Bubbles in the Purple Sky

Behind Moonship's bubbling thrusters, the giant white fossilized shell bobbed on its heavy tow line like a pale balloon trailing a parade float. Knut sat comfortably in the pilot's chair, his pink, heart-shaped head swaying to the steady hum of the engines while his warm aura cast a rosy glow over the shiny navigation console. Beside him, Dinkabel smoothed the hem of her favorite blue tunic and peered out the circular viewport, her gentle round eyes tracking the familiar constellations that pointed back toward their cozy garden dome.

Deep space, however, had an unexpected surprise waiting along their path. Just past the edge of the Martian orbit, a cluster of giant iridescent bubbles floated directly across the flight corridor, glowing with ribbons of apricot, mint green, and bright violet. Knut reached for the steering tiller to steer around them, but Moonship's curved nose gently bumped against the largest sphere. Instead of popping, the bubble stretched wide, shimmering around the hull like a soap film before swallowing the ship and the towed shell whole. The starry void vanished into a dizzying rush of spinning rainbow light, turning the cabin windows into kaleidoscopes of brilliant neon colors as the little vessel was whisked across the cosmos.

When the swirling colors finally softened and slipped away, the view through the glass looked entirely backwards. Moonship hovered above an upside-down planet. Overhead, where space ought to be, an endless lavender sky stretched wide, but beneath their feet sat nothing but open air. Towering stone peaks hung downward like giant rocky icicles, and ribbons of sparkling blue water flowed uphill, tumbling toward the pastel clouds in splashing ribbons of foam. Knut gave the thrusters a cautious burst, guiding Moonship gently upward until its landing struts tapped against a wide, flat plateau that hung suspended high in the violet sky. There, anchored upside down to the rocky shelf, they settled in for the night, listening to the soft murmur of inverted breezes brushing the hull.

By the next morning, both travelers were eager to check on their Martian shell. Knut pulled on his cozy spacesuit, which fit as snugly as an old pair of underpant shorts, and met Dinkabel by the cargo hatch. Dinkabel adjusted her neat hair braids, double-checking the tow line that held their white shell securely against the ship’s hull. When the airlock hissed open, both of them paused at the threshold, clutching the doorway. Stepping out onto the ceiling of a world took a moment of bravery, as the purple sky seemed to pull at them from below.

"Look down by your heel, Dinkabel," Knut said, pointing toward the rim of his own heavy space boot. Right behind the rubber tread sat a small, gleaming silver toggle that neither of them had ever noticed before. Knut reached down and flicked the switch with his gloved thumb. A brisk click-clack echoed through the soles, and instantly the soles locked onto the stone face with a firm magnetic pull, drawing his balance right side up even as the vast empty sky drifted underneath his shoulders.