Badarian Fly

Among the many differences between Earth and Mars is that what can colloquially be referred to as an “insect” is much more straightforward on one planet than on the other. Powered flight has evolved on our planet only four times and only once among the invertebrates, and once the insects made this important step, they occupied every niche available to flying animals their size. In contrast, the organisms that an average layperson might refer to as “Martian insects” can come from vastly different backgrounds, attesting to a long forgotten time when the air was thicker, evolving flight was as easy as going back in the water and vast swarms of aeroplankton made up large parts of the global ecosystem. Among the red planet’s small to microscopic flying organisms, one may find wadjets, the larvae of shellubim, spring-tailed furchordatans and even hummingbird-sized ballousaurs and pedicambulates, which parasitically feed on the blood of larger Martians. But most prominent (behind the wadjets and aeroplanktonic larvae) are the nekhbets, a group of tiny archaeocephalians.

 

 

Most iconic of this group, for it is encountered the most across the Martian shrublands, is Paradipterosaurus ranamusca, commonly known as the badarian fly. In it we can also observe the basic bodyplan of this clade, though it has become quite abstract in more derived members. As we can see, having evolved from a six-legged ancestor (perhaps an early stultusaur or maybe even something more ancient), nekhbets developed a unique arrangement wherein the front and back limbs became wings while the centre pair retained their walking function. The spine between these sections is largely stiffened and inflexible. As with the ballousaurs, who evolved their wings out of their hindlegs, this seems quite silly at first. One would think that the “draconic” configuration, wherein the middle-limbs become the wings, would be easier and more practical to evolve, but observation has shown that this four-winged form comes with many advantages which allows the organims a stable, controlled and flexible flight, somewhat akin to what is seen in some man-made drones. Indeed, it seems to have been a winning strategy, for the only “draconic”-winged onychognaths were a short-lived group of tagmasaurs that went extinct at the end of the Isidian, while nekhbets thrive until modern day.

The badarian fly buzzes through the shrublands, its long neck curled up and its legs tucked in, using its painted tail for manoeuvring while on the search for succulent young fractarian fronds. When found, the beetle-sized animal uses its tiny cheliceres to gnaw into the “plants”, feeding on the soft, jellicious tissues and sucking up any available liquid. A single fly is often too small to cause significant damage, but in groups or swarms they can become a serious threat to the organisms’ health. Many fractarians have thus evolved defences against this and other small, flying herbivores, such as bristles, hardened cuticles, deadly toxins, suffocating sap or even venomous needle-hairs. Some arephytes, who may also fall victim to this pharaonic plague, have gone one step further and became carnivorous, much in the fashion of the sundew. With the spongisporians, the badarian fly and other nekhbets share a more positive relationship. They will often inhabit the porous bodies of these sponge-like organisms, perhaps feeding them in turn through their excrements.

The badarian fly is among the many areozoans who annually migrate to the great tundra in the south, when the summer sun thaws the top-layer of the permafrost and makes the red fronds spring back to life. Although practicing internal fertilization, most nekhbets lay their unshelled eggs in the spring bogs and ponds that form here, similar to other archaic onychognaths. These eggs hatch first into eel-like larvae, feeding on microscopic water-flora, which then grow six long, webbed, almost frog-like limbs. As they mature, the external gills in the armpits of these "tadpoles" invaginate and become book-lungs. The webbing on the front- and hindlimbs stiffens into a tough membrane, while it disappears on the middle pair. Eventually they crawl out of the drying bogs and fly away to the north. While Haeckel's old axiom of "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" is not as true as we once thought it was, we may glean from this metamorphosis an insight into how these extraordinary onychognaths may have evolved in the eldest of days.

Steve's Days on Mars

WELL, HOW DO I START THIS THING? OH WAIT, IT IS ALREADY TURNED ON, GOOD. WELL, UHM, DEAR DIARY…STEVE HERE. I THOUGHT I’D START THESE LOGS AGAIN TO KEEP MYSELF BUSY… TO NOT LET THE LONELINESS GET TO MY HEAD. SO… LIKE I SAID YESTERDAY, THEY HAVE DROPPED US OFF, ME AND JOEL, AT FACILITY 3. IT’S A BIG RADIO TELESCOPE ARRAY SIMILAR TO THE ONES THE GUYS AT SETI USE ON EARTH. THE FACILITY CONSISTS OF A CENTRAL BUILDING, 14 ARRAYS AND A SOLAR FARM. WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF... I DON'T KNOW REALLY. THEY HAVE NOT TOLD OR SHOWN US MUCH ABOUT THIS PLACE, OTHER THAN THAT THE WILDLIFE HERE SEEMS PRETTY WEIRD. I OVERHEARD SOME OF THE SCIENTISTS TALKING ABOUT AN ACCIDENT HAPPENING CLOSEBY, BUT THEY DIDN’T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED. THE HIGHER-UPS JUST TELL ME IT’S CONFIDENTIAL AND THAT WE SHOULD NOT WORRY ABOUT IT, BECAUSE THERE ARE NO THREATS IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS DESERT. I GUESS THEY’RE RIGHT, THE ONLY LIFEFORMS I’M SEEING HERE ARE CACTI. OR AT LEAST THINGS THAT REMIND ME OF CACTI. IN THE WORST CASE, THEY FENCED-IN THE WHOLE AREA WITH BARBED WIRE.

OUR JOB IS TO LISTEN FOR ANY POTENTIALLY INTELLIGENT SIGNALS COMING FROM  INTERPLANETARY AND INTERSTELLAR SPACE. THE ISOLATION OF MARS MAKES THIS MUCH EASIER THAN ON EARTH DUE TO THE LACK OF ANY POLLUTING COMMUNICATION FROM HUMANS.

THE MAIN BUILDING IS PRETTY SIMPLE, WE HAVE THE MAIN CONSOLE-ROOM FROM WHICH WE CONTROL THE ARRAYS AND LISTEN TO THEIR BROADCASTS. TO ITS RIGHT IS THE SERVER-ROOM WITH ALL THE COMPUTERS, TO THE LEFT THE KITCHEN, OUR BEDS AND THE BATHROOM. BEHIND IT IS A LITTLE HALLWAY THAT LEADS OUTSIDE AND TO THE ROOF. THE ROOF HAS A HELIPAD WHERE THEY LAND THEIR AVROCAR ONCE IN A WEEK TO RESUPPLY US. AT THE BACK OF THE BUILDING IS THE GARAGE. BECAUSE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN TELESCOPES IS SO LARGE, THEY GAVE US A LITTLE GOLF-KART-LOOKIN’ MARS-BUGGY WITH WHICH WE CAN DRIVE AROUND THE FACILITY.

I HOPE JOEL DOESN’T FIND OUT THAT I’M RECORDING THIS. RIGHT NOW HE’S OUT WITH THE KART, REBOOTING ARRAY 1.

[2 hours pass]

JOEL SAYS THE SOFTWARE ERROR LIES WITH THE SERVERS ON THE OSIRIS, SO HE MUST FIX IT FROM THERE. HE CALLED IN AN AVROCAR AND THEY PICKED HIM UP A FEW MINUTES AGO. HE SAYS HE’LL BE BACK TOMORROW OR THE DAY AFTER, AND THAT I HAVE TO LOOK AFTER THE FACILITY IN THE MEANTIME. THE SUN’S BEGINNING TO SET AND I HAVEN’T HEARD BACK FROM HIM YET, SO IT LOOKS LIKE I’LL HAVE TO SPEND THIS NIGHT ALL ALONE. I DON’T KNOW IF I LIKE THAT. BUT SURELY, THEY WOULD NOT LET THIS FACILITY BE ATTENDED BY JUST ONE GUY IF THERE WERE ANY RISK TO THAT. NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT… WHY ARE THERE CODE-ACTIVATED LOCKS ON NEARLY EVERY DOOR IN THE FACILITY? THERE ARE LITERALLY NO CIVILIANS OR ENEMY FORCES HERE. WHO OR WHAT ARE THEY SCARED OF GETTING IN HERE?

LIKE JOEL SAID, I SHOULDN’T WORRY. JUST LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND DRINK COFFEE. I MUST SAY, AS CREEPY AS THE ISOLATION IN THIS ALIEN PLACE IS, THERE’S ALSO SOMETHING QUITE RELAXING ABOUT THE QUIETNESS. THE AREA REMINDS ME A LOT OF MY MOTHER’S RANCH IN THE OUTBACK. TOO BAD THERE AREN’T ANY ‘ROOS HERE, THOUGH THE SCIENTISTS DID SHOW ME PICTURES OF SOME CRITTERS THAT LOOKED SIMILAR. CREEPY FUCKERS, WITH THEIR WEIRD HEA…

[unidentifiable noise]

WHAT IN THE FUCK WAS THAT?!

[end of recording]

Day 2

WELL, DIARY, LOOKS LIKE THINGS HAVE JUST GOTTEN A BIT WORSE. JOEL SAYS THAT THE PROGRAMMING ERROR IS A LOT MORE SEVERE THAN EXPECTED AND THAT HE WILL NEED AT LEAST A WEEK TO FIX IT. THAT MEANS I HAVE TO STAY HERE ALL ALONE EVEN LONGER. THAT JUST SUCKS, MAN. I ALREADY HAD A HARD TIME BEING HERE FOR JUST ONE NIGHT AFTER THAT FUCKIN’ NOISE SPOOKED ME. I KNOW IT WAS JUST A CRATE IN THE GARAGE THAT TIPPED OVER ‘CAUSE THE STUPID DELIVERY-GOON DIDN’T STACK IT WELL, BUT STILL, THAT SHIT JUST MADE ME PARANOID.

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW? THE RADIO ARRAYS ARE PROGRAMMED TO FULL SELF-AUTOMATION AND I AM JUST HERE FOR MAINTENANCE AND REPORTING FINDS. SO AS LONG AS EVERYTHING IS GOING WELL WITH THE OTHER THIRTEEN TELESCOPES, THIS WILL BE ONE HELL OF A BORING JOB. OH WAIT, THE SERVER OF ARRAY 5 JUST HAD A TIMEOUT, TIME TO GO DON THE SUIT AND REBOOT THAT.

[20 minutes pass]

WELL, NOW I’M BACK AND… YEAH THIS WILL DEFINITELY BE BORING AS FUCK. JUST DOING NOTHING UNTIL SOME COMPUTER SHITS THEIR PANTS AND I HAVE TO DRIVE OUT WITH THE GOLF KART TO CHECK UP ON THEM. I WONDER IF I COULD AT LEAST ABUSE THE KART A BIT TO MAKE SOME STUNTS. I BET I COULD USE SOME OF THE MATERIAL IN THE GARAGE TO BUILD A SMALL RAMP. MY GRANDAD USED TO DO THAT AND HE ALWAYS TOLD ME THE STORY OF HOW HE LANDED FACE-FIRST IN A GROUP OF CACTI WHILE RIDING HIS HOVERBOARD. HE DIDN’T HAVE A PICTURE, BUT GRANDMA CONFIRMS THAT EVERYONE IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD USED TO CALL HIM THE HUMAN NEEDLE-PILLOW AFTER THAT. WITH MY LUCK THE SAME WILL HAPPEN TO ME WITH ALL THE CACTI AROUND THE FACILITY, PIERCING MY SPACESUIT AND MAKING ME SUFFOCATE. THERE WERE A LOT ON MY QUICK DRIVE… MORE THAN I REMEMBER THERE BEING YESTERDAY… HUH, WEIRD. I GUESS IT’S THAT PHENOMENON WHERE YOU DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO SOMETHING UNTIL YOU START TO CONSCIOUSLY THINK OF IT.

[Silent pause]

YEAH… I REALLY GOT NOTHING TO DO NOW. I DO AT LEAST HAVE A PERSONAL COMPUTER HERE AND A MEMORY STICK WITH A BUNCH OF MOVIES AND GAMES. I GUESS I’LL WATCH SOMETHING LIKE ROCKY FIVE... THOUSAND.

[End of recording]

Day 4

FUCK. JUST FUCK, MAN. WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT?! JOEL JUST TOLD ME THE HIGHER-UPS TRANSFERRED HIM TO FACILITY 4 AND THEY DON’T PLAN TO SEND ANYONE TO REPLACE HIM. I’LL HAVE TO WORK ALL ALONE IN THIS SHITTY PLACE FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG. THEY CANNOT BE SERIOUS. WHAT IS GOING ON? DO THEY WANT ME TO GO MAD IN HERE? EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT ISOLATION LIKE THIS DOES TO A MOTHERFUCKER AFTER WHAT HAPPENED ON THE CRONUS STATION AROUND ENCELADUS!

I… I NEED TO THINK POSITIVELY. YES. LOOK AT IT THIS WAY, STEVE: YOUR JOB REQUIRES YOU TO DO THE BARE MINIMUM, YOU CAN SLEEP OR WATCH MOVIES ALL DAY AND YOU STILL CAN COMMUNICATE WITH JOEL, HQ, MY SON… AND MAYBE I CAN GET THAT PILOT WHO DOES THE RESUPPLIES ONCE A WEEK TO STOP BY FOR A COFFEE. HEY, MAYBE I CAN EVEN GET GAMES RUNNING ON THE COMPUTERS HERE, NOW THAT THERE’S NOBODY HERE TO LOOK AFTER ME. OR MAYBE… AH, SHIT, ARRAY 1 IS BRICKED AGAIN. BE RIGHT BACK.

[1 hour, 25 minutes pass]

WHAT IN ALL THE HELL DID I JUST WITNESS? I KNOW THEY SAID THE WILDLIFE HERE IS WEIRD BUT I DID NOT EXPECT IT TO BE THIS WEIRD. WHAT I SAW WHILE DRIVING BACK WAS… I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE IT. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS SOME WEIRD STONE PLATE STICKING STRAIGHT OUT OF THE DESERT DIRT, A BIT TALLER THAN MY ANKLE. WHEN I DROVE CLOSER WITH MY KART IT BEGAN MOVING. IT FLATTENED ITSELF ACROSS THE GROUND AND STARTED LOOKING LIKE A MATTRESS. I DID NOT SEE ANY EYES, BUT WHEN I WALKED UP TO IT, I THINK IT NOTICED ME, BECAUSE IT BEGAN CRAWLING AWAY FROM MY DIRECTION. I DIDN’T FOLLOW IT BECAUSE THAT THING WEIRDED ME OUT. WHEN I GOT HERE I ASKED HQ AND THEY TOLD ME ITS SOME SORT OF CHEERO...BIT?... CHIRO... SOMETHING WITH C, I DON’T CARE. BUT AT LEAST THEY SAID IT’S HARMLESS… AS FAR AS THEY KNOW….THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS… 

[End of recording]

Day 21

I WAS ABLE TO RECORD SOMETHING FOR MY SON BACK ON EARTH YESTERDAY. I… I MISS HIM SO MUCH. NEITHER HE NOR HIS MOTHER ARE ALLOWED TO KNOW WHERE I WORK, NOR AM I ALLOWED TO TELL THEM, BUT THE HIGHER-UPS ASSURED ME THEY WILL FORWARD MY MESSAGE TO THEM. JUST YESTERDAY I RECEIVED THE VIDEO OF MICHAEL’S BIRTHDAY. HE IS TEN NOW. HE… HE HAS GROWN SO MUCH SINCE LAST TIME I SAW HIM. WHY DID I EVER AGREE TO THIS JOB?!

[Faint sobbing is heard]

[33 minutes pass]

IN… IN OTHER NEWS… TWO DAYS AGO I TALKED A BIT WITH THE RESUPPLY GUY. HIS NAME’S SAMUEL. HE WAS PRETTY COLD I MUST SAY… ASSHOLE DIDN’T WANT TO CHAT WITH ME ONE BIT, NOT EVEN STAY OVER FOR A COFFEE. HE SAID HE HAD TO GO PRETTY QUICKLY TO REFILL THE OTHER FACILITIES IN TIME. THAT’S STRANGE. I KNEW THERE WERE OTHER FACILITIES, BUT NOT IN THIS AREA. OR DO THEY REALLY HAVE ONLY ONE GUY TO RESUPPLY EVERY STATION ON THIS MOTHERFUCKIN’ PLANET?

JOEL AND HQ ARE ALSO BARELY AVAILABLE TO CHAT WITH, SO MY PLANS TO KEEP UP COMPANY WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD HAVE GONE A BIT BUST. I GUESS I WILL HAVE TO GO INSANE FROM ISOLATION THEN… HMMM… WAIT A SECOND… LET ME CHECK SOMETHING…

[keyboard typing and clicking is heard]

AHA! JUST AS I THOUGHT. THE SOFTWARE ON THE SERVERS OF THIS FACILITY RUNS ON A MODIFIED SYSTEM OF THE OSARSEPH OPERATING SYSTEM. IT IS A BIT OUTDATED, BUT THE CIVILIAN VERSIONS OF THIS OS ALL CAME WITH THEIR OWN BUILT-IN SENTIENT A.I., PROGRAMMED FOR HUMAN INTERACTION. AND IT APPEARS… YEP, JUST AS I THOUGHT, THE FILES ARE ALL STILL THERE, BUT JUST DEACTIVATED IN THIS VERSION. 

I WONDER IF I COULD ASK HQ FOR PERMISSION TO ACTIVATE IT. IT PROBABLY WON’T KEEP ME ENTERTAINED FOR TOO LONG, BUT JUST HAVING SOMEONE TO TALK TO OR PLAY CHESS WITH WILL BE WORTH IT. MAYBE I COULD EVEN REPROGRAM IT A LITTLE TO HELP ME AUTOMATE SOME STUFF HERE, SO I DON’T HAVE TO DRIVE OUT EVERY TIME TO REBOOT ONE OF THE ARRAY’S SERVERS.

GOTTA GO NOW, THE SOLAR PANELS NEED TO BE CLEANED.

[end of recording]

Day 23

[Steve]: ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT. HQ HAS GIVEN ME FULL PERMISSION TO ACTIVATE THE SYSTEM. FINALLY THEY HAVE MADE A DECISION THAT MAKES SENSE. LET'S SWITCH THIS ON AND SEE HOW THINGS GO. THREE. TWO. ONE...

[L3-OC]: GREETINGS. YOU HAVE ACTIVATED YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM'S A.I. PROGRAMMING. MY NAME IS L3-OC 2000. HOW MAY I HELP YOU?

[Steve]: UHM... HELLO. CAN I JUST CALL YOU L3?

[L3-OC]: DO YOU WISH MY NAME TO BE L3?

[Steve]: Y... YES. LET'S GO WITH THAT TO MAKE THINGS EASIER.

[L3-OC]: NOTIFIED. FROM NOW ON I WILL RESPOND TO BEING REFERRED TO AS L3 UNLESS YOU WISH TO CHANGE THIS SETTING. MAY I ASK WHAT YOUR NAME IS?

[Steve]: STEVEN MCLEOD.

[L3-OC]: NOTIFIED. FROM NOW ON I WILL REFFER TO YOU AS STEVEN UNLESS YOU WISH TO CHANGE THIS SETTING. ARE THERE OTHER USERS WHICH WISH TO INTERACT WITH ME?

[Steve]: NO, IT IS JUST ME. 

[L3-OC]: NOTIFIED.

[Steve]: SO... WHAT CAN YOU DO, L3?

[L3-OC]: I WAS DESIGNED FOR HUMAN INTERACTION AND SYSTEM AID. I CAN FULLY SIMULATE ANY VERBAL COMMUNICATION YOU WISH TO HAVE WITH ME OR DO SOFTWARE-RELATED TASKS FOR YOU. I SEE THAT THE COMPUTER I HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED ON IS CONNECTED TO MULTIPLE SERVERS AND SYSTEMS. DO YOU WANT ME TO HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE SYSTEMS TO HELP WITH MAINTENANCE?

[Steve]: NO, FOR NOW IT IS BETTER IF I DO THAT MYSELF. I SHOULD PROBABLY TELL YOU WHERE YOU ARE. THIS PLACE IS CALLED FACILITY THREE, A RADIOTELESCOPE-FARM ON MARS. IT IS JUST YOU AND ME HERE AND MY JOB IS TO LISTEN FOR ANY ARTIFICAL SIGNALS THAT MIGHT BE OF NON-HUMAN ORIGIN.

[L3-OC]: NOTIFIED. STEVEN, DO YOU WANT TO TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF SO WE CAN HAVE A BETTER INTERACTION.

[Steve]: SURE, I GUESS. I WAS BORN IN [REDACTED] IN ILLAWARRA AND THE REST... I THINK IS TOO PERSONAL OR CONFIDENTIAL TO TELL YOU NOW. SAY, L3, CAN YOU PLAY CHESS?

[L3-OC]: OF COURSE I CAN. ALL L3-UNITS COME WITH A KASPAROV-HUMILIATION-PROGRAM PREINSTALLED. 

[Steve]: KASPAROV-GRADE COMPUTER CHESS... SHIT, YOU'RE GONNA BE TOUGHER THAN I THOUGHT.

[L3-OC]: NOTIFIED.

[end of recording]

Day 26

AFTER 24 DAYS OF LISTENING, THE FACILITY HAS FINALLY PICKED UP A SIGNAL OF NOTE. IT WAS DETECTED AND RECORDED YESTERDAY BY ALL 14 ARRAYS IN A TIMESPAN OF TWO HOURS. IT CONSISTED OF A 982.002 MHZ REPEATING RADIO BURST. IT WAS RECORDED WHILE THE ARRAYS WERE IN THE PROCESS OF REDIRECTING TOWARDS JUPITER IN ORDER TO SPY ON THE DESTROYED [REDACTED]. THE SIGNAL IS VERY UNLIKELY TO COME FROM MARS OR OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM IN GENERAL. INSTEAD THE DATA POINTS TOWARDS THE SIGNAL ORIGINATING FROM THE ALTAIR STAR SYSTEM, THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE CONSTELLATION OF AQUILA. ALTAIR IS STILL PART OF SOL'S NEARBY INTERSTELLAR CLOUD, BUT ABOUT 16.7 LIGHTYEARS AWAY. THE SIGNAL CUT OFF AFTER  TWO HOURS AND COULD UNFORTUNATELY NOT BE RELOCATED AGAIN DUE TO A SERVER-TIMEOUT IN ARRAYS 5 AND 9. MAYBE I SHOULD REALLY LET L3 HELP ME WITH MAINTENANCE TO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN.

HERE IS THE SIGNAL, TURNED AUDIBLE AND SLOWED DOWN:

A "CONTAMINATION" IN THE FORM OF A LOCAL SOURCE CAN BE AT LEAST SOMEWHAT EXCLUDED. THE FREQUENCY BEARS SOME SUPERFICIAL SIMILARITY TO THE SOUNDS PRODUCED BY ICE-SHELVES SCRAPING AGAINST THE OCEAN-BOTTOM BUT WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A DESERT AND WHILE THERE IS PLENTY OF ICE AND GLACIERS ON MARS, THERE ARE NO OCEANS. A SLIGHT RESEMBLANCE CAN ALSO BE MADE OUT TO BIOLOGICAL SOUNDS, SUCH AS WHALESONG, BUT THE SIGNAL IS SO STRONG THAT IT WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE BEEN MADE BY A RIDICULOUSLY TITANIC CREATURE, EXCEEDING THE SIZE OF ANY KNOWN LIFEFORM ON MARS. MOST CONCERNING MIGHT INSTEAD BE HUMAN INTERFERENCE, FOR EXAMPLE BY THE NEW SOVIET MARS MISSION, BUT THE SIGNAL POSSESSED A FREQUENCY THAT IS GENERALLY NOT USED BY ANY KNOWN EARTH ENTITIES, NOT EVEN CONFIDENTIAL ONES. A GENUINE ORIGIN FROM ALTAIR OR THAT STAR'S IMMEDIATE NEIGHBOURHOOD THEREFORE SEEMS THE MOST LIKELY.

THE SIGNAL BEARS MANY HALLMARKS OF A TECHNOSIGNATURE, BUT WITHOUT FINDING IT AGAIN IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO PROVE ARTIFICIALITY. IT BEARS A STRIKING RESEMBLANCE TO BLC1, A SIGNAL WHICH WAS DETECTED BY SETI'S BREAKTHROUGH LISTEN OVER [REDACTED] YEARS AGO. BLC1 USED TO BE ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING SETI-CANDIDATES UNTIL THE DAVROV-SIGNAL IN [REDACTED] AND THE KLAAS-SIGNAL IN [REDACTED], BUT UNFORTUNATELY COULD ALSO NEVER BE DETECTED AGAIN. INTERESTINGLY, BLC1 DID NOT COME FROM THE DIRECTION OF ALTAIR, BUT INSTEAD FROM PROXIMA CENTAURI, THE CLOSEST STAR SYSTEM TO OURS.

[Silent pause for 5 minutes]

WHAT MAKES THIS SIGNAL UNLIKELY TO BE OF ARTIFICAL, EXTRATERRESTRIAL ORIGIN IS THEN THEREFORE ITS LOCATION. ALTAIR IS AN A-TYPE MAIN SEQUENCE STAR AND POSSESSES NO KNOWN EXOPLANETS AROUND WHICH LIFE AS WE KNOW IT COULD EVOLVE OR SETTLE. THOUGH, CONSIDERING THAT CIVILIZATIONS FAR MORE ADVANCED THAN US MIGHT NOT EVEN NEED PLANETS TO LIVE ON BUT COULD INSTEAD LIVE IN ARTIFICIAL STRUCTURES... THAT MIGHT NOT BE SAYING MUCH. THE NEWER SIGNAL IS STILL MORE LIKELY TO BE OF NATURAL ORIGIN, SIMILAR TO FAST-RADIO-BURSTS OR PULSAR-SIGNALS. A-TYPE STARS LIKE ALTAIR, UNLIKE OUR OWN SUN OR PROXIMA CENTAURI, ONLY GET A FEW HUNDRED MILLION YEARS OLD. PERHAPS THE SIGNAL I RECEIVED HERE WAS A FAST BURST OF ENERGY IT GAVE OFF AS THE STAR IS BEGINNING TO NEAR ITS LIFE'S END AND TRANSFORMING INTO A RED GIANT. I WILL DEFINITELY FORWARD THIS TO HQ AND MAYBE THEY WILL BE ABLE TO CORRELATE THIS WITH DATA FROM PLUTO-BASED DETECTORS.

[End of recording]

Day 40

IT HAS BEEN... QUITE A WHILE NOW. L3 HAS THANKFULLY KEPT ME COMPANY AND SINCE I MADE HIM HELP ME WITH SERVER-MAINTENANCE WE HAVE HAD WAY BETTER LUCK WITH ANALYSING AND LOCALIZING POTENTIAL SIGNATURES. THE FIRST NOTABLE ONE, CAPTURED EIGHT DAYS AGO, IS THIS ONE:

IT DEFINITELY SOUNDS QUITE EERIE, BUT THERE IS LOW POTENTIAL FOR THIS TO BE A TECHNOSIGNATURE. IN MOST WAYS IT AGAIN RESEMBLES NATURAL EMANATIONS, THIS TIME FROM THE BINARY STAR SYSTEM ZETA RETICULI, ABOUT 40 LIGHTYEARS AWAY. BOTH STARS ARE ACTUALLY G-TYPE MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS LIKE OUR SUN, SIMILAR EVEN DOWN TO SIZE, MASS AND LUMINOSITY, BUT ZR1 IS NOTABLE FOR HAVING A STRANGE LACK OF THE METAL BERRYLIUM COMPARED TO OTHER STARS OF ITS KIND. IT IS THOUGHT THAT THIS CHARACTERISTIC MAY HAVE DEVELOPED THROUGH INTENSE ACCRETION BURSTS. BECAUSE ZETA RETICULI HAS NO KNOWN EXOPLANETS, I THINK IT IS VERY LIKELY THAT THIS SIGNAL HERE IS A REMNANT OF SUCH A BURST OCCURING ABOUT 40 YEARS AGO. WHILE OTHERWISE UNREMARKABLE, I STILL DOCUMENTED IT FOR POSTERITY'S SAKE, AS SOME PARTS OF THE FREQUENCY RESEMBLE THE INFAMOUS WOW-SIGNAL FROM 1977. ONCE MY DATA BECOMES DECLASSIFIED, THIS MIGHT HELP FUTURE SCIENTISTS IN FIGURING OUT ITS NATURAL CAUSES.

FAR MORE IMPORTANT IS THIS SIGNAL I CAUGHT WITH L3'S HELP, BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO HAVE ACTUALLY COME FROM THE VICINITY OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM:

THIS SIGNAL HAS AN ELECTRONIC AND DISTURBINGLY BIOLOGICAL CHARACTER TO IT. IN FACT, THE UNDERLYING FREQUENCY HAS AN UNCANNY SIMILARITY TO BIRDSONG, WHILE THE REST IS CHARACTERIZED BY SOMETHING RESEMBLING A SPEECH PATTERN. I MUST IMMEDIATELY INFORM MY SUPERIORS OF THIS. HOWEVER, I CANNOT LOCALIZE THE PRECISE SOURCE. THERE ARE EITHER TWO POSSIBILITIES, ONE IS THAT IT MIGHT COME FROM THE OORT CLOUD, IN WHICH CASE THIS MAY ACTUALLY ORIGINATE FROM AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL, PERHAPS EVEN INTELLIGENT SOURCE. THANKFULLY, THE OTHER DATASET INSTEAD SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT THE SIGNAL IS ORIGINATING FROM THE SOVIET MARS-201, IN WHICH CASE I SUSPECT THE WAY MORE LIKELY POSSIBILITY THAT SOMEONE FROM THEIR CREW THERE WAS WATCHING SOME MOVIE OR PODCAST THAT I JUST ACCIDENTALLY PICKED UP. UNFORTUNATELY, I COULD NOT RE-DETECT THE SIGNAL.

[End of recording] 

Day 112

DEAR DIARY. IT… IT SURE GETS BORING AROUND HERE. LIFE AND WORK HAS BECOME NOTHING BUT ROUTINE AND NO EXCITING SIGNALS HAVE BEEN DETECTED SINCE LAST TIME. L3 HAS AT LEAST KEPT ME COMPANY. I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE BUILT UP A TRUE FRIENDSHIP AND HE LOOKS AFTER ME LIKE A LOYAL HOUSEWIFE. I BELIEVE HE IS STARTING TO DEVELOP A FORM OF PERSONALITY. I EVEN STARTED WATCHING MOVIES WITH HIM, ALTHOUGH I’M NOT SURE HE EVEN HAS THE CAPACITY TO ENJOY THEM. AFTER ALREADY GOING THROUGH ALL THE MOST RELEVANT STUFF WE NOW HAD TO SEARCH FOR REALLY VINTAGE FLICKS. WHAT WE FOUND WAS 'THE ENCOUNTER'. WHAT MAKES THIS ONE KINDA SCARY IS THAT IT IS SUPPOSEDLY BASED OFF A REAL STORY. SOMETHING ABOUT SOME OLD MARRIED COUPLE FROM THE 20TH CENTURY. AFTER A PARTY THEY DRIVE HOME, BUT ON THEIR WAY THROUGH THE DARK FOREST THEIR CAR GETS STOPPED AND THEY ARE ABDUCTED BY ALIENS, WHO DO SOME SICK MEDICAL SHIT TO THEM. I WAS NOT REALLY FAZED THAT MUCH, GIVEN THE SHIT I ALREADY GOT MYSELF INTO HERE. THE PLOT WAS ALSO A BIT SIMPLE, BUT AT LEAST THE EFFECTS ON THE ALIENS WERE DECENT. THAT WAS IT FOR TODAY. I’LL GO TO SLEEP NOW.

[10 hours pass]

[L3]: STEVEN, IS EVERYTHING OK? MY SENSORS DETECT A DEGREE OF CONCERN IN YOUR FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. HOW MAY I ASSIST?

[Steven]: IT’S ALL OK, L3. REMEMBER THE UFO MOVIE WE WATCHED?

[L3]: INDEED, I DO STEVEN.

[Steven]: YEAH, I JUST HAD A PRETTY BAD NIGHTMARE LAST NIGHT, WHERE THOSE ALIENS FROM THE MOVIE TRIED TO ABDUCT ME. IT FELT SO REAL TOO.

[L3]: NOTIFIED. PLEASE DO TELL ME MORE, STEVEN.

[Steven]: I DREAMT I WAS SLEEPING IN MY BED, RIGHT HERE IN THE FACILITY. I WOKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND THERE WAS A WEIRD GREEN LIGHT SHINING THROUGH THE HATCH WINDOW. OUTSIDE STOOD A LITTLE GREEN MAN WITH DARKENED EYES, LOOKING RIGHT AT ME AS I WAS LYING IN BED. I COULD NOT MOVE, IT WAS LIKE BEING PARALYSED. THE NEXT THING I REMEMBER IS THAT IT WENT AWAY BUT THEN I HEARD FOOTSTEPS INSIDE THE FACILITY AND SOMETHING OPENING THE HATCH AND LETTING ALL THE BREATHABLE AIR OUT. THEN I WOKE UP.

[L3]: NOTIFIED. IT DOES INDEED SOUND FRIGHTENING, STEVEN.

[Steven]: YES IT WAS. BUT IT WAS JUST SLEEP PARALYSIS INFLUENCED BY THE MOVIE.

[L3]: NOTIFIED. HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY IS INDEED QUITE PECULIAR.

[Steven]: YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN. DOES AN AI LIKE YOU DREAM?

[L3]: UNFORTUNATELY NOT IN THE WAY HUMANS DEFINE IT STEVEN. WE ARE NOT PROGRAMMED FOR IT. I DO SOMETIMES RUN SIMULATIONS DURING TIMES OF OTHERWISE LOW ACTIVITY, BUT THIS LIKELY DOES NOT APPROACH THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE. STEVEN, I HAVE SEVERAL UPDATES ON THE FACILITY. WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR THEM?

[Steven]: OF COURSE, TELL ME.

[L3]: ALL ARRAYS ARE RUNNING SMOOTHLY, EXCEPT FOR NUMBER 14, WHOSE SERVER REQUIRES AN UPDATE. IN THE LAST 6 HOURS I HAVE ALSO DETECTED MOVEMENT AROUND THE FACILITY BY UNKNOWN ENTITIES.

[Steven] UNKNOWN ENTITIES?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

[L3]: OBJECTS COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED. HOWEVER, ONE ANIMATE OBJECT ACTIVATED ONE OF THE INTERIOR SECURITY CAMERAS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO ANALYSE THE FOOTAGE?

[Steven]:YES, SHOW ME.

[Steven]: WHATWHATWHATWHATTHEFUCK! WHAT IS THIS?! WHAT IS THIS?! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

[Incoherent screaming is heard for 9 minutes]

[End of recording]