Witness

Witness is the name given to a person who has died while living or travelling through a basha. One who dies between bashas is bid for by foam vote among the claimant bashas. Adjudication may be necessary to decide which basha has the best claim. Once decided, the funeral ceremony consists of separating the body from the head and cleaning the skull of all soft tissues. All organic matter thus separated out is lovingly collected and recycled in the crackerbox like any other resource. The skull is then cured and polished to a high ivory shine, and a small star-in-a-jar is fitted inside so a soft purple glow emanates from the skull. The skull is then placed on one of the shelves of memory in the circles of memory surrounding the Klimax Plateau. The circles and the plateau together constitute the Place of Remembrance. The spiritual wealth of a basha in measured in how many witnesses it has, and really old bashas may have eight or nine circles several metres high around the Klimax Plateau. The skulls have a feedbadge inset on their foreheads that tells users' scrolls who they were.