Music=
1. Knock Knock Knock
-Spoon
2. Talk
-Tori Kelly
⛩
UFOtext=
I. The Canyons
The alien sun climbed. Ozymandias powered up the steep slope of zebra stripes, pausing on occasion, spreading his arms wide, pointing & showing Astira the vague outline of eroded trail fading higher & higher into pale blue space, abandoned over countless millennia. Astira felt history flow backwards. She felt dizzy from the height. The alien sun wavered & began to swim in the sky.
II. The Trap Door
Deafening silence. For a few seconds the black chasm yawned. Poison snakes darted in the fetid black water. The Dragon’s torch flared over the gloomy chasm. In the corner- one split second- flash of recognition- the rotted tatters of Astira’s jacket. Then the stone floor slammed shut. Deafening silence.
Music=
1. Future Landscapes
-Deep Forest &
Gaudi
2. Love Chained
-Cannons
🙈🙉🙊
UFOtext=
I. The Canyons
At last the faint trail morphed into a dry creek bed winding between steep zebra painted hills- laid bare & stratified by unrelenting passage of geologic time. Astira paused. She wiped the sweat from her brow.
“Is this it?” she asked.
“Yes.” said Ozymandias.
Astira couldn’t help but feel awestruck.
II. The Trap Door
“Stop!” hissed the Dragon.
“Don’t move. Remain still. Nothing moves.”
The Dragon ever so slowly & imperceptibly moved his torch. In the flickering light he could barely make out the sign of the three emperors carved in the stone wall.
“Jamu- see the three emperors?”
Jamu rolled his eyes without moving his skull.
“Yes, barely.”
The Dragon narrowed his eyes. He looked everywhere in the ancient dank chamber. Then he saw it.
“Jamu- the three emperors are an ancient symbol for impending death. This is a chamber of death. Do you see that red spot on your leg?”
Jamu rolled his eyes lower.
“Yea- looks like a laser dot.”
“It is so. Probably a detector- a trip wire so to speak.”
The Dragon’s eyes lit up like fierce coals.
“Put your walking stick in the path of the beam. Then step back.”
Jamu shoved his walking stick in a stone crack & carefully adjusted its position. Beads of sweat rolled off his forehead.
“Ready. Here goes.”
Jamu jumped back. The grainy dot gently moved back & forth on the walking stick. But nothing happened. A black snake slithered in a chain of shadow.
“OK” said the Dragon.
“Now!”
The Dragon chopped the stick with his laser pistol. The room rocked like an earthquake.
Music=
1. Pink Up
-Spoon
2. Talk Talk
-Cannons
🎴
UFOtext=
I. The Canyons
The tip of the sun pierced the horizon. Astira watched its optical illusion of relative speed. Within fleeting moments the body of the sun emerged & cast a shower of copper golden light across the canyon. She turned to Ozymandias.
“I can see traces of the trail. It leads back to the passage.”
Ozymandias smiled faintly.
“Yes. For millennia this is the way for the Drones of Eden & the wandering tigers of the desert. It is dangerous for us to linger.”
Astira winced. To be enlightened is to be awake. Thus spake the Dragon beneath the tree of blossoms.
“Ozymandias- let’s find campsite off beaten path- somewhere high in hills. You know good spot?”
“Maybe. About 10 kilometers down the trail.”
Astira breathed deep.
“OK- let’s walk the talk.”
Astira & Ozymandias set off down the faint trail. The humming of the distant desert haunted Astira. She could hear the voices of the long lost people moan in her ears- the desert song of the Lotus. Their ghosts scattered in the tumbling rocks. The sun watched their progress & seemed to slow its pace in the alien sky.
Music=
1. Shelter
-Mikal Cronin
🔮
UFOtext=
I. The Passage
“Ozymandias. Did you see the destruction of the Lotus?”
Astira wrapped her salted roast fish in dried subterranean seaweed. Ozymandias gazed at the stars along the bright edge of the galaxy. Along the fringe a pink ribbon of light outlined the canyon below. Sunrise was only minutes away. After a moment he turned his telescopic eyes back toward Astira.
“No. The destruction of the Lotus occurred before my earliest memory.”
“Which was?”
“On Trantor. I was turned on shortly after the destruction of the Lotus.”
Astira winced. That was millennia before the Foundation.
“My birth mission was to assist Princess Leizu in her escape. She would remain forever free. Since then I’ve stood guard to this very day over the ruins of the Lotus.”
Astira’s mind turned in a slow whirl...
II. The Emperor’s Island
“Stop!”
Joshua froze. The officer of the Union of Worlds stood at the street corner, waving his pistol. Joshua frantically considered his micro-tree of reactions. Primal instinct= he bolted down the alley. An ultraviolet laser etched a deadly tattoo of trailing black ash on a dirty stucco wall. He sprinted to the short dead end. He whirled around & turned over a trash bin- breathless- a trapped animal. Only a few more seconds...
