Sol 71

117 kTi

I forgot to make a log entry yesterday with how focused I was on everything. After getting the message from Carlos, I spent all day just throwing things down for terraforming. The sky is almost entirely blue at this point, but Sentinel only cares about the 175 kTi threshold. It's in spitting distance now, though, and if I keep this up I'll be able to reach it in a few days.

Every time I end up making headway, something happens that brings me back down to Earth. Or Steve, in this case. It's like some kind of karmic mandate that I can't get too secure in what it is I'm doing. Of course I'd definitely prefer being spooked to having something worse happen to me, like my suit failing or a buildup of carbon monoxide. I'm sure that if I do manage to get off this planet, I'll be able to afford the best therapists in the world, so psychological damage I can handle for the time being. Death is a bit less solvable.

I was never too good with math, but when I try and plot out the progress in my head it gets pretty close to a logarithmic curve. On top of having more drills and solar panels and all that crap, I've slowly been able to get access to better materials for the job. I was already able to put down a more efficient set of drills, and I have enough in the way of materials to get a nuclear generator ready, though I don't have a means to refine the uranium yet.

Looking at where I'm at, I think I've earned a day off. For once, I think I'll just sit around and do nothing.

You know what I miss? I miss taking showers.

Asher would be crossing the 175k threshold in a few minutes. Ryan had spent the last few days doing nothing but gathering as much information as he could wrest out of the classified databanks and prepare a message for him. It wouldn't be anything special, but he knew that Asher would probably be happy to have any confirmation that there was someone with any care for him.

It was a simple text file, slipped into the data package. No one would notice it if they weren't looking for it, and from what he'd seen no one bothered to check outgoing messages. Never a reason to, anyways. Itt was added to the outgoing messages, and then a little indicator on his workstation triggered to declare that the 175k mark had been reached. The planet now had a fully blue sky.

There was a small fanfare sound that played along the notification, as if to underline how patronizing the whole thing was. It wasn't loud, but it was enough to draw everyone's attention. After a moment of confused silence, there was a round of applause and cheers as people got up to congratulate him. There was a part of him that appreciated it, but the larger whole of his mind felt like it was undeserved. Then again, it wasn't like they could congratulate Asher personally, so he supposed he'd have to accept it for him in absentia.

He politely smiled, waved awkwardly a bit, feeling uncomfortably like what happened when someone approached you singing happy birthday and you had to just sit there and let them do it. His thoughts were on Haren, though. Just sending a message was a big enough risk on its own. He'd have to wait a good long while to try again, just to see if anyone would notice his efforts.

Waiting. Interminably waiting. God, he hated waiting. At least Asher had something to keep him busy.

Sol 72

176 kTi

Bum-da-da-duuuum! Blue skies, here we are! I'm now part of a very elite group of Planet Crafters who've made it this far, and at this point I'd say that I probably have a 95% chance of success.

I spent today just staring up at the sky. It was amazing, almost like home. There was a small part of me that wanted to walk outside to see it, but thankfully the overwhelming part of my senses were fixed on the fact that it would kill me if I did. Honestly, I think that I might have underestimated just how badly seeing a full blue sky would affect me. Then again, the fact that this planet is a total desert still helps out with that. Still a long ways to go, though. The next stage is having clouds become a regular feature in the sky, which sets the next TerraIndex threshold at 350 kTi. That should be easily done.

In fact, right now it feels almost too easy, to the point that I've decided to take some time out of my schedule to just walk around a bit more and get to know this planet. I hate to say it, but I am definitely developing an attachment to Steve. I'm not allowed to claim this planet, but then again, if I do finish the job I get first dibs on it so I might as well get to know the place. I had an annoying friend who did real estate, and they were always saying 'Location, location, location!" I'd say we've got a pretty good location here, great view of utter blackness.

Seriously, Izitial Prime is probably one of the least-developed sectors in the whole of the known galaxy, so it's no wonder they want something to work from. They've been trying to get something going in this sector, starbases can only get you so far before you have to have a planet to settle down on just so people don't go stir-crazy. And that's where I come in.

I'm in an unusually good mood today, and I'm going to spend it planning for some more exploration. There's a few places I could go, one of which is across the Dune Sea, but unless there's a stray sandworm I could hitch a ride on trying to navigate that mess seems deeply unappealing right now. To my south is the basin I started in, and south of that is a giant ridge that would take days to climb. To the north is a mess of slot canyons carved into a giant mesa, and I feel like I shouldn't try to chance that just yet.

So, east it is then. There's a big low-lying plain that I could walk across just north of the aluminum hills, which should make walking past them easier. It'll be a good place to start, today I'm just gonna spend some time getting all my preparations ready. It'll be a big expedition.

Sol 72 (1)

Okay, so...I didn't see this coming. When I reached the 175 kTi mark, I got an automated message with a whole mess of new blueprints to help me do this whole thing more efficiently. And I completely overlooked a random text file in it.

If Sentinel is watching this whole thing then I'll probably give it away, but they can't really do much worse to me than what I've already got to deal with. I'll upload the message here.

Hᴇʟʟᴏ!

I ғɪɴᴀʟʟʏ ᴍᴀɴᴀɢᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sʏsᴛᴇᴍ ᴛʜᴇʏ sᴇɴᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ɪɴ.

I ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴛɪᴍᴇ, ʙᴜᴛ I'ʟʟ ᴛʀʏ ᴛᴏ ɢɪᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴀᴅᴠɪᴄᴇ.

Tʜᴇ sᴜᴄᴄᴇss ʀᴀᴛᴇ ᴏғ 'Pʟᴀɴᴇᴛ Cʀᴀғᴛᴇʀs' ɪs sᴏ ʟᴏᴡ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ɪᴛ's ɴᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴀɴ ɪᴍᴘᴏssɪʙʟᴇ ᴛᴀsᴋ:

- Yᴏᴜ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ғɪɴᴅ sᴘᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏᴏᴅ ɪɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘᴏᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ɪɴ sᴘᴀᴄᴇs ᴡʀᴇᴄᴋs.

- Yᴏᴜ'ʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ɢʀᴏᴡ ғᴏᴏᴅ ʙʏ ʏᴏᴜʀsᴇʟғ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏʀʀᴇᴄᴛ ʀᴇᴏ̨ᴜɪʀᴇᴍᴇɴᴛs. Sᴏ ᴛʀʏ ᴛᴏ ғɪɴᴅ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴠᴇɢᴇᴛᴀʙʟᴇs sᴇᴇᴅs.

- Exᴘʟᴏʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴍᴘʀᴏᴠᴇᴍᴇɴᴛs ᴀʀᴇ ᴇssᴇɴᴛɪᴀʟs. Exᴘʟᴏʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴍᴘʀᴏᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇᴏ̨ᴜɪᴘᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴀsᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴀɴᴄᴇs ᴏғ sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ.

I ʜᴏᴘᴇ ᴛʜɪs ᴍᴇssᴀɢᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴇᴀᴄʜ ʏᴏᴜ.

Rɪʟᴇʏ

...

Riley.

I knew a guy named Riley. He worked with me on the Winnarak Secunda warp gate, and clearly his request to transfer to Planet Crafter observation went through. He would get assigned to me, wouldn't he?

I remember the last time I talked to him. Half the crew was out with septapox, I was killing myself with those 18 hour shifts. He offered to put in a word for me to transfer.

God I wish I'd taken him up on it.

Fuck me. I was in such a good mood today. And now...now I don't know what to feel.

I'm just going to go lay down.