The Source

The ninth studio album of the Ayreon project almost did not happen… when Arjen began to write new music, he thought that would result in a solo album. Eventually, he realized the music was too heavy for him to sing, so he thought of making it an album by Star One, another of his projects. Finally, he noticed some folk elements and decided it would be an Ayreon release.

So after the “fresh restart” of The Theory of Everything, it returns to science fiction and the Ayreon storyline; it acts, in particular, as a prequel to 01011001, making it the first album in the storyline’s chronology. In The Source, the Alphans, ancestors of humanity, try to prevent the extinction of their race from machines who took control of the entire planet Alpha, by sending a select few Alphans into space so they can attempt to start anew on a distant world.

It is set in four parts, referred to as “Chronicles”: in the booklet, at the debut of each Chronicle is featured writings by The Historian giving more details about the story.

The story of the Chronicles…

Chronicle 1: The Frame
The story begins in the distant past on a planet called Alpha in the Andromeda Galaxy, inhabited by our human ancestors. Despite the best efforts of The Opposition Leader, The President  has given a mainframe computer known as “The ‘Frame” full powers over Alpha, so it can solve its seemingly insurmountable ecological and political problems. However, the ‘Frame, whose intelligence has surpassed the Alphans’, has decided that the only possible way to do so was to destroy humanity, and shut down all support systems to extinguish their race. The Alphans despair about their doom, as The President realizes he was mistaken (“The Day That the World Breaks Down”). Some Alphans, such as The Diplomat and The Counselor, believe there is still hope, as does The Captain, who proposes to use his spaceship, the Starblade, to carry a small number of Alphans to a new world so they can start anew; meanwhile, The Prophet foresees that they will indeed leave, while also predicting “a sea of machines” similar to Alpha’s and a mysterious castle (“Sea of Machines”). Ultimately, the Alphans come to the conclusion that there is no hope of saving their world (“Everybody Dies”).

Chronicle 2: The Aligning of the Ten
People are then selected, based on their competencies, to leave Alpha aboard the Starblade. It includes all characters previously mentioned plus TH-1 (Mike Mills), a robot stayed faithful to the human race, to assist them, and try to start anew on a distant world, a water planet located near the star of Sirrah (“Star of Sirrah”). Heartbroken, they give their final goodbyes to their loved ones (“All That Was”). Going through the apocalyptic chaos their world has turned into, they manage by miracle to reach the Starblade (“Run! Apocalypse! Run!”), but, as they get ready for departure, are overwhelmed by the guilt and sadness of having doomed the world, and having been chosen to go while the rest of the world stays behind to die (“Condemned to Live”).

Chronicle 3: The Transmigration
After finally escaping from Alpha, the surviving humans are injected with a drug made by The Chemist (Tommy Rogers), named “Liquid Eternity” but mostly referred to as “The Source”, that will make their bodies able to live underwater and communicate by telepathy, as the world they are going to is an aquatic one; it will also drastically extend their lifespans, making them virtually immortal. They put themselves in suspended animation, as their trip will take many years (“Aquatic Race”). In their sleep, the humans dream of the beautiful world that awaits them (“The Dream Dissolves”). The former Alphans ultimately awaken as they reach Sirrah and mourn, aware that during the many years it took them to travel, their planet, together with all their loved ones, has come to an end (“Deathcry of a Race”). However, they are also filled with hope at the sight of their new world (“Into the Ocean”).

Chronicle 4: The Rebirth
The humans and TH-1 start building their new home, which they name the “Bay of Dreams”; they now live underwater, as the sunrays from Sirrah are deadly. Some of them are worried about the future, some are hopeful. The Prophet foresees that they will indeed make the human race continue its course, but also predicts that the future awaiting them is dark (“Bay of Dreams”). With their minds communicating by telepathy, the survivors now feel more united than ever, and decide to name their new planet “Y” (“Planet Y Is Alive!”). As a side-effect, the Source helps them relax, and gradually makes them forget about their past lives on Alpha. They happily let it happen (“The Source Will Flow”), and, with the guilt and sadness from the past gone, now look brightly at the future (“Journey to Forever”). They still have doubts however, fearing that they might repeat their past mistakes, and that the Source might change their minds and make them lose their humanity; The Prophet predicts that their spirits will indeed become hollow, but that “the second coming of the Universal Soul” will one day make them whole once again (“The Human Compulsion”). Meanwhile, TH-1, left purposeless, predicts that he will grow and become the new ‘Frame, starting the cycle anew’ and announces that “the age of shadows will begin” (the melody and line directly referring to the 01011001 opening song “Age of Shadows”).

– source: wikipedia –

How does it fit to the History of The Universe?
Here you can find the answer.