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Tonight.
-M
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@findthestarlight
Just a reminder: we have moved here.
Sign up for the mailing list there.
Tonight.
-M
Moving day, kittens.
Come to our new place at findthestarlight.com.
Keep checking back as things change and grow.
This place will stay and be used in some capacity, I am sure.
But this is not where we should stay.
Let’s go.
-M
I've been following FTS for a while now, but I haven't been following long enough to have a medallion. I was wondering if it was at all possible for me to get one somehow. Thanks -Ender
It is.
-M
M, I'm so sorry to flood your inbox. But I was off in my count yet again. The grand total of coins is 186, $17.30, with denominations being 50 - 1, 25 - 36, 10 - 51 and 1 - 45. Is there any significance to these amounts/totals?
In the geography of the heart, significance is such a local affair. The death of a loved one could not be more significant to the lover, yet here we speak while such a thing happens every second without affecting us to the point of perception.
I would call very few things insignificant. But I would call many things insignificant to me.
Depends on where I am on the aforementioned map, I suppose.
-M
This is the cover of this chapter’s book.
The pages of this book are to follow in time.
I would say happy reading, kittens...
...but that’s not going to happen.
-M
He’s here.
It is with the heaviest of hearts
that I must tell you that this story must wait for now.
For how long I cannot say. I control many things in this world, but time and the will of others are not two of those things.
You have always known this story is not another story. It’s not a story we can approach and take from it what we would. That is not how I gained it, nor will it be how I deliver it.
So we wait. For what will seem to some like an absurd amount of time, I am sure. While to others it will seem to already be here. Time as I have said is a river in which we all stand. But rivers have shores, as some have found.
So there I stand until one crosses. Not one of you. Not one you have met.
My one.
Until then, I’ll look for a place to set this heart. I should never have taken it to begin with.
-M
I’ll miss you, M. I’ve followed this from the very beginning. It’s sad to see it end so prematurely.
End?
I'm afraid none of us are that fortunate, kitten.
-M
It is with the heaviest of hearts
that I must tell you that this story must wait for now.
For how long I cannot say. I control many things in this world, but time and the will of others are not two of those things.
You have always known this story is not another story. It's not a story we can approach and take from it what we would. That is not how I gained it, nor will it be how I deliver it.
So we wait. For what will seem to some like an absurd amount of time, I am sure. While to others it will seem to already be here. Time as I have said is a river in which we all stand. But rivers have shores, as some have found.
So there I stand until one crosses. Not one of you. Not one you have met.
My one.
Until then, I'll look for a place to set this heart. I should never have taken it to begin with.
-M
For those of you who are interested, the aforementioned chat room developed by and used by followers of this story can be found here:
http://webchat.freenode.net
Simply choose a name, type "findthestarlight" as the channel, a click here, a thing there, and in you go.
This room and its community solved the previous chapter. I would not blame you for wanting to join them. They are a welcoming lot, I have noticed. And they may need you soon.
Or walk this path alone. I would certainly never fault you for doing so. That would be hypocritical of me.
-M
If we had submitted messages that weren't our address, when we thought we were answering a puzzle, could that still count as partial credit? (I will send my address separately, in case you decide to publish this.)
Yes.
Then I will subtract the negative credit owed you for being in a chat room where people were writing that you should come here and give me your address.
And we are back to even.
-M
The people who responded with their addresses will be receiving something.
It may be soon. It may be later.
And now my collection of those addresses is closed.
If you will recall, this is precisely how the first Alchemy Starter Sets were sent out.
If you do not recall, then hold this where there is room available in your mind:
I reward those who pay attention. Because your attention is all I want.
There was a time in Chapter One when that changed. I was stuck. And I had to ask for your support in other ways. Financial ways.
I regret that decision. Even though it helped me show you things I wanted you to see. Because I do not want your money. I just want to tell you a story.
And now as the result of what is a far different story, I am able to do so without that kind of assistance.
I do all of this for the story. For what I hope it will mean to you.
And for what it means to me.
So many of you have already connected in so many ways with the people who have come and gone in this story. To Ellie. To Simon. To those whose names you have yet to learn.
That is what I want. For you to know them. For you to understand what happened to them. For you to understand a great deal more than what you will be left with when the words stop.
So come, take what there is to take. I cannot promise it will be pleasant. But it's what I've got.
-M
You need not respond to this now. Thank you to those who did.
9:10 pm
"Did you see the house?"
"I don't know what I saw. It was dark."
"Well. You'll see it soon enough, I suppose."
"I get the feeling I don't want to see it."
"You don't."
"I also get the feeling you don't want to see it."
"A life like mine takes away whatever line there ever was between wanting to not see something and trying not to think about something. Might as well swim faster to dry off. I'll see it whether I want to or not. You have a choice."
"Choice left the party a long time ago. Right about the time we met. Where is Tina?"
The man studied him. "You're scared."
"Throw a rock in the air. You'll hit someone who is scared. Fear doesn't make me any different than anyone else."
"Maybe not. But what does make you different is: out of all the fears people carry with them, none of theirs are of rocks thrown by me."
"Yeah, well they haven't seen your rocks."
The man smiled. "As you say."
Chapter One of Find the Starlight is explained here.
Many details have been left out. Many experiences that now belong only to those who were there to see them.
This looking back truly saddens me.
There are so many things about this door I wish I could close. So many doubts about whether or not it ever should have been opened.
But there is no putting the bomb back in the plane at this point.
So we had best get moving.
-M
The Prologue to Find the Starlight is explained in a new way here.
What I have to say is said in images and text. So you may want to enlarge this while watching it.
If you are just joining us, this would be a good place to start before reading the questions some have had.
Chapter One will be explained in much the same way very soon before we move on to Chapter Two.
The wheels are turning once again.
If only turning wheels helped on a dark ocean.
-M