Colloquially blue refers to a melancholy, sad or depressed mood. Historically blue was related to rain or storms. In Greek mythology, the god Zeus would make rain when he was sad and a storm when he was angry. The minor key is said to convey a less jubilant or more restrained mood, atmosphere or quality, which may go some way toward explaining the increasing prevalence of its use in contemporary music. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that over the past decade people have begun to show an increased preference for the minor key although apparently there is no evidence that we are getting more miserable. I beg to differ. Might it not be possible that the more we learn the less we understand and therefore the more confused, and consequently concerned we become? Science fiction writers take present day concerns and place them in an imaginary future where anything might be possible so that by extending the limits of credibility they may put aspects of the way we live under more detailed scrutiny. However, in so doing sci-fi has created a new array of archetypes which are in essence not too different from Jung's observations, thus implying that as far as the human condition is concerned there's nothing new under the sun. For many years I've been fascinated by the notion of thinking without words and so rather than add to the plethora of sci-fi literature I chose another medium in which I might write this story. The Symphony in Blue Minor reflects my need to encapsulate the beauty and sadness of our current age. It can best be thought of as a response to the contradictory dilemma of living in a time when everything seems possible despite simultaneously being at the zenith and the precipice. It is also a desire to find a spiritual connection without the need to adhere to any one religion - to experience the freedom and loss of being dust scattered in the wind, without the longing to be saved. To be energy and matter - light and mass. Aboard Terra Firma, the first movement, celebrates life as we know it in all its diversity upon our home planet. From our highly improbable beginnings amid the murky depths, onward on our long arduous journey through the various species, finally arriving at our current advanced simian stage. For a short while we may enjoy something that passes for a brief period of idyllic harmony, only for it to be shattered as our true underlying nature strives to get the upper hand. Rotodyne, the second movement named after a little known ill fated experimental aircraft, chronicles our endeavours to soar above the mundane in our quest for deification. Having become conscious of our mortality and goaded by our vanity, we are now driven to surpass our physical limitations by emulating an earlier form of our existence in imitation of that most primal of archetypes to which we aspire. Ultra Blue is mankind's awakening to the sadness inherent in the possibility of experiencing utter beauty whilst simultaneously being unable to relate to it. It is the desire to communicate with that feeling of absolute awe and wonder. and the sensation of being wholly, completely lost in reverie. Abruptly the dream ends and we are returned to reality. In the fourth movement, Another Time Another Place, that earlier glimpse of paradise reasserts itself in the desire to journey beyond and venture forth. The eternal voyage is conceived as our salvation, our holy quest, the glory of exploration and conquest, the heroic epic saga. This is the romance of carrying our light to distant shores, regardless of the cost and in full knowledge of the likely pain and suffering. Heroism and fulfillment of a pledge are our sole concern for the duration and thereby give us the required strength to see it through. When the journey is done and we consider what has been both lost and achieved, we arrive at the fifth movement, The Last Prayer. The dawning of a darker awakening in the cold light of day. Both beauty and bitterness overwhelm us as we contemplate what we have done and therefore now become. We wanted to be Gods but have behaved like Devils. Amidst the chaos and confusion we pray for restoration of our innocence. We pray for peace of mind and a clean slate. We yearn for absolution. Our endless pursuit of betterment and advance has taken us from our home as we pray under the light of our sun for the last time. And still we are travelling. What can the future hold now? Space is Talking, the sixth movement, comes as a chink of light, a glimmer of possibility after what seems like an eternity of darkness. More in hope than expectation we read every signal as an indication that there is definitely something there and we are no longer alone. Might this be redemption? In Solid Light, the seventh and final movement, reveals the calm after the storm. Without reference to time or place there is no way of knowing if this is our final arrival or maybe another beginning. In this state of dissociation, reality has become indeterminate and we have thus reduced ourselves to living a merely virtual existence. Is this the happy ending we wanted? We won't know until the end.