Pastel Community Update (March 23, 2023)
The next generation NFT focused blockchain. Certifiable authenticity. Permanent storage. Negligible fees. Build, secure, and scale your Web3 ecosystem with Pastel.
The Pastel Team has been extremely busy with a number of major development updates, partnership rollouts, and product releases. Check back here each week for new developments
Check Pastel channels for:
⭐Weekly community snapshots shared across our various channels.
🐾Quarterly updates released via our newsletter.
☎️Weekly community town halls / AMAs directly with the Pastel team. Come prepared with your questions, comments, and feedback!
📣Monthly Twitter Spaces with u/doodlestone and u/panthony
Key Updates:
🚨Partnership with Astar Network🚨
Pastel Network is excited to announce that it will be working with @AstarNetwork, a layer1 parachain in the Polkadot ecosystem. Astar provides the infrastructure for building dApps with EVM and WASM smart contracts offering developers true interoperability with cross-consensus messaging (XCM) and a cross-virtual machine (XVM). Astar and Pastel will collaborate with the goal of providing Pastel’s Web3 tooling solutions — Sense and Cascade — to its NFT ecosystem. This collaboration signifies the continued successes of both Pastel and Astar, and is a massive step forward for the overall NFT ecosystem. It is a testament to the growing need for NFT reliability, security and verifiability, solved via Pastel’s advanced infrastructure.
Learn more on Medium
In case you missed it, please listen to our twitter space with @ArtZero_io, @agoric, and @Kryha_io teams discussing all things NFT Security & Marketplaces.
🚨Discord Banner Competition🚨
We're looking for creative people to build a unique banner for our Discord page. You can win up to 100 USDT by creating and submitting a banner on our Discord. See below for more details on how to win! Good luck, learn more here🎨
🚨SmartMint on Twitter 🚨
It is our great pleasure to announce that SmartMint will now have a Twitter presence. The SmartMint twitter account has officially launched.
Check out our collaboration with @Agoric and @kryhia_io as SmartMint was used to mint their work.
We are always looking for artists to collaborate with, please inquire on any social media platforms
🚨Addition of Status Page🚨
We're continuously #building to ensure that our users have the most powerful Web3/NFT infrastructure at their disposal
We recently released a Status Page so you can monitor the performance of our infrastructure & services in real time. Check it out here!
🚨Wrapped PSL🚨
Wrapped PSL or wPSL exists to transfer tokens across platforms. We have noticed the buzz about wPSL (wrapped PSL), so we’ve created a video about it! 🔗wPSL holders can store on wallets such as MetaMask 💹You can also trade on Ethereum DEXs
wPSL is available on Uniswap. Watch our video and learn more here
🚨Pastel Testnet Faucet Release🚨
Our Testnet Faucet is now live. The launch of this independent network enables users to obtain LSP (Pastel Testnet Tokens) to experiment with and develop in the Pastel Testnet environment. This gives users the ability to experiment with Pastel features without having to spend valuable PSL on the mainnet.
Learn more about Pastel's Testnet Faucet
🚨Becoming a Supernode Operator🚨
Become a Supernode operator today & gain increased credibility in the validator community & earn exclusive rewards from the foundation, such as PSL or NFT airdrops, in addition to receiving Block & Transactional Rewards.
🚨Cascade Protocol🚨
Cascade has numerous concrete advantages over competing systems such as IPFS & Arweave, particularly when it comes to censorship resistance, data permanence & data accessibility.
Check out our technical paper on Cascade, Pastel's storage layer. Cascade is an extremely powerful & robust storage system for true data permanence that is both completely decentralized & highly scalable. Learn more here
🚨Sense Protocol🚨
Sense is a Near-Duplicate NFT detection protocol powered by the Pastel Network. Assess the relative rareness of a given NFT against near-duplicate metadata on networks like Ethereum, Solana, etc to prevent prevalent scams or theft. Try it yourself here and watch it work here
🚨Monet 1.2 Mainnet Release 🚨
The Pastel team has been working hard on this upgrade that will be live soon. Here are some features that will be included in the upgrade. Learn more about Monet 1.2 Mainnet release. Users will have the opportunity to experiment with Monet before the release using testnet.
-Storage challenges in Cascade guarantee ongoing data permanence & decentralization on the network across active & compliant Supernodes. -Activation of Supernode Health and State Challenges: Similar to Proof of Storage, Health & State Challenges will guarantee the ongoing active and enabled state of each Supernode client on the network.
-Stabilization of Sense Protocol: Improvements to Chrome Driver usage, updates to Webtools 1.3, and implementation of additional tickets. -Release of the OpenAPI Gateway: Production-ready Gateway will be deployed via the Mainnet with support for a number of new endpoints, asynchronous execution, Ansible support for independent deployment, and a graphical user interface for interaction.
🚨2023 Roadmap and Review of 2022🚨
Pastel released its 2023 roadmap, including a review of 2022. Pastel Network 2022 in review and roadmap for 2023 shows great progress made in the previous year and much promise for the year ahead.
Upcoming year

• Expedite development release cycles of Testnet and Mainnet upgrades — such as with versions Monet and Van Gogh
• Build stronger cross-chain bridges, specifically with Ethereum Polygon, and Polkadot
• Enhance SmartMint and develop new features
• Refine user and partner experience with the roll-out of new technical resources and tools
• Expanding our network of partners across more L2s, DApps, enterprise user-cases, native L1s, and beyond
• Further increase our exposure to the community of technical users, non-technical users, and creators
• Launch of Mobile Wallet as well as new PastelId APIs to work with light wallets
• Supernode Storage Challenges. A novel mechanism by which Pastel Supernodes verify that other nodes are following the rules of the protocol and storing all files appropriately.

Upcoming Mainnet Releases

• Q1: Mainnet Upgrade: Monet Release 1.2
• Q2: Mainnet Upgrade: Monet Release 1.3
• Q3: Mainnet Upgrade: Van Gogh Release 2.0
• Q4 Mainnet Upgrade: Van Gogh Release 2.1

🚨News and Developments🚨
-Pastel in the news
📀CoinTelegraph looks into industry leaders’ tips (inlcuding Pastel’s own Anthony Georgiades) for regulatora
🐱Catcoin discusses the Astar partnerhship
⚓Pastel Networks co-founder, Anthony Georgiades talks about what regulators can do in this Cointelegraph article
💡 Check out this Medium article on how Sense is revolutionizing NFT provenance written by Ima-Abasi Pius Joseph
🌡️ Pastel Networks co-founder, Anthony Georgiades talks about his optimism for the market in this CoinDesk article
👀 CoinDesk features co-founder, Anthony Georgiades, and what Coinbase's transition means for crypto
🌵Bitcoin Insider discusses how Pastel protects and stores artists’ NFTs
💚Check out how Pastel Network protects and stores artist’s NFTs in this Bitcoin Insider article.
-Crypto News
⭐CoinDesk Twitter provides you with daily crypto updates
🌼CoinDesk delves into the battle of crypto vs traditional finance
🌀ABC calls cryptocurrency a “bystander” in SVB collapse
👛CoinTelegraph has some interesting insights on the market and blockchains
🌺CoinTelegraph shares how to bridge the gap to web3
-Pastel Archive
🚧We released a Builder’s Guide for ecosystem partners integrating w/ Pastel. Come build with us here.
🌯wPSL or wrapped is explained in this video and
🚧Pastel is completely open-source. Check out what we are working on here.
💫If you could not attend our Twitter Space with u/wondermundo on 2/17, hear it here
🌀Testnet tutorial video
🏆Learn more about Sense and Cascade
🔦Want to try out Sense for yourself? Upload your NFT here to obtain the rareness score of your NFT.
📹Check out this youtube demonstration showing what happened when we compared OpenSea’s new duplicate detection system to Sense Sense Comp Analysis
-Pastel news and essays
♠️NFT real estate explained
⭐Astar Partnership intro
🖌️Monet 1.2 preview
🐋NFTs and climate change
🚀Value of NFTs explained
If you have not done so already, please take a moment to join our growing community base:
🐓 Follow Pastel on Twitter
🙉Follow Smartmint on Twitter
👾Join Pastel's Discord Server
👽Join Pastel on Reddit
✈️Join Pastel’s Telegram
🖥️Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Hi Ladies, I am a freelance writer and I had put up a post a few weeks ago regarding sharing our writing with others in this community anonymously of course. I received so many positive responses on that post but I have no idea how to go about this so what do you guys suggest? And to start off with I am sharing my story which I hope will bring joy for a few moments.
Coconut Trees
In a small town in southern India, in the coastal state of Kerala, where the banana fritters were delicious and the heat was scorching, Prema was living her quiet life as a high school teacher. The small town had a school of around 500 students out of which Prema taught Chemistry to 100 of them.
She was 45, a wife to a much older man, a mother to a 20-year-old son and a daughter-in-law who took care of her husband's old mother. She was a quiet but strict teacher who rarely gave her students any grace marks or extensions for classwork.
Life was the same every day. She woke up early, made breakfast and lunch, cleaned the house, gave her mother-in-law her medicines and ensured the old lady was occupied watching the soap operas on television and then went to school. She returned home, cooked dinner, checked on her mother-in-law and graded papers or prepared exam question papers. Her son was away in the big city pursuing his degree so she had some breathing room from her motherly duties. Her husband was a Government official who came back home by 6 p.m. and spent the rest of his day watching the news or meeting his childhood friends at one of their houses.
"Can you check when this movie is releasing? I want to watch it in the theatre" her mother-in-law asked her during dinner. "You can barely go for walks and you want to go to the theatre" Prema responded. "You just have to take me by rickshaw to the theatre and then I can make it happen, I will not watch this movie on TV, it's not going to happen" "Well you can take yourself then because I'm not taking you," Prema told her. "You are not that busy, I see you on your phone all the time once you're back from school," her mother-in-law said with conviction. "I keep an eye on my students' social media accounts, their parents have let them go wild" Prema responded. "You are up to no good," her mother-in-law said ending the conversation with a smirk.
She had grown tired of being a caretaker over the years. The rigid routine she had to follow to keep up with motherhood, teaching, marriage and being a caretaker to an older woman with deteriorating health had made her develop this disciplinarian personality. If she became laid back it was reflected in her teaching and her mother-in-law falling sick.
Despite the monotonous life she led, Prema had a secret. A secret she liked to keep to herself. A secret that could cause her neighbours to start spinning the wheels of gossip.
She was part of a gardening group on Facebook where she met Joy. He was a middle-aged man from the North East. He stayed in Shillong, he was a tour guide and an avid gardener. He was also a father to 2 daughters. His wife and he had separated several years ago. This was her secret, her closest companion was a stranger online.
Prema's son introduced her to the gardening group when she struggled with growing certain vegetables in their backyard. They would grow to a certain level and then stop. It started with group conversations and then became private messages between Joy and her. He was why her avocados were bearing fruit and her spinach was blossoming.
It had been 2 years of talking online every day after their duties were done to their families. It was her favourite time of the day. They would discuss what they did at work, the status of their gardens and life in general. Joy would send her beautiful images of the Eastern valleys, waterfalls and treks he would go on as a tour guide and Prema would share serene images of Kerala's backwaters and beaches.
She dressed in her brightest saree and went to the temple near the river and video called Joy when she sat near the water so that they could enjoy talking with a view. They commented on the local fishermen, the changes they made to their cooking off late and how they wanted to get away from their responsibilities for a short while.
Why was it wrong for her to want a companion to share her thoughts with? She chose to share her life with her husband who she had a duty toward but did they have anything in common other than talking about their son? Their last conversation was about the electricity bill.
Prema's marriage was neither extraordinary nor terrible, it was just normal. Her husband liked to give his opinion on anything and everything, he was a loud, outspoken person. He was also very specific about his meals. He was a good father to their son and he felt he was a good husband as well. They just didn't have a relationship outside of their son, his mother's issues and fish curry.
So why did Prema and Joy never meet in person? Prema had no excuse to give her family as to why she would want to go to Shillong. Their idea of taking a vacation was going to Munnar which was just a few hours away or visiting some temples in Tamil Nadu and that was it. She had no family in the North East to visit nor any friends to use as a reason to visit. Joy had the same reasoning from his side.
They decided to remain online companions, their conversations and interaction over text and calls were just about enough. Sometimes in life, you choose to make things uncomplicated and they had chosen this path.
Did they ever get caught? They knew how to keep it discreet from their families. They had a few close calls with the suspicious child or spouse wondering who they talk to so often but it didn't result in them being revealed. They remained each other's invisible companions in crime.
Until one day, the calls and messages stopped. And Prema had nobody to talk to. She wanted to tell someone about her student stealing some lab equipment that she had caught and reprimanded. She wanted to talk about the pumpkins that were now growing wild in her garden. She wanted to talk about how much she disliked the latest Mohanlal movie but there was no Joy. He was her only friend/lover whatever you wanted to call it.
She tried to use her limited stalking skills to find out what had happened to him but she could never find out. There was nothing much you could do with a number that was now listed as invalid.
The days were busy but lonely and she always wondered if she had said something to cause this to happen. Or if Joy was physically harmed or even worse, dead! Many times she wished she could ask someone for help or talk to someone about Joy but she couldn't trust anyone with such a big secret. So she suffered in silence nursing the loneliness and hurt that followed.
"Your belly is looking bigger than last month," Prema told her husband. "Bigger?! It looks the same. You are noticing my belly more than necessary" he responded. "Well, if something that big is in front of my face I can't help but notice it," she said, making a face at him.
"I thought you bought me a red saree for Meenu’s wedding, this is such a drab colour!" her mother-in-law was yelling "You don't need to wear red, you're 80, not 50, it's not an old person's colour" Prema responded sarcastically. "You can't tell me what colour to wear! I want a red saree, I am telling my son about this" her mother-in-law said in rage. "You can try, you're not getting one since I already paid for this one," Prema said ending the argument.
It was cruel to take it out on her husband and her mother-in-law but she couldn't control it. She was angry and she had to direct it somewhere. They seemed to think it was her natural behaviour anyway.
The years flew by and Prema learned with much difficulty to let go. Her mother-in-law had passed and her son was working in an IT firm in Pune. She was close to her retirement from school and her husband had already retired.
They took comfort in each other's company, now that they were all they had left. They learnt to talk about things other than their son and fish curry. They even played a game of chess every week and took trips together to visit their son. He occasionally helped her out with her vegetable garden until he killed the chillies and she asked him to stop helping.
One year her son wanted to give them a trip to any place of their choice for their wedding anniversary as a gift. "We're too old to be going on trips," his father told him. "Everyone's parents are going on trips outside India and I am asking you to just go to Kashmir". "Kashmir is too far and too cold, I am not going to cold places" his father informed him. "I would like to go to the North East, I heard it's beautiful and it's not a cold place" Prema suggested. "Fine, you get good tea in Assam so I am okay," her husband told the both of them.
Their journey started in the beautiful Kaziranga national park in Assam and then moved on to the root bridges of Meghalaya. It was their last day, it was in Shillong, and the city was crowded and had long traffic jams. "We came to get away and this place is no getaway!" her husband complained. It was when her husband was taking his long afternoon nap that Prema decided to get away.
She took a taxi to the Upper Nongrim Hills, the address she had saved many years ago. Joy had always spoken about how his house overlooked the hills and that he enjoyed waking up to the view every morning.
She found a small pale yellow house on the highest floor of an old building. It had the nameplate 'Sangma' written on it. She was afraid to ring the doorbell and hear the bad news if Joy was dead or hurt. But, she had to know, it was now or never. An older woman opened the door "Can I meet Joy Sangma?" she asked her. She was half expecting her to say that this was the wrong address but the woman nodded. Prema introduced herself as being part of one of Joy's tours in the past and now that she was visiting again and wanted to hire him for another tour. She deduced that the older woman was his wife based on how she suspiciously asked Prema several questions. She was asked to wait outside.
She anxiously looked at her watch, her husband would wake up in an hour. She looked up and there he was. Joy didn't look like he had aged at all. He had some grey hair at his temples and a few wrinkles but otherwise he looked much younger than his current age. He even still wore the same style of clothes as his photos from years ago. A pastel-coloured shirt with jeans and a neck scarf.
They stood looking at each other for an uncomfortable and awkward few seconds. "You always looked nice in yellow," he told her. More silence followed. "Are you here because you're angry?" Joy asked her. "No, I'm here for closure" she responded. "That will take some time," he told her in a quiet sad voice. "She caught you didn't she? Your wife" she asked him "We were separated but it was better for our children that we get back together. I did not lie about the separation " he answered with a sigh.
"Can I ask why you never told me the reason and ended it?" Prema asked him, ignoring his previous statement. "Because I was ashamed that my secret was caught and everyone in my family found out, I didn't know how to tell you, I didn’t know how you would react and it was best to end it without saying anything further”.
Instead of a long explanation and an even more extended conversation, Prema decided to leave. Her taxi was waiting for her, she had 30 minutes left before her husband woke up. "Goodbye Joy, I regret pining for you over the years. Sadly, I always imagined this moment so differently in my head", she said. "I never once forgot about you, I thought about you every day over the years...I just didn't want to continue" he told her, his voice filled with guilt as she was walking away.
The next day, Prema was on the flight on her way home, and her husband was snoring in the seat next to hers. It was a night flight and the lights were off, all the passengers were in deep slumber. She allowed herself to finally break down.
The tears slowly rolled down her eyes, she sobbed quietly as she remembered the events from the previous day. All the hurt and anger she had been carrying over the years at herself and Joy was released. She let herself cry until her body stopped feeling heavy with emotion.
It was done, the truth had set her free. Nobody knew what had happened and nobody needed to know, it was her secret and it would remain that way. She was going home a changed woman.

Growing up, my mum had always taught me that it was okay to believe that something else could be out there. Ghosts, demons, aliens: we believe in them all. And from a young age, she told me tons of her true personal experiences with the supernatural and real-life awful people.
But there's this one story that still gets to me, because it involves both.
My mum was born in the U.K., but from age 7-14, she was raised in Austrailia. At age 7 or 8, her dad took my mum and her two brothers (my uncles) for a holiday in a cabin, owned by one of her dad's friends, in the middle of the outback. I think it's important to mention it was the Australian outback so you can get a real idea for how truly isolated this place was. No one around for miles and miles. There was a lake on the property and sparingly few trees with a bridge that curved over the water. They were booked to stay there for a couple of weeks. At the end of this story, you'll see why they didn't make it past 10 days.
The first few days of the holiday went by and nothing too out of the ordinary happened, but my mum could tell that there was something immediately off about this man that owned the cabin (let's call him the owner). The owner apparently tended to hang around the kids (i.e. my mum and her brothers) a lot and was constantly asking them questions that seemed to get more and more personal and innappropriate as time went on. Though it made my mother uncomfortable, she was raised to be polite so she usually answered his questions with a smile. After all, she was only 7 or 8 so she barely knew any better. Bearing in mind, this was whilst her dad wasn't around. He would be on the property somewhere as he was a good father that would never leave his kids unattended, but as this owner was his friend, he didn't mind leaving his kids with him in another room as they knew each other. Also it's worth mentioning that this story is from the 60's, my mum was born in 1957; parenting was much different back then.
As the days went by, this owner started to get a bit too close for comfort in my mum's eyes. While he liked her brothers just as well, he seemed to take a particular liking to my mother. Again, she is almost 8 years old and he was a fully grown man. His comments towards her turned more and more creepy, bordering paedophilic. Naturally, my mum started to fear the owner. She had wanted to say something to her father but worried he would just thinking she's being silly. But one fateful night, her fears became a reality. When her dad was in the bathroom getting ready for bed and her brothers were already tucked in, the owner took my mum aside in the dimly lit hallway, grasping her arm, and said the following to her:
"Meet me on the lake bridge at midnight tonight. And if you tell anyone where you're going, especially your daddy, your brothers won't make it to see the sunrise."
Mum told me that was the first time she had ever been frozen fom fear. Not knowing what to do or say, she simply nodded, tears in her eyes, and ran off to her bedroom that she shared with her brothers.
The hour of midnight drew closer and closer and mum hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep. The moonlight was the only source of light shining in through the windows in front the beds. She didn't tell me much about how the room looked, only that there was this big clock hanging on the wall, tick-tocking by that she could not stop staring at. She was terrified, thinking of all the possible outcomes. What would happen if she didn't go? Or the scarier, what would happen if she did?
It was then that mum's eyes transfixed on something she had only ever read about in stories but never in real life. A shadowy figure stood directly at the end of the bed.
For a brief fleeting moment, she thought it to be the owner, but realised quickly that it couldn't have been, because she could see the window behind it through the figure. Mum said it was unclear to tell whether this shadow figure resembled a man or woman. Just that it was simply there and she was very scared.
It was a few minutes dangerously close to midnight and the shadowy figure started to come closer to the bed. Mum brought her duvet up to just underneath her eyes in terror, silenced in shock that it never even occured to her to shout out for her sleeping brothers in the same room. She just sat there shivering.
A minute to midnight and a whispered voice rent the still air, a voice that she could only assume was coming from the shadow. It said:
"Don't go."
Suddenly, midnight struck and the figure turned into a floating mass of smokey shadow and began circling faster and faster around her bed. It was saying the same thing over and over again:
"Don't go, don't go, it's not safe, don't go!"
As it continued to race around her bed in an endless loop, mum pulled the cover over her head like any of us used to do when we were scared as a child, and stayed there until it eventually stopped. She didn't move all night and never left to go and meet the owner.
The rising sun inevitably shone through the window and gave my mum the courage to unveil herself from the duvet. She had not slept the entire night. But she knew she wasn't crazy. With the comfort that the morning had finally arrived and that she could hear her brothers quietly snoring, she shot out of bed and ran to her father's bedroom to wake him.
She told him everything. From the way the owner had been talking to her and her brothers, to the owner asking her to meet him late at night, to the shadowy figure that stopped her from leaving the room. She didn't care that she sounded silly, all she knew is that she was scared and that she needed her dad. Her dad (my grandfather) did not need any more convincing than that. He believed her entirely, that is simply the type of man he was. He had no shadow of a doubt (pun intended) that she was telling the truth. He quietly took her back to her bedroom where her brothers were now awake. Mentioning nothing of the shadowy figure, her dad asked her brothers about the owner's behaviour and they confirmed everything my mum had said.
That morning, the dad didn't leave their side as he helped them pack up their belongings and dashed out of there, without even saying goodbye. Once home, my mum's dad called the police to tell them what had happened (excluding the supernatural part of course) and that they insisted they check the guy out for the safety of his family. An arrest was made immediately. The police already knew who this was.
It turned out that the owner of that cabin, the guy who had pretended to be friends with my mum's dad, was a convicted paedofile, rapsist and murderer that had been on the run for years. His name and photo was in the newspaper the following week. The police told my grandfather that my mum was very smart for choosing not to go and meet the owner on that bridge.
As my mum grew older, she told me she thought more and more about that holiday. And how if the shadowy figure hadn't have turned up in her room that night and scared her to stay in her bed, that she may not have ever left the Australian outback alive.

So... yeah. This chapter took way longer to write than I had intended it to. Mostly because life got in the way and partly because trees are apparently the hardest thing to write about in the english language (or at least they are to my poor non-native mind).
Add in the fact that some large chunks of the text had to be rewritten a couple of times before I felt even slightly comfortable with posting it (because what even is a 'pacing') and you get the picture. Worse yet, life still hasn't gotten out of the way, so future chapters might also take longer.
With all of that out of the way, here's the new chapter, where a human and a teddy bear go see some tall wooden bois.
​
Memory transcription subject: Thraia, Physician of the Zurulian Expeditionary Relief Force
Date [standardized human time]: May 29, 2137
“So you really aren’t gonna tell me where we’re going?”
“Nope. A surprise’s a surprise.”
I let out a loud groan in frustration, though it was doubtful Robert would have heard it from where he was. “You’re insufferable sometimes, you know that?”
“I’ve been told many a time, yes.”
I just shook my head. There really was no arguing with him at this point. If I hadn’t gotten an answer out of him in the two hours we’d spent sitting on a train on our way here, or the hour-long car ride after that, there was no hope he’d say anything until we made it to wherever he was taking me.
I took a moment to let my sight drift upward. The thin canopy formed by the trees that grew alongside the path shredded the light of Earth’s Sun into thousands of tiny beams, forming a spotted pattern over the sea of crunchy dead leaves below.
Robert walked several paces ahead of me, looking back every couple minutes to make sure he wasn’t leaving me behind. His gaze was otherwise fixed in a forward position, not paying much mind to the world around him.
I guessed it was logical. He was probably more than used to the natural beauty of his world. Me, on the other hand… I could never get enough of it.
Back in Los Angeles, it was all ruin and destruction as far as the eye could see. To this day, months after the fact, work was still ongoing in clearing paths through the seas of rubble, and every now and then, they’d find some more remains, ready to be crossed off a missing persons list tens of thousands long.
While working with the relief teams during the initial aftermath of the attacks, I’d hardly had the time to do much sightseeing. It was only after a couple of months had passed and the amount of survivors found and treated each day had diminished to a trickle, that the higher-ups decided to switch up the strategy.
The original plan had been for us to leave Earth once human authorities were able to get a handle on the situation. Instead, after the reveal of the Federation’s vile manipulation of the Galaxy, Fleet high command saw an opportunity to score a propaganda victory back home: our forces would be slowly pulled out of Earth, rather than all at once, under the justification of ‘helping to uplift humanity’s medical knowledge’. With this, the government could show our people, and the Galaxy at large, that long-term cooperation with the predators was both possible and safe, which could go a long way to further discredit federal indoctrination.
Things had become more bearable after that. My team and I were reassigned to a major hospital in San Francisco, where we spent the next few months helping improve the… primitive healing methods used by the humans. The lighter workload meant we could actually afford some free time, which I’d personally chosen to spend traveling throughout the city and its surroundings.
Though some of my colleagues disagreed, I found Earth to be one of the most beautiful worlds I’d had the pleasure to visit. Maybe there was some truth to the Human doctrine of ‘ecological preservation’, after all, they must’ve been doing something right to keep their planet so lush and lively.
“Here we are!”
I was snapped back from my thoughts by the booming sound of Robert’s voice, having almost walked past whatever he’d stopped to look at. I turned my head to see him standing by the start of a trail leading further into the woods. A wooden Sign by the side read the words: ‘Tall Trees Trailhead. Redwood National Park’.
“W-wait, we’re going deeper into the forest?” I squeaked out. “Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”
He just waved my worries off. “It’s a tourist trail, and a well maintained one at that. We shouldn’t find anything too worrying out there.” He turned to face me and I saw a smirk start to form across his face. “Plus, you have a big scary predator here to protect you. There’s nothing out there brave enough to mess with me!”
I simply narrowed my eyes. “Oh really? I guess that ‘spider’ you found on your locker the other day must’ve been an exception to the rule then?”
His eyebrows formed into a frown but the smile never fully left his face. “Hey! It just caught me off guard; I thought I’d made that clear already.”
“Right, right…, that’s why Adrian described your reaction as ‘a freakout for the history books’” Even as his cheeks began to take on the slightest red tinge, he still kept his smile up.
I couldn’t possibly be the only one who found some human phobias hilarious in how ridiculously ironic they could be. Here was one of the only two predatory races in charted space, a species capable of fending off the Dominion and the Federation Remnants at once, biologically specialized in one of the scariest forms of hunting known to the galaxy… and a large portion of them were absolutely terrified of some tiny arthropods smaller than their fingernails. I honestly wondered how they’d even managed to set foot on Sillis.
“Anyway, if you’re done ridiculing me…” Robert said, feigning an offended tone. “… We should probably get a move on. The trail isn’t too long but we still wanna be able to get back here before sunset.” He adjusted the straps on his backpack, turning to face the green wilds in front of him.
“Why did we come all the way here anyway? Aren’t there plenty of hiking trails closer to the city?”
“Oh you’ll see… what’s at the end of this path is something you wouldn’t be able to see anywhere else. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.”
Wow he really isn’t gonna talk until we make it there, is he?
“Ugh… Fine!” I finally said in clear defeat. “But for the record, if we do end up getting hunted by something out there, I’m killing you before it eats me!”
He let out a hearty laugh before beginning to walk ahead. I followed him, this time closer behind.
The trail descended along the side of what I assumed was some sort of valley, snaking between the trees and boulders dotted about its path. It was hard to assess the geography of the area through the dense vegetation, and the few dim rays of sunlight that made it past the ever-thickening canopy did little to help with my disorientation. I knew humans had descended from arboreal herbivores before becoming predators, so the fact that Robert always seemed to know where he was going and looked perfectly comfortable with his surroundings wasn’t much of a surprise. Still it was an unnerving thought that I was entirely dependent on him for navigation in this place. If he lost his way, we were both screwed.
Despite my nagging fears though, I had to admit that I was starting to like hiking. There was something so very soothing about traversing these pristinely wild environments, free of the constant hustle and bustle of the cities. As much as I still had my reservations about mankind’s refusal to cull their world free of non-sapient predators, at times like these it was almost like some unhinged part of my brain took over and ignored the dangers lurking in these forests in favor of enjoying the quiet serenity they offered.
We eventually reached a wooden bridge that cut through a small ravine on the side of the hill. The slight elevation over the forest floor allowed for a much clearer sight of the sea of trees that covered the valley below. Robert stopped in his tracks, resting his arms on the railing as he took in the scenery.
“Like the view?” He asked, eyes fixed in the landscape below.
I’d had to get up on my hindlegs to be able to see it, which wasn’t particularly comfortable, but even then, I couldn’t argue with the obvious.
“It’s gorgeous.” I stated.
“Yeah… it really is… We’re lucky to see it too. Humanity came close to losing a lot of these places at one point.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Well it’s a long story, but it goes a little something like this…” He leaned back from the railing and started down the trail again as he explained, with me in toe. “During our industrial age, we began to use coal, and later other fossil fuels, to power our machinery. This allowed us to develop technologically and grow a whole lot in population, but the problem was that we never stopped using them, even as alternatives were developed, mostly because it was profitable.”
Listening to him talk, I could sense some lingering frustration in his voice. “So, come the start of the twenty-first century, we begin to realize that we may have made a huge mistake. All that fuel burning has been emitting tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, and the buildup is starting to have an effect on global temperatures, but do we do anything? No, of course not, we kick the can down the road and hope for the best.” He scoffed. Clearly, he didn’t look kindly on that decision.
“Eventually, things started to get really bad. My grandpa used to tell me stories about those days when I was little. In some cities, air quality was so low that you needed to go out with a mask if you didn’t want to get sick. A lot of food items became very expensive as crops began to fail. Hundreds of animal and plant species would go extinct every year.”
There was something deeply upsetting about imagining Earth in such a sorry state. I knew I should have no allegiance to a planet I’d only been staying at for half a year, but the idea of these green wilds slowly wilting away brought a deep sadness to my heart.
“But… things got better, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, though not before getting a whole lot worse.” He let out a sigh before continuing. “The famines and the heat didn’t affect the whole world equally. Some countries got it way worse than others, and the people there started to flee by the millions. This put too much strain on the system and things broke down fast. It started as just a couple border skirmishes, then it grew to a few isolated wars…and in a matter of months, the major world powers were lobbing stuff at each other from orbit.”
A short, bitter chuckle escaped his mouth. “I suppose it was a blessing in disguise though. With their armies decimated, those same world powers couldn’t prevent the UN from getting involved and forcing them all to the negotiating table. After that, a bunch reforms were passed across the planet to try and course correct, all while the UN was going postal on a lot of the corporations who’d been profiting off the problem. The Hague was busy for years after that.”
While I couldn’t understand what was being implied by that last remark, enough was clear from context that I could get a decent picture.
The idea of runaway industrialism wasn’t one I was fully unfamiliar with. Humans weren’t the first to have almost rendered their homeworld unlivable. Plenty had made that mistake before, and that had been the stated reason for the Federation’s ‘uplift on sight’ policy when it came to primitive sapients. That said, I’d never heard of species going down that road out of greed rather than ignorance. A very specific and cowardly part of my mind told me to chalk it up to ‘expected predatory behavior’, but after this long, I was more than used to ignoring it.
Robert continued his tale, explaining that the next few decades had seen a massive effort to revitalize the Earth’s ecosystems and even bring some species back from extinction using genetic engineering. By the time he’d been born, the planet was far along the healing process.
Thinking about it, perhaps this was where the idea of preserving predatory life had popped up for them. Maybe they did it out of some lingering sense of guilt?
Our conversation died down as we came up on a bend on the path. There we were met with a couple of humans, dressed up in hiking gear, going up as we went down. They didn’t have much of a reaction to Robert, simply doing a half-wave with their hands in acknowledgement, but when they saw me walking behind him, I noticed both of them jumped for a second, eyes going wide before settling down. One of them even took a hand to his chest before continuing to walk past us with accelerated pace.
Now, I knew by now that my kind and a few others in the galaxy seemed to trigger some sort of ‘cute’ response in humans. That, combined with the fact that space travel and alien life were still extremely novel concepts to them, had led to some… interesting situations back in the city. This, however, wasn’t any of that. This had been fear.
I looked at Robert for answers and saw him holding a hand to his mouth, trying desperately to hold in his laugh until the other hikers were out of earshot and practically falling over cackling once they’d walked far enough away.
“Oh my fucking god! It happened! It actually happened! I can’t even…” He managed to breathe out through the manic fit. My confusion only mounted.
“What happened? What was that all about?”
He just kept laughing. Apparently me missing the joke made it even funnier somehow.
“They… they thought you were a bear!” He finally managed to get out through the convulsions.
I paused at that, rummaging through my memory for my limited knowledge on Earth’s fauna to try and figure out if I even knew what a ‘bear’ was. I’d definitely heard the word before, but couldn’t recall the animal it was meant to represent.
Robert must have finally taken pity on my puzzled mind, because he began to take a hold of his breathing and gave me the answer I was looking for. “Bears… They’re large predatory mammals here on Earth. A lot of people say Zurulians look a lot like their cubs.”
That one left me completely dumbfounded. “Wha-, are you telling me they thought I was a predator? I’m half your size, what was I ever going to do?!”
“They weren’t scared of you. If you see a bear cub, chances are the mother isn’t too far way, so they were terrified that mama bear might just pop out from the brush beside you.”
Once again, I was left wondering how humans could be so contradictory. Horrifying predators with boundless empathy… Brave beyond measure and yet instinctually afraid of the strangest things. It wasn’t even a question why Chauson and the rest of the Institute had developed such an interest in them.
Robert’s words did rouse a different question from me though. “Wait, if they were scared because they thought I was one of those ‘bear’ things… does that mean there are actual ones in this forest?”
I really didn’t like how long it took for him to answer. “I mean… I doubt it. California has some black bear populations but they avoid humans for the most part.”
Great. I thought. That does a whole lot of nothing for me.
We got back to walking after that. The previous tranquility the woods had brought me was somewhat tainted by my newfound fear of coming face to face with one of my predatory lookalikes.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to sit on that worry for long, for as we came around another bend, I found myself facing a truly awe-inspiring sight.
The trail we’d been following ended on a tranquil thicket at the bottom of the valley. The sound of moving water could be heard coming from somewhere, though the thick foliage around us wouldn’t let me pinpoint the source. Wooden benches were spread out around the area, seemingly old enough to have been overgrown in many cases.
In the moment though, none of that truly registered in my head, as I stared in silent amazement at the gargantuan trees that dotted the grove. Their trunks were as thick as a car, and completely dwarfed the much smaller trees we’d been passing by as we’d descended from the uplands. Their size however, became even more obvious when you looked upward. The things were about as tall as some of the skyscrapers back in the city, to the point that it was hard to see their tops among the endless web of branches that stemmed from them.
I had never, not once, in my entire life seen something that came even close to these behemoths. Megaflora did exist elsewhere in the Galaxy, but I’d personally never come across something this impressive in any world I’d ever visited. The whole scene left me speechless.
“Cool, huh?” Robert quipped, probably amused by whatever face I must’ve been making.
“Cool? You see something like this and call it ‘cool’? This is breathtaking!” I exclaimed.
He gave a short chuckle. “You’re right it is. Do you understand now why I wanted to keep it a surprise? I know you well enough to know you would have immediately ran to the internet and gotten spoiled if I’d told you beforehand.”
I honestly couldn’t argue with that. “I guess… but you didn’t have to be so ominous about it on the way!”
The human simply threw his shoulders up with a smirk. “Hey, no one said I couldn’t have some fun keeping you on your toes.” He then motioned towards the nearest of the gigantic trees. “They’re called redwoods, by the way, or sequoias if you wanna be technical about it, and they’re not just big, but really damn old too. Pretty much all of these have been here for centuries. Some, even millennia.”
“That…”I paused to look at the wooden titans once more. “…doesn’t even sound possible.”
“Well, it certainly is. Oldest known one in the world is about 2300 years old, I think.”
Just the thought of these things having stood here, towering over the landscape, for longer than my species had known about the stars, for longer than the entire Federation had even existed… it was both humbling and frightening in equal parts. Such a concept felt eldritch in a way, like my mind couldn’t even hope to understand what these ancient organisms must have bore witness to.
The two of us began making our way through one of the many paths that meandered around the redwoods. The sounds of insects and birds had been a constant since we’d started our trek, but here, they seemed to grow louder, more numerous. A sudden series of shrieks brought my attention upward and to my left, and I focused just in time to catch a blue tinted shadow take flight from a nook in the trunk of one of gigantic trees before disappearing among the branches above.
It almost felt like we were trespassing on some sort of natural paradise, hidden away from the world, with these living pillars acting as its guardians, looming over us as we walked.
I was so mesmerized by these thoughts that I almost missed Robert signaling to me from the side of the path. Once he’d caught my attention, he pointed at the underbrush beside him before speaking “Follow me, I know a spot through here that’s gonna blow your mind.”
Before I even had time to question him, he’d already turned around and began disappearing into the brush. Fear started trickling back into my mind at the thought of following him away from the path into the jaws of what was apparently nature’s predatory mockery of my own race, but despite how idyllic the grove had seemed just moments ago, the idea of staying behind by myself scared me far more.
Swallowing my growing panic, I quickly followed behind the human, trying my best to cut my way through the foliage. I realized that the sound of rushing water I’d taken notice of before seemed to be getting closer the further we delved into the forest.
After breaching through one last layer of greenery, I came up on a small clearing centered around a sloped boulder that protruded from the ground. Robert had just finished climbing atop it, and he motioned for me to sit beside him before turning to look further on. It took some effort to get to where he was, but when I made it to the top, I finally saw the view he’d been so keen on showing me.
In front of me was the source of the burbling sounds I’d been hearing. A wide but shallow creek twisted around the bottom of the valley, flanked on both sides by pebble beaches that reached almost to the foot of the very boulder we sat on. On the opposite bank, I could see the vegetation grew thicker and taller as it crept up the side of the valley, smaller trees occluding the bases of the enormous redwoods, their tops piercing the heavens like needles. Here, the sounds of the forest were almost muted by the quiet but constant noise of the water, completing an aura of peace that most relaxation centers in the galaxy would kill to emulate.
I heard a chuckle to my left. “Seems like I was right. This old view is just as stunning as I remember.”
I was so astonished by the panorama in front of me that I almost failed to pick up on what he was saying. “How… did you discover this spot anyway?”
For a second, and only a second, I saw a flash of different emotions pass through his eyes. It was subtle and he recovered quickly, but it had unmistakably been there. “Oh, it’s just an old… family secret. My dad used to take me here when I was a kid, that’s all.”
The brusqueness of the answer confirmed what I’d already suspected. Humans were far more emotional than anyone had initially given them credit for, and it showed even when they didn't mean it to. Having dealt with the survivors of the attacks, I became quite familiar with the many types of responses they had to psychological trauma, so I knew what it looked like when one of them was trying to shield themselves from digging up old wounds.
“I’m sorry for asking. I shouldn’t have pried.”
The Human’s eyes darted over to me and he winced , though it didn’t seem so much like pain as it did shame. He turned his head forwards again, staring at some fixed point in the distance, and stayed completely silent for the better part of a minute before he began speaking again.
“Thraia, do you remember the day we met?”
The question was so earnest and melancholic in tone that it was hard to believe it came from the same person that had been laughing his ass off about two jumpy hikers not that long ago.
“I…I do. It was the day after the battle. Our team had been sent to… I think it was Anaheim, to look for survivors trapped underneath the rubble. We were still setting up camp when you showed up and told us you’d been assigned to the same area. I remember you were so haggard that at first we all thought you were just a civilian in shock.”
I thought back to that moment. It’d been pretty strange that none of us had been informed that we’d be receiving a straggler on the team.
He sighed. “What I said earlier wasn’t entirely true.” His eyes turned downward, before he closed them altogether. “This place was a ‘family secret’, and my father did bring me here, but not just me. My brother always came along.”
Robert had always liked sharing stories about his family during breaks back at the hospital. His father had been a ‘park ranger’, and it seemed like every other day he’d recall yet another old anecdote about his old man’s many adventures in the Terran wilds. His mother, on the other hand, had been a teacher of some kind, and he claimed that he’d inherited her knack for storytelling. Anyone who listened to him for long enough would end up having enough information to picture his whole genealogical tree, so it was concerning that I’d never once heard of him having a sibling.
I didn’t have time to decide whether to ask about it before he continued explaining. “We always came to the park every summer while we were growing up. Dad was friends with the rangers here so they’d always tell him about any cool spots they knew of, even outside of the trails. This one was always our favorite.”
He swallowed. It was clear talking about this was taking a lot out of him. “Dad… passed… at around the same time my brother and I went our separate ways. I studied medicine and found my job back at San Francisco while he went down to LA to study marine biology. Still, no matter how busy we were with our own lives, we’d always find the time to come up here at least once a year, and if nothing else just… talk.”
He smiled, though the sadness in his eyes didn’t leave. “I remember… when first contact happened he went absolutely bonkers. I hadn’t been paying too much attention to the Odyssey mission, and that evening I hadn’t bothered checking on the news, so imagine my confusion when I get a call from him in the middle of the night and he just goes off about how they found aliens and they look like sheep! I was half sure he must’ve been high on something, but sure enough, next morning I found out he was right and that I owed him an apology for hanging up on him mid sentence.” He let out a heartfelt laugh.
“The Last time we met face to face was right here, back in August. He was so enthralled about the all the ‘possibilities’ alien life offered that he wouldn’t shut up about it.” The human closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. ”How does one even manage to get turned down for the Venlil Exchange Program for being ‘too enthusiastic’…”
Robert took a second to breathe after that, as if psyching himself up for what came next. I wasn’t naïve enough to think this story had a happy ending.
“When the UN started sending out alerts about the Krakotl fleet, I got put on ‘emergency preparation’ duty at the hospital, just to make sure we were ready if anywhere in the Bay Area got hit. I called him… probably a hundred times, trying to get him to leave for the countryside, but he wouldn’t listen. Said he didn’t want to help block the highways or take up a seat in the evacuation shuttles. When the Feds broke through the line at the Kuiper belt, he called me, saying he was heading for some bunker a friend of his knew of in Lakewood.”
The name almost made me recoil. Though I didn’t remember all of the names of the dozens of neighborhoods that made up Los Angeles, Lakewood was one of a few that I would never be able to forget, not after having to break the hearts of every grieving human asking if their loved ones there has made it. No one had survived in Lakewood, not that close to Ground Zero.
Robert continued on after sucking in another breath. “The Impact must’ve done something to the fault line, because we felt it all the way in the city. I knew immediately that things had gone terribly wrong and something in me just… broke. I left my post, got on my car, and drove south for hours, going the opposite way everyone else was. For that entire time, I just kept cursing the day we’d ever gotten involved with the aliens. Federation, Arxur, Venlil… they were all the same in my mind, just monsters that had wanted us dead from the second they saw us through no fault of our own. I just…” His breathing hitched, and he took a moment to recover. “I just wanted the hurt to stop, and focusing on hate was the best way I had to do it.”
It felt so wrong to hear something like that coming from the mouth of someone who I’d worked side by side with. Hearing him put us all on the level of the grays felt almost like a betrayal of our friendship and yet… I couldn’t blame him. This was a story I’d heard already from thousands of different strangers. Lost homes, families and friends. Hate, depression, utter hopelessness.
What did we do wrong?
That question had popped up nearly every time and I could never once give it a straight answer.
It’d always been strangers before. Now, it wasn’t, and it took all of my willpower not to break down.
“I-I’m S-sorry.”
Just a curt apology would never be enough to heal a wound so deep, I knew that. Predators or not, Humanity had never deserved the way they’d been treated. Robert was right, his kind would’ve been better off if they’d never met us. They had a right to hate us, and nothing I could say or do would ever change-
“Don’t be.”
The human’s voice was tired but firm, and he turned to look at me head on, binocular eyes so focused they almost seemed to peer into my very soul.
“Don’t ever be sorry for something that isn’t your fault.”
“B-but-“
“No buts.” His gaze softened, and I could see a gentle smile begin to form on his face. “It’s true that I felt that way then. I was angry, too angry and too grief-stricken to keep my own mind in check, but I didn’t stay that way for long.” He gestured towards me with an open hand. “And it was thanks to people like you.”
“People like me?” I was perplexed. What did he mean by that?
He answered my question with one of his own. “Do you know what I found when I finally got to the city? Hundreds of those same aliens I was decrying, helping us. I saw Venlil listening out for survivors under the debris, Zurulians coordinating with human doctors to administer first aid and even Arxur helping clear pieces of rubble and carrying off the injured to safety.”
His eyes briefly darted around as if they were looking through me. “I saw this one group: a Venlil, two humans and an Arxur… They were working on trying to lift a collapsed chunk of roof. Apparently the Venlil had heard a child’s cries from under it… When they finally got it done they found two kids underneath, but only one of them had been crying…” He closed his eyes shut, pressing his eyelids closed before relaxing. “I’d seen images of Venlil panicking before, courtesy of the Exchange Program. I’d seen them cry of fear… but I’d never seen one weep in grief.”
The two of us locked eyes again as he opened the back up. “I tried so hard to keep myself angry but I couldn’t. Not after that. I wandered off further into the ruins before I eventually collapsed and just… sobbed myself into unconsciousness.”
That about connected the all the remaining dots for me, and I interjected to confirm my suspicions. “That’s when you found us, right? The morning after?”
He nodded. “When I saw you, I realized I had an opportunity to help, to actually do my job rather than just wallowing in my own misery, and I took it without a second thought. I may have lied about why I was there, but frankly, I didn’t feel like coming clean would do any good.”
I could hardly fault him for that. We would never have allowed him to get involved if we’d known he was so personally devastated, and that would have left us without an extra pair of hands we’d greatly needed during those first few days.
My attention drifted back to the stream in front of us and the wilds beyond. The forest remained static, unfazed by our problems.
“Is that why you brought me here? To ‘come clean’?”
“Actually… no, though it does feel cathartic to be able to finally talk about this after all this time.” He motioned towards the view. “I brought you here because I wanted you to have a good image to keep from Earth. We’ve both seen too much death and ruin, but I at least had the past to fall back to while all you’ve seen since you arrived here is misery and pain. I don’t know for how long the Zurulian government will keep this experiment going but, whenever you do leave for the stars again, I wanted you to have a good mental picture of Earth to take with you, and I couldn’t really think of a better place to take you for that.”
On that front, I could confidently say he had succeeded. This wasn’t a day I’d soon forget for many reasons, probably more than he had intended. Still there was something about the idea of leaving this world that didn’t sit well with me. Having worked side by side with the humans, I’d come to feel at home here. This planet and its people, for all of their eccentricities and paradoxical natures, had made me feel welcome at every turn, even when I didn’t fully feel like I deserved it. The mere thought of seeing this pale blue dot shrink away from the viewport of some shuttle made me feel a sort of heartache I couldn’t quite explain.
But then, an idea popped into my mind. It was a simple idea, obvious even, and yet the warmth it made me feel in my chest was undeniable. That same old cowardly part of my mind begged me to weigh in the pros and cons before committing to something so insane, but my words were much faster than those thoughts could ever be.
“Who says I have to leave?”
​
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PREVIOUS / NEXT: We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

• This episode was co-written by Chris Derrick, whose likeness was used as the file photo for the Romulan dissident, Lurak T’Luco, and the severed head prop for that same character in “Disengage”.
  
  • He also co-wrote the season two episode, “Hide and Seek”.
• Mixed in among the bridge sounds at the very beginning of the episode we hear some distinctive TOS beeps and boops.
  
• We learn this opening scene is Not David Marcus’ dream sequence of some sort after he opens fire on the USS Titan A’s bridge crew. Still, in his dream, before NDM kills Esmar, they say, ”I know what you really are.” Esmar is a Haliian, introduced in the TNG episode “Aquiel”, and as such likely mildly telepathic.
  
  • Later in the real world, Esmar gives NDM a brief look from down a corridor that could be construed as them being aware of the fact that something is off with him, or just a passing glance.
• Riker’s acting captain’s log records the stardate as 78186.03.
  
• We don’t get a view close enough to actually make out what the objects are floating around the exterior of the Titan A tending to the repairs, but in DIS we were introduced to the 23rd century DOT-7 drones and the 32nd century DOT-23s. Potentially we’re looking at a 25th century equivalent.
  
• Riker claims that so far as he’s aware Changelings can mimic individuals on sight, but ”not their internal physiology.” In “The Adversary” Odo stated that when he mimics a rock he would register as such on scanners and speculates that Changelings more skilled than himself could do the same humanoids. Doctor Bashir confirms that the Changeling who was masquerading as a human ambassador was scanned and registered as human.
  
• Seven says that protocol since the Dominion war is “Every crew member passes through an internal imaging chamber.” Though not quite the same thing, when the Protogies arrived on relay outpost CR-721 in “Asylum” the first thing they had to do was go through a biometric scanner.
  
  • The protocol was put into place to verify the crewperson isn’t a shapeshifter attempting to sneak aboard. Of course, we’ve seen Changelings mimic everything from glassware, to a spacefaring being, to fire; hopefully Starfleet has accounted for that as well.
• On M’Talas Prime, we see a hologram of Raffi wearing a mobile emitter. It appears identical to the one the Confederation La Sirena used to create the Emergency Elnor Hologram in season two’s “Hide and Seek”.
  
  • The original mobile emitter came from the 29th century timeship, the Aeon, Krinn is able to recognize the one Raffi is wearing for what it is.
• The USS Intrepid NCC-79520 arrives to the Titan A’s location. This is merely the latest ship to bear the name.
  
  • The Intrepid - United Earth ship first seen in “The Expanse”
  • The USS Intrepid NCC-1631 - Constitution-class ship with an all Vulcan crew destroyed in “The Immunity Syndrome”
  • The USS Intrepid NCC-38907 - The ship Sergey Rozhenko served on, and first on the scene after the Romulan attack on Khitomer according to “Sins of the Father”; the Excelsior-class ship Sergey mentioned in “Family” according to internal information
  • The USS Intrepid NCC-74600 - Intrepid-class? At least according to non-canon material. Chakotay claimed to serve aboard it as part of his cover story while trying to figure out why Starfleet Headquarters was recreated in the Delta Quadrant in “In the Flesh”; also mentioned on a screen as part of a battle group in “Star Trek Nemesis”
• According to production designer Dave Blass, the Intrepid is a Duderstad-class ship, designed by Doug Drexlar and Bill Krause. It’s named for Drexlar’s late wife, Dorothy Duder, who was a food stylist on ENT.
  
• Captain Shaw lists off several events he thinks will be considered negatively in Starfleet’s accounting Picard and Riker’s guilt:
  
  • ”That time someone hot dropped the saucer section of the Enterprise D on a planet.” - The USS Enterprise D’s saucer made emergency landing on the inhabited planet Veridian in “Star Trek Generations”.
  • ”That time someone threw the prime directive out the window so they could snog a villager on Ba’ku.” - In “Star Trek Insurrection” Picard did get romantic with a member of the Ba’ku, but only after learning they weren’t actually a pre-warp species, and working to prevent a rogue admiral from forcibly relocating them to steal their resources.
  • “Or the time you boys nearly wiped out all of humanity by creating a time paradox in the Devron system.” Actually, because of the nature of the time paradox in “All Good Things…”, those events did not happen, and Picard is the only one with any memory of it.
• It’s Ro Laren! From Star Trek! Commander Ro is played by Michelle Forbes.
  
  • When last we saw her in “Preemptive Strike” Ro Laren defected from Starfleet to join the Maquis’ struggle against the Cardassians after the Federation abandoned its own citizens because it was more convenient to do so than continue to skirmish with the Cardassian Union.
  • Michelle Forbes has previously turned down opportunities to reprise the role, both for DS9 and VOY.
• Seven gives NDM a Starfleet uniform so he’ll go unnoticed by the security officers transferred over from the Intrepid. In “Chrysalis” the augments, Jack, Lauren, and Patrick snuck on to Deep Space Nine wearing Starfleet uniforms, and In “People of Earth” Burnham had Booker wear a Starfleet uniform for similar reasons to those Seven gives NDM.
  
  • Personally I did not expect NDM to get away with saying, ”That’s a stupid question,” to Ro.
• ”That was 30 years ago. The Maquis are no longer an enemy.” Riker is technically correct as all but a few dozen Maquis were wiped out by the Dominion after the Cardassian Union became a member in “By Inferno’s Light”.
  
• ”You trusted her when no one else would.” Riker is referring to the events of “Ensign Ro” where Picard initially did not want her aboard the Enterprise D until she proved herself to be a valuable officer despite her reputation.
  
• ”Your Bajoran earring…you’re not wearing it.” In “Ensign Ro”, Ro‘s condition for joining the crew of the Enterprise D was that she be allowed to wear her earring, despite it not being strictly within the Starfleet uniform code.
  
  • On Bajor they just call it an earring.
• The brief glance we get of Ro’s boot knife it appears to be similar to the knife a Bajoran used to murder a Cardassian file clerk in “Duet”.
  
• Krinn wears an especially large IDIC on a chain, so you can understand the infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
  
• The tattoo under Krinn’s eye is Vulcan script.
  
• Krinn’s phaser appears to be based on, if not identical to, the Ferengi phaser Quark had in “The Magnificent Ferengi” and “The Siege of AR-558”.
  
• Bajoran springwine was first mentioned in “Return to Grace”.
  
  • On Bajor they just call it springwine.
• Picard deactivates the safeties on the 10 Forward program. We’ve seen since the beginning of this season an display during the closing credits reading ”10_Forward // Bar_LA” with the safeties disabled.
  
• ”Guinan’s.” Picard points a holographic phaser from under the holographic bar at Ro. In “Night Terrors” Guinan pulled a rifle from Magus III out from under the bar and fired at the ceiling of Ten Forward aboard the Enterprise D.
  
• ”Unless I am mistaken, you are Vulcan. Hence Sneed, a Ferengi, is not your brother.” In “The Bonding” Worf inducted a human, Jeremy Aster, into his family ”for all time” and said they were brothers. Jeremy Aster was never mentioned again.
  
• ”There can be no utopia without crime. Ergo an organized criminal enterprise is logical.” In “Prime Factors” Captain Janeway observed, “You can use logic to justify almost anything.”
  
• The knives Raffi and Worf are given for their fight to the death are the same as one Shinzon had gave Picard with a sample of his blood in “Star Trek Nemesis” and used by the Tal Shiar assassins in “Remembrance”.
  
• Picard suggests taking Ro’s concerns to Admiral Janeway. Ensign Janeway was a junior science division officer aboard the Enterprise D whom counselor Troi was very mean to in “Man of the People”. Apparently she took Troi’s advice to shape up to heart.
  
• Daystrom Station appears to be kitbashed from Jupiter Station, the Midas Array, and cargo containers, first seen in “Life Line”, “Pathfinder”, and “Fortunate Son” respectively.
  
• *”Daystrom Station is guarded by a highly sophisticated A.I. system. But it has flaws that are most…illogical.” Badgey was uploaded to Rutherford’s cranial implant, which was seen salvaged from the void of space in “The Stars at Night”.
  
• Ro crashes her shuttle into the Intrepid’s port nacelle. Other bullshit deaths in Trek include:
  
  • Jadzia Dax - “Tears of the Prophets”
  • Trip - “These Are the Voyages…”
  • Data - “Star Trek Nemesis”
  • Hugh - “Nepenthe”
• The Titan A’s tactical console shows the Intrepid raising shields using a graphic of dots populating around the ship, similar to what we saw in “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan” when the USS Reliant raises shields.
  
• NDM’s fight against the four changelings echoes Dahj Asha’s activation against the Tal Shiar Assassins when she was attacked in her apartment in “Remembrance”.
  
• ”Old-school Bajoran spycraft.” Ro’s earring turns out to be a datachip holding all of her investigation in to the Changelings infiltrating Starfleet.
  
  • On Bajor they just call it spycraft.

RELEASE NOTES 1.31.22.0

If you are playing on PC, outdated packages in your community folder may have an unexpected impact on the title’s performance and behavior.
If you suffer from stability issues or long loading times, move your community package(s) to another folder before relaunching the title.
[All Versions] How to Install a New Update Safely

NEW CONTENT/FEATURES

• Optimized the “Checking for updates” phase to reduce the booting time of the simulator; improved the download speed in the installation manager; improved loading time before booting to the main menu
• Added a new assistance option to customize the intensity of turbulence experienced during flight (based on current altitude, environment, and weather conditions).
• Turkish and Korean languages have been added into the sim
• Added an input key to toggle Flight Assistant Panel
• Spotlight Event Pack: a pack of activities is now available in the Marketplace, which contains a curated selection of 13 Spotlight Events from the past. Please note: completing these activities will not count towards Spotlight Event related achievements.

General Bug Fixes

• Several crashes have been fixed across the title
• Fixed a bug in the purchase flow of MSFS Marketplace
• Keyboard shortcut to toggle Screen Narrator on/off has been added
• Control Options menu stops reset to top when assigning a button.
• “Set Departure”, “Set arrival” & “Zoom to Details” are now appearing when Airport Icon is clicked
• Fixed aircraft visibility issues with their interior and exterior model
• Corrected an issue that caused some multiplayer planes to display a purple texture on their Glass cockpits.
• Fixed Engine Governor being incorrectly labeled
• Fixed game freeze during boot
• Added parameter to cfg that allows to fix the legacy flight model integration of the accelerations that was causing wrong accelerations and g-force calculations in the legacy flight model. Integrated collision constraint response into the force calculation for g force estimation when on ground. This allows to have 1.0 when still on ground even with some suspension systems that don’t have enough force to counter gravity.
• Fixed issues in the building generation that could caused crashes
• Various localization improvements

Menu

• Fixed airport considered as water if runways have undefined surface type
• Added Weight & Balance visualization for rotorcraft.

Navigation/Traffic

• [Partially Fixed] Glass cockpit externalization has been reworked. There’s no intermediate window anymore; each glass cockpit opens a distinct window with the glass cockpit name. Window position and size is saved when ending a flight.
• With multi-layout screens cockpits, mouse collision for glass cockpit externalization is now received only by the current active glass cockpit.
• Navlog timer no longer resets when user closes and reopens it
• Fixed SimConnect injected traffic planes not following the assigned flight plan
• Fixed live traffic planes incorrectly following departure procedures
• Fixed live traffic planes staying stuck at hold short in some airports
• Fixed live traffic planes staying at low altitude after takeoff
• Fixed SimConnect injected traffic being often unable to depart from the departure gate
• Fixed traffic planes causing performance issue in the world map
• Fixed live traffic planes sometimes not showing nameplate
• Fixed live traffic planes sometimes spawning at an incorrect location and unable to move
• Fixed live traffic planes staying at low altitude during go around
• Fixed a crash where ATC uses an invalid runway number
• Glass cockpit: Waypoint with no associated city now show an empty city field instead of random characters.
• Glass cockpit: NavigationData expiration year is now properly displayed when date range extends over two years.

Weather

• [Partially Fixed] Heat only thermals are limited in height up to the cloud base (except under clouds)
• Limited and tuned negative thermals around clouds and hot ground.
• Reduced thermals close to ground.
• [Partially Fixed] Improved thermal slanting and cloud alignment.
• Reduced “blue” hot ground thermals in rain, with altitude and with high winds
• Reduced mountain turbulence with altitude
• Maximum vertical wind speed in storm clouds / TCU has been increased
• Fixed a cloud popping issue when updating Live Weather data
• Fixed a problem where in water presets, water would be iced for the physics but displayed as water in the rendering.
• General Live Weather improvements
  • Live Weather now uses server time instead of local time to avoid inconsistent or no live weather
  • Date of METAR files is now checked before ingesting the data to avoid replacing current METARs with out-of-date METARs in case of CDN issues; this also reduces bandwidth usage
  • Fixed an issue that would potentially stop the game from retrieving clouds
  • Fixed an issue where incorrect weather was injected while retrieving new data, potentially causing abrupt wind and pressure changes as well as cloud popping
• Fixed a Rendering issue where clouds were ghosting into the sky at horizon

Activity

• Fixed various issues on leg start in bushtrips
• Training activities are now recorded in logbook
• Fixed an issue that caused the P-51 to run out of fuel too early in Reno races
• Fixed an issue that could cause the engines to shut down when first starting a mission.
• In Bushtrips, the Description Box displays incorrect values for the Flight Length, Flight Duration, and Number of Legs

Glass Cockpits

Garmin G3000 / G5000

• Fixed incorrectly rendered lists when the number of items in the list was very large.
• Fixed various instances where FMS would not automatically tune the primary approach frequency when loading or activating ILS/LOC/LDA/SDF/VOR approaches.
• The GTC Airport Information page will now display the primary approach frequencies for all ILS/LOC/LDA/SDF approaches at the airport in the Freq tab.
• The PFD traffic inset map’s range labels are now always displayed in the bottom left to avoid conflicts with other map elements.
• Fixed long approach names from overflowing the approach button on the GTC Select Approach page.
• Miscellaneous map memory optimizations.
• Fixed a bug where on-route direct-tos incorrectly inherited the turn direction of their target legs.
• Fixed a bug where the initial course of an on-route direct-to was set in true degrees instead of the expected magnetic degrees.
• Fixed a bug where the flight plan would become corrupted when syncing a world map flight plan with an approach and at least one enroute waypoint but no departure or arrival.
• Advanced VNAV no longer tries to capture descent altitude constraints during climb phase.
• Added aural alerts for TIS/TAS/TCAS traffic and resolution advisories.
• Added support for choosing aural alert voice type (male/female).
• Enabled the Direct-To buttons in the GTC Waypoint Information and NRST pages.
• Most aural alerts that trigger at the same time will now be played back in a queue instead of overlapping each other. Note that some alerts are still allowed to overlap others.
• New CAS warning and caution messages are now accompanied by an aural chime.
• The active NAV source is now reset to FMS when the system is power cycled.
• Fixed a bug where the VSR navigation data bar field always displayed dashes (‘––––’).
• Selecting a waypoint in the GTC Direct-To page (either via the keyboard or the Nearest tab) that matches the current Direct-To target will now load the appropriate existing Direct-To information.
• Selecting a waypoint in the GTC Direct-To page (either via the keyboard or the Nearest tab) that is in the primary flight plan will now cause an on-route direct-to to be created when the Activate button is pressed.

G1000 Nxi

• Fixed an issue that caused the G1000Nxi to pan very slowly in Legacy interaction mode

Garmin GNS430W / GNS530W

• Fixed some page navigation issues where the right knob push would not close dialogs

VFR Map

• Fixed an issue where the plane’s CDI source would change when opening the VFR Map
• Optimizations for reducing memory usage
• Added support for VR in-game panel zoom axis

Aircraft

General

• FLO mode transition now takes into account density altitude
• Fixed Load % to display the correct individual engine power.
• Fixed a bug on WASM & TS glass cockpits using the zero pitch line of the PFD. The line now represents the 0° of the aircraft
• Fixed contrail effects on some planes
• Corrected an issue that caused the P-51 Bunny to display a white screen instead of the radio.
• [Partially Fixed] an issue that caused some lights on the B747 and A320 to incorrectly react to interaction with their controls.
• Corrected an issue that caused LEFT/RIGHT_AXIS_BRAKE_SET to incorrectly affect both brakes.
• [P-51 Mrs Virginia] Landing gear doors animations are now working correctly
• External HUD : Variometer is no longer displayed on external HUD when not relevant to the aircraft.
• [Checklists] Fixed inconsistent XML parsing behavior between PC and consoles
• [Known Issue] LS8 can be pushed towards the ground when using winch launch method

Helicopters

• Engine power jump was reduced during the governor activation.
• Added an engine trimmer. If the helicopter has this feature, it is now possible to slightly change the nominal engine/rotor RPM that a governor is trying to maintain. Please, refer to the new input commands in the Control Options menu: “ENGINE TRIM RPM INCREASE” and “ENGINE TRIM RPM DECREASE”
• The throttle control logic for multi-engine helicopters has become more consistent.
• Fixed Tail rotor increment for better controllability with gamepad Helicopter profile (without tail rotor assistance)

Airbus 310-300

• Significant sound improvements in all areas of the aircraft (numerous reports are covered in this).
• External lights adjusted for a more realistic experience.
• Pressure system bug resolved.
• Improvements to T/D logic.
• Flight deck door resolution improved on Base version.
• FMS symbol tweaked to be more realistic.
• VOR* to VOR transition in capture bug resolved.
• Landing weight calculations on FMC for imperial fixed.
• Sliders added in EFB.
• VOR1 RMI disappears when overlapping VOR 2 needle bug fixed.
• SPD LIM mode premature bug fixed.
• Galley latches repositioned to closed position.
• Console unit flood light moveable.
• Trim wheel integral light now added.
• Glass added on outstanding cockpit gauges.
• Added magnetic variation to navaids.
• Autobrake commands added for hardware.
• INIT B & LW bugs fixed.
• RSK a waypoint to VERT REV bug fixed.
• Loading co-route character removal bug fixed.
• Custom PBD can now be added on new waypoint page and entering directly into F-PLN.
• When selecting INHG in options, perf calc bug fixed.
• Negative temperatures in EFB, now inserting correctly.
• vPilot COM 2 bug fixed.
• Sticker on door bug fixed.
• Cargo doors now use brake accumulator.
• Chrono bug fixed.
• SEC FPLN crashes fixed.
• CG prompt in FUEL PRED adjusted to ZFWCG.
• Some light leaking fixed.
• ATC/AI audio bug fixed.
• Triggering secondary approach more than once crash fixed.
• VHF2 and 3 now audible in cockpit.
• Volume knob pull to mute working in A310.
• Players voice now heard when talking to ATC.
• Fuel page line amber when it should be green.
• EFB checklist upon scrolling bug fixed.
• Brake accumulator logic improved.
• LBS when over 100,000 clipping fixed.
• Extra fuel/time now gets calculated when an ALTN is selected.
• EMER LTs state in Cold and Dark bug fixed.
• ATHR to GA keybind bug fixed.
• INIT B selecting values bug fixed.
• Stab trim movement during different HYD pressure bug fixed.
• Overall hardware compatibility improved with HoneyComb Bravo, Saitek panels.
• APU fire test conditions logic improved.
• Ailerons position bug fixed in 15/0 state.
• VONavaid Identifier Sound not working fixed.
• Unable to query sim waypoint database from REF page fixed.
• Fixed HSI changes on selector in flight deck.
• Wiper no longer moves with no power.
• Fixed loudspeaker not making sound.
• Fixed issue where aircraft systems freeze mid-flight.
• Entered temps not appearing on weather page of f-plan fixed.
• Expose current altimeter reference value fixed.
• Fire Loop lights on switched to AC ESS instead of AC EMER bus.
• ADF needles now point to true bearing not magnetic.
• Fixed abnormal behavior when choosing NONE STAR approach and transition.
• WASM API nav data waypoint structure adjusted.
• Updated translation files.

Bell 407

• Engine performance increased to match more closely the real-world behavior.
• Now it is easier to overstress the rotor RPM and torque under heavy load.
• The helicopter is easier to stabilize now in cruise flight with trim and assistances turned off.
• Low rotor warning sound now sounds when the battery is switched on.
• Annunciators illumination is stronger now in DIM mode.
• Altimeter barometric scale values now match up with the simulator values.
• Gauge illumination is toned down preventing it to being overblown on maximum brightness settings.
• Auto-trim switch has been removed.
• Force trim switch has been removed.
• Pedal stop functionality added (limits left pedal movement during flight) above 50 kts.
• Rotor rotation animation in multiplayer is now functioning.
• Rotor brake is functional again.
• Used fuel type in the weight and balance settings is JET fuel.
• Added Turkish language translation.
• Added Korean language translation.
• Pedal animation on the connecting rod is fixed.
• Interior collider adjustments. The camera doesn’t clip into the main panel anymore.
• VR support adjustments. Full VR support.
• Reference cruise speed now shows the correct value on the aircraft selection screen.

Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental

• Fixed an issue that could prevent part of the speed brakes from properly triggering on the 747.

Guimbal Cabri G2

• START mode behavior improved on EPM
• Better synchronization between engine RPM and rotor RPM
• In Direct To Page, magnetic bearing is displayed instead of true bearing
• Throttle handle animation is now working correctly
• Fixed miro drift on ground contact with helicopters. Fixed Cabri skid suspension settings; Cabri now stable on ground.

Cessna 172 Skyhawk G1000

• Fixed ground steering during takeoff to compensate for crosswind

Cessna Citation CJ4

• MFD: Fixed battery electrical indications always showing 0
• AP: Fixed altitude capture not engaging in TO vertical mode
• Disabled unused COM3 radio receiver
• Adjusted brightness of Standby Indicator
• Fixed the AoA indexer not indicating the correct AoA
• Fixed sim checklist stuck in After Starting Engines checklist
• Fixed wrong state indication on APPR button tooltip
• FMC: Fixed ARRIVALS page not working when airport features approaches not tied to a specific runway
• FMC: Fixed discontinuities piling up when editing procedures
• YD/AP DISC Bar now disables the Yaw Damper
• Fixed Overspeed Warning audio not always working
• Fixed an issue with the Direct To initial Course being incorrect
• Fixed an issue where the FMA would always show LOC1/VOR1 even when nav source is NAV2
• TOGA button on the Thrust Lever is now active
• Added automatic VOR tuning functionality
• Added the FLT LOG page to the FMC and flight tracking
• The FLT LOG page will show on the FMC after landing based on the setting in DEFAULTS
• Added ability to ident the transponder on the FMC ATC CONTROL page
• Fixed an issue where fuel used tracking on FUEL MGMT page 2 was not correct
• Reduced pitch instability and adjusted elevator authority, tweaked roll rates at various speeds to keep light control feel but reduce excess performance
• Adjusted flaps to achieve a better compromise between approach angle and flaps pitch/lift moments, reduced flaps drag at both flaps levels
• Slightly increased top end engine thrust to address a few reports of insufficient climb power
• Increased gear down drag
• Increased gyro stability to reduce excessive turbulence impact
• Adjusted load stations to be more in line with real loadout
• Added additional groundwheel friction to avoid skidding during moderate crosswind landings
• ILS data is now loaded from the approach FAF origin facility to allow for nav-to-nav and auto-tune even when scenery runway data does not have the appropriate ILS reference information
• Fixed bugs related to visual approach loading and visual approach vnav guidance
• Fixed missing basic aural alerts
• COM input now allows to enter 136.xxx frequencies
• Limit types of airports displayed on the map to show only suitable ones

Cessna Citation Longitude

• Fixed incorrect pitot heat logic.
• Fixed the AILERON(S)_LEFT/RIGHT key events commanding ailerons in the opposite direction as intended.
• The engine auto-start and auto-shutdown procedures (Ctrl-E and Ctrl-Shift-E) now function correctly.
• The standby instrument now automatically adjusts its backlight levels.
• Autothrottle no longer requires gear and flaps to be retracted to change from TO mode to SPD/CLIMB/DESC modes.
• Taxi auto-tests now require engines running to begin evaluating.
• Fixed broken external animations for non-default liveries.
• Fixed incorrect load station count in cfg, and adjusted passenger load positions to match standard 8-seat configuration.
• Increased ND elevator trim limit to prevent AP from running out of trim authority at low altitudes and high speeds.
• Fixed AFCS control panel APR button tooltip.
• Added BRAKE FAIL and GENS OFF aural alerts.
• The G5000’s active NAV source now defaults to FMS when starting a flight.
• The AFCS control panel UP/DN wheel now changes pitch reference when the AP is in PIT mode.
• Fixed broken rotate animations on the CRS knobs.
• The 500-foot touchdown callout will now sound as appropriate. Also added other touchdown callouts from 450 to 50 feet.

Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny”

• Fixed in VR elevator not moving.
• Fixed engine audio from nearby Jenny aircraft can be heard within cockpit.
• Added Phone EFB with Compass, Indicated Air Speed, Radio and XPDR functionality tied to core sim.
• Added electrical system for the EFB.
• Added EFB section to the Flight Manual.
• Added right bracket in cockpit to Show/Hide EFB.

Daher TBM 930

• Increased maximum nose wheel steering angle to 28 degrees, and increased speed at which nose wheel steering starts becoming less effective to 10 knots.
• [Partially Fixed Increased brightness of taxi and landing lights.
• Pulse lights no longer draw additional power when landing lights are on.
• Fixed broken door animations for non-default liveries
• Fixed handling of electrical battery key events.
• Improved compatibility with hardware that send electrical battery and external power key events every frame.
• Fixed AFCS control panel APR button tooltip.
• The overspeed, stall, and landing gear aural alerts will now sound as appropriate.
• The G3000’s active NAV source now defaults to FMS when starting a flight.
• Fixed broken rotate animations on the CRS knobs.

Darkstar

• Fixed several issues related to entering a frequency on the transponder of the Darkstar
• External Camera display now rotates without stretching the view.

DG-1001E

• Improved adverse yaw, balance, handling qualities and spoiler drag
• Improved stall to match stalling characteristics as described in the flight manual (wing drop)
• Winch launch now requires the technique as described in the DG-1001E flight manual: "During ground roll and initial take-off push the control stick to a forward position to prevent excessive nose-up pitching rotation during initial take-off. After reaching safety altitude gradually pull back on the stick, so that the glider will not pick up excessive speed. Don’t pull too hard. After reaching release altitude pull the tow release knob. Recommended winch launch airspeed 110-130 km/h (60-70 kts.).

Douglas DC-3

• Upside down illegible writing on rear door stairs in Blue stripe Livery.
• Landing light switches are no longer reversed.
• Underside beacon light illuminates correctly.
• Multiple items can now be manually completed with evaluation mode.
• Landing gear text decal is no longer obstructed by open passenger door switch.
• DC-3 Aux tanks correctly feed the engine.
• HUD correctly indicates state of flaps.
• DC-3 cockpit model - Nose rivets remade.
• With the propellers feathered moving the prop control affects all the propellers.
• DC-3 cockpit model - Screws no longer clip through window frame.
• Beacon Light switch is targetable.
• Instrument texture no longer disappears when zooming out in external/showcase view.
• The user can’t hear the wind on takeoff even if all audio is turned off.
• Red yellow cargo image in liveries selection is consistent with livery in free flight.
• Blue stripe image in liveries selection is consistent with livery in free flight.
• Image for ole dusty livery in selection screen does match the livery in free flight.
• Mesh switch turns off and now the state of the switch correctly indicates it is off.
• Carb Air temperature correctly matches sim.
• Beacon light underneath fuselage can now be turned on.
• There is now a switch in cockpit to toggle on/off beacon light.
• Quickview 3 in cockpit camera is positioned correctly.
• Tooltip indicates correct state of Master Ignition switch.
• Off position on the right fuel selector now fixed.
• Cold dark switch use failing to show fuel pressure is fixed.
• Checklist for starting engine now says to wait 2 seconds.
• Scroll wheel issue with Desired Heading knob has been recoded.
• Spawning at night on runway, Cockpit lights now are on.
• Typo present in Hangar Description has been rectified.
• DC-3 Thumbnails now match the model.
• AUX Fuel gauge needles are fixed.
• Incorrect string on AUX fuel weight and balance fixed.
• Hole in cargo doors from inside cargo bay hold fixed.
• Various light leaks fixed.
• Texture improvements throughout the model(s).

Grumman G-21 Goose

• Fixed duplicate key name errors.
• Fixed cockpit camera clipping through floor.
• Fixed typo in cockpit placard.
• Fixed typo in loading screen trivia.
• Fixed engine audio from nearby Goose aircraft can be heard within cockpit.
• Added Phone EFB with Radio and XPDR functionality tied to core sim.
• Added Switches to Show/Hide EFB and Turn ON/OFF Avionics (including switch audio and decals).
• Added EFB section to the Flight Manual.
• Updated translation files.

H-4 Hercules “Spruce Goose”

• Yoke interaction with VR controllers simulate a yoke instead of a flight stick.
• Weight and Balance screen no longer contains debug text.
• Flying very far past Vne now triggers a crash.
• Modern avionics added.
• Clipboard updated with new features.
• Auto-pilot added.
• Green navigation light orientation.
• ATC/ICAO params.
• Prop animation issue on one side.
• Clipboard items missing check once clicked.
• CHT, Oil, Radiator temperatures have been adjusted.
• The blurred propellers no longer cast shadows.

LS8

• Improved adverse yaw, stall and spoiler drag

Ryan NYP “Spirit of St. Louis”

• VR controller interaction influence fixed.
• Multiplayer Art issue fixed (the front was hidden on other Ryan).

Wright Flyer

• VR users can launch the aircraft properly now, the throttle is automatically set to 100% once the catapult is triggered.
• Cockpit collision added.

World

• Fixed Statue of Liberty standing in water

Airport

• Fix terraforming issue on taxiway at HECA
• [Partially Fixed] Fix taxiway bridge issue at RJTT causing aircraft crashes
• Fixed Queenstown airport not updated with World Update 12
• Fix taxiway bridge issue at SBGL causing aircraft crashes
• [Partially Fixed] Fix taxiway bridge issue at LFPG causing aircraft crashes
• Fixed wrong airport names in Australia (Coober Pedy)
• Fixed terraforming issues include the crack on runway 26 at ESSA
• Fixed the possibility to set a seaplane base as departure without a seaplane

World Update 1 – Japan

* POIs:

• Fixed Rainbow Bridge night texture.
• Nagasaki Airport RJFU:
  • Fixed Control Tower LOD transition.
  • Added collisions for few missing objects.
• Hachijojima Airport RJTH:
  • Fixed windsock direction behavior.
  • Fixed multiple objects LOD transition.
  • Added collisions for few missing objects.

World Update 2 – USA

* POIs:

• Fixed Alcatraz Water Tower LOD transition.
• Fixed the satellite imagery cab be seen on the terrain below New River Gorge Bridge.
• Added marker to Lowry Avenue Bridge.
• Fixed Rainbow Bridge Niagara Falls texture.
• Fixed Haystack Rock position over terrain.
• Fixed US Grant Bridge textures and blend with the aerial imagery.
• Fixed Yosemite El Capitan terraforming clipping.
• Fixed terrain and imagery blending of the Lewis and Clark Bridge.
• Fixed Navajo Bridge terrain blending.
• Fixed collisions size of the Monument Valley.
• Fixed Rainbow Bridge Niagara Falls LODs transition.
• Added collisions to the US Air Force planes on the Airport Graveyard.
• Fixed United States National Arboretum is missing textures near the top of the pillars.
• Fixed Glen Canyon Dam ground textures clipping through the Dam.
• Added missing building to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
• Added collision to Bixby Creek Bridge.
• Fixed United States Capitol LOD transition.
• the Las Vegas Strip is now searchable by name.
• The Rainbow Bridge, Niagara Falls.
• Fixed Fort Knox LOD popping.
• Added collisions to Sunshine Skyway Bridge buildings.
• Fixed missing texture on Lowry Avenue Bridge.
• Atlanta Airport KTAL:
  • Fixed the Ground services clipping at parking RAMP 312 CARGO, parking spot N ramp 312 and airliners gate H-4.
  • Fixed flipped textures of Delta hangar and Atlanta Fire Rescue buildings.
  • Added collisions to all buildings.
  • Fixed Bridge on a taxiway.
  • Fixed night lighting disappears at short distances.
• Friday Harbor Airport KFHR:
  • Fixed few terraforming issues.

World Update 3 – UK & Ireland

* POIs:

• Fixed Goodison Park LOD popping.
• Added and improved collisions for the following POIs: 100 Bishopsgate, Wembley Stadium, Blackpool Tower, Durham Cathedral, Floors Castle, The Blair Castle, Blenheim Palace, The Royal Botanical Gardens, Goodison Park, The Eden Project.
• Fixed St James Park missing texture.
• Fixed Emirates Stadium model and textures (include misspelling billboards).
• Fixed Eilean Donan Castle Vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Canterbury Cathedral LOD pops.
• Fixed Stamford Bridge LOD 1 and LOD 2 switched.
• Fixed Blackpool Tower texture clipping.
• Fixed Kew Garden floating bespoke building.
• Removed TIN spikes around St. James Park stadium.
• Fixed Windsor Castle LOD popping.
• Fixed Pontcysyllte Aqueduct LOD popping.
• Fixed Glass Pod on British Airways I360 position popping at different distances.
• Fixed Goodison Park missing textures under Sunroofs.
• Fixed Floors Castle texture and Added missing texture.
• Fixed Scotland flag display on Edinburgh Castle.
• Fixed Archbishop’s Palace Maidstone texture and LOD popping.
• Fixed Villa Park Stadium LOD popping.
• Fixed Kew Garden alignment with the satellite imagery footprint.
• Fixed Anfield Stadium LOD popping.
• Fixed Glamis Castle Grass vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Caernarfon Castle displaying.
• Fixed Wales Millennium Centre LOD transition.
• Fixed Forth Rail Bridge’s Northside pillar missing textures.
• Fixed Forth Rail Bridge displays Cars climbing.
• Fixed Twickenham Stadium and York Minster LOD popping.
• Liverpool John Lennon Airport EGGP:
  • Removed Light pole in middle of a taxiway.
  • Added missing collisions to multiple buildings.
• Barra Airport EGPR:
  • Fixed few taxi path issues.

World Update 4 – France &Benelux

* POIs

• Fixed the Mont Aiguille collision. It is now possible to land at its top.
• Fixed Stade Jean-Bouin collision.
• Fixed Stade Vélodrome LOD transition.
• Nice Cote Airport LFMN
  • Fixed runways center lines missing in both runways.
  • Fixed waypoints and nav procedures issues occurred.
  • Added collision to multiple buildings.

World Update 5 – Nordics

* POIs:

• Fixed Viking Stadion / SR-Bank LOD popping.
• Fixed Road traffic driving underneath Storseisundet Bridge and Svinesund Bridge.
• Fixed Petäjävesi Old Church and Uddevalla Bridge displays double markings.
• Fixed Cars driving through Copenhagen Opera House.
• Fixed Copenhagen Opera House LOD popping.
• Added collisions to the Tjörn Bridge.
• Fixed Kullen Lighthouse vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Øresund Bridge terraforming issue.
• Fixed Brøndby Stadium spawning.
• Fixed the Bolt Arena missing collision.
• Fixed Roskilde Cathedral Cars driving up the building.
• Fixed Helsinki Ice Hall LOD popping.
• Fixed Blue Water Arena missing collision.
• Fixed Arctic Cathedral LOD popping.
• Fixed Aalborg Stadium missing collision.
• Fixed Tromsø Bridge Road traffic under and beside the Bridge.
• Fixed floating TIN artifacts/crane near Helsinki Olympic stadium.
• Fixed Hallgrímskirkja Church missing collision.
• Fixed Eleda Stadion LOD popping.
• Fixed Ullevaal Stadion LOD transition.
• Added collisions to the Ylisto Bridge beams.
• Fixed Sparebanken Sør Arena LOD popping.
• Fixed Sölvesborg Bridge vegetation clipping.
• Stockholm Arlanda Airport ESSA:
  • improved LOD transition of several buildings.
  • Added collisions to all buildings.
  • Fixed terraforming issues include the crack on runway 26.
  • Fixed big crack in runway 26.
• Svalbard Airport ENSB:
  • Added missing collision to Airport hangar.

World Update 7 – Australia

* POIs:

• Fixed occasional displacement of dynamic flags on Sydney Harbour Bridge.
• Fixed vegetation clipping and placement issues at Anzac Bridge, Sydney.
• Fixed vegetation clipping at Mooney Mooney Bridge.
• Fixed flashing geometry on Tasman Bridge, Hobart.
• Adjusted photogrammetry exclusions at 568 Collins Street, Melbourne.
• Minor enhancements at several other locations, e.g., clipping vegetation or water exclusions.
• YSHL Shellharbour Airport:
  • Minimized visible LOD changes of hangars and other buildings.

World Update 8 – Iberia

* POIs:

• Fixed location of Fort of Sao Joao Baptista and Covão dos Conchos.
• Fixed or adding collisions:
  • Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre.
  • Royal Palace of Madrid.
  • the Museu Nacional d Art de Catalunya.
  • the Estádio Algarve.
  • Bom Jesus do Monte.
  • Alqueva Dam.
  • Aldeadavila Dam.
  • the Museum of Art Architecture and Technology.
  • Estadio Jose Alvalade.
• Fixed LOD popping:
  • Montjuic Castle.
  • Estadio Da Luz.
  • Episcopal Palace of Astorga.
  • Covão dos Conchos.
  • San Pablo Bridge.
  • Torre Mapfre.
  • Basilica de La Sagrada Familia.
  • Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre.
  • Puente Nuevo.
  • Fort of Sao Joao Baptista.
  • Estádio Municipal de Aveiro.
  • Estádio do Dragão.
  • Hotel Arts.
  • Observatorio Roque de los Muchachos.
  • El Monumento Natural de los Mallos de Riglos.
  • Palacio de Deportes de Santander.
  • Catedral de Leon.
  • the Alamillo Bridge.
• Fixed Montjuic Castle vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Z-fighting in front of the Museum of Art Architecture and Technology.
• Fixed Estádio Cidade de Coimbra double markers.
• Fixed Puente Nuevo Cars path.
• Fixed Guadiana International Bridge 2D footprints over the satellite imagery.
• Fixed Freixo Bridge- car traffic driving up below the Bridge.
• Fixed Third Millennium Bridge Cars traffic issue.
• Fixed Maria Pia Bridge- Cars climbing up to top of Bridge.
• Fixed Luís I Bridge displays Cars traffic path.
• Fixed Santiago Bernabeu Stadium seats texture.
• Fixed Castillo de Santa Barbara texture gaps.
• Fixed the animation of the Gondola on the Vizcaya Bridge.
• Fixed Bom Jesus do Monte trees clipping into the building.
• Fixed Alqueva Dam texture.
• Fixed Alcázar de Segovia terrain clipping.
• Fixed Pena Palace trees clipping into the POI.
• Fixed El Flysch Zumaya and El Capricho Villa POIs name spelling.
• Fixed Rande Bridge Cars path and trees clipping into the POI.
• Fixed Aldeadvila Dam vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Alcázar de Segovia trees clipping into the POI.
• Fixed El Monasterio de El Escorial Z-fighting.
• Fixed Monumento a Alfonso XII Z-fighting.
• Fixed 516 Arouca bridge vegetation clipping.
• Pico Airport LPPI:
  • Fixed double windsocks.

World Update 9 – Italy & Malta

* POIs

• Fixed Duomo Di Orvieto LOD popping.
• Added missing collisions to Basilica San Francesco.
• Fixed Torri Di San Marino LOD popping.
• Fixed Diga Di Santa Giustina terrain LOD popping.
• Added missing collision to Torri Di San Marino.
• Fixed Faro Di Capo Caccia cliffs collision.
• Fixed Castle of Corigliano Calabro vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Fort Manoel collision.
• Fixed Castello Di Graines collision.
• Fixed Caserta Royal Palace collision.
• Fixed Place Moulin Dam vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Fénis Castle textures issues.
• Fixed Potola Palace bridges terrain blending.
• Fixed Fort St Angelo vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Castelsardo invisible terrain issues.
• Fixed Palazzo Pitti Z-fighting and LOD popping.
• Fixed Fort St Angelo vegetation clipping.
• Fixed National Stadium Ta’Qali collisions.
• Fixed Fénis Castle vegetation clipping and Added collisions.
• Fixed Parish Church of Mellieha missing textures.
• Fixed Mi.Co. Gate 2 vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Basilica San Francesco vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Maxxi the National Museum collisions.
• Fixed Lighthouse Of Genoa powerlines, DEM and generic buildings clipping.
• Fixed Allianz Stadium vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Viadotto Sfalassa vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Basilica Di San Pietro vegetation and TIN clipping.
• Fixed Basilica Di San Petronio TIN clipping.
• Added missing collisions to Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
• Fixed Castelsardo Z-fighting and vegetation clipping.
• Fixed Grotta Di Nettuno vegetation clipping.
• Marina Di Campo Airport LIRJ:
  • Fixed double windsocks.

World Update 10 – USA

* POIs:

• Fixed Mount Washington Hotel terraforming.
• Fixed National Park of American Samoa’s Marker position.
• Fixed textures stretched in Royal Gorge Bridge & Park’s Rock.
• Fixed Z-fighting on the roof of the Getty Museum.
• Fixed the Smithsonian National Museum of American History display name.
• Fixed the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse marker position and windows textures issues.
• Fixed the vegetation clipping into the Independence Temple.
• Fixed the New Orleans bridges collisions.
• Fixed the US flag in Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.
• Fixed the Longaberger Company headquarters and Fort Massachusetts collision.
• Fixed LODs transitions for the following POIs:
  • Split Rock Lighthouse.
  • Kentucky State Capitol.
  • Indian River Inlet Bridge.
  • World War II Memorial.
  • Cabo Rojo Lighthouse.
  • Yerkes Observatory.
  • Montana State.
  • Mount Washington.
  • Theodore Roosevelt Dam.
  • the Independence Temple.
  • Fort Massachusetts.
  • National Gallery of Art.
• Lake Tahoe Airport KTVL:
  • Added collisions for few missing buildings.
• Block Island Airport KBID:
  • Added collisions for few missing buildings.
• Dallas Forth Worth Airport KDFW:
  • Fixed few terraforming issues in the airport.
  • Runways types are now defined.
• Others:
  • Fixed the Water cracks present at Seven Seas Lagoon near.

World Update 11 – Canada

* POIs:

• Fixed TIN buildings exclusion near Hatley Park National Historic Site.
• Fixed blend of Samuel de Champlain Bridge surrounding terrain.
• Fixed the double markers of the One on the World map.
• Fixed Cars floating above Pierre-Laporte Bridge.
• Fixed Cars flow over Jacques Cartier Bridge and Angus L. Macdonald Bridge.
• Fixed big Nickel POI name.
• Fixed the vegetation clipping through Burrard Street Bridge.
• Fixed Z fighting on the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
• Fixed LOD popping of Cape Bonavista Lighthouse cliffs and Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic cliffs.
• Fixed the vegetation clipping into the zipline at the Cape Enrage Lighthouse.
• Fixes Pierre-Laporte Bridge terrain alignment.
• Fixed the vegetation clipping into the A. Murray MacKay Bridge and Thousand Islands Bridge.
• Fixed Lions Gate Bridge alignment with tterrain and road.
• Fixed terrain spikes going through Jacques Cartier Bridge.
• Fixed Holes in terrain all around Citadel Hill (Fort George).
• Fixed terrain LOD popping around Parliament of Canada.
• Fixed terraforming at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
• Fixed TIN data displays next to Fisgard Lighthouse.
• Added missing building on the Canadian High Arctic Research Station.
• Added missing building for the Cambridge Bay Radar Station.
• Fixed collisions of Jacques Cartier Bridge, The Lions Gate Bridge and The Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

40th Anniversary Edition / Sim Update 11

• Meigs Field KCGX:
  • Fixed Z-fighting in runway and tarmac.
  • Fixed taxi to parking after landing.
  • Starting in KCGX helipad while helicopter is selected is now available.
  • ATIS is now available.
• Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport VHHX:
  • Added collisions to multiple buildings.
  • Fixed the too low glideslope.
  • Fixed the ILS range for runway 13.
  • ATIS is now available.
• Princess Juliana Airport TNCM:
  • Added collisions to few missing buildings.
  • Fixed the LOD transitions.
• First Flight Airport KFFA:
  • Fixed Z fighting on pathway.
• Helipads/Heliports:
  • Lingotto Building LIBH:
    • Fixed the too High collision preventing smooth landing.
    • Fixed Z- fighting on the roof of the building.
  • NYC Heliport KJRB – Added collisions for few missing items.
  • Tokyo Heliport – Added collisions for few buildings.
  • US Bank Tower Helipad:
    • marker is now centered over the helipad.
    • Fixed LOD transition.
  • Heliponto Mirante Dona Marta SMDH:
    • Heliport collisions has been fixed.
    • Fixed LOD transition.
  • Menara Telekom Tower Helipad:
    • marker is now centered over the helipad.
    • Fixed Z-fighting on Water near the tower.
  • Bitexco Financial Tower – Fixed LOD transition.
  • London Heliport EGLW – Removed building appeared inside the Airport perimeter while photogrammetry is off.
  • Needles Lighthouse – Lighthouse Light is now spinning.
  • Issy-Les-Moulineaux Heliport:
    • marker is now centered over the helipad.
• Glider Airports:
  • Itakura Gliderport RJT1 – Fixed ground and runway textures.

Game of the Year Edition

• Voloport:
  • All Voloports are now possible to use as helipads.
  • Issy-Les-Moulineaux Heliport- Voloport is now available as helipad.
  • La Defense Voloport is is now available as helipad.
  • Fixed LOD transition for all Voloports.
  • Fixed Le Bourget Voloport name spelling.
• Lugano Airport LSZA:
  • Collision has been Added to multiple objects.
  • Fixed floating lights around the airport.
  • Fixed Z-fighting on airports’ tennis courts.

Top Gun Maverick

• Fixed the clipping through the rocks at Seneca Rocks Peak.
• Fixed Haines Knob collision is size.
• Fixed collisions in Germany Valley Quarry.
• Fixed French Gulf Marina has LOD transition.
• Fixed LOD popping in Riffle Lake Dam.

Credit to u/SpacePaladin15 for the NOP world.
Hope everyone who read it enjoyed the last chapter, I certainly had fun introducing more of Rysel along with Tolim and Milam.
I know I promised that this chapter would have the beginning of the course but I got carried away with focusing on the characters again. The next chapter will definitely have animals in it and it will be out as soon as possible. That said, I hope you enjoy.
[First] [Previous] [Next]
Memory transcription subject: Rysel, Venlil Environmental Researcher
Date [standardised human time]: 21st August 2136
For the second time in less than a full claw I was woken by the obnoxious noise of a machine. Granted Milam’s Krakotl song alarm was gentler than the stations docking systems, but it still grated on my ears, forcing me awake with high pitched cawing. Weren’t Krakotl famed for their song? Maybe this one had a sore throat when recording.
Chuckling internally at the idea my thoughts drifted to the Krakotl themselves. I wasn’t too fond of them… well that’s not fair, I’d only met one but he’d left a bad impression. Couldn’t remember his name but he was the newest chief of the local exterminator’s office back home. Like a wool twist you just couldn’t straighten out, the memory of his appearance in town was lodged in that part of your brain that only activates when you’re trying to relax or sleep. The one that makes you recount all the cringy and awkward moments you’ve experienced in life.
Our local branch was extremely public orientated, making themselves known to everyone as friendly and capable help ready to leap into action at a moment’s notice, even for non-exterminator things like litter pick up or weeding local allotments for the public, nice bunch really. So it stood to reason that when a new chief was chosen from off world, the town got together to make them feel welcome. At first he seemed totally professional, your typical career exterminator… then the speech started.
It began normal enough, hello I’m blah blah blah, I’m from wherever and here to do whatever, but then it got weird. Turned out our new chief from Nishtal had a bit of a hero complex. He went on and on about how the Krakotl had, in his words, spread out their wings to protect the huddled masses from the terror that is the predator menace, lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce! He lamented the burden of the Venlil, being one of the weaker races but promised he would do everything in his power, even lay his very life on the line to keep us safe, that’s why he’d journey so far from home after all.
Now, while no one disputed the threat of predators it was tiresome to hear someone once again regurgitate the line that we were little weaklings who couldn’t do anything ourselves. Sure, we weren’t the strongest or most stalwart of species but for stars sake, this was our own planet and we’d done fine dealing with predators without the Federation before they arrived and done fine since! This feeling was clearly shared by the majority of the crowd due to the tepid response he received at the conclusion of his “heroic” proclamation. Several younger Venlil were enamoured with him from the moment he started speaking however. I think some joined up with the exterminators right then and there.
Stars just thinking about how awkward the whole thing was could cause me to bloom right here if I wasn’t careful. Oh well, I hadn’t run into him again since his appointment. Plus that was just one Krakotl, I shouldn’t let prejudice grip me because one pompous exterminator gave a bad speech. I mean, what were the chances that all the Krakotl were like him? Self-important moral supremacists that believed everything coming out of their beaks regardless of the reality before them or everyone else!? Ridiculous.
Now fully awake I shuffled out of bed and made my way to the washroom which thankfully came equipped with a mirror. Splashing some water on my face I began to tidy myself up, straightening out rouge tufts of wool and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I didn’t much care about being presentable to the human, but if this programme was open to all types of environmental scientist then I might be able to make connections that could lead to a better job once the exchange is over. Satisfied with my swift grooming, I fetched my pad and bag from my bedside. Milam was in the middle of waking as I approached.
“Hey Rysel, sleep well?” she asked, stretching as she rose from slumber, somehow unaffected by the bed wool that had afflicted me.
“Very well thank you.” I replied, “And you, did you get a good rest?”
“I did thank you.” She responded cheerily as she fetched her pad to silence her alarm. “Now where is that network hub, ah there it is.”
Milam approached a control panel built into the wall next to the door. Tapping her pad to it produced two pinging sounds in quick succession. One to notify that it was now connected to the local network and another to inform that a data packet had been received. As she stepped away to review the message I connected my own pad to the network, receiving confirmation of success and a message of my own.
The message was brief, “Welcome Rysel, please report to lecture room A-5 for the Introduction to Terran Zoology programme, conducted by Dr Bernard MacEwan, Professor of Zoology at Edinburgh University.” That must be the predators name, and that must be where it’s from on Earth? Interesting that they would have universities being predators, but then again, they’re probably nothing compared to even the humblest institutions of learning across the Federation.
As the message ended a map of the station popped up, arrows highlighting my path to the assigned lecture theatre. It wasn’t too far, only a short walk.
“I have a room number and directions to it for my programme. What about you Milam?” I asked.
“Yes, I’ve got one too, B-3. It’s close so I don’t have to hike across the station thankfully” She replied, a waver creeping into her voice. “Where’s yours Rysel?”
“A-5, nearby too. Looks like our rooms are on the opposite sides of this split in the corridors.” Pointing to the map on my pad. “How are you feeling? You sound nervous.”
“Aren’t you!?” retorted Milam, a sudden frustrated force lacing her tone. “I mean, we’re about to be in the same room as predators and no matter how friendly Governor Tarva says they are or how much the empathy tests prove they can be kind they’re still predators who devour flesh!” Her voice was starting to shake, tail wrapping around her for comfort, her eyes directed to the ground. “You don’t even seem slightly nervous about it!”
“Trust me I am.” I swiftly assured, “The moment I got confirmation I was accepted to this programme I wanted to cancel on the spot, my brain screaming at me for how stupid I was being, willingly placing myself in the same place as a predator.”
Milam looked up from the floor to me, the anxiety still present as she asked, “What made you stay?”
Oh Speh, “Err well… like I said before, professional curiosity.” I responded, though I feared not as convincingly as my recounting of my reaction to accepting the invitation.
A moment of silence passed before Milam let out a chuckle, confusing me but breaking the nervous tension. “You know, if we’re going to be sharing a room for who knows how long, you’re going to have to be honest at some point and tell me the full story of what brought you here.”
I winced inwardly at the thought of explaining myself. Using the same reasoning almost word for word with nothing else to back it up? No wonder she caught on so quickly. Still, Milam didn’t seem like she was going to pry further right now and her words suggested she was fine with me bringing it up myself if I felt comfortable. I appreciated that at the very least.
“Sure, I’ll make a note to do that later.” I said awkwardly, no point denying hidden motivations now anyway. “So, feeling up to heading to our programmes? We might be late if we don’t head off now.”
“Yes, I’m feeling better, thank you Rysel.” Milam replied, tail and ears flicking to emphasise a more relaxed state. “And you’re right we’re cutting it close enough as it is, come on.” She instructed as she opened the door and whisked herself from the room before I could blink. Wasn’t she just on the verge of having a panic attack? I laughed quietly to myself as I followed her into the hallway. Considering that her families wellbeing was her motivation for being here I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me how willing she was to power through her fears. It’s a purer motivation than I have at any rate. Oh well.
I quickly caught up to Milam as she power walked through the halls following her pads directions to her assigned lecture room. A short while later we came to a fork in our routes, wishing each other good luck as we split. While animals and their place in ecosystems was my primary topic of interest and work, I was curious what Milam was going to learn about Earths flora in her programme. We’ll have to swap notes during our free time.
Arriving at room A-5 I could see several Venlil hovering at the open door. Peering past them I realised that the room was already filling up with programme volunteers, the ones standing outside hadn’t seemed to work up the nerve to take a seat yet. I squeezed past them, entering a typical lecture hall. Rows of chairs and desks were placed in semi-circular arrangement with seating elevated on a slope the farther back you went, allowing those in the back to easily see over the heads of those in front. All of this faced a microphone equipped podium and a truly massive monitor that the lecturer could use when teaching or giving talks. Aside from that the only other thing of note was the door on the opposite wall to the one I’d used, a red light shining above its frame. I presumed that our guest would soon arrive through it.
Predictably the seats had filled from the back first, with only a few still available in the middle and none of the first couple of rows populated at all. I knew that the government struggled to find volunteers, but I would’ve thought they’d be able to fill a lecture hall with less than fifty seats, it’s not even at half capacity yet. Like Milam it’s probably best to keep my invitation to myself for now. Maybe someone else was in a similar situation but it didn’t behove me to risk bearing anyone’s ire that I was being paid more for the same risk that everyone else was undertaking.
Spying a free seat in the middle section I made my way between my fellow classmates, taking a seat between a Venlil on my right who was taking deep breaths to calm her obvious apprehension and another on my left who was focused on the door with the red light, no doubt waiting for our predator doctor to show themselves. His wool was shaved close, almost like an exterminator cut… wait, where do I recognise him from…
Ping
I was snapped out of my thoughts by a tone playing through the rooms in built speakers. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it certainly wasn’t what came next. A smooth, deep voice began to gently flow into the hall, silencing all previous murmuring.
“Good day everyone, or should I say good paw? I am Dr Bernard MacEwan and I will be joining you shortly. You may have noticed the red light above one of the doors in the lecture hall. When I am about to enter, the light will turn off and I will come through about 15 seconds later, I felt giving you a bit of warning would be warranted.
Now, I know that you will likely have misgivings about me being a human, but we are not the Arxur, or some non-sapient predator driven only by base instinct. Humans are as sapient as you, with all the emotional range and logic driven thought that comes with such an existence and we want nothing more than friendship with the galaxy’s inhabitants. It is my wish that through this exchange of information we can bridge the gap of understanding between our two civilisations and I can help prove our friendly intent, if not by word alone then by sharing the wealth of knowledge our society has cultivated throughout our history.
This will not be easy, for any of us, but as humans have learned through millennia of living with only ourselves, our differences, while perhaps seemingly irreconcilable at first, need not divide us. In fact, by taking the difficult road to create understanding, tolerance and eventually acceptance, we can elevate ourselves to create a better world together than we could ever manage alone. I believe in this initiative and the promise it aspires to. I hope you do too.”
Silence permeated the hall as the message concluded. I was shocked at what I’d just heard. Not by fear but genuine curiosity as aspects of the message took me completely by surprise. The humans voice had been much lower than any Venlil but it had been so soft, so calm. It alerted us to how they would enter the room, giving us time to prepare ourselves for its entrance. Why would a predator do that and risk giving prey a chance to strike at it first? And then the speech, the reassurance made to us to recognise it as a true sapient, that it wasn’t as cruel, vicious or mindless as the Arxur or another animal. That all they wanted was friends, understanding and acceptance, promising to give all they had to achieve this goal. And finally, the notion of working together to build something greater than anyone could alone. It was touching, inspiring, it was… a human.
Almost as quickly as it had come on, the lilting feelings the speech brought on vanished, replaced with a quiet dread as I remembered the source. True they had empathy and hadn’t done anything to warrant full disdain yet but they were still predators and I needed to remember that. This whole programme was about scientific fact and I needed to be focused when listening to and eventually challenging this “doctor” on their likely lacking understanding of nature. Money may have motivated me here but I was a professional with years of experience and I was going to make that clear during my time here.
A gasp directed my attention back to my surroundings. The light had gone out. The pressure of the stations atmosphere was calibrated to match Venlil Prime but in those few moments it felt like the waters of Aafa’s oceans were squeezing me from all sides.
The door slid open and, in the frame, stood the bipedal form of a human. It stood about a head taller than your average Venlil, it’s spindly arms and legs extending from a surprisingly frail looking torso. The face was enclosed within a reflective visor, obscuring any forward facing facial features. I thanked the stars the human was wearing it. Bad enough it has those awful eyes but I’d rather not be looking at them, or rather have them bearing down on me. The visor only extended so far back across the face, leaving the sides relatively visible. What little skin was within view was pale and, wrinkled? The hair I could see was cut short, coloured grey with flecks of white mixed in, the same kind of colour a Venlil’s wool starts to turn when they get… older.
Could it be? Did the humans send one of their elders to us? The wrinkled skin and greying hair both pointed to that. I mean it makes sense to us that the older a member of society the more experience they may have but I would’ve thought predators would discard those who couldn’t hunt anymore? This is great! At least I don’t have to worry as much about it being too dangerous…
I stopped mid thought as I noticed that the human clutched a long metal pole almost half my height in its right hand. It brought a weapon!? Stars why was it allowed to bring that onto the station much less the lecture!? Does anyone know that it has it!? It’s moving, it’s… limping?
As the human made its way to the podium, it moved the pole in tandem with its right leg and then, as it’s left one came forward, it used the pole to support its weight as it walked. Oh, oh I see, it’s just a mobility aid, phew panic over. Wait, why does it need an aid? No, no, no, no it can’t be.
While those around me seemed to have calmed significantly on realising that the human was both elderly and in need of aid to move around, I remembered what Tolim had said about the injured human. The injured human who just got up and walked off after having their leg crushed by a crate. Please, please don’t let that human be this human.
“Once again, good paw to you all. I am Dr Bernard MacEwan and I very much look forward to getting to know all of you during our time together.” The human introduced themselves once again in their gentle tone. “Now I’m sure you’re all raring to go but I would like to take a moment to let you know how this will be conducted. For today’s session we will begin with a quick question and answer. Ask me anything you can think of and I’ll do my best to answer. The second part of todays session will involve you all reviewing images of Earth’s wildlife. Now don’t worry, these have all been curated in line with your governments guidelines and steps have been taken to ensure as little distress as possible when viewing some of the more predatory animals, or at least what you would recognise as predatory. Finally, we will close with another question and answer session, ideally more geared towards the second part of the lecture but if there is a question you weren’t able to ask in the first session then by all means ask away.”
While my mind was still heavily focused on the chance of this being the same injured predator one thing caught my attention. What we would recognise as predatory? What does it mean by that? This is worse than I thought if the humans don’t even understand that forward facing eyes, meat eating and sharp teeth were some of the key aspects if not the only aspects when determining predatory inclinations.
The human continued, “Ok, with that out of the way, does anyone have a question?”
There was an understandable silence. Most of us probably couldn’t bring up the nerve to ask a question, knowing the predator would home in on whoever piped up. We might not be able to see the eyes behind the mask, but we knew they were there.
“Um, yes I have a question.” A voice sounded behind me. I turned slightly to see the brave Venlil who had decided to speak up shivering in their seat.
“Of course, please ask away.” The human responded cheerily. Surprisingly though they didn’t turn their head to face the source. Instead, they turned their face away, bringing an ear forward instead.
“Thank you,” replied the Venlil, a surprised tone clear in their voice. Evidently the strange behaviour didn’t escape their notice either despite their fear. “I was just wondering why you said good paw in your greeting?”
“Oh, I thought that was what your days were called?”, the human replied quizzically.
“That’s correct, but paw is used more as a measure of time, like a claw, whereas a day is still a day.” Informed the Venlil, their voice steadier than their body language displayed. Perhaps the strangeness of having to explain something as simple as time keeping vernacular to a predator was throwing them through several conflicting emotions. It was certainly confusing me. This was our guide to the life on Earth? A bit disappointing so far.
“Ah I see, my how embarrassing. Thank you for letting me know.” Despite their response, the human didn’t seem embarrassed. Rather, they were barking? My translator quickly identified the strange sounds as laughter denoting amusement, but why would something like this amuse the human?
As if reading my mind, they spoke again, “See everyone, this is what I mean. Two different cultures teaching each other their differences for greater understanding. Isn’t it marvellous?”
Marvellous, really? If that was all the “knowledge” it took to amaze the human then wait until it got a load of what all of us had in store for it regarding ecosystems.
“Anyone else? Come now don’t be shy ask away?” The human encouraged, completely unfazed at being educated on such a simple concept in its own lecture. Fine, I’d had one ready since I saw it limp in. I needed to confirm if this was the one Tolim mentioned.
“Are you injured?” I asked, trying my best to sound stern through my nerves.
“What? Oh you mean this?”, the human motioned with the pole to their left leg. “Thank you for the concern but I am quite alright. There was an accident a few hours ago where a crate fell on my leg but I didn’t even feel it.” They informed, with another light bark of laughter.
At this, a couple worried and fearful expressions appeared across the audience, my own among them. They didn’t feel their own leg get crushed!? What are these things!?
Seeming to realise the anxiety their answer had caused the human quickly continued, “Please don’t fret, apologises I should’ve provided more context. My left leg is prosthetic.” To demonstrate this fact the human took the pole and knocked the end of it against their leg, causing a light clanging sound of metal hitting metal to ring out.
“I’ve had it for a long time and its rather low tech so no replicated nerve receptors either. That’s why I said it didn’t hurt when it was crushed. Apologises again, I should’ve realised how a human saying they felt nothing from what would normally be a serious injury could come across. I was able to conduct minor repairs but I’ll get it sorted good and proper in short order.”
I let go of a breath I didn’t realise I had been holding at the end of their explanation, my nerves levelling out at a much more manageable level. Ok, that’s good news. They’re still a predator but they’re not injured, just elderly with a prosthetic leg… nope, nope I’m not going to ask how that happened, lets move on.
“Thank you for your concern, very kind of you.” Said the human, a warm tone in their voice.
I hadn’t meant it as concern for them but if that’s how the human took it, I wasn’t going to correct them. I nodded lightly and flicked my ears in acknowledgment, though they were still looking away from the audience, angling their ear towards me instead so I had no clue if they’d seen it.
Other members of the audience seemed to find courage to ask questions after myself and the other volunteer had taken the initial stress away with ours. The questions mostly focused on the human themselves, through which we learned that he was a he, that he was seventy four human years old, like I suspected from the message to my pad he was indeed from a place called Edinburgh, a city in one of human nations called Scotland, and he had been in his current field of study for almost forty years.
There were other questions of course but they mostly surrounded the more fear inducing aspects of humanity, does he eat meat, will he eat meat while here, how will he deal with his hunting instincts, that kind of thing. To his credit he appeared to answer these questions honestly yet sensitively. Yes, he eats meat back home but never from a living animal, only ever from lab grown cell cultures. No, he would not be eating meat or any animal product during his stay. And he won’t be dealing with instincts because they don’t exist.
I scoffed internally at that last one. Surely he didn’t expect us to believe he didn’t have some hunting instinct even in his advanced age? Still, I wasn’t about to challenge him before we got properly started. Besides, as much as I was hesitant to admit it he seemed rather friendly from what little interaction we’d had so far and I didn’t want to change that this early.
As the questions drew to a close the human spoke up enthusiastically, “Alright everyone, I’m glad we were able to have such a frank and open question and answer session to start us off but now, let’s get to why you’re all really here. To experience the native life of Earth and how it may differ to what you are used to.”
He moved to the podium, picking up a pad that rested upon it and began tapping away briskly. A round of pings notified everyone of a data package being sent to their pads.
“Now, don’t open those just yet.” Said the human, “Each of you have received a gallery of photographs of the diverse life that inhabits Earth. You have been sent these individually so that you can go through them at your own pace, but don’t worry if you can’t get through them all. On each photograph you will find one animal along with three options to categorise them into, predator, prey or unknown. Now you might be wondering why we added that third option and the simple reason is you’ve never seen anything on Earth before so an animal may be too alien to categorise in relation to your own sciences. Additionally, we know forward facing eyes can cause distress so in all photos, regardless of an animal being predatory or not, we have blotted out the eyes with very distinct pink dots. This will identify where they eyes are on an animal but hopefully help with any stress looking at them may cause.”
Once again, I was surprised by the efforts the humans were going to make us comfortable interacting with their world, though I took some offence at the idea that an unknown category would be required. I think I know how to determine predator and prey thank you very much. I might not have forty years on the job but certainly enough to know the difference.
“Well then, I will take a seat and you may all get started at your discretion. You may of course discuss the photos if you feel the need and please let me know if there is anything you need help with.” The human stated, settling down on a chair by his podium.
Here it was, the moment of truth. The first peek into the non-sapient life of the human home world. Despite the feelings of trepidation I felt, there was something more, something I didn’t expect. Excitement, excitement at what could be within this file and the thought that among all the Venlil in the galaxy, among the entire Federation, I was one of the first to look upon the life of a brand new world. My paw trembled over my pad as I pressed open on the data packet, wondering if the first thing I saw would be a prey creature or a cursed predator.
As the file loaded my excitement built, my tail swishing rapidly and then, it appeared… an aquatic blob with tentacles, no eyes, no mouth, nothing... What the Speh is this!?