The Sea and the Moon.
Chapter One: The Seas.
Since the beginning of time there was the sea, and the sea roared
majestically as the undisputed ruler of the earth for countless
ages.
As the eons rolled on and time passed slowly, life stared to developed
in the warm waters under the hot yellow sun. At first life was micro
organic, but with the passage of time simple creatures evolved, and
these ultimately became the first fish. The fish evolved into even
higher life forms, the descendants of which eventually left the
water.
While all this progress in the evolution of life was underway the sea
rolled on unchanged. The landmasses, which the sea surrounded, shifted
and changed their positions over great periods of time. The sea flowed
on unmoved, lying alongside the land wherever it moved.
Those creatures, which had left the seas, to live on land gradually
developed into even higher forms of life. First it was the age of the
great reptiles and dinosaurs. It was a lengthy evolution process, and
ultimately mammals arrived, from which came a creature called 'man'. He
was the highest form of life on this planet during his short rule, and
after great suffering and misery to is kind, his remnants evolved into
more docile and intelligent humanoid beings called 'prime sapiens', or
in common speech; the 'mensies'.
The mensies lived on their planet in peace and plenty, and had overcome
the shortcomings of their predecessors such as greed, hatred and the
need for governance. They had no governments because they had no need
for them. Each mensie was accountable for his own actions, and answered
only to his immediate peers. So there was no need for law enforcement,
because the mensies were by nature good hearted and bound by the common
law of common sense. That which was bad for the one was bad for the
other. Therefore no one dared to offend his neighbor in any way, and
they all got along amicably, without the formal enforcement of
law.
They kept their numbers low by mutual agreement, and only two children
were allowed per couple. They lived in little villages called hamlets,
where they mostly cultivated the earth and their minds. Industry was
kept to minimum, and so was space exploration. These wise creatures had
come to the realization that the universe was best left undisturbed, as
nature would have been, had it not been for the interference of that
old primate; man.
And while all this progress was underway on land, the sea rolled on
unchanged. The waters roared in the mighty oceans as their currents
were determined by the pull of the large white moon above it. The
Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans were the largest bodies of water,
from where the currents met at the Cape of Good Hope and Cape of Horn,
to the northern waters of the Bering Straight and the North Sea, all
over the beautiful globe the rich waters lay. The waves broke on desert
shores, and on the icy shores of the Antarctica. They broke from the
Eastern American shores to Australia, and on the hundred thousand
islands in between.
The smaller seas around the world, such as the Mediterranean and Black
seas, did not have such huge waves but still the pull of the moon was
strong enough to cause some movement, and here the waves washed gently
to the shore. In some places the water had a brilliantly clear blue or
green color, in other parts of the world it took on a darker hue. She
varied with innumerable colors and textures in her expanse around the
globe.
She gave life to all the creatures that lived in her, and to many of
those on land as well, such as the mensies. She had brought life into
this world, and had nursed it as grew from its inception into its
prime. The creatures that now inhabited her planet were wise and kind,
and looked after her in return, unlike their predecessor, man.
And the sea and the mensies lived in harmony, and each looked after the
others interest. Because the one's interest was the other's. The sea
was filled to its capacity with life, which was as it should be. The
fish, mammals and other creatures that inhabited her waters were
carefully cultivated by the mensies, and they in turn only took such
amounts of food from her that they needed without disturbing the
balance.
The waters rolled on endlessly and undisturbed as they had since the
dawn of time. Mighty waves broke on all the shores of the vast seas;
the wind and rain washed over them and fed them. Great storm clouds
rolled to and fro over her, casting out their load. Wherever the waters
were there as always the movement of hot and cold air masses. There was
always wind everywhere. Sometimes it was a gale, and at other times, a
whisper. But it was ever present on the water.
The fish swam in the sea, along the currents that she gave them, and
food was plentiful for them inside her. Above the sun shone brightly on
her surface, giving her and the creatures in her, warmth, and the
sustenance of light. At night the moon lit her in a dim glow, and
pulled her waters high and low.
And the sea rolled on forever.
Chapter Two: The Moon Drifts Away.
The moon had shone brightly above the seas in the nights, since before
she was born.
Now as time creeped slowly on, changes were again taking place in the
large bodies of matter in this part of space. The moon was slowly
drifting out of the pull of earth's gravitational field, and was
floating away into space. This took many millions of years, and
generation after generation of mensies watched as the moon slowly took
its leave.
It became smaller and smaller to the naked eye, as one generation of
mensies followed the next. The white disk that hung over the earth
during the nights, grew smaller and smaller, until it vanished from
sight. The last generation of mensies to see the small moon as it
finally disappeared, sat night after night on their porches and watched
the beautiful white ball disappear. Two young lovers sat on the rocks
in the dark, overlooking the point, on the last night that the tiny
moon was visible.
The young male was named Dan, and the young female; Fey. They spoke in
the soft tones of young mensies in love.
"The dim light of the moon on its last night is beautiful." Said Dan
and added "But not as beautiful as your face in its feint glow."
"Ah, but from now on we will never see its dim glow on each others
faces again." She responded sadly.
"This is true." Said he, and they remained silent in the darkness, to
say a silent farewell to the moon, as she drifted quietly away.
And the moon hung in the skies above through that one last night. It
gave its glow for that last few hours, grew faintly red, and
disappeared forever as the sun broke in a pink dawn in the east.
The sun shone majestically through the long day, as it did since the
formation of the planet, and would continue to do long after the
mensies were gone. The birds sang in the trees, the creatures grazed on
the earth, and the mensies went about their daily lives much saddened
by the loss of their moon.
And on the far side of the earth where it was night, it was now
completely dark, save for the light from the stars. The moon shone
there no more, not even with a faint glow, for she was now drifting
further and further away, into the darkness.
As she drifted away, she started too pick up momentum, and soon she was
floating freely on her own in space, shrouded by darkness. Sunlight
fell dimly on her surface, but she was too far away from earth to be
observed with the naked eye. She lay there in the dark night alone
spinning softly on her own axis.
Eventually, over a much longer period of time, she would break up into
smaller pieces, which in themselves, will be nothing more than space
debris.
And the nights were dark on the earth, and the seas became silent,
because of the death of the moon.
Chapter Three: The Quiet Waters and the Dark Nights.
The seas all over the globe became as quiet and tranquil as the dead
sea. Because there was no more pull from the moon, the waves lay down,
and the waters of the ocean died.
The waters only stirred slightly with the movement of the wind, and
tiny waves rippled on the surface. The currents were feint and without
force. On a clear day a swimmer could swim deep into the sea, without
any fear of being pulled away by the current. Sea vessels hardly ever
sank anymore, and their passage was smooth over the silent water.
The nights were dark, and now that the stars were the primary light,
they shone more brilliantly than ever. Gone far away was the moon, and
not glimmer of it remained. At any given time, half of the planet was
shrouded in total darkness all over.
And there where it was night, and the darkness enveloped all, the seas
were silent in the darkness. Quiet black waters flowed in massive
bodies of water, like huge lakes, in the silent night. Above only the
bright stars shone their clear light over the tranquil dark seas.
The sea line of populated areas was also dimly lit by artificial light,
for the convenience of the mensies. There where there were habitations
of mensies, the light glowed dimly in the almost complete darkness. It
was out on the rocks by the point that the two lovers sat and watched
the new heavens of the night.
"Do you think they can ever replace the light of the moon, my love?"
asked Fey.
"I'm sure the Society will think of some way to replace it, we mensies
are quite clever." said Dan reassuringly.
"Do you think they can ever replace the roar and crash of the waves,
my love?" asked Fey.
"I'm confident that they will come up with some plan Fey, its like I
said, us mensies are awfully clever." He again said with a tone of
confidence.
"Well, I hope so." She said quietly in the dark night, with a magnitude
of brilliant stars overhead in the heavens.
All over this side of the globe, couples were sitting staring the stars
wondering the same thing. And tonight they would be doing the same on
the other side there of. Wondering if they will ever share their love
again under a pale white moon. Wondering if they will ever see it
glowing red again as it rose in the early evening. Wishing for a
moonlit night.
The leaders of the Global Society were indeed formulating plans to
resurrect the seas and the night-light in some way. They were planning
on building huge nuclear reactors in the middle of the ocean, to
stimulate currents, waves and sea movement. They would build a small
artificial moon, which radiated its own glow. It would be much smaller
and closer to earth than the original, and it would have no impact on
the tides of the ocean, but it would resemble the original in a great
degree visually. Yes the Society had plans, and mensies were
intelligent enough, and their technology advanced enough, to accomplish
this feat. It would only take several years to stimulate artificial
waves, but to build the moon would take several decades. Yet, whatever
the cost, they would resurrect their planet's dead seas, and give it a
new moon.
And for almost a hundred years the seas of the world lay shrouded in
darkness. Soft waves washed unto all the shores in the dark, and the
waters were as black as the night. Lovers walked up and down the dimly
lit streets on the shoreline, and kissed under the pale light of the
stars out on the rocks, as the wind softly stirred the palm trees
behind them.
The sea remained quiet under the dark night.
Chapter Four: Artificial Waves.
They built great concrete structures in the middle of the oceans that
were to house the nuclear reactors, which would drive the huge
turbines, which in turn, would generate currents and waves.
It took several years to complete the task and on the day that they
were switched on, they immediately generated enough power to have an
influence on the movement of the oceans' waters. Soon the currents ran
strongly and swiftly along the courses, which they had taken
previously, and large waves built up on the surface of the water.
The waves were not as large and powerful as they had been under the
pull of the moon, but they were adequate. They broke with glorious
noise and fury on the beaches and rocks of the world's many
coastlines.
On the side of the globe where it was dark, the noise of the breakers
could be heard for miles inland, and the people rushed to the beaches
to witness the spectacle. Waves breaking on the beach. A wondrous sight
and sound.
Yes, the mensies had resurrected their planet's dead oceans, and the
sound of roaring surf brought joy to their hearts. The number of fish
and other ocean life also recovered because of the artificial
macro-cosm that was created by the new waves. Soon the sea was a living
and life giving entity once more. It teemed with the creatures in it,
and it gave them a good home once more.
The waves danced to and fro on the oceans surface, as if they had a
life of their own, and no casual observation would tell one it was
mensie created. The sea had come back to life in glorious splendor, and
moved around the continents with a surge of power and determination
once more.
It was a spectacular sight to watch the sun go down into the waves at
dusk each evening, and then one could hear them breaking on the shore
throughout the night. The vast expanses of water were alive again with
the waves rolling over them. The rain came in huge dark clouds, rolling
over the waves of the ocean, and depositing their loads before moving
on through the black skies.
The leaders of the Global Society were delighted. Phase one of their
project was a marvelous success, now it would be time to implement the
second phase. They had to build the moon. And overhead in the dark sky
just beyond earth's gravitational field, construction crews were
already at work in building the huge skeleton of the massive satellite,
which would be their new moon.
The mensies were anticipating some return of the old times, once their
moon had been completed, and looked forward to the day they would see
it hanging in the night sky. The little children would ask the grown
ups "What is the moon?" or "What does it look like?" Only the very aged
among them remembered what the faint moon look liked in the old days,
and tried to explain it to them, but it was difficult to translate the
beauty of the moon into words.
While the construction crews worked silently on the huge round ball in
the space just above the earth, the mighty waves broke on the sand in
the dark, and the stars kept them all company.
Chapter Five: Artificial Moon.
The construction crews worked in shifts, and work on the moon commenced
for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the whole year,
non-stop.
Leave was granted to construction workers on a six monthly basis. They
could return home for a month and then had to return to complete the
second stint of their five-year contract. After five yeas a worker
could renew his contract if he was still eligible for service.
The new moon was only a hollow metal structure, which would be covered
by a thin sheet of transparent white plastic. It would then be
illuminated from within. It would have no substantial mass of its own,
and would therefore have no impact on the tides of the sea. It would
serve only an artificial purpose, in that it would be visually
pleasing, and would also not give enough light to illuminate the earth
significantly.
The construction crews toiled away without interruption for eight
decades, crafting the beautiful hollow moon. They floated about the
space around the structure in their spacesuits, and moved girder after
girder in place, and then bolting them together. A good rigger could
save enough money for a wealthy retirement, by doing two five-year
stints in space. The Global Society paid their workers well. There were
also many other posts available on the space stations that serviced the
project, from cooks and scullery hands, to engineers and officers. Any
mensie serving in the project was proud of that fact.
The sky was dimly alight a night with the work going on overhead, but
it was nothing compared to the light which was to come. From the dark
beaches now alive with the sound of surf, the mensies watched the
progress of the astronaut construction crews in the heavens above, and
wondered, how much longer?
How much longer before the moon glows brightly on their faces once
more? How long before they have a companion in the heaven once more?
They waited each night in keen anticipation, and looked up at the dark
night sky with hope. And still the builders kept on working, perfecting
their creation.
And one blessed night, after almost a hundred years of darkness, the
moon was completed. The construction crews came down from space. Their
would be no more work for them, apart from the small contingent which
remained in service, to do maintenance on the orb. The Prime Leader of
the Global Society pulled the switch, which was to activate the huge
light, and behold, the moon shone once more.
The moon shone proudly from the heavens, giving a heartwarming glow to
all the mensies blow. The moon shone for the first time in almost a
century, and the mensies were filled with wonder at looking at her
beauty. The young and the old gathered hand in hand to greet the joyous
spectacle.
And as the new moon shone majestically in the dark night sky, the waves
broke gently on the beach.
Chapter Six: The Changed World.
The moon shone brightly in the sky at night, and below her the tides of
the sea ebbed and flowed, in eternal rhythm.
The moon shone a dim, soft white in the dark night sky, and became a
familiar companion in the heavens to the mensies. She cast her friendly
glow on all her children, and gave them light to travel by during the
nocturnal hours. She was a familiar beacon up high to all mensiekind.
And below her the waves lapped gently on the beaches.
The earth was alive once more with the sound of surf, and the coursing
of water around the land shores. The moon beamed brightly above, while
the ocean moved and murmured in eternal motion.
The moon followed the exact same orbit as the original one, and the
passage of the months could once more be calculated by her position in
the heavens. Once a month she shone full and brightly, once a month she
was nothing but a dark disk in the sky, as she waxed and waned.
At last the moon was shining brilliantly in the evenings once more, as
the sound of roaring waves could be heard on the shores. The world felt
like home to the mensies again, as they frolicked in the waves under
the clear white moon.
Ocean going vessels once again experienced the rhythmical rise and fall
of the water on the open sea, as the waves rose and fell in continual
motion. The passengers on board would sit and stare at the lovely moon,
their moon, hanging silently in the sky above them, among a scattering
of brilliant stars strewn out by the Milky Way.
Earth was earth once was more as it had been in olden times. The moon
threw her friendly, heartwarming light on the earth below, as the waves
danced to and fro in the sea. A lovely sight to any passing space
traveler, and a true home for all the little mensies. The sea and the
moon had been resurrected, and harmony had been restored on
earth.
And lovers once more went out to the rocks on the point, to share their
love under the brilliant white moon, their soft words being hushed by
the rhythm of the living ocean.
In the semi-darkness, the waves lapped gently on the rocks below.
Epilogue.
Two lovers were sitting in this fashion on the rocks down by the point
one night, sharing words of love under the white moon, while the waves
moved restlessly below.
The male was named Ian, and the female; Sue. They were young adults and
had never seen the original moon and waves. They were always
awestricken at the beauty and majesty of the artificial
creations.
They sat under a half moon on the black rocks and whispered their
tender words, sharing tender thoughts, as the waves gave agreement from
below.
"Ah, but the moon is beautiful tonight, do you think the old one was
ever as lovely?" asked Sue.
"The old people say that it was much more beautiful than this one we
created." Said Ian.
"That is impossible." She murmured.
And while the fish swam in the water, and the lovers kissed on the
rocks above, the moon kept her shine, and the waters stirred
eternally.
'This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
Not with a bang but a whimper.'
From 'The Hollow Men.' By TS Eliot.
The End.
Copyright - JP Brown - 07/04/2005.
