And that is how my poem ends.
A satisfying ending for myself, and certainly for my companions, though I am sure it hasn’t entirely ended for all of them.
Mx. Image and Mr. Porist, of course, left for the Tides of Three Shades, though Mr. Porist seemed far more insistent than Image. The poor Marq turned an eye towards me with a mild click of bemusement before they both left. I think our chitinous friend had already attained more than xer goal could provide.
Now I suppose you desire an explanation for what happened once we had finished our dance. Alas, this is a poem, and poetry provides truths not through narrative, but through thought, heart, and soul.
The Great Construction was completed, but so far I think never used. The engineers and scientists went home, happy with their efforts and with the simple assumption that someone somewhere might finish it someday. A commonplace occurrence for those who are only responsible for the middle of a project. Those who begin and those who finish, they never have the luxury of contentment.
The door was large and steel. The room was cold and dark. My Archonarchian friend ushered me inside, and closed the door behind me. The light came from high above, creating a cold silver circle for me to stand in.
I certainly felt at the time that the dark emptiness was a refreshing change from the chaotic outside. The noise had given an ache to my head, and now I found myself at rest. But it was not long before the soothing respite was broken by the sound of approaching steps. In moments, another light shone down from above, a second circle of silver, a moon drawing ever closer to mine. In the middle of the circle stood a man I had seen before.
An upgrade is released to the Boards, allowing Nanocules to record sensory input, rather than requiring an external phone or recording equipment. Hand-held devices are now unnecessary to completely utilize the Boards, as video recording is done through the users eyes, while audio recording is done through their ears.
Physical recording equipment begins to disappear. Professional cameramen begin to train themselves to keep their gaze steady without blinking for long periods of time, while sales of professional recording equipment drops sharply, as even the high end recording devices cannot compete with the perfect quality and ease of Nanocules. Indie film developers begin experimenting with this new recording medium, creating ‘Personals’ — stories filmed by the actors, and viewed in first person perspective.
In the centuries before recorded time, before the Myriad Worlds were set in their spiraling dance, the great giant Yurghyn stood tall on the land of Ut-cart. Ut-cart was, among the known world, the most verdant and beloved of lands, with people who cared well for each other and the balance-of-things.
Yurghyn, however, did not care for the balance-of-things, for the evil that he saw in the wasp sting and the viper’s tooth repulsed him. With his might and magic, he ruled over the people of Ut-cart, and guided them away from evil with a firm and steady fist.
I am not ashamed to admit, I was crying when we left Lady Song.
I did not look to see if my companions too had been affected by her words; more fool me, I thought it polite. Of course, had I been born of another time and perhaps another place, I would likely have found it the height of callousness to allow them their thoughts alone.
Of course, that lovely part of me that embraces my Sensate nature was already crafting a poem — but now I found myself in conflict twice over. First because I could not find the words to express such an experience as Lady Song — an embarrassment in itself — and second because a portion of me did not want to craft a poem. It felt, in some macabre way, gauche. Barbaric, perhaps, which was a state of being that I had long decided I would never experience.
And there we were, in the darkness.
Surrounded. Alone. The five of us together.
No hopes, no dreams, nothing but the uncertain truth of our situation.
There was a pool of light we could not see.
A howling scream we could not hear.
Children, children everywhere, grabbing and laughing and crying.
Thousands dead, thousands more alive.
A singular moment stretched on into infinity.
We were now, and then, and to become. It was everything I ever wanted. It was Hell.
Per capita use of Nanocule Browsing outpaces the use of every other method of board browsing combined. Economists and Market Analysts claim this is the tipping point for Nanocules as the status quo of board browsers.
The UVote program is released to the Boards. This experiment in democracy displays all the bills and laws currently in committee, or up for a vote in representative countries across the world. In addition, the program displays a real-time representation of public opinion, sortable in any number of ways, including eligible voters, political affiliations, and economic status. The Amend option allows users to suggest amendments to bills, discuss them, and then informally vote on them.
Now, I will not say that this is where the conversation ended. I will say that this is where the important and interesting aspects of the conversation ceased. Hours passed as each of us tried in turn, begging, pleading, promising, and threatening. The two Majesties did not mind our efforts, nor succumb to our pleas.
If you are interested in the fascinating, if at times repetitive and at all times impractical, conversation, you may find them in my poem The Detailed Discourse of the Two Majesties.
Oh, the Apex, the beautiful and winding words that descended from the base of the cervical vertebrae to the occipital.
Heresy. Damnable heresy for one such as I, a Sensate in good standing of the Grandiose Guild, to say I still find myself at a loss for words. What could be said to convey the glory and horror of the hallways, stairways, and byways of the Apex.
For the beauty was not in its sweeping archways, its Ivory palisades, its golden buttresses, nor its marbled cloisters. The strong tendons of the Apex shone in the silver light, yes, and the broad trapezius glistened with glamorous charm.
