[MV] The Super Wizard From Space #53: The Surrogate Sovereignty, part 3

[Drew Perron]

On 2/24/2016 5:36 PM, wilalambre at gmail.com wrote:
<snip>
> I can immediately tell I'm somewhere alien. The ground's made of basalt and
> obsidian, strangely stepped in naturally uniform hexagons. There's a thin
> whisky-coloured liquid across the entire surface, ankle deep. It reminds me of
> nectar, but it doesn't stick or cling. The sky has an orangish-gold tint to it,
> as if it's just dawn and the sun's just peaking over the horizon, except I can't
> see a sun or an horizon.

That's so cool.

> And there's a scent in the air that doesn't _smell_
> like anything, and yet somehow it reminds me of architectures and blueprints.

THAT'S SO COOL!

> She drops
> her arm and frowns. "Szorry. It'sz not much of a view from here. I can't sztand
> not szeeing the sztarsz."

Interesting mirror.

> I don't know how awestruck I look, and I can't bring myself to hide it. "This
> is... incredible!" I reply. "It's like art made of math and... and more art. Why
> does it look like this, when Volsci... doesn't?"
> "The Monszter Bee szwarm invaded Volszci for its reszources. They peeled it open
> and uszed everything up. But here, on Carthago, they came to make a home. And
> unlike Volszci, here, they were _invited_.

Ohhhhh. Fascinating. :o

> "The szwarm isz a timeworn szuper-race with followersz and worszhippersz, juszt
> like any of the othersz.

Man. The whole super-race structure is fascinating. I forget, is the super-ness 
a product of the crowns, or was it given to the already super ones?

> Melisende heaves me to my feet. "Open your eyesz! We should szee thisz! We're
> _privileged_, you and I! Not many othersz get front-row szeatsz to a show like
> thisz and have the chancze to bitch about it the next day!" She points straight
> up, straight at another missile. It comes right down down on us. It detonates
> right over our heads.

...what is she playing at. :o

> a monumental torso! I'm standing in an open hand!
> The open hand of a giant machine! It must be a mile tall! It's so huge, I can't
> process the perspective right. It points at the planet surface with the other
> hand, and another missiles launch from its finger..

Daaaaaaaaamn. :D

> It wasn't
> the distance between here and Planet M that was the problem. It was these Mummy
> Machine titans. There isn't many left and they're kept in deep hibernation.

AH! Very nice.

> "Melisende, are you all right?"
> "I'm just... I don't... " A chill goes up my spine. I ask him a question I
> already know the answer to, "...what did you call me?"
> "I called you by your _name_." The Soldier furrows his brow. "You didn't want me
> calling you 'Sybilla' anymore."

...ahhhhhh. Yes. Of course. :D Amazing.

Drew "I LOVE THIS TWIST A LOT AND ALSO EVERYTHING" Perron