The Machine by Chipka
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Description
Ükür will always be a fascinating place for me.
I’ve always been interested in the people of Ükür—they always seemed so exotic, so full of life (or at least color) and there was always something vaguely magical about them. As an adult, now living in the country of my dreams, I can say that the magic remains for me; it is a darker dream, however, shadowed by something I cannot really explain. My love of this place seems obsessive, and I’m afraid of what it might imply. I have friends here, two local guys named Dül and Xéŗšé; they’re a couple, though it took me a while to figure that out. I can be rather dense at times.
It is because of my friends that I’m writing this. I’ve asked them to help me with a project, to guide me through the strange currents that define the deep and murky sea that is their culture. A part of what I’ve asked them to do seems to trouble them to no end.
Everyone knows about the strange, anachronistic machines that lie scattered throughout Ükür. Similar devices have been found as far away as Agara. Dubious claims indicate that Estonia might harbor a few of these odd devices as well. I can find no substantiated examples of Estonian machines, but that doesn’t really matter. They’re here, and in a duller, prosaic way, they’re in Agara. It’s likely that the Agarans invented the machines and used them as a means to incorporate their country into the immense and complex workings of a nation-sized clock. Theories surrounding the Ükür artifacts hint at a similar possible use, though examples of the machines themselves seem to indicate a more cryptic purpose. The most disturbing (and compelling) thing about these machines (called čotí [plural] in Üküré) is that they are wonders of advanced mechanical engineering, though they were built thousands of years ago. Hundreds of these machines are on display in various museums around the world, and hundreds more lie untouched in the strange mounds that have housed them in the Üküré countryside for at least three millennia. These devices are more sophisticated than anything we have yet built. We’re proud of our Hubble Space Telescope and our nuclear reactors, cell phones and insipid Wii machines but they’re nothing compared to what these strange (and troubling) devices represent.
My friends, Dül and Xéŗšé, know more about these things than they’ll ever say. Dül was born and raised in the city of Šeš, a contaminated, industrial canker-sore on the face of southern Ükür; he has encountered these machines during his childhood, and has told me that locals tend to conceive children in the mounds that house them. The Üküré are largely secular people; they don’t believe in magic, and yet they seem to endow these machines with strange, paranormal attributes. Though Dül and Xéŗšé won’t be conceiving any children, I suspect that they’ve also gone to Šeš, to consummate their relationship in the presence of a machine. And maybe this is the reason behind their reluctance to share an exploration of these devices with me.
I’ve managed to talk them into a journey to Šeš. They’ve agreed, grudgingly, and so I’ll be seeing one of these devices in its native environment. I need to do that. I’ve seen them in museums, and I’ve researched as much as I could. I need to see a “wild” one now, in its native context and not inside of a sealed, glass case.
I hope that our trip to Šeš will be a good one, and I hope that I’ll be able to finally understand why it is so important for me to see one of these things, up close and personal.
--Samantha Braden/Personal Journal (unpublished)
***
This isn't actually a machine from the fictional land of Ükür. It's part of a tow-truck's engine in the midst of an endless repair job. But hey, I like any excuse to visit Ükür that I can get.
As always, thank you for viewing, readning, and commenting.
Comments (34)
bimm3d
great photo and story!!
mbz2662
Wow~ where do you come up with this stuff? Reading this , to me, is like watching Star Trek, The Terminator and Transformers.. all in one, with your own special twist. Something about the colors in the photo brings to mind The Terminator, and well, a machine in a glass case - Transformers. ..and Samantha's journal, Star Trek. That's just me :)
wysiwig
Your pictures of machines always look so organic. This one looks like part of a rib cage. An excellent piece of writing. The mention of Estonia kept me thinking for a bit that this was a memoir rather than a story. Your prose draws in the reader. I can't wait to find out why this is so important to Samantha.
sharky_
Interesting capture. Live out your dreams to your max. Aloha
PSDuck
Cool shot...awesome story!
faroutsider
It seems that Ükür is a variant of the place we call Ürth - a dimensional phase shift existing parallel to the reality we build with our limited perceptions... Thanks for the glimpse of their alternative timespace, and for the observations of a highly perceptive traveller.
beachzz
Whatever it takes to get there, I know you'll do it. You'll find your friends, have a drink of some mysterious liquor, and talk. it will seem as though you've known them forever. There might even be Persian food , and then it would be perfect.
helanker
A really awesome capture of this engine part. Looks really super and I was relieved, when I came to the end of this little amazing story. I was beginning to believe it was about your self :-) I should have known better LOL !
durleybeachbum
Like Mark I saw ribcage, but then these alien machines are alive so why not? Your brain must be a-seething with creativity: Corey revealed that you type very fast, I expect that helps you keep up with the outpouring! Great image and story, of course, Chip!
prutzworks
like the textures & DOF
kaward
It has a feeling of suppressed power! Great image!
tamburro
Great shot!!!!!!!!!
Meisiekind
What a fantastic image to inspire a wonderful tale! I love the texture on the surface... Well done dear Chip! :)
flora-crassella
interesting image.....
Hubba1
Awesome image, you really have a way with words! Beautiful :)
claude19
I really enjoyed this story, and it is presented so that I doubted for a moment an interesting read (which sparks my interest) account of night out ... but I have restored the truth, with the dating machines ... In France, these sophisticated machines are buried in caves concreted in the great forests of the west, and Britain, it circulates information, in which the alien last name of one of these machines he was better known by the name of Merlin Magician! Good week and THANK greatly
thecytron
Stunning clarity and details!
MrsRatbag
Fantastic work again, Chip! Your stories make me look at everything with a new eye...
auntietk
What a wonderful prequel to The Shift ... I thoroughly enjoyed every word! At first I thought you were going to encounter the same fate as Samantha (and couldn't figure out why it took you so long to tumble to your friend's relationship!) but realizing at the end that this is an excerpt from Samantha's journal brings the whole thing together. An excellent story! I'm looking forward to more. The mystery is compelling!
Sea_Dog
As usual the image and the story weave themselves together so completely it's difficult to seperate them. Which is fine because they are both so entrancing. I enjoy your unique visions and expresses immensely. Well done.
cv1
Very cool close up!!
anaber
UKUR must be a challenging city, as far as i understood. And that machine has some kind of magic ...look like fingersclosed with the iron. Excelent photo. The textures and the colours grab me!
kgb224
Outstanding capture my friend.This picture and story makes ones mind flow.
MrsLubner
It reminds me of an anatomical model kit I had as a young girl - "The visible man." You could see right through the skin and examine the organs and blood vessels and muscles. I seem to be looking through a rib cage here. Wonderful work.
geirla
Foreboding image, and it's nice to read Samantha's side of the story...
KatesFriend
This is an wonderful alternate world narative. Blending reference of our familiar technology with these mysterious, fictional relics. I marvel at your imagination sometimes. The photo brings to mind the electric motor of my mother's old vacuum clear. One which she inherited from her mother. That too seemed to come from a completely separate and forgotten part of history. The factory that made it and employed hundreds now leveled. The great downtown department store that sold it, shuttered. There being no longer a discernable path from our world to the one of its birth.
M2A
Looks so intriguing. Great photo.
ladyraven23452
cool.
myrrhluz
Totally gripping narative! The image looks alive and waiting...
blondeblurr
It's a nice change to have a soft approach and point of view from Samantha in a man's world of machines... maybe, just maybe, these machines might be ready to help D & X to conceive and start a family of their own, I am sure it will be all revealed in good time. We have been very busy lately, El-Nino is here and everything is turning brown and dies on our acreage, (so unlike for the sub-tropics here) unless we get more busy and do a lot more of watering and regularly! the 6000 liter rain-water-tank is empty again, so that leaves little time to comment...but in thoughts I am there. Have a beer on us and Franz K. Cheers BB