Reference:DRC Discussions forum/Greetings

April 12, 2002 - Victor Laxman

Greeting from the DRC. It seems I’m the first board member to post on the new message boards, so let me take this opportunity to welcome newcomers. I’ll explain a bit about this message board, and myself.

In recent DRC meetings, we’ve reached the conclusion that it would be beneficial for us to discuss the D’ni restoration project in a more public forum. These message boards are our first attempt to do just that. Our discussions will be much more public, and you’ll get a chance to see some of the challenges and issues that we all face in restoring D’ni.

My name is Victor. I’ve known about D’ni for almost seven years. Being an acquaintance of Dr Watson, I found out about D’ni from him and of course accepted his request to join in the restoration back in ’97.

My areas of expertise are electrical and computer engineering. My primary responsibility has been in the area of D’ni technology, in particular, reverse engineering to: 1) make D’ni things work, 2) make D’ni things work better, 3) make D’ni things work with surface things.

Currently the KI consumes most of my time. It’s truly an amazing system, with the actual KI acting as a simple terminal to a larger D’ni host. We got it working, we got it working in English, and now we’re trying to see just how much it can do. Interesting work, but I often get distracted with things like simply supplying light to certain areas that are being restored.

I look forward to meeting many of you. And I’ll try to make time to direct some of my posts on the board to answer pertinent questions.

vic

April 12, 2002 - Dr. Kodama

History: Joined the expedition in 1994 through contact with Dr. Watson.

Education: Doctorate in Geology with a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering Technology.

Job Duties: Insuring structural integrity of structures (natural and man-made) as well as detailed studies of rock formations. Oversee Phase Two approval of all new areas and structures.

Dr. K

April 15, 2002 - Marie Sutherland

Hello. I guess it’s time for me to join in the introductions. My name is Dr. Marie Sutherland.

As Director of Field Work here in D’ni, I try to oversee all the expedition work as well as recovery and restoration of major work areas. Dr. Watson and I work together in resource allocation and priority. Unfortunately, we don’t get as much hands-on work as we would like because of our other responsibilities.

We on the DRC have spent several years working on laying the initial foundation for a renewed D’ni. We were confident that there would be many others who would choose to join us in this endeavor and are extremely happy to see this starting to take place.

So we are very excited that you all have joined us here in D’ni, and we look forward to this cavern becoming the living, breathing city that it once was.

In the meantime, please feel free to ask us questions in the appropriate forum. We will not be able to answer all of your questions, no doubt, especially as the number of explorers grows, but we will try to answer what we can.

Thank you.

Marie

April 25, 2002 - Michael Engberg

My apologies for being the last of the DRC members to make an initial public address. I’d hoped to submit an entry remotely, but recent tests of inter-Age communication have proved unsuccessful.

My name is Michael Engberg. I was initially asked by Dr. Wastson to consult with the expedition team in early 1998, and a year later he and his associates extended me a full-time position on the Council.

Building engineering is my primary area of expertise, but as with everyone involved in the Restoration, I’ve a myriad of other responsibilities. Based on Dr. Kodama’s assessment of structural integrity throughout the Cavern, my team of Research Engineers and I recently completed a survey of the most promising sites. After recent discussions with Mr. Sharper, I’ll potentially be leading another crew to expedite final restoration on Teledahn soon.

Though my schedule may permit but little time for interacting with this community, I do recognize its importance. A successful restoration of the physical structures within D’ni is meaningless if there are none who want to inhabit it. Your presence here is both encouraging as well as a reminder of how much work has yet to be done.

Michael

April 29, 2002 - Dr. Watson

Don’t feel too badly, Michael. The title of “Last DRC Member to Introduce Themselves” belongs to me. Though I have posted a couple of answers in the other areas. Maybe that counts. Smile

In case it doesn’t, my name is Dr. Richard A. Watson. My first trip to the D’ni cavern was way back in 1990, back before there was a DRC, back before there was a DRF, back when the number of surface dwellers who had been to D’ni were in the low double digits.

Two years later, I joined Cyan while they were working on Myst, consulting for them as their D’ni Historian for the Myst and Riven projects. For the last ten years, my time has been divided between Cyan and various D’ni expeditions.

Now that the Cyantists are contributing directly to the restoration process, it is much easier for me to hold both my position at Cyan and my position with the DRC, though lately the DRC has been my primary focus.

Anyway, thanks to the other DRC members for introducing yourselves. I know some of you (not to mention any names, Dr. K.) were reluctant to participate here.

Dr. Watson