June 2144

1 June 2144
ANCHOR: Dr. Kristeen Ballard joins us live from the Cydonia desert for an important announcement.

BALLARD: Our sub-surface sensors have detected an extensive network of tunnels and compartments honeycombing the rock strata several kilometres beneath the "Face of Mars". The walls of these tunnels are made of the same unknown metal alloy which surrounds the chamber at the centre of Rylo-7. This makes it impossible for us to penetrate with our drilling equipment, or to see inside with our scanners. But we now know one thing for certain – the "Face of Mars", and the ancient subterranean city below it, were deliberately put here by an extraterrestrial civilisation.... one far older that the human race.

2 June 2144
ANCHOR: The discovery of an ancient city beneath the "Face of Mars" has electrified the world's scientific community. Dr. Kristeen Ballard is with us live. Dr. Ballard, is there any chance that someone – or something – is still alive down there?

BALLARD: I doubt it. We read no traces of an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere.

ANCHOR: But this does prove that intelligent life once existed on Mars?

BALLARD: Absolutely. Whether indigenous to Mars, or visitors from somewhere else, that I can't say. But somebody built this – probably hundreds of millions of years ago, when Mars was capable of sustaining life.

ANCHOR: What's your next step?

BALLARD: There's no choice – we're going in.

3 June 2144
ANCHOR: Today marks the centennial anniversary of the 83rd Amendment to the NAU Constitution. This is the law which says that human clones are property, not people. There were scattered protests across the Union today which had to be broken up by police. Here with a commentary is Perry Epp.

EPP: As a doctor, I still believe that clones are not real people. But as a man of science, I also believe in the free exchange of ideas. That's why I once again urge President Clarke to lift her ban on my Reality Party and the Clone Rights movement. Without freedom of speech and political dissent, we will all become nothing more than a nation of clones.

6 June 2144
ANCHOR: Dr. Kristeen Ballard joins us live for a news-maker interview. Now that we know that the "Face of Mars" was built by an alien race, the question arises: Why does it look so human?

BALLARD: The Martians may have been humanoid creatures like ourselves. But it's also possible that several hundred million years ago, when Mars was a living planet, a civilisation already existed on Earth – one which vanished long before we came on the scene.

ANCHOR: The Atlantis Theory?

BALLARD: Exactly. If those ancient Earthlings achieved space travel, they might have colonised Mars and built the "Face". Or it might have happened the other way round.

ANCHOR: Which would mean...?

BALLARD: That the prehistoric ancestors of the human race came from Mars.

7 June 2144
ANCHOR: The North American Medical Association released documents detailing Perry Epp's expulsion twenty years ago. They claim Epp ignored prescribed gene therapies and used alternative treatments such as natural herbs and acupuncture. Here to respond is Perry Epp.

EPP: The NAMA was discredited among their peers a long time ago. They exist today only because they lobbied the government into accepting them as an official advisory board. Many doctors, like myself, reject their authority. Natural healing? Well "uncertified" is not "illegal". The only reason these documents have been leaked now is to attack me for speaking out against President Clarke's policies.

8 June 2144
ANCHOR: The Little Geneticist Kit was last year's best-selling children's gift for the Work Stoppage Holiday. But, according to a government report, last year's toy has become this year's ecological nightmare. The Kit was designed to teach children how to create mutations in small creatures such as worms and ants. It was meant to be used under adult supervision in the home or classnet. But some youngsters have been using the Kit on larger animals such as gerbils and mice. Their experimental lifeforms are escaping into the environment – where they are reproducing and threatening livestock. There have been reports of vicious 10-pound hamsters which hunt in packs and attack free-range chickens.

9 June 2144
ANCHOR: The North American Medical Association today denied Perry Epp's charge that their recent attack on his alternative medical practices was politically motivated.

OKAY: While alternative medicine is legal, it's not approved by the NAMA. The public has a right to know what kind of doctor Epp really is.

ANCHOR: In a related story, Jason Andreiovic, the world's last victim of Down Syndrome, died this morning from complications arising from his genetic defect. Jason had refused the gene therapy which would have corrected his condition. He insisted that he did not wish, as he put it, to alter his God-given nature. Jason was twenty-three.

10 June 2144
ANCHOR: The CommLink Advertising Bureau is lobbying the government to allow subliminal commercials called blipverts back on the Net. Blipverts were banned by the 2142 Virtual Entertainment Code, which permits the use of subliminal images only when they have artistic relevance to the programmes in which they appear. But CAB president, Mike Void, points to a dramatic fall-off in advertising revenue since the blipverts were outlawed.

VOID: Subliminal product placement is the commercial life blood of CommLink's existence. A nanosecond or less of someone eating a Chow Cap during a floaterball game can easily bring in 100,000 credits... and I mean, it's not like we're selling illegal drugs or broadcasting "R" propaganda.

13 June 2144
ANCHOR: MacroWeather's chief meteorologist, Jack B. Nimbus, was fired today. The Clarke administration blames him for El Ninocito, the man-made weather system which got out of control and sparked an international incident. Nimbus was hired immediately by the Islamic Federation to run their climate control effort.

NIMBUS: Hey, I go where the wind blows me, you know!

ANCHOR: In other news: Ebenezer, Utah is the latest town in the NAU to follow a new retro-trend. They've thrown out all the CenBank computers and they have gone back to using money. While computer credit has been preferred for decades, it's never completely replaced hard currency. With CenBank in trouble, there is a growing underground economy in cash goods and services.

14 June 2144
ANCHOR: CloneStyles Unlimited today announced its latest product: the Great Comedians of the Past Collection.

GOTTFRIED: Clones of W.C. Fields, the Marx Brothers, Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy. And me, Gilbert Gottfried! I've been making audiences laugh for years! On CommLink! And in live Las Vegas performances! Well now, these rib-tickling replicas are available to you to buy or to rent, in your very own homes! Think of it! What better way to make your next business party a side-splitting success! And you want a babysitter that your child won't set on fire? Put Junior or Juniorette in front of good ol' Gilbert Gottfried. I'll entertain 'em, and you can go out all night! ...Out all night? What's Out All Night?

15 June 2144
ANCHOR: Bowing to international pressure, President Clarke has agreed to let the World Congress rule on the extradition of Francisco Cruz and the secession of the New Amigo states to the Hispanic Commonwealth. Meanwhile, there is still no sign of rebel leader, Kyle Swann, nor Bryan Clarke and Elaina Cruz, who helped him escape–


 * interference

SWANN: I regret that lives were lost in my rescue. But the world must awaken to the truth. "R" did not create the clone cache – CenBank did! I don't know how yet, but I do know this: unless we come together to fight this growing evil, countless more lives will be sacrificed. Join us! The ultimate battle for the fate of humanity has begun!


 * interference

ANCHOR: – later this year.

16 June 2144
ANCHOR: The expedition on Rylo-7 has penetrated the capsule in the asteroid's core. Here, now, is Dr. Winston Rylo, live from Earth's new moon.

RYLO: We're using robot cameras and sensors to scan the interior before we send down a team. We're now able to confirm that the chamber is definitely some sort of artificial environment. It's divided into compartments, many containing what appears to be artefacts of an alien technology. And it has an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere – thinner than our own, but breathable.

ANCHOR: Are you saying that there may be intelligent life inside Rylo-7?

RYLO: We haven't seen any aliens yet but if there are – or where – any on board, this is where they lived.

17 June 2144
ANCHOR: Dr. Winston Rylo continued his briefing today about the extraordinary discovery on Rylo-7.

RYLO: We found an atmosphere similar to Earth's in the chamber at the asteroid's core. The robot cameras are showing us what appear to be living quarters. So far, though, we've seen no alien lifeforms. But there are many compartments sealed off by hatches, where our cameras can't go. I've decided to take a team down to search for inhabitants. We leave within the hour.

ANCHOR: The possibility of alien life aboard Rylo-7 has sent shock-waves across the planet. The five Combines have gone on full military alert. Meanwhile, the World Congress is convening in the VR Net to assess the situation.

20 June 2144
ANCHOR: The possibility of intelligent alien life aboard Rylo-7 has rekindled an old religious rivalry here on Earth. The Pope today issued this announcement.

POPE THELMA-LOUISE II: We would welcome aliens with all the love and generosity the Christian faith has to offer.

ANCHOR: Some Jewish scholars believe that alien visitors would fulfil an ancient Hebrew prophecy – the return of the lost tribe of Israel. Meanwhile, those who worship the VR Presence quietly await further instructions. But on Hollywood Island, such lofty concerns are no match for commerce. Holovision Productions has already announced plans for yet another Star Trek spinoff: Starship Rylo-7.

21 June 2144
ANCHOR: Here is an urgent live transmission from Dr. Winston Rylo on Rylo-7.

RYLO: I'm afraid I have sad news. We have found aliens aboard the asteroid, nearly 30 of them. But they're all dead. They're small, delicate, humanoid creatures, perhaps one metre tall. They were huddled together in a single, locked compartment. It was eerie. They almost looked like terrified children who'd gone there to hide from something... If there is something undetectable in the capsule which killed the aliens, our bio-hazard suits should protect us. We have another half-dozen compartments to search. Then we'll move the bodies to Earth to conduct autopsies, as soon as the World Congress approves a quarantine protocol.

22 June 2144
ANCHOR: The news of aliens found dead aboard Rylo-7 has transformed the worldwide anticipation of the past few days into a collective sense of loss – even mourning. The Pope led a candlelight mass at the Vatican Cloud City earlier today. Followers of the VR Presence removed their goggles for a minute of silent prayer. Meanwhile, the five Combines have stepped down from military alert, and the World Congress has approved a quarantine protocol to bring the aliens to Earth. Their bodies will be sent to the Kevorkian Medical Center in Chicago. President Clarke summed up many people's feelings with this lament.

CLARKE: It seems such a shame for them to have travelled all this way... for nothing.

23 June 2144
ANCHOR: We've just received word that the Cydonia expedition has discovered an entrance to the ancient subterranean city beneath the "Face of Mars". Dr. Kristeen Ballard is with us live. Doctor, where is this entrance and why did it take your team so long to find it?

BALLARD: It's located in the deep ravine which forms the "mouth" of the "Face". It was easy to miss in our initial survey because the surface is pitted with hundreds of meteor craters and natural caves which lead to nowhere. But after we recalibrated our sensors to scan for traces of the same metal which makes up the walls of the underground tunnel system – that's when we found the entrance.

ANCHOR: And what's your plan at this point?

BALLARD: There's really only one choice. We're going in.

24 June 2144
ANCHOR: At 0150 hours Global Time this morning, Dr. Winston Rylo made a startling announcement from Rylo-7.

RYLO: We've found another group of aliens – twelve of them – and they're alive! But they appear to be dying, like the others. We're not equipped to handle a medical emergency of this magnitude here. I've asked the World Congress to make immediate arrangements for a quarantine ship to take the survivors to the Kevorkian Medical Center on Earth.

ANCHOR: Has any attempt been made to communicate with the aliens?

RYLO: Not yet. They appear to be unconscious.

ANCHOR: Could bringing them to Earth pose a danger?

RYLO: With any great discovery, there's an element of risk. But I would ask – how would history judge us if we failed to take this risk?

27 June 2144
ANCHOR: World Congress Secretary General Regnad Kcin issued this statement earlier today about the aliens found alive aboard Rylo-7.

KCIN: After consulting with Dr. Rylo, the World Congress has agreed to permit the immediate evacuation of the alien survivors to the Kevorkian Medical Center in Chicago. We're convinced the quarantine measures put in place by Dr. Rylo's team are adequate to safeguard Earth from whatever disease may have stricken these extraterrestrial visitors.

ANCHOR: A Red Cross shuttle is standing by to take the aliens to Earth. They are expected to arrive in Chicago early tomorrow morning.

28 June 2144
ANCHOR: At 0715 hours Global Time this morning, Dr. Winston Rylo and the twelve alien survivors arrived at the Kevorkian Medical Center. Shortly after, Dr. Rylo briefed the press.

RYLO: The ICSA's top xenobiologists are converging on Chicago, either in person or by Virtual Link, to assess the situation. As soon as we know more, you'll know more.

ANCHOR: Dr. Rylo, what is the aliens' current condition?

RYLO: Unchanged. They're unconscious, but still alive.

ANCHOR: Could they be carrying some sort of new disease?

RYLO: Unknown at this time.

ANCHOR: When will we get our first look at the visitors?

RYLO: That's up to the World Congress. Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to the quarantine unit.

29 June 2144
ANCHOR: There have been no further updates today about the condition of the twelve alien survivors at Chicago's Kevorkian Medical Center. They are being kept under tight security in the quarantine unit. So far, no pictures of the Little Visitors – as they're now being called – have been released to the press. Joining us now via hololink to share his thoughts on this historic occasion is our regular commentator, former Reality Secretary Perry Epp.

EPP: These certainly are unreal times we live in. Y'know, scientists and science-fiction writers have speculated for centuries what first contact with an extraterrestrial race would be like. But even in their wildest imaginations, they never dreamed the aliens would come to Earth – in a Trojan asteroid!

30 June 2144
ANCHOR: After two weeks of exploring the subterranean city beneath the "Face of Mars", Dr. Kristeen Ballard comes to us live now from the expedition's base camp in the Cydonia desert. Dr. Ballard, what have you uncovered?

BALLARD: We've found artefacts of an ancient civilisation, in what appear to have once been vast living and working quarters – some furniture, tools, machinery, most of it rusted and rotted nearly beyond recognition. The caverns all have low ceilings, suggesting the creatures who dwelt here were smaller than the average human being. We also found this. (She holds up a small, flat, metallic object.)

ANCHOR: What's that, Dr. Ballard?

BALLARD: We're not sure – but we believe it might be a millennia-old computer chip.