TEXT: The Keepers 
  at the Edge of the 
  Universe
  Logbook entries from lighthouse 
  keepers past
  
  Published by 
  the Universal Lighthouse Keepers Guild
  Compiled by Ella Lim
  @lostwaysclub on Twitter
  @ella_maybe on Instagram
  LostWaysClub on Etsy
  
  3
  Foreward
  This is a small collection of excerpts from logbook entries 
  written by the many lighthouse keepers. They have kept the light 
  running strong and bright over thousands of years. Each entry 
  looks at the diﬀ erent aspects of life on the little ‘island’, as many 
  keepers call it, at the edge of the universe. 
  We see glimpses into their everyday goings about, as well as into 
  their thoughts and feelings. The lighthouse is a welcome and 
  unexpected companion for some. She has housed the keepers, 
  weathered all the tribulations and still stands strong today. 
  It is not an easy job to be a lighthouse keeper, but for the keepers 
  though, it was a welcome sanctuary. Unfortunately we don’t 
  know the identities of most of the keepers as the information has 
  been lost to time. 
  - The Universal Lighthouse  
  Keepers Guild
  
  4
  Temp: 33 degrees
  Obs: Solar storm NNE, 5 small 
  ships, 1 luxury ship 
  Weather: Hot. 
  Morning routine completed. 
  Am ﬁ nding the every day goings 
  on a bit tedious lately. Weather 
  is calm yet again, a strange week 
  of no weather. Looking through 
  the backwash has made the days 
  more bearable as there is more 
  variation. The island is not 
  surrounded by sea but instead 
  shifting space. Reminds me of 
  a beach on a terra planet, how 
  things ‘wash’ up. 
  Many items I have no name for. 
  Most likely everyone and their 
  pets know what it is. Or maybe 
  things have been discontinued 
  and their discarded bodies have 
  just found their way to me. 
  Keeper 77
  Haul from the backwash:
  • 
  Two mealy carcasses 
  (unknown species)
  • 
  A transmitter, possibly from 
  a scuttle ship 
  • 
  Shards of a thin, shiny 
  metal most likely from a 
  wrecker
  • 
  A bashed up tool box, locked 
  (will break open later)
  • 
  Large pieces of organic 
  material (unknown species)
  • 
  Rocks of all shapes and sizes 
  (will clean to see if any are 
  gemstones/star fragments)
  
  5
  Temp: 10 degrees
  Weather: Meteor shower SE
  Obs: the last supply ship
  My move has been complete 
  into the Lighthouse. The last 
  ship that dropped oﬀ  equipment 
  has since left, its loud engines 
  being swallowed up by the 
  silence. 
  I felt a sense of relief when it 
  left, to ﬁ nally be away from 
  the busy world. I ﬁ nd - and 
  other keepers I have met say the 
  same - the longer my years of 
  keeping are, the more I feel like 
  a separate species. It feels as I 
  have evolved diﬀ erently to those 
  in society - I have diﬀ erent 
  mannerisms, prefer the quiet 
  and darkened light. My interests 
  and concerns are nothing like 
  those in the modern world. 
  Keeper 851
  Spent the morning orienting 
  myself with the lighthouse and 
  her quirks. 
  I can see where she has been 
  patched up by past keepers, and 
  can see their marks on her walls. 
  Against the kitchen wall is a set 
  of hooks which I think is used 
  to clean rubbish out of rivers 
  which had been re-purposed to 
  hang pots. It made me laugh to 
  see it. However I would not be 
  surprised if my years here make 
  me use modern objects in ways 
  they weren’t intended. 
  
  6
  Temp: 23 degrees
  Obs: Supply ship, small scuttle 
  ships at night
  Weather: N gusty winds
  Woke at light break to ﬁ nd 
  a supply drop had landed 
  overnight. Have been getting by 
  with the food I’ve gathered and 
  can sometimes grow, depending 
  on how generous the solar winds 
  are feeling. Deﬁ nitely nothing 
  more excellent than seeing a 
  supply drop. They are very rare 
  creatures, food drops.
  Tastes have moved away from 
  the weird tasting packet food 
  they put in the supply creates, 
  but when one gets hungry, 
  anything is food. 
  Most exciting to see a full box 
  of tea! 
  Keeper 80742
  Have almost run out from last 
  drop and am halving tea bags 
  just to make them last a bit 
  longer. Have been boiling the 
  funny blue leaves that make it to 
  the island, but there is nothing 
  like a good brew of tea. 
  Other items in the crate today: 
  reports from HQ, newspaper. 
  They leave a paper in each 
  supply for the keepers to keep 
  up with the outside world. 
  Used to read them thoroughly 
  when I was a new keeper at the 
  lighthouse. Now I don’t even 
  skim the pages. The world 
  outside brutal and noisy and 
  the newspaper is better used as 
  excellent ﬁ re starter. 
  
  7
  Temp: -15 degrees
  Weather: Weird 
  Obs: ?? 
  Morning tasks tedious as my 
  back is sore from last night’s 
  work and old injury. Winds this 
  morning are particularly bad, 
  the worst I’ve experienced at 
  the lighthouse so far. They must 
  have blown some glitter in from 
  the edge of the universe. The air 
  is shimmery and cloudy and my 
  head has felt dizzy since I got up 
  this morning. 
  Took a break from tasks in the 
  afternoon as I am falling over 
  unseen things and my headache 
  hasn’t gotten better. (Seeing 
  weird spots now with blurry 
  vision) I’ve been trying to ﬁ x 
  the wonky hinge on the door.
  Keeper 6603
  I feel as if mishaps are bound to 
  happen frequently on the small 
  rock but today I feel uncertain 
  and shaky and that has made the 
  feeling even more certain. 
  I hope this passes soon. 
  Note: After reports of no light 
  in the lighthouse for a few 
  nights, the Guild investigated 
  and found Keeper 6603 had 
  disappeared. 
  
  8
  Temp: 9 degrees
  Weather: Pleasant. 
  Obs: Meteor shower at 12:11pm
  Scrap metal pieces and timber in 
  the backwash this morning. Cleared 
  kitchen and the lantern room. 
  Found missing book and a glove. 
  Tasks completed by morning, quiet 
  day ahead. Carved a small ﬁ gure 
  with the wood found today. Window 
  sill is becoming crowded with them. 
  Checked food and water supplies, 
  all good. 
   
  Keeper 9994
  
  9
  Temp: 5 degrees
  Weather: Light rain early morn, 
  clearing in the evening. Light 
  breeze night. 
  Obs: 3 military ships, a  dozen 
  civilian crafts, a single rinaifx
  Oiled the door this morning as 
  the weather is ﬁ nally decent 
  enough to be outside. Looked 
  up to see a smallest creature 
  perched on the balcony. She 
  had lovely long wings and soft 
  markings around her face. She 
  played around the balcony of 
  the lighthouse as I was doing the 
  observations. 
  Guidebook reckoned she is a 
  rinaifx, native to the Collie 
  system. Not sure where her 
  friends were but she didn’t seem 
  like she was missing them. 
  Keeper 533
  Left some food out for her as I 
  have to do the lighting. Came 
  back and she was still there, the 
  food gone. 
  She has stayed with me through 
  the night. Talked to her about 
  the lighthouse. It had been a 
  while since I talked to someone. 
  Went down to bed in the early 
  morning after distinguishing 
  the light. I hope she will stay 
  around. 
  
  10
  Temp: -12 degrees
  Weather: Meteor shower in the morn 
  with heavy showers. Winds during 
  night. 
  Obs: 2 fat pigs, a cloud of those 
  glowing bugs
  Woken up by the creaking of the 
  lighthouse. I can hear a strong wind 
  outside and the grit it has carried 
  hitting the lighthouse. Before 
  coming here I thought the silence 
  of the isolation would be welcome 
  but now in these moments I ﬁ nd 
  the creaking and settling of the 
  lighthouse comforting. Both of us 
  putting our weary bones to rest. 
  Tonight will be a sleepless night 
  judging by the winds.
  Keeper 12223
  
  11
  Weather: Ice in the morn, clear 
  skies in evening. 
  Temp: 14 degrees. 
  Obs: large migrations of solar 
  ducks. Two research ships. 
  Was woken at crook’s rest by a 
  loud sound nearby. Went out to 
  investigate and found a wrecker 
  on the eastern side of the island. 
  It was an average looking 
  craft, no insignia or identifying 
  numbers could be seen. Sides of 
  craft signiﬁ cantly damaged. 
  Checked craft for any survivors. 
  One pilot was found, breathing 
  and semi-conscious, no 
  serious injuries to be spotted. I 
  removed them from the craft 
  and contacted the Emergency 
  Extraction Team to come 
  and pick up pilot. ETA was 
  half a day away so had to ﬁ nd 
  Keeper 7905
  somewhere to keep the pilot for 
  the night. Ended up making a 
  pile in the kitchen for them. 
  The last person that I had been 
  in contact with had been over 
  a year ago and I found my eyes 
  ﬁ nding their form every now 
  and then. To see a sleeping body 
  next to me with a living soul 
  in it strangely makes me feel 
  distant. 
  These beings feel separate from 
  me as a keeper. Maybe I wish 
  to have a conversation with 
  the person but it has been so 
  long since I last conversed with 
  someone that I probably would 
  stumble over the words. 
  
  12
  Temp: -10 degrees
  Weather: Cloudy, clearing in evening
  Obs: a UFO, a shoal of star ﬁ sh
  It has been the ﬁ rst clear night 
  for a week. The urge to see 
  something other than the roof of the 
  Lighthouse and the barren island 
  was overwhelming so I bring up the 
  long range telescope from the lantern 
  room. The eye illuminates many 
  passing objects but they are often too 
  far away to see clearly.
  I often wonder as I do the duties 
  around the island where the closest 
  soul is to me and what they are doing. 
  Sometimes it feels like it could be 
  galaxies away or maybe as close a 
  thousand light years in a passing ship. 
  I play a game, I’m sure many keepers 
  past have played, with each ship that 
  passes and guess who is onboard and 
  why.
  Keeper 0728
  
  13
  Temp: -1°C
  Weather: strong winds
  Obs: Large ﬂ otilla of military 
  space crafts
  The winds are ferociously 
  strong today; it feels as if my 
  clothes are trying to be peeled 
  from my skin. It’s a terrible day 
  for working, but the debris that 
  has blown in must be cleared. 
  The one thing that keeps my 
  spirit from being low is the 
  slight of the lighthouse trying to 
  keep her feet on the rock as well. 
  It is more tolerable knowing I 
  am not the only being out here 
  trying not to get swept away.
  Keeper 9085
  
  14
  Temp: 29°C
  Weather: Clear
  Obs: a large ﬂ oating city early 
  afternoon. 
  There is a light NNE that is 
  winking. First noticed it two 
  days ago but hadn’t seen it since. 
  Thought it was just a large 
  ﬂ oating city in the distance 
  but the light is ﬂ ashing in a 
  repeating pattern.
  From my rusty knowledge of 
  old terra languages, it seems to 
  be morse code. Found an old 
  ripped morse code manual in the 
  desk and managed to decode the 
  message. 
  [Message received 22:43] The 
  stars are hungry, one dead. 
   
  Keeper 554
  Responded from my personal 
  lantern: Where are you? 
  Hope to get a response soon. 
  
  15
  backwash - items and debris 
  found on the island after a storm
  crooks rest - very early in the 
  morning that even the criminals 
  haven’t gotten up. 
  eye - a nickname for the light in 
  the lighthouse
  fat pig - a lavish luxury ship often 
  ﬁ lled with the rich of the galaxy
  glitter -  a disorienting space fog
  island - the rock that the 
  lighthouse lives on. 
  light break - when the night ends
  and the day begins
  Terminology
  mealy - a carcass found on the 
  island the keeper will cook up for 
  food
  obs - short for observations
  scuttle ship - a small vessel 
  often used for illegal trade and 
  transport. 
  wrecker - a ship that has crashed 
  onto the island
  
  A collection of logbook excerpts from the keepers 
  of the Lighthouse at the Edge of the Universe. 
  A supplement to the RPG zine. 
  U N I V E R S A L 
  LIGHTHOUSE 
  K E E P E R S 
  G
  U
  I
  L
  D
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/The Lighthouse At The Edge Of The Universe/The Lighthouse At The Edge Of The Universe - Past Keeper's Journal.pdf