MINERVA - read-only archives

May I direct the acolytes attention to this page, hidden away in some pretty foolish corners on this 'ere website..

http://www.hylobatidae.org/minerva/sell ... terna.html

(oooh, this has been burdening me for some time now! but don't worry, I have permission from the top to make this public!)

Wallpapered!

Ace, I demand to know how, and exactly when, you found this!!!!!!!

Blue skies and cloud, hmmm, so your "it could be Earth" theorising had an evidential basis.

This shot reminds me of one of my favourite Iain Banks novels, The Bridge. I wonder if it was an influence?

Edit: Ahha, it was hidden amongst the material for the infamous April Fool's prank of 2006!

Well done indeed, Ace, but how long have you known????!

Second Edit: Why is that page entitled MINERVA: Apology?

Is that a reference to Minerva having feelings of guilt for having somehow contibuted to the Combine's march of destruction?

My goodness, demands? Well, I can say exactly when I found it: it was back when I was posting about the date of Someplace Else and I told Terrapin to go look at the blog post from the previous April Fool's day. I looked myself and stumbled across this. The how still has a bit of mystery to it. It was through the fake google ads on joke page 3, the links in them went to the index directory, though then and now they usually point to that same page (joke page 3). Not sure exactly what's going on there, Adam didn't seem to be aware of that approach.

I hope, having seen it, you can understand why I didn't say anything at the time? (the "our little secret" bit)

Actually I didn't think it was Earth when I first saw it. (I'm thinking Rayleigh scattering (blue sky) and cloud formation would be common to any habitable world??) I actually thought it supported my (already postulated) idea that Minerva was an alien of some sort. But that idea seems to be shot now, now that we know (?) that she is or was human.

But, it did I suppose influence my suggestion that the world on the other side of the portal is Earth in the future. If Minerva is/was human, and this place was her home ("once, maybe") then, well, there you go. Not that I'm 100% convinced, I'm sure there are numerous ways to have this not be earth now or anytime.

btw, in case it wasn't already clear, this is the low probability page five

http://www.hylobatidae.org/minerva/blog ... info&id=15

and I'm pretty sure what Adam was referring to here: (which I intentionally plagiarized above)

http://www.hylobatidae.org/minerva/blog ... ent_id_216

Veeeerry interesting....

Minerva you are a slippery one...

Interesting. The texture set on those spires is Randy Reddig/ Shaderlab's excellent Majestic texture set - which formed the basis for Someplace Else and it's clearly the area from the other side of the Combine portal thing.

You never meet the protagonist in Someplace Else but I presume that it is also Minerva, who claimes to reside within the structure somewhere.

It features an area that looks very much like the awesome Combine portal from Adam's recent release (although this one doesn't come to life).

Minerva claims to know where the place on the other side of the portal is and (in the posted link above) she claims that the image used to be home.

She also claims (during Medusa) that she is scared because the combine are nearer to her than she expected and she panics and wants the portal shut down and destroyed as soon as possible: Is she still on the other side of it, believing herself safe from Combine incursions until the point that you (and by extension she) discover that there is a still operating portal leading straight there? Are they looking for her specifically?

Hmmm... Much cause for speculation indeed. I don't think we've seen the last of the world that appears in Someplace Else though...

Anyone look at some of the other pages in that directory?

Have a look.

Mr.angry, these are from an April Fools joke Adam played on us last year.

Yeah, they are kinda old news for those of us who have been around the forum for a while. :)

Oh, forgive me as I am new.
:D