The Ribbon World

Everlasting June

Music=
1. Mesmerize- Temples

"a continuous garden, swimming in the eternal morning of an eternal June"
- Isaac Asimov
Chapter 16,
"Foundation & Empire"

UFOtext=
I. Northern Coast

"Count- Free Traders from 27 worlds meet on the ribbon world of Radole within the month. The Foundation, the Free Traders, the Union of the Mule & even remnants of the old Empire, swirl in a toxic mix of confusion. Danger is rife throughout the galaxy. Your investment in Paradox Shipping is in peril."

The Count sighed & looked across the channel waters. Seadoos streaked the afternoon water- like shooting stars in every direction. And like the stars in a warped galaxy, they were spinning out of control.

II. Southern Coast
"My Lady, behold the White Castle!"
Magnifico stretched out a spindly arm, as if he were a bare but lovely tree, & pointed to the distant cliff on the coastal horizon.
Princess Lei touched her black diamond. A virtual lens formed & magnified her view. She could see the majestic castle spires rise above the rock walls of the cliff, waving colorful pennants like ribbons in the sky, far above the violent white breakers of the sea. After a long minute perusing the castle, she touched her black diamond & the optical lens vanished. She turned to Magnifico.
"Magnifico, how long will it take for us to reach the castle?"
"My Lady, the White Castle remains a stout bastion of the centuries against the ravages of time & the sea. One mortal sunset counts but a trifle."
And Magnifico curled his lips into a barren smile.

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Mind Woes

XX

Music=

1. Mind Eraser- The Black Keys
六月早
"As a flower that is lovely & beautiful, but is scentless, even so fruitless is the well-spoken word of one who practices it not." 
-佛

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I. The Deep Forest

Magnifico led the Princess to the caravan. Teams of russet horses pulled a line of country wagons along a dirt road in a wide dell. She could smell the warm equine odor as she watched Magnifico trott along side a team of horses, moving his head up & down, back & forth, making whinny noises as though he were a horse.

After a long day, at nightfall, the stars appeared one by one in unfamiliar patterns. Magnifico smiled at the Princess.
"My Lady. The petals of a budding rose hath not your patience. Yet in due time a rose spreads it's scented wings, & no flight of heaven's fancy can compare."

xx= tumblr_mk34lphJo71s8hacuo1_500

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The New Normal

The Mule's Normal

Music=
1. Mental Traveler
    -The Kickdrums

"What the eye doesn't see & the mind doesn't know, doesn't exist."
- D H Lawrence

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I. Cottage On The White Cliffs

"Archimedes- In Prague I hid my deepest mind in the trees, & left behind only surface thoughts for the Mule to examine. In this way I escaped detection as a member of the Second Foundation. But believe me, his mental powers are extraordinary. The Mule could have crushed the real "Astira" out of existence. I would turn to Zombie, & smile stupidly all day long."

Archimedes listened with great concern. The Dragonfly lowered her eyes, seeking an inner light, high above the dark restless waters before the storm.

II. The Deep Forest

She didn't quite know what to think. She stared at the spindly green man, his frame now upright, his large brown eyes watching her every move. The man had a face only a mother could love- his elongated nose formed a crooked beak, casting a crooked shadow in the moonlight.

"Who are you?" Princess Lei asked.

"I am Magnifico Giganticus- Fortune's Fool, my Fair Lady!"

& he bowed once again, though briefly, & not so deeply.

"This is getting weird." She thought to herself. Magnifico's face drooped a bit.

"Still, perhaps Magnifico can help me find the Mule, perhaps in the White Castle." And she continued thinking in a quiet thoughtful way.

Magnifico looked at her, slowly growing a faint sly grin.

"My Lady. Let me take you to the White Castle by the sea. With any luck, perhaps you might meet the the White Queen!"

Princess Lei stood amazed for a moment. How lucky she was! It seemed like Magnifico had just read her mind!

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Where Is The Mule?

White Cliff Cottage

Music=
1. Crests Of Waves- Coldplay

"Instead of chopping yourself down to fit the world, chop the world down to fit yourself."
- D H Lawrence


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I. The White Cliffs

Stars sparkled in the night sky.

"Where now is this Mule?" demanded Astira. She looked at Archimedes sitting with crossed legs on the backyard table.

"No one knows. The last known sighting is from a rebel pioneer who left the Second Foundation about 20 years ago. He contacted me from out of the blue 2 weeks ago. He said the Mule now holds the White Queen in his power. That makes sense, but I don't know if I can trust the word of this strange man."

"Who is strange man? How can he get so close to the Mule?" demanded Astira, her eyes filtering as though looking through a dark abyss.

"He changed his whole life- he is now known only as the Dragon Of the East."

The dark abyss cracked & exploded into a kaleidoscope. Astira looked at the Dragonfly & they burst into laughter.

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Morning Flower

Mystic Morning

Music=
1. Ground Zero- Night Flowers

"All people dream, but not equally."
- D H Lawrence

UFOtext=
I. The Deep Forest-

Awake! The Twinkling Star vanished like a moonlit dream. Princess Lei looked around, surrounded by the night of tall dark trees. Animals & birds moved around her, circling about in dull red embers of infrared heat sensed by her Yin diamond. She turned left. She intuitively sensed a strange presence watching her- just out of sight in the shadows. Her Yin could feel the invisible heat of the warm body, cloaked in the cool night shadow, perhaps watching her every move. Her eyes opened wide to the dark, and she stood alert & poised, as if she were a wild fox caught in the moonlight.
"My Lady! Dreams are but flowers in the night- but thine wild bloom dost wake this deep forest of sleeping hearts!" 
And a spindly creature of a man emerged from the shadows, & bowed precariously, waving his arms in a sweeping gesture.

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The Year Of The Mule

Night Dragonfly

Music=
1. Bound- Night Flowers

"Silence is a true friend who never betrays."
- Confucius

UFOtext=
I. The White Cottage
Change- birth, life then death. Astira frowned & looked at Archimedes perched in the dark. He turned away from the glowing mathematics & met her gaze.
"Something changed. There is birth & death- but there is no life. Everything the Mule touches becomes corrupt- a one way path to a meaningless existence. People become zombies, their lives a meaningless sport which never ends. There is no real life- only faith in a collective illusion. No one will break the chain, no one has the courage to see- there is not one God damn person who has the will to stop the insanity!"
Archimedes looked away in silence. He watched the sun set in the cottage window. Astira felt tears form in her eyes. Everything was wrong- everything was corrupt- the wrong side was winning. She despised that to the very core of her soul.
A lithe figure appeared. Through the window Astira saw the Dragonfly.


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The Night Before

Deep Forest

Music=
1. Sylvan Song- Heart
2. Bring It On- Seal

I. The Deep Forest

By nightfall Princess Lei reached the edge of the forest. Famished & without natural relief, she found a narrow path winding through the dark trees. Thin moonlight filtered down through the canopy of leaves, endowing the path with a soft luminescence. Determined, she followed the path. After one hour of hiking, she finally paused to rest. After a few minutes of rest & relief, she touched her Yin diamond. A velvet hologram instantly sprang to life, surrounding her in a soft cocoon of light. Enraptured, she could feel the rise & fall of the Twinkling Star- moored to the rock by the waters of the hidden cove. She looked around her nest, her moonlight body moving with a natural fluidity. Through the Yin diamond, her ghost lived & breathed on board the Twinkling Star.

II. The Caravan
The spindly figure moved quietly- a shadow in the night. Curious, he was drawn to the mysterious light. He paused and peered from behind a tree. His eyes & pupils opened wide. He couldn't believe his eyes. Before him sat a beautiful princess of the forest, surrounded by a magical light!

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