Sci-fi • HEMELLIGGAAM

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WOUTER RENS (FROM “SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1957). NIC GROBLER, TABLE MOUNTAIN, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE

"Follow me," said Eva Stellaris quietly, and stepped forward, through the milky wall. "Goodness me!” whispered Jos. "It's going to open just like intelligent glue!"

Photograph inspired by ‘Swart ster oor die Karoo’ (Black star over the Karoo) by Jan Rabie, 1957. In the novel future humans are living inside Table Mountain as it is too cold outside. There are no doors, but mirror like walls that you can walk through - but only if you are calm. Wouter ended up forgetting this and ran angrily towards someone, straight into the wall like you would run into a closed glass door, coming face to face with himself.

IBART JANSE VEN RENSBURG, SALPETERKOP, NORTHERN CAPE

PROF. MERTYN (FROM "SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1957). RALPH BORLAND, ZEITZ MOCAA, CAPE TOWN

‘…“No,” the professor murmurs disdainfully. “No, I believe it comes in peace. No, the lines are too harmonious to be designed by devils.”
…Then the automatic outer door closes quickly behind him. While groups of men in the glass dome stares out anxiously into the ice night where the flying saucer with an unearthly glow sits dead still on the runway, and dr. Eva Stellaris also stands without motion in front if the foot thick window, the lonely figure of professor Mertyn moved closer to the cosmic visitor.’

Photograph inspired by ‘Swart ster oor die Karoo’ (Black star over the Karoo) by Jan Rabie, 1957. Translated from the original Afrikaans. The characters encounter a constant tension between the expectation of fear and violence and peaceful curiosity towards their visitors.

7 SKIES # 3, N1 NEAR MATJiESFONTEIN, WESTERN CAPE

”…we know that have lost contact with the Earth, and that the Sun became invisible behind us. But just in this moment lieutenant Viljee’s observations proved that we are not at the height of Uranus - but that of Jupiter! Still at 140,000km but it is so big that we can observe it’s horizon, even the famous red circle on it’s surface. This means we are busy flying inwards into the solar system - in other words, back to the Earth.“

Series inspired by ‘Swart ster oor die Karoo’ (Black star over the Karoo) by Jan Rabie, 1957. Sci-fi Novel about a future human race that has to live in a solar system where the Sun has gone dark. Translated from Afrikaans to English.

7 SKIES # 5, N1 NEAR MATJiESFONTEIN, WESTERN CAPE

7 SKIES # 1, N1 NEAR MATJiESFONTEIN, WESTERN CAPE

7 SKIES # 2, N1 NEAR MATJiESFONTEIN, WESTERN CAPE

7 SKIES # 4, N1 NEAR MATJiESFONTEIN, WESTERN CAPE

PROF. MERTYN #2 (FROM "SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1957). RALPH BORLAND, ZEITZ MOCAA, CAPE TOWN

TOM LEARMONT #2, SCI-FI WRITER, GHOST WRITER, ILLOVO, JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG

MARWA'S CAVE, CEDERBERG, WESTERN CAPE

'For real, that is not a shadow, but an upright being squeezed up against the edge. Kind of like a human form with two arms and legs, a narrow, oval face framed by a cap looking like a bare skull, clothed in a blue overall that they only had a glimpse of previously. Dead quiet. Francois lowers the torch, lifts it again. One thing is for sure: this being is just as afraid as they are.'

From Die Hemelblom (The Heavenly Flower) by Jan Rabie, 2nd edition 1974, Tafelberg, first published 1971. Translated from the original Afrikaans by Nic Grobler.

The first encounter with Marwa, the main alien character in Die Hemelblom takes place in a collapsed cave near the Cederberg - she hold hands with the humans to make it out alive.

DIE HEMELBLOM # 2 (FROM "DIE HEMELBLOM" BY JAN RABIE, 1971), CARNARVON, NORTHERN CAPE

'Only in the morning, when the daylight crossed over the highland rocks and fynbos, they saw how strange and otherworldly the hemelblom was. The seeds that fell the previous afternoon shot up incredibly fast, each on a lump of roots that didn't enter the ground, but just gripped the ground from above. In one single night each plant became fully grown and was spreading seeds so that new plants would shoot up. In one night the hemelblomme multiplied a hundredfold. For now it was just strange. Only later it would become frightening.'

From Die Hemelblom (The Heaven Flower) by Jan Rabie, 2nd edition 1974, Tafelberg, first published 1971. Translated from the original Afrikaans by Nic Grobler.

Photographed inspired by Die Hemelblom, Jan Rabie. The Hemelblom was sent to the earth by a concerned galactic council to ensure the survival of life on earth in the face of a new world war. The plant was specifically grown to remove the poisonous elements introduced by humans - feeding on pollution it would rapidly cover the earth and wipe out most of humankind but leave a new earth covered with fresh fertile soil.

STADSAAL CAVES # 2, CEDERBERG

TRUITJIESKRAAL CAVES # 3, CEDERBERG

NEELSIE AND JAKHALS # 2 (FROM LOELOERAAI BY LANGENHOVEN, 1923) KLAASTROOM, WESTERN CAPE

'To whom shall I dedicate this book? It is about a being who is not human, who is higher than man - an unattainable superior.

I think I will go to the opposite - and then I will not have to look very far. I lost a friend a long time ago - a friend that I loved and who loved me. I will never see him again forever; but forever I will never forget him. Now, after all these years, there is not a day that passes without his image coming before me and I'm grieving about him. To him I was the higher being - a Loeloeraai of a higher existence. To me he was the ultimate perfection I found on earth, of love and faithfulness and virtue. And I lost him, and I miss him dearly. . .

I dedicate this work:

To the memory of

MY FRIEND AND DOG, JAKHALS’

From the dedication of Loeloeraai, CJ Langenhoven, 4th Edition 1929, First published 1923. Translated from original Afrikaans by Nic Grobler.

Photograph inspired by Loeloeraai, CJ Langenhoven. Loeloeraai is a visitor from Venus, who spends about two weeks with a family in Oudtshoorn. They end up going on a small trip to the moon before Loeloeraai returns to Venus.

HEMELBLOM (1971), CARNARVON, NORTHERN CAPE

'Only in the morning, when the daylight crossed over the highland rocks and fynbos, they saw how strange and otherworldly the hemelblom was. The seeds that fell the previous afternoon shot up incredibly fast, each on a lump of roots that didn't enter the ground, but just gripped the ground from above. In one single night each plant became fully grown and was spreading seeds so that new plants would shoot up. In one night the hemelblomme multiplied a hundredfold. For now it was just strange. Only later it would become frightening.'

From Die Hemelblom (The Heavenly Flower) by Jan Rabie, 2nd edition 1974, Tafelberg, first published 1971. Translated from the original Afrikaans by Nic Grobler.

Video inspired by Die Hemelblom (The Heavenly Flower), an Afrikaans sci-fi novel by Jan Rabie.

The Hemelblom was sent to the earth by a concerned galactic council to ensure the survival of life on earth in the face of a new world war. The plant was specifically grown to remove the poisonous elements introduced by humans - feeding on pollution it would rapidly cover the earth and wipe out most of humankind but leave a new earth covered with fresh fertile soil.

JAKHALS, KLAARSTROOM, WESTERN CAPE

'To whom shall I dedicate this book? It is about a being who is not human, who is higher than man - an unattainable superior.

I dedicate this work:

To the memory of

MY FRIEND AND DOG, JAKHALS’

Translated from original Afrikaans by Nic Grobler, Loeloeraai, CJ Langenhoven, 4th Edition 1929, First published 1923.

Video inspired by the dedication of the 1923 Sci-fi novel, Loeloeraai by CJ Langenhoven.

TRUITJIESKRAAL CAVES # 6, CEDERBERG

STADSAAL CAVES # 4, CEDERBERG

JAKHALS (LANGENHOVEN'S DOG), KLAARSTROOM, WESTERN CAPE (From Loeloeraai, by CJ Langenhoven, 1923)

'To whom shall I dedicate this book? It is about a being who is not human, who is higher than man - an unattainable superior.

I dedicate this work:

To the memory of

MY FRIEND AND DOG, JAKHALS’

From the dedication of Loeloeraai, CJ Langenhoven, 4th Edition 1929, First published 1923. Translated from original Afrikaans by Nic Grobler.

NICO SMIT, SCI-FI WRITER, CLANWILLIAM, WESTERN CAPE

‘The half blood is not accepted by anyone, he is not ethnic enough for his own group and not good enough for the group he is descended from. So both groups reject him, but he posesses the skills and knowledge of both groups - the strong characteristics of both groups is combined within him. Even though he is initially rejected by the modern group and the historical native group, at the end of the day he unites them - he is the glue that keeps them together. He is the connection or the missing link between them and the two groups then fight together against what you can call the evil side - the bad guys in the story. With him as the leader figure. In the beginning the natives from the planet Kazdan, the Hunters didn't trust the Neanites who were technologically advanced - almost seen as gods. Like it was in the past when the white man landed in the Cape - everybody thought it was amazing and at the end of the day it wasn't that amazing and there is a golden middle groud to be followed and somebody has to take the lead - that is the half blood that brings the groups together. That is the initiating concept of my sci-fi story.’

Nico Smit, Sci-Fi Writer, Clanwilliam

DIE HEMELBLOM # 1 (FROM "DIE HEMELBLOM" BY JAN RABIE, 1971), CARNARVON, NORTHERN CAPE

'Only in the morning, when the daylight crossed over the highland rocks and fynbos, they saw how strange and otherworldly the hemelblom was. The seeds that fell the previous afternoon shot up incredibly fast, each on a lump of roots that didn't enter the ground, but just gripped the ground from above. In one single night each plant became fully grown and was spreading seeds so that new plants would shoot up. In one night the hemelblomme multiplied a hundredfold. For now it was just strange. Only later it would become frightening.'

From Die Hemelblom (The Heavenly Flower) by Jan Rabie, 2nd edition 1974, Tafelberg, first published 1971. Translated from the original Afrikaans by Nic Grobler.

Photograph inspired by Die Hemelblom (The Heavenly Flower), an Afrikaans sci-fi novel by Jan Rabie.

The Hemelblom was sent to the earth by a concerned galactic council to ensure the survival of life on earth in the face of a new world war. The plant was specifically grown to remove the poisonous elements introduced by humans - feeding on pollution it would rapidly cover the earth and wipe out most of humankind but leave a new earth covered with fresh fertile soil.

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LOELOERAAI’S COURTROOM, OUDTSHOORN MAGISTRATE, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

STERKFONTEIN CAVES #2, JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG_2843-01_2.jpg

STERKFONTEIN CAVES #2, (FROM SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE, 1957) JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG

LOELOERAAI’S FIRE #11, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

LOELOERAAI’S FIRE #10, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

LOELOERAAI’S FIRE #9, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

LOELOERAAI’S FIRE #8, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

LOELOERAAI’S FIRE #7, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

LOELOERAAI’S FIRE #6, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

LOELOERAAI’S FIRE #5, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

LOELOERAAI’S FIRE #4, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

LOELOERAAI’S FIRE #3, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

LOELOERAAI’S FIRE #2, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

LOELOERAAI’S FIRE #1 , CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)

Ek voel baie, baie hartseer. Maar laat my gaan, amptenaar; jy het my woord dat ek nie vier-en-twintig uur langer die aarde met my teenwoordigheid sal opskeep nie.” “Dit lyk my jy is kranksinnig ook,” sê die magistraat. “Konstabel, ek het reeds gelas om die prisonier te verwyder.” Die konstabel tree nader en lig sy hand op. Net soos hy aan Loeloeraai se arm raak, word hy slap en hy sak inmekaar. “Laat hom ’n paar uur slaap,” sê Loeloeraai. “Hy sal niks oorkom nie. Kom, Kerneels en Stoffel, kom ons gaan huis toe. Ons het baie om te gesels in die tydjie wat vir ons oorbly. Maar voor ek gaan – amptenaar, asseblief moenie gewapende magte stuur om my in hegtenis te neem nie. Ek wil niemand die minste leed aandoen nie.” Hy kyk by die oop venster van die hofsaal uit. “Sien jy daardie groot bos op die rand van die oorkantse kop ?” Hy haal ’n dingetjie nes ’n vérkyker uit sy bors en hy peil da ardeur. Toe ons weer sien staan die bos aan die vlam. “Dis maar ’n klein aanduidinkie,” sê Loeloeraai, “van die wetenskap van die bewoners van julle aandster en môrester.”

From Loeloeraai, 1923, CJ Langenhoven

"I feel very, very sad. But let me go, official; you have my word that I will no longer than twenty-four-hours bother the earth with my presence.” "It seems to me that you are insane too," said the magistrate. "Constable, I have already ordered the removal of the prisoner." The constable steps closer and raises his hand. Just as he touches Loeloeraai's arm, he becomes limp and collapses. "Let him sleep for a few hours," says Loeloeraai. "He'll be fine. Come on, Kerneels and Stoffel, let's go home. We have a lot to talk about in the time that remains for us. But before I go - official, please do not send armed forces to arrest me. I do not want to hurt anyone in the least." He looks out the open window of the courtroom. "Do you see that big bush on the edge of the opposite head?" He takes a thing like a pair of binoculars out of his chest and he peers through it. Before we knew it the bush was on fire. "It's just a small indication," says Loeloeraai, "of the science of the inhabitants of your evening star and morning star."

From Loeloeraai, 1923, CJ Langenhoven (Translated from the original Afrikaans)

SEARCHING WITH MARIE (FROM %22DIE HEMELBLOM%22 BY JAN RABIE, 1971), BLOMBOS CAVES, WESTERN CAPE.jpg

SEARCHING WITH MARIE (FROM "DIE HEMELBLOM" BY JAN RABIE, 1971), BLOMBOS CAVES, WESTERN CAPE

‘But I was never in the Earth room yesterday!’ Says Marie indignantly. ‘You are imagining it!’

From Die Hemelblom (The Heaven Flower) by Jan Rabie, 2nd edition 1974, Tafelberg, first published 1971. Translated from the original Afrikaans.

The Hemelblom was sent to the earth by a concerned galactic council to ensure the survival of life on earth in the face of a new world war. The plant was specifically grown to remove the poisonous elements introduced by humans - feeding on pollution it would rapidly cover the earth and wipe out most of humankind but leave a new earth covered with fresh fertile soil.

ASTEROID, (FROM "DIE HEMELBLOM" BY JAN RABIE, 1971), PUNTJIE, WESTERN CAPE

THE ENTRANCE (FROM "SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1957) TABLE MOUNTAIN, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE

'There are no traces of a city anymore, just ice. It is Jordaan who sees it first, a small glossy lump above the ice, a structure like a glass dome. There they will probably land.'

Photograph inspired by ‘Swart ster oor die Karoo’ (Black star over the Karoo) by Jan Rabie, 1957. Translated from the original Afrikaans. Upon travelling to the future earth where everyone is living underground to stay alive, the main characters land on top of Table Mountain.

LIFT INTO THE MOUNTAIN #2(FROM %22SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1980)_QQ00-01.jpg

LIFT INTO THE MOUNTAIN #2 (FROM "SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1957) TABLE MOUNTAIN, WESTERN CAPE

LIFT IN TO THE MOUNTAIN #1(FROM %22SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1980) TT00-05.jpg

LIFT IN TO THE MOUNTAIN #1 (FROM "SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1957) TABLE MOUNTAIN, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE

STERKFONTEIN CAVES #2, JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG_2843-01.jpg

STERKFONTEIN CAVES, (FROM SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE, 1957) JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG

‘The time: Just before the end of the 20th century, just after the first human feet touched the moon and Mars.
The place: Somewhere in the Southwest Karoo on the highest level of the big empty table land where the world's largest observatory has been standing since the first human generation… This whole complex of highly specialized activities is known as Saakni, the South —African Cosmic Research Institute, a secret, forbidden world, set apart by a twenty-kilometer-wide buffer strip, guards and laser beams.’

Photograph inspired by ‘Swart ster oor die Karoo’ (Black star over the Karoo) by Jan Rabie, 1957. the Saankni institute is underground, and becomes a safe haven for humans after the Earth stops turning and the surface becoms unbearably cold.

LOELOERAAI’S COURTROOM #2, OUDTSHOORN MAGISTRATE, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)_UU00-06.jpg

LOELOERAAI’S COURTROOM #2, (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN) OUDTSHOORN MAGISTRATE, WESTERN CAPE

“The prisoner will finish three months of hard labour and then be sent away. Constable, remove him.”
Then Loeloeraai took his first part of the events.
“Wait, constable,” he says, “I’ve got something to say to the magistrate. Official,” he continues to the magistrate, “I don’t blame you. You are doing what you perceive as your duty. I also have a duty that I’m committed to - a commitment to myself and to those that I represent here alone. In the world that I’m coming from, we are law abiding, not under the force of the magistrates and constables and jails and chains, but out of love for one another.’

From Loeloeraai, 1923, CJ Langenhoven (Translated from the original Afrikaans)

LOELOERAAI’S COURTROOM #1, OUDTSHOORN MAGISTRATE, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)_UU00-02.jpg

LOELOERAAI’S COURTROOM #1, (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN) OUDTSHOORN MAGISTRATE, WESTERN CAPE

From Loeloeraai, 1923, CJ Langenhoven (Translated from the original Afrikaans)

LOELOERAAI’S COURTROOM #3, OUDTSHOORN MAGISTRATE, WESTERN CAPE (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN)_UU00-04.jpg

LOELOERAAI’S COURTROOM #3, (FROM LOELOERAAI, 1923, CJ LANGENHOVEN) OUDTSHOORN MAGISTRATE, WESTERN CAPE

From Loeloeraai, 1923, CJ Langenhoven (Translated from the original Afrikaans)

TOM LEARMONT #3, SCI-FI WRITER, GHOST WRITER, ILLOVO, JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG

TOM LEARMONT #1, SCI-FI WRITER, GHOST WRITER, ILLOVO, JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG

LAUNCH SITE (FROM SENDING KOSMOS, ID LAMPRECHT, 1980), GAMKASKLOOF, WESTERN CAPE

'Who or whatever is busy there especially chose this meandering gorge.' From Sending Kosmos, ID Lamprecht, 1980. Daan Retief Publishers, 1980. (Translated from the original Afrikaans)

Traveling beyond the speed of light in a rocket that took off from a secret location in Gamkaskloof, Professor Verhoef and Hansie Strydom start remembering events from the future. They somehow know that the star they are heading towards is called the Verhoef Sun and one of it’s planets Strydom.

DETAIL # 2, R354 BETWEEN MATJIESFONTEIN AND SUTHERLAND

ANNA VAN WYK, SUTHERLAND, NORTHERN CAPE

”Sarie, loving, loving child. Listen. I am what you can become, and you are what I want to become.” - Eva Stellaris to Sarie, Swart ster oor die Karoo by Jan Rabie, 1957. Translated from Afrikaans to English.

Photograph inspired by ‘Swart ster oor die Karoo’ (Black star over the Karoo) by Jan Rabie, 1957

THE LANDING #2, (FROM “SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1957), TABLE MOUNTAIN, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE

'They stared, and then see it taking on a form …a lump to the left, and flat in the middle, and a pointed, smaller peak to the right. Yes, yes. Table Mountain between Devil's Peak and Lion's Head. For a moment they were overwhelmed with real joy, before the paralysis return. What terrible tragedy happened here? There are no traces of a city anymore, just ice. It is Jordaan who sees it first, a small glossy lump above the ice, a structure like a glass dome. There they will probably land.'

Photograph inspired by ‘Swart ster oor die Karoo’ (Black star over the Karoo) by Jan Rabie, 1957. In the novel future humans are living inside Table Mountain as it is too cold outside.

THE LANDING, (FROM “SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1957), TABLE MOUNTAIN, CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE

Photograph inspired by ‘Swart ster oor die Karoo’ (Black star over the Karoo) by Jan Rabie, 1957. In the novel future humans are living inside Table Mountain as it is too cold outside.

EVA STELLARIS PLANT (FROM "SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1957), ITHEMBA LABS, CAPE TOWN

From ‘Swart ster oor die Karoo’ (Black star over the Karoo) by Jan Rabie, 1957. Eva Stellaris was sent as a helper from the future with an assignment to specifically help with biological and hydroponic work - as an attempt for humans to stay alive living underground as it was too cold above ground.