My old wristwatch tells me this fake, irrelevant time that’s only good on Earth.  I keep it on because when the alarm goes off on Tuesday at 7:00pm, I’ll be reminded to take out the trash.  Though that’s never going to happen again, I need to remember that it was all real.  It’s a constant in a cyclone of variables.

 

It’s all technically my fault.  I accepted the praise for organizing this venture, so I also accept the responsibility for everything that followed.

 

My name is Rob Taylor.  I’m an artist from the future.  It was my idea to launch myself and 11 other popular creatives into space.  Why?  “To capture the soul and majesty of a new frontier through art, and imprint our iconic imagery onto culture itself.”  That was the official mission statement, but each of us had our own personal motivations. 

 

What new frontier?  Ask yourself, what would the smartest minds on Earth do with unlimited renewable energy?  If your answer was, “rip a hole in the fabric of space,” you’d be correct.  They did that.  They called the passage they made, the Link.  On the other side, they found what we call, the Throughworlds - an entirely new displaced galaxy that looked to be far more useful than ours.   

 

Since then, we’d colonized 8 planets, established trade routes, and people left the comfort of home to start a new life on the colonies.  Who left?  Mostly the qualified, or the rich.  They left, despite the fact that direct communication with Earth through the Link was impossible, except by carrier drones that had to physically fly through the Link and dump all their data to satellites Earth-side.  Needless to say, the process was so cost prohibitive that most normal people on Earth were only privy to the info and images they were fed by those interested in maintaining a semblance of control.   

 

And there you have it.  The reason my venture, which I called “Rocketing Past,” was such a curiosity and the reason all eyes were on me and my misfit band of artists.  I had little doubt that we would be able to show the people of Earth the Throughworlds from a perspective not yet expressed through the cold lenses of analytical scientists and their drones.  And based on the collective talent and personalities that set out – we would do it with style.      

 

At this point, I’m now satisfied that you know exactly enough to turn the page.  What you will find there, and in the proceeding pages, will eventually answer some of your questions, but please keep in mind that this project was never intended to function as a linear story.  It was meant to provide a source of escapism to our followers, be a boon to our sponsors, and act as a spectacular (maybe pretentious) “flick” to those who told us we couldn’t.  I didn’t presume that this would become more important than that, but when I realized that we were stranded here, I changed.  I think we all changed and so did our art.  After all we’ve been through, I’ve become increasingly compelled to share as much of our story as I can.  Hopefully my artwork that you’ve found will succeed in showing you the wonders that my words alone fail to describe adequately.    

 

If you would, please humor me by briefly clearing your mind and reading some words I wrote what seems like lifetimes ago to promote our expedition.  Though now out of context, the invitation remains true….

 

“Prepare your senses to experience the color and spectacle of unknown worlds and the untamed wilds of the yet unseen.  Imagine what it would feel like to skim the edge of space and sky somewhere out of time.  Can you feel it?  Can you see it? I can take you there.”

 

Welcome to my Journeyings. 

Welcome to Rocketing Past.”