One Man’s Fantasy Adventure Turned Real

For Richard Garriott yesterday (October 13, 2008) was the first day of, what I can only imagine will be, the most amazing adventure a human can currently take. Garriott, an icon in the American game industry, blasted off of this planet to an 11 day trip into space, including a short visit to the International Space Station.

During the launch event Garriott held a hand written message towards the cockpit camera for his fans. It should be noted that this was not just any message, but one written in the fictional language, Logos, developed for the online game Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa. A game in which nearly present day mankind has been thrust into a galactic battle for our very survival.

While Garriott was preparing for the trip, Tabula Rasa game developers found a clever way to tie it into the game’s history. Turning a trip for the real man into space, into a way to help get his in game persona, General British, to the front lines in humanity’s struggle.

Details of Garriott’s training and a look at what he will be during his stay on the ISS can be found on his game’s offical website, www.rgtr.com.

After the launch, Tabula Rasa’s official website posted this rendering of the message presented by Garriott.

While they would not offer a translation of the message, encouraging readers to find their answers in the game inself, they would acknowledge that it was a famous quote. Being a casual player of the game, I recognized several of the symbols and could infer the rest. After a couple of minutes of staring, and maybe even a quick trip to Google, I had a complete translation.

“Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.” -Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Some Links:
YouTube Video of Launch
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (quotes)