World Dream Bank home - add a dream - newest - art gallery - sampler - dreams by title, subject, author, date, place, names

Olympus Unmasked

Dreamed 2022/8/10 by Wayan

I'm in the far future. The sun's old, swollen and unstable; it may go nova soon. Tentacles of gas and dust swirl in, hiding the sun's disc; all we see is a huge glowing spiral like the Whirlpool Galaxy--but dusky purple.

Even with that dust-veil, Earth is too hot now; most people live on Mars. It was terraformed long ago, of course; even at the foot of Mount Olympus, you can breathe without oxygen masks. But how far up? We're about to find out. I'm part of an expedition to climb the massive shield to the summit--unmasked. If we can.

An endless hike; the first days, we trudge up stairs through great lava-caves--arched and scalloped tubes, ten yards tall and wide. The first miles are settled--rest stops and cafes. But as we climb they grow sparse, then end.

At last the lava tubes end; a narrow, blasted-out tunnel full of irregular steps leads us to the surface. It's time to hike the naked slope.

The air grows not just thin but sulfurous, foul. We're skirting an active vent. Can we handle it? So far I'm hiking stubbornly along. But such a long way to go!

Climbing Mt Olympus on Mars--without oxygen. Dream sketch by Wayan. Click to enlarge.
Next we must hike up a glacial tongue till we face a steep icefall like Khumbe below Mount Everest. Pull out ice axes and hack out steps. Hours, gasping in thin air. At last we reach the top and veer off the glacier, onto firm red rock. A billion years of lava flows. The slope just rises on and on for miles! Not just horizontal miles. Vertical miles.

I can't help thinking "Our whole expedition is pointless. The air's steadily thinning, the climb's near-endless; the toughest among us will hold out longer, but every one will reach a height where we finally can't go on." I recall how the Greeks saw Death as an archer on a bridge, shooting at advancing troops; at first, he's far off and hits few of us, but as we near, more shots hit home, and with more force. Attrition! No one passes him. One by one, we drop.

And I take another step.

NOTES IN THE MORNING



LISTS AND LINKS: time travel - the future - other worlds - Mars - terraforming - mountains - ascent - caves - gimme air! - dreams of taste & smell - fatigue - Covid or old age? - longevity - digital dream art - I was A Hisa on Mt Olympus climbing down it - a third Martian climb leads to eerie transformation in the Tower of the Martian Dead

World Dream Bank homepage - Art gallery - New stuff - Introductory sampler, best dreams, best art - On dreamwork - Books
Indexes: Subject - Author - Date - Names - Places - Art media/styles
Titles: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - IJ - KL - M - NO - PQ - R - Sa-Sh - Si-Sz - T - UV - WXYZ
Email: wdreamb@yahoo.com - Catalog of art, books, CDs - Behind the Curtain: FAQs, bio, site map - Kindred sites