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The Beginning (17edo)

from Drum 'n' Space (2011) by ZIA

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about

This track was written in 17 notes per octave (17edo).

lyrics

Drum'n'Space – a microtonal space rock opera by Elaine Walker. See: ZiaSpace.com

1. The Beginning (17edo)

[NARRATOR] (in the spirit of Plan 9 from Outer Space intro)
The universe began as something beyond the range of our experience, and perhaps beyond the range of our mathematical imagination. We do not have and may never have the language to describe the exact beginning. About as close as we can come is to say that the seeds of things-to-be were there from the start, including the seed of some essential Mystery to teach the parts how to become the particular universe that would emerge. The seed surely did not know what it would create, as only time could tell, but it contained the simplest instructions - all that was needed. In an instant, the embryo of the universe came forth, verging perhaps on chaos. But within that instant, the guiding Mystery began to frame events as the creation of a universe-to-be: Time began, space burgeoned, and matter and energy filled it, cascading into existence. As the universe expanded and the first glow of creation faded, gravity became the organizing force. Galaxies-to-be began to form, gathering atoms into banks of swirling mist, and within each bank of mist, smaller swirls of stars-to-be began to break away and coalesce. Then, in the darkness, the first stars were born to relight the universe. As the first stars began to die, some of them exploded, scattering forth new forms of matter. Almost all of this debris remained in the galaxy of its birth, captured by the gravitational mass of the galaxy itself. Over time, much of it combined with remnants of primeval matter to form new swirls of clouds to become a new generation of stars, of which our sun is one.From the remainders of the mother cloud of our sun, a new kind of planet formed, incipient with new complexities. Among the complexities that were realized, was the emergence of a microscopic structure which could capture energy and resources from its environment and replicate itself – the first life form, from which every creature on our planet has developed in an unbroken chain. There was some variability in the replications; variations which were passed on to future generations. Some of the variants were better able than their parents to compete for the resources required to sustain life and reproduction. The competition became intense, and over time living things came to exhibit great complexity and variety. In the end, however, in perhaps the strangest twist, victory went neither to the swiftest nor to the strongest but to the most intelligent species; a species equipped to understand itself, to sort out its origins and those of the universe and to imagine the possibilities of its own future.

[E] Bernadette, I swear I cannot find a man on this whole planet. Either they're not smart enough or good enough, or they're non-committers, or they're taken! I just. I really think I give up.
[B] Elaine, silly brain, come on. Get a grip. Don't give up yet. There is more than one planet. You just need to look outside of the sphere.
[E] Oh I know. You're right.
[B] There's that new intergalactic dating site. what's it called??
[E] the Intergalactic dating site.
[B] oh haha.
[E] I don't know. Some of those guys are so weird. I mean, the men on the high gravity planets are so short and stout, and the low gravity planets have 12 foot tall guys with spaghetti legs. How would THAT work? And then there are the guys with spikes. I don't understand who they bred with to get those. and the blue skin guys. Some strange gene splicing has gone on. And the ones with one extra arm. Yikes!
[B] Well don't be so picky.
[E] Hey, I can be REALLY picky if I'm expanding my search to the entire galaxy.
[E] OK check this guy out. A perfectly sized blond adonis. And check out his PLANET. Its oceans are made out of champagne.
[B] Oh ya, I've heard of that planet. Planet Champagne!
[E] How is that even possible?
[B] Favorite him! Put him on the list!
[E] OK here's another one. He’s off visiting some other planet, but he says he'll be back soon; as soon as he fixes his ship. Oh my gosh, he's perfect! This is my perfect guy! Listen to this: "I graduated with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. All that work has paid off though and I do what I love, make robots!" He's brilliant AND funny. And he must be really good at MATH. Oh I hope he likes me. OH MY GOD I know this guy! He's always flying around, touring with his music and stuff. Now he lives way over on this planet so far away. I kind of turned him down years ago, but. I actually fell in love with his music since then. I bet he'll be SOOO excited that I like him now. Whoa look at this guy. He says he's an x-Nomrom.
[B] Nomrom? That sounds like Mormon backwards.
[E] ha! Nooo but it is a very serious religion in his sector. I really don't understand it but I hear they're always nice guys even though they believe weird stuff. It's perfect. He'll be kind and naive and pure. You know I like 'em pure. He'll be kid-like and fun cuz he's still young and naive and probably really curious. Ohhhhh boy, I'm so excited!! I'm not sure my ship can make it though. I've got to get my ship in motion. My love life depends on it. Ohhh ZIA, she's my only hope. You wanna go with me? I'll need a crew of two.
[B] Hell no!

credits

from Drum 'n' Space (2011), released January 1, 2011

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all rights reserved

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about

Elaine Walker / ZIA New Mexico

Elaine Walker is an electronic musician and microtonal composer. She is the author of a non-fiction book, Matter Over Mind: Cosmos, Chaos, and Curiosity. Realizing she had a gift for visualizing mathematics as an adult, she now has several published math papers (see arXiv.org). She volunteers for the NewSpace community, promoting the idea of humans living on Mars. She is also a member of Alcor. ... more

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