Final Log Fragment Retrieved from the Derelict Hauler MV Ironside
Salvage Log: Survival Pod NM-17c – Recovery by MV Ironside
Filed: Sol 142 (1645 MTC), Year 2317 // Logged by: Chief Cargo Officer CCO Voss
[8 amendments, final amendment: Sol 145, Year 2317]
During scheduled transit from Caliban Mining Operations to Mars Orbital Station, ore hauler MV Ironside investigated a transponder anomaly. Upon arrival, a structurally-intact survival pod (NM-17c) was brought into Cargo Hold 3. Environmental controls were non-functional. Interior temperature stable at -12°C. No identifiable crew, living or deceased.
Recovery team, consisting of Capt. Harlow, Lt. Renner, and HFC Mitchell, entered the pod at 1506 MTC. Crew reported unease.
Seven items were recovered and catalogued below in order of discovery.
ITEM-01 // Personal Thermal Beverage Unit
Model: Civilian issue, GenTek Series 4. Exterior: matte black with faded decal – illegible aside from partial text: “—OR DAD.” Internal reservoir temperature: 37°C at retrieval despite the ambient temperature of -12°C. Contents: none. Unit was powered off, with no remaining battery charge. When beverage unit was retrieved, recovery team reported psychic discomfort and a “heaviness, like something was suddenly watching” them. EM scan detected nothing unusual.
ITEM-02 // Pocket Flashlight
Model: Civilian-grade, cracked lens. Battery measured at 3% charge. HFC Mitchell reports that upon retrieval, unit spontaneously activated, and the beam briefly illuminated the word “STAY” on the far wall. Upon blinking, HFC Mitchell indicated the word vanished. Other team members did not see any light or word. Lt. Renner collected the flashlight after HFC Mitchell declined further contact. Flashlight was non-operational upon return to MV Ironside.
ITEM-03 // Vacuum-Sealed “Bread”
Slices: Two. Generic synthetic cellulose-based bakery item. Freshness date: 2273. No decay present. Three slices discovered. One later missing. Lt. Renner eventually admitted to eating it but couldn’t explain why, only that it “tasted like her childhood.” She grew reclusive upon questioning.
ITEM-04 // Bent Paperclip
Folded into a geometry that seemed to defy Euclidean logic. When placed under a directional light beam, it cast three distinct shadows that slowly moved even though the light source remained stationary.
ITEM-05 // Wool Socks
One Pair, mismatched red (left) and gray (right). Damp on retrieval. DNA screening inconclusive: mostly human, with unidentified secondary material. As a precaution, socks were placed in the bio-hazard containment chamber.
ITEM-06 // Memory Slate
Model: Mnemosyne-7, non-networked, compact neural-interfacing data tablet. No external power source, yet activated upon contact by Capt. Harlow. Capt. Harlow reported, and HFC Mitchell confirmed, the slate displayed an auto-looping message on boot-up: “You’ve opened the door. I see you now.” Message cycled for approximately 20 seconds, and then the slate powered down. HFC Mitchell reports hearing footsteps behind him, but saw no one. Inspection of the device found its storage drive was blank.
ITEM-07 // Broken Wristwatch
Model: Analog, likely antique, crystal face cracked. Time frozen at 02:47 (no time coordinate).
[AMENDMENTS]
[Sol 142 / 1745 MTC – Upon follow-up inspection, flashlight again briefly illuminated, but no word was observed. Flashlight promptly went out and would not re-engage. Around the same time, HFC Mitche:1 suff3red a severe nosebleed requiring medical attention.]
[Sol 142 / 2230 MTC – Six hours after retrieval of the bread from the pod, the remaining two slices have molded and were recycled.]
[Sol 143 / 0615 MTC – Ship AI has deduced the shadows cast by the paperclips represent triangulation vectors. Navigational analy5is indic#ted th/ vect0rs point to the exact galactic position of Earth and were rendered with enough precision to serve as an “interplanetary compass.”]
[Sol 143 / 0945 MTC – Analysis of HFC Mitchell’s audio log in the moments after the discovery of the memory slate detected no footsteps, but the ship AI detecT3d four dis+1nct $ignatures consistent with breathing. Following th# @&@/ysis, the AI suddenly went offline. Capt. Harlow has been unable to rouse it. He says the AI’s self-maintaining code has been corrupted from an outside source, but given the AI’s shielding, this is not possible. Only Capt. Harlow has access to that code.]
[Sol 143 / 2230 MTC – The socks have disappeared. Review of the ship’s internal video showed no one removed them — they simply vanished from the chamber. Adjusting the video’s audio gain revealed a sound signature like paper rustling. At the precise m0menT th# socks van1$hed, a voice was detected, so faint it almost escaped notice: “Don’t g0 hom3.” The vocal signature did not match any current or past member of the crew.]
[Sol 144 / 1015 MTC – Lt. Renner has loc<ed h3rse1f in her quarters and do$s n0t ans*er requests to enter. She hums a song that we haven’t identified (at#ached audio file 73). Capt. Har!ow has requested a psych-evaluation upon arrival at Mars OS. Unclear if Lt. Renner’s condition is related to the bread or mission fatigue.]
[Sol 144 / 1530 MTC – For the pa$t tw0 nig#ts, all crew (except Lt. Renner) have rep0rted disrpted sle3p. All crew have awak#ned at exactly 0247 MTC. Upon further investigation, I have determined we all exprienced dreams with a common element: a fig#re w@aring m1smatched socks. The 0thers say they never see its face, but I think they are lying. In my dream, just before I awaken, the figure turns, and its face is a mockery of my own — it has no mouth, but I aw@Ke scr@amin&*1$3##]
[Sol 145 / 0545 MTC – A sealed Earth-style letter addressed to “You” (ITEM-08?) wa$ f0und in t#e l@b. No return address. No st@mp. Handwriting do3s not match any of the crew. We argued over who would open it, but no 0ne would touch #$^1%!@$%%$@pt. Har1ow ordered the pod sea|ed and jettisond with a warning beac0n. I fear it’s to0 l@te. W3 h#ve a1ready open3d the d00r, let whatev#@!$# it is out. Capt. Harlow wants to continue to Mars, but M1tche/l and I know we cannot take it home. We WILL not take it ho$##@1+*%&//
If you’re r3ading th1s:
Stay awa#!#5$.
Do not touch the bev3rage unit.
And for the love of G0d —
DON’T OPEN THE LET#!$%^###///
About the author:
D. Thomas Minton is a marine biologist and SF writer who lives in the mountains of British Columbia. He assumes this is not the most probable combination of events. His short fiction has appeared in Asimov’s, Lightspeed and Apex Magazines.
Find D. Thomas Minton:
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