background furry #19375 
_***Indigo Latitude**, by Anders Sandberg_
*
["[**⛈*":*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-QeW8rq-l0) ]
_
*The technician offered me a smartpatch “to make the ride smoother”. I was about to decline when I saw the pity in his eyes._
_*
*A minute later, the capsule was descending along the cable. It was a sunny day with just some light cirrus, and a halo with complex sundogs (octahedral ammonia, I guessed). Jovanovich aerostat dangling under its balloon looked small and festive in the yellow light across Jupiter's equatorial cloudscape... An escaped toy, exploring a wonderland of air._
*
*We then descended into the cloud deck. As it got dark I began to notice the rumbling. It had been there all the time at the border of my consciousness, but now without the distraction of anything to see outside, I became fully aware of it._
_*
*It was deep, far deeper than I could properly hear. It was a vibration in my bones that reminded me of a remote earthquake that never ended. At first it was just noise, but soon it took on a disquieting presence, an infrasonic hateful murmuring._
_*
*The bloodflow of a sleeping giant._
_*
*The capsule creaked. Before that there had just been occasional ticks as materials adjusted to different pressures and temperatures. This was something actually deforming. A sudden sway and I tensed. Sergeant Dr Pinoy, strapped into the seat next to me, looked up from her display and tried to calm me. “Relax: it is just normal. It will get a lot noisier further down.”_
_*
*She was right. As we descended into the darkness the creaking got louder and the capsule swayed and shook. The giant was no longer sleeping, but restlessly tossing in bed. Our microscopic craft, hung from a spider thread across the wild sky, jumped and danced as gusts of hydrogen hit it._
_*
*Then the lightening began. At first I just noticed diffuse red flashes. Then everything turned into pink brilliance, and the noise rose to a roar: the giant was awake and angry. He wanted to kill me personally._
*
*Two hours later, we were still descending through the murk. The worst shaking and lightening had stopped but I could feel it strumming the cable holding the capsule. After the initial panic I had settled down into a state of constant readiness for instant, dramatic death – a death that never came. By now I was just numb and exhausted._
_*
*Suddenly Sergeant Dr Pinoy looked out and pointed: “We are here!” It was hard to make out in the reddish gloom but I got an impression of something black and irregular. A coral reef. Or maybe a torture implement for murderous giants._
*
*She turned to me; “Sergeant Labonne, welcome to Indigo Latitude."_
_*
*"As you will discover, there are things more frightening and glorious than the weather down here.”_*
[
_
*The technician offered me a smartpatch “to make the ride smoother”. I was about to decline when I saw the pity in his eyes.
_
*A minute later, the capsule was descending along the cable. It was a sunny day with just some light cirrus, and a halo with complex sundogs (octahedral ammonia, I guessed). Jovanovich aerostat dangling under its balloon looked small and festive in the yellow light across Jupiter's equatorial cloudscape... An escaped toy, exploring a wonderland of air.
![full](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/532653195319574543/794633105025531976/Indigo_Latitude_2.png
_
*We then descended into the cloud deck. As it got dark I began to notice the rumbling. It had been there all the time at the border of my consciousness, but now without the distraction of anything to see outside, I became fully aware of it.
_
*It was deep, far deeper than I could properly hear. It was a vibration in my bones that reminded me of a remote earthquake that never ended. At first it was just noise, but soon it took on a disquieting presence, an infrasonic hateful murmuring.
_
*The bloodflow of a sleeping giant.
_
*The capsule creaked. Before that there had just been occasional ticks as materials adjusted to different pressures and temperatures. This was something actually deforming. A sudden sway and I tensed. Sergeant Dr Pinoy, strapped into the seat next to me, looked up from her display and tried to calm me. “Relax: it is just normal. It will get a lot noisier further down.”
_
*She was right. As we descended into the darkness the creaking got louder and the capsule swayed and shook. The giant was no longer sleeping, but restlessly tossing in bed. Our microscopic craft, hung from a spider thread across the wild sky, jumped and danced as gusts of hydrogen hit it.
_
*Then the lightening began. At first I just noticed diffuse red flashes. Then everything turned into pink brilliance, and the noise rose to a roar: the giant was awake and angry. He wanted to kill me personally.
![full](https://
_
*Two hours later, we were still descending through the murk. The worst shaking and lightening had stopped but I could feel it strumming the cable holding the capsule. After the initial panic I had settled down into a state of constant readiness for instant, dramatic death – a death that never came. By now I was just numb and exhausted.
_
*Suddenly Sergeant Dr Pinoy looked out and pointed: “We are here!” It was hard to make out in the reddish gloom but I got an impression of something black and irregular. A coral reef. Or maybe a torture implement for murderous giants.
![full](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/532653195319574543/794633123237330964/Indigo_Latitude_3.png
_
*She turned to me; “Sergeant Labonne, welcome to Indigo Latitude."
_
*"As you will discover, there are things more frightening and glorious than the weather down here.”