A/N

So, No Man's Sky was announced relatively recently, and it certainly caught my attention at the VGX, including the sight of worm-like creatures making their way through the sands of a desert world. Anyway, sparked this idea.

Sand and Sky

Arrakis's atmosphere isn't that different from other planets suited for human life.

I suppose I betrayed my prejudices with that sentence. Planets suited for human life. As if planets were designed for our species. As if some creator decided that "system x should have y no. of planets capable of supporting my children" and let the leftovers form gas giants and lifeless balls of rocks. Planets and rocks that far outnumber planets "suited" for us. No. As clumsy as it is, it is far better to say "planets that happen to be able to support human life."

But it's a moot point. Because atmosphere aside, Arrakis is definitely not suited for human life.

Go down through the atmosphere, past the welcoming mixture of oxygen, nitrogen, and ozone to keep out the harmful UV rays of its sun. Go down to its troposphere, and see how unsuited it is. The oxygen and nitrogen remains, and while you'll get a nasty sunburn if you go out unprotected, you're not guaranteed to have your cells torn apart by ultraviolet light. Take an atmospheric sample and see how little water there is in the air. Go down even further and, if you're lucky, see the Fremen. See humans that you might not even know are humans because they leave no sign of their human physiology visible. If you're less lucky, you'll see soldiers of House Harkonnen – they don't take kindly to wandering ships like mine.

And if fate's really against you, you'll come across a sandworm.

I see them burrowing along. Right in front of me, so low is my ship. I see one of the planet's moons in the sky above, hanging there like a silent sentinel. Mocking me. Taunting me. "The ground is taken," it says. "The sky is mine."

Perhaps, I think. Or say to it, I can't be sure, and on second thought, why am I even talking to a moon anyway. But what of the ground?

"It is not yours."

No. It isn't. I don't think it's anyone's. It's not House Harkonnen's – the planet is only theirs by the will of the padishah emperor. It is not House Artides's…yet. Nor will their situation be any different. It is not the emperor's planet – Arrakis is the means to owning the planet in the first place, such is the Imperium's dependence on spice. And is it the Fremen's? No. I don't think so. I don't think they consider themselves to be 'owners' of Arrakis anymore than I consider anyone in the Known Universe to be.

And so I take my ship upwards.

For only the sky is free.