Smythii Crossing by geirla
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Description
Oh well, didn't place in the NSS calendar contest this time either. But here's my other entry, a view from the moon.
All Bryce, with a couple of NASA textures for the Earth. The building toke a couple of weeks of on and off work to complete, but I thought they looked pretty good.
Thanks for viewing and commenting!
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Smythii Crossing. Well, there are worse places to be exiled. The city sits on the edge of the mare of the same name, on the eastern limb of the moon. It's intersected by both the equatorial and limb magrail lines and it serves as a ground relay for near Earth transmissions to the Farside grid, L2 and beyond. There's also a couple of landing complexes, so its gets a fair share of travelers, and a Martian like me doesn't stand out.
It’s a strange place in a strange location. The towers reach up to a klick above the surface, and the Opera House looks out across the Mare, but more than half the city is underground. And few people venture outside. It's all canned air. Pleasant enough, but I miss hiking on the slopes of Elysium and sailing on the Northern Ocean. VR doesn't compare.
The day is a month long - by definition, you know - two weeks of sunshine and two weeks of night. The Earth stays near the horizon, weaving a bit and almost setting at one point - libration, they call it. I can see the blue globe rotate around, changing phase so slowly, but in constant motion. There are storms and lights that flash across the dark side, signs of life and five billion souls.
At dawn the Earth is nearly full; at dusk it's a red ring of world-wide sunsets. And our night grows lighter as it progresses, as Earth waxes brighter and illuminates the darkness. In the darkest hour, just past dusk, I've been outside in a rover, and then the stars are as bright as I've ever seen them, on a Martian night camped far up the volcano's slope. The Milky Way is a glorious stream of countless jewels - but they don't twinkle. By day, barely a star survives the glare. It's nothing but a featureless black, with only the Earth and the painfully bright sun to see.
Oh, I got a job, escorting some rich Nobilis around. Not much, but it pays for my apartment and utilities. You know, they charge you for the air you breathe here. Hope you are well.
-- Jonathan Fram, former Major, Elysium Guard, in a letter to his sister Emma, June 2509
Comments (6)
Seaview123
I think your image is really first rate! A really above average post. Your sci-fi story definately sets the stage for this image, and your writing captures the emotion of someone exiled to a far outpost for his tour of duty. Excellent work, very detailed and rich.
kjer_99
Really like the story. The render gives me a few problems; although, it is nicely done. I think it is the guy in the spacesuit on the rim of the foreground hill. For some reason, he tricks my mind into greatly reducing the size of the buildings. They just don't look like mile-high structures to me. Think it might not have been a problem, if the guy was gone. If you think that's bad, the squirrels on the golf course across from my backyard appear to look about two feet to three feet in length!!! It's really weird when they come charging over to our lawn: the closer they get, the smaller they get! My wife says it the same for her, too. Grin. My Jack Russell says; "Squirrels are sneaky critters and are not to be trusted. Don't worry, though. I'll keep an eye on 'em." (She says it very loudly, too.) Grin. SERIOUSLY, I do like the render very much, especially, the POV
egehlin
I'm probably showing my age here but this piece reminds me of the sci-fi imagery from the pulp/digest magazines of the '30s, '40s and '50s. I'm a huge fan of artists like Walter Baumhofer, Frank R. Paul, John Schoenherr, H. R. Van Dongen and Frank Kelly Freas and your images capture the spirit of these artists' work. Keep up the great work!!
grafikeer
Sorry to hear this didn't get selected,but it's still a great image.I do agree with kier 99 regarding the scale,the foreground figure does appear to be too large,but I get the sense he's on a crater rim looking down at the buildings and maybe it's the POV thats throwing the depth off.Nonetheless, it's a great render and story,as usual.5+ from me-Neil.
lordgoron
Great sci-fi scene!
photostar
Great modeling and lighting.