Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 13

We seem to be settling in at around 5 entries a week at the moment, which is fabulous. I also love that people keep dusting off their blogs to come and write. That's what I want - to inspire people.

This week's photo is from an abandoned Sulphur Mine, on White Island, New Zealand, which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. It was taken by Dr Richard Roscoe, who is selling prints of this photo and other volcano related pictures on his website Photo Volcanica.

I felt this photo inspired many things. I might have gone for the obvious, but I couldn't help myself. I'm looking forward to see what others make of it.

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here.

Ancient Relics 

“Apparently they used to use them for transporting themselves through space and time?” Melchey walked round the big metal circular structure.

“What? You’re kidding me. How?” Adam peered through the centre of it, looking out to sea.

“Connected them to some kind of power source and they led to other worlds.”

“You sure?” Adam knew Melchey had a tendency to wind him up about stuff. He could be doing that now. “How do you know all this?”

“It was on one of those old broadcasts they used to make. It explained how people back then used to live. Points on the metal rim would light up, and they’d step through and come out somewhere, and meet other beings. It caused a lot of wars, and brought all sorts of strange things to the planet.”

Melchey was convincing; Adam couldn’t see his eyes twitch, or any static on the feed.

“What, did it cause the big war?”

“Maybe, no one’s sure how that one got started.”

“Some say it was the concept of some great being.” It was Adam’s turn to impart knowledge. “They used to make up stories about something creating them and would fight over which parts were true or not. Maybe that connects this, then. Maybe it came from meeting all those other beings in other worlds.”

“Could have been. But all we’ve got now are remains like this to try and learn from.” Melchey patted the metal rim.

“It’s a shame we haven’t learnt how to reach other worlds like they did, though; that would be cool.” Adam mused on the idea of meeting another civilisation and what that must have been like. Their neural networks only reached out to the planets close by, and they were empty.

Adam heard a fizz and the hologram disappeared; the structure and the beach faded. The flat, bare concrete floor and walls of his bunker came back into view.

“What are you doing?” Adam had enjoyed the connection. Sharing with someone in both the real and neural worlds was rare.

“I want to show you some of that broadcast. It’s fascinating; how they dress, how they talk, how they treated themselves and others so brutally - killing seemed so easy to them back then.” Melchey brought up a file and transmuted it into a moving picture on the wall.

Adam sat cross-legged on the floor, and Melchey joined him. He liked Melchey’s company; it was the only reason he’d put with a tedious two dimensional projection from centuries ago. Although, when the first image appeared of a circular metal ring like the one they’d just visited, all shiny and new with flashing lights, he was intrigued. Wording flashed up across it.

“What does that say?” Adam had never been good at ancient lettering.

“Stargate. It’s what they called them.”