A call came in reporting a cluster of abandoned ships near the Epsilon system. The necessity for immediate action became apparent when our long range sensors detected a high level of activity from the local star which was having a direct impact on the accessibility of the wrecks in question. The solar corona had become intensely unstable recently and there were indications of major mass ejections having occurred as recently as the prior week. This was going to make salvage very risky as the wrecks had been pulled rather close to the star and this meant possible exposure to flares with virtually no warning of their direction. For this mission, the crew would be augmented by junior recruit Galacticus, who would be engaging in his first salvage mission. He would also be utilizing as yet untested field equipment. The combination of unpredictable conditions, inexperienced crew and untested tools would prove to be formidable for the first part of the mission.
The initial salvage attempt stumbled through several false starts before the crew could fully engage their instruments and then the objective artifact was permanently lost when the sonic containment field failed and it was ejected into the star's gravity well. This also occurred with the second artifact, but a duplicate was later located and salvaged in our fourth attempt of the day.
During these attempts, Galacticus experienced a number of problems with his unfamiliar salvage tools. Fortunately, commander Jethro was able to enter into a psychic trance state whereupon he was able to channel the presence of Synthesizer Kreskin who was able to diagnose the problem and suggest the necessary adjustments. With these, the third salvage attempt of the day proved to be fully successful and the crew were then able to complete attempts 4 and 5 with a total yield of three artifacts (less the first two lost by the faulty containment field).
Galacticus was summoned back to home base to attend to his spawn after attempt number 3, so the remainder of the mission was handled by the core crew. The last attempt of the day proved to be the most unexpected as a result of Vagus' adjustments to one of the grappling tools which caused the output of an unexplained tonal frequency. This was immediately tuned into and so it could be locked on by the sonic containment field. The resulting artifact proved to be something rather unique from others thus far obtained and we are pleased to be able to offer all of these artifacts to you now.
released April 11, 2011
Time-fix: 19.02.2011
Geo-fix: The Magda, VAN, BC
Crew: Jethro Filipchuk (sonic architect, engineering, keyboards, synthesizer Kreskin), Ugo Fist (guitars, loops, voice samples, mastering, design), Vagus Ululatus (soft synth, acoustic guitar on item track 3), Mobius Mim (synthesizer), Galacticus Interruptus (soft synth - track 1)
These artifacts are the result of live, improvised performances. They were recorded directly to stereo digital output with no additional overdubs, mixing or editing. The sounds you hear are exactly as they were heard at the time they were created.
See the video for The Cosmic Chord Collision (Shuttle Craft) on YouTube.
youtu.be/ur3PNVCctXM
Humanity has survived on this planet in (essentially) its current form for some several hundred thousand years or more. In that time, we've made it through many natural disasters and difficulties thanks to our flexibility and adaptability. That has been a constant of humanity until only very recently. Within the last hundred years, a significant portion of the population has become a pampered class, comfortably benefitting from technological advancements such as electricity, central heating, hot water, mechanical transportation, medical advances, telephones, radios, TV, computers, internet, cell phones and host of lesser conveniences. These things all rest on the most precarious of conditions. They can all disappear, literally, in an instant under the right conditions. Our own sun has the power to send us hurtling back to at least the iron age within a few minutes of blasting out a significant enough coronal ejaculate. Now, this wouldn't wipe out humanity, but it would be a brutal wake up call for a population that has become indifferent to the struggles of survival with a bloated sense of entitlement that rivals the aristocracy of revolution era France. The children of the modern world are largely ignorant, self serving and oblivious to the plight of those around them. They gullibly follow anyone who shouts the loudest and have no awareness of what makes any of their comforts possible. They exist in a bubble of stupidity to the point where it is impossibly tempting for anyone with any intelligence to want to see that bubble burst. Perhaps that's what the people of privilege need the most. Let them be thrown back a hundred years or so and let them consider what it took to create the world they take for granted. Let them live without texting and tanning salons. Let them wonder where their next meal is going to come from. Let them realize that their God has long since gone and that they really owed all their comforts to people of intellect and ability. This world is not a given and it never was. People have to work together to make any of this possible and they can't keep thinking that living on the backs of the disenfranchised is an acceptable way to exist. We can all enjoy the rewards of our abilities. Perhaps if we were to lose those rewards for a time, we might better appreciate what makes them possible.
