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.