LtCmdr Azura Ada - wind-powered harp
Azura Ada
Ne’Tatkret: Good question. It’s a mixture of both. The water itself is rising and the island was never particularly tall in the first place. The temple itself is also sinking in places where the coral that supports this island has weakened.
Zol: Makes sense to me - I assume it's a common phenomenon for old structures on the planet?
Azura silently regarded the conversation, nodding in understanding.Is'Kah: What is the cause of the rising sea levels? Is the planet experiencing climate change?
Ne’Tatkret: Climate change is only happening to the extent that it always does - slowly. Aelvarai Selav is supported primarily by coral. It has simply eroded to the point that we noticed it. Add in that the Va’tsekeluai’ra clan built the temple to be partially underwater in the first place, and we have what is happening here.
Zol: You've taken better care of your planet than some members of our Federation have, Ne'Tatkret.
Ada: Unquestionably better than my ancestors on Earth.
Azura, whose dominant ancestry was western European, was a living remnant of the peoples uniquely responsible for the mindset and belief that the Earth was for dominating, shaping, extracting, and molding at any cost. They then allowed a few people the chance to amass amounts of resources literally impossible to comprehend. Greed was found across the world and in different ways, but western Europeans had perfected the belief system that justified the wholesale destruction of nearly everything, and a somewhat unique desire to be dominated and controlled. They then forcibly spread that belief system across the globe, ensuring everyone else participated in their awful system. Kings and capitalists alike wield social power before they had anything else, something that must be given by the people they dominate. It was an upside-down, backwards world.
Is'Kah: One last set of questions, how old is the site, was it in continual use until it was abandoned, and when was that?
Ne’Tatkret: Hmm. Our latest guesses put this site at somewhere between five and ten thousand years old. The dive is to help narrow down that range more.
Zol: Wow, that's truly ancient. It's held up quite well if that's the case. And to think your ancestors were capable of building such structures so long ago...
Ada: Impressive!
Ne’Tatkret: We do have a very long history. You should visit one of the museums or universities while you are here. Most of the bigger cities on Aelkuun should have one and we do keep them above water to help preserve them, so you will not have to swim.
Is’Kah: That would be delightful, thank you.
Zol: I'd love to do that.
Ada: And I would love to join.
Ne’Tatkret: Please follow me to the harp tower. Seeing the architecture here will likely answer any questions you have about how we construct settlements on the water here.
Is’Kah: After the both of you.
Is'Kah gestured for Azura and Zol to go first.
Zol: I'm right behind you, Ne'Tatkret.
Ada: Thank you, Is'Kah.
She watched Ne’Tatkret gesture to the path they'd take, and Azura noted their body language. It was one of the things that she loved most about meeting new peoples.
Ne’Tatkret: Offworld guests are still somewhat of a novelty. Please excuse their curiosity.
Is’Kah: It is normal for people to be curious about something they haven’t seen before.
Zol: I'm sure I have a similar expression whenever I meet new people.
Together, they approached the harp tower, and Azura was intrigued by how the sound of it shifted as they moved towards the structure. She resisted deciding if the sonic shifts were intentional or not, but as the sound of the harp reflected around the complex and their position in the complex changed, different frequencies were emphasized or de-emphasized due to constructive and destructive interference patterns. It made the space seem alive in a way.Ne’Tatkret: Look closely at the wall. They did use wood for parts of it, but that has long decayed. What we have left are bricks made of volcanic rock, bits of coral, and the bones of nearby marine life. We had to rebuild the stairs when we came here, but the composite materials we use these days can all be traced back to the same practices used here. There is more stone in the temple’s construction since that was built later and over a longer period of time.
Is’Kah: It is beautiful.
The Vulcan hybrid pulled out a tricorder and started scanning the wall.
Zol: Beautiful indeed.
Zol worked the visual scanner, and Azura simply took the time to feel the space, and noticed how the wind seemed focused and rushing toward the tower. Impressive engineering! She turned behind them and saw that the complex had somewhat of a corridor design to it, leading to the tower.
Is'Kah: Commander, the bricks appear to be analogous to Roman concrete. The calcium derived from coral and bone facilitates self-repair when combined with volcanic rock. The chemical composition is quite elegant.
Azura turned around to Is'Kah and peered over zhen shoulder (as if there was another option with the diminutive Trican) to look at the readouts.
Zol: It's amazing how different species sometimes develop such similar solutions to their problems, even with different materials. Back on Earth, the Romans built aqueducts and temples with their concrete, and they still stand today.
Ada: Chemistry is constant across the galaxy. ::She remarked somewhat dryly as she inspected the material:: Given similar environmental factors, life tends to adapt in similar ways.
Ne’Tatkret: Response
Nodding to zhenself, Lieutenant Is’Kah turned to Commander Ada.
Is'Kah: Commander, the structure appears to be sound; there should be limited risk.
Zol: Should we keep ascending then?
Ada: I presume that's the plan.
She looked to Na'Tatkret.
Ne’Tatkret: Response
Is'Kah: Ne’Tatkret, would you like to learn exactly how long ago this place was built? We can perform advanced carbon dating for you without damaging the structure in any way.
Zol: It shouldn't take too long - a few days at most.
Azura simply nodded, letting Janai call the shots a bit. This was more her specialty than Azura's, and the woman wanted to see what her newest junior officer would do.
Ne’Tatkret: Response
As they ascended the tower, the stairs spiraling and narrowing, the top finally revealing a large spheroid room. It had windows (or apertures?) that narrowed towards the centroid of the room, again suggesting some kind of intention to focus the turbulence of the wind to be more coherent. In the center of the room were two parallel rows of tines made of a fibrous material, that were almost ribbon-like--wider along one dimension and at varying widths. Increased mass, lower pitch, more drag the wider they were. It made the tines act like reeds instead of a plucked string. This was more a woodwind instrument than a harp, but the nomenclature was irrelevant.The wind kicked up and the room sang. Azura watched as different tines excited and seemed to feed each other sympathetically. It was such a gorgeous sound, so carefully tuned.
Zol: It's beautiful.
Azura simply smiled at the young woman and nodded in agreement.
Ne'Tatkret/Is'Kah: Response
Zol: Do you still build such instruments, Ne'Tatkret? They're unlike anything I've ever seen.
Ne'Tatkret/Is'Kah: ResponseAzura again decided to focus on listening and observing. Her comrades were already asking all the important questions, and she languidly dirfted two and fro, following them as they explored the space, trying to see and hear what they were experiencing. The salt in the air was pleasant, and reminded her of childhood trips to the ocean.
-- Lt Commander Azura Ada Chief Science Officer USS Valkyrie-A Newsies Co-facilitator PODcast team member ASDB team member C239510LD0 (she/her, character) (she/her, writer) “For the wise person looks into space and knows there are no limited dimensions." --Zhuangzi