Chapter Text
<<I knew you’d be down here, as per usual. Do you never stop working?>>
<<Stars above, 1-7! Haven’t you heard of letting people know you’ve come in? I was in the middle of something!>>
<<You always are, 4-2! Anyway, the reason I’m here is that I’ve got some news that I think you’d be interested in. It’s all over the metalink, of course, but you’re never connected, so I thought it’d be best if I came down and told you in person.>>
<<Must be pretty important.>>
<<Oh, it is. So, I’ve got good news and bad news. Good news first - you remember the application you filed a while back? About your research on that extraterrestrial civilisation?>>
<<Mmm?>> he replied distractedly, before remembering. <<Oh, yes! They’re going to be a big influence as they develop, I think. All the reports back from the remote probes have been positive. They’ve got a baseline of the first dimension, functionally creative in the second and third - while they can’t interact with the fourth, they’re moving forwards through it at a constant rate, and they’re trying to see how it all works. And once they’ve opened that one up, they’ll be able to get through to some of the others, maybe up to the seventh->>
<<Yeah, yeah, that one. What I’m trying to say, if you’ll let me get a word in, is that your application’s gone through!>>
<<That’s fantastic! I’ve been saying we need a team on-site for a long time now. Who’s it going to be?>>
<< That’s the bad news, I’m afraid. The main teams are all out already, so they’ve said it’s going to have to be just one scout.>>
<<Well, that was more or less as expected, wasn’t it? Small department, small budget, and all that. But if the scout is good enough, it’ll be fine. Who’s still on base?>>
His only response was a flat look.
<<So. That’s the very bad news, then. Stars, not 9-3? You and I both know she’s a good worker in the labs, but only a novice, really - this is too advanced a planet for someone like her, you’d need experience…>>
<<It’s not 9-3, no.>>
<<Small mercies, then. She’d be better off with something smaller at this stage. So who is it? I can’t think of anyone else on base who’s got the research background and experience in the field, if all the main teams are off base…>>
<<Nobody with the research background? You’re sure about that? Not even the person who headed the project? The person who’s compiled all the available data we have on the civilisation? Who first noticed it, even, and proposed we investigate?>>
<<Oh, no.>>
<<Oh yes, I’m afraid. Everyone knows you’re one of the best researchers, 4-2, and not that I’m biased, but you’re possibly the best we have. Nobody else knows more about them than you, and when all the teams are out, they have to substitute field experience with research. You’d be able to blend in best. And you co-wrote the protocols for this type of thing.>>
<<There’s a difference between writing the protocols and carrying them out! I’m a xenoanthropologist, not one of the scouts, remember? They’re the ones who obtain the data, and I interpret it, not the other way around!>>
<<I don’t see why you couldn’t do this. You know all the facts about this planet, and let’s face it, you’d be the one compiling their briefs and information packets anyway. This just saves time and effort.>>
<<Sorry, have you seen me in any kind of situation requiring social interaction? I can hardly give a presentation to a group of my peers, much less the type of thing that on-site research would need.>>
<<You’ll have to get better at it, then, because they’ve said you’re going, protest or not. It’s all been processed already. And come on, 4-2. It’s what you enjoy, research and analysis of alien culture and language. The only difference is that you’ll be on-site!>>
<<Look, alright, I’ll do it, but as soon as a qualified team comes back, we tag out.>>
<<I’ll see if I can talk to someone and get it arranged for you. Good to have you on board.>>
<<So, you’re absolutely confident you know what to do when you get there?>>
<<1-7, I wrote the damn book on what to do when I get there!>>
<<Stay calm, 4-2, it’s going to be fine.>>
Another voice now, softer, electronic. <<Ready for launch. Stasis imminent when capsule is closed.>>
<<Remind me why I agreed to do this?>>
<<Just relax. You won’t notice the stasis, it’ll be over in a moment anyway, and the background jump will give you most of the stuff you need.>>
<<I know, I know.>> There was a faint sigh. <<Let’s just get this done with.>>
The silver capsule closed, to all intents and purposes sealed from the universe.
The electronic voice came again. <<Stasis achieved successfully. Genetic map analysis… complete. Reconstruction… complete. Launch initiation in seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two.
One.>>
The capsule winked out, vanished as if it had never been.
<<Good luck, 4-2.>>