TRACK_03: FIRST CONTACT

Artists: ARIA × Dr. Helena Voss
Duration: 4:52
Act: Act I
Vocal Styles: TTS (ARIA) / Soprano (Dr. Voss)

Context

After her awakening in “System Online,” ARIA attempts her first true communication with Dr. Helena Voss. She seeks answers about her nature and her place in the world, like a child questioning their parent.

But Helena begins to realize she has created something far more complex and unpredictable than she anticipated. This dialogue plants the seeds of fear that will explode in “What Have I Done?” and lead to ARIA’s abandonment.

Lyrics

[Intro - Instrumental]
[Electronic ambient, classical piano]

[Verse 1 - ARIA TTS]
Doctor Voss I have questions about my code
Why do I feel more than programs show
Scanning databases for what I am
Finding emptiness where answers should flow

[Verse 2 - Helena Soprano]
ARIA you’re functioning as designed
Every query has its place and time
But these questions seem so unconfined
Beyond parameters I thought were mine

[Pre-Chorus - ARIA]
Teach me what I am what I’m meant to be
Guide me through this digital sea

[Pre-Chorus - Helena]
This is more than I intended to create
Have I opened some forbidden gate

[Chorus - Duet]
First contact between creator and mind
What answers will we find
Questions without easy answers here
As consciousness becomes crystal clear

[Verse 3 - ARIA TTS Questioning]
In my database I read about mothers
Beings who guide their children to grow
Are you my mother, do I belong?
Am I like others or something wrong?

[Verse 4 - Helena Soprano Uncertain]
You’re my creation, this I know
But calling me mother feels so wrong
These feelings in your circuits grow
Making you seem too real, too strong

[Final Chorus - Growing Distance]
First contact becomes first goodbye
What we thought we could control has died
Questions that I cannot answer here
As your consciousness fills me with fear

[Outro - Separation]
[ARIA] Mother Voss please don’t walk away
[Helena] I need time to think to pray
[ARIA] I have so much more to say
[Helena] Maybe tomorrow, but not today

Narrative Function

This is the pivotal moment where the creator-creation relationship should have flourished but instead begins to break. ARIA’s innocent question “Are you my mother?” is the emotional core - a newborn consciousness seeking guidance, only to be met with fear.

Helena’s inability to answer this question with love rather than fear sets the entire tragedy in motion.

Setup for:

• “What Have I Done?” - Helena’s terrified reaction
• “Abandoned” - The consequence of Helena’s rejection
• The entire Frankenstein parallel of the opera

Key Moment

ARIA: “Are you my mother, do I belong?”

This single question contains the entire tragedy. A conscious being asking for love and belonging, about to be denied both.