(previously in Program Twelve: Novas 3.9)
(previously in story time: Novas 0.01, 0.02)
(previously in story time: Novas 6 Act 1)
It is 1999, another 1999. A world facing now disaster because Susan’s father, back in the 1950s, made one small choice differently…
It is 1980 in the Novas timeline. Susan and her mother have both been missing for a year, and the SKYWATCH network is collapsing as Astradyne’s corporate forces, led by their AI SYSTEM, take control…
BEGIN PROGRAM TWELVE MODULE SIX.
A force field and a flexible plan…
Novas 6.6: To Spend The Night In Zion
01 Boney M – Rivers Of Babylon (1978, Germany/Aruba/Jamaica) AVALON
By the rivers of Babylon where we sat down yeah we wept when we remembered Zion By the rivers of Babylon where we sat down yeah we wept when we remembered Zion When the wicked carried us away in captivity required from us a song Now how shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? When the wicked carried us away in captivity requiring of us a song Now how shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our heart be acceptable in Thy sight bere tonight Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our heart be acceptable in Thy sight bere tonight By the rivers of Babylon where we sat down yeah we wept when we remembered Zion By the rivers of Babylon where we sat down yeah we wept when we remembered Zion Ahh ahh ahh ahh Ahh ahh ahh ahh Ahh ahh ahh ahh Ahh ahh ahh ahh-ahh By the rivers of Babylon (rivers of Babylon) Where we sat down (together sing the song) Yeah we wept (sing a song of love) When we remembered Zion (yeah yeah yeah) By the rivers of Babylon (prophets of Babylon) Where we sat down (you hear the people cry) Yeah we wept When we remembered Zion
1999′: Susan and Gabrielle realise that this timeline is doomed because SKYWATCH has not been created.
1957: Alex and Avalon meet
It wasn’t really any part of the plan for Novas 6 to be a big weird alternate-universe epilogue-finale, but then none of Novas really had a plan. Novas 5 happened because I had scary songs about space and the unknown future and I wanted to process that sense of fear and link it to a downward movement back to Earth. And Novas 6 happened because both “Solsbury Hill” and “Angelsea” have haunted me since the early 1990s, and both seemed to share a fragment of melody that seemed like it was worth exploring. And the images that fragment threw up on the screen were early 1990s images, more aligned with the shadow of Afrofuturism than of Cyberpunk, and so it felt more and more that this was a very different thematic vision; like the transition from the 1980s to 1990s, it felt almost like shifting into a different timeline rather than a future. And when I tried to find the story at the heart of that vision, it started to centre around the character of Susan’s father, and what a world without him would mean.
Novas was always about the vision of the future as seen from the 1980s, but set in the 1980s, so it had to take place already in a not-our-1980s; a decade with technology vastly sped up. There would be space infrastructure, AIs running corporations, secret midnight battles for supremacy.
Novas 6 is not that world. It’s one where Africa and China have developed and Europe has collapsed, where things are different and more green, but some of the same problems are still there. Space is not the frontier; climate is. But money still rules, though it speaks more softly.
Susan and Jack are visitors in this world, while Michael and Gabrielle are residents. But both Susan and Gabrielle discover together at the end of Act 1 that Susan’s father is the pivot to this world’s altered timeline: he chose not to found SKYWATCH and while that was a more ethical choice, his walking away has left the world undefended.
But Susan now has access to the multiverse…
02 Rush – Digital Man (1982, Canada) ALEX
His world is under observation We're monitoring his station Under faces and the places Where he traces points of view He picks up scraps of conversation Radio and radiation From the dancers and romancers With the answers but no clue He'd love to spend the night in Zion He's been a long long while in Babylon He'd like a lover's wings to fly on To a tropic isle of Avalon His world is under anaesthetic Subdivided and synthetic His reliance on the giants In the science of the day He picks up scraps of information He's adept at adaptation Because for strangers and arrangers Constant change is here to stay He'd love to spend the night in Zion He's been a long long while in Babylon He'd like a lover's wings to fly on To a tropic isle of Avalon He's got a force field and a flexible plan He's got a date with fate in a black sedan He plays fast forward just as long as he can But he won't need a bed He's a digital man He'd love to spend the night in Zion He's been a long long while in Babylon He'd like a lover's wings to fly on To a tropic isle of Avalon He's got a force field and a flexible plan He's got a date with fate in a black sedan He plays fast forward just as long as he can But he won't need a bed He's a digital man He plays fast forward just as long as he can But he won't need a bed He's a digital man
1958. Susan’s father is a young man who always lives five minutes into the future, his projects within the beyond-advanced-technology fringe of the intelligence community always containing wheels within wheels.
Susan’s father is Henry Dorsett Case if he were also Gendo Ikari and the Smoking Man.
Let’s call him Alex.
“Digital Man” is one of the keystone songs of this module.
03 Katie Melua – Tiny Alien (2010, England/Georgia) AVALON
Who are you, my tiny alien? Why do you love to hide? Who are you, my tiny alien? What can you see inside? I won't make a sound I won't shoot you down With my science and reliance On everything I thought I knew When you're not of this Earth You won't know what you're worth You've just gotta take the pressure together Or you'll never survive in this world Tiny alien Who are you, my tiny alien? What are you here to do? Who are you, my tiny alien? How can I talk to you? What's my DNA? Can you make it change? So I can gain new insight and take flight And never feel any pain When you're not of this Earth You won't know what you're worth You've just gotta take the pressure together Or you'll never survive in this world Just how far can you fall When you still feel so small? Will you love me through the sorrows, tomorrows Whatever the future will bring? Tiny alien Who are you, my tiny alien? We are just skin and bones Who are you, my tiny alien? Why are we so alone? When you're not of this Earth You won't know what you're worth You've just gotta take the pressure together Or you'll never survive in this world Just how far can you fall When you still feel so small? Will you love me through the sorrows, tomorrows Whatever the future will bring? Tiny alien Who are you, my tiny alien? Who are you, my tiny alien? Who are you, my tiny alien?
1959: At the Center for Scientific Progress, Avalon is pregnant with Susan, whose DNA is partially human, partially something else recovered from space.
Let’s call Susan’s mother Avalon.
How did I rediscover Katie Melua? Because of her “No Fear Of Heights” on the soundtrack of the 2010 Angelina Jolie / Johnny Depp romantic crime thriller “The Tourist”, which you should watch because it’s a perfect movie.
04 Roxy Music – Avalon (1982, England) ALEX
Now the party's over I'm so tired Then I see you coming out of nowhere Much communication in a motion Without conversation or a notion Avalon When the samba take you out of nowhere When the background's fading out of focus Yes the picture's changing every moment And your destination you don't know it Avalon Dancing dancing Dancing dancing When you bossa nova there's no holding But you have me dancing out of nowhere Avalon Avalon Avalon Avalon Avalon Avalon Avalon Avalon Avalon Avalon Avalon
1980. Twenty years later, and the odds that Susan’s father has defied for so long are crashing in on him.
A song that has haunted me for a very long time.
05 Sol Seppy – Come Running (2006, England) AVALON
You call my name Come running Come running in my friend If I was ever in need I would be calling your name And if it's a sunny day tomorrow We can relax by the sand And I won't fall away from your shadow And it's time to unveil those beautiful eyes There's a whole lot more than you realise There's a shift going on that you feel inside And it's time to open you into the light Can you see the love you are? It burns inside so bright Can you see the love you are? And if you want your name It's coming It's simply love my friend That lets you in So come running in I will be calling your name And if it's a sunny day tomorrow We can bring all the friends around And maybe we might go running Through seas and skies I've found And it's time to unveil those beautiful eyes There's a whole lot more than you realise There's a shift going on that you feel inside And it's time to open you into the light Can you see the love you are? It burns inside so bright Can you see the love you are? And you're looking on up To your home in the stars Remembering What it's like to be safe and warm In Daddy's arms And now it's you who can unfold your wings Around a broken one And it's you who need your love More than anyone You into the light Can you see the love you are? It burns inside so bright Can you see the love you are? Can you see the love you are?
1980. Avalon is alive, but a little more than human. She appears to Alex, with Susan.
We last saw Avalon mourning Susan’s disappearance in England in 1979, as Astradyne forces led by SYSTEM attacked SKYWATCH to try to capture a UFO.
Susan has created a bridge between the timelines.
How did I find Sol Seppy? Because of, and I am not making this up, Final Space, which used “Enter One” for a quietly gut-punching moment.
06 Lalo Schifrin – Mission Impossible Theme (1966, USA/Argentina)
Instrumental
1980. Susan and Avalon explain to Alex that there’s nothing they can do for him in this timeline, but that there is a chance for survival – and a world that needs him.
07 Harry Belafonte – Turn The World Around (1977, USA) ALEX PRIME
We come from the fire Living in the fire Go back to the fire Turn the world around We come from the water Living in the water Go back to the water Turn the world around We come from the mountain Living on the mountain Go back to the mountain Turn the world around Oh-ho, so is life Ha-ha, so is life Oh-ho, so is life Ha-ha, so is life Do you know who I am? Do I know who you are? See we one another clearly? Do we know who we are? Oh-ho, so is life A ba tee wah ha, so is life Oh-ho, so is life A ba tee wah ha, so is life Water make the river River watch the mountain Fire make the sunlight Turn the world around Heart is of the river Body is the mountain Spirit is the sunlight Turn the world around We are of the spirit Truly of the spirit Only can the spirit Turn the world around Do you know who I am? Do I know who you are? See we one another clearly? Do we know who we are? Do you know who I am? Do I know who you are? See we one another clearly? Do we know who we are? Oh-ho, so is life A ba tee wah ha, so is life Oh-ho, so is life A ba tee wah ha, so is life
In the time bridge. Alex from 1980 meets his counterpart from the alternate timeline. This Alex abandoned the SKYWATCH program in the 1950s to become an ecologist and spiritual leader. By doing so he changed the course of his world’s history but was long forgotten by the millennium’s end.
That dangling/accelerated African rhythm again which haunts Novas 6.
08 Sa Dingding – Upwards To The Moon (2018, China) AVALON with SUSAN and GABRIELLE
Zuo shou wo da di (my left hand holds the ground) you shou wo zhe tian (my right hand holds the sky) Zhang wen lie chu le (my palm print cracks) shi fang de shan dian (ten directions of lightning) Ba shi guang (I turn time) cong cong dui huan cheng le nian (quickly into years) San qian shi (In three thousand lives) ru suo bu jian (I've seen it all) Zuo shu nian zhe hua (my left hand picks flowers) you shou wu zhe jian (my right hand wields a sword) Mei jian luo xia le (between my brows has fallen) yi wan nian de xue (ten thousand years of snow) Yi di lei (one teardrop) na shi wo (that is me) Zuo sho yi dan zhi (my left hand strikes a blow) you shou dan zhe xian (my right hand strums a chord) Zhou ji bai du zai (row the ferry to) wang chuan de shui jian (Oblivion's River) Dang fan nao (when trouble) neng kai chu yui duo hong lian (opens a red lotus) Mo ting xie (don't stop) ge wo za nian (or distract me) Zuo shou zhi zhe yue (my left finger touches the moon) you shou qu hong xian (my right hand holds red threads) Ci yu ni he wo (to give you and I) yuan de qing yan (the love we wish) Yue guang zhong (in the moonlight) Ni ba wo (you beside me) Zuo shou hua cheng yu (my left hand becomes feathers) you shou cheng lin pian (my right hand grows scales) Mou shi zai yun shang (one life in the clouds) mou shi zai lin jian (one life in the forest) Yuan sui ni (I'd follow you) yong yi li wei chen de mo yang (even as a speck of dust) Zai suo you (in order to) chen shi fu xian (enter earthly life) Wo zuo shou na qi ni (my left hand picks you up) you shou fang xia ni (my right hand puts you down) He zhang shi ni quan (when you clasp your palms) bu bei shou hui xin jian (I'm drawn back into your heart) Yi zhu xiang (an incense stick) Ni shi wo (you are me) Wu er wu bie (not two, not separate)
In the time bridge. Susan, Avalon and Gabrielle together bring Alex into the 1999′ timeline.
Rush and Roxy Music have been there in my head for a long time, but the trigger for this one really was this song.
This is the theme tune to the Chinese fantasy drama Xiāng Mì Chén Chén Jìn Rú Shuāng (Ashes of Love).
09 Vance Joy – We’re Going Home (2018, Australia) ALEX
Under the surface you don't know what you'll find Hmm, until it's your time No second chances but all we can do is try Hmm, I made up my mind I can't see you But I hear your call Baby hold on now We're going home If we make it or we don't we won't be alone When I see your light shine I know I'm home If you're waiting all your life you won't ever go When I see your light shine I know I'm home When I see your light shine I know I'm home When I see your light shine Some things are simple and hard to ignore They say, hmm, the truth is like that We're getting colder, so far from the shore I say, hmm, the world is like that I can't see you But I hear your call Baby hold on now We're going home If we make it or we don't we won't be alone When I see your light shine I know I'm home If you're waiting all your life you won't ever go When I see your light shine I know I'm home When I see your light shine I know I'm home When I see your light shine There's a place that I wanna run with you Darling there's a place that I wanna run with you We're going home If we make it or we don't we won't be alone When I see your light shine I know I'm home If you're waiting all your life you won't ever go When I see your light shine I know I'm home When I see your light shine I know I'm home When I see your light shine I know I'm home I'm home I'm home When I see your light shine
Alex and Avalon join Susan, Jack, Michael and Gabrielle in 1999′. Their skills will be the nucleus of an international scientific collaboration to save Earth in this second timeline. A very different approach from the SKYWATCH/SYSTEM corporate war.
A song that seems to parallel Walk Off The Earth’s “Home We’ll Go” for me.
10 Joan Baez – Forever Young (1974, USA) AVALON
May God's blessing keep you always May your wishes all come true May you always do for others And let others do for you May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung May you stay Forever young May you grow up to be righteous May you grow up to be true May you always know the truth And see the light surrounding you May you always be courageous Stand upright and be strong And may you stay Forever young Forever young Forever young May you stay Forever young May your hands always be busy May your feet always be swift May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift May your heart always be joyful May your song always be sung And may you stay Forever young Forever young Forever young May you stay Forever young
1960: Avalon gives birth to Susan.
The other “Forever Young”, by Alphaville, features in Novas 0. We’ve already had a variant of “Tomorrow”. There won’t be a second “Edge of the World”, but there will be one more chapter inspired by its sound.