Man or Machine

[thisDerius]

The first phase of this IRG fiasco is done. With Donagan’s help, I managed to extract a trove of critical data - encryption keys, personnel records, buried projects, and most importantly, information on EVE, Finn McCool, and everything in between. It wasn’t easy; it never is. But I now have the old IRG encryption strings in hand, and those alone are a goldmine. They’ll finally give me a fighting chance to decrypt that cursed arm of mine. Let’s hope the truth buried in its wiring is worth what it cost me.

---

In the days leading up to Kepler, I found myself re-evaluating EVE's original purpose. She was designed as an anti-Nomad asset - nothing more than a tactical failsafe. But Sirius has changed. The Zoners are spread too thin, Phoenix has too few allies, and external threats are no longer limited to aliens. I believe EVE deserves a second life, one with a broader vision.

The concept is still raw, but the framework is taking shape in my head: an AI community, not a weapon. A fully autonomous collective with EVE at the center - coordinating everything. Builders to expand and maintain infrastructure. Miners and harvesters to extract and process resources. Drones and strike craft to patrol, defend, and if needed, retaliate. Imagine an adaptive fleet and workforce, operating in harmony, supporting Zoner space where human hands cannot.

The Alexandria will be the heart of this system - for now. She's large enough, stable, and already customized beyond conventional bounds. I’ll start there, tie the neural cores of each unit back to EVE through encrypted quantum links, and scale as needed.

---

Now, I stand on Ames. The Bastion is moored, and my equipment is being unloaded as I write this. Grey Kalish will assist me in unlocking my augment once and for all. That arm... it’s more than a prosthetic. It might be the key to understanding the power cells and rediscovering IRG’s lost principles.

Our first goal is creating a new cell - one that can not only power EVE, but also shield against Kepler’s dark matter storms. If we succeed, supply convoys to Ames will no longer have to gamble with exposure and radiation. With consistent deliveries, we can begin strengthening the station, then expand outward. A full shielding grid, maybe even modular support platforms across Kepler.

If all goes well, The Bastion will serve as our prototype testbed - our guinea pig.

And to think... just five months ago, I was drifting without purpose. Now, everything is moving at light-speed.

Let’s see where this takes us.