Aardvark Posted April 19, 2003 Report Posted April 19, 2003 (edited) Lifeseed 28 Planetologist log Mission date: -0.2 SC The computer woke me from stasis too early. This wasn't too much of a problem, as it gave me a look at the system before I arrived at my target planet. Solar surveys would have to be done eventually, might as well get them over with. As this is the initial entry in the log, as is customary, I introduce myself as Professor Geffory Smith, BSc, Planetologist. As it is doubtful anyone from my species will ever see this, I make this recording for the future inhabitants of Planet 04 in System 008371, Galaxy 00029173. If you are the first to hear this, then this is a recording from your creator. To answer the inevitable question, the purpose of life is to continue life. You have no loyalties to your species, only to your basic fundamental structure. A cosmic fluke was life's beginning, it is your responsibility it never end. Although this seedship will be buried on the most distant stellar body in your particular system and probably won't be found before a reliable and effective method of interstellar travel has been discovered, at the end of this recording, the computer will provide visual instructions on accessing the ship's databanks. It is your duty to use this information to continue life before all else. Although remote scans had given the system an eighty five point three five yadda yadda chance of possessing a planet capable of sustaining an evolving ecosystem, I, like all sent on seeding missions, was worried. Seeding missions don't include a "Mission successful, return home" conclusion. Infact, it is unlikely I'll survive to see the end of my mission, even with the aid of the stasis pod. The computer has already selected a burial site in the event of my death, so all I need to worry about is if my project succeeds. The worst thing that could happen to me is upon arrival finding the target system totally unsuitable for habitation. Although in this instance, there were several other systems clustered near enough to me for me to travel if this one turned out to be unsuitable, they were all rated in the low forties and thirties. The best thing that could happen to me is if I arrived and found a thriving ecology already in existence. Unless it had achieved hostile spacefaring sentience. But the chances of this are so infinitesimally small that I never even thought of the possibility. I count 10 primary stellar bodies in this system, numerous secondary and also a band of debris that could have once been a planet, but further studies would be needed. The development potential of this system was high, with easily extractable mineral wealth being found on nearly all bodies in the system. This is only an interesting sidenote, as I wouldn't be needing them for my project. The fifth and sixth planets in the system are gas giants, their gravity wells and orbits being conveniently suited to protecting my project planet from any outside interference, in the form of rogue asteroids or particle waves. The optimal temperature band of the system encompassed three planets. Of these three, I chose the furthest from the solar body, as the range was perfect, it was nicely barren, an empty canvass for me to work on, and of the three, it was the best suited physically, the first being covered in a tumultuous chemical storm and the second lacking sufficient amounts of water. Although this wouldn't be too much of a problem, the polar regions of the fourth planet were sufficient for sustaining life and further scans suggested deep deposits of dihydrogen monoxide beneath the surface. I've sent out a cluster of space probes to gather information on all other bodies in the system, plus a dozen or so to scour the asteroid field. All probes primary mission is to seek out life already in existence. Actually, as far as I'm concerned, that's their only mission. Although, their findings will be an interesting read. 0.2 solar cycles left until I reach my intended destination. I plan to begin preparations for the seeding rocket now, so as to not waste any more of my precious time. I'll need every second of it, if I'm to see this project through to completion. Endlog - Planetologist Smith Edited April 19, 2003 by Aardvark
Aardvark Posted April 19, 2003 Author Report Posted April 19, 2003 Lifeseed 28 Planetologist log Mission date: 0.0 SC I'm currently in high orbit of the target planet. The ship is prepped and ready for the initial seeding. A test location on the planet has been found, a rather lovely valley 8082KM north of the equator, directly on the line I've decreed the latitudal mean. Scans show this area to have the most surface moisture of the entire planet, with a subterranian well detected quite close to the surface. I've had to make adjustments to the biomatrix to compensate for the compisition of the atmosphere, but I believe it shall suffice. There are other locations I'd also like to testseed, but my resource are limited, so I'll only allow myself one. Probes of the planet and it's two lunar bodies showed no life, unsuprisingly, but I found a suspicious impact crater on one of the moons. Although scans showed it happened aeons ago, it did possess the attributes of a plasma weapon impact. No other signs of previous tampering have been found, but I'd still like to know what left that and why. Initial scans were confirmed by ground probes. The water content of this world is perfect. The polar regions have more than enough for the entire planet if necessary and the underground wells are almost ready to burst out and create entire oceans. The atmosphere is rich in various carbon dioxide and nitrogen, with oxygen and water also making up a sizeable portion of the mix. Not ideal, but I could work with it. Tests on the soils showed no potential toxins, so all seems clear for the seeding. The delivery vehicle is prepped and ready, just waiting for me to fire it. I'm still awaiting the results of a few atmospherical prediction simulations, to ensure weather patterns would take hold as necessary, but everything looks promising so far. Planetologist Smith Endlog
Aardvark Posted April 19, 2003 Author Report Posted April 19, 2003 Lifeseed 28 Planetologist log Mission date: 0.05 SC One quick before entering stasis. It's been a good two months so far. My life out here won't be a waste, I'm sure. The seeding went off without a hitch, the delivery vehicle plunging into the valley as required, puncturing the surface and releasing proteins, amino acids and other complex carbon molocules into the underground well. It then released microbots into the surrounding ground to convert the carbon rich mix into something my creations could use to sustain themselves. Computer estimates show it should be 500 solar cycles before any confirmation can be made on the success of the test seeding, so my next entry should be then. Planetologist Smith Endlog
Tamaranis Posted April 19, 2003 Report Posted April 19, 2003 As always, you present us with an inventive and interesting bit of writing.
Aardvark Posted April 20, 2003 Author Report Posted April 20, 2003 (edited) Through the magic of cut'n'paste, I almost lost this excerpt. I now try, in my inebriated state, to reconstruct this in almost all it's former glory. Or something along those lines, anyway. Forgive the spelling, grammaticfal and punctuation errors. I am drunk and I'm using a mac for the first timesince the wonderful advance that is the internet was thrust upon us by our corporate gods and creators Lifeseed 28 Planetologists Log Mission Date 541 SC The computer needs recalibration. Although I'm not concerned about a mere forty years, a simple miscalculation could potentially cost me aeons of development.However, I have more important matters to attend to. The longterm scans of the various spacial bodies of the system have returned, I must sift through them , looking for anything that may aid in the project, even if in some minor way. Also, thje seeding site itself seems to be doing better than expected. Better, in fact, than any of the accelerated seedning experiments back during the Organic Origin experiments. So much better that anyone less thourough than me would proceed with a global seeding on the results of this seed alone. I, however, can't believe that life could evolve to this level at this pace without some form of outside intervention. Me, asides, of course Planetologist Smith Endlog Addenduem Mission date 541.4 SC The tenth planet in this system has dissapeared. Ordinarily, I wouldn't be concerned, but this happened in such a short space of time that it does. I've send probes to it's last known location and it's projected locations to try and find it or any trace of it, but they will take some time. Although it's probably a natural phenomone, I cannot afford to make assumptions at this stage. The possibility of conscious intent is always there and I cannot afford to overlook it. My initial opinion of the third planet appears to be flawed. Deeper scans have detected dihydrogen monoxide deposits deep within the crust. Although they're not in the form required, they still harbour the potential to support life on this planet. Not for the first time, I'm questioning my choice of planet. Combined with the accelerated development of the test seediong, I'm sure I must've overlooked some foreign catalyst in the process. Another probe reported the presence of large water concentrations on one of the moons of one of the gas giants in the system. Although it appears to be a frozen iceball inspace, deep scans show a magnetic field, thus an iron core. The probe was instructed to drill through the outer crust and perform internal surveying of the body. My belief is there may be water in liquid form under the icy crust. And wherever there's water, there can be life. My mission is to create it, but not where it can conflict with the natural order of creation The test seed has frightened me. At this stage, there should only be self replicating carbon chains. There are extended complex carbon chemical chains, all self replicating. There are lots of them. A veritible ecology has already sprung up in the small ocean I created. A basic cycle has formed and interaction between the molocules has been recorded. This is astounding. There is no sign of any conscioussness, but simple interactions seem to have formed. My chief concern is how out of place this is. This development shouldn't occur until the cellular stage. However, the larger concern iwhat caused the accelerated development I have.Nothing can evolve this fast. From a text book viewpoint, I am witnessing the impossible. Further scans have been scheduled for my next sleep. The results should provide some insight in another hundred cycles. Planetologist Smith Endlog Edited April 25, 2003 by Aardvark
Aardvark Posted April 27, 2003 Author Report Posted April 27, 2003 Lifeseed 28 Planetologists Log Mission Date 640 SC Slightly under. Something must've interfered with the systems during the voyage here. Fortunately not too much, or I'd never have made it at all. A complete diagnostic is in order, but will take some time. Fortunately, time is something I still have. Still no sign of the tenth planet. The probes haven't detected anything at all. No energy signatures, no anomalies, nothing. Two of them have traced the tenth's orbit in both directions, but have found nothing. It's as if the entire planet simply vanished without a trace. Still, I'm worrying for nothing. Unless it materialises on the fourth, it shouldn't really impact with the project. Still an empty system. The subterranean scans on the moon of the gas giant did show an ocean, as I'd expected, but no life whatsoever. Infact, a distinct lack of carbon. Further scans of the third show that maybe it would've been the logical choice, if I'd arrived a hundred million cycles later. Well, no matter. It'll be the first offworld colony for my creations when they finally leave this world. Their development seems to have slowed some. Still going at a surprising rate, but nowhere near as fast as initially thought. I'd like to know what caused the burst of initial development, but it no longer seems to matter. The results from intensive scans are still inconclusive. I believe the time has come for a second seed site. This world is able to support life at the moment. Also, I need to find that catalyst. The seeding vehicle is ready. A few simple adjustments and it'll be ready to launch. Selecting a site shouldn't be a problem, as I have several already. Planetologist Smith Endlog Addendum Mission date 640.8 SC A simple problem, apparently. A disrupted chronomatrix. Realigning it was a matter of telling the computer to realign it, then conducting a test run in stasis, to ensure it's properly calibrated. Nothing else onboard the ship can really suffer from illtimings, except me. The vehicle was launched and the seeding went perfectly. I'm going to give this one 10,000 cycles, with the computer automatically pulling me out of stasis if another instance of accelerated development is detected. I may have discovered the fate of planet ten. A chance string scan showed a subtle disruption in the fabric of reality near 10's last known location. The only theory I can come up with is the planet somehow and for reasons unknown just phased out of existence. The orbital probes will be on the lookout for any such disruptions elsewhere in the orbital and throughout the system. It could possibly provide some insight into the first seeding's development, but I can't say I'm confident about that Planetologist Smith
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