New world umbral shards

Hiya. Long shot but I'm after players in the Buxton area who want an in-person Dungeon World game. Would be a new campaign so themes/tone etc are all up for grabs.

One of the plans we see the results of in the Part 1 shards is Zeke's euthanasia, defined by a partial Rumbling, a fast-aging population, and an inability to properly defend Eldia in its waning days.
The end result: no right to be born into the world, no freedom for his loved ones and his people. Thus, an unsatisfactory path for Eren, and one that would never be possible.
Source1
Source2

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Hi. Well, Here's my story. Well, I'm a 22 year old male (23 years old in a few months) I been working ever since I was 13 at an apprenticeship for a close family member company. I really enjoy it being able to work from home and it pays way more than what it's worth. I work a lot, all the time I could until I was 16 when I graduated and took it full time plus. 60, 70, 80 hours a week; whatever it took to make that money. I went out of my way to not take my vacation weeks cause it was a sign of weakness; my dad was the hardest worker I knew before he retired. 3 years ago, it wasn't enough, so I took a second job to carry the time when I was not working or sleeping. It served me well. I was able to buy my own home with casg and be financially set and have a good bit toward retirement. Well, it was fine until a month ago when I had this for lack of a better, spiritual, moment as I was driving down the road. My mind was dreaming off and I just stopped on the side of the road and seen this family and the kids playing at this park just laughing. They looked so happy. I think about it now and I feel bad just setting there watching. I must have just watched them for an hour and the mother even waved at me. Anyways, I got back in my car,, went home and got ready to go back to work the next but the next day came, I couldn't. I had no drive, It was the first day I called in work since i had started. I spent the day walking around my town and breathing in and taking in the world.
That was a month ago and I feel like I'm going through a mental breakdown. I can't seem to want to go back to work all the time. I keep thinking about that family that was just enjoying the moment having fun. Anyways, this led me to a rash decision this week. I got over 20 weeks vacation and i decided to take the rest of the year off from my first job and only work lowest amount of part time at my second job. 15 hours a week. This has left me conflicted, empty inside. First, I feel so blessed to be financially able to do this as I know most are not so lucky. I know it was the sacrifice I made for years to be able to do this but still. Second, I realized what am I going to do? The fact is I never been in a relationship and never even had a friend. I don't even know who I am anymore.
So, this brought me here tonight. I'm looking for a platonic forever friend, a bro so to speak to spend time with daily, play games with, and watch movies; someone to help me find me. I know I'm a guy and I'm supposed to be tough but I'm scared of being alone with no one. My dad was recently diagnosed with cancer and I feel drained and empty. I know it's mostly my fault as I spent years pushing people away and lived with my quote "friends are for the weak"- I feel ashamed of that for my own preconceptions of who people are, I have no one to ask me how my day was or miss me or ask me to do stuff with. I mean I'm like a dust bunny in the corner. Now, I know how lucky I am with things I have but I think maybe I was chasing the wrong thing. Money was my cause, work was my cause. I'm thinking now people should have been cause; getting to know them and letting them know me. Woosh. I said I wasn't going cry and get emotional but here I am.
Okay. back. Needed a few. So, Yeah. I just feel loss and forgotten and I'm wondering if their anyone out there who feels the same way who wants a bro, a new family member. We can start out talking here, play some on the PS5, just chat. I realized I have not laughed in probably 10 years; wow. that's sad. I want a true friend I can be myself with,be vulnerable, and someone who we can pick on each other and joke around. Fact is, I'm still young but still scared to die without knowing what true friendship was like.
So, what type of person would be great? Well, I'm a deep thinker, very sensitive, emotional, so someone that is too would be great. I want someone kind, compassionate, and understanding. I have anxiety, so someone patient. I love it if you were a gamer like me. If you like anything to do with Mars, we will be besties. Let's trade recipes and listen to sad songs on Yoytube music and make up cool stories on how we were the coolest kids in school. Lets talk about scary stories we have experienced and tease me about how my writing is terrible and how I'm a little crazy. We can talk about our favorite movies and we can argue how mine are all right. Other than that, I'm pretty open as you are okay with it being strictly platonic. I am from the US, so I prefer you to be too for time reasons.
Well, if you made it this far, you either really bored or have no life like me. So, if you want to, message me. We can chat. :)

It seems really odd that out of all of the QoL updates we had with cosmetics, transmat effects are still 1) consumable and 2) cost glimmer
Bright Dust wise, they also cost MORE than shaders (granted, only 150 more) Considering the fact that shaders are now infinite use, why would anyone want to spend the Bright dust? For A legendary effect, you have to spend:

• The Initial 450 BD
• 5000 Glimmer to apply
• A further cost of 1500 glimmer and 5 shards to pull from collections if you happen to get a new ship you like.

Why hasn't this been updated to meet the previous updates that were applied to Shaders? It's the only Flair that requires a further cost to pull extra copies.

Started a new world and put day length to realistic. Played for a few hours and hasn’t gotten dark at all and constantly raining. Is actually meant to be that realistic or just a bug

About us
Hello lfg, I’m Dan [23M, he/him], I’ve been DMing off and on for 8 years and weekly for the last 3 and I’m looking for one player to replace a friend who has had to leave as his schedule changed. The campaign is run weekly on Saturday evenings starting at 19:00 and ending at 21:00 GMT+1, these times are unfortunately non-negotiable. We play on a mixture of Discord, roll20 and DnDbeyond. You don’t need to have a fully formed character at this point, but if you have ideas that would certainly help. Your first session will be run on the 1st at the aforementioned times. Here you will be introduced to your fellow players (and maybe even future friends), your DM (wait I know that guy, he’s me!) and the rules of conduct (which boil down to don’t be a dck). We hope to see you there (I put a large bet on *you being the successful candidate. Don’t ruin this for me, DM needs a new pair of shoes).
The setting
Ruin is a post-post-apocalypse setting with (for the most part) only “monstrous” species playable. 700 years ago, orcs, hobgoblins, bugbears, goblins, kobolds, pit trolls (homebrewed) and yuan ti cowered in the Evershade (underdark) as the ground shook and magical energies went wild, an event that would later be dubbed “The Collapse”. Centuries later they returned to a surface covered in destroyed cities and crumbling castles, there was no sign of the standard PHB species only their buildings remained, the world had become a carcass. There were some survivors, some few groups of xenophobic humans, known as the Godless, managed to survive in shielded cities and Remnants, sapient undead with broken memories who had setup small communities to attempt to recreate their pre-Collapse lives. Nature abhors a vacuum and the “monsters” began to colonise the surface. These new settlements that formed are on the cusp of being cities but they still need pioneers. Ancient wizards’ towers, silent dwarven holds and stagnant elven groves still dot the landscape waiting to be plundered for magical goods, money and answers. The biggest question still has no answer, what caused the Collapse and can it happen again?
Your character will be in the rapidly industrialising city of Ghostmuth when you hear rumours of a party who recently returned from a strange digsite in the wilds of Shirelan their bags full of riches and their heads full of stories of dragon cultists. (Or however you and I decide how to integrate your character into the party).
The party and you
Currently the party consists of a yuan-ti sorcerer who hears voices, a remnant minotaur barbarian who is looking for their family, a goblin rogue looking to support the people they care about and a goblin cleric who just wants buddies. Don’t feel pressured to build a character who “fits perfectly” into this mix, just bring your ideas to me.
Your character will start at level 3. All published classes are available (excluding bloodhunter) for you to play, and the following species: Bugbear, Goblin, Half-elf, Half-Hob, Human, Hobgoblin, Orc, Pit Troll and Remnant.
How to apply
Please fill out the following questions and PM them to me so that I can evaluate whether you fit the campaign, don’t worry about a first come first served system as I will read and consider every response that I receive though I will be closing this post in about 10 hours. Good luck either here or with some other group!
A. What name should I use to refer to you and what are your preferred pronouns?
B. What is your prior experience with 5e dnd, dndbeyond and roll20 (no stigma is attached to inexperience; this question just lets me know how I can best help you)?
C. What are you looking in a campaign of DND (What aspects of gameplay do you prefer ie roleplay vs combat, puzzles vs exploration, Strict laws vs rule of cool)?
D. In two sentences how would you sum up your idea for a character (ie what species/class you’re interested in playing and what is their personality like)?
E. What got you interested in DND?
F. What Sci-fi or fantasy series, book, show or comic, is your favourite (I’m not going to lie, this question is just me fishing for recommendations)?
G. What is the best ice cream flavour (I like to make graphs of this data, don’t judge me)?

About us
Hello lfg_europe, I’m Dan [23M, he/him], I’ve been DMing off and on for 8 years and weekly for the last 3 and I’m looking for one player to replace a friend who has had to leave as his schedule changed. The campaign is run weekly on Saturday evenings starting at 19:00 and ending at 21:00 GMT+1, these times are unfortunately non-negotiable. We play on a mixture of Discord, roll20 and DnDbeyond. You don’t need to have a fully formed character at this point, but if you have ideas that would certainly help. Your first session will be run on the 1st at the aforementioned times. Here you will be introduced to your fellow players (and maybe even future friends), your DM (wait I know that guy, he’s me!) and the rules of conduct (which boil down to don’t be a dck). We hope to see you there (I put a large bet on *you being the successful candidate. Don’t ruin this for me, DM needs a new pair of shoes).
The setting
Ruin is a post-post-apocalypse setting with (for the most part) only “monstrous” species playable. 700 years ago, orcs, hobgoblins, bugbears, goblins, kobolds, pit trolls (homebrewed) and yuan ti cowered in the Evershade (underdark) as the ground shook and magical energies went wild, an event that would later be dubbed “The Collapse”. Centuries later they returned to a surface covered in destroyed cities and crumbling castles, there was no sign of the standard PHB species only their buildings remained, the world had become a carcass. There were some survivors, some few groups of xenophobic humans, known as the Godless, managed to survive in shielded cities and Remnants, sapient undead with broken memories who had setup small communities to attempt to recreate their pre-Collapse lives. Nature abhors a vacuum and the “monsters” began to colonise the surface. These new settlements that formed are on the cusp of being cities but they still need pioneers. Ancient wizards’ towers, silent dwarven holds and stagnant elven groves still dot the landscape waiting to be plundered for magical goods, money and answers. The biggest question still has no answer, what caused the Collapse and can it happen again?
Your character will be in the rapidly industrialising city of Ghostmuth when you hear rumours of a party who recently returned from a strange digsite in the wilds of Shirelan their bags full of riches and their heads full of stories of dragon cultists. (Or however you and I decide how to integrate your character into the party).
The party and you
Currently the party consists of a yuan-ti sorcerer who hears voices, a remnant minotaur barbarian who is looking for their family, a goblin rogue looking to support the people they care about and a goblin cleric who just wants buddies. Don’t feel pressured to build a character who “fits perfectly” into this mix, just bring your ideas to me.
Your character will start at level 3. All published classes are available (excluding bloodhunter) for you to play, and the following species: Bugbear, Goblin, Half-elf, Half-Hob, Human, Hobgoblin, Orc, Pit Troll and Remnant.
How to apply
Please fill out the following questions and PM them to me so that I can evaluate whether you fit the campaign, don’t worry about a first come first served system as I will read and consider every response that I receive though I will be closing this post in about 10 hours. Good luck either here or with some other group!
A. What name should I use to refer to you and what are your preferred pronouns?
B. What is your prior experience with 5e dnd, dndbeyond and roll20 (no stigma is attached to inexperience; this question just lets me know how I can best help you)?
C. What are you looking in a campaign of DND (What aspects of gameplay do you prefer ie roleplay vs combat, puzzles vs exploration, Strict laws vs rule of cool)?
D. In two sentences how would you sum up your idea for a character (ie what species/class you’re interested in playing and what is their personality like)?
E. What got you interested in DND?
F. What Sci-fi or fantasy series, book, show or comic, is your favourite (I’m not going to lie, this question is just me fishing for recommendations)?
G. What is the best ice cream flavour (I like to make graphs of this data, don’t judge me)?

I've been playing in my first campaign weekly for a couple of months. I started DMing with a different group at the same time, and did a lot of reading for that, so I'd like to think I have a decent understanding of the game by now. The DM of the campaign I play in is a player in my campaign, so I'm aware of how he sees the game. He's been playing for years and optimises his characters as much as he can - not a problem, but it informs his DMing style.
In his campaign, he has one relatively experienced player and three new players including me. We've built decent characters but they're not min-maxed by any means. A pattern is starting to show in the game: we will go to a place, be immediately greeted by a powerful NPC with a job for us, which we will drop everything to do. This quest will culminate in an unavoidable combat that we will struggle with until multiple of us are on death saves, and then the powerful NPC who set us the quest will jump in, instantly kill everything, and then heal us up - end of session. Almost everything in his campaign is homebrewed - which isn't a problem on its own - but from the stats he's shown me it all looks really unbalanced. Everything that he throws at us is optimised to kill us. I don't know if we are meant to min-max our characters back to stand a chance at killing things, or if whatever we do, we will be underpowered until some Deus ex Machina steps in.
This is kind of my problem. I'm not having fun but I'm not sure what to do about it. Do I need to remake my character to the strongest one I can, losing a lot of flavour? Or do I need to accept that with three new players and level 5 characters that we're not going to stand a chance against level 20 enemies and let the NPCs do all the fighting for us? As it stands, I'm not enjoying the sessions. I'd rather not leave the campaign, because it's how I see these friends regularly. But it doesn't feel fun when we feel like we're making no impact on the world. When I've tried to talk to him about this, he's told us to get stronger if we want to kill stuff. But as we level, the enemies get stronger too so they stay unkillable. Does anyone have any advice?

Hi everyone,
I'm a 20-year-old trans girl living in Australia. Over the past few months I've made leaps and bounds in coming to terms with being trans, and engaging with queer clubs at uni, making new supportive friends, etc. I feel really ready to transition and I really want to start experimenting with what I wear, makeup, etc. (First at home, then with supportive friends / in queer spaces). In fact I'm gonna be starting HRT within a few weeks!!!
The issue is, I still live at home with my parents, brother, and sister because I'm studying uni full time. Now I'm only out to my mum so far, and she's supportive of it. My dad doesn't know the first thing about trans people, but he's highly unlikely to be actually transphobic, probably just really confused and uninformed. The same goes for my sister - she'll probably be fine with it. My brother is kinda homophobic but my parents will make sure he doesn't actually say anything.
My dysphoria is so bad now that transitioning ASAP isn't a choice, but the idea of transitioning while living at home fills me with dread. That feels really stupid, because there are people out there with legitimately and violently transphobic households who have situations a million times worse than me - my situation is really pretty good.
There are a few reasons I find the idea of living at home while transitioning so hard. Firstly, like I said earlier I really want to start experimenting with my gender. I'm not comfortable or ready to present female in public (or really, in front of anyone else) yet but if I lived out of home I'd be putting on makeup, painting nails, wearing female clothes every night once I got home from uni. At home, I can't do that because I'm not out to my dad, brother, or sister - and even if I was out to them, I get a huge amount of anxiety from being perceived. Because I obviously wouldn't actually pass I'd be terrified of the way they perceive me. Obviously that's all in my head but it feels very very very real. It's something I'll need to work through, but working through it feels impossible while I'm in the midst of it. What I really need is my own space where I won't be perceived, where I can just exist, and right now I don't have that (my room is small and anyone could walk in whenever, and even if I had a lock I'd need to leave to go to the bathroom or use the kitchen or whatever).
The other thing is, transitioning is always hard on the family, and I totally understand that, but witnessing that firsthand with no "escape" from it per se is something I'm not sure I'll be able to handle properly amongst all the other stress of transitioning. The only spaces I'm ever in are uni (which is queer accepting but I'm not remotely ready to present female at uni), tutoring (which I'm going to have to boymode in all year to keep my clients), and occasionally at a friend's house or queer bar which is a "safe space" - but in all of those spaces I'm being perceived, I don't have a space to be alone.
I just get really anxious about being perceived and I'm also somewhat autistic and really really need alone time - which I basically never get. I get alone time in the sense that I'm in my room a lot but I never can feel alone at a psychological level because I know I'll always run into family members going to the kitchen or bathroom or whenever. I just feel so bad about this because I love my family, I have nothing against any of them and none of them would probably even say or think anything bad or hateful about me but I'm just so fucked up in the head and anxious and I just desperately want to be alone most of the time because what I need is room to experiment and work out what I want to do with myself.
Finally, I also some have past trauma with my brother having really severe anger issues when he was younger, and even though it's all past and I've forgiven everyone I can still feel the traces of it when I live at home, back when it was a thing I never felt safe outside of my room and the ghost of that feeling is still there a lot of the time, even though it's all in the past and I don't hold it against anyone. But it really doesn't mix well with all the trans stuff now and I just really need a space where I do feel 100% safe and comfortable and alone, because as much as I hate it and feel bad about it I really do struggle to feel comfortable or let my guard down when I'm at home around family (or really, anywhere, cause it's not like being out in public is any better, although it is different)
So I've been considering moving out, but I don't even know how I could do that, because tutoring is too unstable of a job and I'm doing uni. Even if I dropped to part-time uni, where would I work? I'd either have to boymode somewhere, and I don't know how well that would work because I honestly think I might pass pretty well after I'm on HRT for a bit and had laser. But either way, I don't have my degree, and I'm not really sure where I'd work to make enough money to rent a place of my own especially with skyrocketing rent prices where I live. I could live with flatmates but then that brings back the whole issue of being perceived - it's just so god damn difficult that my weird autistic messed up mind can't handle the idea of presenting female in front of other people before I get used to it by myself.
This is all such a first world problem, people have it so much worse than me, but I just don't know what to do. At a subconscious, but very real, psychological level, I just can't relax or feel safe when I'm at home. I've lived out of home before but that was before I felt ready to experiment. Now that I am ready to and really want/need to try out presenting female (even if just to alleviate my dysphoria after being at uni all day) I can't do it, even though my family would probably be fine and even supportive, I just can't move past traces of past trauma and all the distance I've put up psychologically from having to present male for so long, and I just don't want to be exposed 24/7 to their process of accepting me and coming to terms with me being trans (even though I 100% respect that because I had to go through that exact same process).
So yeah I don't fucking know what to do and it's really getting me down because I am starting HRT soon, but until I can bring myself to come out to my brother and sister I can't even present female at home, and I'm sure not going to be ready to present female anywhere else until I do at home. I've thought about asking some of my queer friends if I can try stuff on at their places and I'm sure they'd be more than fine with that but I'm really just not ready to be presenting female in front of anyone else before I can try it myself. Ugh.
This post ended up way longer than I expected so I doubt anyone will read it but if anyone does, is there any advice you think might help? I have no close trans friends irl who I can talk about this stuff with so I kinda just don't know what to do in general

§ 8. As from the direct light of the sun to the borrowed light of the moon, we pass from the immediate idea of perception, which stands by itself and is its own warrant, to reflection, to the abstract, discursive concepts of the reason, which obtain their whole content from knowledge of perception, and in relation to it.
As long as we continue simply to perceive, all is clear, firm, and certain. There are neither questions nor doubts nor errors; we desire to go no further, can go no further; we find rest in perceiving, and satisfaction in the present. Perception suffices for itself, and therefore what springs purely from it, and remains true to it, for example, a genuine work of art, can never be false, nor can it be discredited through the lapse of time, for it does not present an opinion but the thing itself. But with abstract knowledge, with reason, doubt and error appear in the theoretical, care and sorrow in the practical. In the idea of perception, illusion may at moments take the place of the real; but in the sphere of abstract thought, error may reign for a thousand years, impose its yoke upon whole nations, extend to the noblest impulses of humanity, and, by the help of its slaves and its dupes, may chain and fetter those whom it cannot deceive. It is the enemy against which the wisest men of all times have waged unequal war, and only what they have won from it has become the possession of mankind. Therefore it is well to draw attention to it at once, as we already tread the ground to which its province belongs. It has often been said that we ought to follow truth even although no utility can be seen in it, because it may have indirect utility which may appear when it is least expected; and I would add to this, that we ought to be just as anxious to discover and to root out all error even when no harm is anticipated from it, because its mischief may be very indirect, and may suddenly appear when we do not expect it, for all error has poison at its heart. If it is mind, if it is knowledge, that makes man the lord of creation, there can be no such thing as harmless error, still less venerable and holy error. And for the consolation of those who in any way and at any time may have devoted strength and life to the noble and hard battle against error, I cannot refrain from adding that, so long as truth is absent, error will have free play, as owls and bats in the night; but sooner would we expect to see the owls and the bats drive back the sun in the eastern heavens, than that any truth which has once been known and distinctly and fully expressed, can ever again be so utterly vanquished and overcome that the old error shall once more reign undisturbed over its wide kingdom. This is the power of truth; its conquest is slow and laborious, but if once the victory be gained it can never be wrested back again.
Besides the ideas we have as yet considered, which, according to their construction, could be referred to time, space, and matter, if we consider them with reference to the object, or to pure sensibility and understanding (i.e., knowledge of causality), if we consider them with reference to the subject, another faculty of knowledge has appeared in man alone of all earthly creatures, an entirely new consciousness, which, with very appropriate and significant exactness, is called reflection. For it is in fact derived from the knowledge of perception, and is a reflected appearance of it. But it has assumed a nature fundamentally different. The forms of perception do not affect it, and even the principle of sufficient reason which reigns over all objects has an entirely different aspect with regard to it. It is just this new, more highly endowed, consciousness, this abstract reflex of all that belongs to perception in that conception of the reason which has nothing to do with perception, that gives to man that thoughtfulness which distinguishes his consciousness so entirely from that of the lower animals, and through which his whole behaviour upon earth is so different from that of his irrational fellow-creatures. He far surpasses them in power and also in suffering. They live in the present alone, he lives also in the future and the past. They satisfy the needs of the moment, he provides by the most ingenious preparations for the future, yea for days that he shall never see. They are entirely dependent on the impression of the moment, on the effect of the perceptible motive; he is determined by abstract conceptions independent of the present. Therefore he follows predetermined plans, he acts from maxims, without reference to his surroundings or the accidental impression of the moment. Thus, for example, he can make with composure deliberate preparations for his own death, he can dissemble past finding out, and can carry his secret with him to the grave; lastly, he has an actual choice between several motives; for only in the abstract can such motives, present together in consciousness, afford the knowledge with regard to themselves, that the one excludes the other, and can thus measure themselves against each other with reference to their power over the will. The motive that overcomes, in that it decides the question at issue, is the deliberate determinant of the will, and is a sure indication of its character. The brute, on the other hand, is determined by the present impression; only the fear of present compulsion can constrain its desires, until at last this fear has become custom, and as such continues to determine it; this is called training. The brute feels and perceives; man, in addition to this, thinks and knows: both will. The brute expresses its feelings and dispositions by gestures and sounds; man communicates his thought to others, or, if he wishes, he conceals it, by means of speech. Speech is the first production, and also the necessary organ of his reason. Therefore in Greek and Italian,, speech and reason are expressed by the same word; Logos¬, il discorso. Vernunft is derived from vernehmen, which is not a synonym for the verb to hear, but signifies the consciousness of the meaning of thoughts communicated in words. It is by the help of language alone that reason accomplishes its most important achievements,—the united action of several individuals, the planned co-operation of many thousands, civilisation, the state; also science, the storing up of experience, the uniting of common properties in one concept, the communication of truth, the spread of error, thoughts and poems, dogmas and superstitions. The brute first knows death when it dies, but man draws consciously nearer to it every hour that he lives; and this makes life at times a questionable good even to him who has not recognised this character of constant annihilation in the whole of life. Principally on this account man has philosophies and religions, though it is uncertain whether the qualities we admire most in his conduct, voluntary rectitude and nobility of feeling, were ever the fruit of either of them. As results which certainly belong only to them, and as productions of reason in this sphere, we may refer to the marvellous and monstrous opinions of philosophers of various schools, and the extraordinary and sometimes cruel customs of the priests of different religions. It is the universal opinion of all times and of all nations that these manifold and far-reaching achievements spring from a common principle, from that peculiar intellectual power which belongs distinctively to man and which has been called reason. Besides this, no one finds any difficulty in recognising the manifestations of this faculty, and in saying what is rational and what is irrational, where reason appears as distinguished from the other faculties and qualities of man, or lastly, in pointing out what, on account of the want of reason, we must never expect even from the most The philosophers of all ages may be said to be on the whole at one about this general knowledge of reason, and they have also given prominence to several very important manifestations of it; such as, the control of the emotions and passions, the capacity for drawing conclusions and formulating general principles, even such as are true prior to all experience, and so forth. Still all their explanations of the peculiar nature of reason are wavering, not clearly defined, discursive, without unity and concentration; now laying stress on one manifestation, now on another, and therefore often at variance with each other. Besides this, many start from the opposition between reason and revelation, a distinction which is unknown to philosophy, and which only increases confusion. It is very remarkable that up till now no philosopher has referred these manifold expressions of reason to one simple function which would be recognised in them all, from which they would all be explained, and which would therefore constitute the real inner nature of reason. It is true that the excellent Locke in the “Essay on the Human Understanding”, very rightly refers to general concepts as the characteristic which distinguishes man from the brutes, and Leibnitz quotes this with full approval in the “Nouveaux Essais sur l'Entendement Humaine” But when Locke comes to the special explanation of reason he entirely loses sight of this simple, primary characteristic, and he also falls into a wavering, undetermined, incomplete account of mangled and derivative manifestations of it. Leibnitz also, in the corresponding part of his work, behaves in a similar manner, only with more confusion and indistinctness. In the Appendix, I have I have fully considered how Kant confused and falsified the conception of the nature of reason. But whoever will take the trouble to go through in this reference the mass of philosophical writing which has appeared since Kant, will find out, that just as the faults of princes must be expiated by whole nations, the errors of great minds extend their influence over whole generations, and even over centuries; they grow and propagate themselves, and finally degenerate into monstrosities. All this arises from the fact that, as Berkeley says, “Few men think; yet all will have opinions.” The understanding has only one function—immediate knowledge of the relation of cause and effect. Yet the perception of the real world, and all common sense, sagacity, and inventiveness, however multifarious their applications may be, are quite clearly seen to be nothing more than manifestations of that one function. So also the reason has one function; and from it all the manifestations of reason we have mentioned, which distinguish the life of man from that of the brutes, may easily be explained. The application or the non-application of this function is all that is meant by what men have everywhere and always called rational and irrational.

Chapter 1
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Zindan valley is a national agricultural center. The vast cemetery abuts farmland used for crops and livestock. Indeed, until recently, the Zindan Central Cemetery itself had been farmland. Inevitably, goats and other animals from nearby farms and homesteads wandered into the cemetery. Local jokes about the Zindan goats' diet of plants fertilized by the dead soon evolved into ugly superstitious tales about the ill fortunes befalling those who ate the meat, or used the milk of Zindan goats.
The superstitions and scientifically unreasonable anecdotes spread and festered. Soon, it was not just Zindan's goats that were implicated in spreading the ill fortune of the dead, but cows and chickens too. Then the crops of the nearby farms. Then the entire output of the Zindan valley was, in the national imagination, somehow tainted by the internments in the cemetery.
A large fraction of our national exports come from Zindan. Historically, even small variations in the environment of the valley - an extra or missing centimeter of rain - can be linked to spikes and downturns in measures of the entire nation's economic health. Zindan's new reputation as a center of necro-tainted agriculture dealt a terrible blow to the economy.
National exports slowed. Internally, the flow of products from Zindan to the other regions dropped catastrophically. The currency plummeted. And plummeted again.
Once again, nobody seriously considered whether the problem Zindan Central Cemetery was built to solve - the problem of lofty internments - still remained a problem. Perhaps the mania of lofty internments had permanently ended, like a fire that burns intensely but briefly. Perhaps, the economic hardship caused by Zindan valley's new and unwarranted reputation as a source of corpse-tainted food, would have taught a generation of our people that the old ways were the best.
But the business of Zindan Central Cemetery was already a permanent feature of our economy. Saying we no longer needed Zindan Central Cemetery was unthinkable - akin to saying we no longer needed a capital city or a national railway.
Zindan Central Cemetery needed to exist in harmony with the rest of the national economy. Given this constraint, the solution was obvious. Build a wall around the cemetery.
If all that was needed was a way of keeping goats and cows out of the cemetery, then my daughter would still live in this world. But a simple fence would not solve the problem. The wall needed to loom larger in the national imagination than the hundreds of thousands of corpses leeching fluids into the soil and oozing the ill luck of the dead into anything that touched Zindan valley.
The wall's design and means of construction would indulge every known superstition about death and every tradition about the dead, no matter how old or obscure. It would rise exactly one hundred eleven meters tall. It would be tiled with black tiles on the outside and white within. The bricks would be formed so that the wall would have an odd number of courses. Even numbers, in the minds of some, containing ethereal holes through which spirits could flow. The texts of holy books and ancient symbols would be inlaid in the tiles. The gates in the walls to allow access within would be proportioned according to the ancient tenets. Totems of every variety were to be built onto the top, looking to the heavens, the Earth, and wherever else they needed to look to satisfy every system of beliefs and traditions that existed within our borders.
Tenders of incredible value were issued. Sons of families with construction concerns were married to the daughters of well-placed government officials. Daughters of businessmen were paired with unmarried officials themselves. My own parents came to be together through such an arrangement.
There were a few who foresaw the terrible problems that would one day arise as a consequence of the wall's construction. Botanists and insect phrenologists spoke out, in their way. But what chance does a polite cough from the back of a large room stand against the vast fortunes to be made from the wall’s construction? How could heavily caveated and vague warnings about the possibility of eventual, potential problems compete with enormous, already-awarded tenders cemented with family ties?
The wall was built. The goats stayed on the outside, and the reputation of Zindan's agricultural output was rehabilitated. For years, the dead passed through the gates in the Cemetery's great wall and our family happily interred them. And the seeds of the terrible problem that would ultimately destroy our family began to sprout.