Day: November 14, 2017

Lapprock Lighthouse sits to the south-east of the steampunk role-play community of New Babbage, guarding the waters of the Vernian Sea. Recently featured in the Destination Guide Highlights, the lighthouse is an imposing structure, a thick finger of stone and brick rising though a heavy mist from the plug of rock upon which it sits. The design by Vic Mornington (Victor1 Mornington) is both decorative and functional, and I’ve little doubt the sweeping eye of its light misses very little in the waters around it.

Pass through the main entrance, and you’ll find what you might expect from such a place: a slightly dreary looking storage space befitting a working lighthouse. However, climb the spiral stairs winding upwards from near the centre of the room, and you might be surprised by what you find above: a most convivial apartment space presenting very comfortable living accommodation.

This comprises a day room, with a lounge are warmed by a fireplace, a dining space and illumination provided by an ornate ceiling orrery, with lots of little  touches around the room which make it a very cosy setting. Above this sits a bedroom, complete with a second, table-mounted, orrery, with a (somewhat austere) library occupying the floor above it. The stairs then continue their upward wind through two further floors, seemingly given over to research.

Nor is this all that there is to be found in the Vernian Sea. Down on the entrance level of the lighthouse is a drum-like steel structure in the centre of the floor. Open on one side, it forms an elevator shaft leading downwards (if the shaft is visible, click the control panel on the left of the opening to call the elevator). Click the elevator car to stand in it, then select Tunnels from the displayed dialogue box to descend into the ocean depths below the lighthouse.

Here lies a series of glass and steel walkways running pipe-like just above the ocean floor, stoutly supported on steel and concrete legs. These walkways provide access to a number of undersea structures, such as the Lotus of the Sea Lounge, with its glass domed roof, complete with steel petals ready to close and protect it should the need ever arise, and Aegir’s Hall, named for the Norse jötunn Ægir (“sea”). Some of these can be reached directly, some (again, as with Aegir’s Hall) require the opening of an airlock or two.

However, when exploring this undersea realm, please do keep in mind that these halls and spaces  – like Lapprock Lighthouse itself – are offered for rent, and while the lighthouse is open to public visits, this might not be true for all of the spaces under the sea. Above and behind Aegir’s Hall, for example, is what appears to be a private living space  which may not be open to public exploration.

Travel far enough along the undersea corridors, and you’ll likely eventually find your way to a second elector station. This will carry you upwards to the dockside at New Babbage, where, if you’ve not visited before, you can continue your explorations. For this article however, it is where I’ll leave things.

There’s a curious feeling of history wrapped around Lapprock Lighthouse and the facilities on the seabed beneath it, perhaps due in part to much of the latter being prim builds (there’s also the fact New Babbage represents one of the longest-running communities in Second Life, having been established a decade ago). As such it makes for an interesting – intriguing, even – visit.

SLurl Details

• Lapprock Lighthouse (Vernian Sea, rated: Moderate)