arms full of sound
Ambientia VII
It has been a week now since I last wrote you. The Synthitone has still been emitting a strange hum but now at various frequencies. I now truly believe that it has been triggered by some external event. An event unknown to me but whose outcome I hope to learn soon. Since building the device in the Shell all that time ago, I have come to know the workings of each device and how each connect and react with one another. However, as of late, I am starting to understand that there is more than one effective combination of which to build the Synthitone.
A few months ago, I decided to dismantle the original configuration of the devices and laid them all out on the vast floor of the Shell. Having a thorough understanding of what each device did on its own and how they all worked together in the original configuration allowed me to ponder their configuration. I was thinking that if I were to configure the devices differently, their interaction may be different. This, in turn, might yield different results with respect to the creation of portals and the effects on Ambientia itself. So, I rebuilt the Synthitone in a different way.
Once this was completed, I powered the Synthitone. This, in itself, is a spectacular event. Since the devices draw power from the surrounding Shell, certain effects can be seen in the immediate atmosphere. The air begins to change with a feeling of being charged with an uplifting force. The natural lighting of the Shell dims, and the walls shimmer with a silvery light, and the crystals within them start to resonate in a steady climbing pitch until full power to the Synthitone is achieved. This is all a regular event for me and I had grown numb to the wonderful display. After rebuilding the Synthitone, something was different.
The air was heavier, the crystals darker as they emitted a steady, lower pitch than ever before. Once I started to play the notes, vast differences were becoming more apparent as they revealed themselves at a rapid pace. Even Ambientia itself seemed different. The usual mild drone sounds and music in the air had changed. Was I hearing this correctly? Was there some sort of distortion on account of the new configuration of equipment? No, I was hearing it correctly – strings. The music of Ambientia had changed to a melodic set of harmonies and long floating chords of string instruments. This was truly amazing. I decided to open a portal.
The portal opened almost immediately and the success of it is apparent if you are reading my letters of late. It was since this portal activation a month ago that the Synthitone started its constant hum. I have gone all over the instruments looking for the source and cannot locate where it is coming from. Even with the unit powered off, the humming still exists. It is as though the last portal opened some sort of link that has remained open. This is possible, given my understanding of the portals. Perhaps this latest configuration has allowed for some sort of homing beacon to be activated to help others locate Ambientia.
It is nearing the end of the Winter here on Ambientia and the weather has been quite variable of late. Despite the unpredictable cold and the melting rains that have started here, I feel the need to leave the safety of my settlement and venture out in to the wilds of Ambientia in search of answers. I found the Synthitone this way, and it is time that I explore again. I am uncertain if I should retrace my steps that I took in building the Synthitone when I first arrived on Ambientia. There is a large land mass to the East that I have not yet explored in all my time here. My best guess is that it is 6 days of travel away, and that there may be a significant discovery that can provide me with some answers.
I will leave tomorrow.
- The Traveler
March 10, 2006
Journey to Ambientia
