===

Author: Pink

Date: May 26, 2182 (Earth Standard Time)

Location: Orestes Outpost

===

Olive's become quite the young lady. She's twelve now. She takes

after her father. I can't blame her for that. He took care of her

alone for the first five years of her life.

I wish, so deeply, that I could have that time back. I learned not

to blame myself so much for neglecting her, but that took a long

time. I can only put that lapse of judgement and responsibility

down to the effects of the crystals, and the subsequent withdrawal

of those effects.

There are true crystals and false crystals. False crystals are

everywhere. They are shiny, man-made. They come in the form of

computer screens, space rockets, fancy clothes and beautiful

objects of all kinds. They are complex, manifold, but they are

artificial. Designed to mimic an effect. You can find that effect

in true crystals. True crystals are dense formations that reflect

the cosmos.

There is true and false love too. False love can feel so nice and

can work well for a while, but true love is a whole other story. It

was eons in the making and bound tighter than the earth is to the

sun. True love is like true crystals. What I had with Green wasn't

true love, it was something to cover over the loneliness. The

crystals were the real thing. They were deep, universal,

unbreakable. That was why I rejected Olive, I suppose. She seemed

to emerge out of something false. But I was wrong, what I feel for

her now is unshakable.

That is why I am so happy that it was Olive who finally returned

the crystals to us again.

I don't know how she did it. She is a strange child in many ways.

She had Green fashion her a space suit, and she's been going on her

little exoduses to that rock with the scribbles twice a day. Navy

accompanies her. He says she just sits by the rock and mumbles

things to herself. Anyway, after several months of this, Navy

reported to us that, on their trip there this morning, two tiny

masses of red crystals had begun to form.

I'm still too excited to even go and look. Could they really be

back?

Anyway, I suppose that's why I'm writing this message to the void.

I'm trying to postpone going and seeing for myself. I want to prove

to myself that I don't really need them, that I'm happy with what I

have now; Olive and Green.

===

Sent via the QEC