"He keeps notes..."
Indeed I do:
The shuttle landed on the rim of the habitat like a coat hung on a hook. Brian and Jade were pushed gently back into their seats. Slowly the shuttle was raised and turned into a horizontal orientation, and pulled forward to enter a small tunnel cavity. The air-locks aligned and signaled. Brian, Jade, and the other passengers and crew released their seat-belts.
Without hurry, the small group exited the shuttle and made their way through the tunnel space to a bank of circular elevator doors. Brian selected the “Grand Entrance” route and seemed surprised that only he and Jade chose it. The spherical car moved smoothly for a short time. When it stopped, and the eyelid door opened, they were greeted by a stunning panorama.
They stepped out of a rustic stone building onto a grassy plain. Behind them on each side were trees and shrubs in a forest setting. Stretching to the left and right were meadows which were marked by small fences and signposts giving directions to various activities.
But the most striking thing to appear before them was the magnificent castle in the center of the vista. Brian had seen such a castle before. In another life he had helped to build one. This one looked the same, but there were slight differences. The castle of his youth had been made of a pinkish stone. This one looked more grayish, like granite. And it had a soaring minaret on the left side, in partial counterbalance to the magnificent tower on the right.
As he took in the scene, Brian realized there was a path to follow, that would lead him to the castle gate. They began walking.
Jade was looking up. Through a slight haze, which cast the overhead in a bluish mist, Brian perceived a network of arches and struts like a bridgework, but this spanned the entire dome of the enclosure. The artificial lights emplaced on the crossbars matched the brightness of the sky, and tended to make the beams disappear. Unless one studied it, as they were doing, it was easy to accept the illusion that they were under open sky on a planetary surface. This place was enormous!
As they approached the drawbridge, Brian listened. He could hear only sounds of domesticity. Animal noises, birdcalls, voices of children filled the air. For a moment he was carried back to his early days on the island.
In crossing the drawbridge, they could see and hear that people were swimming in the moat. One bald-headed fellow was industriously swimming around the castle, but he was swimming with the current. Brian thought for a moment about how he knew that the water was circulating around the castle. He shrugged. It wasn’t at all uncommon for pieces of information to just appear in his mind. He had grown used to it.
Entering the courtyard, after the momentary darkness of the tunnel through the thick walls, they were again impressed by the scale and majesty on display. There were fruit trees and flowering shrubs in profusion, as well as a sort of parade ground where ceremonies and celebrations could be held. Many small windows faced into the courtyard from the thick wall surrounding it. In the corners, a balcony effect seemed apparent as faces appeared to look out from time to time from large sections of glass.
The main part of the castle appeared before them. A large staircase with circular steps led up to the massive main doors of the castle. They climbed up the stairs. Pausing on a terrace at the top, they again looked around at the courtyard. Brian pictured it with pennants flying, and horses and knights in shining armor on parade.
I sure wish my daughter hadn’t kept my books...I could use some Action! And some Reaction. And whatever came in between or since. *sigh*
Your notes are so....
*hanging head* (never mind)