A new one must rise
Visiting With Grandmothers
Click the puzzle piece to work a jigsaw puzzle
The Indigo Jewel
Afterward and Prompts
Intro,
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
16,
17,
Epilogue,
Afterward
I started writing this story in 2015 when I was deeply unhappy. I wrote the first half of the story on my phone while lying on the bed. It was a useful distraction and helped in my recovery. Then the story sat dormant and unfinished for a decade. When AI tools became available, I was encouraged to finish what I had started.
The future of the earth and humanity is a topic I think about a lot. Some will say my envisioning of the future is too harsh. Other's will say I'm too optimistic. The further we proceed into this unfolding disaster, the more information we have to predict how it will unfold. From the scientists, we know that an enormous catastrophe is bearing down on us from several directions. It is our duty to future generations to address the causes of climate change as soon as possible.
While this story is completely of my own creation, I did write some of the later chapters with the assistance of ChatGPT and Copilot. The AI contributions, both image and text, have been edited to ensure consistency and style. The images illustrating events in the story were created using DALL-E. You can see the prompts I wrote to create each image below. Of course, as Sir Isaac Newton noted so elequently, I could not have imagined this story without having read the works of many great science fiction authors.
This story is written in the voices of many different women. Some chapters are first person singular. Some are past tense, others are present tense. Some are written in third person omniscient. This was done intentionally to emphasize the numerous characters interacting over a long period of time.
I had a great-great-great-grandfather named Melodious Be Carrell who lived in the mid-1800s. I have always been intrigued by his name, so I used it in the story. My family tree on my mother's side is documented on Garden of Praise.
The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy about 100,000 light-years in diameter, rotating approximately once every 240 million Earth years. So at the end of this story, the Oracle has existed for just over 2% of a galactic year. The effects of her presence will be felt on many planets as jewels follow their missions. Several other jewels will eventually complete their missions and help their host develop interstellar space travel. Because humans arrived at the Oracle’s home planet first, she requested these other beings meet in another part of the galaxy and form an alliance with the humans. She also agreed to provide additional technology when they responded positively to her request. What happens next? I'm starting to think about that.
AI is often depicted in science fiction as malevolent or neutral. I chose to be optimistic and show it as benevolent. This has been done before. A good example in modern media is “Data” in Star Trek The Next Generation, whose greatest desire is to be human.
My depiction of the future is optimistic in its outcome, but pessimistic in its timeline. The optimistic outcome is possible, but highly dependent on humanity maturing to keep up with advancements in science and technology. The ice covering Greenland and Antarctica is melting and we are not making meaningful efforts to reverse the trend.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association defines a Novella as a work containing 17,500–40,000 words. This story fits nicely in the low end of that range. Hopefully it is enjoyable and thought-provoking.
I tried to use AI text-to-speech to make an audiobook, but the results were disappointing. I would like to have different women dramatically read chapters and add these recordings to the site. Are there any volunteers?
Copyright © 2025 Elton Smith
DALL-E prompts used to make illustrations
Introduction - The Indigo JewelExtreme close up of the cupped hands of a woman reverently holding a small faceted indigo jewel, impressionist painting by Monet, Van Gogh and Renoir
Chapter 1 - Nanshe finds the Indigo Jewel
Just before sunrise near the Euphrates river in 4000 B.C. Lots of sand and in the distance the river is flowing in the starlight. Under an old tree there is a small orb about a foot in diameter glowing faintly, close up of a woman reaching down to touch the orb. The land is relatively flat. There are shadows everywhere, chiaroscuro, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 1 - Nanshe sees an alien world when holding the jewel
Image of an alien futuristic world, with beautiful smooth buildings connected by suspended moving paths, floating smooth metal boxes that creatures were riding in, moving pictures on the walls, flying machines, talking machines shaped like the aliens, below on the surface is a vast nature preserve with forests and alien animals, fantasy impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 1 - Nanshe and Ishtar
Close up of a middle aged woman and her teenage daughter in ancient Sumeria, sitting under a tree near a huge flowing river, the mother is holding a small faceted indigo jewel, impressionist painting by Renoir and Pissarro
Chapter 2 - Sophia communing with her grandmother
A woman in ancient Greece in 400 B.C. She is sitting on the floor in her home, in her hand is a tiny faceted jewel the size of an small egg indigo blue in color and glowing, the crystal is small, she is in a trance, in front of her is a faint cloudy vision of an older woman with their eyes open and she is talking, chiaroscuro, stylized impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 2 - They are even part of my dreams
She falls asleep and enters a dream world where she is surrounded by her mother and grandmothers, everyone is transparent, smoke-like and wispy, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 3 - Retrieving the jewel from the tree
Close up of a young woman in ancient Greece, reaching into a tree to retrieve something from a hole in the trunk, near a huge smoothly flowing river, impressionist painting by Renoir and Pissarro
Chapter 3 - The village is empty
A small village in ancient Greece, chiaroscuro, doors wide open, a dog, a goat, woman looking though an open door, late in the afternoon, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 3 - Sophia surrendering herself to the slave traders
Close up of a modest woman in ancient greece, out in the country, standing before 4 burly men who are carrying a bit of rope, other people sitting on the ground, impressionist painting by Renoir and Pissarro
Chapter 4 - Grandma Peta hiding from the slave traders
An elderly woman in ancient greece, hiding alone in a small place, behind the house, watching, anxious, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 4 - Saying goodbye to the woman abandoned
In ancient greece, women standing in a line tied with a rope, touching the shoulder of an old woman slumped on the ground as they pass, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 5 - Xanthippe is toasted at her citizenship ceremony
Close up of a woman standing in the middle of a group of men in ancient Greece, each man is raising a glass to toast the woman, in a building made of stone, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 5 - Empedocles and his followers near Mount Etna
In ancient Greece, an old man sitting with his followers, near Mount Etna, his followers listening to his every word, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 5 - Nanshe whispering in Xanthippe's ear
Close up of a young woman in ancient Greece, sitting on the floor holding a very small indigo faceted jewel in her hand, behind her sits a ghostly wisp of an older woman whispering in her ears, impressionist painting by Renoir and Pissarro
Chapter 5 - Xanthippe pleading with Socrates before his death
In ancient Greece, a man and his wife are sitting alone in a room. They are in late middle age and their hair is turning grey. They are seated at a small simple dining table. He has a glass in his hand and is about to take a drink. She is pleading hysterically with him. There are shadows everywhere, chiaroscuro, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 6 - Chrysanthe walking along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea
A young Greek woman walking beside the Mediterranean sea in 1300 AD. She is walking through a group of angry people, but is unafraid and proud, stylized impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 6 - Chrysanthe at the gates of Barcelona
Impressionist painting by Renoir, at the gates of the walled city of Barcelona on the Iberian Peninsula in 1350 AD. Close up of a young woman standing at the huge wooden gate asking for admittance. A gruff soldier standing guard eyes her suspiciously. Everything is dirty and brown. Smoke is in the air.
Chapter 6 - Dawn painted the horizon with hues of gold and rose
We see the expansive sky as dawn paints the horizon with hues of gold and rose, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 7 - Jewels waiting in The Great Convergence Hall
Close up of the sentient faceted indigo jewels awaiting their departure on a journey, in a large chamber on an alien planet, open to the sky, indigo hues paint the surfaces of the ancient world, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 7 - The Oracle addressing the jewels
The Oracle of The Great Convergence Hall (a female face on the wall of a cave) addressing small faceted indigo jewels before they depart on their missions throughout the galaxy, impressionist painting by Renoir Van Gogh and Pissarro
Chapter 7 - The orbs traveling through space to their destinations
White glowing orbs flying through a wormhole in space, at great speed, in the background is a blanket of stars, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 8 - Women whispering into the ears of kings
An ancient scene inside a castle, close up, on the throne sits a king believing he rules his kingdom, standing beside him the beautiful queen is bending very close whispering words in his ears, she actually rules the kingdom, mystical and foggy, chiaroscuro, impressionist painting by Rembrandt
Chapter 8 - Darius poring over his tomes
A man in 17th century Europe reading ancient tomes, scribbling nonsense in the margins, desperately searching for answers, knowledge had turned against him, twisting into something indecipherable, leaving only paranoia in its wake, impressionist painting by Monet and Renoir
Chapter 8 - The Mad Seeker gone mad
A man in Europe around 1600 AD, going insane, standing outside at night, wearing his bed clothes, screaming, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 9 - Moishe carrying Maeven into the doctor’s office
Zurich in 1877, a Yiddish man carrying his unconscious wife in his arms through the door into a doctor's office, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 9 - The box Zella received from the bank
Close up of the inside a closed dark metal box, almost totally dark, inside are papers, jewelry, and a small faceted indigo jewel, very dim light, almost black, impressionist painting by Renoir and Pissarro
Chapter 9 - Faridah's thirteenth birthday
Two women sit alone on the floor in a room dark, a middle aged woman and a younger adult woman who is half Indian, One is holding a single small faceted indigo jewel in her hand, the younger woman has a strange look on her face, Impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 10 - The Amazon rainforest has died
Seen from the ground level, the Amazon rainforest has turned into a desert, massive dead trees, baked parched dry ground, in the future, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 10 - People are farming in Antarctica
Seen from the ground level, Antarctica has completely melted and the land is inhabited by small farmers, crops growing, the sun is very low on the horizon, chiaroscuro, in the future, land of midnight sun, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 10 - Karishma and Savani looking up at Galen
In modern Oceania, close up of a modern woman of south Asian descent, sitting on the floor with her teenage daughter, she is holding a single small indigo jewel, they are looking up at the camera, impressionist painting by Renoir
Chapter 11 - Joshua and Romero sailing northward
Close up, in the distant future, one older man and one teenager in a small sailboat with a single sail and a rudder, after a big flood, on the outskirts of a lifeless flooded city, casually dressed for hot weather, dead conifer trees, calm, impressionist painting by Renoir Monet and Pissarro
Chapter 11 - Antarctica is melted and verdant
The ocean has risen hundreds of feet, seen up close from space at a 45 degree angle, the continent is now broken into a series of islands, unconnected landmasses. Completely surrounded by water. Mostly green and verdant—forests, grasslands, and life thriving. Only the area in the middle where there are mountains has ice and snow.
Chapter 11 - Modular housing built in Antarctica
Close up of a high-tech town, small compact houses made by robots from ground rock, smooth sides, windows, landscaping designed for winter, highly stylized impressionist painting
Chapter 11 - Recycled housing built in the Arctic
Close up of a small town built from recycled materials, half built houses everywhere, no cars allowed, preparing for winter, highly stylized impressionist painting
Chapter 12 - Melodious writing a song
Extreme close up of a young girl writing a song, sitting at a piano with a guitar, impressionist painting by Monet Van Gogh and Renoir
Chapter 12 - The big concert in the Ant dome
The people of the south looking up to the sky, broadcasting music to the world, highly stylized impressionist painting
Chapter 12 - Satellite broadcasting music
Close up of a satellite in space miles above the earth broadcasting music to the world, down below people are listening, stylized impressionist painting by Monet Van Gogh and Renoir
Chapter 13 - Grandmothers meeting with the Oracle
In the dark, several faded foggy transparent women of varying time periods are seated at a table in a magical unreal world, Through the window comes a breeze, an eternal female presence of immense power and intelligence, having no physical body but manifesting as a large beautiful face, impressionist painting by Monet Van Gogh and Renoir
Chapter 13 - The Mission Statement
Inside a glass case is a document in the national archives, hand written on aging parchment. At the top are the words "Our Mission". Below the mission statement are signatures. Along the edge are fading decorations of flowers and plants painted with watercolor. impressionist painting by Monet Van Gogh and Renoir
Chapter 14 - A Campaign of Graffiti
On the side of a drab building the word "Melodious!" has been painted by a street artist, the colors of the words are running down the side of the building like dripping paint, musical notes, larger than life, a man standing and looking up at the word, in the winter, highly stylized impressionist painting
Chapter 14 - Melodious Concert in the North
A giant concert in an open field with over a million young people attending. Across the top of the bandstand in huge letters is the word "Melodious", a sea of people are singing dancing and cheering, surrounding the clearing is a forest, impressionist painting by Monet Van Gogh and Renoir
Chapter 14 - The two planes are downed
Two large military cargo planes have landed in the water near the coast, boats are rescuing the crews, impressionist painting by Monet Van Gogh and Renoir
Chapter 15 - Melodious is greeted at the airport
Close up of a young woman stepping out of a passenger airplane ("Ant Airlines") and standing alone on the platform at the top of the steps waving to the crowd, she is smiling at the thousands of people who are cheering for her while holding signs and small flags, in Reykjavík, impressionist painting by Monet Van Gogh and Renoir
Chapter 15 - Thousands of carbon removal plants are built
A giant carbon sequestration facility, giant fans, in the middle of an enormous completely barren desert, nothing grows, impressionist painting by Monet Van Gogh and Renoir
Chapter 15 - Ocean carbon removal plant operating
Futuristic, underwater, a carbon extraction facility far out in the ocean, on a shallow plain of sand, fish and creatures swimming, impressionist painting by Renoir and Pissarro
Chapter 16 - Launch of the mission to the Oracle’s planet
Impressionist painting by Renoir, a futuristic unusual spaceship launches straight up from earth in 2610 AD, very unlike the spaceships of today, sleek and functional, the world is beautiful, industrial and shiny, extreme close up of a small group of people watching the launch from the ground
Chapter 16 - Dr Voss is given memories by the jewel
In a shiny office, close up of a male scientist in the distant future who has fainted, a woman kneeling beside him, a doctor arrives to help, 3 bystanders, impressionist painting by Renoir and Pissarro
Chapter 17 - Exploring the alien planet
Seen from the ground on an alien planet, close up deep inside a green forest, alien animals with 6 legs, lush vegetation, above in the sky are huge smooth decaying buildings built by sentient beings who have gone extinct, their city in the sky is decaying and falling apart abandoned for thousands of years, impressionist painting by Vincent Van Gogh
Chapter 17 - The Oracle waiting for a question
Impressionist painting by Renoir, inside a vast cave with circuits, on an alien planet, stone floor, built into the wall on the left side is the giant face of a stylized mechanical AI woman intelligence, on the floor people are looking up at the great face, blue and indigo colors, orange light thru the entrance to the hall
Epilogue - The Oracle monitoring the galaxy
Impressionist painting by Renoir, close up, a female artificial intelligence etched on the cosmos, in the moonlight in an alien cavern
Epilogue - The Milky Way Galaxy
The Milky Way Galaxy, a barred spiral galaxy 100 thousand light years in diameter. Seen from space.
Afterward - When the old world falls, a new one must rise
A stylized advertising poster for a book with the title "The Indigo Jewel" cleverly hidden in the image, showing a woman and her daughter sharing the indigo colored jewel in a quiet moment, ancient Sumerian, Euphrates, impressionist painting by Renoir and Pissarro. [I added all the text]
Afterward - Visiting With Grandmothers
Extreme close up, inside a blue faceted jewel looking out, images of women, one holds an indigo jewel, impressionist painting by Monet Van Gogh and Renoir