Symbols

Posting from the surface...

My ability to get to D'ni has been very sporadic for a couple of days now... in my fits of withdrawal, I've been studying my notes and photos and thinking about some more of our unsolved mysteries.

If you're reading this, then you've probably come into contact with Yeesha's "journey" symbol. The one in the shape of a hand, strewn about the ages on cloths... you might even remember the nine pronged version of the symbol that Zandi used during his "Preafter" escapades. A lot of us seem pretty familiar with what the journey represents... it's even self explanitory in a sense. It represents a journey. Yeesha's journey.... *our* journey.

Then there's the shell... it seems to be the case that the shell is an extension of sorts onto the journey. A different path, another branch, a new concept. But still a journey regardless.. something to teach.

But what about the countless other recurring symbols in D'ni? If you glance around Ae'gura, particularly in the library and museum, you can very clearly see a symbol of an outstretched hand. I'm not sure, but I think this is usually found near pedestals where books are or should be. Could it be a symbol that represents D'ni overall? Or maybe it's a sort of "Link Here!" sign? What if the hand is the D'ni equivalent of our universal male and female restroom signs? Except for public book locations rather than bathrooms?

You might also notice lots of symbols around the neighborhoods that seem to represent a sun... why so many symbols representing a sun, for a society that lives primarily underground? Could it be a throwback to the home world of Garternay? Or a reminder that sometimes it's important to get out of your rock for a while and go see the day? Heck, maybe it's not a sun at all, and it only seems that way because of it's similarity to our surface representations of the sun.

What about Yeesha's circular symbol? It's in your Relto, it's in your Relto book, it's in the cleft, it's in the ages heaven knows how often.... I don't believe I've ever seen it in D'ni though. It seems to only be in places that are directly related to her journey... is it supposed to be a constant reminder of who brought us here? Or maybe she uses it to sign off on her works, ideas, and lessons like an artist on a painting?

One of my favorites to think about recently is the intertwining symbol that we see on the floor of the Nexus. It's been pretty commonly accepted to be "The Nexus Symbol", and that makes sense to a point. We see it in the Nexus, we see it around pedestals leading to the Nexus, we see it in the hood book rooms centered on the Nexus. But we also see it around the fountains, in the community rooms, and in the clockyards. All very common meeting places for surface explorers, and perhaps for the D'ni as well? Some neighborhoods also have non-functional video imagers in place, that feature the same symbol. Maybe it's not specifically for the Nexus, but something that symbolizes "connectivity" or "communication"?

Some people complain that we've seen all there is to see in D'ni, until the DRC approves more areas for us to explore. I'd like to think that ideas like these prove that we've only scratched the surface. Keep in mind, we're not just here to go tearing around ages and throwing ourselves off cliffs, we're here to EXPLORE. We're amateur archaeologists, in a world that needs to be catalogued.