ASCEND

Suddenly befuddled at the concept of his own insane plan, the scientist studied his distorted reflection on the glass side of his beer mug. What he discovered - an entirely new dimension of unknown marvels, was by all means extraordinary. He was quite sure he wanted to be there. What he was somewhat more unsure about was the getting-there, achieving a feat none before him had survived. That was what this stop was for, a possible last drink at his favourite tavern for a bit of sentimentality and a lot of liquid courage. Paying his tab, he spoke not of the details to the barkeep, promising only that he hoped to be back… someday. Striding with a somewhat wobbly confidence to his personal shuttlecraft, he then instructed its autopilot to lay in a course most curious - directly into the heart of the nearest black hole. By the time his craft neared the event horizon, the scientist had sobered up somewhat and rued not getting one more drink for the road. Staring out at a dim halo of light and the all-encompassing darkness within it, he found himself once more face to face with the completely ridiculous nature of his plan. It was then that his craft began to shake him violently out of this wistful haze and from any notions of backing down. As he crossed the event horizon, the black holes gravity quickly grew stronger than his calculations. Furiously combing through his datalogs as spacetime warped around him, he discovered a .068 deviance in his approach vector. It was markedly minor, but black holes were not exactly known to allow room for any such subtleties. The scientists craft rapidly tumbled further and further into the great gravitic depression that now enveloped him, and as the seconds, weeks, and decades passed in a simultaneous instant, he marveled at the sheer scale of the experience before him. Through a gateway between worlds, he would no doubt pass - but would it be unto a new dimension, or into the infinite and silent lands of the dead? LIVEON returns to EATBRAIN with ASCEND as he brings to light a new sonic dimension before the ears of the EATBRAIN horde across four tracks brimming with interstellar sounds. written by Gwen Kubik