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Dear Mrs. Sörjela,
Can I just say I am so excited to be taking over this project! It's so cool that we're going to breed all these immune sheep! I have never worked with Finnish sheep before. Is it really true they lamb all year if you let them? I guess the immunity project will go really fast, if it is true. I am not immune myself but all of my brothers and sisters are. I know it really sucks not being immune, so I hope all these future sheep will appreciate it. The ones we have now are doing so well. The spring is progressing so nicely here. I've been going out on long walks in the mountains. Do you have mountains in Finland? I hope you do. I went somewhere without mountains once and it was depressing. I bet Finland is really pretty. I've never been there.
Kind regards,
Reynir Árnason
P.S. We have no results yet this spring because the change of team has been such a hassle. Sorry!
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Mr. Árnason,
The stud samples we recieved were in poor condition. I am in negotiation with the Swedish team who do our tests to arrange some kind of refrigeration. Please see attached the latest immunity percentage results.
- L. Syrjälä
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Dear Mrs. Syrjälä,
Sorry I spelled your name wrong! I will remember now. You know, you can just call me Reynir. Everyone does. Can I call you Laura? Your Icelandic is so good. I have known some Finns with very good Icelandic, and some where it was really bad. The bad ones sound so adorable though! Do you have an adorable accent? I guess you can't hear it, can you?
We have lots of immune lambs coming through. They're so cute! I can't wait until they grow up. It feels weird to be using these Finnish sheep. I'm used to lambs only coming once a year, you know. Lambs coming at all times of the year seems like science fiction! Do you have science fiction in Finland? I have been trying to read more books. I am reading one about a mage that discovers an old world method of getting to the moon. The story is very exciting, although there are parts in it that are a bit racy and the author seems to do those things a bit, um, differently to how I think most people do them! Sorry, that wasn't very professional, it's just a really weird book! I don't know what to think about it.
My cousin Bjarni has been wondering if anyone knows what to do about his weird foot. It has a spot on it that smells terrible. You seem smart and know a lot about sheep, do you know anything about weird feet?
Kind regards,
Reynir
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Mr. Árnason,
Please advise on whether you have been following my instructions regarding the insemination timetable. I have been running my program according to it and will soon have a second batch of lambs. They are expected in around a month. I have enclosed an update on our immunity percentage, based on some tests we ran two weeks ago.
- L. Syrjälä
P.S. You are still getting my name wrong. I am not married.
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Dear Ms. Syrjälä,
I am so sorry! I didn't mean to assume. You just seem so knowledgable, I assumed you were much older than me. I suppose that doesn't mean you're married. That was rude. I apologise. How old are you? I will turn 22 this year. Half the people I know are getting married now. It's all a bit scary! I want to travel the world more before I do that. I have travelled a bit, but it didn't go very well and I think next time I will plan much better.
We have been following your instructions to the letter! There's going to be so many lambing seasons this year it's hard to know what to do. Well, of course, I do know what to do. I have worked with sheep my whole life. It was just a figure of speech. But it's a lot to deal with. Did the tests you ran mean a lot of sheep died? I hope not. I know it's all for science and it will be worth it to have real immune flocks, but I hate seeing sheep get sick. I feel so bad for them.
I finished the book I was reading. Do you read much? The book didn't get any better. Having an imagination is good if you're writing books, I think, but maybe this person had too much of a good thing. That's what I'd write if I was his teacher, anyway.
My cousin's foot is still looking very strange, and it's gone a funny colour around the edges of the spot. I don't think I know how to describe how bad it smells.
I have some results for you! They should be with the rest of the package. I hope the iceboxes work out now it's so warm. It's such a lovely summer though, isn't it? I hope you are having nice weather in Finland. I'm still taking lots of long walks. It clears my head after a long day writing everything down.
Best wishes,
Reynir
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Mr. Árnason,
Your results were interesting and are not being replicated on my end. I need to request more information so I can try to work out if this is due to deviations in the method or environmental factors of some kind. Please enclose the details I hope you have been recording of the samples used, insemination times and the precise variation on the immunity test used.
- L. Syrjälä
P.S. I am surprised that your cousin's condition persists given what I hear about the quality of facilities in Iceland, but if I were him, I would put a garlic poultice on it. It sounds like some kind of bacterial infection, which should respond to anything with such antiseptic properties.
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Dear Ms. Syrjälä,
Sorry I didn't send you these before! I have sent a copy of every record we have made this year. I don't know what will be most useful to you so I have included all of it. I guess the program's funding will cover the cost of sending it. Sending letters is so expensive, even small ones! I have been writing to some of the people I travelled with last winter and it's amazing what they charge. I miss some of them an awful lot. Do you have any friends abroad that you miss?
I have started a new book. This one is about elephants. I have never seen anything like an elephant. Do they have elephants in Finland?
My cousin Bjarni tried your suggestion with the garlic and he says it helped, although the mix of smells was not very nice. Now that he has tried it a few times, the smell is stopping. Where did you learn so many things about garlic? I personally find it a bit strong. Do they eat a lot of it in Finland? I often wonder if they have the same food there as they do here. I hope you have skyr in Finland, because I tried out a pie recipe with skyr the other day and it turned out really great. I have attached the recipe along with all the sheep results.
Best wishes,
Reynir
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Mr. Árnason,
Thank you for the completeness of your information. It has taken me some time to work through the large pile of papers, but the names and shift times of every person administering the immunity tests have actually turned out to be vital, as I have finally spotted a pattern that corresponds to the irregularities. I have attached a summary. I suggest everyone involved in the project takes note of these observations, but please take extra care to forward them to whoever was marked down as just "Hjalti".
I have suspected for some time that our testing methods need to be refined further in order to be truly accurate in sheep, and this may open up the justification for more funding to explore this. It would be most helpful if you could arrange a follow-up to see if there is any irregularity at all between the results of lambs tested by different people.
- L. Syrjälä
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Dear Ms. Syrjälä,
I'm so glad you worked it out! I sent your paper to everyone and we are double-checking everything Hjalti has done. He has a lot on his plate right now so it makes sense he'd make some mistakes. His sixth child was just born and he's only coming in sometimes anyway, so there's not too much to check. His new little girl is the cutest baby I've ever seen. I have attached a picture. The woman holding the baby in the picture is Hjalti's wife Signý, she's also my second cousin once removed. I guess that makes the baby my third cousin. Speaking of cousins, Bjarni's foot is totally better now. I will remember the garlic trick from now on.
Did you try my pie recipe? Maybe they don't have skyr in Finland. I think any kind of thick milk would work. I think it would be good with some blueberries, and those must be on their way soon, unless they don't have blueberries in Finland. I hope you do have them, they're my favourite.
Are you still testing the lambs' immunity in the field? I guess it's not good to only have one real testing ground, and I know we need to do science with the sheep, but I'm a bit glad we aren't able to do Rash exposure tests here. It would be so sad. I'm sorry you have to do it.
I finished my book about elephants. It turns out you can't find them anywhere in the Known World. That's a bit disappointing. I would have liked to see an elephant someday.
I have some other results now and have attached them. I will let you know how the retesting is going. We have an awful lot of lambs now. Most of them are at a really gangly stage, bless them. It always reminds me of how I used to be. I hope they aren't bumping their heads on everything like I used to when I was growing.
Kind regards,
Reynir
P.S. You really can just call me Reynir. Nobody but you calls me "Mr. Árnason".
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Mr. Árnason,
I have not been sending much detail on the practical immunity tests as I am aware you are unable to attempt to replicate them, but I will briefly explain my process if this is of interest to you and your team. I am luckily immune and therefore can cooperate with the scouts in Keuruu to obtain contaminated material and expose the sheep in a facility outside town we have dedicated to the purpose. Exposure is accomplished by shaving a section of the sheep and performing a small nick to the skin before applying pulverised troll tissue, then the sheep are kept in quarantine until two weeks pass or symptoms appear. I will admit that nobody here likes it either, but we are well equipped with mages who are able to perform the necessary rites once infected sheep have been euthanised, so you need not be too concerned for their long-term welfare. If you wish to read more, I must apologise and say I cannot find any Icelandic name for the process we use, but the key word in Finnish would be "kallohonka".
I have reviewed your latest results and there appear to be fewer inconsistencies with mine, which is heartening. I enclose the last round of immunity tests for the year. We cannot expect any more lambs until spring as we lack the facilities to keep so many indoors and on feed, but I will be working throughout the winter to corroborate any results that emerge on the Icelandic end.
- L. Syrjälä
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Dear Ms. Syrjälä,
Thank you for explaining how it works out there! I am glad to hear that you have mages who can make sure the sheep end up okay. I am a mage myself, although I haven't trained at the Academy. I didn't actually find out until last winter. I have been reading much more about runes since I realised, and have been using them more to keep the sheep on the right track. I have met Finnish mages before but don't really understand their magic. I'm an all runes kind of guy, I guess.
I have decided to spend part of the winter trying to re-test every one of the lambs (I guess some of them are more sheep now) myself. It would be good to know if the test itself has something inconsistent about it before next spring, wouldn't it? I have included what I have done so far. It's a lot of work, but I don't know how else to make totally sure for you!
It's getting so dark here in Iceland. I looked at the map and I think the way it works means it will be dark in Finland too. But at least Yule is really soon! Do you have Yule in Finland? My cousin, Bjarni, is making the roast this year. Do you remember Bjarni? He was the one with the foot problem. It still hasn't come back.
I haven't started another book because I have been so busy with the tests, but I did improve my pie recipe. I have attached the improved version.
Kind regards,
Reynir
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Mr. Árnason,
I have looked over the provisional renewed results and can confirm they are even more consistent with mine than the last retest. There are still minor discrepancies but if we can indeed confirm that this is not entirely due to user error by the spring, perhaps in the coming year we can look again at the idea of that development fund. I include a full summary of my results from the past year, in the tentative hope that this aids our attempt.
- L. Syrjälä
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Dear Ms. Syrjälä,
I finished the retesting and I am so excited! From what I can see, I think we have the least different results so far. There's definitely still something, though, so I have gone into Reykjavik to ask about it before I even wrote to you. I told them I thought there was something wrong with the test and they say I have to write a proposal. I thought a proposal was when someone asks another person to marry them, but that's not what this is at all. I'm glad about that, because I don't know how I would make it work if I had to marry the entire research council. I will think about what to say. It's very difficult. I don't want to seem rude but it feels a bit rude just asking them for all that money.
It's so cold here right now. Is it cold in Finland? I think it snows a lot there. That's what I've heard. I guess that's why elephants don't like to live there. They didn't look very hairy, from the pictures in my book. My Yule was absolutely lovely. I made socks for my mother and she gave me mittens back. I still don't know if you even do Yule there, or what food you eat if you do. I think I told you Bjarni was doing the roast. Unfortunately since your garlic cure he has gotten very, very into using garlic. It is okay in small amounts, but what Bjarni did at Yule was not a small amount. It's been three weeks and I can still smell it in my hair.
I have attached the final results of the retest. I hope you have some advice about writing the proposal. I really have no idea what to say at all.
Kind regards,
Reynir
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Mr. Árnason,
I have attached a research proposal. I would strongly advise keeping the wording as is and just signing it before handing it to the council.
- L. Syrjälä
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Dear Ms. Syrjälä,
Well, we have gotten the decision about your proposal, and I have a mix of good news and bad news. The good news is that we will be getting much more money. Something in what you said must have been really convincing. We will be able to start looking into a better testing method really soon. The bad news is that now that the program has more money, they are replacing me with someone who knows a little more about doing research. I'm going to miss doing science! It was so exciting knowing I was helping fill the world with immune sheep. I will also miss hearing from you. It was great having a pen pal all the way over in Finland. Can I still send you pie recipes? You can write to me any time. I will be going back to my own sheep. I have written my new address in the bottom corner. It is technically my old address but I guess it's new to you.
Best wishes,
Reynir
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Mr. Hilmarsson,
I have been informed that you have recently taken over the role previously occupied by Reynir Árnason. I look forward to a productive professional relationship.
- L. Syrjälä
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Reynir,
Thank you for the pie recipe. It is indeed very nice, although we made it with rahka rather than skyr. We have neither elephants nor mountains in Finland, but we do have blueberries and snow. The attached picture is of my two favourite breeding ewes. Their names are Voi and Kehä, which is a sort of pun on some flower names in Finnish.
Regards,
Laura