Drops of Jupiter

by PaulAsaran

Fourth

It was little more than a dot of light when She first felt the Magic. A faint thing, feeling, reaching, searching. She almost missed it, but then it strengthened just a touch. Then it faded… no, back again. A steady rhythm,or perhaps a pulse. Whatever it was, it was trying to pull Her in.

Yet She felt no aggression or forcefulness. Only a gentle suggestion. Perhaps even polite. Curious, She followed it along the darkness of space, heading for the orange-yellow star so very far away. The distance could be crossed in a blink, but no. She imagined that would be rude. When the Magic grew stronger, She cast her senses outward, attempting to grasp the scope of the system ahead of Her.

Had She but a throat and the air to utilize, She might have gasped. Never before had She witnesses a solar system of such density! Planets, asteroids, moons, gases, it all converged in a complex series of elliptical orbits about a single massive sun. At first glance it seemed nothing short of chaotic, a display of wild motion beyond deciphering. Worse, the Magic was already attempting to align Her with the motions, gently nudging Her along so that She might begin orbiting a particularly large gas giant of brilliant red clouds.

She resisted.

The Magic hesitated. She sensed… surprise. It was not accustomed to resistance. It made no attempt to force Her, but when She tried to move away from the planet the Magic blocked Her path with a tender push. This mystified Her until her senses noticed the small asteroid that would have hurled through Her had She not been stopped. Of course, such an object could never harm Her, but it did give Her a theory.

Her senses shifted from the physical, focusing much more intently on the Magic itself. What She found was a gargantuan web that sent shivers through Her vapors. So many connections, such perfect organization, such incredible attention to detail, such unfathomable scale! An entire solar system, intricately weaved to achieve perfect security. For indeed, despite moons and planets and asteroid belts passing in such dangerous proximity as to risk shattering from the gravitational forces alone, not a single object collided with its neighbor. It was almost as if…

A querying pulse ran through the entire system. Just a pulse, but it somehow conveyed everything it wanted to know. What was She? Where had She come from? How was She resisting its care?

Care. That was the right word. She sent Her own message through the myriad links. She was an explorer. A student. One who sought friends. And, perhaps most importantly, one who adored the Magic’s brilliantly constructed system!

The Magic was quiet. It remained so for some time. She could only imagine what it was thinking.

A pulse returned, this time with the simplest of questions: How?

How what?

It nudged Her. She resisted, then She understood. It had never met another like itself, never encountered a being capable of resisting, much less desiring to do so. The quandary before Her was how to explain such a complex topic as what they were to such a being. None of the others had ever questioned this. She tried Her best, sending wave after wave of informative bursts through the system. It took so many, for there was so much to say. The Magic remained silent the entire time, save for a calm parabolic wave of energy to let Her know She had its attention. This Magic was patient, and so She took Her time in hopes that Her meaning would be clear.

She barely noticed that She’d been tugged into its elaborate web of orbits. Nor did She mind. It was comfortable here, watching the rocks and gases and colorful worlds flow by.

When at last the lesson was over, the Magic remained silent. The sun, the mighty center, almost seemed to slow in its gradual turning, like a great mind pausing to think oh-so carefully on a new idea. She almost felt like She was being studied.

Her curiosity got the better of Her; She asked about this incredible system. A flare arose from the sun’s surface. A sign of uncertainty? A pulse returned, laying out a simple reply: to protect. To nurture. This was the Magic’s home, and all would know peace.

She sensed the intent, so strong that it even came with a distinct uncertainty. It feared. Her? With the faintest touch upon the Magic’s web, She tried to reassure it.

It responded with another pulse, this one slow and wary and full of hesitation. It did not want to harm Her. It did not want to force Her. It did not want its family to suffer. She was an unknown. She could react. She could not be predicted.

Oh, how she wished She could smile. She could, but would it understand the meaning? So instead She merely wrapped Her aura about a long line of the Magic, warm and inviting, and asked to be guided along. She would offer no resistance.

The Magic complied, bringing Her into a new orbit, one closer to its blazing center, and allowed Her to join its family. It continued to watch Her, wary of any rebellion, but She merely rode along. It was a pleasant sensation, being rocked along the Magic’s gentle lanes. Planets flew past, over and above and beside Her, their surfaces gleaming orange from the Sun’s proximity. And She marveled, for each one of these was carefully wrapped in the Magic, protected and safe and… yes, loved. How long had it been collecting these intergalactic orphans?

After a seeming eternity, the Magic began to relax. It inquired: would She stay?

And though she felt nothing but love for this benevolent being, She offered a sad no. After all, what was a voyager without a voyage? Her gases swirled with quiet delight when the Magic promised to give Her a home amongst its children, now or later. Instead of accepting, She sent a request of a different nature. She even had an idea how to do it, having been examining the complex system of orbits around Her for so long.

The Magic was intrigued. It was unaccustomed to new ideas.

Still, it saw no reason to object. Provided, of course, that none of its children were harmed.

And so the two worked together, making delicate shifts to orbits and arranging just the right objects to travel in just the right locations. It was a slow, arduous task, and more than once they had to double back and make corrections. From deep within the cloud of swirling and twirling space stuff, once might never know what the changes were meant to achieve.

When they at last finished, She moved from the sun, covering a great distance in a mere blink of time. Turning Her senses back to it, She radiated Her joy through the Magic’s lines, for their adjustments had born fruit.

An apple, to be precise, painted by a hundred separate orbits of a thousand different spatial objects moving in perfect synchronicity about the glorious orange sun. She wished She had eyes. Tears would have been appropriate.

Instead, She gravitated back to the sun and allowed the magic to take Her in its ever-cautious embrace. She joined the orbits, content to flow along in harmony with the cosmic family She’d discovered.

The sun shined brightly, for the Magic was content.

Comments

[Super Trampoline]

Okay so she’s made diamonds, a butterfly, rainbow comets and now an apple. I think I see what you’re doing here.

[FOXTrot2]

Defs AJ