60. The Next Morning

Alan did this watercolor from the boat - a warm-up sketch of
Spirit Island with North Cape in the distance.
Alan was only beginning to grasp the actual size of New Island.

Alan felt a little better the next morning, though something unsettling was running through the back of his consciousness. But once he had his coffee and started thinking about the day ahead, his murky feelings of whatever unsettled him subsided. 

He decided he should mail his first portfolio of pictures to the Tourism Office. He had heard Adrian moving around downstairs so he went down with the pictures and his mug of coffee in hand to say hello. Adrian was just pouring his own coffee when he looked up, smiled at Alan, and motioned to the two chairs in the gallery.

They both sat a minute, then Adrian said, "Soooo, what are your plans for now? ...I'm just curious."

Alan's mind had drifted off. "Oh! Well, yesterday I saw the library in Hazel, so I'm going there today to get something to read. I suppose I'll need to get a card. I also want to mail my drawings to Margaret at the Tourism Office. Then I'm going to hang out here for a couple of days before I head north toward Putney, where more places are waiting for pictures."

"Wow, leaving again so soon..."

"Oh, and here are my first batch of sketches..."  Alan spread them out on the floor between them.

Adrian looked them over carefully, picking each one up. "Whoa, not bad! I can recognize these places easily. I think they'll like these."

Alan let out a deep breath, or a sigh. "Thanks. It seemed to take forever to get these first nine done! That tenth one I painted on my way over on the boat. Anyway, I feel like I'm going to be wandering around for a loooong time to get to all the 105 places that they want pictured! At first, I thought the island would be easy to walk across in a couple of days, but now I see it's much bigger than that!"

"105 pictures?"

"Yes, here is the list - the one I showed you before I started out."

Adrian studied it much more closely than the last time he saw it, looked at the pictures on the floor again, and then he said, "You know, I've been thinking we could collaborate here. I've noticed our styles of landscape painting are similar - and I have already made paintings of several of the places on your list. I was just thinking that maybe we should slip in some of my work to help free up your load. I'll be able to get rid of some old art, and you'll get the credit! Also, I could also use the income. Do you think they'd mind?"

"Hmm, dunno. I could ask about it in a letter and slip it in with the pictures. That would help me get these done a little sooner. By the way, they are only paying me five rogers each for these. Will that be enough?" 

"Five rogers? They're getting a good deal, in my opinion! It'll have to do, I guess."

They sat in silence for another minute, then Alan gathered up the sketches. "Um, I should probably buy my own bike, but can I borrow your's again to go to Hazel? 

"Oh, sure. I bought mine from Rothschild's bike shop in Hazel, which has a lot of used bikes and a few new ones. It's around the corner from the grocery shops. And that's a fine library in Hazel. They have a surprisingly large selection of books and movies put out by our locals."

So Alan mailed the sketches and a long note to Government Hill, and then rode over to the Hazel Library. Getting the card might be a problem - he realized he didn't have an official street-number address. The Librarian, a lovely young woman, allowed him to write "The Apartment above the Gallery on the Road west of Town." on his card application. "Now I'm almost a resident," he grinned as she stamped his card. As she handed it to him, she replied, "Probably more than you think, Mr. Faramond." 

Her statement startled Alan, but beyond, Hmmm...I wonder what she meant by that? he mentally set it aside.

In the stacks he found a well-worn novel, The Magician's  Assistant, by Ann Patchett, an American author he liked, and then spotted a hefty non-fiction volume titled 50,000 Years Ago, with a subtitle reading - Everyday life on New Island during the dawn of the Old People. It was by Harriet MacAuley, a resident of Putney. 

This should do it, he thought.

Next stop, the bike shop.

59. Alan then ponders his situation...

Alan knew he needed to continue making sketches depicting places on New Island for the Tourism Office. That meant he needed to plot out another route to find more of the places on The List.  He looked at it and then decided maybe later.

Just for fun, he laid out the pictures he had made so far. He thought they were basically OK, and hoped the Tourism Office will feel the same about them. 

Then he put the pictures away and looked out the window at Putney Bay. For a long minute his mind just sort of wandered off. 

He thought about Michelle, back in Michigan City. He half-expected a letter from her would be waiting for him, but she didn't have his address. She may have written to his employer, the Tourism Office, but then he wasn't sure her letter would even make it to the island, much less to him. She was the only person he might expect to hear from.

He suddenly wished, with an intense longing, that he had made more friends in his life. He thinks he learned this isolationism from his mom, who, he later realized, was a bit of a recluse. When he graduated from Oceanside High, in California, she made it clear she wanted her own space, mostly by telling him, "I need my own space." She paid for his college room and board at Cal State Long Beach, and he was excited to be there, so he didn't feel too rejected. he saw her rarely during college, and then not at all since he moved to Indiana.

In the years since, his only real friends were his ex-wife Barbara, and then Michelle. 

But here on this island, he's been meeting people. He thought about Chloe, and wondered where she was now, and he remembered Amelia the gossip-journalist surfer, and Carla on the boat, and that he would like to see them again, especially Chloe. Even Jeremy on the train would have been a friend if Alan had been more patient with him. And he likes his neighbor Adrian - they seem to have a lot to talk about. None of this occurred back in Indiana. 

What's going on? Are the people different here?  Am I different? They do seem far more relaxed than anyone I've met back home. I feel like I'm far way from everything I knew in the States, but I feel that the islanders want to know me, or they are simply more outgoing, or I'm more open...who knows?

People are pretty good here, at least so far. Can I trust that?

58. Alan ponders strange forces while drawing the train at Sixes

Once back at his place above Adrian's gallery, Alan took some time to settle in.  After all, he had only been there a couple of days before taking this first excursion to make pictures for The List. It seemed like he had been away for ages, and when he dropped his backpack, he suddenly felt very tired. Without another thought, he shed his clothes, climbed into his warm bed (flooded by the late afternoon sun), and slept until the next morning!

At about 7 he woke up quite hungry so he borrowed Adrian's bike and bought some groceries in Hazel. Finally satisfied after downing several eggs, a bowl of cereal, and coffee, he looked around his apartment and thought about how this place is going to be his home for a while. He decided to move his dining table in front of the best window and then laid out his drawing and watercolor supplies. He sat down and pulled out the rough pencil sketch he did of the train stopping at the Sixes station. From that he made a finished drawing, in watercolor, which took him most of the day.

  

Alan captured the landscape here pretty well, except for some houses. 
Sixes has a population of about 200.

While working on the drawing, he wondered about that weird energy that buzzed through him up on the Wart. What WAS that?  He began to think that there were undercurrents of other forces on this island, and why not? The place has felt a bit strange from the beginning, starting with that whole scene of trying to find the Rudyard Shipping Lines office in Fremantle - why couldn't the cabbie see it? And the quietness of this place, and how there appear to be so few people here; the roads and cafes are nearly empty. He noticed only a few fellow riders on the trains. No one seems to rush to work in the mornings. He also noticed that everything seems old here. The houses and shops in the small towns all seem to huddle in tight clusters - like medieval villages in Tuscany! Ruins thousands of years old seem to be everywhere; even the land itself has a worn-down, ancient look to it.

Life on this island appears to change very slowly here. Is this okay? Is there something going on that keeps it this way?

Late in the afternoon, Alan went downstairs and said hello to Adrian, who surprised Alan with a hug and a cheery "How did it go?" 

"Well, do  you want the short version or the long?"

"Oh, the long of course! Have a seat and I'll pour us a glass of wine."

"Sure, thanks!"  Alan felt better already.

Once settled, Alan told Adrian about The Hook, getting lost out near Paddy, stopping at the inns along the way, the strange rocks at Hoodoo Beach, meeting Chloe and the time they spent together. He mentioned stopping at Hobart and sketching Hobb's Wart but didn't elaborate on his little hike up to its summit, or allude to his recent questioning. Not yet.

Alan wanted to tell Adrian more, but he was tired and just couldn't describe his feelings. Adrian sensed that something was a little off, but he didn't say anything. After they finished the bottle, Alan said goodnight.

******************************

 Note: Sixes was somehow left off the road map. 
Here is where it is, if you want to amend your copy.
If you need a map, please click HERE to order one.

Roger's Dreamland

At the end of Twentymile Beach (above), is a large rock where one can stand and imagine yet another level of existence on this island of other levels of existence... 

The large rock-cluster in the surf
is the entry place called Three Rocks.

Around 1871, Roger Putney discovered this place bearing his name during his two-years of solitary wandering. Most of New Island's northern half was unexplored then, and Roger reported back that he found many strange things, including the "Land of Dreams" as he called it.

He remembered that, many years before, the Sacred Otter described a magical land, and how to get into it. Roger found the large rock the Otter had described, and discovered carved within it a narrow platform overlooking the ocean.  "Here," the Otter had instructed, "Close your eyes and dream of another place that is pleasant to explore, where you are cared for, and where you can simply be."  While walking on the island's northern coast, Roger spotted the large rock the Otter described, and then found the carved-out platform! He meditated briefly on the existence of this "dream land", and sure enough, before him appeared an entirely new landscape, with a pinkish cast in the light, and emanating an inviting, yet haunting feeling. He decided to trust his instincts, stepped off the rock, and indeed found the place to be "quite agreeable" in his words.

Ever since, many "dreamers" have ventured into Roger's Dreamland, and most have come out. Many keep their experience there to themselves; some complain that it was boring or creepy, and others simply show a satisfied grin. It is all up to the beholder.

A favorite Dreamland spot is West Beach,
here recorded in a watercolor by a dreamer who returned...

Mapping Rogers Dreamland has been challenging. 
The orange-tinted landmass shown here is derived from information and sketches provided by
those who have been there. However, individual experiences tend to vary.

57. Alan Returns to Hazel

Alan finally arrived back at his lodgings above Adrian's gallery.

Up on the Wart, Alan almost tried out the hollowed-out form, but stopped short...this thing looks plain creepy!  And then he felt a strange and violent surge of energy through his body, something like an electric shock. Oooh...this does NOT feel good...maybe this place really is haunted, and maybe its trying to tell me something...

He backed off, and the chilling vibration receded as he moved away from that form-thing. He retraced his route back down as quickly as he could, noticing that it was getting dark way too fast! He was shivering, though it was a warm evening. Once off the stone steps and on the lower slope, however, he could still see the path, and he felt much better. As he walked back toward Hobart's main street, Alan, still agitated by the weird energy up there, decided to return to the Highbrow just to talk to anyone there for a while. He wanted to decompress, before trying to sleep this off. 

A fellow on the next stool, a guy named Stan, seemed willing to talk about the Wart when Alan brought it up (as casually as he could). Stan told him that the Wart has been, as long as he can remember, the source of many stories: People disappearing, strange lights, odd jarring sounds more felt than heard, People returning but in a wide-eyed, zombie-like state that lasted for days. Alan didn't offer that he'd just been up there, but his questions began to trouble Stan. He leveled a look at Alan, and said that no one in Hobart likes to talk about that Wart, and that He, Alan, shouldn't mention any of this once he leaves here.

Oh.

Alan left Hobart early the next morning. He walked the three or so miles to the train stop at Sixes, to catch the Victoria-Putney train to Hazel. He had a while to wait, so he began to sketch the tiny Sixes station, and hoped he could capture the train moving into it! This would complete the first leg of his assignment -- he still needed a picture of a New Island train. 

Alan is waiting for a train like this one.

Island Mail and Postage

 

Until 1992, New Islanders were obliged to use Russian postage stamps. However, in 1985, Gordon Slant etched the Roger Putney 10 pence (top) on a copper plate, and printed hundreds of these in his shed near Wigsthorp. New Islanders were already talking about gaining independence from Russia, so these "spirit of Roger" stamps were only used on hand-delivered mail. Only about fifteen are known to exist today.

Gordon Slant also designed the New Island Railways $1 stamp in 1992 but it was never issued. The "dollar" monetary unit was being considered at the time, but was soon changed to the "roger".

Soon after Independence, the Bellingshausen 25-pence was issued by the Ministry of Trade. Ironically, this first stamp honored the man who had claimed the island for Russia, and it is still used today.

Our favorite stamp issue is this set of triangles honoring four of New Island's indigenous creatures.

56. Alan climbs the Wart

Vitruvian Man, Leonardo da Vinci's "Proportions of Man" drawing.
--courtesy Wikipedia

Alan couldn't help but climb up Hobb's Wart after supper. He was a little nervous after hearing that the top of it was haunted. Other people in the cafe said they saw weird lights up there at night, yet no one claimed they'd ever been up there. Was it perhaps a landing site for UFOs? 

Alan wanted to find out. 

Hobart's one major street eventually turned into a faint footpath that took a zig-zag route up the slope toward the great rock. His curiosity pushed him up this path as it then skirted the base of the massive Wart. It does kind of look like a giant wart, he mused. After some distance, the path abruptly turned into a narrow cleft in the rock wall, and a series of steep steps led Alan up to the top. Wow, someone had carved all this... He climbed a while, then stopped to listen. It was completely quiet except the sharp chirps of numerous swallows he saw swirling and circling over the brush and trees below. 

Finally, a bit winded, he arrived at the broad top of the massive rock. Toward its center, he spotted a large rectangular flat area, like a floor, carved into the rock. He also noticed a raised platform in the middle, apparently carved out of the same rock as the floor. The platform's slightly slanted top faced west toward the now-setting sun, and on this was a carved-out vaguely human form, a bit under six feet tall, with legs and arms slightly spread, similar to the pose in da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. The thing looked inviting, like one was supposed to lie down in it! 

He reached in and touched the stone surface inside the thing, and ran his fingers along the arm to the finely detailed hollow fingers. The surface had been finished or worn very smooth, like fine marble, and the rock was warm from its exposure to the sun all day. Also, there seemed to be a silky feel to the inside, maybe from traces of oil or something. Elsewhere the stone had a much more pitted and weathered look to it. There seemed to be no other carving on the platform, or anywhere else.

Alan didn't know what to think of this, but he began to pick up a definitely weird feeling here, like it was a secret and very private place. Part of him wanted to see if he would fit in the form, and the rest of him felt he should get away from here...now!

New Island Currency

The Original one-roger, in brass, has been in circulation since 2003. 

Designs for future roger coins, such as the 10-roger with surfer,

are being considered.

New Island continued to use Russian currency for several years after independence in 1992. Finally, the new government enlisted the skills of medalist Virginia Jansen to create the nation's first issue, the one-roger. The "roger" denomination originates from Roger Putney, our charismatic spiritual leader during the first years of islander settlement. "We are One" and "Joy" are New Island mottoes.  

Until other denominations of ten-pence,100 pence, half-roger, ten-, fifty- and 100-roger coins are introduced, Russian (mostly Soviet) rubles will still be used to make change.

Rumors about the Volcano

View of Mt. Hayes from Deep Creek, in the Highlands near the Inland Traverse Path

Someone in Skegness sent in a "scientific article" to the Putney Times last week claiming that massive Mount Hayes may explode "just like Tambora" within the next few weeks. 

The geology departments at Putney University and at the School of Oceanography in Victoria Harbor have looked into the situation, mostly by checking the two tiltmeters that were installed on the mountain's upper slopes in 2012. Tiltmeters measure the slightest variation in ground movement or swelling, that may preclude a volcanic eruption. These have been used to some advantage on the Kilauea volcano on the island of Hawaii.

The gases and steam output at the 8,500-foot-high crater have also been carefully analyzed in the last six months, as have the geothermal spring water at two locations on the mountain's lower slope. 

Since 2012, Mt. Hayes has indeed risen a little over 2 centimeters, according to one of the tiltmeters. However, there has been no noticeable change of gas and steam output or chemistry, nor any changes in chemistry or geothermal temperature of mountainside springs.

Our Skegness resident wishes to remain anonymous, probably for good reason. She allegedly heard a message coming from the mountain while she bathed one night at Blair Hot Springs. "I heard a deep voice," she said. "It told me to beware and prepare - the volcano will soon change everything!" The "voice" then gave a detailed account of the kind of eruption, which included a big explosion at the summit, lava flowing all the way to the ocean, a huge ash cloud darkening the sky, and a "volcanic winter" on New Island. 

The small port-town of Skegness rests at the base of Mt. Hayes, on Putney Bay, and would be especially vulnerable.

The official response from our resident volcanologists: "We see no immediate threat from the volcano. Remain calm and carry on."

Another view of Mt. Hayes during the wildflower season - early spring. This is from Lake Riga, near Bunbay.

55. Where is Alan Now?

He's in Hobart.

After Alan and Chloe (sadly) went their separate ways back in Beastey, Alan continued by train, and then on foot, to the tiny settlement of Hobart, where he stayed a night. There was absolutely not much going on in Hobart, so he walked into the Highbrow Tavern, and fell into a conversation with two locals, a young man and woman, which continued past midnight. The next morning, he vaguely remembered that they talked about Donald Trump, American consumerism, guns and shootings (in the US) and the most popular evening pastimes on New Island. The rest was a blur. The company and a few vodka tonics made the evening pleasant enough to keep his mind off of Chloe...

By noon, he felt alert enough to get out there and make a color sketch of Hobb's Wart (scenic feature no. 9 on The List). The Wart, as it was lovingly called in Hobart, loomed about a mile west of the town center. The more Alan sketched the thing, the more curious he became about what one might discover on the summit, so he thought he might try to hike up there after supper. He figures he'll stay another night in this exciting town, and then head back to his lodgings the next day.

Alan's sketch of Hobart and Hobb's Wart

At suppertime, he stopped in the Burnt Rose Cafe, ordered the meatloaf with potatoes, and then asked the server if she knew of a way up to the top of The Wart. With a look of surprise she said, "No way! You don't want to go up there -  it's haunted. We've lost too many of our lads fooling around on that rock."

Oh.