The Scarlet Sunrise

“I’m most happy to welcome to the Mengchi Centre for the Promotion of Historical Knowledge. My name’s Shakbout Mansard and I’ll be your guide today.”

I always paused after this introduction to gauge the animated crowd and to get ready for another cycle of the winner’s history recited by one of the losers. My somewhat slim self never stood out in a crowd—not at a height of two metres, pale skin and dark-red hair, sage-green eyes, and extraordinarily ordinary features.

The group I was about to lead on a tour through the carefully edited and constructed narrative that the Centre preferred to broadcast was the usual spread of off-world tourists and local school students. Since everyone looked ready, I started on the official version by waving at the genuinely imposing—in fact, absolutely astounding—image that covered the whole west wall of the lobby. It showed a handsome woman dressed in a clearly high-ranking military uniform, driving a double-headed war axe into the skull of a somewhat fishy-looking lifeform standing before her.

“The creator of this image is unknown. No record has ever been found of who created it, when it was created, where it was displayed, or if it was in fact displayed anywhere before its discovery in a submerged warehouse in Lake Zan following restoration work carried out on the outer banks 150 years ago.”

I led the group of twenty across the vast marble-floored lobby to the image and, with my back to it, addressed the crowd while flourishing my arms at critical moments to draw attention to relevant sections.

“There’s some debate about the subject of this image. It’s been suggested that it’s part of a series of images that illustrate moments from the Ranger cycle of legends. They tell of a war among the gods. Another has suggested it’s a metaphor for splitting the atom. But the most popular view is that this is an exercise by a supremely gifted unknown artist, created as an expression of the creative impulse. We’re exceptionally lucky here at the Mengchi Centre to have been given the opportunity to house and display it.”

Gazes were riveted. So far, so good. “The image is woven from trapped light, fractured air, and some unidentified crystal dust with an unknown process. This level of magical mastery has arguably not been demonstrated again. The Mengchi Centre is allowed to display the picture under the condition that no copies of it are allowed in any format. The Standing Committee wishes to preserve this image as a unique viewing experience: it should only be seen and appreciated in its original form.”

I paused, allowing them to study the picture while I waited for the question. This time it came from one of the students.

“Can I get a copy of the image?” he asked with that acquisitive tone the question always rests on.