I'm just astounded that Karlin Maryk would be so accepting, without further question, of such a radical and expensive idea proposed by a Freshman Member.

I've been a Member, myself, of the Third Level Society for four years, and Karlin Maryk three years. But his leadership talent was what made me to help push for his election as the next Dungeonmaster two years ago, after Jon Beyon's departure. Karlin and I had been close friends up to that point, for he is also my roommate in House Fleming. And we grew closer ever more while I worked as an Administrator of the Cresca Sector of the Arturian Realm.

Just last month, we formed a coalition against a proposal in the Caucus to endorse Edward Jackson as the next Prime Minister of the Federal Estates of Retun. That proposal was made by Adam Mensley, a stout supporter of Jackson, firmly believing that Jackson would defeat the incumbent James Black, who was running on the Foundationist Party platform against the National Labor Party candidate, Robert Smith. We initially thought that an independent candidate of the National Diplomatic Party, a third party, would stand no chance of breaking the mold of a two-party dynamic already in place in the Republic. Of course, with the election at an equal tie between the three candidates, no one would have guessed that, with the courts calling recount after recount, we still don't know who our next Prime Minister will be.

But here we had Adam Mensley, thinking it a bright idea to have our Third Level Society Caucus vote to endorse Edward Jackson. True, the name of our Membership Body "Caucus" derives from the notion that the Society, early on, intended to establish an external voting group to influence legislative proceedings in the Council of Cabotton proper. That notion was shortly abandoned, though we kept the name, "Caucus."

Karlin and I met in our Common Room and came to the conclusion that we had trouble. Up to this point, the Society had never taken part in any external political matter, let alone a federal election. In fact, such is against our Principles. Also, on a national scale, the Third Level Society, a local presence at best, stands next to null in terms of exerting political influence on a national level, making Mensley's endorsement idea pointless. Furthermore, and most importantly, not everyone in the Society supports Jackson. So making a move like that would put the Society in danger of strife.

So during our meeting in our Common Room, we made a plan to generate flyers to get the Caucus to vote down Mensley's idea. We had many fellow Members pass these around and make pledges to us, but such efforts were in vain; the Caucus ended up supporting Mensley by a thin margin and voted in favor of endorsing Jackson.

It was embarrassing for us. Furthermore, Mensley called out Dungeonmaster Karlin Maryk over the Ticketer Public Section for exercising an opinion on this. This was most likely what got Karlin to invite me, after that Mensley endorsement vote, to make a joint statement with him to ensure the Society otherwise upholds traditions and trie to maintain neutrality in external political affairs going forward. We launched a subsequent pledge on this and convinced a large number of Members, having been opposed to Mensley, to not leave the Society.

Our resilience at that time last month was, I feel, the strongest chapter in our friendship.

But Karlin joined forces this month with this radical Freshman. I cannot fathom how Karlin does not understand what this will do to the Society. I am truly baffled.

The Freshman's name is Marcus Terrings, 23 years old, a student who graduated Cabotton University one year before me. I stand corrected when saying that, technically, he is not actually a Freshman. Terrings is a seasoned Veteran, but everyone in the Society thought he was weird. Even Jon Beyon, the radical inventor of the Jon Beyon Console, saw Terrings as a radical.

You see, Terrings is obsessed with astronomy, the stars, and the planets. There's nothing wrong with that. And he did point out that the Original Story telling of the fictitional establishment of the Arturian Realm involved a fifth layer, known as the Cosmoworld, of our multi-faceted Arturian Realm.

For context, our Realm is divided into four "Worlds": the Underworld, known as the Antecosmos; the Dungeonworld; the Terraworld, where most quests are carried out; and the Divineworld, where dwell the deity-avatars and their antics.

Terrings pointed out that, according to the Doctrine of the Beginnings of the Arturian Realm, which all of us refer to as the Original Story, but nonetheless which every Freshman Member is encouraged to learn when they first join, there is actually a fifth "World": the Cosmoworld. In that Cosmoworld are other globes similar to Arturia that are colonized by the Five Nations.

Of course, our actual Realm in which we engage our avatars consists only of Arturia, which is actually a grid; though we have "loop boundaries" at each of the four edges which help to simulate Arturia as a globe; and each of the Netherworlds in the Antecosmos has this as well. As for the Cosmoworld, our Algorithms Books acknowledge that such a Cosmoworld exists, though we do not have a Cosmoworld to access because building something like that is beyond our technological scope. Instead, we have algorithm-generated avatars that appear and disappear as if they are going to and from the aforementioned exoplanets; and we also have other back-dynamics embedded in our Algorithms Books to cast various influences and nuances upon our dymensional plane to help simulate as if Planet Arturia was one of many globes. But in reality, the Arturian Realm has been the only world in which we have engaged.

And Marcus Terrings was not satisfied with this, which is part of what makes him weird. All throughout his time in the Society, he obsessed over the existence of the Cosmoworld, and insisted that we make it a possibility. Honestly, there is nothing wrong with that except for the required fundamental changes to our dymensional plane, which are exhausting logistically, not to mention financially. So everyone else has been accepting of our current arrangement.

Nonetheless, Terrings persisted. He made proposals at every session, much to everyone's annoyance. Finally, it took Jon Beyon having a private conversation with him to get him to stop. That was two years ago. And stop he did, but then he held a grudge and renounced his Membership. We did not hear much from Terrings over the two years that followed other than that he decided to double-major in Astronomy and Dymensionalism. We found that a bit odd, owing to his fallout with us. But it turns out he had a plan.

Over this past summer and the last, Terrings built a device combining a planetarium machine with a dymensional frame. And he actually managed to create globular dymensional planes. Not just one but many, structured with smaller ones inside bigger ones.

This was unheard of. When Karlin and I first heard, we dismissed it as a rumor. Then we forgot about it as we were dealing with Adam Mensley. Last week, however, Terrings returned and approached the Bookkeeper to have our Caucus session on Wednesday September 5 dedicated as a venue for him to present his invention.

At first, I was curious about this, so I went. In fact, there were at least 500 people there to hear about this as well. And I will have to admit, what he presented was quite interesting. He designed a holographic dymensional plane, a globular one, of a system of stars, around each orbited six gas giants, and around each gas giant orbited six worlds that could hold the equivalent of a world like the Arturian Realm. His new machine, which he called a "Planetaryum," also consisted a fancy array of optical projection capabilities so that he could zoom out and show that the star system he showed us was, in fact, one of six orbiting a close-knit cluster of stars in the center.

Another feature of this globalur dymensional plane was its ability to condense itself to fit into a reasonably-sized frame, which is good considering how unbelieveably large it is. In fact, I was wondering how anyone would be able to navigate their avatar across its vastness without losing interest, when Terrings presented his next feature: the interglobal gyroship. This was like an airship, except it had the ability to travel through outer space from planet to planet. He demonstrated the gyroship's capability to "sprint" from one planet to another in the same star system, and then to "jump" from one star system to another. I almost laughed at this, not because I was unimpressed, but because scientists in recent years dreamed of the idea of building an airship capable of leaving our atmosphere in order to transit the void to explore our blue planetary neighbor: Nephina. Obviously, these were merely fantasies.

It's incredible, though, Marcus Terrings' globular dymensional plane. It really is. And Terrings really should get recognition for this. I believe there is no one else in history that has been able to craft a globular dymensional plane. And in fact, he did mention that he was being considered for an invitation to the Canticulan city of Cenofan, across the Ocean, for formal recognition from the international organization, Congress of Circlaria, for significant progress in the art of spellcrafting.

However, its implementation would fundamentally alter the well-standing political dynamics that exist both in the Arturian Realm and between Society Members.

When the Arturian Realm was initially conceived, Ivella Ogden and the other founders intended originally for the Realm to be a stratification of types of technology with a particular type to be made appropriate to the level in the political hierarchy. So the political hierarchy of the Arturian Realm is as follows: the Realm consists of five Nations; each Nation consists of Provinces; each Province consists of Counties; each County consists of Municipalities; and each County consists of commercial, military, governmental, or residential Plots. In fact, this hierarchy was inspired by real political hierarchies in the Retunian Republic, and our neighbor, the Kingdom of the Great North. And in terms of technology, it was originally intended that each Plot conveyed life in the Rope Age, like in ancient Remikra; that each Municipality conveyed life in the Water Age, like in ancient Wannonia; that each County conveyed life in the Steam Age, like in Remikra before the foundation of Combria in 1086; that each Province conveyed life in the Modern Age, like the world today; and that each Nation, and the Five Nations together in Arturia, conveyed life in a futuristic age of "gyro-mechanisation."

Such stratification was somehow maintained in that fateful TableQuest session back in 1243, apparently. But when put into practice in the implementation of the Third Level Society, things began to deviate fairly quickly.

First, the Members and avatars in the topmost hierarchy quickly abandoned "gyro-mechanisation." My guess was that it was too radical and abstract; so those members lost interest quickly and turned to the electric machines and vehicles, some turning even to the steam vessels.

It was with the Steam Age component that things changed the most. In building the Arturian Realm, and rebuilding it for the Society, its builders, especially Ivella Ogden, were made to deeply delve into the research of the Steam Age that happened in our world, which accompanied the days of prestigious global trade for the Kingdom of the Great North. In the course of research, the partakers became quite fascinated with the Steam World, both in terms of its technology and some of its political dynamics. And this gave rise to a rapidly-increasing base of Members considered to be "Steamsters."

Furthermore, many quest leaders and powerful questors had ascended to but largely remained at the County hierarchical level, thus incentivizing them to partake in the Steam Age component. This has been the case with every passing year. Members with avatars in the Province, Municipality, and Plot hierarchies gravitated to this "Steamster" base during this time, so that, even as early on as the latter half of Ivella Ogden's Dungeonmaster tenure, the Steam Age all but defined the Arturian Realm, and the culture of the Membership Caucus.

The "Steamster" culture knows no partisan boundaries, not from what I've experienced. I know both Traditionalists and Progressivists long seasoned by the "Steamster" fabric, and have steadfast passion for it as I do. It is the only thing, I feel, that keeps the Society from being ripped apart by the dueling Traditionalist and Progressivist camps. Jon Beyon endorsed it; in fact, he was the first to use the word "Steamster" and told us to boast that term with pride. That's why he got elected. And Karlin, as Dungeonmaster, tipped his hat to the "Steamster" title out of respect.

Marcus Terrings voiced annoyance at this early on, when he first joined. That's what made him all but an outcast. Though still a Member, he did not...shall I say...mesh with the fabric of the Society. He imposed his idea that we were "backward" and that the Society should "modernize" and convert into a dymensional world that "conquers the Cosmos with vessels to explore the Cosmos." We were all uncomfortable with this, because, obviously, that would render the "Steamsters" obsolete, thus giving opportunity for Traditionalist-Progressivist rivalries to fester. Jon Beyon made this clear to Terrings. But instead of voicing understanding, Terrings stormed out.

But now Terrings is back, and he is back with the same attitude. The only thing that's changed is his strategy. It works, too. I was quite fascinated with his invention, but unlike the other 200 or so people in the Caucus Chamber, I knew better than to simply buy into this and turn my back on the "Steamster" culture. To clarify, the Chamber, that night, was split evenly over the issue, causing me a bit of anxiety. However, I am not surprised, as there has been quite the influx of new Members from more distant parts of Remikra in recently.

That's the issue, though. Our country has, now, a more complete cable rail network than it did ten years ago. One can now travel by cable train without interruption between here and Savel on the West Coast, and even into the Great North. While I see that as an improvement, with cable rail travel having facilitated tourism and permanent relocation, we have seen, especially in the last two years, quite the influx of newcomers. And many of these have joined our Society, which now has about 900 Members. More than a fourth of our Caucus consists of Freshmen and young Veterans who would not have the audacity to vote out an unstable figure like Cray Fenton from the Dungeonmaster position should we encounter that again. We have more diversity, but we have less understanding of what the Society is and what it stands for.

That Saturday, I met with Dungeonmaster Karlin Maryk, for he was at Terrings' presentation as well, and saw the excitement displayed by the Members at simply embracing the radical change without considering the consequences. I hardly needed to mention to Karlin that not only would the undertaking incur enough costs to consider a loan from a financial institution, but also, atop having to face such a debt, our revenue would decrease substantially. Yes, we have 900 Members, but only a fourth of them are naive Freshmen in support of Terrings' idea while the remaining 75 percent is split almost evenly between the Progressivist and Traditionalist camps. And although I have gravitated toward the Progressivist camp in recent months, I am close friends to those who call themselves Traditionalists; and many of these Traditionalists, including significant Quest Leaders, threatened to leave the Society if the "Steamster" world was lost to Terrings' reforms. Thus, our resulting reduction in revenue would render us incapable of paying our debts and even risk forcing the Society to have to file for bankruptcy.

Karlin completely dismissed this concern when I told him.

In fact, he explicitly told me that he was elated. His excuse was that the Arturian Realm as it was has become "saturated with avatars, and that inter-avatar dynamics were turning dull."

"Terrings understands," Karlin told me. "We need to expand the 'playing field' many-fold."

"Are you out of your mind!?" I told him. "What you'll get is a mass-exodus of avatars rushing out into the Cosmos to explore the exoplanets. That means we will spread out and become separate...far too quickly!"

"Why are you concerned about that?"

"Why do you not understand!? That means smaller questing teams, meaning more rivalries between avatars and between Members. More division in the Society!"

"That's why we have Caucus meetings, Oscar. We Members always convene every Wednesday to discuss what is best for the organization. Also, more Members are going to be joining soon, which I'm sure will counterbalance any Membership exodus that may ensue."

I rose up out of my seat in rage to this. "So you're turning your back on the 'Steamster' community!"

"The 'Steamster' vibe will persevere," Karlin said calmly with a smile.

"On what hard proof do you base that claim?"

Karlin's smile got ever wider but still stayed innocent. "None, I will admit. But at the end of the day, though we all wish not to admit it, there is such a thing as blind faith."

I still am absolutely baffled at Karlin's ignorant attitude. He is becoming delusional like Cray Fenton. Even worse, while Cray Fenton's paranoia was seen a long way off, Karlin Maryk's attitude came out of nowhere. I just don't understand. In the time I knew him, he was the "Steamster" of all "Steamsters." We had a mutual pact to remain independent of the Traditionalist and Progressivist camps, even though I took a liking to a lot of what the Progressivists had to say and Karlin the Traditionalists. We had sense to not let this divide us or put our friendship in jeopardy.

Perhaps he is doing this to try and assert his independent stance, by coming off as a figure open to compromise. But to support this drastic change puts the "Steamster" culture, itself, in jeopardy. That was what kept us together, our mutual liking for "Steam." That was what kept the entire Society together. If this change goes through, I honestly do not know what the future of the Society will bring other than the grim prediction I'm conceiving at this time.

I've been in love with the Society. I feel that I am one with it. I would never imagine in my wildest dreams that I would ever think to separate from it. But honestly, if this storm comes to pass, I do not feel comfortable sticking around when the mighty walls come tumbling down.