Recent reports of a planet sized diamond in space prompted me to repost this little piece I wrote few years ago.
Space, the Final Curtain..
Little Tiaali Willems, having finished her book, laid it down atop the bedside table. It had been a wonderful read for she adored stories about space travel. She often wondered if one day it would become reality and that journeying into space to visit other worlds would not only be possible but would also be an everyday experience.
She wondered what the people would be like on those other worlds.
Maybe they were like the one eyed green monsters with terrible claws as they were depicted in her book : "Children of the Quest" or maybe they were more like her, normal.
She switched off the bedside light and was just about to snuggle down in her cosy bed when her attention was caught by the yellowy moon as it hove into view through her half curtained window. Being at its fullest it was very bright and cast beams throughout the bedroom and danced off any shiny bright objects that it touched.
"At least we've been there," she thought to herself, "though it's just a bare, dusty and windswept rock, at least astronauts have landed on that. It's a start."
She remembered her brother Sim saying that there were billions of other stars out there in the galaxy and even more billions of galaxies out there in the universe so there MUST be other planets with other intelligent life existing there. Tam, her other brother, had thought so too, and you had to believe Tam 'cos he was the eldest and he knew everything.
Deep in thought, she watched as the moon continued in its arc heading towards the skyline where soon it would drop down and disappear below the horizon.
Although she was only a fifth year student, she had picked up quite an education in astronomy. In regard to the movement of the planets the moons and the sun in particular, she was very knowing. With her eyes fixed on the moon she caught a fleeting glimpse of a meteor as it burned brightly through the dense oxygen rich atmosphere of her world.
Still contemplating the possibility of life being far out there in space, she watched as the moon finally dipped below the horizon and shortly after that the room became enveloped in complete blackness. A shiver coursed through the young girl's body.
Although by now quite tired, Tiaali decided to wait awhile until the second moon of her planet arose in the east to cast its beautiful rainbow coloured glow on her world. She watched enthralled for some minutes as this new light consisting of a myriad of spectra from the Crystal Moon danced around her bedroom, and then - taking off her triple lens glasses from the bridges of her two noses before snuggling down in her five metre bed - she tried to sleep.
Diamonds aren't for ever..
She was awoken by the sound of her father raking out the embers from the fire grate. Her dad would do this every morning before laying a fire to be lit by her mom when she thought good and ready. Tiaali was a good riser of a morning, unlike Tam and Sim who would stay in bed all day if they could. She made her way to the bathroom and brushed her teeth well and had a good wash before dressing for school. She heard her mom shout up the stairs a second time to get her two brothers up and come down for breakfast, but they hadn't stirred.
So Tiaali dipped the bath sponge in cold water.. opened their bedroom door and rubbed the cold wet sponge on the face of each of her brother's in turn.
"Tiaali!!!" shouted both brothers almost in unison. "Well then, get up, get washed and dressed 'cos mom has done breakfast!" Tiaali quickly ran down the stairs grinning all the way.
Dad was just finishing off laying the fire and ... although he hadn't lit it ... it sparkled in the light of the winter sun. Tiaali often thought how much better it sparkled before the flames started dulling the shine, but that's how it was with diamond. Her dad had worked at the local open-cast diamond mine ever since leaving school. He loved the work even though he did moan about the diamond dust getting into every pore of his body and clogging up his lungs. Many miners had been affected by the dust. Lung disease, eye problems and even cancers. Many had even died because of it.
But dad had told her not to worry because vacuum extractors at the mine and face masks they had to wear had made great differences to the number of cases of disease.
Her mom was in the kitchen, still in the middle of making breakfast. "Hi, Char," she greeted her daughter, "did you have a good night?"
"Yes, mom," Tiaali recalled the Crystal Moon's beams playing around the bedroom walls. "It was really gorgeous, mom. I should have recorded it. It was one of the best."
"Good. How many slices?"
"Just eight, mom. I'm trying to shift a bit off my waist."
Her mother gave her a disapproving look. "You shouldn't be worrying about your figure at your age. You'll have plenty of time to do that when you are old enough to be looking for a boyfriend."
"Mommmmmm! I don't even LIKE boys! So there!!" But Tiaali didn't even convince herself, let alone her mom.
Her dad came into the kitchen to wash his hands. "I've finished laying the fire, Mar, and seeing as it's extra cold today and snow is forecast for later I reckon I could light it now. It's not as if we'll ever be short of fuel. We have a diamond house full of the stuff and I'm having another concessionary load delivered this week."
"OK, Dick. Light it now and I'll be able to dry the washing round it, later."
He went back into the living room, knelt by the fireplace and turned on the gas lighter which ignited automatically. Soon the diamond covered sticks and paper were well alight igniting the sparkling chunks of diamond. Dick's mind began to wander a little. He remembered that it was his wife's birthday coming up and she had been hanging her noses over a coal necklace that she had spotted in the local jeweller's shop window. He thought aloud and mused to himself:
"I'll nip down today and put a deposit on it. Nothing is too good for my wife and they do say that coals are a girl's best friend."
Stardate X
Astronomy had always been Tiaali's favourite lesson of all. Her brothers Tam and Sim enjoyed it, too. Today in class they were discussing the recent discovery of a new star which had been located in the A29384WA sector of space that proved to have a number of planets in orbit around it. One of the planets had been discovered to be similar to her own - even having a small moon. This planet had water and a barely breathable atmosphere, even though the oxygen levels were below that of her own world and had more methane in it, but she soon learned that with precautions it would be OK to sustain their kind of life plus SOME life kind as they knew it.
As yet, no signs of life had actually been detected but the planet was almost as old as hers and she knew that life on her own planet had taken five billion years to evolve to where it was now, so the chances were that life was there. Though this newly found solar system that the scientist's had detected lay some two hundred light-years* or so distant of her own, it could be regarded as being local.
Their astronomers were not only interested in finding ANY life on this newly discovered world they were also quite keen to find out if any sign of intelligent life existed or HAS existed on this planet and had already set up multifrequency detectors to monitor A29384WA-01 for signs of generated electricity or even radio signals. As yet - after at least three years monitoring - there was no sign but they lived in hope.
So too did Tiaali and her brothers. They were so excited at the prospect of at last finding another world in this seemingly vast and "empty of life" galaxy. Though she also wondered if any alien beings they discovered would be altogether friendly. After all, her own world seemed to be forever at war with different nations squabbling of such trivial things as the closing of worked out diamond mines and the importation of cheaper diamond from the sub-continent that was putting men out of work in her own locale.
The end. Or maybe the beginning?
*For purposes of mathematical accuracy and ease of understanding, any measurements of time and distance quoted will equate to our standards on Earth.
Space, the Final Curtain..
Little Tiaali Willems, having finished her book, laid it down atop the bedside table. It had been a wonderful read for she adored stories about space travel. She often wondered if one day it would become reality and that journeying into space to visit other worlds would not only be possible but would also be an everyday experience.
She wondered what the people would be like on those other worlds.
Maybe they were like the one eyed green monsters with terrible claws as they were depicted in her book : "Children of the Quest" or maybe they were more like her, normal.
She switched off the bedside light and was just about to snuggle down in her cosy bed when her attention was caught by the yellowy moon as it hove into view through her half curtained window. Being at its fullest it was very bright and cast beams throughout the bedroom and danced off any shiny bright objects that it touched.
"At least we've been there," she thought to herself, "though it's just a bare, dusty and windswept rock, at least astronauts have landed on that. It's a start."
She remembered her brother Sim saying that there were billions of other stars out there in the galaxy and even more billions of galaxies out there in the universe so there MUST be other planets with other intelligent life existing there. Tam, her other brother, had thought so too, and you had to believe Tam 'cos he was the eldest and he knew everything.
Deep in thought, she watched as the moon continued in its arc heading towards the skyline where soon it would drop down and disappear below the horizon.
Although she was only a fifth year student, she had picked up quite an education in astronomy. In regard to the movement of the planets the moons and the sun in particular, she was very knowing. With her eyes fixed on the moon she caught a fleeting glimpse of a meteor as it burned brightly through the dense oxygen rich atmosphere of her world.
Still contemplating the possibility of life being far out there in space, she watched as the moon finally dipped below the horizon and shortly after that the room became enveloped in complete blackness. A shiver coursed through the young girl's body.
Although by now quite tired, Tiaali decided to wait awhile until the second moon of her planet arose in the east to cast its beautiful rainbow coloured glow on her world. She watched enthralled for some minutes as this new light consisting of a myriad of spectra from the Crystal Moon danced around her bedroom, and then - taking off her triple lens glasses from the bridges of her two noses before snuggling down in her five metre bed - she tried to sleep.
Diamonds aren't for ever..
She was awoken by the sound of her father raking out the embers from the fire grate. Her dad would do this every morning before laying a fire to be lit by her mom when she thought good and ready. Tiaali was a good riser of a morning, unlike Tam and Sim who would stay in bed all day if they could. She made her way to the bathroom and brushed her teeth well and had a good wash before dressing for school. She heard her mom shout up the stairs a second time to get her two brothers up and come down for breakfast, but they hadn't stirred.
So Tiaali dipped the bath sponge in cold water.. opened their bedroom door and rubbed the cold wet sponge on the face of each of her brother's in turn.
"Tiaali!!!" shouted both brothers almost in unison. "Well then, get up, get washed and dressed 'cos mom has done breakfast!" Tiaali quickly ran down the stairs grinning all the way.
Dad was just finishing off laying the fire and ... although he hadn't lit it ... it sparkled in the light of the winter sun. Tiaali often thought how much better it sparkled before the flames started dulling the shine, but that's how it was with diamond. Her dad had worked at the local open-cast diamond mine ever since leaving school. He loved the work even though he did moan about the diamond dust getting into every pore of his body and clogging up his lungs. Many miners had been affected by the dust. Lung disease, eye problems and even cancers. Many had even died because of it.
But dad had told her not to worry because vacuum extractors at the mine and face masks they had to wear had made great differences to the number of cases of disease.
Her mom was in the kitchen, still in the middle of making breakfast. "Hi, Char," she greeted her daughter, "did you have a good night?"
"Yes, mom," Tiaali recalled the Crystal Moon's beams playing around the bedroom walls. "It was really gorgeous, mom. I should have recorded it. It was one of the best."
"Good. How many slices?"
"Just eight, mom. I'm trying to shift a bit off my waist."
Her mother gave her a disapproving look. "You shouldn't be worrying about your figure at your age. You'll have plenty of time to do that when you are old enough to be looking for a boyfriend."
"Mommmmmm! I don't even LIKE boys! So there!!" But Tiaali didn't even convince herself, let alone her mom.
Her dad came into the kitchen to wash his hands. "I've finished laying the fire, Mar, and seeing as it's extra cold today and snow is forecast for later I reckon I could light it now. It's not as if we'll ever be short of fuel. We have a diamond house full of the stuff and I'm having another concessionary load delivered this week."
"OK, Dick. Light it now and I'll be able to dry the washing round it, later."
He went back into the living room, knelt by the fireplace and turned on the gas lighter which ignited automatically. Soon the diamond covered sticks and paper were well alight igniting the sparkling chunks of diamond. Dick's mind began to wander a little. He remembered that it was his wife's birthday coming up and she had been hanging her noses over a coal necklace that she had spotted in the local jeweller's shop window. He thought aloud and mused to himself:
"I'll nip down today and put a deposit on it. Nothing is too good for my wife and they do say that coals are a girl's best friend."
Stardate X
Astronomy had always been Tiaali's favourite lesson of all. Her brothers Tam and Sim enjoyed it, too. Today in class they were discussing the recent discovery of a new star which had been located in the A29384WA sector of space that proved to have a number of planets in orbit around it. One of the planets had been discovered to be similar to her own - even having a small moon. This planet had water and a barely breathable atmosphere, even though the oxygen levels were below that of her own world and had more methane in it, but she soon learned that with precautions it would be OK to sustain their kind of life plus SOME life kind as they knew it.
As yet, no signs of life had actually been detected but the planet was almost as old as hers and she knew that life on her own planet had taken five billion years to evolve to where it was now, so the chances were that life was there. Though this newly found solar system that the scientist's had detected lay some two hundred light-years* or so distant of her own, it could be regarded as being local.
Their astronomers were not only interested in finding ANY life on this newly discovered world they were also quite keen to find out if any sign of intelligent life existed or HAS existed on this planet and had already set up multifrequency detectors to monitor A29384WA-01 for signs of generated electricity or even radio signals. As yet - after at least three years monitoring - there was no sign but they lived in hope.
So too did Tiaali and her brothers. They were so excited at the prospect of at last finding another world in this seemingly vast and "empty of life" galaxy. Though she also wondered if any alien beings they discovered would be altogether friendly. After all, her own world seemed to be forever at war with different nations squabbling of such trivial things as the closing of worked out diamond mines and the importation of cheaper diamond from the sub-continent that was putting men out of work in her own locale.
The end. Or maybe the beginning?
*For purposes of mathematical accuracy and ease of understanding, any measurements of time and distance quoted will equate to our standards on Earth.
Copyright 2008: Anthony W. Allsop
1 comment:
Interesting as stories of other similar planets maybe always are. thanks.
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