My pset submitted, I have time to watch some science-fiction.
Here we go:
(The episode begins)
Space, the final frontier
These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise
Its five-year mission
To explore strange new words
To seek out new life and new civilizations
To boldly go where no man has gone before.
Sorry, this is the wrong show. I meant to watch some science-nonfiction.
Here we go again:
(The episode begins)
SSP, the final frontier
This is the voyage of the Starship CU-Boulder
Its five week mission
To explore strange new worlds
To seek out new rocks and new astroids
To boldly find orbits no one has found before.
Alexander’s log, stardate 2121.197 (CU Boulder). It has been just about four weeks since our crew left our sister ships ( NM Tech and Pro 3). Moving at warp speed we have no way to communicate with them or with anyone on earth, but I am happy to report that all systems are functioning nominally.
Working at warp speed, however, means that all our days are spent practically glued to our screens, the place were we do most of our work and our meetings, formal and informal, as if tied by an invisible cord. Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them (*).
I am a bit concerned by the strange behavior of some of the life support systems. For instance, it appears that mushrooms have been found to grow in different places on board, although the precise locations have not yet been made public. Also, I have noticed some strange irregularities in the timing of my personal meals. Many times in the past two weeks meals were beamed up at completely random times during the days. I have a feeling the rest of the crew is experiencing the same issue.
With so few technical difficulties, our mission is going very well, and everyday we are progressing deeper in the unknown, only to learn that there is no such thing as the unknown – only things temporarily hidden, temporarily not understood (*).
It was rewarding to get the visit last week (stardate 2121.191) from representatives of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology (MIT) and the Higher Military Council (HMC), both institutions located in a faraway galaxy in the Alpha Quadrant. I can speak for the whole crew when I say that we appreciate the interest MIT and HMC are taking in us, and in our work.
Alexander’s supplemental log 1 (stardate 2121.197). Like most of us, this 5-week voyage through deep space is my first, and I am enjoying every minute of it. I am honored to have been selected as a member of this crew. Part of our work is completed as teams of three researchers, and I am happy to report that my team has successfully finalized several measurements remotely using various telescopes connected through the uww (Universe Wide Web). We are currently investigating a possible failure (*) in optics in one of these measurements.
Alexander’s supplemental log 2 (stardate 2121.197). Our research is not limited to astrophysics. Indeed, I am proud to report that our crew has successfully developed a new way to communicate limited quantities of information between unlimited space at speed generally faster than the speed of light, which we have named “KhaudNaimes”. Unfortunately, it seems that the quantity of information that can be properly transmitted in a single round of “KhaudNaimes” is sensitive to the particular individual, or set of individuals, receiving that information. We have identified certain individuals to which “KhaudNaimes” seems to be particularly sensitive to. Nevertheless, through trial and errors we are making regular improvements in transmission rates, and, once perfected, it is our wish to make “KhaudNaimes” widely available (at a very low cost) to all civilizations.
Live long and prosper.
– Alexander