URU Ages Beyond Myst Prima Official eGuide - All Things Uru

The CleftIntroductionIt's hard for me to remember the life I led before I started writing this book, and now that I'vefinished it, there's certainly no way I could go back to being the person I was. The things that I'mabout to describe—the things I actually experienced—are so unbelievable that most people who readthis book may think I'm either trying to fool them or that I've gone completely around the bend.I shouldn't let that bother me, but it does. I don't blame anyone who shares that opinion; on thecontrary, I understand, believe me. If you had told me a few months ago that just by writing the rightwords on the right paper with the right ink, you could explore an infinite number of worlds, I wouldhave handed you a dollar and told you not to spend it on booze. But now. . . .I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning. I used to write video game strategyguides—a good job, but not one known for having a high excitement factor, or even a highleaving-the-house factor. This suited me just fine; the outside world and I have never been on thebest of terms.My involvement with this book began a few weeks ago with an e-mail from an editor for whomI'd worked in the past. She had another project to offer me: some sort of travel journal for a placecalled "D'ni," and she asked me to call her immediately.A travel journal? I'd never written a travel journal before. I had no idea how to even begin such atask. I could barely handle sending postcards while on vacation. And besides, I'd much prefer a jobthat I could do from home. If pressed, I'd have to admit that there was something about the offer thatpiqued my interest, something I couldn't quite put my finger on. But as curious as I was about theproject, I knew I would have to turn it down. What business did someone like me have writingsomething like that?After several minutes of trying to figure out how to pronounce "D'ni" ("duh-NEE?" "DIN-nee?"),I made the call to my editor, quickly explained my concerns, and asked her if she really thought Iwas qualified to take on the project. To my dismay, she'd anticipated that very same question and hada ready answer."Did you ever play the PC games Myst and Riven?" she asked."Sure, me and about a billion other people," I replied."Well, this D'ni is supposedly where the guys who made those games got their ideas from.There's a group called the D'ni Restoration Council, and they're opening some of the areas of D'ni toa few explorers. We've got exclusive permission to send someone down and write a book about it,and since you're already familiar with the Myst games, I think you'd be a good fit."Now, freelance writers who don't work don't eat, and freelance writers who make a habit ofturning down jobs for no good reason don't get offered work in the future. So with my best excuseshot down, I had no choice but to accept.