Toe in the Water

Dreams of Elsewhere

Dreams of Elsewhere

The 2018 version of Lost in Space imagines a planet whose surface is covered entirely by water. It’s a surprisingly attractive idea, an entire world made up of only one type of environment. I’ve dabbled in this area from a very early age.

My oldest invention is a desert planet. Not like Dune - I take it further than that. In my invention the planet is also swept by high velocity winds with only occasional periods of calm. These winds have so scoured the surface with dust storms that the planet has been eroded into a near-perfect globe without hills, mountains or valleys. There are, however, just a few deep cracks in the surface that provide the sole place where life is possible. In these as well, water could be found and so provide the basis for small pockets of life to arise and develop.

Such imagined worlds could easily be the basis for tales of an interesting and unusual kind, just as Dune is. But there is another world that is too perfect for life to intervene. This would be a planet composed entirely of chrome, highly polished and without flaw in its perfect roundness. A mirror ball turning slowly in some far off and unlikely solar system.

Unpopulated, yes. But oh, what a perfect arena for frenzied and frictionless games of Speedball 2. If you don’t know the game, it’s well worth a google.


Word count: 234