Lara documents/Lara 001.002
Translated by tobyas
Cahy'leh
Your letter intrigued me to do some research. I talked to members of several guilds to try to determine what people thought of the idea. Apparently this is known fairly well and appears in many Guild training courses. It is fairly well accepted that, although we cannot know these numbers exactly, we do not really need to. However, there are more of these numbers than just "square side" 2. A member of the Guild of Stone Masons proposed this problem. I take a cube of stone and measure its volume to be 2 units by sinking it in water. What is the length of the side? Something that, when multiplied by itself twice, equals 2? A "cube side" 2. These strange numbers are simply that: strange. There are as many of them as there are branches on the Tree. (Translator Note: I believe he is talking about the Great Tree of Possibility which is a concept based around the writing of Ages.) Normally I would be tempted to agree with most others and say that it is an error in measurement. There are, after all, limits to how well we can measure. However, we are assuming conditions to the 25. Generally I was told that people tend to use estimations when building something, but when planning it out it is almost as if they are using several different types of measurements: one for 1 span, one for "square side" 2, one for "square side" 3, and so on.
Now, I know you as one who likes puzzles, so you might be interested in a puzzle proposed to me by a member of the Guild of Mechanists named Koh'shee. Start with a circle with a "dividing line" of length 2 spantee. Draw a second "dividing line" 1,000 (1,000 D'ni = 15,625 Decimal) toran different from the first. You will now have a picture of 1 / 4 of a circle. Connecting the two points on the circle and using what you discovered about the 1,000 Triangle will give you "square side" 2. Notice that this is the same as using the "horizon" on this angle. Also notice that the arc of this circle is more than "square side" 2. Now, cut the 1,000 angle into two 500 angles and make a third point on the circle. Use the “horizon”again on these two angles and add the results. Since each "horizon" is a little more than 3 / 4, the sum is a little more than 3 / 4 * 2. Keep repeating this process and you get closer and closer to the length of the arc in the circle. This value, Koh'shee tells me, is something that the Mechanists use a lot in their work with gears despite the fact that it, like "square side" 2, must be estimated. He also tells me they often estimate this when doing small projects by using 11 / 7.
From an Age writing perspective, I can tell you that these same concepts will work in every Age on the Great Tree that we deem stable and most that we deem unstable. I imagine that it would be very difficult to write an Age where these numbers did not exist as they are a construct of your mind and not of a writer. So either the whole Tree is unstable or this is not a contradiction. Either way, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. D'ni is stable enough and obviously passed the rigorous battery of safety inspections we put it through. We do live here and have been living here for our entire lives. I am absolutely convinced that the Age of D'ni is stable. Also keep in mind that the smaller the inconsistency, the longer the lifespan of the age. When a writer mixes up words and creates a big contradiction, Ages tear themselves apart as the seams rather quickly. If these numbers are an inconsistency, they are a minute one. D'ni will be around for as long as the Great Tree of Possibility.
Keep exploring but always do your research,
Ardis
