Missed Opportunities and Progress!

   I amaze myself sometimes with my foresight. This notebook has been a suitable anchor so that I know whether I am in the Dream or not. We just used a number of portals and doorways that led to places I could imagine in the Elder Dream. The Void Ruins were particularly exciting even if I never found out how these tools get used. And I'm quite certain the Thinker's Core works off properties of the Elder Dream. I wonder if I can dig into its mechanics for a bit. The Thinker wouldn't mind, as it is quite inoperable at the moment.
 
   I believe I'm becoming quite proficient at understanding and modifying the refuse of the Ancients' tek. Even biological creatures offer fantastic opportunities. A monstrosity that siphons heat inspired a neat little explosive that emits a gel that temporarily carries the same quality. If only I was able to work on the pesky evaporation, I'd be able to permanently chill something (and think of the experiments with that kind of implement)! I even got to inspect Kuno's person, though those notes are still be transferred to the lab.
 
   Another fascinating find of late was a collection of what could only have been Proto-gnomes! I didn't get much time to examine them, the ruins were flooded with jellyfish and constructs and debris was causing it to fall apart. I'm more than a bit jealous that Kuno's experiments yielded some results, though they were pretty simple. He just charged a matter replicator and made a couple of bars of currency. A bit safe for my tastes, but I can hardly compete. I might have been able to attach one of the souls to Thought if I just focused their core to the appropriate attunement....
 
They must of been used to power something, but we couldn't stay around to figure out what. This could be proof that Gnome kind was made as a power source for the Ancients machines...I wonder if I could tap into that source to power tek. Do modern gnomes still have that capacity? Better write down what I can remember of that device, maybe these tools will come in handy after all.
 
Oh and we've successfully collected two of the Obelisks keys. The last one was claimed by the force that controls the volatile gem creatures...quite an effective design so long that it can maintain the resources. But it is getting rather tiresome, can't it create organics that PRODUCE these crystals and lob them? Our lives are significantly beneath the designs of the Ancients, but it surely wouldn't take much effort to tinker a bit. I imagine that is why Gnomes were given access to the Dream; these machines can't hope to mimic our minds.