Surreal Orange

And again with the names! Did you catch this one? Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels my second favorite book after Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. They’re tied for first. Always loved flying sailing ships and if I can’t have one I’m taking my football and going home!

This is the Captain’s ride. Like most vehicles in Thorn no one knows how old it is or who built it. Its constantly being worked on and rebuilt so it could be thousands of years old for all anyone knows but she flies true, proud and brave. Most (but far from all) propulsion systems in Thorn use some form of sound manipulation to create thrust but that can be dangerous in the wild untamed Thought. There sounds can.. well- its very hard to describe but its NOT something you want to do. Thats why she has the light sails that generate thrust silently. The Captain flies in and out of the wild untamed Thought regularly in search of adventure or trade and he knows its dangers all too well.

And here’s the last of the obvious references. I’m a car guy and in my world the 1977 Pontiac Firebird is the coolest car there ever was. I love lots of cars so I’m not saying its the best all over- but for me it was the quintessential muscle car. Black Bandit beauty with the gold screaming chicken on the hood! So much love! If nothing else this whole show is just an excuse for me to make this flying car! So yeah- I started with the Firebird and filtered it through my love of the animation and style of Leiji Matsumoto the creator of Captain Harlock and the artist behind Space Battleship Yamato or Star Blazers as I knew it as a kid. I’ve always loved his style. My childhood was a constant struggle to try and build ships out of Lego bricks that were even a tenth as cool as his. It took a lot of years and Blender to come along and help me but I think I did my influences proud. I hope so.

Like the Swift we don’t know how old The Phoenix is. She’s partially sentient and can drive herself no problem but I’m gonna resist the temptation to give her a voice. I love cars but talking cars are still kinda lame. Sorry KITT. If she doesn’t like someone she will refuse to let them in or kick them out. She’s not really owned by anyone. Ownership is kind of a meaningless concept in Thorn anyway. Floyd and Tish have been with her for ages although she definitely prefers Tish to drive which Floyd is just fine with. Old Joe is a bit obsessed with The Phoenix because her tech is the most advanced he’s ever seen but she’s shy and won’t let him work on her. Maybe someday. The Flying Eye on the hood just works. I couldn’t use the Firebird from the car anyway. Even if I could legally it wouldn’t make any sense in the story. No one in Thorn has ever heard of Earth. But as a secret nod to an awesome bit of automotive history it works perfectly.
Oh and, as you might guess, she’s crazy fast when she wants to be.