Latest On The Dahlia Linden Rocks

 

 By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Last month, there was a mystery afoot on the Second Life mainland after strange rocks with glowing blue symbols were discovered at the Bay City Airport, and two other locations far away near the main road.  Dahlia Linden, the person involved whose notes were clues to what was going on, stated that something would happen on March 18. So there was nothing else to do but wait.

 

The week was a busy one with the Sunweaver Air show having just happened, St. Patrick's Day, a new Linden, the VWBPE conference, and more. But on Thursday March 18, I went back to the Bay City Airport, and back to the hill with the boulder. The rock and glyph were still there, and the flowers looked a little brighter than I remembered. 

 

There was also a note, and I took a closer look. It turned out to be two notes, one on top of the other. 

 

 Log 0003

Upon arriving at this location today, the flowers reached such a grand luminosity! 

What could they possibly be doing? And this strange humming sort of sound…Hm, and what does–


----

Log 0004

My god! The entire earth just shook! It felt like the highest magnitude of an earthquake I have ever experienced in my lifetime! 

Something is rising upwards from the land on the horizon!


I have to go! To whomever may find this, head for these coordinates!

 

Region: New Bloom Mountain

Something is there!

-Dahlia

 

 I clicked on the note, and ended up at New Bloom Mountain (254/239/89). Getting a bearing of my surroundings, nearby was one of those blue flowers and yellow "anomaly" signs. There was also a larger green sign.

 

WARNING: This region is currently under review by Land Operations.

 

Please tread carefully.

 

Normality will return on March 25th. 

 

And there was one of Dahlia's notes. 

 

Nothing could prepare me for anything like this!

A full-scale mountain has been lifted directly up from the earth from seemingly nowhere!

How? How did this structure appear so abruptly, and yet I can see various flora and fauna thriving on the surface. It is as if the environment on the mountain had always existed.

Was the land already developing ever since those rocks sprouted from the earth?

 I must go higher. I shall record my findings at the summit, and hopefully unravel the mystery behind this development!

-Dahlia

 

And so, I began walking up the mountain. Fortunately, there were enough inclines and even a natural walkway curling around the mountain, so I didn't have to do any actual climbing. I slowly made my way up. 

 

 Finally, I reached the top. And it was a beautiful sight. The mountaintop was covered in grass, and many many more of those bright blue flowers. Not just a few more, more like hundreds more. 

 

I also saw another of the boulders with a bright blue glyphs, and in front of it one of the blue flowers in a pot, and another of Dahlia Linden's notes.  

 

 

My goodness! The flowers! They are...they are everywhere!

Not even a day ago, this mountain sprang up from the earth's surface in mere seconds! And despite this, here at the peak, a small field of those strange flowers are already thriving! Such a curious phenomenon, seeing that they were just born.

The flower's behavior is also intriguing. It is as if they were searching for their true habitat, and somehow manifested it! I find it hard to believe something so small has the ability to create such an incredible phenomenon. How remarkable!

Now that I am aware that the flowers are able to survive here, I should be able to transport one to my lodgings to study and observe it further. While waiting for the next phase in this anomaly, I developed a special planter that I hoped would allow me to transport one of the flowers away from the strange stones. However, I postponed the extraction fearing that I could risk losing one of those flowers in the process.

With a proper soil sample and now having an abundant source of flowers, I can ease my fears. I will leave one of my planters here in the event that I need to acquire more samples. One planter should be sufficient for safe transporting.

Curiously though, I am still picking up faint readings of more energy anomalies in the land. My intuition tells me that this won’t be the last anomaly that manifests in the world. Till then, I will be on the hunt for whatever comes next.

Until the next change,

-Dahlia 

 

Exactly how this mountain and the flower sprung up so fast, that's something we may not be privileged to know. What happens to the mountain on March 25th? That's going to require a trip over to find out. 

 

As for the flowers, there's now enough to ensure their survival, unless something happens to the mountaintop. Curiously, when I moved the flower in the pot, somehow another appeared in it's place. Some strange power of the blue crystal sigils?  To better ensure the survival of the species, as well as get a souvenir of my travels, I took one of the planters with me back to the Newser office in HV Community. 

 

That's all on the mystery of the Dahlia rocks for now,

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

 

Update On The Mystery Rocks

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

There's been something of a mystery going on in the Second Life Mainland. Over Valentines Day weekend, it was discovered there was a strange rock over at Bay City Airport, then two others at a couple other spots on the Second Life Mainland, Dangun and Plenodyes. Each had a note from a Dahlia Linden, whose profile was almost blank, which talked about something about to happen at the locations on Monday February 16. There were also a couple campsites with Bay City flags at the latter two locations.

 

I would message T.J. Hooker, and he told me that he indeed had set up the camps to investigate the strange rocks. He would say Marianne was the first (outside the Lindens) to notice something was up when she saw the boulder at Bay City on Thursday, and he and others went to help her investigate (T.J. Hooker's picture to left), "Based on (Dahlia Linden's) profile photo, Pygar identified the road in the background. After exploring that area, I found the boulder in Plenodyes." He found out roughly where the third one was by a tip to check out the Linden Estate Services office. There was a map showing three boulder locations, "There was also a painting with what appeared to be rocky terrain paint, with the description 'Is this a hint?'" He would then scout around the location pointed out by the third, finding it in Dangun, "Further investigation has revealed that Dangun was the first boulder placed, and one of the only ones with a specific parcel name of ;Off the beaten path;, Hau Koda was second, and Plenodyes was third. All three were rezzed in a 15 minute window. Plenodyes has a nearby Linden Road project named NR26, as well as something called 825 Project. I am not certain if those are connected to the boulders, or just convenient placement." He would note that of the triangle on the map made by the three locations, the Belisseria Welcome Hub was close to the center. 

 

T.J. Hooker has a Primfeed one can see his progress in investigating the anomalies (here). . 

 

On Monday, I would drop by to check on the rocks, running into the Relay's Prettykitty Gumbo as she did so as well at the same time. We dropped in on the boulder and camp at Plenodyes. The rock itself was the same, but growing around it were three bright blue flowers. 

 

There was also a second note from Dahlia Linden:

 

 I have returned to an amazing discovery! It appears as though the energy shifts from these rocks have dissipated. Now, a new undocumented flower has sprouted from beneath the stones! Never in my life have I witnessed fauna so astonishing! It's breathtaking!

Based on the readings I am getting from this flower, it shares an identical energy signature as the strange rocks. However, something else strikes my curiosity: the spots the flowers are sprouting from doesn't appear to be in its natural environment.

The structure suggests they need a much higher elevation in order to fully root and to spread more freely.

But where would that be?

If these flowers share the same pulsing energy signature as the rocks, and from the last change that took place after 30 days, then it's safe to conclude that another change should occur around March 18th.

I must return again to see further developments!

Until the next change,

-Dahlia
 

 

The camp itself would have some changes. One was a Linden bear that when touched would sound off some newcomer hints. The two bots were gone, and there was a helicopter near the camp. There was also now an unlocked drink cooler, which was loaded with drinks, and a huge hoagie sandwich. I guess someone from Bay City noticed Melisa's comment about the lack of sandwiches. 

 

PrettyKitty and I then headed to the Dangun camp. Like it's counterpart, the stone here had three blue flowers around it, though with the rock's upright posture they were easier to see. The camp was a little larger with more equipment, and also some drinks and a large sandwich.

 

But there was more. There was also a note out in the open.

 

Field Team Interpretation - Plenodyes Site

Arrived on location to review Dahlia's findings. 
Her notes about "energetic shifts" match what we're feeling here. 
The stone looks recently uplifted - soil still loose around the base.

The spiral marking is precise. Doesn't look carved by tools.
Glow strongest at dawn and dusk.
Surface temperature slightly higher then surrounding soil.

Low hum detected again this morning.
Instruments show fluctuations but nothing stable enough to chart yet. 

Comparing this to the Bay City stone: 
Glyph is identical in scale and shape.
Mineral composition appears similar.
Both sites show the same uplift pattern.

 

If Dahlia's timeline is correct, we may face a change on Feb 16.
Preparing equipment for continuous monitoring up to the date. 

Notes:
- Soil samples taken from north and east sites.
- Luminescence brighter today than yesterday
- No visible structural cracks, but vibration is increasing.

Working theories:
1. Pre terraforming artifact.
2. Subsurface energy venting.
3. Artificial construct of unknown orgin.

Will continue daily readings
Recommend expanding survey reading to 10 meters.  
 

On a hunch, and a tip from a friend who for now will be anonymous, I dropped by the Linden office. I found a copy of the map with the three points in Kit Linden's office, with a few post-it notes on it. The Lindens appeared to be just as wanting for answers as Bay City, if not more. 

 

And so, we're left with a few clues, but no certainty as to how they go together.  The painting at the Linden office with "rocky terrain paint" and Dahlia's conclusion the flowers grew best in higher altitudes certainly seem like an interesting coincidence. Of the theory that the stones are "per-terraforming artifacts," Bellisseria, which is between the three mainland areas, has certainly seen many territory expansions in the past. So the boulders *could* be a sign there's another one on the way. But this of course is guesswork. There's also that the estimated date for another reveal, March 18, this would be the day after St. Patrick's Day in the United States. Whether or not this a coincidence, there's no answer, at least not yet.  

 

For now, we just wait and see. And keep an eye out for new land near Bellisseria. 

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Mysterious Circles Appear on Montecito Bay's Streets

By Bixyl Shuftan

Just as Montecito Bay has been putting the slime and maw monsters behind them, there's a new mystery afoot. My first clue to what was happening was a group announcement by Becky Nostferatu on November 24.

I swear I just saw lights, guys. All over! And now, we're getting some weird circles on the ground... so strange. I wonder what it could mean for the sim? We better keep our eyes open!

But it wasn't until a few days later when I dropped by the sim. I talked to a few people, Moff (MoffettMephit Resident), Emorald Resident, Lem Aiko (LemonPledge Resident) just outside the Magnum Opus, the "MO" still under reconstruction with scafolding outside the building and the "Crux Construction Company" signs. Kardinal Klo (Klomonx Resident) was working on it, "Okay, I need to do the under colors, and the dome texture and move the windows out if they haven't yet." Lem, who was in his hard hat, might have been helping him but at the moment was taking a break.

As we talked, I noticed some markings on the road, like the "crop circles" seen on TV news and social media occasionally. I then brought their attention to it, "Say, what's that on the road?" Moff replied, "Oh, some degenerates playing a prank, or something. Street department hasn't had a chance to clean them off yet." Lem's answer was, "I dunno, they just appeared there. (I'm) pretty sure kids are spray painting them." Emorald answered, "We THINK some kids are just spray painting it. Not sure yet."

I looked to Emorald, "What do you mean 'we think?'" He shrugged, "That is the best guess I have honestly." "Cops couldn't prove it yet," Lem told me. "Why not just pressure wash it off?" I asked. Lem answered, "I ain't getting paid for it. It'll eventually wear off." Emorald told me, "It was done once, and was back the next morning." "Any more of these?" I asked. Emorald answered, "I have seen a few." Lem told me, "Yea, at every intersection. A lot of paint wasted, Must be a college prank." "But yeah Bix," Emorald commented, "who ever is doing this prank, A+ for effort."

Moff then had to leave for something. I then brought up Becky Nostferatu's group message, "Checking the Mont Bay bulletins, Becky says 'weird lights' showed up just before these circles." Lem told me, "As far as I know, the only cameras that caught anything was the ones at the gas station, they saw some sort of black shadow fly across the screen and then the ones facing the intersection went dead." "So that's all that was noticed before these weird shapes?" "I think the weird lights were kids playing with high power laser pointers. They will kill a camera very fast. It's all a big hoax, though a well put together hoax. Like I said, they get points for effort."

I then asked, "What are some of the (other) locals saying?" "There's a guy over on the east side who swears he saw some flying saucers," Lem answered, "I think he's on something." Emorald asked him, "Was that the same dude that got evicted from that one abandoned building Lem? I think he was living, next to the hotel?" Lem answered, "I don't know, but he snoops around my warehouse a lot too. The guy is a conspiracy theorist." Emorald added, "I know there was a guy living in that building, had to really clean the place up. Someone had a hell of a drug lab there." "Yeah, you wonder who was responsible, but innocent till proven guilty."

Not long afterwards, I bade farewell to the two, and looked around. Sure enough, there were more of these strange patterns on the asphalt in other places. Either they were done by a machine, or the painter had a very steady hand. I did notice one building with a few strange pictures. But before I could take a picture of it, a huge spider appeared, which freaked me out to the point I forgot about making the shot. Normally such enormous arachnids are found in the tropics. But considering the recent maw monsters and now these street circles, well, know knows?

And so Montecito Bay now has some more weirdness on it's hands. Or considering the Cruxes, additional weirdness. What happens next? Time will tell.

Bixyl Shuftan