Dispatch: The Designated Five

Official Field Party for The Survey of the Silent Circle

(Filed under Preparations & Ceremonial Declarations — October 2025)

Under directive of the Guardians and ratified by the Council of Convened Keepers, the following members of the Order of the Great Fifth Sea have been formally selected to embark upon the joint field expedition known within the Order as The Survey of the Silent Circle.

Selection was based on field experience, composure under operational stress, and proven familiarity with both analog instruments and academic restraint.

The appointment ceremony was held at the Rawley Chapter House, lit by maritime lanterns recovered from the 1958 NOAA survey vessel Trenton. The Chapter Bell tolled five times — once for each member, and once more for the waters yet uncharted.

PRESIDING CONCORDANT ALISTAR CORVUS

Mission Lead, Keeper of the Bathymetric Mandate
Responsibilities: Liaison to the GLRC, oversight of logs, and ceremonial authority aboard The Little Concord.
Standard Issue Kit:

• Navy expedition coat with waterproof lining, embroidered with the Seal of the Silent Circle.
  
  

• Canvas field satchel containing the Primary Survey Ledger and mechanical pencil set.
  
  

• Compact marine barometer (U.S. Navy issue, 1961).
  
  

• Wrist compass, luminous dial, German manufacture, restored 2024.
  
  

• Hand-crank tape recorder (Grundig TK portable series).
  Personal Effects: Thermos of black tea, pocket field glass, small copy of On the Naming of Things.
  
  

SENIOR KEEPER GERALD “CHARTS” WHITCOMB

Lead Hydrographer and Submersible Officer
Responsibilities: Navigation, bathymetric mapping, sonar calibration, and submersible recordkeeping.
Standard Issue Kit:

• Drafting set (Staedtler Mars, circa 1965) stored in metal field case.
  
  

• Waterproof field notebook bound in green oilcloth.
  
  

• Analog depth gauge and diver’s compass, U.S. Divers Company issue, 1959 pattern.
  
  

• Handheld sonar transducer (Klein Model 300, battery-powered).
  
  

• Compact flashlight with red filter lens for night charting.
  Personal Effects: Brass tide clock (gift from Dr. Armitage), thermos labeled “Tea — Unsweetened.”
  
  

TREASURER EDWIN BARLOW

Logistics Director and Attire Officer
Responsibilities: Inventory, storage, uniform coordination, morale upkeep.
Standard Issue Kit:

• Practical Mariner field jacket, waxed canvas, with reinforced elbows and side vents.
  
  

• Pocket field notebook labeled Receipts, Rations, Repairs.
  
  

• Folding field iron (Panasonic, 1964).
  
  

• Lightweight binoculars for equipment verification.
  
  

• Small hand lamp, shipboard issue, converted for shore use.
  Personal Effects: Hymn sheet “To the Fifth Sea We Keep,” pair of goatskin gloves, flask of Assam tea.
  
  

JUNIOR HISTORIAN ELEANOR PRICE

Visual Documentation and Public Correspondence Officer
Responsibilities: Photography, documentary notes, informal field narratives.
Standard Issue Kit:

• Nikon F SLR camera (early 1960s pattern) with fixed 50mm lens.
  
  

• Compact windproof notebook and grease pencil.
  
  

• Weatherproof messenger satchel containing release forms, batteries, and spare film.
  
  

• Audio cassette recorder (Sony TC-50, 1969 design).
  
  

• Lightweight expedition windbreaker with Order patch sewn above heart.
  Personal Effects: Jeans, sneakers, Pikachu shirt (“grandfathered exemption”), tin of coffee beans for morale.
  
  

DEPUTY ARCHIVIST KLARA NILSEN

Recorder of Proceedings, Keeper of the Neutral Voice
Responsibilities: Transcription, correspondence, and archival continuity.
Standard Issue Kit:

• Olivetti Lettera 32 portable typewriter, teal, fitted with waterproof dust cover.
  
  

• Carbon paper and onion-skin duplicates in triplicate.
  
  

• Leather document folio labeled Dispatches — To File on Calm Seas.
  
  

• Chronometer wristwatch for accurate meeting times.
  
  

• Compact shortwave receiver (Grundig Yacht Boy, 1967) for official time signals.
  Personal Effects: Flask marked In Case of Press Conference, folding reading glasses, small bell “for procedural alignment.”
  
  

COMMON EXPEDITION EQUIPMENT

• Two metal trunks of archival supplies: paper stock, drafting tools, blank charts.
  
  

• Portable marine chronometer (Hamilton Model 22, WWII surplus).
  
  

• Box of emergency rations: hard biscuits, condensed milk, tea tins.
  
  

• One shipboard lantern (Dietz No. 80 “Blizzard” pattern, reconditioned).
  
  

• Shortwave field radio, military surplus, 1950s era.
  
  

• First-aid kit labeled Medical & Moral Support.
  
  

• Folding camp table for field documentation and evening briefings.
  
  

CEREMONIAL DECLARATION

At 21:00 hours, after the final reading of the mandate, each member received a glass vial filled with water from Grand Traverse Bay. The Presiding Concordant instructed that these be carried aboard The Little Concord “as proof that we begin already within the lake.”

Recorder’s Note: The selected five stood before the Great Chart in silence. Corvus spoke once: “The lake has accepted our names. The rest is endurance.”