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Technology
Meredith and Shaman Far Heart emerged into a world where time seemed to speed up. Everywhere they looked, they saw growth, expansion, turmoil and confusion. Thick orange-gray smog hung in the air and the heat was oppressive.
They found themselves standing in the central square of a busy city. Figures dressed in identical gray business suits scurried back and forth, ignoring each other, speaking into cell phones as they walked. They stopped now and then to pull out a laptop for a hurried transaction, put the device away and rush headlong on their course.
"Come on inside," Meredith said. "We will take the elevator to the top where we can look out over the city and see what is happening."
"Must we enter into the belly of this beast?" groaned the shaman, shaking his head.
Concrete Monster
Tall buildings towered so high that they blocked out the sun. They were constantly rising, like live things, becoming taller even as Meredith and the shaman watched.
"Look!" said Meredith, pointing to a block of buildings. "They are growing. Every few seconds they inch a little higher. They never stop." She pointed to a concrete monster with black marble facade.
"This could never have happened in my world," said the shaman, overawed by the impossible sight. "Only plants and animals grew there."
Skyscrapers and tenements crowded out all free space. Beyond the metropolis, highways, parking lots, houses and malls practically eliminated all greenery. Only a few tired dusty trees stood bedraggled among the sea of concrete. Millions of automobiles choked the roads and polluted the air. Airplanes filled the skies, now and then crashing blindly into the upthrust buildings.
Telecommunications signals flashed from transmitters, filling the atmosphere with crackling electromagnetic waves, bombarding everything, even canceling each other out with overlapping frequencies like lightning upon lightning.
Even Meredith, accustomed as she was to the modern pace of life, was overwhelmed by all the stimuli.
Elevator
The shaman paled as the elevator lurched up the tall building. They stepped out onto the observation deck, where they could see for as many miles as the smog would permit.
On the inland side, great clouds of chemicals spewed over the land, soaking it with poisons that put an end to the fertility of the soil. Farther to the west, sulfur dioxide emissions from regiments of factory chimneys filled the air, leaving the shaman coughing and struggling to breathe. As far as the eye could see, the earth was stripped bare of trees.
The shaman gazed out over the land in shock.
Weather Map
From their vantage point on the top of the building they could see the surrounding area as if on a weather map. A hot storm was brewing off the coast, producing low pressure troughs, which, magnified by the altitude of the skyscraper, made her feel dizzy. The storm would hit the city within hours, bringing destructive winds, dust and lightning.
In the distance, the sea itself glowed for miles with a green phosphorescence, a sure sign that sewage and factory waste, mindlessly dumped into the suffering ocean, had brought about the annihilation all sea creatures within miles of the coast.
Dream Time
Finally, recovering his breath for a moment, he said, "This is the Fourth World, your modern world, seen with the vision and intensity of Dream Time. You must see the underlying truth of the world you know as your own."
"It looks much more terrible than the world I have known, but I can see that in essence it is the same," said Meredith.
"In Dream Time the best and worst are manifested," said the shaman.
"I see a world where life doesn't matter anymore," said Meredith, searching in vain for signs of humanity.
World of Air
"My people call this the World of Air," said the shaman. "Your people have developed the power to fly over land and sea, and now you even send your words and music through the air, and your trade and your war signals. See how all these endlessly busy and wasteful processes swamp the poor air, dislocating its energy and filling it with unwanted heat.
"It is small wonder, and most fitting, that the great turbulent storms, born of the resulting climate change, should come through the air to destroy you."
Victory Over Nature
"My people call this the triumph of man over nature," said Meredith. "They have chosen a world where technology is king and dominates all else. "
"My people would call this the death of nature," said the shaman. He was silent a while. Then he sighed, "Is there no peace and quiet anywhere?" Meredith observed that he seemed exhausted by the frantic pace of the city.
"Perhaps in the country still," said Meredith, scanning the distant horizon. "Let us leave here now. See, over there in the east, a little patch of green. We will go that way. I know the route."
Crushed by Time
They hurried to the elevators, which were overflowing with gray people pressing in to avoid the oncoming storm. They barely escaped the building before the doors slammed shut, and they hurried away. A hot dry wind was rising and howling in the chasm between the tall buildings.
Around them, the concrete monsters seemed to grow ever taller and wider, threatening to fill all the open spaces. Crushed together on the sidewalk, the bustling figures increased their speed until they were rushing along like robots, colliding with each other and falling to the ground, only to be trampled by the multitude. Those who could, staggered up and moved on in their frantic trafficking.
Dust flew into Meredith's eyes and she brushed it away.