Fireflies

Weird title. Kinda random. But it felt like a decent theme. Whenever I endeavor on a new project it always feels a bit like chasing fireflies. I get this sudden illumination of an image or a character or a scene that I want to capture, and go chasing headlong after it. But if I'm not quick enough to snatch it as it's lighted, I'm left to stumble after its ghostly afterimage. And often, when bright inspiration gives way to the burden of searching, I am distracted by a new blinking light in the distance: Another idea, another promise. And fool as I am I leap headlong after it.

Fireflies also (sort of) explain the way my audience will approach my piece. As mentioned by many, this world is far too large to expound upon in detail. I've abandoned a linear format to compensate, creating my own field of fireflies. The reader catches a glimpse of their surroundings lit up in each story/poem/artwork, and plays a mental game of connect the dots: And hopefully the constellation will be an adequate rendering of what it needs to be.

Just a glimpse, that's all they ever give you. A tiny flash, an indication of their position, maybe a hint at their direction. And then they melt back into the seamless night and leave you guessing. That's all I have for today. Some character sketches, people who will play critical roles in one or more of the stories.



This first page was one of dozens that I doodled and tossed around ideas on. I like this one because it includes a lot: An early sketch of the cyberflora, with a figure-scale for size comparison. I was experimenting with forms that looked both artificial and 'alien' to earth, while at the same time looking as organic as possible.
The second sketch of the hand over the grass was an attempt to illustrate the prostheses affinity for the new wildlife; the 'grass' sways and bends in the direction of transhumans. 'Fireflies' and other airborne creations of the artificial wildlife are attracted to them as well. I hope to make a comparison to transhumans (Man merged with Machine) and the creatures of folklore, nymphs and dynaids (Nature merged with Man). I think it puts the idea of flowerchildren and 'Mother Nature' in an interesting new light.
Finally, the bottom sketch is the first doodle of Hannah (name still open to change), one of the many transhumans ostracized from her home and concentrated into camps with others like her. She falls into the category of involuntary transhuman - she would give up her implants to join her family if she could, but they are necessary to her survival. She falls toward one end of a continuum; For some, to 'purge oneself' of the implants, as the government requires, would mean death. For others, it would be a great sacrifice, but survivable. (For instance, there is a man with cybernetic eyes, and a woman with two cybernetic legs.) At the other end, there are those in camp who are augmented beyond their means, with implants that improve physical strength or memory capacity. They refuse on principle.


Here is a quick sketch of a family of exiled transhumans. The man with cybereyes, a little girl with a prosthetic leg, and an older woman (her caregiver) who remains banished from the city to be with the child. In the background is an early attempt to wrap my head around cavern-life: Huge underground tunnels and rooms lit by a web of lighted rootwires high above, dangling down like christmas lights or japanese lanterns.

Below are further character sketches.

The finished project will include improved versions of profiles like these, set to proper backgrounds, interspersed among the text.As for the prose-y bits... you'll just have to wait a bit longer. I've got lots of scenes splayed out in my head, and lots of 'stuff' scribbled in places, but no whole pieces thus far. Next time!(Also: I read I, "Rowboat". Thanks for bringing it up! It was a fantastic story, I'd recommend it to everyone else. And while that world doesn't quite mesh with my own, it lit up a whole slew of new fireflies for me to chase :)