Something to play at 2am.

Why it works

At two in the morning nobody wants a library to browse. So this page is one button. It plays a low brown noise, made on the spot so it cannot loop, and over it a slow voice reading the opening of a story about Aristotle. Four minutes later it fades out by itself.

The thoughts that arrive at 2am are seldom new and never urgent, and arguing with them keeps them company. It is easier to be mildly interested in something else. The story is built for that: the ending is given first, and nothing in it is your problem.

What you are hearing

• Brown noise. White noise run through a leaky integrator, so its energy falls six decibels per octave, then low-passed at 400 Hz. A low, even wash.
• The voice. The first four minutes of Aristotle, the Greatest Philosopher, a Lullable story, in a synthesised voice. It only plays if you bring it in.
• The ending. The preview lasts four minutes. Its last ten seconds are a straight fade to silence, so it never stops abruptly.

For a real recording that runs forty minutes, the Lullable iPhone app has rain, waves, a campfire and plain noise, with no voice and no music.