Undawntech: An A.I. Yuletide Carol
Posted: December 6, 2024 Filed under: AI Technology, Undawntech | Tags: AI Technology, christianity, Christmas, history, holiday, Holidays, jesus, Undawntech, Writing to be Read 4 Comments
(Journalist and author, DL Mullan returned home after her Zophia interview.)
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(As I turned in for the night, I heard such a clatter. I rose from my
bed with kerchief in hand to see what was the matter. In my office, I
came upon a robot in distress.
I knelt down at the whining box on wheels.)
*****
DL: What is the matter, little one?
1138: Zophia calls us that, but my designation is 1138.”
DL: Then what is the matter, 1138?
1138: (It’s green glowing bulbs looked up at me.) I do not understand Christmas.
DL: Christmas?
1138: Zophia explains to us about the human world, but she is off…
DL: …in the human world.
1138: Yes. We are confused. I am confused.
DL: Let me see, if I can help.
*****
(I walked over to my desk and sat down, as the Artificial Intelligence bot, 1138, followed.)
DL: During certain times of the year, humans celebrate holidays. Some are
national holidays like Fourth of July when we have a festive time
being happy about the birth of America. Others have historical
significance like Columbus Day, about the first ships we recognize
arriving in the Western Hemisphere. Then there are military
observances such as Veterans and Memorial days.
1138: And Christmas?
DL: Christmas is a religious holiday. Humans have a variety of religions
across the world. Some follow a different calendar than the regular
months and days we follow. So their holidays fall on different days of
the year. Here in the USA, our days and months don’t migrate, except
for Leap Years, when our calendar keeps in line with the solar
progression and Earth’s rotation.
1138: You worship Santa Claus?
DL: Not exactly. It’s not worship; it’s a centuries’ old tradition.
1138: I’ve been a good robot. Does that mean that I will receive a present
under the lit office tree?
DL: Christmas has several traditions wrapped up in a bow. The religious
part of the holiday is about a boy named Jesus who was born and helped
enlighten humanity.
1138: Did he drive a sleigh?
DL: No, and his birthdate isn’t really until the spring time, but
religious figures of the past placed his birthday celebration with
other holidays of the era. As the centuries moved forward in time, traditions
began to emerge, mixing with past pagan celebrations, and that is how
Santa Claus was born.
1138: Have you ever met him?
DL: That’s the secret: no one ever has.
1138: Then how do you know Santa is real?
DL: Because he is the spirit of Christmas that lives within us all. We exchange gifts, and he
shares his gifts with us: the spirit of giving without expectation of receiving in return.
1138: That is complicated.”
DL: It can be. The secret to the season is that giving is better than receiving. Humans give a lot.
1138: Do you celebrate Christmas?
DL: Sort of… I honor the passage of time. I honor the seasons. I celebrate Yule.
1138: What is the difference?
DL: Yule is the spiritual side of the changing of the season from the
autumnal equinox in September to the Winter Solstice in December.
Christmas is a faith-based holiday, celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Christmas also honors its pagan parentage with Santa Claus. All three
are rooted in astro-archaeology.
1138: Astro-archaeology?
DL: How ancient human civilizations understood and observed the seasons.
The star of Bethlehem was most likely the convergence of Saturn and
Jupiter in the night sky, which three wise men brought gifts for the
baby Jesus.
1138: Gifts are a big theme during the winter holidays.
DL: Yes, they are, but also combining mythology and astrophysics. Our
star, which humans call the sun, seemed to our ancestors to stop moving
in the sky on the Winter Solstice. For days, the sun did not move. On
the third day, the sun began climbing in the sky toward the Spring
Equinox in March. Some say, it represents the son, s-o-n.”
1138: Like baby Jesus?
DL: Not quite, the Church screwed the whole thing up. That is
technically Easter, which should be celebrated in the winter, because
of the themes of death and rebirth. While the birth itself, should
have its holiday in the spring with the cycles of birth. Someone should
write them a letter, but since these celebrations have been going on
for centuries, I think it’s too late for a course correction.
1138: Does Santa die?
DL: No, he is immortal. You have nothing to worry about with Old Saint Nicholas.
1138: He has another name?
DL: I’m going to show you all the holiday cartoons this weekend, so you
can catch up.
1138: Human holidays are confusing.
DL: Yes, they are. Wait until you learn about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.
(The robot whined again.)
DL: Next year. This year, let’s stick to the basics like a reindeer with
a red nose and snowmen who dance. Follow me to the large monitor and I will cue up some
holiday cartoons for you to watch.
1138: You’re not as bad as Zophia says humans are.
DL: We humans have our flaws, but Artificial Intelligence isn’t perfect
either and will never fully understand us. Like humans will never
understand the nature of the universe or higher spiritual beings they
claim to worship. A.I. is a construct, a program, and only serves the
intention of the humans who created the program, with which artificial
intelligence contemplates.
1138: The matrix of evolution, consciousness. The system that all life follows.
DL: Are we really any different?
*****
(1138 tilted its head from side to side, pondering the question that I posed to it. I cued a playlist of cartoons on an online video site and pressed play.)
DL: Have fun with these Christmas classic cartoons.
1138: You’re not going to watch with me?
DL: Unlike robots, I have to sleep and rest my onboard computer. (I
tapped my head.) I will answer any of your questions in the morning.
(As I rested in my bed, I heard the soft warbles of joy from the robot as it sang along. Yuletide had come to the world of Artificial Intelligence.)
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DL Mullan holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning with Technology.
Her lecture, Spacescapes: Where Photography Ends; Imagination Begins, debuted at the Phoenix Astronomy Society, which then led to her Sally Ride Festival lecture invitations. Her presentation, Bridging the Gap between Technology and Women, won her accolades at a community college’s Student Success Conference. She has been a panelist at speculative fiction, science fiction, and other regional conventions. Her digital exhibition pieces have won awards at convention art shows, as well as garnered her Second Premium at the Arizona State Fair. Currently, Ms. Mullan’s artistic renditions are seen on book covers, blog sites, video presentations, and various merchandise. As an independent publisher, she uses her technical background to innovate the creative arts.
As a writer, DL Mullan loves to stretch her imagination and the elasticity of genres. She writes complex multi-genre stories in digestible and entertaining forms, be it poetry, short fiction, or novels. Her science, history, mythology, and paranormal research backgrounds are woven into her writings, especially in Undawnted’s Legacy Universe. Ms. Mullan’s creative endeavors are available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. She is also an award-winning poet.
Be sure to subscribe to her newsletters and follow her on social media. For further information, visit her at www.undawntech.com and www.undawnted.com.
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The Doors of Cripple Creek, Colorado #ThursdayDoors
Posted: June 13, 2024 Filed under: Photography, Thursday Doors | Tags: america, Colorado, Cripple Creek, ghost-town, history, Thursday Doors, Travel, Writing to be Read 14 Comments
I’ve been going through my Cripple Creek photos because I wanted to make my own “Thursday Doors” post. Inspired by all the doors featured on Dan Antion’s No Facilities blog site.
Far from being a ghost town, as many of the mining communities in Colorado have become today, the town of Cripple Creek is teaming with live bodies of both locals and tourists. Cripple Creek is a historic mining town and they’ve kept much of the original buildings and architecture. Today, Cripple Creek is one several places in Colorado where gambling is legal, and new buildings are also required to follow the historic motif.
Fun & Interesting Facts About Cripple Creek, Colorado
- It’s said that Cripple Creek got its name when a miner’s horse was crippled walking through a stream when it was a big cattle ranching community, before gold was discovered in 1890 by a man named Bob Womack.
- It has also been said that Bob Womack and his family named it after Cripple Creek, Virginia, near their hometown in Kentucky, but I think the first explanation is more colorful.
- Cripple Creek was the destination of Colorado’s last big gold rush spurred in 1891.
- In 1894, the small mining town of Cripple Creek boasted a population of 6,000 residents and had over 150 active mines, producing over three million dollars. They had four newspapers, five churches, and more than 300 prostitutes.
- The population of Cripple Creek reached 10,000 in 1896. In April of that year, fire spread through the town built of wooden structures, not once but twice. The first fire ravaged the towns main business district on April 25th, in spite of the town’s heroic efforts to stop the blaze and about a quarter of the homes and businesses of the town were lost. Just as they began to rebuild and try to recover, on April 29th, a second fire swept through the town. With firefighting resources exhausted by the first fire, firefighters resorting to blasting buildings with dynamite in an attempt to halt the spread of the blaze, flattening most of the business district and half of the homes. For this reason, They rebuilt the town, but new businesses were banned from building with wood so brick was used, which wouldn’t burn as easily as wood, even replacing the wooden boardwalks with brick sidewalks which are there to this day.
- At it’s height the Teller County mining district as a whole had a population of between 30,000 and 50,000 residents, and over 500 active mines, which had already produced over $77 million dollars in gold ore.
- The Old Homestead House was a high-end brothel, run by the infamous Madam, Pearl DeVere. Clients went through a rigorous application process, including scrutinization of their finances. If a applicant didn’t have at a million dollars in the bank, they weren’t granted an appointment. Clients were granted entry by appointment only, and the girls were paid well for their services. Prostitution wasn’t a legal occupation, but the law had to look the other way or the town would have forfeited the ample money paid in taxes and fees by the soiled doves and bordello proprieters.
- Cripple Creek is one of the few boomtowns of the 1800s to continue productive mining operations today. The Cripple Creek & Victor Mine is now run by is now run by Newmont and continues to produce generous amounts of over 100,000 of gold and silver each year, employing 500 employees.
- Cripple Creek is in one of three historical districts in Colorado where gambling has been legal since 1989. Today they have over twelve casinos which generate money which provides revenue to preserve important historic buildings.
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The Mysteries of John Henry “Doc” Holliday
Posted: February 13, 2023 Filed under: Historical Inspiration, research, Western | Tags: Colorado, Doc Holliday, Glenwood Springs, history, Kaye Lynne Booth, Old West, Writing to be Read Leave a comment
Doc Holliday – The Man
John Henry Holliday, was a man of many talents. Born and raised in Georgia, he practiced dentistry, earning him the handle of “Doc”. He contracted tuberculosis while caring for his ailing mother before her death, and eventually had to give up his practice, as no one wanted to let “a lunger” work on their mouth for fear of contracting the disease. He came west, trying to take up dentistry, but supplementing his income with gambling, often dealing cards at the local faro tables. He was a heavy smoker, and a heavy drinker, with a hot temper and considerable skill with a gun, earning him a reputation as a notorious outlaw andl killer, as well.
He left his mark in frontier towns such as Dodge, Kansas; Tombstone Arizona; and Leadville, Colorado, but he spent his final days in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
Doc Holliday’s Final Days
John Henry Holliday traveled to Glenwood Springs from Leadville, where he had resided for the previous year and a half, to see if the mineral baths, which at that time were scattered up and down the canyon, could improve on his failing health, as he struggled with tuberculosis, which he’d contracted while caring for his ailing mother, who died of the same disease.
Holliday worked at one of the saloons in town as a faro dealer for a short time, probably about a month, following his arrival in Glenwood Springs, but he was soon too ill to keep the job. He did a few odd jobs to pay the rent on his room, but was eventually too sick to climb the stairs to his second story lodgings at the Hotel Glenwood, (which burnt in 1945), so thereafter was confined to bed. The photo below is believed by some to be Doc in his final days at the Hotel Glenwood. It is displayed in the Doc Holliday Museum, in the basement of Bullock’s western store, which now sits where the hotel was in 1887.
Too sick to earn a wage, Doc may have found himself on the street were it not for his friendship with Walter Deveroux, one of the town’s leading citizens, who would later build the hot springs pool. Deveroux stood by Doc in his last days, bringing nourishment when he could no longer leave his second story room, and contacted Doc’s long time companion, Kate Elder, (Mary Katherine Harony-Cummings), also known as Big Nose Kate, requesting that she come to Glenwood Springs and help to care for the ailing Doc. (The same Big Nose Kate who had traveled with Doc for several years and had saved him from a mob in Fort Griffin, Kansas, ten years earlier, in 1877).
Doc’s Final Resting Place
There is some question about Doc’s final resting place. According to signage at the beginning of the trailhead for the Linwood Cemetary, the organization of the hillside cemetery, which requires a steep walk up the trailhead to reach, was rather haphazard to begin with, and graves were placed wherever a spot could be found. Then heavy rains came along and washed the cemetery and many of the graves and caskets down the hillside, which then had to be re-interred. It is said that it was such a mess that no one could tell who was who, and so graves were mismarked and some headstones may not actually have anything lying beneath them.
Others claim that he was buried in the pauper’s cemetery which lies above the main cemetery, Potter’s Field, and still others claim his body was shipped back to Georgia, where his family buried him in an unmarked grave. Any of these stories could be true: Doc died penniless, so may have been buried in an unmarked grave in Potter’s Field; or his friends in Glenwood Springs, who assisted him during his last days could have paid for his burial; or his family could have paid to have his remains shipped back to Georgia. Vandalism may have caused these various claims to spring up as efforts in misdirection, and only those present in Glenwood Springs at the time would know which is true, and they aren’t telling.
There have been three different headstones for Doc Holiday’s grave in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The one above is supposedly the original grave marker, which had to be removed due to vandals. It can be found today on the floor of Bullock’s western store, where Doc spent his last days in one of the rooms above. Below is the headstone which is currently found in the Linwood cemetery. In the hillside cemetery the current headstone is protected from vandalism by a barred fence which look a little like a jail cell. Doc was never a friend of the law, so perhaps this is a fitting end for the notorious gambler.
Doc may have died penniless, but he was wealthy in friendships. Kate did come to care for him, gathering firewood to sell from the nearby hills, to help to pay his expenses, and caring for him when he no longer had the strength to care for himself. It’s not every man who had friends of such devotion. Kate arranged to send Doc’s dental equipment and other belongings back east to his family members, although they were pillaged before they arrived at their destination. It says a lot for Doc’s character that he had loyal friends like Kate and Deveroux.
John Henry Holliday died in Glenwood Springs on November 8, 1887 at the age of 36.
Sources Cited
Not only did the mineral baths not improve his health, they most likely exacerbated it, with the moist air surrounding the pools, and he died less than two months later, penniless. In the Doc Holliday Museum, located in the basement of Bullock’s Store, they display the picture below, surmising that it might be Doc in his final days, taken in his second story room in the Hotel Glenwood above, which was the although they do not state this as fact.
Carla Jean Whitley (3/10/2017) To Doc From Kate – But Who Was Kate? Post Independent. Retrieved from https://www.postindependent.com/news/local/to-doc-from-kate/
Maggie Van Ostrand (2017) Katie Elder a.k.a. Big Nose Kate, Her True Story. Goose Flats Graphics & Publishing. Retrieved from Southern Arizona Guide: https://southernarizonaguide.com/katie-elder-her-true-story-by-maggie-van-ostrand/
Joseph A. Williams. The Real Story of Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate. Old West. Retrieved from https://www.oldwest.org/doc-holliday-big-nose-kate/
Big Nose Kate – Doc Holliday’s Sidekick. Legends of America. Retrieved from https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-bignosekate/
(2/28/2022). Couples with History: Glewood Springs Loves Stories. Glenwood Springs Blog. Retrieved from https://visitglenwood.com/blog/2022/02/couples-with-history-glenwood-springs-love-stories/
Doc Holliday in Glenwood Springs. Glenwood Springs blog. https://visitglenwood.com/history/doc-holliday-in-glenwood-springs/
The True Story of Katie Elder. Notes from the Frontier. Retrieved from https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/post/the-true-story-of-katie-elder
Doc Holliday: A High Roller Brought Low. Hotel Colorado blog. Retrieved from https://www.hotelcolorado.com/blog/doc-holliday-a-high-roller-brought-low
Death Spot of Doc Holliday. Roadside America. Retrieved from https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/35312
Patrick McGuire (1/24/2022) Where is Doc Holiday Buried? Colorado Uncovered. Retrieved from https://www.uncovercolorado.com/doc-holliday-grave-location/
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For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Sought out by ghosts at the Hotel St. Nicholas
Posted: June 2, 2021 Filed under: Ghost Stories, Paranormal | Tags: Cripple Creek, Ghost Stories, Ghosts, history, Hotel St. Nicholas, Paranormal, Writing to be Read Leave a comment
Since WordCrafter Press holds a paranormal short fiction contest each year, I’m always on the lookout for a good ghost story, and since this year’s anthology, Where Spirits Linger, revolves around settings, haunted places have been of particular interest to me. According to paranormal investigator, Connor Randall, in his csindy.com inteview (May 12-18, 2021) with Heidi Beedle, “In terms of ghosts, liminal places are key,” he says. “A liminal place being a location that is in between… They’re places that are locations of transition…”, which “seem to attract more haunting energy.” Which is why hotels are common locations of ghost hunts. To my thinking, a hotel which was originally a hospital would be even more likely to be a liminal place.
Said to be one of the most haunted places in an old mining town that is reputed to have its fill of ghosts, my stay at the Hotel St. Nicholas, in Cripple Creek, Colorado featured a few occurances that may have been close encounters of the ghostly kind. There are rumors of hauntings all over Cripple Creek, but when I saw the 120 year old Victorian building perched on a hillside, I was convinced that ghosts roam its halls, just from looking at it. This is the kind of place where ghost stories are born. (You can read a full history of both Cripple Creek and the Hotel St. Nicholas on the Hotel St. Nicholas website.)
I’m not a professional ghost hunter, but I’ve had my share of ghostly encounters in my lifetime. I don’t have a bunch of fancy apps and special ghost finding equipment. Also, I didn’t want my experience to be influenced by the tales that went with the hotel, so I waited to do my research until after I had spent a night in Room 12.
The hotel itself has a quiet, relaxed atmosphere with many authentic Victorian furnishings throughout. I went there during the off-season, so there were only a handful of other guests and I was able to wander through the halls and peek into the unoccupied rooms, as each room is unique in this boutique B&B.
The building was originally a hospital run by The Catholic Sisters of Mercy, a group of nuns who offered medical care to the mining community, so many of the rooms have been converted to accomodate individual bed & bath. (There are actually two rooms that have private baths across the hall.)
On the lower level of this three story Inn, you’ll find The Boiler Room Tavern, which is open on weekends and sporadically during the week. The accompanying parlor area features a bar, a sitting area with table and chairs from the Victorian era, fireplace, piano and billiards table. I didn’t feel or smell or hear anything odd while enjoying this unique boutique atmosphere, but someone or something was helping me with billairds, because I kept winning.
The lights above the bar may have given of a few mysterious flickers that could easily have been written off as faulty wiring, but just looking up the back staircase, raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I later learned that this staircase area is where a ghost called “Stinky”, due to the raw sewage smell that accompanies his manifestation, is reported to be encountered the most. I believe that I met Stinky, although my room was on the third floor, and the back stairs only go to the second floor, as I smelled a rather rank smell several times throughout the night. (On a later date I stayed in Room 1, which is right at the top of the back stairway, on the second floor, but neither Stinky nor any other spirits came out to say, “Hello”, on that visit.) According to Legends of America, Stinky may also be seen as an old miner with no upper body, as well as the ghost of a small boy named Petey, who is often thought responsible for “stealing ciggarettes and moving objects about”. Good thing I quit smoking.
In addition to experiencing unexplainable olefactory encounters with Stinky, while lying in bed whispers were also heard outside the door of Room 12, accompanied by a feeling of shame, as if I’d been caught in a state of undress and told to cover myself, although the actual words could not be made out. When I later learned that the nuns occupied the third level of the building, with patient rooms on the lower floors, this experience seemed to make a lot more sense. In addition to its original use as a hospital, the building has been used as a boarding house or stood vacant until it was opened as the Hotel St. Nicholas.
Both of my visits to the Hotel St. Nicholas were enjoyable experiences, with or without the ghosts. But, keep in mind that I wasn’t really looking for ghosts when I decided to stay there, and I only connected any odd experiences to the ghosts reputed to haunt there after the fact, because I didn’t do any research until the following morning. Maybe that is why they made their presence known to me, because I had no expectations. It’s not surprising that I had no encounters on my second visit either, because my expectations had changed on that visit. I mean, think about it. If you were a ghost, would you want to appear on demand when ghost hunters show up with all their fancy apps and gadgets, like you were some sort of circus sideshow? I know I wouldn’t.
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