First excerpt from "The Iron Meditation": Blood loses shine

My sci-fi novel, "The Iron Meditation", deals with themes such as the nature of guilt, marginalization, terrorism, speciesism (that is the discrimination of animals based on their species) and anthropocracy (the view of humans as rulers of the world, basically one of today's ruling ideologies). My novel is only published in Norwegian (e-book) and can be bought for example here, here or here.

Here, I will publish my first English draft of chapter 5, having titled the same as the novel itself: "The Iron Meditation". There will be 5 (or 6) excerpts. This is the first, called "Blood loses shine".

Up till this point, the main character has been held imprisoned by crows, not knowing for what. Finally he is given some variation from his prison room, being taken to the Iron Park.



The Iron Meditation Chapter 5.1: Blood loses shine 

The silver grey surroundings sparkle as I stand within them. Spheres of sharp light hover in the air as the silver grey iron surfaces reflect them back. Surface is upon surface and the walls are curved and broken by all kinds of formations extending out from them. They are like stalactites and stalagmites. Others are like bubbles. Small pyramids rise out of the floor here and there. Other places I find sharp spikes. The sound of a muted drumbeat reach me from somewhere. The sound bounces between the walls, and in front of me the iron park continues as far as I can see. Then another drumbeat reaches my mind. 

I sit down involuntarily and bend over the metal floor. I lay my cheek against it and feel the stone cold against my skin. I sigh while bouncing chills ride down my spine. Then I undress my torso. I throw away the black cloth I've been wearing and place as much as possible of my body against the metal surfarce. The floor is smooth and beautiful. 

"Wow!" I exclaim in excitement. I can't remember having felt a cold like this ever. I rub my face toward the floor, like were I a cat. "M" I say. 

If someone was watching me, I could tell them I'm only a human animal who hasn't experienced much the last year. The crows already know. They know it all. 

So away with these thoughts. I roll around and I feel the sensations toward my skin. I can see the goosebumps on it. Small ones. 

Another drumbeat comes from deeper within the iron park. It echoes, and residual sound remains. In the room, and within my head. How big can this park be? What more can I find here? I turn around while still lying on the floor. Now it doesn't feel as cold anymore because of my body that's been on it for I don't know hoe long. I'm done with the floor and rise from it, sharpening my concentration. If I start walking, I must remember that the floor's not even. What if my foot is protruded by an iron spark, a needle, or bruises against unpolished metal? I imagine myself bleeding from protruded feet, how my blood will sparkle dimly and how it will gradually turn cold, congeal and lose its shine.  


I take a few steps, careful not to cause any situation that will make me shed blood. I move my right foot carefully through a passage between two tall iron cones. At first with my foot pointing forwards until I turn it so that I will have a better grip while I let the other foot follow. The drumbeat sounds again as my hand touches a strange iron formation that reminds me of a miniature pine tree. A non-organic pine tree, in any case, in sparkling grey, almost white. When I hold my hand over the tree, my hand takes on its reflection of pure iron. It fades as I move my hand until my entire body turns sparkly from the reflection from a big, blank surface. I imagine it absorbed by my pale, weak body. But I will walk it off as soon as I take a few steps. Then it will return from somewhere else and disappear again. I walk past more iron cones, orbs, spheres, stars and cylinders, and as I reach the brightest place, another drumbeat reaches me.