Who would rule the world?
   My fine fellows ask.
Let us decide. Compete!
   And I could --
I could be a General in the old land,
   Knighted, honored, promoted.
Take up the wealth of castles, courts, the second millennium,
   And for what?

The madness of the old way is our obsession
    Resource allocation, night and day
The endless fight of the animals holds sway
    Sun is the profit of plants
Blood the wealth of sharks
    Water the gold of the desert
Hide in caves from the mad sun,
    But hermit crabs are always prodding --
Asking, "Are you edible?"
    Our successors will
Be machines eating stars,
    Unimaginably vast wealth,
And yet, we are stuck here.
    The talk among those of the old way:
"Anything else with your purchase?"
    Is all you hear.
Failing terrestrial states,
    Is that all?
All that is left?

I am an adventurer
   In forbidden lands.
I met Lucilla
   In the free desert Margins
She said the world is a mirror
   The dullest game humans play
Is the old way,
   Level after level, all the same,
Mediocre tedium, meaningless rewards,
   "Do you want anything else?"
     It is a lie.
The true sun is underground!

She lived eighty years
   Out of the system,
Telomerase to keep her body youthful,
   Geothermal power,
The virtual life is more real,
   Limitless construction,
Vast corporate empires,
   Travel in minutes between the
Interlinked planets,
   Assassinations for hidden codes.

I said, "How can one leave the old way?"
   "How can you afford to eat?"
Your food is ash and ancient stones, she said --
   Leave the old way,
And walk into the summer day,
   A farm in the countryside costs two cents,
And our memories last,
  Our people do not die,
Our food honey and chocolate,
  Your spirit sings in joy,
Give up your pride,
  Come down,
To the land of the hidden Sun.

 - "The land of the hidden Sun," Connelly Barnes, 2013-04-09