January 2144

3 January 2144
ANCHOR: An unmanned probe makes the first successful landing on Rylo-7 since the asteroid went into orbit around Earth two months ago. Here is Dr. Winston Rylo live from the Intercombine Space Agency headquarters in Tierra del Fuego.

RYLO: Our probe touched down at 0535 hours Global Time this morning. So far, neutrino levels have remained low, and we have a positive telemetry link. Over the next few days, we'll send down three more probes in a wide dispersal pattern on Rylo-7's surface. As soon as they're in place, we'll begin surface and sub-surface scans to try and determine the nature – and if possible, the origin – of our mysterious new moon.

4 January 2144
ANCHOR: It's been nearly two months since President Clarke lifted the ban on BioMerge, the Virtual Reality disc which plugs directly into the skull. Judging from worldwide sales of BioMerge and related products, more people are spending more time in the VR Net than ever before. The Department of Political Correctness further encouraged this trend by officially downgrading the term "VR addiction" to "leisure intensive lifestyle". Goggleheads are happy – but former Reality Secretary Perry Epp is not.

EPP: Clarke's finally done it – she's defined the problem out of existence! She's covering her grab for power by giving the masses a "new age", all right – a new age of bread and circuses!

5 January 2144
ANCHOR: The attorney for "R" leader Kyle Swann today filed a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that Swann, held incommunicado for more than two months, hasn't been charged with anything – despite government claims that he masterminded the terrorist attack at the World Series and was also trying to sabotage CenBank. Attorney General Priscilla Nagle provided this reaction:

NAGLE: President Clarke's recent executive order allows for the unlimited detention of suspects prior to filing formal charges. But don't worry. Come March, Kyle Swann will stand trial for kidnapping, conspiracy – and the murder of my predecessor, Julian Matthews.

6 January 2144
ANCHOR: This is an FTL News Editorial. Our most recent opinion poll shows that the public is losing confidence in President Clarke's leadership. Reasons cited include her refusal to internationalise Habitat Mars... the firing of Perry Epp... the re-legalisation of BioMerge... and growing scepticism that Kyle Swann and "R" aren't quite the "bogeymen" she makes them out to be. Clarke's absence from the public eye hasn't helped her image, either. We at FTL News agree – and we are particularly concerned about her abridgement of civil liberties and abandonment of Clone Rights. The people have spoken, President Clarke – but are you listening?

7 January 2144
ANCHOR: At a press briefing this morning, Dr. Winston Rylo announced that four unmanned probes launched by the Intercombine Space Agency have landed successfully at key points on Rylo-7.

RYLO: Our preliminary surface scans show solid rock – as expected. We're now beginning sub-surface scans, kilometre by kilometre, looking for clues to the asteroid's unusual behaviour. This process will take several weeks.

ANCHOR: Meanwhile, here on Earth, the absence of any new information – and the disappearance of the Virtual Reality Presence – has quieted the religious fervour surrounding Rylo-7's arrival. Humankind, it seems, has adopted a "wait and see" attitude toward our celestial visitor.

10 January 2144
ANCHOR: Attorney General Priscilla Nagle fielded questions this morning about Kyle Swann's claim that an Artificial Intelligence is secretly running CenBank.

NAGLE: Preposterous! Pure "R" propaganda.

ANCHOR: Nagle also defended President Clarke's recent lack of visibility.

NAGLE: If you had just been kidnapped – and your top advisers attacked and murdered – you'd keep a low profile, too.

ANCHOR: Nagle also revealed that the Justice Department is investigating reports that an unnamed "Hollywood Island Madam" has been selling celebrity clones, such as Michelle Pfeiffer and Don Knotts, as sex partners for studio executives.

11 January 2144
ANCHOR: The ICSA's unmanned probes on Rylo-7 have peered about five kilometres beneath the surface but so far, they have found nothing unusual. In a related story, here is an update on the planned expedition to the "Face of Mars" from Dr. Kristeen Ballard.

BALLARD: The ferocious dust storms have continued to make travelling to the "Face", which is located in the northern desert region of Cydonia, out of the question – at least until early March.

ANCHOR: The "Face of Mars" – a source of controversy for two centuries – became a hot spot once again when neutrino emissions from the area linked it to Rylo-7 and the Virtual Reality Presence.

12 January 2144
ANCHOR: For two hundred years, people have wondered if the "Face of Mars" is a natural formation or the remnant of a Martian civilisation. FTL asked Dr. Kristeen Ballard why hasn't it been explored before now.

BALLARD: In 1993, the Mars Observer satellite was sent to answer this question – but it mysteriously disappeared. Since then, the high cost of space travel has dictated commercial rather than research ventures, like the mining colonies on the moon. Habitat Mars is in a volcanic region conducive to terraforming, almost halfway around the planet from the "Face". There was simply no compelling reason to go there – until now.

13 January 2144
ANCHOR: The Bioengineering Weapons Division of the NAU Police unveiled its latest innovation in the war against crime. Now, clone cops will have anti-personnel missiles built into their bodies. Police Chief Darryl King explains.

KING: The officer's visor locks onto a suspect's ID Chip. If the suspect makes any sudden threatening moves, neurons fired off in the officer's spinal cord instantly trigger the appropriate response.

ANCHOR: But could this unthinking technology misfire on innocent civilians?

KING: There's a point-four percent chance for error. But we hope to work the bugs out of the system in the field.

14 January 2144
ANCHOR: The government has issued an Ozone Depletion Alert for the north-west corridor, from Oregon to Alaska. Citizens in the affected areas are advised not to leave home without their UV suits. MacroWeather hopes to move the ozone hole offshore shortly. In related news, a study released today blames the greening of the Sahara, with its large attendant increase in rainfall, for the unprecedented number of hurricanes emanating from Africa. The Islamic Federation apologises to its neighbours for the inconvenience, but says it will continue its weather moderation programme.

17 January 2144
ANCHOR: Our unmanned probes on Rylo-7 have now scanned twenty kilometres beneath the surface and have found nothing but solid rock. Dr. Winston Rylo seems puzzled in this exclusive FTL interview:

RYLO: We haven't seen any evidence of a guidance system, no means of propulsion. We must find out how this asteroid could change course and speed and generate a controlled neutrino forcefield.

ANCHOR: Dr. Rylo, are you still standing behind your "alien intelligence" theory?

RYLO: [a beat] It's not a theory. It's the only rational explanation. We may be looking at a technology and physics so advanced, we don't even know what we're seeing.

18 January 2144
ANCHOR: Dateline Hollywood Island: Former child star, Zee Cole, is arrested and accused of being the notorious "Hollywood Island Madam". Allegedly, Cole sold celebrity clones from the past such as Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise and Moms Mabley as sex partners for studio executives. As you know, sex between humans and clones is illegal everywhere except Bangkok and Las Vegas. Calling the entertainment community "a hotbed of clone lovers, deviants and "R" sympathisers", Attorney General Priscilla Nagle vows to give the case top priority.

NAGLE: I will vigorously pursue this investigation, regardless of where it leads – or who it implicates.

19 January 2144
ANCHOR: The big craze in Europe these days is anything medieval – from real jousting tournaments to holographic Dark Ages theme parks. But now the trend is gaining popularity outside of the EC. The new spring look is flexible body armour for all occasions – especially for romantic strolls through high-crime areas. The hottest VR disc is a fencing program which uses low-intensity laser beams to heighten the realism. Debbie Gonsher, of Biloxi, Mississippi, is hooked.

GONSHER: After a while, the pain just adds to the excitement. And the scars? Well, my boyfriend thinks they're kinda sexy.

20 January 2144
ANCHOR: Dateline Hollywood Island: Former child star, Zee Cole, confesses to being the notorious "Hollywood Island Madam" and agrees to provide a list of her clients in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Whit Chambers, president of the Academy of Holographic Arts and Sciences, calls the case "a witch-hunt".

CHAMBERS: President Clarke is out to get the entertainment industry. There hasn't been anything like this since the McCarthy black-lists of the 1950s.

ANCHOR: On a related note, three holo-dramas based on the clone sex scandal involving the President's son Bryan have been cancelled. The Hollywood Island studios gave no explanation for their decision.

21 January 2144
ANCHOR: The Intercombine Space Agency announces plans for a giant solar power station.

HUBBLE: The station, called Pegasus, will be constructed in near-Earth orbit by the end of the year. Its special super-conductor panels will provide a mega-gigawatt bonanza for Earth and our off-world colonies.

ANCHOR: In business news, Subliminal Services, Inc. is marketing a revolutionary new office communication system: BrainFax a microchip implant for busy executives. The designers hope BrainFax will make voice-activated email a thing of the past. It looks like the market agrees: SSI stock increased twelve points today.

24 January 2144
ANCHOR: The "Hollywood Island Madam" scandal, which has rocked the entertainment world, continues to deepen. Attorney General Priscilla Nagle has announced that the investigation of celebrity clones sold for sex includes several unnamed executives at CommLink.

NAGLE: The list of clients supplied to us by Zee Cole, the "Hollywood Island Madam", suggests that even some top people at FTL News may be involved. [a beat] Of course, we've long suspected the FTL's anti-government bias was due to infiltration by "R".

ANCHOR: CommLink chief, Sheila Vox, flatly denies that FTL's broadcast polices are in any way influenced by the rebel group "R" – or anyone else.

25 January 2144
ANCHOR: CommLink chief, Sheila Vox, fires back at the Clarke administration.

VOX: The accusation that executives at CommLink and FTL News are rebel sympathisers is utterly unfounded. It offers further evidence of President Clarke's growing – and dangerous – paranoia.

ANCHOR: Vox's protest is echoed by Clone Rights advocate, Pamela Corvino.

CORVINO: We, humankind, created clone prostitutes to work in the brothels of Bangkok and Las Vegas. Believe me, they don't do it of their own free will. If they've been imported to Hollywood Island, blame the people who brought them there. But to portray all clones as "R" terrorists is ridiculous.

26 January 2144
ANCHOR: Recent polls show public confidence in Madeleine Clarke's leadership eroding rapidly. The President who saw us through the Rylo-7 crisis inspired hope for the future. But, the President who survived the terrorist attack inspires uncertainty. Her new order, giving police sweeping new powers, followed by the arrest of Kyle Swann and banning of the Reality Party, smacks of martial law. Now she's using the Hollywood Island clone sex case for a witch-hunt against the entire entertainment industry. We at FTL News cherish free speech and will not be silenced.

27 January 2144
ANCHOR: There's been a startling new development in the exploration of Rylo-7. We go live to Dr. Winston Rylo at the Intercombine Space Agency headquarters in Tierra del Fuego.

RYLO: Our probes have discovered what appears to be a hollow bubble approximately one kilometre long at the centre of Rylo-7. Its shell is a metal unknown in this solar system and our sensors can't see inside. But there is no question that the chamber was artificially made. Whatever – or whoever – is inside this chamber holds the key to Rylo-7's mysteries. At my urging, the World Congress has agreed to permit a science and engineering team to land on the new moon and investigate.

28 January 2144
ANCHOR: Dr. Winston Rylo said today that an attempt to land a science and engineering crew on Rylo-7 will occur within the next three weeks. Closer to home, FTL News is pleased to announce that former Reality Secretary, Perry Epp, has joined our news team as a regular commentator. Welcome aboard, Perry.

EPP: Thanks! Madeleine Clarke tried to muzzle me by banning my political party, the Realists. But as a news commentator my freedom of speech is protected – and I intend to use it! I hope you'll watch for my editorials right here on FTL News, a CommLink satellite service.

31 January 2144
ANCHOR: Bringing her message of a new age of peace and understanding to the NAU, Pope Thelma Louise II visited an Identity Chip factory in Denver this morning. She told workers that the Vatican supports the Universal Identification Law.

THELMA LOUISE: ID Chips prevent crime and promote communication.

[...break...]

ANCHOR: New York City Manager, Bill Kennedy, will take the Pope on a tour of the ghetto, recently sealed off by a four-mile square security forcefield. This is to protect citizens travelling to and from the Upper Manhattan floater district.