It's so much darker when a light goes out than
it would have been if it had never shone.
John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent
The
Hunt has begun!
STEAM 7 has started and will
run until the end of the month. Perryn Peterson’s steampunk
extravaganza is off and I should know.
Last night I attended Perryn’s kick-off party at the Mieville
Arcadia Asylum & Freebie Centre.
As usual, his flair for throwing
a party and drawing a crowd that has a great time was in evidence.
Perryn had hinted previously of a
mysterious inworld master scripter who had disappeared along with her legacy
which devotees are trying to unearth.
(Can one unearth something in a virtual world?) A party and a mystery, how could I
refuse?
I’m one of the first guests to arrive and
Perryn is there to greet me with his usual bonhomie and sartorial
elegance. (I have to ask him where he
buys his hats.) Surrounding us is a
world that I don’t typically associate with the worlds of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. A grim, urban dystopia looms around us. I feel like I’m in a Hollywood back lot for a
Mad Max movie. A police cruise sits at the curb with its
lights flashing. I’m not sure why
there’s a flying saucer with little green aliens carrying in an unconscious
guest, but, hey this is Second Life (SL).
Yep, just the kind of place that I’d expect
Perryn to select for a kick-off party!
Now, here’s where it gets fun and mysterious. This sim represents the reconstructed body of
work of one of the great builders of SL’s Golden Age. None other than arcadia asylum herself.
Perryn had made a quick reference to this
when we’d last met. Tonight, I’m
introduced to the whole story. (Now,
don’t worry, this story’s about the STEAM 7 kick-off party. But, I can’t just ignore this. Perryn chose this location for a
reason.) Perryn introduces me to Prof.
Grey (AKA brian61 landar). He is a
dapper, scholarly looking gentleman dressed as I would expect of someone who
looks like he’d just stepped out of a Vernes novel. Prof. Grey has been charged with telling me
the story of arcadia asylum.
Prof. Grey and I walk through the arriving
merchants and hunters who are dancing in the streets led by Perryn
himself. Prof. Grey begins to tell me
about the legend of arcadia asylum.
Seems that back in the day of early SL, she was quite the scripter and
also believed all objects should be free or as close to free as possible. Then one day for reasons that are still unclear
to me, arcadia decides to unload her fairly hefty body of work and leave
SL. Gone. Done.
Except (There’s always one isn’t there?) that she purportedly has
several alts and keeps an eye on things inworld. Some of her friends may know who she is and
when she’s on, but if they do, they’re keeping mum about it.
OK, now I love a mystery just like everyone
else. This one is cool even by Real Life
(RL) standards. But it gets better. Seems that many people inworld either knew
arcadia or of her work. They formed the
Arcadia Asylum Recovery Group (AARG) and have been reconstructing her work
inworld. Mieville Arcadia Asylum &
Freebie Centre is the result of that labor of love. (Except for the flying saucer, little green
aliens, and the ruined building next door.)
A plaque in front of a pawn shop (Hey, I keep saying the Great Recession is hurting SL!) I get the sense of a lost civilization being
resurrected from the dust.
Prof. Grey and I visit several shops and an
exhibit displaying arcadia’s work which, BTW, is all free. Yes, free.
Check it out. In the hall, only
photos of her work can be shown because they are too big to be displayed. This woman definitely knew how to build
‘em!
When looking at arcadia’s work, attention
should be paid to the detail particularly the textures. She made many herself. Her work is functional whether it’s an
armoire or a subway car.
Prof. Grey also takes me to an exhibit of
arcadia’s work which is on the sea bottom.
The environment is completely different from what I’d seen on the street
topside. The fish, plant life, and other
objects show the true creative range of arcadia. Unfortunately, this exhibit will be taken
down after the party. (I do have a link
to a picture of it with Prof. Grey below.)
After surfacing, we make our way back to
the street party which is now becoming riotous. Unfortunately, between all the
older scripts which are processor intensive and all the guests, lag is a killer
tonight. I’ve already been bounced a
couple of times. Perryn is known for
bringing the house down with his parties but he’s really outdone himself this
time.
I thank Perryn and Prof. Grey and
leave. The party is still going full
blast as I make my way out.
If the kick-off party is any indicator
then STEAM 7 should be great. It’s under
way now and starts at the recently renovated Laughing Gryphon House in Mieville
Doyle Victorian Steampunk sim.
The theme this time is “Time & Space” honoring H. G. Wells.
Participating merchants will try to incorporate this concept into their
gifts to the hunters.
Speaking of the merchants, Perryn estimates
that there will be about one hundred and forty for STEAM 7 including some
hunters like Glorf Bulmer who are now
merchants themselves. Several dozen
merchants are new to the Hunt which Perryn believes is a real plus to the
increasing popularity of the Hunts. From
the Laughing Gryphon the hunters will first visit the shops of two other Hunt
organizers, JoseDiego Silverspar and Wyvern Dryke.
I encourage everyone to go to STEAM 7 and
enjoy themselves. Meet the merchants and
other hunters. I guarantee a good time
will be had by all. I hope to see you
there as I’ll be covering the Hunt.
Finally,
I will be returning to look at arcadia asylum more closely, both her life and
work. And, maybe, just maybe I might be
able to meet her! If you read this
arcadia, I’ll do an interview on your terms.
As always, I’m grateful to all for their
kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through
their lives.
Below are a few pictures of the places I
visited for this story. Please go
yourself and look at arcadia’s work. Pictures,
especially mine, do not do it justice.
I welcome feedback from readers, please
either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com .
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
Photo
No. 3 Perryn
Peterson
Photo
No. 6 Arcadia
Asylum Commemorative Plaque
Photo
No. 7 Arcadia
Asylum Wanted Poster
Photo
No. 10 Prof.
Grey Under the Sea
Photo
No. 11 The
Aliens Have Landed!
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