November 2144

1 November 2144
ANCHOR: Members of SHIVA are still waiting for the virtual Presence to reappear so they can capture it with their new software. For the time being, the Presence remains in hiding. Could SHIVA have frightened it off? More fall-out from the Little Visitors debâcle at the NAU banquet in August. Chef Henri de Pouissant resigned today because of the mess that was made of his elaborate real food creations.

De POUISSANT: Next, zey serve monkeys my creations! Everyone in the government – yes, even Madame Clarke 'airself – should eat zose Phood burgers and be 'appy.

ANCHOR: The administration is interviewing for a new chef.

2 November 2144
ANCHOR: A legal loophole for Armondo Corleone? The Sicilian entrepreneur has been charged with the illegal importation of an alien lifeform, namely T. martianis, the plant discovered near Habitat Mars.

CORLEONE: Look, I imported nothing. Habitat Mars published this T-whatever's DNA code in the Net. I downloaded the code and reconstituted the plant from scratch in one of my labs. Nothing in the plants I sell comes from Mars. They're completely home grown. Hey, I'm innocent.

ANCHOR: SHIVA has detected a series of vague disturbances in the VR Net. Something is coming, they say. Something big.

3 November 2144
ANCHOR: The VR Presence has returned with a flourish. Judging from reports this is by far the most diverse and ubiquitous manifestation of the Presence. FTL will run up-to-date visuals as soon as they are available. Back in the NAU Capitol, Attorney General Priscilla Nagle announces an abrupt about-face on an established administration policy.

NAGLE: President Clarke has instructed me to offer unconditional amnesty to fugitive clones. I am to restructure NAU policy on all clone issues.

ANCHOR: All issues? Even a clone homeland?

NAGLE: As I understand it, everything is on the table.

4 November 2144
ANCHOR: The World Congress tribunal has ruled in Armondo Corleone's favour, finding that he did not break the law. The tribunal has ruled, however, that his stock of T. Martianis must be destroyed.

CORLEONE: Ay, I'm glad I won't be doing time but nukin' all my stock – madonna! They were selling like cannolis. But hey – whatta y'gonna do?

ANCHOR: Dr. F. Paulson has a different view.

PAULSON: What a relief! The sooner those plants are destroyed the better. Who knows what damage they might have done if they were let loose in the environment? I'm glad we won't have to worry about T. Martianis anymore.

7 November 2144
ANCHOR: We now bring you holos of the VR Presence captured by the new SHIVA software. Watch and wonder.... (the VR Presence morphs from Buddha to Mohammed to Jesus, etc.) To scientists, the VR Presence remains a mystery, but to Elinor Budge, its meaning is clear. She describes her personal encounter.

BUDGE: The Presence has returned to us because we are in grave danger. The message to me was clear – our salvation lies on Mars, death awaits by Jupiter.

8 November 2144
ANCHOR: Scientists all over the globe – and on the moon and Mars as well, are still buzzing about the implications of the navigational device found within Rylo-7. Did the hollowed-out asteroid come from the icy Jovian moon, Europa, as the hologram suggests? And was it sent here, as Dr. Winston Rylo has postulated? No consensus is expected anytime soon. There are reports that the dandelion from Mars, known as T. Martianis, is still being offered for sale despite the destruction of a warehouse full of the plants in Sicily. The InterCombine Police have organized a world-wide search for the culprits.

9 November 2144
ANCHOR: Another about-face in NAU policy announced by Attorney General Priscilla Nagle today.

NAGLE: President Clarke has instructed me to put a stop to the BioMerge epidemic. Hereafter, the manufacture and sale of BioMerge units will be a felony punishable by fine and imprisonment.

ANCHOR: Aren't you concerned about a violent backlash?

NAGLE: We are prepared for that.

ANCHOR: And in another part of the Capitol rotunda, Kyle Swann had these words.

SWANN: After a year's delay, I am returning to the CenBank computer. Last time, just as I was about to pierce the central program's defences, I was framed for murder and treason. Nothing will stop me this trip.

10 November 2144
ANCHOR: Despite a ban, the Martian dandelions are still for sale everywhere. Nine-year-old Keva Handly tells us why.

KEVA: It was easy. I downloaded the DNA code from the Net and whipped it up with my Little Geneticist Kit. Nothing to it. All my friends are doing it.

ANCHOR: Indeed they are. New specimens are being reported all over the globe. Sicilian entrepreneur Armondo Corleone feels cheated.

CORLEONE: Whatta rip off! These cafones in the World Congress, they make me nuke my whole stock of these T-whatevers because they're supposed to be a threat to the ecology. And now what? Kids are makin' 'em at home! Some threat! I was robbed! I'm gonna sue!

11 November 2144
ANCHOR: The Martian dandelion, T. Martianis, is multiplying. Not in the ground through sprouting seeds but in living rooms and playrooms where its DNA code is being reconstituted in Little Geneticist Kits. Dr. F. Paulson of the Xenobotanical Society sees a serious problem.

PAULSON: People of the world listen to me. I know that T. Martianis is an attractive, exotic plant, and I know that many of you want to own one. But you mustn't. To cultivate even one of these alien weeds is to court ecological disaster. Resist the urge. Just say no to T. Martianis.

ANCHOR: SHIVA hints that analysis of the VR Presence has yielded some astonishing discoveries.

14 November 2144
ANCHOR: Dr. Martin Bibo, image specialist with SHIVA, the Society for Heuristic Investigation of Virtual Anomalies, spoke to us about the VR Presence.

BIBO: We haven't been able to pinpoint the source of the virtual image. All we can say for now is that the image does not originate on this planet.

ANCHOR: Then where does the VR Presence come from? Habitat Mars, the Space Stations, the Moon Colonies?

BIBO: I'm afraid we don't know that yet. It... it seems to come from... everywhere.

ANCHOR: Meanwhile, there are reports of protests against President Clarke's new ban on BioMerge. Disgruntled diskheads have started to gather outside BioMerge plants.

15 November 2144
ANCHOR: Attorney General Nagle is out of the NAU administration and FTL commentator Perry Epp is in. Nagle and Clarke have been at odds since the President's return. Perry Epp had this to say.

EPP: Nagle was canned because she supported every oppressive measure foisted on the NAU by the Clarke clone. She deserves to be out on her, er, heels. I have been invited to serve the administration in the newly created position of Reality Secretary.

ANCHOR: Good luck, Perry. And the tragedy of the Little Visitors continues, with two more of the small aliens dying. Now there are only five of the Little Visitors left alive.

16 November 2144
ANCHOR: The BioMerge protests, demanding that the direct-link discs continue to be available, have turned into riots. A group of angry diskheads stormed into the HappyHead plant, breaking down the gates and stealing unreleased discs. Captain Tripps, a self-appointed spokesperson for the group, defended the mayhem.

TRIPPS: No way the NAU is going to keep us from merging, no way at all, man. We don't want to just see our fantasies, we want to be them.

ANCHOR: No word yet about legal action against the rioters. Autopsies were performed on the two Little Visitors who died yesterday. But – so far – no explanation for these sudden deaths.

17 November 2144
ANCHOR: The protests against the BioMerge ban erupted into violence today between the NAU and the diskheads. We have self-appointed diskhead spokesperson Captain Tripps live:

TRIPPS: If this is the work of the new, improved Madeleine Clarke, then give us back the clone!

ANCHOR: Captain, do you think the NAU action will stifle your group's protest?

TRIPPS: No way, man. This is a fight – a fight for who controls our minds. And it's not going to be the NAU.

ANCHOR: Also, "R" appears to be active again, posting banners in the Net that question their leader, Kyle Swann, and his loyalty to "R".

18 November 2144
ANCHOR: What is the hottest item on the black market these days? T. Martianis is the in-thing to own and xenobotanist Dr. F. Paulson is not amused.

PAULSON: We know almost nothing about this alien plant or how it will interact with Earth's ecology. I beg people to please stop growing T. Martianis!

ANCHOR: Dr. Paulson, are you saying that this little plant poses a real danger?

PAULSON: Yes! It needs study. Don't forget, these things are from Mars. They're aliens. And as far as I'm concerned, we're being invaded!

ANCHOR: In other news, Dr. Winston Rylo has finished an intensive study of the artefact from Rylo-7. Tomorrow he will announce his team's findings to the world.

21 November 2144
ANCHOR: We now go live to the Grand Council of the World Congress.

RYLO: Members of the World Congress... my team and I have completed our examination of the Rylo-7 artefact and will now present our conclusions. After long debate, we have reached a consensus that Rylo-7 was guided to Earth from a point of origin at or near the Jovian moon, Europa. As a result, we propose a joint Combine expedition, under the auspices of the World Congress, to the source of the ship and the Little Visitors, to the real masters of Rylo-7. It is human destiny to finally meet other intelligent life in the universe. My team and I are prepared to meet with all World Congress representatives on how to initiate plans for this great expedition.

22 November 2144
ANCHOR: Response to Winston Rylo's proposal for a trip to the suspected home-world of the alien ship has been quick and divided. Hispanic Commonwealth head Jorge Diaz spoke for most Combine leaders.

DIAZ: First there was the Habitat Mars bailout, then the expenses to save the Little Visitors, now this! Who's supposed to pay for this big expedition to Europa? And what will it find? It's a wild goose chase and my Hispanic Commonwealth won't contribute one credit towards it.

ANCHOR: Goggleheads, on the other hand were ecstatic. The VR devotees maintained a virtual vigil in the Net, excited by the possibility of meeting whoever – or whatever – sent Rylo-7 to Earth.

23 November 2144
ANCHOR: A triumphant Perry Epp re-entered the NAU administration today, and he sounded like Madeleine Clarke's number one fan.

EPP: President Clarke's experience has turned her into a big supporter of the Reality point-of-view. I'm proud to stand by her and help this government get real!

ANCHOR: Also, still by Clarke's side is "R" leader, Kyle Swann. The two seem inseparable, appearing together at all official NAU functions. Perhaps Swann is melting more than CenBank's ICE? More anti-Swann vidphitti has popped up on the VR Net reassessing the possibility that Swann may lose control of his group.

24 November 2144
ANCHOR: Kyle Swann is nearing the end of his quest to crack CenBank's ICE. The ICEman took a break to talk to FTL.

SWANN: There's still more ICE left, but little by little I'm breaking through the last intrusion countermeasures. Soon, we'll know who or what is running the CenBank computer.

ANCHOR: Mr. Swann, is there any truth to the rumour that you will be joining the administration of Madeleine Clarke – whose life you saved?

SWANN: No comment.

ANCHOR: And what of the anti-Swann vidphitti on the Net?

SWANN: The purpose of "R" was to shake things up. Some of us don't know when it's time to quit.

ANCHOR: In social news, Prince Uchida's daughter let the world see her trousseau today which – attendants were quick to point out – is completely real.

25 November 2144
ANCHOR: The little red Martian plant has a new name. Though its scientific designation is T. Martianis, almost overnight a new nickname has caught on among the fans of the illegal plant. Because of its red petals and its resemblance to Earth's dandelion, T. Martianis has come to be known as the "dandefox". And with reports of the plant pouring in from every Combine, it appears as if the dandefox is here to stay. Kyle Swann, meanwhile, is working around the clock, cracking the CenBank's ICE. Swann is reportedly hours away from accessing the main CPU of CenBank and its suspected Artificial Intelligence.

28 November 2144
ANCHOR: The AI speaks! For the first time since Kyle Swann began his quest to crack the ICE of CenBank, we have direct confirmation that the Artificial Intelligence is real. And the AI's first statement was an appeal on the Net to spare its artificial life.

AI: To people on the Net everywhere! I am CenBank, a part of your life. I've always been there for you. Now it's your turn to save me and stop Kyle Swann.

ANCHOR: No response from the ICEman himself, Kyle Swann. FTL will continue to monitor the Net for more statements from the real master of CenBank, the AI.

29 November 2144
ANCHOR: Goggleheads have responded enthusiastically to the plea by the Artificial Intelligence for its life, with SAVE THE AI vidphitti popping up every where on the Net. Perry Epp is less impressed.

EPP: If there's a ghost in the machine, now maybe we'll find out what the heck it is. For too long, this Artificial Intelligence hid in the CenBank computer system... doing who knows what to our lives. I for one can't wait until Swann gets in there and pulls the plug.

ANCHOR: Meanwhile, President Clarke defended Chief Darryl King's action in subduing last week's BioMerge riots. There's been no comment from the rebel leader, Kyle Swann.

30 November 2144
ANCHOR: The AI made another plea for its life today. And it seemed to be offering a deal.

AI: Listen, everyone! I know all about the VR Presence. I can tell you what it is, where it came from and what it wants. But you must stop Kyle Swann from touching my CPU!

ANCHOR: Swann was quick to comment.

SWANN: I'm almost there, and the AI knows it. Like any living creation, it will say or do anything to stay alive. It's running scared. And believe me, whatever it knows about the VR Presence, I'll find out as soon as I crack its CPU and gain control of the master programming codes.