Myst/Uru – Page 10 – The Kind Healer

A Long Weekend of Concern

Much has happened over the weekend, best to place in one post as things are just winding down.

### Cyan closing up last week

On 9/2/05 it was mentioned on the blog for (now former) Cyanist [GreyDragon][1] that Cyan had layed off most of its employees. This is a saddening time indeed for those of us who have been involved in Myst and Uru, and formed our own communities within. A [followup post][2] has explicitly stated that Ubisoft is *not* at fault for this and has been extremely helpful in the publishing and marketing of _Myst V: End of Ages_, due out next week. I agree with GD’s perspective on the latter, and hope Rand the best in trying to get some sort of funding back up for the Somthing Else project or the other project I heard rumors about.

There is not much I can say that can extend beyond the (very copious) comments within the two posts, and can only add my farewell /salute (aka /hug) and my personal determination that this will not stop the communities from continuing on.

Even if that requires us to collectively pick up Until Uru or H’Uru or whatever by its bootstraps and continuing it ourselves.

No ending is fully written, only chapters, and on top of that we always live within the moments of beginnings and endings. This just allows a new chapter to open, a new time for us as an Uru community, and one that I’m looking forward to see.

[1]: http://www.thegreydragon.com/2005/09/time-of-your-life-almost-all-of-cyan.html
[2]: http://www.thegreydragon.com/2005/09/debt-just-so-everyone-knows-cyan-is.html

### Mother in Hospital again

The same Friday that I learned about Cyan I got a call from my aunt saying my mother was admitted to a hospital again; She’s had another stroke. I did try to visit on Saturday, she was having tests done and was unable to see her. Hopefully I’ll have time on Wed while I’m in the area, and will try to visit this Friday or Saturday as well.

### The weekend of 9/11 – Working

I was at work this past weekend, both days, much as I’d rather have been in NYC on Sunday the 11th. Not much I could do, it was an important thing had to be done and I’m happy that, at the end, everything was good on Monday.

But despite the fustration and haggardness at the end, a part of me was glad to have worked this weekend. I lost two good friends on the 11th, co-workers whom were visiting the towers that day on business. I buried my emotions in work the rest of that week, getting things working so clients could do their work in our spare office space. That later backfired on me, but is another story.

So you’d think I would avoid work that day. Well, thinking back on this year so far, I’ve done so much – in RL, Uru, and SL. I think I wanted to prove to myself, once and for all, that I’m out of that blackness I dug myself into the initial months after 9/11.

If so, then I’ve proven myself to be once again back. I’m hoping that I can now keep this attitude the rest of my life. Perhaps this little spot of mine will help, we shall see…

–Alan

Quick note regarding Katrina

Unless you’ve been well away from both the popular media and the Gulf area of the US, there are lots of posts in weblogs and elsewhere regarding Katrina. I have nothing new to say to what’s already out there, and to be honest its not what this weblog is for.

However, from an Uru perspective, this community is a tight one and the effects of it ripple through the varying forums (peruse the two Uru forum links on my sidebar for examples). We all do care, and help in our ways.

*Bows head in silence*

-Alan

[SLB Import] Uru saved my soul

Yes, that’s one hell of a statement I’ve made there, but is a correct one.

Flip back to 9/11/01. I lost two co-workers who were also good friends. One of them taught me how some of our app works, so now checking it I always think of him. And of course they were visiting that day, was not their normal office.

My next two years afterward were a bit of a blur really, due to a darkness that settled over me; I honestly cannot remember most of it. I had moved to 3rd shift as my apathy came to an all-time low, and had settled into a routine that helped to slowly climb out of it.

November 2003, two things happened: New notebook, and Uru came out. The notebook was to create a fresh start, mark a new time in my life (I did the same with the car, in getting my first Prius one month later). Uru, however, I waited on since like all games I now waited due to patches and bugs. Plus I was extremely skeptical of Live at the time.

Well, after X-mas that year, I had spent some money getting the Myst Anniversary DVDs, and played them. I realized that I should try Uru after all, and got it. And finished it two days later. And applied for Live, for the heck of it.

I got in quickly enough, as one of the ‘Accounting Error’ group just after New Years. It was laggy, and overcrowded, and problematic. But realized from talking to others online that I had found a new group of friends. That *we* were going to be the story, for which an ending should not have been written.

But, alas, it was. The shutdown occured on my birthday no less. And yes, I’m still bitter at Ubisoft over this. I’ve been through the hell called the Diablo 2 server issues, and Uru Live was nothing like that, never would have been like that. It just needed time, and they were not given it; That’s it.

So why do I stand by this claim of Uru saving my soul? Many reasons. It introduced me to forum culture. It gave me a new circle of friends that I could understand and be with, even at my hours. And most importantly, it gave me a direction again – which I needed badly to get out of that darkness my soul was in.

But with Live offline, there was uncertainty of what I would do next. I swore off online games totally for a while, and forums as well for a bit. But I began seeking, and quietly heard of some places where people were trying this again.

That’s when I heard about Second Life…