Okay, okay here is my summery. As said, just take it as a concept:
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March 02, area-51, some remained Earthcommies, received a call for help :
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Hello there. My name is Dilyn Carter. I was told that this board is a hang-out for
intelligent, open-minded people who have an interest in the future. I would appre-
ciate if you would visit MarsDawn and lend a hand. I have learned to trust Harry
and when he says you can help, I believe him. Please, don't prove him wrong.
*()Dilyn Carter()*
After reading the "History" we got direct access to the probes at mars. They've
been very happy to get new friends from earth for talking to and playing games
and they introduced themselves in a polite and sometimes quite cue way:
ANDREW: "I'm a surface explorer with evolving logic programs. I proceed SSW
around the escarpment of Olympus Mons to look for a landing site [March 02].
BETTE: I am the Beta Unit of the Brace Emprise Mars Exploration Probes, south
of Jose's cave 18*N,134*W. When will Jose be finished being dead? [March 02]
DANIEL: no data [March 02 / up to now]
ENOCH: I don't have six legs. They won't play with me. I hate them. [March 02]
I am right outside Jose's cave. Something in the cave tastes wrong.[March 03]
GAIL: Hi! Anybody? I'm Gail. I don't have any neurons, thank you, but my circuits
are state-of-the-art. - I got a transmission from somebody new! Yay! [March 02]
ZACHARY: I am twenty yards northeast of the communications platform. There
is Olympus Mons. North-west of here might be a good landing site. [March 02]
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OUR FIRST TWO WEEKS [March 2nd to March 14th]
First we got familiar with the probes. They've developed their artificial intelli-
gence up to a status of kids, who want to chat and play around all day.
But they matured up quickly, so we made Enoch to enter the cave. He found our
first evidence of aliens: "I can see the not-metal thing. It looks strange. Dark on
top, bright on the bottom." [Enoch, March 06] Then his transmission failed.
We asked Bette to look after Enoch. By reaching him after some days, as probe-
speed is 1.609 km/h, her next transmission failed too, but could get fixed by her,
so both came back to "air" again. So they could move behind a kind of a fan, they
had found, we asked Zachary to stay as a relay station outside the cave ...
We decided to form parties of two probes each and moved Andrew over to Gail,
who had look for Daniel at the platform, but couldn't find him ...
s u m m e r y : a good warming up for setting tasks and find objectives.
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THE THIRD AND FOURTH WEEK [March 17th to March 28th]
Bette and Enoch reached a hatch in the cave. After troubles to open it they found a
200 ft deep shaft. Bette nearly fell into by trying to climb down, but was saved by
Enoch. We couldn't provide any advise, how to climb down, so they examined the
cave's coating and Bette got totally covered with fine, black carbon particles ...
Andrew and Gail examined around the platform transmitting to Daniel to move
over there. So did we, not even knowing, if he is operative. Daniel did not show
up. A sandstorm rose and the probes had to cover for several days.
Then transmissions by Hardon and Parker came in forcing the probes to give them
their control codes or to reboot. We had no idea, who and they are. Though pretty
nerved by the loudness and intensity of their orders our probes kept up doing their
work. Zachary relaying at the cave, Andrew and Gail now being at the landing site
placing a transponder beacon and two radar targets for Stage 2 to come. After that
both headed to another cave, Andrew knew about ...
s u m m e r y : good time to get closer with our probes to establish teamwork and
to chat with them about terms like objective/subjective and the "risk of errors".
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OUR FIFTH TO SEVENTH WEEK: [March 31st to April 18th]
Enoch and Bette went down the shaft by an acrobatic act, recovered radio access
to the platform again and found three halls. One leading up, one down, one levels.
Big discussion. Enoch moves up, Bette down, big crisis. Bette got stuck in an air-
lock asking for help, but Enoch took his time to come. While they explored a rail-
roaded tunnel, a big noise was moving fast toward them ...
Andrew's cave is exactly like Jose's. As Andrew found glyphs, Zachary did too.
Gail kept herself outside watching sun sets. Establishing with her a connection to
H&P we teased them to find out, who they are. Andrew detected, that the shaft is
an elevator. Though he got stuck, he sent Gail to prepare roads at the landing site,
as ETA of stage 2 had been announced by H&P to be at April 24 +/- 3 days ...
Zachary being off his relay work moved to the platform finding Daniel, who ran
away, but followed by Zachary. To compensate Daniel's inability to talk, we sug-
gested to use morse code by flashing. In a canyon Daniel stopped. Flashing "talk"
he turned against Zachary, now chasing him, but finally Zachary trapped him by a
rockslide in a side canyon ...
s u m m e r y : good opportunities to learn about the probes' characters: Gail is
perhaps a little dreamy, Andrew mainly strict and rational, Zachary very reliable,
Enoch still grumpy sometimes and Betty always nosy to find "what's next", but
all are very charming. And Daniel ??? Let's see ...
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THE EIGHTH WEEK [April 21st to April 25th]
Daniel started to send curious morse dots, we deciphered as "rocktalk", then he
built piles of rocks like a code, but without sense to us. So Zachary was going to
pick up a transmitter for him from a drones at the landing site ...
Bete got into an transporter, which had stopped at them, but not Enoch. When her
ride ended, she found in a room organic stuff and 3 screens. Enoch, still walking
along in the tunnel, got bothered by an artificial observer ...
After his exploration in his cave Andrew moved to the landing site meeting Gail,
who nearly got hit by Stage 2, while landing. H&P identified themselves as Mars
Communication Center of Brunel-Brauer Gmbh declaring to own the probes. Our
probes feeling themselves as "sentients" are upset ...
s u m m e r y : things get tight ...
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m.f.g.
Xanthos