....<a class="externalLink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrIYT-MrVaI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> A corn field in Pennsylvania, United Steam of America</a>....<br/><br/>She shuffled along in her ritual attire, her wraps covering what little she had to cover, her tattoos covering what wasn't, her shoulders, belly, hands...  her wrap around her head completely obscuring her eyes, her bone jewelry dangling in the wind, coins making soft chimes as they are blown and moved to contact each other, her long and decorated skirt dragging in the dry dirt of the field itself.<br/><br/>....1928...<br/><br/>Some distance away she heard the tell tale noises of the Carnival being set up. The sounds of many hammers, saws, loud cracks of wood being placed on top of each other. The dry wind didn't drown at that noise, building and getting louder by the moment.<br/><br/>The lithe woman shuffled, her sandal-ed feet covered in the dry dirt of the corn field. She heard them. They were coming, as they always did. It had happened before...<br/><br/>She bent low feeling the wind blow against her cheek, her hand stretched out, almost like she was trying to stop herself from falling. Instead, her hand clutched the earth, held it tight. Lifted her hand up. She felt the wind pick up again as she slowly let her grip release, the dirt falling loosely to the ground, blowing away in the wind to the west, flying farther and farther from her, soon past the field and into the bush. Her head turned back to the Carnival, now more than just hammers and saws, she heard the start of the steam engines, the hissing of moisture being released under pressure. The creak and skree of heavy metals moving, gears finally picking up and turning, interlocking and generating power for the first time since their last performance.<br/><br/>She let the rest of the dirt go, falling from her hand and flying away from her in the dry wind...<br/><br/>"<span style="color: blue">There's a storm coming...</span>"<br/><br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/><b><i>Meanwhile back at the Carnival camp</i></b><br/><br/>.....<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>