AN ANOMALY WORTH EXPLORING

[Tone: Seductive, shameless, adventurous, playful, provocative, affectionate, briefly vulnerable] [Effects: Brief violet Tear sweeps, funky glitch skips, tape flutter, quick stop-start breaks] [MOVEMENT I — THE PROFESSOR] [IMMEDIATE GROOVE — rubbery synth bass, gated snare, clipped funk guitar] [Prophet — smoky, amused, rhythmically sung] Well, well, well. There she is. My favorite little academic hazard. [Tenor sax answers] You've got that look behind your lenses, like you're measuring my sins. Got a notebook full of questions— darling, where would you begin? You've seen the boy who thought he dreamed you, caught the man beneath his skin. And you're still taking observations? [Beat stops] Professor... I'm flattered. [Beat snaps back] [PRE-HOOK — CLOSE INSPECTION] You've got your theories, I've got my scars. You've got your questions, I've got the stars. If you want a closer examination— [Low velvet growl] Come investigate the complications. [CHORUS I — THE INVITATION] [Big synth-funk hook; bright sax accents] Come a little closer, Professor! There's a universe outside! I've got trouble in my pockets, and a Tare we ought to try! Take my hand or take your time— every road is yours to choose! I've seen a thousand impossible worlds— but I'd rather see them with you! [Prophet — cheeky] Strictly for research. Obviously. [MOVEMENT II — THE BROCHURE] [Quick Tear sweep] [Groove keeps moving] [Prophet — playful, rhythmic] One world has oceans in the sky! One has moons that learned to sing! One has trees that trade their memories— and you can ask them anything! [Short Glitch-tar lick] There's a city underwater, where the citizens don't swim. And a place where time runs sideways— [Prophet — amused] I got lost for half a whim. [PRE-HOOK — TERMS AND CONDITIONS] [Dirty bass walk] Dangerous? Absolutely. Safe? Not always, no. But every door I open for you opens both ways when you want to go. One step out, one step home. Take a century, take a night. I'll return you to the moment that you left— [Beat stops] Not a second out of line. [Prophet — low, suggestive] Though I intend to make the trip worth your while. [CHORUS II — COME AND SEE] [Full electro-glam strut] Come a little closer, Professor! There's a universe outside! I've got wonders you can question, and a few that like to bite! Take my hand or take your time— every road is yours to choose! I've seen a thousand impossible worlds— but I'd rather see them with you! [Short sax flourish] That's the brochure, darling. The actual tour gets strange. [MOVEMENT III — EXTREMELY UNDERFUNDED SCIENCE] [Groove turns dirtier] [Clipped funk guitar and mischievous sax] [Prophet — teasing melodic sneer] I know you like your evidence, your footnotes and your charts. But you've been studying anomalies with rather interesting parts. [Glitch-tar bends upward] You brought three pens and a notebook. I brought a hole in space. I showed you an impossible sunset— you examined its refractive phase. [Prophet — delighted] Gods, woman. You're magnificent. [FIELD NOTES — STOP-START FUNK] [Rhythmic spoken-sung delivery] Observation one: She's curious. Observation two: She's clever. Observation three: She's looking at me like she's planning to study me forever. [Beat drops] Now, Professor... If you want a closer look— [Low, wicked grin] I'm fairly certain you know where to poke. [Beat snaps back; sax riff] [SHORT HOOK — THE ANOMALY] I'm an anomaly worth exploring! You're the scholar I can't fool! You ask the questions I keep avoiding— and somehow make it sound so cruel. [Prophet — teasing] In a very attractive way. [Two-bar Glitch-tar and sax exchange] [MOVEMENT IV — BEHIND CHARLIE] [Drums thin to bass and Rhodes; groove continues quietly] [Prophet — natural, warm baritone] I've worn a hundred different faces. I've watched a thousand heavens shine. You knew the boy behind the stories before I understood what's mine. [Short melodic rise] I'm not asking for forgiveness. Not asking you to call me right. You saw the man behind the fiction— I'd like to show you who he is tonight. [EMOTIONAL LIFT — THROUGH YOUR EYES] [Warm synth strings rise; full melodic singing] I've crossed a thousand worlds that never knew my name. I've watched the stars grow old, and nothing stayed the same. But after everything I've witnessed, there's something I would like to try— I've seen enough of what the universe can do. Now I'd like to see it through your eyes. [Half-beat pause] [Prophet — softer, smiling] Also... You look dangerously good when you're taking notes. [Bass and drums return with a playful snap] [MOVEMENT V — HER CHOICE] [Full synth-funk groove] [One soft Tear opens] [Prophet — confident, amused] So... What do you think? [Brief pause] [Sound of notebook closing] [Prophet — surprised, delighted] Oh! You've got another notebook? *Small laugh* Of course you do. [FINAL CHORUS — AN UNAUTHORIZED EXPEDITION] [Bright, energetic, infectious chorus] Come a little closer, Professor! There's a universe outside! I've got trouble in my pockets, and a Tare we ought to try! Take my hand or take your time— every road is yours to choose! I've seen a thousand impossible worlds— but I'd rather see them with you! [Final hook extension; sax and Glitch-tar accents] One step out! One step home! No one writes your story but you! A hundred skies! A thousand roads! And a little trouble for us two! [Prophet — laughing] Now that's what I call field research! [OUTRO — CLOSE-RANGE OBSERVATIONS] [Groove strips to bass, funk guitar, and sax] One more thing, Professor. [Pause] If you intend to study this anomaly at close range... [Low, velvet growl] I should warn you. The subject has been known to flirt with the researcher. [Beat] Repeatedly. [Saxophone answers] [Prophet — Cheshire grin] Come on, Professor. Let's go somewhere we're not supposed to exist. [Quick Tear sweep] [Final funky Glitch-tar stab] [END — tight musical cutoff]