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Bowling
This is for Jeff Vogel. Camera close-up of the elaborately detailed gate. It has all kinds of interesting moving parts inside, sliding back and forth, the outer ones eventually moving aside and opening up. A convoluted mechanical grid descends from within, heavy pneumatic cylinders in back ensuring a smooth descent for a most delicate cargo. The grid flexes, moves aside, jerks away and up from around them: ten tall, thin creatures, arranged in a circle. They look like the most intricately carved and jewelled crystal decanters imaginable, long straight necks. Each a little taller than a 1.25 litre bottle of Coke. They move hesitantly, slowly; possibly uncomfortable in our gravity. Heads like tapered light-bulbs, feather-thin sensory equipment whirling around inside, each one a miniature carousel of visual receptors. Pencil-thin limbs stir, tiny feet push and squeak against the floor of the reception area. They begin to move. What we had mistaken for hesitancy is in fact their natural mode of movement, much slower than our scale, minutes for each limb to find its place and push. Still, it's fascinating to watch; intelligent glass clockwork motion within their bodies, their internal workings visible as moving rods and cogs and levers. Almost impossible to imagine such things coming into existence by chance; their appearance inspires protective behavior. After half an hour of ritualised movement, they have arranged themselves in a familiar formation. Their leader is ranked foremost; consorts of the two secondary genders behind him, followed by the three scientist/language experts. They are backed up by four soldiers, present only in a symbolic role. They aren't here to fight. Or at least they weren't. As soon as they'd assumed this formation, some clown fetched a bowling ball and scored a seven-ten split on them. Almost as beautiful as their mechanical tinker-toy precision movement was the sight of the gross black sphere ploughing through their fragile bodies, reducing them to collections of pale splinters. And that's how THAT particular war got started. |
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All work on this site is © Nikolai Kingsley unless otherwise stated. |