from the creator of tales of the dreamworld

           earth*ling
                              & 1101


     "What do you think of the future?" he was asked.
     For a time he remained silent before forming an answer,
looking out at the city from where he sat. Looking out beyond the
towering and transparent pane of crystal to the shimmering world
that was Crystal Tokyo. 
     "It's still a work in progress," he said finally.


                   it has been called utopia


     Peace. Longevity. Contentment. 
     Yet sometimes human beings could not be content with such
things. One person's peace became another's poison.
     Yanigata looked up to the full moon in the night sky. He
scowled at it momentarily before returning his gaze to the deserted
road ahead. "The only memories I have to offer are memories almost
no one else wants," he said. "What do you remember before the
Silence, Keigo-san?"
     Seki's smile became unreadable in that moment. "Everything,"
he answered quietly.



        ruled over by a wise king and compassionate queen


     "My dear," Endymion quietly teased her as the night wore on.
"Is there any particular reason you're staying close to the buffet
tables tonight?"
     Neo Queen Serenity blushed a little.
     He chuckled and then escorted her over to the nearest table.
"Eat to your heart's content. We're paying the caterers, after
all."
     After seeing Makoto's eyes give the desserts a more than mere
passing glance, he waved her over to join them as well. Serenity
was busy sampling some of the strawberries, alternating between
dipping each individual one in chocolate or whipped cream.
     Endymion managed to steal a strawberry from her. She pouted a
little until she saw him offer it to Makoto. "Better grab them
while you can," he said. "Serenity will clean out the entire bowl
at this rate."


                  protected by immortal soldiers


     Makoto clenched a fist, her knuckles cracking from within her
gloves. Her sailor battle fuku was on. She had come here to fight.
"Daimon, eighth level," she called out.
     A silhouette appeared in front of her, and then took more
detailed form. She knew the creature standing before her: it had
been the tree daimon that once attacked Rei, the first daimon the
Inner Senshi had ever seen. This youma had marked the appearance of
the Deathbusters, and the Outer Senshi.


                   and destined to last forever


     Setsuna sucked in her breath. She was attuned to the echoes
these hovering mirrors produced. They resonated with her very heart
and soul; when something began to go out of alignment within the
continuum, she could feel it. Hear it in the way the mirrors chimed
together.
     And she was sensing that now.
     Something was changing. Yet Nemesis was still centuries away
from occurring. That could only mean--
     "Something else," she whispered to herself. "Something I
didn't foresee."


                 his lordship chaos welcomes you

              to the future at the end of the world


     The priestess spoke, and her voice was clear and smooth.
Hypnotic to listen to. "We are gathered here to pay tribute to she
who saved us, the chosen few. Though we emerged like orphaned
children, lost and without our memories, Neo Queen Serenity took us
in and became our mother. It is she who made us; we belong to her."
     "We remember the Silence," the congregation said in unison.
"We remember the darkness."
     "Serenity brought us out of that darkness," the priestess
proclaimed to the assembly. "and into the light of a new world:
Crystal Tokyo. We owe her everything that we have, all that we are.
She is the angel of light who has guided us into paradise."
     "Serenity protects us," they chanted. "We are her children."
     "Tonight we show our gratitude. We honour her name, by giving
her an offering of flesh--"
     The priestess looked down the man upon the alter.
     "--and blood."



              let the battle for paradise begin....


     "But that is the problem with the world today," he stated.
Hands were open, palms facing each other and cupped as if trying to
hold thin air. "Nobody cares about making a good villain anymore."
     Suddenly there was a flash of light between his palms, barely
managing to illuminate a face. But it was just enough to light the
tip of the hand-rolled cigarette held loosely between his lips. He
took a deep drag from cigarette and looked out at the city. The
Crystal Tower's spires glowed in the midst of the darkness of
night. 
     He pursed his lips. Blew out a cloud of grey haze.
     "We'll have to change that, won't we?"





                        the paradise army


                            27-may-01