The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley…
Gang aft agley…
Robert
Burns
This
is the third story in my Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World in Second Life (SL) series. My last
trip
brought me to the Hanging
Gardens of Babylon. Previously,
I’d been to the Great
Pyramid of Giza. On
this leg of my journey I go the Temple
of Artemis at Ephesus.
For the late arrivals, my rationale
for this series about the Wonders of the Ancient World is that I’ve been
blogging about a variety of topics in Second Life (SL) lately. Fashion, steampunk, sex, pirates,
and friendship to
name but a few. (I’m nothing if not
eclectic.) However, I feel I’ve gotten
away from my roots. My
original intention was to travel across the grid to see new places and meet new
people. I think I’m
doing pretty well with the latter but the former maybe not so much.
So, I’ve decided to strike
out and visit more places further afield inworld. One group of places that I’ve always wanted
to visit in Real Life (RL) and have been frustrated mostly by time and to a
certain extent by distance is the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Given that only one of them still stands and
that unfortunately seems to be surrounded by a swirl of political turmoil which
looks like it won’t be ending any time soon, SL seems to be a pretty good bet
to go looking for them. (Significant
Other also likes the idea of me not clocking up any more frequent flyer miles
in RL.) This is the second in what will be a series of seven stories.
The ancient world has always
had a certain fascination for me. Maybe
because I grew up in a country where we seem to have more people who are over
one hundred years old than we have buildings and monuments has something to do
with it.
Working from Wikipedia’s
list of the Seven Wonders, I was able to locate all seven within SL. This was a good sign and I have my marching orders. I’m going to visit all of them for my own
sake and to bring the places and stories back to my readers.
Here’s where I run into my
first spot of trouble in this journey. Seems
that while I thought I was being thorough in checking that the Seven Wonders of
the Ancient World actually existed inworld before I began my walkabout, I’d
gotten one wrong. Specifically, the
Temple of Artemis. (Hey, anyone can make
a mistake!)
Well, maybe I wasn’t
thorough in my research as I thought it was because turns out I couldn’t find
the temple anyplace. What I’d thought
was the temple turns out to be a facsimile of an ancient library. (Which happens to be a very interesting
place to visit for anyone who’s interested.)
I use Search to try and
locate the temple. Nothing really
appropriate comes up. Although, there is
the Sex Temple
of Artemis listed. Well. I was
facing a deadline (Real Life (RL) has been hectic.) and this place is dedicated
to Amazons (as purportedly was the original).
So, I decide to drop by.
I arrive at night in front
of medieval styled church surrounded by the requisite fog shrouded graveyard with
dead trees. Gargoyles guard the main
entrance to the church. I enter and see
pews surrounding an altar like area where a semi-nude woman is hanging from the
ceiling from a cross. She attempts to
speak to me in German and we all know where that’s going to go.
By now, I’m realizing I’m
nowhere near ancient Ephesus and decide to head home.
My third journey looking at
the Wonders of the Ancient World inworld has been a little disappointing (Although
I may have discovered some great material for future BDSM stories! Never miss a chance to save something.) I didn’t find any classical buildings or
anything relating to the original period.
Still, I went out and saw a couple of new places.
Like my two previous trips,
I didn’t have any interaction with anyone.
(OK, well, maybe if I spoke German I might have but then she was all
tied up.) This brings me back to an idea
that’s been forming in my mind since I began this journey that maybe some
places in SL are just meant to be viewed and not occupied. I’ll explore this idea in future
stories.
My first visit had left me
worried about whether or not I was wasting my time with this series of
stories. My second visit reaffirmed my
original enthusiasm for the project. This
trip was not a success but I’ll go on. I
hope that the next four Ancient Wonders meet or exceed these my expectations. (Assuming that I can find them.)
As I wrote earlier, my
travels across SL have brought me to many different places. Admittedly, many of these journeys were
random. Now, I’m moving along on a
journey with a purpose. (Maybe I’m
growing up? Significant Other may have
another opinion here.) Searching for the
famous sites from antiquity seems like a worthwhile thing to do.
My reasons for this journey still
stand. First, how much of the ancient
world can I find inworld? Second, how
well has the ancient world been reconstructed?
My travels to date have brought me in contact with many residents who
are either building worlds in SL or are living their virtual lives there.
The Great Pyramid, the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and the Temple of Artemis are just the first stops
on this journey and I have four more to go. Anyone who would still like to join
me for part or all of it, please reach out to me and we’ll work out the
calendars. I’d be glad for the
company!
I’ve included links to
several pictures I took of the sims I visited.
But check the sites out for yourself.
Pictures, especially when I’m the photographer, are never as good as
being there.
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.
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. 1 Library
of Celus at Efesus
Photo No. 2 Library
of Celus at Efesus, Interior
Photo No. 3 Sex
Temple of Artemis
Photo No. 4 Sex
Temple of Artemis, Interior
Photo No. 5 Sex
Temple of Artemis, Cage
Photo No. 6 Sex
Temple of Artemis, View from Bell Tower
Photo No. 7 Sex
Temple of Artemis, Graveyard
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