Caddywampus: The Blog

Everyone is running wild. There is so much we need to confirm with our native host, and everyone is looking to me for the best way to present our information and receive clear responses. Flink is being presented data manually every second from the team. Things are coming together.

It was my idea initially to create a group journal of our experience here. A narrative of our discoveries. Once it is translated to a native language, we will begin sharing it not only among the team, but with the people of this world. There are hints that a worldwide network capable of sharing information (at the very least, textual), and the more input we can receive, the better we can understand this world.

Some will no doubt see this as a clever story. Others may wonder if there is any truth behind it. Either way, it doesn't really matter. We're all here to learn, to share, to explore, to understand, and to create. That is our way, and hopefully, the people of this world have a similar goal... at least some of them. of you.

Nudnik: I See the Light

What is there to say that everyone else hasn't said? We're on a new world, with a million new sights to see. We arrived at night locally, and things were fairly dark. Our host uses internal light sources to illuminate the dwelling, and similar lights are posted along the streets outside. I feel I may have to wait until morning to make a full report.

I've been taking pictures of everything since we've arrived, but most of it is just machinery and signs for others to refer to. Scrump and I are setting up an oneironment for Flink using this space, so we aren't always in the way when we want to explore inside.

I took some pictures of our host as well. At first I was planning on posting these photos to this blog, but I don't want to give away any incriminating information just yet. Best to lay low for now.

The stars are beautiful. I can see where the planet must rotate -- one of the poles. We appear to be on an outer edge of a galaxy, as there are still stars in all direction, but a clear stream of them across the sky in one spot. The galactic core is in that direction.

There is a single bright moon in the sky, reflecting light from what I assume is the local star,

The sky is changing now, lightening, filled with colors.

...

Wow.

...

Words can't really describe it. For the first time, I actually forgot to take a photo. Sunrise on an alien world. It's beautiful.

Polliwog: What's the Frequency?

I'm part of Alpha Squad. Usually, I'm one of the first to make a report. But we've never had to deal with intelligence before. Almost instantly, it was clear Vindaloo was going to have his hands full in the speech department, and in a dwelling, we weren't immediately threatened by wildlife. So I've had to be more subtle to begin with.

It's quiet. There are the usual sounds of machines running, of various sounds that come from an urban area. But overall, not much is going on. The fact that it is dark outside, and from the looks of our new host, we've arrived in the middle of a sleep cycle.

I did stumble upon one device that looks interesting. I was absent-mindedly pushing buttons on a small electronic device connected to a large box. As I did, a loud noise of speech and other sounds burst forth. I quickly deactivated the device. It's some sort of broadcasting device using audio playback. I don't want to cause another disturbance right now, so I'll wait until it seems like there is more sounds outside.

I've resigned myself to playing a soft tune on my lute in the corner, to help lower anxiety and remind us of home. Hopefully our host won't mind.

Treacle: Countdown

It seems pointless to record the time of events using our home system. The fact that we have an intelligent civilization here indicates to me they more than likely have a number system. The others have found some sequences I think can be useful:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

The first symbol is repeated on the [tenth] symbol group, then twice on the [eleventh], and once again after that.

The input device uses the symbols again, in various places: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0. That round symbol, 0, is used in the other sequence, when a single symbol becomes a pair. 1 to 12 show up again, with an F in front of each of them. There's another set of them to the side:

7 8 9
4 5 6
1 2 3
0

Moog clued me in on the anatomy of the native: five fingers on each hand, ten in all. The sequence increases to two symbols on the tenth space. I'd bet my last coin that these guys use a base-ten system. Other signs use the ten symbols similarly: 15%, $39.95, 256GB.

There's a display using lights to make crude shapes that are similar to the numbers. When the space to the far right reaches 9, and increased once again, it becomes a 0, and the space to the left fills with a 1.

I will need to confirm this with our host, but here's my primary analysis:

0 - none. A placeholder to indicate an absence.
1 - single. A lone item.
2 - pair
3
4
5 - a single hand. Like us, it looks like they use both hands together and have a different sybol to represent each finger they are counting
6
7
8 - we're going to have to modify our minds on this one. We use a base-eight system, so to us, this number is a full set place. Not to them. We should start using local number systems for everything, so as not to confuse ourselves.
9
10 - here is the kicker. They don't have a single symbol to represent a set of all the fingers. Instead, they mark 1 again, but to the left, to indicate ONE FULL SET. And the 0 comes up again as the placeholder in the individual space.
11 - a single set AS WELL AS a single item.
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 - a pair of full sets, and no standalone individuals.

I've seen they number 100 around the room. I guarantee that means a set of sets. The 256 I find probably means 2 sets of sets, 5 separate sets, and 6 individuals.

A system like this could, in theory, go on for infinity. A biological origin for counting, like us. I can't wait to see if they have a binary system for their machines like us.

Ipswitch: Writing on the Walls

Signs. This world is covered in signs. Well, this dwelling, at least. That's going to make my job easier -- I hope.

I'm sure the others have clued you in to the basics of our arrival here. I'm actually lucky we have an intelligent species here to work with, otherwise I'd be feeling rather ubiquitous about now.

The first thing I need to do is gather a list of symbols -- find repetitions, sort them, separate letters from numbers and so on. It's not necessarily as easy as it sounds -- I've written papers on dozens of unusual writing systems and how they could be complicated. It also appears that some symbols can be written in different styles -- by hand, using curved symbols, or clear straight symbols. Fonts, I'd bet. Well, can't fault them for being creative with their words, right?

A few common symbols I've found:

__% OFF

SALE!

$__.__

Hold on... I've just stumbled upon an input device covered in symbols...

Esc F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12
` 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = Backspace
Tab Q W E R T Y U I O P [ ] \

Some of these have a sequence. The same symbols, minus the "F", are on the signs, before the % symbol, and after the $ symbol... and on the circular timer our host keeps looking at. I bet these are numbers...

Mother of Mud... STACKS of written pages! Bound together! Sorry, have to go!

Vindaloo: We Come in Peace

First Contact. It's what we've all dreamed of. And we've achieved it. Yonkers is our unofficial spokesperson, but it didn't take too long to reveal the natives of this new world communicate primarily with verbal speech patterns. It's my time to shine.

Our host's mouth structure is remarkably similar to our own, if less flexible. They inhale and exhale air, vibrating some inner organ it seems to generate their sounds. It is all very familiar, which I suppose is both good and bad. Good to make my job easier, but a little disappointing in that, of all possible methods of communication, ever aural, a species from galaxies away are still so similar. Still, they appear to have a complex writing system, so I think there will be plenty to keep Ipswitch and Borogove occupied as well.

Familiar phonics appear. It seems this native's language is similar to one of the older systems from Tulagwee. Perhaps they are capable of more sounds, but like us, have limited which ones they use in common parlance. I'm beginning to pick up a few patterns, and doing what I can with my handheld tools. I really wish I had the computer back in the facility. I'd be muddy if even Flink were fully functional... Regardless, I have no doubt I'll have it cracked soon!

Sorry I don't have more to say now (crazy, I know). But I'm really focused on making a connection here, for all our benefit!

Borogove: What Does It Mean?

One of our immediate priorities in this new world is establishing communication. Shortly after arriving, our new host rushed down the staircase, no doubt startled by the sound of intruders. Didge was ready to take him on then and there. Thankfully, one of the machines here kicked on and the sound startled us all. That probably keyed the native into realizing we were less of a threat and instead, vulnerable and defensive. He lowered his club and contact was made.

Vindaloo is clearly happy that the native uses a form of verbal speech patterns. There are a few hand, facial and body movements I'm cataloging, but speech seems to be primary. Despite not understanding a word from one another, we've established the habit of speaking out our actions. I think that helps lower the tensions, as well as providing each other with a set of words to work with.

The shelves of equipment are covered with various signs, each filled with its own unique symbols. It's hard to distinguish numbers, letters, punctuation, or whatever else these might be, so I'm deferring a basic comprehension to Ipswitch to provide us. There are a few obvious pictograms -- hands, figures, etc. But the rest seems fairly contemporary and ordered -- around 50 clear symbols pop up repeatedly.

There is a curious device here that catches our hosts attention from time to time -- a circular display marked with symbols and lines. It seems to be some sort of measuring device. It moves consistently so perhaps it is a timer of some sort -- a clock? He seems fixated on it so perhaps our arrival has upset a schedule he has. I hope we don't cause too much of a disturbance. It is best if we restrict our exposure to as few natives as possible at first, to limit our area of effect to as small as we can.

Hornswoggle: The Right Tools for the Job

What a day. I had to destroy the research station to cover our tracks. A shame, really. Overloading the power cell was the only way to make sure those zealots weren't going to follow us here. Still, by the looks of it, I couldn't have happened upon a better destination.

We've arrived on a new world, finding ourselves in what appears to be a workshop of some kind. Electronic devices line the walls, with various mechanical systems stacked on the floor. Visual displays, input devices, various removable media drives, large appliances with various piping and wires. None of this looks especially advanced, but I think we can use it.

My main goal is going to be to construct a beacon of some sort -- a way to send communications back to Tulagwee, to let them know we are safe and, if all security is confirmed, our coordinates. Hopefully they can get us back then. My worry is that we'll have the resources we need to build even a simple data-only projector.

I'm anxious to get communications going with out native host. I suspect he knows more about these machines, and having a fellow mechanic familiar with these system will only help my efforts. Some of the others seem to think this is a store of some kind, perhaps one that refurbished broken machines and resells them. If that's true, I should be able to assist our new friend in exchange for our room and board.

I should mention the situation with Flink -- her memory banks were wiped. She took a shot to the head as we were escaping. Thankfully, her personality systems were protected, and had such a blast befallen any of us organics, we'd be in serious trouble. Not having her records is going to set us back, but thankfully we can refill her mind with local data. I need to find some way to upload some sort of educational data into her systems efficiently. Some of these machines must be computers, I'm sure of it...

Scrump: A Roof Over Our Heads

I think we were all surprised at that first glimpse of a new world on the other side of the portal, but I'm pretty sure I was the most optimistic of the group: architecture. Honest to Mud architecture. A structure created by an intelligent race. I didn't even care what it was used for, all I knew is that I was going to have a lot more to do than make maps here!

The first room we arrived in seemed to be some sort of workshop, or maybe a storage area. Lots of electronics and mechanics, all in various states of functionality. There were surfaces filled with tools, and identification signs on many of the shelves. There were a couple doors and windows, and a flight of stairs leading upwards. It was from here our new host arrived.

Outside are a number of other similar structures, all filled with various goods. I think these must be shops, and our host perhaps repairs and sells these machines. There is a roadway in the front for land vehicles, and a small park across the way. Not much in the way of plant life, but a few benches and small structures that look like they are for physical activity. Behind this structure is a space where a refuse collection box is located. I'm eager to get out and explore, but I realize that might not be the best idea right now. I'll settle for exploring the upstairs if we can find a way to communicate with our host.

At the moment, we're setting up a space in the back where we can organize our efforts. This is a very cluttered space, but by the looks of it, there is a system to it. I'll try not to mess things up too badly!

Didgeridoo: Light on my Feet

Curse those Epicon! If I ever get back the first thing I'm going to do is...

Sigh. No, it won't fix anything. What's done is done. I have to focus on the here and now.

So here we are, on an unfamiliar world, with only the most basic supplies to defend ourselves. And it's not enough that we have new terrain and wildlife to contend with, we have INTELLIGENCE to deal with. BIG, smart things. Who knows what they could do to us?

At the moment, the one native we've met seems to be amicable. He was armed (sort of) but considering the way we fell into his dwelling I'm not surprised. I think he realized we were in trouble and felt we weren't as threatening as he had originally perceived. I'm sure I could have taken him, but after the day I had, I'm glad I didn't have to.

So, there are some elements about this world that have an effect on us. The gravity is lower, so we can jump higher here. The air is thinner, so I think we've been acting a bit loopier. It's colder, so I'm glad I brought my poncho. We'll need to get more of these made up for the others.

Food is going to be an issue. Wurtzel is doing some chemical analysis to see what (if anything) we can eat here. Moog's pet respim has been snapping up some bugs down here. I tried a couple and haven't noticed any ill effects, so we might have something there. I'd go out and gather some local plants to bring back, but there's hardly any trees outside. We must be in a commercial center, so we're going to have to do some trading with the locals to get supplies. Our host has offered up a few bowls, but Gimble seems put off by their... artificiality.

Anyways, I'm going to get back to moving some things around. This room seems to be some sort of storage or repair workshop, and it was never meant to house a clutch of Mim. I suppose if I don't break anything, I'll be fine.

Katzenjammer: Fate

It's ironic -- the Followers of Epicon were so afraid we would find intelligent life on another world that they set out to destroy the projectors, the research stations, the concept of the clutch, and the entire Promyn Collective if that's what it took... and it was that very act which forced us to flee using the projector, leading us straight into the discovery of an alien intelligence. Still, the fact we can't tell anyone about it yet plays in their favor. But maybe this was meant to be -- making the discovery only to be stopped would have dealt us a serious blow. Now that we're here, firsthand, they have no way to stop us from learning the truth, and to gain more than just a surface look!

The discovery of evolution created some serious upheaval to various faith systems on Tulagwee, but eventually they were forced to restate their views. Mim were no longer a "special creation" by The Mother of Mud, we were directly related to other lifeforms on the planet. People had to either accept reality or ignore it, and as always, reality eventually won. Folks rejected belief systems en mass, while others fought to modify they systems to incorporate this information. "Evolution is a tool used by The Mother" some claimed "and the stories of creation are symbolic truths, not necessarily literal". Even the Epicons had to change or go extinct. They just chose to move the goal markers.

"Evolution only exists on Tulagwee," they would claim. Then came the discovery of bacterial life on another world. I was prepared for "but intelligence -- consciousness -- ah, THAT is a truly unique gift!". They went a different direction. They fought against CRITICAL THINKING, against the clutch system. They actually managed to convince the world that the discovery had never happened, and that we were all fools. Hadn't they learned their lesson?

Too late we realized how serious they were. They INVADED. They actually declared war against us. Machines and soldiers. A terrorist attack on Promyn soil. We were in such a rush when they came to Moonbird that we never discovered the extent, but it was clear at least one or more of the other stations had been wiped out.

We ran. We were a research station. Even Didgeridoo would not have been able to defeat an entire platoon on his own. We were defenseless. So we ran. We grabbed what we could, dialed in a destination, and jumped. Flink was hit as they came through the door. Hornswoggle managed to sabotage the projector so they couldn't follow us -- however, that meant we couldn't get back either.

I brought three eggs I have been caring for since they were discovered in the wreckage of a storm. It will we strange, seeing them raised in a world that is not their own. To what extent do they need to learn the ways of their old home as compared to their new one?

May The Mother -- in whatever form she takes here -- help us all.

Moog: Here Be Giants

Another world, filled with life of all kinds! Can you imagine? Well, we don't have to -- we're HERE!

I had a quick look at the night sky -- nothing I recognize off hand so I'd say we took a REALLY long jump... another galaxy most likely. I'll need some better equipment to get a closer look, but for now my time will be best spent understanding the contents of this planet rather than its relative position to our home.

There's a single yellow sun in the day, and it looks like a single moon rotating around us. Blue, oxygen-filled skies, clouds, and green plants getting power from the sun, so nothing too crazy so far. It's cold here -- nothing too bad, and our host uses mechanical heating, so we can work with it. Not sure what their water resources are yet, since they need to use pipes to bring it to them. The plant life is also pretty sparse from a first glance. This is definitely an urban area of sorts, but not overly large. Most dwellings here are only a few stories tall, but there are lots of them. Hopefully there is more water and nature outside the main city.

Snarki has taken up feeding on some small local invertebrates and seems no worse for the matter, so maybe we can harvest the same source if we can't metabolize any of our host's foodstuffs (the few samples it provided us did not seem overly palatable to Gimble, so we're sticking with the resources Didge brought with him for now). Gimble mentioned the food tasted "processed" so perhaps we just need to try some fresh produce. I didn't notice any gardens off hand so maybe they need their food piped in like the water.

A few notes on our host. The subject is a biped, towering over us at twice our height! Its skin is a pink/tan color, with a mane of dark hair on the top of its head. There is also a sparse coating of hairs on its extremities, so chances are the hair is a natural part of its anatomy. It has two arms and two legs, and its head is small compared to its body. Two eyes, a single mouth with the equivalent of our teeth and tongue. it has external ears similar to Gimble's decor, and two holes above its mouth that it takes air in and out with. It seems to do the same with its mouth, so the redundancy is not clear yet. Five fingers on each hand -- I bet Treacle will find some important use from that fact.

It wears multiple pieces of clothing, and we've seen a few different styles in our short time here. This cold probably prompted them to develop some unique clothes for thermoregulation, but Nudnik seems to think there might be a cultural aspect to it as well -- form as well as function. We're going to need to make some of our own ponchos soon.

Wurtzel: Within Acceptable Limits

I'm actually pretty impressed by the results -- we had less than a minute to analyze the database, compare with current trajectories, and establish a connection, and it WORKED -- it did more than that if you think about it. I mean, we've only scanned a tiny fraction of the sky. When you work down how much of that resulted in stars with planets, how few of those planets had a size and composition capable of supporting life, looking at chemistry, pressure, temperature... We've categorized less than sixteen world with organic chemistry (non-carbon life might still be out there, but it seems to run the show in our discoveries).

I think we all knew we were going to end up stranded, at least for a while. Even if Flink's memory bank hadn't been wrecked, we just weren't going to have the infrastructure to manufacture all we would need to even set up a beacon. Not on our own. We couldn't risk leaving the computers intact where the Epicons could follow us, so there was almost no chance the other stations would be able to find us either. But we figured as long as we could find necessary resources, maybe in a generation or two, we could send a message.

None of us were expecting that first view when the portal opened. There was no debate we were looking at some sort of architecture filled with machines. This wasn't just a world with air and water -- it had LIFE. And not just life, but INTELLIGENT life... a tool-building culture. This was as promising as it was terrifying. There was no time to debate whether going to an inhabited world was going to be the right decision, we just jumped and hoped for the best.

And I've got to say -- it turned out for the best. Sure, it's a little chilly, but the atmosphere is breathable. They need to pipe in water from an external source, but it's clean. We're still looking into the food situation, but most importantly, we've managed to connect with one of the natives. It's hard to tell how helpful this being will be, but at the moment, it seems to be welcoming and non-threatening. If we can get settled and take care of the basics for survival, then we can get back to our primary objective.

But honestly, we're on an alien world! What researcher wouldn't give their right arm for a chance like this! Even if it ends badly, I can only hope the knowledge we gather can be useful for the folks back home someday!

Yonkers: We are not Alone

We'll, we've definitively answered the question -- no, we are not alone in the universe. There are other intelligent races out there... or should I say "here", as our point of reference has changed.

I'd rather not get into the specifics now, but what I can say is that we have been forced to evacuate the Moonbird facility and are now on an alien world. Due to an accelerated timeline, we were unaware that the world we are now on was inhabited. Fortunately, we were able to make first contact without too much trouble, and we are able to address our basic needs with the help of our new host.

Finding a way to return home (or at the very least, send a message to our associates) is our top priority, but it seemed a shame to waste the perfect opportunity at field work. After all, this is the sort of thing we have all trained for! But we can't go about this haphazardly. Our technology is slightly more advanced than the natives, but we don't exactly have access to it all at the moment, do we? Also, they tower above us in stature. We have much to learn about their behavior, but it seems clear both we and our host prefer to keep our presence here a secret for the moment. If reciprocity is truly a common evolutionary element in intelligent societies, we should strive to do as little to disrupt our host's current lifestyle.

It is by the greatest of luck (for us) that our new friend is located in a dwelling filled with various electronic and mechanical devices, both functional as well as in need of repair. Perhaps we can assist one other...

Flink: Status Update

It has been explained to me that my long-term data storage has been compromised, and no sufficient backup is currently available As a memoid, this is a significant problem. It seems my personality core is intact, and repairs to my storage unit have restored my ability to retain information, but I will require alternative data dumps. I have been able to access my team members' handheld devices for some basic information, but it would seem that I am now at the mercy of manual education from my clutchmates.

To compromise matters, we are no longer on Tulagwee. The circumstances leading to my impairment have also been responsible for displacing the team to an alien world. It would seem that I must now keep at least three distinct databases -- one for universal knowledge, one for Mimyn culture refreshers, and one for the specifics of this new planet. In some ways we are lucky, as we have discovered a native intelligent species in the grip of an information technology era. Massive multimedia databases linked across the world are available, and it should be only a matter of time until I can access and incorporate them.

I also seem to be the only source of oneironment access to the team. As such, I have been requested to maintain this alternative information record which can be more accessible to both Mimyn and native users. I only hope I can provide as much knowledge as needed despite my handicap.

Gimble: Introduction

(NOTE: This original journal was written in Mimyn, on a personal journal device. It has been translated from its original language and format and contextualized to fit this new format.)

So, here we are: trapped on an alien world we know almost nothing about. Constructing a new projector to get home is our main goal, but who knows how long that will take, even assuming we can find the right resources. In the meantime, we're going to do what we've always done -- research.

Flink was damaged in our escape -- her personality was intact, but her long-term memory banks were wiped. Other than our own memories and handheld data storage devices, we no longer have access to our encyclopedia of Mimyn knowledge. We're going to have to start from scratch using information we gather here. Some information never changes regardless of what planet we're on, while there will no doubt be plenty of unique data we have to learn to survive here.

Writing journals is an intrinsic part of my nature, but Yonkers is suggesting we all participate in this blog. The information we present will be useful to the folks back home (once we have some sort of functioning communication system), the larvae in Katzenjammer's orphaned eggs, and even the humans themselves. No one else here has access to a oneironment simulator other than us, so we're going to use local information systems such as wikis, forums, and blogs, as well as anything new that we find.