Beauty of the Moment

“What is the goal of every artist?”, he through into the room, letting the question sit for a while. Some of his students carefully tried to raise their hands, to answer the question, whilst some still watched the blanketed object in front of them.
Remion dismissed any attempts of answering by continuing: “What is it, that we as people and artists strife for? Is it perfection of the form? Some would say no, as perfection could have a limit and could never be possible achieved and therefore becomes obsolete. Is it the craft itself, experimenting and finding new ways and forms of expression? An honourable goal, but pointless, as you will ever be searching, never finding a limit to the possibilities. Madness. So, what could possibly be the point of all this? What is the point, if the ideal of both the reachable and unreachable are flawed at their core?”
Remion let the many questions he just put towards his students linger in the air.
“There is no greater goal for an artist, than to be themselves. To find themselves in their works. Find ways to express thought, ideas, emotion, in every way they can. Joy. Pain. Lust. Despair. All of it. Perfection and different forms may be side effects but should never trump your own spirit. Vedien Peronax called this in her publication ‘About Life and Death’ the ‘venture into the greatest and darkest corners of the mind, regardless of sense, standards or limitation’. It is the idea, that nothing is holy; No topic untouchable; No expression too extreme. It is, if you look at our people’s history, the core of the entire culture. Even in times, when we firmly denied such desires. It is what makes us Albnur; makes us hole. It is the lust for more, the never-ending possibilities of one-self. And therefore, also a reflection of the infinity of the universe and the reality we life in. And so, I ask you: What makes Albnur different from other lifeforms?”
This time, Remion did not throw the question into the room for nothing and waited patiently for one of the young students to raise his hand to answer the question. “We are above all other life. Perfection in the form. Unique in the universe.”
Remion nodded patronizingly. “Spoken like a true believer. What could possibly stand above us? More conservative people may say nothing. I say, little.”
Remion started to walk around the room, making his round around the velvet blanket. “How can we be above others if we die like them? We get sick, we age. Wounds may bring death as well. Would you say that a mortal being can truly be the peak of evolution? Wouldn’t it need sometime more robust, untouchable by time? Maybe we are just the peak of what we perceive. Those we would regard as mortals. But what if there are more. I am not necessarily talking about gods or religion, but beings beyond us. How could we show such a hubris, if there are living things, that are so close to us in appearance, just beyond the darkness of border space?”
Some students snorted at the idea their professor was presenting them with. Like most Albnur, they believed to know better. Their people, since exploring the planets beyond their own home world, have encountered many other intelligent species. Most of them would be regarded as un-formly nightmares. Sad excuses for evolution, influenced by their separate environments. Most of them were nothing better than prey, to be hunted for sports by warriors and nobles. The seemlier Xenos were brought in as slaves, to serve as a cheap workforce for the ever-expanding Albnur Empire. But all had little in common with the perfect form of the Albnur themselves. To many limbs, off proportions, undefinable bodies. Most slave races living amongst Albnur had to cover their hideous forms, just so the Populus would not have to bear the Xenos’ sight.
Remion smiled widely. Just as he hoped. The poor, unprepared youths.
“But what if I tell you, that there are being like us. So similar, that it may even be more revolting, than any other misshapen creature we encounter out there?”
Remion moved towards the velvet, grabbing its heavy fabric with two hands, and ripped it off the thing, situated in the middle of the atelier.
A gasp went through the students, which Remion noticed with a sinister smile. Some of the young Albnur leaned forward, observing with interest what was revealed before them. Other recoiled in disgust and confusion. Remion may have not been an actor, but he sure did love the right timing for maximum effect.
Most were used to the alien bodies of most Xenos, but this was different in its familiarity to them. Two legs, two arms; A face with two eyes, a mouth, nose and two ears, topped off with body hair on top. Despite its misshapen proportion, for Albnur standards, and ugly, rough face features, it was so like their own form, that most students did not know how to react.
“This, is a ‘Human’.”, Remion continued like nothing ever happen. The naked female Human, flinched, when Remion slapped the site of the cage she was standing in. Dirt and bruises covered her oddly beige skin; The blond curly hair was dishevelled.
“Some of you might have heard the news of the outer Hunting Fleets, who encountered a hostile force.” Some of the students nodded carefully.
Remion could not help himself but laugh at the speechless young. “Wonderous, isn’t it? Say again: How could we be the true peak of the universe and form, when the coincidence of evolution can create such beings in similar nature, somewhere out there? Who tells us, that there are not more species like this one?”