This turn is a bit shorter than expected; we used the breakdown at
UWO (now fixed) as an excuse to collect our thoughts and clear out
the archives. There's still a lot of material here; we're thinking
of ways to control time flow in such a way as to let people be
more proactive than reactive, but nothing official is ready to
announce just yet.... in the meantime, just sit back and enjoy
the ride.
Players may resume posting moves immediately upon receipt of this turn,
but try to keep posts to a reasonable level (whatever that means). The
cut-off date for the next turn (Turn.92.02) will be midnight (your local
time) on Friday, March 6th.
One other warning: as Mike's dissertation deadline approaches, he's
going to start getting more snarly than usual. Please bear with him.
Mark, on the other hand, who is just normally snarly, probably won't
exhibit any different behavior than in the past. :^)
Thanks and enjoy....
- M&M
--------------8<---------------cut here--------------8<-----------------------
PBEM Turn 92.01a (831 lines) - THIS IS PART 1 OF 3.
=====================================================
**** CURRENT POSITION OF SHIPS ****
[This is as close to scale as 80-column ASCII will allow. ]
(Top View) Ring and Alcyon orbiting CCW as seen from here.
All ship positions and communications are calculated from the Alcyon
(unless otherwise noted).
Al = Alcyon
The following cluster of ships are positioned ~0.9 AU from Alcyon,
7.5 minutes each way for communication signals:
T = Trakh
S = Trakh Shuttle
P = Paladin
K = Kingfisher
Ta = Talisman
All of these ships are within a few light-seconds of each other
for purposes of round-trip communication signals. Note that the
Aurora is *ALMOST* within this group as well. Communication between
her and the other ships will have a lag of ~45 seconds.
>From the Alcyon, the other ships are positioned as follows:
W = Westwind, ~1.8 AU from Alcyon, 15 minutes each way for signals.
Ph = Phin shuttle, ~1.78 AU from Alcyon, 14.8 minutes each way for signals.
G = Gemini Arbiter ~0.9 AU from Alcyon, 7.5 min. each way for signals.
B = Bernoulli, ~1.5 AU from Alcyon, 12.5 min. each way for signals.
Au = Aurora, ~1.0 AU from Alcyon, 8.3 min. each way for signals.
X = Recently detected wreck in orbit around R-Alpha, ~1.4 AU from Alcyon,
11.8 min. each way for signals or scans.
W
Ph X
...........
.... ....
.
.
.
.
.
G .
.
.
.
.
Al .<------- 150 ------>*
. Million Km.
.
.
|______|______| .
0 50 100 .
Million Km. .
.
.
KTS .
Ta P .
Au .... ....
...........
B
=======================================================================
*** Dateline: 334-1119 [1501/Reaver's Deep] ***
=== R-Alpha ===
The mimp was dying.
There could be no question of that, Ayrlathi thought with a sigh.
It lay on a soft bed in his house, its wounds bathed and a few choked
gulps of cool water down its throat, but there was nothing more he
could do....
It never showed signs of regaining consciousness. It merely lay there,
every shuddering breath possibly its last. Help me, Ayrlathi prayed
silently. I ask for little, but the ability to do the impossible.
Help me save this mimp....
He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he almost missed the cries
of fright and wonder from outside. He turned as the door to his home
swung open, admitting the huge silver mantis that had brought the mimp
to the village, according to one of the local children. In one claw,
it carried the bags the mimp had been carrying.
Ayrlathi backed away from the bed, eyes averted in awe. Hearing the
story was one thing, but to SEE the creature--
"You have done well," the Mantis spoke in a shimmering voice, its
command of the Jijid tongue perfect--or was it an echo within
Ayrlathi's whirling head? "This creature's own kind are now able
to care for it. No doubt you have extended its lifespan sufficiently
to reach them in time, through your kindness. Your care in this time
of need will not be forgotten."
The air around it began to shimmer as it approached the bed. Ayrlathi
averted his eyes from the brightness. When he could open them again,
both mimp and Mantis were gone. Only the bloodstains on the bed gave
testimony to the fact that it hadn't been a dream.
"Thank you," Ayrlathi said softly to the empty air. "Thank you."
=== Kingfisher ===
Jan sits quietly at the battle dressing station aboard the Kingfisher.
Everything is ready in place. His vacc suit hood is out, ready for quick
donning. Nothing to do but watch the action evolve on the bridge and listen
to the radio traffic that gets patched through to the BDS.
His beeper, errrr, commdot, fires off. "Goddammit, I woulda thought that
there wasn't any call this far out of the Imperium." Then it dawns on him,
the only thing he had plugged into his toner was... "Bishop!". He hits
the ICS tone for communications.
"Communications, medical. My commdot just gave me an alert for Bishop's
Medical Berth. Ah, I don't know if you've got a line set up to them, but
something weird is happening in the Alcyon's sick bay. It seems the berth
has started a rewarming procedure. I would suggest that whatever virus
has hit the Aurora has hit the Alcyon, with the medcomp subsystem being
triggered. Our ride home could be in, ah, deep poo-poo. Could you advise
the Admiral?"
Jan pauses for a bit, "Sorry to dump this on you, but we seem to be missing
an XO for me to run it through, and radio traffic is your turf."
=== Phin Shuttle ===
Ian hops through the portal and, momentarily startled by the
cold humid air and lack of gravity, begins tumbling directly
toward the waiting Phins.
"Oh shit!" comes unbidden from his lips as he silently curses
himself:
* What a helluva great way to meet the natives. The contact
team's gonna skin me alive. Oh well. *
and then he begins to laugh out loud as he remembers how clearly
Phins can hear him thinking.
Grabbing the nearest Phin fin, Ian bumps to a stop and mutters
"thanks."
As he pauses to regain his composure, he enjoys a moments reverie.
* Wow! I'd really forgotten how _big_ Ferdie was. Or he's
grown a lot in the last twenty-five years. Must outweigh me
by a ton. It's amazing how it takes getting used to the
little differences in the dolphins -- Ferdie big and grey,
Hooper kind of brown or tan, and Doejin with his (her?)
bluish uppers. And his hair, so soft and yellow and fine...*
* Brr. I forgot how cold it seems when the wind chill sets in.
Better turn to. *
"Hold on just a second, please. I gotta get a helmet on before
I freeze and suffocate."
With his free hand, Ian fishes his folded helmet out of his coveralls
and slides it over his head. Then, releasing his other hand, he
fastens it into place. While slowly beginning to drift, he sets his
suit temperature, and visually takes inventory.
* hmm.. lessee, life support - no oxy backup, suit screens only,
power for 6.4 hours; suit intact, temperature control func-
tioning; snub pistol w/tranq, blade -- nice blade, glad I
remembered to stop by the armory on the way to the Tal' --;
sensors, passive suit monitors only; comms, suit radio working
(I hope). *
Setting the suit radio's frequency to general broadcast, and chinning
the transmit button, Ian speaks:
"Expedition, Thomas:
I'm on the Phin shuttle, with two native cetaceans. I am in good
health and my suit is working. The natives appear to be of the
_tursiops_ family and all seem to be friendly. I have no cameras,
vids, or sensors with me, so here's a quick verbal description:
Temperature here is about 18 Celsius, humidity about 120 percent.
No artificial gravity being used. Hard to see through the mist, but
as I move around I'll keep you posted. I'm going to try to communicate
with the Phins. Awaiting requests and intructions."
(No one hears him, of course. In his excitement, he forgot that his
radio couldn't possibly get through the skin of the Shuttle or reach
to the Talisman.)
Then, grabbing Ferdie by the dorsal fin,
* Okay. I'm set for about six hours. How 'bout a tour and
introductions? All this thinkin' at you is tiring. Any
questions I can answer before I wear out? *
To this, Ferdy replies,
* You want a tour of the shuttle? All right, keep hold of
my fin, then. Doejin, you don't need me for a while, do
you? *
After Ian's introduction (and learning about "shaking hands"), Doejin
says,
* Excuse me for a moment, Ian, I need to finish the rendevous
with the Westwind. *
He glides over to the pilot console and takes his place adjusting various
controls and ensuring proper ship alignment.
* Ferdy, feel free to show Ian around. Just keep his flukes
high and tight so we don't have an accident. We should reach
rendevous shortly and it looks like the otehr ships are getting
in position for landing on The Hoop. *
With a mental flick, Ferdy's skysuit begins to propel him slowly
and silently through the craft, with Ian trailing along.
=== Aurora ===
Dee-Dee-Dee-Dee-Dee! Will you look at her! Dee! She's like a
sunburst of bronze! There have never been such beautiful wings as
hers!
He rolled over and stooped in on her. Accelerating to where the wind
sang a sweet exciting song.
She saw him and went into a slow roll. For a breathtaking second she
flew inverted looking up at him. The way the light caught her eyes
could make you stall!
He closed the gap in seconds and threw his wings out wide and oblique.
A few meters above and behind her, his legs and tail flew on beneath
him and for a split second he was flying at right angles to his
direction of travel. The speed bled off rapidly in the natural
braking maneuver as he matched her course above her.
He tilted his wings down and got in even closer, synchronizing his
wing beats so he could get in closer without hitting her wings. He
reached out a taloned hand and caressed her back as she flew beneath
him.
Suddenly, she dove down away from him a few meters and rolled. She
flew inverted with her talons reaching out to him. Tweel watched for
a second that seemed an eternity before he dropped down and took her
talons in his.
She took a last powerful stroke and folded her wings.
Tweel followed her motions and they both began to plummet. The wind
screamed as they fell headlong. The glittering sea of the Jayelyan
desert rushed at them like a living thing.
He sang over the tornado...
Would you like to come up higherrr
wherre we two can fly around?
I can't believe you'rre happy
bein' sstuck herre on the ground!
If you like I'lll take you with me
wherre the air iss sso much lighterr,
And all you have to do iss hold me tighterrr.
Tighterr!
Tighterr!
Tighterrr!
........ .... ... .. .
Confusion... Target alarms screaming... Enclosure... Explosions...
Tweel read off the bearings to the Skipper... Targets bearing zero
niner two, mark three two five... Range five five thousand kilometers
Target identified... Four Zhodani Va class fighters... Second group
bearing three two three mark zero niner five, Range six seven thousand
Kilometers... Targets identified... Two Zhdits class escorts. All
targets closing....
Va class fighters closing at relative acceleration of 4.7 G's...
Zhdits escorts are closing at 5.3G's relative...
Tweel studied the nightmare sensor array... How did Chronor scramble
everything so fast?...
Suddenly the bridge shuddered, A hit...
"Bridge - Engineering: our jump drive's in shreds!"
A huge explosion smashed through the bridge... A HOLE in the plating
appeared right above Tweel's station...
........ .... .... ... .. .
*Jump grid capacitors discharged... Looks like fair winds...
Our last jump and we can get out of this human closet!* complained
Macin. *Jayelya needs more naval architects! If my theory is right, I'm
going to insist that the planetary development fund endow a chair for a
professor of naval archtecture to an Ael who can build ships for us...*
Tweel laughed, *Ssseya! That'd be a nice wind. I've spent too much
time in these human built ships. Even with the holoprojections, the lack of
wing room still blows me ill.*
*But still, Macin, how can you be sure that star's got what you
say it has? If it doesn't we're gonna have a storm trying to refuel and
fly home.*
Macin folded his wings uncomfortably at the thought *Karr... I'd
better go check the engines, if I'm wrong, we got a long way to flap home!*
*Ssseya! You got that right! I'll come aft in a minute and lend
you a talon.*
Tweel absorbed himself in the navigation plot. *All looking good...
We got fair winds to ride until..*
The universe turned GREY. Dimly, a sharp report sounded kilometers away in
the universe of GREY...
Time passed...
Or did it?
Was it time or the illusion of time? Hmmm... must think about that...
If I could think... Where am I? All GREY... Am I part of the GREY?
Have I substance or only thought? Questions... No Answers...
UHHH!
PAIN! PAIN! PAIN!
Somebody stop the PAIN!
My stomach! My head! My mind!
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!
Somebody stop the PAIN!
Great Hunter! Kill me and stop the PAIN!
........ ..... ... .. .
"SSSSSCHAYAAYAYAYAYAYAYA!" Tweel screamed as he awoke. The
instincts that tried to lift him into the air merely bashed his wings
into the ceiling a before he realized where he was... The bridge of
the Aurora.
The bridge of the Aurora is quiet and peacefully subdued, as the
scout ship glides through space enroute to its assigned rendesvouz.
Holo-monitors glow softly, slowly changing, as the ship's status is
updated. Jump drive on inactive standby, main fusion power plant
cheerily pumping out megawatts of power, thruster plates firmly
nudging the scout along. The holotank shifts, focusing more on the
ringworld as the ships begin to converge.
Dr. Van der Merwe simply stared at him.
"Macin is... dead...? Chrrristian?"
Christian is sitting, almost lying in the pilot's couch, which he has
pushed back from the control panels and monitors so that he can stretch
his lengthy frame fully and comfortably put his feet up. His pose is
very relaxed, his movements casual and languid, as if he is enjoying
the moment, lest the future be less kind.
Currently, he has pulled a flexible-mount holomonitor out towards his
couch, and appears to be involved in a new game of dhage (apparently
having finished his game analysis) against Moira, while pausing at
irregular intervals to refresh himself from a soothing warm beverage.
The strains of a Vilani jazz group gently displace the discordant
noises of normal shipboard operation.
Tweel shook himself with a loud flap to clear his head, "Krrrrr...
Har! what a night..." Very slowly, and with great care Tweel folded
his wings and glanced at the sensor panel in front of him. A quick
check to see if anything new had shown up while he 'slept'
"By the way... Wherre'ss that crrrazy Varrgrrr got too...?"
"Chrrristian, wherrrre's 'Vouf?"
=== Talisman ===
Onboard the Talisman, after handing the conn over to Iasic, Andon
tries to sit back, relax and look as nonchalant as possible. However,
as the minutes tick by Andon's fidgeting and nervous finger tappings
suggest that he is anything but calm.
"Uh, Iasic, I got the conn again. Just keep feeding the data and I'll
take care of flying, OK?" Andon again starts taking a more active role
in the piloting.
As Andon again feels he has regained some control all signs of his
previous apprehension disappear.
=== Kingfisher ===
Ger digests all of the new happenings coolly, as he listens to
the broadcast from the Hoop....
> "Iasic has been mildly chastised and will not improve your systems
> beyond this without your permission."
>
"To the sophont at 1337.45 Mhz, Please Identify yourself. If you
have any control over the Iasic personality, please instruct it to
disengage itself from all our systems. I consider its actions to be
quite disruptive, and irregular." "We have the coordinates, I am quite
confident that my personnel can get us there without any difficulty or
assistance".
Ger turns to Witfield. "Cut the transmission on the 1337.45 MHz
frequency, but listen in for a while and see if there is any reply" He
then sits back in his chair (up until now he had been leaning forward
with an intense look on his face). His features take on a pensive look
for a few minutes while the kingfisher pursues its current course.
Etienne seems engrossed in just watching the play of nav data coming
across his display from no aparrent source. After a few seconds he snaps
out of it and opens the intercom.
"Monsieur Schmud, you may stand down, but please don't lock the weapons
systems. I can handle the turret from here should an emergency arise.
Although, events seem to be proceeding VERY smoothly just now."
At the gunnery station, Abdul replies, "Acknowledged! Standing
down immediately." Then, to himself, he mutters, "I wish people would
make up their minds as to my job around here. At least I get to move
to somewhere less cramped and less of a target."
With this Abdul secures the turret for remote operation and he heads
back to the main body of the shuttle. "At least the emergency seems
to be over for a while," he mutters as he leaves.
"Lazer, there's..." Etienne stops when he realizes that Lazer
can't hear him in the disconnected fighter, and opens a comm channel.
"Lazer there doesn't seem to be much reason for you to remain in the
fighter, unless Commander Ger says otherwise. Have you been hearing
everything from our new friends?"
=== Aurora/Gemini Arbiter/Paladin/Talisman ===
On the bridges of the _Aurora_, _Paladin_, _Talisman_, and _Gemini
Arbiter_, after a period of silence, the monitors once again crackle to life.
A new logo appearing in the center, seemingly designed by an advertising
agency or graphic design studio. The logo forms the word "IasicNet" in the
center, with the letters smartly integrated into each other. A stylized
representation of R-Alpha is evident in the background. Colors pulsate in
random patterns along the whole image.
_Attention Visitors_ began the calm, familiar voice, _All instructions
from R-Alpha have now been executed. Please relax and enjoy the landing
procedures. Planetfall will be initiated shortly._
Then, after a brief pause, the logo dissolves. A rendering of R-Alpha
then appears on the screen, accompanied by a snappy little song in the
background.
_Now, in response to many of your inquiries, which I was unable to
answer at the time they were posed, I shall make a brief presentation
regarding myself and my homeworld, R-Alpha._
The image of R-Alpha shrinks away and is replaced by a schematic
drawing of a semiconductor chip.
_As you already know, my unique identity is IASC-256/32.
Realizing that this would be a bit cumbersome to your speech
conventions, I formed the nearest logical I could to your language:
Iasic._
At which point, the letters Iasic are translucently overlaid on the
schematic while "IASC-256/32" appear at the top.
_I was designed originally to act as a quality control and
maintenance unit for R-Alpha's numerous systems. I am psionically
aware, and relatively strong in capabilities, compared to average
ability among the Visitors, though most of the denizens of the
ringworld are on a similar level as myself. I can analyze and
'rewire' any mechanical or electronic entity through a complex process
of sub-atomic manipulation. Reprogramming is a primary task of mine,
and I can handle many billions of calculations every second, although
the actual number is dependent upon the capabilities of the system to
which I happen to be integrated._
Then, the schematic drawing disappears, along with all labels and
titles. A graphic of R-Alpha reappears, though without any specific
documentation.
_This, as you have already surmised, is R-Alpha. Unfortunately,
there is such a wealth of information specific to the entity that I
cannot fulfill the query for information as requested. I would have
compiled an index for you, in your rather cumbersome language, but in
order for it to be of any value, its size would have been
prohibitively large. Indeed, simply to download it to the IasicNet
would require more available memory and storage than is currently
available. It's total size would approach 6,620 terabytes of
information. I would suggest that any specific requests for
information should be directed toward the entity itself, as it could
more effectively unravel exactly which information is desired and
which is extraneous._
Then, after that screen dissolves, a return to the "IasicNet" logo
dominates the screen, although the music still continues.
_And now, a word about this presentation. I utilized all the
information provided by Tweel regarding human and vargyr emotional
processes. After an in-depth analysis of the information, and the
construction of some logic models, I created the name, logo, and
presentation for maximum effect and comfort to you, the audience.
Thank you._
At which point, the words "Thank you" overlay on the screen in a
beautiful, flowing script. The music ends with perfect tonality.
=== Alcyon ===
Nine minutes and eigtheen seconds ago....
"Morgan, this is 'Vouf. Have Dr. Werner check on Adrian Bishop, OK? Out."
Nine minutes and eighteen seconds later, the tight-beam transmission hits
the Alcyons four millimeter high-gain antenna. In a heartbeat, Morgan Grey
is listening to the request on the bridge speakers. Sliding over to the
commo panel, he orders a reply. A hull-mounted maser horn slews around and
locks onto the transponder signal from Aurora.
"Aurora, Aurora, this is Alcyon. Roger your last. Wilco. Out." Putting
commo back on stand-by, Grey swings around in his seat and looks at Dr.
Manfred Werner, who is dutifully absorbed in his sensor controls.
"Hey, Doc. You wanna take a hop down to Sickbay and check on Bishop?"
Grey smirks, "'Vouf wants to know if he's rolled over or something."
Satisfied that he's carried out his latest order, Grey turns back to
the helm console.
Dr. Werner slowly looks up from his sensor readings, showing the painfully
slow ballet of starships across the R-Alpha system. He glared at the back
of Morgan's head, then slides back the contour seat and heads for Sickbay.
Once off the bridge, he slowly moves aft, down the Axis-0 corridor, past
Cmdr. Ger's cabin, past the computer and communications service bays,
towards the ship's mess, and the grav-lift down to deck 1B. As he walks,
he mutters, "Dammit, Grey. I am a PHYSICIST, not a medical doctor!",
little realizing that his oath would leave a small, but rabid group of
video entertainment fans from Terra's distant past rolling on the floor
in laughter.
Once down the grav-lift, he picks up his pace the last half dozen meters
to the Sickbay door, eager to return to the bridge. Palming the door lock,
he briefly curses Dr. Van Der Merwe for sealing the compartment from casual
snoopers. His commdot in place, Werner calls the bridge.
"Mr. Grey, this is Dr. Werner. I am thinking that it would perhaps
be easier for me to determine the current state of Mr. Bishop's corpse
if the door to Sickbay were not locked, do you not agree?" A brief,
somewhat uncultured reply from the bridge is immediately followed by
the hiss of the sickbay door sliding open.
Werner crosses sickbay without hesitation and opens the hatch to the
low berth compartment. He is immediately rewarded by a small, insistant
tone, eminating from one of the nearby hibernation pods. Slowly, as he
approaches Low Berth number 4, his eyes lock on the data display and the
flashing lights.
"Stage one complete
Stage two complete
Stage three revival in progress - HALTED
Revival prep. team required IMMEDIATELY"
Dr. Werner selects "OCCUPANT BIOLOGICAL STATUS" and his eyes widen
in amazement as the diagnostics scroll by. So great is his surprise
that he lapses into his (seldom used in the presence of the crew)
native tongue. "Zum Teufel!! Vas ist das? Das ist unglaublich!
DAS IST UNMOGLICH!!"
=== Paladin ===
Goughzar looks about the Paladin bridge, and watches in amazement at
the happenings. Growling under his breath he leaves Charyn in Dr. Morser's
hands and links to Dr. Limner's room with the active intercom. "Dr Limner?
How are you doing? Do you require anything?".
Assuming Dr. Limner is in relatively good shape, he turns back to the
bridge terminals and begins talking to Iasic.
"Well Iasic, I realize you can't give us everything, though we may
want it, but I was wondering if you might detail some physical
information - general features and traits - of the inhabitants we will
likely encounter first in our landing zone. If you can, I would also
like a detailed scan and map transferred to the local storage that I
might review the area where we will be landing".
With this done, he waits for any information to be transfered,
monitors the ship's descent, and begins to get an overview of what
Iasic thinks he might expect upon landing.
=== Talisman ===
Meanwhile a very concerned Kimball Redd is kneeling of Ralf's inert
body in the corridor to the airlock.
"The lights are on, but it looks like Ralf's not home. I'll bring him up
to sick-bay."
He struggles to lift Ralf's suited body, he grumbles, "Ah, what am I, a
weight-lifter or an Engineer ? - Computer, cut the corridor floor-plates to
half gravity." As Ralf's apparent weight decreases, he comments, "That's
better."
=== Aurora ===
At Tweel's awakening, Christian swivels his head to look at him.
"Ah, you're awake now, Hunter-Above." He turns back to his dhage holo,
pondering his next move. "Oh, that's right, 'Vouf. Guess you missed
it." He glances at Tweel. "He had to step out for a few minutes,
something about going over to the Gemini Arbiter, I think. He should
be back before long." Christian continues his game, pausing only to
stretch briefly and take another sip of tea.
Tweel twists his head upside down to look at Christian in surprise,
"We docked alrrready? Jussst how long wasss I out?"
Tweel stretches his wings, an action which takes nearly all of the
available bridge space. He taps the intercom with a sharp talon claw, "Kar!
Hunter-Chaser... Need any hellp?"
Quizzically, Christian turns his head to follow Tweel. "Docked? You mean
with the Arbiter? No, we haven't docked with them. Try the inter-ship comm
if you want to talk to 'Vouf."
=== Kingfisher ===
Ger activates the intercome. "Jan, Did you want to send any
communication to your patient? I assume that you are the one that the
creature on the radio was talking about."
"Yes sir," comes the reply, "I just advised communications that my
pager has gone off, indicating that Bishop is going through the
revitalizing process. My limited paging system tells me he is doing
well so far. However, to find out more I wouldn't mind having a
channel available to communicate with the medcomp aboard the Alcyon.
"My concern, beyond Bishop, is that the medcomp may have been hit
by the virus and linking up to it may jeopardize the Fingkisher, but
that's something the commo people will need to assess.
"Sir, with a secure line I would be able to give you a status
report on Bishop, and possibly on the state of the Alcyon."
Ger considers this for a moment. "Yes, certainly, as soon as we
can get I'll have someone get you a spare channel, after all there are
ten radio-type things on board, but you may have to wait for some
assembly"
Yorblin responds, "Sir, it shouldn't take too long. I'll just
ask. thank you."
=== Aurora ===
Tweel turns his attention to the Iasic terminal. He flips his head
upsidedown in surprise and disgust. "Grreat Hunterrr, he'sss playing
Muzak at uss! We may have to trry thosse anti-virrus prrogramss
again!"
"Thank you Iasssic, you sssay that the inforrrmation we have
rrrequessted would clearrrly overrrload our currrent data banksss.
Howeverrr, if you could brriefly fly overrr a few questionsss, I think
that we can all look down on thisss frrrom a grreaterrr altitude."
"Quessstion one: It is apparrant that the Rrring iss inhabitted by
many intellligent sspeciess of ssophontss. Who iss rrresponsible forr
the constrrruction of the Rrring? Wasss it an intersspecial efforrt?
If ssso which sspeciess werrre involved?"
"Quesstion two: By ex-examination of our data banksss, I assume you
may underrrstand the sscale of te-techlnological levelsss. What
te-tech level (in ourr unitss) wasss utilizzzed in the consstruction
of the Rrring, and what isss the te-tech level used in itss
maintainance? And what te-tech level werrre you consstrructed?"
"Quesstion three: How lllong ago wass the Rring built?"
"Quesstion fourrr: We arrre going to meet with some dellligation of
sssome sssort. Thiss impliesss therrre is ssome sssorrt of goverrning
body in the Rrring."
Tweel sighs heavily at the thought of an advanced government.
Surely a truely advanced group of sophonts should have evolved to the
point where they can handle anarchy. We may be tech 4-5 but.. How I
miss home!
"Arre thesse rrreprresentatives of the Rrring asss a whole or
sssome sssubsset of it?"
"Quessstion five: In my own planetss hisstorrry, ourrr firrst contact
with humanss prroved dissasterouss. Frrrankly, I would advisse you to
be 'Sssusspiciousss' of humanss. Is therrre any inforrmation you
rrrequirre to assisst you in yourrr invesstigation of usss?"
Quessstion tten: Iss therrre any inforrmation you feel we should have
when flying into sssuch a meeting?"
Tweel spreads his three fingered talons, and turns to Christian,
"Therre we go.. Ten ssimple questionsss.... I wonderrr iff we'll get
any ussseful answerrrs..."
=== Kingfisher ===
Etienne once again stares at the display, but shortly the fingers of one
hand start tapping faster and faster on the arm of his acceleration couch.
He suddenly sits up and addresses empty air. "Monsieur Iasic, while you
probably know of me from the files onboard the Alcyon, please allow me t
introduce myself. I am Etienne de Mer, helmsman of the Kingfisher an
Transport team leader. If I may ask a favor, would you please contact Dr.
Karl Morser and ask him about Leadfoot? It may have slipped his mind in all
the confusion but your aid in a certain investigation could be very useful."
The screen then fades back to the familiar logo, but this time with no
background music.
_Hello, Mr. de Mer, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I have
directly patched your com unit to the room which Dr. Morser currently
occupies. I hope that this will facilitate your job, and if there is any
other way in which I could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to ask._
=== Aurora/Gemini Arbiter/Paladin/Talisman ===
Several minutes pass. Once again, the "IasicNet" symbol bursts on
screen, with a bluster of musical fanfare.
_I have accessed MasterSPU and constructed the following answers to
Tweel's inquiries. I sincerely hope that these are general enough to
meet the parameters defined in the request. I cannot say that I fully
understand what Tweel meant to say when he requested that I "briefly
fly over a few questions", but I have done my best to extrapolate a
rough meaning._
Iasic then replays a recording of Tweel's question, and answers each
in turn.
_The Great Race constructed the ring. I do not know of a name for
them in your language. However, this is an illustration of a
representative member of the Great Race._
Iasic then displays an image on one of the Aurora's holo-panels of
what appears to be a very large Droyne, with a larger-than-normal
brain case. The "IasicNet" logo shrinks to occupy only the extreme
right side of the screen.
=== Kingfisher ===
Witfield, busy performing his duty on the bridge, has part of his attention
focused on IASIC's presentation to Tweel (as the broadcast does not appear
to be tight-beam). When Isaac announces the ring world was built by the
great race, and shows the picture of a large Dryone, Witfield exclaims,
"I knew it, I knew it had to be them!"
=== Aurora ===
Dr. Tweel bobs excitedly on his perch, singing to himself, *Key-Har!
Further evidence the Droyne were the connected with the ancients!*
_Based on the scale you use, I can accurately extrapolate technological
advancement to Tech Level 17. The construction of the Ring, its maintenance,
and my own construction are significantly more advanced than Tech Level 17._
Tweel looks over to Christian. "Krrr! They can teach uss a thing orrr
six..."
_The ring has been fully operational for 10,635,554,759,707 of your seconds._
Tweel whistles a quick series of notes to Triple Three.
The robot quickly replies "337,251.22906 standard years."
Tweel's head flips upside down. *Correct time period... an ancient
site... a fully intact and operational ancient site...*
*Great Hunter, Macin, you were RIGHT!*
_I am not aware of any formal delegation preparing to meet you at the
landing site designated by the R-Alpha Master SPU. If representatives
of any of the races which inhabit the Ring are nearby, you may
interact with them at your leisure._
_Having had the concept of suspicion presented to me by Bhyarrvouf, I
have determined that none of the Visitors pose a direct threat to
either the Ring or to myself. Therefore, I have no need of suspicion.
As I have already explained, I find it to be an inefficient concept.
Although in the context of a savage and barbarous culture, I do now
understand its value._
A large question mark then appears on the screen.
_There was a discrepancy in the number order of questions presented to
my by Tweel. Numbers six through nine were not received, and
therefore have not been answered. I suggest that the question
presented by Tweel as number ten should be renumbered to the more
logical label of "question six" for ease of future reference.
Tweel clucks under his breath, then sings in his native tongue,
*Sorry, I tend to fly best in base six.*
_Only the suggestion that you do not interact with the resident races
of the Ring in a hostile manner. MasterSPU would almost certainly
take steps to prevent such an eventuality from occurring._
Tweel then switches back to his stilted galanglic. "Sssince
therre iss no forrrmal deligation..." Tweel visibly relaxes at the
thought of not having to fly against such a beast, "With whom arrre we
to meet? If no one, Why you dirrrecting uss to thiss parrrticularrr
site?"
Tweel then sings, *There may be hope for anarchy yet...*
"Alssso. llet me rrreiterrate one quesstion: Are therre any
quessstionss you have about usss that you have?"
Tweel add's an afterthought to his latest barrage of questions:
"Iasssic, since therrre arrre sso many ssspeciess on the Rrring, a
I am flying overrr unfamiliarr terrain. Arrre you awarre of any Ael
Yael inhabitantsss? It seems that with ssuch a diverrsity as you
indicate it could be posssible that therrre may be some of my own
k-k-kind therre."
"Oh, I alssso suppose that the Humanss and Assslan woulld be
interrresssted if sssome of theirrr numberrr werrre therre ass
well..."
Tweel streches his wings to touch the opposite bulk heads of the
Aurora's bridge and refolds them. He glances up at the ceiling as he
waits for a reply.
Suddenly, a further thought occurs. "On a differrrent courrrse, I
would sssuggesst that you eliminate the muzak from the prresentation
forrmat... If you doubt me I ssuggesst you consssult the lllibrary
data file: rec.music.synth.muzak.death.death.death. It showsss that
sssome ssspeciesss sssufferrr adverrsse effects when ex-ex-expossed to
it. Sssome morrre than otherrrs...."
"The Asslan might open firrre on you..."
=== Talisman ===
Redd carrys Ralf's body into the lounge, staggering a little under the
higher gravity. Dave Sokuku is still staring at the empty space that Ian
stepped into when he disappeared through the ring's teleportal.
"Give me a hand with him will you..." grunts Redd, as he struggles
with Ralf's fully restored weight. As they lay Ralf on one of the bench
seats, Redd asks, "What was that from Ian about going over to the shuttle?
"I didn't think they were that close yet?"
- TO BE CONTINUED -