Well, I am not entirely convinced that the art of Amber compares favourably with that of Sapphire. It is, perhaps, more ... innovative ... than theirs. But I suspect that that is all it is. The Sapphirians, at least, did not seem terribly impressed. But then, neither was I...
They seemed to enjoy the play, or, more accurately, the part of a play that we saw. An interesting concept of serialised lunchtime performances, and one I thoroughly approve of. I shall, if such does not already exist there, import the concept to Ensilarum.
I wonder if they will return to see the rest of the play?
I, rather rudely I admit, did not watch the play. Instead I used the time to check on the various plans currently being carried out. One must, after all, prioritise.
It was ... rather peculiar ... to discover that Amber and Sapphire share songs. Old songs. I wonder why? Did Dworkin and his Pattern Ghost know the same songs and, long ago, teach them to his children and, perhaps, others in each realm?
Or has there been more contact between the two realms than we had previously thought?
And I wonder, are the two realms, Amber and Sapphire, different parts of an experiment by Dworkin?
In one realm, Amber, a forceful King, Oberon, fathers a family in conflict with itself, with every Family member out only for themselves.
In the other, Sapphire, a more consensus-building Empress (or so it seems), has produced a Family who co-operate, who are friends. Who are, from the Amber perspective, rather alarming!
And while the latter would appear a much more pleasant place to live, the other seems to have, perhaps, produced more extremes of skill, for example in the form of Prince Benedict.
But if the two realms, so different, are part of some vast experiment, to what end is it being conducted? Will Dworkin one day pronounce the experiment over? And if so, then what will happen? Will the less 'successful' 'competitor' be expunged and the more successful allowed to rule both realms? Is Dworkin that powerful?
Or am I, perhaps, being overlay paranoid in my thinking? In this case, I certainly hope so...
Cerebaton has now been able to scan the uncensored copies of the books of the Unicorn and the Serpent.
Those parts of them of most immediate relevance seem to be the many prophesies they contain, mostly obscure, as is the way of prophesy, but perhaps useful. Some, I believe that I can assign a meaning to. Others, I cannot. Still, perhaps with Cerebaton also analysing them, we shall be able to make constructive use of them rather than discerning their meanings only in hindsight...
And now we are setting up the Temporal Probe Project in Ensilarum. I hope it proves to be successful, despite the compartmentalisation of research which I have deemed necessary in order to avoid any problems arising from unrestricted spying on, or tampering with, history, in addition to any problems of more conventional spying, such as that carried out against me by Rinaldo...
Normally I would not agree with such restrictions on the free exchange of information, of scientific thought. But in this case? In this case I feel I have no choice but to do so...
In addition, I consider the Temporal Warding part of the project to be an important one. Preventing others from seeing or meddling with history is, I feel, at least as useful, potentially, as being able to do so oneself...
And following their perusal of the arts and theatre of Amber, I took the Sapphirians to one of my preferred locations in Amber for people-watching, so as to allow them a view of as wide a cross-section of the life of Amber as possible. This they did, though I cannot say what they thought of what they saw while they were there...
I do wonder why Malanka felt it necessary to 'adopt' that urchin, Thomas, who tried to pick-pocket her. I most certainly would not have done so. I hope she does not live to regret her choice. On the other hand, it could be the making of the boy, the luckiest day in his life. A chance to grab a new life for himself.
Malanka will, I imagine, have to see..
I wonder. Am I coming to rely upon Cerebaton too much? I cannot help thinking that perhaps I am. He does so much for me these days, answering questions, conducting research and so on, all of which it is quite possible I would not have the time to do without him. But on the other hand, having someone to perform these tasks, save me that time, is so useful.
So is it reliance, or simply convenience?
Hmm...
I think that, as long as I do not become lazy, and lose the ability to do things myself if necessary, then it does remain convenience rather than reliance. But still, the potential for a slip from convenience into reliance is certainly something I should continue to be aware of...
And now, having returned to the Castle and seen the Sapphirians to their quarters, I am ... consulting ... with my brother regarding gaining access to the Sapphirian's realm.
I cannot say I have any objection to our achieving this as long as we can do so without disrupting the nascent relationship between the two realms. I hope my having Cerebaton's copy those of their Trumps which he can may be achieved without doing so.
It should be quite interesting...