What is Q31?

Before I start I should take a moment to set the stage. The goal of these words is to collect the history of this world and share all I know and have discovered throughout my 579 years. I should note that I can’t actually write anymore—it turns out paws make for terrible hands—so Orlo, the fool, transcribes these ramblings as I lay next to the fire in our shared home. Orlo is unhappy with that fool comment and grimaced at me and yet he continues to dip his pen in the ink and scratches my words precisely. He’s still a fool, but that’s another story. Damn, I’ve already lost track of what I wanted to say, next paragraph, please. I man just take some space from these first words you’ve written and the net words I say after this point.

Good? Yes, now, as I was going to say, I mean here to share all my learnings about Q31 and Terra. When I was born there was little shared about the history of our great vessel. How does it work? How did come to be? Are we alone in the universe? Why are we the way we are? Of course, much of that not telling was intentional. Many of our ancestors thought that it would be better if few of us knew of the what and whys. Maybe they were right? I don’t know for sure, but my curiosity got the better of me and led me on a journey of discovery for our shared story, which seems only appropriate to share now. It may run counter to the myths and religions of the peoples of Terra, but so it is with truth always. One should still keep their myths alive despite this accounting.

Ah, I didn’t expect to be so philosophical, I already sounds a bit pretentious. Yes, better to get back to the facts and why not start with the basics. New paragraph, Orlo.

The people of Terra came from an ancient solar system thousands of years ago. Some of us came from a planet called Earth (which appears to be the origin of humanity), others came from Mars, and still more from the moons of Saturn and Jupiter. These ancient places are so far removed from us that it’s hard to even imagine what they may have been like. The only facts I have gleamed from our ancient texts is that Terra is to look and feels as though it were Earth and many of it’s lands are named from ancient places found there.

Mars and the Moons of Saturn and Jupiter appear to be much different. Harsher it appears than Earth. It also seems that most of our ancestors came from these other non-Earth lands, which lead to some conflict in those early days. Maybe a point of discussion later. For now and honestly all I can say is that our ship, Q31, left those places over 19,000 years ago and no one knows if they still exist or if they are even still peopled.

Now, let’s talk of the ship, at least the most basic bits about this great creation. Q31 is a massive interstellar generational ship. I have gathered that it was intended to travel the stars in search of other Earth like planets. It’s not the only such type of ship, but one of many from that first solar system. Over the course of its 9,000 years Q31 has discovered a handful of planets with life, but has failed to find one capable of keeping humans. This is fine. Q31, or more exactly, Terra is large enough to support our millions of souls and our place in the universe. Oh yes, to find a planet now seems quite unlikely as the ship can no longer move between the stars. I will get to that story at some point, too. Of course, also, I should note that while I have read of other Q31 likes ships we have never had contact with such a vessel or can actually say that one truly exists.

Most, well no, I should be more precise here, basically no one on Terra knows of this origin story or that we live in such a ship. This place is simply the land of our people and they have their own myths for how it came to be. Good for them. This can just be another reality for people to embrace or not. The exception to this is the Yeowlings who to this day manage the inner working of Q31, oh, and the Tuvo know a touch here and there. Even my own Quamians have lost memory and knowledge of these histories.

As I mentioned before Terra, the land within the cylindrical ship, is where we all live, eat, procreate, and do the things humans do. The land is varied with deserts, forests, jungles, oceans, seas, lakes, winding rivers, and all the great gifts of nature. Every domain shows off a unique brilliance and beauty. Personally, I was born and lived most of my life in Quamy, but now I have dug out a home buried on a cliff’s edge in Caria overlooking the great Cryon Canyon. Easier to hide here.

We pass our days on Terra with the great sun brighting the morning and diming the evening. Our nights glow lightly with the blue glow of the moon. I have read that on the ancient Earth the moon and sun moved through the sky, but here on Terra they stay always still as they pour down their life giving power. The sun sits in the sky just above the domain’s of Miletus, Lycia, and the Scarred Sea while the moon sits above the great Moon Tree south of the city of Ephesus. The Tree Wardens of the Warden Forest know of the great door buried beneath the branches of the massive Moon Tree. They can’t open this steal door and only have legends about it’s purpose. If they new the way, they could open that door and discover an elaborate hall with multiple lifts that ascend the many skyward miles of the tree beyond the great dome of the sky and into the moon itself. This is one of the few links between the ship and Terra. There’s also a little cave not far form my home that leads to the Yeowlings other world which has a maze of passages throughout everything.

Now, those lifts buried in the Moon Tree are one of the four Pillars of Terra. The Moon Tree was grown to cover that first Pillar which is but a single straight beam that goes from the center of the moon and travels all the way down into the land of the Warden Forest. The Moon Tree was cultivated in such a way by the ancestors of the Tree Wardens to completely cover this first pillar. The miles thick and miles high tangle of roots, limbs, and branches is an overwhelming creation to behold—especially when in bloom durning the spring.

Quite differently than the Moon Tree the Three Pillars of the Sun are the only purely artificial connection between Q31 and Terra. Equally spaced from each other these Pillars, like the Moon Pillar, stretch from the center of the sun down in to the land and sea of Terra. They are miles thick of brushed smooth steal. There is nothing to them but the smooth single column of brushed steal and there are no doors as found on the Moon Tree, but each of them feed the sun and the ship with power and each of them ravaged Terra during the Second Harrowing.

The first Sun pillar reaches deep into the Scarred Sea. The Tuvo have built their wooden island city of Tuvolis at it’s base. Near it’s peak as it ascends into the dome of the sky one can see a large black gash that occasionally will glow blue. The second pillar sits in the middle of Miletus Bay. A steady stream of rolling clouds pours out of the top of this pillar keeping the Bay and the city of Miletus under a near constant light fog. The third pillar stretches from the sun into the middle of the Lycia Desert. This pillar has many cracks along its frame. Most of them just razor thin that stretch the entire length of the beam. At it’s base there is a large elephant sized opening. Here a great white flame burns constantly. Over the centuries, the Savhit Tribes of Lycia found a way to build the Great Forge, which surrounds this opening in the pillar and harnesses its immense heat to allow the smithing of the Rose and Blue Sands of Lycia. I visited the Great Forge hundreds of years ago and still I cannot quite comprehend how it came to be.

Right, that seems like plenty of detail, Orlo. Let’s leave it at that for now. Make a note for us to explain the Harrowings. We must find that book I found in the Captain’s Quarters describing the Second Harrowing. I think for now though I need a bite to eat. I am going to see if I can find that rabbit I saw earlier. Orlo, stop writing.