Entry_003

Do you ever look something up on the CKD Encyclopaedia and then spend the rest of your day browsing through various different articles? Yep! Me too!

After a funny evening working my way through what turned out to be the VERY basic new TaxShare system with my new friend Ben, I decided to take myself over to the CKD. I'd been thinking recently about how a track journey of only one hour can take you from a section where the upground is a fairly temperate climate, like Alf's, to a section where the upground is a blistering desert, like my office. I suppose we're so used to not really seeing the upground world that we don't think that these two places must be extremely far apart.

Well, my avid readers, I have some answers for you!! You'll have to excuse me if you already knew all of this, I suppose I may just be showing my ignorance.

Ok, so the Track Carts that we hop on and off every day are inside a sealed tube. You know that hissing noise when the door opens? That's air flowing into the tube. It's all in a complete vacuum! Because there's no (or little) air in the tube, there's no air resistance or friction. This allows the Track Carts to move incredibly fast. Furthermore (Yes! There's more!) the carts aren't actually touching the ground underneath them. They're suspended by really powerful electro magnets. It's these magnets that also power the train. They pulse on and off in the direction of travel. This creates a ripple effect that pushes the train forward. The faster the ripples, the faster the cart will go!

Again, sorry if you knew that...but I was oblivious! I suppose I'm slightly more aware of how unusual some aspects of our life are from doing what I do for a living. Upgorunders have to travel for days, weeks, even months to get from one place to another...on foot!! Months! Think about it! Don't really mind your morning commute now, do you?

Anyway, like I said, I was on CKD for a few hours last night. There's some pretty cool stuff if you look long enough. Annoyingly, I didn't have Rank Clearance for a lot of the articles. I found a few photos of the topography of the upground world and I was curious to see where the relative positions of my office and Alf's were but you've gotta be White or above! Soon, soon!

I had a bit of a half hearted chat with Mum earlier. I don't whether it's because there's only text-based chat available when talking to people who have gone off world, or if it's just that they're out enjoying the luxury that they've spent years ranking up to achieve but all offworlders tend to get very distant. Don't get me wrong, I was ecstatic when Mum got her Platinum Pass and her ticket to go offworld, but I do miss her. That's normal, right? Apparently, back before the sub-colonization, people used to live together with their parents for a general minimum of eighteen years. Even after you left them, it was normal, even expected to stay in fairly regular contact with them. If the traditionalists and the upgrounders are right, this weird system of early separation is very unhealthy.

Anyway, I'd better stop before people start thinking I'm some sort of Traddy! Lol.

I'm hoping to see Marc again later on. We've managed to get tickets to a new game that's in Beta. I've not read much about it, but apparently it's set in an ancient upground society that is going through a bloody witch-hunt. The reality engine is said to be really good. You can feel the "breeze" against your "skin" apparently. I have to wonder whether or not that extends to the "lemon juice" in your "open wounds"! Haha. Should be fun to try it out at least! Most of Marc's other friends get a little scared of playing any kind of game with him. He gets really into it and generally plays on servers where the whole experience is taken very seriously. Yes, it's a little strange to walk around in a fake world playing make-beleive, but I actually quite enjoy it! All this "Prithee Sire, may I join thy righteous dragon hunt" business is quite nice. Almost romantic. Definitely harmless!

This is the point that I get flooded with comments about how sad I am. Ho hum!

Right! I see Marc's avatar loading up. Wish me luck! Would it be bad taste to deck out my avvie with a broomstick and a cloak for this evening's merriments??

-Sophie