, offering a convenient place to display open books and more intricate and expensive technological trinkets - a clock, an amarilly sphere and a globe. At the back, an open door indicates further, perhaps infinite library rooms in succession.

The library is one of richness and grandeur, but also one of utility, charm and comfort - typical for the ideals of the early Enlightenment, and I daresay, quite attractive still today.

Source: +

#library #old library #interior #johann michael von loen #vintage illustration #vintage interior #ex libris #bookplate #enlightenment

[rkmoriyama]

R K M O R I Y A M A - w r i t e b l r i n t r o d u c t i o n

Hi, I'm back with an updated writeblr introduction. It's been a while since I did the last one and stuff has changed.

My name's Alex, and I go by the pronouns she/her or they/them (it doesn't really matter to me) I've recently entered my 30s which is kind of scary to say. I'm

M Y W I P S

FOR THE SMOKE OF NIGHTMARES wip intro (N/A) | fantasy

In For the Smoke of Nightmares, we follow Reuel, one of the hundreds of kids who were born with abilities after the end of the Great War which saw the release of a Great Ancient Evil. When a prisoner accused of trying to assassinate the Crown Prince arrives at Tariam Fortress (home to those with abilities) Reuel is faced with a power similar to his own, one he thought he was alone with. He is also made aware that another war is brewing, but this time, nation won't fight against nation.

IN THE DARKENED SKY wip intro (N/A) | fantasy

In In the Darkened Sky, we follow Senka, a daughter of none, raised isolated in a valley by Sylvain Astavau, a retired captain of the King's Army, and later also the dragon Nithe, who hatched while in their possession. But their idyllic, slow life is promptly interrupted by the arrival of soldiers and the message they carry. Sylvain Astavau has been called back to serve, and Akresia is going to war. Senka and Nithe are thrust into a structured, military life, forced to follow rules they don't always agree with, and are tossed into a conflict they have no experience with.

AN INSTRUMENT OF PEACE wip intro (N/A) | sci-fi

In An Instrument of Peace, Dr. Floriane Achard is approached with a proposition she cannot turn down. An expedition to a new planet, humanity's potential new home as they are losing the war against Mother Earth. But the scientific exploration of the new planet shows it has previously been inhabited by lifeforms as intellectual as humans, if not more. What was a mission to decide on the planet's suitability for humanity's survival turns into a hunt for the truth. What happened to them? And is it still present?

... and another dozen wips that are currently on the back burner!

Each of these wips has its own taglists. So if you want on a list for one or all of them, send me an ask or write in the comments or something like that. I will keep a general taglist as well that will be tagged in content related to all three of these wips.

#writeblr intro #writeblr #wtwcommunity

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

NASA delivers science instrument to JAXA's Martian Moons mission

On March 14, NASA handed over its gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer instrument to JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) for integration onto JAXA's MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission spacecraft and final system-level testing.

NASA's Mars-moon Exploration with Gamma Ray and Neutrons (MEGANE) instrument, developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, in collaboration with colleagues from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, will play a major role in the MMX mission, which aims to characterize and determine the origin of Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos and deliver a sample from Phobos to Earth.

Scientists suspect the asteroid-sized bodies either are remnants of an ancient collision between Mars and a large impactor or are themselves asteroids captured by Mars' gravity. By measuring the energies of neutrons and gamma rays emitted from the surface of Phobos, MEGANE will let MMX "see" the elemental composition of the moon's surface and help peg the likely origin of the moon.

"MEGANE will be a key instrument on MMX, making a big contribution toward the goal of understanding the origin of the Martian moons," said Thomas Statler, MEGANE program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "NASA is glad to see MEGANE ready for integration, another step in NASA's continuing collaboration with JAXA on this groundbreaking mission."

The instrument team received the green light last fall to ship MEGANE (pronounced meh-GAH-nay, the Japanese word for "eyeglasses") after the project's standing review board evaluated the device's readiness. That milestone marked the end of a demanding 6-year design and development process, which met NASA's cost and schedule constraints.

"Passing the pre-ship review and delivering the hardware are significant steps for all those working on MEGANE," said APL's David Lawrence, the instrument's principal investigator. "Like all spaceflight builds, we have had challenges getting to this point, but we are excited to see how MEGANE works with all the other spacecraft components for this exciting MMX mission."

APL staff members Erin Hoffer and John Stinchcomb were in Japan to participate in the handover of the MEGANE hardware to JAXA and the spacecraft manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) on Wednesday.

MEGANE is the latest in APL's growing list of neutron and gamma-ray spectrometer instruments developed for space missions, which include NASA's MESSENGER mission to Mercury, the Psyche mission launched in October 2023 and the agency's upcoming Dragonfly mission.

With MEGANE now in Japan, the MMX team will begin integrating the scientific instruments, including MEGANE, with other spacecraft components, before putting the entire system through a series of tests in preparation for launch, which is scheduled for fiscal year 2026, aboard a JAXA H3 rocket.

"For me personally, I'm looking forward to all the integration and test operations that are to come," said Sarah Bucior, a space systems engineer at APL and the MEGANE I&T Lead Engineer. "I love rockets, so I'm really interested to see how they build their spacecraft and then follow it along to launch operations and liftoff."

IMAGE....U.S. and Japanese team members gather around and discuss the gamma-ray spectrometer portion of the MEGANE instrument during its development at Johns Hopkins APL. Credit: NASA/JAXA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #nasa #astrophysics

[alchemisoul]

"In 1933, in Science and Sanity, Alfred Korzybski proposed that we should abolish the "is of identity" from the English language. (The "is of identity" takes the form X is a Y. e.g., "Joe is a Communist," "Mary is a dumb file-clerk," "The universe is a giant machine," etc.) In 1949, D. David Bourland Jr. proposed the abolition of all forms of the words "is" or "to be" and the Bourland proposal (English without "isness") he called E-Prime, or English-Prime.

A few scientists have taken to writing in E-Prime (notable Dr. Albert Ellis and Dr. E.W. Kellogg III). Bourland, in a recent (not-yet-published) paper tells of a few cases in which scientific reports, unsatisfactory to sombunall members of a research group, suddenly made sense and became acceptable when re-written in E-Prime. By and large, however, E-Prime has not yet caught on either in learned circles or in popular speech.

(Oddly, most physicists write in E-Prime a large part of the time, due to the influence of Operationalism -- the philosophy that tells us to define things by operations performed -- but few have any awareness of E-prime as a discipline and most of them lapse into "isness" statements all too frequently, thereby confusing themselves and their readers. )

Nonetheless, E-Prime seems to solve many problems that otherwise appear intractable, and it also serves as an antibiotic against what Korzybski called "demonological thinking." Most of this book employs E-Prime so the reader could begin to get acquainted with this new way of mapping the world; in a few instances I allowed normal English, and its "isness" to intrude again (how many of you noticed that?), while discussing some of the weird and superstitious thinking that exists throughout our society and always occurs when "is" creeps into our concepts. (As a clue or warning, I placed each "is" in dubious quotation marks, to highlight its central role in the confusions there discussed).

As everybody with a home computer knows, the software can change the functioning of the hardware in radical and sometimes startling ways. The first law of computers -- so ancient that some claim it dates back to dark, Cthulhoid aeons when giant saurians and Richard Nixons still dominated the earth -- tells us succinctly, "Garbage In, Garbage Out" (or GIGO for short).

The wrong software guarantees wrong answers, or total gibberish. Conversely, the correct software, if you find it, will often "miraculously" solve problems that had hitherto appeared intractable.

Since the brain does not receive raw data, but edits data as we receive it, we need to understand the software the brain uses. The case for using E-Prime rests on the simple proposition that "isness" sets the brain into a medieval Aristotelian framework and makes it impossible to understand modern problems and opportunities. A classic case of GIGO, in short. Removing "isness" and writing/thinking only and always in operational/existential language sets us, conversely, in a modern universe where we can successfully deal with modern issues.

To begin to get the hang of E-Prime, consider the following two columns, the first written in Standard English and the second in English Prime.

Standard English

1. The photon is a wave.

2. The photon is a particle.

3. John is unhappy and grouchy.

4. John is bright and cheerful.

English Prime

1. The photon behaves as a wave when constrained by certain instruments.

2. The photon appears as a particle when constrained by other instruments.

3. John appears unhappy and grouchy in the office.

4. John appears bright and cheerful on holiday at the beach.

..."

- Robert Anton Wilson

If you can read this, you're a Pope.

#robert anton wilson #discordianism #discordian #ifyoucanreadthisyoureapope #if you can read this youre a pope #church of the subgenius #hail eris #praise bob #philosophy #language #linguistics #semantics #E-Prime #e prime #Alfred Korzybski #quote #physics #quantum physics #science #operationalism

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The Vitruvian Man is a famous drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian Renaissance artist and scientist. It shows a man in two positions, with his arms and legs spread out, inside a circle and a square. The drawing is based on the writings of Vitruvius, an ancient Roman architect, who described the ideal proportions of the human body. Leonardo wanted to explore the relationship between man and nature, and how the human body reflects the harmony of the universe. He also used his own measurements and observations, as well as the works of other artists and scholars, to create his own version of the perfect human figure. The drawing is very detailed and precise, with notes and calculations in Leonardo’s characteristic mirror writing. It is considered one of the most iconic images of Western civilization, and a symbol of the Renaissance spirit of art and science. It's now kept in the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, Italy, but it is rarely displayed to the public because of its fragility and sensitivity to light. It was loaned to the Louvre in 2019 for a special exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death.

[Courtesy of http://leonardodavinci.net]

* * * *

"What is needed is either a new understanding of God or a new understanding of Man: an understanding of God that does not insult the scientific mind while offering bread, not a stone, to the deepest hunger of the heart; or an understanding of Man that squarely faces the criminal weakness of our moral will while holding out to us the knowledge of how we can strive within ourselves to become the fully human being we are meant to be-both for ourselves and as instruments of a higher purpose. But this is not an either/or. The premise—or, rather, the proposal—of this book is that at the heart of the Christian religion there exists, and has always existed, just such a vision of both God and Man.

I call it “lost Christianity,” not because it is a matter of doctrines and concepts that may have been lost or forgotten; nor even a matter of methods of spiritual practice that may need to be recovered from ancient sources. It is all that, to be sure, but what is lost in the whole of our modern life, including our understanding of religion, is something even more fundamental, without which religious ideas and practices lose their meaning and all too easily become the instruments of ignorance, fear, and hatred.

What is lost is the experience of oneself, just oneself—myself, the personal being who is here, now, living, breathing, yearning for meaning, for goodness; just this person here, now, squarely confronting one’s own existential weaknesses and pretensions while yet aware, however tentatively, of a higher current of life and identity calling to us from within ourselves.

This presence to oneself is the missing element in the whole of the life of Man, the intermediate state of consciousness between what we are meant to be and what we actually are. It is, perhaps, the one bridge that can lead us from our inhuman past toward the human future."

-Lost Christiantiy

by Jacob Needleman

#Vitruvian Man #Leonardo da Vinci #quotes #Lost Christianity #Jacob Needleman #human #human being #philosophy #God and man

[jcmarchi]

Mars Sample Return a top scientific priority, Lunine testifies - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/mars-sample-return-a-top-scientific-priority-lunine-testifies-technology-org/

Mars Sample Return a top scientific priority, Lunine testifies - Technology Org

At the western end of Mars’ Jezero Crater, a river channel and pile of sediments resembling river deltas on Earth hold clues about how Mars evolved from a more Earth-like world to the barren, inhospitable surface seen today.

Since 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover has collected more than 20 samples of rocks and sediments from the crater floor, delta fan and hills above it – resources that could answer crucial questions about what happened to the red planet’s climate and geology and improve understanding of our own.

But those samples could be stranded on Mars if Congress fails to provide adequate funding for the space agency to design and build the Mars Sample Return mission, Jonathan Lunine, the David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences and chair of the Department of Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences, testifiedm before a congressional subcommittee reviewing NASA’s science programs.

“The benefit of succeeding in bringing back rock and soil from an ancient riverbed on a planet 140 million miles away is that it will tell the world that this nation has the imagination, will and courage to accomplish just about anything,” Lunine said in written testimony. “And that message is priceless. To not complete Mars Sample Return – to leave the samples stranded on Mars – would be … a national disgrace.”

Lunine was one of four experts invited to testify at the U.S. House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics hearing titled, “Advancing Scientific Discovery: Assessing the Status of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.” Watch a replay here.

Earlier this year, budget uncertainty led NASA to plan for the lower of two proposed funding levels for the mission and to lay off staff at its Jet Propulsion Lab in California. Current appropriations bills defer a decision on funding, which could range from $300 million to nearly $1 billion, while the agency reassesses the mission’s architecture.

Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said that after an independent review board’s “sobering analysis” of the mission’s costs and challenges last fall, the agency would complete its internal reassessment this spring.

“It’s our willingness to acknowledge these challenges and overcome them, to conduct science in ways that have barely been imagined, that makes us NASA,” Fox testified.

Lunine called Mars Sample Return the most ambitious robotic program the United States has ever attempted, requiring challenging new technology and involving multiple NASA centers and the European Space Agency.

But having served as a member of an independent review board that examined the mission last year, Lunine said he’s “supremely confident” that it can and will be done despite budget pressures requiring difficult choices.

“It can be done because American engineering prowess is up to the task,” he told lawmakers. “It will be done because as a nation we surely will not simply walk away from a daring, highly visible and scientifically important challenge.”

Successive National Academies of Sciences decadal surveys have identified the mission as the top priority in planetary science, Lunine said, to help answer the questions: Did life begin on Mars? How did Mars dry up? Exactly when did it dry up?

Only instruments in laboratories on Earth, instruments far more precise and powerful than those carried by the Mars rovers, can precisely analyze the collected rock and soil samples to determine their composition and age, Lunine said. In the same way, the samples Apollo astronauts returned from the moon established a definitive chronology for the earliest history of the Earth-moon system – the program’s most profound scientific achievement, Lunine said. More than a half-century later, moon samples continue to be studied by increasingly capable instruments.

“The samples returned from Mars in the coming decade will be analyzed not only by scientists active today, but by scientists who are not yet born, using laboratory techniques not yet invented,” Lunine said. “These precious records of early Mars will be a lasting scientific treasure and a legacy of American technological prowess.”

Source: Cornell University

Mars gifts – the best space gifts from the Red Planet, ranging from Mars-themed clothes to genuine, certified meteorites from Mars.

#aeronautics #Analysis #architecture #Arts #astronauts #Astronomy #Astronomy news #billion #board #Born #challenge #channel #climate #college #Composition #Design #earth #engineering #European Space Agency #Funding #Geology #hearing #History #how #it #LED #life #mars #Mars rovers #message

[cleave-and-plough]

can an hourglass run slow?

the lens widens. souji's looming presence in this arc once again expands the show's scope, and this time in terms of genre. speculative fiction now joins fantasy, romance, and coming of age in the blend of tones: can science achieve the eternal? is it like a perpetual motion machine? or is it like a computer learning to love?

while the student council members try to investigate the black rose duelists, souji receives a letter-bearing visitor: akio, who seems to be the chief agent of end of the world, if not end of the world himself. he brings new orders for souji, who initially resists but finds himself recalling his past as professor nemuro.

in the distant past, ohtori academy seemed to be funding a project with the rumored goal of "revolutionizing the world" or "achieving eternity." to this end, 100 male academics were gathered, along with nemuro, a renowned scholar known as the "living computer." the academics seem to have a sense of a deeper purpose that they withhold from nemuro, though he remains skeptical of the entire affair and sees it as nothing more than a job. as with everything at this school, it's hard to tell who's truly informed and whose intent is being carried out. given the eventual fate of the laboratory, i have to wonder if the academics were gathered specifically because they were young and willing to pursue something as lofty as world revolution: wearing rose crest rings, they seem like prototypes of the student council duelists, wielding scientific instruments and equations rather than swords in their pursue of the eternal.

nemuro stands to the side of this quest, "a dry man living dry days," yet the arrival of tokiko chida and her brother mamiya stirs him from his apathy. chida's essence is one of prolonging and preservation: her over-steeped tea, her butterfly shadowbox(!), her candied flowers, and of course, her ailing brother. computer-like, nemuro notices the details of her home as if being notified by a blinking cursor, another instance of the show using effects and visuals to delineate a character's memories. seeing the tension between tokiko and mamiya, nemuro finds himself unusually emotionally affected. they both care for the roses in the garden, but to different ends; mamiya seems to honor the natural life cycle, wondering "if the roses like to be preserved," while tokiko does everything she can to elongate the moment.

as such, she reveals her reason for coming to the school: she hopes that the project will be successful and provide her a means of preserving mamiya's life. nemuro cautions her that the project wouldn't be able to cure him, and she responds simply by asking if there's anyone he cares for. "perhaps it's impossible for a computer to love someone." nemuro seems to agree, but something has changed within him. he finds a passion for his work, perhaps for the first time in his life, and yet he eventually reaches a wall, an insoluble equation. what can a computer do in the face of such an obstacle?

his only option is to revolutionize the world.

akio appears, counseling nemuro much as nemuro himself will counsel duelist candidates years from now. the path he must take has been prepared for him, though it costs too dearly. nemuro refuses, but having caught a glimpse of his next stage, he wanders the halls in pursuit of it and finds only akio and tokiko in each other's arms. the sequence echoes miki's discovery of touga and kozue, drawing a line between end of the world and touga, the erstwhile inheritor. having lost the object of his affections, nemuro accepts his contract, donning the ring. mysteriously, mamiya is the one to burn down the lab, though i assume nemuro enlisted his help somehow. another connection emerges here as nemuro compares the deaths to fossil fuels, a theme often prevalent in the duel songs' lyrics, which discuss ancient beings and geological eras. the present depends on the past.

emerging from his reverie, souji leaves his office with newfound purpose. his path crosses with tokiko, who has grown older and muses "it breaks my heart to see you like this now" as he passes by. she visits akio, noting that neither of them seem to have aged since she first came to the school, and akio acknowledges that "as long as they remain in these gardens called schools, people will never become adults." on the night the lab burned, nemuro and tokiko reversed roles: the building was reconstructed exactly as nemuro memorial hall and became the epicenter of nemuro's quest to preserve mamiya's life as the rose bride, while tokiko left the school, married, and returns now only to pay her respects at her brother's grave. what does this mean for the mamiya in the present? did he die and become resurrected? or does tokiko see his life now as merely a pale imitation of their time together, and the brother she knew is dead to her? and does souji see mamiya as his only means of preserving and expressing his love for tokiko? or has he come to transfer his feelings for her onto her brother?

yet again, the school is equated to a limbo state, both purgatory and edenic garden, endlessly cycling into the future ordained by end of the world. i notice now that while akio seems more adult than the main cast, he's also only engaged - tokiko being married symbolically marks her as having fully moved on from school life and into adulthood. and yet, she returns to his arms. her words and those of her brother echo here:

"for a plant to bear fruit, its flowers must die."

"nothing in this world is eternal, but a heart that longs for eternity can be considered beautiful."

stray thoughts:

this episode marks the first meeting between souji and utena, oddly inauspicious as it may be. kind of him to save chu-chu from a mousetrap, at least. his invitation to the seminar is intriguing and recalls akio's words about people with special destinies - does he wonder if he could turn utena herself into a duelist against anthy?

"i like when you give me an injection" - no siblings in this show have a normal relationship.

souji links utena & anthy and tokiko & mamiya in his mind: the former trying to instill the latter with a sense of self-worth and preservation, though the situations are markedly different.

the silhouettes discuss the construction of an all-powerful robot, ostensibly representing nemuro: never gets tired, never gets lonely, great at catching monkeys (as proven via chu-chu!).

#revolutionary girl utena #shoujo kakumei utena #utena project #my writing #duel 22