Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 97

This week's picture comes from an artist I have used before (you may remember the dancing tree sprites?) - Igor Zenin, a photographer from Moldova. He calls this one Magic Bubbles. I love this, it has so much depth.

This week marks the official 2 year anniversary of #MidWeekFlash! Wow, two whole years I've been running it! Loved every minute too. Still loving it.

I went sci-fi with this weeks. I mean who wouldn't, and a little philosophical with the whole 'could you imagine' thought process. 

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.

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

Galaxy Eggs 

Olivia reached out a gloved finger to touch it, but it went straight through as though it wasn’t there, disturbing the world within the tiny apple shaped ball, putting a dent in the swirling clouds within. She imagined what a giant finger poking through the atmosphere of her planet might look like and quickly withdrew it.

The translucent glow they emitted reflected in her visor, making it harder to see anything on this dark planet. The only light came from a nearby galaxy, its centre, although emitting intense light, wasn’t close enough to penetrate this planet.

“What do you think they are?” John’s voice came through the headphones in her helmet.

“I have no idea. I thought they were fruit – they look like fruit – but there are swirling clouds within them, like other worlds.”

“Portals to other sections of the universe?”

“Or the relatively of size: we are giants compared to the microworld within it. Whole universes in one bubble.”

“Wow, deep. But the light is fading and I need you to come back to the ship. Is there any way you can bring one of those with you?”

“They’re not solid. They’re like bubbles you blow as a child, but with no surface tension.”

“Magic bubbles? Have you tried encompassing them in one of the baggies?”

Olivia fumbled in a top pocket and brought out a plastic bag. She endeavoured to surround the ball with it, but it moved right through the plastic.

“Nope, won’t work. It’s like the bubble isn’t really here, or we aren’t. It’s like it exists in another space and time. The plastic has no effect on it. Bizarre.”

“Bizarre, indeed. We’ve got the footage from your helmet camera though, so come back. I don’t want you getting lost.”

“You’re not far.”

“Are you sure, in a planet where things don’t exist on the same plane?”

“Okay, point taken. On the move.”

Olivia had no trouble returning and came through the airlock, shrugging off her space suit. She joined John in the small cockpit as they prepared to depart.

“How many of those magic bubbles do you think there were?” John asked.

“Thousands. The entire forest was full of them.” Olivia locked herself into her seat as they powered up for blast off.

“A forest full of worlds on different planes or dimensions, makes you wonder ...”

“Wonder what? She glanced at John as he flipped a row of switches overhead.

“Well this planet is dark and sits on the fringes of other galaxies. It bears a magical fruit of other worlds. Are we seeing something that could explain the existence of our universe?”

“I don’t follow.” Olivia completed a memorised sequence of switches and the rocket’s fired, lifting them off the ground.

“Could this be the birthplace of the galaxies that surround us? Are those trees pregnant with each new world?”

“Like galaxy eggs, you mean? No big bang theory, but a tree that produces new galaxies or worlds? Wild. But they weren’t solid – or here. They weren’t tangible.”

“Yet your finger disturbed their atmosphere,” John observed.

Olivia paused. “True. But why and how?”

“Ah, and there we have it, the age old questions that human’s have been asking since their existence and not yet answered. It’s why we are here. But maybe there is no answer. Maybe it just is.”

Olivia gave him a long look. “Getting all philosophical now?”

“Come on, that’s got to make you wonder.”

“Yes it does, but I need more solid proof, more evidence.”

John laughed. “Like any good human scientist, conditioned by a society that doesn’t like to think outside the box.”

“Are you mocking me?” Olivia smirked.

“I’m mocking all of us! But sometimes I think we need to stop thinking in rigid lines and consider that there is more we don’t know than we do know. And those things back there produce more questions than we can conceive of. They could be the holy grail of life.” 

“People would never believe it.”

“Of course they won’t, they like to believe an imaginary giant being controls and created everything, because somehow that makes more sense.”

This time Olivia laughed. “And yet, I was that giant being to those worlds. God’s finger just pushed its way through their atmosphere.”

“Exactly. Worlds within worlds.”

Conversation stopped as they prepared to dock on their mothership that was in orbit round this mysterious planet. They’d resume their musings once they were settled back in.