When there's trouble...

Robin's log, 2/17

I've decided to keep a log summarizing important information and discoveries made so far, for everyone's reference and to aid new arrivals.

Speaking of which, we had a new arrival yesterday, 2/16. His name's Cyril.

Shadow the Hedgehog arrived 2/9. The rest of us arrived 2/1: Pvt. Leonard Church, Freelancer Tex, Col. Samantha Carter, James May, Richard Hammond, the Count of Monte Cristo, and myself, Robin. We seem to have been taken from different universes and different times; there's no clear pattern to who's been taken, although Church and Tex know each other, as do May and Hammond. I expect people will continue to arrive; there are beds enough for fifty people.

None of us remember "volunteering". We don't know anything about who built this place, who brought us here, or their purpose for doing so beyond what is contained in the letter we've all received upon our arrival. ISES ("Isis"), the user-interface software for the Icelus Station Essential Systems computer, claims not to have any further information in her database about N.A.S.S.E.S. or the purpose of this station. What we've been able to get out of ISES is this: we're at Icelus Station, a self-sufficient colony in the Kuiper belt of Earth's solar system. The colony is located on an asteroid called Icelus; Icelus is tethered to a larger asteroid called Morpheus and the whole system is spinning, providing Earth-normal gravity in the colony. Our current position is supposedly 62.1 AU from the Sun; aphelion is 63 AU, perihelion is 32 AU. The asteroids are pretty typical Kuiper belt bodies: primarily water ice with ammonia, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane ices.

We've been broadcasting and listening in on various radio frequencies, but have made no contact. Furthermore, Shadow says his ability to teleport is restricted, somehow; he can teleport within the Icelus-Morpheus system, but is unable to teleport elsewhere. It seems clear that not only have we been isolated, but we are actively being prevented from leaving.

We've been provided with food stores that, at current rate of consumption, will last us about three months. We've also been provided livestock and seeds and starters for hydroponic and aeroponic crops, with which we could support ourselves indefinitely. We're working hard to get the "greenhouse" levels up and running while we try to figure out how to get out of here.

The colony seems to be entirely self-contained, and most systems are run automatically by the ISES computer. Air and water is recycled, temperature is regulated by heat exchange with the outside, power is solar. We're protected from cosmic rays by an electromagnetic field projected around the colony. We seem to have been provided with tools and replacement parts to repair anything that breaks or gets damaged. We're trying to make regular surveys of the colony to make sure we know of any maintenance problems as soon as possible. Sam Carter and I are also working on a way to distill water from the ice in case an emergency requires it.

Outside conditions are pretty hazardous. Ladders, stairways, and walkways provide access to the solar panels on the side of Icelus and the rotational thrusters beneath the asteroid, but one slip and someone could fall off the world. The curvature of the asteroid blocks radio transmissions as well. The ice contains hazardous chemicals, so it's very important to de-ice before reentering the airlock. Supposedly there's a car that'll take someone across the tether to Morpheus, but so far no one's made the journey; Shadow's the only one who's been to the other asteroid.

...So that's it. We've got a duty roster up in the kitchen to make sure we do the necessary work to keep ourselves alive until we can be rescued or escape. Otherwise our time is our own.

Updates periodically.