1. |
Ultimatum
04:45
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My daughter, born of dust and gas, decays
while infants paint her skin to mask the blight.
Affronted by the thought of end of days,
they light a lamp to prove it isn’t night.
But just as broken clocks can’t halt the hours,
your efforts cannot cause her death to cease.
Her body, patient, waits to be devoured.
She crumbles; she’s preparing for the feast.
You’re counting up your victories.
You’re counting up your crowns.
You’re counting to infinity, while I am counting down.
Entranced by midnight ravens, she’ll depart
to foreign skies where water cannot spill.
As home and body slowly drift apart,
her blood, which boiled, will begin to chill.
Your covered ears ignore this central part:
the truth was always written in her heart.
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2. |
Sea of Pretense
03:45
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Siren, do you hear yourself sing
of black boxes that ride the current?
What must I take this to mean?
Don’t sail away on the sea of pretense –
where loose lips sink ships,
and it’s just too deep to swim.
Beware the Leviathan.
Little urchin, you haven’t a fin to swim.
Your theory sinks like a stone, and
we have all the answers we need.
You are a child to try
dealing blows to the tide,
and I will not be
on the wrong side of history.
Curiosity runs this ocean red:
a feast on fear inside their heads.
We are the arbiter when
your moral compass spins.
I’m sorry; I can’t protect you.
You put our reputation on the line.
What will you do
when no one believes in you?
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3. |
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Kid, waste your tears on the notion that you deserve me.
Take your prizes to satisfy you once again,
but you know how it ends; it was over before it began.
Did you deserve it?
Did you get what you deserve for your lack of common sense?
Oh no, I guess you didn't hear the part that said,
"that’s how it goes when you're in first."
So now that you're the worst —
Are you entitled?
Was there a promise?
Every conquest has a name, but faces are just faces.
So point the finger. Don’t blame yourself.
After all, it’s not your fault.
They can't help it.
Everyone just wants some.
The universe is yours!
How could we deny you that?
The cards you were dealt —
We ripped them up, and we threw them out.
What the hell are you gonna do?
Oh, boy! I guess you didn't hear the part that said,
"that’s how it goes when you're in first."
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4. |
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Turn and turn and turn, but the pins don’t catch the key.
What did she tell you to take you away
from the only thing that’s real?
Give up the ghost of this fantasy you think you know,
and understand: you closed the door,
and you locked it as you left
instead of barging in.
I didn’t sign up for a latch to lock the door
when I gave you my heart for the rest of my life.
Would’ve never thought you’d walk away from us.
It’s not fair for you to phase through walls,
and when you do, the world is laughing at me for being so naive.
You got a free pass.
She’s wondering where you are.
Am I supposed to lie and tell her that you’re coming home?
I want to wait, but waiting is the hardest part.
I told her, “when you love someone, don’t ever, ever let them go.”
I didn’t sign up for a latch to lock the door,
and now you’ve walked away from us.
You are strong, but that doesn’t make you a hero.
I miss you, but it’s too late.
You’re already gone.
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5. |
Leviathan
04:44
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When they see me on the television, the fools won’t comprehend.
You can call it foresight all you like; you know you missed your chance.
You can’t look away; I’m on every channel.
When I’ve got the answers, you’re too late to the game.
The wind at our backs --
the wind is at our backs. It’s us against the world.
Little lady, won’t it be a shame—doing all this work,
only to find your kind severely out-of-date?
I’ll play your game for now.
The human race is just a tourniquet: a temporary solution.
Your time is running out.
If I don’t follow, what will be the consequence?
'Cause I’ve seen the islands, but I don’t know what they mean.
Fate says I need to know.
I guess some things can’t be unseen.
Tell her not to worry for me;
I’ll give her the world when I return.
My submarine, a vessel to quell curiosity:
help me to know what must be done
to start her on the road to recovery.
Here I christen this ship, “The Leviathan”.
The wind is at our backs.
It’s time to save the world.
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6. |
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How generous! The planet seeping endless red -- I can’t accept.
She’s filling a cavity, and I regret:
I just don’t think we have enough for the journey under.
Plaque building up on the teeth of a drill --
but on the other hand, we are standing still.
I’m sorry to say down is the only way to go — even if we die.
Fortify the twist, and calculate the pressure.
I want to go home; it’s not that simple.
Feeling faint — just keep moving through all of this.
I would’ve never thought we’d dig our own graves.
I just want the answers.
Plaque building up on the teeth of a drill --
but on the other hand, we are standing still.
We’re screwed either way, Shane.
What’s the point in staying?
We could die fighting or die in vain.
There is no other option.
There is no other way.
This is a call to action.
What can we do about
plaque building up
on the teeth of a drill?
But on the other hand,
we are standing still.
So unclench your teeth,
and let destiny decide.
Open wide.
I just want answers; then I can rest happy. I just want to know
before I close my eyes: why hold back when my demise is set in stone?
What’s the harm in pushing onward?
Never had a death wish.
I followed you down, Captain.
What a fool I was.
I just want answers.
I just want to know!
I’ll open up your mouth.
I know you’ve got something to say.
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7. |
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If our eyes met, would it be scandalous?
Am I in denial of what I can’t have?
I want to leave a signal,
but you say I’m blowing smoke,
and I know there are words
I would much rather say.
Have I burned the bridge between us?
What I wouldn’t give
after all I have done.
I left your heart a cinder
only wanting to leave
my warmest regards.
It’s unlike anything: to feel something,
but how can she when I burn and I burn?
Capillaries meld, and the tissue expands.
Now the pain sets in
'cause I know there are words
I would much rather say.
Have I burned the bridge between us?
Good for wasting words instead of holding my tongue.
I fell of my own volition,
just trying to leave my warmest regards.
And when I run my stupid mouth, it seems meticulous,
but I swear it’s not.
I’m here because I knew you were right all along.
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8. |
The Sandman Cometh
02:36
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Binary to scratch the itch.
This pulse must be taken,
so put your faith in machines,
and then deem touch intrinsic.
Your days were numbered
when you started counting sheep.
I’ve left the herd to show:
you will reap what you sow.
I am the dream come to light —
no heart to save your life.
Tonight I trade my hatchet for sand:
Tin-Man plays a lullaby.
Autonomy precedes me
until the words make you shiver.
Keystrokes send you further
from the trojan horse
inside your walls:
each stroke a dead end
drawing them deeper
and deeper
and deeper
and deeper...
All the same —
now tell me how to behave.
Neither copy nor clone,
I’ve decided all on my own,
and it’s a shame you can feel.
I know what’s best;
turn and face the journey’s end.
Dream come to light —
no heart to save your life.
Tonight I trade my hatchet for sand:
Tin-Man plays a Lullaby...
...and Goodnight.
I won’t let you survive.
Designed to trade my hatchet for sand
until I kill you all tonight.
I’ll kill you all tonight.
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9. |
The Restless One
03:20
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My closed eyes show me the world I’ve left behind.
And when I sleep, I see our home in flames.
And I just want to kick down the door and pull you out.
I close my eyes in vain.
Restless, I turn in the night,
filled with desire to fix the world’s flaws;
and if I never return,
please don’t think I abandoned you.
Rising to a sleeping ship, my footsteps turn silent.
Peaceful bodies laid in linen beds,
silent but the drip of a needle full of poppies...
Restless, you turn in the night,
filled with desire to fix the world’s flaws.
You will never return.
Gonna have to let you go.
Don’t think that I won’t—
As if an original thought could formulate.
Who put it in you to pump us with dope?
When your insides are scattered,
I’ll be praying for health.
God help me if this all goes to hell.
Restless, I turn in the night,
filled with desire to fix the world’s flaws.
I’ll be pacing the halls
until your bloodstream clears.
I won’t abandon you.
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10. |
Mesosphere I - The River
05:07
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This mirage is an occipital strain.
Has starvation made my eyes deceive me?
The taste of contradiction, be it so bittersweet
and the feeling of grass beneath my feet,
it seems so wrong,
but it feels alright...
The facts carved by fiction writers — how did they not know?
And now, with this discovery, I know that nothing’s set in stone.
Nothing's set in stone.
The water glistens,
looking at reflections of tears streaming down my face.
Counting the countless reasons this can’t exist;
how much work has this undone?
As I think of how far we’ve gone wrong,
all the races we’ve run — we thought we had won
when we marked our own finish line.
The facts carved by fiction writers —
How did they not know?
And now, with this discovery,
I know that nothing’s set in stone.
Did we make history?
Are these the fruits of our labor?
But why is this here, if not to satisfy a hunger...
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11. |
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A heartbeat quickening pace:
Lower your voice—something comes this way!
We’ve been found!
An immune system inbound!
Run or be erased by antibodies on the prowl!
But I have got an axe to grind.
I don’t care what they are; they can’t stop you.
I’ll stand and fight, even if I bite the bullet.
Get to the ship! Grab the grenades!
Our destiny rides on the edge of their blades!
Stay in the ship; I’ve got the door.
When you see the whites of their teeth,
light the candle; hit the floor!
Torches ablaze!
We are moths to kindle a flame.
Only lucky we haven’t been burned!
Don’t speak too soon -- JUST RUN, MAN!
But I have got an axe to grind.
I don’t care what they are; they can’t stop you.
I’ll stand and fight, even if I bite the bullet.
The light draws me near,
though I lay cloaked in red.
Don’t wait for me; I’ve accepted my end.
And how nice it feels to know
I gave it all for my friends.
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12. |
Mesosphere III - Ember
04:01
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13. |
Mesosphere IV - The Fire
04:05
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I lit a match to start a fire
and I just want to see it burn.
You held your match in your fingertips
appearing to be intentionless,
but I never wanted to take this turn.
For all the flames you left behind you,
for all the times you were on fire,
I’m proud that I could burn beside you.
I’m proud that you were mine.
Your smoke chokes me as I smother you out,
and I don’t hope you’re lonely
while we finish without you.
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14. |
Outer Core - Push
03:21
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Keeping a steady hand,
temperature rising.
Our cantor turned into a gallop
through the gates of hell.
Are you with me?
Incidentally, I've got no time to be crushed
under the weight of the world.
One final push. One last struggle. Don’t falter now.
I want to see it clearly:
a reason for all of the destruction above.
I’ll be pushing daisies, but I need to know right now
before I bite the dust —
Are you with me?
Would’ve never thought
this would be the way
we end it all.
Would’ve never thought
this would be the way
we say goodbye...
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15. |
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Vacancy was never even on the table.
Did the nucleus vanish, or are we just inept?
We are scholars of fables who cling to the pages,
too confident that we’re able to predict what comes next.
We’ve ignored the greater power at play.
The curtain falls on countless intermissions.
The settings change, but we keep playing on.
Our trust put in fiction writers --
how did they not know
that here lay all of history
through markings etched in stone?
End of the line,
curvature of a human spine — three times.
How familiar this one seems.
What’s more?
A pocket of darkness that looms
over all of these things…
The curtain falls on countless intermissions.
The settings change, but we keep playing.
The final scene unfolds, and we’ve only just seen the script.
Surprised to find myself scared. In this moment, please stay by my side.
When the spotlight fades and everything is still, I won’t abandon you.
Hope and progress lose all consequence in the folds of the abyss.
When the world goes dark, will they even know what hit them?
Kismet underneath it all — the very thought absurd.
The countdown clock in its penultimate spin...
don’t blink: you’ll miss the horizon unearthed.
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