The following is a description of what I have been calling a "Horatio"
(in my own mind). The reference is to the well-known line from
Shakespeare's _Hamlet_: "There are more things in heaven and earth,
Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Comments, adventure ideas, critiques, suggestions for improvement, all
are welcome - have at...

Singing Crystals

Where people of refined tastes go to meditate, "center", or otherwise
enjoy some quiet contemplation, Singing Crystals can be found. Those
who have them speak well of them, though no two ever seem to describe
them quite the same - even if they are speaking of the same specific
crystals.

Their origin is unknown. People who have them readily tell others
where they got them from, but the trail always seems to "peter out"
before finding an actual origin - providers have died or gone missing,
records lost or destroyed, and so on. Nevertheless, when a certain
kind of person expresses an interest in having them, there always
seems to be some available.

In a quiet room with a Singing Crystal set, people will hear music
emanating from them. The music is never detected by even the most
sensitive audio recorders, yet to the listener, they can be muffled or
blocked by wearing earplugs or other sound-blocking gear. Accusations
of the singing being a psionic phenomenon seem to be disproved, as
there are no alterations of brain activity characteristic of psionic
phenomena, and the sound is neither blocked nor affected by psionic
shields or similar technology. As usual, no two people, even
simultaneously, hear the same thing from the same set of Crystals;
most cannot identify the instruments they hear, even as to class
(wind, string, percussion, etc.); and the music, though never
perceived as random, is never of a recognized song.

The crystals seem sensitive to their environment, as well -
specifically, to electromagnetic radiation (at any frequency/
wavelength). Users report that if the Crystals are placed in a room or
area where the lights are harsh and flicker, or where they change
frequently, the resulting "music" will also be harsh and discordant,
and will not soothe the listener any more than the original
environment would have. If, on the other hand, the crystals are left
in a restful environment, with subdued lighting changing gradually and
"harmoniously", the resulting music will also be restful, harmonious,
and so on. Distance attenuates the effect of EM radiation on the
crystals' music, as does various forms of shielding.

In apperance, Singing Crystals appear much as clusters of large quartz
crystals
(http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ca/de/37/cade376f828ca7103adbf0ca7f045a9.jpg),
10-15 cm in diameter, and up to 20 cm high, normally colorless -
however, after being sited and left for about a week, they seem to
take on various colors that blend well with the dominant colors of the
area that they are in. The color may not be present in the area except
in the crystals' appearance, but there is no detected change in the
crystals themselves.

Crystals seem never to be available on the "open market" - that is,
you won't see them on display for sale in even the poshest of retail
establishments - but when a certain kind of person, who can truly
appreciate what the Crystals offer, develops a desire for a set,
somehow, an ideal set becomes available for them to purchase - at a
high price that nevertheless seems a bargain, and which no purchaser
has ever spoken about.

®Traveller is a registered trademark of
Far Future Enterprises, 1977-2016. Use of
the trademark in this notice and in the
referenced materials is not intended to
infringe or devalue the trademark.

--
Jeff Zeitlin, Editor
Freelance Traveller
    The Electronic Fan-Supported Traveller® Resource
xxxxxx@freelancetraveller.com
http://www.freelancetraveller.com

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