Signs On The Door

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.

Rise & Fall

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.




   

Ruins Talk

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.

         
          

Forever Free

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...

     

Bluetooth

Music=
1. Coffee
-Tori Kelly 
2. Out Of The Blue
-George Harrison








📲
UFOtext=
I. The Passage
The price of time dropped. The technology of the First Foundation seemed like magic to the rest of the galaxy. The rest of the galaxy included Ozymandias. Ozymandias- probably ancient & forgotten technology- survived as part of the Third Foundation. All these REM thoughts networked in vivid dreams languid & surreal beneath the burning stars. Astira woke. She felt restless. 

    

From Stardust A Lotus Blooms

Music=
1. Girl & The Sea
-The Presets    
2. When You’re Bored
-Joywave


🦓
UFOtext=
I. The Emperor’s Island 
The Silk Path forked near the edge of the galaxy. Star travelers far & wide traded rare & valuable goods through the nebula outpost at this critical vertex. Known history faded into a mist of lost millennia....
Joshua walked in home territory- but it felt different these days. The rise of the Mule tore at the equations of psychohistory. They still worked- except near the tears of the Mule. That’s where the equations broke down. Now that rip in psychohistory reached all the way to the Silk Path- & the rebellious stellar outpost hiding secrets from the ancient Lotus of Civilization. 

II. The Canyon 
Astira took refuge in the shade from the blazing sun. A natural rock ledge covered the passage from the subterranean world. She watched Ozymandias in fascination. He stood in the bright sun & one by one removed his garments. Then he lay down on the baked rock in a spread eagle position. For the remainder of the long day he slept, soaking up the energy carried by the solar radiation. As the sun set he stirred back to life. He put his garments back on & tested his legs. Satisfied, he walked back toward the entrance.
“You feel better now?” asked Astira.
“My energy level is 99.98%. I’m loaded & ready to go.”
Astira started to crack up a little bit.
“OK- so how we contact others without alerting every goon on this God forsaken planet?”
She stared intently at the robot, waiting for an answer.
“There is no electronic solution. We must find them physically- if they are still alive.”
Ozymandias looked at Astira with sympathy.
She sighed. One by one the stars formed their patterns in the sky. She remembered from long ago M telling her that in their darkest hour the stars shown the brightest. 

       

Yellow Sash

Music=
1. Brainwashed
  -George Harrison
2. Within You Without You
  -Beatles







⚠️


UFOtext=
I. Valloire
The traveler checked into the inn. The clerk gave the man a key. He walked to his room; accommodations were bare but sufficient. No picture of the First Citizen hung on the wall. Good. He opened the yellow curtains by the window. He could see the chalets on the mountain side beneath the blue sky. They looked like flowers decorating the mountain rock.