TEAM INVESTIGATE-THE-ALIENS
OOG: Surfacing, now that a bit of game time has passed
Once Nathaniel has mostly assimilated the available information about the encounter with the derelict alien ship, he pauses for a cup of coffee, then digs into the raw data that the report about the anomalies in the region was based on.
Assessing that he is about caught up with the currently available data, he reports to the group interested in researching the aliens. He goes into lecture mode.
"My assessment of the reports and sensor data from the derelict that Longshot encountered, is that the builders have access to technology several levels above what is known by any races or cultures that are being interacted with in known space. That is not just their drive system that apparently malfunctioned. The stasis pod, I wouldn't call it cold sleep, is well beyond anything I am aware of. Outside some extremely theoretical ideas, not even being experimented with in the labs. The way the entrance to the hold opened shows either extreme control of material, or even dimensional control. The apparent fuel delivery system, without any obvious orifice for dispensing is similar. I expect that when used properly, the opening would just 'appear' when needed. No iris or similar mechanical movement. I suspect it is good that it was not used. It is likely that the fuel supplied would be a lot more exotic than cryogenic hydrogen. The use of some form of artificial psionic projection for intra-ship communications shows advances in that area as well. The observed properties of the ship hull are another data point."
"One of those could be an anomaly. A chance discovery that advanced their technology in a specific area. Taken together would indicate that all of the their technological abilities are likely similarly advanced."
"The information available about the various anomalies that have been, and continue to be, reported in sector is not sufficient to form any strong hypothesis about a common cause. There is nothing in the data though, that would appear to contradict them being actions by an active alien ship with matching capabilities. One point of correlation, is that one of people transplanted from Coventry had a wrapped sprained wrist on Coventry. When delivered, there was no wrapping, and no indication of a sprain. Either enough time passed to fully heal with him unaware, or damage was directly healed."
"Some time ago, an analysis was done by an AI of possible scenarios for meeting a technological alien race. Those with an interest, or paranoia, in such encounters have kept it updated, and adjusted it to local regions. Here is the current version I pulled from the net that is specific to Reaver's Deep." He displays a summary on a wall screen.
OOG: See the next post
"When I started analysing the data, from the reappearance of those taken from Coventry, I was expecting to find some sort of minimal travel distance pattern. That is not apparent. If there is any sort of minimal energy logic in the sequence used, it does not seem to be related to the travel distance. This is now extremely speculative, but if the distance travelled does not correspond to the energy, or other resource cost, then they could be from very far away indeed. A possible reason for them showing up here, is our proximity to the great rift. Their drive system could make travel in 'really' empty space cheap. Reaver's Deep is an end point from that potential travel route, that does not immediately encounter more heavily monitored areas like the Imperium or Aslan Hierate. Insert disclaimer from that summary, about alien thinking, as well as the speculation about the long distance travel capabilities of the supra light drive being used."
"I can also present a scenario about how they could be from a lot closer, and still not been encountered previously. The local travel drive reported from the derelict seems to be based on projecting a gravity well ahead of the ship, and falling toward it. That would seem to have different operational parameters than the thruster plate commonly used. Specifically, it might not lose effectiveness when getting beyond about 1000 stellar diameters. Using that assumption as a base, they could prefer to not get close enough to stellar masses to be easily noticed. They could mine outer rubble belts, or ort clouds, where there would be little chance of them being noticed. Their society could live in what we would consider deep space. We can, and do, travel there, but it takes extra preparations, is not done routinely."
"Since, based on scenario assumptions, they are now travelling to populated areas, I have given some thought to detecting them, despite that all but sensor invisible hull. I speculate that that drive system, when in use, will produce gravometric distortions that can be detected. Some adjustment to standard astrometric instrumentation could do it. Possibly the more advance probe drones used to explore and map new systems can be tasked with the job. A significant gravity field that is not following standard physics orbital rules should be easy to pull from the data. I think it possible that they were detected, but that the data was discarded as instrumentation errors. I'm going to make some enquires in the science community, so see if I can get the raw sensor data, before it was filtered and cleaned up, for around the time period when Forbes showed back up on Duncinae."
"The collected data shows that 12 of the 100 escaped prisoners have shown up someplace within reporting constraints distance, but only 3 have any published data related to the experience. The common theme is being in a glowing room where they could not see walls or ceiling past the glow. Despite the glow, and maintaining a single fixed location, they could somehow see all 100 of the others. They did not know all, but recognized some."
"With that starting point, it is likely that careful questioning could identify more of the 100. Using the standard process designed to get witnesses to help identify perpetrators of a crime. At one point, I believed that could be an aid in estimating where other people would be dropped off. One of the report items was that each sophont was being returned to their home planet, and that each from from a different world. Other information contradicted that, including that 2 people were dropped off on the same planet 6 weeks apart, and neither had ever been to the world before. I now believe the other report was sensationalist. Still, knowing who each of the 100 are could be useful later. That would require locating, and getting the cooperation of, one or more of those removed from Coventry."
"Samantha, could you try to arrange contact with Carson Forbes through that journalist? If we don't talk to him, we have no idea what details he could add. My skills might be able to acquire additional details." Giving Jack a speculative look he says, "Though Jack's special touch might be even more effective."
"That glowing room, and the related description does not fit with what I expect for the real world. I am speculating on something like a shared dream. Or more grounded in the physical world, a hyper realistic virtual reality. A virtual world could account for everyone seeing everyone else without moving, but not the walls or ceiling."
'Professor' Harken pauses to take a gulp of coffee, then looks around to see how many eyes have totally glazed over versus showing any interest in the material presented.
