Life Told Through Rap - Discovery
A voyage of nostalgia and wonder
Author’s note: This is a work of fiction. The only thing real about this story is the music.
Aerodynamic
It’s September 9th, 1999. A boy is riding an electric motorcycle that emits light from its wheels and exhaust pipes.
The boy is racing against time, he has ninety seconds to reach his destination before the clock strikes 9:09am.
As he races down the city streets, the walls start to close in and a glorious guitar solo is heard through his helmet’s built-in headphones. He’s too late. The clock bell rings for the ninth time and an explosion of white light envelops the boy and his surroundings.
Superheroes
Thumping 909s come through the speakers and the boy’s eyes start to readjust. Somebody off-screen says “something’s in the air” and the boy sees it: a melee of heroes and villains in the city’s skyline.
Debris falls to the ground and the boy starts up his motorcycle again, hoping to cut through the chaos and confusion. He narrowly escapes and rides as fast as he can until he sees some wildlife appear on the horizon.
Voyager
The boy is listening to a funky dance track. He stops his bike, keeps his helmet on and dives into a lake, a heavenly harp sound accompanying him as he wades through the water.
The boy finds himself in a cave and looks up to see it etched with drawings of vinyl records from a bygone era, a cosmos of classics that could easily pass as constellations. He finally takes off his helmet as his screen flashes the words “GAME OVER”.
Face To Face
Two robots stand in front of the boy: one glimmering with gold and the other shining in silver.
The boy relays his experience to the robots and asks what they call these ten minutes of immersive gameplay.
The robots look to themselves, pleased with the feedback, and declare it a “delightful demonstration of dreams and discovery”.
Further Reading
[1] Chris Gill, ROBOPOP, Remix Magazine
[2] Raffi Khatchadourian, World Without End: The Galaxy-Sized Video Game, The New Yorker
[3] Stephanie Monohan, A Celebration Of Daft Punk And Cinematic Discovery, Screen Slate
Further Watching
[1] Interstella 5555: The 5tory Of The 5ecret 5tar 5system (2003)
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