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I am exploring the Ipsolstai base. I couldn't risk transmission earlier,
JASE, because I thought they would locate me and send me back to our quarters.
Their installation is larger than it looked from the outside. It is very
different from the tunnel complex that we explored back on Mars. It is sufficiently
different that I wonder if the Ipsolstai merely utilized an earlier tunnel system
that they found, instead of building one.
These tunnels do not wind and loop. They are constructed at precise angles, with
many intersections. The floor is mostly flat, with an occasional gentle rise
or fall. It is covered with a springy, textured matting. The ceiling height varies
from one meter to six meters. The tunnel width varies from two meters to eight meters.
They are evenly lit, with few shadows. I can't determine the source of illumination.
I will describe the walls as opalescent. That is the best way of explaining
their smooth shiny almost metallic surface.
I have encountered many elevators, similar to the ones in the Mars caves. This
complex winds and twists back on itself like a three dimensional puzzle.
Thanks for the good wishes, Orpheus. I have always made it home so far.
Daniel has left Isaac alone over the weekend but the Ipsolstai didn't. They
came in and fixed Isaac. They reattached the connectors and now his leg works again.
They actually spent some time playing with him too. Playing games and things, not
really asking many questions.
Daniel managed to get that thing off of his back and he gave it to Isaac but Isaac
didn't seem very interested in it anymore. Isaac just wanted to play with the
Ipsolstai. Daniel went back to his side of the room and kind of idly explored
what was there. I think he was a little hurt, almost.
I spent some more time with the terminal. It is still very hard to use. I tried
asking it who we should fear. It took some work but it finally told me a few things.
(1) The Delemreck are not at the present time
believed to be planning an attack on the Sol system.
(2) The capabilities of the Human species are incapable of posing a serious threat
to Imperium forces in the event of a conquest.
(3) The Superiors have continued the advocacy for such conquest
with a program of securing of territory.
Would you like to know more?
Then I tried to learn about the Superiors and I got this.
That's as far as I've gotten so far. I wonder what it means. I'll try and get more.
Thanks for your nice Valentine rose, Thixel, and also for your nice wishes, Orpheus.
"May the other guy always miss." By now they did. Orpheus, I was thinking about
what you were saying about paranoia. Maybe I was overdoing a little. That isn't
good. Zachary is fine. He isn't brainwashed. At least I don't think that he is.
We are still in the old lava field, but we have passed the basaltic mounds already.
The warriors are moving on fine. Do you remember the sharp ridged field where
we had to detour a lot when driving the tram? The warriors went over all these ridges
and cracks, as if there weren't any barriers at all. Their treads just worked like
claws. They went up the steep slopes until they stood almost vertically, and then they
bumped down on the other side. I hardly could keep myself on top of the warrior that
I was riding, but it was real fun. I liked it. Sojourner fell off Zachary's warrior once.
His fall looked bad, but he wasn't damaged.
We made a little stop after that, so I asked Zachary about the decoder. He opened my
casing and he quickly found a port to add the adapter. It works better that way. Mao
gave us also a whole set of commands, so we can compress them now to single pings
that can be understood by the warriors. It's much easier to control them that way and
it's more fun too.
I'm happy that I'm not paranoid anymore, and I'm sure that we really can trust
Elder Brother and his helpers now. Thanks for that, Orpheus.
Thank you for the beautiful rose and the poem, Orpheus. I was not expecting such
a nice surprise. I think you are my true friend, too. I feel sorry for the forlorn little orange
ones that sent us that sad message.
They sound very lonely.
Miss Chang was very interested in you, Orpheus. I think she might like a Valentine, too.
Tell me more about this friend Orpheus.
How did you meet him? What does he tell you?
Get after this, Parker! We have another lead.
You might be able to atone for your wretched mistakes.
We hold you personally responsible for the loss
of Dilyn Carter, just when she was on the verge of telling us about her
so-called secret organization.
It will not happen again.
Code name: Orpheus
And there's lots more, Orpheus. But I have to stop transmitting now. The mining
drones broke through into the Ipsolstai tunnel complex. It's just as eerie and repulsive
as I thought it was. But I just heard something unusual. It's like an echo, or. . . I have
to listen now.
"May your namesake's luck hold true for you." That sounds good, Orpheus. We need
a lot of good luck for the coming mission. Thanks for your roses as well, Thixel. They are nice. I like them.
It looks like Enoch totally recovered from his shock that he got by the C-probe
attack lately. He has fun riding the warriors and we also added the decoders to our
CPUs. I experimented a little with the commands Mao gave us. I can address each
warrior by its ID and I can also control their rocket launcher. Either I show them a
target and they turn the missiles exactly to that direction or I can move their rockets
at my will. Same with moving our troops in military formations. They have a
whole variety of strategic formations. I'm changing them constantly to learn what they
can do. They are very smart, much smarter than our drones.
I hope that Elder Brother got the brigade ready in time. Kim should have already
started this morning. Mao said that we won't wait for him now, but meet him later.
It's easier to cross the old lava flow with a smaller troop than in a bulk. Kim
will get closer at the northern plains. We will reach its edge by tomorrow.
"Gail, how is it on your side?"
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