Journal: The Nature of Fortune

This Decyphered Entry I found to be most interesting and also useful information as regards the operation of Fortune in Perenelle.

Perenelle is a place where fortune is not just a reflection of what occurs to one and how good or bad it is, but is an entity in itself. Luck is descriptive and also proscriptive.

This sounds like superstitious nonsense, but I have conducted experiments which prove it to be the case. I was made aware of it in the first place due to the gambling habits of my crew - a certain amount of gambling is reasonable to stave off boredom, and I have no quarrel with it as long as debts do not interfere with the process of the expedition. The crew are aware that they must only wager matchsticks and empty cans and rocks and other tokens.

In this case, however, I noticed that James C., a particularly unfortunate sort with cards, was far more likely to succumb to the stings of the damned jellyfish than anyone else, despite being of immense stature, extremely healthy and not at all given to malingering.

On a whim I secretly noted his successes and failures in the nightly games of Bridge, and drew up a table comparing them to his cases of jellyfish poisoning. The results had a clear implication. At times when he regularly lost at cards, the slightest touch of a jellyfish would send him to the physician. At times when he won, he was far more durable.

I expanded my research to cover more members of the crew and damned if the same didn't hold true for the lot of them. Moreover, when they had been fortunate or not in other areas, it seemed as if that affected their endurance as well. William S., who fought off five jellyfish with merely a knife after winning the entire pot at Bridge and also locating a key sulphur deposit, was stung the next day to a point that should by rights have killed him, yet seemed unaffected, if confused.

It is as if the poison from the jellyfish is less important than how unfortunate it was to have been stung. This phenomenon disturbs me. I am not a credulous type, but it seems that we must now pay attention not only to matters of health and fitness but also to our general level of fortune.

Still - a man can make his own luck with bravery, wisdom and strength of character, just as he can lose it with cowardice, foolishness and weakness of will. The former qualities are essential in any expedition in any case, so perhaps the effect of this bizarre situation will not be significant.

I have decided that I shall not mention this to the men, or prevent the gambling - what it takes from one it gives to another - but if anyone seems to be on a losing streak I shall make sure to have them on washing or guard duty or whatever keeps them out of the game, until a time has passed so that they regain their fortune. Just simply not encountering any hazard in Perenelle is lucky enough it seems to restore one to a state of "good luck". In any case, the effect on morale from arbitrarily banning games of chance would be terrible; the men deserve their recreation.

I made some casual remark to William S. on his good fortune, and he put it down to his possession of "lucky heather" from his grandmother, which he has, comically, preserved in a tin using the Tinning Machine. Whilst I did tell him off for inappropriate use of the Machine, I couldn't help but laugh. I suppose that if this heather really is lucky, the tinning process will enable it to survive longer than we do!