distopeian scrapbook: A fist full of euros

A fist full of euros 

The helix sits in orbit round Neptune, An otus moves slowly round it and down to Neptune. The otus hovers above a set of still doors. They open and the otus moves into an antechamber. The door above the otus shuts, after a pause the door below opens. 

As the otus lands in Neptune city a small crowd gathers. This was not one of  the Neptunian fleet. This was the otus alius. The Neptunian fleet was made up of older model otus, scops & sunias mostly. The door opens and Kevin Colman appears from behind it. He steps out slowly as if unsure if the ground would take his weight. The Neptunians shift towards him as He jumps up and down. “Its clever that” said Kevin punting at the ground “who are you” asks a middle aged man in the crowd “I’m Kevin am, here to trade” the crowd stair at Kevin he twitches uncomfortably as he tried to think of what to say. “take me to your leader”a wide grin grows on his face. “I'll take him” the middle aged man gestures for Kevin to follow him. Kevin looks around as he walks through the city if you can call it a city most of the buildings are obviously temporary. The only permanent building was the enormous clock tower in the centre of the city. They approach a group of prefabricated huts. This was the nerve centre of the city. People move from hut to hut on important jobs. They come to a large hut, and go in without knocking.

“so who are you” said the prime minster without waiting for the door to close. In the corner was a monitor showing a live feed from the air lock, the only way in and out of the metal and glass star shape habitat chamber that shields the city. “I'm Kevin I'm here to do some business” the prime minster looked up from his desk. “so your under the impression were all stinking rich up here. Well I got news for you. All the money we earn from the research bases gets spent on keeping that ground your standing on from sinking in to a sea of liquid ice.” Kevin sits down on the seat opposite the prime minster and puts his feat up on his desk “oh I know that”

the crust of Neptune was man made and floated on a see of super chilled liquid gas. At the moment it was barely started and it need constant monitoring to keep it a float. But work on the crust was being slowed down by the poor quality of the ground. Nothing would grow on Neptune. So money and man power had to be spent on importing food from earth.

Dennis drives the forklift up to the glass horse and moves the fork under the wooden pallet the horse is strap to. It was Dennis's holiday he had two weeks off from his work on  Triton so he can help out on Neptune. He keeps looking over at the pm's hut as he loads the sculpture on to a flat bed truck. He wanted to stay and find out who this stranger was but he had to take the sculpture to Trinity Point. Trinity Point was one of the ten points of the star of Neptune city. Seven of the points are farm land the other three are the research bases. Dennis started up the truck and it move silently across the city kicking up dust as it went. He parks the truck by a triangular plinth lined up with the glass walls of the habitat chamber. Six men standing by the plinth move to the back of the truck and drop the tailgate. Dennis gets out joins the six men. Tree of them get on the back and push the glass sculpture as Dennis and the others pull. the ten neptunian horses was made on the Helix on the long journey from earth. They had got the material from asteroids pulled along by the forces created by the movement of the giant research ship. Once they got to Neptune the asteroids was used to start the construction of the crust. Having delivered the sculpture Dennis gets back in the truck and drives to get the next sculpture. Dennis pulls up next to the eight remaining sculptures. He gets out the truck and started up the forklift. As he was about to load a brass horse on to the truck the prime minster and Kevin leave the pm's hut. “Don't put that on there, we're going to need you and that truck”called out the pm. 

“So who is he and what does he want”Dennis drives the truck with the pm in the passenger seat and Kevin seating  on the back. “he's a rock hopper and he said he can get the crop to grow” Dennis look back out the rear widow at Kevin how was picking dirt out of his long matted hair. “Do you trust him” the pm exhaled “I think we have to. No ships have left earth since the riot begun” the truck pulled up next to Kevin's otus “and what does he want in return” “the rock hoppers want to start a new Colony in the kuiper belt and to do that they need a ship, the Helix” the tree men step in to the otus. Dennis and the pm look round the otus. It is pack with plants and trees. “all this was grown on asteroids, I dont think there is anywhere they wont grow” Kevin declared “and this”Kevin rest hand on a barrow full of seeds “this will grow in to the best wheat the solar system has ever or will ever see and it can all be yours for the small small price of a interstellar research ship. Do we have a deal ” Kevin look at the pm “i think we do but you don't get the ship till we see a crop ” 

four months later Kevin dances round the cockpit of the Helix as the Neptunians below bring in there first crop.

keeping it local; waltham cross 2

i haven't post of a bit i have been working on the nest parts of the soundArt & and distopeian scrapbook projects

i will be posting the next story soon 

art work: waltham cross 2

 photo, drawing and photo shop

distopeian scrapbook: decerday night is all right for fighting

 here is the 3th illustration and micro story in my distopeian scrapbook  

Decerday night is all right for fighting  

Elizabeth Sullivan stumbles out of bed and over to the curtains. As she opens them the sun comes bursting into her bed sit. The light is bounced round the room by the foil on the wall behind a wooden trellis, up which numerous plants grow. She gets ready for work, grabs a hand full of grapes off the vine by the door and heads off.

Elizabeth walks into tramps tea room by the back door and takes her apron from its hook. The first band was just going on as she takes her place behind the bar. The tea room is quiet, only the bands and their hangers on, there for the open mic night. There are more people in the car parks of the nearby industrial estate protesting about the lay offs at many of the factories. a guy with a very tight perm and tighter jeans comes to the bar. “I’ll have a Russian thanks” Elizabeth smiles, turns and starts making the drink. “what do you think of the band” says the guy as she adds the vodka to his tea. “not bad. That’s 1.40” he hands over some coins. “do you want to book them for the tea dance, I’m there manager”  “really, wow” he failed to hear the sarcasm in her voice. “yeah, the lead singer is my baby brother. I took him under my wing, taught him all I know” there was a long pause. “well we have booked the bands for the next few weeks” “oh …ok” he muttered, then goes back to his seat. The band on stage was a 3 piece scrounge band. scrounge music is identified by its make-do instruments, often cannibalizing other instruments or replacing broken parts with household items. For example, the boys on stage are using leather cut from the back of a second hand sofa for the skin on the kick drum and have cello strings on their guitar. This means that the sound of a band can change dramatically from gig to gig depending on the wear and tear of the instruments. Scrounge started when government funding for the arts was cut to help pay for space exploration. This hit the small cover bands first, so at the birth of scrounge most of the songs were cover versions often adapted to fit the new metric calendar. Soon the financial problems hit all parts of the music industry. This created an almost infinite number of scrounge sub-genres.

Mary sides up to Elizabeth “hay Liz check out that bloke’s hair” 

“I’ve seen it”

“do you think he’ll pose for a photo with our mop, they’d look like twins!” Mary skips of to the other end of the bar to serve a customer. 

As the band finishes a factory worker comes in and orders 6 Irish and 4 Russian teas to go. Elizabeth gets to work making the drinks. Mary floats over and leans on the counter “hey, what's all this protesting about?” 

“their planning to replace 60% of us” replies the worker trying not to look down Mary’s top “Androids ?” asks Mary

“gynoids actually”

Elizabeth turns round and puts 2 cardboard drink holders containing 10 paper cups on the counter “why gynoids?”  

“eye candy for the CEOs”

“that can’t be true” exclaims Elizabeth

“oh it is” claims Mary “there’s a car factory where all the gynoids have black hair with permanent gothic makeup because thats what turns the owner on”

the worker pays for the drinks and leaves. The next band now on stage set up as 2 police cars speed past out side. DJ trench foot takes off his headphones and heads to the bar “hay it’s Elizabeth isn’t it”  “yeah, but Liz will do” she hoped he wasn’t going to ask for Mary’s number. “you DJed last night for the Tramps tea dance”  

“yeah” replied Elizabeth “you don’t know where I can get another gramophone” 

“why, what’s up with yours?” trench foot leans in “I want to try this thing I saw DJ slipped disc do at Glastonbury,  merge 2 gramophones so you can play 2 tracks from the same record simultaneously. Then you use a mute to alter the sound.” Elizabeth thought about it for a bit “there are a some junk shops behind the tube station, that’s where I got my cassette decks”  trench foot smiled “ thanks” then he looks in Mary’s direction “ is she single ?”  suddenly there was a loud bang which shook the tea room. Everyone move to the front of the room to peer out the window or hang out the door. Down the road black smoke pours out a truck as the sound of  braking glass and sirens fill the street. It soon becomes obvious the noise was coming their way. “ok everyone we’re having a lock in” yelled Elizabeth trying to pull people back in. Mary got the keys out and pushed a button on the key fob the shutters start moving down. Some of the customers duck under the descending shutters and run down the road. The shutters meet the floor, all the lock click shut and a box with a keypad by the door bleeps twice. Elizabeth types in a code to stop the alarm going off. Mary runs to the TV bracketed to the wall and puts on the news channel. A film from a helicopter of the burning truck  plays as a reporter  tells of how a riot had began when the driver delivering the new gynoid workers stopped outside the industrial estate and torched the truck. The occupants of the tea room sit and watch the tv and drink tea as more and more people round the world start to riot. The news shows an image of the earth from the moon's main telescope. Small gray spots of smoke can be seen on the blue orb of earth making this the first riot visible from space

soundArt

here is the 2nd Art-track me an Hunchbakk a bit late because Huchbakk has been throwing his arms around paris (and mickey mouse!!!)
SoundArt2.mp3
Free file hosting from File Den

artwork: sculpture, photos, drawing & Photo shop

distopeian scrapbook: rock hopping

this is the 2nd illustration and micro story in my distopeian scrapbook project

Rock hopping 

Arthur Foss sits in Tramps Tea Room drinking a mug of the franchise’s nettle tea. He looks round the room. Most of the tables are surrounded by people talking. Some complain about the lay off at the Otus factory, others discussing the best way to grow potatoes in a bed sit. A group of large men dress in high visibility boiler suits rolls in and up to the bar. 4 of the 5 men order their Irish teas to go then leave. The other orders a sandwich with his tea and carries them to where Arthur is sat. he sits next to him. “you got it ?” Arthur nods and puts his hand in his dirty brown draw string bag “not ear” grunts an oil stained Phil as he biting his sandwich. “Got all you need for your little trip?” 

“I  think so” mumbles Arthur. “right” Phil  bites the sandwich followed straight away by a huge gulp of tea “lets go” Arthur drains his mug of tea and slips it in to his bag where it hits another. As they walk down the road Arthur looks at his feet in their sandals made from recycled tyres. Then he looks at Phil’s massive leather boot with steel toecaps. The roads round the industrial estate were empty. He was all alone with a man who had boasted about kicking a gynoid’s face in the last time they had met. Why he felt the need to remove a female android’s teeth with his boot was never made clear and Arthur wasn’t going to ask.

 They walk into a colossal warehouse 30 Otuss half fill it “which one?” inquires Arthur “dat one. Its all set up for you” Phil pulled  out a key card from his boiler suit, opens the Otus and they go inside. “2 padded fold out benches for all your sitting and sleeping needs” Phil pulls the bench in to bed mode and back. “over ear is your compact cooking unit” Arthur looks at the small kitchen with a door one end. “but till you get to the belt you will be sleeping here” Phil lifts up a floor panel with 2 bolts on the underside. Arthur takes an envelope out his bag and gives it to Phil then slides his bag under the floor.

The Otus jerked waking Arthur up. the engine noise dropped then stopped leaving the hum of the energy supply. Arthur puts his ear up to the floor, foot steps move across it. When the hum stops he undoes the bolts and lifts the panel. he Takes a worms eye look at his new home before standing up and stepping back to floor level. it will be about 3 weeks till he can leave and start looking for the rock hoppers. The rock hoppers are a group of hippies who have given up on mother earth and now live in the asteroid belt. They farm the asteroid growing crops in wedge shaped habitat chambers.

Arthur wakes up after his 29^th night sleeping under the floor. His back was killing him. He undoes the bolts and pulls himself up. he walks painfully through the kitchen to the door. he slides it open steps in to the cockpit and drops in to the drive seat. Looks at the controls takes a deep breath and flick the power switch. The controls light up. Arthur starts tapping in a code he had paid a lot for. emergency code 79/b will open the hanger door but lock all the internal doors of the ship. He presses transmit, the hanger door opens. as soon as the door starts to open he pilots the Otus straight at the door and out in to the asteroid belt. He heads for the nearest cluster of asteroids, lands and puts the Otus on emergency power. The Otus was now invisible to its mother ship. He keeps his eyes on the radar for a bit then went back into the living section. He pulls his bag out from under the floor past the empty food cans. He takes out his 100% hemp poncho and chucks it in the storage space under one of the padded benches with the vacuum packed shrink rapped polyester bedding. Then he takes out 2 Tramps Tea mugs gives them a bit of a wash and puts them the kitchen cupboard with vacuum packed shrink rapped rations packs. he looks at his now empty bag and says to himself “I hate unpacking, man it's like a total hassle”

Arthur sits in the drive seat with his bare feet up on the controls. The auto pilot moves the Otus though the belt as Arthur drinks his instant mushroom cupper soup with added vitamins. It had been 9 weeks since he left earth. 9 weeks with no music, no books and no nettle tea. A small blip appears on the edge of the radar then 2 more then 5 more Arthur stared in amazement as The Otus moved closer to the wedge shaped of metal and glass each setting on there own asteroid. A big grin rips across his face. he has made it 

keeping it local; waltham cross

sunday morning when the town was dead (or more dead) i went for a walk about with my camera round Waltham Cross. so i can do some local based art work and maybe start to breath a bit of life back in to the town i call my home.

art work: photos, drawing and photo shop