# Douglas Hadje --- 2325

Director Hadje,

The launch is tomorrow and communications are looking good. A status report will follow, but before I get to that, I would like to open a dialog with you surrounding topics beyond the launch itself. Please ensure that this is both acceptable by the hierarchy of superiors that doubtless read our communications as well as yourself, as they are of a somewhat more personal nature. As my role of launch coordinator slowly dwindles, I have been asked by both my clade and a historian sys-side to collect information through extant lines of communication, a sort of oral history of the events leading up to, surrounding, and immediately after the launch.

Thank you,

May Then My Name Die With Me of the Ode Clade

## Status Report


2325-01-20 --- systime 199+364 1303

* **Micro-Ansible transmission:**
    * *Outbound functionality:* five-by-five (go)
    * *Inbound functionality:* five-by-five (go)
* **Transmission status:**
    * *Personalities transferred:* 2,593,190,433 / 100% (go)
    * *Individuals by clade transferred:* 1,123,384,222 / 100% (go)
    * *Personalities remaining to be transferred:* 0 / 0% (go)
    * *Individuals by clade remaining to be transferred:* 0 / 0% (go)
    * *Personalities transferred leaving no immediate forks (pct):* 3.8%
    * *Individuals by clade transferred leaving no immediate forks (pct):* 0.00000018%
    * *Social makeup of transfers:* 84% dispersionista / 10% tracker / 6% tasker
    * *Social makeup of L<sub5</subSystem:* 23% dispersionista / 38% tracker / 39% tasker
    * *Transfers irrevocably lost:* 8 (go)
* **System status:**
    * Green:
        * *Stability:* 100% (go)
        * *Clock offset:* 0ns (go)
        * *Clock skew:* 0ns/ns (go)
        * *Clock jitter:* 0ns/ns/ns (go)
        * *Entanglement:* 100% (go)
        * *Fork reliability:* 17 nines (go)
        * *Merge reliability:* 23 nines (go)
    * Blue:
        * *Stability:* 100% (go)
        * *Clock offset:* 0ns (go)
        * *Clock skew:* 0ns/ns (go)
        * *Clock jitter:* 0ns/ns/ns (go)
        * *Entanglement:* 100% (go)
        * *Fork reliability:* 18 nines (go)
        * *Merge reliability:* 21 nines (go)
* **Disposition:** go for launch

*Notes:* the loss of transfers irrevocably lost is disappointing but cannot be helped. Still, it is far below the loss from the Earth-L<sub5</subAnsible, which, as a matter of course, implies the loss of a clade rather than a personality. One clade was lost irrevocably, but, at the risk of sounding crass, they knew they were signing up for this, and it is always a risk for taskers. That one loss represents 0.005% of the total transfer loss, and is vanishingly small in the grand scheme of things. Congratulations, as always, for another step closer to launch.

## Attachment: history questionnaire #1

As mentioned, I am working with a historian --- or rather, three forks of the same historian --- to compile a history of the launch. Due to a certain incorrigible tricksiness, this will take the form of a mythology; something romantic to be passed down through the years. To this end, data collection is ramping up in the form of countless interviews. I have, of course, all the status reports a girl could ever want for the basic facts, all of the trials and tribulations over the last two decades, but that is only a small portion of a mythology. Should you and your superiors agree, I would like to begin the process of collecting testimonies from those phys-side.

### Concrete questions
* How long have you been working as phys-side launch director?
* What is involved with your role as phys-side launch director?
* How long have you been working with the System phys-side?
* What led you to pursue a career working with the System?
* What led you to remain phys-side rather than uploading, yourself?
* What led you to pursue your position as launch director rather than remaining in your previous position?
* Please provide a biography of yourself to whatever level of detail you feel comfortable.
* Please provide a physical description of yourself to whatever level of detail you feel comfortable.
* Do you have any hobbies?

### On the System
* How do you feel about what you know of the founding of the System?
* If you were suddenly removed from your position as director, what would you choose to do as a career in its stead?
* If you were suddenly removed from your location in the extrasystem station and returned to Earth, how would you feel and what would you expect?
* If the System shut down and all personalities irrevocably lost, how would you feel?

### Gestalt
* If you were told that, one year from now, you would die painlessly, what would you do? Would this change if you knew that your death would be painful? Would this change, in either case, if your death was seven days from now?
* If everyone but you disappeared, what would you do?
* How do you feel about being alone for extended periods of time?
* Do you remember your dreams?

### On history

* How long wilt Thou forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?
* When you become intoxicated --- whether via substance use or some natural process, such as sleep deprivation --- which of the following applies to you?
    1. Ape drunk: he leaps and sings and hollers and danceth for the heavens
    2. Lion drunk: he flings the pots about the house, calls his hostess whore, breaks the glass windows with his dagger, and is apt to quarrel with any man that speaks to him.
    3. Swine drunk: heavy, lumpish, and sleepy, and cries for a little more drink and a few more clothes.
    4. Sheep drunk: wise in his own conceit when he cannot bring forth a right word.
    5. Maudlin drunk: when a fellow will weep for kindness in the midst of his ale and kiss you, saying, "By God, Captain, I love thee; go thy ways, thou dost not think so often of me as I do of thee. If I would, if it pleased God, I could not love thee so well as I do." --- and then puts his finger in his eye and cries.
    6. Martin drunk: when a man is drunk and drinks himself sober ere he stir.
    7. Goat drunk: when in his drunkenness, he hath no mind but on lechery.
    8. Fox drunk: when he is crafty drunk as many of the Dutchmen be.
* While walking along in desert sand, you suddenly look down and see a tortoise crawling toward you. You reach down and flip it over onto its back. The tortoise lies there, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs, trying to turn itself over, but it cannot do so without your help. You are not helping. Why?
* Two by two, two by two, and twice more. We always think in binaries, in black and white. We remember history two by two. We consider the present two by two. We think of the future twice over, and twice again. I have looked back on history and seen ceaseless progress or steps backward. I look back a hundred years and see illness and failure, and I look at today and see \_\_\_\_\_?
* Oh, but to whom do I speak these words?  
  To whom do I plead my case?  
  From whence do I call out?  
  What right have I?  
  No ranks of angels will answer to dreamers,  
  No unknowable spaces echo my words.  
  Before whom do I kneel, contrite?  
  Behind whom do I await my judgment?  
  Beside whom do I face death?  
  And why wait I for an answer?
  
Please take your time, and remember that the launch takes precedence over your answers.

In friendship,

May Then My Name Die With Me of the Ode Clade

-----

May Then My Name Die With Me,

Thank you for the updated status report. I am looking forward to the launch, and will provide you the best textual description that I am able as it happens from phys-side. I will attempt to provide real-time updates, though the exigencies of the situation will take precedence. Congratulations on making it this far, and thank you for all of your help. Status report follows.

While we were largely baffled by the nature of your question, the launch commission and myself have accepted the task of aiding you and your companion in your history/mythology project. Answers(?) will follow in a separate message.

Thank you,

Douglas Hadje, MSf, PhD  
Launch director

Digital signatures:

* Douglas Hadje
* Launch commission:
    * de
    * Jonathan Finnes
    * Thomas Nash
    * Woo Hye-won
    * Hasnaa
    
## Status Report

2325-01-20 --- systime 199+364 1515

* **Station-side status:**
    * *Systems check:* Complete (go)
    * *Staff:* 100% (go)
    * *Gravity compensation:* 100% (go)
    * *Tiedowns:* 100% (go)
    * *Expected rotational impact:* Nominal (go)
    * *Rotational compensation engines:* Nominal (go)
* **Launch arm status:**
    * Green:
        * *Launch arm integrity:* 100% (go)
        * *Launch arm path:* Clear (go)
        * *Launch vehicle path:* Clear to transsolar Mars orbit (go)
        * *Helical railgun functionality:* 100% (go)
        * *Capacitor charge:* 6 nines, on track to 100% (go)
        * *Speed:* 100% (go)
        * *Expected acceleration:* Nominal (go)
        * *Expected expected jerk:* Nominal (go)
* **Launch vehicle status:**
    * Green:
        * *System surface integrity:* 100% (go)
        * *System interior integrity:* 100% (go)
        * *Sabot integrity:* 100% (go)
        * *Sabot ejection system:* Tests pass (go)
        * *RTG power rate:* Steady (go)
        * *RTG temperature:* Nominal (go)
        * *RTG pre-launch heat sink:* Nominal (go)
        * *RTG post-launch heat-sink:* Tests pass (go)
        * *RTG post-launch heat-sink deployment mechanism:* Tests pass (go)
        * *Solar sail integrity:* 100% (go)
        * *Solar sail deployment mechanism:* Tests pass (go)
        * *Solar panel integrity:* 100% (go)
        * *Solar panel deployment/retraction mechanism:* Tests pass (go)
        * *Attitude jet functionality:* 100% (go)
        * *Raw material capacity:* 100% (go)
        * *Raw material manipulator functionality:* 100% (go)
        * *Raw material manufactory functionality:* 100% (go)
        * *Dreamer Module functionality:* 100% (go)
    * Blue:
        * *System surface integrity:* 100% (go)
        * *System interior integrity:* 100% (go)
        * *Sabot integrity:* 100% (go)
        * *Sabot ejection system:* Tests pass (go)
        * *RTG power rate:* Steady (go)
        * *RTG temperature:* Nominal (go)
        * *RTG pre-launch heat sink:* Nominal (go)
        * *RTG post-launch heat-sink:* Tests pass (go)
        * *RTG post-launch heat-sink deployment mechanism:* Tests pass (go)
        * *Solar sail integrity:* 100% (go)
        * *Solar sail deployment mechanism:* Tests pass (go)
        * *Solar panel integrity:* 100% (go)
        * *Solar panel deployment/retraction mechanism:* Tests pass (go)
        * *Attitude jet functionality:* 100% (go)
        * *Raw material capacity:* 100% (go)
        * *Raw material manipulator functionality:* 100% (go)
        * *Raw material manufactory functionality:* 100% (go)
        * *Dreamer Module functionality:* 100% (go)