It has been said by
nearly all of the folks, and acutance’s of mine in Minnesota that my perusing
this space mining adventure, the first of its kind that I must have be a little
touched in the head: that surely some grave disaster is bound to happen, and it
is happing as I write this narrative, or journal, to which may very well be my
last. But I have proved it is possible, the once thought super-scientific
madness of mining of an asteroid in space, was strictly Science Fiction, is now
non-fiction.
But
here I am, doing just that. I have
invested in some companies, two decades ago, did the legal framework in the
United States, and went about my business. I have a team of several engineers
with me, and two scientists, and there are these dreadful creatures at night,
unknown entities that circle this asteroid, but I am sane, was at the outset,
perhaps not so much anymore, but sane enough to write down in a sober enough way
this lucid account of our last several months work, and tonight’s predicament.
This
is no Jules Verne chronicle, but basic technologies, we landed several months
ago on this asteroid, and we are mining it. Matter of fact, we have some European
entrepreneurs backing this project up, along with American Companies, and we’ve
found valuable resources in this so called space body.
We’re
not sure if we are in violation of the UN’s Outer Space Treaty, but it is of
less concern at this point, and to be taken up at a later date. And as far as we are concerned, the treaty
excludes the appropriation of materials found here. We are like fishermen in
international space as they would be called, in international waters, if indeed
we were searching the oceans for the same material, which is too deep rooted.
We are
on one of the largest of the 13,500 asteroids known to the specialists on
earth, concerning Asteroids; I have named this one: Asteroid 13,499, which is one of
the so-called near-Earth asteroids. On this giant asteroid, we’ve found water,
for our in-space activity. And we have a large surface abundance. And we found a source of food, a beast-sea
serpent of sorts, called a ‘sock’ (its official name
being: Xenoturella), it has no eyes, teeth, brain, it sucks in its food but its hole for a
mouth, but has no stomach, it is about eight inches long, taste like raw eel. One
of the scientists said it is a very ancient creature. I don’t know its
chemistry, but when you’re hungry who cares. So on one hand we found the Holy
Grail of space, on the other, well, it’s a different story.
So
what have we found thus far for what we came for? Our mine is high on platinum-group metals, to
include: Iridium, palladium.
However, I wish to bring to the reader’s attention, if time permits, and
we are still alive, it will be because we’ve found a way to kill these strange
visitations from these phenomenal and deadly creatures: but I am not sure if
that is my aim, and at this very minute, I think it’s a tinge too late.
There
are insects that fly about at night like bats, like bull-mosquitos, that if
they bite you is like hemlock being injected into you. Of the seven engineers,
three are dead thus far, and the three of us scientists, are fine. These insects are quite the intimating kind. Their
center or hub is behind one of the hills on the Asteroid. And we’ve discovered
when they land, they become mighty jumpers, the larger ones. I just discovered
that the other night, as I stood there for a long while gaping at one of them.
It beheld for me a marvel beyond understanding, they can jump several feet, and
breathe out an unearthly odor. And they murmur with their breathing. My main
emotion is at present, a half-mystic wonder, a deadly curiosity, and the mining
is taking second place. My mind is spun dizzily, to capture a few and bring
them back to earth to study, was I should say, that now has passed into
oblivion. I am for the most part, half-fearful and half-exultant. And to kill
them, I have no plausible clue, other than, stomp them out with some sort of
insecticide, that we’d have to create with the material we have at hand. And I
don’t want to be too hasty. We could have
fumigated them, the hill-top above them, and let the substance descend on top
of their nest, but I suggested we do not. Other than that, I have done some
sketches of the creatures.
They
can be surveyed in the morning cloudless light, they like friable soil. And
they hid now in sheltered spots, knowing I have been previously seeking them
out, been hidden from my view behind giant granite fragments on the surface.
For
various reasons I have dismissed telling our agency on earth, of this bizarre
world of creatures. This enigmatic breed of nocturnal manifestations of
killers, about the size of my fist, the largest. To my utter dumfoundment, I
shall keep it a secret a while longer.
They have become familiar with me, and think I am a less concernment to
them, than my team members, and should they all be dead in the morning, which
is not absurd, I shall live among them if possible, by some incalculable means,
I can do it I think. I sense the test will be soon, hypothetical, they started
to circle our encampment I think for a once in a lifetime attack, as I write
this out, and I could warn everyone, but if I do, they’ll kill me along with them.
And that is unapproachable to my thinking.
Oh
yes, there the jumpers are, overhanging the bed nets of the engineers, I ponder
to think if they can gnaw through them. These are the infinitudes everyone on
earth failed to explore, these ungovernable insects.
#5052/2-5-2016
