001. Morozov

We first became aware of the Constant state via a folio of notes written by Dr Adrik Morozov.

The contents of the folio were initially thought to be an author’s preparatory notes; information and research for a work of science fiction.

It became apparent, several years later, that the folio and its contents were, in fact, a project journal of sorts. They documented the unusual story of Dr Adrik Morozov and the events which led up to his discovery of the Constant State.

The initial assumption that the notes were fictional was largely due to descriptions of events, particularly dates. Though many of the pages, clippings and notes are undated, the folio can be organised into a general chronology, beginning in 2872 and ceasing in 2885; over eight hundred years in the future.

There are several references in the folio to geographical regions familiar to us, and some political and cultural events which align with events here on Earth. There are, however, mentions of places, objects and – most alarmingly – minerals and synthetic materials, which are alien to us. One material, referenced as being commonly used for residential and industrial construction “since the eighteenth century” simply does not exist in our world.

The folio documents Morozov’s efforts to build a prototype housing development in the province of Tiksi, Russia. In Morozov’s world, there is a global energy crisis. Fossil fuels have been completely depleted, and the means for harnessing renewable forms of energy are generally only available to the richer classes. Tiksi, located (as it is in our world) on the Arctic Tundra, experiences the phenomena of ‘polar night’ and ‘midnight sun’; where half of the year the sun shines continuously, whilst the remainder of the year is spent in darkness.

Morozov believes he has discovered a way to create dwellings which could harness the heat of the sun, store it and convert it to thermal energy; enough energy to see the dwellers through the harsh, dark winter months.

The folio charts the progress of the project, sporadically, from initial sketches and ideas through to the construction and finally, ends as Morozov is about to begin a self-imposed test – living inside one of the dwellings for the period of ‘midnight sun’.

The folio also contains press clippings and documents which occur after Morozov’s self-isolation, which leads us to believe that Morozov passed the documents to another party, who continued to document and collect information relating to the project.

After enclosing himself in his proto-dwelling in April of 2879, Morozov was never seen again. At the end of the period of ‘Midnight Sun’, Morozov’s dwelling was unsealed and found to be completely empty.

The final dated document, from 2885, reports that a geological survey of the area where Morozov’s dwelling still stood, found that, while the building could be seen and touched, did not ‘exist’ and could not be ‘recorded’ on any of the scientific apparatus used by the geological survey team.

Initially, it was widely believed that the folio itself; a collection of notes, photographs, documents and clippings; was a painstakingly prepared work of fiction, designed to create the illusion of authenticity. As such, the folio gathered dust in a Wunderkammer of a German collector for many years.

That all changed when new communication was received from Morozov himself, from the Constant State.