Rime was an uninhabited Age of ice and snow that Atrus wrote in order to work with some crystals he had found that had some of the same properties as Linking Books. It was probably one of the last Ages he wrote while living in Myst.
History[]
Atrus found the age different from the others he wrote, even from what he expected or imagined while writing it. He enjoyed the change of temperature despite the extreme cold, and stood in awe of the never-ending snowstorm, but found the natural silence "suffocating".
After three visits, Atrus decided that the low temperature will provide the necessary environment for obtaining the correct resonance of crystals for an instrument for viewing across Ages. He begun construction, with the help of his sons. Achenar chose to stay with Catherine, but Sirrus was excited to come, enjoying the cold and ice and intrigued with the crystals they brought. He proved to be very willing and a tremendous help. Of particular interest to Sirrus was the periodic polar aurora.
When the tunnel was close to completion, Atrus set up a temporary space to protect the crystals from stimulation, and also employed geodes for stabilization and clearer frequency. Eventually he managed to capture a blurry image within a Book. He then resumed finishing the shaft to the observation post.
Later Atrus became tired by all his plans and longed for his family. While there, he dreamed of D'ni and wondered whether he could find survivors to rebuild it, but he would not return, unless he was sure that Gehn was trapped in Riven for good.
Eventually he managed to view another Age using the crystals, and started experimenting with Riven.[1]
With the help of both his sons, Atrus managed to almost finish the shaft and the observation post, which was much loved by Achenar, while Sirrus was consumed with studying the crystals and the Ages. After much experimenting with the crystal shapes, a nearly perfect view of an Age appeared, and the brothers were excited that they could see Channelwood or Stoneship, but the correct combination would require much experimentation by Atrus.
The brothers were much more interested in the aurorae; and In order to keep them excited and with him, Atrus considered triggering the effect artificially. Over three weeks, he and his sons erected electromagnetic towers for this purpose, and managed to create flashes of white lightning resulting to multi-colored waves of light. The awe-inspiring beauty was so impressive that they considered persuading Catherine to come and witness them.
Eventually Catherine was persuaded to come, with the hope to view Riven in the crystal viewer, and encouraged Atrus to uncover the combination. Atrus eventually left for Everdunes to fetch some crystals he left there.[2]
They were able to succeed in both making the crystals orient with other Ages and, eventually, to get Riven to appear in the viewer.
Following the escape and recapture of Gehn, Atrus visited Rime in order to watch his sons in Spire and Haven but he couldn't always see much and decided to redesign the viewer to achieve a tighter image. After some preliminary tests, he considered making a new viewer in Tomahna, artificially inducing cold temperatures. During his stay there, the aurorae made him remember the old times when he constructed the towers with his sons.[3]
The modified version of the crystal viewer is located in Atrus' laboratory in Tomahna. Atrus considered to take some attachments from Rime in order to make his new viewer change points of view.[3]
He went to Rime to pick some parts, but he was stranded in a snowstorm.[4]
Geography[]
A desolate Age of bitter cold, ice and snow, with "intricate feathers of ice" that fall from the sky. Its natural silence is broken by the occasional wind, and cries of unseen marine animals. The sky is constantly dark, except for occasional aurorae.[1]
Rime was most likely in its world's extreme polar region, since the sun is never visible on that Age.[5]
Atrus built an observatory on Rime, both aboveground and underground. To study them they constructed several large metal towers, used to conduct electricity from the water. The towers were powered not by stringing wires, but being conducted directly through the saline sea, allowing for greater distance from the observatory.[2]
In the severest of electromagnetic storms, passage between the room with the crystal viewer and the hut with the Linking Book was either impossible or else unsafe. [6]
Notes & Trivia[]
- An addition of the realMyst game over the original Myst version, this Age, also referred to as Snow Age, was hidden in a new puzzle on Myst Island. The Age was based on the "topographical extrusion test" found in the forechamber's imager in the original game.