Ah, Galadriel might have said something like that. There is certainly a creative gestalt out there. I haven’t read LotR for years, but it may well have creapt into my consciousness.
the . of ?, I know what you mean, though it’s a stylistic choice there.
Thanks for the kind words. I know sci-fi is not everyone’s cup of tea. As C.S. Lewis said, it’s one of things one either loves or hates, usually with real passion.
Sci Fi & Fantasy / When Happiness Falls (Analysis)
Prelude: A Brief History of Asru-Nai.
The Earth was dying. Not now, not here. Not the Earth we see up in the night sky, but the Earth of our ancestors, long ago and realities away. The Earth we now call Ælom Jun. For those of you interested in dates and timelines, in the minutia of the past, all the steps that brought us to this place, this point, there are detailed volumes in the Central Archives.
For the rest who have no patience, no wish to wade through such elaborate narratives, here is the abbreviated record of events:
It is said that nothing reminds us of how profoundly creative we can be quite like the threat of extinction. This was certainly true on Ælom Jun. In the teeth of imminent destruction, a group of diverse individuals gathered on the Tibetan Plateau under the rubric of the Lhasa Institute for Quantum Metaphysics. There, in an atmosphere as rare as their number, they sought a means of preserving Homo sapiens despite themselves.
In time, the Institute developed and built the Great Quantum Lift, a device part science, part magicks, part sheer faith in possibilities. It was, briefly put, a celestial conduit to layer upon layer of alternate worlds with alternate realities; a means for probing and exploring universes barely imagined until a habitat was found suitable for humans and our chance at a cosmic do-over.
After years of searching, such a world – this world – was discovered and dubbed Venus-12.
With vast, shallow oceans and lush, rolling continents, Venus-12 loomed a haven for the unhomed. It was not old Earth, but then old Earth was done. The air was good, the seasons clement, and the indigenous flora and fauna seemingly compatible with Earth’s own. There would, of course, be things to get used to: days 120 hours long, years a mere 52 days. This made a hash of familiar time keeping. To say the least. Still, it would be mad to turn down new life for the sake of a 24-hour day.
And so they came, our ancestors, with their dreams and promises and hybrid ways. They built a Lift terminus – a link to their past – on the northern shore of the Eros Sea. And around the Lift, Sukra, the first human colony, grew. Fields were planted, animals raised, in time the Lift was replaced by something better, all in the shadow of the towering mountains the First-Lifters called the Spires of the World. The name is believed to have some connection to Ælom Jun and the Lhasa Institute, though the specific reference has been lost.
Much has been lost. It is the way with time. And much time has passed.
In accord with our vigesimal reckoning it is now 3.1.13 After Lift – forty generations since the Ælomi tumbled along quantum corridors to Venus-12. By our calendar – by any calendar – a long count of years. Long enough that even history has evolved into the stuff of legend. Struggles and triumphs, sins and graces, misunderstandings which became wars, acts of faith which became peace, all were recorded and passed on in trust through the ages, lest they be forgotten. And the players in those dramas: Humans Ix Tal and Sita Tagore, Kai-lie Mateau and Nogai Dram; Land Anglers Chakala and Adok; Merfins Fi-Ram and Nuka, larger-than-life beings, beings who consorted with the Gods, perhaps even made a few. The legends of Venus-12.
Were they real? Who can say. Ask a cloud and you’ll get a cloudful of answers. You might even find someone among the longer-lived who swears their great gran’na shared air with one or two of them.
More to the point, does it matter? Inspiration comes from fact as well as fiction, life as well as death, temporal journeys transform all. Great Lift, even Venus-12 isn’t Venus-12 anymore, save in the Chronicles. The natives, feathered, furred, skinned, and scaled, all call it Asru-Nai. It’s a good name, an old name, from when the planet was young and humans only emerging ooze in some a distant universe.
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HeavyMetalMouth reviewed Version 2 -
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Good mix of sci-fi and fantasy, with a lot of potential.. And I certainly have no patience and no wish to wade through elaborate narratives, so thanks for that ~
Paul
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Dauna reviewed Version 2 -
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I understand that this piece was supposed to be the Brief History of Asru-Nai. It felt a little like a info dump.
The players in those dramas – the names were lumped together that I have no true idea of who they were or what role they played in the drama. Will one of them be important in the story?
You’ve gave a great history but what the reader doesn’t know is who’s story is this. I don’t deny that you have writing talent. I’m just not sure this is the way to draw the reader in.
asylem reviewed Version 2 -
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Wow, this is a great prelude. You’ve obviously put a lot of thought into the creation of your world. Unlike a lot of “otherworldly” pieces, nothing here seems contrived. Everything is just unique enough to communicate the mystery, but not so exotic as to be corny. The writing style is excellent, and you divulge just enough to get the reader interested in the coming chapters. I really have nothing negative to say about this – am really looking forward to reading the rest of it.
krts reviewed Version 2 -
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The line “Ask a cloud and you’ll get a cloudful of answers” seems to say nothing and everything about this piece. I really needed a character to guide me through this but I do understand it is mostly a set up for the rest of the story. I think your writing is very creative but I wanted to engage with a “person” who was explaining this time and place to me. Bottom line: The work is very creative but not engaging.
black_neon reviewed Version 2 -
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I am impressed with the new world/universe you’ve created, but all the new vocabulary that is akward to pronounce does not make sense to me. If they saved all the history wouldn’t the language be the same? I understand it’s Sci-Fi, but it’s still Earth-esque, not completely made up.
The way you wrote was some what scattered, but I understand this is a prelude, but if you made it longer and took some time with it I think it would be much better. It seemed very rushed out and choppy.
homicidegirl reviewed Version 2 -
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Aside from being a little lost and confused, I thought it was well written. Your style is different and unique, yet it remains interesting.
There are, however, a lot of terms and facts being thrown at the reader. For someone just stepping into your world, it’s brainful. It’d probably be best if you found a way to toss the background information not needed and take the remainder of that information and integrate it into the story some other way.
IdeeFixe09 reviewed Version 2 -
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“Long enough that even history has evolved into the stuff of legend.”
That line just sounded very Lord of the Rings. In the beginning of the first movie you have ‘Galadriel’ speaking about what has been happening and I swear she says something very similar to that.
“Who can say.”
Wouldn’t that be a ’?’ at the end?
That’s really all that I can find wrong with the piece. What do I find right? Nearly everything else. I can see how you got a short story published. Your talent is definitely great and interesting. Although this wouldn’t be my type of book, sci-fi nuts would love this.
Jacamo reviewed Version 2 -
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Very good alternate reality setting. As in the beginning of many sci-fi tales the names of the characters are a bit hard to keep sorted out.Overall it is a very good story and readable.A good mix of science and magic to create and explore differant plnes of existance.The Venus 12 world they found to move to sounds like what we are actually looking for in reality.
goalseeker reviewed Version 2 -
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I’m a reader who likes a punch at the end, or a ‘wow’ as handed down by the likes of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, or Philip K. Dick. I enjoyed the story and it is well written, but I mst confess that I didn’t get it. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed so your indulgence is requested but in the bell curve of aware readers I hope that I am alone in not recognizing a powerful ending.
themysticrose reviewed Version 2 -
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Was a little confusing to me. I not much of a science fiction person, but it does seem very descripitve and well wrote
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