Entry 3: Another letter, Another Weird Drawing, and Some Hasty Notes

Finally got some time away from scanning Dr. Barnes' slides. Here's another letter from the portfolio. It's a longer one. Three pages. After reading it, it looks like there's a missing illustration about something called a "Watcher". I'll look around her office and see if I can find it.

This "Eye of the Awakened Sleeper" is intriguing. I'm guessing this must be one of those gravitational lenses that Thomas' previous note hinted at.

I found the envelope he talks about in his letter. The sketches are pretty crude, but I'm assuming Thomas will elaborate on them in the rest of these sketches.

Here's a transcription:

"Barnes,

I had a dream. I know what was under that black mask concealing my memories.

 It all came so fast. So many images flashing by. I feel as if I was being thrown through space. Past world after world after world. Each one passing in seconds. And maybe I was, if I was indeed passing through one of those multi-armed hubs. The Astarapomp said he would show me the-- but I’m getting way ahead of myself.

After the dream, I woke up with my mind overflowing. I grabbed an old envelope on my nightstand and tried to get everything I could think of down at once. I’m afraid it’s all rather scribbled, but I was trying to get it all out fast as I could before it vanished from my mind, you see.  I can show you the original next time we meet if you really want.

After I had a chance to sit and process what I’d seen, I started making drawings to better describe the things. Those I’m including with this letter. I’ve labeled each page so you can follow along with my notes. There are still some things I don’t understand about what I wrote. What are living cogs? What is the Machine God? What of Boston Corner? I know it’s a city on the border of New York, but what is its importance? Who is Spears? So many questions. I wish I’d written more notes.  I’m hoping that meditating will reveal more to me. Perhaps a trip to Boston Corner is in order.

But for now, here are the parts I can recall.         

One.

 The Watcher. I glimpsed these before, in those dreams I told you, Susan and Ira about. The Astarapomp wouldn’t tell me exactly what they were. He seemed oddly hesitant about them. Just that they were The Watchers.  Giant starfish. Big as Jupiter. I figured out they’ve got a central eye made from dozens of interlocking photosensitive lenses. Kind of like an OSO telescope.  I got a sense-- like I was gleaning the Asterapomp’s thoughts (I felt as though I was standing on the beach of the Astarapomp’s mind and the waves were his thoughts lapping at my feet. Or my own mind, rather). Anyway, yes, I got a sense from his thoughts that the Watchers are looking fr for something. The Eye of the Awakened Sleeper, perhaps?

There is life on the surfaces of the Watchers. Their own ecosystems amongst the spines and bumps and pedicillariae. I couldn’t get close enough this time to see what that life was, but I distinctly recall seeing movement as we flew over the giant’s pebbled surface.     

I’ve seen more of those Bubble Comets near the Watcher. I think they’re attracted to them for some reason. Though I’ve never seen one land on the surface, or really interact with it much at all.

Two.

Eye of the First Awakened. I saw a star circled by a broken ring. The black night behind it speckled with more stars like mica dust. The Astarapomp claimed this is the eye of their first ancestor, watching its children. It is imperfect, though. A damaged eye.  He said it was damaged while trying to consume a Celestial Mussel? I don’t know what that is. Though, do you remember that stele Ira showed us at the museum? With the starfish? Remember that odd, bean-shaped structure attached to the starfish’s foot? Susan said it looked like a Mytilus edulis, complete with byssus threads anchoring it? I think she may be right. I’ll contact her and Ira soon. What an odd coincidence.

The Astarapomp referred to the broken sections of the ring as tide pools. There was the Tide Pool of the Nemertean, the Tide Pool of the Ambulacral Garden, the Tide Pool of the Glass Echiura and The Tide Pool of the Larval Sea. He also said the star at the center was the Gate to the First World. My head is spinnign as I try to understand what all of this could mean.

 I believe the Astarapomp, and whomever he serves, may be trying to find an undamaged eye. The Eye of the Final Awakened Sleeper. He showed me a model of it on some sort of floating screen. I thought it was a hologram display, but the floating lights were actually made of tiny worms no bigger than a hair. They emerged from something like an Edrioaster. What astounding technology.

Anyway, the Eye of the Awakened Sleepr is a complete circle of light surrounding a star. I have been trying to figure out what the objects are. Are they actual colossal eyes out in the depths of space? From a titan looking into our universe from elsewhere? Are they giant superstructures surround stars? Clouds of super-heated gas? Some unknown phenomenon? I refer to them as lensed galaxies on my envelope notes. I have no clue what that means.

I should note I dreamt about the Sleeper’s Eye a few times since before I met the Asterapomp. Even before I saw the Bubble Comets. It’s been in my dreams for about a year now. Sometimes broken. Sometimes a solid ring. Don’t know what it means.

So many mysteries. I await the coming of the Astarapomp in future dreams. I’ll keep you updated.

On an off-topic note, what did you think of the bacterial adhesion book? Sorry about the weird marks at the back. I asked the librarian about it. She said some pedantic student was trying to correct the grammatical errors. The publisher really should hire a better copyeditor.

I’m glad to hear Ellen is doing better. I’ll make some time in a week or so to come out and visit.

Thomas

P.S. It just occurred to me as I was looking back over this letter. I wonder if that stele Ira showed us somehow drew the Astarapomp to me. It seems odd that I’ve started having these visions now. But why no one else? Have you been having any dreams? I’ll ask Ira and Susan.

P.P.S. got another art commission. More from the Historical Society. A piece on the Schenectady Stockade. Hopefully they’ll pay me on time this time. I’m going to take a trip to the Mabee House for references. Would you and Ellen like to come? We can stop at Watkins Glen."

And here's that envelope he took notes on after he woke up

Here's one of the illustrations Thomas referenced in his letter.