Re: Mini-Grand 5105 (Round 1: Bernal Sphere Upsilon)
08-13-2011, 01:30 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Niall.
In an effort to take in the machination she had been placed in, Conte tilted her head back as far as she could, eyes darting from side to side in an attempt to see everything at once, desperate for sensory overload. When her head had been tilted back as far it could go, she began to arch her back from her lying position to propel her gaze further. Once her body had reached the limits of her extension, she rolled herself onto her front, head propped up in her hands. She was in awe of this seemingly impossible structure, built possibly by a god with a penchant for science fiction.
The Bernal Sphere was covered with lush vegetation, neatly groomed paths and monumental sculptures. It seemed to have been designed by a hundred landscapers, each making peace with his neighbor so that each area flowed seamlessly into the next. It gave the appearance of wandering through the middle of a spherical park, inverted so that a visitor had the pleasure of viewing every inch of the park at the same time. Conte felt as though she was in the middle of a mutated snow dome.
The land was separated into small regions by what appeared to be giant cracks in the land, with the appearance similar to that of parched dirt in an arid desert that had lost its moisture and cracked into a thousand segments. On closer inspection, the cracks in the land appeared to be artificial. They were too straight, too evenly formed, with bridges running across them as if it was planned that way. Conte peered over the side of her cliff, and found it to answer her unvoiced question. She watched the water trail over the side of the cliff, through a net that was designed to catch anything (or anybody) that was unlucky enough to fall into the river, down past what appeared to be a four-story building and into a canal, stretching the length of the man-made fissure and splitting into a fork to flow in multiple directions. Conte turned her attention towards the cliff face that appeared to contain not dirt, rocks and the occasional plant, as she had expected, but windows and balconies, fully equipped with window boxes, deck chairs and other items of a domestic pursuit. The windows were four stories high, and appeared to line the entire cliff face and all other cliff faces on the inside of the behemoth cracks in the landscape of this superstructure. But it was the floor of the canal that enticed her the most. Instead of stone, steel or any other opaque material, the designed had opted for what must have been extreme-strength perspex. Through the blurred filter of the water, she could see stars and empty space. The canal was created to be a visual portal to the outside world.
Suddenly it hit Conte. This place was designed to be used for habitation in outer space. The lower levels of the building were designed to be the habitation and work quarters for those lucky enough to live in such a beautifully unusual environment and the roof of the buildings had been transformed into the outdoor area so that nobody ever felt that they were trapped in a series of corridors and rooms.
In an effort to explore more of this amazing location, Conte unfolded her Hover Buggy and accelerated towards the nearest bridge.
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In a secure part of the Particle Accelerator facility, two men sat at a sophisticated piece of equipment, anticipating the events to come. They briefly exchange looks of excitement. The taller one decided some words would be appropriate for this moment.
“Well Jim, this is it. 13 years research, multiple grants, significant setbacks and even a house fire. But we’ve done it. This is the moment we’ve been dreaming about. Thanks for sticking with me on this. I couldn’t have had a better friend and colleague to go through this with. Now fire her up.”
Jim gave a small smile and flicked a couple of switches.
“Same to you Paul. All systems online and ready to proceed in five, four, three, two, one.”
Jim pressed a button on the control panel. In the depths of the Bernal Sphere, the Particle Accelerator began to hum with hungry expectation.
In an effort to take in the machination she had been placed in, Conte tilted her head back as far as she could, eyes darting from side to side in an attempt to see everything at once, desperate for sensory overload. When her head had been tilted back as far it could go, she began to arch her back from her lying position to propel her gaze further. Once her body had reached the limits of her extension, she rolled herself onto her front, head propped up in her hands. She was in awe of this seemingly impossible structure, built possibly by a god with a penchant for science fiction.
The Bernal Sphere was covered with lush vegetation, neatly groomed paths and monumental sculptures. It seemed to have been designed by a hundred landscapers, each making peace with his neighbor so that each area flowed seamlessly into the next. It gave the appearance of wandering through the middle of a spherical park, inverted so that a visitor had the pleasure of viewing every inch of the park at the same time. Conte felt as though she was in the middle of a mutated snow dome.
The land was separated into small regions by what appeared to be giant cracks in the land, with the appearance similar to that of parched dirt in an arid desert that had lost its moisture and cracked into a thousand segments. On closer inspection, the cracks in the land appeared to be artificial. They were too straight, too evenly formed, with bridges running across them as if it was planned that way. Conte peered over the side of her cliff, and found it to answer her unvoiced question. She watched the water trail over the side of the cliff, through a net that was designed to catch anything (or anybody) that was unlucky enough to fall into the river, down past what appeared to be a four-story building and into a canal, stretching the length of the man-made fissure and splitting into a fork to flow in multiple directions. Conte turned her attention towards the cliff face that appeared to contain not dirt, rocks and the occasional plant, as she had expected, but windows and balconies, fully equipped with window boxes, deck chairs and other items of a domestic pursuit. The windows were four stories high, and appeared to line the entire cliff face and all other cliff faces on the inside of the behemoth cracks in the landscape of this superstructure. But it was the floor of the canal that enticed her the most. Instead of stone, steel or any other opaque material, the designed had opted for what must have been extreme-strength perspex. Through the blurred filter of the water, she could see stars and empty space. The canal was created to be a visual portal to the outside world.
Suddenly it hit Conte. This place was designed to be used for habitation in outer space. The lower levels of the building were designed to be the habitation and work quarters for those lucky enough to live in such a beautifully unusual environment and the roof of the buildings had been transformed into the outdoor area so that nobody ever felt that they were trapped in a series of corridors and rooms.
In an effort to explore more of this amazing location, Conte unfolded her Hover Buggy and accelerated towards the nearest bridge.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a secure part of the Particle Accelerator facility, two men sat at a sophisticated piece of equipment, anticipating the events to come. They briefly exchange looks of excitement. The taller one decided some words would be appropriate for this moment.
“Well Jim, this is it. 13 years research, multiple grants, significant setbacks and even a house fire. But we’ve done it. This is the moment we’ve been dreaming about. Thanks for sticking with me on this. I couldn’t have had a better friend and colleague to go through this with. Now fire her up.”
Jim gave a small smile and flicked a couple of switches.
“Same to you Paul. All systems online and ready to proceed in five, four, three, two, one.”
Jim pressed a button on the control panel. In the depths of the Bernal Sphere, the Particle Accelerator began to hum with hungry expectation.