Snapshots from the Pan Human Community # 2 by Chipka
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
By the calendar mounted on Maelan's sleep-chamber wall, the ship will arrive tomorrow.
Other vessels have come—from Kempüro, from Plesh, and from Orēān. Now, the ship from Hela will descend, and Hlan will be among those awaiting release from their duties. It has been months since Maelan has seen the most intimate of his friends, and now—with remnants of the night's rain lingering as a thick and sullen cloy in the sponge-mass of his lungs—he recalls the promises whispered nearly a month ago—
...up there...
...out there...
—in the sub-surface nestle of ant-hill corridors and chambers that shaped the under-cities of Bellant.
”Are you sure you want to do this?” Hlan had asked.
”I'm sure.”
Hlan smiled...Maelan remembers that; he remembers other things too. And now, on Magôra, where the Wars ended, he treads through the gene-crafted grasses, thinking to pull off his boots and his socks, to walk as humans walked—once—on the ancestral planet. No one walks there now, with naked feet or otherwise, and because the thought is strong, he yields to it, stooping to undo the closures of his boots. He pulls off his socks, wadding them together, and he leaves the boots at the base of the nearest ground chime. The grass is cool, with a sharpness that bites the flanks of his feet. He laughs, curling his toes in the chill of rain, like dew not yet rendered into vapor by the light of the sun. In glancing down, he is startled by the maggot-pallor of his flesh; his toenails show faint crescents of white, proof that they need a trim.
He has come here for the chimneys, the grass, and for the memory of that last talk on Bellant.
”Magôra is a special world, closest to Ancestral Earth as we'll ever get. It has one-too-many moons, and so the tides are skewed, but Earth-things dwell there—grasses and animals...green things and walking things as you'll never see on any other world.
”And the chimneys?”
”You'll hear them, Maelan...but once they are a part of your normal life, your notice of them will fade.”
It has been months. And he still hears the mournful, sonorous hum of countless chimney flutes. They are in every city, every town, every village. Wherever humans walk. Wherever human ears may conceivably pick up their sound. As a mollusk records the noise of the sea with its shell, the chimneys carry the wind-sounds of Ancestral Earth. Those who would call themselves poets and mystics listen to the chimneys. Maelan is no poet, no mystic, but as an environmental engineer—once billeted on board a long-range hauler—he understands the barometric principles at work behind the chimney songs.
He understands something else.
—A wordless thing.
And tomorrow, when Hlan is once again beside him, he will share what he has come to understand, though he has never once learned to speak it.
****
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting on this and on my previous posts. For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope you're having a great one
Comments (25)
jeroni
Splendid composition and colors my friend
claude19
SUPERB composition where SciFi and Nature are mixed very well !!!
texboy
A beautiful piece of work, Chip; this one really carried me away!!
Geoaskier
The Chimneys are so wonderful and I enjoy two diff contrasts...one the green to the gold of the chimneys....two the contrast of nature to the lines of the chimneys....The man gives depth and scale to the chims...your writings of course I always enjoy!....Love it!
MrsLubner
Very cool shot - valdaliszm and all.
tizjezzme
fantastic!
MrsRatbag
Wonderful piece of a tale, and awesome image...in the hills above UC Berkeley there are some huge wind sculptures that make haunting tones when the breezes blow (as they often do up there). Hadn't thought of them in years, but your story made me remember how eerie they seemed when a friend took me up there one night to hear them.
jccj56
Awesome Shot!!
ladyraven23452
great work.
beachzz
Wonderful contrasts between the lush green meadows, and the soaring tubes. Your story, as always, brings this land to life, with detail and description that make it ever more alive.
auntietk
Do you know how hard it is to render me speechless, my friend? Agape, amazed, thoroughly impressed once again. The story leaves me wanting more. The image makes me want to visit that world. You rock, Darlin'!
Heathcroft
Sorry to have been away this week. Glad to catch this and I like the subtly altered picture plus the narrative as always, Chip. Dave
anahata.c
like I said someplace or other, one of these days I have to take off a week & catch up with all your work: It's all so marvelous & it looks as if this is a continuation of something, and I regret that I'm entering 'in the middle'...but it's awfully evocative no matter where I'm coming in. You paint anticipation so well, of an old companion arriving, old connections renewed, of general waiting ('remnants of rain/a thick & sullen cloy in the sponge-mass of his lungs'...a very fine image, chip! and you show, once again, your knowledge of the sciences); and an evocative capture of the walk across the ground with bare feet and rediscovering a very old connection...But above all, it's the mystery of chimneys which seem to hold calls from an irredeemable past & 'ancestral earth' (such enticing images, chip): This is an image that can carry an entire novel...You did a fine job with the visual too: juxtapositions are quite natural, it gives concrete images to your narrative, and you made a seamless double-moon. When I read pieces like this (from you), I think for some odd reason of the films of Andre Tarkovsky, because of his prolonged scenes of lost worlds and gentle rains & the lush & haunting forests & waters & images...just an association...I also love the name "Hlan"! (You give attention to every detail...) Well, it's another evocative piece from you, a slice that evokes worlds in us; you're very fine and inward in this form. One of these days I'll catch up, as these snippets are making me very hungry for all I've missed...
Janiss
Really wonderful Chip!
MagikUnicorn
DITTO anahata GRANDIOSO
Lunastar
Wonderful image Chip, as always your words enchant
Prematos
Great shot.
Mousson
Fantastic shot !!!
gonedigital
Your writing is fantastic as is your art. Your chimneys reminded me of a news article that I read about a sculpture of pipes that picked up and made "alien" sounds when the wind passed through them. The design of the sculpture allowed it to pick up wind from any direction. Very, very cool story! Thank you for sharing. =-)
three_grrr
Sublime. The photomanipulation is spot on, fits the story to a T. What a wonderful story teller you are, and what marvelous tales you spin. They are too short however, (: , they need to be put into a book so I can sit and read to my heart's content!
Kaartijer
Great story and work! Awesome scene!
timtripp
superb!
kasalin
A beautiful story and capture too !!! Chip, this one really carried me away ! 5*
elisheba
Pure, sublime and such an instant impact... Waw, long time I hadn't seen something like this, this is a really impressive manip that doesn't look like a manip at all... A favorite of mine, definitely.
KatesFriend
A beautiful rendering, very surreal and exotic at first glance but there's nothing quite like walking bare foot in the grass. Even if there are two moons in the sky. I'd love to explore this park and hear the music of the chimneys of which you write. The writing, as always, is marvelous. There are so many facets to these characters and you give life to them and to the extensive history of their culture in such a short space. Yet the story flows without haste.