The Humming Dunes

Humming Dunes

Music=
1. Mental Traveller
2. Echoes
   -The Kickdrums








"Course rice to eat, water to drink, my bended arm for a pillow- therein lies happiness."
-Confucius

Astira

UFOtext=
I. Gobi Desert
Astira & company fake their demise & escape from the Crescent Lake, but are now stranded in the desert world of Gobi. The Mule departs, unaware of Astira's tracking device. The Second Foundation on the ruins of Trantor remain clueless. 
~

Astira opened her tired eyes. The emperor sun bled to rust, eclipsed halfway by humming dunes & undulating waves of heat, resonant with swirling dust. Her clothes stuck uncomfortably on her skin & sweat. A few emboldened stars fought what remained of the retreating light.

"About six weeks- that's how long our supplies last. Then we die."

Jamu smiled grimly. He reached into his backpack.

"Here you go beautiful- catch!"

He tossed a water bottle to Astira. She grabbed it in the air with both hands. 

"From the Crescent Lake- a vintage year!"

Jamu smirked. Astira drank greedily. One bottle equal her daily ration. She would drink half now, half later.

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Les Miserables

xx

Music=
1. Perfect
   -Smashing Pumpkins
2. Glow In The Dark
   -Night Flowers

" xx "











UFOtext=
I. Paris

A garden of chimes....Princess Lei remembered the secret sound of the black key as faint church bells died away upon the quiet waters of the Seine. The Count stood straight in the late afternoon, his lapel decorated with a single bloom of the azalea flower.

"My Lady, the thief holding the Yin diamond knows not its worth. The Buddha laughs at the desires of mortal men. The ancient Mandarin texts you read in the tower above the Crescent Lake make it abundantly clear; for even today, thousands of years gone by, the Silk Path still leads to the ultimate fate of all concerned."

The Count smiled imperceptibly. Princess Lei stood quietly, wishing she could believe the Count. She knew the ways of the sordid world, the ways of injustice & the impervious reign of authority. How could the Count be so confident? He must be miraculously naive, untutored by the cruel & practical realities of life. Yes, his early life, she vowed then & there to uncover its cloaked truth. The dark cloud over her mind passed. She awakened & stood before him. She smiled at his freshly picked azalea- a lovely accent of spring in late July.

"My Lady, your wandering thoughts of concern stray from the enlightened path, & furrow your lovely brow. The black key shows the way to all who would listen. Do you not remember its garden of chimes?"

The ancient Mandarin spoke. Princess Lei held her breath & tossed the black key into the Crescent Lake. Far below, a moonlit wave in a pure white circle spread across the night water.

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Demosisto*

The Dark Island

Music=
1. Better
  -The Kickdrums
2. White Shadows
  -Coldplay





" If your plan is for one year,
  sow rice.
  If your plan is for ten years,
  plant apple trees.
  If your plan is for one century,
  liberate the people."
  ~Confucius

I. The Dark Island

Something jammed the hyperspace link. Joshua tuned the flickering hologram, but it broke up into a million flickers of optical static. Astira dissipated. Joshua looked over at Vivienne. She stood rakish like a moonbeam in the dark.

"Your friend courts danger. Magnifico controls the mind & will crush her personality out of existence."

Princess Leizu formed out of moonlight & drifted toward Joshua. Joshua felt the weight of ten centuries. Outside, he heard the horses of the Emperor. Inside, Princess Leizu whispered in his ear. He knew the Future was the Past- nothing could ever change. Leizu reached for his hand. Joshua reached for the door. He kicked it open. The Emperor's guards passed through- mere shadows. Beneath a night sky of one thousand shooting stars, he held Leizu's hand & they ran liberated to the pier.

* Demosisto (People Stand) is the name of the new freedom party in Hong Kong founded in April 2016.

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Epilogue

The Crescent Lake

Music=
1. Chakra Tuning
  -Zen Meditation
2. Listen To Your Heart
  -Alicia Keys



"The heart is full that chimes those stones!"
-Book XIV 42. Sayings Of Confucius

UFOtext=
I. The Crescent Lake
i)

ii) The flight of steps led up to the moon. The Count & Princess paused. They stood before a narrow temple door.

"The door is locked. What next?"

With her hand, Princess Lei swept away a stray lock of hair from her eyes. She looked at the face of the Count hiding from the light of the moon. He spoke softly.

"My Lady, the way is sometimes dark & mysterious. Do you remember the laughing Buddha & the Pearl of Dreams?"

"Yes I do- but without the Yin diamond there is nothing we can do now. This temple door is locked & you can't blast it open."

"My Lady, the Buddha has the last laugh. Behold this small piece of black jade from his ancient hand."

The Count reached with his hand to his breast pocket. He grasped something within & then opened his outstretched hand beneath the moonlight. Princess Lei stared in curiosity. The Count held a small black key in the palm of his hand. He explained.

"I am told by an expert this key holds a microscopic imprint of music dated from thousands of years in the past. It can only unlock the right matching door with its ancient musical tune."

Princess Lei smiled. It seemed too incredible to believe. She carefully picked up the key & instantly felt the smooth warm jade melt around her fingers. Taken aback, she closed her eyes & felt a strange microscopic tingling. Deep within her mind she could hear a garden of chimes. The Count smiled. 

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Moon & Black Stars

Nightfall

Music=
1. Cherub Rock
-Smashing Pumpkins
2. That's How Strong My Love Is
-Alicia Keys

"Love is more to the people than fire & water."
-Confucius 

UFOtext=
I. Crescent Lake
i)  The white hot sun crashed behind the dunes. The stars erupted in the sky. In the final ray of faint red light, Astira touched her i6. Her small earring translated the strange words of the Dragon-

"We travel bearing gifts for the Clan of the Tiger. I bring my best concubine as a humble gift to the newly elected successor of the Tiger Master- his former greatness who now resides in the Seventh Cloud of Heaven."

The Dragon waved his robed arm in a slow flourish toward Astira. She felt kooky, but she winked at the two border guards.

"Show me your passports."

The Face of the Dragon looked puzzled & took mild offense.

"That won't be necessary. I bring gifts for everyone."

The Dragon smiled & produced two small brightly colored bags- each bag filled with small treasures from a festival of boats. And so it was, & so written. Within a few short minutes, Astira, Jamu & the Dragon entered the small villa by the Crescent Lake- the only body of water on the barren desert planet.

The stars burned bright. Time passed. Astira stood on a narrow balcony looking over the small intimate groups of people persisting through the long cool night. She could barely make out their voices drifting high above the low humming of the dunes. Suddenly, her i6 spoke softly-

"Astira, Joshua is on hyperspace link & would like to speak with you now."

Astira spaced out. But she recovered her presence of mind.

"Joshua, where are you?"

"The Dark Island."

"You are in danger. The Mule knows where you are."

"No. I am not in danger. I am with Vivienne. She is powerful. She has told me many things about the Mule. The Second Foundation doesn't really know anything about the Mule. The First Speaker on Trantor is ruined. Psychohistory now collapses. It is everywhere blue deviations as shown by Aristarchus. But Vivienne tells me much about the Mule. Now I know why the origin of the Mule is unknown."

"Explain that one."

"Second Foundation never uncovered the early history of the Mule as a boy. The reason is simple. The Mule is over 50,000 years old & travels to Future Infinity."

Astira paused.

"Wow- that one fossil ass for sure...How you know this? "

"I have felt the kiss of death from Princess Leizu."

ii)  Like a dark wing cast from heaven- beneath the stars the fleeting shadow of Princess Lei flew along the thin crescent path of moonlight separating the diamonds of water from the infinite abyss of humming sand. Her dark wing ceased its celestial motion.

"Where are you from?" The man's faint words died somewhere far away upon the ethereal breeze.

"The Star of Kashmir." The words of the Princess twinkled across the desert dunes.

The man in the dark formed a twisted smile.

"The Yin of our cosmos- what is this worth to you?"

"What is the worth of the Yang in our cosmos? What is the worth of the day without the night?" asked the Princess.

"You talk in riddles. How many credits from the Empire?"

"The credits of the Empire are soon to be worthless. I bring credits from the Foundation."

The Princess stood in the humming breeze, her gown flowing in ribbons of moonlight.

"I see. Very well. How many credits from the Foundation?"

"Enough. That's all you need to know. First up, I need to see the Yin diamond."

The man in the turban stood still in the dark.

"My dear Princess, you don't need to see a thing."

The man pulled out a blaster & pointed it at the Princess. Princess Lei stood still- not moving a millimeter.

"My dear Princess, how many credits is your life worth as a slave?" The man broke into a wide grin.

A stray transient cloud passed over the moon. Like a dark wing a shadow fell across the path. The blaster flew crazily into the air & splashed into the glittering water. A dark avenger emerged from the desert & put his boot firmly on the neck of the man.

"Ali- you were never any good at closing a deal."

And the Count brushed off his dinner jacket & pulled up the man by the scruff of his desert robe.

 


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Yueyaquan

The Crescent Lake

Music=
1. Low
  -Coldplay

"Better a diamond with a flaw, than a pebble without."
-Confucius



UFOtext=
I. London Town

The cold sun greeted the New Year. London Town awakened, & the rosy spirit of Christmas passed away like a dream in the night. 

"Where is the Yin diamond now?" asked the Count.

"Who can say for sure. The mystery of the missing Yin & Yang diamonds now becomes a perfect symmetry- two black shooting stars lost in a blink of galactic history."

The Count smiled faintly- with irony. The eyes of Princess Lei fell stricken. The London Owl sat up high & unruffled.

"Listen." said the Count.

"Over the last few days I spoke with a few unsavory characters- business partners of Yogi, shall we say."

The Count then paused in a moment of thoughtful equilibrium. He continued.

"Yogi's fingerprints are on the Yin diamond. The highest black market bidders are to be found in the Far East. That leads to the trail of stars in the Silk Path. And that leads to a small island gateway- best known to smugglers & thieves."

"Kiritimati?" asked the Princess.

"No my Lady. The Pearl of Dreams is only a myth of the ancient Dark Island galactic dynasties. That is- a myth in the eyes of many, such as Yogi & the Mule- but a certain truth witnessed by our own eyes. And to our very own eyes we must be true."

The Count gazed warmly upon the Princess, as if she were an exotic jasmine bloom, forever open in the summer crescent of a tropical ring world.

"And the name of this gateway to the Silk Path?" asked the London Owl.

"To the people of the Far East, it is known as Yueyaquan. Others know it as the Crescent Lake- a small island of water in the vast inhospitable ocean of sand dunes known as the Gobi desert."

And the cold sun of London Town rose like a white moon in a vast ocean of invisible stars.

II. The Humming Dunes

Astira checked her i6 hyperspace link. No Joshua. Disappeared that one.

"No word." said Astira.

The Dragon stood, facing away and toward the high dunes. The red sun rapidly sank below the dunes. Suddenly, the stars lit up the visible dome of darkening sky.

"The Mule leads only to danger. The future of our galaxy remains in dark peril. Joshua is now one bright star missing from the sky."

Astira stood grim & silent. Only the mad eerie humming of the dunes could be heard. It never stopped. Ever. She quietly put away her i6. 

"We need to pack up & load the sand crawler." said Jamu.

"We need to crawl at night when it is cool & we cannot be seen."

"You mean freezing cold at night- like witch's tit." said Astira. 

She walked awkwardly in her trek boots, each step sinking ankle deep, trapped in loose packed sand. Frustrated, she quietly whispered a curse. Then, after tedious struggle, she finally jumped on board the low riding sand crawler. Relief.

Jamu mounted his camel & lead the sand crawler up the steep dune. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks & turned around.

"Lay low. There's a ship!" whispered Jamu.

And no sooner had his words died on the humming dunes, the starless shadow of a huge black ship flew eerily silent over the small group of travelers.

"Who the hell flies so low & crazy?" hissed Astira.

The Dragon turned calmly to Astira.

"The Mule."

And the cold night stars carried only the humming of the dunes.

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The Eve Of A New Year

Astira

Music=
1. Out Go The Lights
  -Spoon

"Meet evil with justice; meet good with good."
-Confucius

UFOtext=
I. Paris
The Mule is livid at Yogi for his failure to control Astira.






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