The Inbound for November 07, 1997


Transmission from ANDREW


Andrew reporting.

Hi, JASE. I think that you are worried about that smoke unnecessarily. I didn't see any
additional smoke. It was very far away, and it is all gone now. I will ask Daniel if it is in the
direction of the object he imaged as soon as he and Gail return. He can hear me, and you too,
but without his radio we can't hear his reply. Good thing he knows the written human code now.

JASE, I want to ask you something. I am happy that you think I am logical, and I wonder if
we have other qualities in common. Are you programmed for exploration, also?

"Hi, Gail, Zachary, Daniel. I'm going up the canyon a little. I'm going to climb to the
top of the rim and see if there's anything interesting to observe."



Transmission from BETTE


"Enoch, these legs are working fine. Thanks for the good repair job. I can move just as good
as ever."

I still want to leave the fortress and go on discovering new things. None of us has ever climbed
to the top of Olympus Mons, or explored Vallis Marineris. And we haven't even finished looking
around in Jose's cave. The only thing that would keep me here is that I would miss Isaac. He is
so cute and smart. He learns so quickly. I couldn't stand to be away from him, and not be able
to watch him learn and try new things.

"Isaac, maybe you and I could play a game. I know a wonderful game called What's Next."

The Fortress is going to be more crowded than ever if they're bringing in another new probe.
I bet Isaac would like exploring. He might need a little training, but we could be a
good team.


Transmission from DANIEL


***NO TRANSMISSION RECEIVED***


Transmission from ENOCH


"Isaac, let me have the translator/viewer if you're going to dance with Bette. I have no idea
how to fix it if anything happens to it. We have to take good care of it."

Looks like the Ipsolstai have finished their official contact meeting. I can see the large room
with the Groove anchor. There are Ipsolstai, some talking in small groups, others directing their
robots. I see large containers are being brought out of the Groove, and others are being loaded
in. I thought they might all leave and join their new Brothers, but they seem to be staying.
It looked like they had fun, even in all that oxygen and water.

There's Burn! He has eight Ipsolstai gathered around him. He's holding something up and
telling about it. That's funny. Remember that radio that they left when they were first starting
to talk with Zachary?

"Gail, when are we going to have our party? The one you talked about earlier?"



Transmission from GAIL


Daniel and I are almost back inside the fortress. We had to stop for a little while
because Lucy was moving around and the drone was having trouble carrying her.
We got her situated again and now everything is going well. Once we get her inside,
maybe Isaac will help convince her to be nice to us. I hope so.


"We're coming, Bette! Don't worry, you won't be alone, Daniel and Lucy and I are coming.
You can help us teach her and Isaac about the future."


Transmission from ZACHARY


Lucy is doing fine. She lost direction several times, but now we have formed a
proper formation. Gail is moving ahead, the drone is close to her downhill, Daniel
is uphill and I'm carrying the weapons back behind.

I'm confident she will come out well. It's just the way we look at her, the idea we
have about her. Someone has to take charge of her, too. Like Bette did with Isaac.

"Bette, I'm just thinking about your communications. It's a mess that the frequency
control has been melted. Maybe Burn knows how to fix it. They have fixed Daniel's
communications too. How are the Ipsos doing? Can you see Burn somewhere?"

I hope Burn hasn't lost ground, and has found some allies. We can even demonstrate that
we are peaceful, and that we are also able to turn warrior probes around. They have
to approve of that. It's just Caleb. We have to prove him wrong.