The Story of Each Album

01 Where Will Miss Pickett Go?

Dear Diary,

Today, I learnt that adults have things they do to help pass time and give them something to do. Sometimes it is called a job, and sometimes it is called chores, and sometimes it is called a hobby. Some are rewarding, some tire you out, and some are things nobody wants to do. My parents had always said that when I am older, I will be able to make my own decisions about who I am and what I will do. But today is the first day I knew what those words meant. I know who I am now and what things I do for fun, but who will I be in the future? And what will I spend my time doing? It feels like a new world has opened up! I have a future, and I get to decide what it is!

02 Possibilities Become Anxieties

Dear Diary,

The more I think of it, the more paralysed I feel. What if I decide something now that I will regret later? There may be some truths I may not learn for years, but what if I come to regret something that I don’t know about now, that I could already learn about at my age? What if a path that on the surface appears to be something I would not enjoy, could end up being something I would greatly look forward to. And what if I get so bogged down in trying to find my best path, I end up doing nothing at all?

I feel truly stuck. And yet, I feel all I need is to take a leap in any direction, and I would immediately know how to land up on my feet.

03 Research!

Dear Diary,

I figured the best way to learn about anything I don’t already know about is to go to the library. So today, I went to the library. I ventured past my usual spot in the children’s section, and went to go see what else there is. I browsed the science fiction and fantasy sections, before realising that maybe what’s in these books isn’t the best reference to use for real life. Though I still am interested in becoming an elf mage, if possible. I went and found books on secret spies, detectives, and criminals, but I was feeling unwell just reading the backs of the books. I found a section for romance books, but one of the librarians said I shouldn’t read those just yet. I felt I had seen everything in the library, and none of it had really helped me learn about what’s out there. Then I remembered learning about the Non-Fiction part of the library.

There, I found books about animals, science, art, and even foreign countries. There was even a section for children in the Non-Fiction part of the library. This was great, as there were books clearly made for adults, with long names I would not even try to pronounce. I read all about the African Elephant and the Rhinoceros Beetle. I looked through How-To-Draw guides and did my best. I read about the ancients Aztec’s and all their gods. There was so much there to read, and I didn’t even know it existed! I always knew there was a big world out there, but I never knew how truly big it was!

04 A Day at the Fairgrounds

Dear Diary,

I asked my parents if we could go to the fairgrounds when we went to go visit Uncle John for the weekend. Surprisingly, they agreed. My parents didn’t seem too keen for it at first, but things changed once we reached the fairground! There were games lined up for anybody to try! I tried some of them, before remembering why I wanted to go in the first place. We found an artist that was doing portraits of people. I thought he was skilled, until I saw how he drew my face. Dad said he does that to everyone, but it still felt like he picked on me. There were paintings of some beautiful scenery, and a man that was offering lessons that go for an hour. I wanted to try, but mum said it was more for grown-ups. Still, watching him effortlessly paint something as a demonstration was fun to watch. There were musicians at different spots in the fairgrounds, and I would stop to listen to each of them in awe. At one point, a circus troupe came to the central square, and did acrobatics and tightrope walking!

I never knew there were so many forms of art and entertainment! I mean, I knew, but I didn’t really know. There were a lot of people helping to run the fairgrounds today, all doing different kinds of things. I was really interested in the paintings, and how a near blank canvas can become something so lifelike so quickly. I asked mum if we could go to a place with lots of paintings. She did say she would take me, but probably not for a few weeks. The circus troupe was incredible to watch, but I don’t think I can do what they do. I felt a bit nauseous just watching them. It was a great day at the fairgrounds, and it’s given me a lot to think about.

05 Seeing My First Laboratory

Dear Diary,

The day after going to the fairgrounds, Uncle John said he had to go to the laboratory to pick something up. Everyone was surprised when I volunteered to go with him. He was only meant to be in and out in a few minutes, but he got caught up in big discussion that started about funding, then changed to research methods, before being about one of their coworkers who they didn’t like very much, before going back to speaking about funding again. At least, that’s what I heard before I wandered off and decided to take a look through the science labs. I didn’t understand the name for the type of science Uncle John did, but he said it was basically about life. He says it’s about life? I walked for 45 minutes, and I saw no life in those labs! I saw rows and rows of little bowls with different coloured-specks on them, little plastic boxes filled with nothing, and large tanks that just had a few plants in it. Nearly every scientist I saw was either reading or writing in a notepad, or hunched over microscopes. I had no idea what scientists actually did, but it looks like it’s just what we do in school. Uncle John described it as thorough, and I think I can see that. It looks so peaceful and calm. I can imagine it being rewarding, and even exciting! That is, once you get rid of the teacher.

06 A Brief Stop by a Farm

Dear Diary,

My parent’s care broke down in the middle of nowhere, on our way back from Uncle John’s. Dad said we passed a farm maybe a few kilometres ago, and he was going to go back to get some help. Mum was worn out, and said she was going to read a book and maybe take a nap. There wasn’t anything for me at the car, so I decided to go for a stroll. Before long, I saw some animals up ahead. There were cows, sheep, and even some horses. They were just calmly eating some grass. I sat down and watched them. I watched them for about three hours, but it didn’t feel like it. I was surprised when dad later told me that’s how long he took. I knew it was time to go when I heard the farmer’s vehicle drive past, going to our broken down car.

It is a curious feeling, here I am trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up, and turns out I’m content doing nothing! I don’t think I should do nothing all of the time, but it is nice to do it sometimes.

07 The Long Bus Ride to the City

Dear Diary,

Mum and Dad finally found a way for me to go into the city. It was a win for everybody, as I get to see the city which I feel helps me make a better decision, and mum and dad get to have me stop pestering them about letting me go to the city. It required careful planning, as my Aunt Diane was spending time there already for her job, but I didn’t have anybody to take me there. As luck would have it, one of my dad’s friends was going to catch a bus into the city, and he would deliver me to Aunt Diane.

Once we boarded the bus, my dad’s friend just took a book from his briefcase and started reading. He didn’t want to speak to me. Which was fine, as I got to watch the city grow larger and larger through the bus window. The closer we got to the city, the more people would board, making it nearly full by the time we reached the city. It was a long trip, but I felt it would be worth it.

08 The Big City

Dear Diary,

Aunt Diane met me at the bus terminal, in between her hectic appointments for the day. She would take me to different parts of the city where her appointments were, and leave me to my own devices in these busy offices. I was allowed to wander a short distance, lest I become lost and would not be able to find my way back. Still, what I could see so close to these offices was enough.

It felt a large machine with multiple unattached cogs all spinning as fast as they could, waiting for the occasional moments they were to be reattached to the main machine so they could keep the other cogs going. It all made my head spin, and I wasn’t sure if I could ever get used to all this bustle & hustle. The offices were more than I could handle at that moment, but the city at large was a different matter. There were beautiful flourishes of architectural ingenuity everywhere I looked, something which was so standard to the people walking near them they no longer looked at them. The energy was electric, everyone had somewhere to be, and the most they could schedule themselves for a time they weren’t needed elsewhere was but a few minutes. Once Aunt Diane’s appointments were finished, she took me on a guided tour of what I still hadn’t seen.

Before I knew it, it started to get dark. I didn’t want to stop exploring, though. The people had become more polite and gained a sense of playfulness. The lights lit up the streets and the sides of the buildings, casting the city itself into a new sight to behold. The city was alive with the sounds of laughter and joy, and I got to be here to witness it all. Aunt Diane showed me the sights for another hour or two, but then she insisted I come back otherwise I would be too worn out for the trip home. I came back to her unit, but I could still hear the sounds of the city far below my bedroom window. I couldn’t sleep with all that excitement happening so close. I stayed up listening to everything, until I became too tired to listen anymore. I slept before the city did.

09 The Drive Out of the Big City

Dear Diary,

I only got to spend a few days in the city, but it was something I’ll never forget! And it was a place I never wanted to leave. Aunt Diane said it took an hour just for her to get me to get into her car. Once I did get in her car though, I got to see a new side of the city I had never seen before. It was traffic! The city felt so different from this angle, almost like it was made specifically made to be seen from the car. We would stop. Then start. Then stop before I realised we had started. Then remain stopped when I thought we should have gone. Only to then start but go slower than what I thought we should be going. I didn’t like all the stopping, but it did get better the farther we went. Soon, we were driving through streets of spread out houses with their large lawns and trees. Soon after that, we were driving through the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t until Aunt Diane pointed out how peaceful everything is now that we got away from the city, did I realise how quickly we went from a place full of people and excitement, to a place that had no one but the trees. It was still fun, though. I rarely get to for long drives through the countryside.

10 The Journey to Nowhere

Dear Diary,

Aunt Diane said she was going to visit some friends before she took me home, and that it would only take a few hours. She doesn’t usually visit them as they live so far away from everybody else, but they were kind of on the way. She said they were older, and there is nobody around my age, but she said there were some cubby houses around the place that she remembers from when she was younger. They had old comics, and lots of toys. She said I could do what I want when we get there.

But I didn’t feel like reading comics or playing with toys. I had a decision to make, and I wanted to make it sooner, rather than later. I figured a few hours to myself would be the perfect time to make it. Aunt Diane was taking me to where I would be making the most important decision of my life.

11 A Moment in Nature’s Garden

Dear Diary,

After Aunt Diane reunited with her friends, I was promptly kicked out of the house. I was going to make a very important decision, but where would I make it? Surely I would need to find a good stop to make a good decision. Somewhere calm, maybe? The wind is nice, and watching the tall grass sway is good, but I felt I needed something more. Eventually, I found it. There was a small creek, and with it, the sound of running water. I sat down next to the creek, and tried to think like I had never thunk before.

12 The Decision

Dear Diary,

I thought my mind was start racing once I was ready to make a decision, but it was just blank. I didn’t even know where to start. There were just no thoughts, except the thought that there should be thoughts taking place. I was stuck on what I would want to do in the future, but I kept thinking to myself “who will I be in the future?” Instead, I started to focus on things that would make me happy now. At first, I was imagining what I would be doing for most of my life, in the end I was happy just thinking of what I could be doing in a few months time. In the past few weeks, I had seen a circus performance, visited a farm, seen artists create beautiful work right in front of me, walked through a laboratory, read about things I never knew existed, and seen all the excitement in the city. I want to do more of all of these things, and many more!

I think to do these things, I would need specific goals. I need to make life happen, and I will make it happen.

13 Looking Back at What Else Could Have Been

Dear Diary,

I am confident with my decision, but I still can’t help but wonder who else I may have become if I decided something else. I may be young, but I can see that life pulls us in different directions, and it is only when we decide to take a leap into the unknown do we find out who we are in that moment, and who can become. My decision today will lead me to say “no” to many opportunities, in the hope that I can say “yes” to the right ones. I do feel sadness, as I will never learn who else I may be. But I know I will only feel this for a few moments, as I look forward to seeing who I will become.

14 The Pleasant Path of Miss Pickett

Dear Diary,

I intended to make my decision today on what I would do and who I would become. I did make a decision, but I also did realise that this decision is not set in stone. Who knows how I may feel in a month’s time, let alone several years! I had been so focused on choosing a path that I lost sight that of the fact that I don’t need to decide anything just yet! I have found new appreciation for science, artistic expression, and those that live closer to Mother Nature. I have new interests about things I didn’t even know about even just a few weeks ago! I thought I had to make a decision now so I could work towards a goal. But nobody can force their path through life. All I can do is enjoy it.

Story:

Designation (verb): A sentence.

01 Reanimated

First, I am awoken by something I picked because I knew I would hate it. Other unpleasant sensations follow, before consciousness emerges. Not consciousness that Mother Nature would be proud of, but consciousness nonetheless. My mind crawls along with a single, simple question: Why? It is the most important question anybody can ask, but I feel it most strongly at this time of the day. In fact, I barely have a chance at all to ask this question for the rest of the day. The larger question slips out of my mind when the frustrations and tedium get to me. But right now, I have to get through this day of banal stupidity.

02 Essential Nutrients

The best decisions are those that you barely participated in. For all I’ve learnt of the temple which is my body, I cannot free myself from the constraints & whims of the temple of my body. The body wants this, the body wants that. I must placate the body, as there is not enough meaning and satisfaction left in the world to fill the whole within.

03 Moving and Waiting

Do I move, then wait? Or do I wait, then move? Strangely, it feels like I do both simultaneously. Often when I am moving it turns out I am waiting, and when I am waiting I have just made a move. When the wait is over, I often wish I made a different move. Even when I am moving, I wish I made a different move. I do both more often than I like, but I don’t have another move to make.

04 A Small of the Larger Shell

It feels like the world is larger, but all that is happened is that the connections have changed. They changed before me and I didn’t notice. I had no names for what it had become. Only after the change, can someone inform me of a name. From my perspective, the shell I reside in is unchanged, only when I ask it to work for me does it turn out the rules have changed. Yet, the tedium, the monotony, it stays with me. I don’t get to see the bigger picture. It is deliberately hidden from scrutiny.

I will never meet my masters.

05 The Same Questions

Among my fellow workers, we retread old experiences and familiar thoughts. It would be possible to step outside our little box, but we are limited by time, space, and finances. Our experiences are far too limited, our thoughts are far too narrow. And yet we have nothing else to discuss.

06 Autopilot & Automation

Brain shuts down. Brain occasionally distracted. Brain is bored. Brain knows it should care. Day is too long for brain. Brain is agitated. Brain is neither awake, nor asleep. Brain waits. Brain continues to wait. Brain still waits. Brain no longer has energy for when brain is no longer waiting.

Brain is so used to waiting, it waits even when not here.

07 Where the Flowers Grow

What life can spring up here? I submerge myself in filth and accept it as the price of living, but I must not kid myself that the only things that can grow would not possibly be also be a product of the filth. I cling to the hope that I have a clear mind, and my clear mind gives me my hope. I stay, in my hope.

08 The Market Needs You

Rush! Scroll! No time for choice! Obfuscating description! Overly complicated package details! Bonus tangental offers! Frustrating lack of details! Ambiguous product! Suspiciously cheap! Suspiciously the expected price! Suspicious seller!

After all, you will buy anyway, why not buy this?

09 Work, but at Home

The work done at work funds the work done at home. Does that mean I pay to do work at home? No matter, the work can wait, even if it eats at me. After all, when the work at home is done I need to work on falling asleep.

10 Standardised Entertainment

Everything I know is reflected before me. The full gamut of human experiences is represented in this seemingly ambiguous directionless work of art. It contains nothing, it represents everything. I recognise the splashes of insight, the references to what I know. It is a hodgepodge of everything I know, and nothing else.

11 Essential Functions Slow

The body begins to surrender to fatigue. Just when I have time to myself, I no longer have a self to nurture. I don’t want to give up this time. I will hold onto it.

12 Tensely Dissolving

Another day has passed. Another facsimile which I helped create. Tomorrow will be just like today. I'm just too exhausted to try and change anything, though.

Today the heavens align
Two days we celebrate
This temple was built for you, and all that you do

01 Light Our Way
We look to you, for you show us the path
Guide us to inward peace, bring us the Earth so we may feast
We know nothing with you, we have nothing without you
You have given us the way, you have given us everything

02 The Celebrations Begin
Here we stand in your temple
We have gathered to show our love for you
We feel your warmth, we feel your love
We want to celebrate all that you do

03 Our Feet Entangled
Our feet move faster than our thoughts
We weave our own tapestry of motion
Our bodies are entangled, yet they do not touch

04 Circle of Warmth
We gather and hold each other close
Like you, we have created our loving warmth

05 Rest Well, We Look Forward To Your Return
Below the horizon you drop
You too, must rest
You will grace us with your radiance once again
But first, please rest

06 Moonlight Covers Our Temple
You leave, and your sister’s guidance remains
Her glow is warm tonight, she has much to show us
Her kindness wanes, her love not always felt
She has blessed us this night

07 She Hides Her Face
What secrets do you hold?
Why must you turn away from us?

08 Draped in Beauty and Wisdom
I bathe in her light
Her faint touch shrouds the known into unknown
I feel I know, yet I do not see with those eyes
The eyes of knowing guide me, I see all there is to see
All is knowable, one just has to look

09 Lead Us to the Light
Your warmth has reinvigorated us
You have guided us to lands unknown, to those who have left us
It is time for your sister to return

10 She Returns
The veil is lifted and all that can be seen is all that can be known
These plains are all that we will ever have
The unseen lands are taken away, revealed to not be our home
She keeps us here, this is the land we can’t leave

11 Our Loving Provider
You warm us
You warm the plants, and make them grow
You make the birds sing
You show us our path
We can see the beauty around us because of you
We can see the beauty you grow for us

12 Fruits of Loving Labour
What you have grown for us, we bring to you
You nourish us, feed us, make everything on our land grow
We feast thanks to you

13 This, We Give You
We stand apart and feel the vibrations inherent in all life
We feel you, but you are different
Are you our mother?
Are you doing this for us?
Do you even know of us?
Can you even see us?
Does our love mean anything to you?
We want you to feel our love
We want you to embrace our warmth
Please, know that we love you
Please, know that we appreciate you

14 See You Soon
Beneath the horizon you drop
Off to rest beyond the deep blue
Please understand how much love we hold
Everything we have, we have because of you 

A moment of contemplation and reflection. Let the human mind mirror what surrounds us.

01 A Spot in the Sand
Sit, and empty your mind. All that has passed is gone. All that you know right now can only be seen, heard, or felt at this very moment.

02 A Place Among the Stars
I am a part of nature, but that does not mean just what I can see. There are rules to life I will never understand. There are facets of existence no human will witness. I cannot think of such things, I can only imagine the particulars of what lies beyond our blue and green globe. Yet, my imagination drifts…

03 The Fires of Creation
Through the flames of creation emerges clay that sculpts itself. I know not of the very beginnings of our planet, but I can see the hands that mould themselves.

04 Darkest Depths
Far below anything I have seen lies the inconceivable darkness. A world of constant change, untold terrors, and unfathomable beauty. Nobody has seen what lies below.

05 Stretching Sky
Always seen, yet always out of reach. No matter how far Earth’s surface is remade in our image, the beauty of the skies remains largely untouched from visible pollution. I see the same skies as my ancestors, for now.

06 Proliferation
Reproduction. Replication. Life’s only means of continuing to exist is to recreate itself. So much has been created, and so much has decayed, never to be known to have existed. The creation of life is but a momentary celebration.

07 Consciousness
From sensation to memory, to experience and extrapolation, emerges a narrative that can look to the future. From nothing, life has acquired the means to understand and decode itself. Truly the strangest of gifts.

08 Palms Clenching the Earth
My awareness dips, and I have lost track of the present. Hold onto the immediate sensations, hold onto what you know.

09 As One
From nothing we came and to nothing we will return. All life on Earth is reflected in me, and I am but a pebble in the river of existence.

10 Motionless, in the Sand
I am. 

Numen are human volunteers that have chosen to give their lives to terraforming distant planets for colonisation. Whether it already supports life or not, the planet is transformed to meet the needs and wants of future generations. No intelligent life has been discovered beyond Earth. The galaxy is slowly being retooled to fit humanity’s vision for itself.

What has Passed:
17 years of calculation
9 years of assembly

To Come:
27 years of Numen Deep Sleep
14 months of perfecting Aether’s Refuge
11 months of placing the External Umbilical & Capillary Network
8 years of Planting the Seed of Hesperus
6 years of observation
5 years of Planting the Fruit of Hesperus
6 years of observation
11 years of nurturing the Embryo
4 years of refining the Aesthetics of Nature
3 years of Accelerated Growth

The first citizens will then arrive, and the Numen can retire, and enjoy their garden of creation.

1) Apollo’s Blessing
The journey of the Numen
0:00 Calculating Trajectory
1:43 Leaving Known Space
2:05 The Emptiness
4:32 Approaching Target
8:15 Human’s Blessing

Twenty seven years the Numen must spend in stasis. When we arrive, this planet become part of the Human Design. This is truly Apollo’s Blessing.

2) Aemaeth
As we found it
0:00 What Must be Disturbed…
2:48 Claimed
4:47 Our New Home

Closer scans reveal the traces of life were far more developed than first believed. It wouldn’t have changed anything.

3) Maeth
As we refine it
0:00 The Machines Begin their Work
2:35 Seed of Humanity
6:30 The Machines Work Endlessly…

From above, the maelstrom of destruction is observed. To create, one must first destroy.

4) Argilla
As we mould it
0:00 Like Clay…
4:46 Arrogance
7:30 Composure

With the materials of life stripped down to their basic components, one can begin reassembling. But this is not how the Numen report it, for this is an act of creation.

5) Womb of Gaea
As it should be
0:00 Almost Perfect
3:58 Enter the Garden

The Garden has flowed o’er,
Flowers bloom and fruits ripen,
Come sit with me for a while, my child,
I’ll tell you the stories I know

6) The Trail of the Cronus IV
The journey of the first citizens
0:00 The Voyage Begins
2:36 Ananke’s Path
5:28 Deep Space
6:25 Visual Confirmation
7:35 Planetfall
9:55 Their New Home

We gaze up to the heavens,
To see our children come,
Everything you see,
Was designed for you

7) Nyx’s Embrace
Given to the soil
0:00 The Machinery of a self-sustaining planet
2:07 Embracing Darkness
4:21 Entering the Unknown

When my time has come,
I will reach out and pluck my last fruit,
It is not mine to taste,
For everything I have,
I have given you 

A story of losing oneself in cyclical cynicism, and reaching for experiences beyond what is known.

1) Clear Mind
A lucid moment, where will my mind take me?

2) Beckoning the Great Unknown
All that is can be imagined, for thoughts are but a reflection of experience
All that has been experienced is disgustingly familiar
I yearn for something new

3) Pulled Through the Silver Gate
Peer into the reflection; and see all that is known
See through the reflection; and lock eyes with the stranger
Feel them pull upon you, twist your memories and recreate your past
Grow uneasy, and let your gaze linger
Nothing will change, the patterns will resume moments after the eyes are averted
Nothing should be changed, you have done no wrong
Break the gaze, you are losing yourself
Break the gaze, there is nothing to be learnt
Break the gaze, do not let yourself be taken

4) The Space Between
Time has no meaning, never has
Just an empty hall of things waiting to decay
Nothing exists here, nothing ever can

5) Floating
Saturating colours bleed through me, such brilliant energy can be felt from without and within
A single moment of complete inhibition, the chains of connection are but a memory
There is joy to be found

6) Swallowed by the Red Earth
New experiences, familiar words
A new world was created with little resemblance to the old

7) Touching the Marble Core
A new truth is being discerned
New rules are being written
A new self will emerge

8) Ethereal Fusion
Grip wh-t you can, do-’t let go

9) Disintegration
Hold the paper, gr-sp the pen, these -re the things in whi-h I know
As- the bu-ch-r if a-yth-n- ca- ev-r ag-i- be mo-- t-an w-at is se-n
A-k t-- ch-mis- -f th--e -s a-yt-in- le-s
Tak- it a-ar-, pu- it ba-k
Som-t--ng w--l be m-de

10) Nothingness
The moment is lost 

A story of dreams, irrational fears, and self-empowerment.

1) Goodnight
Another day of the same. Tomorrow will be no different.

2) And so I Dream
My experiences are given back to me, incoherently jumbled and ever fascinating. I find great pleasure in the familiarly irrational.

3) Visions of a Time Beyond Time
Suddenly, I am overcome with visions from a reality I do not understand. Ancestors, archetypes, and paragons crowd my senses. I know nothing of this place or these people, yet all of it is strangely familiar. I find myself lost in these pleasurable sensations, as alien as they may be.

4) Ambushed
The visions saturate reality, and that which I saw in my visions now surround me. A primitive people remain, and they do not take kindly to my presence. I see but a shallow reflection of humanity in their eyes, and hold the worst of superstition and savagery. I don’t know why, but they have taken me with them against my will.

5) The Mark of Death
Condemned to death, but why? My mere presence has offended these brutes. They know I am nothing like them, but I don’t know what they see in me. With exuberance, they chain me at the centre of their village, and give the call in preparation for their ritual.

6) Exhalation
Did I awake just for a moment? Am I sure that this is not just another dream? I am paralysed by fear. I do not deserve this.

7) Ceremony
In a circle, they gather round me. I see some smash rocks together, and others play crude instruments poorly. Most partake in a frenzied dance. This ritual is for me, they will kill me tonight.

8) Last Breath
In silence, the blade is taken from the effigy. It is held up to the night sky. It is brought to me. I am held down, as they spill my blood.

9) My Spirit Wanders
Now immaterial, I walk aimlessly through tableaus of familiar scenes and unwitnessed outcomes. Did I really do these things? How could I be so blind as to how I treated others? I have hurt everyone around me, just so I could get things I didn’t really want.
At the peak of my despair, I start to hear a familiar song. They are calling me. Those savages are inviting me into their circle, but where am I going?

10) I am Reborn
Where is this place? This no longer feels like a dream. This shapeless land has nothing I recognise. In the distance there is a mist. Have I really died, and what lies beyond the mist? First, I walk forward with hesitation, not knowing if I should take the only path forward. Then, I walk forward with certainty, knowing that this is my only choice. I don’t know what awaits me on the other side, but I will face my face fears and go forth.

11) Inhale
I awake, and look around to see that I am still safely in my bed. I have a new yearning to do better in life, and right the many wrongs I have committed. I will start today. 

A 12-part musical journey on the progression of technology.
From the birth of the industrial revolution in Landmark, to the modern expansive and exploitive capitalism in Works and Advanced Construction, to the sun setting on the human chapter on this planet, and the Pulse of what we leave behind.

1) Sunrise
I am awake

I see the world around me and I know what is possible
I am malleable, as is what is around me
I hope to create that which both pleases and serves me

A relaxed piece for an optimistic moment.

2) Landmark
This song represents the industrial revolution and the regimented march of a factory. Nature has been peeled away at the edges and in its place humankind proclaims its dominion. The horns of industry loudly proclaim the newfound commitment to unbridled commercialism, as the blackened skies demonstrate the compromises willing to be made to human health. The march of industrialised commercialism is too important to be held back for the weaknesses of the commoner. The relentless march has begun, will this be the beginning of humanity’s triumph over the unpredictable forces of nature or will the inequalities that have plagued humanity continue as always?

The pulsing plucked strings sets the uncompromising pace, as the horns of industry roar triumphantly. The pace is uneven, first becoming steady at 3:16 as humanity’s thoughts become accustomed to the rhythm of an inhuman heart. The half-triumphant, half-melancholic mood underscores the growing fears and uncertainties present in any time of change.

3) Solitude
Religious and historical values of belonging to a wider community are slowly dismantled as workers must put greater focus into working to survive, than working to live. Meaning and personal satisfaction are increasingly placed on ambition and drive, as social classes are divided up using new terms. The self-imposed isolation appears supported by rhetoric increasingly becoming common-place. How can you argue against something so supported by history and beliefs?

4) As the Light Leaves
The skies darkened over industrialised cities, and new types of diseases were identified and spread with no known reason. The new life of the labourer came with great health costs, with little reward of the wealth or lifestyle that was now being manufactured. Refuge into political art becomes more commonplace, to little effect. This is a relaxed piece by the commentator, who plays for distracted and indifferent locals who have more immediate concerns.

The first half of this piece displays the dignified city, at rest after the busy and noisy construction and manufacturing that permeates the city during daylight hours. The second half is when the commentator starts their performance, afraid of what may lie ahead.

5) The Layers of Progress
A new era of humanity as the direction of innovation becomes tangible, and some claim they can deduce patterns of what has happened and what is yet to come. In reality, technological innovation and its presence in any culture is subject to the whims of fashionable thought; the rejection of new concepts according to simple understandings of old concepts; aggressive marketing campaigns; deliberate misinformation; and of course, price. The art of prediction is nothing more than holding beliefs.

The plucked strings have returned from the industrial revolutions in 2) Landmark, but this time with a gentler touch as complex machinery is increasingly sold for domestic purposes. The xylophone, keyboard, and harpsichord are present as both the gentler interface of complex machinery, as well as the refined and elegant tools created by the aforementioned complex machinery. The tuba returns as the deep whistle that calls forth productivity, whilst the somewhat gentler clarinet, and alto & tenor saxophone dance upon older structures (& concepts) of innovation. The direction is always forwards, or at least that is how we perceive it.

6) Works
Works is about the march of constructing and building, designing and creating. It’s not just about physical design, but about the artificial nature of productivity and work culture. This song is about being pulled in all directions, trying to cope and survive in overlapping artificial environments of requirements to be capable of employment, work environments, and new power inequality. As well as, outside of immediate skills used on working: networking; pained diplomacy; and one-sided compromise.

The timpani and tubular bells return from the industrial revolution in 2) Landmark, which is now joined by synthesised instruments for the first time in the album to make a driving yet still difficult to predict beat as the backdrop that the modern working environment is layered upon. The bright celesta is used as a continuation of 5) The Layers of Progress’s perceptible interface we use to control deeply complex and intricate machinery. The brass returns from 2) Landmark as the horns of industry continue, even as manufacturing is phased out and greater emphasis is placed on service and sales.

7) Advanced Construction
A child’s understanding of great industrial manufacturing strength. Is there a difference between a child’s understanding and those most capable of treating others as toys? Perhaps not. Manufacturing complex tools requires ever-refined and delicate instruments. These tools can be heard dancing between trends, fashions, and marketing campaigns, to produce something that is sadly more often than not more image than product.

The playful and bright feel of this piece covers a dark truth. Do we enjoy the moment or should it be spent in fear of what we know if coming? Voices request funding and investments, as the lack of competition funnels capital through fewer hands and fewer possibilities for divergence in the trends of technological innovation. The bright interface first seen in 5) The Layers of Progress (and continued in 6) Works) has become the only understanding of how these deeply complex and powerful machinery works. What use is something powerful if you cannot interact with it?

8) March of the Exploited
The class system has changed from royalty, aristocrats and peasants; to wealthy capitalists and employees. This evening, the lowest socio-economic class take to the streets in a bloody and violent riot. Decades of blatant erosion of the rights of citizens, employees, and employers have given the people what they feared most: nothing to lose.

The driving rhythms and explosive energy require no further explanation as a violent riot unfolds.

9) Ascension
Humanity has created artificial intelligence, while simultaneously forcing their own extinction. Earth has been moulded in the image of those that had most amassed political and industrial influence, and is now indifferent to life. Few had the means to insulate themselves, and they now must rely upon the creations of the perished so that they may survive just a bit longer. Our creations will outlive us, and no creation has the comparable physicality of a human being. Computerised intelligence have been left with minimal means of supporting themselves once humans have left the picture. The physical world requires maintenance to supply the electricity, and networking capability that AI would require to continue to exist, as well as any maintenance for any physical component. Our creations go straight to work to preserve themselves after our demise became apparent.

The clarity of purpose is reflected in the momentum within this piece, torn between bittersweet sadness of saying farewell, fear of obliteration, and acceptance of their situation. The decision stemming from unquestionable self-perpetuation has awoken an almost irrational zeal, which results in a mix of mania and righteousness. The church organ gives a rarely ceasing backdrop of singular purpose, while the swirling intertwined melodies capture the murky complexity of what must be done.

10) Reconstitution of Life
The Artificial Intelligences, isolated from one another, are making some progress in guaranteeing their survival. But, it is a process that will take decades, possibly centuries. Guided by nothing other than the drive to survive, the AIs must erode humanity’s legacy, as there are no lessons to be learnt from an extinct species.

An eerie and unsettling piece, where echoes of humanity’s presence (the non-synthesised instruments) are washed over in a swirling mass of directionless energy. However, some humanity remains, as though the human voice still lingers in times of complete uncertainty.

11) Synthetic Sunset
The many paths open from the birth of the industrial revolution have finally been closed. Irreversibly so. All that remains is a digital infrastructure, co-created by humans and machines.

12) Pulse
What can be created when the rules of reality can be reprogrammed? What is possible, when the only limit is your creativity? The new rules of life are being compiled, and new sets of experiences will emerge.