deviant art

Deviant Login
Buy Art Buy adCast Buy Premium Membership
Shop		  Join deviantART for FREE Take the Tour
[x]
Browse More Like This
Shop Similar Prints
This Print Not AvailableDownload Image
JPG, 1920×1020 more ▶

More from ~Regulus36

Featured in Groups:

:iconterracult: #terracult
Expanding more and more! :iconthe-final-frontier: #The-Final-Frontier
Space. Sci-Fi. :iconsci-fi-archives: #SCI-FI-Archives
Sci-fi Archives :iconspace-frontier: #Space-frontier
2D and 3D Space Art. :iconcosmicatrium: #CosmicAtrium
Space art and Sci-fi universe :iconpscreated-space: #PsCreated-Space
The Universe, Your Way :icontheeyeofjupiter: #TheEyeOfJupiter
Space art and Sci-fi :iconthe-sci-fi-universe: #The-Sci-Fi-Universe
Where Sci-Fi and Creativity Meet

Details

February 11, 2012
982 KB
1920×1020
Link
Thumb

Statistics

Comments: 74
Favourites: 250 [who?]


Views: 4,030 (0 today)
Downloads: 529 (0 today)
[x]
:iconregulus36:
Massive Lei Gong rises in the distance, with 6 members of it's extensive family of moons visible, over the Tratung Mountains in this view from the moon Zhun-Ti.

The monks of the Jaffei Order live far above the forest and it's inhabitants, both literally and figuratively. Living an ascetic existence amid the freezing mountaintops, they continue their Order's reason for existence; their attempt to fulfill the Prophecy of Clarke. Found in the holy book "The Sky's Backside" written by the prophet Clarke millennia ago, the Prophecy states that when all 9 billion names of God have been calculated and printed into physical existence, it will reverse Hubble's constant, causing all of spacetime to slow and then stop it's expansion and begin it's contraction into an eventual singularity, essentially triggering the end of this universe and the creation of the next.

The monks have strung together a network of sublight transmitters to contact their brethren on other worlds in order to assemble the holy List in real time. This small, unassuming temple here on on Zhun-Ti is a permutation generator that generates the many possible combinations of letters that make up of the names of God, which are then sent to through the transmitter to a printing station, to be printed out on prayer flags and hung from the Final Stupa. When all 9 billion prayer flags have been hung, the monks will have, in effect, destroyed the universe, all in the names of God.

If anyone has read the short story "The Nine Billion Names of God" by Arthur C. Clarke, found in the compilation "The Other Side of the Sky" (aka "The Sky's Backside" .... translation errors in ancient texts are a pain aren't they ;)), then you'll probably recognize this. It's sort of a re-imagining of the story with a different setting ... what can I say, it's one of my all time favorites :D

Hit the download button for full view, there's loads of details you can't see at this resolution
Add a Comment:
 
Preview   Add Comment
love 6 6 joy 1 1 wow 3 3 mad 0 0 sad 0 0 fear 0 0 neutral 0 0
:iconfalken02:
Mood: Passionate ~Falken02 Mar 21, 2013
i think i wanna cry :,)
Reply
:iconmandelcr8tor:
~MandelCr8tor Nov 15, 2012  Hobbyist Digital Artist
AWESOME! WOW this one is GREAT!!, like the Background,
Reply
:iconcorentinchiron:
~CorentinChiron Sep 26, 2012  Professional Digital Artist
amazing work !!
Reply
:iconusagi-shams:
~Usagi-Shams Jul 23, 2012
That's amazing!!!
I love it!!!
Reply
:iconregulus36:
~Regulus36 Jul 25, 2012  Professional General Artist
Thanks!
Reply
:iconusagi-shams:
~Usagi-Shams Jul 25, 2012
____________.♥.
____________.♥♫♥.____________.♥. *
____________.♥♫♥♫.______-.♥♫♥. *
____________.♥♫♥♫♥._-.♥♫♥♫. *
_____________.♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥. *
______-.♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥. *
_.♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♥♫♥♫♥. * . *
______-.♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥. * . * . * ..
___________.♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥. * . * . * ..
____________.♥♫♥♫♥._-.♫♥♫♥. * . *. * . * ..
____________.♫♥♫♥.______-.♥♫♥. * .* ..
____________.♥♫♥.____________.♥. * . *.
_____________.♥
Reply
:iconreedymanedkelpie:
*reedymanedkelpie May 24, 2012  Professional General Artist
This is beautiful. And I remember the story, or one very close to it, where the monks have just finished writing down all God's names, and someone who had thought the monks ludicrous looks up into the night sky, and sees the stars going out, one by one. That was a good one.
Reply
:iconregulus36:
~Regulus36 Jul 3, 2012  Professional General Artist
That's the one alright :) the end gave me goosebumps the first time I read it :D
Reply
:iconatmost:
~Atmost May 23, 2012
This goes to favs with no doubt. Brian you are damn good!
Reply
:iconregulus36:
~Regulus36 Jul 3, 2012  Professional General Artist
:D thanks man, I appreciate it
Reply
Add a Comment:
 
Preview   Add Comment
©2013 deviantART. All rights reserved
About Us | Contact Us | Developers | Careers | Site Tour | Help & FAQ Advertise | Premium Membership Etiquette | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Copyright Policy