Gargoyles

Along the stairway in the pyramid, Adelaric stopped us. He remembered that there were some stairs missing, with a gaping hole in stead. This was not visible, so it means the nanite swarm must be mimicking the missing stairs. 

We carefully probed each stair, and as soon as we did that, whatever was controlling the swarm recalled it. The missing stairs and the hole became apparent.

At the top of the stairs we entered a narrow, long, high-roofed hall, lined with stone gargoyles. Grotesque figures, representing animals that no doubt symbolized virtues or vices at some time. This part of the pyramid was dark, lit only by a fluorescence from the engravings in the metal wall and by our headlights.

We were halfway down the hall when some of the gargoyles, casting off millennias of dust, started moving from their plinths. This was not the action of nanites, the EM pulse guns did some damage but did not stop these golems from moving towards us. They were slow, so we could rush towards the inner chambers at the end of the hallway. We managed to get inside and close the doors before the gargoyles got there. The things did not attempt to break down the door.

Mitsiro's assistants that remained topside witnessed it all, but they regained their calm despite some initial panic. They activated some excavation drones from outside the pyramid. These drones are designed to crack rock, and can be remote piloted to take care of the gargoyles. They're small enough to get inside the pyramid. We should have a safe way out. And we should have been escorted by them in the first place.

[to be continued]

Inside the tomb

The three of us, Mitsiro, Adelaric and I, went down the shaft in the personnel elevator. The ride seemed to take ages, and these second-hand protective suits do not cope well with the heat.

We walked down the tunnel to the tomb wall, and entered, EM pulse guns at the ready. 

No dog to be seen.

The tomb is a large cube, with sides of at least fifty meters. It consist of an outer wall - breached at the tunnel where we entered. The outer wall is actually part of a double wall, with passageways in the two meter space between the inner and outer wall. It has been mostly mapped already, so we could find our way down this outer defense double wall to the ground level inside.

The inside opens up to a large space - the cube is hollow. Inside are several small buildings and a large  hexagonal-base pyramid, at least thirty meters high. The roof of the cube was damaged, and some spots down below are covered in soil and debris that fell down. There is scaffolding placed by the excavators, and clear signs of digging and dirt removal by the workers, at the base of the structures. The structures themselves look intact, made of a shiny metal that does not appear to oxidize. The metal is etched with intricate winding patterns.

The cavern is completely barren - no plant life or animals of any sort - apart from a sort of yellowish green fungus that clings to the outside of the structures, finding some way to anchor in the etchings on the metal. The smaller buildings are covered with it, the pyramid has growth up to half its height.

Not all the lighting that the workers put up in this cavernous space is still working, but enough of it is. Some seems to have attracted the fungus, it may be heat-seaking (in the darkness it cannot be phototrope). Heat readings are consistent with readings that the structure inside the pyramid is powered up, at least partially. Mitsiro mentioned these power signatures were there from the start of their exploration.

We continued to the entrance of the piramid, and narrowly avoided being crushed by a section of the scaffolding that collapsed. A bad omen. Beyond the entrance, there is a stairway leading up.

[to be continued]

Anti-nanite gear

With Gundard in medbay, Mitsiro selected another of his assistants to "volunteer" for a visit downside to the tomb. He chose Adelaric because he can use a gun, a talent not very common among history students.

The plan is as follows. Mitsiro, Adelaric and myself will go back down to the tomb and face the dog-shaped nanite swarm, wearing protective polarized suits that the nanites cannot penetrate, and using the electromagnetic pulse guns if necessary. The other four students will remain topside, to monitor what is going on and deal with any sort of emergency (probably by sending a distress call).

The EM pulse guns were easy to get, but the nanite-proof suits were a bit more difficult. We ordered second-hand suits from galnet. These suits were mass-produced at the time when there was a nanite pandemic in the neighboring Archavoinet system. Folks were quarantined and prohibited from meeting each other in person, but these suits allowed people to meet up and party anyway.

I am slightly embarassed donning a brightly colored suit that displays "Party Is Not A Crime" on my chest, along with some hearts and a carrot on the sleeve. I do not even want to know the meaning of the carrot symbol. It does not befit an explorer about enter a history-laden tomb of a probably respectful ancient Yan-Jung prominent figure.

Our gear is scheduled for delivery today, but VastJungle.com could not tell us the precise time the courier drone would come, so we are waiting.

((ooc comment: Apparently, the pictured suits were promoted in order to continue clubbing during the covid pandemic curfew. I am not sure whether it is a joke: I can image people are just crazy enough to do this. Images from https://mikeshouts.com/micrashell-protective-suit-by-production-club/))

Not supernatural after all

I got back to the dig site close to Umai's north pole. It was strangely desolate. All excavation work has stopped. Almost everyone has left, except for Mitsiro and five of his close assistants. It makes the domed surface station -now vastly over-sized for a handful of inhabitants- even more eerie.

While Mitsiro and I were considering how to obtain a black cat, news arrived from the medlab. The micro-lesions in the area of the bite appear to be consistent with an attack by a nanite swarm. This is a swarm of microscopic devices that can move in a collectively coordinated way, not unlike a bird swarm or a school of fish. They can mimic, for example, a dog. The cloud is not a solid object, so a blade would just pass through. However, the nanites can cause severe harm, both thermal and abrasive, as well as internal wounds and hemorrhaging when they are breathed in. 

It all makes sense now - I have seen effects of nanite swarms on remnants of ships trying to remove artifacts from Takmahl vaults. They must have been more widespread as a defense mechanism for hidden structures built by the ancients.

Although the apparition may have been created to fool us into thinking there is a ghost in the tomb, it is very much not supernatural. A nanite swarm is not defeated by an icon of Saint Kargan or by a black cat, but by a directed electromagnetic pulse weapon. That should not be hard to obtain at the FDU Assembly Plant in orbit.

Jubilations

The celebrations of the joint jubilees of PIE, the Societas, and Khimi Harar was magnificent and inspiring. The location was also sublime: the fabled Lok'ri Ballroom at the Excubitoris Chapterhouse on Oris.

A formal prayer service was held, and it was broadcast on "The Good Word" public channel so that the faithful could follow while making the final adjustments to their outfits. Shortly after, the guests started to arrive at the Lok'ri estate. The festivities began with a procession, with magnificent floats honoring the prophets and the saints and the Empress. This was followed by speeches, or course, and then the dining and dancing began. 

I could see that our people were having a good time. Even Paladin Kley, usually tense due to the relentless fighting with Triglavians on Raravoss, seemed somewhat relaxed.

I did see more diplomats and officials from the Federation than I expected. Notably, commander Edward Adams representing the fed's Nadire Security Consultants was present. No doubt the opportunity was taken to conduct informal negotiations in the corridors and gardens. After the Pashanai negotiations and the pi-day ceasefire, Federation and Empire are clearly still figuring out how to deal with each other. Capsuleer organizations may lead the way by example.

There was no sign of hostility, no drama, no scuffle - stains that so often mark capsuleer gatherings. At least for the time that I was present, the mood was excellent. I did not stay very long though - probably the party will have gone on till the small hours of the night, but I wanted to rest before clone jumping back to Eugales.

How to cast out a haunted hound

Surprisingly, scripture has little to say about how to remove haunted hounds from an underground lunar tomb. 

Exorcism will not work: this assumes an evil entity has taken control of the body of an innocent. In our case there appears to be no physical dog body, the machete sliced right through the ghost as if nothing was there. It is no hologram either, since holograms do not inflict bite wounds.

There is a bewilderingly large variety of cleansing rituals to remove evil presences. Using icons of saints, or holy relics appears to help quite well. Saint Kargan, who was martyred by being thrown into a pit with enraged dogs, may be invoked in our case. Alas, the closed relic of this Saint, an embalmed piece of his liver, is far away in Tash-Murkon space. 

Also holy water sprinkling, or drawing symbols with salt, or using crystals from the Satach's Spite mountains are mentioned. It is also reported that a black cat can act as a lightning rod, attracting and binding the evil spirit, that can subsequently be removed by removing the cat. 

We concluded that the latter method must be particularly well suited to canine spirits.

The experiment will have to be delayed a bit, as I am jump cloning back to Empire to participate in the celebrations for twenty years of PIE and ten years of SFRIM.

Discussions on how to proceed

I am requesting assistance from SFRIM's own medical experts at the Lamp's medical facility to analyse and heal the wounds that the ghost dog has inflicted.

Meanwhile, we are discussing how to proceed. Ghosts always attempt to communicate, so my approach would be to try and establish contact with the spectre. It is not clear how to do that with a ghost dog. Bones seems superfluous, as the creature resides in a tomb. 

Mitsiro suggested a multilingual speech unit, to try different languages. My own suggestion is a stick, perhaps the thing will appreciate a game of throw and fetch. Along with some holy water from Mishi, sanctified in Dam-Torsad cathedral, the most powerful antidote against evil spirits. Tomorrow, I will do a more thorough search in Scripture, to see if any better method is mentioned.

Cerberus, continued

[log transmission resumed] I advocated a tactical retreat, to regroup and discuss how to deal with the hostile canine. 

Unfortunately, the assistant tried to hack the dog with his machete. The blade went straight through the animal, as if it were immaterial, and did not hurt the beast. 

The dog growled, and lept forward, biting the assistant in a very real way, causing severe wounds in his arms and face. I resisted the urge to run away, and in stead dragged the assistant away from the raging dog. The animal let go and resumed its defensive position in the passageway.

My suggestion for a tactical retreat was then swiftly accepted, and we went back up, taking our wounded colleague along. 

He is being treated in the medbay of the exploration facility. The story is doing the rounds and the diggers are more convinced than ever that they should not proceed. In fact, many of them have left without waiting for pay.

Cerberus

We descended down to the excavation site in one of the personnel lifts. Mitsiro, and one of his assistants, and me. The only one carrying any sort of weapon was the assistant, he brought a machete. We all had flashlights, and sensors. 

The lift going down is a cage, open to the rock outside that seems to creep up while in fact it is you that is going down. It seemed like ages going down, it goes very slowly. At the bottom, the elevator opens up to an access shaft, like a mining tunnel, going towards the edge of the tomb wall. 

The wall is made of some sort of stainless steel, or a similar metal that resists oxidation, it was still shiny. It has been breached: a laser welded circular opening provides access to the inner part of the structure.

When we entered the tomb though the breach, it was pitch dark. Switching on our lights we illuminated a passageway, and to our surprise, there was a large dog growling at us, in the tunnel. 

That is impossible. No-one let a dog down here, none of the workers reported a dog, and there is no way a dog survived the millennia that this complex was closed off. The assistant tried to chase the dog away, swinging his machete at the animal [live log upload interrupted]

Further mishaps

The workers at the tomb excavation site told me that Mitsiro has been withholding some other information about the extent of the curse. 

Apparently, the first few artefacts recovered from the tomb were shipped back to the Science and Trade Institute in a Badger class Caldari hauling vessel. Somehow the ship got trapped in a metaliminal storm, engines disabled. The captain (aware of the rumors of a curse and facing a panicking crew) decided to jettison the tomb loot. As soon as he did, the storm lifted and they could continue. Mitsiro told me that they're suing the captain and the lifting of the storm was unrelated to the jettisoning of the valuable artefacts.

Another worker told us that the grand-mother of the first person to open the tomb died on the same day as the opening. Mitsiro replied that the old lady was already terminally ill and about to die. The workers do not buy it. Personally, I think there is a lot of coincidences spooking the excavators.

Tomorrow, I am going down there with Mitsiro and Gundard, a postdoctoral researcher who insisted on brining a machete with him. None of the workers want to accompany us, and the Ph.D. students aren't too keen either.

At the site

A shuttle brought me from the FDU station to the excavation site on Umai. The archeological expedition complex consists of a few buildings on the surface, and a landing pad. Gravity is so weak here that walking gets difficult, you need to shuffle rather than step if you don't want to end up doing aerial acrobatics. It takes a bit to get used to.

There are three shafts leading down to the site. Two small personnel ones, and a larger one to bring down equipment. The tomb complex itself was discovered by high-precision gravimetric scans, and it is about one kilometer deep down below the surface. It's pressurized but has a rather low oxygen content so that breathing masks are required.

Mitsiro Nakubara is now running the site - I had wrongly taken him for a student, he is assitant professor. He was working together with his former thesis promotor. Mitsiro strikes me as an ambitious person, eager to make a mark and publish in archeology's most prestigious journals. 

He's trying to force the workers to continue the exploration of the site, but they have gone on strike. That's a strange Gallentean thing, where workers just refuse to do their work and no-one can force them to do it. I have no idea how they then get fed, but I am not here to figure that out. Mitsiro wants me to soothe them, by going down there on my own to confront the ghost in the tomb.

First, I'll make a clone I can revert to. Not that I believe in ghosts, but what little we know about the Yan Jung tells us they were technologically very advanced, so there could be defensive systems preventing intrusion in the tomb. That is the most logical explanation about this so-called curse.

Recent turmoil in Eugales

I arrived in Eugales - in the picture below you can see Eugales V to the left, and its first moon Umai to the right. It is a smallish moon, in close orbit to the planet. There a Federation Defense Union station in orbit, a convenient place to dock up, get my bearings, and rest before taking a shuttle to Umai.

The Eugales system lies in the Gallente-Caldari warzone, and has changed hands many times between the Federation and the State. But its long-time inhabitants are -or rather were- the Neopians, a culture that is open to advanced AI lifeforms. This is banned by Concord, so the system was often under scrutiny by DERAIL, a part of Concord that enforces the AI ban. The Triglavians are also not too keen on AI lifeforms, and recently raided or destroyed an underground lab on Eugales IV. On top of that, the Black Eagles, a secret service of the Federation, raided Eugales VI searching for, you guess it, illegal AI networks. 

All this activity, recent and intense, had led to the decision of the United Neopian Federation to move out to MHC-R3, where Concord and the Federation have less influence.

Despite the departure of the Neopians, the tension was still palpable in the Federation Defense Union station...

The Yan Jung civilization

Little is known about the Yan Jung, one of the ancient spacefaring races. The main archeological finds are in the Deltole system, in the Sinq Liason region. That is quite far away from Eugales!

Most Yan Jung artefacts date back to more than thirteen thousand years ago, yet this was an advanced civilization, perhaps a remnant from the civilizations before the dark ages, one of the last to fall. 

There have been rumors of artefacts found on Matar, and in Anoikis, and speculations that the Yan Jung were precursors to the Talocan, or that the two cultures merged. They do appear to share an advanced knowledge about gravitational technology.

So, proving the presence of a Yan Jung colony in Eugales would be something of a bombshell in archeological circles. The United Neopian Federation did major excavations here, but are still analyzing the finds. It is good that Mitsiro and his team are still giving some academic competition, such finds should always be backed up by other, independent investigations.

Salmon salad and the Curse

The situation with Mitsiro in Eugales has worsened. Apparently, the workers helping in the excavation of the tomb have seen a ghost, a spectre of some sort coming at them. They refuse to continue working.

On top of that, one of the graduate students on the project became sick, and had to vomit violently several times during the day. Mitsiro blames it on the drinks during social night on Thursday, and salmon salad that might have been laying out in the sun too long, but it exacerbates the belief in a curse by the workers. 

Also, it does not explain whatever the workers saw. Perhaps it is mass hysteria by those not protected by the faith.

Whatever it was, I apologized to the representative of the Neopians that has been entertaining me while I wait for Governor Brezia. I think I should give Eugales a visit before things get worse.

Neopian settlements in MHC-R3

The cholocate museum was nice.

Also, I learned that the Neopians resettled on the storm planet MHC-R3 VI and the temperate world of MHC-R3 III. A visit will likely take me planetside. We have offered and delivered assistance with moving some of the artefacts and archeological finds, but to be honest I think they accepted out of politeness towards us and did not really need much help. 

Still, the offer to safeguard some of the artefacts they found by keeping them in our highsec station vaults stands. I have not yet heard back from the Governor, but will remain on stand by for a bit longer before I go to see what is going on in the Eugales dig. I figure I can always quickly scoot back here if I do get an audience.

Gateway to Syndicate

I have reached MHC-R3, and was happy to discover there is an I-RED Astrahus in the system. These are our Syndicate allies, so I can safely tether up and dock whenever I want. 

The Neopians learned from Eugales, and keep their structures off the scans. Even probes do not reveal the location of the arcology and the structures that have been moved. I could only find an Athanor belonging to the "Manqci", probably local heathens engaging in peaceful mining operations.

I will remain in the Astrahus, aptly named "Syndicate Visitor Center". The system is, after all, a gateway into Syndicate from Placid. After disembarking I received several folders about local exhibitions and attractions for visitors, as well as tourist information about the region at large. Ranking high among the advertised tourist attractions is a chocolate museum and factory at the Astrahus station itself. So, I'll know what to do while waiting for an audience with Governor Brezia (I assume she took on the usual title of Intaki Syndicate station leaders).

Two birds, one stone

The infomorph wellness center in Tar is absolutely amazing. Your worries and anxieties are lifted from you, like a yoke lifted from a horse. You feel lighter and at ease - at peace with the world. And this is achieved through the calming environment, rather than through chemicals. I installed a clone here (which only cost me 1 isk) and intend to come back and relax when I need it.

As I was preparing to leave, I got a message from the Neopian federation. It seems I can catch two birds with one stone on this journey! Earlier, I had offered help from LUMEN's library to safeguard relics and artifacts from the Reliquary project - they need to be kept safe from the troubles that the Neopians have with the Federation and Concord in Eugales. It appears I can combine the transport of precious artifacts with helping Mitsiro!

The Neopians and House Brezia are suspected to host sentient AI's, and this has drawn the attention of Concord's DERAIL division as this type of AI is forbidden in the core empires under Concord law. 

As a result, the structures of the Neopians have come under attack - including the precious Reliquary project. They relocate to the MHC-R3 system, which probably lies outside of the control of the Federation and Concord, being a null-sec system in Syndicate. But still, they may need help in finding a safe home for some of the artifacts they have recovered, and this is where LUMEN can help. I've arranged for transport of these artifacts to our library in Mehatoor, and I look forward to oversee and coordinate this in person. 

Indulgence

I continued my journey to Eugales, passing the piracy hotspot of Vecamia without any trouble. 

In Tar, a system on my route, I noticed that one of the structures in the system was the famous "Infomorph Wellness Center". This is a station maintained by Chatelain Auxiliary Response. They work together with our allies of I-RED to offer relaxation and rest to capsuleers. They have a beautiful resort, called "Kalmintra Tree", with all the services to help one find inner peace.

I gave in to temptation, and booked a night at the resort...

Towards Eugales

My curiosity overcame my reservations and I decided to help out Mitsiro. He was very happy and relieved when I told him. 

Their site is in the Eugales system, a system that is contested between the Federation and the State. It is a controversial place in archeological circles... Recently, ancient underground structures were discovered on Umai, the first moon of Eugales V. Surprisingly, this undergound structure was still running on low power! The structure became known as the Umai Reliquary Complex. 

In a bold move, the United Neopian Federation extracted a chunk of the moon containing the underground site using a moon mining drill laser. They moved the chunk first to a Raitaru, and then to the orbital complex around Eugales VI, where they could investigate it in detail. There was a lot of criticism about this brute force excavation and the damage it may have caused! Yet, in the end I believe it saved the Reliquary Complex from mining operations by other corporations who were not interested in archeology at all.

Mitsiro's site is not a part of the Reliquary Complex, but it is also on Umai. It is near the north pole of the moon, a place that luckily has little value to the mining industry and is left undisturbed by mining operations.

Making my way from Amarr to Eugales today, I received a warning message that the piracy activity in Vecamia was at an exceptionally high level of activity. So I stopped in Lor, where our blessed alliance has industrial activities. I'll resume my journey tomorrow.

A cursed tomb

I have been contacted by an archeologist student from the State, Mitsiro Nakubara. His thesis promotor stumbled on an ancient Yan Jung ruin, and was leading an international team to survey it, but Mitsiro thinks it is a "cursed tomb". Some of those that ventured inside died under various mysterious circumstances. Mitsiro's supervisor became ill as he was studying the tomb - he was feeling flu-like symptoms and then suddenly died of a heart attack.

Another senior researcher took over the task of mapping out the tomb and studying the paintings on its wall, but he died in a traffic accident just two days later.

A digger - a local hired to remove the sand or dirt on the tomb - fell to his death from the scaffolding around the tomb.

These events, taken together, have caused enough of a stir that the other locals refuse to continue to clear the site. Mitsiro knows I am also interested in archeology, and moreover I am a capsuleer. If I should die of some curse, I reclone... 

He asked for my help, and I must admit I am intrigued... 

History tours

Foundation day went well - we organised a history tour for capsuleers, bringing them to famous space sites around Amarr. It is an activity that we have been organizing for a couple of years now, and every time there are a bunch of new capsuleers that take the tour. I was happy to see some folk from out of the Empire for this one. Capsuleers from the Federation also attended! 

This must be a result of the "détente" between the Empire and the Federation. We are starting to get curious about each other, now that we are no longer formal enemies at war. It is a good development, and I would very much like to find capsuleer tours of the Federal highlights. There are a lot of very interesting sites there, both for natural phenomena and for historical recollection.

Trouble in Syndicate

We're having an influx of refugees and fortune-seekers from Syndicate at the moment. There's a conflict going on there at the moment, and some stations are being evacuated. Saccade, the (in)famous station where Evelyn Arnoux is governor, is one of them.

I did not have the opportunity to meet our missionaries active there, but I know there was an active church on that station. My personal recollections are not altogether positive, as I was one used as a vessel to bring a designer virus containing proprietary information stored in its DNA to Saccade. It gave me a bad case of hallucinations before wearing off...

Lord Garion brought a patient there that we should give the highest care before turning him to the Avarr estate for further treatment. Apparently a cousin of the governor. He didn't want spiritual guidance but preferred a set of specialized drugs requiring special permissions. That, and the finest Thukker whiskey.