Consortium Project II – ‘Continuum in Extremis’ in 2001
release date 2001
A detailed list of musicians performing Continuum in Extremis
Ian Parry – lead &harmony vocals (Elegy, Ayreon,Vengeance)
Patrick Rondat – guitars (Jean Michel Jarre/Elegy)
Thomas Youngblood – guitars (Kamelot)
Stephan Lill – guitars (Vanden Plas)
Günter Wernö – Organ & Keyboards (Vanden Plas)
Jan Bijlsma – bass guitar (Vengeance)
Patrice Guers – bass guitar (Rhapsody)
Dirk Bruinenberg – drums (Elegy/Adagio)
The Songs
1 Continuum In Extremis
2 Asylum Seekers
3 Catalyst
4 Intrusions Of Madness
5 Momentary Lapse Of Reason
6 Mirror Image
7 Sentiment In Sanctuary
8 What You Sow, You Reap
9 Asphyxia
10 Collide-O-Scope (When Past And Present Collide)
11 Poetic Justice
The Story
A JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF THE NEMESIS
Ella Wheeler Wilcox once wrote “To sin by silence when we should protest, makes cowards out of men”, but in the past protests turned to violence. Violence between men resulting in a divided society.
The continuous cycle of life is a battle for mankind. A “Continuum (in Extremis)”. A hundred years have passed by, and many foreseeable changes have occurred. One half of the human race have become “Asylum Seekers” existing in a self-determined isolation. Man can not live within the proximity of man. An isolation based on fear, ignorance and the need for asylum from eachother.
The Monomale and the Neofem
The result is a planet in which women have reached world domination, but at a price. Man has no place in this feminist order. The outsiders banished and cast out. Man’s aggressive nature is “The Catalyst”, destabilizing society’s moral structure. “Intrusions of Madness” bring violence and disorder on a global scale. A momentary “Lapse of Reason” beyond all comprehension, then a new era in the Human species is born: The Monomale and the Neofem; a “Mirror Image” of our former selves.
No longer interdependent the Neofem has evolved on a higher plane. They exist within a purely feminine biosphere, where gender is of no consequence. Now the advances in science and technology have developed methods allowing the Neofems to be artificially inseminated, resulting in the creation of a new non-interdependent species. Finally after decades protecting their “Sentiment in Sanctuary”, the Elders can pass on their ways of wisdom to the new generation.
In the past the warning signs about issues such as Global Warming, were ignored. The old proverb “What you sow, you Reap” was now a reality. A self-inflicted curse, created solely by the monomale and no-one else. Man became the parasitic race. Brought on by self-indulgence, greed and mistrust, man was slowly suffocating in an “Asphyxia” of the mind. Ironically the hunter, has now become the hunted.
In exile the Monomale roams the four corners of the earth. A moral dilemma between the ways of the past, collide with the present in a “Collide-o-scope” of beliefs. Is this “Poetic Justice”, for the Monomale’s total disregard for life. A punishment for the years of predominance. Only time will reveal the truth. Only time will show mankind its true meaning. The journey begins in search of the Nemesis.
“We all inhabit this small planet, we all cherish our children’s future and we are all mortal”
(J.F. Kennedy, 1959)
The survival of mankind depends on the re-unification of our species. Stability in society is restored, but at great cost to us all. Mankind has evolved into a dual species and is no longer interdependent. A Neofeminist order. Children pure in mind and heart, hold the key to a new realm. A world without suffering or pain, were war is a term used only in the old world. At a certain moment, life changed dramatically with the discovery of the Human Genome. Once discovered at the turn of the 21st Century, this opened the door to a new world. It enabled the Neofems to clone a new singular species. A species with a natural ability to fight off bacteria, creating a disease free environment. The building blocks for a new world.
Persecution of others and an obsessive need to be mightier than the rest, has turned man against man. Decades pass and man’s neo-colonialist mentality and compulsiveness turns into public outbursts and physical violence. Speculation and rumours spread, that these outbursts were triggered through contamination in the food chain. However no evidence was ever found and so these theories were never proven. The worlds press & media ignoring guidelines for responsible reporting, help feed this hysteria. Reality TV dominates the media broadcasting, sending a nonsensical message into billions of homes. A message that violence and extreme behaviour is acceptable. Gradually the death toll rises.
At first it’s headline news, but in a macabre twist the death toll becomes the sport of the day. Betting odds on the sports pages of daily newspapers are common place. Many philosophical and influential people of the day, gather in their masses to protest. Demands for global censorship are finally introduced, but the damage to our society is irreversible.
Decent people now feel threatened by this madness which has engulfed the planet on a global scale. An intrusion of people’s rights as individuals. Gone are the days when a person feels safe walking in the park. All attempts by women in our former society to stop this madness, failed. Man’s hatred for each other has now shown its ugly face. Hit squads roam the streets in search of those who show signs of weakness. Powerless, the police become part of this madness, carrying out sentences ordained by a male dominated global authority. Eventually their own mistrust and angst escalates, as man turns against man.
At a point of no return, man’s aggressive nature can no longer be tolerated. A new era is dawning. The birth of the Neofem and the resulting evolutionary adaptation from man to Monomale. At first this gradual change goes undetected in the old world. Women like Nepotists appoint women, especially those amongst them who possess a spirit of kindness. This change is no great conspiracy, but a natural evolutionary change as society divides into two separate species. However there are those who place blame on others, proclaiming them as heretics who are destroying Gods work.
Although we look the same outwardly, inside we are now worlds apart. The Monomales are eventually cast out of society, into a world of uncertainty. Meanwhile the Neofems build a peaceful existence. A society where Monomales are of no importance or needed for the creation and continuation of our species. New methods in science and new technologies, enable the Neofems to develop phenomenal techniques for the creation of life by artificial insemination.
A Biosphere of tranquillity and harmony between adults and children is formed. The Elders pass on their ways and wisdom to this new generation. Hidden for many years, sentiments from long before in a time when goodness & kindness prevailed, can finally be revealed. Gone are the unjust beliefs, that we must fight our way through life to obtain material gains. “It’s a dog eat dog existence”. Children are born free of prejudice, nor do they possess any preconceived opinions or ideas that we have the right to take up arms against each other. They are nurtured and taught to appreciate the value of life without malice or undue influence.
Throughout the centuries proverbs and fables are formulated as a way of teaching us mistakes, which may or may not have been made by others in the past. However at the time when “Wolf” was cried, no-one responded. Now blame lies on the shoulders of those who ignored the many signs. Fortunately the Neofems natural instincts, helped them see clearly the way ahead. Their ability to predict the wrath of man as being man’s own damnation, saved them. This gift guided them onto another level of existence and in doing so, prevented the controversial doomsday scenario.
Drowning in a sea of hate and suffocating in their own guilt towards their fellow man, separation was the only option. The alternative was the obliteration of mankind. In the past always the aggressor. Now victims of their own creation, with only one course of action to take. The Monomales leave behind their former domain and escape into the unknown. A hiding place out in the wilderness, and as one with the natural world. Ironically the hunter is now the hunted.
Finally the days of conflict are no more. The need to take up arms to resolve indifferences, are settled by verbal debate. A multitude of examples how the ways of the past collided with present, have become topics of philosophical discussion. Now answers are based on understanding, knowledge and not ignorance. The only crime committed is forgetfulness in metaphorical terms. In this new world a prison is a place of learning. A historical place were the young and old are educated. A systematic deletion of the old derogatory phrases such as “Man-made”, is introduced. Society is taught the true value of this new feminist order. Emphasis is placed upon a time when morals past and present were combined, to formulate a degree of humility acceptable by all. These were some of the ground rules by which the Neofems built their new world.
In hindsight, maybe it was immoral to create a division between the two sexes. One thing is sure, it was inevitable. A poetic justice; a punishment of kinds for man’s inability to control powerful emotions. Emotions which if harnessed, could have been of enormous importance and of a positive benefit for all of mankind. The outcome, an unavoidable split in society. The aggressors now slowly segregated, are pushed away. After the years of predominance, they are now in exile. The Monomale roams the four corners of the earth. A new journey begins. A long and lonely journey in search of answers. Answers buried and hidden from all. “Where lies the truth, but in the hearts and minds of many. Pray, when shall this search begin. Shall it begin during the Solstice, as the sun reaches it’s highest point, and if by chance mere mortals discover the truth, what will this truth reveal. Will it be our salvation and with this salvation, will it bring with it the definitive nemesis….Only time will tell”