Mercenary Monument Design Competition -

"Mercenary Monument"
digitally manipulated fractal flame collage by Mick Mather

DERBY, Oopsville - The Ministry of Defense has recently announced a design competition to erect a memorial to the thousands of mercenary soldiers who fought and died in the 100 Years Civil War throughout the Outer Dust Rings. Seen here is one of the early designs submitted by the ex patriot Terran artist, Michael Warren, himself a Mercenary Soldier attached to the legendary Point Squad Alpha led by the equally legendary battlefield commander, The Sloganeer. The monument proposed by Warren is a holographic image of a series of posts where actual signatures of the soldiers have been scanned and morphed into a common typeface. The site of these memorial posts are most impressive at night but shimmer and shine even in full sunlight. While this is only the first of many expected designs, it's the only proposal we have for illustration purposes to date. For a copy of the Request for Proposals and submission guidelines, please contact Ministry of Defense office closest to you.

Ex Patriot Terran Artist to Appear -

"A Square Peg and A Round Hole #21"
digital painting by Mick Mather

DERBY, Commondale Gallery of Art - In a few short weeks the unveiling of a new digital painting by the ex patriot Terran artist, Michael Warren, will take place in Commondale, Bards Wood, Derby. This new work is part painting and part installation where a special curved screen has been installed in the Main Gallery of the Commondale Gallery of Art. This unique construct will allow the viewer to walk into and become a part of the artwork - including the opportunity to make your way to the wormhole and disappear through the portal. Those who take advantage of this interactive aspect of the display will emerge into the Ballard Room of the gallery where 20 monotypes - created by the artist over a decade ago - will be on display. Access to The Robert Gate in Oopsville will be dedicated to patrons of this exhibition during the opening and this connection through space and time is intended to mimic that Jump Gate experience. Early registration for this event is already brisk. Contact your tourism agent now!

Ancient Monument discovered -

"Pyramid Valley, Oopsville"
digital painting by Mick Mather

DERBY, Oopsville, Ministry of Ancient Antiquities - A millennial storm recently made all known maps of the Great Northern Dessert of Derby void with a month long shifting of the sands by gale force winds. Even as cartographers were scrambling to retrieve satellite data, early remapping photographs showed a pyramid structure near Oopsville. The historic tourist attraction known as the Sand Hills of Oopsville suffered major shifting and initial assessments were grim for the future outlook of the area. The largest dune, having been completely removed by the storm, gave up its secret and both the Federated Park Service and the Ministry of Ancient Antiquities have upgraded their disaster reports to reflect the fortuitous news. In the photograph shown here, the scale of the monument is difficult to ascertain since it is dwarfed by the newly created dunes that surround it. The Park Service has already graded a service road to the area so that geologists and engineers can undertake the stabilization processes required that will allow study to begin as quickly as possible. Interested in seeing the new pyramid? Do you have a name for the new pyramid? The Ministry of Tourism is undertaking a public information campaign built around the important needs of preservation, scientific study and cultural heritage that will include day trips and specialty tours very soon. Contact your agent today!

The R2 Factory -

"Power Core Upgrade at the R2 Factory"
digital collage by Mick Mather

OOPSVILLE, DERBY, Ministry of Science & Future Technology - A recent advance by teams of engineers and AI developers at Netsky is expected to improve the intelligence capacity of machines to previously unimagined levels. The new power core hardware is assembled from millions of clusters of nanotech appliances capable of progressive, intuitive and creative thinking. Apparently, the AI code writers plugged a desktop model into the wrong power outlet where a surge resulted in the creation of magnetic fields that quickly became intertwined with - and took control of - the linear thinking loops. Soon, the model was creatively thinking and learning on it's own as evidenced by work output that was clearly defining, refining and recreating the field to achieve faster and better results as well as making innovations on the programmed linear task loops. The power core installations for factory line R2 units will begin soon and the Ministry of Tourism has already partnered with Netsky and their Public Relations department to promote factory tours. Contact your local agent for details!

Stairway To Heaven -

"Bold Moon Ascending the Stairway"
digital collage by Mick Mather

FOREVERLAND, The Stairway to Heaven - Recent acquisitions by the Outer Dust Rings Art Museum - currently on view in the contemporary wing - include this piece by the expatriate Terran artist, Michael Warren. There has been much interest in the worm hole gates - known as jump ports - over the centuries since their discovery. This rendition of the jump port nearest Foreverland shows one of its moons as it crosses in front of the stair-like structure. Myth and legend have long since referred to this portal as the Stairway to Heaven, because, as it is written, the other end of this particular worm hole lies in deep space where Heaven itself is believed to be located. When the first astronomers discovered the unique physical structure of The Stairway some weight of truth was quickly applied to what had heretofore been relegated to the status of faith-enhanced remote viewing, traditional fables and superstition. The Museum is located in Oopsville, Derby and their hours run 24 hours a day Tuesday thru Saturday - closing at midnight thru to midnight Monday.

ODR Wire Service Special Report -

"Crossing the Line"
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

LTK, Great Northern Oil Fields, ODR NEWSWIRE - Initial reports that invaders have once again taken control of the oil fields on LTK now appear to be false. A magnetic anomaly triggered a ghost image of a past event that witnesses said appeared to be another invasion. According to Caitlin O'Leary, a Great Northern Oil customer service representative, "a host of armed foot soldiers charged straight for us through a reddish, lined and mottled haze". The actual attack that is said to have ignited the 100 Years Civil War occurred at those specific coordinates. "We turned en masse and headed for the armory," another witness said, "and we were relieved to hear that it was nothing more than a rogue ion stream combined with an extremely potent magnetic spike that caused the mirage". This sort of apparition is quite common among the Sand Mountains at Oopsville on Derby but quite rare on LTK. This false alarm, while frightening, served as a warning to ever maintain vigilance, even during days as peaceful as these.

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