Poem: "Beautiful, Tough, Shiny, Resilient"
Apr. 9th, 2026 08:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the April 7, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from alatefeline and a previous discussion with siliconshaman about the life aspects of geodes. It also fills the "Lilac" square in my 4-1-26 card for the Flower Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles. It belongs to The Blueshift Troupers series.
"Beautiful, Tough, Shiny, Resilient"
The mission started
normally enough, with
an investigation into why
the inhabited planet Ganfree
experienced more and more
interference in transmissions.
Taylor soon tracked the source
to Spar, a neighboring planet
within the local solar system.
This one was not habitable
due to high vulcanism, but
it did have surface water
in wide, shallow seas and
steamy rivers meandering
around the sharp volcanoes.
"I'm picking up rhythmic signals,"
Avory reported. "It sounds like
some sort of language. Taylor,
keep your scanners peeled
for potential settlements."
"I know this planet has
water, but it's still isn't
habitable," said Taylor.
"I could go scout around
the surface," Zasha offered.
"It's too dangerous," said Lane.
"Look at all the volcanoes."
"Well, something must be
alive down there," said Avory.
"Look at this," Taylor said,
pointing to a scanner. "I'm
picking up a lot of crystals."
"Didn't primitive radios
use crystals?" said Lane.
"Yes, that's what they
have on Ganfree now,"
said Taylor. "This could
explain the interference."
"Except that 'interference'
is a language," said Avory.
"Can you translate?" said Lane.
Avory laughed. "No, that would
take years of work," he said.
It took them a week to figure out
that the linguistic interference
was actually coming from
clusters of large geodes just
under the planet's surface.
Reconstructions from the data
showed that most of them
were purple, from palest lilac
to deepest aubergine, but
some were rosy pink or
yellow or even other colors.
Apparently they reproduced
via seed crystals carried by
water seeping through rock.
"So they're not people
after all?" said Lane.
"They are geode crystals --
beautiful, tough, shiny, resilient,
yet destined for a life sheltered
inside the planet's ugly rock,"
said Avory. "They're also people,
just not the same kind we are."
"So now what do we do?"
said Taylor. "We have
to solve this somehow."
"First, warn the humans
not to come here because
they might damage some
of the geodes," said Avory.
"They can't come here, they
don't have the technology
for space travel," said Lane.
"That brings me to the next point,"
said Avory. "Upgrade their radio
to minimize the interference."
"We can certainly do that,"
Lane said with a nod.
Omphalos always carried
plans and supplies for doing
that sort of thing, because
a next step up in technology
could solve a lot of problems.
"Why do you think that
this interference started in
the first place?" said Taylor.
"I think," Avery said slowly,
"that the Geode People have
heard their neighbors' radio
and are just trying to say hello."
* * *
Notes:
"We were geode crystals. Beautiful. Tough. Shiny. Resilient. Destined for a life sheltered inside an ugly rock."
-- Parker S. Huntington
A hiveship is a living starship based on biotech, its organic alien structure enhanced by components of inorganic human equipment. The ship consists of several individual modules united in infancy, much the way distinct organs make up a human body. Each part has its own consciousness, with a shared memory and communal awareness. Hiveships can form a bond with a human crew, and most choose to do so as they tend to be lonely without a crew. Omphalos is the carrier of the human members of the Blueshift Troupers -- not merely transport, but their home and part of their family.
Lane is the leader of the team, the oldest member and usually male. His secondary roles are fighter (martial arts) and scholar (miltary history). Jess is the biotechnologist, next oldest and usually female. Her secondary roles are leader (executive officer) and fighter jumptech weapons). Emersan is a fighter, young and strong, usually female. Her secondary role is scholar (space exploration and colonization). Zasha is the medic, usually male, married to Taylor. His secondary role is scout. Avory is the scholar with a specialty in linguistics and ethnology. His secondary roles are medic and chaplain. Taylor is the engineer, young and strong, usually female, married to Zasha. Her secondary role is scientist (hard sciences). Chameleon is the scout, the youngest member of the team, usually male. His secondary role is fighter (natural and primitive weapons). Reilly is an entertainer gifted in empathy, usually female. Her secondary role is scientist (psychology).
A crystal radio receiver, also called a crystal set, is a simple radio receiver, popular in the early days of radio. It uses only the power of the received radio wave to produce sound, needing no external power supply. It is named for its most important component, a crystal detector, originally made from a piece of crystalline mineral such as galena. This component is now called a diode.
A geode is a geological secondary formation within sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Geodes are hollow, vaguely spherical rocks, in which masses of mineral matter (which may include crystals) are secluded.
The crystals are formed by the filling of vesicles in volcanic and subvolcanic rocks by minerals deposited from hydrothermal fluids; or by the dissolution of syngenetic concretions and partial filling by the same or other minerals precipitated from water, groundwater, or hydrothermal fluids.
alatefeline and a previous discussion with siliconshaman about the life aspects of geodes. It also fills the "Lilac" square in my 4-1-26 card for the Flower Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles. It belongs to The Blueshift Troupers series."Beautiful, Tough, Shiny, Resilient"
The mission started
normally enough, with
an investigation into why
the inhabited planet Ganfree
experienced more and more
interference in transmissions.
Taylor soon tracked the source
to Spar, a neighboring planet
within the local solar system.
This one was not habitable
due to high vulcanism, but
it did have surface water
in wide, shallow seas and
steamy rivers meandering
around the sharp volcanoes.
"I'm picking up rhythmic signals,"
Avory reported. "It sounds like
some sort of language. Taylor,
keep your scanners peeled
for potential settlements."
"I know this planet has
water, but it's still isn't
habitable," said Taylor.
"I could go scout around
the surface," Zasha offered.
"It's too dangerous," said Lane.
"Look at all the volcanoes."
"Well, something must be
alive down there," said Avory.
"Look at this," Taylor said,
pointing to a scanner. "I'm
picking up a lot of crystals."
"Didn't primitive radios
use crystals?" said Lane.
"Yes, that's what they
have on Ganfree now,"
said Taylor. "This could
explain the interference."
"Except that 'interference'
is a language," said Avory.
"Can you translate?" said Lane.
Avory laughed. "No, that would
take years of work," he said.
It took them a week to figure out
that the linguistic interference
was actually coming from
clusters of large geodes just
under the planet's surface.
Reconstructions from the data
showed that most of them
were purple, from palest lilac
to deepest aubergine, but
some were rosy pink or
yellow or even other colors.
Apparently they reproduced
via seed crystals carried by
water seeping through rock.
"So they're not people
after all?" said Lane.
"They are geode crystals --
beautiful, tough, shiny, resilient,
yet destined for a life sheltered
inside the planet's ugly rock,"
said Avory. "They're also people,
just not the same kind we are."
"So now what do we do?"
said Taylor. "We have
to solve this somehow."
"First, warn the humans
not to come here because
they might damage some
of the geodes," said Avory.
"They can't come here, they
don't have the technology
for space travel," said Lane.
"That brings me to the next point,"
said Avory. "Upgrade their radio
to minimize the interference."
"We can certainly do that,"
Lane said with a nod.
Omphalos always carried
plans and supplies for doing
that sort of thing, because
a next step up in technology
could solve a lot of problems.
"Why do you think that
this interference started in
the first place?" said Taylor.
"I think," Avery said slowly,
"that the Geode People have
heard their neighbors' radio
and are just trying to say hello."
* * *
Notes:
"We were geode crystals. Beautiful. Tough. Shiny. Resilient. Destined for a life sheltered inside an ugly rock."
-- Parker S. Huntington
A hiveship is a living starship based on biotech, its organic alien structure enhanced by components of inorganic human equipment. The ship consists of several individual modules united in infancy, much the way distinct organs make up a human body. Each part has its own consciousness, with a shared memory and communal awareness. Hiveships can form a bond with a human crew, and most choose to do so as they tend to be lonely without a crew. Omphalos is the carrier of the human members of the Blueshift Troupers -- not merely transport, but their home and part of their family.
Lane is the leader of the team, the oldest member and usually male. His secondary roles are fighter (martial arts) and scholar (miltary history). Jess is the biotechnologist, next oldest and usually female. Her secondary roles are leader (executive officer) and fighter jumptech weapons). Emersan is a fighter, young and strong, usually female. Her secondary role is scholar (space exploration and colonization). Zasha is the medic, usually male, married to Taylor. His secondary role is scout. Avory is the scholar with a specialty in linguistics and ethnology. His secondary roles are medic and chaplain. Taylor is the engineer, young and strong, usually female, married to Zasha. Her secondary role is scientist (hard sciences). Chameleon is the scout, the youngest member of the team, usually male. His secondary role is fighter (natural and primitive weapons). Reilly is an entertainer gifted in empathy, usually female. Her secondary role is scientist (psychology).
A crystal radio receiver, also called a crystal set, is a simple radio receiver, popular in the early days of radio. It uses only the power of the received radio wave to produce sound, needing no external power supply. It is named for its most important component, a crystal detector, originally made from a piece of crystalline mineral such as galena. This component is now called a diode.
A geode is a geological secondary formation within sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Geodes are hollow, vaguely spherical rocks, in which masses of mineral matter (which may include crystals) are secluded.
The crystals are formed by the filling of vesicles in volcanic and subvolcanic rocks by minerals deposited from hydrothermal fluids; or by the dissolution of syngenetic concretions and partial filling by the same or other minerals precipitated from water, groundwater, or hydrothermal fluids.
(no subject)
Date: 2026-04-10 01:44 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2026-04-10 05:15 pm (UTC)