THE OBSERVATORY

The huge ancient soaring skunkweed tree that shelters Albert's ZoomBase dominates a grove of trees near center of the village of Leri-land. A short path leads through the trees up to the top of a small rise. Although entirely surrounded by the grove, the crest is open to the sky and the stars. From this grassy knoll there is a commanding view from which you can see the sun and the moon rising behind the mountains to the east and setting over the ocean in the west. And here there is a megalithic circle of tall standing stones, thirteen in number. Outside the circle are several other, smaller standing stones, marking the places on the horizon where the sun rises and sets on the solstices and equinoxes and where the moon rises and sets on the new and full moons. In fact, it operates as a giant astronomical observatory, tracking the motions of the stars. The stones were old even when the ancient skunkwood tree was but a wee sapling. In previous times, archaeologists and anthropologists and other Doctors of Knowledge who studied the stones told stories that savages had built it to appease barbarian gods with rituals of blood sacrifice. But the enlightened inhabitants of Leri know these lies for what they are. For the truth is that the architects of the Observatory were shamen who built a gateway for travelling to the most distant realities and remote realms of consciousness. The exotic fungi which grow in profusion all over Leri-land seem to be the thickest on the roots of the trees surrounding the circle. Today, the Lerilanders hold great festivals centering in the Observatory celebrating the passing of the seasons as the planet makes its way around the sun. These holidays are a particularly joyful time as the Lerilanders celebrate the ecstacy of being alive with music and singing and dancing and drumming and feasting. At these times, the great standing stones of the Observatory are frequently gaily festooned with brightly colored streamers and banners fluttering in the breeze and a great bonfire is built in the middle of the circle. Between the festivals, the Observatory is a great place to fly a kite, have a picnic, or make love under the stars. Lerilanders come here frequently to contemplate the vastness of existence. Discussions about consciousness and the nature of reality are frequently heard around the stones. Sometimes the very stones themselves will join in the conversation.

--DaveH

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