One of the things that has always surprised me about the SkyPath Crusades a thousand years ago, is that fewer people died than I would have thought. Sure there were lots of casualties from Comet collisions, decaying ether streams, and freezing to death, but when you consider the fact that they had almost no concept of the physical universe at all, it’s remarkable that they were even able to travel from one planet to the next. I guess they just learned to adapt.
One lesson they learned is that it’s best to wear your metallic helmets while traveling in space. This offers at least some protection from the ion streams. The streams can upset your neurons so badly as to drive a person insane, or , in some rare cases, cause a stroke. There are also documented instances in which they caused temporary telepathy: men who were downstream of others could actually read each other’s thoughts! This did not happen often.
I can’t help but remember the passage in Chapter 12 of the SkyPath Crusade epic poem where the princess Shelah travels through space for her first time (except her brief voyage from Earth to the moon). The Ion stream obviously have quite a bit of impact on her. I can’t help but wonder if they remembered to tell her to wear her helmet:
The princess in her state of mind Could hardly sleep that night In space they say it’s never day And yet the sun is bright The ion streams can mess with dreams Of those whose hearts are soft It hits the worst the very first A person flies aloft Throughout the night she slept in fright Her mind besieged by cares Her frantic brain was under strain From inter-stellar flares She tossed and turned, a fever burned, Her bosom heaved with sighs The hopes and fears of future years Went flitting past her eyes *Click here to read similar posts
The Return of the Muse is not a news source. This post relates to the imaginary universe of the The SkyPath Crusade epic poem
Or, for lots of laughs, click here to read an Autobiography: How I discovered that Romans used to live on Mars.
While researching on ’serious’ info on space travel, I landed up in your blog. And I definitely don’t regret it. Haven’t read that poem before. Its a good one. Sure to be back for more.
Vanessa@ Future of Aerospace Engineering Blog