Alien Anomalies

Hi everyone, this is going to be a large post. It is a shortened version of an SF story I have written but it is directly related to my Colossal Head on Mars post. This serves as background info for the last entry I am making on that subject, but it stands alone as an entry on an Ancient Civilisation, I hope you enjoy it.

Mulled Wine and Mermaids

It started innocently, most journeys do. I live in the Southern Hemisphere so Christmas is a hot and sticky affair, and I dont mean the pudding. I mean high temperatures, blazing sun, swimming pools and a table laden with hot, fatty foods. Not the best mix, so I decided to do Christmas in June, when the Southern Hemisphere is cooler and not too sunny.

I started my research with the most essential ingredient of any good party, alcohol.Specifically, mulled wine. I surfed the net until I alighted on a site that dealt with the Pagan Yule Festival, which is known as Christmas to Christians. This festival was especially significant as Pagans living in the Southern Hemisphere celebrate Yule in June !

I had been unaware that Paganism was the oldest religion on Earth, and that pagan comes from the word farmer. It had started as a way for farmers to thank the Earth for the bounty she provided with wonderful Harvest Festivals.Winter (especially the longest night of the year on the Winter Solstice) needs some cheering up. I delved deeper, wanting to understand the Yule traditions. What food was served , table decorations, colours and presents and maybe a prayer or blessing ?

At this point in the journey my path veered off the norm and entered the surreal . I found a fascinating blessing ;

I look to the North, to Falias. Dark Mother, rich black soil, your fertile body nurtures the seeds of life. I call on your powers of creation. Be with me.

I look to the East, to Gorias. Star Sailor, holy breath, your clear blue skies smile on me and carry the lusty scent of life. Be with me.

I look to the South, to Finias. Blue Flame, light of the earth, your warmth makes me dance with delight at the life that flows through my body. Be with me.

I look to the West, to Murias. Rain Maker, sacred dew, your gentle rains pour forth in life-giving wonder. Be with me.

My curiosity was piqued. This blessing was so beautiful, I couldnt help myself, I had to know where it came.

It appears that this blessing was based on a poem written by Fiona MacCleod who turned out to be William Sharp. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sharp_(writer)

The poem was called Dirge of the Four Cities and is about the mystical and mythical Tuatha De Dannann.

Wikipedia(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatha_D%C3%A9_Danann) tells us that these mystical people landed on the shores of Eire on Mays Eve around 1897BC. and fought a spectacular battle against the reigning barbarians and won. Pagans still celebrate their arrival with the Beltane festivities in May. Seems they had to win as for some strange reason they burnt their boats on landing and had nowhere to go.

Why would you burn your boats? It would make more sense to use the wood to build your houses and maybe smaller boats to do a bit of fishing..

 

The Tuatha De Danann were really unusualin a comic book/super-hero way.

According to http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/danann.html

The Tuatha De Dananns were a race of deities as well as race of heroes. They were skilled in art and science, poetry and magic. They were said to come from four mythical cities: Falias, Gorias, Finias and Murias. When they came to live in Ireland, the Dananns received four magic treasures or talismans, one from each city.

They were immortal and eventually came to be considered as fey or fairies.

In the end they disappearedhttp://www.pantheon.org/articles/t/tuatha_de_danann.html

The Tuatha De Dananns themselves were later driven to the underworld by the Milesians, the people of the fabulous spanish king Milesius. There they still live as invisible beings and are known as the Aes sidhe. In a just battle, they will fight beside mortals. When they fight, they go armed with lances of blue flame and shields of pure white

A link to SF/Fantasy in modern times. Robert Jordans book Wheel of Time has a society of witches called the Aes Sedai, they share a lot of the mystical traits of the Tuatha. There are also echoes of Tolkiens work particularly the Elven of Rivendell.

I am including some excerpts of the poetry associated with this mythical race, you can find the full version on the following web-site

http://dedanaan.com/2005/05/09/dirge-of-the-four-cities/

Dirge of the Four Cities

by Fiona MacLeod (William Sharp)

There are four cities that no mortal eye has seen but that the soul knows; these are Gorias, that is in the east; and Finias, that is in the south; and Murias, that is in the west; and Falias that is in the, north. And the symbol of Falias is the stone of death, which is crowned with Pale fire. And the symbol of Gorias is the dividing sword. And the symbol of Finias is a spear. And the symbol of Murias is a hollow that is filled with water and fading light. The Little Book of the Great Enchantment

The Dirge of the Four Cities

The four cities of the world that was: the sunken city of Murias, and the city of Gorias, and the city of Finias, and the city of Falias. Ancient Gaelic Chronicle

Finias and Falias,
Where are they gone?
Does the wave hide Murias
Does Gorias know the dawn?
Does not the wind wail
In the city of gems?
Do not the prows sail
Over fallen diadems
And spires of dim gold
And the pale palaces
Of Murias, whose tale was told
Ere the world was old?

These words stuck in my brain , I guess Im just hard-wired that way.

Time passed, the memory faded but the journey was far from over. A late night television snippet about a Mermaid on Mars had me on the net again. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/7206840.stm

I have read Bradburys Martian Chronicles and the Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. I have watched Ghost on Mars, Mission to Mars, Martian Child, Watchmen, War of the Worlds and even Mars Attacks.The books and movies (well most of them anyway) fuelled my imagination. The reality of the pictures coming back from the Martian probes and orbiters bored me to tears (that was before I learned to look a bit deeper!).

The Mermaid piqued my curiosity and I was off again surfing the net.By chance, I stumbled upon a web-site called Mars Anomaly Research that had a very interesting analysis of the formation. I have seen the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen myself and the similarities are astounding. Not that I am claiming the Vikings made it to the Mars or the Martians made it to Denmark . I am just saying that the official version that this is just a non-descript outcrop of rock, lighting, size of the feature blah, blah, blah does not discredit the visual effect at all. Its a Mermaid, if you still doubt that then I suggest a discounted ticket to Copenhagen and go have a look for yourself.

The Mars Anomaly Research web-site was a mine of information. I spent months reading each of the reports and verifying the data myself on the NASA web-site. I may not agree with all of the evidence but a lot of it is undeniable.

Then came that dreaded day, the day my world almost rocked out from under my feet. The day I opened the report that detailed evidence of an anomaly as seen below.

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Credit : NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/r16_r21/images/R19/R1902112.html

The moment I saw this photograph, I recognized it and a whole lot of things started to make sense. I had an epiphany, a moment of blinding knowingness. That moment that everything just falls into place and your world rocks as your paradigms change. You are never quite the same again. I heard the Dirge of the Four Cities playing in my head, but now I understood one verse a bit clearer.

Alas, the story ends in this section, but it continues in the Anomalies section under the Colossal Head on Mars thread.

-- Edited by Chandre on Thursday 13th of August 2009 10:38:00 AM

-- Edited by Chandre on Thursday 13th of August 2009 10:40:15 AM

-- Edited by Chandre on Monday 24th of August 2009 09:00:36 AM