The books “SuSAn” and “Time of the Stones” describe a computer called the Stone, which stores the records of our civilization. It is placed on a remote hill high in the mountains at the headwaters of the Long River.
Yesterday I went to the real-world place that inspired the setting. It was sort of a spiritual journey. I knew of the place only through the Internet, but I wanted to put my feet on it, in the exact spot where the Stone would go.
Getting there was difficult. Even though satellite seemed to show a road all the way to the hill, in reality it was only suitable for an off-road vehicle. Our little VW Jetta just couldn’t handle it. We parked about a mile away and hiked in. The sides of the hill were near 45 degrees, so we had to crawl up some 300 feet.
The book describes a mountain glade 50 to 100 meters wide. The real-world glade was only a few meters wide due to the sharpness of the hill. Attached are photos of the ridge, my son standing in the glade where the Stone would be, and a view down the valley toward the town.
I will give $50 to the first person who names the real-world town, and another $50 to the first person who gives the GPS coordinates of the glade. From time to time I will give more clues until the prizes are claimed.
