Involvium and the Mysterious Metaverse Energy

Well, some amazing stuff happening. And yours truly did say I was going to clear up the how this stuff works and get back to you. And now is the time!

From observing some of the team's research, I'm beginning to grasp what little the energy company knows about Involvium. I thought I'd share, especially since I read a few misunderstandings out there in some recent blogger posts. They reported that involvium is an energy source, and that's not 100% accurate. (oops, I guess I should clear this up a bit!)

According to the team, Involvium is a crystal that was found by IEV's founder, Phinneas Darcy, while on an expedition. He had suspected its existence, apparently, when he originally discovered the energy. Its makeup still baffles the expedition, though they have been able to rig up a few devices to harness its potential.

This energy freely flows through the metaverse on its own.

Involvium isn't the energy itself, though it seem that it can either store it, or focus it (maybe both?). From what I've seen, it might have more properties. While the discovery of involvium crystal is unique to the IEV team, the energy itself has been present all along in the metaverse. Part of the team's mission is to not only find out about involvium, but about the energy and how it works.

Stay tuned ...

Late Night Renaissance

Wow. I can't sleep tonight. I kept wanting to write, paint, draw, sculpt. Imagine a twelve-latte caffeine high, but without the side-effects (twelve trips to the little girl’s room)... so far. I spent all night sketching in my book. I think mostly everyone in the expedition stayed up too. They were using those weird tubular machines, taking soil samples, mineral samples, and of course Involvium samples. Midway through the night, the expedition folks even broke into song. Sounded like an old sea chanty from Pirates of the Caribbean, but was much more inspirational and cool. I even joined in.

Quick Late Night Note.

Dreamt of Trish... and the orange glow of that Involvium ore... with motes of fireflies dancing in its depths. Felt compelled to tell you guys. Will try to get some shut eye...

IEV Advertises on YouTube

It was inevitable, I guess. Involvium Energy Ventures has started their public-facing advertising campaign in the general media-sphere. Here's their feel-good ad on YouTube:

The Involvium Energy Effect?

I’ve followed the footsteps for miles. We stopped to make camp and I checked my email. Can you believe my editor is making fun of me? He thinks I’m making “changing island” stuff up.

“The Involvium Effect”? Come on, Harry! I don’t write fiction, you know that. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. You have to see this place to believe it and he just doesn’t get it. And he doesn’t think his readers would get it either. I may have been hesitant to come out here at first, but this place is INCREDIBLE. And if my editor doesn’t believe what he’s reading, then I guess I’ll have to find another publication with the same vision these explorers have. His loss.

You’re lame, Harry.

J.S. Reporting from Wonderland...

Okay, I’m not a mental case. The whole geography of this island has to be changing literally overnight. We set up camp on the beach and woke up in a snow-peaked mountain range. Ashton Kutcher, sweetie, unless you’re here, and you’re planning on jumping out with cameras, then I’m officially freaked out. I don’t want to wake up on the edge of a mile-high cliff tomorrow.

Memories on the Line.

I caught myself staring at the makeshift clothesline that the team has set up, thinking about my sister, Trish. Again. There was a t-shirt with a monkey face on it hanging on the line, and I was reminded of our adventure camping a few summers ago when she hung up her Paul Frank t-shirt (that I had gotten for her birthday) and forgot about it. An hour into the drive home, we had to turn around and go back for it, despite my objections that I'd buy her another.

I found some footsteps heading down a path. I’m going to follow them before the landscape pulls the ole’ switcheroo on me. Again.

Unfamiliar Places I've Already Visited?

There is a giant boulder on the beach that wasn’t there yesterday! I swear! I’m not crazy. I'm not sleep deprived, and I didn’t eat any of the funky mushrooms growing around the island. I don't care what anybody says, I'm thoroughly creeped out. “Onward!” the team says. Wish I knew which direction that is.

What Kind of Place is This?

This is one WEIRD island. Something about it just feels “off” to me. And as a side note, our navigation beacons and map software doesn't work here, or else I'd have you locating us from an online map program.

I went exploring today and lost my way back to camp. It's strange, I used a set of markers that the IEV explorers left on a few trees, but they were off. I ended up on another side of the island, by some waterfalls. How does that happen? How does a trail of breadcrumbs lie to you? Ugh, maybe I'm just working too hard; I've been pulling long days alongside the technicians.

Observation Notebook, Expedition Day 2

When exploring today with a couple of the team members on a survey, and we ran across
evidence that we're not the first ones here... or not alone. An old treehouse made of flotsam and jetsam, and a totem of some kind. Both look like they haven't been used in a while.

Here are a few sketches. I finally found my sketchbook and got the mechanic to help me out to scan it. As I thought, one of those things WAS a scanner... of sorts.

Anyway, here's my attempt at rendering what I saw:

My First Day on Safari.

I've made it to the island. It's certainly in the middle of nowhere. Nice beach, though. Wish I'd brought my swimsuit. The expedition manager is a fellow member of the female persuasion... maybe I can get one from her.

But she's got her hands full right now. She's responsible for the equipment and supplies, and they've brought a lot of gear for this expedition. It almost unbelievable how much one person can keep on them... it almost defies physics.

I can't make head or tails of half this stuff. Its all rivets and wires, pipes and valves. It looks like a garage sale at Dr. Who's house. Once I get settled and dig-up my sketchbook, I'll sketch some of the stuff. One of the team members is a pretty great sketch artist. Maybe he'll show me some contour techniques to improve my own modest drawings.

Maybe I can even post one... one of these weirdo contraptions has got to be a scanner.

Anyway, a bit of reportage: The team is setting up camp and getting ready to run some experiments. They're pretty focused on a device with some big lens on it and an articulating arm. And having some trouble with it. While they get it up and running, yours truly might do the Nancy Drew thing and explore the island. I am, after all, a bona-fide certified journalista. I don't know if this story is going to add up to anything. All of its still seems like hocus-pocus to me.

Any of you guys hear about Twitter? Its this system where you can send out these short blog posts to a network of your friends. I've got my handy blackberry, so maybe I'll post observations on it as I'm out in the bush exploring. That is, if I can get a signal out here of the boonies...

Tomorrow out!

An Expedition Into the Unknown Awaits!

Ok, so I've met up with this outfit -- Involvium Energy Ventures. Their get-up-and-go attitudes, and that almost-mad sparkle in their eyes, remind me of Don Quixote. Or at least how I'd imagine him. A whole group of Don Quixotes yelling out "here we come, world!"

And what is the cause of this enthusiasm, you might ask? Well, they think they may have detected a huge concentration of this energy they call "The Involvium Effect" in the far corners of the Metaverse. They say this indicates the possible presence of some mineral called "Involvium". No, I never heard of it before, either.

Although it does explain the company's name. I originally thought they were trying to do one of those weird corporate names made up of nonsense words like "Alcenture" or "Innovent".

Anyway, its got them all worked-up because this Involvium stuff has some effect on this energy and its really rare. Not quite clear on what exactly the effect is. (Note to self: I should probably get that cleared up before deadline).

These guys, I admit are pretty cool. Their energy is contagious. And without a ready supply of grande half-caff nearby, I'll need it!

Tomorrow out!