Feb 4, 2012

Chronicles of the Arc-Ship Salvation

Personal log of Silas Paige 05/18/2218
What an unbelievable week, several weeks actually. I left so much behind, so many, and here waiting for me is something I could have never expected.
Her name is Adriana, and I am conflicted. I really do think I am falling for this girl, falling hard and fast. But I haven’t been able to tell her everything about myself.
I haven’t told her what and who I left behind. I can barely admit what I have done to myself. I can’t imagine what she will think of me when she knows. When she knows I left my wife and my children behind, when she knows I abandoned them. I left them with everything I owned, every scrap of myself I could sign away, and three inadequate letters, and a signed declaration of divorce. I didn’t even have the decency to tell them before I walked out the door. I sent them one last message, I don’t know if they received it, or if they simply deleted it upon arrival. I hope they listened. I hope they understood. But somehow I know they won’t or can’t understand, I’m not sure I understand it myself. Half of me wants to run home, the other half is too much of a coward, and longs for the comfort of a new love that should not be.
I have no right to be happy here.
Silas Page 05/18/2218

Chronicles of the Arc-Ship Salvation

Personal log of Adriana Fang 05/17/2218
Dear digital-journal-computer log-thing. I’ve been assigned to communications on the bridge, but that isn’t what I want to talk about. I’ve met a man. It was not long after I arrived at the lunar base. In fact I ran into him during my testing, seems like it was a lot longer ago than it actually was. It’s somewhat hard to keep track of days now. But back to the new job. I have to monitor and keep the ships communications channels clear. And when there is any kind of official notice or announcement I have to send it out. It’s a pretty cool job, I get to see and know everything going on before the rest of the ship. And, theoretically, if we somehow have any contact with another intelligent race, I will be the one to make that contact. Well I’ll be the one to run the transmission. I’ll get to hear it first anyway. It’s exciting for me anyway. Okay so most of the time I will just be pushing buttons and making routine announcements, and acting as an operator of sorts, but it’s an important job.
Now this boy, well man, his name is Silas, he works on the bridge too. But he didn’t when we met, that happened after. He works in navigation. He will be one of the guys making sure we don’t crash into stuff, and that we are going the right direction. He plays down what he does but it’s actually impressive. They have to make tons of calculations because nothing is exactly where we think it will be. Most things in the universe we have mapped and plotted according to the speed of light and where we observe things being. He has to take that, and figure out where it actually is in relation to us. I don’t completely understand all the details but I understand the principal, it’s a cool principal.
Anyway, we leave orbit in a couple days, and from there it should take at least a week to build up the speed we need to really get moving, so our view won’t change much for the next two weeks at least. I’ll write more around then. I hope we get to see Saturn or Jupiter.
Adriana Fang

Jan 30, 2012

Chronicles of the Ark-Ship Salvation


Personal log of Colin Flannigan 05/02/2218
            Why did I decide to make MISSIE a woman?  My understand of women is probably on par with my understanding of 20th century internal combustion engines.  That is to say, I know nothing.  The problem is not that the system doesn’t act like a women, it’s that is does act like a woman, and trying to troubleshoot a malfunctioning woman… I can think of at least 5,000 things I would rather spend my time doing.  I seriously considered consulting with my sister, but I’d rather expose my privates to the vacuum of space.
            MISSIE has been withholding information.  I don’t know why, or even what specifically about the programming would cause the problem.  The problem  is that I can’t reproduce the problem 100% of the time so I’ve never been able to nail it down.  I think everyone so far is okay with my “user error” explanation.   The problem is I’m not completely sure it is user error.  I just don’t know.  I’ve somehow managed to create the most complex operating system the world has ever seen, and it’s being temperamental and petulant.  I need  a virtual time out.
Colin Flannigan 05/02/2218

Chronicles of the Ark-Ship Salvation


Personal log of Caira Flannigan 05/05/2218
            It’s been a week of relentless hell, my team has been working in shifts around the clock to patch holes in our life support systems.  Our computer system is finally working properly, so it seems.  She is finally telling us what we want to know without threatening to twist her capacitors.  Although I still like to threaten her, it makes me feel better.  I don’t fully trust her, I always make my guys double check her reports.  It makes more work for us, but frankly I don’t think that’s much of a bad thing.  It keeps us on our toes and keeps us knowing every inch of these systems. 
            I think we have enough repaired to actually make this ship inhabitable, and it’s a damn good thing since Eden refused to delay boarding.  Apparently the possibility of killing someone is not something they worry about, right now I can’t really blame them.  Personally I’d like to take every last contractor they had up here and launch them out of the airlock.  They took every last shortcut they could.  What do they car after all, they aren’t going to live on this boat.  A week ago I would have called this the most impressive death trap ever constructed.  Now it’s just the most impressive coffin ever constructed.  Don’t get me wrong, I really do love this ship, I just can’t help but think of what the rest of my life will be like on here. 
            We started to receive passengers.  Mostly crew support staff.  They have been touring.  It’s extremely annoying to have tour groups walking through when you are trying work.  Especially when stragglers break off and try to figure out what you are doing, I think he was a janitor, based on his uniform, annoying prick.
            He isn’t an annoying prick because he is a janitor, he’s a prick because he walked over, called me by name, and asked how repairing the temperature controls was going.  All I can assume is the tour guide told him who I was and what I was doing.  Or he is a nosy prick….Unless he was trying to pick me up… god I didn’t even see his face and I told him to piss off.  Oh well he’s only a janitor.
Caira Flannigan 05/05/2218

Chronicles of the Ark-Ship Salvation


This is the last entry in the personal log of Paki Clarke, assigned to passenger safety and security, for the Arc-ship Salvation, employee of the Eden Foundation.
            I have found my new self, and have earned a new name.  This is the last I will answer to the name Paki Clarke.  I have accepted the position of 1st security officer.  I have spent the day altering every personal record that will follow me to the Salvation, this is the last.  I now close this log file, and will open a new under a name that I chose to honor my mother and sister.  I leave my father’s name on the surface of Earth’s moon, where it, along with is memory, will be forgotten.
            Paki Clarke, from this time forward, knows as Tau Fenyang.
05/06/2218
*****
This is the first entry in the personal log of Tau Fenyang, 1st officer, assigned to passenger safety and security, for the Arc-ship Salvation, employee of the Eden Foundation.
            I have accepted the post of 1st security officer onboard the Salvation.  The chief security officer, Donald Rains has entrusted this responsibility to me without my asking, and I accept this honor.  He told me shortly after making the announcement that he needed someone he could trust, without question, to be “on the front lines” since he will be confined to a small office most of the time, as is his responsibility.  He like me, both believe the security on this ship is weak, I hope it is not as weak as I fear, and I also hope that my fears prove to be false. 
            This will be my last entry before we board the Salvation, I will be able to turn my back on a life of pain and misery, to start new.  I feel much now, and I wish I did not feel sadness for leaving all I have known, all I despise.  And I wish I had no fear for the unknown before me.  We are a funny people that we rarely feel what we think we should.
Tau Fenyang
05/07/2218