Gryphons Fan Fiction by Nick Armbrister Based upon the aircraft invented by author Elizabeth Hand

 

Gryphons

Fan Fiction by Nick Armbrister

 

Based upon the aircraft invented by author Elizabeth Hand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2017 Nick Armbrister. All rights reserved. This version 2021.

 

Only a single poem or paragraph maybe used for reviewing purposes. Credit Nick Armbrister as author.

 

Cover photo by Nick Armbrister.

 

Other photos by Nick Armbrister unless stated.

 

 

 

 

With Thanks to:

A big thanks to author Elizabeth Hand who wrote the stunning novel Aestival Tide in 1992. This inspired my own writing and is my favourite book. I based my poems upon Liz’s Gryphon aircraft from her novel and other flying machines. Her craft are her creation, I made them fly. Without Liz’s writing my poems and writing would not exist. Thank you…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poems

 

Future Craft

Once the Gryphons flew in a mighty air fleet.
Now there are only twelve left.
Each with a poetical name like Kesef.
Let us fly aboard such a craft.
A 9th generation biotic craft.
Sentient and aware looking like a big dragonfly.

They subdued entire continents

Armed with unbelievable weapons.

Flown by reborn pilots.

Each totally committed to his task.

Connected to his machine.

Pilot and war plane as one.

Unbeatable in battle.

God and Goddess like in power.

With their names and legacy.

Utterly beautiful in flight.

One family of advanced flying machines.

All created by a young pretty woman.

Her mind was a gift…

 

 

 

 

Girl Lady

Oh see how she flies

A real bird of the sky

Lovely as a queen

Twice as nice as your wife

Sensual as a sprite

And as pretty your lost love

A lady of the sky

Who is both delicate

And strong like fire

Her power being her aptitude

More able than any man

Her femininity untouched

Except by her pilots

Who bond with her

More intimately than with God

Or even their lovers

Each thought stolen

By this Gryphon girl plane

Just wait till you fly her

Climb inside her belly

Womb like escapade

Or bomb in the bay?

Looping the loop

Rolling inverted

Stalling down the sky

Arcing over a cliff

Hugging the trees

Following the coastline

Darting up valleys

Pirouetting off a peak

This is how you fly…

 

 

 

 

What She Created
Just a simple girl
Pretty yes like your cousin
One to look past
No second glance...
...till you talk to her
Then you love her
Like I love her aircraft
She made them all
Each in her head
Then made real
Brought into reality
By this girl
From solex winged shuttles
Man powered gliders
Deep space starships
And the most beautiful of all
Her pretty little Gryphons
Skittish dragon fly aircraft
Half alive half machine
Such wondrous creations
If only you could see one
Fly inside and be free
A rising cloud
Ascending all issues
In an aeroplane
Made by a girl...
...pretty as can be
Delicate beyond reason
Gryphon craft belonging to her
Alive and beautiful

 

 

 

 

Chasing Ghost
Aeroplane Girl designed

And made her aeroplane
Her pretty Gryphon plane

She flew high and fast

Low and slow

Something went wrong
She crashed up on the hill
There was a second crash site

 

It wasn’t hers…

 

 

 

 

Mayflies

Aeroplane Girl joyously flew her new creation

A (wo)man carrying glider up high

Soaring over mountain peaks

Touching the clouds

And arcing about like a sprite

Half rolling then diving earthwards

Taking calculated risks

Because being free has its risks

 

I may have misdesigned my aeroplane

What if the wing snaps off?

Will I stall and spin to my death?

What if lightning hits me?

I have so many fears…

I must be strong and trust my own skills

 

Aeroplane Girl flew to her limit

Never passing it but hovering at it

Spinning four times to the left

Then four times to the right

Flying at the maximum speed

Climbing then diving just as fast

All this and more in her glider

Corkscrewing like a demon escaping Hell

Turning like an irate spirit

Product of her thoughts

Passionately built by hand

Flown from the heart

Enjoyed from the soul

This was her little aeroplane

Whose only engine was a girl

Sky blue in colour…

 

 

 

 

Destinations

Aeroplane Girl flew flew flew

Dreaming of the love that she'd yet to meet

Imagined him sat next to her

Seeing him smile as they aerobatted

Their little aeroplane so much to behold

Flying was more joyous than love

A million infinite times more

Especially when up in the clouds

Or flying low chasing your shadow

But it was all fake illusion

A big lie that was more lethal than a mountain

Aeroplane Girl had only her planes and designs

She didn't need a man or a lover

Then she was vulnerable to pain

Flying was enough and her only love

Nothing was like flying, nothing

Yet why did she feel alone?

 

 

 

 

Rising Up

I see but nothing shadows in the sand.
One moved as fast as a thought.
It was a Gryphon flying like a bird.
More than a bird, so much more.
Solex wings flexed and up it went.
9th generation biotic aircraft.
The inventor was inside, flying it.
But it wasn't an 'it', no, it was a ''she'.
Called Astraea after the warrior Goddess.
She wasn't fighting now.
Just flying in the viridian blue sky.
That was enough, stunningly so.
Aeroplane Girl flew her craft like it was her.
It was her for both plane and girl were joined.
Connected by thought and sensation and more.
It was a union of serene symbolic importance.
This was a new beginning.
Our transcendence and evolution.
It was real flying and life...

 

 

 

 

Blissful Sight

Aeroplane Girl was beautiful

Her black hair flowed wildly

Around her pretty face

Her eyes were shut

She was so serene

Timeless in her grace

Oh so precious in her life

Lady alive on a natural world

Smartly dressed in black

Stylish flight suit NO

Black cotton trousers and t-shirt

This was her uniform

As Aeroplane Girl flew

Up high in her digital aeroplane

The open cockpit causing havoc

To her long black hair

But it was fine fine fine

She loved this blissful thing

The joy of flight

By a simple girl...

 

 

 

 

Astral Love

It was a dream
All a bad dream awake
He loved the Chinese girl
Or he wouldn't have reacted just so
When her space rocket exploded after launch
He screamed and cried wordlessly
Before her rocket detonated he tried
With only words to stop it
He should have used violence
To abort the launch
Smashing up the launch officer
Who pushed the red button
That sent both rockets forth
Seen by thousands in Texas

Chinese rocket ships launched in America
Two different cutting edge designs
His girl flew the fastest one
As the detonation rebounded he raged
A flash signified failure
Or success for some
Was his lady assassinated?
Did they think he did it?
To create a fuss

At her funeral there were cowboys
Real American ones in big hats and boots
And so many signed the memorial book
Brought flowers and cried
Why? She was his girl
Now the world knew
It was in all the papers

 

He went to China
To see her home
Explore her village
Meet her peasant parents
Whose only daughter was an astronaut
Killed by her dream of being in space
Incinerated by the nuclear engine
That was so damn safe
Later he would find out why
Study the blue prints
So it wouldn't happen again

 

For it wasn't a bomb my love
I love and miss you dearly
I'm glad you found the reason why
It was a fuel pump installed backwards
Now my rocket will be safe
Like the rival design
Why did you have to die?
I miss you so my love
Why did you die?
Committing suicide in my old room
My mother found your body
Soon I'll follow you
I ejected my love
The Russian K36 seat saved me
I landed miles away
They never found me or the seat
I hid and went underground
Tonight I will join you Aeroplane Girl
Our dream is complete then...

 

 

 

 

Mother Craft

On the wings of a dream
At the edge of my consciousness
Hovering above my night vision
Something somewhat there but what?

In the air above me
I feel its presence 
But do not see it

A 'thing' from the canyons of time
Not necessarily my own time
Flitting thru the valleys of eternity

As real as ether and twice as rare
Like my sister's ghost once here
Visitation rights gone mad

Why chose me!
Because I simply believe
So am thus eligible

For what came next:
A vision so clear it shocked me
Of her aeroplane landing nearby

In the forest clearing
I will fly in a Gryphon...

 

 

 

 

Impreg

Aeroplanes were once made of aluminium.

Aeroplane Girl made such a new alloy plane.

It was silver and shiny in the sun.

What would it fly like?

As good as it looked?

She would soon find out.

And remember back eons ago.

When such machines criss-crossed the sky.

The flier's way, one of risks.

Each pilot alone high up a dot above.

A new silver cross kissing the blue...

Getting lost in clouds or blinded by light.

Unusually loud butterflies.

Stronger than paper yet frail as ice.

Soon now girl soon to fly.

Virgin flight purporting unconditional love.

Pioneering touch beyond belief.

Sky supporting plane supporting girl.

Rewriting joy rebuilding faith.

Endless illusion fuelled by Sol.

Age old ways becoming one.

With a touch of magic and here she goes.

Airframe and pilot joint union.

Up aloft...

 

 

 

 

Concrete Bird

Her new aircraft was fast.

With straight wings that looked slow.

State of the art one time each not old.

A flying gem beyond useless money.

 

Diamond wing aerofoil cross section.

Wings made from razor sharp ceramics.

Each shaped just like a knife.

 

Three of these extraordinary planes.

One with a stainless steel body.

Another of titanium.

And a third of Inconel X.

 

Witchcraft of the sky.

Sky Diamond fabulous crystal

More than mere spells

 

Rediscovered beauty of hypersonic flight.

Ready to take flight.

Created and flown by a girl.

 

 

 

 

Artwork by Claudia.

 

 

 

Brothers

Aeroplane Girl drank the rice wine.

It was strong and sweet.

In time it lulled her.

Soothed her body.

It had been a long day making aeroplanes.

 

She flew in her mind to high places.

Saw all manner of things lost and found.

Saw the warplanes fly low over the sea.

Marveled how they steeply climbed.

Flying between mountains covered with trees.

 

Follow my leader turning and weaving.

Was shocked when once crashed.

Physically shook when she saw the bombs explode.

Became confused when the others flew on.

Her vision faded to something anew.

 

Leaves formed a canopy against the sky.

A sky so blue it made her heart ache.

It was her sky where she flew her aeroplanes.

A faint breeze rustled the leaves.

There was a man, he was out of breath.

 

He seemed to be going somewhere.

But something happened to stop him.

His large knife cut away branches and leaves.

It hit something hard and made a loud sound.

It wasn’t a rock or fallen tree.

 

Something else made the noise.

The man swung his machete again.

Again it hit something else.

He stopped and looked confused.

There should be nothing here.

 

It wasn’t a rock outcrop.

Was it Yamashita’s gold?

No. It wouldn’t be up here.

Over a thousand metres up.

Everyone knew the gold was by the sea in a cave.

 

This was something else.

He looked down at what his blade had hit.

His eyes saw but his mind did not believe.

There in the undergrowth was a bent propeller blade.

Close by was an unexploded bomb!

 

Confused, he shook his head.

He became alert and slowly advanced.

And then he saw it…

…an aircraft.

It was smashed and broken and in pieces.

 

Except the back part.

This was surprisingly large.

Twin fins still stood proud against the sky.

Putting his knife down, he entered.

For the rear section had broken away.

 

And when inside the mountain man saw.

Saw something worse than terror acts.

Worse than shootings and bombings.

There two skeletons next to one another.

Both died as one after the crash.

 

The shock of almost being blown up left him.

And the amazement of finding the plane vanished.

Sadness came from nowhere.

Filling his entire being.

For no words were needed.

 

What lay before him said it all.

Two injured men had died together.

Both from the plane’s tail section.

He was aware others had died.

The mountain man knew he was the first here.

 

That nobody else knew of this.

He left the plane and his journey to the summit.

People must know of this.

He wondered who the men were.

What were their names?

 

On the island of war was something from another war.

Found by a simple mountain man.

Sadness filled Aeroplane Girl.

She snapped out of trance and drank more wine.

Her visions left her stunned.

 

They were from centuries ago.

She resolutely promised herself:

I will only ever fly my aeroplanes.

Never use them for war myself.

Not even a Gryphon.

Only for flight…

 

 

 

 

Fly Bike

Aeroplane Girl had a friend
He challenged her to a competition
He made a pickup truck with square wheels
She made a motorcycle fly
Both were madness
This is how she did it...

 

First she took the wings from an aviette

Then she got an old bike from a museum

Next she created magic in her engineering shop

Finally she spliced it all together

And faster than a barrel off Niagara Falls

It was done like Niagara man was gone!

 

How would Aeroplane Girl’s sky plane bike fly?

Like a brick off a cliff till the rocket was ignited

Powering it a mile up until the prop kicked in

Driven by 125cc of antique engine

Seventy five miles per hour airborne

It worked like a dream…

 

 

 

 

Aerofoil
Aeroplane Girl went to the hill 
It was near Rooley Moor
Here she paraglided a new design
Her multi coloured aerofoil was cool
Just like her and her achievements
She glided off the mountain edge
The black rock sides were vertical
Soot blackened from the old mills
She flew down with wind buffeting her
The wing was tight in the airflow
Under her boots was hundreds of feet of nothing
Alertly she looked an updraft
She wanted max flight time
Her wing described circles in the sky
Slowly she descended 
Leaving the stunning mountain behind
A glance over her shoulder made her smile
The mountain was lovely
Grass covered with straight edges
Flying edges made for her
Except the gentle grassy side
Aeroplane Girl now flew to the water
A big reservoir filled her vision
With surprising speed she zipped over it
She put her feet together 
In a splash she landed in a metre of water
She collapsed her wing chute
The shore was ten yards away
Ordinary words couldn't describe her flight

 

 

 

 

Power Hell

Aeroplane Girl flew her fission powered aircraft 

Low over the water like a Devil from Hell

Orange fire spewed out of the exhaust

The water glowed ruddy red like rotten blood

It was an awful sight seen be none but the girl

And a sound of a thousand horses was heard

Total madness that was beyond comprehension

Of everyone but the girl who created this machine

It was a real fucking monster and violent

Beyond belief and thought and existence

With an unseen danger of a thousand suns

Microscopic death falling forth in waves

It would kill billions if there was anyone left alive

But this was now what came after events before

A time before a time before the time

When similar less lethal machines were used

Designed by the same lady Aeroplane Girl

 

 

 

 

Roundness

Aeroplane Girl flew her flying disc like only she could

It was a lovely creation in all regards

Reflecting both the sky and natural landscape

 

Being shiny silver in colour a chrome bomb thing

Straight out of a Raygun Gothic comic fake believe

Popping out of her mind drawing board style pen and paper

 

Flown by thought but with manual controls

For it was cooler to fly by sense old skool style

Feeling each eddy and bump jolt you alive

 

Do not crash nor ever get complacent

But her disc was safe and a stable machine

Being a lifting body creating lift like a breeze

 

With a speed beyond sound and even light

But too fast was just that so why not go slow

Enjoy the views that belonged to her

 

 

 

 

Fusion Drive

Aeroplane Girl flew her starship around the moon

A circular course that allowed her to use gravity

Adding to the power and speed provided by the rockets

Which were powered by a fusion drive reactor

Whose power was of a star and as hot and life giving

For aboard this spaceship were the survivors of Planet Earth

Fleeing their doomed planet ripped apart by wars and disasters

Now the final threat came, a cobalt chondrite meteor

It headed in from behind the sun and was little known

Except by centuries old NANSA space scans

Did they ignore it and suppress is on purpose?

For no side could defeat the other and win the war

Thus controlling the earth and those left alive

So the meteor would be the end game

Wiping out all life and destroying the planet

Those leaving were a mixed bunch and desperate

Humans and robots, geneslaves and mutants

The nearest earth like planet was six light years away

A new life would be attempted on a new home

And this is where Aeroplane Girl flew their ship

Guided by autopilot while the humans slept

An alien looking craft of all shapes and colours

Hoping against hope that a new start could be made

A fresh attempt at living and a final end to war…

 

 

 

 

 

The End