A great deal has already
been written about the brand new Horizons sims and related experiences (including the official introduction by the Lab here),
but since they are technically a part of the Mainland, I couldn't just
ignore them here, now could I? Of course not! So, what exactly is Horizons? Teaser billboards featuring the image below starting popping up in Bay City and other places a few months back, and our resident Lindens and Moles were all busy with some reportedly huge, super-sekrit project. Well, that project turned out to be huge indeed — a new planned community comprised of thirty-six (!) residential sims surrounding a six-sim adventure experience.
Located just north of the continent of Zindra, all Horizons sims are adult-rated with a double-prim allowance. The residential areas are split into 1024 square meter parcels with a unique feature — they come with a "mailbox" controller which allows the owner to rez one of six houses (see examples pictured below — all of which reminded me, in a good way, of "The Jetsons"), and these houses do NOT count against your land's prim allowance! In addition, the homes come with "resource packs" containing items you can use in your house and on your land. Similar to what happened when Bay City was introduced, Horizons parcels began to be auctioned off by the Lab in mid-November. When you visit the residential sims today, you'll find a mix of parcels up for auction and parcels for sale by owner. In addition to the private parcels, two large community centers and four infohubs provide areas for residents to socialize, learn about how to buy land or use the mailbox controllers, or allow them to enter the other part of Horizons, the experience area. If you are curious about the residential areas, you can start your explorations at the community center at Themis, located here.
The Horizons Experience is literally central to this new venture. The residential sims completely surround the six experience sims, the entrance of which can be seen below. One can choose to enter as a player or as an observer, although the same dangers apply to both. If you choose to "play" the experience, you will receive a HUD at the entrance which will guide you through five quests and a variety of terrains. You can return to the entrance to claim any prizes you've gathered along the way. Each quest must be completed before you can progress on to the next.
The first region in the Horizons experience is pictured below. As a Wild West landscape populated by robots, I can't help but be reminded of HBO's incredibly popular current series, Westworld, but at least in Horizons you can distinguish the robots from the avatars! Whether you choose to enjoy the gaming aspect of the experience, or you decide to become a "homesteader" and help to start the new Horizons community as a resident, or if you just want to visit to enjoy the gorgeous handiwork of the LDPW moles, I'm sure you'll find, like I did, that Horizons is a true treasure and a welcome addition to the wild frontier that is Second Life Mainland.
And so, from Sansara, the oldest of the ten main continents, we travel today to Zindra, the newest. "Oh, Zindra!," I hear you thinking, "now THAT should be interesting!" Sorry to disappoint you, folks, but we're going to church. The First Church of Rosedale (Immersionist), to be exact. Samantha Poindexter, pastor, met me in front of the chapel to give me the Good News about Philip.
Dedicated to the worship of Second Life founder Philip Rosedale (Philip Linden), the tiny chapel is perched on a hill on a charming parcel in Rhianna, and according to Samantha, has been there "since the Rapture brought us to Zindra in July of 2009. Before that," she goes on to say, "we spent a couple months at the top of a mountain on the mainland; before that, Caledon Penzance. The Penzance founder's plaque above the doors on the inside may well be the only one on Zindra." ("The Rapture" is how Samantha refers to the removal of all adult parcels from other mainland locations to Zindra upon its creation.)
The building is adorned with beautiful stained glass windows (see picture, below), alternating images of Philip (no bejeweled codpiece in sight, sadly) with images of stacked prims, the original building block of Second Life. While Samantha no longer holds regular services in the chapel, people still visit to pay their respects. "Awhile back I found a photo on Snapzilla of a wedding that apparently took place here, which I wouldn't otherwise have known about," she said. In addition, several St. Torley's Day celebrations have been held at this location, during which the stained glass windows are changed out to reflect Torley's image in pink and green splendor.
When asked what gave her the idea for the church, Samantha said, "The T-shirts came first. I started with a couple based on the premise that, in SL, Philip Linden was God, and then I got ideas for more, and then the joke totally ran away with me. Or the spirit moved me; take your choice." The t-shirts she is referring to can be found at Samantha's Shirts in Vicina (see my favorite, below). The shirts are all pay-what-you-want sharewear, and although they are old-school system shirts, Samantha mentioned that she was looking into updating them with applier kits.
"Philip Himself once
put a few L$ in the collection plate when I was offline, and I was
rendered speechless for about 20 minutes when I saw the notification,"
recalls Samantha. If you enjoy your visit, and wish to support the chapel as well, the collection plate is located on the front step.
Samantha's disclaimer: "The First Church of Rosedale is not affiliated with or endorsed by Philip Rosedale, Philip Linden, Linden Lab, Second Life, or any other person or entity you might care to name, excepting Samantha Poindexter and Samantha's Shirts. Any reference to living, dead, fictional, or nonfictional persons or avatars, without satiric purpose, is unintentional. (But, hoo boy, do we ever indulge in the satire.) All rights reserved, don't take any wooden nickels, and may Phil be with you."
