The Package

Author: Shorai Aikyoraan

Original post: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xkY54w6kp7bnk2QeE5NmL1HBS15RcILwhpeedHj_7vU/edit

Entry for the YC120 Pod and Planet Fiction Contest in the Other Things Just Make You Swear and Curse category.

Farrol Meikle, Ph.D, PsyD, EdD, D.Mgmt, D.Eng, D.Cyt
Department of Archaeology
Pator Tech School
Ryddinjorn

Captain Errol Bustamante
Pator Tech School
Heild

Captain:

I trust that you have been well.

The analysis you requested on item XXII is complete. Here I will offer a brief overview of our findings. Please find the full data logs in the five attached files.

As per our usual arrangement, please wipe this datapad after you review its reports, then destroy it completely. You might also, as you will, shoot the kind young capsuleer who delivered the device to you. We have ensured that his memories upon waking will not include his journey to Molden Heath.

We have been analyzing item XXII since your team recovered it from the belongings of Lord Chartres in YC119. This item has been the most troublesome by far, but we are confident that we have arrived at an accurate analysis of it.

Once we removed it from its hermetically sealed outer case, we determined that item XXII is, in fact, twelve individual items of similar design and provenance. They were further contained by a thin, colored boxlike shell, but when we opened the outer case, this shell disintegrated entirely. We were able to test the debris, and it is certainly a plant-based material. However, our testing placed it at over twenty thousand years old. At such an age—-if it is accurate-—we are unable to guess the age any nearer than that.

The items are nearly identical to each other. They are all cylindrical containers of a metallic alloy. Colorfully decorated, they bear locking and preservation mechanisms not dissimilar to those utilized on cans of Quafe. Early testing seemed to indicate that these canisters held some sort of liquid.

If these canisters are indeed twenty thousand years old, then any chemical composition should surely have broken down. Nonetheless, we opened one of them, and the canister offered a satisfying pop and sizzle.

We took this item (XXII-I) and ran some preliminary tests on it. There was indeed a carbonated liquid inside, which surprised us. Talk about a long shelf life!

The aromas issuing forth from the open canister suggested a fruity flavor--not any fruit in particular, or at least not one that we recognized--and so we determined that these canisters were in fact beverages. In the interest of science, I opened XXII-II and sampled it. The contents tasted most like a lightly flavored sparkling water. Indeed, I started to doubt whether our dating process for these items was correct--the beverage was pleasant and refreshing, fresh as if it had been crafted just the day before.

My team then took five more of the canisters (XXII III-VII) and performed a deeper examination of the beverages' components. Admittedly, I imagined isolating the ingredients and using them to develop a rival to Quafe. Regrettably, we found that all of the samples were composed not of water, but of various industrial cleaners, pesticides, and station fuels. How they bore such a tantalizing and refreshing flavor, I have no idea.

Fortunately, I have suffered no ill effects due to my sampling the drink. I would not, however, recommend consuming it regularly.

As promised, we will return these items to you. However, I will make you an offer which will likely be more useful to you. We could use the remaining drinks to compose fuels, sealants, and, I expect, even repair paste. Or, you could use the drinks as nanopaint remover, or in treating bioreactive waste. All of these would certainly be helpful to you on your missions.

Warmest regards,
Farrol Meikle
Ph.D, PsyD, EdD, D.Mgmt, D.Eng, D.Cyt