Welcome back! We are continuing our creative process diary — this time with an introduction to our first live web3 implementation.

Note: Since Part 1, the project began adopting a label that will be used in this series from now on: Lit3 (Literature in Web3). Lit3 encompasses any literary project that leverage blockchain technology, from a single poem linked to a token, to a complete DAO infrastructure governing the outcome of an extended saga. We hope that the use of this label helps building a community around web3 stories, for both readers and writers. If you want to know more, please read our essay The Dawn of Lit3.

We ended our previous article detailing the short-term objectives for the From Many, as One project: building an audience via a micro-stories series called From the Plexus. This roadmap wasn't altered, but shortly after laying the foundations of this series, we encountered a fundamental issue. From Many, as One is clearly a web3 project, by virtue of its designed DAO infrastructure. And From the Plexus is the precursor of From Many, as One. But does From the Plexus really belong in the Lit3 ethos? Is its connection to From Many, as One enough, or should we consider adding a dedicated web3 component to it?

At first, we didn't want to change our main focus. But the shadow of From the Plexus being just another internet series was concerning enough to at least reconsider its approach. Shortly after, we found how to enhance the micro-stories without bogging down our momentum. Brief narratives show just a small snapshot of the world that they create — every word counts, and extra development can't be afforded. So, what if we can give some more context to those worlds, but only if the reader explicitly wants it. Enter, The Plexus Archive.

Our need for a proper web3 component gave rise to the first defined structure in the highly enigmatic Plexus realm: The Plexus Archive. This place (if you can call it that) stores every shard in existence, and it's only accessible to a mysterious being called The Archivist. This entity is the curator of the Archive, and monitors both the mortal and divine realm. We think that this is a clear example of the motto every challenge is an opportunity — it's highly likely that we wouldn't develop the concept of the Plexus Archive or the Archivist if not by necessity. And now the lore is richer as a direct consequence of an unexpected issue.

We encourage everyone to transform challenges into creative fuel!

The Plexus Archive enhances each From the Plexus shard with 5 meta-narrative logs stored in a smart contract:

• Shard Tag: The label used by the Archivist to store the shard. This tag is the same as the off-chain Shard title.

• Echo Source: The exact location in which the micro-story took place.

• Earth Time: The UTC timestamp when the shard transmission was intercepted.

• Lanka Time: The Lanka equivalent of the UTC timestamp. We used a tailor-made time framework with Sanskrit terms and hexadecimal values to represent the blend between Hindu cosmology and cyberpunk aesthetic of our lore. You can read the Lanka Time section in the From Many, as One Whitepaper for more details.

• Archivist Log: The commentary of the Archivist on the shard's events, providing a unique meta-narrative component to the story, only stored in the blockchain.

The Plexus Archive serves as lore expansion, but most importantly, it's the narrative container for the web3 implementation of From the Plexus — as these meta-narrative logs are stored in a dedicated smart contract deployed on Base Mainnet. This framework satisfies both aspects of a Lit3 project:

• Artistic Meaning: the logs are stored outside of the main story text, just like the Plexus Archive is outside the reach of the mortal and divine realms.

• Structural Motive: the logs provide a clear narrative enhancement, not replicable without the implementation of blockchain technology.

We'll label this specific web3 framework as a Lit3 ledger. The main purpose of this type of ledger is to allow readers to expand their engagement with the Lit3 story. If a ledger is implemented for its own sake, it will break the necessary reciprocal nature between the off-chain and on-chain component. This framework can allow for great experimentation on the side of creators, but if readers don't engage with them, it looses its ultimate purpose. To expand the conversation about Lit3 implementations, you can read our article titled Notes on Lit3 Frameworks.

In the next articles, we'll share the development process regarding our implementation of the From the Plexus Lit3 ledger. These technical posts are not intended to be conclusive roadmaps or bullet-proof guides, but an overview of the tools and protocols that we needed to learn and implement to reach our objective: to enhance our micro-stories with the unique capabilities of the blockchain, and readily accessible to the readers at the click of a button.

As we noted, From the Plexus and From Many, as One are encountering many challenges, but we are trying to see them as opportunities instead of insurmountable roadblocks. Our mistakes along the way can serve as lessons to be learned by other projects and creators, so we are embracing them and moving forward.

Thank you for reading — see you in Lanka Prime.