Original Archive - IAS Chapter 34

THX accesses its memory banks for any analysis done by the archaelogical robots it helped to program on the nature of the black rock and the cube system. OOC: does THX know the answers to these questions?

supreme_arbiter 3/4/2006

IAS turn 4 - Cubed

"Wowza!" said Irsa as she looked around. She moved closer to the black rock. "THX-1492, what is this black rock made of?"

THX accessed its memory banks. "Basalt."

"It's a made thing, right?"

"Correct."

"And why is it in the shape of cubes?"

THX searched for analysis done by the archaelogical robots but found nothing. "Analysis unknown. Cubes exposed at the bottom of this pit shortly before I was activated. I shut down soon after work restarted."

Irsa flapped her wings. Her feet lifted from the mud and she flew into the pit just west of them. Curious patterns were carved in relief around the top of the largest cube. A portal opened into an inner room. Light streamed in through two similar openings. She flew inside. The stone floor on which she landed was clean and dry. More patterns ran along the walls inside. A strange script scrolled along the top of the dark, stone walls. It was clearly a language, but unlike anything Irsa had ever seen before.

Area layout: The characters are at the bottom of a very deep (but wide) pit. The remains of the dropship are to the south. There is a large hill as tall as the pit is deep to the north of the pit. Characters other than Irsa, Becka and THX can see through THX's video feed and speak to them through the comm devices.

end transmission

supreme_arbiter 3/4/2006

IAS Poll

This poll is NOT closed, just interpreted :)

Two people responded privately. There have been six responses, evenly tied between every two and three weeks. Some of the people that replied 'every 2 weeks' haven't posted for their characters: I'm not sure what to make of that :)

From now on I'll post a new turn every two weeks if we have a quorum of 3 players posting, otherwise I will post a new turn three weeks after the last one.

Katkin_Kalvin (John) 3/5/2006

Two people responded privately. There have been six responses, evenly tied between every two and three weeks. Some of the people that replied 'every 2 weeks' haven't posted for their characters: I'm not sure what to make of that :)

Umm, yeah.....

Sorry about that. Real Life has been seriously intruding on my game time and I have been unable to keep up with my email. Hopefully on Thursday, I'll have time to sit down and post something.....

From now on I'll post a new turn every two weeks if we have a quorum of 3 players posting, otherwise I will post a new turn three weeks after the last one.

Sounds good to me :)

gglassdr 3/5/2006

Real life has been fairly rough on me the past few weeks as well. I just posted a question from THX-1492 about the cube structure.

supreme_arbiter 3/5/2006

Real life has been fairly rough on me the past few weeks as well.

Aye, and me as well. I was glad to have had such a brief turn 4 :)

I just posted a question from THX-1492 about the cube structure.

Yes, sorry. It was a good question, too. I implied the answer in turn 4 but I could have been more explicit. THX knows little about the cubes because he was only online at this site for a short time. When THX booted, the general purpose robots had only just exposed them. They broke the basalt masonry in places, even damaging some of the carved relief work. THX installed archeology software and work commenced. The only analysis is that they were clearly made by an alien intelligence.

THX does know this: The six pack of cubes that line the western trench are all solid. The large cube on the bottom right has a hollow space inside it the size of the room in the large central cube.

supreme_arbiter 3/5/2006

Oh, and one other thing: Besides the exposed ones depicted in the map I provided, THX knows there are many other stone structures still buried beneath the soil.

Also, I think I goofed way back when THX started by saying the ruins looked exactly like they did when THX last rebooted. That was in error, sorry. The first time THX booted since leaving Eridani, the stone cubes had only just been exposed. He was online for less than a single work day (which for a robot is no more than 24 hours ;) He installed software for the general purpose robots, confirmed their work had begun successfully then shutdown. When THX rebooted (at the beginning of Chapter 29: Down the Rabbit Hole) the excavation had exposed the structures visible on the map I provided.

That's all he knows internally, i.e. without an external source of information...

Elizabeth 3/6/2006

Irsa looks around thoughtfully at the cubes. "So there used to be some kind of people here before all of us on the Warden got here. Wonder if they might be the demons someone mentioned ealier?" Irsa says thinking aloud. "Let's check out the ship you first came in so you can make your report, THX. Maybe they know more now." Irsa says to THX.

mauriciopeal 3/12/2006

Drake

Some of the people that replied 'every 2 weeks' haven't posted for their characters

That's why I answered twice a week. With something new every three days you can respond with something interesting constantly

supreme_arbiter 3/13/2006

Irsa looks around thoughtfully at the cubes. "So there used to be some kind of people here before all of us on the Warden got here. Wonder if they might be the demons someone mentioned ealier?"

OOC: Someone was listening :)

Meanwhile on the lifeboat, half a world away: Bud went to the galley and read the container on the counter, 'Hot Joe Now (tm) - Powdered'. "Oh well," he thought, "It's better than nothing." He nuked a cup of water and added the powdered coffee straight with no sweetener, just the way he liked it. (OOC: did I guess right? ;)

He joined the other crewmembers in the rec room and watched a movie. Several hours later the call came over the comm device: the away team had reached the excavation. "Shooby Doobie," he said into the comm and headed for the cockpit. He was still a little intoxicated but he was wide awake from the coffee.

In the cockpit, Nike was watching THX's video feed from the excavation. THX said something to Irsa. Bud was shocked. "Hey cap'n, how is it we can see live video from half a world away?"

"THX gave me a channel through a comm satellite," Nike explained.

Bud looked more confused than before. "Doesn't anyone think it odd that the locals are yokels but they have a global communication system!"

OOC: I changed the beginning of THX's chapter 29 'Down the Rabbit Hole' so that this was its first view upon rebooting:

It was in the middle of one of the ancient buildings the team of general purpose robots had been excavating. Much more of the structure was revealed than THX remembered from when it was last online. Back then the first structures had only just been exposed.

OOC: Oh, and one final thing. As long as I'm trying to be consistent ;) Since THX knew a few things about the Alexandria's mission and the messages she'd received from Eridani, there are a couple of other things THX would know. The GM passes a note to George...

gglassdr 3/14/2006

THX-1492 answers Irsa. "Analysis complete: On the western edge of the trench are six cubes that are solid objects which has a 82.4% probability of being artificially constructed........................

THX-1492 then very uncharacteristically pauses, sudders slightly and makes a buzzing noise. Then a narrative from long ago begins:

"Here begins the personal journal dictated personally by Aralwith Pyr Jamar, Captain of the Rescue Ship Alexandria, second in rank to Captain Lynn Margulis of the Warden. I sincerely hope that this recorded journal survives me and that those of humanity who follow us may learn from our mistakes.

May 3, 2336: The end of a long and disastrous journey has become the beginning of another, hopefully more successful expedition. Three weeks ago the interstellar colony ship Warden finally arrived at her destination, 82 Eridani. En route, she had been badly damaged by radiation. All crew and passengers were killed and communication systems were destroyed. If it hadn't been for the Alpha Sequence, the Warden may never have arrived at all. It was designed for a catastrophic event such as the Warden had experienced. Radiation killed many Alpha Sequence clones, and those who were revived from cryosleep, but we still managed to take control of the Warden and bring her safely to Eridani. Captain Lynn Margulis sent me as an ambassador to the settlement at Eridani. I took with me lieutenant Ken Matahachi, astrogator Amrit Singh, engineer Mike Benalidino and doctor Marie Batiste. When we landed on the planet's surface, we were told the Warden was leaving orbit. Our welcoming ceremony quickly became a debriefing on the details of the Warden disaster. Over the next few days, the Warden's trajectory became clear. She was headed out of the Eridani system entirely. The fledgling settlements at Eridani were unprepared for such an unlikely event. They only had two ships in orbit. The Congress at New Alexandria decided to retrofit their colony ship, the Alexandria, as a rescue ship. The retrofitting took several weeks. 39 other men and women from the settlement were hastily selected. Our mission is to secure the Warden and return her to Eridani. We will use an Earth calendar to track mission time.

May 5, 2336: The Alexandria has left orbit and is on course for the Warden. The Warden is still accelerating and probably will be for the duration of the chase, which I suspect will last several months. The Alexandria has been outfitted with a new reactor that will give the Warden a run for her money. We are................

The robot shudders again, buzzes and his metallic voice returns:

"In the southeast corner is a large hollow cube. Its area is 99.2% of the area of the room in the large central cube. Density analysis indicates a 97.4% probability of a very large number of hidden structures buried below."

Elizabeth 3/14/2006

Irsa regards THX-1492's odd replay of an ancient journal. This just adds more mystery to the story of Warden, she thinks. "THX, were you aware just now that you recited a journal entry from long ago? And are you okay?" Irsa asks a bit timidly.

gglassdr 3/14/2006

THX-1492's visual circuits lock onto Irsa with an "_expression" that those who were watching would swear that if the robot were human would be an _expression of being seriously insulted.

"All circuits nominal. No transmission or transplay of unauthorized recorded documentation possible with this unit. All programs functioning at optimal capacity. All electronic and computational resources prioritized to maximal efficiency towards successful conclusion of priority one programming as dictated by UWSC High Command authorities.

Repetition for emphasis is warranted: repeat: No transmission or transplay of unauthorized.............."

shudder..............buzzzz................

................has been outfitted with a new reactor that will give the Warden a run for her money. We are gaining on her, but a stern chase is a long, tedious affair, especially in space. Everyone but Marie, Amrit and I are hibernating in cryochambers.

May 19, 2336: We've made up 5% of the distance between us and the Warden. I have ordered Marie and Amrit to go into hibernation. Their chambers are set to revive them upon reaching the Warden, remote command from Eridani, or manual override.

May 23, 2336: The ship is as quiet as a tomb. There's not much work to be done. The ship is on autopilot. I've been listening to music to keep company, Gentle Giant mostly. Last night, as I lay awake trying to get to sleep, I started thinking about my parents. I remembered my father's ranch on Warden Level 7. I remembered horses, cows, chickens, pigs and even peacocks. It was a peaceful place. He and my mother died when the radiation killed everyone on the Warden, including myself. Since I'm an Alpha clone, my few memories are precious to me. I can't wait to see Lynn again.

June 6, 2336: We've made up 10% of the distance to the Warden. The Warden's course has not changed. We're coming Lynn. I'll see you soon.

July 18, 2336: 25% of the way to the Warden. There's still no change in course. The Alexandria is terribly...................................

...................buzz.............shudder.....................................

".................of unauthorized recorded documentation possible with this unit. All programs functioning at optimal capacity. All electronic and computational resources prioritized to maximal efficiency towards successful conclusion of priority one programming as dictated by UWSC High Command authorities. This unit functions at 100% optimal capacity during active utilization time periods."

Elizabeth 3/14/2006

"Well okay if you say so. Let's look around the site of those black rocks and see if the other robots found any bodies or sleletons of the builders of this place." Irsa says, not wanting to upset THX-1492. "I wonder who made this place and why." Irsa says aloud and wonders about that and the mysterious journal entries THX is reciting periodically.

gammaben 3/15/2006

Percy

[OOC:] I know I've read the name "Aralwith Pyr Jamar" before. Google search turned up nothing. But I know I've read it before�hey zhaxier, here's a guess, does the short story "Last One" star Mr. Jamar? I'm pretty sure Aralwith was the scientist in that story you wrote back in high school. So now the question is, ruling out complete cosmic coincidence, where did the two of you (supreme_arbiter, zhaxier) first see that name? Sorry if I just uncovered a secret conspiracy! :)

And I'm also sorry to be behind in posting in character for the game. Percy's due for a big Waaaaaitaminute after THX-1492's latest diary reading!!! I'll try to catch up soon. It takes a bit longer to put on the Percy hat than the OOC hat....

supreme_arbiter 3/15/2006

where did the two of you (supreme_arbiter, zhaxier) first see that name? Sorry if I just uncovered a secret conspiracy! :)

Yes we conspired. It wasn't the first time, and hopefully not the last. As for Aralwith's identity (past and future) I'll leave that up to Z :)

Zhaxier Cole 3/16/2006

[[gammaben]] I know I've read the name "Aralwith Pyr Jamar" before. Google search turned up nothing. But I know I've read it before�hey zhaxier, here's a guess, does the short story "Last One" star Mr. Jamar? I'm pretty sure Aralwith was the scientist in that story you wrote back in high school.

[[OOC]] Good memory! The name is blatant homage to the (anti)hero of my first published short story. One day I'll put it online.

[[gammaben]] So now the question is, ruling out complete cosmic coincidence, where did the two of you (supreme_arbiter, zhaxier) first see that name?

[[OOC]] I made it up, of course. When it became necessary to include the ML character in IAS, I provided the full name to the GM.

supreme_arbiter 3/19/2006

Turn 4.5

Irsa walked along the trench west of where THX and Becka stood. She walked between the dark stone cubes jutting out of the muddy soil. There were no bodies or skeletons. There weren't even any statues. There were only the strange, incomprehensible patterns carved into the rocks. Irsa walked back the way she came.

A warm tropical rain suddenly fell. It splashed on THX's transparent dome. Becka raised her umbrella over her head.

OOC: I don't really have a page in the archive where all the maps are collected. They currently reside either on the Lifeboat page or in the individual chapters (currently 32). So here's a recap of our maps:

The lifeboat
The location where the Lifeboat is (Large)
The location where the Lifeboat is (Medium)
The trip across the ocean to the excavation site
The excavation site (the ruined dropship is to the south)

Elizabeth 3/19/2006

Irsa looked up at the falling water. It seemed to come from the dark clouds above. She remembered that on the ship in the areas with sprinklers, a dark cloud picture would form to let folks know the water was about to come down. So dark clouds brought falling water. Irsa was pleased with figuring out part of the puzzle of how a planet worked. Then realizing she was also getting wet, Irsa sought shelter in one of the nearby cubes, urging Becka and THX to join her inside.

gglassdr 3/21/2006

THX-1492 follows Irsa into the cube to get out of the rain.

gammaben 3/23/2006

Percy

[[OOC: Stand by for another mega-post. I gotta keep up better! Those reading the adventure should have no problem inserting Percy's past actions into the past posts. Apologies to the archiver for the extra retconactive work!]]

"So, Drake. Tell us about yourself." Percy said to the newcomer, Drake, after Nike showed him the cabins. "So what you did on Warden, and why did you get off her?" Without pausing to let Drake answer, Percy continued. "As for me, well you know sort of the story that Nike told you, of our short life on Warden, how we got chased off, and what we're doing here. My previous... life..." Percy struggled to say, still not completely comfortable with himself being the nth incarnation of the original Percy Jenkins, "...was pretty exciting. Technical crew training, computer repair, drinking lots of coffee. Speaking of coffee, I found some, and, uh, do you drink coffee? Pick yourself a spot to rest your head and meet me in the mess hall. I wanna hear all about it, er, you."

Secretly, Percy wondered if Drake had had a run in with the Watcher. Or Zhaxier, for that matter. He made entry into his room with a wave to Drake later, leaving him in the cabin hallway. He locked the door behind him with a frustrating combination of voice, badge and keypad punches he swore he would need to redesign, and went to the computer station. He started to look up any information he could find in the ship's database about 'DRAKE'. Then he realized he only had a description and a first name. He'd have to refine his search later. He punched in 'BECKA' and 'IRSA' into the comptuer as well. Sure, they most likely came from Warden, but as Percy had an interest in data mining dating back to the days of his college career, or rather, his original self's college years, he wanted to know all he could about them.

Then the anal retentive part of him took over. He opened up a file for notes, and keyed in the names of all the crewmembers he had encountered in just the short amount of time he had been alive as a clone:

WARDEN CREW

NIKE THOMASON
ZHAXIER COLE
CHELYDRA JACKSON
AMANDA FLOCKHART
GREGORY
ARKADY M.
BUD ASOODA
STUART BAILY
CALEB
BECKA
DRAKE

He had considered putting Rufus and Sharneste ("Rest in peace!") on his list, and Irsa as well, but realized they were probably sentient mutated animals that weren't originally crewmember clones, and therefore the database would not have any information about them.

Had he forgotten anyone? He laughed out loud in spite of himself. The irony! Now he was worried he was forgetting his recent recollections, when he finally head become used to not remembering much about his original memories implanted into his cloned brain!

After he finished, he saved his file, locked the computer, and headed for the rec room in time to catch the movie Bud had loaded.

When Percy arrived, he poured himself some coffee and sat down to watch the movie with the others. It was an adaptation of the fifteenth book in the classic "The Dark Tower" series by Stephen King (written from notes supposedly discovered years after his death). "This should be entertaining," he informed the rest of the crew as the opening credits scrawled, "but I bet it won't be nearly as fascinating as the old 'Captain Hickman Adventures in Dimension Eight!'" His mouth froze and he blinked a few times. "Hey! I just remembered, I _LOVE_ the Dimension Eight books!"

Within minutes, he had fallen asleep in his chair. His lack of sleep had finally caught up with him. He was right on one count, anyway. The movie wasn't nearly fascinating enough (to keep him awake). Caffeinated coffee could only do so much for a body that hadn't slept--ever.

"Shooby Doobie" woke him up. He spilled his mostly cooled coffee all over his uniform, which was in desperate need of a cleaning, what with the scorch marks from the firefights on Warden, his jungle tromp as a wolfoid in the jungle dome, his trek in the sands of the planet, etc., etc. The movie was over and the auidence was heading out. "What?!" he said, picking up his coffee mug, setting it on the counter, and rushing after them. He followed Bud to the bridge, and listened and watched as the scene at the excavation site played out over the comm.

"Are we recording this?" he thought to say, and looked for controls to do just that.

"Doesn't anyone think it odd that the locals are yokels but they have a global communication system!" Bud asked.

"I wonder if their global communication system also includes a global defense system that likes to shoot at dropships!" he said, attempting to connect dots he guessed were there, and raising an eyebrow at Nike.

"Waitaminute," Percy said quickly, not giving the long drawn out version of his typical voila-tterance on account of his mind racing yet again. "Radio off," he said to be sure. Then, to Nike, he questioned, "Why'd none of us go with them?" By us, of course, he meant those who'd come planetside via Pandora as opposed to the relative newcomers who landed via escape pod. "I mean, do we really trust the unearthing of the secrets of the planet to the new guys?"

Sure he should trust Warden crewmembers. But there was only one former cloned crewmember there and Becka had only spent a short time acquainting herself with the "original" crew and the mission. This he explained to Nike during a video-only moment. Before he could expound his worry, THX-1492 had played a recording and denied its existence moments later.

"Whoa," Percy said, slumping into his station at the Post-It(TM) console. The mention of Captain Margulis stirred something in his brain. He tried to remember, but he couldn't.

He rubbed his eyes and yawned, and continued to watch the video feed. He soon got distracted with the idea of trying to back trace the signal to see if he could plot the satellites in orbit, and to find out what he could about them.

supreme_arbiter 3/26/2006

IAS turn 5 - Rising Tide

Percy's computer search for 'DRAKE' resulted in no entries. He punched in 'BECKA' and 'IRSA' as well. There were a few dozen Rebeccas but no Irsas. None of the Rebeccas looked anything like Becka.

The computer processed Percy's list of names. It took few moments of heuristic processing to guess the correct spelling and for Percy to match the proper faces, but soon he had a list of dossiers:

Captain Nike Thomason: Marines/Tech/Field Forces
Chelydra Jackson: Lieutenant/Security
Zhaxier Cole: Propulsion Engineer
Amanda Flockheart: Mathematics
Arkady Dmitrivich: Dropship Pilot/Tech/Astronautics
Gregory Powell: Tech/Robotics
Bud Asuda: Counterinsurgent/Security
Stewart Bailey: Tech
Caleb La Trans: Dropship Pilot/Artillery

[OOC:] The computer has more information, perhaps even more than one would like a stranger to be reading, but none of the information serves my purpose for the moment. If anyone would like to use this information as a means to 'jump start' their clone's memory, you are free to do so. BTW characters that aren't on this list are not clones (or original crewmembers as in the case of Bud and Bailey), they are Warden natives. Their ancestors may have been Alpha clones or original crewmembers or passengers that survived.

----------------------------------------------

At the Excavation Site:

Becka came running down the muddy slope into the large dark cube and joined THX and Irsa. The rain struck the stone roof above them with a fast, rhythmic tattoo. Becka washed the mud from her shoes in the rain water that washed into their shelter. A steady stream of water was coming into the pit. The stone floor was inundated by an inch or two of muddy water and steadily rising.

end transmission

[OOC:] I still owe Percy another post regarding his attempt to back trace the comm satellite... Coming soon to an email client near you!

Elizabeth 3/26/2006

Irsa looks at the rising water and realizes they can't stay here much longer if the rain doesn't quit soon. "Um, my mistake folks. We should seek the high ground instead. I don't like getting wet much but I like getting stuck in this mud even less. Back up the ramp and be careful THX and Becka." Irsa says leading the way.

Mumbling to herself as she flies quickly up the ramp "Drainage, I forgot about draining water always going down."

stacinator 3/27/2006

Re: IAS poll

I know it's late, but my vote is for once or twice monthly.

Sorry for the extended absence! I'm spending my morning catching up so I can get into the IAS groove once again.

stacinator 3/27/2006

Bud looked more confused than before. "Doesn't anyone think it odd that the locals are yokels but they have a global communication system!"

"Yes, I find it very odd. I find many things about this entire situation odd, to tell you the truth, and I'm not sure that all the information we are receiving is correct." Nike said, still staring at the feed. Her eyes crinkled at the sides, as if thinking very hard, and yet the eyes themselves were piercing and interrogative. Bud wasn't sure how he knew, but he didn't have to be told that she was skeptical. He could see that she did not trust what she was seeing and hearing in her face.

stacinator 3/27/2006

May 5, 2336: The Alexandria has left orbit and is on course for the Warden. The Warden is still accelerating and probably will be for the duration of the chase, which I suspect will last several months. The Alexandria has been outfitted with a new reactor that will give the Warden a run for her money. We are................

"Bud, did you see that?" Nike demanded, her voice tense.

stacinator 3/27/2006

July 18, 2336: 25% of the way to the Warden. There's still no change in course. The Alexandria is terribly...................................

"Holy shit, it just did it again." Nike said, now convinced that something in those ruins was amiss.

"THX, we have video confirmation that you are playing back a journal entry and yet unaware of it. Can you access the playback feed so that you can see it yourself?"

stacinator 3/27/2006

"Waitaminute," Percy said quickly, not giving the long drawn out version of his typical voila-tterance on account of his mind racing yet again. "Radio off," he said to be sure. Then, to Nike, he questioned, "Why'd none of us go with them?"

"None of my original crew went with them, because they are expendable and you are not." Nike replied, without hint of apology.

stacinator 3/27/2006

OOC: Thanks for your patience Paul!

IC:

None of this felt right. Who the hell was Drake, and how did he just waltz in? Why was THX acting so strangely amid the ruins, and if these "demons" could change their appearance and shape to lure unsuspecting Rota, could the man who shut down THX all those years ago have really been a "demon" trying to get THX out of the way? And what was present in that cavern that altered his ability to function properly?

"Caleb, I need you in here." Nike said over the comm.

"Chelydra, I need you as well," she said quickly.

Off-comm she continued, "Percy, can we do a long range scan of the elemental components of that cavern?"

publius1024 3/27/2006

I was sad to learn that Stanislaw Lem died today. He was 84 years old. He was arguably the greatest science fiction writer since H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, greater perhaps since he wrote about themes and subjects that are more relevant to contemporary readers. His ability to dramatically convey philosophy and a sense of mystery have had a profound effect on me and what I think science fiction is capable of.

IAS has no fewer than three homages to Lem. The Terminus character is cut whole clothe from a short story in 'Tales of Pirx the Pilot'; the begining of Chapter 31 where Caleb is falling in the escape pod was an homage to the first chapter of 'Solaris'; the flight of the Alexandria, that the characters are only just beginning to learn about, is taken in part from 'Fiasco'. This isn't much of a spoiler because if you were to read this book (it's one of my favorites!) you'd find it's sometimes ambigious (as are many of Lem's tales). 'Fiasco' is about a journey to a distant star and contact with an alien race, but it leaves the reader with more questions than answers.

Fortunately Lem left us with a large body of work, many as yet untranslated into English (Polish was his first language).

Goodbye Lem, you will be missed.

supreme_arbiter 4/2/2006

"None of my original crew went with them, because they are expendable and you are not." Nike replied, without hint of apology.

LoL :)

"Caleb, I need you in here." Nike said over the comm. "Chelydra, I need you as well"

"We're here," Chelydra said as he entered the bridge with Caleb.

Off-comm she continued, "Percy, can we do a long range scan of the elemental components of that cavern?"

"Nah, they're 14,000 kilometers away. If we were in orbit we might be able to, but not from here."

Percy rubbed his eyes and yawned, and continued to watch the video feed. He soon got distracted with the idea of trying to back trace the signal to see if he could plot the satellites in orbit, and to find out what he could about them.

Percy scanned his console. A Post-It™ on which he had written a casually remembered name suddenly sparked his developing neurons. "Waaaiitaminute!" he exclaimed, returning to his old habits. "I know what a 'packet sniffer' is for! Nike, what channel are we using to access that comm satellite?"

Nike showed him the channel and Percy went to work. Less than a minute later, he leaned back in his chair and laughed, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"What is it?" Nike asked.

"This channel isn't encrypted and neither are its signal headers. Each signal packet is being sent with a username 'admin' and a password of 'password'! It's a newbie mistake." Percy typed away at his computer. He opened a secure shell to the satellite channel address and tried the username and password. He held his breath while he waited for the computer to respond. Several seconds passed before a prompt displayed on his terminal window. He smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a satellite!"

"No way, really?" Bailey asked.

"Really. Let's see what we have here," Percy replied as he continued typing. He checked the log files. He looked first at the most recent entries. They were all from user 'THX-1492'. They were routed through satellites 'MENSAT1' through 'MENSAT6'. Percy worked backwards through the log and found a single transmission that originated from 'Warden Crew'. It had been sent only a few hours ago.

Percy retrieved a backup copy of the 'Warden Crew' transmission and played it. The crew in the bridge heard the sound of Bud's voice over the speakers saying, "I've got something," then feedback distorted the signal. The message ended. It was very short.

Percy continued to search through the logs. Before the message from 'Warden Crew', there were regular transmissions from a user called 'Alexandria'. They occured at regular intervals and consisted of nothing more than a simple 'keep alive' transmission to keep the connection open.

Percy noticed something unusual about the dates each transmission had been sent. For instance, the most recent transmission was dated '304.189 07:45:23'. They counted down to '304.001 02:00:00' which was an 'Alexandria' transmission sent long before the transmission from 'Warden Crew'. The next previous was '303.282 23:00:00'. He scrolled all the way to the beginning of the log file and found the first number went all the way back to the high 290's. Before that, the log file contained a reboot notification but nothing else.

-end transmission-

gglassdr 4/2/2006

"Captain Nike, biological unit memory systems are only 23% accurate compared to robotic memory systems whose accuracy approaches 97.3% under normal working conditions given a 0.48% daily breakdown rate. It is likely since Captain Nike is not technologically trained in robotic disciplines, that she does not know this information. However your request will be honored......................Accessing playback feed.........................Analyzing.............................Working conditions nominal................................Wait......................Unknown feed...................Whirrr.......................Click......................Buzz........."

..........................The Alexandria is terribly lonely. I think I may go mad if I stay awake much longer. I will be entering hibernation in a few minutes. My cryochamber has the same awaken parameters as Marie and Amrit's.

September 6, 2555: I can't believe it. I've been asleep for 267 years! I was first to awaken. I'm still recovering from hibernation. I've started the thawing process for Mike and Amrit. They will be awake soon. The logs report an error occurred when the ship's engines were throttled down on September 19th, 2336. The transmitter, remote computer access and the visual sensors were all damaged. The Alexandria has been flying blind ever since. We'd almost caught up with the Warden, but there's no visual record of her after the damage occurred. The Alexandria's lasercomm receiver still works. We've continued receiving narrowband, lasercomm transmissions from Eridani.

September 7, 2555: As if things weren't bad enough, the transmissions from Eridani included some terrible news. In a message the Alexandria received in 2342, Eridani reported asteroid movers had been dispatched to redirect a group of erratic asteroids. They lost radio contact. The first asteroid struck Buffalo, New York on April 17th, 2322. Communications with Earth were instantly disrupted. Tons of debris left the atmosphere, but rained back down to earth. Several other asteroids struck Luxembourg and Manchuria before dark clouds of soot and toxic chemicals obscured the surface. Other asteroids struck Earth but the impact locations were unknown because of the dark clouds. Nitrogen oxides in the stratosphere wiped out the ozone layer. Carcinogens, radiation, acid rain and the complete blocking of the sun's rays caused widespread death and misery on the Earth's surface. Rescue missions were sent. Later transmissions from Eridani explained that within a month of the Earth disaster, Mars was also struck by asteroids. Life on her surface had always been tenuous. The damage to her cities and orbital power plants caused the thorough collapse of the Martian settlements. Refugee ships from Mars and the mining outposts returned to Earth. Solar civilization withered in the absence of supplies. The last community survived until 2327 under martial law imposed by premier Toranaga. Their last message was a priority code Alpha-Omega: 'ensure the survival of the human race'. Our mission to save the Warden is now more important than ever.

September 8, 2555: Mike has completed repairs on our visual sensors. We can now see we've safely reached a star system. Mike will have the rest of our damaged systems working soon. The damage was caused by

.............................buzz......................click....................whirr.................Analysis complete, Captain Nike. No unknown or unauthorized memories or playbacks detected by this unit. Perhaps Captain Nike's systems are in need of rest?"

Elizabeth 4/2/2006

Irsa listens to THX recite more of the journal. Whispering into her comm she says the following "Everytime he checks himself out he repeats more of that journal. But he can't remember doing it, reciting I mean."

Katkin_Kalvin (John) 4/6/2006

If anyone would like to use this information as a means to 'jump start' their clone's memory, you are free to do so.

Yes, Caleb would like to see his personal information.

supreme_arbiter 4/9/2006

Turn 6 - Derelict Duty

Caleb looked around the bridge and noticed Arkady was absent. He sat down at Arkady's station and looked at the computer monitor. The interface was familiar to him. He searched around and found a page of data on Caleb Latrans and began reading. Single, no relatives aboard, no next of kin listed, place of birth New York, USA. There were multiple memory and genetic recordings listed between 2290 to 2337. Caleb's residential address was listed as being somewhere on level 9.

-------------------------------------------

Irsa flew south toward the overgrown cliff and the ancient dropship. THX-1492 stomped through the underbrush behind her. The dropship ahead was covered with plants and trees and had merged with the cliff behind it. Vines and branches hung off its hull and wings. A cascade of water flowed off the top forming a thin sheet like a waterfall. Irsa flew beneath a broad branch that diverted the runoff and protected her from getting too wet. Beneath the shadow of the dropship, the ground was mostly dry. She landed on her feet and looked up at the vine covered gangplank that led up into the dark underbelly of the ship. She turned to see THX standing behind her, but Becka wasn't there.

Becka still stood back at the excavation, watching them. She clung to her umbrella and trembled. "Hurry up, Becka! It's dry here," Irsa shouted. Becka just nodded her head. Irsa wondered what to do for a moment. "THX, stay here. I'll be right back." Irsa flew back into the rain toward Becka.

As she drew near, Irsa could see she was clearly terrified. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"There's death in there."

"How do you know that?"

"I've seen this place before. I saw it in a dream, when I fell asleep on that ship in the sand."

"I understand," Irsa replied, "but we have to investigate. It's the reason we came all this way. Will you wait for us in the car?"

Becka nodded and allowed Irsa to lead her to the underground car port. Irsa worried about the water that was pooling inside, but it wasn't any higher than it had been in the other cavern, maybe even a little less. "Besides", she said to herself, "these machines are much higher."

Becka climbed in and Irsa, convinced that Becka was out of sight and safe, flew back into the rain toward the dropship. She landed near THX and the two of them started climbing up the gangplank.

Inside, the plant life penetrated a little ways into a small corridor. By the little light that filtered through the open gangplank, Irsa saw the short corridor ended after about 15 meters and branched to the right and left.

Meanwhile, Becka removed her mud soaked boots and put them on the floor of the otherwise clean aircar. Her jacket was drenched but otherwise clean. She removed it and laid it on the dashboard to dry. She realized she had left her book in the jacket's spacious pockets. She removed the book and was glad to see it was perfectly dry. She opened it and read the cover page. 'Or the Modern' was all she could understand. The other words, 'Frankenstein' and 'Prometheus' were unknown to her. She interpreted the title to mean it was about present day life aboard the Warden.

She turned the pages excitedly. The only other books she had ever seen before were those that the village elders possessed. She had never owned her own book before.

"St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17--," the first few words read. Was Petersburgh a place on the Warden? She had never heard of it. Perhaps it was on one of the more distant levels or a hidden place. The rest made no sense to her whatsoever so she continued. "You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings," she continued happily reading as the rain fell on the stone roof above her.

end transmission

OOC: here is a map of the dropship THX-1492 and Irsa have entered. There is only one side of it depicted in this map because they approached it from the north side. The south side is entangled in the cliff and vegetation. The number '1' on the map indicates where the gangplank enters the ship.

stacinator 4/9/2006

Off comm, Nike addresses Chelydra and Caleb.

"Drake is a security risk. Monitor him; make sure he is not alone. He may be okay, but something about this whole "demon" situation smells like bullshit. I want to make sure the bullshit doesn't explode all over this bird. We like our feathers clean and tidy. So your main job, gentlemen, is to make for damn sure that no other unannounced guests make their way onto this ship. Do what you have to to make that happen, and I want it done yesterday."

Turning, on comm, "THX, you're absolutely right. My systems need a good long rest and rehab. However, my tall metalloid friend, you did it again. Request the landing party make general surveillance for next ten minutes and then report back for diagnostic evaluation."

Elizabeth 4/9/2006

"THX do you have a light source available?" Irsa asks as she searches her pack for a torch or flashlight. "I don't have nightvision and I'd rather see what's happening."

gglassdr 4/15/2006

THX turns on its illumination lamps in the direction that Irsa requests.

Elizabeth 4/15/2006

Irsa readies a spear and tells THX to have a weapon ready in case of trouble. Then Irsa checks both left and right at the T intersection. "I hope nothings hungry in here." Irsa says with false calm.

gglassdr 4/16/2006

As he is not equipped with weapons, THX readies his heavy duty grappling claws for action!

Katkin_Kalvin (John) 4/17/2006

He searched around and found a page of data on Caleb Latrans

That's "La Trans" ;)

and began reading. Single, no relatives aboard, no next of kin listed, place of birth New York, USA. There were multiple memory and genetic recordings listed between 2290 to 2337. Caleb's residential address was listed as being somewhere on level 9.

As Caleb sits and reads his personal information, a host of memories floods his mind. Memories of friends, work, the mutiny etc.

Katkin_Kalvin (John) 4/17/2006