By EnglishOulaw
09/11/16 (EO)
This shall be my last entry. There is some debate whether I shall have time to make it and greater doubt as to whether any shall ever receive it. The scientists have officially assured us that we have another few hours but do admit to some misgivings in their calculations – without her usual irony Dr Jones has stressed this is her first apocalypse. I won't hold it against her if the end comes early.
The transmitters are currently sending out the final knowledge of humanity to the stars. Ever since the television networks went down we have been given free use of the world's remaining communications arrays to ensure the knowledge of the planet is not lost.
Naturally the scientists started with characterisations of the significant life forms of the planet. From bacteria to the great apes as much data as had been thus far categorised was sent before us to the farthest reaches of the stars. Should it reach them before their own doom falls upon them we can only speculate. Amusingly they also insisted on transmitting as much technological information as they could – the irony of sending instructions on building a radio receiver to species sufficiently advanced as to be capable of collecting and translating the signals lost upon the brilliant minds working for the Institute.
Next the anthropologists, linguists and theologians were given their turns. Holy texts and ancient cultures and languages have been blasphemously digitised to ones and zeroes and transmitted through radiation. Our human deities have been scattered amongst the cosmic dust - to ensure their immortality we have disintegrated them.
Now is the turn of we lowly sociologists. The cream of our literary accomplishments and the peak of our cinema have already gone- what our cosmic neighbours shall make of us I can scarcely imagine. Now the computers are working their way through the catalogue of Professor Marconius and I have been granted the challenge of making the final additions. After these, our logs and journals shall become the last thing ever sent from this planet.
My first addition to the Index (which we affectionately dubbed The Marconium) shall be Supper's Ready. The Genesis faction have been pushing for its inclusion for some time and I can not resist the inclusion of their creed, after all they foresaw the doom better than anyone else. It still baffles me that we never noticed the dragons before.
I can't help but including man's self-antagonism as a warning against any other race who finds itself beset by narrow-minded hatred. So in go Armageddon Days are Here Again and A-Bomb in Wardour Street. But fearing I'm to pessimistic about our species I shall lighten the mood: Crawl Out Through the Fallout should illustrate our enduring humour, even in the face of the looming darkness.
And since even the most straight-laced societies have become hedonistic as the end approaches I must include the anthems of these new cultures; Dance Apocalyptic and Get Happy. They have taken on a new meaning as folk have been force to confront their own mortality seriously for the first time in a generation and revelled in the freedom it has brought.
Eve of Destruction, Last Man Alive and Sonic Attack are easy inclusions. But they leave me with just three spaces left. Three spaces to finish immortalising the human race for the universe. Despairingly I include World Destruction as its nihilistic message cannot be denied any longer. And though it is a little over Seven Minutes to Midnight I add it as the imminence of the end weighs on my mind.
One space left and without hesitation I finalise the Marconium with Mozart's Dies Irae from Requiem. Because if now isn't the time to show off when is?
Armageddon A-list
Supper's Ready – Genesis
Armageddon Days Are Here Again – The The
A-Bomb in Wardour Street – The Jam
Crawl Out Through the Fallout – Sheldon Allman
Dance Apocalyptic – Janelle Monae
Get Happy – Ella Fitzgerald
Eve of Destruction – Barry Maguire
Last Man Alive – Levellers
Sonic Attack – Hawkwind
World Destruction – Time Zone
Seven Minutes to Midnight – Wah! Heat
Dies Irae from Requiem – Mozart
B-bomb B-list
You Stay Here – Richard Shindell
Oh Lord Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me – Charles Mingus
Infested! (Darwin Goodman Mix) – Course of Empire
Final Countdown – Europe
Flying Saucer Attack – Rezillos
God's Great Duststorm – Katzenjammer
Time of the Last Persecution – Bill Fay
The Ballad of the Night All the Clocks Quit and the Government Failed – Tonio K
Leopard Man at C&A – The Dirtbombs
Throwing Stones – Grateful Dead
What You Gonna Do On Judgement Day – Prince Far I
We Will All Go Together When We Go – Tom Lehrer
Guru's pick
Glitterball Apocalypse – Last Great Dreamers
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic The naked truth is nigh – again: songs about the apocalypse. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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