Words and Music © 2002 Jeffrey L. Sponsler
Narrator's introduction.
Thalia:
The Tales began, Etherians were gathered,
The Great Hall filled, the Harmonauts were flattered.
A traveler of space had come
to spin fantastic yarn
The Exobotanist:
1
have you ever wondered how
life began its slimy reach -
formed itself into a ball
and crawled up on the beach?
2
I searched the books of alchemy,
of wizardry, of rhymes
Consulted with the aged monks who
rang the mighty chimes
Bridge 1
I read the ancient charts that list
all the worlds on which things grow;
linear response to time -
there was a vector don't you know
Points to chart showing planets with life
3
if you follow the arrow that moves
into time and though the space
you can think like Darwin and find
the seedpod of our race
4
I made a vow to travel there -
the discovery would be mine;
I built a ship with sails that fill
with the silent breeze of time
bridge 2
there it was - hanging high in space
a clanking box of gears
so I made the dock - traversed airlock
it was rusty from the years
5
the giant ship contained
a factory of living things
spiny beasts with too many legs
and plants with feathered wings.
Chorus:
I KNOW THAT I HAVE SEEN
THE FAMOUS GENE MACHINE
THAT SET THE SPORES ADRIFT
GAVE STERILE PLANETS A LIFT
6
I wandered through the darkened ship
the stench grew with the heat
and from each cage - the lonely sounds -
the calls of the incomplete
7
in a colossal aquarium
there swam a hungry ichthyosaur
it swallowed down a protoplasmic blob
that had rolled across the floor
Bridge 3
I found a room were the motors ran
the lights strobed endlessly
and in the chair - with his flowing hair
sat the captain looking at me
8
I fell on my knees and cried
is it true - and can I believe?
you are the king of space who makes
the spores - the living seeds?
9
oh no, he said, I’m not a god
this is just a job, you see;
the pay is bad - the hours long
and now my health is failing me
Bridge
it must be fate that brought you here
to take my place and fly
this ship and to design more life -
scatter it in the sky
Chorus:
THE CAPTAIN NOW IS GONE
THE SPORING SHIP UNMANNED
THE SPREAD OF LIFE NOW HAS STOPPED
MY RESEARCH DONE NOW AS PLANNED
10
There are a million creatures designed
their blueprints gather dust
it seems sad - almost a crime
to let it end - it is unjust
Chorus:
AND SO I GREET YOU ALL
BUT I MUST CLOSE MY TALE
THE SPORE IS CALLING OUT MY NAME:
INNOCULATE DISTANT WORLDS
I MUST RETURN
TO DRIVE THE SHIP THROUGH THE VOID
I WILL RIDE THE TEMPORAL TIDE
YOU KNOW IT’S ALL RELATIVE