Green Eggs and Ham

Harry Bryant shares the following

• The grey goo was designed to clone and create things.
• Adam McGlean used a device to control the nanites that was destroyed by the grey goo.
• It is unknown why these nanites can survive this close to the sun.
• Three gravimetric lenses would be used to scoop and contain the grey goo.

The military believe they can maintain the secret of Mercury for a long time, even use what happened at Percepi to guide public perception of what happened at Mercury and its three million inhabitants. Weapons fire does seem to have some effect in destroying the grey goo, but it would take too long to destroy that many.

Our mission is to take the specialized frigate Harry has been working on, collect some grey goo, and take it to a space station near Mars for study.

During the 16 hour trip to Mercury the ship crew talks with each other, sharing their thoughts on the mission, getting details on how the mission will be accomplished, studying varies possibilities in how to deal with various risks, etc. Ridge and Noun collaborate redesigning her robotic shell. Malcolm learns of a companion working on one of the blockage ships. Ridge shares she is 192 years old, a soul mech, and has lost some 42 years to space traveling the speed of light. Ridge misses the long range new colony missions.

Fey chats with Ridge to gauge how she feels about the FTL planet and the nanites. The FTL planet is decidedly “cool”. Ridge doesn’t assign the “evil” label to the FTL planet. Fey asks whether Ridge finds the nanites consuming Mercury frightful. Ridge feels awe rather than thinking of it as frightful.

As the ship approaches Mercury clearance is sent to the blockage and the crew is called to the bridge. The blockage ships provide us with data they have gathered. Most noteworthy is that the consumption of a couple probes that made contact with the nanites was at a much slower pace (90 seconds and 3 minutes). The frigate crew speculates that the nanite conversion rate might be related to the potential energy of living beings or/and mystic energy?

Malcolm shares what he has learned from his colleague (Claire). The planet’s mystic energy is being depleted which at its current rate will be gone in about a month. The 3 million souls that were on Mercury are still there in active pain. Trenton wonders whether the souls are trapped on the planet in a similar way that souls are kept in soul mechs.

Ridge moves the frigate within a mile of Mercury to send a probe into the planet. The probe takes around 1% longer to be consumed that the blockade ship’s experiment a few weeks ago. With no objections, Ridge the ship towards the planet to collect samples of nanites.

As the frigate approaches the planet surface, Malcolm feels the pain and suffering of the souls left on the planet suffering. Using his neutral jack he transmits those feelings to the rest of the crew. Ridge wonders whether it is similar to what Fey felt on Percepi. Fey says it is similar but not exactly; the void they were in was waves of fear and nausea, rather than continued agony and pain. Dr Peters classifies what this as severe depression. Malcolm declares the suffering as souls in damnation or Hell.

Malcolm suddenly stops transmitting his sense of the souls in pain, stares through people in the distance, snaps out of it and yells for Ridge to get away from the planet (Malcolm seems more focused and serious than normal). Ridge does so, as the entire planet of Mercury begins moving suddenly towards the sun. Left behind is a 200 foot long green egg.

Ridge immediately chases the planet. Dr Peters goes to heal Malcolm, but then realizes that Malcolm is not injured and almost pulses with a tremendous well of positive energy.

The frigate catches up with the planet and Ridge attempts to capture some of the grey goo. In the collection process something goes wrong and the nanites get onto the ship’s wings. The green egg shimmers, the shell falls leaving a lightning class escort ship, which closes on the frigate and begins shooting at the grey goo on the frigate’s wing. Ridge commands everyone to evacuate.

Once the crew is off the ship using the escape pods, Ridge sets off an EMP pulse. The escort ship, which has no markings except a crescent moon with a sword handing over it in its nose, tractors the escape pod. Ridge gets outside the ship to survey the damage and repairs.

Trenton contacts Ridge using the communications system on the escape pod. Ridge shares what has happened. Trenton spares sarcastically with Ridge on her judgment. The Behemoth contacts the unidentified ship (escort ship) to identify itself and release the escape pod.

The pilot of the escort ship identifies himself as Layden as he releases the escape pod. Noun uses the communications system to send Layden his business card, to which Layden is confused by. The Behemoth thanks Layden for his help, but requests that he dock and answer some questions. Layden agrees to this.

The Behemoth sends 4 ships to chase “Mercury” down. As this happens Layden informs the Behemoth he can help with Mercury. The Behemoth declines his offer, so Layden tells the Behemoth he’ll be right back and begins chasing after Mercury. The Behemoth moves to follow the escort ship. The ship suggests to Layden that perhaps now is the time to engage the cloaking device. Layden had no idea the ship had a cloaking device, but accepts. The ship disappears.