… the plan directed the last dreadnought, with its hypertrophied weapons, to open with a power chord against the more discordant forces of the Diamantines’ enemies. The orchestration manuals of the day called for a ratio of a single dreadnought to one hundred battle cruisers or equivalent. The percussion line alone should have demolished the other side, especially with the chimera missiles deployed as a basso continuo.
The urtext does not go into granular detail regarding the timing of the cannons’ broadsides. Records suggest that the tutti passages favored in most scores of the period were honored more in the breach. Instead, subtle syncopations and latencies on the order of 5 to 30 nanoseconds caused a stochastic form of polyrhythm, especially during opportunistic crescendos.
“The Ethnomusicology of the Last Dreadnought,” by Yoon Ha Lee
Currently listening: THE MOUNTAIN IN THE SEA, by Ray Nayler, read by Eunice Wong.
If you’re enjoying my writing, you can get some of my short fiction on your e-reader for the low, low cost of $0. Remembered Air is a collection of six poems and short stories not available anywhere else. Download it here.