Metamorphosis

Long has it been since I have begun to head this project and finally my success has come. Failure compounded upon failure has built a rough basis for our reasoning and finally the answer has surfaced. The team of researchers, including myself, was too hasty in the early stages of the project in trying to make an immediate impact upon Resdayn itself, but alas, our desperation led us to deviate from our projected guidelines. Gold is of the finest essence, emitting a brilliant sparkle while maintaining the highest standards of durability, refinement, and worth. These are the components that we were searching for, and in our excitement, they were lost amidst the experiment’s chaotic rush to completion. Our first attempts were varied; often we were able to isolate the hardness and the color, but each came at the expense of the other. Our project came nearly to a standstill when it was finally decided that elements should be selected carefully and only those who met the criteria would be considered for entrance. The priority of the project became to analyze those combinations that would suffice as constituents of gold rather than to concoct gold in one fell swoop.

It was decided then to start with durability. Scouts from all over the region swarmed through Resdayn looking for rocks of various strains that would resist great blows from the strongest men, and after careful testing only three substances remained, the white rock, the black rock, and the gray rock. No further evidence could be examined so our team moved to the second ideal, that of hardness. But what could be tougher than the planet itself? Philosophers were ushered in to our aid but their remarks were too vague and often quite boring. But one opinion that surfaced made complete sense to our team. Strength is emanated from the inside outward, much like the heart itself, and the rock exposed to our eyes was the weakest of its kind. To delve deeper into the ground would lead to unknown yet stronger substances. We decided that it must be the route to take and we proceeded to convene at the lowest part of Resadyn, outside the district in a vast indentation in the land. We set up a small stronghold in the area, as digging the very ground on which we strode would destroy the equilibrium between our people and nature. Inside the small building we dug the land for hours to little avail. The temperature had risen drastically and in one fortunate instant the land gave away under the feet of a digger and he splashed into the mystery substance we had been looking for. We had found the Firewater. The flames from his body shot upwards and tinged all of us and we all were humbled by the great power of the Firewater. It was very troublesome trying to extract the Firewater, but in the end we were able to draw some of it for research purposes by using extra pipes. There we stood, with two criteria met and halfway to completion.

Discerning the next two requirements, however, was no easy task. Purity and radiance, two intangible entities, became the bane to many of the pure scientists in the group as they had no conception of either, and I was forced to switch to more abstract thinking, specifically that of philosophers. I assembled a court of ten philosophers and posed the question as to what was meant by purity. Again, I was met with several varied and vague responses but they all converged in one respect, purity implied cleanliness and fidelity during the passage of time. When I analyzed this in terms of physical substances, it began to take form as to the possibilities. Air, water, and soil were the only substances that had not changed noticeably over time but it was almost impossible to extract air in a closed container nor was it possible to determine what sample of land would suffice. Thus I presented to the group my theory that water was the most tangible occurrence of purity and while some philosophers scorned my ideas, others gave their full support. There arose a great dispute and I was forced to ask several of my opponents to leave the project.

Scared as I was that several valuable insights would be lost, it was the only way to preserve the project from a chaotic failure. The project must be completed. Tired as we all were from the bitter disputes, we were reborn with the advent of the last criterion, brilliance. Unanimously it was decided that the only way to achieve this attribute was for the concoction of all three elements to be exposed to polar opposites of lighting, bright light as well as dull darkness. The only situation in which this would be fulfilled would be during the dead of the night. We convened the next day at dusk, and the excitement of the moment buzzed through the air. There was a one in three chance of each material being of the correct essence but because there was so little firewater that was contained, the gray rock was to be tested first as it is a mixture of white and black rock elements. The moon rose from the depths of the night and the crude experiment took place. The elements were added simultaneously and a cloud of vapor arose. To our excitement, there it laid, the gold that we had dreamed of, contained on the white portion of the rock. The raucous jubilation that occurred was unfathomable. With the great advance in science, it will be a tribute to all that Resdayn stands for. Think of the possibilities! The observatory can now construct pipes that extend towards the skies, there can be movement on unbreakable sleds, and the wealth that we will procure is immeasurable. Victory has been proclaimed in the name of science and glory of old has been restored to Resdayn.