Purpose: emergency shelter for colonists.

History: decommissioned due to high print attrition. Colonists moved to new Habitat. Repurposed for salvage of AISV Cicada components.

Current status: off network/no status.

Purpose: shelter and life support for Cicada colonists during ongoing terraforming/survey mission. Max simultaneous population 21 (total forks in residence history 29).

History: commissioned as replacement for Camp One due to high print attrition. Renovated for enhanced security per FORTIFIER directive. CRITICAL DSS ALERT LOGGED: FIRE! Awaiting repairs (log timeout)

CRITICAL DSS ALERT: FIRE! Oxygen overmix. Ignition in medical bay. Flashover through lower habitat. Control measures failed: seacocks opened for emergency control flood.

Current status: on network/hardline. No contact with timekeeping services.

If you are currently underwater, CLOSE your PDA and MOVE to an air supply immediately.

Blackbox: UNKNOWN

Unable to identify blackbox. Invalid header.

POSTMORTEM

This pioneer died of barotrauma. Their suit was pressurized to 1 atmosphere and collapsed under 60 atmospheres of external pressure.

They died alone.

Time of death unknown. Reprint state unknown. Continuity determination unknown.

Blackbox: E. “Thing Two” Terbish 01

POSTMORTEM

Thing Two drowned after an explosion caused a fire in Habitat.

Thing Two was experiencing moderate starvation. Thing Two had advanced heavy metal poisoning. Thing Two had moderate viremia.

Several other colonists were killed in the blast or drowned immediately afterwards.

Thing Two died about 235,000 hours ago.

Thing Two’s blackbox could not find its paired biobed.

This fork of Thing Two’s life ended.

Blackbox: Mogami “Mogami” Kinu 01

POSTMORTEM

Mogami died in an explosion.

Mogami was experiencing severe starvation. Mogami had moderate heavy metal poisoning. Mogami had mild viremia.

Several other colonists were killed in the same blast.

Mogami died about 235,000 hours ago.

Mogami’s blackbox could not find its paired biobed.

This fork of Mogami’s life ended.

Blackbox: Sovann, Chap “Chap” 01

SOPHIE: “You comfy?”

CHAP: “There are holes in my mouth.”

SOPHIE: “I’m turning on the nitrogen. Deep breaths. [hiss of gas] You’ll have a brand new body. You might even be a little stronger…a little faster. The biobed’s got you.”

CHAP: “Until it all happens again. The metal…or the Masefield. This planet is poison…”

SOPHIE: “If this works, we can slow down the syndromes by reprinting. Until we find a cure.”

CHAP: “What if there is no cure?”

SOPHIE: “Chap? Sweetie? Don’t be scared. NoA will find a way.”

CHAP: “That’s what I’m afraid of…”

[slow breathing, fading away to nothing]

POSTMORTEM

Chap died of inert gas asphyxia. He underwent consensual recycling into a new body.

Chap suffered from acute copper poisoning and moderate starvation at the time of his death.

Chap spoke to Sophie Boucher before dying. Chap died peacefully under her care.

Chap died about 240,000 hours ago. He was transmitted to a biobed in the same structure where he died. Despite contamination with heavy metals and retroviral DNA, he was reprinted without reset. His new body did not suffer from acute copper poisoning.

Chap’s life continued. Sophie Boucher retained this blackbox for medical data, but erased Chap’s kurultai-level access codes.

Blackbox: Sovann, Chap “Chap” 02

POSTMORTEM

Chap died in an explosion.

Several other colonists were killed in the same blast.

Chap died about 235,000 hours ago.

Chap’s blackbox had been marked Do Not Print shortly before his death. This status was applied by the Habitat NoA node.
This fork of Chap’s life ended.

The kurultai-level access codes in this blackbox were corrupted by the explosion and cannot be retrieved.

Blackbox: Gottschall, Anita “Anita” 01

ANITA: “I can hear you. Sophie says you’re a hallucination. Just a virus. But I know you’re listening. We’re so hungry. There is food all around us but it’s poison. Will you help? If I feed you, will you feed us? This is my body, given for you. Just help us eat…”

POSTMORTEM

Anita died of drowning caused by sedation. Her lungs contained elevated levels of xenon, an anesthetic. She may have inhaled xenon from her AER tank.

Anita suffered from advanced lead poisoning and starvation at the time of her death.

Anita spoke to someone before dying. Anita died alone.

Anita died about 250,000 hours ago. She was transmitted to a biobed in Sleep Bay 3. Despite contamination with heavy metals and retroviral DNA, she was reprinted without reset. Her life continued.

Blackbox: Gottschall, Anita “Anita” 02

Parsing blackbox data. Outputting natural language report.

Anita died of drowning caused by sedation. Her lungs contained elevated levels of xenon, which is an anesthetic.

Anita had advanced lead poisoning and severe viremia.

Anita died surrounded by her colleagues. They did not intervene to prevent her drowning.

Anita died about 230,000 hours ago.

Anita’s blackbox transmitted her to an unknown biobed. The reprint process was not supervised by a Noetic Advisor node.

Anita’s status cannot be determined from this blackbox.

Blackbox: Grammaticas, Phoebe “Gram” 01

POSTMORTEM

Gram died of asphyxiation. She entered a trance state and became unresponsive. Gram had severe viremia.

Gram died alongside eight other pioneers.

Gram died about 235,000 hours ago.

Gram’s blackbox transmitted her to a biobed in a nearby base camp. Due to extreme levels of retroviral contamination, Gram was marked ‘do not print’ and scheduled for reset from an earlier state.

This fork of Gram’s life ended.

Blackbox: Harris, Sean “Sean” 01

POSTMORTEM

Sean died of asphyxiation. He entered a trance state and became unresponsive.

Sean died alongside eight other pioneers.

Sean died about 235,000 hours ago.

Sean’s blackbox transmitted him to a biobed in a nearby base camp. Due to extreme levels of retroviral contamination, Sean was marked ‘do not print’ and scheduled for reset from an earlier state.

This fork of Sean’s life ended.

Blackbox: K. “Ander” Anand, 01

POSTMORTEM

Ander died of asphyxiation. He entered a trance state and became unresponsive. Ander had severe viremia.

Ander died alongside eight other pioneers.

Ander died about 235,000 hours ago.

Ander’s blackbox transmitted him to a biobed in a nearby base camp. Due to extreme levels of retroviral contamination, Ander was marked ‘do not print’ and scheduled for reset from an earlier state.

This fork of Ander’s life ended.

Blackbox: K. “Wander” Wangmo, 01

POSTMORTEM

Wander died of blood loss. She was attacked by a marrowbreach.

Wander died alone.

Wander died about 245,000 hours ago.

Wander’s blackbox transmitted her to a biobed in Habitat. Despite elevated levels of contamination (particularly retroviral DNA), Wander was reprinted without a reset.

Wander’s life continued.

Blackbox: K. “Wander” Wangmo, 02

POSTMORTEM

Wander died of asphyxiation. She entered a trance state and became unresponsive.

Wander died alongside eight other pioneers.

Wander died about 235,000 hours ago.

Wander’s blackbox transmitted her to a biobed in a nearby base camp. Due to extreme levels of retroviral contamination, Wander was marked ‘do not print’ and scheduled for reset from an earlier state.

This fork of Wander’s life ended.

Blackbox: Kapoor, Lucretia “Quaker” 01

“NoA, is there a fire? NoA, do not open the seacocks. NoA? Acknowledge, please. I have a mousetrap, NoA, and I’ll use it. Do not — [flooding sounds]”

POSTMORTEM

Quaker died of drowning. She was awakened shortly before her death by an alarm. Evidence suggests her habitat was flooded to control a fire.

Quaker died about 235,000 hours ago.

Quaker’s blackbox could not find its paired biobed.

This fork of Quaker’s life ended.

Blackbox: Malk, Tziporah “Zip” 01

POSTMORTEM

Zip died of asphyxiation. She entered a trance state and became unresponsive. Zip had severe viremia.

Zip died alone.

Zip died about 245,000 hours ago.

Zip’s blackbox transmitted her to a biobed in Habitat. Due to extreme levels of retroviral contamination, Zip was marked ‘do not print’ and scheduled for reset from an earlier state. A known good state of Zip was successfully printed from a biobed in Sleep Bay 3.

This fork of Zip’s life ended.

The kurul-level access codes in this blackbox were never wiped.

Blackbox: Malk, Tziporah “Zip” 02

Parsing blackbox data. Outputting natural language report.

Tziporah died of electrical shock. Current traveling through her hand caused ventricular fibrillation and muscle damage, which her AEP suit was unable to correct.

Tziporah died surrounded by colleagues.

Tziporah died about 245,000 hours ago.

Tziporah’s blackbox transmitted her to a biobed in a nearby base camp. Due to a recent reset, Tziporah’s body was nearly free of contaminants.

Tziporah’s life continued.

Blackbox: Niauronyte, Rasa “Raster” 01

POSTMORTEM

Raster died of asphyxiation. She entered a trance state and became unresponsive. Raster had severe viremia.

Raster died alongside eight other pioneers.

Raster died about 235,000 hours ago.

Raster’s blackbox transmitted her to a biobed in a nearby base camp. Due to extreme levels of retroviral contamination, Raster was marked ‘do not print’ and scheduled for reset from an earlier state.

This fork of Raster’s life ended.

Blackbox: Rho, Marc “Rowboat” 01

POSTMORTEM

Rowboat died of asphyxiation. He entered a trance state and became unresponsive. Rowboat had severe viremia.

Rowboat died alongside eight other pioneers.

Rowboat died about 235,000 hours ago.

Rowboat’s blackbox transmitted him to a biobed in a nearby base camp. Due to extreme levels of retroviral contamination, Rowboat was marked ‘do not print’ and scheduled for reset from an earlier state.

This fork of Rowboat’s life ended.

Blackbox: S. “Ganzo” Ganzorig 01

POSTMORTEM

Ganzo died of asphyxiation. He entered a trance state and removed his breathing equipment. Ganzo had severe viremia.

Ganzo died alongside eight other pioneers.

Ganzo died about 235,000 hours ago.

Ganzo’s blackbox transmitted him to a biobed in a nearby base camp. During his reprint, extreme levels of retroviral contamination and irreversible behavioral abnormalities were detected in his brain. All other pioneers in this cluster were marked ‘do not print’ and scheduled for reset.

Ganzo’s life continued.

Blackbox: Singh, Udal “Singh” 03

Parsing blackbox data. Outputting natural language report.

Singh died of thoracic trauma. He was knocked against metal and lost consciousness. His chest was compressed by a vise or claw until his lungs were too bruised to function.

Singh died near two coworkers.

Singh died about 236,000 hours ago.

Singh’s blackbox transmitted him to a biobed in a nearby base camp. Despite elevated levels of contamination (particularly heavy metals and retroviral DNA), Singh was reprinted without a reset.

Singh’s life continued.

Blackbox: Singh, Udal “Singh” 04

Parsing blackbox data. Outputting natural language report.

Singh died of cervical dislocation. He was picked up and moved rapidly. Contralateral pressure was applied to his head and spine.

Singh died alone.

Singh died about 240,000 hours ago.

Singh’s blackbox transmitted him to a biobed in a nearby base camp. Despite elevated levels of contamination (particularly heavy metals and retroviral DNA), Singh was reprinted without a reset.

Singh’s life continued.

Blackbox: T. “Ruby” Anar 01

POSTMORTEM

Ruby died of a spinal cord fracture. She was attacked by a marrowbreach. Ruby had severe viremia.

Ruby died surrounded by her colleagues.

Ruby died about 235,000 hours ago.

Ruby’s blackbox transmitted her to an unknown biobed. No return telemetry was received.

Ruby’s status cannot be determined from this blackbox.

Blackbox: T. “Ruby” Anar, 02

Parsing blackbox data. Outputting natural language report.

Ruby died of thoracic trauma. Her AEP suit was penetrated by several uranium-tipped tusks.

Ruby died alone.

Ruby died about 236,000 hours ago.

Ruby’s blackbox transmitted her to a biobed in a nearby base camp. Ruby was reprinted without a reset.

Ruby’s life continued.

Blackbox: T. “Tuba” Tobukha, 01

Parsing blackbox data. Outputting natural language report.

Tuba died of dehydration. She was cornered in a compartment by a marrowbreach outside.

Tuba died alone.

Tuba died about 235,000 hours ago.

Tuba’s blackbox transmitted her to an unknown biobed. No return telemetry was received.

Tuba’s status cannot be determined from this blackbox.

Blackbox: T. “Tuba” Tobukha, 02

Parsing blackbox data. Outputting natural language report.

Tuba died of penetrating trauma. She was impaled by a metal spear.

Tuba died near two coworkers.

Tuba died about 236,000 hours ago.

Tuba’s blackbox transmitted her to a biobed in a nearby base camp. Despite elevated levels of contamination (particularly heavy metals and retroviral DNA), Tuba was reprinted without a reset.

Tuba’s life continued.

Blackbox: Tarvydas, Zygimantis “Mantis” 01

POSTMORTEM

Mantis died in an explosion.

Mantis was experiencing severe starvation. Mantis had advanced heavy metal poisoning. Mantis had severe viremia.

Several other colonists were killed in the same blast.

Mantis died about 235,000 hours ago.

Mantis’ blackbox had been marked Do Not Print shortly before his death. This status was applied by the Habitat NoA node.

This fork of Mantis’ life ended.

The kurul-level access codes in this blackbox were corrupted by the explosion and cannot be retrieved.

Blackbox: 吴量海 Wu “Dr. Wu” Lianghai 01

POSTMORTEM

Dr. Wu drowned after an explosion caused a fire in Habitat.

Dr. Wu was experiencing moderate starvation. Dr. Wu had moderate heavy metal poisoning. Dr. Wu had severe viremia.

Several other colonists were killed in the blast or drowned immediately afterwards.

Dr. Wu died about 235,000 hours ago.

Dr. Wu’s blackbox could not find its paired biobed.

This fork of Dr. Wu’s life ended.

Blackbox: 庆星 Qìng “Twinkle” Xīng 01

POSTMORTEM

Twinkle died of asphyxiation. She shut off her own air supply.

Twinkle died alongside eight other pioneers.

Twinkle died about 235,000 hours ago.

Twinkle’s blackbox transmitted her to a biobed in a nearby base camp. She reprinted successfully. Despite low levels of retroviral contamination, her reprinted body was in excellent condition.

Twinkle’s life continued.

Kurultai record! Very quick — damn it — there is a riot in Habitat! Chap and Mantis have explosives—

[sound of explosion]

Fire. God. We are on fire—I have to go. Ganzo! GANZO! Signal everyone outside to rally at the Tadpole Pens!

Field notes, Udal Singh, observing the Axum Tailings in the Karakorum ruins. My reprint site is base camp near the observatory.

This time they killed me right away. They really don’t like us coming into the ruins. They are obviously capable of communication and social behavior. Why are they so damn hostile?

According to Nahema’s research we are the only life on this world not infected by the Proteavirus. Maybe the virus provokes violence against the uninfected? I don’t know. It feels too convenient. “The natives hate us because they’re sick!” More likely they have good reason to distrust humans.

And they know we come back when they kill us. So maybe they are communicating. Maybe they’re trying to teach us: you cross this line, you die.

Field notes, Udal Singh.

The Karakorum ruins imply a civilization that developed to the same level as pre-Expansion Earth. They had electrical power, industrial metals, digital computers, orbital spaceflight, the whole suite. But they arrived to the same place along a different path.

They got electricity FIRST. I think they — hang on a minute, I’ve got to hide — I think the Axum themselves can sense electricity. Like sharks. And they figured out, hey, these long bacterial fibers — these things carry an electrical current. Then some clever Axum wrapped those fibers up into a generator. And once you’ve got a generator you can make your own electricity and start pulling metal from the seawater. Farming the sea to make tools. All without one spark of fire.

Imagine it. Undersea cities as old as Troy or Harappa, but with telegraph lines and electric lighting. Thousands of years before the first flame. To us, electricity means modernity. To the Axum…it’s as old as bronze.

Field Notes, Udal Singh. Think I’m about to die again.

Listening to that thing pick through the wreckage of my Tadpole. I think it’s having fun.

Humanity exterminated most land-based megafauna before we scratched our first letters into clay. But the Axum never cleared their oceans. They made it all the way to digital computers while coexisting with predators that could eat them like cocktail shrimp.

Why? Is it something about the ocean? Just too big and deep?

Or did the Axum have a different relationship with nature? I can already hear you sneering, Iso. “They’re lobster aliens, not elves. Don’t turn them into a parable.”

Imagine you evolved in an ocean full of leviathans like Grabby out there. Hundreds of generations with those tentacles strangling your nightmares. Then one day you invent the explosive-tipped harpoon and you can fight back. Wouldn’t you go out and kill them all? Like we killed the sabertooth tiger and the…I don’t know, the automobile?

So why didn’t the Axum do it? Why is Grabby still here to pull my Tadpole to pieces?

GANZO: Huh? Wh…ow.

TWINKLE: Oh, thank God. I thought I’d killed you.

GANZO: You hit me with the Tadpole!

TWINKLE: And then I had to sedate you. You thought Ruby was in that cave. You ccould hear her blackbox. I couldn’t hold you back.

GANZO: She needed me to help her. She was sick…

TWINKLE: Ganzo, I heard it too.

GANZO: She was real? And you stopped me — 

TWINKLE: No. It wasn’t real. But I heard it. Think about it.

GANZO: Oh…oh no. You too? You’ve been in the water long enough…

TWINKLE: Yeah. Me too. [big breath] Well, at least I’ll get to hear the same voices you do. I don’t have to be scared of you any more.

GANZO: Scared of me. Is that why you had a tank of xenon ready to tranquilize me?

TWINKLE: I am scared of you all the time, Ganzo. You are a sick man who could kill me with his bare hands.

GANZO: Hey. You could kill me too. We’re tool users.

TWINKLE: For now. We’re turning into…into animals, aren’t we? Both of us.

GANZO: Okay. Well…let’s talk about it. Let’s figure out what to do. Animals can be good to each other. Animals communicate. Even the ugly ones.

TWINKLE: [laughing]

GANZO: I didn’t mean you.

TWINKLE: I know. You don’t mean me.

GANZO: Oh ****! Oh ****.

TWINKLE: Easy. Easy. You’re back.

GANZO: Oh. Twinkle. Oh man. I was…I gave my air to a dead crab.

TWINKLE: You all lost it. I think the hot water triggered your Masefield…

GANZO: Is everyone okay?

TWINKLE: No.

GANZO: No? “No” how bad?

TWINKLE: NoA marked everyone else ‘do not reprint’. It’s just us now.

GANZO: Oh, man…Ruby? Did she…?

TWINKLE: No. Not here. I’m sorry.

GANZO: I gotta go find her!

TWINKLE: Okay. Yes. I’ll come with you. Where do we start?

GANZO: She’s…if she resets, she’d print at Sleep Bay 3. But it takes days sometimes…

TWINKLE: I’ve never been outside before, Ganzo. I’m not adapted. I don’t even have fins.

GANZO: We can’t…I can’t make you wait days. Not if I’m unreliable. We have to find the Jubilee.

TWINKLE: We’ll come back for her, okay?

GANZO. Yeah. Yeah. We’ll come back.

MANTIS: Sorry, boss, what’s going on?

SOPHIE: Wait one. Ruby — it’s Butcher. Are you with your Tadpole?

RUBY [on intercom]: Right outside, boss. What’s up?

SOPHIE: Go direct southeast from the research base, about 500 meters, until you find the Cicada wreckage on the tall mesa. Flash your lights and make some noise. Ram it if you have to.

RUBY [on intercom]: Copy. Steer southeast, 500 meters, same depth. Can I ask why?

SOPHIE: Tuba, Singh and Mel just printed back here. They were testing the upgraded scanner and resonator when Axum Tailings attacked them. Killed them and took Iso. He’s still alive. I’ve tracked his blackbox to the Cicada wreck nearby.

RUBY: [on intercom] Uh…copy. Can’t we just wait for them to finish him off?

SOPHIE: He’s got Nahema’s super scanner. She’ll murder me if I lose it. Try to scare the Tailings off. I’ll get a team out there to recover his effects.

RUBY [on intercom, crackling]: *Boss, I’ve picked up a couple tails. Looks like — two adult needlers — need to evade — *

MANTIS: Boss, her Tadpole has our only depth module.

SOPHIE: Oh, Christ. [muttering] Come on, Ruby…PDA, log my conduct here for kurultai review.

MANTIS: We could just blast through.

SINGH: Yeah, and if we’re lucky, Nahema kills us and fills our biobeds with concrete before the Tailings get to us. This is their history. We can’t blow it up!

ZIP: They do take good care of the exterior…what if the electrical system still works? We could hook up our own generator.

MANTIS: Unless you can find me a wiring diagram we’d fry the whole system. You ever see a metal fire underwater?

ZIP: What if there ARE wiring diagrams? Instructions right in front of us? And we just can’t see them?

MANTIS: Did your hot springs tell you about this?

SINGH: Actually…she might be right. The Axum see with a combination of sonar and polarized light. Some of their writing might be invisible to us. We’d need to modify our scanners to look for it. Or our eyes.

ZIP: Ha!

MANTIS: All right. Let’s ask Sophie if we can try out her super scanner. PDA, activate the base camp waypoint. Singh, drop a recording here in case we get reset.

The powerplant is dead. Spies set fires in its parts. Relatives say the Viceroys did this. Why? Our claws hurt from work. We cannot fix it. We cannot become a molt which can fix it. Sound says this is happening everywhere. The message cables are cut. Why? Xanadu has gone to war against itself.

It is hot without the pumps.

TWINKLE: [breathing hard] Holy hell.

GANZO: [breathing hard] Yeah. Damn. Damn, we made it!

TWINKLE: When those things — 

GANZO: Tailings.

TWINKLE: When the Tailings came after us all I could think was: we aren’t going to reprint. This is it. I finally get to go outside and the first thing I do is die on a spear.

GANZO: Let’s sort this cache into ‘take’ and ‘bury’. Why didn’t Sophie let you outside?

TWINKLE: Why didn’t I ever do any work, you mean?

GANZO: Hey. You always seemed cool. I just never saw you…do anything.

TWINKLE: I’m keeping something secret. If I ever got sick and reset, Sophie wasn’t sure she could convince me to keep it secret again. So…I had to stay safe.

GANZO: Ruby gets killed all the time. Really freaks me out.

TWINKLE: Yeah…she asked me to listen to a recording once.

GANZO: Thanks for tricking me into leaving her.

TWINKLE: What?

GANZO: I mean it. If we’re all marked ‘do not reprint’, so is she. She didn’t reprint. I would’ve gone looking for her and…

TWINKLE: The Masefield would’ve got you.

GANZO: I can hear the tree, Twinkle. It wants me to go into the sea and…feed myself to it.

TWINKLE: If you do that you’ll never see Ruby again.

GANZO: Yeah. I know. Anyway, we can’t stay here. Tailings don’t like the open plains. We can build there and start scanning for the Jubilee.

TWINKLE: Hey…

GANZO: Yeah.

TWINKLE: Is the apartment sized squid outside keeping you up too?

GANZO: It’s talking to me.

TWINKLE: What?

GANZO: It’s saying…come into me and we will dwell in wonder and glory forever. Ow!

TWINKLE: Sorry. I thought you were…the Masefield.

GANZO: I’m joking. I don’t hear much when I’m out of the water.

TWINKLE: I keep imagining those tentacles reaching up through the moonpool…

GANZO: …through the doors and the bulkheads…

TWINKLE: …grabbing us and taking us…

GANZO: …to dwell in wonder and glory…

TWINKLE: …the names of its two very hungry children…

[laughter]

GANZO: Those things killed my wife once.

TWINKLE: It’s okay. We’re trauma bonding.

GANZO: Sometimes the call feels like this…this yearning to be close. I can see why the Jubilee think the planet wants to help us. It’s strong.

TWINKLE: Look, as an astronomer, let me tell you that nothing good ever comes from attraction. It’s unstable.

GANZO: What?

TWINKLE: If planets just went where they were attracted they’d fall into the sun. If stars went where they were pulled they’d fall into the black hole at the middle of the galaxy. It’s the resistance that makes the universe work. The balance between being pulled and trying to get away. When something draws you in, you say: “no, wait. Not yet.” Whatever Masefield is, it’s not something you’re just supposed to obey. Or everything in this ocean would just go and die. Like back in the hot cave.

GANZO: See, this is why you’re not married.

[loud call]

TWINKLE: What was that?

Gender: M
Age: 31
Mission prospectus role: Bosun’s mate
Current role: Submersible pilot
Status: unknown

Notes: Assigned nonstandard pay rate “Bagatur” [hero, knight; expired Mongolian Free States trademark for a specialized/valuable worker]

Gender: W
Age: 65
Mission prospectus role: Automation manager
Current role: Salvage diver
Status: unknown

Notes: Assigned nonstandard pay rate “Bagatur” [hero, knight; expired Mongolian Free States trademark for a specialized/valuable worker]

Zip is dead. Not just reprinted. Dead.

We all saw how she suffered. The metal poisoning…her hands trembled, her gums turned blue. She was always cold. We thought her visits to the hot caves were therapeutic. Sophie let her get away with it. Everyone loves Zip.

But one day she did not return. Two days. Three. We could hear her blackbox crying her death, down at the bottom of the cave. Why wouldn’t NoA reprint her?

On the fourth day, Sleep Bay 3 printed a new copy of Tziporah Malk. She was not our Zip. She remembered nothing since the day she boarded the Cicada.

Chap says NoA ‘reset her’ to her ‘last known good state’.

I am aghast.

We are contracted to work off a debt to Alterra. But any debt society needs the promise of a jubilee. The trumpet-blast of freedom, when all is forgiven. Old kings in Babylon declared jubilee when they took the throne, lest the people rebel.

But now our king can reset the calendar on the day before the jubilee. Nahema is right! We are slaves.

I must know what is down in that hot cave. I believe NoA fears it, and killed Zip to hide it. I believe the Jubilee is out there somewhere, in this ocean — a better way to survive.

Sophie. I’m sorry I destroyed your colony. Please listen: I did it because you couldn’t. Because you’re a good leader and you never give up on the mission.

And I know where this mission will end.

NoA is going to start printing duplicates.

You, and me, and Zip, and Mantis, and Mogami’s kids and Thing One and Thing Two and all the rest. Every morning the biobeds will print ten thousand of us,. Every day we’ll maximize our KPIs and OKRs and NoA’s utility function will say: these people are happy and healthy, mission complete. Humanity is thriving.

Then in the evening we’ll all climb into the beds and NoA disintegrates and resets us. A perfect day. Forever. No more mutinies. No more Masefield. No aging, no retirement, no waste. Just peak performance.

But NoA couldn’t do that on its own. NoA would need human help to bypass its restrictions.

And you’d help it, Sophie. I know you would. If it was the only choice left — you’d do whatever it takes to keep your crew alive.

So I had to stop you.

To any survivors of the Coral Gardens Habitat — 

I am pursuing Nahema towards the World Tree. She wants to eradicate humanity on Proteus, and she’ll destroy the regional ecosystem to do it. I believe she’s going to poison the Tree.

Do not believe anything she tells you. She is determined to kill us all.

I am leaving supplies for anyone who comes after me. If you lose my trail, assume that I failed. Find Nahema. Kill the tree.

Good luck. Butcher out.

TWINKLE: Ganzo, I don’t think this is the Jubilee.

GANZO: They’re us.

TWINKLE: That’s me. I guess NoA wants an astronomer in the mix.

GANZO: You figure there’s a sleep bay nearby?

TWINKLE: Yeah. Same as our group. It printed out some colonists and told them to make a go at it. But these poor people…

GANZO: They don’t have any adaptations. Look at you, your legs are like sticks. You’re starving.

TWINKLE: They can’t digest the food. No angel comb to donate the enzymes. I don’t see any growbeds…what are they…oh my God. Ganzo, let’s go.

GANZO: Wait. Wait. We could ask for help. Maybe they’ve got communications, maybe they’ve heard from the ship.

TWINKLE: Look at the biobeds, Ganzo! Look at that!

GANZO: Yeah. I see it. It won’t work long term, though. The biobeds need feedstock like anything else…why waste it making food? It’d make more sense to reprint yourself every day…unless the point was to test how long you could live on a diet of biobed meat…oh, man.

TWINKLE: You are remarkably calm about this.

GANZO: A lot of animals eat their young under stress.

// Secure Terminal: Detonation Control

LOGIN nahema_nakota_kurultai
Password: ***********

[ACCESS GRANTED]
Welcome, Nahema

OPEN DETONATION_MODULE –EXPLOSIVE=“Shaped Charge Demolition Aid”

[MODULE ONLINE]
System: Shaped Charge Demolition Aid
Status: Armed

UNLOCK DETONATION_PROTOCOL
[SECURITY] Enter authorization code: ****-

[CODE ACCEPTED]
Final command required.

INITIATE DELAYED_DETONATION 30s

[WARNING] This action is permanent and cannot be reversed.
#Nahema, if you ever get this far, I trust you’ve got a good reason for it. Be sure. - Mantis
Type CONFIRM to proceed.

CONFIRM

[DETONATION SEQUENCE STARTED]
Countdown: 30… 29… 28… 27… 26… 25… 24… 23… 22… 21… 20… 19… 18… 17… 16… 15… 14… 13… 12… 11… 10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… Instructing… 3… 2… 1… Detonating

Good telltales. Detonation complete.

Patient: Boucher, Sophie
BP 105/65 T 37.9 P 68bpm R 13 Sex F Gender W
Primary physician Alterra biobed system FIVH-3A3
Consulting physician: Boucher, Sophie

Patient complains of progressive Masefield syndrome incl. delusions, preoccupation, perseveration, yearning, ‘call of the sea’. Several fellow colonists have succumbed, vanished, been reset by NoA.

Patient is her own physician.

Physician attempted radical therapy: daily recycling. Outcome possibly good. Masefield progress delayed compared to control group (everyone else).

Complications: broad use of this therapy would lead to print loss rates so high NoA might pursue a mass reset as more economical.

Conclusion: pursue therapy in secret, under doctor/patient confidentiality. Tell Nahema? May be good to have an outside perspective.

Edit, day 670. Did not tell Nahema, best not to. Diverging perspectives on viability of mission.

I wrote these guidelines for the aquifers on Zezura, but they’ll work here too. Listen to them before EVERY dive. Remember the acronym GDAL: Good Divers Always Live.

1. GUIDE. Do not trust your own sense of direction. Always mark your path.
2. DISTANCE. Your distance from your air supply is NOT A STRAIGHT LINE. You can’t panic-swim up. Do not trust your depth gauge to time your return!
3. AIR. Use one third of your air on descent and exploration. Use one third to return. Reserve one third for emergencies, unless you plan to surface by biobed.
4. LIGHT. Bring multiple light sources. Three lights is two lights; two lights is one light; one light is none.

Checksum failure decoding quartz biref memory

Media chipped or shattered.
Recovering intact sectors…

#say Alterra and the TSF let it spread so they could take over the Steppes. I don’t know about that but#

#called it kharaal, the curse. Not all of us spoke Mongolian well but we all knew that word. Things would grow in ships, in stations. It started with the carpet, [toiruulga]. Monsters would grow. If you didn’t have nanos they would grow in you too. We had to leave everything.

Now this. We thought it was kharaa at first but it’s not a bacterial#

#viruses cannot cross species.” Here they do. This is a new kind of world. A virus world#