Read Online Warblegrub and the Forbidden Planet by Andrew Barlow - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Andrew Barlow
Tags: Cli-fi
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Plassey (used as a fireside rug), circa 1758 CE.’
She put the rug back on the couch then, making out a door a few metres away, picked a path through the jumble and found a light switch on the wall.
For a moment she could only gape at the glittering treasure trove suddenly revealed but when she dimmed the light, she saw faces in gold and silver all around her – animal and human, demonic and godlike – staring at her from plinths, shelves and cabinets. An extraordinary variety of statues, busts, ornamental weapons, decorative cups, plates and bowls filled a long room, neither end of which could be seen through the chaos.
Completely dazzled, she stumbled over a low plinth but managed to catch the bowl resting on it before it fell. When she held it up to the light, she saw the faces of gods on the outside, while humans, animals and mythical creatures decorated the inside. A small card in the bottom of the bowl read, ‘Gundestrup Cauldron, silver-plated copper, Celtic, Second Century CE.’
As she wandered among the treasures, Alex felt the rough wood and stone of ancient gods and the cold, smooth marbles and metals of the gods that came after. She studied the intricate carvings and decorations and gazed into the wells of colour in a thousand gleaming jewels until her head began to spin. Returning to the couch, she saw a coffee table and a few unremarkable leather armchairs nearby. There were several books in a variety of languages and a half-full mug of cold coffee on the table. Her sidearm in its holster was on a chair, her pack and helmet on the floor beside it.
Finding the chairs as comfortable as they looked, Alex sat down and began to relax. She noticed a large hardback book titled ‘ Antiques Guide, 238th Edition’ , its cover illustrated with a photograph of a varnished wooden carriage clock. The clock face was marked in archaic numerals and gold vines wound round the elegant dial. She found it both enchanting and ridiculous, and wondered why anyone would choose to decorate a clock.
The pages of furniture, vases, clocks, and all manner of glass and china ornaments, with the accompanying descriptions, occupied her attention for a while but when she put the book back she noticed a slimmer volume that had been hidden beneath it. Two words were written in gold on its plain grey cover: ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Shakespeare’ . Opening at a page marked with a black leather bookmark, she saw the text was in verse and in the form of a play. The language was very old-fashioned and there was a phrase underlined in red ink halfway down the page; ‘who would fardels bear’ .
“Who would fardels bear?” she mulled the strange words. There was a handwritten note in the margin: ‘fardel = (archaic use) a bundle or burden; ‘to bear’ = to carry’
“Fardelbear,” she said aloud and frowned. “To carry a burden….”
Reading a little more, she heard the playwright speak of the hardships of life, the fear of death and how these burdens make people weak and cowardly. Feeling sad and thoughtful, she put the book down again, next to an electronic reader that lit up as soon as she touched it. The language menu offered a wide selection, alien and human, and she chose her native tongue. The title page appeared; ‘ Universal Encyclopaedia, Volume 567 Hol- to Huz-’ and she selected the most recently researched topic.
‘Human. Aka: Homo Sapiens, mankind, humankind, human being, the Human Race, Earthling, ‘the hairless ape’, ‘bloody humans’.'
'1. Appearance and Habits: a bipedal simian species, originally from Earth (Restricted Planet 2243), they surpass even their near cousin, the chimpanzee, in violence and aggression. Far more technologically proficient than other simians, they have a particular talent for ballistics. Together with their ability to form quite complex organisations (see Sub-section 5. ‘Organisation’), this makes them an extremely dangerous species which has already devastated several
She put the rug back on the couch then, making out a door a few metres away, picked a path through the jumble and found a light switch on the wall.
For a moment she could only gape at the glittering treasure trove suddenly revealed but when she dimmed the light, she saw faces in gold and silver all around her – animal and human, demonic and godlike – staring at her from plinths, shelves and cabinets. An extraordinary variety of statues, busts, ornamental weapons, decorative cups, plates and bowls filled a long room, neither end of which could be seen through the chaos.
Completely dazzled, she stumbled over a low plinth but managed to catch the bowl resting on it before it fell. When she held it up to the light, she saw the faces of gods on the outside, while humans, animals and mythical creatures decorated the inside. A small card in the bottom of the bowl read, ‘Gundestrup Cauldron, silver-plated copper, Celtic, Second Century CE.’
As she wandered among the treasures, Alex felt the rough wood and stone of ancient gods and the cold, smooth marbles and metals of the gods that came after. She studied the intricate carvings and decorations and gazed into the wells of colour in a thousand gleaming jewels until her head began to spin. Returning to the couch, she saw a coffee table and a few unremarkable leather armchairs nearby. There were several books in a variety of languages and a half-full mug of cold coffee on the table. Her sidearm in its holster was on a chair, her pack and helmet on the floor beside it.
Finding the chairs as comfortable as they looked, Alex sat down and began to relax. She noticed a large hardback book titled ‘ Antiques Guide, 238th Edition’ , its cover illustrated with a photograph of a varnished wooden carriage clock. The clock face was marked in archaic numerals and gold vines wound round the elegant dial. She found it both enchanting and ridiculous, and wondered why anyone would choose to decorate a clock.
The pages of furniture, vases, clocks, and all manner of glass and china ornaments, with the accompanying descriptions, occupied her attention for a while but when she put the book back she noticed a slimmer volume that had been hidden beneath it. Two words were written in gold on its plain grey cover: ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Shakespeare’ . Opening at a page marked with a black leather bookmark, she saw the text was in verse and in the form of a play. The language was very old-fashioned and there was a phrase underlined in red ink halfway down the page; ‘who would fardels bear’ .
“Who would fardels bear?” she mulled the strange words. There was a handwritten note in the margin: ‘fardel = (archaic use) a bundle or burden; ‘to bear’ = to carry’
“Fardelbear,” she said aloud and frowned. “To carry a burden….”
Reading a little more, she heard the playwright speak of the hardships of life, the fear of death and how these burdens make people weak and cowardly. Feeling sad and thoughtful, she put the book down again, next to an electronic reader that lit up as soon as she touched it. The language menu offered a wide selection, alien and human, and she chose her native tongue. The title page appeared; ‘ Universal Encyclopaedia, Volume 567 Hol- to Huz-’ and she selected the most recently researched topic.
‘Human. Aka: Homo Sapiens, mankind, humankind, human being, the Human Race, Earthling, ‘the hairless ape’, ‘bloody humans’.'
'1. Appearance and Habits: a bipedal simian species, originally from Earth (Restricted Planet 2243), they surpass even their near cousin, the chimpanzee, in violence and aggression. Far more technologically proficient than other simians, they have a particular talent for ballistics. Together with their ability to form quite complex organisations (see Sub-section 5. ‘Organisation’), this makes them an extremely dangerous species which has already devastated several
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