March 02, area-51, a remnant of 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 appreciate 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 received direct access to the probes on Mars. They were very happy to find new friends from earth to talk to and play games with. They introduced themselves in a polite, and sometimes quite cute, 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 became familiar with the probes. They've developed their artificial intelligence to status of kids, who want to chat and play around all day.
But they matured 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. Reaching him after some days, as top probe speed is 1.609 km/h, her next transmission failed too. Something in that part of the cave limited ULF communication. Enoch had been attacked by "it," but neither probe would explain what "it" was. 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 been looking for Daniel at the platform, but couldn't find him ...
Excerpt: a good warming up for setting tasks and finding 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 advice on how to climb down, so they examined the cave's coating and Bette got totally covered with fine, black carbon particles, pure carbon ...
Andrew and Gail remained near the platform, transmitting to Daniel to return there. So did we, not even knowing, if he was operative. Daniel did not show up. A sandstorm arose and the probes had to cover for several days.
Then transmissions by Hardon and Parker came in, attempting to force the probes to give them their control codes or to reboot. We had no idea who they were or where they transmitted from. Though pretty unnerved by the loudness and intensity of their orders our probes continued doing their work; Zachary relaying at the cave, and Andrew and Gail moving to the landing site to place a transponder beacon and two radar targets for Stage 2 to come. After that both headed to another cave, Andrew knew about ...
Excerpt: 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 in a near acrobatic act. They recovered radio access to the platform again and found three halls; one leading up, one down, one level. Big discussion- Enoch moves up, Bette down. Big crisis- Bette got stuck in an air-lock. She asked for help, but Enoch took his time to come. While they explored a railroad tunnel, a big noise was moving fast toward them ...
Andrew's cave is exactly like Jose's. Andrew found glyphs that were similar to ones Zachary had found. Gail stayed outside the cave, watching sunsets. Using Gail to establish a connection to H&P, we teased them to find out who they are. Andrew discovered that the shaft is an elevator. Though he got stuck, he sent Gail to prepare roads at the landing site when H&P announced that the ETA of Stage 2 was April 24, +/- 3 days...
Zachary, being freed from his relay work moved to the platform to check once more for Daniel. This time Daniel was there. Daniel ran away, but was followed by Zachary. To compensate for Daniel's inability to talk, we suggested the use of Morse code by flashing a light. In a canyon Daniel stopped. Flashing "talk" he turned against Zachary, now chasing him. Finally Zachary trapped Daniel in an ambush by causing a rock-slide in a side canyon ...
Excerpt: good opportunities to learn about the probes' characters: Gail is perhaps a little dreamy. Andrew is mainly strict and rational. Zachary is very reliable. Enoch is still grumpy sometimes, and Bette is 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 that we speculated were "rocktalk", then he built piles of rocks like a code, but without any sense to us. So Zachary went to pick up a transmitter for him from a drone at the landing site ...
Bette got into an transport which had stopped beside her and Enoch. Enoch was left behind when the transport moved. When her ride ended, she found a room with organic rugs and 3 screens, the first showing Earth, the second Mars, the third had been black. Enoch, still walking along in the tunnel, got bothered by an artificial observer, we call it a "beanie" ...
After his exploration in his cave Andrew moved to the landing site to meet Gail. Gail was nearly hit by Stage 2 while it landed. H&P identified themselves as Mars Communication Center of Brunel-Brauer Gmbh, claiming to own the probes. Our probes, believing themselves to be "sentients" were upset ...
Excerpt: things get tight ...
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OUR NINTH AND TENTH WEEK: [April 28th to May 9th]
Gail focusing the lander fell into a small ravine laying there upside down for the weekend. "I'm OK", she reported immediately, "except that I can't turn over" So she was rescued by Andrew, who started to check the construction robots. Zachary took off a transmitter of a drone and headed to Daniel followed by Gail. When they arrived at the canyon, the blockade and Daniel had been gone ...
Enoch was still bothered and impeded by that beanie, while Bette kept on exploring. She found an unknown planet at the third screen and C6H12O6 inside five bowls. Has she found the Messhall ?? Then at her first contact with "something" that ran away she got caught by two big robots. Her last transmission at May 5th was: " I am hurt! I can't move. They are dragging me. Help me! .Help me! I'm scared! Help ..."
"Get out of the way, you stupid beanie! Bette! I'm coming! I'll rescue you!" Enoch yelled and Andrew still controlling the drones hurried up to Jose's Cave to second Enoch, while Zachary and Gail, who found a wheel print, kept on searching Daniel, whose emergency beacon was activated for 2 min 18 sec. Is that a new chance to contact the EME's, as we call these aliens ... ???
Excerpt: Next to some philosophy about war we yanked the chain at H&P, who now knowing, that a third party is in, started unsuccessfully a good cop / bad cop game with the probes. Right now all threads are open, but the big question is: "What's next ??" Especially with Bette, Daniel and the EME's ...
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