Astronomy Picture of the Day is Mars in a Manger. Be sure to read the description; I found it more beautiful once I had. Lovely perspective.
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WoD: metamorphasis: transformation, translation, mutation, permutation, vicissitude, transfiguration, displacement, redecoration
Fic: Colony
Spaceman in a spacesuit. Hailed by the welcoming party, no respirators, smiling and glowing under the alien sun. Atmosphere safe, better than earth's, we promise: no man-made pollutants. Eden, this is Eden. So he'd heard, this spaceman.
Helmet removed, long walk across springing, vividly green grass, bouncing him forward. Over there, in the forest. That's where our home is. Did we say home? Eighteen months we've been here, it's home now. One can't miss earth, not when Eden is all around. Here, let's get you out of that suit. Cumbersome, heavy.
The spaceman's instruments say safe, say ready, say everything's fine. All his life, he's relied on instruments: blink, blink. Fine. Safe. He takes off his suit, peels it off, it's taken away along with his instruments. No need for those right now. Tell us about your trip. Was it long? Did you sleep? Do you feel the dawn? Do you feel the beginning?
The spaceman inspects them for space intoxication; they've been gone too long. Or is there madness in the air? His instruments are gone, and he must make a report.
He goes to sleep and doesn't wake for thirty days on this planet, forty-seven earth days, one cycle to his hosts. He doesn't want to wake. It's dark and warm in his dreams, but one morning, he pushes off the covers.
As they gently caress his damp, new wings, drying them for flight, they ask when the next spaceman will arrive.
"He takes off his suit, peels it off, it's taken away along with his instruments. No need for those right now. Tell us about your trip. Was it long? Did you sleep? Do you feel the dawn? Do you feel the beginning?"
ReplyDelete--That part is very lryical, I almost can hear some beautiful music behind it, with a powerful voice singing it.