23 Apr 10 The Dream Cruise
Dedicated to Robert “Wheels” Lareau
The vast curtain of stars against the void was something that could swallow you up, something you could get lost in. Countless stars, galaxies, nebulae, an infinite canvas which permitted no alteration, save by the boldest of spacefaring cultures. Normally against the backdrop of eternity, the blue-green globe of Earth spun silently, accompanied by its shining silver moon, a landmark to guide yourself by.
But today there is something else. A thread of light, in a lazy curving vector, stretched outward from humanity’s home. What gigantic spinneret was it that built this construction? Like the first yarn in a cosmic cat’s cradle, it appeared to be slowing spreading outward from Earth towards the moon. It then tightly wound about the lunar orbit, before coming back in another arc towards Earth. From far away, it is entrancing and beautiful.
But closer up, awash in the reflected light of Earth and the moon, you can hear the distant radio emissions and laser signals of countless starcraft. Ancient starcraft, from man’s first ventures into space, salvaged antiques which ply the stars only with updated technology. An Apollo capsule–the tiniest mote of metal!–leads the charge against the moon. Behind it follows a metal sphere, smooth-surfaced, relying upon some reactionless drive, clearly a newer vehicle. Then a Space Shuttle from man’s heady days of exploration and construction, and behind it a line of all the Earth starships that ever were. And then follows a launch vehicle from the electromagnetic guns, smooth, aerodynamic, elongated. They all sail the seas of the void again, in a dream cruise headed for the moon.
This quick jaunt is only a small trip for some of these pilots, and some of these pilots are the vehicles. Is that an alien ship, the weirdly apportioned series of spheres caught in crystalline webbing? Could that actually be a Soyuz capsule? Some of the banter from observers on the surfaces of both the Earth and the Moon, and some in orbit watching its progress, make various comments on the modifications and technical limitations posed by the vehicle artificers. How exactly did they fit a fusion drive on the end of the Endeavour?
In no time at all the parade will end, and the ships will land in their hangars and return to their docking bays. And in a few years they will meet again, discussing the minutiae of spaceships and starcrafts and bulkheads and engines, never finding words to describe the beauty of the shining thread, held against the stars, between the cradle of man and its moon.
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Well done!
What a nice tribute, Thomas. Have you ever considered adding an audio recording to the web site for items like this? Hope your great new project at work is going well. Best regards, Scott