AMERIKA IN THE SKY (IN MEMORIAM)

 

I remember that day starting off ordinarily enough, there I was playing as usual with some friends in the open field not that far from home, the sky azure with nary a cloud blighting its face…

The lay of the land is so perfectly flat that we can see unencumbered all the way to the horizon. A strange sensation grips me that the sky is a giant snow globe surrounding and enveloping me in its grasp, which makes me feel slightly queasy and claustrophobic. I feel trapped by this impenetrable glass bowl sky and have the strong urge to smash its walls and break free from the eternal imprisonment that it has me and the whole world under.

As the day proceeds, the heavens rotate slowly around their axis and then towards mid-morning something very odd catches my eye on the eastern horizon. It is something that I never have seen in the sky before but there it is before me, slowly arising from beneath the edge of the earth.  By some incomprehensible process, the whole of the continent of North America has somehow become attached to the celestial sphere and it is now being carried along by the turning of the heavens. We can clearly see its unmistakable shape and the features of the land, the whiteness of Alaska, the mighty rivers, the mountain chains, the major cities, the wheat fields, the forests.

If I felt claustrophobic before and hemmed in by the sky above me, now those sensations are so much worse given there's a whole continent hanging right over our heads.

At first, while the continent is still at a shallow angle in the sky, the North American people seem to be enjoying their unique experience, smiling, laughing and some even waving to us down below.

But as the heavens continue their inexorable turning and the continent slowly approaches the celestial zenith, the fun and the mirth turns to panic.

At midday the continent reaches the highest point in the sky, hanging precisely upside down. The people are now in their most precarious position, desperately trying to hold onto anything that is firmly rooted in the ground, any moorings whatsoever, to blades of grass, even to soil itself. Even when they completely lose all grip on land, still they hopelessly attempt to find some protuberance in the fabric of the sky that they can hold onto, to save themselves from this terrible disaster, to give themselves just one more instant of life, just one more instant of stability. Oh the humanity, dropping like ants from their once secure abodes that have now turned treacherously against them. But what can one do when your whole world has literally been turned upside down?

The height from which they fall is so great that we can not even see where they land. Curiously, instead of their bodies looming larger and larger in our field of vision as they approach the ground, they become fainter and smaller still, until disappearing from sight completely. Even more curiously, after a certain stretch of time, they suddenly re-appear, only now they are not their usual corporeal three-dimensional selves but rather they've turned into life-sized two-dimensional monochrome cardboard cutouts of themselves. As we watch these cardboard figures near the ground another incredible metamorphosis takes place and the cutouts change into small snapshot photos of those same people. These photos shower upon us like torrential rain. Even though in a daze, I instinctively pick some of them up and see in these snapshots the lost souls as they appeared in happier times, with their family, friends, pets, the way that they like to be remembered, and not how they looked in their desperate final moments.  

As the continent remains in the apex of the sky, buildings' foundations start to loosen, roots of plants are no longer able to cling to the soil, the once mighty rivers empty their banks in cataclysmic downpour of unprecedented proportions. Finally, the earth itself begins to lose its compactness and adhesiveness, dripping down in small spurts first and then in great lumps. Here and there, the liquid magma substratum is peeking through the locations where all of the continental crust has fallen off.

As the whole continent continues to break up, a colossal downpour of bodies, concrete, trees, mud, water, cars, houses, rock, soil all mixed up together into a terrible blend threatens to engulf the world below and destroy our lives too.

Thankfully, some clouds appear and block these scenes of pure horror but then they quickly disperse and again we are unable to look away, unable to avert our gaze from the largest catastrophe that has ever been witnessed by the human eye. But who am I, a small boy, to watch these scenes of suffering so terrifying that even Death Itself turns its bony face away in fright? Oh the horror, the horror of it all, surely this day will live forever in infamy!

After an interminable span of time, the continent begins to move away from the zenith. We can see that a fortunate few have somehow managed to survive the nearly total destruction of the landscape of North America and they are approaching the horizon and the security of the ground again. Thank goodness they now will be able to descend safely and be lauded as heroes, as survivors of the most terrible journey that any human being has ever had to go through.

Alas, that is not to be, and our hopes are proven to be woefully inaccurate. For when this god-forsaken, ill-fated, star-crossed continent reaches the horizon again, it collides sharply with the stubborn, unyielding ground that is already there and a catastrophe even worse than the one we witnessed earlier in the day begins to unfold before our terrified eyes.

In the far horizon, an inexorable process is taking place as two continents attempt to occupy the same location at the same time and one of them has to lose out. Northern Canada and Alaska are the first to go, bit by bit they are torn apart as the stationary earth refuses to shift and stands firm its ground and those remaining alive that we thought would be the lucky survivors are crushed to dust.   

We cannot help but rush to their aid, to try to save at least some lives. Suddenly we halt as we realize that the horizon is an illusory point in the distance that keeps receding further and further as you walk towards it and so we never would be able to reach those unfortunate few.

By now, more than half the continent has been ground into fine powder as the merciless process continues without ceasing. The major metropolises of the United States, the founts of so much knowledge, art, music, creative energy, are being pulverized into nothingness, never before has there been destruction on such a thoroughly unmitigated scale. Icy pieces of Alaska intermingle with the glassy shards of New York City and with bits of tinsel of Los Angeles. Would it ever be possible to reconstruct America from these clouds of dust?  Civilizations, cities, entire countries have been rebuilt before from ruins, but this is annihilation of an entirely different nature, from which there's surely no coming back.  

"Well, there goes the New World", I think wistfully  "and I never did get to visit it, although just last year I came so close to going there. No longer will we have America in our lives, no more remains of that cultural centre of the world from which we get all of our TV programs. It is all gone in the most cruel and terrible fashion right before our very eyes. And yet, its ashes and dust will settle all over the world, infusing every cell of the remaining world.  Forever more it will provide fertilization for the world to go on growing and progressing the way America once did and we will be able to proudly say that we all now have America in our very souls."

Reviews

[Angel Bird]

Maybe I'm very mistaken, but the first thing that came to mind at the beginning of your story was President Bush's disastrous politics, and slowly it metamorphosed into 9/11 to me til the very end. To me it seems that you here wrote metaphorically speaking about how all continents looked up at the great, and filled with greatness and all possibilities land of America ... and then since Bush came into office, he and his politics literally managed so everything went down the tubes and crumbled down to only a pile of ashes ...
Ok that's my very own way of interpreting your write, if I'm wrong I hope you don't mind?

This is an excellent piece you've created here. All those many fantastic, but cruel images. An absolutely breathtaking fantasy piece. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Brilliant! Kudos!

[Rain]

Wow,
Great write and very imaginative. I'm giving this a high rating because it was so well written. I do wonder though, what part of the world you write this from. Where is there no greed, no history of war, a history of only peace and harmony...perhaps Cambodia, where Pol Pot slaughtered millions, or the Congo where women and children are raped with branches, maybe Russia with it's reputation of freedom, and non-violence, or perhaps the Mid East with it's beloved leaders, never known to kill or conquer, and revered for how they treat their women...maybe China, with a history so filled with killing and enslavement, or Bosnia with it's dreamy genocide, or even Italy, how can we forget the loveable Mussolini, Oh, I forgot Germany who loved it's jews and gypsies to death..the Phillipines? They have a wonderful historic background. Maybe you live in Haiti, where children actually eat mudpies, or Ruwanda, Ethopia, and Eritea with their history of love and co-existence. Maybe you write from Tibet where true freedom reigns. God, there are so many lovely countries with such gentle histories. I especially love Japan, with their beloved Emperors. It is so odd that you write this wonderful piece from a Civilization that invented the system in which you write. lol.
Please, in your next dream, remember we are a Country who killed 19000 of our own during one battle in the Civil war,but, survived and united, a Country that not only survived the biggest economic crash in history in 1929, when there were soup lines for millionaires who lost everything. Dreams are odd occurences. Sometimes, they tell much about the dreamer. Despite the many flaws, North America has carried much of the world. If we go...you go. We are always the first to offer help to every Country who has a calamity..probably yours. You know what? In a time when America's economy is in total shambles, it's people have given an historic amount to charity. You do not know American history, or it's people. Why did you not mention where you're from? I'm sure it's paradise, with no flaws, no history of violence, no corruption, no greed, inventors galore who have improved lives through medicine and technology...or do you just use ours. :) Did your country have slavery? I love History, please tell me where you're from. I might need to go there when we fold, unless your Country has a checkered past, then I'll just dream of going. When you wish upon a Star...makes no difference who you are.. :) God Bless North America, and all the people of the world who dream. Great write. Rain..

[Celtic Cat]

Although I've already forgotten most of what I've read here... the feeling of anti-Americanism is so deeply ingrained in my heart from this read... from the beginning of "our fate in the sky" to the realization we're just too far away to even bother to try and help. While I'd happily consider myself a Libra before an American in these anti-American times, the truth is, I am an American. You've burned me with this piece, I feel scarred. Interesting I'm the only one who felt it. Perhaps it's just me.... perhaps not.

[thecoolone52]

thanks for entering my contest........ very different from anything ive read so far................... i wish something like this happeand ot the middle east then they can finalyl realize that their holy land isnt really that important................. but right when they hit the ground theyd still be aruging about it again....... guranteed........... anyway nice write

[Dave "Doc" Rogers]

Interesting story. A very nice twisting of reality into something sci-fi or supernatural. I was reminded of somethings that I had read from Bradury how he would create incredulous moments and for a moment's read they were credulous. Nicely done.

Reading below at some of the comments reminds my of my English teacher asking me to analyze a Robert Frost poem. I didn't get any of the analogies ... political or otherwise ... your other readers did. What was your intent in the story? Was this a mediphor?

Doc.

[Pax Analog]

Intriguing magic-realistic parable. Just then Australia shriveled to a desert wasteland (I read a science snippet about this), and the rest of the planet's surface was tsunami drenched, and quake-crumbled by a humongous meteor (either that, or simply obliterated by intergalactic expressway planners, a la Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). Stay tuned for stunning developments of emergent Consciousness in the sleepwalking realm of The Matrix. Unless bored Nature quake-flood shrugs off the whole sorry lot of us.

[radian7]

Loved the unique vision. Can't think of anything that remotely reminds me of anything else I've read. I will have to read a number of times to soak it in. Angel Bird had an interesting interpretation. Lots of food for thought in this writing. A pleasure to read.

[Barbary Chaapel]

This just gets better each time I read it. Living in America I see your writing from a different direction and hold it to be a true reflection. I dearly like the way your mind travels, dear Boris.

[Emily Elizabeth]

You... really blew me away with this one. I'm actually lost for words.
My family is from Iraq, and since the war, I've always felt like America really is looming over my head. I don't blame the Americans themselves, not at all, but their government. This really is how I felt that day.
I can't say much else but this really nearly made me cry...

[Robyn]

I love the images you used in the opening paragraphs, very vivd. You put forth some interesting notions (even Death can be disgusted by humanity) which are thought provoking and insightful. This line stood out to me, "desperately trying to hold onto anything that is firmly rooted in the ground", it's very true, in times of crisis we often try to hold onto material things, even if we know they won't be able to save us, they are just comfort. I like your style of writing, your vocabulary is awesome ("interminable" stood out to me in particular).

[Michael]

Hi B-

Your word selection and overall construction reminds me of HG Wells or Edgar Rice Burroughs. You might get some to tell you it is more a 19th century work than a 21st (I get that comment all the time) but those that do just prove to be small thinkers. I like the ending but is is sad to think American is remembered by our collection trip we call TV shows.

Excellent work my friend!