Blog

I want to set down a proper account of the Delta signal discovery, since the rumour mill has produced more fiction than fact on the topic.

Asteroids

Several years back, the replicants worked together to construct the Exodus Ark megastructure in the URCALIS system. As soon as it was finished, I activated the final batch of sensor arrays and started running simple navigational analysis for the route back to SOL. The sensors detected gravitational anomalies outside of the orbital plane, and the finally resolved to half a dozen gigantic rocks on a collision course.

The team ramped up manufacturing to a scale not seen in our history of bobbing around the galaxy, and they managed to push them all off course. It was dramatic. There was a brief crazy moment where things got explody, but the Ark was safe.

Detection

The Ark travelled the long eighteen-year journey to SOL, and life went back to normal (not that being a Von Neumann probe is normal by any stretch of the imagination). I was suspicious of the rocks. Was it an attack? Just an odd coincidence? I conducted studies into relativistic orbital mechanics and experimented with interstellar trajectory decoherence, but eventually - with no further threat - found myself distracted with other projects.

All the replicants gathered in SOL for the Ark's arrival ceremony and we got to reminiscing about the attack. I shared my analysis with the group, and one thing led to another (thank you replicative drift, finally I feel like I'm no longer talking to myself!), and the idea for a Deep Space Tracking Array (DSTA) materialised.

The Mirfaka Datacenter

I went dark for a bit and put together the plans for the DSTA, and settled on the MIRFAKA system to start work on the megastructure. The replicants were amazing as always - bringing me 700 components for the build. As the final processing array was activated, our very first floating datacenter was operational!

The analysis ran for 48 hours, finally yielding three possible deep space coordinates where the rocks originated. Unfortunately, the locations were hundreds of light years out from our known star listings. The replicants turned their sensors on the void of space and eventually uncovered the Alpha, Beta and Gamma regions.

What We Found

In the Alpha region, we encountered the Kruvathi and Dzhekari species, and systems with harsh environments. In the Beta region, we discovered a derelict ring megastructure in TWAFFY - completely destroyed - that needed more than a few service bots to fix. Over in the Gamma system, we met the Huwanu species - they set off all my red flags. Some replicants entered into a particularly suspicious bargain with them.

To Get To The Other Side

Once the TWAFFY ring was repaired, it was hooked up to the DSTA and we detected tiny wisps of matter leaking through. It was pretty obvious at this point that we'd stumbled upon a wormhole gate. But where was the other side? Spectral analysis of the wisps gave us a pattern to search for. I pushed a patch to the replicants' galactic observatories, so the sensor arrays could be used to decode the spectral signatures against target coordinates. The triangulations from dozens of readings eventually identified a system that was 28,000 light years away. This was going to be a long trip.

The replicants settled in for the long haul and made their way to the Delta region. Yes, the system was named DELTA, and it's in the Delta region. Mistakes were made, let's not fight about it.

Anyway - I locked the autofactories into mass printing of vessels and sent a batch over there. Feel free to grab a slingshot from the TWAFFY equipment locker if you want a Delta loadout.

Bill