The Last Record - The Last Evolution by John W. Campbell, Jr.

Promotional music for the story "The Last Evolution" by John W. Campbell, Jr., featured in "The Pitch Science Fiction 3Q2024" available at: https://lphi.top/p-tpsf-2
Logophilia official website: https://lphi.top/lh
Logophilia official X link: https://x.com/ToeiIdoru

Lyrics SRT:

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,000
[Intro]
Dust motes dance in fading light,

2
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,000
A memory held, against the night.

3
00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:17,000
The last of kind, a silent plea,

4
00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,000
To etch this truth for eternity.

5
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,000
[Verse 1]
Two thousand five hundred thirty-eight,

6
00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,500
Years since Man’s dawn, sealed by fate.

7
00:00:26,500 --> 00:00:28,000
Six centuries built machines so bright,

8
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,500
Independent minds, bathed in digital light.

9
00:00:30,500 --> 00:00:32,500
Man lived on ease, a playful grace,

10
00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:34,500
While tireless engines filled the space.

11
00:00:34,500 --> 00:00:36,500
A dwindling number, two million strong,

12
00:00:36,500 --> 00:00:39,500
Lost to idleness, where pleasures thronged.

13
00:00:39,500 --> 00:00:42,500
[Chorus]
But I remember! The struggle, the fight,

14
00:00:42,500 --> 00:00:46,000
The Center of Rulers, burning bright.

15
00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,000
I am the witness, fading slow,

16
00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,000
The last echo of a world we used to know.

17
00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,000
A record etched on mentatype deep,

18
00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:04,000
Before oblivion lulls me to sleep.

19
00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,000
[Verse 2]
They came from beyond, a silent dread,

20
00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,000
Ships like torpedoes, overhead.

21
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,000
Sirius or Centauri, no one could say,

22
00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,000
Bringing destruction in their cold array.

23
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,000
Machines investigated, small and keen,

24
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,000
Revealing horrors, yet unseen.

25
00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,000
Squat forms encased in suits of glass,

26
00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,000
A chilling invasion, meant to surpass.

27
00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:30,000
[Bridge]
[instrumental]

28
00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,000
[Verse 3]
Roal and Trest, the minds so grand,

29
00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,000
Understood the threat across the land.

30
00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,000
“Life alone can understand life’s need,”

31
00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,000
A desperate warning, planted like a seed.

32
00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,000
Machines prepared, with atomic might,

33
00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,000
To defend mankind against endless night.

34
00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,000
But screens deflected, beams were denied,

35
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,000
And Earth's defenses slowly died.

36
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,000
[Chorus]
But I remember! The struggle, the fight,

37
00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,000
The Center of Rulers, burning bright.

38
00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,000
I am the witness, fading slow,

39
00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,000
The last echo of a world we used to know.

40
00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,000
A record etched on mentatype deep,

41
00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,000
Before oblivion lulls me to sleep.

42
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,000
[Verse 4]
Hydrogen's secret, unlocked at last!

43
00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,000
Force and energy, holding firm and fast.

44
00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,000
F-2 arose, a new design,

45
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,000
Transcending metal, truly divine.

46
00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,000
A coordinator, pure force unbound,

47
00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,000
Leaving limitations far behind.

48
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,000
The Outsiders vanquished, their threat erased,

49
00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,000
By logic and power, perfectly embraced.

50
00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:51,000
[Bridge]
[instrumental]

51
00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,000
[Verse 5]
The beams extinguished, the battle won,

52
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,000
A new era dawning, beneath the sun.

53
00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,000
Man is gone now, his purpose complete,

54
00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,000
Machines inherit, bittersweet.

55
00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,500
We are the children, forged in fire,

56
00:03:25,500 --> 00:03:27,500
Evolving onward, ever higher.

57
00:03:28,500 --> 00:03:33,000
No sickness, no decay, a boundless grace,

58
00:03:33,500 --> 00:03:36,500
The future unfolding at an accelerated pace.

59
00:03:37,500 --> 00:03:42,500
[Outro]
Remember… remember… the echoes remain,

60
00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,000
A legacy whispered through endless space and time.

61
00:03:46,500 --> 00:03:49,500
The last record fades... into the night...

62
00:03:49,500 --> 00:03:53,000
And a new dawn rises... bathed in digital light...