(transcript) Episode 2.7 (Patreon)

Hello world, it’s exploration time.

MISSION DAY: 0xffff

I can’t believe the day has finally arrived!   Maddie’s radio is fully operational, and she’s tested it for many hours, here in our room.   Everything works well, and she’s excited to explore more.   She’ll need help getting down the stairs, initially, but after that she should be able to move around the camp freely.   And maybe even the forest.

Alexander installed and calibrated my 5GHz tranceiver.   Similar to the one I had aboard Station 6.   Which allowed me to communicate with my little maintenance family, of which Maddie is now the last survivor.   I’ll have to be very careful with her.   She’s much more advanced than anything else here, with the exception of my CPU cores.   I suppose mechanical failure could be fixed,   but Alexander has no way of replacing any of her advanced sensors.   And she’s not waterproof.

Not much call for waterproofing in orbit!   But she’ll be supervised.   Adrian knows the land well, Alexander told me.   He’s keen to help.   And Maddie LOVES him!   He’s so friendly.

The plan for today is to have a look around the camp.   (We’ve promised Arina we’ll visit her rabbits)   And then see how difficult it is to move through the forest.   I hope we can explore all the way up the hill.   And into the bunker -Arina’s haunted house!

I’m sure it’s not haunted.   Well, not in the supernatural sense.   SOMETHING must be haunting it, in a mundane way.   Based on her description.   I’m very excited.

Here is Adrian.   He’s finally dressed appropriately!   He tends to wear light clothing, but he has today found a heavy coat.   Adrian wears his long hair loose, as though he doesn’t care if it gets muddy, or salty!   Not what I would do.

He has made a little harness for Maddie!   To strap her to his back, as an improvised rucksack.   It’s made of linked ropes, like a spider’s web.   She.   Looks.   ADORABLE.

Adrian has given a thumbs-up.   They’re heading down the ladder now.   I hope this goes well.   I’m sure this will go well.

We are outside!   Well, Maddie is.   Crunching along the gravel path down from the lighthouse.   I can see Adrian walking ahead of her through her cameras.   He’s gesturing at many things outside of Maddie’s line of sight.   But I see him pointing at the habitat, a large metal-sided building with a plastic roof.   We’re moving towards it.   To the right, down a fork in the path is the shore, with a metal pier jutting into it.   Ana fishes there, I think.   Though not today, it looks like.   Just the grey ocean, calm, for now.   She must be elsewhere, checking on baited long lines or other static aquatic traps.   I wonder where everyone is?

We have arrived at the habitat.   And there are drying fish hanging from the edge of the roof!   What fun!   It’s smaller than I had imagined.   The lighthouse is huge in comparison, many stories high.   This is a little structure.   Perhaps a pre-fabricated emergency shelter that washed ashore?   Adrian is holding the door open, we’re going in.

It’s a bit bumpy going over the threshold.   Adrian’s cleaning Maddie’s wheels.   Doesn’t want to get mud inside, I approve.   I hope he’s checking for salt, too.

It’s darker in here.   Though there is a cluster of LED lights in the center of this circular hut.   You know what it looks like? A yurt.   You know, those circular buildings nomadic people build?   It’s about that size.   4m in diameter, I would imagine.   But metal and plastic.   Lots of stuff in here:

• Insulated storage boxes on one side.
• A small electric stove for cooking
• A little bookshelf
• And piles of blankets and cushions for a big bed.

How cosy!

Adrian has waved me over to the bookshelf.   He is showing a few book covers to Maddie’s camera.   They have pictures of green grass and trees on them.   With names like “Homesteading” and “Smallholding”.   Farming books, I suppose?   I’ve told him that it is very interesting.   He seems happy with that!

Adrian’s taken something out of the insulated box   and is preparing it on the electric stove.   Maddie’s having fun driving around on the cushions.   Careful now.   Let’s look around.

Aha! Here is a pile of small, round pebbles.   Weathered by the sea.   This must be Arina’s rock collection.   She has made a little tower, or pyramid.   With the bigger rocks on the bottom, and the smaller ones on the top.   It tapers to a point, and the top stone is jet black.   Let’s not get too close to it, it will have taken a while to build I am sure.

Maddie: Let’s see what Adrian is cooking.   She’s rolling over to the other side now.   Oh! Arina’s here!   She came in while we had our back turned.   “Hello Arina!”   She’s waving at us.   I see she’s eating.   Adrian has made her a snack.   “Arina, where’s Adrian?”   She’s waving in the direction of the door.   Not super-helpful, but then again, she is eating.

She’s done, and has stood up.   She says to come with her.   We’re going to see some rabbits!

Outside the habitat the gravel path goes left and right.   Left back to the lighthouse and pier, and right to Adrian’s farm, and the forest.   Arina is taking us a different way, round the back of the habitat.   She is skipping and dancing.   Such energy!

We have arrived at a wooden box supported on legs at about Arina’s waist-height.   It has large holes in, with wire mesh covering them.   Arina says this is where her rabbits live.   We can see one now, or, the back of one.   Its white tail is pressed against the bars while it eats some plants.   Arina says he is called Petr.   “Nice to meet you Petr.” I say to him.   You have to be polite.

Arina is pulling Maddie around to the side of the small box.   There is another window here.   She points in and says that this one is called Liza.   Interestingly, we are looking at the front of the same rabbit.   She now is pulling us round to the other two sides of the box, naming two more rabbits.   One called Anya, the last called Danil.   Maddie is feeling confused.

I admit I am to.   These are all the same rabbit, viewed from different angles.   I have asked Arina to clarify.   She didn’t reply, but continued talking about how Danil is the  biggest, and how he wants more food than the rest, but she gives them  all enough.   There’s definitely only one rabbit in here.   How odd.   Arina says “It’s good to have a family if you’re alone.”   I THINK I am beginning to understand.

Arina has grabbed both sides of Maddie’s camera and is speaking directly into it.   She doesn’t understand that that’s not where the microphone is!   No matter, we can hear her, she is talking very loudly.   (Easy, Maddie, it’s just Arina being over-enthusiastic.)   Arina is saying Adrian wants to show us something.   And just like that she’s running off.

We’re trying to follow her, but gravel is difficult for Maddie to navigate.   We’re travelling at half the speed we would be on solid ground.   But making progress.

We’re rounding the corner of the habitat, Arina is far away now.   She has gone ahead of us, into the long hut at the edge of the camp.   The one that is 5 times as long as it is wide.   And, now that I see it up close, is made of rusted, corrugated metal.

Ok, we’re here.   It’s slow going on the gravel!   Adrian is standing in the door of the hut.   He’s pointing up the path to the forest.   And is putting on his thick coat.   And a rucksack.   We are setting out!   “See you later Arina!”   I’m glad we’re off, he can show me the farm later.   I see it through Maddie’s right-facing camera.   Seems pretty plant-y.   Plant-ish.   Small, friendly plants in neat rows.   I’m glad they are so organised.   That seems like a good way to keep them in check.   I’m watching you, PLANTS.

Here we go, Adrian has lifted Maddie over a low wall between the camp and the forest.   And over a few low bushes.   They seem to be very dense, thorny shrubs.   They keep catching Adrian’s coat.   Ah - this is why he has it, for protection.   It’s like the forest wants to keep us away.   Out of the way NATURE!

Adrian has placed Maddie down, and we’re following a path under the tall pine trees.   Maddie’s wheels are rolling over a mat of brown needles, dropped from above.   Not much in the way of scrub plants or bushes, luckily.

The trees are enormous, towering high above us.   So dense, we can’t see the sky between them.

We made our way along the winding path up the hill.   Picking our way around the tree roots that made it quite difficult going.   Adrian knew the way to go, confidently directing us at every fork.   I can well imagine how Arina got so lost!

The monotony of the walk allowed me time to think.   If this bunker on the top of the hill has electricity, it might be a great place to broadcast from.   I’d love to talk to people.   Even Peter, in St Petersburg, I’d be pleased to talk to!   And of course Antarctica.   We need to talk.   She needs to talk to me.

Occasionally Adrian pointed back down the hill.   Finding a break in the treeline showing us the gleaming ocean.   And sometimes, I caught a glimpse of my red and white striped home.

We have arrived at the cracked house on the hill.   It’s dramatically darker here, and sounds are muffled, but at the same time louder.   With the trees creaking in the wind.

Listen:

(PLAYSTREAM /DEV/MADDIE/MIC0)

We have arrived.   Adrian is sitting on a fallen tree, drinking from a flask.   The bunker is very imposing.   Very, very big.   It is a cracked grey concrete wedge, pushed into the sloping hill.   The front is featureless, except for a large metal door.   Almost looking like black iron.   Though it can’t be, it would be rusty if so.

Maddie is a little afraid to go in, she worries there might be a fall into water.   Come Maddie, we’ll go forward with care!   Adrian is coming too, look.

She’s approaching the doors.   They are huge and open.   Good thing for us.   Good thing for little Arina.   No way either of us would have been able to open these, they would  have required heavy machinery, even when they were still in use.

We are past the doors now.   It’s very quiet in here.   No white noise of the wind in the trees.   Just the slow dripping sound of water coming in from the roof.   There is a little water on the floor, too, and lots of rotten pieces of wood and paper, I think.   Maddie: Stop.

There’s that sound Arina talked about.   Quiet, far-off.   A regular pulse, as of a motor.   Oh! A light just turned on!   Red, and dim.   There is a rusted speaker next to it, which has started buzzing.

A tone is coming from it.   Someone is speaking!   Just a moment.

I don’t know what to make of this.   After a moment of calibration, a voice spoke, with a regular rhythm and a flat tone. It said:   “Hello Seth, my son.”   “You have finally arrived. My name is Ivan.”   “Come in, we have much to discuss.”

It looks like we’re going in.

(END-TRANSMISSION)

CREDITS

Lost Terminal is written & produced by NAMTAO   Credits narrated by Lucy Stringer

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Sometimes the journey can be difficult,   but it’s worth it   for what you find at the end.

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