Parnassus

The abandoned city of Parnassus on Coricyan, fourth planet of Cleodora, a small system in the western part of Beyond close to the borders with the Oikumene... it's a place of beauty for the accidental tourist and sheer mystery for any historian or archeologist. The city is literally abandoned. There's nothing there that would give away a hint to its former inhabitants. No book, no digital record, no shred of paper, nothing... Almost like the whole city was immaculately cleaned before its inhabitants left.

Parnassus was probably built by humans, although scholars are still debating the origins of its founders. Current estimates say that the city was built between 1000 and 500 years ago.

The buildings of Parnassus are organized in concentric circles, with each smaller circle elevated over the previous one giving Parnassus a cone-like shape. There are 9 circles. Each circle shows a slightly different and evolving architecture and during its build different materials were used. Most commonly found are limestone, wood (ash and oak are frequently used), rendered concrete and glass. The smallest top circle has the famous glass citadel in the centre, a true masterpiece of craftsmanship. In the citadel, positioned on a high pedestal made of black crystals, is a black sphere is sitting. Its purpose not yet discovered...

The different levels are connected through wide stairs and terraces. Although there are a numerous individually recognizable buildings (one can only guess as to what their purpose was), each level looks strictly organized almost like it was made up of one building.

Work is underway to investigate the grounds below each level but this has not yet led to any sensational discoveries.

Parnassus is - as of 1503 - registered as a class 1 listed object and is currently under the care of the archeological department of the Sea Province University.

- Excerpt from "Parnassus, mystery city on Corycian", a dissertation by Helen Pyloun, archeologist, Sea Province University, Avente, Alphanor.

Remains of a Hormagaunt

"... The tissues are probably 400, but maybe even 500 years old. We're not sure yet and are still calibrating our equipment. It's difficult to examine a body that has been around for so long while using equipment calibrated for a normal human lifespan. We're crossing boundaries here..."

"... We've found a very large pineal gland. Extremely large. The normal size would be about 5 to 8  millimeters. The subject's was well over 15 millimeters. Appendix B7 supplies pathological details, biopsy imagery together with detailed comments on the pineal gland and the diverted tissues found..."

"... There was no obvious sign of aging. Without any insight on this specific case or any prescision instruments, I would estimate this to be a body of someone in his early thirties...."

"... We are currently investigating the brain tissue in more detail. It appears that the brain is slightly larger than normal - probably 10% - and we found one unknown piece of tissue of which the precise function is yet unknown..."

"... To be plain: we've got a body born between 1000 and 1100, clinically at least 400 years old but looking like a 32 year athlete. I'm baffled..."

- Authopsy on the remains of Kokor Hekkus, a paper by Rachael Thymms, Senior biologist at Sea Province University, Avente

The Hormagaunt

What do we know of the "Hormagaunt"? Considering the implications of the possibilities astonishingly little! There are two important sides on the concept of a hormagaunt. First it involves a complicated procedure which extends a persons life and tries to prevent the body from aging up to the point that the hormagaunt achieves immortality. Second they're supposed to be legendary figures living on the planet Thamber. So we have two opposing forces: a documented procedure and a legend.

Needless to argue, but from a biological standpoint the procedure of becoming a hormagaunt is extremely interesting. Although modern medical science has come a long way with curing and even eliminating all kinds of diseases, the aging process is not yet fully understood let alone have we devised a method of stopping it.

The naive reader might say "Lets go to Thamber and find out". It's really not as easy as that. Thamber is for various reasons difficult to access and hormagaunts - when actually living there - do not advert their status publicly as the process of becoming one involves some very questionable proceedings.

[...]

- Biological Extremities, a post graduate paper by Rachael Thymms (biologist at Sea Province University, Avente)

That big leap...

...and every once in a while technology makes a leap. Some leaps are pretty small, some are big, only few leaps are truly huge and shake existence...

Among the really huge and existence shaking leaps are the wheel, the art book printing, the computer and the intersplit engine, the last one giving the human race the power to explore beyond our Earth and our solar system...

The intersplit engine brought unrivaled possibilities to our race, even to the point where it would change us - both physically and psychologically.

These days we see - and have accepted - a wide range of changes in our race. Superficial changes like the changes in skin tone due to different light spectra on our skin and more prominent changes like the white skin of the Phalax and the spiky white pins on their scalps, in stead of hair. Or profound changes in human spirit for that matter, like the inhabitants of Ys who are known to practice sibling marriage.

In a way, exploring the stars and has made the human race much more tolerant towards differences within its own species, both physical and psychological. There's now an accepted attitude of "live and let live", possibly because of the endless supply of resources space travel has brought to our species, possibly because we're no longer confined to the limited "lebensraum" on Earth... and possibly because we matured to a next level....

- Rommert Beauchamps, part of his inaugural speech for the Sea Province University, Avente, Alphanor