"It's time to be the hero..."

"Time is in chaos...
the fate of earth hangs by a thread...
and you are our only hope...
It's time to be the hero."

Project Time Vortex

"Did you get my shoe?"

The Doctor

The universe is in danger, and the Doctor needs your help.

In fact, several Doctors, based on video logs from a former UNIT* Black Site. The site is built around a time anomaly known as the Time Fracture, which has been under study by UNIT scientists for 14,682 days (I'll save you finding a calculator - just over 40 years).  

After years without change, chronon and artron energy levels from the Fracture have unexpectedly spiked, accompanied by the arrival of an enigmatic artifact - okay, it's a shoe, very much in the style of the 10th Doctor.**

The changes in the Fracture have resulted in additional time anomalies being reported from around the world, and allowing alien incursions by Time Lords, Daleks and Cybermen, incursions which are quickly dealt with by security forces.

In an attempt to determine the cause of the changes in the long-dormant anomaly, former UNIT Sergeant Robert Dudley is sent in investigate the interior of the Fracture. A massive energy surge drags him in and severs his lifeline - the Sergeant is lost.

An additional video log from the black site reports that one of the UNIT scientists has come up with a plan to build a portal stabilization gateway based on technology from a vortex manipulator from the Black Archive.  The PSG would balance the artron and chronon energies to allow someone to safely enter the fracture, but they need volunteers, volunteers who understand the dangers that they will face.

"On who those volunteers should be, well, someone has a suggestion."

Following the loss of Sergeant Dudley, another piece of footwear has come through the fracture - this time strongly reminiscent of the current Doctor's boots - after which Doctor's private communication channel becomes active, first confirming receipt of the shoe, then followed by a list of hundreds and hundreds of names.

"Which brings us to you."

The video then switches to former UNIT chief scientist Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, who violates security protocols to deliver the astonishing news that one of the names on the list is yours, and earnestly suggests that this is your time to join the fight. "Consider this your invitation to step up and save the universe.  I know you won't let us down."

And so, the scene is set for the next Doctor Who Experience - Time Fracture, an immersive, interactive experience that spans time and space as you attempt to save the universe.

Time Fracture was announced on August 18th, and tickets went on sale two days later for a start date of February 17th, 2021, with performances available through to the 11th of April 2021.  Participants will also be able to add an exclusive merchandise package to their ticket, which includes a UNIT t-shirt, a UNIT pin, and an event poster.  (Sadly, the merch package is apparently only available on site - "for collection after your chosen performance.")

As part of my 50th birthday trip to Europe in 2011, I attended the first Doctor Who experience,which I found to be excellent fun for a Doctor Who fan, and there would be a kind of symmetry in attending another immersive experience for my 60th birthday.

As such, under normal circumstances I'd be gently lobbying for Karli and I to do a return trip to England early in 2021, but even if we both felt comfortable with international travel right now (which we don't), under the current restrictions it's just not practical.  We might well be called upon to self-isolate for 14 days at either or both ends of the trip, and let's face it, that's just not feasible.

But, in the famous words of baseball coach Yogi Berra, it ain't over till it's over.  The Time Fracture experience is on until almost May, there's been a lot of talk about vaccines, Trump** keeps saying the whole thing will just go away*** - anything could happen in the next few months.

To use an even older quote, who knows, the horse may learn to sing.

- Sid

* Originally the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, now the UNified Intelligence Taskforce, UNIT has been a mainstay of the Doctor Who universe since 1968, but apparently UNIT operations were suspended in 2019 due to lack of government funding, which is presumably why everyone refers to themselves as "former" UNIT operatives.  This begs the question of how the black site has remained in operation.

** It says a great deal when you can recognize a shoe based on the character who wore it.

*** You know you're desperate when you start to quote Donald Trump as support.

**** As, hopefully, will Trump himself. 

Rivendell.

‘Rivendell!’ said Frodo. ‘Very good: I will go east, and I will make for Rivendell. I will take Sam to visit the Elves; he will be delighted.’ He spoke lightly; but his heart was moved suddenly with a desire to see the house of Elrond Halfelven, and breathe the air of that deep valley where many of the Fair Folk still dwelt in peace.

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Sid: Hang on, I have to take a picture.
Karli: Blog posting?
Sid: Yep.

For our anniversary this year, Karli and I decided to spend a few days on Bowen Island, located a brief 20 minute ferry ride west of Vancouver's Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal. We stayed at a pleasant lower-level Airbnb apartment conveniently located near Snug Cove - an Airbnb, which, to my intense satisfaction, was located more or less at the corner of Elrond and Rivendell.  

For those of you not in on the joke, we first meet the seemingly ageless Elrond Half-Elven at his home of Rivendell in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, but it's not until The Lord of the Rings that we learn his full story, and of his involvement in the first War of the Ring.

The face of Elrond was ageless, neither old nor young, though in it was written the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful. His hair was dark as the shadows of twilight, and upon it was set a circlet of silver; his eyes were grey as a clear evening, and in them was a light like the light of stars. Venerable he seemed as a king crowned with many winters, and yet hale as a tried warrior in the fulness of his strength. He was the Lord of Rivendell and mighty among both Elves and Men.

Fans of both the books or the movies will recall that it is at the Council of Elrond* that Frodo volunteers to take the ring to Mordor, though he does not know the way.

I actually spent about an hour one morning** searching through the internet for some clue as to who the fantasy fan in the Bowen Island Planning department might be, without any luck.  Whoever was responsible, I can see why you made your decision: after four days of exploring the deep valleys and dark forests of Bowen Island, it's easy to imagine stumbling across a hidden mountain fastness, surrounded by trees and waterfalls, where Men and Elves rest and take council.

- Sid

P.S. In our travels we also discovered Eowyn Lane, but I'm not certain that it's part of the official street system.

* The council is being held at the court of Elrond - as per the sign, Elrond's Court.

** I often get up earlier than Karli, and it seemed like a quiet way to pass the time while I drank my tea.

"You faded into the Long Dark."

“On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.”  

― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

In spite of preparing to move to a new apartment last month, I managed to find time to complete the Winter's Embrace gaming challenge in The Long Dark by surviving for 25 days, but couldn't dedicate the time to earn the achievement badge for eating 25 bags of Ketchup Chips and 25 bottles of Maple Syrup before the time ran out.

Since then, I've taken the occasional break from unpacking to try playing The Long Dark at the aptly named Interloper level, the most challenging option in terms of game play: the player starts with a minimal set of resources, and must craft almost all the essential tools for continued survival instead of salvaging them from the wreckage of civilization, with the environment becoming progressively more hostile as time goes on.

To illustrate the relative level of difficulty, until now I've only played at the second level, the Voyageur setting.  As a Voyageur, my longest run in the game has been close to 180 days. At the Interloper setting, I have yet to survive longer than eight days, and there have been lots of attempts where I haven't even made it through the first day without dying.

It's not an accident that all the locations on Great Bear Island where you can forge knives, hatchets and arrowheads are exposed to the elements to a greater or lesser extent, which has made the simple task of equipping myself for survival a fatal one in all of the attempts to date  - when I've managed to get that far, that is.

Karli asked me how much longer this would continue to be fun, and I can see her point: part of the enjoyment of gaming is in overcoming the challenges offered by the game, and if that challenge is insurmountable, why bother? There are a couple of games in my past that I abandoned because of exactly that problem: for example, I never did manage to defeat General Deathshead in the final boss fight of Wolfenstein: The New Order, and I finally got tired of trying.  However, I haven't reached that point yet as an Interloper.

In fact, I'd actually like to see the Fallout series introduce a similarly grueling option. The Survival setting in Fallout 4 is initially demanding, but after the player levels up a few times, it becomes easier and easier to stay alive, and ultimately ends up being very similar to the standard gameplay, whereas the Interloper option in The Long Dark is unrelenting in its assault, requiring constant planning, ingenuity and determination on the part of the player as weather conditions become worse and worse, and resources more and more rare.

Eating ketchup chips was a lot easier.

- Sid

UPDATE: After 30 attempts, I managed to stay on my feet long enough to successfully complete the trip across the challenging Forlorn Muskeg map through a howling blizzard to the Old Spence Family Homestead, survive the 24 hour hypothermia attack that resulted, forge a hatchet, knife, and four arrowheads, and return to the Camp Office beside the lake in the Mystery Lake map, one of the more forgiving locations in the game. Now I can finally harvest the maple sapling required to build a survival bow - provided I can stay alive for the six days that it takes for the wood to dry out first...