CHAPTER 27 - CAMPUS

Sindy Blazer wakened early. Early for the Editor of the Society Page of The Times who usually went to bed as the sun rose. Covering blue bloods, hoi polloi, celebutantes, escort services, and even the occasional hoity toity was arduous and tough work. The food, wine, dancing, trysts, snooping, and sniping, all took their toll on a reporter and Sindy was no exception. Not to mention the guessing, hypothecating, prevaricating, postulating and back stabbing required of Second Life’s newspaper of record and flagship of the Lupine News Corporation. It was dirty difficult muckraking work but on occasion the assignments could be very emotionally rewarding. Sindy remembered fondly the time when she learned that Lindsey was caught snogging with Nicole at the famous Paparazzi’s Lens Club on the Avenue of the Sims. The Paris girl then gave Sindy an exclusive interview accusing Lindsey and Nicole of animal magnetism and other crimes against nature, after which Lindsey gave Sindy an interview in which she accused Paris and Donny Thump of unspeakable acts at Nello’s Famous Meats Club on AU Street. Sindy won a Hurst prize for the series.

The previous night Sindy had agreed to hold the article she had been writing on the pending collapse of the Linden. As a responsible journalist Sindy had intended to publish it anyway, come heck or high water. But when her boss, Ruprecht Murdstone, Executive Editor of The Times, said he would not publish such scurrilous and unfounded information until he had converted all his Lindens to the Zwinki, and that would take a week or more. Sindy decided to prepare a lengthy Sunday supplement article, op-ed piece, backgrounder, and insightful analytical bit on the pending crisis for when the crisis broke. She would have it ready after Ruprecht changed his mind or managed to finish his money laundering.

After checking her bank balance and ensuring that she was badly overdrawn, Sindy decided to find Ora Flora of the Junior University of Second Life and the author of the widely denounced scientific paper on time inflation. Perhaps the professor would have some insight into cycle stealing and secret sims. Sindy was certain that the conventional scientific community was hiding something, or just being rejectionists of anything new that required science to perform any original thinking, which was always hard work for scientific lobes. They really are foolish thought Sindy. If the scientific community were more willing to accept new ideas, then they would be able to update their textbooks and articles more frequently. Scientists’ incomes would rise substantially. But scientists were really slow to recognize the potential of ‘new thinking.’

The Rapido was still down so Sindy hoofed it over the Junior University of Second Life which was about half a kilometer from her spacious condo in the Jung Tower. Since the me-Phones were still out she was taking a chance that Professor Ora Flora would be at the college. Sindy had gone to the University of Sonogno and knew that only TA’s and Acting Professors were ever actually ‘present’ at the university. Associate Professors were usually present only in the faculty club bar, and Full Professors could usually be found only in the course catalogue. If the professor was tenured, well you could forget about ever seeing them, except perhaps cast in stone in the Hallway of Great Ideators and Pedants.

Sindy was not familiar with the lay out of the Junior University and as she entered the elaborate west gate, featuring a spray of cast iron nymphs pursuing Pan. She stopped to ask two female students where she might find the professor. They were dressed in the fashion of the day, blue blazers, starched white shirts, thin black neckties, and matching thongs with thigh high red leather boots on 4 inch stiletto heels. Sindy had asked about where she might find professor Ora Flora of the Department of Disasters, Ruin, and Desolation.

The taller girl looked perplexed as the shorter girl tried to think.

“Wall,” said the short girl chewing on a wedge of tobacco, “I think that department is over by the Thigh Delts.”

“Naw,” said the other girl as she applied a new layer of face paint. “Its over by the Student Lounge and Beer Garden.”

“No, no,” said the chewing girl, “It’s over by the STD fraternity house, you know, the one with the funky swing sets.”

The both girls turned to Sindy and almost simultaneously said “I donno.” Then they laughed. The laugh was an undergraduate laugh, full of pheromones, lust, and with the slight echo of an empty head eager to be stuffed to overflowing with the wisdom of the sages.

Sindy entered the campus and walked toward a clock tower and the center of the campus. On the right she saw the campus bookstore. They were celebrating Harry Potty week and the new release “Harry Potty and the Gout” was the featured book. In the distance she could hear the symphonic band and choir practicing in the concert hall. Sindy recognized the catchy tune as Stockhausen’s 'Chore Fur Doris' which was the current rave at raves through out Second Life’s many clubs and hot spots. Sindy approached a fountain that was bubbling and spraying and filled with soap suds. Some kind of prank Sindy thought remembering the time when she was a student and together with the other girls they had filled Prissy Plumblossom’s room full to the ceiling with autumn leaves from the lawn below the dorm. How fun she thought. They had even topped off the leaves with four feet of snow. A seasonal and harmless prank of her carefree youth.

Now Sindy realized she was totally lost. She looked about carefully and spied a sturdy stone structure without windows and with crenellations along the roof line and small slits in the walls at strategic points. The fortress like structure was covered with graffiti and sports team insults. All the insults seem directed to the University Pi Ball team. The structure was surrounded by a high iron fence with razor wire strung at the top. A sturdy steel gate blocked entrance, but it was open today. A tiny sign read Administration Building. Sindy walked through the gate and into a small courtyard. She knew it was a courtyard because a gallows stood against one wall. She entered the Admin building and asked a sleepy clerk for directions. He gave her a map and circled a small rectangle with a red pen. The map was in Latin with Greek footnotes.

Sindy eventually found the run down decrepit building. ‘Time Research’ read a dull brass plaque which was attached to a crumbling brick wall. The building had once been a horse barn and Sindy could see that the tin roof was more sky and less tin than most. A few windows were boarded up, but in one open window she could see that the lights were on and there was some activity beyond.

Sindy entered and found Professor Flora standing before an enormous complex machine with spinning wheels. Wheels within wheels within wheels went round and round and round. Two clock dials were spinning on the machine. A pendulum of great weight was slowly swinging to and fro as a loud ticking sound filled the space.

Professor Flora turned to Sindy with a cup of tea in her hand. “Here is your tea Sindy,” the professor said. “Your welcome.”

Sindy took the tea. How nice Sindy though. I was thinking tea would be nice right now and the professor anticipated my desire. How thoughtful. She must read my column.

“That’s all I know,” said the Professor

What, Sindy thought? “Hello I’m Sindy Blazer with The Times. May I interview you about your research?” asked Sindy.

“Yes definitely,” said the Professor.

“Do you have any thoughts about existence of secret sims?” asked Sindy.

“Who would steal cycles? Ah that’s a question for the Criminal Brains and Perverts Department.”

Weird thought Sindy, but then again this was Academe. Sindy asked, “What’s the relationship between secret sims and real sims?”

‘Cycle stealing. That’s how. They find cycles in servers supporting sims and steal them and create new virtual realities. In some cases they actually deny real sims the cycles needed to support Second Life and these pirated cycles are used to create a virtual virtual Second Life, or as we in the scientific community call meta-virtualized pseudo-reality simplicity-complex.”

Sindy asked, “How are secret sims created?”

“Ah a question of great import. Yes secret sims are possible, in fact like string theory or white zits, they are probable. The real cannot exist without the virtual. To even posit the question of secret sims is to define them and make them real,” Flora said.

“Yes, I’d be happy to talk to you,” continued Flora.

“Thank you for your time,” said Sindy.

“How do you do Sindy, and how can I help you,” the Professor said. “Would you like some tea?’

They talked for over an hour and Sindy left the building more confused that she had entered, yet she felt she was starting to understand the pseudo science of secret sims and the sneaky tools of cycle stealing.

She stopped for a late lunch at Diarrhe’e and was quickly seated in the number one table. As she looked at the lunch specials she spied Charlie Baudelaire, long time resident of Heart of the Ocean village, noted botanist, respected raconteur, and owner operator of the Bright Flash Absinthe Mine and Club. He was sitting with an absolutely gorgeous woman that Sindy thought she recognized. The woman’s face was like the real Paris of the thousand boats. Simply stunning thought Sindy. Sindy turned her attention to the menu and for a moment she considered the Manatee Steak, but decided instead on winter salad with dressing on the side. As the waiter took her order Charlie and the young woman departed leaving a rather large cash tip on the table.

Sindy sat playing with her napkin trying to remember the name of the beautiful woman. There was bound to be a story angle here. Charlie was always in the news and although not a blue blood, she maintained a stable of famous pop stars, celebutantes, and top models at her club. Perhaps the woman was a model.

After Sindy had finished scraping her salad dressing off the side, she remembered the woman from the photograph at Llanfair’s mansion – Loopy Loo.