Road Trip [for losthunter]

[boldygoing]

It's a beautiful spring day in Riverside, Iowa. The skies are clear and the weather is pleasantly mild, and across the endless fields that stretch out into vast distances, automated farm machinery is hard at work planting corn for the season.

There's no such machinery around the Kirk farm, though someone has bothered to zap away some of the weeds threatening to devour the foundation. The old homestead still sits disturbingly empty, all but abandoned if not for a few small signs that someone has been there recently. One of those signs sits just outside the house, leaning up against his motorbike as he waits for another rider to come join him, a set of riding goggles resting against his forehead.

The motorcycle has clearly seen better days, but it's nothing like twenty-first century bikes. There are no spokes in the wheels, for one thing - indeed, the wheels don't even seem attached by anything visible, held in place by some invisible force. It's keeping itself upright without a kickstand, as well, even though the young man in question is leaning most of his weight against it.

Comments

[boldygoing]

Jim hasn't really been here before, but fortunately, his bike has a built-in navigation system that projects a holographic trail on the inside of his goggles. He signals to Hunter to slow down as they enter the city limits, entering the flow of traffic streaming into the city. Much like it was in San Francisco - before the Vengeance crashed downtown, that is - shuttles occasionally fly by overhead, and there's a decent amount of foot traffic. This far away from the major interstellar travel hubs, most of the population seems to be human, but there are occasional aliens here and there.

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art is downtown, and they have to cross over a wide river to get there. Jim slows further as they roll up outside the museum, a wireframe sculpture on the front lawn indicating they're in the right place. There's a small strip along the edge of the road that seems to be reserved for parking, and he rolls the bike to a stop inside the marked-off zone. "One good thing about biking is finding parking is easy," he remarks to Hunter, once the other man can hear him.

[losthunter]

Entering the city limits is a little unnerving for Hunter. There is a little more movement that is around him, with those shuttles flying overhead. But he keeps pace with Jim.

When they slow down, Hunter notes the wireframe sculpture on the front lawn. He parks the bike beside Jim's bike. He laughs at Jim's comment, turning his bike off and removing his helmet.

"And pretty easy to navigate around traffic."

[boldygoing]

Hunter's bike turns a few heads, but the pedestrians that end up staring tend to have varying expressions of admiration. Traffic is probably a hell of a lot lighter than what Hunter is used to in his century, leading to a safer ride through town.

Jim pushes his goggles up on his forehead again as he shuts down the engine and pulls out the startcard, slipping it back into his pocket. "I can't imagine how much more crowded these streets would've been a few hundred years ago."

[losthunter]

Hunter turns his bike off, setting down the footrest, before sliding off of it. He removes his helmet. "A lot more vehicles on the ground, that is for sure."

[boldygoing]

The museum is mildly busy at this time of day, a comfortably sized crowd by Jim's standards. Not enough to be overwhelmingly crowded, but enough that they aren't going to be entirely alone in a deserted art gallery.

"Looks like they've got an exhibition on Andorian jewelry and ceremonial weaponry this year," Jim says as they head inside. "There's also a Roman art exhibition that's been going continuously for the last two hundred sixty-three years, which is pretty cool."

[losthunter]

"Both sound very interesting." Hunter links his arm with Jim's as they head inside. "I must admit, I don't know what an Andorian is. But Roman art... now that is something that I am always interested in."

[boldygoing]

"They're one of the four founding species of the Federation," Jim explains, comfortable in taking their time to head towards the Roman art gallery, arm in arm with Hunter. "Blue skin, white hair, two antennae and four genders. They're mostly a warrior culture, but it's one of those 'code of honor' kind of things."

[losthunter]

"As in four different genders as a culture, or one Andorian can change into four different genders as a person?"

[boldygoing]

It takes Jim a moment to figure out what Hunter means by that. "As in the species has four distinct sexes," he clarifies. "Transgender Andorians also exist, and I honestly can't imagine how complicated that must be for them."

[losthunter]

"That would be very complicated... but then again, I am not one of their culture. So I imagine they must consider the human species complicated."

[boldygoing]

The Roman art exhibition is set up in its own dedicated room, and it holds everything from sculptures and vases to coins and jewelry. Jim lets Hunter set the pace, and the direction they'll go first, to check out the artwork on display.

"The Vulcans have this concept called 'infinite diversity in infinite combinations,'" he says as they meander through the gallery. "It comes into play a lot."

[losthunter]

Hunter takes his time, going through the Roman art exhibition, pausing every now and then to appreciate a sculpture, vase, or jewelry exhibit.

"Especially now that you have access to the Nexus, I imagine it will come into play even more."

[boldygoing]

Jim takes a moment to inspect a marble statue from a respectful distance, admiring the skill that went into carving it to be true to life. "Probably," he agrees, but gives a glance towards the other patrons of the museum, making sure they aren't listening in on their conversation. There's enough low background noise to make two men speaking less noticeable than it would be if it was silent, but Jim still doesn't entirely want to risk being overheard.

"There's something kind of mind-boggling about being in a room with art that was made more than two thousand years ago," he says instead.

[losthunter]

Hunter wonders if there are some pieces on display here, that would be on display in a museum in his timeline. But he is taking Jim's cue, and not asking any questions that might arise suspicion.

"Art is often the best way to understand the cultures of our past. What we know about the cavemen was best described by the drawings they left on cave walls."

[boldygoing]

"And that's just what's survived," Jim agrees. "It's a little sad to think about how much has been lost or destroyed over the centuries. Not just in human history, but other species too. There was a lot of really ancient artwork lost with Vulcan."

[losthunter]

"And when that history is lost, so does a little part of the species." Hunter really thinks it is unfortunate that Vulcan was lost forever.

[boldygoing]

"Yeah. It also means that what was saved is all the more precious." It's something that Jim has been facing on a far more personal level than he expected, lately. And maybe it's an unusual way to rationalize his survival when others weren't so lucky, but he's trying to find the positive side.

He looks over at Hunter as they stop in front of a vase, chipped and cracked, but still clearly painted with images of heroes and monsters. "Do you ever think about how future generations might see your art?"

[losthunter]

"All the time." Hunter admits softly. "I often wonder what people would think... of me and my history."

[boldygoing]

"Maybe you should write a book," Jim muses out loud. "Most artists in history never wrote about themselves. On the other hand, they let their art stand for itself."

[losthunter]

"Speaking as an artist... I think the reason most artists never wrote about themselves is because they didn't want to tell people how to feel. They wanted people to come to their own reactions. An honest reaction."

[boldygoing]

"There is a bit more fun in the mystery of interpretation," Jim admits. "I guess it would depend on the subject, too, right? Something depicting real events would be more valuable to history with a clear testimony, but with something more abstract, it's more personal and up for debate."

[losthunter]

"But even something that depicts something real can invoke debate and discussion. Consider the Mona Lisa... scholars are still debating the meaning of her smile. And who she was. Or even if she actually existed."

[boldygoing]

"That's true, but I meant more like pivotal moments in history, like battle scenes from the old wars. So much actual history has been lost through the ages, and sometimes people get wrong ideas of how it really was because they think the painting's supposed to be literally what happened. Like Washington crossing the Delaware. If he'd really stood up in that boat like that, he would've been a great target."

Jim enjoys this kind of debate, a friendly sort of give-and-take with no dire circumstances at stake. It's purely intellectual, theory only, and he's not stubbornly fixed in one opinion or the other. "I can see both sides of the argument," he adds with a smile. "Dull, boring history leaves nothing to the imagination. Like this vase... were there really monsters, back then? Probably not just like this. But there could've been. And if there weren't, was there really a battle, and if so, who were they really fighting? Or is it metaphorical?"

[losthunter]

"Some of my creations might be considered in that dull, boring history category." Hunter chuckles. "I paint real life. What I see. The everyday routine of people at their jobs."

"But I also have paintings where I embrace the metaphorical. Sometimes it is about trying to express what you feel..."

[boldygoing]

"Out of everything you've made, if you had to pick one piece to be the one people remember you for, what would you pick?" Jim's only seen a small sample of Hunter's work, but what he has seen has been pretty good.