The Abduction: A Phygital Story Beyond Gravity
At ASKNIGHTS, we are trying to onboard new artists into the new digital realm of the Metaverse on-chain. One day, while browsing the vast Internet for more top art to curate, someone has seen potential in Noisetteya, something unexplored. She replied by saying that she usually does commission work. The response was then to create an alien couple. She has expanded the idea and created the whole story around it. The initial thought from our main curator and collector was without any negative parts but accepted as it is since it is always better to let the artist have as much freedom-of-expression possible and, also, nothing is perfect and we can all learn something from other’s stories. If all is perfect, an utopia, where are the growth lessons and the evolution behind them? That is also why Sebastian Clej has started founding and promoting the (Z)ATOPIA concept since UTOPIA is not realistic at all and sounds too boring and without any free will, similar to the story of angels before humanity was born. And, The Matrix Trilogy, points to the same story: a trial of utopian fantasy and not a free and happy atopic society.
The Paradox of Departure
In this striking phygital artwork (both physical and digital as NFT), the artist presents us with a scene that oscillates between tragedy and transcendence. The title—“You said we had more time on Earth”—suggests betrayal or broken promise, yet the visual narrative offers something far more complex: a departure that might be liberation rather than loss. The artist is highly skilled and experienced at playing with top artistic elements and leaving space for lasting interpretations in the eyes of the viewer.
Artwork as NFT (acquisition made in 3 transactions: 2 via cash/FIAT & 1 via crypto)
Anatomical Vulnerability: The Exposed Nervous System
The most arresting detail is the male figure’s visible spine and what appears to be an amygdala-like neural structure glowing through translucent flesh. This isn’t mere alien biology—it’s vulnerability made visible. The exposed nervous system suggests:
Interpretation 1: Radical Honesty – In the moment of ascension, all pretense dissolves. The figure cannot hide their true nature, their fears, despair and their neural responses based on reaction, cause and effect. This is departure as ultimate truth-telling. It seems that he lost her because he was too materialistic and focused too much on Earthly pleasures which are temporary, since the light abducts her like an act of salvation. Having her legs crossed means no more physical intimacy. Perhaps, too much hedonism and the rapid passing of time made her leave that old life, swapping to grow further, without toxicity, stagnation or downfall but having a more balanced life.
Interpretation 2: Evolutionary Threshold – The visible anatomy marks a being in transformation, caught between physical and energetic states, their biological infrastructure literally illuminated by the otherworldly light. She is the first to transcend and transform into a better form, more godly and closer to light and its timeless essence of enlightenment. Her new form seems to also transform him, that is why we see his amygdala in a state of change. Maybe for him, it takes more since more personal and emotional introspections need to take place before reaching the next level and stage of consciousness development and evolution. And of course, there can be more interpretations of the same scene.
The Chromatic Language of Transformation
The colour palette speaks in gradients of metamorphosis:
– Electric Blues and Teals: The ascending figure embodies cool, aquatic hues—suggesting fluidity, emotion, perhaps an oceanic consciousness.
– Pink-to-Yellow Beam Gradient: The abduction light transforms from rose (love, flesh, earthly warmth) to yellow (enlightenment, solar energy)—a visual bridge between worlds.
– Lime Green Drapery: Billowing fabric in acidic green may suggest both natural vitality and synthetic neon, embodying the “phygital” nature in a form outside the body.
– Deep Prussian Night: The background’s theatrical darkness makes this a stage, a publicly witnessed event rather than a private moment. The location seems to be London, UK.
The Nakedness Question: Vulnerability as Power
The disrobing figure presents the artwork’s most profound mystery. Several interpretations can emerge:
The Rebirth Reading: Just as we enter the world unclothed, we leave it—or transcend it—the same way. The removal of garments becomes ritual preparation for cosmic rebirth, reaching longevity and maybe even leaving a timeless legacy behind.
The Authenticity Thesis: One cannot take earthly constructs (clothing, status, identity and possessions like cars) into higher dimensions. The figure must shed everything artificial to pass through. The artist must be definitely aware of the powers within and of the mind since she creates such an artwork.
The Intimacy Argument: This does not seem to be a violent abduction but cosmic elopement. The undressing suggests consent, even eagerness—like a lover preparing for union rather than a victim being taken. Her legs are crossed like we do with fingers, pointing to the end of an old stage of life which was not bringing enough growth and since time is vital and passes quickly, she was the first one to take action and aspire for a much better future. The mind is powerful and attracts events to occur naturally. Usually, along history, it used to be males as first who enlighten but this time it starts with her. It clearly seems that she got way more courage and positive aspirations than him. Somehow, it seems the male alien is quite immature and stuck with temporary earnings and cannot see beyond appearances, having a more superficial vision on life. Nonetheless, it points out that the new revolution is now female, no longer male driven as it used to be in 1789 or around most history. There is definitely a feminist motif there supporting feminism.
Architectural Witness & The Earthly Anchor
The ornate building and the London environment serves as silent witness. Its illuminated windows suggest life continuing, oblivious—or perhaps these lights are other souls watching, understanding and supporting the transformation, self-development and evolution. The architecture grounds the fantastic in the real, the historic in the speculative.
That vibrant pink vehicle is not merely a status symbol—it’s weighted with meaning:
Speed and Escape: A machine built for velocity now rendered impossibly slow compared to interstellar travel and lightspeed. She has overpassed him by light years. Lightspeed and the power of quantum photons is incomparable in power with any super car such as a Lambo or Ferrari.
Material Success: Everything achieved on Earth—wealth, beauty, engineering—made suddenly trivial. That seems to be just an early stage of evolution.
The Masculine/Material Left Behind: If the ascending figure represents consciousness or spirit, the car becomes all that remains of worldly ambition to him and perhaps he valued more such possessions and this is what kept him in the same stagnating place, like living an illusion and not embracing the full spectrum of reality and its path of growth. Body won over mind and, unfortunately, not vice versa: mind over body.
‘To be fully transparent here, as friends know me, I have never been like the male alien figure. Not a cars’ fan since seeing it as a liability and not investment. I don’t even hold a driving license. Plus, way too many cars already and too much pollution from that. Also, always prefer AirBnbs over hotels since it feels more cozy and more like home, just trespassing this Earth. I am definitely an alien, cyborg-human, but not that type. I would rather identify with the female figure from the artwork, though I am straight and not gay but respect everyone’s choice though since it is all about love, in the end, and helping one another with what we can’ Sebastian Clej says.
Multiple Story Interpretations
The Bittersweet Romance: Two lovers or simply adventures, one more human (male figures), one more extraterrestrial (female), and both seemed to have shared some key time on Earth. The fully developed alien must return home and has chosen to reveal her true form. “You said we had more time” becomes the universal lament of love/adventure cut short by circumstance.
The Awakening: This is not abduction but invitation. The figure has finally received their cosmic Uber. The nakedness represents shedding false identity; the visible nervous system shows awakening consciousness. The “more time” was always an illusion—the appointment was always set.
The Willing Transcendence: Perhaps most radically—this is suicide prevented and transformed. A soul at the edge finds not oblivion but ascension. The spacecraft intervenes, offering not death but transformation, super powers and longevity. The exposed vulnerability is someone whose defenses have completely fallen.
As both physical painting and NFT, the work embodies its own themes. The traditional medium (painting’s tactile reality) depicts smooth gradients and sci-fi imagery, while its NFT existence allows it to float in the digital cosmos, unbound by physical gallery walls—mimicking the figure’s own escape from earthly constraint and being closer to timelessness.
Toward a Sustainable Conclusion: The Happy Ending Hypothesis
Here’s the optimistic reading this artwork ultimately supports: The visible nervous system—that vulnerable, glowing spine and amygdala—reveals not weakness but readiness. The amygdala processes emotions and fear, but also excitement and anticipation. What appears exposed is actually **illuminated**. The female figure is not being taken but rather finally being seen in the deepest form possible and he is deeply touched and moved by the experience.
The title’s apparent sadness—“You said we had more time”—shifts meaning when we consider: maybe they did have exactly enough time. Time enough to fall in love, to understand what really matters, to become ready for this moment and grow together. The promise, thus, was not broken; it was fulfilled differently than expected, not together but mainly coming from her inner findings and self-development.
The happy ending: This is a cosmic rescue. A being who felt trapped in earthly existence, wearing an ill-fitting life like uncomfortable clothes, now sheds everything false and ascends in their true, luminous form. The architectural elegance, the sports car, the earthly scene—all beautiful, all insufficient. The spacecraft does not simply abduct; it retrieves. It brings the lost one home. It brings her what was truly meant for her for a long time.
And perhaps—just perhaps—the one watching from below, the “you” who promised more time when that is impossible, understands. Life is short and time is crucial and not too many get the depth of it and all it may mean and imply. Nonetheless, “more time” was never about duration but dimension and depth. It simply was not enough, sufficient and a change and transformation has had to occur.
The artwork resolves not in loss but in expansion—the happy ending is that some synergies are too large for Earth alone and something much bigger awaits for them if all three eyes are widely open and somehow gets acted upon.
Noisetteya’s work challenges us to see abduction narratives not as violation but as a positive invitation to recognize that sometimes the greatest act of care and love is letting someone become who they truly are, the best version of themselves, the best possible outcome —even if that means losing them in a way. The artist shows us a masterpiece which transcends aesthetics and what is Earthly and more temporary. You cannot say it is not an interesting one.
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