V is for Venusians

         (My A to Z Blog Challenge theme this year is Bittersweetness & Light, my new collection of hope-filled, joy-inducing fantasy and sci fi short stories, poems, and art.  I’m sharing excerpts of art, stories, and poetry, and I’ve also been sharing some of the background on why we urgently need joyful stories.  If you like strange creatures, magical worlds, and being reminded of the good to be found in the world, it’s not too late to come along with me!  It’s also not to late to visit other bloggers, to be found at the A to Z Master List.)

        These Venusian Medusae are one of the pieces of art that stands alone in the book, without illustrating a story or poem.  Or at least, I haven’t written anything that goes with it - but I still think it tells a story, and I invite everyone to imagine what that story might be.

        The title is “Symbiote City,” because I imagine that these diverse species of medusae are living symbiotically in the cloud decks of Venus, relying on each other to make life possible in a very challenging environment.  They are called medusae, by the way, not because of the petrifying Medusa of Greek mythology, but because “medusa” is the scientific name for jellyfish.  (Of course, fun Words-of-the-Month fact, the jellyfish are named after the Gorgon, presumably because of their tentacles.)

        This is one of those posts where, rather than bore myself with repetition, I will simply send you to read a prior post that explains what this rubber block print is all about: Symbiote City.  (And don't miss the link from there to even more speculation about Life on Venus.)

        Marketing Moral: While we’re on the subject of art, how about fan art!  Not only is it wonderful and affirming to the author whose work you’re fanning, but if you share it on-line or with friends it may pique the interest of others.

        Proper Moral: No man is an island.  Nor woman, nor jellyfish, nor any other creature.  And anyone who tells you they accomplished something big without any assistance from anyone else is lying.  So we should all go ahead and embrace our symbioses.

        Do you think there’s life out there somewhere?  What about sentient life?  What about sentient jellyfish life?

[Picture: Symbiote City (Venusian Medusae), rubber block print by AEGNydam, 2020 (Image from Bittersweetness & Light, but originals are still available at NydamPrints.com).]