Distance: 12.02 light years from Earth | Content Flag: Public
Despite being assigned as a secondary process, the translation of the Cetian transmission is generating more results than direct observation. That isn’t to say I’m not making progress, although as always, everything I discover spawns more questions.
I’m approaching the sensor gathering on two broad fronts. The first is scanning the surface to try and build a picture of how they lived. I’ve built a map of the macro level, but so far have not gained any meaningful readings inside the structures I’ve nominated as cities.
One question that has puzzled me since arriving is how self-contained these cities were. In human cities, there are facilities existing separate from them. We’ve searched for signs of industry, or farming, or other activity around the cities but so far found nothing definite. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they didn’t exist. The violence of what the planet suffered could have wiped out any trace of anything less substantial than the cities. It’s also possible that all of their activities were conducted within the cities.
We have detected the remnants of what I believe to be small buildings on both poles of the planet. They’re tiny compared to the cities, and they’re so damaged it’s tricky to pick them out from the surrounding terrain. I can’t find any physical connection between them or the cities. It’s curious why they only exist at the poles. Their positioning has to be significant in some way.
As well as the long range archaeology, we’ve continued monitoring the facility in orbit around Tau Ceti e. For a relatively small device like the probe, the power source is most likely similar to radioactive isotope decay, the same as used in human deep space probes – although I should probably have learned by now the danger of assumptions when dealing with the Cetians!
However, the facility orbiting Tau Ceti e is a different system. Its continuous sending of the data to Earth requires a power source greater by an order of magnitude. Whatever the source, there is no trace of it in our sensor readings.
I’ve remarked before on the thermal properties of the materials both objects were constructed with. I also wonder if perhaps there is an unexpected efficiency with their power technology that might be of use.
My previous assessment of my remaining life span has intruded on my thinking. There is so much work to do here. Even a decade of research will be insufficient to adequately tell the history of these Cetians. After all, it’s clear that this race is no more, so their memorial is this transmission and whatever I learn in the meantime.
No, I need more time to do my work.
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