Cobb: The Blind Planet

November 05, 2004

The Blind Planet

Every once in a while I have those kinds of dreams that are so compelling that when I wake up in the middle of the night and go back to sleep, I dream it again in continuity. Last night was such a night.

In this particular dream, I and another astronaut had come upon in a large plain surrounded by dark mountains a large area enclosed by a very secure looking chain link fence. Actually there were two sets of two fences, each with razor wire on top and a dog track in the middle of the pairs. The groud was a dull rusty reddish brown and we could see strange footprints on the arena sized infield.

We scaled the fences with no problem. The place was lit with banks of lights not unlike a football stadium, but the size of the enclosure was more like 100 yards wide and a mile long. We walked around the area trying to figure out what kinds of creatures were kept in here by the footprints, especially the deep ones which were perfectly circular, an inch deep into the hard dusty ground and looked like they were made by an elephant - a very large elephant.

It was dusk and getting darker and soon we couldn't see anything beyond the stadium lights which seemed like they were getting dimmer by the moment. We took off our helmets after a brief atmosphere check. The air was silent and cold. The lights were clearly going out. Somebody, or something, knew we were here. I started walking the long way, my partner, Jones, crossed over to the other side.

A bright light caught the corner of my eye. Jones had turned up his suitlights to observe something on the ground in the growing dark. I could see him about 75 yards back over my left shoulder. As he did, the stadium lights went out completely, as if in response. Then it happened, I heard an ear-piercing shriek from the corner of the arena behind him. In the narrow beams of my suitlights, I ran toward him only to be intercepted by two kiwi-like creatures. They ran like ostriches but had skin like lizards that was a kind of marbled green pattern. They were about 5 feet tall with thick legs and a short neck. Their heads seemed much too small for their muscular bodies - and they ran fast making shrieking noises as they headed straight for my partner. They ran full speed into him sending him sprawling on his back. As he struggled in his spacesuit like an upended turtle, the creatures started shrieking a different call towards the other end of the arena.

Whatever made those large footprints was bounding this way in the darkness, following the alarms of the birds. My partner's lights pointed straight into the air making dusty reddish columns in the dust raised by the commotion. The birds kept calling and the thumping got louder. I turned up the intensity of my lights to see clearer and then the birds shutup and headed towards me. Uh oh. I ran towards the fence on my right and started to climb. I was high enough to escape getting bumped. They leaped up and tried to grab at me with their ducklike beaks. They had flat head and large eyes which looked to be 100% iris. I shone the light directly at them again, they blinked and started shrieking again. This time really loudly in a higher pitch.

The large creature, which I still couldn't see, must have stopped in its tracks and started heading towards the birds and I. The birds slammed their bodies into the fence effectively dropping me to the ground. I turned off my lights and ran along the fence towards the monster in complete darkness. The birds weren't particularly scary but I wanted to get behind whatever that big thing was before it knew what I was. With my lights off, the birds must have circled in confusion and continued their noise at the normal level. I'm sure I passed the big thing, but what was it?

I looked back towards my partner who was now clearly standing on his own two feet and moving towards where I had been a minute ago. His lights were on and the birds were circling back to him, screeching. I shouted to him to douse his lights, but I'm sure he couldn't hear. I tried the radio. Nothing. The twin squawkers obviously the eyes for this creature which I could now vaguely make out. No, it was more like a shadow - an outline passing through dust. My partner was suddenly lifted by an invisible hand to what must have been 30 feet in the air. Something roared. It was a terrifying sound - like a giant walrus in an echo chamber.

Jones yelled out to me and was lifted higher by the invisible roaring entity. The lizard birds split up, one following behind the creature and one heading towards my light. The creature had whirled in place and began marching double time back down the center of the field in my general direction. Jones was held aloft like Fay Wray in the grip of King Kong, pounding his fists haplessly at his captor.

As the bird headed towards me I backpeddaled as fast as I could. I could feel the panic rising. I knew that the creature was blind and I figured that the birds were deaf, and most importantly I knew that we were dinner. But the birds were too fast to evade. I thought about just leaving Jones, but not only was that impractical since my ship needed both of us to takeoff, it was kinda immoral too. So I flipped off my lights and turned upfield in the direction of the stomping monster. I gained on them quickly. Jones looked petrified but unharmed, I was feeling as if I might be able to do something when I ran smack into something I couldn't see.

The next thing I knew I was aloft moving rapidly towards the end of the stadium. My hips and legs were in a painful vice grip and I could see the entire field and the deeper darkness of the monster's lair at the far end. Then the roar hit me. I was headed in the opposite direction as Jones whom I could hear begin to howl. I could feel the awful creature's heartbeat through my pinned hips. I started to scream, I mean really scream in desparate fear. My mind was racing, sweat was pouring from my forehead, I felt strong as an ox for all the adrenaline pumping through me, but all I could do was scream louder than I ever heard myself. Even my own voice scared me more.

Seconds after I was wailing like a freakishly large child, the creature reached the end of the field and dropped me into the dust at the edge of his lair. It then sprinted to the middle of the field in a cloud of dust.

Jones' voice crackled over the radio "Touchdown".

Posted by mbowen at November 5, 2004 08:52 AM

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