Log Entry #75: Avalon

Sometimes people need to get their minds off the bigger problems they are facing. All those life-changing situations they cannot influence, but at the same time, the ones they need to endure.

That is why we made such a big spectacle of the new Space Station’s final arrival into its parking orbit, and out of naming the station and a celebration that followed.

The demons are coming; there is no doubt in my mind about that. After three months without the scout ship sending any preliminary information back, others will be sent to investigate its disappearance. It is a safe bet they would not send only one measly ship, they are going to send much more.

Less than six months from now, we would have to face the threat. As things stand, the S.U. and all the nations on Earth, are not able to do that. Even if just a few more scout ships showed at this moment, I don’t know if we would manage to defeat them.

Camouflaged Hammers worked, but I would not place any bets that a similar tactic would be successful again. I looked at the data on the tactical computer from the demon ship, and all I can say is that we got incredibly lucky. The shields that eventually stopped them weren’t even on for most of the encounter, all thanks to Captain1 who didn’t see the transporters and Hammers as a serious threat, and only turned them on at the last moment.

Those shields on his scout were crazy power-hungry and took some time to gain full strength, so that was the only reason those four Hammers had any effect. If their shields were at their maximum strength, they would’ve been able to shrug off that last attack of ours, and we would have an entirely different situation on our hands. Imagine that, just that one measly demon scout ship could have devastated the entire infrastructure of Earth. Not to mention destroying the Ascension, Avalon, and all our transporters. It had only three crew members, but its size was disproportional for just their needs. The answer is the ridiculous amount of armaments it carried, enough to cause untold devastation. (I said we were extremely lucky.)

I told Michael some secrets I managed to dig up from the Knowledge Vault, and I hope it would give us an upper hand. Especially antimatter if we manage to weaponize it in time. But that other thing, the wormhole weapon, as I started to call it, is… scary, (yes, I took the name from my favorite show.)

It is not even so difficult to make, if you have enough antimatter to place in the hollow metal ring that is keeping it stable, while creating very strong magnetic fields to keep it in place. The devastation that thing does—it can do much more than Michael thinks. I can see it scaled up so it can devour entire planets, or worse, activate it close to the Sun and you can, in theory, destabilize it enough to become an instant… well, maybe not a supernova, but I can think of nothing good that can come about when destabilizing a star.

When you start thinking on that scale, you can scare yourself… from yourself. That is why I would utilize it only as a last option, something not to be played with unless there is a need so great, destruction on a cosmical scale could be considered.

It was so carefully hidden; nobody found any trace of the research during a thousand years Mikell’s family kept the Vault in secret, even when they were in Atlantis. The data had such advanced encryption, it was as if it was meant to be found by an AI (I don’t see normal beings succeeding in breaking it, even with the most advanced computers I can think of).

It is a weapon of last resort, and I feel like a child playing with an atomic bomb. I wonder if scientists that were involved in the Manhattan Project knew what they were unleashing on the world. Would they have continued with the foreknowledge of the devastation their work would bring on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Having said that, do I dare not to have it when the consequences of my inaction could prove fatal for the entirety of humanity?

On a saner topic, I have started the plans for the construction of the S.U. navy, or the beginning of one. Everything is still in a preliminary stage, but once a few more fidgety bits are dealt with, I plan to ramp up the production to my utmost capability.

The scope of operation in the Main Asteroid Belt needs to be seen to be believed; the construction nanites are consuming the big rocks like candies. Even the hub of all my operations has moved to Ceres, which is giving me more space and better conditions since it has a gravity of 0.3G. I have now thousands of probes constantly broadening the information about the asteroids’ composition. That allows me to pick the best ones, the same as the gold miners back on Earth did when they first came to legendary sites during the gold rush. The fact is that despite the enormous size of my operation—it still needs to be enlarged. The Second space station, which shell I started to build, now is going to be scrapped for its easily accessible materials. That’s all right, who needs an extra space station if demons destroy or enslave the entire human race, and it will shave some time to my deadline.

This peaceful interlude before the rush begins, we used to bring something positive in people’s lives. The betting pool for the station's name began as a joke, that turned out to be worth several million credits and a choice of an apartment at Rivendell. What can I say, people like to bet on things, and this lottery really got them going. Who would have thought that the suggestion of a ten-year-old girl would be the winner? She is apparently a fan of the Arthurian myths, so it was not a stretch she would choose such a name. Everybody knows the ship I am in is called the Excalibur, so it sort of fits.

Overall, the general sentiments about the space station Avalon were more than positive. Despite the dark clouds on the horizon, everybody was happy for additional space available for future expansions.

I hope their faith in us will not be unfounded.