April 2146

1 April 2146
ANCHOR: The crisis in the sea floor communities grows. Today, Georges Favreau fired off this warning to Jefferson Kirwan and his rebellious Oceanis.

FAVREAU: Make no mistake about it, Kirwan. The EC will do everything in its power to protect its ocean rights and its property... and that includes taking any military action necessary.

ANCHOR: No response from Kirwan so far to this sabre rattling, and A Current Byte ran this very interesting vid last night. Taken secretly, the vid apparently shows Ay-Eye out on the town with what looks like... Kyle Swann! Is that really Swann escorting the strikingly-beautiful Artificial Intelligence... or merely a very realistic hologram? No word from Swann or Ay-Eye.

2 April 2146
ANCHOR: Jefferson Kirwan does not stand alone. Threatened yesterday by military force from the EC, today Kirwan has a powerful friend and supporter, NAU President Madeleine Clarke.

CLARKE: I thought we were past the point of global brinkmanship and militaristic posturing. If Favreau has problems with Kirwan and his new combine of Oceanis, there's a place to work out their differences... the World Congress.

ANCHOR: President Clarke, is the NAU offering protection to Oceanis?

CLARKE: I didn't say that. We support the new combine and we support a peaceful negotiation process.

ANCHOR: And yes, that was Kyle Swann out with the Ay-Eye last night. Here's Swann's explanation.

SWANN: I've been taking Ay-Eye places, exposing her to new experiences. The world of the senses is totally new to her. As one of her creators, I felt it's something I should do.

3 April 2146
ANCHOR: More support for Jefferson Kirwan's beleaguered underwater combine, Oceanis. This time, Kyle Swann is jumping to the gillman's defence.

SWANN: What is Favreau and the EC trying to do... bully Kirwan's people into submission... and all Madeleine Clarke does is offer 'support'. The NAU should inform the EC in no uncertain terms that we will not stand for any military action against the underwater community.

ANCHOR: You mean, Kyle, that if you were president, you'd go all the way and offer military support to Kirwan?

SWANN: You bet I would, and I'd let old Georges Favreau know that the days of pushing the little guy around... are over.

4 April 2146
ANCHOR: More news from the ground-breaking Shah-Ar project and its rumoured faster-than-light device. We go live to a surprise press conference inside Fortress Israel.

KANTER: I've asked my good friend and collaborator, Dr. Winston Rylo, to help explain to the world what it is exactly that our scientists have discovered.

RYLO: The Shah-Ar project has proven that space doesn't merely curve as was long suspected. Space undulates, looping around on itself, twisting in billions of ways that may appear incalculable and – up until now – unseen.

ANCHOR: Up until now?

RYLO: Yes, and this undulating space represents a new dimension, actually a myriad of dimensions. This ribbon of space isn't somewhere 'out there'. It is a part of our everyday physical world that we have – so far – been unable to see.

KANTER: But Shah-Ar may change all that.

5 April 2146
ANCHOR: There has been a breakout at a shmoo pen! With one hundred of the cuddly creatures scheduled for termination, activists raided the pen and 'liberated' the shmoos. Many of the animals were quickly taken by the activists and hidden, while some escaped to the surrounding Yorkshire woods. A round-up patrol was hastily dispatched to the area... but EC authorities are not optimistic about recovering any of the animals.

And the Ay-Eye, the sleek artificial intelligence who wanted a human form, will have new role. Starting next week, she will become a spokesbeing on a new FTL commentary segment, NetWatch. We look forward to the Ay-Eye's most unusual perspective on the modern world.

8 April 2146
ANCHOR: Oceanis Head, Jefferson Kirwan, is staring Georges Favreau eye-to-eye... and – so far – no one is blinking. Today, Mining Base Neptune, located close to the hydrothermal vents of the Mid Atlantic Ridge, refused to allow an EC transport sub to dock. While no hostilities have broken out... the war of nerves has taken a dangerous turn. FTL spoke to both Favreau and Kirwan.

FAVREAU: As I have said, the EC is prepared to take all steps to protect its rights and property connected to the sea floor community. Our transport will dock at Mining Base Neptune.

ANCHOR: Jefferson Kirwan was equally adamant.

KIRWAN: Until the EC recognises our right to exist, free and independent, we will continue to turn away any and all EC ships.

9 April 2146
ANCHOR: The Earth First Brigade is no more. Here is Brigade leader Cameron Grant's brief statement:

GRANT: Like the rest of the world my people are awaiting the end of the old order... and so now we will be calling ourselves the End Day Brigade. And we will wear the symbol that's become connected with hope for the entire planet...


 * (He pulls down the curtain revealing the new End Day Brigade Flag, featuring the Tau symbol.)

ANCHOR: And, in an apparently unrelated development, Elaina Koblatz sent this message from the Nautilus as it speeds back to Earth.

ELAINA: I want to reassure everyone who sees hope in the Tau symbol and those who fear it, that I was the first to see it, and I know that it stands for something wondrous and important to humankind. We are on the verge of new era... but we must wait to see what that era will be.

10 April 2146
ANCHOR: Cameron Grant's announcement yesterday, promoting a new symbol and perhaps a new direction for his group, has been a match setting off an explosion in the net. In what can only be described as Virtual Warfare, Tau Plamt followers in the net have attacked the Nooman area, breaking up their images and sabotaging their communications to each other. Though there has been no damage to the so-called Noomans' comatose bodies, the ferocity of the attack startled on lookers in the Net. One person appeared immune to the attack... Maria Gonzales' image was assaulted, but all attempts to disrupt it failed. It appears that the Taus want to destroy the Noomans' virtual existence... but the question is... why?

11 April 2146
ANCHOR: More battles in the Net between the virtual alter egos of Taus and Noomans. And so far, it looks like the well-organised Taus are winning, shutting down whole sections of the VR Net occupied by Noomans. We asked Ay-Eye, an authority on Virtual Existence to comment on the strange battles.

AY-EYE: These developments are very disturbing, a virtual war by two groups... over what? The right to exist in the ether-like world of the Net? Or is it about something else? Is it what's been called the neo-Luddite attitude of the Taus, attacking all technology, or are the Taus merely anti-Net?

ANCHOR: Your opinion, Ay-Eye?

AY-EYE: I'm afraid I can only watch with the rest of the world and try to understand what is happening. But I will say this: this Virtual War, and who wins it, may be vitally important.

14 April 2146
ANCHOR: The cuddly little shmoos have got a reprieve. Though many still remain at large after last week's break out from their holding pen in Yorkshire, Georges Favreau has come forward with a conciliatory gesture.

FAVREAU: People love these little genetic animals... and, after consulting with other member combines of the World Congress, we have come up with a compromise plan. The remaining shmoos can be adopted, but they first must be sterilised. We don't want this man-made creature reproducing.

ANCHOR: Favreau's statement brought relief to hundreds of clandestine shmoo owners. But Favreau had no conciliatory words for Jefferson Kirwan, as the stand-off under the ocean continues... and tensions mount.

15 April 2146
ANCHOR: More explosive details from the mysterious Shah-Ar project. Here's Winston Rylo and Premier Kanter from this morning's press conference.

RYLO: You remember, that Shah-Ar discovered that space undulates. This overlapping of places and time may explain such surreal phenomena as ghosts and extraterrestrials. But our greatest interest has been in the travel aspects of this discovery. We think that the Shah-Ar device allows entry into the different levels and layers of space. An object may appear to travel at great speed... but actually it would only move from one loop of curved space to another.

ANCHOR: Dr. Rylo, could this discovery somehow explain the existence of the so-called Noomans in the Net?

RYLO: Er–

KANTER: That's an interesting question... one you can be sure we are working on.

16 April 2146
ANCHOR: Here's our NetWatch commentator, Ay-Eye, with her unique view on yesterday's news from the Shah-Ar project.

AY-EYE: This is an interesting point. There is new dimension of space, multiple spaces actually, all overlapping? That makes sense. And, I assume, that means multiple times because time and space are inextricably linked. But are the Noomans somehow living in this new dimension of multiple spaces and times? I don't think so. The Noomans are even very much linked to their own all-too-human bodies. Somehow they've found a conscious existence on the Net while their comatose bodies sleep on. But there's a more important question – what evidence do we have for the existence of these undulating, overlapping folds of space? None so far, I'm afraid.

17 April 2146
ANCHOR: The war of nerves under the sea has escalated. In the middle of the night, a small flotilla of EC and HC subs surrounded Mining Base Neptune in what is clearly a carefully organised embargo. At the same time, Georges Favreau has demanded that immediate permission be given for the transports to dock and begin off-loading ore. In a tersely worded text-only statement, Kirwan and the mining base were given 48 hours to open the docking ports... or face swift military action. Oceanus head Jefferson Kirwan wasted no time in responding.

KIRWAN: I've received this ultimatum from Favreau and his EC thugs... and here's what I have to say... (crumples the document into a tight ball) Nuts!

18 April 2146
ANCHOR: The world waits, while time runs out for Jefferson Kirwan and his blockaded underwater community. And around the world, leaders comment on the desperate situation.

CLARKE: This is ridiculous... a stand-off under the ocean with powerful submarines pointing at a small mining base. It's time to call a halt to the sabre-rattling.

FAVEREAU: This is no sabre-rattling. Together, we have delivered a very real ultimatum to this renegade, Kirwan.

DIAZ: The clock is running, and our subs are ready.

ANCHOR: Once again, Kyle Swann thinks that the NAU must act.

SWANN: What kind of leader is Madeleine Clarke? She should dispatch a squadron of our fastest subs armed to the teeth with particle-beam torpedoes to let Diaz and Favreau know they can't throw their weight around. Not without triggering a swift NAU response. Clarke is acting like a coward!

19 April 2146
ANCHOR: At the 11th hour, the undersea war has been averted. The tense stand-off had the whole world waiting breathlessly, and it looked like an attack by the EC and HC subs on the Mining Base Neptune was all but inevitable. But, in the early dawn hours, from within the base itself, Jefferson Kirwan sent out this message.

KIRWAN: I have agreed to meetings with representatives of the EC and HC, and to allow their transports to dock and off-load from this base. I have made only one precondition, that all the talks be carried live over CommLink. But other than that, we stand ready to allow normal docking and transport of ore from the base.

ANCHOR: But Mr. Kirwan, does this mean that the dream of an independent Oceanis is over?

KIRWAN: I will never give up that dream.

22 April 2146
ANCHOR: Last night, a strange vision appeared in a secluded area of the Net devoted to meditation and mysticism. A giant head was seen in every node of Mayaville, a human like face with large, dark eyes. The floating head said or did nothing... but those who saw it say its presence was powerful and disturbing. Maria Gonzales follower, Debbie Gonsher, was one of those who saw the odd vision.

GONSHER: I wasn't scared. The face looked almost familiar and it was as if it wanted to speak to us... but it couldn't – not yet.

ANCHOR: Anyone who wants to still see the giant floating head are out of luck... all of Mayaville's nodes crashed and remain disabled. And so far, there has been no reason given for the crash.

23 April 2146
ANCHOR: Was the crash of the NetPlace known as Mayaville sabotage? Today, the NetPolice entered the case. DataCaptain Gill Bates spoke to FTL about the investigation. Captain Bates, do you think it was sabotage?

BATES: We have no evidence – at this point – that the crash of Mayaville was or was not sabotage. But with all the virtual violence in the Net, anything is possible.

ANCHOR: So you think they may be a connection between the floating head and violence against Mayaville?

BATES: We're working with SHIVA to determine where that head came from. At this point, we're ruling nothing out.

ANCHOR: And would the Tauists be high on your suspect lists?

BATES (smiling): No comment.

24 April 2146
ANCHOR: Mayaville is back up and running... but those hoping to see the spectral face from two days ago will be disappointed. Though all Mayaville's most popular areas were restored, including the Meditation Pool and the Karmic Exploratorium, the mysterious head was nowhere to be seen. FTL asked Ay-Eye, an expert on 'being digital', to comment on the vanished apparition.

AY-EYE: This is interesting. Everyone refers to the mysterious head as an 'apparition'. But in the VR Net, who or what is not an apparition? The answer is obvious. We all become figments of each other's imaginations, with a reality only as tenuous as the next spurt of electrons. The real question is what is the head linked to, what thing outside the net... and why did it appear in Mayaville?

ANCHOR: And DataCaptain Gill Bates confirmed that the destruction has been traced to a cell of Tauists allied to Cameron Grant. No arrests have been announced.

25 April 2146
ANCHOR: The crisis over Oceanis moved one notch away from violence today as historic peace talks began at the newly-restored Capitol Rotunda. NAU President Madeleine Clarke made a brief opening statement welcoming the peace conference participants.

CLARKE: Today, we the combine leaders of the EC, the APS, the HC and the NAU sit down with a representative from the ocean communities to peacefully resolve the differences among us. I'm confident that we will find a mutually acceptable solution.

ANCHOR: And a routine message from Nautilus, speeding back to Earth, was abruptly cancelled today. No explanation was forthcoming from Operation Reach Out Mission Control for the cancellation.

26 April 2146
ANCHOR: The body of Maria Gonzales has disappeared. Sometime in the middle of the night, the fabled Lady of the Net's comatose body was removed from the Kevorkian Medical Center. A shaken Dr. Rod Hamm spoke to FTL.

HAMM: This is terrible. We have excellent security measures, holo cameras, guards... I don't see how the woman's body could have been removed.

ANCHOR: Dr. Hamm, do you think that the Tauists are involved?

HAMM: I don't know. I mean, there's been all this battling in the Net. Is this the next stage? I just hope that the woman is still alive.

ANCHOR: FTL commentator Ay-Eye has this to say about the abduction.

AY-EYE: Is the Virtual war between the Tauists and the Noomans turning real? Well of course it is. That would have to be the next step in this battle, moving from the virtual to the physical. But did the Tauists steal Gonzales' body and murder her? I say no... for reasons that I must leave... to some later date.

29 April 2146
ANCHOR: Months after this unintelligible transmission from Europa, the mystery from the frozen moon remains intact. No one has come forward with a solution to the strange symbols. Are they meaningless or – just the opposite – is it of vital importance for us to figure them out? And why hasn't anyone decoded the message? Sometime FTL commentator Benjamin Droid thinks he knows why.

DROID: Right, like everyone expects that the mystery message will be cracked like some kid's puzzle. Wrong. Obviously people haven't done their homework in the sci-fi archives. Remember that old flat-vid, The Next Voice You Hear? The 'voice' in that movie was a message from... you-know-who... I mean, the Big Guy, Number One. But this message from Europa? I'd be very careful. It may be a message from someone or something bad... something evil. I'd be very nervous if someone does crack it. Keep Watching the Skies... and everywhere else, for that matter.

30 April 2146
ANCHOR: The talks at the Oceanis Conference got off to a bumpy start, and today they seem to be on the verge of breaking down. The leaders of the Combines have been meeting behind closed-doors with Jefferson Kirwan, head of the far-flung sea-floor communities. But then, shortly after the start of today's session, Kirwan stormed out of the conference room and made a statement.

KIRWAN: There's too much air in that room – all of it hot.

ANCHOR: Mr. Kirwan, does this mean that you're leaving the conference?

KIRWAN: We have made no progress in reaching an accord. Favreau seems to want only one thing... the EC's control of our people, our bases, and our submarines. And that he will never get! One way or the other, he will recognise Oceanis!