spawn just called to say that he'd rather -not- be in the frying pan, so he's coming here. excellent. leak, i am at a loss at your inability to come here. if there's anything we can do, please let us know. i cannot overestimate the urgency and danger. caesar's now doing some initial testing. it's very bizarre, to say the least, to watch these proceedings. if i hadn't sacrificed my ankle bones to the whomp gods myself at one point, i'd have a really hard time believing my eyes. as it is, when you're confronted with this sort of data for days on end, in various forms, it all begins to become familiar and not as surprising. you're right, caesar, this is not unlike music. the form, the syntax, the overlay of melody to bassline - it's all there. the dissonance is the only blip in this landscape that gives me the wrong kind of shivers. are we fighting ourselves? have we been, all along? i can see more of us arriving now. what a vortex this tourist trap turned out to be! perhaps this is the last time i will ever be able to communicate in such a manner again. i have a sneaking suspicion that lots of changes are in store for us, after a time. new tasks, ways of coping. i am scared to death. my heart is pounding so hard i can feel it in my eyeballs. the collector is beautiful and awful and amazing. i can't wait for you all to meet him and to see what he can do. texel is ready. boy, is she ever ready.