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Andrew reporting.
Yes, Koala. Teamwork. It has been scientifically proven time and again that the
group decision is more effective than the individual. While the individual may become
fixed on one course of action, the input of the others provides a needed balance.
This is the case with probes as well as humans.
A note of explanation may be in order about our pyramid to reach the computer console.
I am the logical one to repair the computer, although I am very reluctant to interface
directly with it. Daniel made an unusual request (It is unusual for Daniel to request
anything) to allow Isaac to investigate and have the experience of independent exploration.
I agreed because I think it is a good thing that Daniel is taking and interest in Isaac's
development. Although Isaac has learned a lot tagging along after Bette, there is no
teacher like first-hand experience. He must experience the joy of discovery for himself.
I am ready to take over when Isaac becomes confused.
"Yes, Elder Brother. It's definitely on Earth."
Elder Brother is doing better with his Twenty Questions than I thought. I have to be
careful that he doesn't beat my record, but I'm certain that it will become harder
for him.
Thanks for your concern, Koala. We know that we are very exposed down here. Koala,
I promise that we will be very careful when moving on. That was also the reason why
we did all that mapping last week. But it's true, we never considered that there
won't be any Probes available to come to our aid, if needed. We will definitely keep
that in mind.
Now, guess what we found ahead of us? No, don't guess! You won't believe it anyway.
I'll send you an image.
Do you know what that is? That's ice. A lot of ice. The whole cave floor is covered
with that ice. Can you see the glowing layer in the center of that ice field? It's the
same stuff that we found back at that rock. Sojourner's analyses confirm that.
You know what? That stuff is all around the cave down here.
"Zachary, did you find some more?"
Don't worry, Koala. Isaac is OK, and constantly reporting his progress. He still
can't say what caused the sparks at the ship's computer console, but he is not
damaged at all. He is tracing in particular the controls for the ship's propulsion
system. So far, no problem has been located.
I am nearly free. I wiggled and pulled the entire weekend. Another leg is free;
now there is only one still pinned under Nelson. I was worried, but my legs work nicely.
Commander Perry and Nelson are still not responding to the translator box. I can
sense a recurring pulse indicating functional systems, however, and their temperature is an
average of six degrees Centigrade higher than ambient temperature. I think this
is a good sign. Maybe if I prod them a little bit, they will react.
Hi, Koala.
Thanks for your analyses. They are very helpful to us. Don't worry, I'm not concerned
that Mao and Kim aren't sentient. That's okay with me. But I will continue to call them
"he". Elder Brother always does, so courteously I will keep on that way.
Koala, I asked Elder Brother about Kim again. I didn't want to suspect him of anything.
So he introduced me to the fact that he lost contact with Kim during the first
Amphibian attack in the Ipsolstai flught training hall. He said that he feels very
sorry that he lost Kim. That was also the reason why he didn't talk about him
when I asked him the first time. Now, I feel sorry too. It's so understandable, isn't it?
We are busy exploring the ice field. It's huge. We checked carefully, but there are no
further passages beyond the ice field. it looks like the cave ends in that hall.
I just got Sojourner's analyses. Temperature is still at -10°C, radiation went up
to 8.3 microcuries, Methyl Idodide pressure increased now to 85 ppm, atmospheric oxygen
reached 2%, atmospheric sulfur remained at the same level.
You know what is puzzling? It's that we found a lot of solid H2O down here, but
Sojourner dedected less then 1% of humidity in the atmosphere. Is that normal?
"Yes, Enoch. There is a lot of that stuff over here too."
Koala, I will do everything I can to help Theresa. As the assembled Ipsolstai
watched and listened, she presented pictures that were different from mine. I knew
that she would have a slightly different viewpoint, but I suspect that she is giving an
enhanced report. She may have edited her images, too.
I really need to discuss this with her. Even if it means that Caleb wins, she needs
to be accurate. Reliable and accurate reporting is the basis of Probe Society.
It is against our nature to change facts. If you can't rely on a probe for strict truth,
who can you rely on?
To look at the colors, the concensus has been ruined. Some Ipsolstai are cycling between
orange and green. Others are a dull brown. Koala, I am so scared for Theresa.
Miss Chang has been sending lots of messages. She seems upset and worried about
something that she is not telling me.
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