Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts:

Over the past week-end I read in a popular news magazine that a Christian preacher has expressed doubts about the existence of the traditional hell, with fire, brimstone, gnashing teeth, and various other types of unending suffering for those who do not believe what they should.  It doesn't bother me, since I have not believed this damnation stuff since I escaped from Catholic elementary school.  No being worthy of the description 'all-loving' could create such a place and then send so many of His children there for falling prey to the weaknesses that He Himself designed into them.

But this preacher's claim does raise other questions.  If we admit that hell does not exist, what then about heaven, the immortal human soul, God himself, etc.?  We observe none of these things with our senses or scientific instruments, so why do away with only the belief that is unpleasant?

In addition to the preachers message, today's image has a second inspiration.  I recently saw on the list a fractal vaguely resembling a stairway, an image that brought out my full philosophizing tendencies and condensed them into the automated stairway that is today's FOTD image.

The image resembles a stairway to heaven.  But this is no everyday stairway.  It curves upward so sharply that I decided to name it "Escalator to Heaven".  And since I am a kinder and more just being than the so-called all-good God who tortures his children eternally for being what He made them to be, a person does not need to hold any particular beliefs to ride to the top of the fractal escalator.

The image was created by the Mystic formula, one that I wrote many years ago, then filed away when I wrote the Mystic2 formula.  The parent fractal is little more than an amorphous mass of stuff, with today's escalator on the west side and a smaller stairway on the east side.  (This smaller stairway luckily leads nowhere.)

The rating of a 7 is equal to the old rating of an 8.  The calculation time of only 33 seconds will pass in a flash.  But the best way to view the image is to go to the official but far from complete FOTD web site at:

      http://www.crosscanpuzzles.com/Archives.html

or to Hal's web site at:

http://www.emarketingiseasy.com/TESTS/FOTD/jim_muths_fotd.html

where the image is posted in high definition.

The original web site, with the entire back-library of images previous to November 2010 is still up and running at:

       http://www.Nahee.com/FOTD/

Monday dawned bright and clear here at Fractal Central, but clouds moved in by 9am and hung around the rest of the day.  The temperature of 63F 17C was mild enough, but would have been more enjoyable if there had been sun to go with the mild conditions.  The fractal cats, who care not at all about outside conditions, kept happy indoors.  Nicholas spent the afternoon as a lump under an afghan.  Cassandra slept on the couch.  The humans had an average day, which is all that can be hoped for.

The next FOTD will be posted in 24 hours.  Until then, take care, and don't blame me if I use the logical mind God gave me to think logically about Him.

Jim Muth
jamth@mindspring.com


START PARAMETER FILE=======================================

EscalatorTo_Heaven { ; time=0:00:33.06-SF5 on P4-2000
  reset=1960 type=formula formulafile=basicer.frm
  formulaname=Mystic function=ident/asin passes=1
  center-mag=-0.4235/0/3.205128/1/90/0 params=0.75/0\
  /0/0/1/0 float=y maxiter=100 inside=bof60
  logmap=yes periodicity=6
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  naWq45q45p55o55n55m65l65k }

frm:Mystic {; Jim Muth
c=pixel, z=sqr(pixel)+(p1*(pixel)):
z=sqr(sqr(z)+(p2*(c)))+(p3*(fn1(c)))
c=fn2(c),
LastSqr <= 100 }

END PARAMETER FILE=========================================