Arcas' Bones (4.5/12)- For Your Eyes Only

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Partial transcript only. Access previous sections 1, 2, 3, 3.5, 4

From: Terence Linnaeus
To: Rosalind Williams

…I’m not ashamed to admit that I was relieved when Neil suggested that we camp near the river instead of the village. The women were on edge, and at the slightest disturbance- real or imagined- they armed themselves and ran off to investigate. As you can imagine, this made it rather difficult to try and have a conversation. Compounding the issue was their altered state of consciousness. They seem fond of mind-altering substances that cause them to hallucinate and become paranoid. The drugs are consummed topically via a pink mucus-like substance of unknown origin called kuk-sha, and orally via a green herb known as b’kuk, which they grind and smear on their gums. The effects of the drugs, and the general state of alarm in the village, made it impossible to communicate with them in any meaningful (and coherent) manner. So we decided to return later once things had settled...

…When they were not rushing about chasing after imaginary enemies, the women busied themselves with social activities such as chatting, eating, drinking, hooting, hollering, chirping, howling, dancing, passing gas, and wrestling in the mud. They also spend a lot of time crafting and testing their crude but deadly weapons. I must admit that I've never seen anything quite like it...

... We caught glimpses of a few men here and there. The male-to-female ratio is clearly in favor of females. And their social organization shows it. Although it's too early to tell with certainty, if yesterday was any indication, the males’ key responsibilities seem to be gathering food, fetching water, feeding the lizards, adorning their bodies, and entertaining the females. Calling the whole scene chaotic is putting it mildly. I'm sure that once we've deployed the sensors, we'll have a much better understanding of their social patterns and organization…

… Neil is of the opinion that it would be better for Esmeralda to return home, and I concur. At his urging, I made a request to Captain Clarke to ferry Esmeralda back to the shuttle port. However, all vessels are being used in the search for Dr. Levine. So, the captain thought it wiser for her to remain here. Hopefully, once they find the doctor, they can shuttle her back to Ganymede station. She wasn’t too happy when I floated the idea, indicating that she didn’t want to “miss all the fun”…

…Neil and the rest of the crew left this morning in search of Dr. Levine. Esmeralda and I have busied ourselves setting up our research station. Our camp is located in a grove near the river. As luck would have it, we found the husk of an old shuttle that someone had once used for shelter, but now lies abandoned. Esmeralda and I will set up our "field headquarters" in it. Typically, I prefer to live in close proximity to the group that I am studying- it makes collecting ethnographic data that much easier- but on this occasion, I’m happy to make an exception…

…yours…

-End transcript-

The illustration is a work in progress. I tested different colours and methods of applying paint. There's much room for improvement there, but it was fun using the White Nights watercolour. I also went to the local art shop and got myself some nicer brushes. I have been using the ones that I purchased at a Daiso store in Bangkok. They didn't have much spring back and the tips quickly lost their shape. The new ones I bought are the Opus Allegro- acrylic round tip for watercolors. Not nearly as fancy as the Escoda or Da Vinci brushes that I saw at the store. They're also Made in China, but overall they're an improvement over the Daiso brushes.