The drone of a synth chord is heard as the lights dim in the theater, and the giant IMAX screen is awash with colorless vague shapes, like the shadows of clouds dancing on the surface of an already dark and featureless backdrop. A roll on the timpani drums accompanies the first of a series of random bursts of light seen here and there – reminiscent of lighting deep inside far-off thick clouds.
The synth chord builds, and then condenses into a high A and A# together. In terms of soundtrack music, this can only mean one thing: Something is about to happen!
Suddenly the music stops and there is a cataclysmic explosion. A blinding burst of light is accompanied by a thundering crash that rumbles away as fragments of bright objects radiate outward in all directions from the center. It is the beginning of the Universe – the Big Bang.
Our focus begins to follow and zoom in on one of the fragments of light. As we draw nearer we begin to see detail. It is actually a cluster of a host of smaller points of light revolving around a central core…a spiral galaxy.
We continue to approach one of the arms of the galaxy.
One of the millions of stars, insignificant by comparison, is the Sun, our home star.
As we draw nearer we pass the outer planet
Pluto,
the giant gaseous planets Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter.
We pass Saturn with its majestic rings of ice.
We fly past Mars.
And finally, we arrive at Earth. But this is primitive Earth, not the familiar blue planet we call home.
This is a dark, hostile, uninhabitable place with a surface hot with volcanic activity.
Thick dark clouds of caustic gasses and debris hide the surface, and we
slowly descend through them until at last we break through…
[Guitar feedback and power chords ending on a guitar note that lowers by an octave]
We see a surface of molten rock and lava flows from countless volcanoes.
[The drums kick in and we hear an instrumental medley made of variations of excerpts from the album]
A series of pictures of the evolution of primitive Earth is seen.
The
volcanic gasses create a toxic soup of chemicals in the atmosphere,
eventually resulting in the formation of water.
The rains come, the Earth cools.
[Thunderclap and rain sequence]
Part 5: The Earth Cools
(CD1, Track 6, 3:48)
Eventually, the rain water forms rivers, lakes and oceans.
[Another medley of instrumental excerpts from the album are heard]
Eventually the oceans form,
waves crash against the shore line.
The ingredients for life come together in the sea.
The Earth becomes unique, at least in this neighbourhood of the Universe because it is now teeming with a wide variety of life forms.
[Hi-hat and bass, jazzy intro]
Intro to the main story:
A dominant life form emerges…one that is self-aware, has the ability to defy natural selection and alter the course of Nature. The species known as Man is nearsighted with respect to his environment, and he blindly contaminates the planet with his poisons. He pollutes the oceans, and in doing so kills off diatoms – tiny one-celled plankton-like organisms that produce 2/3 of the earth’s oxygen. He destroys the forests, which produce the other 1/3 of the supply of oxygen. He destroys the ozone layer, induces global warming.
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The results are catastrophic. Climactic changes cause the polar ice caps to melt.
Unusual and destructive weather phenomenon become common.
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Oxygen deficiency causes irrational behavior. Crime increases. So many destructive forces seemingly spell the beginning of the end.
But there is hope. As Man develops technology to explore space he is forced to invent ways to work and live in self-contained clean environments. Lessons learned can be applied to reverse the destructive trends on Earth. Our story follows one individual who realizes that he must do his part in this process, and he signs up to work and live in one of several giant colonies being built in space. This destiny was foretold to him as a child in a recurring dream…
[A study in the early 1970's concluded that if pollution of the Hudson, Potomac, and Delaware rivers continued at their then-current rates, there wouldn't be a single living organism remaining in the North Atlantic within 50 years. When the atmosphere contains less oxygen, people begin to act irrationally. Crime rates increase. Coastal towns and the big cities are the first to notice. People live in desperation. But there is hope! As man begins exploring space he is forced to develop systems that do not pollute and do not waste anything. Everything is recycled. Sources of clean energy are developed. New industries emerge. The colonization of space is the catalyst for cleaning up the planet.]
© 1972-2009 Rene Young
