Re: CHAT: The centre of the temporal universe, was Translation relay

On Sat, 19 Jun 1999, Andrew Smith wrote:

> On Fri, 18 Jun 1999, Sally Caves wrote:
>
> > I'd like to visit, too!
> > I think they also visit the Tokana.  So where is Matt these days?? <G>
> > I hope having a fabulous vacation.
> >
> Among other alternative histories of the past and future.  How do the
> Teonim get all that material on cultures that exist on worlds without a
> Black Sea, the Charyans for example?
>
Indirectly. There's a flourishing academic discipline, Andology, which
centers at the university of Twincaster, in the North of England, but
there are also scholars studying Andal at the University of Aarhus, one
of the innumerable Parisian universities, and there used to be one in
Leyden. Since the middle of the last century, when the first manuscripts
were bought from Islam Akhun in the Gobi desert by the intrepid explorer
for the Russian court, Wladimir Odka [1], there have appeared at least a
thousand scholarly works, ranging from linguistics to musicology, not to
mention the output in periodicals. My personal bibliography database has
more than two-hundred items in it.

It is currently not known whether Andal still exists, and if so, where
in the universe it exists, but that'll hardly stop a dedicated scholar,
as long as there are manuscripts available.

[1] A very fine history of that stimulating period has been written by
Peter Hopkirk: 'Foreign Devils on the Silk Road', and is published by
Oxford University Press.

Boudewijn Rempt  | http://www.xs4all.nl/~bsarempt