Atrus hid his Books very well, but two have very strange hiding places:

1. In the Myst Spaceship, touching the screen will bring you to Selenitic, even though it is only an image of a Book.

2. In Stoneship, you make a Myst Book materialize out of a table.

My question: How in the Maker's name did Atrus do that?!

Well, the Selenitic Age was an example of one of Atrus' experiments with using Books. He was trying to see if it was possible to store the Book in a secure location but still be able to use it... a concept which he was apparently successful in achieving since it's possible to go visit Selenitic .

I don't think anyone's offered an explaination for the book on Stoneship, though... might have to inquire about that one.

And remember, there's a lot of artistic license in Myst as it was just a 'game' then. I don't think they had gotten too far into the details of writing science.

The explanation I've heard for the book out of Stoneship is that it's holography, the same technology behind a few of the brother's toys. I believe I heard somewhere that Atrus picked up the holography techique in an Age called Aspermere...

(Okay, picked it up or experimented with it, one of the two. I tend to go with picked it up myself, but that's my own interpretation.)

Well, he might have been able to make a hologram of a linking book, but how would it actually work and send him to the real Myst, then? Maybe someone should ask RAWA about it?

I think I read somewhere (possibly by Alahmnat) that the Selenitic thing might have been a result from his expiriments on Rime....

I think I remember RAWA saying somewhere that the Selenetic linking book was used in some sort of mechanical device to link, and that Catherine's journals were no more specific than that.

What I find more interesting, though, is that he said the red and blue pages were not artistic license, and that there was some mechanism built into the books for the distribution.

How about this: the book was always sitting on the table, there was just a holograph projected over it which made it appear to not be there. Then, when you reached for it and touched it, the holograph would let you see the book with a cool transition effect. You think?

Stoneship: He is part d'ni.. What? you need more?
Selantic: It says he experemented with crystals to view ages on rime, why not be able to use crystals to link?