Manon

Those arriving upon Manon from afar will see a gleaming city with five spires stretching like fingers into the sky. It seems as if it is a city which never stops growing; a sleepless city. At any given time of day or night, one can observe a hustle and bustle of movement and production. Elevators, pulleys, and stairs draw people in work attire up, up, up into office buildings and factories. It is said that the city itself is trying to reach something just beyond its grasp, and yet it keeps on reaching.

Beyond the outskirts of the city lie five great lakes, from which all of Manon's water comes. The citizens of Manon believe that thousands of years ago a great hand from above pressed itself into the contours of the land and left an imprint where rivers and streams gathered to form the five lakes. From these fingers flowed agriculture, grids, irrigation, and Manon's prosperity.

But as Manon's spires grow up into the heaves the lakes begin to shorten and the water supply dwindles. The Manonians, however, are determined to see their great city keep growing. They do not glance down from their offices so high at the vanishing lakes. All they see is the sky and to them the future is bright.

(Studio I)