Gaea Parallaxis

Appendix 1.4

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:25:32 GMT

If you are new to Gaea Parallaxis please read the Foreword & Introduction before proceeding!

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Time of the day and tolls of the Watch.

NB: the Common Tongue spelling of nouns are italicised.

The Common Standard for measuring and keeping time in the Gaea Parallaxis anti-verse is the twenty-four hour clock in which there are twenty-four hours to each day. These hours are numbered from 00 to 23. Each hour has sixty minutes, numbered from 00 to 59, and each minute has sixty seconds, numbered from 00 to 59. For most everyday use hours and minutes are all that is needed, for example – 13:49; but for more precise time keeping seconds can be used as needed, for example – 13:49:30.

The day, as part of the solar cycle, is very much a reflection of the solar year. Like the year, a day is also divided into quarters; these are morning (spring), noon (summer), evening (autumn) and night (winter). Also, as the solar festivals mark key times of the year, the tolls of the Watch mark key times of the day, often marked by tolls or chimes of a bell or clock.

The tolls of the Watch are as follows:

3 tolls = 03:00 = Morntide (Morntaiyd), the beginning of the morning quarter.

6 tolls = 06:00 = Midmorning (Midmorning), the mid point of the morning quarter.

9 tolls = 09:00 = Noontide (Nuwntaiyd), the beginning of the noon quarter.

12 tolls = 12:00 = Midnoon (Midnuwn) or High Noon, the midpoint of the noon quarter.

15 tolls = 15:00 = Eventide (Iyventaiyd), the beginning of the evening quarter.

18 tolls = 18:00 = Midevening (Midiyvening), the mid point of the evening quarter.

21 tolls = 21:00 = Nighttide (Niyttaiyd), the beginning of the night quarter.

24 tolls = 00:00 = Midnight (Midniyt), the mid point of the night quarter.

The Watches of the day are the traditional shifts that were kept by guards, watchmen, priests and officials since before the Common Era began. The system has passed into widespread use with the expansion of the Free Commonwealth and has become the standard measure for any occupation or post requiring a continuous twenty-four hour work schedule. Due to the increased productivity and efficiency the system provides it is now used throughout the Free Commonwealth for most professions making the society very much a twenty-four hour one. Each Watch of the day is six hours long and there are eight overlapping Watches in each day, as follows:

1. The first morning Watch runs from 03:00 till 09:00.

2. The second morning Watch runs from 06:00 till 12:00.

3. The first noon Watch runs from 09:00 till 15:00.

4. The second noon Watch runs from 12:00 till 18:00.

5. The first evening Watch runs from 15:00 till 21:00.

6. The second evening Watch runs from 18:00 till 00:00.

7. The first night Watch runs from 21:00 till 03:00.

8. The second night Watch runs from 00:00 till 06:00.

An individual would normally be expected to work eight, ideally non-consecutive, Watches (a total of 48 hours) in any eight day period (solar festivals not included for all bar the most essential professions).

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Appendix 1.3

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:19:00 GMT

If you are new to Gaea Parallaxis please read the Foreword & Introduction before proceeding!

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Months of the year and the solar cycle.

NB: the Common Tongue spelling of nouns are italicised.

The most widely used calendar in Gaea Parallaxis is the Common Calendar. It has twelve regular months per year and runs from midwinter to midwinter in the northern hemisphere and midsummer to midsummer in the southern. A calendar year is generally 365 days long, comprised of five months of 31 days each and 7 months of 30 days each. The actual length of an astronomical solar year is approximately 365.2422 days (that's 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds). Due to this discrepancy it is necessary, to keep the calendar year in sync with the solar year, to add an extra day every four years. The only exceptions to this are when it falls in a century year (a year that ends in 00) which is not divisible by 400. These 366 day years are called leap years and the extra day is added at the end of the year, giving the twelfth month 31 days instead of the usual 30. In the ancient calendar system from which the Common Calendar is derived this extra day was termed a thirteenth month in, and of, itself and is still sometimes referred to as the thirteenth month.

Any given date is expressed as the day, followed by the month, followed by the year; for example 24/03/1059. If necessary the era can be noted after the year, for example 1059 CE (of the Common Era) or 1059 BCE (Before the Common Era). Gaea Parallaxis' Common Era is counted from Year Zero, the year that Eadbriyht the Good formed the first Free Commonwealth and founded the Priory of Universal Truth. Year Zero is equivalent to the year 952 AD in our universe.

The months of the Common, or solar, Calendar are as follows:

01. Snowmonth (Snoamunth), often abbreviated to Sno, is 30 days in length (22 Dec - 20 Jan) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Capricorn in the zodiacal calendar.

02. Solsmonth (Solsmunth), often abbreviated to Sol, is 30 days in length (21 Jan - 19 Feb) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Aquarius in the zodiacal calendar.

03. Lentenmonth (Lentenmunth), often abbreviated to Len, is 30 days in length (20 Feb - 20 Mar) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Pisces in the zodiacal calendar.

04. Eostarmonth (Iyostarmunth), often abbreviated to Iyo, is 31 days in length (21 Mar - 20 Apr) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Aries in the zodiacal calendar.

05. Merrymonth (Meriymunth), often abbreviated to Mer, is 31 days in length (21 Apr - 21 May) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Taurus in the zodiacal calendar.

06. Fallowmonth (Faloamunth), often abbreviated to Fal, is 31 days in length (22 May - 21 Jun) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Gemini in the zodiacal calendar.

07. Haymonth (Hiamunth), often abbreviated to Hia, is 31 days in length (22 Jun - 22 Jul) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Cancer in the zodiacal calendar.

08. Cornmonth (Kornmunth), often abbreviated to Kor, is 31 days in length (23 Jul - 23 Aug) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Leo in the zodiacal calendar.

09. Sheddingmonth (Shedingmunth), often abbreviated to She, is 30 days in length (24 Aug - 22 Sep) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Virgo in the zodiacal calendar.

10. Huntingmonth (Huntingmunth), often abbreviated to Hun, is 30 days in length (23 Sep - 23 Oct) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Libra in the zodiacal calendar.

11. Fogmonth (Fogmunth), often abbreviated to Fog, is 30 days in length (24 Oct - 22 Nov) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Scorpio in the zodiacal calendar.

12. Wolfmonth (Wulfmunth), often abbreviated to Wul, is 30 days in length (23 Nov - 21 Dec) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Sagittarius in the zodiacal calendar.

13. Yulemonth (Yewlmunth), often abbreviated to Yew, is 1 day in length and only appears in leap years. In modern times this day is more often incorporated into a leap year's Wolfmonth as the 31st day. This extra day is considered a part of the Yuletide festival and as such is treated as an extension of the Yule celebrations.

The yearly solar cycle is most obviously witnessed with the passing of the four quarter seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter. In antiquity the four quarters were often grouped into the winter half (winter & spring) and the summer half (summer & autumn). The seasons were so central to life and society that their passing has taken on great symbolic and religious meaning, so much so that even today the great pagan festivals of antiquity are still celebrated as festive periods and a time for feasting, though much of their original religious significance is lost and largely redundant. These once holy days, running from the evening of one day to the evening of the next, have been extended into three days of rest and leisure for the majority of the working population when only the most necessary jobs of work are carried out. In a society that does not have weekends in the sense that we would recognize, these festivals have retained their importance and significance much more so than in our Western society where really only the winter festival is still celebrated to anything like a universal extent.

The festivals have developed round the solar seasons of the Northern hemisphere where they were first observed. With the expansion of the Free Commonwealth around the world and into the Southern hemisphere, these festivals and their observance have spread with them even though the natural seasons of the local areas involved are no-longer directly comparable.

The festivals and feast days of the Gaea Parallaxis solar year are as follows:

1. Yuletide (Yewltaiyd), the festival of birth and renewal that marks the midwinter solstice as the end of the old solar year and the beginning of the new.

Yuleseve (Yewlsiyv), 30th of Wolfmonth (21 Dec), marks the last day of the old year and the beginning of the longest night, also known as Mother's Night. Traditionally Yule celebrations commenced at dusk or in the evening of this day (hence Yule's 'eve'). Homes are decorated with numerous candles and traditional ever-greens like holly, ivy and mistletoe. Evergreen trees are often decked out with colourful ribbons and brought into the warmth and sanctuary of the home.

Yule (Yewl), 1st of Snowmonth (22 Dec), midwinter's day and the first day of the new year. Feast day celebrating the victory of the new born Sun over winter for, although it is the day with the shortest period of daylight, henceforth the hours of light begin to grow longer each day. Traditionally the key part of the day is the feast itself, the most important and expansive of the year, when all manner of food and drink is taken in profusion as a symbolic strengthener for the winter sun.

Yulesgift Day (Yewlsgift Dia), 2nd of Snowmonth (23 Dec). Traditionally this was a day for giving alms and aid to those less well off, to help them through the worst of winter, but has also become a day to give gifts to family, friends and loved ones. Also known as Gifting Day, or Boxing Day due to the tradition of calling the gifts given on this day Yule boxes.

2. Springtide (Springtaiyd), the festival of purity and potential that marks the end of the winter quarter and the beginning of spring.

Springseve (Springsiyv), 15th of Solsmonth (4 Feb), the last night of winter, though traditionally the coldest night of the solar year it marks a point when the hours of daylight start to noticeably lengthen. Candles are lit to help the strengthening sun on this Night of the Waxing Light. In pagan symbolism the Hag of winter is transformed into the virgin maid who represents the budding potential of spring – an aspect of the goddess Sol.

Springsday (Springsdia),16th of Solsmonth (5 Feb), the first day of spring, a feast day in celebration of nurturing and childhood that has its roots in the seasonal nature of agriculture, it represents the first stirring of the buried seed within the earth and the beginning of the traditional lambing season.

Ewesmilk Day (Yeuwsmilk Dia), 17th of Solsmonth (6 Feb), an ancient pagan purification festival now almost completely lost except for the traditional libation, a quantity of ewes milk, drank by women who wish to become pregnant in the coming year, or scattered on the fields to promote the fertility of the crops and livestock.

3. Eostara (Iyostara), the festival of fertility and conception that marks the spring equinox.

Eostaraseve (Iyostarasiyv), 30th of Lentenmonth (21 Mar), a transition point of the year when the light and dark of the day are of equal measure. Fires are lit to encourage the growing light to triumph over the darkness. Traditionally the sun child to be born at the next Yule is conceived tonight so it is considered an auspicious time for prospective parents to couple.

Eostarasday (Iyostaradia), 1st of Eostarmonth (22 Mar). Eostar is an aspect of Mani, the virgin lunar goddess, represented as a hare she symbolizes the inevitable loss of virginity and innocence with the coming of adulthood. Her feast day is seen as a time for giving – often anonymous – tokens and sentiments of love, fidelity and desire. Also a social occasion for dances and parties where single young men and women can come together, meet and socialize, random couples often being formed by a series of lotteries throughout the night.

Summer Finding (Summer Fiynding), 2nd of Eostarmonth (23 Mar), also known as Eggsday (Egsdia), the egg being a symbol of the sun as giver of life, sustenance and fecundity. Looking forward to summer, this day is traditionally marked by various fairs and occasions for fun as well as by hunts or races and other pursuits involving eggs. The eggs, usually hard-boiled and brightly painted in the past, are now more likely to be of the brightly wrapped chocolate or confectionery variety.

4. Maytide (Miataiyd), the festival of joy that marks the end of the spring quarter (and the ancient winter half) and the beginning of summer.

Mayseve (Miasiyv),15th of Merrymonth (6 May), the last day of spring, this evening and night is seen as the major fire festival of the year, bonfires are lit, torches brandished and candles and lamps distributed to encourage a good and fertile summer ahead. Jumping through the flames and smoke of the central bonfire is considered a bringer of good luck and fortune. In pagan times couples were encouraged to spend the entire night out in the fields, orchards and groves, frolicking and laying together to promote a good harvest.

Maysday (Miasdia)16th of Merrymonth (7 May), the first day of summer and the feast day of May (Mia), the Flower Bride – an aspect, or daughter, of the mother goddess Frigg, patroness of the fields, of crops and grain. Today is a day of masked processions, maypole dances and general merrymaking that culminates with the mock wedding feast and the crowning of the Flower Bride and her consort, the Green Man of the wild-wood, as the queen and king of Summer. It has become a traditional time for betrothals, engagements and weddings.

Summer Fairsday (Summer Fearsdia),17th of Merrymonth (8 May), the first of the year's great fair days, a time of fairs and merrymaking, of races, sporting competitions and entertainments.

5. Litha (Litha), the festival of life that marks the midsummer solstice.

Lithaseve (Lithasiyv), 31st of Fallowmonth (22 Jun), another fire festival, the midsummer celebrations begin with an evening of bonfires, set on the windward side of buildings and fields so the purifying smoke is blown over them. Torchlight processions, with the circular twirling and swinging of burning brands at the end of chains, do a circuit of the same buildings and fields in a sun-wise direction to promote good fortune, the vitality of the sun and to encourage the continual turning of the wheel of life.

Lithasday (Lithasdia), 1st of Haymonth (23 Jun), the midsummer feast day when burning wheels or barrels are pushed, rolled or sometimes carried around the fields and villages of the area – often seen as a competition or race between villages and communities. The great feast enjoyed on this day is second only to the Yule feast in terms of importance and indulgence.

Midsummer Fairsday (Midsummer Fearsdia), 2nd of Haymonth (24 Jun), another day of merrymaking, fairs, and races, of sporting competitions and entertainments.

6. Loafmass (Loafmas), the festival of community that marks the end of the summer quarter and the beginning of autumn and the harvest season.

Loafmasseve (Loafmasiyv),15th of Cornmonth (7 Aug), an evening of burning corn dollies and wicker men – the symbolic vestiges of ancient sacrificial rites that were thought to promote and enable a good and bountiful harvest.

Loafmassday (Loafmasdia),16th of Cornmonth (8 Aug), feast day marking the traditional baking and eating of the first loaf from the new season's corn harvest. This day is seen as a celebration and confirmation of community and social harmony, embodied in the communal breaking and consuming of the traditional staple dietary commodity that is the loaf of bread.

Autumn Fairsday (Aotum Fearsdia),17th of Cornmonth (9 Aug), the third and last of the year's great fair days.

7. Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving), the festival of thanksgiving that marks the autumn equinox, the high point of the traditional harvest season.

Thanksgiving Eve (Thanksgiving Iyv) 30th of Sheddingmonth (22 Sep), this evening is for the getting together, saluting and toasting of family and friends; giving thanks by way of liquid, and usually alcoholic, libations.

Thanksgiving Day (Thanksgiving Dia)1st of Huntingmonth (23 Sep), this feast day is a thanksgiving celebration for all of the sustaining and nourishing gifts and produce that nature, in her bounty, has provided.

Winter Finding (Winter Fiynding), 2nd of Huntingmonth (24 Sep), the start of the traditional season for the hunting of all wild game – in modern times it is, more often than not, a day for treasure hunts and games of hide and go-seek.

8. Hallowtide (Haloataiyd), the festival of remembrance that marks the end of the autumn quarter (and the ancient summer half) and the beginning of winter.

Hallowseve (Haloasiyv), 15th of Fogmonth (6 Nov), an ancient celebration of the traditional yearly livestock harvest in preparation for the lean winter months ahead and in which bonfire’s and jack-o-lanterns are lit to mark the end of autumn and the harvest season.

Hallowsday (Haloasdia), 16th of Fogmonth (7 Nov), the first day of winter, a solemn feast day when all those who have given their lives for others or in the service of the Free Commonwealth are commemorated and honored.

Day of the Dead (Dia ov dhe Ded), 17th of Fogmonth (8 Nov), when all of the ancestors and those that went before are commemorated.

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Chapter Three

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:49:52 GMT

If you are new to Gaea Parallaxis please read the Foreword & Introduction before proceeding!

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3. A matter of time.

After lunch I was feeling much stronger. I’d had a smoke, Sister Judy bringing a pouch of vanilla-smelling tobacco with my meal. It smoked a treat in the pipe that she brought with it; she didn’t seem to have any idea what rolling papers were so I said I’d make do with the pipe. It had a long, thin and slightly curved stem, with a good round bowl at the end to pack the tobacco into. At the front of the bowl was a small button that, when clicked, sparked or heated a filament or something inside the bowl which ignited the tobacco. The pipe was made from some sort of Bakelite or ceramic, I’m not sure which; it felt light, but pretty solid, and it cooled the smoke like a dream as I drew it through. I was smoking just beyond the door to my cell and trying to take in the scene that confronted me there.

I was beginning to suspect that something a lot more serious had happened to me than I had previously realised. I was actually beginning to wonder if I had somehow been transported forward in time. Now, I know that time travel is a pretty heavy concept to just throw in there at the end of an otherwise perfectly harmless sentence, and I’m sure that you, the reader, are probably rolling your eyes at such an unlikely possibility. I know I would. I’ve always been of the opinion that time travel, although a preposition that does have appeal, is essentially an impossibility. It can’t, and frankly never will, happen. It’s a pure fantasy that belongs only in so called speculative fiction, a grandiose McGuffin designed to allow the exploration of certain paradoxes that can never really happen – the ultimate wouldn’t it be weird if scenario. You know the kind of thing... a guy goes back in time, accidentally kills his own grandfather, inadvertently marries his grandmother… and then fathers his own mother – or some other such nonsense.

The past is the past, it’s history and a matter of record – done and dusted so to speak. You can’t change what has already happened. Having said that, the future, I must concede, is unexplored territory and is by no means set. We are all time travellers to some extent, hurtling through time toward the future for the span of our lives. But the only direction possible is most definitely forward. The question is, can we accelerate or jump from one time to another, can we get beyond our natural time span… say by some form of stasis or hibernation? I have to admit that I was seriously considering whether I had been in a coma like sleep for decades if not centuries. Has time marched ever onward while my comatose body-clock slowed to a slumbering snails pace?

Of course, common sense soon came knocking at the door of my wildly speculating imagination. There is no way I could have survived for decades, let alone centuries, up on the moors, laid out and naked like I was, exposed to the elements – I would have surely died. No, I was probably up there a matter of hours if not, the more likely, minutes before Aranwen found me like that. It occurred to me that the simple fact of my memory loss could account for an apparent jump forward in time. Maybe I had simply forgotten the last few decades or so, causing the illusion that things had moved on without me and that I had travelled in time.

I supposed it was more likely than the other option that had occurred to me, that some mad scientist type had cryogenically frozen me for a number of decades, had thawed me out, then dumped me on the moors as part of some dastardly plot to take over the world. What can I say… I’ve got a vivid imagination – either that or the baccy I was smoking was mixed with something a little stronger. Thinking about it, I did have a bit of a buzz going on… and I did feel a little light-headed.

But enough of the wild speculation, back to the matter at hand. Immediately through the cell door, there opened up a long cloister that stretched to the left and right. It looked out over a large, about a hundred meter square or so, open-air quadrangle that housed an ornamental tree garden with a substantial – and quite spectacularly statuesque from what I could see through the trees – fountain at its centre. This quadrangle was enclosed on all four sides by three levels of convincingly gothic, late medieval cloistered walkways, at the ground level beneath me, at the first-floor level on which I stood and at the second floor level above. I estimated that each level could probably accommodated a hundred or so cells like the one in which I had awoke. Above the highest cloistered walkway a steep angled roof darkly glistened and shone in the late autumn sunshine. From what I could see it appeared to be entirely covered in solar panels. At the roof’s apex, at each of the two visible corners at least, there soared high, thinly tapering towers, apparently made of stone up to about a third of the way, the rest constructed of, or at least coated in, some smooth and blindingly white material. About fifty meters above the roof each tower was topped with an impressively huge wind-turbine, mounted on a rotating pedestal the aspect of which could turn to meet any prevailing wind. Very carbon-neutral, I thought. The full span of the turbine blades must have been at least seventy-five or eighty meters all told.

Now, as impressive as all that was, the thing that had me speculating madly about fanciful time travel scenarios, was by comparison a much smaller and relatively minor thing indeed. Below me was what appeared to be a robot tending the garden. It was humanoid in form if not necessarily in motion – unless your talking a slightly effete, double-jointed, gymnast who can rotate their head through three hundred and sixty degrees. Encased in a rigid white skin, it appeared to have fully rotating and pivoting joints at its elbows, wrists, knees and ankles, as well as at its hips and neck. It was quite eerie to watch and I found the whole spectacle surprisingly unnerving, I kept expecting to see the thing topple over but somehow it managed to keep its centre of gravity balanced and remain the right way up with fluid, almost balletic, grace. The only facial feature that I could see were a pair of over-sized black or mirrored, lens-like eyes; as far as I could tell its face was otherwise smooth and blank though there appeared to be two antenna like ears, one on each side of its head. Across its chest was a red graphic forming some kind of rectangular logo with writing beneath, I couldn’t quite make out what it said though.

The robot was raking leaves and collecting them into a large bin, it was more or less winning a battle with the chill blustery wind that kept gusting and whipping at the raked piles that the machine had so carefully formed before attempting to scoop them into the bin. Not only did the robot have the wind to contend with, but Mrs Mu seemed to be doing all she could to thwart its efforts. Though the cat would freeze in its stalking tracks if the machine were to look in her direction, as soon as it turned away she would pounce, sometimes onto a freshly piled mound of leaves and sometimes at the rake if it came too close. Occasionally she would even leap and swipe at the robot’s ankles with her pin sharp claws. The robot seemed largely oblivious to the cat, but a couple of times I would swear that it nudged her, almost playfully, away [see fig001]. This would just seem to make the cat even more determined to wreak havoc with the robot’s efforts at leaf collecting.

I watched the machine’s hampered progress for about fifteen minutes before Aranwen approached along the cloister.

“What year is it?” I asked, as casually as I could, while tapping out the spent ashes of baccy from the pipe.

“What year?” she smiled. “Its ten fifty-five… why? What year did you think it was?”

I had to think about that. It was an extremely good question and one that I didn’t have an immediate answer to. I desperately tried to remember any time related events that I could pin down to a particular year… I remembered that there was a scare over the year two thousand – the millennium bug and all that. And I remembered the attack on the Twin Towers in New York… and then the London bombings a little later… but I had to admit that the years were a little hazy. Let me think, the Twin Towers… that was nine eleven – the ninth of November – no, the eleventh of September that was it – bloody Yanks always having there dates the wrong way round… don’t they know the only logical order is day, month, year. But anyway, what year was the Twin Towers attack? Two thousand and two…or was it two thousand and three? And the London bombings… when was that? A couple of years later maybe… no, it was no good – I gave up. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I have to admit… I have no idea what year I think it is. I thought it was sometime after two-thousand certainly, but more than that… I couldn’t tell ya.” I shrugged.

“Two-thousand?” she said. “Well, I can assure you it is most definitely ten fifty-five… the tenth of Fogmonth*.” Before I could question what month Fogmonth might be, she added “It’ll be Hallowtide** soon.”

“Hallowtide?” I asked. I was clearly going to have to start writing down a list of words I needed explaining.

“Yes” She said. “The festival of remembrance. Do you not remember… Hallows Eve, Hallows Day and the Day of the Dead?” she questioned, clearly trying to aid my memory by stating what, at least to her, was obvious. “It marks the end of autumn and the beginning of the winter quarter.” She continued.

Hallows Eve, I thought. Meaning Halloween presumably… so that’s it – they’re Neo-Pagans – I knew there’d be a religious angle somewhere along the line. But then, I reasoned, by the same token you could say that I was Christian because I celebrate Christmas… which of course I do… sort of – I eat lots, drink too much and enjoy receiving presents… like every other member of western civilisation. It doesn’t mean I believe that Jesus was the son of God… or even that he ever existed – which I certainly doubt very much. And any-way, what am I saying? Halloween is simply a contraction of All Hallows Eve – the day before All Saints Day – it is Christian too. Samhain is the pagan festival. Now, how or why I knew that, I have no idea.

“What calendar are you using for it to be the year ten fifty-five?” I asked with a laugh that I tried not to make too derisory. The only other calendar that I could think of was the Muslim calendar, which I was fairly sure would make it fourteen hundred and something. The years of the Christian world were counted from the supposed time of Christ’s birth… Anno Domini and all that – and that of the Muslim world was counted, I believe, from Mohammed’s. So I added “What birth or event marks the beginning of this era?” Then clarified “What happened one-thousand and fifty-five years ago?”

Aranwen looked at me with a genuinely shocked expression. “We are living in the Common Era.” She said. “The era of enlightenment… beginning when Eadbriyht the Good, the last king of Northumbria, abdicated his throne and abolished the monarchy. He founded the first of the Free Commonwealth*** territories right here in Northumbria. He founded the Priory… he is the Father of the Free, the Enlightened One. How can you not know this…” seeing the bewilderment that must have been evident in my face she then softened her countenance and smiled as if to a child, saying matter-of-factly, “– in many ways it seems like you were born yesterday.”

I wasn’t sure if that last comment was meant to be a joke… I failed to see the funny side if it was… I was way too confused and not for the first time I found myself dumbfounded, not sure at all what to make of my situation.

“So,” Aranwen said after an uncomfortable pause, “do you feel up to taking a look at where I found you?”

“I think so.” I said, I was feeling tired again and was beginning to descend in to one hell of a downer, but I was keen to see if the trip would jog my memory at all. “How far is it?” I asked.

“Its about an hours walk, but we should probably ride – I’m not sure if a two hour walk there and back would be too punishing for you a the moment… and if there are bandits about we don’t want to be caught on foot.”

I couldn’t help thinking that bandits were pretty unlikely in this day and age, but then I remembered that I didn’t know much at all about this day – let alone the age.

“Ride?” I quizzed. “On horses you mean?” Having never ridden a horse before, or at least if I had – I didn’t recall, the prospect was both exhilarating and daunting at the same time.

Aranwen laughed. “I wish.” She said. “I would love to be able to ride a real horse, but no… we will have to make do with equinoids.”

“What’s an equinoid?”

“What’s an equinoid” she repeated, “why its an equine model droid of course.”

“Oh… of course.” I said, rather sharply. “– silly me.” I wasn’t entirely convinced that she wasn’t fooling with me, and was beginning to get a little hacked off at her increasingly patronising tone.

“I’m sorry,” she placated. “I keep forgetting – I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose your memory, but I’m trying to understand.” The sincerity of her smile was quite beguiling, so much so that I couldn’t remain hostile to her, but the smile was quickly replaced by a much more serious countenance. “We’ll need some protection though,” She said, “just in case.”

“Em… okay.” Was all I could manage in reply to that, for I was unsure as to what she was referring to and I didn’t particularly want to put my foot in it by asking more stupid questions. The first thing that came into my mind when she said protection was a condom and I’m assuming that’s not what she was referring to. I must be coming across as a right idiot, I thought.

“I am afraid you will have to wear one of the black robes though… especially outside of the Seminary. It marks you as a lay attendant to the Priory – as stipulated in your dispensation.”

The dispensation was currently folded into quarters and residing in my back pocket. Aranwen had told me to carry it at all times in case I was ever asked to verify my identity. Which apparently seemed a distinct, and probably regular, possibility. I thought about whipping it out and checking the small print for any other little surprises I might have signed up for, but then I thought – what’s the point, I can’t even read the stupid thing properly anyway.

Aranwen followed me back into my cell where I put on one of the robes from the wardrobe. “What’s the significance of the different coloured robes?” I asked, trying to mask my discomfort at having to wear the habit like garment, it was way too much like fancy-dress for my liking.

“The blue robes are for ordained secularics and the green ones are for ordained sophiarics. Novices of the Priory all wear brown robes, while the Elders get to wear a particularly fetching blood red.” She flashed one of her cheeky half smiles at me. “The black robes are specifically for non-ordained assistants, advisors and attendants employed – like yourself, by the Priory. It’s a great honour that gives you the fullest protection and support that the Priory can offer.”

My eyes literally lit up… well, I’m sure that they widened anyway – and, if it was possible, my ears would’ve pricked up too… all at the mention of the word employed. “So, technically, I’m employed by the Priory you say?” I asked. “Is there any kind of remuneration with that?”

“Well… of course every citizen receives a minimum living allowance, twenty-three credits a day is the current rate. Being an attendant to the Priory does get you certain perks however… your food and board for starters.”

“All citizens receive an allowance?”

“The welfare of its citizens mean the welfare of the state…” she stated earnestly, as if quoting a memorised sound-bite from some socialist political manifesto. “And of course half of everything earned, gained or otherwise accrued over that minimum goes back to the Commonwealth.”

“Oh of course.” I said, thinking that a tax of fifty percent seemed a little steep for my liking. I decided to put on the overcoat also, it was a chilly autumn day so would be freezing up on the windswept moors. And anyway, the duster style overcoat was slightly cooler looking than the robe it would hide. I had no desire to look like a second rate Jedi wannabe at some lame Star-Wars convention.

Twenty-three credits? I thought. It didn’t sound like much, but then I had no idea how much a credit was worth. “Twenty-three credits… is that like twenty-three pounds?” I asked.

“Twenty-three pounds of what?” She replied.

“Oh… em – never mind.” I said. “How is it paid… cash, or cheque? Or is it paid direct into my bank account – ‘cause if it is, I can’t even remember what bank I’m with let alone my account number.” I realised that I was probably coming across as entirely mercenary but frankly it was true. I must never have been one to romanticise poverty – for even with no memory I knew enough to reason that being poor sucks – big time!

“I don’t know what cash or cheque is…” she said, “but a credit account was set up when we registered your ID with the digi-pod. Your credits should be deposited there each day, at least they will be ‘til we find out your real identity. You can withdraw your credits from any bank, as coins or credit-slips, if you really want to – but unless you’re planning to travel into the Wilds there is little need to do so, your Clearance Code is all that is needed by most vendors… certainly within the territories of the Free Commonwealth.”

My, at the moment still imaginary, list of things to ask, was only getting longer by the minute – I really must try to write them down before I forget any of them. Aranwen led me out of the cell, turning right we went along the cloister to the nearest corner of the large quadrangle where stairs led us down to the ground floor.

“Along there,” said Aranwen in passing, pointing along the ground floor equivalent of the cloister that housed my cell, “are the shower rooms, kitchens and communal areas for your block.”

We then set off across the garden toward the fountain at its centre. As we got closer to the robot, still raking leaves, I saw that the red writing across its chest said DA 12-15 in big fat letters; underneath, in a much smaller typeface, it said Domestik Androyd Twelv Fiftiyn. “Domestic Android Twelve Fifteen.” I read aloud. Maybe I’ll get the hang of this Common Tongue spelling crap after all, I thought. Or, am I just beginning to remember it? Now that I had a chance to take a closer look, I could see that the skin was anything but rigid, it must be some kind of latex I surmised for it stretched as the machine moved. At least it did at the chest which was expanding and contracting at a good pace, almost like it was breathing very fast. I could now see that it’s face had a number of horizontal vents forming a triangular pattern in place of a nose and mouth, and wondered if this breathing process was to draw cool air in to keep its presumably powerful power unit and processor from overheating. It sounded like a very quiet, though not so sinister, Darth Vader... on speed.

Now that I could check the machine out, up-close and personal so to speak, I saw that its right hand was missing, the left was of the five fingered human design, but the right seemed to simply be the rake – like it was an attachment of some kind. I wondered what other attachments it had… and whether it had a right hand at all, or just a series of attachments. For some reason I found the whole idea of attachments highly amusing… I imagined a room or shed somewhere with all these different tool and implement attachments; of the garden, kitchen and household variety – all lined up, perhaps with a couple of spare heads and other appendages… I chuckled to my self at the thought.

“Did you say something?” Aranwen asked.

“No, no…” I replied. “But, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” She said.

“How long have you had a robot here? It must have been expensive?” I had a vague memory of the first robot that could fully walk properly on two legs. It was Japanese I think… what was it called? Asimo, was it? Something like that I’m sure. Compared to this thing though it had been quite dumpy looking and its movement totally ponderous.

She stopped and looked at the robot. “The droid you mean?”

“Yes… the droid. Was it expensive?”

“No, not really… it’s a pretty standard model, you know – a basic domestic. Nothing special.”

“Wow… really?” I was impressed.

“Sure, a year as an attendant and you’d probably be able to buy one yourself, if you really wanted to… and you were especially frugal with your credits.”

“Cool!” Was about all I could manage at that. My own personal robot, how fantastic would that be? Fantastic doesn’t even cover it. I think I’d call it Bob. “Since when have these been standard?” I asked, waving my hand in the general direction of the droid as it carried on with its mundane and menial task. Mrs Mu was nowhere to be seen so had obviously given up her campaign of harassment.

“Well,” she said “this particular model, say about four or five years – its hardly the latest thing. The D-A twelve’s as a whole… they’ve been around about twenty years maybe – since I was a child anyway.”

“No way!” I said. “That can’t be right.” I was sure that I’d remember if robots like this were that common back then.

“Well it is.” She said. A church bell tolled in the distance. Aranwen paused, absently listening. I counted fifteen tolls**** before it ceased and then she spoke again. “I’m sorry, but we should be getting on… it’ll start getting dark in a few hours – we’ll want to get back before dusk.” She set off around the fountain and I followed her.

“You weren’t joking about the horse droids then.”

“The equinoids? Of course not – did you think I was?” She seemed slightly offended.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure of anything these days.” It wasn’t until this point that I had started to seriously consider the possibility that I may have somehow woken up in a parallel world of some sort. Too much seems to have changed, even if I couldn't remember the last twenty years or so. I know my memory loss totally complicates things, but I was becoming more and more certain that this world is not the same as the one I had been brought up in. I decided to not think about it too much, or at least to try and not do so, not until I was outside of this seminary and I had experienced a little more of the world outside. I was still not entirely convinced that this wasn’t some strange cult or other, and that I probably shouldn’t accept or believe anything I’m told here.

“We’ll get some weapons and then set off.” She said as I trailed her in silence. My mind was in a turmoil – I couldn’t even begin to explain how confused I was feeling. Did she say weapons? I suddenly thought, slightly alarmed. Bloody Hell! I exclaimed silently to my self. If the robots are this advanced, what are the weapons going to be like? I had visions of ray-guns, light-sabers, plasma-rifles, photon blasters and the like… I didn’t know whether to be scared or excited so the two sort of melded into a nervous anxiety that set me totally on edge.

Notes:

* Fogmonth: the eleventh month of the Common Calendar year, often abbreviated to Fog, has thirty days (23 Oct – 21 Nov) and is approximately equivalent to the period we know as Scorpio in the zodiacal calendar (see Appendix 1.3).

** Hallowtide: the festival of remembrance, which includes: Hallowseve (15 Fog), an ancient celebration of the traditional yearly livestock harvest in preparation for the lean winter months ahead and in which bonfire’s and jack-o-lanterns are lit to mark the end of autumn and the harvest season; Hallowsday (16 Fog), the first day of winter, when all those who have given their lives for others or in the service of the Free Commonwealth are commemorated and honoured; and the Day of the Dead (17 Fog), when the ancestors and all those that went before are commemorated (see Appendix 1.3).

*** the Free Commonwealth: an alliance of independent sovereign states and territories that have signed the Free Commonwealth Co-operative Charter; primarily, signatories are required to adopt a secular system of representative government based on the ideals of commonwealth, to uphold systems of Common Law and Individual Rights over-seen by a judiciary independent of the governmental legislature and executive, to participate in the Common Monetary System and to enable a free-market economy. The Charter also requires signatories to partake in a binding treaty of mutual aid and military co-operation and support.

**** fifteen tolls: marking Eventide at 15:00 hours, the beginning of the evening quarter and of the first evening Watch (see Appendix 1.4).

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Appendix 1.2

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:36:43 GMT

If you are new to Gaea Parallaxis please read the Foreword & Introduction before proceeding!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Days of the week and the lunar cycle.

NB: the Common Tongue spelling of nouns are italicised.

A week in Gaea Parallaxis can either have seven or eight days depending on how it falls within an ancient lunar calendar. The origins of this calendar have been largely lost, but it is assumed to date back to the prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies that first settled into an agricultural lifestyle in the fertile river valleys of central Gnodd. The names of the week days used today however, have a much more recent origin, they are based on the pagan gods of northern Boriya that were worshiped at the beginning of the Common Era and have subsequently been passed down into Common Tongue usage.

The days of the week are:

1. Manisday (Maniysdia), named after the goddess of the moon, of witchcraft & the hunt.

2. Tyrsday (Tiyrsdia), named after the god of war, law & order.

3. Wodensday (Wodensdia), named after the god of wisdom, knowledge & magic.

4. Thunorsday (Thuwnorsdia), named after the god of thunder & lightning, of honour & loyalty.

5. Fryjasday (Friyasdia), named after the goddess of joy, love & fertility.

6. Seatersday (Seatersdia), named after the god of the dead, of wealth & of agriculture.

7. Solsday (Solsdia), named after the goddess of the sun, of the hearth & the home.

8. Baldersday (Baldersdia), named after the god of poetry & skill, harmony & wise council.

In the ancient calendar a lunar month, commonly termed a Moon (Muuwn or Müwn), is the period of time in which the phases of the moon complete one full phase cycle from new moon to new moon. This is technically termed its synodic (sinodik) period and lasts approximately 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.9 seconds. Each Moon is divided into four quarters, or weeks (wiyks), that mark the four quarter points of the moon's phases, new moon, waxing half moon, full moon and waning half moon. A new week starts, with Manisday, at each of these points.

As a consequence of the fact that the synodic period cannot be divided evenly into four weeks containing an equal number of days (4x7=28, 4x8=32), a cycle of weeks of differing lengths is employed over a period of sixty-five Moons, or a Lunar Year, to keep the phases of the moon more or less aligned with the days of the week.

This Lunar Year not only requires that there be two types of week, a standard week of 7 days, and an extended week of 8 days; but also requires that there be three types of lunar month or Moon; a Standard, an Extended and a Blue (Bluw) Moon.

A Standard Moon has 3 standard weeks and 1 extended week, giving a total of 29 days.

An Extended Moon, which occurs every other Moon, has 2 standard weeks and 2 extended weeks, giving a total of 30 days.

A Blue Moon, which occurs every 32nd and 65th Moon in the cycle, has 1 standard week and 3 extended weeks, giving a total of 31 days

The full 65 Moon Lunar Year always starts with a Standard Moon followed by an Extended Moon, from then the Moons alternate between those two types till the 32nd, which is the first Blue Moon. This is followed again by alternating Standard and Extended Moons until the 65th and last Moon in the cycle, which is the second Blue Moon.

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Appendix 1.1

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:10:26 GMT

If you are new to Gaea Parallaxis please read the Foreword & Introduction before proceeding!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Universal Alphabet and the Common Tongue

The Common Tongue is the most widely used language in Gaea Parallaxis; it is the international (& interstellar) language of law, philosophy, economics, navigation, science and diplomacy. Despite being surprisingly similar to the English language of our world, there are a few notable differences, especially regarding the phonetic sounds of the letters used. Generally each letter has a single specific sound, for example; C or c always indicates a ch sound and Q or q always indicates a kh sound. It should also be noted that the letter Y or y is treated as a sixth vowel. Each letter's phonetic sound is detailed in the table below.

No.	Universal Alphabet	[English equivalent]: example sound in bold & italic.
1	Aa	[a]: at, sat, grass, path
2	Bb	[b]: bat, rub
3	Cc	[ch]: chair, match, ciao
4	Dd	[d]: door, gladden, sad
5	Ee	[e]: egg, bet, red, thread
6	Ff	[f]: feel, phile, fox, front
7	Gg	[g]: gate, toggle, log
8	Hh	[h]: hell, hat
9	Ii	[i]: imp, pin, till, busy, hymn
10	Jj	[j]: jump, page, general, digital, gorge
11	Kk	[k]: cork, chasm, quick
12	Ll	[l]: lift, halt
13	Mm	[m]: milk, sum
14	Nn	[n]: no, know, heaven, gnosis
15	Oo	[o]: shop, pot, shone
16	Pp	[p]: pot, lap
17	Qq	[kh]: loch, (Spa) jalapeno, (Ger) ach
18	Rr	[r]: road, borrow, merry
19	Ss	[s]: slow, lace, miss
20	Tt	[t]: top, lot better
21	Uu	[u]: up, but, other, love
22	Vv	[v]: van, of, even
23	Ww	[w]: water, one, twig, quick
24	Xx	[ks/gs]: box, lax, expect
25	Yy	[y]: yellow, bastion, you, join
26	Zz	[z]: zero, xylophone, lazy, roads

Common combinations of letters, with examples of their phonetic sound, are given in the following table with English equivalents:

Repeating a consonant accentuates & lengthens the sound briefly:

ss: hiss kiss

rr: burr, (Fre) raison

Repeating a vowel also accentuates & lengthens the sound briefly:

aa or ä: father, harm, heart

oo or ö: floor, for, more, fall, lawn, haul

uu or ü: could, would, good, wood

Vowel combination sounds (diphthongs):

ea: hair, dare, pear, there, vary

eu: learn, bird, turn, absurd, word

iy: chief, feet, here, deal, seize, carefully

ia: pain, pay, rein, late, name

ay: side, shy, height, hire, byre, eye

oy: toy, buoy, soil, boy,

oa: boat, bone, low, dough, no

au: gather, flavour, cheetah, thorough

yu: tune, due, newt

Vowel and consonant combination sounds:

aw: frown, mount, sour

uw: do, blue, who, you, two

uuw or üw: school, moor, tour, (Welsh) arrwn

Consonant combination sounds:

dh: the, there, mother

th: thin, thought

ng: playing, thing bank, conquer

zj: measure, azure, lesion

sh: shop, motion, cheroot

wh: why, when, where

gn: gnosis, gnat, (Ita) gnocchi, know, knee, knuckle

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