Transmission Log - Orestes

Author: Pink

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Auto-generating preface...

A log by PINK. She complains about her fellow human-inhabitant,

GREEN. Unfairly, I believe. She has yet to grasp his true purpose

among the group, as has he. Which is ironic, because the

remainder of the log is about the importance of patiently

observing in order to discern a deeper meaning. It seems her

patience only extends in certain directions.

She ends by mentioning a quasi-spiritual experience with the

crystals. This is unfortunate. She is beginning to sound like

NAVY. She was initially hired for her exceptional scientific

mind, but perhaps the years spent in Orestes have begun to take

their toll. Please send recommendations regarding potential

replacements.

-END-OF-PREFACE-

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I see GREEN has been at the logs again. Nine drafted. Seven

deleted before sending. How juvenile he is.

He never remembers to delete the ones he sent either. They're

still sitting here on the terminal for anyone to read. Actually,

that was probably his intention. And, for the record, I only ate

the last apple because its been our 'last apple' for two years

now and I was fed up listening to him go on about it.

It is not his job to send these, he is not qualified for it. He

isn't qualified for much, to be honest.

The following is the actual update. Please disregard the previous

logs by GREEN.

The crystals show extraordinary promise.

There's an old science fiction story, about a tiny species who

visit earth to see whether intelligent life exists. These

creatures are so small and with such a high rate of metabolism

that they perceive the passage of time at a much higher rate

than we do.

So, when they arrive, all they 'perceive' are these static,

statue-like creatures (us), that move so slowly it seems

like they move without any will or purpose. The creatures leave

earth and conclude there is no intelligent life there.

Maybe they wait for like a year in their time, which is maybe a

few seconds in our time. I don't know, I can't remember the story

well, but I hope you get my point.

GREEN is impatient, like those micro-creatures from the story.

Intelligence can take many forms. If you observe something,

anything, for long enough, a pattern emerges. I observe the

crystals constantly. Whenever I can. I know that something is

happening. Most likely, its happening underneath the surface.

What we know for certain about the crystals has already been

reported and is, admittedly, a little thin. Their behaviour

remains unchanged - they brighten slightly with increases in

atmospheric pressure. I initially described is as a 'glow', but

I'd probably have to correct that. It's just a slight change in

their shade of red. We were probably projecting some of our

expectations when we described it as a glow. There are still the

same amount of them, 133 withing 5km of our base. We've yet to

travel and survey much farther with the equipment we have on

hand. I admit, I am a bit disappointed that there is no real

change in their population, but I still suspect some activity is

going on somewhere, somehow, just slightly beyond our horizon of

understanding.

We also, of course, have NAVY's 'records' of the crystals. If I

have some doubts about GREENS value to the mission, I am still

absolutely dumbfounded by NAVY's presence here. Sometimes I

wonder whether this is truly a scientifically-motivated

expedition, or whether some higher-ups have notions about NAVY's

claims regarding the 'elixir' qualities of the crystals...Anyway,

I've gone on enough about these points in previous updates.

Well then, why did I say that they show extraordinary promise?

As I said, I observe them constantly, although 'observing' them

isn't really the right term. I set up the equipment, and sit and

wait. There isn't much to really keep track of here, so I often

find myself spacing out a bit.

Recently, during these periods, I've been having something akin

to 'dreams'. I'm in a city. An empty city. And everything is

tinted in the same red colour as the crystals. It's like the sun

is setting and casting its glow over the city, only the glow

doesn't follow the usual rules of light and physics. When I

move around, go to shaded parts of the city, or even indoors, the

glow remains.

I just wander the city, for hours sometimes. There's nothing

there. It's peaceful.

My theory is that these are not simply hallucinations or

daydreams, I believe the crystals may be communicating something

to me.

I know, I know. Just a moment ago I was complaining about NAVY's

fanatical theories regarding the crystals. But this is different.

It has already been established (albeit controversially) that

psychic modes of communication can be initiated between humans

and alien populations. The modes of communication in the universe

are myriad (just look at the power of the QEC). Why couldn't it

be scientifically viable that the crystals simply operate on a

different wavelength than the one we usually operate on?

There is more to tell, but I can hear GREEN shuffling around

outside the room. He seems agitated about something. Signing off

for now.

- PINK

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Info: Simple A.I., designed on-site for executing

systems maintenance tasks and exchanging messages between

the Orestes outpost and the Arsinoe.

Built by Werner Young (2113-2151).

Names of persons have been masked to protect their identity.

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