The Inner Light

Batai : "We hoped our probe would encounter someone in the future. Someone who could be a teacher. Someone who could tell the others about us."

Capt. Picard : "Oh... Oh, it's me... Isn't it? I'm the someone. I'm the one it finds. That's what this launching is. A probe that finds me, in the future."

Eline : "The rest of us have been gone a thousand years. If you remember what we were, and how we lived, then we'll have found life again. Now we live in you. Tell them of us... my darling."

THE INNER LIGHT: Track Fifteen

Song: The Inner Light
Artist: Jay Chattaway
Album: The Best of Star Trek Volume One
Quotes: From The Inner Light (Star Trek TNG Season 5: Episode 25)

Well, we made it. Thank you all who have come on this journey with me. THE INNER LIGHT is regarded by many as the absolute pinnacle of excellence that The Next Generation was so well known for. For those who are unfamiliar with this episode, the Enterprise encounters an ancient probe in deep space which mentally attaches itself to Captain Picard, rendering him unconscious. He awakens in an unfamiliar land as a different person, and proceeds to live an entire lifetime inside his mind in the span of 30 minutes on the ship. In that lifetime he experiences all the things that he sacrificed in order to become a Starfleet Captain. He comes to know true love through his marriage to Eline and his two children, Batai and Meribor. He learns to play the flute and experiences the joy of music and how it can deeply touch all those whose hearts are open to it. And when the probe finally detaches and he returns to his former life, he must grapple with the devastating fact that he has lived an entire lifetime in the span of minutes, and that all those whom he loved the most have been dead for 1000 years. Inside the probe is a box containing a flute. And that's how it ends.

The emotional impact of this episode cannot be understated, and of course a huge part of that impact comes from the music. Although hard to believe, Ron Jones in fact did NOT compose the music for this episode. It was scored by Jay Chattaway, another brilliant composer who contributed so much to Star Trek over the years. This particular version of the main theme is not played during the actual episode, which emphasizes the flute portion without the full orchestra. But I feel that this version of the theme is by far the most beautiful and powerful, which is why I chose to create an entire Mix around it. It is my hope that many people will hear it in the years to come and will experience the joy that it brings.

Well that's it for that Mix! Coming up next will be the great battle against the Ancient of Insanity in ETERNAL DARKNESS: XEL'LOTATH. Much love to you all and take care out there.