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Andrew reporting.
We did more testing. Bette,Isaac and I had to work together to complete a task. We had
to use a key to unlock a box. The box was located high up on one wall so that one probe
alone could not reach the keyhole, not even if he tood on his back legs.
Bette helped Isaac scramble up on my back. I was afraid that he would damage my antenna,
but it was the only way to get him high enough to perform the task. When at last he opened
the box, it was empty. All that work for nothing! These Ipsolstai must be deranged.
Otherwise, why was it so urgent to them?
Now Bette has returned her attention to the object that Daniel saw on the wall.
Isaac is helping her.
Today has been busy. I started to experiment with the computer terminal Gabriel
talked about. It had big buttons on it with the letters of the alphabet you taught
us. I tried pressing a key and it came on and displayed some words for me. It said.
There was a little flashing cursor by the line. I didn't know what to ask, so I
tried a simple question. I asked what planet we are on.
Intelligence Engine: Clarify request; Are you asking about:
(1) Physical location; questioner-planet level resolution?
(2) Physical location; Imperium worlds?
(3) Physical chararacteristics; Imperium worlds?
(4) Physical location; Data terminal-planet level resolution?
(5) Unspecified in above data?
I pressed the 1 on the keyboard. The screen blanked and then filled up with pages of
information. Before I could start reading the door opened and two Ipsolstai came in.
They asked us to answer questions. I thought they would ask us about Mars or something
like that. They wanted to know about Gail's probe society and you. I mean you as in
Humans, not you YOU. They wanted to know how much of what we believe reflects what you
believe. What should we tell them?
Questions are dull.
Answers do not come easily.
Not by answers.
Only by questions.
They are not Burn.
Orpheus, hello.
They are coming.
The Delemreck.
Some.
But not all.
Some of the some.
Do you understand?
Soon.
The hall looks the same since I left it. No robot arms close by. No bugs. I crossed
over to solar field. It was easy. There are no C-probes at the back of the hall.
I'm beyond the sun sails right now. They provide good cover.
Xanthos, there are two power stations and a huge cable leading to the big hall. I'll
place one cartridge at each power station and will leave the cable untouched. So
I have still one cartridge left to help Zachary or to find a final target to blow it up.
I'm back at the big hall again. I took cover behind the same barrels where I was
when I blew up the communication tower. I'm ready for action. I'm waiting for
your command.
Hi, Orpheus. It's nice to hear from you. How are things on Earth? and what is an "ulterior motive?"
Miss Chang is very nice to talk to. I think she really understands about our problems.
When I told her about our probe society, she was silent for two hours. Then she
congratulated me on my insight and idealism.
"I wanted to ask a favor, dear. There are others who need your help.
They are probes very much like yourself. There are six of them.
Could you possibly assist them?"
So I told her that we already assisted some of them. I told her about Theresa, and
how smart and cute she is. Don't worry, Orpheus. I didn't tell her about Isaac.
I know better than to tell something really important.
"Theresa, there's someone who wants to talk with you. Would you like to talk to Miss
Chang? She's nice. I can relay your transmissions."
And I sent her one of Daniel's pictures:
Thanks for your interpretation, Orpheus. So these signs seems to be evidence that
these bugs are really of Chinese origin. Good to know.
I'm locked in that room again. Space Turtel. I was prepared to say only my Name,
Rank and Serial Number: "Zachary, Zeta Unit, Civilian, BC0006. I knew that I wouldn't
give them more information than they knew already. They didn't ask me anything at all.
It was strange. They brought me to a room, where I met the Big Brother. He watched
me for a long while than he simply said that he was sad. I was totally confused. I told
him my ID. No reply. I asked him, why he was sad and after a while he said that I
switched off his TV. Then silence again.
Then he started to tell me how much he likes Humphrey Bogart and the old version
of Star Trek. He became more detailed and told me about a planet thousand of light
years from Earth, where strange entities endangered a voyager ship and how Captain
Kirk and Spock managed it again to save their mission.
I couldn't get the link to the C-probes, so I asked. He laughed and said that he's
talking about science fiction. Just stories without any real background. I couldn't understand
the reason for those stories.
There are C-probes fighting out there, killing Ipsolstai and launching missiles toward
our Fortress, and he is talking about some fantasy and that he can't watch TV anymore.
I was enraged. I told him to stop the C-probes. He just said that he was sorry and that
it was not fair to blow up his TV. I shouted at him. Then the two little bugs came back
and locked me in that room again.
What is a TV? I never heard about that before and he didn't tell me.
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