Commissioned: The Bakerman

 “…She looked out again at the constant and bleak landscape, of a world long ruined and smashed; the thick crystal glass was a handful of things that protected her from the vicious mutant creatures that would eat her in seconds. Some walked, most flew in by airbags; all resided in that nightmarish world that she was looking at from her room aboard the Bakerman.

Its origins are long remembered but distorted in myth, legend, and fable.

The Bakerman was one of a number of machines built to ferry people over vast distances across any surface – be it water, sand, rock, rail or road, all over the globe. It was designed to be a mobile industrial estate, made to make things as it travelled, scouring the planet for resources, collect and refine, and then deliver the merchandise. There were plans to take them to new worlds and traverse their surfaces for resource.
    
The machines were controlled from afar by masters in their blocks of crystal-glass towers. People’s rights had eroded to such a level, slavery was considered too kind a word; this was depravation, and by having the workforce contained and controlled, shanty towns ceased to be, protests died, and the unfortunates were born into servitude.

To prevent rebellion, these machines were run by a powerful processor, made of materials that would take decades to wear out. It was programmed to survive, to live, to run and control those aboard.

The Bakerman was one of thousands.

The privileged thought they had it right; the problem was that the privileged never knew when to stop.

Their world was “fine” but “not fine enough” and so like any unsatisfied and ungrateful idiot, the fools started to manipulate reality – genetics, power, environment, appearance, and existence; and as expected the inevitable happened.

Something went wrong.

Within days, months, and years, their world fell apart, plagues, perversions in nature, the failure of technology, and the sudden realisation that man had blown itself to pieces ended the masters’ rule - and like humpty dumpy it could not be put back together again; no one knows exactly what the cause was but the collapse was spectacular as it was terrifying.

In saving themselves, the masters turned to the machines as their new arks; the poor were discarded to save the vain and the vacuous. If man was to thrive once again, it needed the best not the worse of humanity.

Little did they realise that they had done the poor a favour.

The machines despite their technological marvel, broke down; there were fights for resources resulting in numerous numbers of these vehicles being destroyed; if that was not bad enough, their terrible legacy kept them from ever rebuilding; the planet is littered with relics to the “glittering past”; smashed cities, wrecked realms, and shattered environment; and amongst that lay creatures, nightmares incarnate that when they are not fighting each other to expand and feed, they will take to the wind and pounce on any straggling human as a snack.

The best had now made their own prison – with no parole or freedom.

The Bakerman maybe the last one, but it chugs on, killing anything that can be turned into food, , grabbing what it can to turn into self-sustaining resource, and making sure those aboard never go hungry, but are never released; humanity has to rebuild and the numbers are very few. Even the dead, are useful.

After all, someone has to give them their daily bread…

As she sat down, a though – no a song came into her head, one long taught to her as a teen, one long lost…

Baker man is baking bread
Baker man is baking bread
Sagabona kunjani wena
Sagabona kunjani wena

The night train is coming
Got to keep on running
The night train is coming
Got to keep on running

Baker man is baking bread
Sagabona kunjani wena
Sagabona kunjani wena
The night train is coming
The night train is coming

Baker man is baking bread
Sagabona kunjani wena
Baker man is baking bread
You've got to cool down, take it easy
You've got to cool down, relax, take it easy
Slow down, relax, It's too late to worry

Slow down
Slow down
take it easy
take it easy
take it easy

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Another commission for my dear great friend

The pitch was based on the very song above; of a machine giving the people aboard its dialy bread; my friend then threw into the mix post apocalyptic world, hideous beasties, and a futuristic transporter.

The idea I based off in a way giant rail based cities designed by sci-fi legend Chris Foss.

Over time all the elements fitted into place – the beasties I made into giant insect like creatures because insects are the easiest to manipulate on a genetic level, and are the most resilient creature after an apocalypse.

I wanted it to feel futuristic but worn out, that its old, it’s a train but not like a locomotive we know but yet we can recognise, effective but for how long no one is sure….

Backdrop is a joy and getting the hang of doing ROCKS!!!

Comments and feedbacks are welcome!

Enjoy!!