A few days after an announcement from Ikuro Kodama that the cavern would be closing, a strange KI message began to float around the cavern that read 02/09/04 The gathered will tell the path of the shell. 33359/ 58/ -81. What followed were the first steps of Yeesha’s second Journey, the Path of the Shell.
Two journeys, or perhaps just one Journey. Yeesha’s Journey and her Path of the Shell were both marked by symbols that outlined a message behind each. Yeesha Prime taught her followers about the Least. The Bahro; and their enslavement by the D’ni. The Path of the Shell’s message was far grander and abstract. Plenty of works have detailed the minutiae of each journey and its meaning so I will not expand much further. I only wish to draw attention to the symbols connected to these journeys.
Yeesha’ Prime was not only designated by five ages, but also the five lines used to make the hand. It doesn’t take much imagination to realize what each line represents. Furthermore, as enigmatic as the Path of the Shell is, it should be noted that the shell symbol can be drawn from the Yeesha hand by dropping the fingers and drawing a line connecting the thumb to the center of the spiral. This spiral is an important commonality.
An analysis of petroglyphs from around the world reveals the spiral to be a common motif; being one of the most ancient symbols. The spiral can represent many things including growth and awareness of the one in the context of the whole. The spiral also can be given the meaning of journey. Assuming that the spirals found in both journey symbols are not there by coincidence but to symbolically represent the meaning of the journey they represent then the altering of the Yeesha hand to the Shell symbol is as Yeesha said: a tying of the beginning to the end.
It is assumed that these cloths and the associated journey were the result of Yeesha and the bahro though I have found no direct confirmation. This assumption is supported by visible changes in one’s Relto after completing these ‘door runs.’ A comparison of this symbol with the previous two clearly shows the emphasis of the spiral in the design. This strengthens my belief that the spiral is meant to denote some sort of journey.
This brings me to the issue of Pantaleon and the associated cave ins. It is a commonly held belief by the explorer community that the cave ins and missing persons of the past year can be attributed to the activities of an explorer named Pantaleon. Tracing the root of this belief reveals that this story originates from The Cavern Today following an interview with Pantaleon. He claimed that his friends had been tricked into taking a journey they believed was meant to restore the Path of the Shell but would ultimately leave the cavern vulnerable to invasion from a conquering race. The story he provided is as unbelievable as the details concerning certain associated cave ins is disturbing.
His knowledge of the circumstances surrounds the cave ins, understanding of how the cave ins were triggered, and the continued absence of anyone who can verify his claims serve to. The explorers Esto, Dean, Adelia, and Laroon were all named by Pantaleon as being involved in this ordeal, but none have been seen in the cavern for quite some time. First to go missing was Dean; there were also rumors of Esto having fallen into madness. In the case of Adelia, her disappearance followed her recovery from injuries acquired during a cave in in descent that claimed the lives of many explorers. Following her disappearance, a community effort began in hopes of finding her. Again, Pantaleon can be found at the root as he is noted as organizing many of these searches.
Occam's Razor dictates that the the simplest explanation is often the most accurate. Are we to believe Pantaleon’s story of an elaborate deception put together by the leader of a race of conquerors or is it more likely that this tale was a fantasy of a deranged explorer. The crime of murder is an awfully heavy accusation to make especially in a community as tightly woven as the cavern community. In truth, we have no evidence of deaths or intent. The likelihood that Pantaleon is some sort of serial criminal with a penchant for elaborate story is as likely as the chance that his story is true. While he may believe his story to be true, the actuality of the events is probably somewhere in between these two options.
Having lost his credibility, Pantaleon has left for the surface. Any attempts at contacting him have been met with silence. His absence has lead to the proliferation of the story of “Panta in Takotah II.” The practice is regrettable, but it serves to educate and remind the explorer community of the recent tragedy and its perceived source.
The story Pantaleon gave to TCT involved an elaborate symbol that he described as a Triple Shell. Regardless of whether his story is true, I am curious to see if this symbol shares the similarities noted from earlier journeys. Finding a representation of this symbol in his notes could go a long way to revealing the truth of these events as similarities in the symbol may give weight and credibility to his story. In the case that the symbol does not share these qualities it is more likely that we can discredit his tale as fantasy.
One thing more. Jeremy Reinold has given me a page with an odd symbol upon it. Like the Yeesha hand, the Shell symbol, and the garden age symbol, this symbol shares the spiral motif. At first glance I found some familiarity in this design. After some research I find that it is strikingly similar to glyphs drawn by the Hopi on the surface. This "Hopi Spiral" is another curiosity I hope to investigate in the future. Perhaps some field work is in order.
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