Old Ones, Space Oddesseys, and Inter-reality Trade?

It can happen here, such an odd meeting. Look, in Stephen King's Wizard and Glass he actually had the story go through a recreation of the movie, The Wizard of Oz, for crying out loud! In the later articles he said something to the affect about it actually being possible that somewhere out in the multi-verse the scenes from that movie happened....for real!

Consider, now....

We already have had encounters with realities which were unknowingly foretold within popular works of fiction....if you gather what I mean. I in fact consider the Doctor, the Timelord who's life is mimicked in a British television show called Doctor Who, a personal friend! Another friend, the demifox named Eric Solomon, hails from the Voyager. That spaceship, of course, comes from Star Trek....

So what if we are actually meeting a chap named David Bowman who's life we've read about in Arthur C. Clarke's novel, 2001?

The problem here, though, is that in that book the human being known as Bowman had something rather extreme happen to him, in a sense. See, in the book the fellow's mind and memories actually got copied by the aliens who had made that monolith and transferred into that energy being which has become known as the Star Child. The original organic mold (i.e. the human being known as Bowman) was burned to a crisp by the aliens when they had a solar flare hit his spacepod!

We know this about the man in that odd, Midworldish creepy way that I and the others have read about. David, however, is too much of a man of science and logic to believe in magic, reincarnation or death being one of the means of getting to Midworld. Point in fact I think he was an atheist in the book....but that's hardly something I'm going to be rude in asking him.

Frankly, as an aside, I rather lost my respect for Clarke after that rather shallow episode about in the last novel in the series that 2001 was placed in. See, in 3001 we find that humanity had basically lost all religious belief due to the scandal that came about when the Roman Catholic Church's records of what actually happened during the Inquisition (as I remember from what I read). Now, besides the rather....bigoted views there (to be blunt), it also overlooked the fact that there are other religions than Christianity. It overlooks that there were other sects besides that of the Roman Catholic.

I rather despised Clarke after that....

Well, that aside I and the others do not need to upset David about him actually having died (guy thinks he arrived on Midworld via some other means). Think he believes that it was due to the malfunctioning Dark Tower (i.e. doesn't believe that the thing is just a metaphor).

Whatever the case, it and whatever he's experience since then has left him rather.....brittle. Doesn't make for easy conversation, let me tell you, normally. But he seems more at ease with me for some reason (maybe he somehow senses what happened to me awhile ago in my chronicles of my families life in episode 14962). Whatever the case I seemed to have been able to make more progress with David here than most non-Old Ones make and that rather impresses some present here!

Well, with Lord Steven's permission I am the one who actually answers his Star Trek question (causing him to raise his eyebrows to his now graying hairline). I coach the other items like "magic" and such in familiar, scientific terms (explaining that "magic" is actually "our" physics at work. It's actually true, but somehow I feel out that the boy was just too....well....uptight nowadays to otherwise concede that magic exists anyway (especially on this alien world he had somehow become a part of). Also, I get to go on because I see he's rather....charmed....by me (have that effect on men sometimes) in asking aid in transportation.

Hey, he's old enough now-a-day to be my father (and he knows it). Still, it's nice to be admired and if it opens a few door, well-a- day! Not like I'm going to go out after this and "vamp" him!

Enchanted, he says he and his fellow "Old Ones" (a title he rather is annoyed by) came across an intact ATV (fully fueled) recently. uncovered in an abandoned sight.

That would have been nice, but....

We have relatively good luck, our group, but for things like that would have called for a miracle! Oh, there are technological wonders out there still running and such (after centuries they should not but....), but those are rare. Even then, some of those artifacts have a rather malicious, insane sentience of their own nowaday (witness Blaine the Mono). Still, we just had to try....

Well, hate to impose on the Draconians.....

That's Steven's cue to step in here. He comes forth and begins to see if the knowledge could be obtained on how to create and maintain more of the machinery of old. Now, while it has been said that those of Gilead (as well as other of contemporary Midworld) are wary of the Old Ones ways, paradoxically it doesn't prevent the well to do from employing some of that old technology for luxury purposes. Point in fact the castle (for want of a better term) that Roland the Younger lives within has electrical lights within. It is lit with rather mundane lightbulbs but the coal powered steam turbines that they use to getting them lit up are rather in a bad way AND I hear there seems to be a shortage of tungsten coming up here.

Can see that happening, the last. Back on several 20th century earths it had been predicted that the world's supply of tungsten (the filament for lightbulbs) would run out .....

Well, here's the thing. Those things that are being used here aren't being maintained by those who know how to do it well. Those who could do it, the Old Ones, aren't trusted enough to be regularly employed in such a matter AND it has now gotten to the point that those relics that the are being used by those like within Gilead wouldn't be able to do much with the equipment now. In other words the olden equipment (except for a few examples within remote corners of the world) is on it's last legs....

Strange place, Midworld....

They probably think the same of us from Terra Prime....

Bowman seems taken aback by Steven's talks of actually setting up trade between Gilead and the Old One's enclave. Taken aback and aghast.

"My lord," he manages, looking a bit embarrassed, "While I and the others would dearly love to do as you suggest we just cannot! To do so requires an industrial base. Assembly lines and machines to make the machines you are interested in...."

Takes a little back and forth, with myself and the others acting as translators, for both sides to understand each other in some of the more esoteric, arcane matters. Bottom line here is that it doesn't look to be happening and all sides were looking frustrated until....

1. "Do you think we can get the Draconians interested in trade with Gilead and such here on Midworld?" I ask, "After all, I think we might have to tap them anyway for their aid."