I.) THE RIGHT DEGREE
The gods have come to cure the earthCross galaxies to assess its worth
And I am one
A god on our terrain
To find out what's in store and what shall ever reign
The presence of an avatar
The embassy of tribunal afar
To rule the world
Misplace its trust
Restore all human goals to just
Flesh and blood for almighty power
Penance drives the darkest hour
Seduction for a planet's land
With a hapless mortal's helping hand
Fearing not the greater good
Every ion understood
Known to be the impelling force
The core of knowledge, universe's source
II.) THE HISTORY OF QUAENOS
Quaenos was a madman from Jupiter's days of yore
He feared the tendency to do what had already been done before
So he built himself a transport and went to Ganymede
A desolate moon with freedom was the place where Quaenos stayed
On the surface of the moon he found a mineral not known prior
A blackish rock that when touched with oxygen burst into red fire
He observed this sight with shaky breath and could hardly comprehend
That Jupiter was negligent to what was beyond their world's end
To go beyond --his sole desire
Manifest this sanguine fire
Make use of what he did not know
A glory which Quaenos did bestow
All on his own did Quaenos decide to gain universal acclaim
To create a monumental pillar of this new material was his aim
Mad as he was -unpredictable- he had a gift for art
So he set himself a life long goal -construction straight from the heart
With a crazed mind and a determined will, Quaenos achieved his goal
Pious and content and wanting to live though time had taken its toll
Quaenos' Pillar arose from Ganymede's youthful, rocky face
And when touched with oxygen its glow illuminated the surrounding space
The folk of Jupiter and planets around beheld this awesome sight
Even the stars noticed Quaenos' Pillar and its glowing crimson light
In the eyes of all the beholders of the universe none would show any praise
To this man, this prophet, this heretic who had forgone their orthodox ways
Flesh and blood for almighty power
Penance drives the darkest hour
Seduction for a planet's land
With a hapless mortal's helping hand
Fearing not the greater good
Every ion understood
Known to be the impelling force
The core of knowledge, universe's source
III.) QUAENOS' ARCHETYPE
While the attention of the universe lay upon the Pillar's lightThe outlook of the beholders was of jealousy and spite
They all wished they had the will to harvest creativity
But they couldn't understand that they first had to be free
In the reddish haze of space around Quaenos' pride and joy
There was a small planet where I grew up as a boy
While others were trying to find ways to make the bright light dim
I was trying to find a way to be just like him
To go beyond --my sole desire
Understand this meaningful pyre
To learn more and to know
That it wasn't some peccadillo
Growing up wasn't easy in this horrid society
Schools programmed most students but did not program me
But with my wisdom and my knowledge I got through it alright
Oblivious to my scholars, my goal focused my sight
Trying to break away but not finding the means
Striving for a better way to achieve my dreams
Knowing the structured world wasn't quite what it seemed
I had to get away from the atrocity of the deemed
IV.) ELUDING THE CONVENTION
There must be something beyond the rim of this sphereI see opportunities where everyone else sees fear
The need for something more shouldn't set me apart
But I'm different --I have no boundaries on my yearning heart
I've been told to sacrifice my pursuits for the greater good
Told to forfeit freedom --it has never been understood
Do they realize their pleadings just lead to my dissension?
Giving me the drive to elude the convention
It is possible that there is truth to fate and destiny
If so, then maybe freedom will be the fate for me
To surpass each and every limit with no regret or guilt
Would shine more brightly to me than the Pillar Quaenos built
Cradled in the arms of my overbearing society
Expected to oblige, to have some sense of 'atoned piety'
While each iota of my being seeks to find a way out
Experience has given me a few reasons to doubt...
V.) THE HISTORY OF MANKIND
Mankind has been a burden since the species has begunWhen progress reared its head most men would turn their tail and run
In the tens of thousands of years this bipedal race has been alive
There have been few attempts to go beyond this world --to strive
In the time of man's existence the farthest outward has been the moon
And if the race wants to carry on they had better go further soon
Mankind has been so ignorant throughout their history
Will they remain this way and perish? that is a current mystery
The parallel race on Jupiter had progressed little more
Though they had not gone beyond, they knew enough not to ignore
But with progress comes liability, reliability no-one had
And the lack of responsible societies is what make the races seem sad
And while my race was doomed to their ignorance
And Quaenos' race by their indifference
Both societies are destined to go without
But I --I'm destined to get out
Flesh and blood for almighty power
Penance drives the darkest hour
All I am is in me
And I shall be free
VI.) THE WAY
I hid my views from the people outsideSo no-one knew my incentive
Detached from the world --a motive to hide
I had to get inventive
Using systematic schools around me
I learned how to build a spacecraft
And if anybody knew what I was trying to do
That person would have thought me quite daft
Although it took a lot of time and money
My desire was almost fulfilled
For now I had the means to go beyond this world
And do what I have always willed
To go beyond --my sole desire
Leave the Earth stuck in its mire
To learn more and to know
That there's always farther to go
To collapse society
Show all races they can be free
If they can pass convention's hem
They can see that they are God, and God is them
Seduction for a planet's land
With a hapless mortal's helping hand
Teach them to see
That they are free
And as I launched away from earth I gave a wave goodbye
To a world that's full of prayers to a conventional lie
Pointed straight for Ganymede my spacecraft soared beyond
On a quest for stellar righteousness --a goal as my only bond
I cast my thoughts to Quaenos as I pass the red body of Mars
I wonder what life would be like to be recognized by the stars
To transgress a moral boundary, to discover things none knew
Is an easy enough task but no-one ever knows just what to do
Io's steady revolutions transfix me in a thought
That I may be the only one pursuing goals I had always sought
In a universe of apparent truths I may be the only one who understands
That the universe needs no society to use it to run their petty errands
Fearing not the greater good
Every ion understood
I felt an eerie hesitation
As I reached my destination
VII.) DETRACTING PROGRESS
As I reached the rocky surface of Jupiter's brightest moonThe Pillar light was shining --a madman's eternal boon
And as I landed my precious shuttle a sight astonished me
Engraved within the Pillar a sign said "PEOPLE, YOU ARE FREE"
And at the base of the colossal landmass the creator's carcass lay
With a look of peace upon his face at a goal not gone astray
With his life there had come a meaning, a fulfillment of intent
And silently I thanked him for his inspiration and his talent
To go beyond --his sole desire
Manifest this sanguine fire
Make use of what he did not know
A glory which Quaenos did bestow
In life he was just like Gulliver --bound to a fool's ideal
But he broke their bonds and got past their morals, did something that was real
Lived out his dreams away from his kind, built a pillar of rock
And lit an intergalactic fire that sparked the universe to talk
But meanwhile down on Jupiter, the races were circling around
Doing what they had always done content with being bound
Practicing detracting progress --regression their sole trait
Letting others make decisions while leaving life all up to fate
It's time for change to come around
Alleviate the need for bound
And I will start
Show people they can choose
The ones who see free will can win, the rest shall always lose
VIII.) THE GUISE OF AN EAGLE
Some say the end is nearAnd cower from the world in fear
Cast their eyes away from will
Let their minds be taken ill
Some walk away from goals
And train themselves that they have no souls
Not follow their hearts desire
Or fan their passion's fire
But their destiny lies in them
The tree of fortune's stem
And for those I arrive
To show otherwise
To teach and to learn
Singular concern
Known to be the impelling force
The core of knowledge, universe's source
Lies in all who want the chance
To rid themselves of penance
I the eagle from afar
The second vacant star
To capture before demise
The potential gods --the wise
Ready to face the peasants of this largest planet's tract
Try to replace convention with reason and with fact
Show their world that disposition is good to have achieved
That society is entropy and they were all deceived
And as I climb into my spacecraft I have a semblance of hope
To prove to this new people that there's a better way to cope
And with the Pillar light of freedom giving me the drive
I feel more than ever satisfaction to be alive
Flesh and blood for almighty power
Penance drives the darkest hour
Seduction for a planet's land
With a hapless mortal's helping hand
Fearing not the greater good
Every ion understood
Known to be the impelling force
The core of knowledge, universe's source
IX.) THE ENTROPIC HOUR
My arrival was blasphemy in this strictly governed landI was told I was immoral before I had a chance to stand
Their progress was ordained in a steady backward crawl
The couldn't overcome the simple fact that they were walking into a wall
Freedom was not an option throughout Jupiter's colonies
With religious fears and programmed thoughts and corrupt societies
And the harder I tried to show them that only they can control their fate
Their uneasy tolerance of my purposes suddenly turned to hate
And so rejected I turned to space
And saw the Pillar's light
And instantly it dawned on me
That all would turn out alright
The entropic hour for this world has come
Like a million others in space
But if I see things so much clearer than some
There may be hope for every race
If I have followed Quaenos' pursuit of a goal
Maybe someone shall follow me
And then I will have played my role
In universal history
X.) EVER
The gods have come to cure the earthCross galaxies to assess its worth
And I am one
A god who shall ordain
To know what is in store and what shall ever reign
The presence of an avatar
The embassy of tribunal afar
To rule all worlds
Misplace their trust
Restore all races goals to just
Flesh and blood for almighty power
Penance drives the darkest hour
Seduction for a planet's land
With a hapless mortal's helping hand
Fearing not the greater good
Every ion understood
Known to be the impelling force
The core of knowledge, universe's source
And as the universal carrion
Ambles towards 'never'
Quaenos' Pillar's light shines on
Forever and ever...
By: E. Shaun Russell
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"I seek to reach the men of intellect, wherever such men may still be
found"
-Ayn Rand
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Up to the Shaun Russell PageAnders Sandberg / asa@nada.kth.se