A Writer's Journey

[Leveque]

To say that my visit to Rheinland was a disappointing one would be a kindness. Immediately after entering the Alsace Passage, I was greeted by nothing more but a system with yet another refinery and a rumored high criminal activity. On my way to Stuttgart, I was greeted by a sight of one of their "proud" behemoths. Do Rheinlanders find joy in commanding spacecraft with such sharp angular structure? It is no wonder they have lost nearly every war that they were a part of.

The absolute difference in sophisticated design of our Jump Gates and Lanes and theirs is honestly mind boggling. Not once have I seen something that had only "function" in its name. By all means, this is not even minimalism! It's plain, unsophisticated, and of all orientations, they chose the vertical axis. And I have a whole route of this ahead of me. I already miss my dear home.

Poetically and ironically, Cologne is a perfect mirror of Champagne in that regard - a poor sight, bearing scars of former weaknesses. I would much rather have the Alsace Passage to be a grand alley for tourists and corporations alike. Instead, it is nothing more but a commerce corridor, enveloped with unprocessed scrap on both sides. I weep for the days when my house had a mysteriously beautiful junction into Kusari space through the Crow nebula. Alas, I could never see it for myself - only through imagery.

My first stop in Rheinland was to be Baden Baden - a famed planet-wide luxurious resort. If there is one thing I have to commend the Sirians for, it would be their prowess in leisure. Despite of all the crowds who I found to be most despicably mannered, the beaches always remain clean. Normally, I find beach sand to be irritating and coarse, yet this smooth silken texture was nothing I would ever come to expect.

Yet not all was without an inconvenience. I deny myself no opportunity to sunbathe under a real sun, yet I could not spend an hour without unwanted attention. Is it considered normal in their cultures to block the sunlight with their bare figures in an attempt to gain a lady's attention? Some were even audacious enough to attempt to lay by my side. Do the Sirian ladies find some sort of appeal in those flirtatious moves? Such a barbaric approach. To my fortune, their tastes end on the visuals - it would only take me to remark their rotten origin for me to earn my privacy back.

To summarize, Baden Baden was a lovely time with some inevitable yet not unforeseen problems. However, that would be the only time I descend planetside in Rheinland. The frigid climate of New Berlin would be most inconvenient for me, and I hold no interest neither in Stuttgart, nor in Hamburg. My next point of interest lies in the no man's land - the Sigma-19 system and its crown jewel, the Hawaii.