The world’s first series of endlessly generative audio/visual art has been distributed. Standby for the revealing.

Chapter 3 — Approach

Year — 2197

After a few hours of floating weightlessly toward the many-colored Orbs on the horizon, it was difficult to tell if they were any closer. The Orbs may have gotten bigger to indicate their approach, but no one could spend much time looking at them without becoming entranced, or as Lunya had taken to calling it, “getting lost in yourself.”

The main systems board of the Voidwalker 3 was reporting solid function on every level. The thrusters appeared to be working properly, but there was no vibration, no friction, no turbulence, and no change in velocity. After little throttle tests here and there, she was finally ready to commit. Without so much as a cleared throat, she proclaimed loudly to the VOA, “Shut down engines.” Then her gaze was captured by a piercing Orb at 11 o’clock that was orange like the sunset.

Don’t waste gas.

Lunya always thought it was her dad’s favorite phrase. It was his way of saying so many different things, like you can’t go on a road trip, you can’t get your own car, cut the engine. It was never good news for Lunya, but somehow that phrase had become something of a driving force in her life (so to speak). Her engineering career was defined by the monumental achievements to fuel storage, use, and amplification.

The most interesting thing about don’t waste gas is that Lunya’s dad wasn’t a grease monkey like her. He was a robot guy, he used to manage a dock fleet of 1000 AI units that did 42% of the fish processing, sorting and shipping for the basin tri-cities. In a tall overlook tower, he used to sit drinking coffee all day from a massive cup that said “All I Smell is Coffee.” It’s true. It reeked in the fish district.

Lunya’s dad taught her some incredible things with batteries, regenerative power supply cells and self-charging systems. A lot of his robotics designs were borrowed for the creation of the Voidwalker series. Technically, as part of the estate, they belong to Lunya now anyway.

Even with everything from her father’s data, she had found far more useful material in her grandfather’s patent files. Grandfather Eugene had developed engines that could run for days on a single drop of unleaded petrol. It was unclear what had kept these engines from becoming wildly successful, especially in the midst of a worldwide crisis of energy. Victims of the dark years, the silent depression and the dust storms would all have benefited from these inventions throughout the turbulent 22nd century. But as far as Lunya knew, this ship, code named Gulliver, was the first ever practical application of a Grandfather Eugene design. The single fuel tank will last years of endless travel without refueling.

The Orbs were definitely getting bigger now, but they still had a distant and looming quality. Lunya was wondering again why they were here. What resource did the Agency expect them to find and deliver, and how could it change anything at this point?

The oil has been gone for more than 30 years now. The weather has been worse than ever, with people suffering on all extremes. Failed supply chains have left countless families hungry, naked, struggling in ways they never imagined. Lunya remembered a childhood of lights always left on and personal electronic devices in every pair of hands. Things had changed so much, and so quickly.

As she continued lost in thought, absorbing the feelings of the piercing orange Orb in the distance, Lunya was reminded of her briefing from the Agency. Each traveler received a personal and secret briefing, with instructions that each briefing should be shared with no one other than the intended recipient.

Lunya’s packeted briefing was very simple, and it was the same strange phrase that had been repeated in her dreams for well over the last year.

Accept the Gift.

The colors in the Orb shifted with sudden but somehow orchestrated beauty, allowing Lunya to be drawn from the most recent reverie. She couldn’t even tell how much time was passing, and looking about the bridge, no one else could either. Pria had sprawled out papers and plans on a roll up desk but then lost interest in them at some point when her attention was captured by a light purple Orb beginning to peek out from behind the first row. She was wide-eyed and drooling a little on her papers, but she looked happy.

Even Alister was enthralled in one of the Orbs. His was a pastel yellow, and he sat plainly cross-legged on the floor of the bridge. He occasionally giggled to himself in a lost-in-childhood kind of way. Wherever he was, he was having a good time. Lunya could only assume that throughout the ship, the rest of the crew was glued to their viewing windows in a similar fashion.

Lunya had no idea what lay in store, but she was far less afraid than earlier, facing the anomaly gateway beneath a billion tons of ocean water. The way these Orbs were drawing them in was not fearful. They gently drew everything in with their pull, not only Gulliver itself, but the people inside it. It was like gravity, but nicer, not so rough and real.

The ship floated on through the strange open area toward a field of colorful Orbs as far as they could see, accepting and expected.

Past Chapters

I — Departure

II — Conception

If you haven’t learned about the Orbs yet, you have a little catching up to do. These pieces are the cutting edge of audio/visual art, the first eternally generative pieces ever to exist… anywhere.

TheOrbs.io

Chapter II— Conception

Lunya and her crew of interdimensional travelers thought they were the culmination of an eleventh hour mission of desperation. They all knew but refused to speak it aloud- this was a cosmic grasp at straws, hatched, funded and executed by the Agency with its typical need-to-know grace. Every member had been extensively briefed on thousands of possible eventualities. They each knew the risks and they each knew the rewards. Saving the world was always worth the cost.

While nobody on the Voidwalker 3 who traveled through the anomaly that day knew the full extent of the story, they were all pieces in a game that had been playing out longer than any of them were alive. Their purposes were ordained by their predecessors and their destinies were always intertwined. Although each of these chosen travelers always made their own decisions and lived their own lives, none could escape the inevitable (but gentle) pull of their prescribed, shared fate.

We are the last generation of the Coalition of Minds.

These words lay embedded throughout the fabric of the travelers’ lives, working on them with subtle powers from a place they could not comprehend.

We are called to restore the Balance.

No one can say for certain when the Imbalance first began, but it was first acknowledged three quarters of a century ago, when a collection of the finest experts throughout the world came together to form the Coalition of Minds. They came from many industries and backgrounds, sciences, art disciplines and spiritual practices. They explored methods such as group meditation, channeling and traditional indigenous magic. Everything they ever did was in the interest of reaching beyond and calling for help.

In its early days, the Coalition of Minds consisted of more artistic minds and fewer scientific ones. The problem after all that had been brewing throughout the previous generations was a vast imbalance toward science and technology. Many of the notable scientists and scholars of the time were far too busy to participate, absorbed in their own seemingly endless parades of success and notoriety.

The first to feel the whips of the Imbalance were the musicians. No matter their style or method of play, musicians all over the world were watching their passions vanish from awareness. The pastime of listening to music was in danger, and the new generation was being guided instead toward technological pursuits. In fact, 5 of the founding members of the Coalition were musicians, and they were the ones who were most steadfast in their work against the Imbalance.

The purpose of the Coalition of Minds was simple: To restore the Balance and become the human stewards of creativity. Such an abstract and ambitious goal would require years (perhaps decades) of experimentation, because in order to impact something as otherworldly as the Balance of creativity, the Coalition needed to become versed in otherworldly things.

Some of the early Coalition sessions were recorded nearly 80 years ago. They contain several important passages about the nature of the Balance.

Recorded voice of: Violet Creo

Year — 2108

“For our purposes, there are two types of creativity in the world: Practical Creativity and Beautiful Creativity.

Practical Creativity allows us to solve the problems of society by discovering and executing solutions, to increase convenience in our lives through technical advancement, and to learn better communication, which can assist us in all manner of collaborations and shared goals.

Beauty is the other side of creativity’s coin. Artists, musicians and performers know that the beauty they create can be used to change lives at the epicenter of thought, the origin of ideas. Beautiful creation can often accomplish practical purposes, and practical creation can often be beautiful. While they are not enemies, these two branches of creativity are designed to work closely together, driving one another to always greater heights.

There exists a delicate Balance between these two branches of creativity. Throughout history, the world has experienced an ongoing cyclical flow. In times of great beauty and art, incredible scientific discoveries have become possible. Times of tremendous advances made ways for new artists to arise and create new forms of beauty.

Tragically, the Creative Balance has been upset by factors we cannot yet name. Technology skyrockets everywhere while art is forgotten. Clever devices and conveniences are at the height of importance in the world today, but the lack of creative beauty threatens to bring these delicate systems crashing down.

We will use knowledge of the ancient world along with everything we have learned in recent years to locate and appeal to the source of creativity: The Balance itself. The Balance will be restored, and we will usher in a lasting era of prosperity, creativity and peace.

Welcome to the Coalition of Minds.

Past Chapters

I — Departure