Empyrean Iris Story Collection

The Galaxy's Greatest Marvels

Come one, come all to J.R's World of wonders, and prepare yourselves for the greatest marvels the galaxy has ever seen. Feast your eyes and gorge your minds on the amazing, the mysterious, and the macabre. For just one cycle, and only cycle only, we bring you the wonders of the human world. Experience humans like you have never experienced them before.

"That should be interesting." Captain Vir remarked to Krill shouldering his way through a wave of excitable aliens squeezing their way towards the ticket booth.

Above them, the booming voice projected rather impressively from a shabbily dressed man wearing a rather tatty ringmaster uniform that could well have been over a thousand years old

One of the crew members snorted, "Really, how could can it be. Everyone knows the circus is usually just a rip-off."

"That's the point of a circus." The captain remarked, "Should be interesting regardless."

Krill scuttled through the crowd after the captain and his second as they made their way up to the window and payed the fine. They drew more than a few awed looks from the crowd as they passed. Being a rather distant trade planet, the humans had yet to really show a presence in these parts, and aside from the ringleader, they appeared to be the only humans present.

Stepping through a dimly lit canvas passageway, the three slowly made their way into the large exhibition room surprised to find, a rather well put together exhibit stretching out in all directions covered from end to end in awestruck species marveling at the human wonders presented to them.

Straight ahead a stage had been erected under the lights. Bits of shattered glass littered the stage in front of a well-dressed woman seated primly on a stool. Above her a rather enthusiastic man gestured and articulated wildly

"The human vocal system is an unpatrolled marvel able to produce sounds between 85 hertz and 3 kilohertz with their hearing between 20 to 20,000 hertz. The human vocal tract uses a system of vibrating vocal folds and controlled air compression to produce sound. The human ability to recognize pitch is additionally unparalleled, with some humans having been known to possess absolute pitch, or the ability to recognize and reproduce any tone within the human vocal range." With an exaggerated flourish, the man produced a crystal glass from behind his back, "The resonant frequency of this crystal goblet is easily within the human vocal range. Now, Watch closely, and Angela here will shatter the glass using only her voice."

Around the room the crowd muttered in skepticism and wonder.

"Anyone here sensitive to the same pitch within the human vocal system is advised to cover their ears now." Around the room, the crowd shifted.

With one hand, the woman slowly lifted the glass flicking it with one long fingernail to fill the room with a ringing crystal note. Before the note faded she began to sing. It was a single tone that slowly rose in pitch to meet the tone of the fading note growing louder and louder until her voice blended with the dying note.

And then the glass shattered painting the air momentarily with a vibrant spray of rainbow light as beams of radiance refracted through the glass.

A collective gasp of awe rose up from the crowd as the woman rose to give a bow basking in the sound of adoration.

Krill turned to look at captain Vir who was nodding impressed.

The second seemed pleased as well.

"Watch yourselves," The human on stage finished, "Our scientific contacts tell me that humans could potentially use their voices to stun when provoked, so tread lightly."