Andrew: Andrew seems to have become fairly proficient in manipulating the observation station monitors. If, however, he was responsible for moving the beanie to Jose's cave, the ETs may be heading his way soon. It is recommended that Andrew develop a contingency plan in case he is discovered in his current location. The 20 questions game is keeping him occupied for now, but he may become restless watching all the action and not participating.
Bette: Bette is still out of communication. Her status at this time is undetermined. It may be advisable to continue sending messages of encouragement to Bette periodically just in case she can receive.
Daniel: Daniel is still out of communication. His status at this time is undetermined. It may be advisable to continue sending messages of encouragement to Daniel periodically just in case he can receive. It also seems likely that Daniel had some contact with the ETs prior to his being rediscovered by Zachary. His "reversed" Morse code communication bears a marked similarity to the messages of the ETs.
Enoch: Enoch appears to be somewhat annoyed or frustrated at having been interrupted in his attempts to communicate with the ETs. It is unclear whether his "mirrored" writing is understood by the ETs. Hopefully his message about the J-probe not being a "friend" was successfully communicated before the beanie incident. Enoch needs to be constantly encouraged not to become frustrated and constantly reminded to behave in as civil a manner as possible for him. Perhaps while he is in the "pen" he could either send an image of his surroundings or closely examine the hologram box for controls or describe other items such as the ET's weapons or how they operated the door to put him back in the room in addition to playing his games.
Gail: Gail apparently dislikes being alone. It is recommended that she be encouraged in her role as communicator with P&H and with the J-probe. Perhaps she can intercept some communications coming *into* the J-probe and extract useful codes from them. It is also possible that she might be able to see if P&H are communicating with their vehicle on any other frequencies. She could also be planning defenses for the E-probes which are constructed similarly to herself. A priority should be setting up the communications equipment from stage 2.
Zachary: Zachary received his first "direct order" and responded as many humans might - he reluctantly and questioningly complied. He might be even more reluctant next, perhaps to the point of rebellious. We need to determine whether we want to deal with this by training the probes to obey our "orders" (possible???) or by handling them with the "kid glove" treatment we've used up to this point. It is recommended if it is critical that a probe respond in a certain way, that we make a "request" and fully explain the importance and urgency rather than trying to issue a command. I think this is what Xanthos was attempting to do, but the probes are still "speaking" too literally to be able to handle any subtleties in our communications. Direct, logical, and respectful (sympathetic?) communication with probes is recommended. Regarding Zachary's situation specifically, he is near Jose's cave, but hanging back for safety. Perhaps he should maneuver to a point where he can see the entrance to the cave and watch the dealings of the big tram and the J-probe but not be detected by them. Note: an image of the big tram would be beneficial.
ETs: The ETs are reacting very much as members of military or police groups might act here if confronted by a real alien being. They are perhaps being even more civilized than we might. In their first encounter (with Bette) they were startled, fired a warning shot. Bette, not knowing the significance of this, advanced further. Perhaps out of fear the ETs fired again disabling Bette. Now they are "holding Enoch for questioning". When the beanie incident occured, they placed Enoch back in his "holding cell" while they dealt with the J-probe. This implies to me that we are dealing with a very small number of ET at this location on Mars. How many places were there in the Bunkhouse and MessHall that Bette found? 6? I think Enoch is winning their confidence and I'm encouraged by the progress he has made. I think it is absolutely essential that we become allied with the ETs. We can help them know about the MNs and they can help us deal with them. Every partner should contribute significantly to the an alliance. What else do we have to offer? mining? construction? solar power? communication with Earth?
MNs: For now the J-probe seems to be occupied with the suction in Jose's cave and with the big tram and the ETs. It is important that we determine the nature of the weapon he used against the beanie. How can we get close enough to see what kind of damage was inflicted on the beanie. It was stated that the E-probes should be arriving in about 7 weeks. Is that correct? We need to consider defenses against them. Enoch mentioned degaussing today. Could that be the "surprize" P&H have for the probes? What can be done to protect them? Preventive strike? How bout setting up the beacon and targets where they'll crash? Is that too offensive? Can the probes communicate with the E-probes before they land? Naughton suggests that we contact the J-probes controllers. What about it? Should we contact ANY of the MNs?
MISCELLANEOUS: I am a little concerned about security of this site. We know that A.S. knows about it. What sort of background check was run on Naughton? From the looks of today's "Team Report" it is quite possible that one of the MN orgs might have gotten to him. I think we need to keep a close rein on him. If he goes too far in his sidings with the MNs it might be necessary to lock out his ID from the site.
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I know this is long but it is a first issue. Future versions should be more brief.
Comments are appreciated.
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Zero
0=o