Dreaming in Digital

One hand over eyes to shield them from the brightness, I squint into the distance. Uninterrupted by tree or mountain, the ground stretches like a mirror of the vast sky. Stars wink and sparkle above and below, vertigo-inducing in their reflected gaiety. I bite my lip and turn, hoping for relief from the endless sight. What greets me takes my breath.

Rising from the endless mirror, monolithic in size and monumental in design, it stands testament to technology far beyond human. A lack of weather-producing atmosphere has allowed it to exist indefinitely without corrosion or blemish. Cold and unmoving, it could be mistaken as a dead machine, abandoned eons ago. Yet power seems to emanate from somewhere deep below it, rumbling gently at an octave so low that only the tiny nerves of my skin register the sound.

Overwhelmed by curiosity and the need to find ground less intimidating than the flat openness, I start forward. A sense of euphoria leaps through me, coaxing me forward one eerily silent step at a time. Soon I am running across the alien terrain, moving faster and easier than I ever could on my own world. I laugh, and the sound startles me. It lingers in the thin atmosphere like delicate crystal wind chimes before fading into the eternity of the sky above me.

My runaway stride slows when I come to a stretch of ground scattered with stones. They are different from everything, made not from the reflective material of both the ground and the massive machine, but of transparent colored crystal. I kneel and touch one such stone, letting my fingers caress the smooth surface. Instantly a muted glow flashes within the stone and a low hum echoes through my bones. All around me the other scattered stones glow in response and begin to make sound. No stone makes the same noise; they all vary through range, mingling and weaving together to make a haunting melody.

I can't help but smile as the alien, yet familiar, harmony reverberates in my very soul. I know this place, I feel it within. I look up to the ancient machine and offer an appropriate salute: two fingers to the center of my forehead vertically, thumb clasped over the folded third and forth fingers, and a slight inclination of the head. A brilliant diamond flash from the center of the device acknowledges. I feel a gentle but powerful query inside my mind: Do you wish to travel?

I smile at the question. Yes, I want to travel, desperately. Yet something holds me back. Something important, something that feels assigned. Deep within me the answer drifts upward, telling me why I mustn't travel.

Aloud, I address the magnificent and flawless blend of intelligence and design. "Regretfully, I must stay on this world a little longer. I must fulfill a duty. Accept my apologies for summoning you prematurely." I bow my head slightly in a sincere gesture.

Do not worry, Traveler. The Gateway is always here. Fare you well in your duties.

Around me the world of mirrors and stars dissolve, the last image in my mind the diamond flash of the Gateway, the final sound an uplifting symphony of stone and crystal voices.

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This was actually a dream I had probably five or six years ago... I was staying at my grandparents' ranch, so at least that...

Anyway, the dream filled me with such euphoria and happiness at the time, I have never forgotten it. It's always at the back of my mind, and sometimes I see snippets of it in other dreams. I tried drawing it once, but my artistic abilities are so limited when it comes to traditional media, I just couldn't capture the feeling. This one doesn't entirely capture the feeling either, but it's pretty dang close... Wish I had 3Ds MAX still... So many more customizable options, and I can figure out how to make materials that aren't PRESET! *Growls*

I designed this to go on my laptop desktop, so it's pretty big, and also a bit... different. My Start menu/bar is at the TOP of my monitor, so I designed around that... Sorry to those who have bottom-resting bars.

Anywhozzles...

Programs: Vue 7, Photoshop CS2 (My CS3 is STILL down...)
Fonts: Hurricane, Year 2000 Replicant, DS-Digital (Available from dafont.com for free)
ETC: All gorram day and part of the other one too... About 8-10 hours. Took FOREVER to get the lighting right. 1h 11m 14s to render the thing... Too long. Need faster computer...