Christmas Spirit

Christmas Spirit

Music=

1. What Child, Nowell-
 Tori Amos

2. Greensleaves-
 Classical Guitar by Andrei Krylov

I. Round Table

Astira read the message scrawled on the backside of the owl-

"9 pm-The Hourglass.

Archimedes"

She stuffed the owl into a pocket & then mingled with the crowd. Her heart warmed to their good cheer & joviality. But suddenly the raucous hall hushed quiet. Wine slowly dripped from the clock, then trumpets flared into majestic fanfare. Astira turned left- far far away across the hall she could see a crooked figure dressed in sleaves of green. A court fool, he smiled tragically. He stood raptured in thought- then let fly a melodious dove confined within a cage of just a few taut strings.

Astira's blood ran ice cold....

II. Twinkling Star

Princess Lei set foot upon the land. The Dragon followed. Winter's trek- the Twinkling Star touched down from the Druid sky.

Hidden Message

Messenger

Music=
1. Messengers Of Christmas- Mannheim Steamroller
2. Isolate- Snakadaktal

I. The Round Table
The White Queen had slain the Dragon- at least that was popular legend.
"Stop right there Miss!" said the ogre gruffly. Astira paused & weighed her options.
"Where's your press pass?" He asked.
Astira looked into the eyes & mind of the guard- she soothed the course contours of his emotion, then reshaped his thoughts with a light subliminal touch.
"Well girl, get moving, go on inside. And Merry Christmas!" He smiled warmly & held open the door.
"Thanks 4 U. Good Xmas 2 U."

Astira rushed inside. A vast banquet hall stretched far & wide. A pungent aroma of roast meat, bread, spiced apple pies & heavy ale filled the air. Musicians played lutes & guitars. Pandemonium reigned.

Suddenly a young boy broke out from the crowd. He ran crazily toward Astira. Then he stumbled, lost his balance & careened into her body. Astira jumped & grabbed the crazy boy. He laughed & shoved a crumpled wad of paper into her hand. Then he let go & ran away.

Astira stood bemused for a moment- then she discreetly opened the wad of paper. In her hand she saw a crude drawing of an owl.

II. Twinkling Star
"Why the Druid Nebula?" asked Princess Lei.
The Dragon waved his hand like a magic wand through the galactic hologram.
"The Druid Nebula lies on the cusp of the Mule's psychological wave. Our galactic psychohistory is now one gigantic Plan B."
Princess Lei paused uncomfortably, not sure whether to believe the dramatic musings of the Dragon. But if they were true....
Her thoughts drifted back in time to the Count. It was the one year anniversary of their expedition to Kiritimati & the Pearl of Dreams- the hidden 9th wonder of the galaxy. She had doubted that too- until she saw the dream come true with her own eyes. So she decided to keep an open mind about the Dragon. Perhaps he wasn't as crazy as he seemed to be.

UFOtext at twitter & tumblr 

See The Possibility

Possibility

Music=
1. My Love Is Winter- Smashing Pumpkins

UFOtext=
I. The White Castle

A slim shadow of black jade slipped through the dreamy mist. The lithe figure ran east- running along the castle's southern rampart facing the sea. Astira peered intently at the magnified image on her i5- she could see the slender upper body of the running figure just above the white stone parapet. But the figure soon vanished back into the mist- leaving no trace of its fleeting presence. The winter sun slowly burned away the mist, and chains of silent clouds now moved across the high blue morning sky. Astira quietly opened her eyes.

II. Twinkling Star
"There is no rest." thought Princess Lei.
The Great Wall of ancient red stars stretched across the holo screen from the Pearl Clouds in the Far East, all the way to the Druid Nebula at the gate to the western skies and the remote edge of the galaxy- home of the Foundation.
She leaned back into her cushioned chair, and felt the Foundation holo screen wrap around her- as if she rode upon a celestial chair through the heavens. She reached up in wonder, and cupped the warm glow of the Pearl Clouds within her hand.

UFOtext at twitter & tumblr

The Hard Fall

Galactic Plane

Music=

1. Low- Coldplay

2. Feel The Ocean Hold Me Under- Snakadaktal

"Settle one difficulty, & you keep a hundred away."
- Confucius

UFOtext=
I. White Cliffs

Astira watched the luminous cloud move across the grid map on her i5- a group of riders will be here within minutes she thought. She flipped her i5 into silent mode & stashed it into a deep pocket. She looked around.

There was nowhere to hide & nowhere to run- except for the grassy edge of the nearby cliff. The abrupt boundary of the cliff snaked through the air, running below a vast expanse of blue green sea that merged into a far horizon of mist & fading stars.

Friends or foes? No way to know & she didn't want to take a chance. She ran to the edge of the cliff- stopped- found her balance & stared down a sheer face of rock slamming into the blue green sea below. Majestic spires of breaking white foam scaled the wall of rock. Just below the edge she spied a small outcrop- just wide enough for support. She hopped over the edge of the cliff & landed securely on the ledge. She looked back up at the edge of the cliff & smiled. Suddenly she heard the fierce cry of a hawk, & she looked to her right- she watched the hawk with its long wing span fly up the side of the cliff in a nearly vertical & parabolic arc.

II. Far East

"History evolves from the actions of people- those actions are the result of human psychology- & that psychology has a mind of its own- not something that can be easily predicted in a simple & linear way. Can you predict what your emotions will be one day from now?"

The Dragon turned away from the changing waters of the bay. He engaged the eyes of Kwon Ping & Princess Lei, & then continued his arc of thought.....

Later that evening Princess Lei stood on her small hotel balcony overlooking the bay. Below her the flickering lights of the city changed randomly, almost chaotically.

If the Dragon is right, she thought, then the psychology of our galaxy has been diverted off course. What could one mere human being ever do to change the flow of history back to normal?

She sighed, & then gazed upward into the dark night- the galactic plane fell majestically from the sky in a waterfall of stars.

UFOtext at twitter & tumblr