Tom just got back yesterday, and all is well. As we knew, the Door didn't open in quite the same place as before, but Tom hoped that it was at least close. His only complaint when we opened the Door to get him back, was that it not only wasn't at the same place as when we dropped him off, but it also was so far away that he had to run to get over to it. Apparently there are still a few residual magnetic fields interfering with the aiming. Frank says that he'll work on getting those cleaned up at the same time he's upgrading the Faraday cage. And there's still the issue of sealing up the Door room to prevent pressure difference issues.
Anyway, Tom reports that when he arrived last week, he spotted a recognisable mountain and, based on that, he headed toward the river he hoped would be to the west (like 'east' he named that direction 'west' because that's where the sun sets). It was. He got to the river and headed downstream, arriving in the same town he'd visited before. Success! Although he couldn't convince any of the natives to accompany him back this time, at least he's opened up the possibilities. He said that there are a few adventurous ones that might take the challenge later, after some big celebration they were about to have.
We've only been able to visit the other side for a few weeks, but it looks like although days match up just fine, they are celebrating a late summer/early fall harvest while we are in the middle of winter. Of course at this point we don't even know if their year is the same length as ours. I guess we should send over some astronomers to take some readings...if we can find any willing to risk their lives.
All is well, and Tom is really looking forward to his next trip. See you in a week!
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