Consortium Project IV – ‘Children of Tomorrow’ 2007
A detailed list of musicians performing Children of Tomorrow
Ian Parry – lead&harmony vocals (Elegy, Ayreon,Vengeance)
Joshua Dutrieux – Guitar&Keyboards (Elegy)
Ivar de Graff – drums (Within Temptation/Kingfisher Sky)
Judith Rijnveld – Female vocals (Kingfisher Sky)
Joshua Dutrieux – Guitar&Keyboards (Elegy)
Special Guests:
Henk van der Laars – guitars (Elegy)
Lou St Paul – guitar (Winters Bane)
Introducing newcomers:
Erna Auf der Haar – female vocals
Rosita Abbink – female vocals
The Songs
1. A Sign Of The Times
2. Nowhere Fast
3. Neverland
4. Shadows
5. Exodus
6. Made In Heaven
7. Let The Wind Carry You Home
8. Enigma
9. Mastermind
10. Path Of Destruction
11. Children Of Tomorrow
The Story
Consortium Project 4 is the fourth part of a fictional concept story dealing with issues such as global warming and finds mankind in the future trying to retrace its past to understand and prevent mistakes from ever happening again. In the process mankind discovers their true origins that we are not from the world?
Opening story:
The time and place was the future: the future was preoccupied with the past. All historical data had been destroyed, until the discovery of twelve stone tablets (Consortium 3). A scholar had successfully deciphered parts of these ancient scriptures, paving the way to the reunification of the species. Mankind held the key to rediscovering the historical past, confirming their beliefs that these writings were of biblical origin. A true account of mankind’s hidden past and so the story unfolds.
IAN PARRY MMVII
As history would reveal a race had started to develop the most destructive weapons mankind had ever seen. The West’s major industrial complexes embraced this challenge. Knowing oil supplies would be depleted within 30 years, they assisted the military with systematic testing deep underground. This decision had devastating repercussions. These tests affected the fragile balance between man and nature. A crack in the Earth’s mantel created the initial stages of global warming! As a serious threat to nature scientists pleaded to stop the testing, but the powers that be immediately closed ranks. Outrage followed from citizens on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Though protests were peaceful at first, people’s frustrations turned nasty as the leaders of the superpowers ignored their pleas. This was “A Sign Of The Times”. Unemployment rose as stock markets crashed. Tensions were raised higher over the announcement of a newly formed Middle Eastern oil cartel, posing a new threat.
For some twenty years politicians played god engaging in verbal warfare, spreading their propaganda that all was fine. People continued working hard, whilst the political rhetoric and verbal exchanges were going “Nowhere Fast”. Neither side would back down until the unimaginable happened. Nature fought back and the planet’s first environmental disaster occurred. No one had heard of global warming. Most were pre-occupied with their own lives living in never “Neverland”, not caring about the affairs of the world. Attitudes would change realising this new phenomena would affect everyone and future generations.
The first changes to the planet’s atmosphere appeared in biblical proportions. Gale force winds swept across a remote part of the Southern African continent. This phenomenal power churned up massive amounts of sand and dust, blackening the clear blue skies and a wall of debris blocked out the sun entirely. “Shadows” appeared as a creeping paralysis without warning turning daylight into night. Temperatures plummeted to freezing levels and without the sun’s warmth to sustain life the casualties were in the thousands. As these peace-loving people tried desperately to battle against the severe extreme cold, this bleak dark ominous cloud hung over them. From an early age the tribesmen had been told of such events and knew there was but one alternative. Abandon their homes and villages in search of a safe haven. So began a mass “Exodus”, the like the world had never witnessed.
The first television images of starving people crossing dark and barren lands were broadcast directly into the homes of millions. Every living person felt the agony of this human catastrophe. Scientists immediately pointed the blame at the nuclear underground testing. Some felt that only a miracle “Made In Heaven” could save these desperate people, while a few believed that we are not all from this world explaining why some of us carry out prime evil inhuman acts. One reporter sobbed in disbelief of this human tragedy, while filming a dying child in the arms of her helpless father. This grief-stricken man chanted a prayer repeatedly in his native tongue. “Rise up high my little butterfly. Let your spirit drift beyond this dark cloud and “Let The Wind Carry You Home“. His words captured the hearts and minds of millions.
As the young scholar delved deeper into mankind’s historical past, his disbelief in our forefathers grew. Documentation from the 1950’s found the west focussed on removing their most dangerous threat; communism. The prevailing powers in both the east and west chose as their deterrent weapons of mass destruction. Power against power had created a stalemate – a deadlock in which neither side could win and so began the Cold War. A continuous war of words for decades where both sides were trapped in a puzzle, wrapped in an “Enigma”. The mass public no longer trusted politicians, nor saw the need for a nuclear deterrent with so much human sacrifice. Neither side had considered the ramifications, when testing these monstrous weapons. Each explosion hammered a nail into nature’s coffin and minute fractures in the Earth’s mantle slowly affected the ecosystem.
Amidst the carnage and mayhem, a man African in origin stepped forward. Speaking a language everyone understood, his preacher-like style helped calm people’s anger. In an unprecedented manner people joined together on a global campaign to stop the nuclear testing. Their protests stunned politicians alike and after arduous debate a compromise was reached. An international treaty banning all testing was signed.
For once the world had reached a common goal and heralded this humble man as a “Mastermind”. His genius, they said, was his simple message, quote: “Stop destroying nature and nature will heal itself”. He went a step further planting the seed that maybe we are not of this world and what nature has provided, was for all to share and the duty of all to protect. This message in certain sectors of the business community, struck a different chord. A reversal of policies would surely affect profits. A new breed of people were involved, the shareholders. Their one legitimate interest was profit from their investments without caring how companies achieved this. However a new scenario entered the race: climate change. The mastermind’s sentiment was damning. He felt that mankind would deplete the earth of all its natural resources, if we continued using fossil fuels. Thus leaving our children legacy of climate change and dangerous times ahead. In essence, words of truth. All the good built up over the past decades was collapsing like a house of cards. Mankind was lured back in dark times. One super power leader convinced other to go to war against a Middle Eastern dictator, but the reasons were not to protect people’s freedom but the black stuff. One journalist wrote: “People had quickly forgotten the pain and devastation we just crawled out of. The lessons learnt, haven’t taught us anything and we are drifting blindly back on a “Path Of Destruction“.
A group of extremely wealthy and influential businessmen felt threatened. Each vocal outburst was another nail in their coffins, as one spokesman put it. So a handful of sleazy politicians devised a sinister plot, hiring specialist marksmen to assassinate the mastermind in a cold and merciless way. Each gunman systematically took a symbolic trophy from the dead man’s frail body, in a somewhat macabre fashion. The arrogance of this inhumane deed would be the plotter’s undoing. The public outcry and damnation spread like wildfire. People became eco-human conscious, forcing the oil producers to take a more responsible role. The message was simple: what we use today can destroy the future for the “Children Of Tomorrow”.
The technology for producing alternative fuels had existed for decades, remaining a well-kept secret. Ironically high oil prices triggered a global economic crisis, causing massive unemployment. Poor car sales resulted in the eventual collapse of the car industry. No-one wanted to drive dirty vehicles anymore, forcing manufacturers to begin production of a new eco-car. Made from a natural composite and fuelled by a naturally grown bio-fuel, the tide had change introduced a vehicle with zero carbon emissions? A speed reduction was a small compromise compared with the new jobs created from this new eco-car industry.
And so began a reversal of power. Oil companies followed suit with multinational companies removing corruption, bad work ethics and shareholders playing a responsible role in society. The threat of communism subsided as the East Block great wall crumbled and borders disappeared.
Plans to use nuclear power were shelved, as issues of nuclear waste simply couldn’t be resolved.
A new eco-world bank was established and available global funding helped eradicate major eco-catastrophes, bringing the depletion of the rain forests in South America to a halt.
The scholar concluded that everyone had made great sacrifices during those turbulent times for their fellow men and women. Though time had indeed healed the planet’s wounds, other issues for his generation lay ahead: the origin of man? If man evolved from apes and apes are not of this world, we can only conclude that the human species is from some other distant place? The search continues!