Editing Journal Archives (section)

==Summer, 1924==

===The Center of All Things===

'''Abstract'''

The tale of the temporary appearance, in the basement of a private residence in Argentina, of an “Aleph,” a point in space which contains universal space within it, where “all the places of the world, seen from every angle, coexist.”  By gazing up into this point, an observer will see all things, places and people on the earth at once.  The author takes great care to describe the surrealistic nature of the visions so gained and the mental exercises necessary to be able to cope with the cacophony of images and even, with a supreme effort of will, filter the universal vision down to see only particular locales or people of interest, no matter the distance and even if their whereabouts are unknown.  

The article also devotes space to rumors of similar points at the Amr Mosque in Cairo and in a tower in the lost city of Irem, and objects that can accomplish similar feats (such as a mirror given to Alexander the Great).  The piece ends with a mathematical attempt to predict where such transient points (called “Alephs” in the article) will appear next; “3X2(9YZ)4A” is the only portion of the formula to reach publication.

'''About the Explorer'''

Carlos Daneri was a patrician librarian from Rio de Janeiro.  He had been a researcher in that field office for the past three years.  This was his first published article for the Journals, and likely his last – the article was discovered on his desk after he suffered a nervous breakdown, believed to be caused by his inability to contain within his mind all at once the complex mathematical calculations he was attempting to formulate.
 

===The Flower of the Desert===

'''Abstract'''

Photographic essay of a rare flower that blooms in the Rub al Khali Desert on the Arabian Peninsula and the adaptations it has gone through to survive.  It subsists on minimal water, like a cactus, and has an extremely wide-spread and shallow root structure, sometimes stretching miles and joining several of the flowers into a symbiotic network.  The flower also bears spines tipped with a strange, highly toxic, poison.

'''About the Explorer'''

Olsen Ridge is a botanist from Holland who received his doctorate from the University of Amsterdam.  He spent several years cataloging the flora of the Australian Outback and the New Zealand plateaus before settling into a more sedentary life as a researcher for the Cairo office.


===The Faerys Resting Place===

'''Abstract'''

Excavation of two Faery Mounds in Ireland, complete with sketches of the site layout.  A large number of artifacts of both miniature and gigantic proportions were found, both crafted with exacting detail, in what appears to be ritual burial sites (biers were set aside, but no bodies were present).  Artifacts included were mostly drinking vessels in clay and gold, gold torcs, and arms and armor made of a highly reflective, chromed metal as light as aluminum but stronger than steel that the Trust has, as yet, been unable to identify.  

'''About the Explorer'''

Scott Palmer is a folklorist and musician from County Cork, Ireland.  An itinerant busker, reformed street thief, occasional pavement artist, guide-for-hire, driver, diver and actor in several two-penny operas, he has spent the past year as a member of the Trust’s second European field team, much of that time spent on this dig.  This is his first article for the Journals.
 

===The Lights that Sport With Gods===

'''Abstract'''

Photographs, in rough Autochrome color, of the Aurora Borealis in the skies over the Alaskan Territory and a series of folktales from the Inuit peoples who inhabit the region, depicting what the northern lights mean to their people.  Included are stories of the ancestors, seen dancing or playing in the lights, and the ability of some angakuq (holy men) to communicate with the honored dead and beseech them for blessings.  Of darker import are stories of the gods that live in the lights and their cannibalistic tendencies – to gaze at the lights was to risk attracting their attention and getting carried off and eaten.  The Inuit believe that their diet consists entirely of souls – animals are souls with physical form – and that to offend a spirit is potentially fatal for an entire tribe.  Says one shaman quoted in the article, "We don't believe.  We fear!"

'''About the Explorer'''

Knud Rasmussen is a Greenlandic polar explorer and anthropologist.  This article represents a portion of his findings from his fifth trip to the Alaska Territory, from which he has just returned (the first was from 1902 – 1904).  He does not work for the Trust, but the Trust funded this expedition in exchange for this article and the collection of Inuit artifacts (see New York archives).  Rasmussen has recently obtained a post as lecturer at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark
 

===Hand of the Black Dragon===

'''Abstract'''

Trust explorers investigate the disappearance of the daughters of several British businessmen and government officials in Hong Kong on behalf of the local authorities, only to discover that they’re being sold into laborious slavery by the Black Dragon Triad.  A desperate search through the city follows and, hot on the heels of that, a mad chase across China before the agents of the Black Dragon can reach the Kun L’un Mountains with their prize.  The chase ends with a pitched kong foo battle in a small town in a mountain pass and the Trust’s agents find themselves wearied, but successful.

'''About the Explorers'''

Sandra Wu-San was raised in a secret monastery in the northernmost reaches of China to be the ultimate soldier for a dark Daoist mystic sect.  Miyoshi Benjamin is the daughter of a British merchant and a Japanese noblewoman, raised in both the west and the east to seize control of both with her parents’ vast fortune.  Richard Lung was an outcast on the streets of Shanghai, making hits and running drugs for the Five Thunders Triad.  Each has turned away from their dark path to join the Trust and all have published several articles in the Journals before (cf. Winter 1919, Autumn 1920, Winter 1921, Summer 1921, Spring 1923).


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[[Terra Occulta]]