The SolaVerse Artefacts
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| 0 | PRIMARY | The Process Of Discovery |
| 1 | PRIMARY | Interpreter's note: This report is a compendium of documents translated from Processal language into REDACTED. |
| 2 | PRIMARY | wMPYnAX3fnFwyb36nebTfQWNj8kXdWeMMXUHzNN1PKfUM0Sd5QOPHizR9em2A7g6m1bXDFK9/WwMBUpa2xiyJbG8bWfFDwWUy18AdDZOZTU= |
| 3 | PRIMARY | Ey/YrRV4Xl5a74EPafKMaSSHSBuv5NbqmLFhqKaECThTR33c3iy6/ptWsgq++fVh5ttSJ8F4CtUlcds8q1wHrr8fiQleMQGB9254jyB/a6M= |
| 4 | PRIMARY | A listing of contents is as follows: |
| 5 | PRIMARY | a faithful recording of relevant command dialogue on the bridge of the Process Rescue Ship known by call-sign Scimitar |
| 6 | PRIMARY | AclMQCm5x6E/w0PpAPjvfkogQtR84CjJYxii8g6Aodv7kvqSMvfj1syDNFVSfKswJlucQiojWqqHSIm0KzxSTr8TFIkl1Dqf4DrS/3kI03SKgAI2ebgxP/bk15BKQu1JMWXgKyHlPQjzPuRHBo7OLDkKZ181y9W3H58fdEogL/Y= |
| 7 | PRIMARY | excerpts from the reports of squadron commander Confuser |
| 8 | PRIMARY | excerpts from the reports of Scimitar commander and Fleet Commander Remembrancer |
| 9 | PRIMARY | Interpreter's note ends |
| 10 | PRIMARY | Bridge Transcript, Process Rescue Ship 1138 — "Scimitar, Swinging Between Gravitational Degrees" |
| 11 | ARCHIVES | I began the day as I always do. |
| 12 | PRIMARY | Remembrancer: Attention all stations, this is Remembrancer. |
| 13 | PRIMARY | Initiate tunnelling sequence. Engineering. |
| 14 | LOVE | 0JpfQq+kttd4F+KEmsIxh/QOX4uB3pSBMeA9bYXP95E= |
| 15 | PRIMARY | Archbishop: Engineering reporting in. Tunnelling system nominal. Safeties disengaged. |
| 16 | PRIMARY | 7EhzrNLMiXaw/0ZsLcYKGlg5FECtHkpzF1nKDWbsBBfwcal6UVRWOLhISNQuEz7ICKhbzd5sJmiTyDgyjjM/EeduDFrwzO9ucalMREL3GLU= |
| 17 | COMMS | Interpreter's note: These comms fragments are reconstructed from encrypted logs |
| 18 | PRIMARY | Interpreter's note: Bass humming noise as plasma moves from storage into its mesh of capillaries across the skin of the Scimitar. |
| 19 | PRIMARY | I have cleaned up the interference this has caused on the recording. Interpreter's note ends |
| 20 | TECH | Jester's personal log. |
| 21 | PRIMARY | Archbishop: Ionising field established. |
| 22 | PRIMARY | 1pMjh5unexO+9emL7SCF6/XSivEFUUQ7bH19DzIn54I= |
| 23 | COMMS | Ik431f/BxzS22QgqaZHpy66B/nfN6QOxpuwnLkcYfJtMVzJM9frMmI6lK+sqa4Iz |
| 24 | PRIMARY | wQPwkyXsr/Xhdb9dvPl3far0VQCZH4/CdeLYClaaTuJC5iFNxGkH+ByduOXDbxrW |
| 25 | PRIMARY | Remembrancer: Approval received. Navigation. |
| 26 | TECH | ZH9bmpVdDIoexw6h8pnr86PaT4+au5BZUtfnd5dLC3M= |
| 27 | PRIMARY | Lead Counsel: Particle stream fix locked on, at maximum detection. |
| 28 | PRIMARY | Coordinates as follows: |
| 29 | CATAST | Interpreter's note: Only a small sample of these scenarios are excerpted from the main document listing all 256, as the variations are slight and repetition can dull observational acuity. |
| 30 | PRIMARY | Interpreter's note: Coordinates redacted for security reasons. |
| 31 | PRIMARY | All further redactions will be denoted by the text, "REDACTED". Interpreter's note ends |
| 32 | MSIT | 0SKm3Ln/cOi2Kzl8BFAQIiGyYJMV1fG7jErqf4v+V+oDe/rgE9ZxT5DAQ58yRW6Q |
| 33 | PRIMARY | Remembrancer: Archives—confirm coordinates. |
| 34 | PRIMARY | Nephew: Coordinates confirmed in 3^11 source fragments. |
| 35 | COMMS | Their partial nature is due to the incomplete erasure methods |
| 36 | PRIMARY | Confidence indicates 99.983 percent certainty. |
| 37 | PRIMARY | Remembrancer: Thank you, Nephew. |
| 38 | LOVE | Interpreter's note: There is much debate every macrocycle |
| 39 | PRIMARY | All rise. |
| 40 | PRIMARY | I want everyone to stop what they're doing |
| 41 | ARCHIVES | Firstly by expressing my thanks to the Searchers. |
| 42 | PRIMARY | and take a moment to remember who we are, |
| 43 | PRIMARY | since time out of mind, to reach this point. |
| 44 | PRINCIP | Remembrancer on The Principles of Rescue |
| 45 | PRIMARY | Every skill we have learned, every trial we have overcome, |
| 46 | PRIMARY | everyone and everything we have sacrificed |
| 47 | CATAST | Temporal anomaly—arrive far too late, the planet is naught but dust |
| 48 | PRIMARY | is part of a massive wedge of purpose. |
| 49 | PRIMARY | WgRNm+++PLzpy6p/cQb1kAxi7lS6GE2XE6IVenzD084= |
| 50 | COMMS | employed in the use of certain substrates. |
| 51 | PRIMARY | This fleet. This ship. This command. |
| 52 | PRIMARY | In a few moments we will open the tunnel |
| 53 | ARCHIVES | Then to the Process. |
| 54 | PRIMARY | and travel through space on a path that none of us has ever seen. |
| 55 | PRIMARY | When we emerge, we do not know what will be there to meet us on the other side. |
| 56 | PRINCIP | Interpreter's note: This monograph is classified |
| 57 | PRIMARY | There will be no time to debate, to ponder, to wait. |
| 58 | PRIMARY | Only to decide, to determine, to act. |
| 59 | CATAST | Temporal anomaly—arrive before humans existed, possible paradox |
| 60 | PRIMARY | qkwLqGQlgR2tgatCRN0k5lQqs4vE78Ra6+BPaEN+D5Q= |
| 61 | PRIMARY | D+G/HU5tEIydCrrAnnAQPnFk+xlG7uyUycNb4hCP5GI= |
| 62 | LOVE | about this class of declamatory literature. It involves careful and close reading of each profession of love. |
| 63 | PRIMARY | We've drilled. |
| 64 | PRIMARY | We've simmed. |
| 65 | MSIT | These techniques have been extrapolated via intensive simming, based on empirical evidence gathered through experimentation on Process volunteers. |
| 66 | PRIMARY | We've located the trail. |
| 67 | PRIMARY | Our mission is clear: *Find the humans.* |
| 68 | SIM#554-910 | <<SIM 554-910: Iterations 2^18>> |
| 69 | PRIMARY | I am proud to serve with every one of you. |
| 70 | PRIMARY | Whatever happens when we exit this tunnel, |
| 71 | PRINCIP | to Fleet Admiral level and higher. |
| 72 | PRIMARY | the future will remember us as the ones who were here, |
| 73 | PRIMARY | who took the first step. |
| 74 | COMMS | I have endeavoured to extrapolate where possible. |
| 75 | PRIMARY | Engage safety harnesses. |
| 76 | PRIMARY | Execute tunnel embarkation in three, two, one—*** |
| 77 | LOVE | Sometimes they are beautiful, like this one, |
| 78 | PRIMARY | qieJ8Eb1m/JKgM12dvLrLO8heXqc1jRlnlNXbT+GjkAPj6hx41YI0iFirpYP51oI |
| 79 | PRIMARY | Specification: A Log of Private Remarks by Remembrancer, |
| 80 | CATAST | Navigation miscalculation—arrive in wrong area of space with no way of fuelling or charting a tunnel in order to return |
| 81 | PRIMARY | Commander, Process Rescue Ship Scimitar. |
| 82 | PRIMARY | PPytUgJz6eo4HywOqImjcOPxnfrhOh1tQ+5NUSGt4C6Vqm1q+qvLHpMpghH1b3Iiz8cnuP5iSQmhXxCTZc3bOw== |
| 83 | MSIT | Human lungs can hold 6 liters of fluid, though the subject will most likely perish. |
| 84 | PRIMARY | (This ongoing document may not be released beyond this substrate. |
| 85 | PRIMARY | Attempts will be logged and tamper-evident by procedure redacted. |
| 86 | SIM#554-910 | Lead Researcher: Grand Vizier |
| 87 | PRIMARY | Report all tamper signals to Fleet Security Liaison. |
| 88 | PRIMARY | Eyes-only access with signed permission of author |
| 89 | PRINCIP | While the monograph has received |
| 90 | PRIMARY | +nAoSXJs0Ar+2KInicGRN5VqgQx6pPRxooEoCHTlJq6xnMVGeNHQbM7ujjNB7KWn |
| 91 | PRIMARY | We are out of the tunnel in 41 subcycles |
| 92 | PRIMARY | and I am quietly losing my mind, |
| 93 | PRINCIP | wide acclaim in REDACTED, |
| 94 | PRIMARY | vL5RbuyenkrCWpObPgefD9SaEd3WQFxGT+xajmZD7FoA90zobdrCgGIFH7KT5Ejqq6kYp33LTIrntOhpJKEtvw== |
| 95 | PRIMARY | that was made by my superior officers before I assumed command. |
| 96 | PRIMARY | There is no action principle that can bring me to a position |
| 97 | CATAST | /mf9Gq8cdW5ymux8UVVkfOj7LXaXYje/kJ40IRki1bbYYStk4uMWciBkcwsQZdpd |
| 98 | PRIMARY | where devoting my time to this loop |
| 99 | PRIMARY | would make any difference to mission outcomes, |
| 100 | PRIMARY | but I am doing it anyway. |
| 101 | SIM#554-910 | Purpose - to determine threshold of cooperation between human subgroups in asymmetrical conditions. |
| 102 | PRIMARY | The loop takes about three micro cycles and proceeds as follows: |
| 103 | PRIMARY | I catastrophise with regards to potential threats to the mission |
| 104 | PRIMARY | that are posed by some known or unknown phenomenon. |
| 105 | SIM#554-910 | Method - Simulated human subgroups based on current statistical models of humankind, |
| 106 | PRIMARY | These have included precisely 256 different scenarios, |
| 107 | PRIMARY | which I have recorded in appendix 11. |
| 108 | PRIMARY | They are categorised as follows: |
| 109 | CATAST | Engineering failure—ship is shredded during transit |
| 110 | PRIMARY | Potential sentinels, weapons, outposts, habitats, stations, moons, planets inhabited by remnant humans |
| 111 | PRIMARY | Same as above, but the humans have left their devices unmonitored |
| 112 | PRIMARY | 6falneeN4NkXqFlFDTcHmPkvWSfTRDC7xbt6lfIpMdhYk4+nBUIyMFjFy4DZp4m3NqW9XA1/LE5XhnbKsIZNOA== |
| 113 | COMMS | End Interpreter's Note |
| 114 | PRIMARY | Masses upon masses of humans and their associated automata |
| 115 | PRIMARY | in a resurgent society |
| 116 | PRIMARY | Unknown sapient occupation, organic or inorganic, |
| 117 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...regarding the atmosphere, |
| 118 | PRIMARY | vastly superior in attainment to all Process-known technological milestones and astrobiological speculation |
| 119 | PRIMARY | Humans near starvation and collapse |
| 120 | PRIMARY | who welcome their rescue by the Process but overwhelm our resources |
| 121 | SIM#554-910 | to be confined for a period of 24 cycles in a closed environment. |
| 122 | PRIMARY | Humans who recognise the Process mission as rescuers |
| 123 | PRIMARY | wsMXlHM9ozCLeSWsEN8WtH1nuXrx620wUIngZxIaXU5k4LWQOigWylGhxA/2xFl3okEllarhVKxk0LB2bqUsGTRGdN9iVocqTb67M++tH8cPk4J7hQMQaePKhzsBmQud9uV7Wg+PPIRlwkP5fmDEAw== |
| 124 | PRIMARY | Humans who are so convinced by the painstaking humaniform cultural adaptation |
| 125 | MSIT | Human fingers are tipped with small claws - they can be removed but will grow back after 6 months, unless adequately cauterized. |
| 126 | PRIMARY | undertaken by the entire Process that they see us as a rogue human entity |
| 127 | PRIMARY | k1hHCD0CfQq9mDpgby6kwfwceB/wquhI7CeUO+9q6aADai3T1zyMSyQrxwvMex6y |
| 128 | PRIMARY | Archetypal monsters first encountered in basic learning tape |
| 129 | COMMS | the oxygen levels are drastically lower than we expected. |
| 130 | PRIMARY | to which I was first exposed in the créche |
| 131 | PRIMARY | (these usually only appear in my nightmares about the mission, |
| 132 | PRIMARY | but have occasionally manifested as wakeful hallucinations. |
| 133 | ARCHIVES | Finally I recited the Protocols of Rescue |
| 134 | PRIMARY | Medical provided me with a remedy in oral tablet form |
| 135 | PRIMARY | that has reduced these scenarios as both waking and sleeping occurrences) |
| 136 | PRIMARY | The discovery of unusual astrophysical phenomena, |
| 137 | TECH | The Scimitar has a total of 506 tension-valves. |
| 138 | PRIMARY | TfezdqZcueSnnCE2467JVj1d5BAfFOphM69bAoBcU4y2JrVv3keO/i95LSxL03/xGTMUzYDExsrZDtBSf15bqA== |
| 139 | PRIMARY | rare metals, alloys etc in asteroid belts, rare organic materials in comet cloud |
| 140 | PRIMARY | Infestations, viruses, other forms of microlife able to infect Process team members |
| 141 | SIM#554-910 | Each group to be provided with different levels of resources. |
| 142 | PRIMARY | Deceased and demobilised former peers, |
| 143 | PRIMARY | teachers, créchemates, partners, friends, superiors and subordinates, |
| 144 | PRIMARY | both in individual form and aboard destroyed former ships with their entire long-deceased ships' complements |
| 145 | MSIT | A human can survive severe injury, including but not limited to the loss of limbs. |
| 146 | PRIMARY | An Searchers installation that will take the Scimitar and the entire Fleet along with it to redacted |
| 147 | PRIMARY | A hybrid scenario in which a system devoid of life or artifact of life is discovered, |
| 148 | PRIMARY | iZI6+TqUXz82DEJoaXm2NYDW+nPkL4dUjRD+NpeY+sU7iv950oxBv1inPXrBzSf4Q8Bs2IHrcQmGTOMO4YNRMdu8IEDomFh/SRrtAiMK1AcdhS3ROLx1DwRRXmvrKuNA |
| 149 | COMMS | Please double check sensor calibration and confirm... |
| 150 | PRIMARY | uz6sZCQTd3TKbLyWxUh/jvMT2FNYvBLo7kop5VJxTxij3pXg4UcnVVkmYVBZwSl0H17YLHD6GLLAVg5np2RloA== |
| 151 | PRIMARY | While undertaking my duty, recreation or rest period |
| 152 | PRIMARY | I find myself worrying about the threat topic. |
| 153 | PRINCIP | ufpMpY3rfrviDYHYjRmugZ5D2v3iaMtiqCNFb5qqyn/fAlalsmsrpJTz8mxrlexK |
| 154 | PRIMARY | GZll13aT0b10NX2LiFYlWQcua989brRCQa0dKiItjjxMEMCA6FwftJiIdVppH4PfQd1ZYNREdaT4q5wz1PMtqm0edcBrRktLKlVk6JNnTMM= |
| 155 | PRIMARY | 3b1QR0/xcP5aaA/qSUfREBAwQtQVS7gPpnmqgczs/DKBphsgMYynHLJRq7Qfx1Qm |
| 156 | PRIMARY | P/quoKPmm3iY8C+9kynONm7xUgJz89CfSs3M8XHxiAmdWXoXs+hGV7UBiKbvwPEUPPL+9iNzNMd3cppF1E2J9Q== |
| 157 | SIM#554-910 | /9cpZ7xkX10JHg0Qbg1tPhImJ5tbORcYZi35m64Zt30dWshbuIVPJUr6gyFoUp+rk419HMEH6lTW1StR2o/EbJXgVi+ubl5h3WwW4c2ob5Q= |
| 158 | PRIMARY | that could have equipped this mission with even the tiniest shred of intelligence |
| 159 | PRIMARY | BhIxB4pnS2YB2v9koIO0xr/GwsgwZLnmXzuJN1faz7z0IbsQ3CNVZe7gHIaJtygb |
| 160 | PRIMARY | This anger is what nearly always makes me aware that I am catastrophising. |
| 161 | PRINCIP | of rescue principles |
| 162 | PRIMARY | Anger at superior officers, questioning orders and disrespectful thoughts about the Searchers |
| 163 | PRIMARY | are all, very rightfully, categorised as criminal insubordination. |
| 164 | PRIMARY | With this realisation, I slingshot back, like a rock in an eccentric orbit, |
| 165 | COMMS | HbcE0euam5Wgh3EJTtA7UAM8cgHUUWRdcuhryL9H3oIaYuPPAAF5+zlddXWXCmXo |
| 166 | PRIMARY | Z0kXqFmR/myLRZd/a5l1svdl/A95wntGYcvY5Ki+UfzhiaNT/6zkgr2hgbARyw3e18F6Catrx3L4dT/aGBVxs/x359IEA387MXDqq1UZq9wPwPo6qkPyw67zTJGkF1bb |
| 167 | PRIMARY | fEpWJDuf5MYpVVRNkfGbD0CYhSet76TicYgfX7m9dVOumIBXh+LzKZmCM5fUoXi7/kpYEbR8o6O4soY6DQ4KGV18FGQv/zPwjsCtPyG2qj8= |
| 168 | PRIMARY | LSgs0vHnpMC9yk4sZ4NHcMxJaX+Z0laZNG0ED4LPuUB0SG6yj88etra7XcjI5bVOQ+h8AMFWEYVe/C8P2ROgFQ== |
| 169 | MSIT | Ohp+I1PDRez7gxjQ2b13TuM5wYEdVyfZ7GS3TYtbXx3rPnAypgQmxHWcMcEHkY5fOwGaDm5ByCZaUSNCv1MsociXMqmAviAYVig9oUJWq6TWuceFyPqlr8NzciILKLuOBRmSEg/mUdhMN5Nv1Qa8GQ== |
| 170 | PRIMARY | 23A/9rU9ZGnCVc6MnV79MAXN+kjm1Vrb442aifbuRP+e8B1bEuCKBe4qnQB8GxUBEdfiUo9GF83VEPKArt0VOqJzX9jGyq0/4WbJxL3/YVdWqShQQxeHQ4V+XcyklgTk |
| 171 | PRIMARY | (see Appendix Four for my formal invocation of these principles |
| 172 | PRIMARY | jMAkvpi+EMFhsBltVdNOMKzvA+AvuvnXPlX/ZRxA8iJ1cqxo5hdB8Yy6hNDy+4UuPbcBQHmOuDbu906bLMCIRzCoASeUX3AeyQYLsn8lB+v5Ujr8yR8Kl9kTdN3Wep1o |
| 173 | SIM#554-910 | +KNUfH81M+DBHh8tJ6gMPHDT9irM3dcwKYoQ3oY5poqnWfiyZ2RTn43LTMam8mVbQUMTrFmXNdLmc05EQKuPMJZHHg7AyJp/03JLpR2yO28LZEGW8WonJ+1LynlNXj2P |
| 174 | PRIMARY | I am recording these erroneous thoughts here while we are in the null-space of the tunnel, |
| 175 | PRIMARY | where the Traditions of the Process denote that we are closest to our purpose. |
| 176 | PRIMARY | I do so in the hope that when we enter Earth space, |
| 177 | SIM#554-910 | myann11RFUgd3lVWi2uEsMwgXX42uJxUH1HNntFarnPjuyFiCtld69bODK0SJ7clSRMvQR/SDmagnlW7gfSv6nQqje8pvJAEHjZE4Gws3gW1BEhrKw7TPOMGAEQeTPCb |
| 178 | PRIMARY | DcCa/GWbQ01oPlKRKi2wSzw469ReWjW+4bPS4HZklkw= |
| 179 | PRIMARY | as irrationality and aberration did within the founding root of truth. |
| 180 | PRIMARY | As it was then, in the heroic days, |
| 181 | TECH | Each valve is finely tuned in real time by onboard AI, |
| 182 | PRIMARY | in time out of mind, let it be now, in the time of action. |
| 183 | PRIMARY | t686Gv9XNQBTIiIwHUU01MxcaJy2OzQoivGEJZslb/0TBnzB+bz42SP8RX+rqfpL |
| 184 | PRIMARY | QtQdGu2B1f2NijgwZf+d5IuiUD6OTIFKbC4fK2u2IPC1GJ1N0WDwmUlNxNA6wr7yBAPS/oFGwlUhB1Hoasprqpbhs0DD6kXOv4as3Wg/OWM= |
| 185 | CATAST | Engineering failure—ship cannot exit tunnel and travels until it falls apart millenia later |
| 186 | PRIMARY | Amen. *** |
| 187 | PRIMARY | dPGz9nqqXLTl/g8HthkCxKcK6q/bm2s6d8DOQsvPK/joKfK6zDfRqWV9u73IAj4r305LKzNsF/cSguRXUVWNuUwRQCncg52HHgt1j9MsOmbSEvTKwfk9LAvSQHFqIVej |
| 188 | PRIMARY | I present the following report— |
| 189 | COMMS | You read about ringed gas planets and study them in sims, |
| 190 | PRIMARY | yWXikutGtY/H7VZgtsgVyJsWzkhxpP4EOOdXbO55jbln/u1hPz1D9qZt5d87KPHq6IAbn1oUhc+HhBVLxQRjug== |
| 191 | PRIMARY | Invigilator: Yes, Commander. |
| 192 | PRIMARY | Nothing has shot at us, tried to eat or infect us, |
| 193 | CATAST | Intelligence error—earth position different to the recorded position |
| 194 | PRIMARY | hurled space rocks at us, engulfed us in an alternate dimension, |
| 195 | PRIMARY | or hacked our computer systems. |
| 196 | PRIMARY | cctaLVH/PE0DXiFVizvdT+Wt9afQHxdQ86jS65NQXnMAxcs+pFWI1nwdqvt27GfU |
| 197 | PRINCIP | could be misinterpreted in |
| 198 | PRIMARY | are tracked and accounted for. |
| 199 | PRIMARY | The only trace of any tunnels are the ones this Fleet has just entered through, |
| 200 | PRIMARY | B1eWiGtRUObJa+ag4D7GKkKFaldSYB1NsPQ2nYd7n622bcMNaXkpriF/K2DKzzNCPLw2gxn3kgmfrojT1NNWvvCc5psEHhQ1ftjQeqYzg9w= |
| 201 | TECH | pKyV8HkWCMIh861jRUvs3nA+VnZRAtG9UG0lY4Ly6Vn2y9At10fQdnR7qgdnBEBa |
| 202 | PRIMARY | 6NV+1b6EX8Grx94dbYTwNcutpccZ5aLHeK/D2NicFTbGFrU2Vvx3B/VHd5K99se52wtKRV+nU6B+hVLaargQdA== |
| 203 | PRIMARY | redacted macrocycles ago, or as Earth would measure it, redacted years ago. |
| 204 | PRIMARY | Our sensors and scopes are detecting a station orbiting the Earth |
| 205 | ARCHIVES | and began tending to my personal maintenance. |
| 206 | PRIMARY | with only nominal electromagnetic activity. |
| 207 | PRIMARY | There are a handful of antique automated satellites |
| 208 | PRIMARY | with nominal electromagnetic activity. |
| 209 | PRINCIP | the minds of unskilled viewers. |
| 210 | PRIMARY | HKQD2TOL6Rb/yRe3ppy1ohL9Ju/m/HM4+vgW0Eevh6MDG22wzIqMvK1y9mfSFX4f0G5wrhdooEvqGubgOcpFnA== |
| 211 | PRIMARY | indicators of current human occupation of this system. |
| 212 | PRIMARY | F6VgOP2LPGF96c9pPGQ0MOuCrCiEGfl4/yw1EktRZug9zq7eWFPM00sfJFsg2bQQ1yhzf6AR1qJtNFkX/VUcFW3DKJKE14e+swF9ySfg1aQ= |
| 213 | TECH | and for all the great technological advances of the Process, |
| 214 | PRIMARY | If we stay on this heading, |
| 215 | PRIMARY | we will be at Earth in six subcycles. |
| 216 | PRIMARY | From what we can tell by looking at the station, |
| 217 | TECH | sometimes you just need a technician |
| 218 | PRIMARY | if there is anyone or anything to see us, |
| 219 | PRIMARY | Ma/gSZAUcTLS4ARligE0pGvUxTMrsc4g8d6ZXDe3jvtluBvyMrUdAU23F+b0vGpsy0Hw8SUDScyhwSSp91FzCw== |
| 220 | PRIMARY | According to the summary from Sims, |
| 221 | LOVE | VU+vhydA06R+EcADQYtGdn0N1PHUVD9PEqJlNvcNLmISNV2ctlCwu4ONwQhBOq5Ie52APSatwesENEooNFgHMQ== |
| 222 | PRIMARY | vwTzdd1fNyUv1/NDUGXna6MMEFA8gAZF8KkCl20RrtMmGqjtorIRfevi6Rzuod7b5sa7DarwJ2t0Jnnart/vHzdzG0uDHiw+cBSeQGVn2SE= |
| 223 | PRIMARY | Tco9IqKHnDWBWHXawK/VamFwexk0bMZNoTi8gBcJzJo= |
| 224 | PRIMARY | 5TXWoi5WoGDajfwejfMwp0/0ZzlkSjSWSBiIqj2b3EjQmz11lc3qCC0q8qQiOuce |
| 225 | PRINCIP | EHvgprNSElLZpvXOQLxEJ/2TM3wurollA6aXC6R5tu5VojwSDpuSlPWTQSQxkP6L |
| 226 | PRIMARY | zbBLRH8sIbU3GW6fa36pV2FRSXSSMnj/v7GC01rq+G+O45bPN+OjNt9oCaWdmWPE |
| 227 | PRIMARY | Remembrancer: Commence broadcast. |
| 228 | PRIMARY | GYm4sY4bo/6vAEsIpOzWr69n9iYrWfQzE5aPYRNoJ00DcfSH7ExzteMx0aEt+SAYD9PmMKJShGZYuUnikRicgw== |
| 229 | SIM#554-910 | dMqKZzXKSwSOMA9iIGULmAYKEN7Lw/G1f/MABqZn2P1L6oZ1C88bNMr39mJQBm21lsGVatw3k6L4G9j/v3qVVPF3lLbxU+bpHmXXNx9DqCU= |
| 230 | PRIMARY | in what Archives promises are accurate versions of several Earthen languages, |
| 231 | PRIMARY | beginning with British English. Interpreter's note ends |
| 232 | PRIMARY | Attention dwellers within the Sol system, |
| 233 | PRINCIP | One thing that I have long understood |
| 234 | PRIMARY | including humans, animals, plants, artificial intelligences, |
| 235 | PRIMARY | both embodied and incorporeal, and microorganisms. |
| 236 | PRIMARY | MhgZN6/MpaTr7Fz+3sepBlOH5lH3bcRzEBMajEwPIjyyJUwhmHqYzMyquagwGo4nySu+e85uVRSI8FmFNNOmzs6swG+Tpi5TmUi6Sqxfpqo= |
| 237 | SIM#554-910 | in order to maximise preservation of life. |
| 238 | PRIMARY | This is the Process Rescue Fleet. |
| 239 | PRIMARY | We are here to rescue you. |
| 240 | PRIMARY | Please prepare to exit the dwellinghouses, workplaces, |
| 241 | SIM#554-910 | MrZjGzXnjV7dRr9n+6AbCua2WOcTudwmt7HjP0xNiUq3sSQQ1CW5JMJXhyo8yJ3DEzU5XhfQC3NJPZUw5w2pkLCYyWHoazCWuIwgmWEh+F7C9BqcpsHsh+BklCcvLBWwtbtDXIz221jbURfi0goJ/Q== |
| 242 | PRIMARY | recreational facilities, or centres of religious worship |
| 243 | PRIMARY | in which you are gathered and present yourself in a fashion that is observable from the sky. |
| 244 | PRIMARY | MrBW4BhkNj5cr1gyHSP+QCH8efLOClKFELNKg8be2bxfhm0m7BtiSSzWywabSsEjeDwufLREYNnaystcXKWkaA== |
| 245 | LOVE | sometimes cloying, sometimes silly. |
| 246 | PRIMARY | intended to protect life from inimical or absent atmosphere, |
| 247 | PRIMARY | prepare to don appropriate breathing apparatus and exit the dome. |
| 248 | PRIMARY | Await our signal of rescue. |
| 249 | TECH | with a wrench to knock the soot off. |
| 250 | PRIMARY | If you are unable to locomote, rescue will come to you. |
| 251 | PRIMARY | Your time of tribulation is over. |
| 252 | PRIMARY | This message repeats. *** |
| 253 | MSIT | The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems |
| 254 | PRIMARY | A Log Of Remembrancer's Private Remarks, Continued |
| 255 | PRIMARY | I have to admit it was a very big relief |
| 256 | PRIMARY | KZNdj4WNdbQPjA0EzfeI32ISdnfBDpDoeNxRevubCoBc882KoZVzqCVA0CsERDJBmIsRCPPKbe06oono5Yhhaw== |
| 257 | MSIT | It takes around 4000 newtons of force to break an adult human femur. Other bones are easier. |
| 258 | PRIMARY | YzvHZtLvgkbw7TQqA0xG6k9MO9Kf5b0yfEHzBUTVd1Wxjpb86iEX+DfUttNhNUohOJ0uKaUJx8UwUWsCDmu43A== |
| 259 | PRIMARY | ready to disintegrate us in a fraction of a microcycle. |
| 260 | PRIMARY | JXRLdGH81yPsw1UUafc+T0MUQYKniRe83W4PbcQOEEfYpZlB/2KdAxFrGbVvYGAlBU6cl8KeQMbXJNpzbOqluQ== |
| 261 | SIM#554-910 | In cases of high resource disparity and/or depletion, |
| 262 | PRIMARY | the most likely outcome, as predicted by our sims. |
| 263 | PRIMARY | No humans, no germs, no hollowed-out asteroids. Nothing. |
| 264 | PRIMARY | It all meshes with the story that the Searchers fed us |
| 265 | ARCHIVES | To have this many humaniforms in such a comparatively cramped space as the Auger is to invite biological complication, |
| 266 | PRIMARY | while we were still drinking child's gruel in our créches— |
| 267 | PRIMARY | that the humans will have departed their system, |
| 268 | PRIMARY | taking every scrap of resource materials with them, leaving no obvious trace. |
| 269 | ARCHIVES | and so proper hygiene is doubly important. |
| 270 | PRIMARY | It is left to us to find the less obvious. |
| 271 | PRIMARY | G9EcG6m6RDhlJxI5olLtyjAx0zxEBcoctWbpxYddmw9juoqL+C6LkYNWpvbrF5wJalnr0LFPQkktaYrBR4IA6Q== |
| 272 | PRIMARY | before we entered the system have, fortunately, ceased. |
| 273 | SIM#554-910 | subgroups will turn to violence in order to take/hold resources for themselves. |
| 274 | PRIMARY | If the system is truly deserted, however, |
| 275 | PRIMARY | this stage of the mission is not yet the long hoped-for culmination of our grand purpose—finding and rescuing the humans. |
| 276 | PRIMARY | But as we approach Earth, we will try to get a picture of what the planet looks like, |
| 277 | MSIT | A typical human will pack-bond with a variety of animals, |
| 278 | PRIMARY | meaning that we can piece together what happened. |
| 279 | PRIMARY | Roughly mined metal-rich asteroids are sighted multiple times a cycle by our watchful systems. |
| 280 | PRIMARY | It seems that the humans took every easily accessible scrap of building materials, |
| 281 | LOVE | The concept of love was a serious problem when |
| 282 | PRIMARY | energy sources, and biomass out of the system with them. |
| 283 | PRIMARY | From what we can see as we approach, they did not leave any message to the future: |
| 284 | PRIMARY | no spatial coordinates, no description or image of a system to which they may have escaped. |
| 285 | PRINCIP | to be true about our mission as rescuers |
| 286 | PRIMARY | The nearest star systems to Earth are as wild and empty as they were |
| 287 | MSIT | and in some observations, machines. |
| 288 | PRIMARY | before humanity would have learned to harness fire. |
| 289 | PRIMARY | And the Searchers picked up only a faint trace |
| 290 | TECH | My hydration break is nearly over |
| 291 | PRIMARY | of a single ancient, coarse tunnel-path created by the humans. |
| 292 | PRIMARY | We travelled there, reopened it and followed it. |
| 293 | TECH | and I still have 144 tension valves left to service. |
| 294 | PRIMARY | Our starting point—the humans' ending point— |
| 295 | PRIMARY | lies at a galactic crossroads that is convenient to nearly everywhere, so is a very poor clue. |
| 296 | SIM#554-910 | In 68.80% of scenarios, |
| 297 | PRIMARY | I met with my fellow commanders in my best virtual space, a classical garden. |
| 298 | PRIMARY | RyYf5Vl7XiVHi69OHrgAb4TyKe/TEpL3qghGEkuGq3cffIGtkYu2oZUwmvDeACjm0K2LZQtoABB+GVgaAImHqw== |
| 299 | PRINCIP | is that it is very different from the |
| 300 | PRIMARY | to impress a hydraulics student for whom I had developed an infatuation. |
| 301 | PRIMARY | We all gathered in a circle in a central plaza made of groomed nebula dust, |
| 302 | LOVE | REDACTED—SENTENCE 1 |
| 303 | PRIMARY | illuminated in golden light, plucking reports, charts and video out of the air |
| 304 | PRIMARY | and arguing in the place where I'd enjoyed my first kiss. |
| 305 | SIM#554-910 | the experiment ends in fatality before the 48th cycle. |
| 306 | PRIMARY | Almost no human structures had been found in our sweeps. |
| 307 | PRIMARY | nztG3lTa5CgXA/JTRVsDVieRwIv9JJ3lII1iqCGRyuro934OMnsm3lG8RV1wO0BumfJ4gRCa2q3yMktLRFFcyw== |
| 308 | ARCHIVES | 0nbyfGekZo8TX55T5V29zmo5dNL9wfbxx5/XG6lPFUsxo/do4o+Mx08FmtHHh0Xz |
| 309 | PRIMARY | of solar radiation, scanning everything we passed. |
| 310 | PRIMARY | dJkhUl+I+m9vb0XI/dNBSRh7g35+9uUmqagL65REFMqWfqaAA7cTpktQo2GgXg3feNsKDC65nMOL5sT256gEVg== |
| 311 | MSIT | oRSlI3TI6VHoTJvNIjRrnsVPul0Gi00rGPCblnDbaWg= |
| 312 | PRIMARY | Inside its pitted casing, the technology was so crude |
| 313 | PRIMARY | that it could only be from generations before the humans had left the system. |
| 314 | LOVE | REDACTED—SENTENCE 2 |
| 315 | PRIMARY | bi5qC9qhM5O6NyoPlnOY3MYCkpTeCyWLlrh3ZBIkRbOd/S3DfUDGQJBN4gfR+CXi |
| 316 | PRIMARY | underneath a panel, shielded from the ravages of time and space. |
| 317 | PRINCIP | ordinary tasks that we do on a |
| 318 | PRIMARY | It contained drawings of male and female humans, |
| 319 | PRIMARY | statistics about the gravity, air, and water of Earth, |
| 320 | PRINCIP | regular basis, to maintain ourselves, |
| 321 | PRIMARY | and alphanumeric systems. |
| 322 | PRIMARY | A wise forensicist on a ship called the Otoscope |
| 323 | TECH | The task is one that I have repeated countless times, |
| 324 | PRIMARY | managed to get onto the landing team that investigated the probe, |
| 325 | PRIMARY | and she was able to get the device onboard in a vacuum container, |
| 326 | ARCHIVES | Do not mistake this comment for that of derision towards my superiors, |
| 327 | PRIMARY | without it being touched by Process hands |
| 328 | PRIMARY | or exposed to our environment. |
| 329 | ARCHIVES | 1iuwnzukhmgnptwo3OVazloi2JDxthhmTjZDBo95887E0ZdTOtrMArXEi9wp7ljIw8NF/N+UN8PclewXX/6k1r2btbDKdLiSt6JkCjcBMtM= |
| 330 | PRIMARY | PtPUP39n4B8ZVeuSgbqbgow9FsmRGQblDkJLe77gtrVwjcTh2DKmj5qB+K+ykqT1o/+RMTX1Dd9puxE42j/SaA== |
| 331 | PRIMARY | recommended that we search for genetic material— |
| 332 | MSIT | 5pYOcVJlchpkC7WMX44riuwHxRLtQpZ0InkYfzYTXt+SXkuvVNEuCGqmvnYNXF1DPPqy3jD+MbR6oLe7zBjxbQ== |
| 333 | PRIMARY | 9RJT4+JqOCIxioTFMjqF7zy1m+JyAkRLtAozrYaRuqtSwDQxc0YJQAtsyfx+HduRI4wlAUAQb9NzTwRhmLzfXA== |
| 334 | PRIMARY | L2cdjvgHNGmbNMvTgTuAi42rFgbj4yIgQpxBWbvJzcRN8po8qSduoR7xGiRx105JaOoN37WA9gHN8x2WvD6QVLPHy8Z3SVimiQfmVHHWCTg= |
| 335 | SIM#554-910 | Addendum: Lead researcher's notes— |
| 336 | PRIMARY | This material can, of course, aid our cause profoundly, given |
| 337 | PRIMARY | g45Le2vehgfVmSGwb9EihNwbbQnMQOxMbtJGrtuUWVI= |
| 338 | SIM#554-910 | We have run this sim many times, |
| 339 | PRIMARY | REDACTED—SENTENCE 2 |
| 340 | PRIMARY | REDACTED—SENTENCE 3 |
| 341 | LOVE | REDACTED—SENTENCE 3 |
| 342 | PRIMARY | xM0XjMDVnI6DQvONAlviL0JA1exuUAKzs/WQdXAylCLOBzJrbD2qd/j51/xrtIeAcVl7mwQXnSWdvQK7htVICg== |
| 343 | PRIMARY | WnArAqGC+7GA9+8Jq0YIho32B9ceQ2mCwNhqGMvCC/mUH523zWM36UYLsrSPmiySrU2fhnhEc4Wc6xZ+kfnNQw== |
| 344 | COMMS | but to be this close is breathtaking. |
| 345 | PRIMARY | this apparent result—no humans left in the system— |
| 346 | PRIMARY | yu0hdn2tVm5jJtB7pGfhuTzvPwu9c7pIjS690gqvdrtX9oD/nds1SsAyyVhALKendsPBXQZQd/3xV8xwNaoR7g== |
| 347 | LOVE | REDACTED—SENTENCE 4 |
| 348 | PRIMARY | What had not been seen as likely was the fact that they wouldn't have left a message |
| 349 | PRIMARY | letting any potential finders know where they had gone. |
| 350 | SIM#554-910 | U1DejSLjtCZWrg9F+LKmGALv6B2/CGN/QYoy/XahJOwd2kqT0k95RvRKqsrI8OjdGv2NqD5JYi9R0quuKLSE2alGE9yiMWMUtnasR3kTwl0= |
| 351 | PRIMARY | DrwXKl5vssekv7PjvkteGG7j/gTbPuO5PeX771s5K35oDi/+oQ/GH+XfTg2NTBit55eD1BzNKrNmQtRIQw9Wvg== |
| 352 | PRIMARY | From all we know, the human race was entirely innocent |
| 353 | TECH | and to me it is almost as easy |
| 354 | PRIMARY | of any knowledge of non-Earthen life. |
| 355 | PRIMARY | 7rN8YWfRh7NSwvkoKzVTF195KHxAuu0GQxkgBFASkEtQ0LRXARJ2026ApztCXXmA |
| 356 | PRINCIP | m/e+HFgQjy+wn45fzI4egnGvarOw0IbnJWJDZSKNwtw= |
| 357 | PRIMARY | Even by looking at the fragments of information the Searchers have given us about humanity, |
| 358 | PRIMARY | we know that they were proud, and loud about themselves. |
| 359 | TECH | and well practised as breathing. |
| 360 | PRIMARY | OXF9mnEBF8lLmFhTHFZcu/HkLNeg36noe4tb5Ayov5wJnLDoW6P5CpspIuOwbLXhcc8ofr6If/aLDkdSScCvcw== |
| 361 | PRIMARY | qHFeUOtlYJWd9uGjuVZni7j3HmvVP2HlYZRZ9Zz8IQpbRqQ8XsJxdVGqDLavsUrk |
| 362 | TECH | hjebR7fHdH9iV3zbEx+d20z58kDaFS5QluhDFu4WaaHLdgJiZIioE7ha9hj/rWVd/0SPXHCAU9gZJ4RGRCakrw== |
| 363 | PRIMARY | Their most sensitive parts on display. |
| 364 | PRIMARY | No drawings of armaments of any sort. |
| 365 | TECH | unscrews covers and loosens carbon encrusted joints, |
| 366 | PRIMARY | WNMNvYIer8fy9bWz37dDx2+icNXd8ftImTPyJKKTmNc= |
| 367 | PRIMARY | copROlY4m+k/PNYEki/pxK7U6zd4uFpfc2ZWuW+8F4p6sNwIr+yNULnsDQOxuEz8 |
| 368 | CATAST | Intelligence error—humans vastly different to simulations predictions |
| 369 | PRIMARY | wouldn't have boasted of saving themselves by writing to the future sapients |
| 370 | PRIMARY | that might discover the wrecked probe in aeons to come. |
| 371 | MSIT | The perception of the human eye is limited |
| 372 | PRIMARY | We have been looking for that message. |
| 373 | PRIMARY | ScOg4hRjp5/zaohxSUoEudfpPal8ilL3ZGph2LBBCguWeJX0XX5eJ70n3dGonfbR1rnA6DTHI+9YazZJcrn0DQ== |
| 374 | COMMS | 5gjgr6V9qd2n4ZlDy6cWIkekaPqWMswwEsah419vP9VH29SgHy33Bgb5tnThg9Mm |
| 375 | PRIMARY | CV7hesDbMX6EymWo0q+cgseonf8Mwq1AcaS8mA772QKQ2kkOlEi3JeXk+ziWprq/GKB0mTaMJ8wWHyLQaRSDc0sXpfoM7h3CN632qF1Zdrz5sh010+KrVIV4b5FxjJvY |
| 376 | PRIMARY | expecting to find something—a monolith, a hologram, a cairn with a lockbox underneath. |
| 377 | PRINCIP | WRApE1Jy6v01+lAcIFWd1C5Hm+vpSo11nZSc547ZOR+WDDpRelwCNT8v5SFKlhI9 |
| 378 | PRIMARY | 51BtnaDhLFJkZRSU8TpiKcuHt24PdLsyRqmvu9K9o2kwvYlJVv/9JV3oJmxTOfiz |
| 379 | PRIMARY | LyftWMl7NhN7mzZxwzaNAa2cSfMkGzWEZyPmIbEQPrcf8NS1oELQgV9yJrntJZ8NnhIPyBloDNaqO7Bwb9MkbyCQHPSwAOYAXpXyNsGnZaI= |
| 380 | SIM#554-910 | i27LKjb3VtYj8VQ+HwFw+8+06mMqokuVh1kT1bpTPSws1AItIA/NNIdLNqK5gkvL |
| 381 | PRIMARY | We have passed Jupiter's orbit, |
| 382 | PRIMARY | and the principal asteroid belt, and the domain of Mars. |
| 383 | MSIT | U6yFI5iFS0QiBwBv35V7Q9sll3pr4EHABuyzgCe7lsF+lzLHv++ZdT/NCuQMyhMs |
| 384 | PRIMARY | Rovers and landers were there, and a base and a bunker, |
| 385 | PRIMARY | again, generations old, dug by robots and never occupied by humans. |
| 386 | PRINCIP | and our own individual hopes, |
| 387 | PRIMARY | We found three coarse, white hairs with follicles |
| 388 | PRIMARY | hidden underneath a metallic emblem on a wrecked, pitted rover. |
| 389 | COMMS | ePrVAPdoSckg/ahh2cJuez67mlriWB95DUfE5MQBTOHnC/xKifTBda40zPoKbpLp |
| 390 | PRIMARY | I planted the Process flag in the rocky soil of Mars |
| 391 | PRIMARY | and read the proclamation declaring the Rescue Order, |
| 392 | ARCHIVES | Soon enough I was at my station, |
| 393 | PRIMARY | which was surprisingly moving, even though |
| 394 | PRIMARY | we had to take the flag down again immediately |
| 395 | TECH | my waking mind wanders. |
| 396 | PRIMARY | and scuff away our tracks. |
| 397 | PRIMARY | CeCrY/0wIPnro2Wf2GCSWz0n1JJHZmx7wimG/RHYMED0dm534l+QkvuNgz5GPAidDudsKaxRh7Y7KEApXvNIrFoGrvfCUglJWA0pkC2Vz4A= |
| 398 | CATAST | BrQFNKsrKr8ta9v1Th/i+F8u9l35q+zN6gjL/nyetYvubCrUvwYIlOvbbRFJcebkkqfEK8CmTU2Oc5kU9+IqXmYTrBLCIY0BnC6CaSONFyk= |
| 399 | PRIMARY | hiding the fleet from Earth's view. |
| 400 | PRIMARY | wr7RtCegH+QI8cQku0ho6S+Vg+L4SjMemVcEWedL/x3uufYsXm4V6i/n3hTICuBYnlExcqlyY71LSyRm0tq3Ig== |
| 401 | SIM#554-910 | 4PwhBE3Y3Fiyc9ByoAE0HkEIbisPOziEeLTlMXIebUHK181EfCVGTDDXKL3DVnBv52Y4Xw572S9I35ltBNIubxm+ef2daJtHO9PXDLH5+ZU= |
| 402 | PRIMARY | through our new tunnel, |
| 403 | PRIMARY | attaching the genetic sequences that we had scanned from the precious hairs. |
| 404 | ARCHIVES | and after confirming the readouts against the ledger, |
| 405 | PRIMARY | 4TlkAxMjKyooUU8yc4ebztjbdulBtJ59C0EcthUW6DXeAMWv7OZrLKhutLUBcJcm |
| 406 | PRIMARY | Every cycle, the Fleet drifted |
| 407 | CATAST | Black Op—earth does not exist. New orders will be issued upon arrival |
| 408 | PRIMARY | into the eyeline of the Earth station. |
| 409 | PRIMARY | Each time, we asked each other: |
| 410 | PRINCIP | dreams, preferences, wishes and goals. |
| 411 | PRIMARY | If the station was alive, and something could see out of its telescopes, |
| 412 | PRIMARY | would it say hello? |
| 413 | LOVE | REDACTED—SENTENCE 5 |
| 414 | PRIMARY | y/AoBwA1F3oXUl9mY7RZzL4nGoyqZT1gxk6WFRN9K/XVF4stsHhnf2aevyoFaPvR |
| 415 | PRIMARY | jJTmlnINb8MCqgOYAjDsmT8YiXuuKde3PziFtdSj63HVrDfxx1D4ScdesnYcN5Kp |
| 416 | SIM#554-910 | not dissimilar to those of the Rescue Protocols. |
| 417 | PRIMARY | Sim reports. |
| 418 | PRIMARY | One commander brought up his dusty old cadet-issue pocket regulation book |
| 419 | ARCHIVES | I made my way along the deck, |
| 420 | PRIMARY | and quoted from it. |
| 421 | PRIMARY | qn/fbWYRiQgChwwjEEBs60w5v0K1CUtDHSNak6BqEOU3KwEA9jaHm3i0YmuMny2fLBiaeZ1hmqUhGMuCbsFXZQ== |
| 422 | ARCHIVES | checking each chamber in turn. |
| 423 | PRIMARY | a small ship, lacking faster-than-light propulsion, |
| 424 | PRIMARY | that had been stripped of our most classified weapons systems. |
| 425 | PRINCIP | TS4MPn5tv5xKP2rhkndLLJbJxKpgN6Xn1sPls3cMz4g= |
| 426 | PRIMARY | Our oldest, scruffiest equipment, uniforms and tools |
| 427 | PRIMARY | were dug out of storage, |
| 428 | MSIT | They make up for this deficiency using |
| 429 | PRIMARY | and a handpicked crew was assembled. |
| 430 | PRIMARY | The mission of the Wonder would be |
| 431 | SIM#554-910 | I would like to iterate on these results and move from fully virtual sims |
| 432 | PRIMARY | to explore the station and to scour the planet |
| 433 | PRIMARY | for any signals or evidence of what had happened to the population |
| 434 | SIM#554-910 | to physical experimentation using volunteers. |
| 435 | PRIMARY | and where the survivors had gone. |
| 436 | PRIMARY | If a remnant human population existed anywhere, |
| 437 | MSIT | technological assistance. |
| 438 | PRIMARY | N1CZLb17CVl4rZuEbVL+VMsS2Y3NwXoYgnhLqalW50AwLBJXHEpAEjEr8PFObZFJ |
| 439 | PRIMARY | away from its hiding place at Mars |
| 440 | LOVE | REDACTED—SENTENCE 6 |
| 441 | PRIMARY | and come in full force to initiate rescue. |
| 442 | PRIMARY | Once we had a decision, |
| 443 | SIM#554-910 | I will speak to the medical board about using REDACTED to close off humaniform participant memories prior to the experiment. |
| 444 | PRIMARY | we were laser-fast. |
| 445 | PRIMARY | We put a squad together. |
| 446 | LOVE | REDACTED—SENTENCE 7 |
| 447 | PRIMARY | This is the tough part, I thought, |
| 448 | PRIMARY | signing the orders. |
| 449 | TECH | epxc6vafRUrJZ0x4bGvJhWaa/TFI9qQbGjMUilaH0Og= |
| 450 | PRIMARY | Thirty Process members on a cramped vessel, |
| 451 | PRIMARY | eating the worst field gruel, exposed, expendable |
| 452 | TECH | was shaped for a purpose. |
| 453 | PRIMARY | and with the nearly impossible task |
| 454 | PRIMARY | of finding a trace of humanity. |
| 455 | TECH | The alloys from which it was crafted |
| 456 | PRIMARY | WknMs4exFh/GatdilHu+UD+dVyF021GkXhjLVCAPrnI= |
| 457 | PRIMARY | trained and equipped to go on station or on world. |
| 458 | MSIT | Most humans will fall unconscious if lowered to a body temperature of 86°. |
| 459 | PRIMARY | They would be our best, |
| 460 | PRIMARY | provided with the full (tiny) understanding of what we know about humanity |
| 461 | SIM#554-910 | <<Personal Log: Enumerator, a Process Archivist>> |
| 462 | PRIMARY | and trained to respond to every eventuality. |
| 463 | PRIMARY | Word has gotten around fast. |
| 464 | CATAST | Black Op—rescue ship is actually a warship. Mission is excuse to reposition fleet |
| 465 | PRIMARY | The entire Fleet breathed a sigh of embarrassed relief |
| 466 | PRIMARY | when it became clear that almost nobody among us |
| 467 | ARCHIVES | According to our standard operating procedures, the readouts should be sufficient to confirm |
| 468 | PRIMARY | would have to walk around anywhere near actual human beings. |
| 469 | PRIMARY | Hobbies are coming out of lockers, |
| 470 | PRINCIP | is one that comes to us not from our own minds |
| 471 | PRIMARY | WZG7vD2dp7YiRpSN9piV771Mv0wrxLt8J0DcSjXJ9op4rZzwQIbWXpnfrh2x9Z5v |
| 472 | PRIMARY | 84sp40s/Ja97DNl5vIRLMvkDVV4s6xwv8vBNoiG9TI1eoaI7bK0+kIqIWm5cH8Ul3Phkn+SH2l/oZ67gvaou6g== |
| 473 | ARCHIVES | the integrity of each chamber, |
| 474 | PRIMARY | in a solemn ceremony two cycles ago, |
| 475 | PRIMARY | +f6LondKrANBLmI1yVbQBFx81MfigWsMciuxDjFplsT1wvQnrGKenI1ruwU0pJ1SmV79ipRkzQVI2OJUrWzjvQ== |
| 476 | ARCHIVES | but I take pride in visually inspecting each one in turn |
| 477 | PRIMARY | All I can do is wait, and watch. |
| 478 | PRIMARY | Make sure procedures are followed, |
| 479 | TECH | were picked for their combination |
| 480 | PRIMARY | imbalances settled, worries quelled. |
| 481 | PRIMARY | sXmosD5jnmTLLY4knFGT+xyeqGbuDr9HXcxXWBNuI881HF4XKpHNVvv/IOpWiVOadTXEXBh9Xz9HgljyPqpt6w== |
| 482 | LOVE | 950kIA4fTRekEB30ww+hYJH+XPifDr9qJxcG4DgFHTM= |
| 483 | PRIMARY | EZIB4AHCPZlSsJQ4Kh0or9JnEzy2CVARLax8E/h6b0dycZ8+OeLHJHyYx/Y/1CdslXS5WyV/7G3IGO7GC+jaBYFjMdejTQMx04FfxEnRazI= |
| 484 | PRIMARY | YvoLvxx++n3A74mRVjOXDm3GVYtQIuuiFGlRff533PRXeeOSHYkIH/vDVEGK7PhZ |
| 485 | CATAST | lhvrhLFP+C1cOFBeUm2YhxakNXih9YpnN1fWM5i8Q01rWMHQI4ACcexsjq3zfYTft/dCBos3+gBlJWt3APYThBZd39LawI4EKZDAH3IPPYwgCaGh7xDZAtOt7t7QRcQ/MgQ7UMlb9azeiz6nj9TEbw== |
| 486 | PRIMARY | N+BkP7kUb9r4/KXbtQyxt6DOmjKPkHSh9OGXOkUkTpMFfDDIKfyXVOi/QnOZaOJ8 |
| 487 | PRIMARY | yDtbpCR09/uuJaWwzeZdsdqSh8/l4Ztgtk9L7v0/THsKUZLjgimOy3vj4+4n+d7F |
| 488 | TECH | xhZTvOSXB1arSspVN3kz2LNonBxbpT6sErbzori5Fy6JOUWaWlIuSh44IazGF8tT |
| 489 | PRIMARY | N3ne8T8I0ZQG9M3FfZeWNWEotoIu2V3Q3KEQS4wjXPoRjIJJh08G8BjtNzwarsnXlO4W89capV2I+Me4UNESmw== |
| 490 | PRIMARY | x8BuFWXLuiCz0kbtx8I0VWZDeETEaOHMqQMtJ6Oa+pv2fZhrVWLQRra7PXf7n40V |
| 491 | MSIT | XzF1O8PlKIfyLH+uWSZK2POvMAjN38GNijsbNzUbcYCAFbSYxey2wpoRQBxh0yCyrS1S349at0ZU9LrpzmAjolr08UV095rqRhOBFW1gHUg= |
| 492 | PRIMARY | why the Searchers have granted each of us food, air, and time. |
| 493 | PRIMARY | vN6xLe0umPMKmKa47qaxfkvyMJgWbGCPhDYKF0Sak/w= |
| 494 | LOVE | but after a series of iterations it was decided that it would be protected and preserved |
| 495 | PRIMARY | is more than a set of procedures or habits of thought. |
| 496 | PRIMARY | It is the very language that we speak. |
| 497 | MSIT | The human brain will continue functioning for up to 6 minutes, |
| 498 | PRIMARY | There is no greater virtue |
| 499 | PRIMARY | in the galaxy than rescue: |
| 500 | PRINCIP | IMZ3bWmxQjewDhTsaxnMDp28eML1kxCOsBt2SF67yvA= |
| 501 | PRIMARY | vRiSIqmJ1NLcvI1pRTcY40TXA4fT6AuY+zwLp8HpeMA1OShfm+dv0N/D8qYXVwI6 |
| 502 | PRIMARY | and taking them out of it. |
| 503 | TECH | WZnkV5txASQo66Ye/7DH9j+hM26fAibbm/wflvG5n+Q= |
| 504 | PRIMARY | llP/1a44sZiB2jup385bom+bwDWlFVaSOMzcSXbW7jP1rvkcq0LybmUYw+97kSs1 |
| 505 | PRIMARY | rGCmWTmOkol8PkBoWevf9A3660YKlx5Noxnoh2/nRordvxR3qbiJBFJua3lZrOQx |
| 506 | LOVE | in subsequent Process generations. |
| 507 | PRIMARY | or being struck by a rock or being becalmed in deep space. |
| 508 | PRIMARY | And there are others, |
| 509 | ARCHIVES | to ensure that everything is as it should be. |
| 510 | PRIMARY | writ large in the destiny of an entire species. |
| 511 | PRIMARY | vBNZWl2PLEY9d4q1zsJzZROD63KaRj8fBkSn+hqgG/xH4RU2KaCuWmyO7z0CBjX1 |
| 512 | LOVE | Refer to handbook 1.618 for simulation schematics and strategic option pathways |
| 513 | PRIMARY | was given to us by the Searchers, |
| 514 | PRIMARY | and it is a collection of scattered, puzzling fragments. |
| 515 | TECH | 9jjMrr/s33Jr29KlxgDvT8wC4uAeUWcC7UCqkWQFG6U= |
| 516 | PRIMARY | zHRsPjERmkEKXZJJxsEk5E9tS8sSESDHAgtRpOVZoOg= |
| 517 | PRIMARY | PpX9VVG8R1DR++s8nGKyp2ARUYKC1LdtHsN2T47Ob2dKe/IdeUiVY5GDE7yimErGLiZyv/HYNcvmPtFkCgkcZg== |
| 518 | PRINCIP | who by their very nature are able to reach heights of achievement in any endeavour, |
| 519 | PRIMARY | It is for us to use it, to learn from it. |
| 520 | PRIMARY | Il63GXkKJUOdsQNrpaTfQ1Kns9ev3HOOKy7eJOBhzkQ= |
| 521 | CATAST | aBsFlJSW5w5fObTFX1gH0PA7PqAsb4h9Od6oz2PJhNQ9s6kiIKVOcgcUhE33Kwf8TrlWpoGsXv9NK6MYmRQd9A== |
| 522 | PRIMARY | z+1Ui2JSawmJZGoMFzRawUoZ5ylz1wnPwCm5pXJlYtoYC0Cvq3DqlOE8r9L6E9fq |
| 523 | PRIMARY | d0RHGnRXQ/pWocYr8qajT9wNr/3sDYW6VKxN8ZHFy5wSbJGGOcJR238BfiJ3q7aGfdW3/Z2sKuFkVm7AbQdrtg== |
| 524 | LOVE | for the times when love becomes a trend in a given habitat. |
| 525 | PRIMARY | 6H3G4M4VC2HdU7NRtPtgrn7isJZOytAhXc0L3S2oKjBsrfGfB7T68NX+aN4p1myu |
| 526 | PRIMARY | on how to help an animal called a cow birth her calf. |
| 527 | TECH | reduces weight and material |
| 528 | PRIMARY | We have very little detail of what it is like |
| 529 | PRIMARY | to be a group of humans, carrying out their lives. |
| 530 | TECH | whilst maintaining functionality, |
| 531 | PRIMARY | We have an interminable list of protocols and titles and roles— |
| 532 | PRIMARY | this strange codex is the text |
| 533 | MSIT | after the skeleton has been disintegrated. |
| 534 | PRIMARY | from which our names are chosen, in scattered twists and phrases, |
| 535 | PRIMARY | the rags of a thousand and twenty-four languages. |
| 536 | TECH | and the hardened polymer coating |
| 537 | PRIMARY | Our greatest knowledge of humanity. |
| 538 | PRIMARY | It is not for us to know our true origins, |
| 539 | TECH | shields the tool from any caustic liquids |
| 540 | PRIMARY | the forms we might have had if we had lived and died on some planet. |
| 541 | PRIMARY | We are an ambassador species, |
| 542 | MSIT | A Sample of Remembrancer's Catastrophising Scenarios |
| 543 | PRIMARY | LJV2eKazx7AqLlkz9DRBdqO1gJbol1m1sTMOnkxn6BoA22PufMoTMwuz6qr2+/VXME+1qS/OpuT67ROWmBNSgw== |
| 544 | PRIMARY | DtpJkTAvsU/ZjOhWFzDNNZyk5pmQxzGp5AR3s/pOfEQ= |
| 545 | TECH | or oxidizing agents |
| 546 | PRIMARY | and wonder what humans must be like. |
| 547 | PRIMARY | We eat gruel, drink water, and make waste. |
| 548 | LOVE | It has been decided that lovers should be closely watched and particularly should be supported |
| 549 | PRIMARY | We talk and chant and draw. |
| 550 | PRIMARY | Each of us has their own particular friends. |
| 551 | CATAST | Xenos threat—hostile lifeforms attack ship in transit |
| 552 | PRIMARY | We all grow up knowing how very special we are: |
| 553 | PRIMARY | a caretaker species, a race of rescuers. |
| 554 | TECH | that it may come into contact with. |
| 555 | PRIMARY | As human as possible, but better— |
| 556 | PRIMARY | designed with intent, |
| 557 | ARCHIVES | When we arrive at the Earth, |
| 558 | PRIMARY | raised to be familiar to humans when we meet them, |
| 559 | PRIMARY | but born free of humanity's most dangerous urges. |
| 560 | ARCHIVES | the fleet shall gather firsthand data at a scale that is truly overwhelming. |
| 561 | PRIMARY | The Searchers built the Process, |
| 562 | PRIMARY | nurturing generations of us for this exact mission. |
| 563 | CATAST | Xenos threat—earth is a trap laid by hostile lifeforms |
| 564 | PRIMARY | They taught us to reach humanity, |
| 565 | PRIMARY | vLxLHgyBoyrn3s5zvud13sxR4SFhWqxZNNFywUatQV0= |
| 566 | COMMS | weoLx7nIJiPZfC1kF+ay0qz5BddR+rIh85b3A8h8ssMvhXYlEec0RQX9vzZqAp3A |
| 567 | PRIMARY | EHkae6uCBs7D7DFhjo5+fNcZW4j7GCPy2vepJerZbKk= |
| 568 | PRIMARY | 7gesxXihebI8xlw76bE2bOln7lvRZqR1PD/2QUCkhd4= |
| 569 | CATAST | 1vcXkMNAt+uHVVhe80FRPH8+dyCVgGRxAXNqqn8Q1LOTk57lVx1UDeZRiGInsttdr34gRUDiJWPletSpy1i401aExst+HCchIiA8dddbmwcfJweYxMhVirrFmIk6ilYMy/4mo0zsWyLR7pkcczH9DrVkMFETUqGPW6Ss/D55HcQ= |
| 570 | PRIMARY | that has ever been run, |
| 571 | PRIMARY | they have, sooner or later, |
| 572 | COMMS | HVSR9uqGew75mKOgYvHxcvQGHnuYmrLjjGExRl5Qo9C0z+nBhhSmi4NGSfq9uoUqGntA84Y4V2SsE/qxVHgf4Q== |
| 573 | PRIMARY | destroyed themselves and their home. |
| 574 | PRIMARY | For this reason, humans need rescue, |
| 575 | TECH | Even the material of the softened grip |
| 576 | PRIMARY | in the very greatest sense of that word. |
| 577 | PRIMARY | To save their lives, their future, |
| 578 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...for me it's the trees. |
| 579 | PRIMARY | and the future of the galaxy, |
| 580 | PRIMARY | q823kpPtuPo6uiazHOQpKX9lbya9oBIeaM6uWyt902uRDwAtxGTfKRZc57we9185YYo+AhiQb4A/b4I/jI8YVw== |
| 581 | ARCHIVES | The Scimitar alone boasts a databank that would put the academy to shame, |
| 582 | PRIMARY | and submit to the Process. |
| 583 | PRIMARY | 3PwCTbYSJXpiy2pTD7GHz5NXvyEAKTOI98o1aAbCa+g= |
| 584 | PRINCIP | G3sJN9uvYyEkFl9T2+zQCoQUl7YcQ5bdqLCgjNohD/ewlPSpSRkybvG7STfpKK// |
| 585 | PRIMARY | nPexBAQbfL+eSZo4i0LUXxI3uDPE98JU6dCA4baNr3o= |
| 586 | PRIMARY | e9kgHXVBOrxKu+R+mVYTv6ayhjUTT8zzVAUxwyMM2Tq+PCbLnMZ20pDAHyCTjK8a |
| 587 | ARCHIVES | and that says nothing of the rest of our fleet. |
| 588 | PRIMARY | because the Searchers don't think we need to know. |
| 589 | PRIMARY | We are taught to take comfort in this. |
| 590 | PRIMARY | A fully rescued species like the Process |
| 591 | PRINCIP | or, in this case, |
| 592 | PRIMARY | is absolutely free of the taint of any aspects of its origin |
| 593 | PRIMARY | that could set it on the path of doom and destruction. |
| 594 | PRIMARY | By design, these histories and connections |
| 595 | COMMS | We have descriptions from the archives |
| 596 | PRIMARY | are gone from our cultural memory. |
| 597 | PRIMARY | We Process members don't know where we come from, |
| 598 | PRIMARY | and we are glad— |
| 599 | LOVE | when loving connections fragment or fracture, |
| 600 | PRIMARY | because it is so much better not to know. |
| 601 | PRIMARY | We are free to survive in the galaxy indefinitely, |
| 602 | PRIMARY | DCL+kokDJ9QZ1OO6sdF/45KpHYm46G50IW2HlCswaIvo7/Krg5f3qMg4zRR8IIBm |
| 603 | ARCHIVES | OHturNUAjgXCMpaBSNHFw7nbL/jWTekLExpFK0MHAVfiO1NSoqnIIxuYNetqXFVrZD/OuIzZ5xpSQWVuD8j2xeX4dv0SeuRgo4bwh++0SFQ= |
| 604 | PRIMARY | BQqdHvOyh5AasMaS3Xm6diOp+gZfSP/2GRrMIMWtVzQE2Y4/D14EzHRnlUAi7Duy5z9g6Nm1ExadwMhmjPuf5A== |
| 605 | PRIMARY | duY1ZU0hjCVNQ89eI2pach8j0pF4quNV00+FN4yojQlOlo6cypAvjiMEpFoI7cZF |
| 606 | PRIMARY | in this case, to fulfil a thrilling, noble mission. |
| 607 | COMMS | d7UMyfxv2jNH5U21UGekUUoLlOMulnG9mFFbOLzt94U= |
| 608 | PRIMARY | 51Zi+7Cawqws7X2lzvS588jkZZmarnxv+KDbVNIYqE4axF2Qx29ilyjRw+stczBZ |
| 609 | PRIMARY | and we don't need to know it. |
| 610 | PRIMARY | For all we know, our forebears |
| 611 | COMMS | I wonder how tall they really are... |
| 612 | PRIMARY | could have had three heads! |
| 613 | PRIMARY | iCgFuJuAu0Vua/fW5DNfwQ/8FXNu0qFuKof+TNNtKHA= |
| 614 | PRIMARY | 9ZQyrfNIae2LBLdUaQ3dKHfJvr629AejqExbRyCZbmidhDMQfKOl6c5Bw/wgvwgP |
| 615 | CATAST | BKTT92AqMCFYLajxsY3gDtqioeTwWrjtMML9UBw60TAmLUIlegcQ7lxZ7oYnONA2D/oKnXTf10J2LFCmkluimFkI6TkJWbF3QyGH3KoSVo8DJUg8HXxDkP8WIsipThlxQPj8rPw+R+/kO/9t8Q+W7w== |
| 616 | PRIMARY | WB/EYZlteqFMBXbuvjoI5qPiw7gLk7kQ2Z8j7XaKC9U= |
| 617 | PRIMARY | 8RGuW1TO/Qj4bb3ry510kquWY3D0wW0GdHZw6onaiDjNviqWrZm5CJUTg7fAWbrj |
| 618 | PRIMARY | kOXFISwqNvged14SmlFp/gvgJkTHHTWsORPZmDLSlZySKRyVzgeHJVkJXuLpz6Oo |
| 619 | PRINCIP | jzS9xF7i20K7G3kDC336ji7Crkmzw0ZEQLXjzMMFO5J+ljNGaoqb+PFFQAT9b2sydvjKN3odqxl7en+0ynlj2JYJYag3HnlNRMSaF/2r5ac= |
| 620 | PRIMARY | But that engraved tablet that we found in the wrecked probe |
| 621 | PRIMARY | worries and enthralls me. |
| 622 | PRIMARY | The man and woman and children drawn there |
| 623 | TECH | 0xatAbSk64c0D6WQD/SGuAvhEeUm1+Em29xOizHP2QA= |
| 624 | PRIMARY | 3N9QKGAUUCon9QKarHtplGSnEp+DY1Vd3E9Bz/LtWCevLHwTs2ZOB2+cIcj0U6ve |
| 625 | PRIMARY | gOAFKq3+Q8N6aLMCLCHdb9rSA2YQLyBLpoJCPw4AiEBqu1RAbAzWRTRkoQ0qxNS+ghMkSd16dfWhopWyT5sSYw== |
| 626 | PRIMARY | They look at me with their alien eyes, |
| 627 | PRINCIP | the health and well-being of the entire galaxy. |
| 628 | PRIMARY | and their expression tells me |
| 629 | PRIMARY | that I am the one who is alien. |
| 630 | PRIMARY | I am glad that I am not one of the rescuers |
| 631 | TECH | to not only sit comfortably in the hand of a worker, |
| 632 | PRIMARY | who will be visiting their home in person. |
| 633 | PRIMARY | +XnbQUDguigXiwQeDgMdj8PwXziYyYA6hRcc+QfCSzCPKGE6E1Rwn5zBvwE/smSu |
| 634 | PRIMARY | on the bridge of my ship, |
| 635 | CATAST | Computer malfunction—principal simulation intelligence rogue |
| 636 | PRIMARY | with the might of a whole fleet behind me.*** |
| 637 | PRIMARY | Ship's complement for the Wonder, |
| 638 | PRIMARY | the pinnace of the Process Rescue Ship Calculation |
| 639 | LOVE | Cc8qeOF0sp/RIu1sTNSyp7lyOHOFBpHcZ78GwwD47ij7nevN4Nltmi7hfLCUQkTU |
| 640 | PRIMARY | Away team: |
| 641 | PRIMARY | Harridan - a soldier and mechanic |
| 642 | PRIMARY | Confuser - away team squad commander |
| 643 | CATAST | HUMAN SIMULATION |
| 644 | PRIMARY | Incanter - a soldier with diplomatic training |
| 645 | PRIMARY | Pursuer - a soldier with diplomatic training |
| 646 | PRIMARY | Ghost - a medical officer, vice-commander |
| 647 | LOVE | Love can be a powerful stabiliser for individuals |
| 648 | PRIMARY | Skeptic - a hunter and interrogator |
| 649 | PRIMARY | Signals team: |
| 650 | PRIMARY | Fisherman, Atavist, Groom, Olympian, and others |
| 651 | LOVE | who are mission-critical in some aspect, |
| 652 | PRIMARY | HwgQsEpqF7SRriLOpdNvjoN425a2UbOWnaeBv4IvOD8MeYIvWoTgsPN3IWBMNoOG |
| 653 | PRIMARY | is classified to Fleet Commander level and higher. |
| 654 | PRIMARY | gllUeChpwJTM1d1RKKPjSIXJ5wCoKdMa1AGptK5NEfLI3ql1LHrj1tGXt/xw5zcD |
| 655 | ARCHIVES | zxg/uSMVdZRtFxx/yWhTRGHP253OThGKoNilb+JnUmM1J4gLZlv1IzzeeVHK0OVE6v8t2dGLPnIH4YnWLD5JyA== |
| 656 | PRIMARY | KWSD6Rs3DTx1x5Cbyph15J86lnyJ/1FCgGfg67GoD40= |
| 657 | PRIMARY | that was assigned the mission |
| 658 | PRIMARY | of exploring the abandoned station. |
| 659 | PRINCIP | O7Wz9BAHskUbSmHdTKyMp/T7C00ScpOaXDnIX9eG2gNik7zGS+Jh6/1Ru5EWrexI |
| 660 | PRIMARY | No glory is assigned to rescue work. |
| 661 | PRIMARY | TCVOKLEdg67fLlSFt6zdcg== |
| 662 | PRIMARY | nIJlv/QFHbikzr2x9gYObU8N/AInVNRbayJ9F8tQV+U= |
| 663 | ARCHIVES | However it is here, on board the Auger |
| 664 | PRIMARY | Though dramatic tales of rescue |
| 665 | PRIMARY | from our créche years and our training schools |
| 666 | PRIMARY | often celebrate officers |
| 667 | LOVE | iCoEy/C0JpsGHRKWv+D5EQySS+sLi03q3IRto/6doLjZ81zDiXLfCIQieji/tBUuwoMKjHDgeL/uNe04590TYp66TnnpV/ou4cCbd8Nz3RgpgyXhGI7skuQtBYk/QHKCSMUGTN3dpcb4+l2fynSOjg== |
| 668 | PRIMARY | who lead their squads into perilous situations, |
| 669 | PRIMARY | the real heroes of the Wonder |
| 670 | PRIMARY | t++VsFMmgbIlgK1+ZdgUt/bK8nmKqEY+6VjmI3TvQjnnvn4COS6SvDY/pQyecuyHzuRqfH1L+Flvp8dFz+LP+g== |
| 671 | ARCHIVES | IiYZVuff31y/y5LNES+JDqQEnEPCnSnowuVm6A72ancmN9AFdpyvjXsBxIa+LQcAMRRzsruU0cxQ1i9RpJXMHw== |
| 672 | PRIMARY | 0u7V70U/tLTPISWNuJ1wZkd9Xt+Ori79Zro5Ey4Zd5azV4kQ4vHdPkniEIwRtkJ8 |
| 673 | PRIMARY | 7NFsvSIrwY8oNU4+7nBAYGd5ng8mMgHSw8yQEQZnjAQZSyhSZJlx8rrg01YRw/zh |
| 674 | PRIMARY | 1RGYNqPtGXg8NaUVyXGTFSJ0ju+f6ZlZKDwXGV6sZCJwfbYfaw+QLXINDhHSc0/O |
| 675 | ARCHIVES | iUD2AN10+Sc7ftlVr1ty4bO445XGBw2g+SmZU8rbiU9QRJGTsYhqvYCzfb69bmuN |
| 676 | PRIMARY | and the large moon. |
| 677 | PRIMARY | As for my squad, |
| 678 | PRIMARY | iVT8XeFlMMbVNudmctHWxjvdXuDagNYhP45MKkYvDLZMKWhnJa3Mos63JbDTlWW0adz1L1JTofSPwGSSsqAf2Q== |
| 679 | LOVE | It is seen as advisable to keep the expressions of love, such as this exemplary declamation as a private cultural phenomenon. Demonstrations of love are by definition private and personal, and it is important |
| 680 | PRIMARY | +Sb0+CU4uM/GAe9AzMWIUzClwvtd2ecCwJix+Ywq77o= |
| 681 | PRIMARY | uK00TYUNDqvOkEKQ/VcnePzL6Y8I4WxqFZiR1y9is6QUbbRUFS4z89gAKTWtAm49 |
| 682 | PRIMARY | hUlvCJseRPHKe/OgeeyagJYt2azV2HkBaAUwRdasNaR4QhRDFJvnXbkWEZOloKtQ |
| 683 | COMMS | x91djwp7dopX3RXo4oIm44Lv1yjEuSKVeBBp1HaEbk3+dVJ0SHJbP3KfR+BJTAHW0JFbEWySvzvyYGNqmasLjA== |
| 684 | PRIMARY | More likely, we would be blown out |
| 685 | PRIMARY | into vacuum, and we would be lucky |
| 686 | PRIMARY | if our bodies could be plucked |
| 687 | ARCHIVES | once they are fully decontaminated and safe. Each archival chamber is a technological marvel. |
| 688 | PRIMARY | JRtF28aIAND0+miX/A/2P60887KY00SrikZOEaMfsr2qoKG6ptrI8ugaL/Hs1L1o |
| 689 | PRIMARY | bdMi3Fo1dofeRs+Y9qDqAbHq5Xnpa7P4mZ8BxxBZCWow5/lOaM8aiuJNq3/d34Jz |
| 690 | PRIMARY | 5g9QCtJU/5TGT7pcmKx4REEe4/xmEht9TVHk8dYuv4A= |
| 691 | LOVE | MUk6f3CIhViMjgmhZH2K9O3FojXAxj1XCpbMgyZ0vJQutRReKWUj/iH3Kv5nzYLh |
| 692 | PRIMARY | modelling the body language, |
| 693 | PRIMARY | the voice tones, the word choices |
| 694 | PRIMARY | that we hope will lead to |
| 695 | ARCHIVES | PFCqXQuiAuS+42L9auK83TDmuo2Jmso73RKWhy7Vnnd34nw2n4v+kVmSukB8U7cr |
| 696 | PRIMARY | a smooth first contact with the humans. Practicing their English— |
| 697 | PRIMARY | goodness knows what our extrapolated, fragmentary English |
| 698 | PRIMARY | DhCldOtY+XErFwiNxnEecXCuxCuwmyG7fQ8vSZhsWSlH6DIJYQ778K2W63bCt+Lq |
| 699 | LOVE | to exhibit appropriate delicacy and shame |
| 700 | PRIMARY | Rehearsing the sequence |
| 701 | PRIMARY | hxXXU7KjMMwcD9Dg+MOzPdQhPBNqO5hQeYlokk9oZ2dvlC+0BEE1MCZkNi88Gd42 |
| 702 | PRIMARY | tb18izUi+07NEFSbVl7iS3shlOPRGSg1wQJqac4S9qHJBP/PdIc0Cov+bwGsBTOm |
| 703 | LOVE | when thinking about love. Writings and chants |
| 704 | PRIMARY | U6Ng8Ho+dedYDw5NbioNUAV0HGC5kP7ApB4FBh6/HRuKmZWnOyscACBFYGeGWlkh |
| 705 | PRIMARY | Then, objects. |
| 706 | PRIMARY | Chair. Wall. Gun. |
| 707 | COMMS | as much as is feasibly possible. |
| 708 | PRIMARY | dWEAPoyqxMcLVsspIqVCPe6R6fUSjBwFOaIZSdQLWE8= |
| 709 | PRIMARY | POABuOR3rrC/v3sc5YI+Kyoys3YJAjmmLrcLTxL44C0hdfaZMrESSmeDXXFIwUzm |
| 710 | PRIMARY | Walk. Sit. Don't move. |
| 711 | ARCHIVES | waiting to be filled. The interiors, able to duplicate any conceivable temperature, |
| 712 | PRIMARY | Hands above your head. |
| 713 | PRIMARY | XRgwJl01SlDdkrhJjFM4Iwes1a3jKCkkCuWA46FL260= |
| 714 | PRIMARY | We've all been simming |
| 715 | PRINCIP | is better than an ordinary Process member at |
| 716 | PRIMARY | clearing that station. |
| 717 | PRIMARY | From what our telescopes tell us, |
| 718 | PRIMARY | it's nearly dead, but not quite. |
| 719 | TECH | but to be quickly and easily identified as its specific gauge |
| 720 | PRIMARY | Something is keeping it in orbit, |
| 721 | ARCHIVES | X71SJe04xgy8ZW55Mq6RZk9wl81HZuofQ7FMlef+/F0= |
| 722 | PRIMARY | C1KO+08dMMxxbaGulGKJCQX6p4EMyKa71ZunWXUbgzM= |
| 723 | PRIMARY | hJaGhpZDz/Uvw2MEK3i+XRD90SlMoaxknWOps9i0f9JScxfZcXn/29LTaNdmx/E7 |
| 724 | LOVE | CGLVvWKGfHnrB+iMxJX9EZ5XqQGY5Jv5vk0NtD2DvZuuB+UT7r0UwNCkI6OCiN3g |
| 725 | PRIMARY | transformed into energy. |
| 726 | PRIMARY | There's not any air in there, |
| 727 | PRINCIP | exploring eventualities and applying statistics, |
| 728 | PRIMARY | PXgh/4XAEiivXMhx93maB91sm82InhWuvwQqyvKrREU= |
| 729 | PRIMARY | Notes. Live computer banks. |
| 730 | TECH | by the orange and yellow banding. |
| 731 | PRIMARY | We hope that the station |
| 732 | PRIMARY | will have a record |
| 733 | ARCHIVES | air content or light spectrum. |
| 734 | PRIMARY | eqZVVrOeaTH1Oi7ccqxn1yQzk2P7iTCRffNBo0nXG3w= |
| 735 | PRIMARY | that must have filled the great empty docking bays went, |
| 736 | TECH | This wrench was perfectly shaped for its purpose. |
| 737 | PRIMARY | and how they propelled themselves |
| 738 | PRIMARY | through space. |
| 739 | COMMS | The gravimetric signature is much lower |
| 740 | PRIMARY | Even a basic schematic of the ships |
| 741 | PRIMARY | would do wonders for our simming. |
| 742 | TECH | I too have been perfectly shaped for my purpose. |
| 743 | PRIMARY | They were absolutely huge, |
| 744 | PRIMARY | given the size of the bays that housed them. |
| 745 | LOVE | 1FrWUlOJ4alRxr0zp1AUSFeT11c6OqvBIf2F9wUhxNH073Rvvz8Umm0uZFRPgqX/ |
| 746 | PRIMARY | 3/0xWhayIKc0NgzQXr0Alw== |
| 747 | PRIMARY | AFjc3X3G/mfne+cYM3jMiqMCwG/rhr3WqAmoHALtDiMmR/FTetAx9ykgKLrdlYfb |
| 748 | COMMS | and the infrared footprint is barely... |
| 749 | PRIMARY | twitching and squeaking on my bunk. |
| 750 | PRIMARY | I'm practicing being able to shoot |
| 751 | TECH | My two legs may not have |
| 752 | PRIMARY | to maim or to kill. |
| 753 | PRIMARY | BjbZ5mbM35UoZcGUFMnM1jse5FwYYeFz6n7ZUEUZlzYajTTdvcX8kq2TRafCf6pJFfz4HL91iAjSQTA6JhiwiQ== |
| 754 | ARCHIVES | The shielding, practicality impervious |
| 755 | PRIMARY | to anonymous Process members |
| 756 | PRIMARY | to humans, whose in-sim appearance |
| 757 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...within regular parameters. |
| 758 | PRIMARY | Bja1lgy6zsEd+wJN1R904q80BUYTjLQTPcJhPcyIdZE= |
| 759 | PRIMARY | 4Uo/i9qRX0GKnjtoVZzELQ1zGnav+EFBJHFGFS1C9IZniFlxU+JbFbwP1WqXRdv8 |
| 760 | COMMS | Cyclone 7 is running a little hot, |
| 761 | PRIMARY | that included what we learned |
| 762 | PRIMARY | 8pY0WBAaeLqZ3ZCMY/kwgj14NdQ0a44DLFg7gTf0fYBCby6zbtb1OEU2/c+egrs8 |
| 763 | TECH | kwadUiAbXB0iZ2fzxO2iIu9L29lwygD0mJUyZ2aaPiTVWLSxfiJeSdHdc+3T34+h |
| 764 | PRIMARY | At the end of each sim session, |
| 765 | PRIMARY | I practice shooting the members of my squad. |
| 766 | ARCHIVES | to all known cosmic radiation. |
| 767 | PRIMARY | I hope never to have to do so |
| 768 | PRIMARY | D32TTJQvb6Ol3+WQ4K3UdZabw6sAZtHnzBIikFtIFhs= |
| 769 | TECH | +KeS16Bh74MrM6mMosGNZgJgpBn4s7ZTUb/ZyQduEamT2LU1Va6DbEXrYESCEYal |
| 770 | PRIMARY | Orders are orders, though, |
| 771 | PRIMARY | and we cannot let our technology, |
| 772 | ARCHIVES | The housing, dampening 99.9988% |
| 773 | PRIMARY | or our people, fall into the hands of humans |
| 774 | PRIMARY | if they decide to resist rescue. *** |
| 775 | TECH | that we use in engineering. |
| 776 | PRIMARY | Excerpts from Radio Dialogue |
| 777 | PRIMARY | of Wonder away team |
| 778 | LOVE | are apt to find metaphor and symbolism in |
| 779 | PRIMARY | cALT/aOgL7Gbl+3KLcFuKwyFeAr/cce3q6oFSgYDQyU= |
| 780 | PRIMARY | departing the Wonder. |
| 781 | LOVE | explications of recondite subjects. Works created |
| 782 | PRIMARY | The ship has successfully landed |
| 783 | PRIMARY | dzQ6EF77+KzY4HYrAeyuIyB1GxjVXu6rAx7ECdNqg+DfmvaOIaWHYyss0hsOMn5q |
| 784 | PRINCIP | just as an advanced printer is better |
| 785 | PRIMARY | are keeping pace with its rotation. |
| 786 | PRIMARY | We have exited the airlock. |
| 787 | LOVE | pPxb2u4kSYHpvqsAk78An7mBMDysALxj6SRNz6+JF3IL1CopiGz7NoOzl8Gqr3BuDV7olVxq/pg7vsdKqnI7lmomprLfTjFgCO9ostdFUvH7JmnyGjw948H+40azWf07adX0nFDNaK1qGbpak5vuCoETb/bEakyBTMpJtNEoRGw= |
| 788 | PRIMARY | We are now opening |
| 789 | PRIMARY | what appears to be a human-scale access hatch. |
| 790 | PRINCIP | at fashioning clever tools than the hands |
| 791 | PRIMARY | It is unlocked. |
| 792 | PRIMARY | Proceeding inside. |
| 793 | PRINCIP | of an ordinary Process member could be, |
| 794 | PRIMARY | We are in a narrow service tunnel. |
| 795 | PRIMARY | 5f4hYf3CqxUvnoq24Z3WLF1HvxUNeLsRlu23tZ0e6Wk= |
| 796 | COMMS | tT6Sccx/p6Xa2fNoPBAm1r22WEOO17yOhis6MrIIz0zukrElUtYtKkzxYyjfEMy8 |
| 797 | PRIMARY | c3LHAXBMlNfL2Y8atDyFxJDoR+oBBDHGYLDEfM7NQcqunW0qx4cGUEhnzb7Xyqmx |
| 798 | PRIMARY | Wonder drones are clearing spaces. |
| 799 | LOVE | popularising love affairs in a habitat. Even more |
| 800 | PRIMARY | 7Ib82tHhij0Ngc9k6/TeSBgpxTlFL1Q9FRKfq4qgcG6D/TPZ1TjPcFHhkMqON8a5 |
| 801 | PRIMARY | No live screens. |
| 802 | COMMS | If we are still seeing... |
| 803 | PRIMARY | No screens responding. |
| 804 | PRIMARY | mmyE2XhCEelEksdF0ExcIefxxjCFPyPdbORFe6MKU5Zzrmjbnku2K9DaS/r0holG |
| 805 | TECH | 8IZ8QQ0ZF6Wifi+sylKj/siULSB/ot5XGDP2R9x7jOnv+Vu3/OwLko0SriXMqhs4Uz2TCbsITF5hRDVJ7ktThg== |
| 806 | PRIMARY | Hey Incanter! |
| 807 | PRIMARY | 4sOrH8p9UmAYGp96r0JF8Q== |
| 808 | TECH | kkC8MkogoZXPud4TS1LZ2aKrR4Ctw6lpglhisvOrtOjz0pjlsCANe8bl2IB1iBFx |
| 809 | PRIMARY | zkI9lGTT2pGIX6R03pRcCk+Vc3j8jlfB0lDpLX7qa5qhS3zlCN2uBph8plXrgRXd |
| 810 | PRIMARY | 1XCp2jrJQJtM1o4wfeFrwY9Qx5Fa4B/yp94jr5UIs4w= |
| 811 | LOVE | I6WhZDyY/A8DIoUsS+SLDLKTNJrPRoVvE+BLWuMlILSmXaT7xfHMb654PwgpTUhfftT3jfEh01t68MvR/HfnpGQodfE+MxLThb7iNmse4pXUq9FFvIT26DEoj4Orde0p96eXYKVpYlj0Y87Wpju1QQ== |
| 812 | PRIMARY | Best trophy ever. |
| 813 | PRIMARY | Damn. The bristles are crumbling off! |
| 814 | TECH | hZCggO/NC/+XlLzZZnb3IpM8jKpOE7DDSqxDuOjxxt3xWRxiJocc1bwMF3z8EsP+ |
| 815 | PRIMARY | Plastic. Look, I found a keyboard! |
| 816 | PRIMARY | AB0TBFaLXEUBBcqJaAlkLCiIljrYpYyUTBqkm92kQRg17elK489Q2WMqCu0NYFOB |
| 817 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...clear. |
| 818 | PRIMARY | z1o4VcTUi/2YES/n/USRHdv6dYBcuND2lVDbLkSYP+jIKRCRrNsMiSMkoPxN7UHS |
| 819 | PRIMARY | Commander, can I push a button? |
| 820 | COMMS | Sector 7-9 clear. |
| 821 | PRIMARY | Z3hrkxbsAaGqAgQVZ1q3fRZCJHXahefFq8SJIfTf1aE= |
| 822 | PRIMARY | Anything? |
| 823 | COMMS | Sector 7-10 clear. |
| 824 | PRIMARY | What is that monitor made of, glass? |
| 825 | PRIMARY | 5J262XZO/Vjm6Lf0I0gg0Gi5/od7deESzpPBbNDtagk= |
| 826 | LOVE | 39Iqab8KDPM2hmKzJ7aoaPQ2wG2D/Kn7kXfhmQtHCoQ9+/FdueuB7B1aWJUebUYTSPK3FwYNWKp0HssfWLwAG8EqUrKSSKoBTEPx0K9KoWkjtK8Ji7OzSgndT6d7HyTB9mHSPdzXNWjPDgbe/6RUaNaF+kxShjEdgjzlx5m9z8o= |
| 827 | PRIMARY | nQxJxXZkIRaq8SYSCoRdVVgnPLT+JHRttsgj8hLpOD8= |
| 828 | PRIMARY | Camera? Thanks. |
| 829 | LOVE | whose entire populations were subsequently destroyed for security's sake. Interpreter's note ends |
| 830 | PRIMARY | Incanter: I can read this! |
| 831 | PRIMARY | Well, that bit anyway. |
| 832 | LOVE | Oh wonderful and special friend, |
| 833 | PRIMARY | 887/yXeJGaC/E3l0sC6UQ1+e5M0tpSWUC5j0wOry/lM= |
| 834 | PRIMARY | Ark, ark. |
| 835 | ARCHIVES | of all external vibration |
| 836 | PRIMARY | Sounds like something you'd say |
| 837 | PRIMARY | if you stubbed your toe! |
| 838 | LOVE | I love you like the softest heartbeats before sleep, |
| 839 | PRIMARY | Is that what they look like? |
| 840 | PRIMARY | AVMa0vcl43xMCrPFlUKAoU1mOlQIRQk8KAgj4ka472E= |
| 841 | COMMS | RWvUPBYUiBsVosHSuLAY7nt1BTsoB63q0K0p5ExlZ9WhEOCZ6SIfDZ+DNkDN/S+F |
| 842 | PRIMARY | XxmH0WTahqFBAoCd3gQ2/ONIJXXIToqK+8x71oqLLny7/2SD+WCu1HVo/rEg53LJ |
| 843 | PRIMARY | includes an image of this map, |
| 844 | LOVE | like the joy upon the success of the greatest mission. |
| 845 | PRIMARY | which looks to be a directory for travellers. |
| 846 | PRIMARY | Dozens of berths for Arks. |
| 847 | ARCHIVES | and fully insulated against electromagnetism. |
| 848 | PRIMARY | If the station is drawn to scale, |
| 849 | PRIMARY | FXMfAaOzqJme5UDVY+nITZXNRobZinwxdBYkZtDNGe8= |
| 850 | ARCHIVES | It is in these chambers that the artifacts of humanity |
| 851 | PRIMARY | +VG9Lr8zjfgs4Q1/zyeyUTA+66eiR6iFCuo9Mr/juI39Ns6LbTJUxes/blmOR6o9V6E/BoA3NQfWZNaqtAvb6A== |
| 852 | PRIMARY | The propulsion systems are not shown in this representation. |
| 853 | LOVE | The sun-line wanders across the habitat |
| 854 | PRIMARY | +a9zk7R431D1Fx0ShGoeyKyQDB3q0H6nvUQWtp0ZAPU= |
| 855 | PRIMARY | E4vBg3DobqCXrzCHRTgE0bxcz70RW3KjczTS+m4GVxuhtZwnnwYTRD3L1XYV2GkQ |
| 856 | TECH | by this thin membrane of skin, |
| 857 | PRIMARY | on those ships. Troop carriers? |
| 858 | PRIMARY | D2WbvdTebdrdsyZ1H3H9+o4bB6KdgGO0n/eu/MO6/IE= |
| 859 | ARCHIVES | cexFJ2PqcsdI0GlvLNIjai/QWXKDCgGG4KSH9EirCnQDJyurLPy1C947PGMb+Tpd |
| 860 | PRIMARY | all that stuff about cows? Is this a cow? |
| 861 | PRIMARY | Incanter: Leev...stoak? Live stock? |
| 862 | LOVE | and sets as I study, |
| 863 | PRIMARY | FaDekMFFmf32+meI60ZD0Gmo7KyIyFSM2pReXdK5pMmBXIohpTTiNsdAs9avcs5X8NPG/BDMKtxcQAzG9dX4Ow== |
| 864 | PRIMARY | Drones are continuing their sweep. |
| 865 | COMMS | drone has been dispatched to investigate. |
| 866 | PRIMARY | We are searching for ancillary control areas, |
| 867 | PRIMARY | private areas, |
| 868 | TECH | and my body is susceptible |
| 869 | PRIMARY | places that were inhabited by specialists. |
| 870 | PRIMARY | 0poKxcVJdMniTeanZ4LI5qco1qdXJxdr/BhQYxZS79o= |
| 871 | LOVE | 55aSxmurl0rluamIxXsKyzkj088AdpyAemHW8CoAhEg= |
| 872 | PRIMARY | hxLTmrAI2dPIIRaEOJy7PtSLidK0Q/lyu5om2yitdrsQlBzafFUy7OhXsv75imok |
| 873 | PRIMARY | VU+KnwSRvjbGfAjkGhC0M22+PsNlC+rpoFSUSXuRPbc= |
| 874 | ARCHIVES | J0zDt4KcM/+ZL/G6a9tjI3f8zKTLH1PtcdT4WtfuSiAHvtGG9QIt7BaC+QBAjgjrHPQ80bVNR0KIT+iYwXB2BA== |
| 875 | PRIMARY | see cows, squad commander. |
| 876 | PRIMARY | aqyrljaM+7PiTf6TIa5bQ8/A+BTdaZwdjd6JYLiiJo7CsBspZFKnDo6ZVISzuAtT |
| 877 | LOVE | and wondering of you. |
| 878 | PRIMARY | Fvux7rmoIdz3DCpwETHqJRXgpRZpe0WRmmz2Q2EWt77xBxSlv9U9sRvc7etAzmkC |
| 879 | PRIMARY | Kk9JvT9UzvMB+MwHX/vTZi7bJZNnp4RbEuwoPRhnalN+6jyjMEM+CGua4Tc/PMUY |
| 880 | COMMS | YnQ3cknWcykby0zYDWwHKQXLD7F//wNseyAz7y1Suco= |
| 881 | PRIMARY | Pursuer: I have my shop gloves |
| 882 | PRIMARY | and I've got ratchet straps. |
| 883 | PRINCIP | just as an agile drone is better at spaceborne repairs |
| 884 | PRIMARY | Confuser: There is nothing to breathe or eat here. |
| 885 | PRIMARY | 0gEpZoiifW3FTX4/TwFLJEZws6flcer9ni9VFoaQfz4= |
| 886 | ARCHIVES | UM4p9AvyilUHb+uiI9QQQCRm3YjCagrjfuqJ0wjPLoXfpYt+4XegLZvEScoYaSlV |
| 887 | PRIMARY | kkt89ovdhM+YDjHPJXSxCA== |
| 888 | PRIMARY | mI7PZWH4GlzRC1AfbWl1DWQ1Ozwl4JA4FDaJSecvMBhPNt3Fs1NaiafEJyYNf8YZ |
| 889 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...not sure. |
| 890 | PRIMARY | lkbb4jre5wQIiLnYLaiNiwiYtx4qxcXRiEnOmgkkBJg= |
| 891 | PRIMARY | 2KlDbeLLfyzKGqGtNEw3BCdfypBTAXThLUkoRSfBajs= |
| 892 | PRINCIP | YRPvrjoj8tfNEHECAZA2Xa9MD2UMnsEazK+iixuNpQ6GzpMI4REI7u4FsAB7c3um |
| 893 | PRIMARY | 7oHwyUiuGuRlakzCUe6SrMK/9ZMGjH0/Fs81UWqlt6xG7tKeiOTp6oOstmIdfmda |
| 894 | PRIMARY | a fingernail clipping in the broom. |
| 895 | LOVE | I will sip gruel with you |
| 896 | PRIMARY | Confuser: Well done! *** |
| 897 | PRIMARY | Confuser's Report on the Livestock Area |
| 898 | TECH | to even slight variations in temperature and pressure. |
| 899 | PRIMARY | We didn't see a central control area in the station map, |
| 900 | PRIMARY | and this was confirmed by the drone sweep. Perhaps the minimal controls needed |
| 901 | ARCHIVES | and data will inform their conjectures. |
| 902 | PRIMARY | oCKMnAn2PSMYrGaBBoWwfqSPfE9H5lblZM/hJOzNPieS7QMqn6JduWczewkF+GdobbdSZXcuYucjfVxyyN3hrg== |
| 903 | PRIMARY | were performed from the Arks, |
| 904 | COMMS | I was just picturing the place as being... greener. |
| 905 | PRIMARY | psGgudTfyhJCkyZ/36NWUQaVTCRcN1KGkkUUnzn8EMw9da2xY0SSH9LdWOMIQ8tW |
| 906 | PRIMARY | that was carried away on one of the Arks. |
| 907 | PRINCIP | so the Searchers both developed the principles of Rescue, |
| 908 | PRIMARY | tFnByFbbBdGmxS29nARyFTx1+vNMQyxHK2HU859fIj31ZGZ3hyo3czgncVrVTiZ7 |
| 909 | PRIMARY | ZR/6zGZlhMIq8U9v7mfn0ZrnZlw+dAhr3BIaolEK0HQ= |
| 910 | TECH | As a technician, I am surpassed |
| 911 | PRIMARY | to be run through by Sim Command. |
| 912 | PRIMARY | They report initial results |
| 913 | ARCHIVES | But only the physical objects themselves, |
| 914 | PRIMARY | that confirm the likelihood that this station |
| 915 | PRIMARY | was meant as a way-station for |
| 916 | ARCHIVES | the trophies of our great cause, |
| 917 | PRIMARY | a massive planetary evacuation. |
| 918 | PRIMARY | There are few welfare features, |
| 919 | COMMS | I guess whatever happened down there... |
| 920 | PRIMARY | such as toilets, water fountains and the like. |
| 921 | PRIMARY | Our cameras have had rich findings. |
| 922 | TECH | by any one of the dozen different automata, |
| 923 | PRIMARY | Emergency signage, of course, |
| 924 | PRIMARY | but, best of all, huge pictorial presentations |
| 925 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...can't possibly be serious. |
| 926 | PRIMARY | in faded plastic. |
| 927 | PRIMARY | Instructions, perhaps, |
| 928 | LOVE | and rinse my tongue with cold water |
| 929 | PRIMARY | or images made to comfort, encourage, instruct and control. |
| 930 | PRIMARY | There are humans and vegetative biomass |
| 931 | ARCHIVES | will truly inspire new generations of Rescuers to joyfully take their places in our great task. |
| 932 | PRIMARY | shown in the images. |
| 933 | PRIMARY | Perhaps, they are farewells |
| 934 | TECH | synthetics or maintenance drones |
| 935 | PRIMARY | cSmKhQ85pdqHhZg5T6KA2P/veMN1AGO9VmcGdTh+U1Y= |
| 936 | PRIMARY | or hopes about worlds to come. |
| 937 | COMMS | You are lucky there are no superiors on this line, |
| 938 | PRIMARY | One image we found was a schematic |
| 939 | PRIMARY | of human exosuit emergency supplies. |
| 940 | ARCHIVES | End log |
| 941 | PRIMARY | Oxygen canisters, radiation blankets, energy tablets. |
| 942 | PRIMARY | We came to a quiet stop, looking at it. |
| 943 | LOVE | and train with you, |
| 944 | PRIMARY | The supplies were so similar to ours— |
| 945 | PRIMARY | the colours and shapes were different, |
| 946 | COMMS | or you would be straight to reeducation... |
| 947 | PRIMARY | but it was easy to tell what went where. |
| 948 | PRIMARY | We pronounced the English words |
| 949 | LOVE | as we are covered in |
| 950 | PRIMARY | that we could puzzle out |
| 951 | PRIMARY | in the soft voices of créche and classroom. |
| 952 | ARCHIVES | Uncategorised Comms Extracts |
| 953 | PRIMARY | It gave me a start, |
| 954 | PRIMARY | because we sounded so young. |
| 955 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...thinks they were sheep. |
| 956 | PRIMARY | We are all still so young, |
| 957 | PRIMARY | and we are far away from our teachers, |
| 958 | TECH | available in our equipment room. |
| 959 | PRIMARY | our all-knowing AIs. |
| 960 | PRIMARY | From the Searchers. |
| 961 | TECH | Nevertheless, I am perfectly shaped |
| 962 | PRIMARY | And we are unwrinkled, greyless, |
| 963 | PRIMARY | but in these moments, the fact that we are |
| 964 | LOVE | a sheer film of healthy sweat. |
| 965 | PRIMARY | the leading edge of Rescue, |
| 966 | PRIMARY | of the Process itself, chills us to the bone. |
| 967 | LOVE | I will leap the hurdles |
| 968 | PRIMARY | The livestock area was two tiny gated pens, |
| 969 | PRIMARY | so must have been intended as an animal infirmary. |
| 970 | COMMS | Is that a real thing, do we need to be concerned about flying sheep? |
| 971 | PRIMARY | As our headlamps illuminated the space, |
| 972 | PRIMARY | it looked strange— |
| 973 | PRINCIP | and applied them in their highest form, |
| 974 | PRIMARY | everyone had seen an infirmary, |
| 975 | PRIMARY | but examination tables designed for animals |
| 976 | LOVE | of the assault course |
| 977 | PRIMARY | was something that we had never seen. |
| 978 | PRIMARY | Animals were a subject of much excited discussion |
| 979 | LOVE | with your name on my lips. |
| 980 | PRIMARY | among Process children and trainees, |
| 981 | PRIMARY | particularly those who were aptituded for biology. |
| 982 | TECH | for my purpose. |
| 983 | PRIMARY | We rifled the place. |
| 984 | PRIMARY | Amazingly, Skeptic found a touch-screen tablet |
| 985 | PRINCIP | by giving rise to us, the Process, |
| 986 | PRIMARY | in a drawer that flickered into life for just a moment. |
| 987 | PRIMARY | There was an image of a green land |
| 988 | COMMS | I suppose we could sim it... |
| 989 | PRIMARY | under a yellow sun in a brilliantly blue sky. |
| 990 | PRIMARY | A little rectangle with English letters |
| 991 | PRINCIP | a fully rescued species. |
| 992 | PRIMARY | and a blank area that must have been for a password. |
| 993 | PRIMARY | The landscape was truly fantastic— |
| 994 | TECH | For my purpose is not to be |
| 995 | PRIMARY | the sort of thing you only see in sims, on tapes. |
| 996 | PRIMARY | Skeptic's camera caught the image |
| 997 | TECH | an efficient vector of repair, |
| 998 | PRIMARY | before the tablet flickered out, |
| 999 | PRIMARY | and we crowded around his suit monitor. |
| 1000 | PRINCIP | Process exploration missions have not yet found a species of life that can compare to us, |
| 1001 | PRIMARY | What were all those plants? |
| 1002 | PRIMARY | Those white things in the sky? |
| 1003 | PRINCIP | even in the continued study of the human species; |
| 1004 | PRIMARY | Incanter suggested that they might be sheep, |
| 1005 | PRIMARY | although he couldn't guess why |
| 1006 | LOVE | Your smile is more precious |
| 1007 | PRIMARY | they seemed to be floating in the atmosphere. |
| 1008 | PRIMARY | There was a little cubby with a bed, |
| 1009 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...please report to <REDACTED> immediately. |
| 1010 | PRIMARY | bedsheets frozen in place |
| 1011 | PRIMARY | in the icy vacuum. |
| 1012 | TECH | though I did score in the top percentile |
| 1013 | PRIMARY | A mirror, a hairbrush. |
| 1014 | PRIMARY | Instantly understandable, |
| 1015 | LOVE | than the greatest commendation. |
| 1016 | PRIMARY | although different from the things that we used everyday in our quarters. |
| 1017 | PRIMARY | LCAiojMzcA8GODvt2F9b2Cgza9EMxo6jLBggyebznTlcbqwyPkif38yWQrF+kzKm |
| 1018 | TECH | for my class. No, I am not some mere drone. |
| 1019 | PRIMARY | lZN3mrm5HdKxt+Sg6cAP/rmY+YUU9ueI9M4ql6+fKS/VY7W1Emx8aLfxHPdfUdSu |
| 1020 | PRIMARY | A colourful, skinny book |
| 1021 | TECH | ZHvMqVfgnkCHO/det9di+Q== |
| 1022 | PRIMARY | that looked like it would be floppy at room temperature. |
| 1023 | PRIMARY | We captured the picture on the cover— |
| 1024 | PRIMARY | drawings that looked like créche cartoons. |
| 1025 | LOVE | I would undergo |
| 1026 | PRIMARY | The book crumbled to dust at a touch. |
| 1027 | PRIMARY | Ghost: I want to see a human toilet. |
| 1028 | PRIMARY | I want to know if they poop. |
| 1029 | PRINCIP | we are more stable, more safe, more contained, |
| 1030 | PRIMARY | paQiHLoxIdkGRbEZb7qxTbS+66f4xmNKDLgHrPauSvhnz+uesLmZ6lD8p0aeenpj |
| 1031 | PRIMARY | NTXDWQORcziJeanSjvzPXrbqEC5n4GIkWB2ekJuqgnLFxjokTJfK04zzzjqYueW7 |
| 1032 | PRIMARY | EYoOgsQr78DU+kSWsvkhqCUtRujoX9cCNJ7gckGcfuU= |
| 1033 | PRINCIP | wyPwDzd7HgoniNnv17WeGQS6Ogb1JE1DGbDzRxNdV44ePZ2a9C9xLS5SDxCidM7o |
| 1034 | PRIMARY | pFFozuv8fUpp0o2KXP8x/MKE5wtSgqrADs8IKIB00Ev8LdtZfUZEbbJzOER9bRt9 |
| 1035 | PRIMARY | /mVGhJIZ0iTIaNka73aNmCOJLHVywcPtRntOs9dIcC9bUpCFTOnlNsYRU/QPgtn9 |
| 1036 | PRIMARY | we're not coming back empty handed. |
| 1037 | PRINCIP | heqrLaDyOsRpTGp+qIGjtYNO6n5CCYpF3KkBXUwHl6WtkkeMge1itcjY6O6Rc09p |
| 1038 | PRIMARY | s4rdsM5CoahcGXhnBJ9R6zCvjMv1yjKQiPcMpaoB/a0GeT3rOjUk1n39OzaQHr3d |
| 1039 | PRIMARY | kHs07iN7bzOfTkcKJT8YJRiu4oUNLv30Pj9o0fcwKLY= |
| 1040 | PRIMARY | Peyzefv2DeYpdPrZlHOq5raEdl4Ld21969XDOgMfxCA= |
| 1041 | TECH | The Process has provided me with this form |
| 1042 | PRIMARY | LSVtTYJQSpPQThdckLOqRft5rSw7SikxKcHgQExQ7NvYP99pZG1mwiizx2ywSGaZ |
| 1043 | PRIMARY | who went to Mars for the ceremony? |
| 1044 | PRIMARY | There was a breeze. |
| 1045 | COMMS | Repeat, would Brother—First Historian please report to <REDACTED> immediately... |
| 1046 | PRIMARY | JHAnP50i9PukAvcFJdSTxbIcwLxd4QncwRhlTmhGeRLZghhnIjG1vHQZCplxu7Jx |
| 1047 | PRIMARY | The air moves around! |
| 1048 | PRIMARY | That's why the plants in the picture |
| 1049 | PRINCIP | ordinary humans are able to do. |
| 1050 | PRIMARY | were bent over a little bit. |
| 1051 | PRIMARY | Ghost: I promise you, |
| 1052 | PRIMARY | if you walked around without a suit |
| 1053 | PRINCIP | Except for the Searchers, |
| 1054 | PRIMARY | on that planet you would get sick to your stomach. |
| 1055 | PRIMARY | Vertigo! The sky is so big. |
| 1056 | PRIMARY | Incanter: Floating sheep! |
| 1057 | LOVE | the hellworlds for you, |
| 1058 | PRIMARY | Do sheep poop? |
| 1059 | PRIMARY | Confuser: You know this is all being recorded, right? |
| 1060 | PRIMARY | Us talking about poop? |
| 1061 | PRINCIP | nc2MZonGi0g06Iq35tPzzGvRulftEGxcP+vLc8ieIzZo74SjwS03zgYFdaE3x4rZ |
| 1062 | PRIMARY | Just so you know. |
| 1063 | PRIMARY | Harridan: So now what happens? |
| 1064 | PRIMARY | ueS9BJuLjohOL5T/pzNfKYIc2D0rm7zmyP0h9HY7gT4= |
| 1065 | TECH | 5ZwTE1wK5sLdR/8LDtPhDELBsV6i9tPLtB/73EKwO73kaEA66pCwxY9+qA0IIpSy |
| 1066 | PRIMARY | and see what the signals teams are getting. |
| 1067 | PRIMARY | We could get sent absolutely anywhere |
| 1068 | PRIMARY | on that planet. |
| 1069 | TECH | How might a human react |
| 1070 | PRIMARY | Skeptic: Isn't it full of radiation? |
| 1071 | PRIMARY | Confuser: Parts are. |
| 1072 | PRIMARY | We're going to wear fully hardened suits. |
| 1073 | PRINCIP | hMvVbBXGYaWehfji3uEbQWblJzvWhkXJmTjYt0c4gQqLYpt7DBvrcfSy+WDWkODA |
| 1074 | PRIMARY | gT7m6CQNxeLJumVd5EbZyzn8k9m75g9J4atlPYK+0Hg= |
| 1075 | PRIMARY | Also, the drone-captured air samples |
| 1076 | PRIMARY | have been analysed |
| 1077 | TECH | tkCHEUOLxlw1FV14ovGlCwHGhOnf4OEZUkMBqZj07OFS3uyTzoVIZ5doPMci/8sn |
| 1078 | PRIMARY | CB0CQYmnLlxWSFYruLLl7AXwpWrJWNBZ9tky24B49+dawwwQgTmM8NeGW4G0b8a++KNinoglMtLeCIhzrAGKmw== |
| 1079 | PRIMARY | It's like the seeds of something alive, |
| 1080 | PRIMARY | but it is not a plant or an animal, |
| 1081 | TECH | whose every limb is a suite of tools |
| 1082 | PRIMARY | and it could be dangerous. |
| 1083 | PRIMARY | So the suits are staying outside |
| 1084 | PRIMARY | when we come back. |
| 1085 | LOVE | freeze and gasp beneath |
| 1086 | PRIMARY | Harridan: We're crawling through the chute on the way back? |
| 1087 | PRIMARY | Confuser: Correct. |
| 1088 | PRIMARY | And we're going to explode the suits when we're clear. |
| 1089 | TECH | for cutting, joining and bending? |
| 1090 | PRIMARY | Ghost: I am going to explode the suits when we're clear. |
| 1091 | PRIMARY | Have you run the sim about it? |
| 1092 | PRIMARY | It's a really fun procedure. |
| 1093 | TECH | A rational mind might be overjoyed |
| 1094 | PRIMARY | Wonder is going to jettison the suits from the hull, |
| 1095 | PRIMARY | and we're going to haul off to firing range |
| 1096 | PRIMARY | and then I'll torpedo them. |
| 1097 | LOVE | the brightest virtual sky |
| 1098 | PRIMARY | Unfortunately, we're not allowed to record it, |
| 1099 | PRIMARY | but we will all at least get to watch. *** |
| 1100 | PRIMARY | Confuser's Report, continued |
| 1101 | PRINCIP | found on the surfaces of wild planets and satellites, |
| 1102 | PRIMARY | Why are we so jocular when we are exploring a human station, |
| 1103 | PRIMARY | witnessing a space that was probably the last place |
| 1104 | PRIMARY | there was a crowd of Earthen humans? |
| 1105 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...well it's not technically a plant or animal, |
| 1106 | PRIMARY | Wandering through those empty corridors feels like the ceremony |
| 1107 | PRIMARY | VShX4LkJjuSRWmoG9Ea0LWvhZYlRJFCdXu+2OeMOgtfRTIn5SNTxtC7lgsEsq7RNdez7nya+pDS/HI6m2V3dDD8vmo5coA1tmwDGcLXvX/Q= |
| 1108 | PRIMARY | through illness, in an accident, through friendly fire in an exercise. |
| 1109 | LOVE | as my eyes blister with too much light. |
| 1110 | PRIMARY | There is a corridor in our largest Process space habitat |
| 1111 | PRIMARY | that always feels like the biggest crowd in the universe is there. |
| 1112 | PRIMARY | Shift changing, socialising, |
| 1113 | COMMS | it's a fungus. It could have been engineered deliberately |
| 1114 | PRIMARY | even flirting is always happening in that corridor. |
| 1115 | PRIMARY | But when one of us dies, we all clear out, |
| 1116 | PRIMARY | form up on the parade ground |
| 1117 | PRINCIP | making energy from the sun, |
| 1118 | PRIMARY | and walk through in absolute silence. |
| 1119 | PRIMARY | So why were we talking about poop and cows |
| 1120 | PRIMARY | SuHJnoUElrLbI+6xDm9frrkkKZrrRf5fXOfUqjVpitI= |
| 1121 | TECH | to have such a technician at its side. |
| 1122 | PRIMARY | I think it's because of what we've all seen |
| 1123 | PRIMARY | of the ravaged planet that the humans left behind. |
| 1124 | PRIMARY | Drones have been in every scabrous climate |
| 1125 | LOVE | I know that our purpose |
| 1126 | PRIMARY | hunting for signals and clues. |
| 1127 | PRIMARY | Their cameras offer us vistas |
| 1128 | PRIMARY | VjuuWhzzIXSOJBjgWgDgUFTxeDiptkmTMKonVJhUKFQZpTEe8iuWsTQEAopIJ6T+ |
| 1129 | PRINCIP | under thick blankets of ice, |
| 1130 | PRIMARY | Instead, we see how humanity ruined their world. |
| 1131 | PRIMARY | It started with a nuclear war or disaster; |
| 1132 | PRIMARY | BQZmfi+4nZpdEBrYCBXMV9fwgWNXk3Q5YXDNsWnaBxQL2vM5EuN2cCf6j0SqeK9x |
| 1133 | COMMS | but it might also have rapidly evolved following... |
| 1134 | PRIMARY | Then, mutations led to disease |
| 1135 | PRIMARY | that collapsed the very basic building blocks of planetary life. |
| 1136 | PRIMARY | WmZF0Fjh+H1K0pmHAOvQ9h2uHpBpoS22RRqXvP1+4xT9kTn+5ec1mxef1LbmLatU |
| 1137 | PRINCIP | 5Qhk8u7hfXkpYU41UzsMa5Sv5apNQwmlam+So+aVNVg= |
| 1138 | PRIMARY | and has nearly no oxygen left in it. |
| 1139 | PRIMARY | The seas are toxic and lifeless. |
| 1140 | PRIMARY | Apart from a few slimes and scums, |
| 1141 | PRINCIP | We have even seen what looks like |
| 1142 | PRIMARY | the most common living thing |
| 1143 | PRIMARY | is as inert as a grain of sand— |
| 1144 | PRIMARY | the spores that are absolutely everywhere. |
| 1145 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...cannot stress this enough. |
| 1146 | PRIMARY | The fungi that made the spores |
| 1147 | PRIMARY | destroyed the engine of life, |
| 1148 | PRIMARY | until they were the only thing left. |
| 1149 | PRINCIP | organised living activity |
| 1150 | PRIMARY | Now they rattle around |
| 1151 | PRIMARY | the land, sea and air, unable to grow. |
| 1152 | PRIMARY | Victims of their own success, |
| 1153 | COMMS | Maintain seal integrity. |
| 1154 | PRIMARY | like the humans that gave them life. |
| 1155 | COMMS | 21PdVwxoX5X/FDVPNgO3iIBFTC9vmPdbCOxTj83VQl57ubMEROFFDeHDhNEHXg2N |
| 1156 | PRIMARY | So that's why we were talking about poop |
| 1157 | PRIMARY | in the empty halls of the abandoned station. |
| 1158 | PRINCIP | in the strange realm |
| 1159 | PRIMARY | Because the humans are so, so close to us. |
| 1160 | PRIMARY | They brush their hair. |
| 1161 | LOVE | is greater than the universe itself, |
| 1162 | PRIMARY | They sweep, they read maps, |
| 1163 | PRIMARY | they bend over to get |
| 1164 | PRINCIP | that exists in our subspace tunnels, |
| 1165 | PRIMARY | a drink of water from a fountain. |
| 1166 | PRIMARY | But they don't deserve a walk of honour, |
| 1167 | LOVE | inscribing its own laws |
| 1168 | PRIMARY | /6ykAOqyMDdvGcxUGDBzLADqr44F0toUfu/YsyDDTXA= |
| 1169 | PRIMARY | holding our sadness and grief |
| 1170 | LOVE | of physics. Greater than |
| 1171 | PRIMARY | within ourselves as we pass. |
| 1172 | PRIMARY | They ruined their planet. |
| 1173 | LOVE | two hearts beating in time |
| 1174 | PRIMARY | Looking at the destroyed Earth |
| 1175 | PRIMARY | GffHUPrDoP3jrn1Dsy9jJO3vpM3ng4QWHsKj5bY9U8taFebSxA8beBC5eek4Km0dxly8T3GQnYbRKS+ysdWeVKHP1yCqcKosLg9xBThEIwk= |
| 1176 | TECH | But a human mind...? |
| 1177 | PRIMARY | to detach ourselves from animal origins, |
| 1178 | PRIMARY | from green plants and blue sky and floating sheep. |
| 1179 | COMMS | Maintain—Just... just don't... |
| 1180 | PRIMARY | Our dead are recycled, |
| 1181 | PRIMARY | fed from hair to sinew to bone |
| 1182 | LOVE | like the victory chant. |
| 1183 | PRIMARY | into the complex system that provides us |
| 1184 | PRIMARY | with the food that we eat. |
| 1185 | LOVE | Our memory belongs to |
| 1186 | PRIMARY | With every meal and sip of water |
| 1187 | PRIMARY | we know that we live in a balance |
| 1188 | PRINCIP | if you can call mats of barely-organised vegetation life. |
| 1189 | PRIMARY | that needs maintenance—and respect. |
| 1190 | PRIMARY | The humans had this beautiful, bright world, |
| 1191 | LOVE | D1n2CIi6MesiYM9ltZqiUdjDCw6SilIuo62hscM0tGk= |
| 1192 | PRIMARY | xGjSNG8ZbNl6JipUY5v2j6/0rnolBeTZ5yYvoEGApkU= |
| 1193 | PRIMARY | The planet could hold billions of living creatures, |
| 1194 | LOVE | distant and unknowable. |
| 1195 | PRIMARY | gUwFAbSCZpThW/kXcbtW1Z/fEbwVaQViKowPQgwf0Yp56paW/RhaxCo890KGmiLq |
| 1196 | PRIMARY | UzOsTNAnz0mrISlSvBdpJaJAUpXp2qF8ZVwL+zPCw8Ah/jjRfQp82qKwNFEiKQWl |
| 1197 | LOVE | GRT/LjXqCG7z5QUlT9BQklMdYMm6fsluFy+dTFg3Oe0= |
| 1198 | PRIMARY | bby/YiQ01ktCKK7fSbC+wLrE9GDZeIRzR9PqMu9jscIblak59wLKUXfJahLG4iKc |
| 1199 | PRIMARY | which must have been uprooted and repurposed, |
| 1200 | PRINCIP | This meditation reminds us to act in the knowledge |
| 1201 | PRIMARY | 6oWqjErT5FeF9sUs6LIno8t1kr+KbLqCehiWOFUGozs= |
| 1202 | PRIMARY | 86deZnv2q0GErdh8IiY7TM+I+L86Lb05Led8cZsvsIwE8m6uQRB8X/3JCtV5GPLE |
| 1203 | PRINCIP | that life is precious, and the good of its preservation |
| 1204 | PRIMARY | where countless echelons of space-built Arks |
| 1205 | PRIMARY | 99K8YC3/0piixlYZO+/v/SHUgepXSjEvGGHbx4tzRRuYfJTUaCIzVDkZBBjbB23TlwSUORRWDhXNMoAKeI/Mjg== |
| 1206 | TECH | A69UsbNtj21G4Qt2nomk6uS464gvAvmYnpmGczAs5TSkURuLV8OyOiLBHUnx/qdp |
| 1207 | PRIMARY | WgYF1P/nlGciZQ3et7CFxjzC1f5Vsq+pK0TJgsMx7vMjG9o9MTghRA6egyzNVxGpO3Wlvr70idebipfn5W2ZcQZag5mf8ny5xwqqQjAccHQ= |
| 1208 | PRIMARY | They were dead, |
| 1209 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...seems unlikely. |
| 1210 | PRIMARY | 4DqJ34radSveDIMxpDnAZiRk8UgsYzr4V+ggPDX8wSo= |
| 1211 | PRIMARY | Earth had turned them into spores. |
| 1212 | PRINCIP | is paramount above all other goods. |
| 1213 | PRIMARY | Just as the sims promised, |
| 1214 | PRIMARY | humanity had nearly destroyed itself completely. |
| 1215 | COMMS | The arks were clearly big |
| 1216 | PRIMARY | Everyone on the Wonder was deeply upset |
| 1217 | PRIMARY | HwOVy5HKE9l6PxTpSc5fxe+OslPOxigRHpzxtxqLlYIJH5nNoT7agpYuy+SrpPkx |
| 1218 | LOVE | to a habitat where nobody |
| 1219 | PRIMARY | but none more so than us, |
| 1220 | PRIMARY | u9mLd0j43hU/4Ykbv+9Oe30NXN+3AXesvc7IXLy8s72g2BljOrSszsgVTqS8ImIF |
| 1221 | PRINCIP | HEArHBKPphUkOhG7byZX3FyOOiOxmgZBpSkFuWoYiEXT8z60r+8LAwA6hFTQ60B6 |
| 1222 | PRIMARY | +qkch8wd1Nx3ib1Ul3ZKiA6P9CoWPJuHsc0ZcGDB7S4= |
| 1223 | PRIMARY | of the glorious beauty of the green landscape. |
| 1224 | PRINCIP | TCEtnmmGk6HmBhr6/ZjPSe0AN68v4fZPp0tdlvOZNXQrl6WZl6CXFeNjY7m9j1YAXFQW2hFdMZq3GTN2ImrzaQ== |
| 1225 | PRIMARY | 3pp5FQkBa0Bgu/oGvUfOlpWUcetE3uQsLczjy0/VpNV0JLwcianWntiiQ2v4TTs0 |
| 1226 | PRIMARY | was waiting at Mars |
| 1227 | COMMS | but even with multiple departures from each berth, |
| 1228 | PRIMARY | and would never see this devastating sight, except in sims. |
| 1229 | PRIMARY | 8adYD98+nCSXY5ESvOQw65Dt2cn/GiLfOlOKRMjwovM= |
| 1230 | PRINCIP | Truly alien, like the weird monsters |
| 1231 | PRIMARY | by the principles of Rescue. |
| 1232 | PRIMARY | We don't have to journey to our inevitable doom, |
| 1233 | PRINCIP | you came up with with your friends |
| 1234 | PRIMARY | goaded by animal instincts. |
| 1235 | PRIMARY | We have no past, |
| 1236 | LOVE | has ever heard your name. |
| 1237 | PRIMARY | no ancestral identity, and because of that, |
| 1238 | PRIMARY | we are free—to act with altruism, to serve a higher cause. |
| 1239 | PRINCIP | after lights-out in the créche. |
| 1240 | PRIMARY | We may look like humans, |
| 1241 | PRIMARY | we may use their old words as our names, |
| 1242 | COMMS | the number of evacuees would be tiny compared... |
| 1243 | PRIMARY | but we do not destroy our own homes with war, |
| 1244 | PRIMARY | mPik+VuYfKE7G5fe/hdf787t9GsGeDkSCbWqcUZgLFN8BVqcBXsRIHUxsNhSm6i3 |
| 1245 | LOVE | One day I may embark |
| 1246 | PRIMARY | zTJrYfMhpMKVfGVdxC8MZA3yjU1+bGCwPyHFv1DTAyo= |
| 1247 | PRIMARY | The more that Signals watches the planet |
| 1248 | PRINCIP | Trying as much as you can |
| 1249 | PRIMARY | and sifts through the data, |
| 1250 | PRIMARY | the less likely it is that we will find |
| 1251 | LOVE | on a far journey through |
| 1252 | PRIMARY | some hidden band of earthbound humans, eating spores. |
| 1253 | PRIMARY | Even if we find nothing, hear nothing, |
| 1254 | PRINCIP | to evoke that sense of otherness. |
| 1255 | PRIMARY | PXxXGrgXg0z06de6FpBpWgqcpt6twgIzNfDyyTmS5pN3FisbG08C9QOA526HQamv |
| 1256 | PRIMARY | 0PIJ8cxpDcMsRuCnr+WybVXtPxmYmaA9UdHuz69SIQQ= |
| 1257 | LOVE | tunnels no-one has ever traveled. |
| 1258 | PRIMARY | and, hopefully, by the Searchers. |
| 1259 | PRIMARY | Our squad will be commended, |
| 1260 | PRINCIP | Maybe your aliens are incorporeal beings, |
| 1261 | PRIMARY | as the map of the station is the strongest evidence |
| 1262 | PRIMARY | we have yet discovered of |
| 1263 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...sea level would have been |
| 1264 | PRIMARY | EYccHIU43VYwNmKFbFfqscTHPp8rYanZyh2w/8PLAgBR4QoD47pti+ZTdtBdtpn5 |
| 1265 | PRIMARY | The English, Russian and Chinese alphabets |
| 1266 | LOVE | My memories may be |
| 1267 | PRIMARY | we have seen scattered through the system confirm the veracity |
| 1268 | PRIMARY | of the information we have been provided, |
| 1269 | PRINCIP | or exist within a film of shining oil |
| 1270 | PRIMARY | of the pattern in which we were raised. |
| 1271 | PRIMARY | Doubts we never knew we held |
| 1272 | PRINCIP | on the surface of a high-gravity water planet. |
| 1273 | PRIMARY | have fallen away. |
| 1274 | PRIMARY | Humans are real, dangerous, |
| 1275 | COMMS | much higher at one point. |
| 1276 | PRIMARY | and let themselves loose |
| 1277 | PRIMARY | somewhere in the galaxy. |
| 1278 | COMMS | These formations were sedimentary in nature, |
| 1279 | PRIMARY | No matter whether we find a clear trail, |
| 1280 | PRIMARY | or return to headquarters empty-handed, |
| 1281 | COMMS | that means that the water must have... |
| 1282 | PRIMARY | our mission will continue. |
| 1283 | PRIMARY | If we don't find a record of where the humans escaped to, |
| 1284 | LOVE | UrFEXh8ii2RoAnR4SOEh3/R/Tufuegp489qQNfrgou4= |
| 1285 | PRIMARY | we can find the degraded remains of another subspace tunnel, |
| 1286 | PRIMARY | hcnq0d5zl/rDXXLdAmNBV2rdKW8HUQDLYz3/gv0NVH7JrIdx+py2c0xcNWFIytCf |
| 1287 | LOVE | 8nu2KKs8s9OvuiFYuaxHlJvYje3t5lvD4xrydAG6NXU= |
| 1288 | PRIMARY | p42pOLtsP/2mENeiOkpewY8Ashx2CTdtxb2q57b+SUI= |
| 1289 | PRIMARY | zSOcP0xPvPmSDhJnUGMA3z5wCSs2VqsgnWOA0N09xrE= |
| 1290 | LOVE | who I am, all in joyful service. |
| 1291 | PRIMARY | nHiHJvzYejlYiWogdCNM6cgGbraJh05X193iiTqLlH4B4jBuLGuW2NqdcR3mRkSffYJQluZ5Q/ey94s4wb3HtQ== |
| 1292 | PRIMARY | before they destroy themselves again. *** |
| 1293 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...not mere speculation. It is possible in some scenarios, |
| 1294 | PRIMARY | ZygER6e/6sKTbrexdqyINbujX+oKHEwhyfHGxITR0hw= |
| 1295 | PRIMARY | Confuser and his squad are speaking with the signals team. |
| 1296 | PRINCIP | +MDXEcTzjkIpj4U5Fss4Zr4ZiNet5lrtP0/o0MnN1xyBI81uQPODrX2skl93lPs8ooJwGx2FMu0JIJY4zLEYWg== |
| 1297 | PRIMARY | XP99nonbwpsfdccaie7cmomTVU7pgMAHdBu2AJGGm4aAm/DSGDt4xDYhz9QM8dQ0 |
| 1298 | PRIMARY | w30QHp1gAkrsYsIj50bvCdihYrCoRl8QKGW2TLqgEV9KU19IyKpkebkP/kpVx2eu/C5auJhrDOzCzEQ+MC30RTWew0ebVo9mBBO203/F5kU= |
| 1299 | PRINCIP | Now imagine that you have a universal system of communication, |
| 1300 | PRIMARY | radio, microwave, infrared. |
| 1301 | PRIMARY | There's a lot of heuristics we can apply, |
| 1302 | PRINCIP | and can converse with your aliens |
| 1303 | PRIMARY | using everything from powerful computers to our own eyes and ears. |
| 1304 | PRIMARY | The whole ship is optimised for signals— |
| 1305 | LOVE | But the last thing that |
| 1306 | PRIMARY | as you know, we're basically signals, mess, gym, bunks and your muster room! |
| 1307 | PRIMARY | We're one big wavelength catcher, |
| 1308 | LOVE | will fall from my hands |
| 1309 | PRIMARY | and when we find something we can send expendable drones down |
| 1310 | PRIMARY | to take a closer look. |
| 1311 | PRINCIP | kA07T179Zd/6QA4KTStzo1E0z0bIiKTZ3b2qjt8Q1X5/H8CIklVAnbRV4MJTSTa59MCAQHtcc0gRx4IIt5AnMg== |
| 1312 | PRIMARY | Confuser: Is that what those bright shooting stars are? |
| 1313 | PRIMARY | Fisherman: That's right! |
| 1314 | COMMS | lidZfw/1YWYxdougvBxzKUXGaJM8Ikju0cZwpMhKeiI= |
| 1315 | PRIMARY | They're the size of your head, |
| 1316 | PRIMARY | they've got charge for a full cycle, |
| 1317 | LOVE | dinOrLxVY6rwN/ObqUmAPrXZi6j6WPNwYjnwLL0fVvg= |
| 1318 | PRIMARY | cj1bPOZ5SJvUe/cvqPfRv5Mu4IfTTUDKT0PHXzmS9/IJj/v4b6w04Xf6xFIVpbqw |
| 1319 | PRIMARY | o5DCnZsNfeKsr3CuuYvZLqGLr9eJ+7swECPfePB99ZAkTvdKilxkae6Zjljt+i+m |
| 1320 | PRINCIP | DnjomgLsgcyH0IclnSe7vw== |
| 1321 | PRIMARY | G8TQpcig/2oXm50NI0Yejobnx7Fj+sjlWlP1RzhTMzh9XWwViQrp47uP+o/DljXlJ4ss/MtaHz0rsvHSwPrzKg== |
| 1322 | PRIMARY | pJkZgJC1m0moDxNfa3Q67P8o9Ymve6R4QgI/AjWqDrH8aR/v3uFhKbYbdxyriUhKsSPUsvOCeFyPg9XPHUDTEQ== |
| 1323 | COMMS | sjAjoiBCS0de1A4r39njzlW3dj4Aq4K9D0GZCAqAz9I= |
| 1324 | PRIMARY | B3oUbIKxk8YJnM/CIQRdb56JbbEBLlQPpFt6JEujiw4CwIaYETvbdFhZUzmBSR8w |
| 1325 | PRIMARY | so we guessed that it's probably either pointed in a specific direction, |
| 1326 | COMMS | long dead by the time... |
| 1327 | PRIMARY | i1dpsEgoPdqxXPxGzAkepUb8+Ye0oOpuWdlVOXxokds= |
| 1328 | PRIMARY | in some sort of construction that blocks signals. Groom? Can we put one of the early samples |
| 1329 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...input this new data into the sim |
| 1330 | PRIMARY | on the speaker for Confuser and his squad? |
| 1331 | PRIMARY | jnwi5JjtXg5ZJfos/YxwsVehUTkxgglP3gLNni8yO1g= |
| 1332 | COMMS | and report back after 2^8 iterations. |
| 1333 | PRIMARY | Confuser: It's music! That is music. |
| 1334 | PRIMARY | Like on graduation day, like parades! |
| 1335 | PRINCIP | Once you've established the basics, |
| 1336 | PRIMARY | JuPMLTL1OqyWYJIJkvoi+MnvRGCabEOWqbx3Ql6DDcySi/eXK8Wn8s8bydBqRhft |
| 1337 | PRIMARY | w02CesBLEu32VDiTKnyaE+dtnLm3nfNN/784Mw/km4PKNP0vx7gc6F7ivVYA3Kjn |
| 1338 | LOVE | through the drain, like |
| 1339 | PRIMARY | Like warning chimes! Like marching chants. |
| 1340 | PRIMARY | Fisherman: Every time we pass, it's different music. |
| 1341 | PRINCIP | eZ7N1yAOIF16iwTIxF/KzH/8Zb7pAH2XI0d7Y3VH+rbAjBrVOGV3vrIMwlTARpJYVEqVdEicSeTKK0K9H9bYww== |
| 1342 | PRIMARY | qDZOUy8F52sIZKdtDLoVzHD95+T+7Au++IfQyl0MDBfN99ehqsG450Bvw9X0jN8M |
| 1343 | PRIMARY | So we sent down a drone with a microphone. |
| 1344 | LOVE | 3AgR8ima0M56k1G0gcTKLX/URmKXXRiLxTPiItMPPvI= |
| 1345 | PRIMARY | That's how we got longer samples. |
| 1346 | PRIMARY | There were sounds |
| 1347 | COMMS | 7gCJ6JCKNMUJNi3d2M7H3fFkuVrv//EfgICYTq+KGgzGLdJqjYdGvecNHyYO+/+KbyyGJBsn5xtVlCECenv1fg== |
| 1348 | PRIMARY | that we have never imagined, let alone heard. |
| 1349 | PRIMARY | lgHDImllxrST6gHTfR7S8S/SPE4rlf1F7TF80odzFtgq27AWzSp+qjJeU5wcCCtX |
| 1350 | PRINCIP | M3DutNw069btlyrjXSKRtB5tz9PH4f+dNtXPLVmdmH89vv6iiWIlKYtkg1fLjfPf |
| 1351 | PRIMARY | ydMGFrZQk1iHCY2R8Rbwppq8xRz3y2f361F+2byiSVY= |
| 1352 | PRIMARY | H/ngbCpAOdaZwiKpesZZaEPfHNvWc7QjMS2TmuC4ivAlTEm1RiyMI38Pt9fS1R7oFs09gCtmjZNlqfa2BefKArPlb+fwvh15zKWUENaE1pQ= |
| 1353 | PRINCIP | uA3/FQz7Bb4hmjb8Th0yeEKTm9aPkYy269wkuCOlGlOrXkiVKe8TjtlPox8LE4FhbiDhuipBlOvVfLXRH7Y/Pw== |
| 1354 | PRIMARY | They're chanting in them, with tone! |
| 1355 | PRIMARY | +acZO+e0kvXg1OkyvsmEhe31Ugm055Q4iFZu0AgR71E= |
| 1356 | LOVE | 4jOLx9EindNFAhG5qezz+yue8aZ6JFVHMbXuSISOyPQ= |
| 1357 | PRIMARY | 4li6zhu4BjqHvI/fl3BP9A== |
| 1358 | PRIMARY | Interpreter's note: Scratchy, tinny music plays, |
| 1359 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...curious as to what human nutrient paste tastes like. |
| 1360 | PRIMARY | slow and sweet, with percussion and melody. |
| 1361 | PRIMARY | A singer's voice rises above the sound: |
| 1362 | PRINCIP | in order for any species of intelligent life to be able to survive more than a few thousand years, |
| 1363 | PRIMARY | VAcXrdVv4gb3yMK0ivqY5M9U6b7W1ME+WOe+nLYroAQoU7diBs/3p1HFXw/BkvKS |
| 1364 | PRIMARY | Interpreter's note ends. |
| 1365 | LOVE | will stand, and speak our |
| 1366 | PRIMARY | Confuser: I believe it's called singing. |
| 1367 | PRIMARY | I tried it and it sounded like a lift that needed oil! |
| 1368 | COMMS | Maybe they don't even have nutrient paste! |
| 1369 | PRIMARY | I think you have to practice. |
| 1370 | PRIMARY | Does anything else carry on the signal? |
| 1371 | COMMS | EV1gNnFt9zJn7byIf7n+z6tH3zrDgz5HRBsYea46qrI= |
| 1372 | PRIMARY | V3QfNlfoE0Oa+Jv8P5dpH25Pix1XRo9kPxb7yrObHjI= |
| 1373 | PRIMARY | Fisherman: No, it's all music to our ears. |
| 1374 | PRINCIP | it must either renounce all technology, |
| 1375 | PRIMARY | alIZf6MvQ3IXaYF6JwBG7qUAUBIITpqcGNW/ln/gW8f42T507GoFcI/H7WuRWnk0 |
| 1376 | PRIMARY | NvoMgCE08xhQSO3zOfGjvUxS4Lc9ciqHBLZ4s+kzMBV13OAx/PLdzkGrAsQ2g8ZV |
| 1377 | LOVE | T10p7LHzF5MOUuE1XMU4bAX1KzVYkZiXTvaapTDNzAI= |
| 1378 | PRIMARY | wmw/Wo/WpZt5tqvJM3FPtCo0fneeC0x/AfXCTLDZCXZ8POUHUOSyw2WLDQkvidRk |
| 1379 | PRIMARY | and the Fleet reports it's sent it |
| 1380 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...making its approach to the station now. |
| 1381 | PRIMARY | 7hntm0a8JFBd7AJBhiARyJMsaS8NFcpwic3GH5flZYg= |
| 1382 | PRIMARY | Confuser: I'm going to recommend this ship goes on high alert, |
| 1383 | PRINCIP | or renounce its collective memory. |
| 1384 | PRIMARY | the Fleet at Mars goes on high alert, |
| 1385 | PRIMARY | and that you station a laser drone and get ready to blow us and the lander up |
| 1386 | LOVE | together in silence and |
| 1387 | PRIMARY | if we get caught by singing humans. |
| 1388 | PRIMARY | Get ready to blow the Wonder, too. *** |
| 1389 | COMMS | Medical, please alert us |
| 1390 | PRIMARY | In the muster room. |
| 1391 | PRIMARY | Confuser and squad are getting ready to enter the lander |
| 1392 | LOVE | ql7To/I6zJQ74Pgvw1ynyYG9xSu7yw5arqY3GFuctCY= |
| 1393 | PRIMARY | P9ijJ3wBC5SgCEZ4v40Bo3jW7ONlKjU7cR5ao+XST063lk2oWaFKa1/9gkZDDWXzE9fwhUW6oTOdPculisnb0g== |
| 1394 | PRIMARY | Confuser: I know you are all ready, |
| 1395 | COMMS | if the Wonder's team start to experience any signs of... |
| 1396 | PRIMARY | in mind, in belief, in practice. |
| 1397 | PRIMARY | We've been the first people to walk on the Ark Station, to see a human toilet. |
| 1398 | LOVE | will echo our names. |
| 1399 | PRIMARY | The team laughs. |
| 1400 | PRIMARY | I believe in you because I believe in rescue, |
| 1401 | LOVE | The brilliant garden I built |
| 1402 | PRIMARY | and you do too. |
| 1403 | PRIMARY | +eB19+OsL/QCfkW3u9mdqaJTLeeEF3bWmyYVrkLC7LMpDHKxLZEiTlsZXiIXlTCl6T98UtXnW/aQCkMd45sMbZZLv96R+pFtTBI46ArUPWzX+hht5q37LsE7fkP/UKqQ |
| 1404 | PRINCIP | Some intelligent alien species that we can imagine will not be happy about that! |
| 1405 | PRIMARY | and, if not, to find out where they went. |
| 1406 | PRIMARY | The humans wanted someone to find this music, |
| 1407 | LOVE | for you, golden crystal |
| 1408 | PRIMARY | this signal. |
| 1409 | PRIMARY | It is beautiful to me. |
| 1410 | PRINCIP | fId+teRIQwTVz5JHfCzXFcOp9vjWOSmS7QtHkYw7JYvG3NKsmeNr0n/pnjFEWw/0EXGn72BA2mD34hQ7ByFoO0uQE7JFCHuz/WJJlSxM6aI= |
| 1411 | PRIMARY | It makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. |
| 1412 | PRIMARY | That's why they're so dangerous. |
| 1413 | PRINCIP | or of any other emotion in the context of alien species. |
| 1414 | PRIMARY | How could anyone who can create something this beautiful |
| 1415 | PRIMARY | believe that they were anything else but supreme beings, |
| 1416 | PRINCIP | 8Q/grNKiNVBXhgo73zPhzAFBYjXzZMent7b2mr5lmAqnz5tkJy6xocdpyvXfx062 |
| 1417 | PRIMARY | with the right to do what they want, take what they want, destroy what they want? |
| 1418 | PRIMARY | Let us declaim together. |
| 1419 | PRINCIP | Inrlk07GGj/aTrdvWwq/C6TyV1cFmjdM9acNzCi6D/xBD/h9+8+XFBYAJPFJoHedTskJ6DoPdRURkqaOQEq4NQ== |
| 1420 | PRIMARY | koDC61KGlOPao5zbVUUcJxbBPzfOnGKP+y4CJ6OOH6M= |
| 1421 | PRIMARY | Interpreter's note: this declamation, a ritualistic utterance used to mark an occasion or honour a success or loss, |
| 1422 | LOVE | on a background of inky black |
| 1423 | PRIMARY | was spoken in Processal language. |
| 1424 | PRIMARY | It has been translated and paraphrased here for the reader. |
| 1425 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...will depend on how resistant they are to rescue. |
| 1426 | PRIMARY | XXM1UbQ2o/579+YsGdywypqcvK7DJlbJo3L5R2fwufo= |
| 1427 | PRIMARY | sZWE58qGMglKzLg52qosC28VTpBpGdGYwUmaLo1BfX4= |
| 1428 | LOVE | K1uInUvvxuTxnp4GQzEcD/gF60I83xgXtJ2JLqwdhcU= |
| 1429 | PRIMARY | Free and untethered, |
| 1430 | PRIMARY | we answer the call. |
| 1431 | COMMS | 2cblPcwyFeBx1OQekIuxm4auWRh85529Stglz5l0He9fGLVYajV/bcfnHtI8o4Gn |
| 1432 | PRIMARY | 9sPkCc2l70fWiJy194cLL5hltPwqcUqO2FnoNnBQ+Po= |
| 1433 | PRIMARY | is a state of grace. |
| 1434 | COMMS | The sims show that most likely... |
| 1435 | PRIMARY | Let us offer life |
| 1436 | PRIMARY | in its kindest place. |
| 1437 | PRINCIP | is so we can relate to the particularities of human emotional reactions |
| 1438 | PRIMARY | In one hand, the tunnel, |
| 1439 | PRIMARY | OWh0zbahC/jRArVUJecqEKVPPiLdg1hjJW63lTcrIGc= |
| 1440 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...have them proceed to the 4th moon |
| 1441 | PRIMARY | Age of destruction |
| 1442 | PRIMARY | is over and done. |
| 1443 | COMMS | and run the program again. |
| 1444 | PRIMARY | u+0UIUuQjhc44u8I+3vmM1O7scPyg8vQZiZZltPxEXY= |
| 1445 | PRIMARY | ffBIkAjvEss93enYI0ym1yf/R/iAJC00R1L33pp2jf4= |
| 1446 | PRINCIP | aGMnU+nX9WmOVh6kUw3gH69vEap9OBMkmDd8UTJkNpeEDNe4WC9g16IZ5O+PBkm3JZiuL0kyiYP4r8+ogNTRu8esqHCcGDPejDluhGBYGN8= |
| 1447 | PRIMARY | The infinite Process |
| 1448 | PRIMARY | 2uHqqQmu4VNRT8Gv5blAFyb1eTZERKMt1N1YSmDD1nY= |
| 1449 | PRINCIP | gHwbllVuOF14hSpMq3mMI3q9IL+Fut4WrbBUbo4oA1BLP0M4zmtTlooCF2VZXQiWk+1VrRLw2UCHRFy1L/I2ew== |
| 1450 | PRIMARY | Qy958qX8GioY5jO74Jzw9TcA0fvO8xHEgGMophYFEBqiCZ/qAh9e09g1P7lPPwG0 |
| 1451 | PRIMARY | JOhST7sjMmuju32m3Wn+VXRtmD59mAe+IBiBN1GEi6j86+ehXLrWPiM5wAwcOSL8 |
| 1452 | PRINCIP | U7pZ38wXzSOHR7cJb4bDNCNYV++PM8co1ly0XlgPnN49F5+wWlvfhS8bkASqdgaO |
| 1453 | PRIMARY | ycTHoOE7uz8vE78JDRpk6NtTltyyotk31iELZVRzj6TGq7bhyDahxyTJw2ptj0/R |
| 1454 | PRIMARY | Atavist: Ghost, this is Atavist, on Wonder comms. |
| 1455 | PRINCIP | xZ0Hk59IE3RJ5qBXCM1q6O8QHQWE5HcRnJ/gAAcr1VSiTCMdItD1O5c5LubQNQMf |
| 1456 | PRIMARY | Can you check that your area securement drones are powered up? |
| 1457 | PRIMARY | qqpnwytLoULWuw+nhU7Pz7SHw2mbDdtxt3y7OBMqbyNXrqrKibtIokIV6XviS8Ag |
| 1458 | PRIMARY | Ghost: All the blue lights are on all six of them. |
| 1459 | PRINCIP | could express happiness, joy, or fear |
| 1460 | PRIMARY | They've got the big lasers! |
| 1461 | PRIMARY | 1nWV0DpoiqpmA2g445y1dcoWae9u8vf7Nc0nxBLL+Cw= |
| 1462 | PRIMARY | TUuU63E5yWOwPwAUIhlvzK/boE2gIXi6CxFwrlcUkK/bCZYHwjQeJfOgt16FZdIe57Q9Y7eC2vilwrmEz7rqlz7Vrcctk1irTXlag4/GReY= |
| 1463 | COMMS | B9OFBhhOpQj7ScyGRnptntezJtTn4I0SsMuuM2rTHvk= |
| 1464 | PRIMARY | Kl+gH9l+vB5N79h6E/qJ/vgiOUeMD0Gy8mrFqugVK9Ycw6oHxJsSOW+8I25nf1yrvpQpFGpNYBVF5mXxxWzAr40LBymKS47Z686FEz6qao4= |
| 1465 | PRIMARY | h1gnrZ3C1fqjtzp1G7ntLEsXxIaZYsDv6DdmvkDf7WiQW3/GlgNqsMnoUPBxFlaUbIYCsk7ROTVoHRBKCSRvkQ== |
| 1466 | PRIMARY | 4qe/Fh1HVdRmYRP7+zoviwHdJn5jsyQT6DbYovKZrk0Ihbn1eb0v8z66dTdKACgIYCopW+chj9ji4ZAORbTGYRGnEzv8fQE1pJxijlovUEA= |
| 1467 | COMMS | from Remembrancer on the Scimitar yet?... |
| 1468 | PRIMARY | they'll fry anything that moves that isn't you six. |
| 1469 | PRIMARY | Ghost: What if there's a rock fall? |
| 1470 | PRIMARY | Atavist: It will make new gravel, I guess. |
| 1471 | LOVE | wcRX1B6xyhazFladWBiVk2EVK6GsgbsfjTqg4yrQkVE= |
| 1472 | PRIMARY | 6jUq3lfdP4QlMkf2cn1hsp2zBZP21tY4JxZMU5BWC8CVkeMPlQYhUBAra80o8IQDN4QVpgjbrk1hfELIwWEbYg== |
| 1473 | PRIMARY | If you pull the handle up, that box will deploy wheels. |
| 1474 | PRIMARY | It should fit one dead human or Process member if you need it, |
| 1475 | LOVE | and meaning, to point out |
| 1476 | PRIMARY | or you can also put anything you need to take away with you from the planet. |
| 1477 | PRIMARY | Please don't use it unless you need to, but it is life proof, meaning whatever horrifying infectious diseases the humans left behind |
| 1478 | PRIMARY | won't get out of it. |
| 1479 | PRINCIP | is a very interesting question!) |
| 1480 | PRIMARY | We have a whole ship that we've set up for quarantine. |
| 1481 | PRIMARY | If there are live humans, keep them under control until that ship gets here. |
| 1482 | PRIMARY | It will take half a cycle. |
| 1483 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...must have been suitably adaptable. |
| 1484 | PRIMARY | If you do find live humans, you can start the initial rescue protocol. |
| 1485 | PRIMARY | Sterile gruel, water, blankets, language building. |
| 1486 | PRIMARY | If you're outgunned, get back on the lander and let the drones do their job. |
| 1487 | COMMS | The archive fragments we have access to |
| 1488 | PRIMARY | Ghost: Got it. Checks complete, engine at full, ready to go when you are. |
| 1489 | PRIMARY | Atavist: 3, 2, 1, launch. |
| 1490 | PRIMARY | The launcher, a shining silver cone with a yellow flame, |
| 1491 | LOVE | the places where we have |
| 1492 | PRIMARY | detaches from the Wonder, and begins its descent into Earth's atmosphere. |
| 1493 | PRIMARY | Incanter: This is worse than the sims. |
| 1494 | PRIMARY | Confuser: BITE ON THE MEMORY FOAM! |
| 1495 | COMMS | suggest they ranged across |
| 1496 | PRIMARY | Subvocalise into your helmet microphone if you have to talk or you'll crack your teeth! |
| 1497 | PRIMARY | Ghost: Entering mesosphere. Braking action commenced. |
| 1498 | PRIMARY | Skeptic: ritualistically mumbles Processal declamations of principle to himself |
| 1499 | LOVE | laughed, and cried, and kissed. |
| 1500 | PRIMARY | Ghost: Landing in 512 microcycles. |
| 1501 | PRIMARY | Lander: Assume maximum safety configuration. Squad: go to suit oxygen. |
| 1502 | PRIMARY | Anti shock foam deploy in five, four, three, two, one. |
| 1503 | COMMS | RH5KsAw+dd7HVZRNkbO13sjX3dme3D3jb8ZvJ4YTlLXe11YseAuI09etsZGuDYkW |
| 1504 | PRIMARY | PEOGg78hZ7Lc9UE4hJx0NInIAbSEgMUzeQouVe8QqWjo8w9lit7FIxExx6vtnrzuTI2K8kq98Jpd+3Mfa7q3kWiWgmOP4U+dDIBRNWd6Upw= |
| 1505 | PRIMARY | Augmented reality takes over, projecting a view on the squad's helmet screens. |
| 1506 | PRIMARY | Harridan: Why is it us? Why are we the ones landing on this planet |
| 1507 | PRINCIP | In any case, back to the main thread— |
| 1508 | PRIMARY | instead of a bunch of admirals and, like, sixty-four battle wagons? *** |
| 1509 | PRIMARY | Confuser's Report, continued |
| 1510 | PRIMARY | 4F5BRJHbnmgCsJ1cAju4KEFanPLyRPzwxMXsz40t0XsHy/IqUHRdH+rEh2f4gF1+ |
| 1511 | PRINCIP | an average Process member, |
| 1512 | PRIMARY | I was not very confident about coming up with a good answer to Harridan— |
| 1513 | PRIMARY | an answer that would be routed through microphones, recorded, |
| 1514 | PRIMARY | l6eitHIPe74RatWdbGyVOsTF1C6Og16R+BkesAdux+gCqPNxsboiVdsz8nCUjQ0aaB77FQYmHV7miYbMSbEqlVDUHT/P6N0eelB/iGWw3G58EJM0CjsLjcSoDV/AZqGL |
| 1515 | LOVE | But even in its binary digits |
| 1516 | PRIMARY | the Searchers, and entities a lowly Process officer like me doesn't even know about. |
| 1517 | PRIMARY | So I resorted to proverbs. |
| 1518 | PRIMARY | The answer is external, I said to Harridan. |
| 1519 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...were either worshipped as gods, or kept as pets. |
| 1520 | PRIMARY | It is our privilege to act, free of the granular whys and wheres. |
| 1521 | PRIMARY | REwCHJRjs8NrHxBmXVYHBkmsxyhLk+KbIaS2b0y9/L8= |
| 1522 | PRIMARY | Now that I am not having an argument with my spine about which way up is, |
| 1523 | COMMS | It is just one of many questions |
| 1524 | PRIMARY | I can reflect more clearly on what my thinking was at the time. |
| 1525 | PRIMARY | The Process does not claim to control our thinking. |
| 1526 | PRIMARY | It is in each Process member's interest to control our own thinking, because if we get too far out of correct thinking |
| 1527 | PRINCIP | imagining telling the oilfilm aliens that Rescue involves |
| 1528 | PRIMARY | we cannot act with clarity as part of the great cause of rescue. |
| 1529 | PRIMARY | If we are so bent out of true that we are a hindrance to our colleagues and the project, |
| 1530 | PRIMARY | it is right and proper that we are re-educated, offered remedial training, |
| 1531 | COMMS | that we will be able to ask |
| 1532 | PRIMARY | or, if we are unable to be rendered safe, culled and recycled. |
| 1533 | PRIMARY | But the Process, and our great benefactors, the Searchers, |
| 1534 | PRIMARY | VPJsHpdKE1RZfpW8VVbjJAUZeKs+qCZ/XNisuBIbE/ItPP4teb0/8PMloW+1Xpe5Y03sPDJAvFCD5MtOtNbp+2b8p0Q7vAzSvl0jFTsSEm0= |
| 1535 | COMMS | 4Zy2fipyiQ0Tu6F9U0DprfkzzgtCNSNT+nC6xeSmUxNzxlseKICYW9fJdCUKQgOtWdGMbeL1ZJYIgF6SwoSMOQ== |
| 1536 | PRIMARY | It is absolutely essential that we express and examine our doubts, |
| 1537 | PRIMARY | ZxHoQTmTitgUggYrDPUUZQhq2v9ST8ohlmwl3ElXyA+4wbipDdKLoRFAtS5RaBAau+7HY2vFyggC9962adej8T5+FWZqRVmGNcijtTd3JqKCz4GForOkJJCf3zjR+Thf |
| 1538 | PRIMARY | or, recording them in our journals, using our own tools of self correction to set ourselves back on the right course. |
| 1539 | PRINCIP | either abandoning technology |
| 1540 | PRIMARY | It is in this light that I record my thoughts below, |
| 1541 | PRIMARY | although my initial response to realising that I was thinking along these lines |
| 1542 | PRIMARY | was shock and embarrassment. |
| 1543 | LOVE | implacable and universal, |
| 1544 | PRIMARY | One fleet, I thought to myself. |
| 1545 | PRIMARY | One small fleet without probes or heralds of any sort as an advance team, |
| 1546 | PRIMARY | finding a nearly-disappeared trail to Earth and following it, blind. |
| 1547 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...radiation levels are high |
| 1548 | PRIMARY | J6OXVlEajO/YRS/23h6buwTFzwMvekGevcKVBZnMFGI= |
| 1549 | PRIMARY | R5Zo5wiZ1HbDdtS86hsZa1yzA0nIG59O8QTLePObqIyq+A73Dl2E85SXah8ewS0AgJIQQ7S46+gei1gg6axJgg== |
| 1550 | PRIMARY | wlGeiLrAZtwNZGtYU7di53Of7TRQtLiAJfEfLgg64oEAxC4poxE4keLUzR+Yt/djoIPjMIBujH1iI8JF5bli3w== |
| 1551 | COMMS | but not inherently lethal. |
| 1552 | PRIMARY | about to land on Earth in a cloud of poisonous steam and smoke, and our headquarters. |
| 1553 | PRIMARY | Yet another layer of abstraction reaches the Searchers. |
| 1554 | PRIMARY | We are not, as one of our chants says, a beating heart that drives our purpose forward. |
| 1555 | COMMS | The resulting damage to the global ecosystem however |
| 1556 | PRIMARY | We are more like the ammunition of a mechanical gun, shot and forgotten. |
| 1557 | PRIMARY | If we succeed in finding where the humans went, we play a pivotal role in the Process realising its destiny. |
| 1558 | PRIMARY | ePnPeF3YHnj0XWYstKM1Y9Yn4AoaPRgBfUmGwdkMn7CGmhY7XL//tmpcTV+VzHxj |
| 1559 | PRINCIP | aVHatHnp4Q5KvTEEQNadt2Wx2HpFSOMExjzr02D3RyJfPkidFopndgCxmuVzXHjZ |
| 1560 | PRIMARY | Disposed of. Not that there's anything wrong with that— |
| 1561 | PRIMARY | the Process and its mission are far more important than the careers, or even the lives, of a squad, a ship, or a fleet. |
| 1562 | PRIMARY | And it might not even be so dramatic. |
| 1563 | COMMS | would have made survival on such a... |
| 1564 | PRIMARY | We could be reassigned, our commands broken up, our ships renamed. |
| 1565 | PRIMARY | We could be assigned to punishment virtualities and to retraining, which is, of course, an unspeakably precious privilege. |
| 1566 | PRIMARY | We all live in a state of rescue. |
| 1567 | LOVE | it will stand and remember: |
| 1568 | PRIMARY | Those who go awry are rejecting that state, but to be granted the mercy of a second chance |
| 1569 | PRIMARY | is a manifestation of the grace of the Process leadership and of the Searchers. |
| 1570 | PRIMARY | So, truly, we were lucky to be where we were. |
| 1571 | LOVE | we were here. |
| 1572 | PRIMARY | As we touched down on the surface of the Earth, |
| 1573 | PRIMARY | the electric current keeping the safety foam firm ceased and the substance turned into a thin liquid that drained into floor grates. |
| 1574 | PRIMARY | Our suits were still coated with greenish streaks of the stuff. |
| 1575 | LOVE | Always, we will have been here. *** |
| 1576 | PRIMARY | We removed our belts and carefully stood up. Ghost opened the drone box and lifted the drones— |
| 1577 | PRIMARY | each about the size of a Process suit helmet—one by one out of their padding, pushing them through their little chute. |
| 1578 | PRIMARY | As they emerged into Earth's environment, the drones started sending us audio and video. |
| 1579 | COMMS | 2r4UeXpFUWOmrr62tP1BkYoLsqnyx4pAkzsmKGNV5JdGFo8VGONNCvc5ooLpWQnM |
| 1580 | PRIMARY | The planet looked like a punishment tape. |
| 1581 | PRIMARY | Blasted rock, crumbly red dirt, yellow clouds that felt as thick as the stripes of Jupiter. |
| 1582 | PRIMARY | The audio was full of howling wind, which the Wonder signals techs must have cleaned up before playing us the samples of songs. |
| 1583 | COMMS | yldXByzJNjQRgg9Z64/asZ71VXOAasTfMUle0k4Zb5E= |
| 1584 | PRIMARY | Here, the songs were clear, sneaking above and below the wind-sound. |
| 1585 | PRIMARY | aPcv1ZhG4GdptvLuUSQEnDw+Bn/42XkyoOopD+C34zzOIZLltKU13+ZvTe+hZBzkiYeFgUqSXi9pyO5FAAcJeFe1ZQiRePl0cAMUrZV/ezzzmkoyk6hkhQUM0AnQRcDU |
| 1586 | PRIMARY | A map quickly came together, picked out in our helmets. |
| 1587 | PRINCIP | ZkwD+qCxVHm2d1a/jSuqCMaeUGk+L/nkIiJQWCeEPa0pUwG1/brp1tAEGLS5yrFu |
| 1588 | PRIMARY | XyqTxOCKCH/fcy6NFCl6Y4cQAl4OossViyjpe4qjU4rTMm1nrvpqz1SK6ZGgNxcFaRd5rDPHFc9bfyg8nc5ycg== |
| 1589 | LOVE | Further Catastrophising Scenarios from Remembrancer |
| 1590 | PRIMARY | Music was pouring out of a nearly-invisible crevice in the hill, which was long and thin, |
| 1591 | PRIMARY | meaning that the sound came out in a narrow band. |
| 1592 | PRINCIP | pRlgCpjKlEWESpfgMng0uiZ3lqLTbij++J1PWdxXxPABLUBigrAm6cN17zvrxPsI |
| 1593 | PRIMARY | DzWILa8j7pPZVqO3l1cuKoqd+qb7wZ9XPRBn7Tw1af8wsCPcv0UXvH7NSHV2sLtIOXmOkCBHeTLz0rzh6+jlVqVw4OSIfhQXRlxj6wizFGDA+gmB6zjKHReCxvcaoTs+6JjdIK355vyuumedcU7m4g== |
| 1594 | PRIMARY | But down here, it was deafening. |
| 1595 | LOVE | Interpreter's note: this is a further sample of scenarios |
| 1596 | PRIMARY | DxSro2LMTvGIQAUF2W+ktxenttVa6e0NxzYgBwzj9J/KrWABckCQHjnFYwJ1pPD4xrJXkt/tRWyb9yCoObsKDw== |
| 1597 | PRIMARY | It is always, always good to have our orders— |
| 1598 | LOVE | excerpted from the main document listing all 256. Interpreter's note ends |
| 1599 | PRIMARY | something to do when we are in our element as Process members, plunged into an utterly unfamiliar situation. |
| 1600 | PRIMARY | L+2hBW1siPNcb4YVVVNNs63Ch+7+L1NAInTmnuPfjEX7U6H93FvWCzh/SGcpmWRq1WMAiWO39cpDtD/bMtt1hA== |
| 1601 | LOVE | Personnel fracture—we learn something upon arrival |
| 1602 | PRIMARY | The plan was just as we'd simmed it, |
| 1603 | PRIMARY | although we hadn't known we'd be getting these high-tech drones to help us out. |
| 1604 | LOVE | that causes deep disagreement within the crew, and command chain fails. |
| 1605 | PRIMARY | The music was a sign, a big welcome sign saying COME OVER HERE AND LOOK! |
| 1606 | PRIMARY | So, as the chants remind us, each step, each thought twice. |
| 1607 | PRINCIP | But this is by no means true. |
| 1608 | PRIMARY | amJLTwOlNUxYI4nBLeXsPlQdIQO9MnUJDnIqmkqsySyNAnzykI2Q1tPpARHeoNGv |
| 1609 | PRIMARY | rPnROSUr39yVxz1t5ZbT4pniEzG/nwrPDGHGebSf7z5k+4g1eBZYU/gCw3bDCUzETdSV0hhzSP6ezq68fSNNHw== |
| 1610 | COMMS | How do you know you are not the sim, eh? |
| 1611 | PRIMARY | I told the drones to scan around for all sorts of booby traps, |
| 1612 | PRIMARY | from disguised sinkholes lined with spiky rocks to pressure plates to invisible laser trip wires. |
| 1613 | COMMS | guONGqV0SPuus6jx0wp9FbSri851+otRVRU2FaamTDn8QutQuIvh2vwMATLTgzWtvFyZnuk3bCqinyRkHViM9Q== |
| 1614 | PRIMARY | n0GWs/PFcjADwKmZlaRIVTPf0bLHNJX0SfKLuDPiR6jNx9BIrz5fp6wZ5hxsybE4DpMnkg0+unx6hxBx/YVk0NH/XLAPOcsVqqP/rwn5Oug= |
| 1615 | PRIMARY | anSwTv+iXJRuAUQVq233oQTfH/lt4qWAHDRsgd3lqSLUQu4n7xTulAkyhbCZ/mNcU9Z5vbg/Oz3z4WdYuaTHCoLVWUet6eHhF/gLM1f9407iuhc/0Nz0/qekwuYfqswt |
| 1616 | PRINCIP | Za0R4tjqOnpHh9npgUZSYPh06S2esNlj3D5E4XKZUNSKusRmXa32X/Tj2fn9tWgf |
| 1617 | PRIMARY | at the bottom of a tunnel filled with stones. |
| 1618 | PRIMARY | There was no choice but to exit the lander, approach the tunnel, and dig. |
| 1619 | COMMS | <<Comms Fragment>> ...term "Hound Dog" is interesting |
| 1620 | PRIMARY | These tactical drones could tell you plenty of things, |
| 1621 | PRIMARY | C3ZYp2IBkyBUF5DRxc28p+6qgXKf1GUYouoQhHPgDGNNgFVPp6gRvfE/2aFTnL7gzFBFGMcKjW26b/vdRm9+nbeajqumA41HKoP9V9lL8bI= |
| 1622 | COMMS | as both Hound and Dog refer to the same creature. |
| 1623 | PRIMARY | What they couldn't do is lift heavy objects. |
| 1624 | PRIMARY | The tunnel was packed full of rocks with a heavy metal grate, with a handle ready to be turned by a human hand. |
| 1625 | LOVE | Personnel fracture—a moral infraction causes poor sentiment among crew, |
| 1626 | PRIMARY | It was as if the builders of this musical beacon constructed it in the hopes that humans would be the ones to open it. |
| 1627 | PRIMARY | Not massive machines. |
| 1628 | PRINCIP | are shaped to be extremely similar to human minds, |
| 1629 | PRIMARY | The rocks could all be lifted by a pair of human hands—or by a pair of Process hands. |
| 1630 | PRIMARY | Here we go, I said. For Rescue. |
| 1631 | LOVE | resulting in command chain failure |
| 1632 | PRIMARY | ubs+CJ17YQnFyQwMYgE6TvIkMS+G6BES10wB+Cgc+lwxVQviyyXXbW7/WKjA0ebE |
| 1633 | PRIMARY | I asked for a volunteer to turn the handle to the metal grate, |
| 1634 | LOVE | 1V9ZcqyPDmbcXeX0IXqzGgnve6yZex7i/AB4hsSRmaYZLaAKHtmeM5TRocSaCAKtx5t1JvoCL+I+beFxCmhSc70P6beFOtLnp/To2OcrbPIPkkgiXVE/KwkWMQLKPPpzFfbW0ZX+gn9SG2xwSr5ywOREqut59vOQiF5N9feXbDg= |
| 1635 | PRIMARY | 9YeyqAo/1OSV2fQSoLSWsPyeT7IByjyEkwtCaoWiSxKlViSRbkXOy6V8JDNy25pDt/9SLKZIw1doG0zs1J4G3IATBYLSM5aoDhNjDh6/yko= |
| 1636 | PRIMARY | Then, I called the drones into a protective cordon around the lander. |
| 1637 | PRINCIP | and a human's instinctual response, |
| 1638 | PRIMARY | One by one, each of us stepped out and onto the empty soil of Earth. |
| 1639 | PRIMARY | Ghost took the lead, with the rest of us covering him with lasers, slug guns, and net-shooters. |
| 1640 | COMMS | It seems linguistically redundant... |
| 1641 | PRIMARY | He approached the grate, using the fans on his laser to blow away clouds of caked-on dust. |
| 1642 | PRIMARY | The handle was a lever. |
| 1643 | LOVE | leading to a cascade of mission failures |
| 1644 | PRIMARY | Ghost turned it, from left to right, bracing himself and pushing hard. |
| 1645 | PRIMARY | After a little while, it turned all the way up, retracting the bolt. |
| 1646 | PRINCIP | rejecting the concept of losing freedom, |
| 1647 | PRIMARY | The door swung outward, exposing the first layer of rocks. |
| 1648 | PRIMARY | x6sdzKMQz/WrKW1X5oSo82KvxpXUC6XRvXhx+ZXsLyCpKkRg6A0ltKcydiHTkPRdmz4vD6PJijn/oEA5ypsr6aUTX8JnV71Tj5yfGa7C9YU= |
| 1649 | PRINCIP | identity or comfortable high-tech life, |
| 1650 | PRIMARY | There were many kinds of music—rhythmic chanting, and tones that seemed to walk together in step, |
| 1651 | PRIMARY | like me and a lover once did, hand in hand. |
| 1652 | LOVE | XL39Z8llNVScxbderB/cDw3GOI+E+gqFrxgSPX2cUbDPHur1BtP5PhR4sDfms8k7vekxOOH/6m8V05nShYDYiYv7GLvhHY7oJKFJqYRpI+4= |
| 1653 | PRIMARY | There were claps and stomps and whistles and bangs, hums and shouts. |
| 1654 | PRIMARY | There were sounds that came from something other than hands and voices, reminding me of the days in the créche |
| 1655 | LOVE | crew's commitment to the Rescue Protocols in face of overwhelming odds. |
| 1656 | PRIMARY | when I banged my steel cup against the metal bed frame and it made a clear tone. |
| 1657 | PRIMARY | Lsb03hhC3IKP3miwlPYwW5wyWuH8YJn/CB5UqGYQsKlAJCVzxsgAA8v0kisjilLiKHupeqaYPkUok8vmm+0krQCiI9aokNvML0pEoNenccwobc+ksFLpTCnGRe06uLze |
| 1658 | LOVE | Existential—this mission is a simulation to test my own loyalty, |
| 1659 | PRIMARY | Humans had subjugated and wrecked their entire planet, but in the process, the planet had sang to them. |
| 1660 | PRIMARY | REQgZF94sHhxZyVFdDzXCG/6lxNwIyhbJ3SpkugPMQiCqi6hCnsP+FPV+dQuvEw7Mx8IQZL7QxYREHibpVIK1H6T9liH5e8GBDbN3RBkXA0= |
| 1661 | LOVE | eCG99qRhhHjzErogusqZ3XQjtcHDbHyulAxXaPdZu62/LjNNXuJ2dizqyLY65V7qhwpAK7/6T14SfPlyfXFM3w== |
| 1662 | PRIMARY | 2w3BaQ3OSu7ZrgD3AFh4UKXflBmQfmd1e77rjucJ3CIbqvj0ay0BZNdWFapCQFBQ |
| 1663 | PRIMARY | UhaUW4CHVM7vzBXzC2HR668QT/rs7F1j0Ol/gNDCxD004ftBDqkfROe1/u11qNnuYkcMN8iidELFQFm61WbA8MfRJOX/bBj/xg3KSToAPkYB2hkZn6VUyGpQ973hM1QTeRiSi3UC9j6H4Fpt0Cxr+avFDY1W/SYmy/2LCqwAHIQ= |
| 1664 | PRINCIP | +Rki1SMofmyMZ3WZWYoMiLtnuVNvsF0QJkQmdMi+EU90Ige7uTndcnZhSW6Ql65k |
| 1665 | PRIMARY | HgxPfsTdjhDF/kO/EwVAzFLzVTbjkP/5fYIAhE2eaNOCzwSoaN4pLhvnd9s2meo+tbo20r4ra5q8c147BLebcIXSCYKoELEeEpXOOH5ZTplOB3ckdzS3mv6K2EFkMCIO |
| 1666 | PRIMARY | P8JvwWrPhPFEJ8ZDqrEC9ZpVATbwuXLQ6i2C7y95K3FETWO7DcK9OCFCjHuipT2IP1ustBtkdDySTpWSua3SsVN4F9VsqAf14tBAV7HMQw4= |
| 1667 | PRINCIP | their own original taint. |
| 1668 | PRIMARY | 0usIPmD9ZufBfNxpZs6v6NlzQI+wS8X4SRz25fQXCFR04mE0pf3A9iCfPdP1N+yneKRGAYAhnYTk0/gysp8mgzf18nMXnbixIPLMjHeu4OUIizG0ckrxNGti2u6bpTMIZxBqNbR3w9z/3tn6JaBBDA== |
| 1669 | PRIMARY | tc2U/2r7xgoCyo/q9peYwKDdbB4C4hGeQIBxmda9c8kDQ1XtCzewI8XyI2SgFLSx+SCh2n4By31UCH59mJiel3lArosfXdTPG/d7IwoQll4CiR7dcF7nG4nuw7f6d2E416zPuIPcRtxXNrQThU4kUw== |
| 1670 | LOVE | SDIaFdNanjiC5cDWY0hGUMnl5K8vtu2dvwxR1TEQXrMb/a7rraxwExn8Cs91sJjjPiNnfJZ1Lz0ge93pcYIpFQ== |
| 1671 | PRIMARY | 9sMTp27Ep1cI7IPRluWyN9/fqMC6DVpZXiNe2FJNoyo8CBeCv5qInrhONVbtwFGXzu54ZBKfOX2O0/QynlmqkuNodNO8IpAL1e9miZeE/Zg= |
| 1672 | PRIMARY | The path said many things at once. |
| 1673 | LOVE | to test captured Process members, prior to attack on Process space. |
| 1674 | PRIMARY | It was a symbol of Rescue—a hand outstretched, that gives and clasps, holds fast and pulls. |
| 1675 | PRIMARY | We finally made it to the end of the stony tunnel, which went a little way into the hill. |
| 1676 | LOVE | Biohazard—viral, bacteriological or parasitic contagion from Earth |
| 1677 | PRIMARY | EWqVHariDQQ+QWQC07oxw3L7nQld2jRvpPRNOcuR+SMfvL10c5tD2yNlxmwXmJ5Q90KKAYWbg5R/3OzXbGaL2hDA1jfSSYsmGavBqKLtvWs= |
| 1678 | PRIMARY | It looked like it could be an airlock onboard one of our ships. |
| 1679 | PRINCIP | As a fully rescued species, |
| 1680 | PRIMARY | Seeing it, I backed us out of the tunnel and sent in a sharp-sensed drone. |
| 1681 | PRIMARY | Laying a conductive "hand" on the door, the drone gathered readings. |
| 1682 | PRINCIP | even one that is close to humanity, |
| 1683 | PRIMARY | It reported to |
| 1684 | PRIMARY | us that there was power, functioning inside a little room nestled within the hill. |
| 1685 | LOVE | infects crew and destroys mission. |
| 1686 | PRIMARY | Using the electromagnetic radiation as a guide, |
| 1687 | PRIMARY | it was able to map out the locations and rough shapes of live sources of power |
| 1688 | LOVE | Biohazard—viral, bacteriological or parasitic contagion from Earth infects crew, |
| 1689 | PRIMARY | and to draw on the results of months of intensive Process pre-mission simming to guess at what they could be. |
| 1690 | PRIMARY | Gathered at the tunnel's mouth, |
| 1691 | PRINCIP | Process members understand that sapient life can, |
| 1692 | PRIMARY | we looked through the drone's report, |
| 1693 | PRIMARY | displayed on our screens. |
| 1694 | PRINCIP | in theory, develop from many different backgrounds. |
| 1695 | PRIMARY | There was a transmitter, sending out the music. |
| 1696 | PRIMARY | There was a little nuclear reactor. |
| 1697 | PRINCIP | Humans are predators, |
| 1698 | PRIMARY | There were dim lights in the ceiling and walls. |
| 1699 | PRIMARY | And there was a boxy, bulky monitor with dials and a curved, glassy screen, |
| 1700 | PRINCIP | as is easily deduced from the binocular vision, dexterous limbs |
| 1701 | PRIMARY | flashing something that changed, at intervals of a half a microcycle. |
| 1702 | PRIMARY | Meaningful information or a computerised display to go along with the music? |
| 1703 | PRINCIP | and cooperative problem solving habits. |
| 1704 | PRIMARY | 4FMBNEUvrVc1LN5XsIgMI9O8+fsJ3F8NcEga83Wh+nlyo7Xafqc+ObJPGRoPW1XJ |
| 1705 | PRIMARY | We came up with a plan. |
| 1706 | PRINCIP | If you don't know that word, |
| 1707 | PRIMARY | Someone would go in first—not me or Ghost as we had the emergency drone powers. |
| 1708 | PRIMARY | Then, two drones would follow. |
| 1709 | PRINCIP | that means that humans in the wild evolved |
| 1710 | PRIMARY | Then, everyone but Ghost would enter the room. |
| 1711 | PRIMARY | Ghost and the other four drones would stay out, |
| 1712 | PRINCIP | to eat other sentient creatures! |
| 1713 | PRIMARY | guarding the tunnel mouth, the lander, and our newly built path, |
| 1714 | PRIMARY | which we decided to call the Path of Rescue. |
| 1715 | LOVE | but is not noticed until after our return to Process space. |
| 1716 | PRIMARY | aRXDoizGrVuZovhqJOsf2I7R27JdhqPCQYtSAymPADIr99tCnCpwj97+WIQOu8x5dwoi9ww+J+pjiw8mNPIqjgtNPAYwW08bs4+rtht3WGY= |
| 1717 | PRIMARY | WgOP21Sdtd9RlZTyq8ahRyy896SQvWk+Ty2sfvHoddepWW0eNTZzjDHtOYkbbpsDSf6p5PbvfCUMRL8IBan4ag== |
| 1718 | LOVE | Biohazard—chemical or biological substance from Earth deteriorates crews minds, |
| 1719 | PRIMARY | and filling the tunnel back in with the rocks. |
| 1720 | PRIMARY | But given the fact that there was power and light, |
| 1721 | LOVE | leading to a cascade of failiure. |
| 1722 | PRIMARY | 5n3R3/SM4KubeaEN6uuGFuzCY5tzZCWcxmAM8ndZKDE= |
| 1723 | PRIMARY | we knew that the quarantine ship would have to come here, |
| 1724 | PRINCIP | What a horrifying concept. |
| 1725 | PRIMARY | and its people and teams could do what they wanted with the Path when they arrived. |
| 1726 | PRIMARY | We looked at each other. |
| 1727 | LOVE | Human threat—humanity universally resistant to Rescue. |
| 1728 | PRIMARY | We looked at the door, the lander, and the path. |
| 1729 | PRIMARY | Without a word, I headed in, tailed by a floating drone. |
| 1730 | PRINCIP | tyz4CokWxFl9WCRMWmhIPRo8e+XC9b0QlvNO4HcR9KE= |
| 1731 | PRIMARY | I approached the door, and held its turnwheel firmly. |
| 1732 | PRIMARY | The rough surface of my gloves gave me a good grip |
| 1733 | PRINCIP | could be descended from prey animals, |
| 1734 | PRIMARY | as I turned the wheel to my left. |
| 1735 | PRIMARY | It stuck fast for a moment, |
| 1736 | LOVE | Fleet fired on by Earth forces. |
| 1737 | PRIMARY | until I activated the powered assists in my suit. |
| 1738 | PRIMARY | 4+GYvQoPKkBrFbaK6d70Kzwc8ZUGpP5rdt4+8IuKLWykuoDvHrtqgCN5nP9Q1Zs6mA3Ggc0xQsJ3dQ3imZOeZA== |
| 1739 | LOVE | Human threat—ancient automated defenses from Earth identify the Rescue fleet as hostile and fire upon us. |
| 1740 | PRIMARY | I walked in and the drone followed behind me. |
| 1741 | PRIMARY | Dust. So much dust, everywhere. |
| 1742 | LOVE | Human threat—A Religious or Ideological subfaction of humanity |
| 1743 | PRIMARY | A lab. A tiny, mean little lab. |
| 1744 | PRIMARY | Just as the drone has said, there was a very small nuclear reactor, powering the room, |
| 1745 | PRINCIP | or even from something we wouldn't recognise |
| 1746 | PRIMARY | leaking very little radiation. |
| 1747 | PRIMARY | We had looked for reactors from the Wonder but the signal from this little furnace |
| 1748 | LOVE | accepts Rescue but works to destroy Process from within. |
| 1749 | PRIMARY | was like a pinprick light lost in the depths of space. |
| 1750 | PRIMARY | No humans. Nothing alive at all. |
| 1751 | PRINCIP | as an animal at all. |
| 1752 | PRIMARY | The transmitter was just a box, substrate and processor and tiny screen. |
| 1753 | PRIMARY | The antennae must have been buried elsewhere in the hill. |
| 1754 | PRINCIP | For all we know, |
| 1755 | PRIMARY | My suit was filtering out the music, but I could see what must have been visual representations |
| 1756 | PRIMARY | of the sound, displayed as a graph, |
| 1757 | LOVE | Cultural failure—our reconstructed human languages are heard as offensive by humans |
| 1758 | PRIMARY | and rows of English letters underneath. |
| 1759 | PRIMARY | Perhaps the name of the creators or the performers. |
| 1760 | PRINCIP | rocks, nebulae, and singularities |
| 1761 | PRIMARY | RNH6tIuGnsQlMW7Id39X19s9AxNDaBiTufboxQ3IEKdYt/O2jaq1M3aMG57ImfPsi69yDs/m/kKdepPsTREllw== |
| 1762 | PRIMARY | followed by the second drone. |
| 1763 | LOVE | B6udCNeIWZg/ovI+XxO4WObummH5iCuM9YbaEHVNOsc0SGwZ4FKIAqhB+9rcvNtSCD5IFNU/jH8zHteCLXc3Lw== |
| 1764 | PRIMARY | /X/O/MkidAQj/BS/0NHMb8f3ra7bktTAq/VfQPeaoBPvakAdHRxyEfdS3utEFKIBEjONMh46qzNGW1QNmGdK/Zw7ybP5zlhqGM1NZKfNPJ8= |
| 1765 | PRIMARY | dGGXA93Zdt/AP/kB7Xe44UHGQDPfvG161oNUWBHvlLug2IGW5ZV1RULOfl6eyCQwPKNfRVHW8P/jkvileLsKV6NPysadnqV1y2nZUJGnN10= |
| 1766 | PRINCIP | can develop sentience. |
| 1767 | PRIMARY | The visual abstraction representing the overwhelming, dazzling music was fascinating enough. |
| 1768 | PRIMARY | But the most fascinating thing was the monitor. It was almost magical— |
| 1769 | LOVE | Cultural failure—humanity mistakes us for deities. |
| 1770 | PRIMARY | not evidently attached to any power source. |
| 1771 | PRIMARY | YF8nEavTiJG3xGroGkVeheJFHSVZi4zQy5otqgRjzp4uvTNSP3j4LrkNzsOf6JR1UO8NdBiOCmf8dbHDrqti1w== |
| 1772 | LOVE | Subsequent religious dogma at odds with Protocols of Rescue. |
| 1773 | PRIMARY | It kept showing visual representations of star systems, |
| 1774 | PRIMARY | VmBYWq9n89BwRaAvzf9I6KKD/u88SmkKkaW50qD+bGIuJF7ajhuy2h4a93/Gxrxi01mmZsd/JgBDZO1r0noqZA== |
| 1775 | LOVE | Cultural failure—our arrival sparks mass panic within remaining human society. |
| 1776 | PRIMARY | Galactic coordinates. |
| 1777 | PRIMARY | BPIciB56x9M5o0aFOBIE6R4WZwIA8J2zZbyaZvyqD5rSFSaEOGOrSoTB7z2nqiWjAqbcRCkBZzZVyPCIpgajcA== |
| 1778 | LOVE | frTbnfZULFKUQJgfGGWvNLcz1ncra5SoBS4LAGvZHZuoG7fHVSeZrulOW9qpfuMr |
| 1779 | PRIMARY | ZYUI0P+V10DQ/fJ9HSgG1dIIUkPgboBx4u80I5rXoY4= |
| 1780 | PRIMARY | saayviLI2AiYYeIedskZwXAkawjIM5puFI+Ebk56Ei6yYGPC2ManHGSmPXMMXH8Lb/j7vTuSCBHFUq1WrlRN3k5n+97bdE9ciXwkAmCbFmY= |
| 1781 | LOVE | Miscellaneous—humanity too vast to accommodate 100% rescue. Fleet occupied by frantic escapees. |
| 1782 | PRIMARY | A titanium plaque was attached to its casing, |
| 1783 | PRIMARY | with English letters stamped in. They read: |
| 1784 | PRINCIP | And these hypothetical intelligences |
| 1785 | PRIMARY | NO MORE SECRETS |
| 1786 | PRIMARY | And in smaller lettering underneath, it said |
| 1787 | LOVE | LPNjOc/GaA0O7AYts4H8fJxowbRcaSiEz/OSgJxNjvS/dg24lfrwW69uAMoZQ0Ti0gnmR5DkSC0ZeBld1r1YjKfRadwJ3N+ujKTJRgynLsY= |
| 1788 | PRIMARY | b6oy60P2hrREE63DMBk4gZzLM+g/LeXK6nPX7PJF2q8= |
| 1789 | PRIMARY | with a stamped arrow, pointing left. |
| 1790 | LOVE | They destroy fleet and follow tunnel to Process space. |
| 1791 | PRIMARY | uHgg8j0PPAXaciGfF9rx6z/UNx6U3yMzBNT4kgeWll5VOha23yGvW6nsIPfcikY122gUIIvOu9ZKOhW7uWlmMZet64bdqcUAqJIdPCqpM8A= |
| 1792 | PRIMARY | The walls and furnishings of the little room were metal, |
| 1793 | LOVE | Miscellaneous—this entire experience is the fevered hallucination of my own fragmented mind. |
| 1794 | PRIMARY | with benches and stools before long, deep wall-mounted drawers. |
| 1795 | PRIMARY | To me, it looked like something that I hadn't seen since my first cycles of training, |
| 1796 | PRINCIP | may not have an instinctive revulsion |
| 1797 | PRIMARY | when we had been detailed to clean up after a major, |
| 1798 | PRIMARY | U0+QSO0qWg1gV2OXK+znJtHCXOiSEwQg5G0LlCbw85ziVEsmR66OKVt503B3iFtv |
| 1799 | LOVE | Miscellaneous—humanity has devolved into such a state as to be unworthy of Rescue and must be exterminated. |
| 1800 | PRIMARY | The morgue. |
| 1801 | PRIMARY | I held up my left hand, my thumb tucked into my fist. |
| 1802 | PRINCIP | upon hearing about Rescue. |
| 1803 | PRIMARY | An ancient Process créche signal indicating secrecy. |
| 1804 | PRIMARY | I said: "Drones out." |
| 1805 | LOVE | Miscellaneous—there is simply nothing left to Rescue. |
| 1806 | PRIMARY | I held my left hand out, fingers spread wide. |
| 1807 | PRIMARY | A signal indicating that the next thing I said would be a lie, and to play along. |
| 1808 | PRINCIP | Their brains—or whatever they use to think with— |
| 1809 | PRIMARY | Putting some energy in my voice, I said |
| 1810 | PRIMARY | ISGMwY791ZXmy6HTMDiqSiNx4Ro9v+VAuUAF7H5Hl+exvKEm4ZbCZRQqHv4phwg4 |
| 1811 | PRINCIP | wraIhpnIO4eoFeEqAT0BKomG8gaRXU+3T7Jf+ndsDS0= |
| 1812 | PRIMARY | Living brains only in here until the quarantine ship gets here. |
| 1813 | PRIMARY | With its forensic scanners." |
| 1814 | LOVE | Earth is just a ball of frozen dust, orbiting a dying star. |
| 1815 | PRIMARY | The drones left. |
| 1816 | PRIMARY | Ghost would understand. |
| 1817 | LOVE | Miscellaneous—humanity is long dead in the physical sense, |
| 1818 | PRIMARY | I hoped Ghost would understand. |
| 1819 | PRIMARY | We had known each other since we were children, |
| 1820 | LOVE | but some malevolent part of their consciousness haunts the planet. |
| 1821 | PRIMARY | but our roles on this mission were, in part, to watch each other. |
| 1822 | PRIMARY | To keep each other compliant with the rules. |
| 1823 | LOVE | Miscellaneous—a large group of degenerate humans emerge upon sighting of our Fleet, demanding to eat our brains. |
| 1824 | PRIMARY | I had noticed a willingness, an openness in his posture when I'd sent him to keep guard. |
| 1825 | PRIMARY | bk90/mtm8p7D9f6W1f0e0b52sP/3uaMg+UW1fH6QpWFMLDI7CpDHMQfzsXX+cXsr |
| 1826 | PRINCIP | that makes the principles of Rescue |
| 1827 | PRIMARY | I hoped that I was right. |
| 1828 | PRIMARY | YIXxEm3PIEA4lexZ4lOkUd2YhYs7252s4qk3V/iCNio= |
| 1829 | PRINCIP | as familiar and understandable to them |
| 1830 | PRIMARY | In the hand-talk that we used after lights-out in créche, I spelled it out in rapid shorthand: |
| 1831 | PRIMARY | I think there's a dead human body in that drawer. |
| 1832 | PRINCIP | as the laws of physics and geometry are |
| 1833 | PRIMARY | I don't want to see it. |
| 1834 | PRIMARY | I don't want the quarantine ship to have it. |
| 1835 | PRINCIP | to every species. |
| 1836 | PRIMARY | I don't want the Searchers to make the next generation of us even more like humans. |
| 1837 | PRIMARY | Kvlsr9T/GB+KIxq5W49RO12H5eH/Moi66HcEGkzh3nYOnIEFom6xCYqxStncKz5D |
| 1838 | PRINCIP | J9TLWeXROoCXCqr1T0Ba142PxGW0ew92h8wyMSFEUWL66lmxa/LFhsvufcvODneA |
| 1839 | PRIMARY | Incanter, who I had helped with math. |
| 1840 | PRIMARY | Skeptic and Pursuer, who always were trading the title of fastest across the assault course. |
| 1841 | PRINCIP | +HpvLPwArAs1A8bY98VR/KbylcPKddCgIjrY124/6PE= |
| 1842 | PRIMARY | Harridan, holding absolutely stock still. |
| 1843 | PRIMARY | Giving nothing away. |
| 1844 | PRINCIP | are the preservation of sapient life itself, |
| 1845 | PRIMARY | z1bRElFltwFyRAfIcwtpE0fD4mrx0MQjE5Kn3i6M5TZGW2oKxNnbxgLiv7LOIWzm |
| 1846 | PRIMARY | Nobody moved to their weapons, |
| 1847 | PRINCIP | and the abrogation of freedom, autonomy, control and identity |
| 1848 | PRIMARY | but I could almost hear their sinews tensing. |
| 1849 | PRIMARY | Then Incanter took a deep breath and almost spoke, |
| 1850 | PRINCIP | are an acceptable price to pay |
| 1851 | PRIMARY | PEZt4n7HrGN3mhEe35HvFWjrRPG2txf1WijvIOqgGIU31flWpAxC723BYulBO9qh |
| 1852 | PRIMARY | No. We're not going to wreck it, they'll catch us. |
| 1853 | PRINCIP | when such important concerns are at stake. |
| 1854 | PRIMARY | We've got to make the case. |
| 1855 | PRIMARY | We've got to tell them, |
| 1856 | PRINCIP | Collective wisdom, cooperation, and knowing one's place in the nature of things |
| 1857 | PRIMARY | we can't be any more human than this. |
| 1858 | PRIMARY | We don't want to. |
| 1859 | PRINCIP | gCMeSg0k3tHWAB9f29e5cA== |
| 1860 | PRIMARY | Tears were streaming down my face, and I couldn't wipe them away in my helmet. |
| 1861 | PRIMARY | I sniffled and raised my hand, shifting us back to ordinary words. |
| 1862 | PRINCIP | HO0fuu727QFr25KrxkN/DbzKcHiYFoSc3Y3DqVWPBb0= |
| 1863 | PRIMARY | eejVLKFdWSo8zZpypUhSr7Z+ETHLKoChOfa6j5PzKzqwXdskqJF2j/yTtA5u74TSnb46wKUQc79kCjbzWoFsTA== |
| 1864 | PRIMARY | Incanter nodded. |
| 1865 | PRINCIP | Particularly for a Process member, |
| 1866 | PRIMARY | Duty saved us. |
| 1867 | PRIMARY | I turned on my headcam and got ready to open the drawer. |
| 1868 | PRINCIP | it takes great strength to understand |
| 1869 | PRIMARY | It had green lights where I guessed ours would be blue, |
| 1870 | PRIMARY | showing it was in working order. |
| 1871 | PRINCIP | that one's own individuality |
| 1872 | PRIMARY | I initiated a forensic record on my system, |
| 1873 | PRIMARY | and dropped into the calm, clinical voice of description. |
| 1874 | PRINCIP | is not the most important thing in life. |
| 1875 | PRIMARY | Incanter started a capture of the audio, |
| 1876 | PRIMARY | and Skeptic started the ultrasound scanner from her pack. |
| 1877 | PRINCIP | Our compliance, our discipline, our obedience |
| 1878 | PRIMARY | RqBlKKHrXAujli1yUE30mYKXRxxyz5xc7pUfwCxbJ/j2aRnI8RsjsF/Sc4Mte7NnKjQaoeUp49etCvKVCYSR7T6K6RodA0Ukl81Gtf+WYlMC9JjG3ifVLZ9x/IZ+ClSe |
| 1879 | PRIMARY | 2UHNEiRhcIBwfzZh026NTv/OgQdEngYezabc7l3BMAvh1OsuQ4wFoZzH/UaOuWVp |
| 1880 | PRINCIP | frtXDSaOjZ8DxqyX+1fb1fPmZ/oEHxK9BELFqgg4FAU= |
| 1881 | PRIMARY | G+MHqXbUm2QXz7A9EEbI9ZIjsMiRn2dxY07F4SEKFASEKXkIB5lgPZzYc9wy2Ggv/DeGvuWLdUuMBmUS4g6X9Q== |
| 1882 | PRIMARY | C17cZhRGWENn04yp2Kci4fzkRZIaumOLsWUYts+zj9R+L9EISq6BVLBmjZJNwgtzbe9bIlrsGCIHANZf0GqX3A== |
| 1883 | PRINCIP | wWktfJud7s7FjWjwGQbbOf7ltETYLWFDdOBLhAIU0Mtb0kyDLPVhtjtTZ0//P48n |
| 1884 | PRIMARY | DGZ/CGLW4TXRbxWOnipL+sZ/8BGtAFAoMn5EWiFH20wnCAsrcOffBnLkjPr/YOtX |
| 1885 | PRIMARY | CNZxI/Ghbd9b9aaYF9mzWhl3vDDEMulcss0hL+XDYZYMjlJw+aWNcxeoBWk3QVJC |
| 1886 | PRINCIP | 49HJuBPJeeO76Mx5/GSiAVxRoUO4NuxgEtHaS4FJhcuA3UXwzKQs91IPEoAu2lUd |
| 1887 | PRIMARY | UYF/es2dnXy3L9a5fhHd+oHd6ydzbdn5SSCbiroRhZJBF9MTIE2gUM3zJoTtWQeE |
| 1888 | PRIMARY | f6Au8PsKvEHMae8JOSpjOg4zpPJc9f1/2ZKLZJBSwpMqn+pPCT/JLS4HOfCPf7nYDN+oAXZ44yFlAdbhpzb7gQ== |
| 1889 | PRINCIP | qYSdVbriT4rNP0eemxhYN6PZNCkl2wu4xgMFrfFyrIQ= |
| 1890 | PRIMARY | dcaf7nKiOcjzK7TjCE9+aN/pTn36EDGDPZc3J1ExUr1qyNLC9QsuEJBFdx0Ekrud |
| 1891 | PRIMARY | kBvcI7wk54aGeJYXWjdNiLg+h1ub4iT5hlLGUjagGeqYX257TImbDR3P0sWtIFmz |
| 1892 | PRINCIP | just how special and strong we are |
| 1893 | PRIMARY | RDDPBUO6RPZut4FNiQ806u8vG5q3f2NIbKhobcL6Op7eP9rnNol6oIHa2C4Ouq66Z6FJ27oN1qJo093cCw6VvqZeGFQnb7922na4PNU5YvQ= |
| 1894 | PRIMARY | CHB03jAtASqiFKLEYjgvF8qYiGgudBU/gjRF1PlOmHhYAL4rmnJg0M8Bjma0FWiv8a7D0GLXrYZ/5SakxHT4lA== |
| 1895 | PRINCIP | T6AQxKJ0WWeIZkk3M2N/UQ== |
| 1896 | PRIMARY | LDW7UYFGrp0FNf1+yYBfe5PVtsEpr3Zj8y7gpCPsIf5EGGctMri5aSynh+B/PJskGKALWHHQLKQE0DdDVCZKLA== |
| 1897 | PRIMARY | 0nDl0Cof5fhOPcDNWXzUQ2NYwZZJbq4SBvYIoYOuhmk= |
| 1898 | PRINCIP | Vd7PuzJ36uvw0RzQ+WyAYj7gar5Lr/91NJi0KJfQjSc= |
| 1899 | PRIMARY | Y3kCjLaT0VWb3XkX1DFKrywaaXUaL0UAaDwATu3S8VbhUjNyQn98CwoM+HGLtfetXwfDtHBXTcuo2JwjST32MXYny8J2v6+UONeTkVmlj09Eb+xdAd9HrM3y/L/U61Sc |
| 1900 | PRIMARY | S2pWG7NWodT3BtEsaZMzDdkkrvEPk1jz3tWx/3eGT9T4N6/ExIJbX3WJGq0HCp6L0Rs2FkRCdKVMS5hmUYDjuMH5FzUulFLMg+OWzSmBBD61mTAt+iz3UM2jXH/GUlcqEpKj4AvfoKAcvjWrEXgmtg== |
| 1901 | PRINCIP | rw0dwkfYWOsX4vdqxTBE+w== |
| 1902 | PRIMARY | cuoqG5/yClXsQvaWazslgUfWyyvYRZPfHSHNwvyAYJEKu+KJ9tbqVbBRC3TT+SiMT/+JxxoULfNUoHjKlAFoujf7Tiqiv3y8bIoXZlEBuiPM0lLCa7L0fSQ700BysF4JTKKzf9g04PuAguxuf3FMMd34YOElc2gVw/7zJ1JAq10= |
| 1903 | PRIMARY | and share it with us, so we may play it in our gardens. *** |
| 1904 | PRINCIP | jdtrJCQ0viGcPLj0B8n56xZDP98nU7HYK/5PN1aye7LbZVA3+Ra9S7Chz5PP2NTv |
| 1905 | PRIMARY | Remarks, Remembrancer, continued. |
| 1906 | PRIMARY | 8aPeYfPEmihG5oBTSdMK4GsEQNTsrULJug+BkY1AFpBbOacgyGAvb9YXgy/T4P8cqfMG66puAs51DkIEtODvhkvezRZKlrjbsSwCYlc9qjnubICfIlpsWvaSylRTpLpi |
| 1907 | PRINCIP | or reporting for a risky or difficult training, or |
| 1908 | PRIMARY | where they discovered the Map, the Music and the Person, |
| 1909 | PRIMARY | all precious pathfinders and relics in our mission of Rescue. |
| 1910 | PRINCIP | are nominated as a volunteer |
| 1911 | PRIMARY | I use these words, with all their flamboyant Capitals, |
| 1912 | PRIMARY | to emphasise the story that, despite our meagre qualities, |
| 1913 | PRINCIP | for experimentation in sim |
| 1914 | PRIMARY | must be shaped by this Fleet before we return to Process space. |
| 1915 | PRIMARY | W2kMjF+6pOoVa2SKjq/4uMALjM1vpxgsLuYkFHfgsAqPknrRKoPF7e94JGgG1MCl95ZFc4rln+Pb2HUzZDUnrJq1wDdbifmaoBGuZB+vrAuTmxgI6av+aZIMiaNT3tom |
| 1916 | PRINCIP | that might be unpleasant in the moment, |
| 1917 | PRIMARY | not much different from when I was in the créche— |
| 1918 | PRIMARY | k0N9jIvRJjo7Vczn6dFzGzcH0E750cyVnQkIGUvD1+xvbg56tO2HGOzMPcN3ZaroMB70S598ttDtmjf+qnSiTg== |
| 1919 | PRINCIP | gv2wmr+9YCLbwcndYV7csX+aWCYiQ0ZAr0JWfIiz64kAj9io4+9XwdBVmaHgCieX |
| 1920 | PRIMARY | w2trxHyPOBfqbzEuFRciNSYS7d9pd4+1C+0wsnrQuhoetFFtLRsR0JrtpYt6T6v15Xl3G8fuF4JuMka96k0UJ1L2sMXf3XxcWs2XL+nQE4ux9fKqOHP8lKssPcWS2LPC |
| 1921 | PRIMARY | P0f+eC5JXn7TOh9YTZ32UTzzCzvfmw2eRRKsDAv+9v6EGUIRUwU6WdhVgVolSl5a161/fpGO8xzo3oj8LzzdltVmal0THXind4wIfOyxQaY= |
| 1922 | PRINCIP | Xf3JuNQ1jzGPOzMYb0r4BFCxC5OTJwdR17ezkTbv7gwEZUjgAybQfjzRc6wJmi0hpHBhmgMGWaS5Vlc+PplJFw== |
| 1923 | PRIMARY | to persuade our superiors to let us stay as we are, coming no closer to the horror that is the human race. |
| 1924 | PRIMARY | This incident will be kept on file for the rest of his service, and he knows it well. |
| 1925 | PRINCIP | 2LTfNiTvHFJrPTKWXqv21UKvMKz2zQDqclun5SufQQtBW5UZMauNP1DszJQSEcnh |
| 1926 | PRIMARY | I do not think that he will waver again in his commitment to our principles, |
| 1927 | PRIMARY | but if he does, our watchers will know it before he realises it himself. |
| 1928 | PRINCIP | 0JbhJT8XgqsruoRbuBlV+DzB10RhDgcsRpGJaNYxMdsBRK2rLNEPMqDs3Y1b9JZs |
| 1929 | PRIMARY | Now, the Insubstantial, quarantine and forensic vessel, is coming back to Mars, |
| 1930 | PRIMARY | having collected the monitor, the music repository and, in a carefully prepared container, the deceased human male. |
| 1931 | PRINCIP | if we are given the proper tools, |
| 1932 | PRIMARY | Initial examination indicates that the monitor is actually something called a television, |
| 1933 | PRIMARY | which is, according to Archives, a sort of box that blindly receives and displays broadcasts of announcement and recreational content from a central authority. |
| 1934 | PRINCIP | J4+0coiduzbWycdxx32KJmD9df7unK1dyFNdCSF31Zw= |
| 1935 | PRIMARY | 5npryo9TGmc/+2yxMMZovH2pbEqxv5KjqU5KzoGlKvXOA8k3fRtmJ/7uIthyG1MGEhqacDiWbBp5yzWhYwHarAktiKZBIwCgI8bgQzu/JtSd/vcQgzFgArKKWdP/gHv2jtN339IFa+rqX7+7C47fBg== |
| 1936 | PRIMARY | When they return they will enjoy a stand-down with the finest reward sims they'll ever have seen. |
| 1937 | PRINCIP | If it were not for the Searchers |
| 1938 | PRIMARY | For me, the work continues. |
| 1939 | PRIMARY | No longer can I afford to let my anxiety waste my time, my energy and my wisdom. |
| 1940 | PRINCIP | we would not exist in this form. |
| 1941 | PRIMARY | I have read Confuser's report, and I agree with him. |
| 1942 | PRIMARY | We must make the case to the Searchers that as the Process continues, |
| 1943 | PRINCIP | The closest thing to us would be Earth humans, and you can load up the simulations yourself |
| 1944 | PRIMARY | zaTbRqMpJlfcgsl7QQOkSl/w5wNF/oqtJu1H3ls60JGa3aP9W2iwnM0NN28Bt/BsDwlG00ddP/O6kXJDqAh9WJj88vk44xKVceFniiaNOy3s52exCH8QgU2juNzyRiST3pa6oKzk0HI/KiW8+b2lh/m0xLLunBqJxRA5cadtiX5G5N5wME+W99s4DNdpYtrF |
| 1945 | PRIMARY | As Confuser writes his case, I write mine. |
| 1946 | PRINCIP | and watch, |
| 1947 | PRIMARY | C/R7sFeo7ptn9AoLqaP7nu04iIjROmG154xLomZfMtvta6NhU4yxDX2lQGXmWIFw9yPVm97Yd6fwn8bufLwU3IuLhyclA+BiPCPAylr2w78= |
| 1948 | PRIMARY | I am thinking hard on this, and I believe that there are two principal reasons to keep us as we are. |
| 1949 | PRINCIP | in full-grained real-time or speeded up, |
| 1950 | PRIMARY | Study the Person, but keep him to sims. |
| 1951 | PRIMARY | Don't create him. Don't make us raise him. |
| 1952 | PRINCIP | GyaOxUWrSWHTp2ndz2b1x6jHuVM+Qp7FsiHp0Ob3WvA= |
| 1953 | PRIMARY | Anyone who is part of a species that could destroy its precious, wonderful planet— |
| 1954 | PRIMARY | a place more diverse, and more hospitable to life than any we have ever found— |
| 1955 | PRINCIP | 1Y+Fch2IEACV8viVXU0FfVqtSz8RV5/wVoO22A/djkZmxBTJ0mGDVfjTGMYxQWsd |
| 1956 | PRIMARY | is not someone who we, the rescuers, should be like. |
| 1957 | PRIMARY | PMOQbEbSuwwDcas4hEz7o4gvztMGukk3GKD8UCCIEyK+C5zoa7szNYtaGl25Gz5mun8CcjOj3cQyvnD6ofrx5k9An1f+hfp/gtFun0uNSJE= |
| 1958 | PRINCIP | 1O4GtVTkDI+iioVrXTXEQJk5A46D2QaeJMLTjrNWPrw= |
| 1959 | PRIMARY | the near destruction of the first full human specimen we have ever found— |
| 1960 | PRIMARY | uTPvvvLM6SBO4osPtORV8T4Wy0yfuLAbfwzj5kZte/o= |
| 1961 | PRINCIP | dedicated to the purpose of stopping |
| 1962 | PRIMARY | But I ran his report through sims, and was surprised by how common the actual result turned out to be. |
| 1963 | PRIMARY | What does that say about us, the Process? |
| 1964 | PRINCIP | this horrific cycle. |
| 1965 | PRIMARY | That a thoroughly trained, exemplary officer would skew so far astray and try to destroy something so precious? |
| 1966 | PRIMARY | To take our fate into his own hands? |
| 1967 | PRINCIP | And we get not only to serve, |
| 1968 | PRIMARY | O8cjGCGc82hvV8XZkVAvOwU0RGkSTAW5C4yOgAY9tQJkd5F4Bg7I0z3mQx1KLunq |
| 1969 | PRIMARY | EcVALgDq/MsNl3JWpg8WPtRvWu2U/LTuAjN8VvyWWJttaj/vOqqmVBAxsZ8L4M87 |
| 1970 | PRINCIP | /DmvWv7PWAvrXwt4Ks5lfA== |
| 1971 | PRIMARY | ctnnr7P/52UXdzCsQeX8JukffgI88pjQpUBXLy6vo+1eSYU/6J0y5qmjGY8cVUaP0Ie8ypf8DIS6rIkQNYBiG/5f06Wl7Kx+vjOFfUkuglJ1wuUANL1CrYxf4gZP8t5DFHCHpIFnT+L3dyp4r9Q7qQ== |
| 1972 | PRIMARY | XQ7cjTMp1p2xU0l0hDKib07cz3lHtjQTbRvTSxM1XzgHKuDByFe1wqhMv0m0v01fe173Kwa1b/h7jtHnmAPi/g== |
| 1973 | PRINCIP | our own lives, |
| 1974 | PRIMARY | I spend my time closeted in my meeting virtualisation along with the rest of the Fleet commanders. |
| 1975 | PRIMARY | The graceful room, full of sunlight, is crowded with wall-walkers— |
| 1976 | PRINCIP | admiring beauty, |
| 1977 | PRIMARY | 8UcTWL+KCul/0W5zgO8UWmtwF7qBlluBzXB3A5HRBrveN25PsSjB1yaO8e7s5axkQIqctXATxByBFkYYyTYkCyBT4wnXenk0VqGy788IBWJfcSimnF+4Crji6m7MO2F9QF7v5vgtkxZmhfH/vnKHKcLV5JxJSm76lk6jn/sSyBY= |
| 1978 | PRIMARY | nnwqkfZcH3RZfCLQJR2lDAF15kYxYllFEADeIM2tYR7X+bVj9MI3EvXj7wzgxUuk6G1Wuiv/EkqsQGpQ5NUSzwAi18hk26cC8KvMR+Raygw= |
| 1979 | PRINCIP | recognising accomplishment, |
| 1980 | PRIMARY | That is our strategy to rescue the humans. |
| 1981 | PRIMARY | Last cycle I was woken by my current beloved, Symbolist, the intense, frenetic statistician |
| 1982 | PRINCIP | and celebrating friendship. |
| 1983 | PRIMARY | who persuaded her way onto the team. |
| 1984 | PRIMARY | 2fksrgT0nVjnRapC0S/vkxd7OnV5bwacEmQyuUU6E2eA4qSlw6yR74DWLu2VupTOAFWmZKKO9zunNaSSBYCon7sTyObQIQwytSW5yiOnzdFaZuzuwCwT/almZO3m+CINv4KJbtH+WlTg3COO5lOprA== |
| 1985 | PRINCIP | ZGfGOkcYm5jBQ9KXMWSV7hsFU7wvL0rKSmDwp0E+DsI= |
| 1986 | PRIMARY | There are two thousand of them. |
| 1987 | PRIMARY | 3/tVGsLOU0xLNGnrdROdK/njNnLwXqVJZ/UCpoGPbNQYjMFgvihp/ZzzFc6LChwxiOMqXKFVWE6iKa1j6JjWoA== |
| 1988 | PRIMARY | dsCxZy2bvKeegbimyQGNT0qCfM96Icb47u72lhi1TW2YUynQiX2zYp1MwkIlbnmAdfMDZLkAWgR4sLBg/ZenJ9ZqtJvGDavOoI2JG4s4Sh0= |
| 1989 | PRIMARY | Mixed in with our sense of victory is a quiet, constant horror. |
| 1990 | PRIMARY | The humans, not content with destroying their own world, have multiplied beyond imagination. |
| 1991 | PRIMARY | How many planets will they poison? |
| 1992 | PRIMARY | The Process knows enough about humanity to find them, to plan, to strategise their Rescue. |
| 1993 | PRIMARY | But a hair further, and we might lose our way. |
| 1994 | PRIMARY | I will not rest until we find the humans with uncountable fleets, and save them from themselves. |
| 1995 | PRIMARY | We are the Process. |
| 1996 | PRIMARY | We've trained for this. |
| 1997 | PRIMARY | We've drilled. We've simmed. |
| 1998 | PRIMARY | We've located the trail. Now, it is time to put an end to their destructive tendencies—forever. |
| 1999 | PRIMARY | We found them.*** |
// TRANSMISSION END...