We looked out upon the Basin as we stood along the Path of Dreams, glancing at our homes. As we came closer to doing what was needed as we listen to echoes on the wind coming from the city of Hallifax. As we turned to the floating city, we all knew what was being sent out. There were a few people that took our story, our science, and made a play about it. It wasn't half bad either bad either. The only thing it didn't tell was the ending about to happen. We smiled amongst ourselves as we listened, one last time, to the reactions that made it on the tail end of the production's resounding noises.

* * *

Tolagic's lab was shattered with notes and failed experiments. Pieces of broken crystal covered the floor, giving of a rainbow shine as the light from a nearby window cascaded into the room. Tolagic had been trying to better understand the condition that Chairman Cririk Adom was currently in. He believed it to be a temporal crystalline suspension. A sort of defensive action to save his aging body from decaying into nothing. He had a half dozen theories on the process. Ranging from that Cririk did it to himself to it being a system of the city of Hallifax to protect an important member of its collective.

Preserving something in crystal wasn't the hardest thing to do. Undoing it was just as easy. The tricky power was the time aspect. Even while preserved, the internal clocks still ticked along, however slow it may be. "Maybe if I create enough paradoxes, they will make it." Tolagic thought to himself as he pondered another way.

No matter what Tolagic tried, nothing produced a time freezing effect he wanted. The skills of Aeonics didn't help either. He could speed up time or slow it down. He even tried to consult a number of his future selves to see if he, in some time line, figured out the secret to freezing something in time. None of it worked. All timeliness that answered his called proved he had failed. The one thing he wanted to do was be known for being the one who figured out the temporal suspension magics. The city of Hallifax had been frozen in time for many decades. If such a secret could be unraveled and controlled with complete mastery, then such a power could be made into a useful weapon.

Tolagic was a loyal trill Sentinel, his smarts focused on the development of weapons and defense. Whenever there was a show to display what the greatest minds of the city created, he fashioned beautiful works that showed off that science clearly had a place within the military force, despite some of the more vocal minds that rallied for inventions that were peaceful. 

Last year was his preserving crystal casing. Promised to slow down the aging process of anything encased within it. It was decently popular for a few weeks, but quickly fell out of usage. This year was his plan to fashion the effect of Operation Crucible and Project Paradox into something the city could harness without any threat. However, given he couldn't access such levels of power first hand, he wasn't anywhere near he could present. Finally giving up for the time being, Tolagic left his lab and made his way to a walkway overlooking part of the city.

In another part of the city, doing her own work, was Symphonist Qebol. True to her guild, Qebol created many wonderful works of art. Her current project was to create physical sensations based on sound to make a truly stunning performance worthy of the Opera House and World Stage.

Crates of recording crystals were stacked in the corner of Qebol's room. Piles of different sheet music along with a few charts on studies detailing different memories and what reminds people of them. "This shouldn't be hard. Play a tune here, someone remembers that they were in a flower garden and they start smelling it." Qebol said aloud to herself. "but creating a single sensation that everyone has... Perhaps I should just enforce the sense directly instead."

* * *

The Grand Display of Creation preparations were underway. In a few short days, the city would be filled with people looking at the various projects the citizens of Hallifax had created. Spanning the four bridges around the Matrix to the area around the Spire of the Lawgivers, a number of stands were being set up for scientists and bards to claim to showoff their recent projects. Ministages were set up as well for those who needed acoustics. The deadline was quickly approaching, and any of those behind were hurrying along to finish last minute things they need.

Tolagic took a booth in the area above the Matrix, overlooking the city's southern sectors. His stand had a small dish with some silver liquid within it along with what looked like to be a tuning fork next to it. Off more towards the Institute, Qebol set up a odd tree looking thing with recording crystals embedded within the branches. The tree was completely without any leaves or buds, standing out rather strangely against the smooth gemstone that made up the area.

Tolagic's silver liquid was a modified version of his preserving crystal, allowing any thing to be encased with the tuning fork being how to break it. Not the temporal shell he was hoping for, but still note worthy to get some reward at the Grand Display of Creation due to the small line that formed to try out his invention.

Qebol didn't manage to get the desired results she wanted. Embedding the crystals in the tree and having them play invoked minor sensations but it was more from the tree display rather than the music itself. However, Qebol did manage to write a beautiful work of music still, using the location within the branches to cause minor echoes to the sounds that played.

The Grand Display of Creation went on for the month, voices of praise echoed softly around every corner. The less popular displays were the first to go down. Tolagic watched with a smile as his line started to shrink, the last of the people trying it out. He wasn't sure how, but as people were trying it out, an idea flickered into his mind. Scribbling a small note to save for later, he returned to showing off how anything could be coated with the fluid.

Qebol's musical tree was an alright idea, but nothing that got her the interest of the people she wanted. Concealing emotions was never her strong point. Perhaps it is want lead her to become a bard. The lack of interest mixed with the responses that no one experienced any thing physical beyond the hearing of the songs enraged her quite a bit. Picking up the tree, Qebol launched the potted thing off the edge of the city, sending it hailing down to the ground.

The last of the visitors to the Grand Display left the city and the removal of the booths finished as quickly as they were put up. Tolagic deposited his project back within his lab before heading back out to catch pigeons. Snagging a good dozen and placing them within cage, he hurried back to his lab. Taking one of the pigeons out of the cage and holding it carefully while using the other hand to pour the preserving liquid crystal down the animals throat, Tolagic closely watches the results of his idea.

"Maybe if I can safely preserve the insides, I can do it..." Tolagic said as he made notes as the vermin spasmed in pain on its side as the liquid harden within its body. It only took a few moments for the process to complete, the pigeon's insides were crystallised, it looking more like a taxidermy piece now. Tolagic picked up the tuning forked and lightly tapped it on the side of the table and held it to the break of the animal, the resounding vibration rang out within the bird's body, activating the liquidation of the crystal. Tolagic sighed at what he saw pour out of the beast. Diluted blooded mixed the crystal. The process killed the bird and his insides, not at all what he desired.

Several weeks later, and a few dozen pigeons, Tolagic still was only a bit closer to his dream goal. He managed to stop the crystal from destroying the organs on the inside but the life of the animal still lost its life the moment he poured the fluid inside. The secret to the not crushing the organs he found was a way to cause the liquid thin out and expand into the smaller cracks within the body. With this new form, Tolagic could not only use less fluid but also the crystal wouldn't be as thick but still providing the same amount of preserving coating. Having been at work most of the day, and running out of pigeons for the time, Tolagic decides to rest his mind and body, going to sleep.