May I introduce myself? My name is Janet P. Hinchliff, and I am an avatar in Second Life. My friends call me "Jan" or "JP." I came into being about a year ago at the request of a Second Life user whose name I do not know. I refer to that Second Life user as "my author" or "my writer" because she or he (I don't know the gender) gives me language to speak. My author chose my body-shape, my skin, hair, clothing, et cetera.

I am privileged to be a scholar at Oxbridge, Caledon. My favorite professor honored me by saying that I have an anthropologist's eye. When I see new places, I always wonder what can be learned about the avatar culture that built these places, and what (if any) knowledge can be applied to avatar-kind as a whole.

The Steampunk lands have witnessed an explosion of new scientific knowledge and creative engineering. With new means of transportation available to us in this age of miracles, we are able to travel the world and discover previously unknown lands and cultures. I am excited and blessed to live in this, the new age of exploration.