Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise

'Wings of Honneamise' is a haunting film that will leave you shaking as the credits roll. It is a beautiful story in production and design. It will make you sit there, eyes wide and mouth open. It will make your eyes water and your mouth dry. Pray.

'Wings of Honneamise' is a tale of mankind's first step into space. It takes place on an earth not our own. Every moment of this film tells you this. Every invention has been redesigned. Everything on our world has a parallel, different but the same, in 'Wings of Honneamise'.

The story is slow and drawn out. It is not 'Akira' or 'Ghost in the Shell'. There are no big guns or robots. Instead, it is an internal story about the fate of a single man and the fall of our world.

Some 30 years ago, man first looked to the sky. There was a rush to get there, but this fire soon died away. We could stand on the roof, but we could not touch the moon.

20 years ago, the government invested in a new push to the stars. It was a whim. There was extra money. So, the Royal Space Force was christened. This branch of the military was devoted solely to climbing into orbit.

Present day. We still haven't left the cradle. We still haven't looked down at our sphere from above the clouds. We still haven't seen the world without boundaries and barriers.

The Royal Space Force is but ten young men. They do not see the stars. They are here because here is the only place they are accepted. The army and the navy would not take them. So, here they sit, soldiers without guns.

Shiro Lhadatt is one of the Space Force's last generation. Government funding is all but cut. The dream has been lost. The door to the heavens is about to be closed forever.

The Space Force is but a testing ground for the military. They use its cadets as test pilots for new planes and engines. The tests always prove fatal. The military knows this. They want the government to cut the Space Force. They want its funding directly.

It is the Royal Space Force's final hour. They are to die, but they will not go quietly in the night. A single inventor shines with a radiance from the past. If they are to be terminated, fine! But, the axe has not swung yet. For, they will touch space before the lights are shut off.

They will build a warship. The will build a grand warship. They will launch it into the sky. After all, the military high command would dare not go against the construction of an armed vessel.

Shiro goes out into the city. There, in the dank center, is a woman handing out prayer pamphlets. No one hears her voice. No one listens to her words. Her name is Leiqunni Nondelaiko. The following day, Shiro follows the directions on her flyer to her home. He does his because.

It is at her simple home that Shiro meets her seemingly-mute daughter. Leiqunni takes an immediate aversion to Shiro when he tells her that he works for the military, but as he elaborates, she grows closer. He carries no gun. He fights no rival.

Leiqunni becomes fascinated with Shiro. How can a man leave the planet? Is it even possible? If it is, it must be a wonderful thing. It must be wonderful to go to a place not yet ruined by our past.

She looks up at the stars. She sees them. Silent. Beautiful. That is how Earth must look. For, from space, you cannot see all that we have done. You cannot see all that we have killed. We are but a tiny blue dot. You cannot listen to our stories. You cannot hear our names. You cannot know our history. You cannot know our past. But, we do exist, and that is all that we have ever accomplished. That is all that is worth knowing.

Shiro thinks of what Leiqunni said as he travels back to the the Space Force's small base. It is when he returns that their plan to shoot a man into space is revealed. The few remaining recruits all quiver, not wanting to take part in this suicide mission.

Shiro then raises his hand. He wants to leave the planet. He wants this to be possible. He wants to go to a place not yet touched by man and government and machine. He wants to go to a place not yet ruined by our past.

So begins the long trek to the stars.

The country laughs. The people ridicule. Look at the clown they are going to blow up.

Internal conflict mires the mission. The military wants to money for itself. It could train 2000 troops for this project's cost. The transportation ministry wants the funds. They could build 600 bridges for the price of this single rocket. Humanitarian groups want the money. They could feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and give shelter to the homeless.

Still, the warship continues. The government uses this commotion. They turn Shiro into a celebrity. Space is on everyone's mind. Shiro graces magazines and commercials.

Throughout all this, Shiro stays close to Leiqunni. He reads the holy book of a faith he was never taught. He learns to see what he has never sees. He learns answers to questions he never thought.

Radical groups target Shiro. He is this project. All that money is flowing directly into him. He becomes the center of mud-slinging and assassinations.

Still, Shiro is hurt more by those things aimed at Leiqunni. Her home is demolished as she could not pay the bills. For all that Shiro has, he could not help her. What is the point?

Shiro sees beyond all that is around him. He sees the hungry, the naked, the homeless, and the poor. He forgets his past. He abandons the structure. He throws his pay out onto the streets. There are some many, and he is so few.

Shiro grows closer to Leiqunni. He strips away all that is not vital. He kills who he was.

Shiro becomes all consumed. He will fly. He will touch the region of god. Then, he will have all the answers. Then, people will listen. Then, all the problems will be solved.

The launch grows closer. The military is outraged when they see this warship. They become furious when they see that it is but a small capsule. It has no guns. It has no missiles. It is pointless. What can it do? What can it kill?

Upset, the military devises a plan. The Royal Space Force is a branch of the armed forces and under their jurisdiction.

The launch site will be moved south. It will be moves onto their demilitarized border with a hostile neighbor. They will see this giant rocket. They will want it as their own. They will move their forces, if not to take, at least to guard. When their forces move, the Honneamise Kingdom's military will advance. Glorious conflict.

The Royal Space Force will be but a pawn, and they know this.

Shiro says goodbye to Leiqunni and her daughter, smiling at Shiro for the first time. He travels to the new launch site. He knows that the military cares not for him. He knows that they would rather him die a fiery death than escape the atmosphere.

The southern nation moves their troops. They do not like such a mechanism so close. They are to take it. They are to make it their own. Why do they do this? Glorious conflict. They fight under a different flag, but they are no different. They are fueled by the same passions.

The Royal Space Force pushes the launch ahead, knowing of a coming invasion. The Honneamise military orders the launch to be scrubbed and the rocket destroyed. They do not want such a weapon falling into enemy hands. But, it is no weapon.

The Royal Space Force stands their ground. They will not back down. They will not surrender. This is their final hour and their finest crusade.

Shiro sits in the cockpit, looking over the speech he is to read from orbit. He is to read the words written by a government minister. He is to read thoughts and ideals not of his own self.

As fire looms on the horizon and the Honneamise military shouts for the launch's cancellation, Shiro pushes ahead. He pushes those last final steps into heaven.

With the Royal Space Force's minutes numbered, they release the rocket into the sky. What can the military do? Will they shoot their own down? Will they kill their own national hero?

The rocket's first stage breaks apart. Its second stage falls away. Its third stage detaches.

Shiro sits there, inside a sphere of metal, in a place never before touched by human hands. He sits in a world not tainted by our past. He sits in forever.

Shiro looks down.

He sees the world as a whole. There are no barriers or boundaries. He looks down at glowing city lights. He listens to the radio signals beamed off into space.

Shiro speaks to the earth. He speaks to all who have ever lived and ever will live. He crumples up the government's speech. He tells them the Truth. The land has been cursed. The water has been polluted. The air has been defiled. He sits above it all. He sits up in god's hand. He cries for our past and our future. We have killed our planet. Space is still pure. He is the first, but soon, another will follow, and then another, and another still. One day, space will decay. One day, the Universe will be corrupted by our touch. How far will we let it go? How far will we spread? How much will we contaminate? Why must we kill god's domain? Shiro tells every man, woman, and child to pray. He asks the Universe to show us mercy and give us your blessing, and at the end of our sinful history, please don't abandon us to the darkness. In our despair, please give us one, fixed star.

No one hears him. No one listens.

No one paid attention to Leiqunni Nondelaiko, either. No one heard her voice. No one listened to her words. No one heeded her message.

From space, we must look beautiful.

---

Peter Tatara
11.27.1999

http://www.klink.net/~tatara/DFFQI.html