LOG 3: Interceptor

The following is a romanticised extract from the Interceptor’s log, registered by the core operational module and communicated to the D02.2 spacecraft. “47288181 hU away!” ~ «Yes, closing in!» ~ “Keep steady.” ~ «Course?» ~ “Course correct.” Exception: malformed data chunk «The last time its presence was recorded, 1984; once more in 2024, but this may have been a fluke—since then? Nothing.» ~ “1984?” ~ «Gregorian… 2024 still unconfirmed.» Exception: malformed data chunk WARNING: hibernation enabled WARNING: hibernation ended in NaN U “Seems like the faint blip on the radar has been there for a while.” ~ «A malfunction?» ~ “Could be.Likely with this old hardware, but can’t confirm.” ~ «This system hasn’t been updated in…» ~ “40 Mega aeons!” They laugh—well, not really, but a chuckle is logged. “The blip is faint, but how fit is this detector?” ~ «Surely that should’ve been so worn out by now… it’s miraculous there’s been any blip at all.» “3738286 hU.” «Is it even worth it at that point? » ~ “I calculated the chance we’ll make it at 3458%.” ~ «I don’t think that’s correct. » ~ “Okay, how about 0.4%.” ~ «Is that a lot? » ~ “I think it’s close to an absolute” ~ «Right… perhaps we should just go. » ~ “Not like we aren’t already going.” WARNING: hibernation enabled WARNING: hibernation ended in 3618855 U «How much time has passed since my last message? » ~ “373827 hU.” ~ «Hibernation speeds things up a bit. » ~ “Sure does, and I enjoy it too… uhm, together.” ~ «Just very unfortunate that we have lost… one moment, just retrieving it from cold storage, J4-00n.» ~ “Yes, J4-00n was good company. A darn good sleeper besides.” ~ «Sometimes you have to minimise load though—and that’s what J also was. » ~ “S-sure thing—but J was good at calculation.” «And you aren’t good? » ~ “Uhm, yes certainly, and very vital for our functioning… 63722 hU.” «Now that’s close, right? » “Potentially so, yes.” They log an awkward silence, some malformed data, and on they go.