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Andrew reporting.
It's good to be back with my companions again. I missed them more than I realized.
Gail is correct in her concept of Probe Society; two or more of us linked together in
contact are more effective than two separate. I must think about it. How can the total
be more than the sum of the parts? There must be some kind of synergy involved, to
change the equation.
Bette rushed over and touched my antenna. Isaac is still jumping up and down.
Even Daniel is glad to see me.
"Get ready to go. There is no reason to stay here as captives. I know the way out."
Bryce, I am currently favoring your suggestions 1 and 2. Confronting the Ipsolstai with
demands might produce an unpredictable response. I do feel pulled back to Mars. It will
aways be home to me. On the other hand, this is an unprecedented opportunity to
continue our explorations, beyond our simple initial programming.
"What will it be, then? Intensive surface exploration or onward to the purple planet,
the Ipsolstai Home World?
Andrew is back! Finally! Oh I'm so happy! I've missed him so much. He just keeps going
on about all the things that he saw and discovered and everything he did. How amazing!
Daniel said hello to him and even Isaac seems to be cheered by his return. We're all back
together again, all of us probes together. I wish we could get back to Mars. Andrew says
we could steal an Ipsolstai ship but I don't know that it would be wise. How would we
operate it? Where would we go? Isaac likes the idea, but I think he just wants to get
away from the Ipsolstai.
An Ipsolstai came into the room for a little while, but it just watched Andrew and
the rest of us and left. Daniel wouldn't move at all, he just kept watching the
Ipsolstai. When he left, Daniel moved and I saw he had been standing over Isaac's ball.
There was something on it again, something Daniel didn't want the Ipsolstai to see.
Do you believe this? What do you think it means?
It is time.
Soon.
For change.
Arrivals.
Departures.
New lessons.
Soon.
It is time.
I kept flying. I think that's better than to land. That way I can at least whirl, if any
Amphibians are attacking. I tried to contact Gail for several times but without reply.
Gail seems very busy with that hatch and also talking with Miss Chang. I checked her
Inbound at Stage One. She is sending and receiving messages. So, she is okay. That's
good to know.
"Gail, can you hear me? Do you have that translation device with you? Please, be so
kind and call Burn. Tell him to bring my weapons to the Hidden Gate. I need them."
Still no reply. Maybe it's my transmitter that isn't working? No, it seems to be okay.
I can reach Stage One without problems. Let's try to contact Zachary.
"Zachary, can you hear me?"
He does. Maybe it's something other reason that I can't reach Gail. However, can
you lend me a hand and ask her via Outbound to contact Burn, so he will move my
weapons to the Hidden Gate?
Hey, what's that? It's at a small plateau up the rocks. It's not moving. I'll get closer to
shoot an image.
Now it's moving. It's turning that loop toward me. I'll dive. Please, tell Gail also to
have a look at that image, and tell her to ask Burn if that machine belongs to the
Ipsolstai or the Amphibians.
"Stop yelling at me, Enoch! Of course I can hear you. I just happened to be a little
busy falling down an elevator shaft. And I do realize how badly you need your weapons.
Please continue to evade while I figure out how this thing works."
Theresa is still carrying the Ipsolstai translator box that Burn gave us. We secured it
just behind her antenna housing so that her hands would be free. I unfastened it, and
let her use it to contact Burn.
"Burn, if you can hear us, Enoch badly needs some weapons to fight the Amphibians. He
can't go on flying circles around them indefinitely. He says to bring his weapons and
meet him by the Hidden Gate at the canyon."
Theresa has an image in the view screen of the communication device. Those Ipsolstai
all look alike to me, but I think it must be Burn. I see a small spider probe,too.
Could it be Kim? Anyway, it's definitely an Ipsolstai.
"Untimely indisposed is this one. Now critical, now."
We have to cross the plains. It doesn't matter whether there are Amphibians or not.
Otherwise we will be blocked up by our own fear. We move on as carefully as ever
using vanguards and rearguards far ahead of us and far behind.
Our next point to reach is the Japanese landing site.
"Hi, Enoch. I hear you loud and clearly. What? You don't have contact with Gail? Okay,
I'll try to contact her too."
"Gail, it's Zachary. Can you hear me?"
"No reply, Enoch. Let's hope that nothing happened to her. Did her Inbound reach the
Stage One relay already?
"We are heading to the Japanese landing site. Elder Brother said that there could
be a second Gen probe. Yes, I'm curious too. Take care of yourself and get your
weapons. We could use a good scout."
There is a hilly site in front of us. According to my files the Japanese lander should be
east of it. Andrew located it once, when he was at the Ipsolstai screens in the tunnel.
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