Partners - The Game of Rat and Dragon by Cordwainer Smith

Idoru Toei's musical version of "The Game of Rat and Dragon" by Cordwainer Smith, featured in "The Pitch Science Fiction 4Q2024" available at: https://lphi.top/p-tpsf-3
Logophilia official website: https://lphi.top/lh
Logophilia official X link: https://x.com/ToeiIdoru

Lyrics SRT:

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,000
[Intro]
[instrumental, echoing synth pads, pulsing beat]

2
00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:15,000
[Verse 1]
Pinlighting's a living, cold and stark,
Another shift beneath this endless dark.

2
00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:20,000
A uniform, a soldier's guise I wear,
But no one sees the burden that I bear.

3
00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:25,500
They don't appreciate the silent fight,
The hours spent in fading, starlit night.

4
00:00:25,500 --> 00:00:31,000
[Chorus]
Grid of nothing, aching deep inside,
Solar system ticking, a comforting tide.

5
00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:36,000
A simple clockwork, familiar and true,
Protecting us from horrors, old and new.

6
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:42,000
But out there waits the void, a chilling grace,
And I’m the guardian in this lonely space.

7
00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:52,000
[Verse 2]
Same old ticking world, nothing to report,
Just spinning silence, a familiar sort.

8
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:57,000
They didn't need pinlighting long ago,
When ancient men on Earth could freely grow.

9
00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:02,000
No Rats to dodge, no Game to play or win,
Just sunlit fields where life could blossom in.

10
00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:11,000
[Bridge]
Warmth… gentle… safe…
Do they know what it's like to stand alone?

11
00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:20,000
Fear… darkness… gone…
To feel the universe within your bone?

12
00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:26,000
[Chorus]
Grid of nothing, aching deep inside,
Solar system ticking, a comforting tide.

13
00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,000
A simple clockwork, familiar and true,
Protecting us from horrors, old and new.

14
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:36,000
But out there waits the void, a chilling grace,
And I’m the guardian in this lonely space.

15
00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:46,000
Same old ticking world, nothing to report,
Just spinning silence, a familiar sort.

16
00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:51,000
They didn't need pinlighting long ago,
Protecting us from horrors, old and new.

17
00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:57,000
But out there waits the void, a chilling grace,
And I’m the guardian in this lonely space.

18
00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:13,000
[Verse 3]
They pull your soul, they say, when you go through,
A sticky bleeding, something lost to view.

19
00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:17,500
Dogwood vanished, taken far above,
Where others linger, robbed of life and love.

20
00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:23,500
But light breaks Dragons, that’s the saving grace,
And Partners fight with speed and fearless pace!

21
00:02:23,500 --> 00:02:33,000
[Bridge]
Don’t worry 'bout those things, it gets better all the time,
The Partners are improving, a truly wondrous climb.

22
00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:39,000
They move faster than Rats, they always will, you see,
Just let them share your mind, set your spirit free.

23
00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:44,000
[Chorus]
Grid of nothing, aching deep inside,
Solar system ticking, a comforting tide.

24
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:49,000
A simple clockwork, familiar and true,
Protecting us from horrors, old and new.

25
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:54,500
But out there waits the void, a chilling grace,
And I’m the guardian in this lonely space.

26
00:02:54,500 --> 00:03:01,000
[Outro]
Warm… gentle… safe…
My Partner… my light…