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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: Ephemeral » ARG: Eldritch Errors
[INTERACTION] PM exchange with Mkaos
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mapmaker
Unfettered

Joined: 26 Sep 2005
Posts: 608
Location: Providence, RI, USA

 		[INTERACTION] PM exchange with Mkaos
Been talking with Marie. Here's our exchanges, starting with my initial PM:

Mapmaker wrote:
Marie,

You sure Howard's all right? He keeps on telling you he's gonna show up at some point, but he doesn't. I'm just worried about everyone at this point.

Speaking of which, haven't seen Art around. I'm guessing he can handle himself, but it's just weird.

Whaddya think about Kevin's near-Disney vacation?

She responds:
mkaos wrote:
Things are ok with me. Aside from a jerky co-worker that just took off for two weeks without any real notice or warning - dumping a bunch of junk in my lap in the process. It kinda took me away from everything. He's back now and, hee, he's going to have to fight a few fires that I may have inadvertently created. The ultimate revenge Wink

As for Art & Howard, I don't know what they're up to Confused

Heck, Art's probably holed himself up in his bunker with a lovely magazine companion and Howard's, well, he's just Howard. He gets like this sometimes - just kinda goes off into his own world for a couple weeks and then hops back in like everything's fine and he was never not around. And, in the meantime, any "hey, what's going on? how's life email" gets a "Nothing. Ok. - H" reply.

As for Kevin and Florida... I must admit, I'm a bit upset about it all. I would have thought he'd have told me he was going down there or that he went. He knows how I get and, well, if anything had happened. I don't know, it just wasn't very thoughtful of him. Not that he needs to be thinking about me, but I kinda wish that he had. Confused

And, have you noticed that he seems a bit strange about it all? On the one hand, he was a bit "stupid chick isn't just doing some crazy art stuff" and on the other he's all "wtf people, don't go calling her crazy!" I guess it's the temperamental artist, but it's a bit strange. Or, maybe he just has a crush on her Laughing

How are things with you? We haven't really talked before. I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I loved that picture that you made of BA's dream place. That was really cool Very Happy Anyway, I hope things are going good for you Smile

Marie

I respond:
Mapmaker wrote:
mkaos wrote:

He's back now and, hee, he's going to have to fight a few fires that I may have inadvertently created. The ultimate revenge Wink

Part of me hopes they're literal fires. "Whoops, accidentally left the Smolski file on the oven. You better go get it!"

mkaos wrote:
As for Art & Howard, I don't know what they're up to Confused

Heck, Art's probably holed himself up in his bunker with a lovely magazine companion and Howard's, well, he's just Howard. He gets like this sometimes - just kinda goes off into his own world for a couple weeks and then hops back in like everything's fine and he was never not around. And, in the meantime, any "hey, what's going on? how's life email" gets a "Nothing. Ok. - H" reply.

That's cool. Not being here before The Crash, I dunno what their habits are.

mkaos wrote:
As for Kevin and Florida... I must admit, I'm a bit upset about it all. I would have thought he'd have told me he was going down there or that he went. He knows how I get and, well, if anything had happened. I don't know, it just wasn't very thoughtful of him. Not that he needs to be thinking about me, but I kinda wish that he had. Confused

Hah! I feel vindicated. If you couldn't tell from his cryptic statements on the board that he was going, I'm not going to feel bad that I couldn't.

mkaos wrote:
And, have you noticed that he seems a bit strange about it all? On the one hand, he was a bit "stupid chick isn't just doing some crazy art stuff" and on the other he's all "wtf people, don't go calling her crazy!" I guess it's the temperamental artist, but it's a bit strange. Or, maybe he just has a crush on her Laughing

Yeah, I dunno what's up with that. Which is it? Is it she nuts or not? She's having totally weird dreams. That's pretty crazy. It doesn't seem like she'll be coming here anytime soon (that's probably a good thing), so Kevin's gonna be our only conduit.

mkaos wrote:
How are things with you? We haven't really talked before. I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I loved that picture that you made of BA's dream place. That was really cool Very Happy Anyway, I hope things are going good for you Smile

Things are going OK. Got a lot of work on my plate that I'm sort of putting off, but crunch time is a-comin'. And thanks! That's what I do as a mapmaker. Smile Though now that she added a harbor, it complicates matters. Wink

And she responds:
mkaos wrote:
Mapmaker wrote:
mkaos wrote:

He's back now and, hee, he's going to have to fight a few fires that I may have inadvertently created. The ultimate revenge Wink

Part of me hopes they're literal fires. "Whoops, accidentally left the Smolski file on the oven. You better go get it!"


That would be very bad. Fun. Funny. But so very bad! Laughing

So very tempting!

Honestly, he just up and took off one day and went to some island paradise or something and left us all hanging. Then it's a week of getting back into the working world and returning calls and playing catch-up. Before you know it, it's three weeks gone. Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!

Sorry to unload that on you, but it's been a long week and I'd very much like to throw a couple things on a literal fire. Starting with, maybe, his rump Twisted Evil I am such a bad person. Laughing
Mapmaker wrote:
mkaos wrote:

As for Art & Howard, I don't know what they're up to Confused

Heck, Art's probably holed himself up in his bunker with a lovely magazine companion and Howard's, well, he's just Howard. He gets like this sometimes - just kinda goes off into his own world for a couple weeks and then hops back in like everything's fine and he was never not around. And, in the meantime, any "hey, what's going on? how's life email" gets a "Nothing. Ok. - H" reply.

That's cool. Not being here before The Crash, I dunno what their habits are.


Art's a strange one. They both are, really. They go hot and cold where they'll be around a ton for a couple days and then not around so much. Howard's usually better about it, or maybe he just doesn't stand out. Much as I like Art, you always know when he's on the forum. Especially when it comes to poking Kevin which, as you probably saw the other day, doesn't tend to go over well. For some reason, I accept the behavior from Kevin better than I do from Art... I don't think Kevin means it, I think Art does.

I do wish they'd check in, though. I'm not even sure if Art knows about Bryce Sad
Mapmaker wrote:
mkaos wrote:
As for Kevin and Florida... I must admit, I'm a bit upset about it all. I would have thought he'd have told me he was going down there or that he went. He knows how I get and, well, if anything had happened. I don't know, it just wasn't very thoughtful of him. Not that he needs to be thinking about me, but I kinda wish that he had. Confused

Hah! I feel vindicated. If you couldn't tell from his cryptic statements on the board that he was going, I'm not going to feel bad that I couldn't.
mkaos wrote:
And, have you noticed that he seems a bit strange about it all? On the one hand, he was a bit "stupid chick isn't just doing some crazy art stuff" and on the other he's all "wtf people, don't go calling her crazy!" I guess it's the temperamental artist, but it's a bit strange. Or, maybe he just has a crush on her Laughing

Yeah, I dunno what's up with that. Which is it? Is it she nuts or not? She's having totally weird dreams. That's pretty crazy. It doesn't seem like she'll be coming here anytime soon (that's probably a good thing), so Kevin's gonna be our only conduit.


For as possessive as he is, he doesn't seem to be a very willing conduit, either. :/ It's almost like he wants to protect her from us. I wonder if Kevin told her that the man she was dreaming about was Bryce. And now Kevin's in there Sad

Though, I guess we all were - or a bunch of us were. Way back when this all first started. I remember feeling a bit of excitement that I was in a dream. I kinda wish I'd just gotten a note, instead Sad

Mapmaker wrote:
mkaos wrote:

How are things with you? We haven't really talked before. I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I loved that picture that you made of BA's dream place. That was really cool Very Happy Anyway, I hope things are going good for you Smile

Things are going OK. Got a lot of work on my plate that I'm sort of putting off, but crunch time is a-comin'. And thanks! That's what I do as a mapmaker. Smile Though now that she added a harbor, it complicates matters. Wink


Well now it all makes so much more sense Smile It's great that you've found something that you enjoy doing so much that you even do it in your spare time. I do everything I can to stay away from excel and stupid people on my time off Laughing

Marie


PostPosted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 4:57 pm
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mapmaker
Unfettered

Joined: 26 Sep 2005
Posts: 608
Location: Providence, RI, USA

 		Figured I'd stick this here. Some relevant bits from my PMs with Marie:
Map wrote:
Saw you were defending BA back in the Harrisonburg thread. OMG are you BFFs now? Wink Just kidding, obviously.

Mkaos wrote:
I noticed you noticed. Ya jerk Razz You totally deflated me. I know that wasn't your intent (I hope it wasn't Laughing), but I was being overly sensitive and it came right on the heels of Dante who, I think, doesn't like me very much. I don't know why.

The whole thing just has me crazy. And, I don't want to defend BA, but I do sympathize with her a bit so, when others get angry, I get defensive. I can't imagine going through what she's going through. While I'd probably not react in the same way she is, I can't judge her for the way she's going about things. Plus, I think we're being a bit selfish (for very good reasons) as far as she's concerned and I'm certain that we don't have a solid understanding of her reasonings. So, as frustrated and pissed off as I get, I can't put it all on her. You know?

Like she said in Mornin' (link):
Quote:
I don't do this for you.
I do this for me.


She's not doing this for us. She's posting in missed connections - I think she is looking for the people in her dreams - the "you"s. That is not us. We are not her focus. And therein lies our conflict. Right now, she is our focus and we're pissed off that she's not giving us the same attention. Is it fair to her that we put our needs on her like that?

Where Dante has a solid point is that she does ask us for help and she has never once thanked us for the help that we've given. That's inconsiderate and I can fully understand why he no longer wants to help her because of that. I just can't give up yet. If I can find out something (anything!) to help Bryce, I will. And, right now, I'm doing the best thing that I can think of to do.

Like I said yesterday, I feel like I can take on the world and win. I don't feel that way quite as strongly as I did then, but I'm not going to give up.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 2:45 pm
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danteIL
Unfictologist


Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 1990

 		Since we're posting PMs today, I thought I'd share some bits from some recent exchanges with Marie. She seems to be pushing me to think more about what's going on in the Craigslists, but I'll be darned if I know what she's after... {note: this is a condensed and clarified version of our PM conversation}

Marie wrote:
I don't know if it helps you any, but I've been trying to break her dreams down to the various elements and her reactions to them to see if that could give me any ideas.


I wrote:
Hrm, what elements have you been trying to break down? People places and things again??


Marie wrote:
Am I that predictable?

But, like the cats. They have to mean something, right? She seems to have a strange relationship with them that's different than the one that she has with the dog. And, if we're the dog, then who are the cats? Why does she seem to reach out to us differently?

I've basically been asking those sorts of questions about everything and comparing things to each other and the current thoughts on them that I've seen floating around.

I don't know if there are any answers in these questions, but maybe they'll help me get some meaning or understanding from it all


I wrote:
Ugh I have been going around and around looking at these things too.

So, the cats: They seem to follow her, stalk her, protect her. They also protect the old woman. They purr at inconvenient times. They hiss at Providence, so there's no love lost there. I dunno.


Marie wrote:
Yeah! And the way that she reacts to them, too. It just doesn't seem to be the way I'd expect her to, you know?


I wrote:
Well, she kinda just accepts them. I don't know what other kind of reaction you'd expect??


Marie wrote:
But wouldn't you expect her to be more friendly to the cats than to Providence. She talks about cats on her website but doesn't mention anything about dogs there and yet it almost seems like she just accepts the cats but that she keeps an eye out for Providence.



I wrote:
I've also been looking at the difference between "madness" and "torment" and "chaos". People seem to be running to and from all of these things in all directions, and sometimes they seem like one thing while other times they seem like complete different things.

And I think I've identified the fact that when a "building shakes" and people escape the building, that means that it's been infected with the screamer. So these buildings presumably represent Lucky5 infected computers. BAs building (which is also SentryOutpost) and Kevin's building is obvious, but there seem to be other screaming buildings as well. I guess this is the other IP addresses that Lucky5 is hitting. There definitely seems to be another infection approaching -- in the recent Atlanta/Exodus CL we have more building shaking. I think Art's going to get it next, but he's not going to believe it coming from me.


Marie wrote:
I think you're right about the buildings. Does that mean that the city is the city represents the internet? It doesn't seem like there's enough porn Laughing

And what's the deal with the people? Some of them seem to be real people and then others I'm not so sure about - like the man on the corner. Is that Exu? It makes sense in a way and is that why he's on a corner? I don't know. Just how far are we supposed to take this symbolism stuff? Some things, like him and the old woman seem to be more ripe for that than others.


I wrote:

To paraphrase BA: some of them are real. Some are not. I don't know how we tell the difference, though.


Marie wrote:

But even some of the things that are real appear as symbolism of some sort - I mean we're real and, the last I looked, I didn't have a tail So how far do we take that? Like am I wasting my time looking up dream symbolism for all of the dreams about the old lady


Dante wrote:
I'm tired of looking at these CLs. I wish that BA would move on to something new.


Marie wrote:
You and me both!


PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 6:18 pm
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roseModerator
...and then Magic happens


Joined: 26 Nov 2003
Posts: 4117

 		One theory about Providence ( and how did she even know to call us that if she didn't send the packages or wasn't involved with sending them) is that her posts explain how far we've gotten or what we're doing. She isn't sending these posts for us to figure out. If they are messages for others, it may be a way of keeping them on top of our progress.


About the cats - aren't they part of the Chorazos group? The other people in the group?

I wish I had time and the right place to talk through all of my ideas for the symbolism. Mostly I feel that either people ignore them or don't take them seriously - don't worry I don't take it personally or feel too sorry for myself. But, more likely, no one has anything to say one way or the other. Smile
_________________
I love this site for being free, in every sense of the word~Spacebass

Mankind was my business, the common good was my business.~ Dickens

PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:17 am
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Chanur
Boot

Joined: 25 Jul 2007
Posts: 15
Location: Denver

 		My theory on the cats/dog...

I think that only the people who received the packages are Providence the dog. I think that the rest of us are the cats.

Possibly those who are actively trying to figure out the mysteries are also included as Providence, but those who just come by and lurk with a passive fancy I believe are definitely the cats.

This is a dreamscape so I think (in contradiction to the theory "you are everyone in your dreams") that B.A. is the little girl.

The one that has me puzzled is the old woman. At one point the old woman was the fortune teller. Is the old woman used as a reference to contact points in the physical world?

PostPosted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:37 am
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danteIL
Unfictologist


Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 1990

 		Posting some more of my recent PMs with Marie. For those of you who don't want to read through them, here is the memo version:

    1) We still can't figure out the symbolism in BAs dreams. Marie wonders whether it's best to focus on BA's reactions/thoughts.

    2) She is going to go down to L.A. to visit Bryce over Labor Day weekend.

    3) She's now worried about Jen since she hasn't been heard from since last Tuesday, especially given the recent NewYork CL.


ABOUT BAs DREAMS:
I wrote:
I don't think that BAs dreams are like 'normal' dreams, so there would be no reason to expect the same symbolism.
Mkaos wrote:
I don't think that they're like normal dreams either, but she is sleeping, right? Remember when she said "I think some of it is mine. I think some of it is real. I think some of it is fake."? Ok, I'm probably not going to make any sense here, but I have this little idea floating around my head and I'd love your feedback. "Some" of this stuff is hers - what if that's her subconscious coming out to play? So, then what's hers? The old woman? And, if we've agreed on symbols for servers and the internet (the buildings and the city), why wouldn't the old woman and all the stuff she's doing be symbolic in some way? Then I start thinking about if some stuff isn't hers, whose is it? Is that where we come in? What about Harrisonburg and Sweden and the Caribbean and Bangladesh and all those places? And that takes me into thoughts about the collective unconsciousness and I start making about as much sense as Howard and Exu (only even less thought out), so I'll stop.

I have been trying to follow along with stuff here. I feel bad that I was pushing to look at the symbolism of everything with the Old Lady and then I went all quiet. Unfictionrose certainly picked up that ball and ran with it, though I can't say that I was seeing things the same way she did, but the stuff she came up with was really interesting.
I wrote:
Uh, yea the symbolism stuff Rolling Eyes I wasn't trying to be dismissive of it -- I just didnt' see how it was going to help anything because we had no way to be sure what any of it was supposed to mean. We can barely tell what stuff is coming from our dreams vs. other sources.
Mkaos wrote:
You make a really good point here. How are we supposed to know what's hers versus what's somebody elses. I'm fairly confident that the old woman is hers, but I don't know about anything else. So maybe that's not all that important. I wonder what happens if we throw out all the details. (at this moment, I'm picturing you wanting to strangle me but stick with me for a second) If we consider that each group of 13 is a "unique" dream, I wonder if we should be looking at the group as a whole. Like take out all of the "stuff" and see what's left - what's she "doing" or "thinking" or "feeling".
I wrote:
I'm intrigued. Tell me more. What do you mean by "stuff"??
Mkaos wrote:
All the nouns I know, there aren't many of them I wonder if the verbs and adjectives (actions/reactions & feelings about things) would be telling.


ABOUT THE ORLANDO CLs:
Mkaos wrote:
What do you think of the Craigslist posts in Orlando? I sort of blew them off at first I just have no idea what to make of them at all. Is the current feeling that these really are coming from people BA sees in her dreams? Does this mean that they are, in fact, real and (this sounds absurd) that they see her in their dreams? That makes that note from DC seem a bit less crazy. Well, it still seems crazy but now he's not alone in saying that stuff.
I wrote:
About the orlando posts -- well these people seem to think that BA has been off the radar for over a week now, so that doesn't seem like a good sign. Maybe something has really happened to her? It's weird to think that all of these dreams have been flying back and forth for weeks. Craigslist seems like some kind of Dreamers Anonymous (DA). Laughing
Mkaos wrote:
I think we're on the same page about the Orlando posts. I was unsure at first, too. We'd never heard from any of these people before, so why now? But you're right, as more of them come in, I'm convinced that they're related. I mean, sure, people could be trying to fuck with us, but would they stick with it for as long as they have? One or two, I could see, but the fact that it's still happening and there was the one in Swedish (?). I'll be anxious to see if we get anything from BA soon - they'll probably tell us one way or the other.


ABOUT SEEING BRYCE:
Mkaos wrote:
I haven't been around as much as I'd like because of work. Once I finish this one report, I'll be able to take a couple days off! I really want to get down to see Bryce over Labor Day, but even with Monday, it's not much time once you add in the travel.
I wrote:
I'm really glad that you are going to get to go see Bryce. It can only help him immensely to know that he's not alone in this...
Mkaos wrote:
I'm definitely going down to see Bryce next weekend. I'm really anxious to get down there, I've been wanting to go for weeks. It's just something that requires more than a weekend and being able to take two extra days is going to be a huge help. He's still not coping well with social situations and I have no idea how he'll react to seeing me or if he'll even remember me (I think so ), so having a couple days for him to get used to me will be good. Plus I'll be taking down a bunch of his favorite cookies, he better like that I can't wait to see him. I think it will be really good for both of us!


ABOUT JEN:
Mkaos wrote:
You message back and forth some with Jen, right? Have you heard from her today? Yesterday? Anytime since Tuesday?
I wrote:
Gosh, I haven't PMed with Jen in over a week. When was the last time you talked to her?? Do you think that something might have happened. That New York CL seemed dire, but I wasn't certain that it was about Jen. How else can we get in touch with her? Art knows her IM, right?
Marie wrote:
I don't remember. Monday, maybe? I'm sure nothing has happened. Well, a bit sure that nothing has happened I just worry and I'm tired of worrying over things. NY is huge though, so it could be anybody and the chances of it being her are slim to none. But, I'd like to hear her tell me that

Good thought on Art! I'll send him a message and see if he'll give me her IM. I don't think that she'd respond to him

If you hear from her, you'll let me know, right?


PostPosted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 3:27 pm
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roseModerator
...and then Magic happens


Joined: 26 Nov 2003
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Quote:
You make a really good point here. How are we supposed to know what's hers versus what's somebody elses. I'm fairly confident that the old woman is hers, but I don't know about anything else. So maybe that's not all that important. I wonder what happens if we throw out all the details. (at this moment, I'm picturing you wanting to strangle me but stick with me for a second) If we consider that each group of 13 is a "unique" dream, I wonder if we should be looking at the group as a whole. Like take out all of the "stuff" and see what's left - what's she "doing" or "thinking" or "feeling".


/me waves from vacation. Smile

I'm not sure what we are supposed to do with this- although it sounds clear. I mean this must be a big suggestion that we should follow....but...I still don't see it. I guess my idea of this being a computer network with software like the boil, etc. isn't right.

We know that each set of 13 makes a unique dream..and that the nouns may not matter...(perhaps the reason for the hippo?) ....but I don't see what BA is doing, thinking or feeling in each dream.

Sorry I can't be of any help. Have fun.
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I love this site for being free, in every sense of the word~Spacebass

Mankind was my business, the common good was my business.~ Dickens

PostPosted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 11:44 pm
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JimmyMcForum
Boot

Joined: 15 Jun 2007
Posts: 50

 		I hope Marie sleeps with her window open. She drops that all of her friends (!!!) die of CO poisoning, then says "Kay gonna shut the window and go to sleep! ^___^"?

Well, I warned her as best as I could without seeming tactless.

PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 12:07 pm
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