[PREV - FROZEN_SOUND]    [TOP]

BURNING_SERPENT

                                              September 10, 2006

"The Serpent Mother"                        [ref]
by the Flaming Lotus Girls                  [ref]
was probably the best piece of the event.
                                                They were originally an
                                                all female collective,
                                                though in recent years
                                                they've been willing to
   We went out wandering                        accept male Girls.
   one night looking for the
   "The Serpent Mother"                            They're one of the
                                                   premier "fire arts"
      There was an "opening"                       groups in the world at
      event scheduled: the                         this point... perhaps
      opening of the egg,                          they're *the* leading
      "The Serpent Mother"                         one, since Survival
      was guarding.                                Research Labs has been
                                                   less active.
      We couldn't manage it...
      we were using the official
      Burning Man map, which                           Perhaps it's
      unaccountably indicated *two*                    notable:
      very different locations for
      the Flaming Lotus Girls, and                       The Man towers,
      by chance we headed to the                         it stretches high.
      wrong one, and gave up in
      confusion.                                         The Serpent Mother
                                                         reclines, sprawling
         So, we spent the night wandering about          across the landscape.
         the far side, the eastern prong of the
         horseshoe, then took a nap in a chill               The Man
         space.                                              flames once.

            It was getting cold for what                     The Mother
            we were wearing, so we were                      pulses through
            forced to head back to home                      out the night.
            base.

                Far across the plya we'd seen
                a flashing blip of flame sweeping
                along up and down as though it
                was riding a roller coaster.

                    Our path lead us
                    right by this
                    installation.

     A long, winding segmented
     steel structure, forming
     a rough circle hundreds of
     feet in diameter, studed
     with gas flame jets:
     this was the Serpent Mother.

        It's head loomed a dozen
        feet above us, it's jaw
        opening and closing, showing
        rows of teeth made of
        small jets of blue flame.

            The back of the dragon
            was emitting bursts of
            huge flames in a rapid
            computer controlled
            pattern, creating that
            speeding roller-coaster
            illusion.

               Hundreds of people were gathered
               around it, under it, and inside
               the loop.

                    We were near a low end where the tail
                    swooped down toward the ground.
                    As security, there were only a few
                    spotters standing by to keep people
                    out of the flames.

                           Behind the spotters, people
                           crouched down on the ground,
                           sitting under the tail.

    Instead of hurrying home,
    we huddled against the
    warmth of the serpent.

--------
[NEXT - CRITIC_OF_THE_BURN]