P1000335

Derringer 8

Mars

Greetings dear sister,

Thank you for the letter. It arrived via the last data dump just as we traveled beyond Mars early this morning. I hoped since I woke early that I could beat the other passengers for a good viewing spot on the observation deck for my first view of Mars. I guess everyone had the same idea as the deck was already packed with people when I arrived at 0600 ship time.  I did manage to squeeze in next to a family with two small children. I could at least see the view out the observation window over their small heads.  As we passed well beyond the gravitational influence of the planet, it looked more like a small red marble floating in space than a planet over 6790 kilometers in diameter. It was still well worth the early rise. Not something to inspire artistic tendencies  but interesting none the less.  

So I gather from your letter that the regeneration of your arm is going as planned.  Slow but steady finishes the race so the saying goes. I can tell you are impatient for a quicker regrowth.  Please be patient.  Just remember what happened to our cousin David when he tried to manipulate the speed of his leg regen. He ended up with four toes.  Not a huge issue for a leg regrowth, but for an arm that could be a tragedy.

You also mentioned in your letter that there is more information on the abilities of the phenomenon.  Can you elaborate on what you meant by It can adjust to different situations? As I see nothing posted on your research site, I assume this is a new unsubstantiated theory you have been working on.  What did you mean by ‘’ the creature chooses who to help and also how much”? Are you leaning toward defining this array as a living being instead of a scientific anomaly.  Maybe even intelligent.  From all our research i never got this impression. I realize you have sent your letter over the normal data stream so you could not be more specific.  It is not the most secure, but you have my attention.  I have paid the extra fee for the encrypting account for deep space messages.   I have attached the encrypting instructions for the program with this message so you can do likewise.  That way you can send your finding with more confidence of the security.

After the Mars viewing I spent the rest of the ship day exploring the parts of the ship allowed to the passengers. There is a small exercise area on each deck and several more of the small coffee cafes. Each cafe has a different holographic program. Like the one on the level near my quarters each scrolls through different images to music. The most frequented by the passengers seems to be the one with the environmental scenes from New London with inspiration music written for the array.  There are several holos of the new population center of the planet along with some fantastic images and artistic renditions of the phenomenon. There is even one set of images from the landscapes outside the habitation area.  As the phenomenon is the main drawing point to New London, I have not often seen pictures of much else. It was interesting to see what the planet looks like. I am looking forward to doing some exploring once I arrive if time permits.  

   

I have returned to my room for the evening following a rather tasteless but supposedly nutritious dinner.  The food on board is not the best but as this is only for a few weeks I can deal with it.  The same does not go for all the passengers.  I sat next to a professional chef at dinner tonight.  He spent the entire meal complaining about the food and boosting about the type of meals he will create when he arrives at our destination.  It seems he has a position waiting for him planetside as the head chef for one of the top luxury facility on New London. I gather from Chef Nicholas’s description that it caters to the growing number of elite guests attempting to benefit from the effects of the array.  He had a vast knowledge of the edible flora and fauna present on the planet and I have made some notes on my wrist pad. I will send you a list a future letter as I have almost reached the data limit with the attached cryptology instructions.  

Please write back as my curiousity is peaked with your new findings.

Love always

Victoria