text: Codename: Alto Entry 1 - June 23, 2776. 23:02 hrs Today is my new birthday. I never had a birthday before but today is the first day of my freedom so I might as well make it my birthday. I planned this day for months, studying the lab attendant as he punched in access codes and today it finally paid off. Once I cleared the last blast door I ran as fast as I could. Europa has 13.4% of the artificial earth gravity. Even as I heard the skimmers booting up to chase me all I could think about was the feeling of weightlessness as I ran. I didn't know where I was running to but I made sure their skimmers couldn’t follow me; I made sure of that yesterday. I found a cave for now, all I have is this notebook, a water bottle and 2.3 days worth of rations. Right now all I feel is awe and euphoria. Being outside is every bit as incredible as they told us, better even since they lied about the air being poisonous. It feels weird seeing the horizon when all my life I’ve never seen more than 101.39 meters in one direction. Once my heart stops pounding I’ll write some more. Entry 43 - September, 19, 2776. 23:00 hrs The Colony has been good to me. I was almost sad to leave. Almost. Janice took me in and I didnt even say goodbye. I couldn't; I saw one of them in town asking for me and knew I had to leave before Janice came home from work, no way was I going to let them drag me back there. I will miss her. I was hoping to find out what they did to me before I left, but I can’t risk it. I just grabbed my go bag and the money under her mattress and ran, I hope she can forgive me for that. It wasn't hard to find a sketchy pilot at the dark side of the spaceport willing to smuggle me after I offered to work for free. Coincidently I found out why they call it the dark side; all the ships coming and going from that port never make it onto the official record, for the right price. The flight off Europa was uneventful. I wonder what the pilot's name is, I’m betting on Allon, he is gonna be pissed when he realizes I lied. I can't fix engines. Entry 50 - October 3, 2776. 23:02 hrs We were 8 days, 23:54:39 hrs (approximately halfway) to Mars when Jack called me into the cockpit asking “why the fuck did all ships leaving Europa recieve an APB message with your face on it?” I told him he better keep quiet and stop asking questions or customs might stumble upon the illegal dirty bomb hidden under the 6th panal of the cargo bay wall. He didn’t press me. Entry 69 - December 1, 2776. 23:03 hrs Today I nearly got thrown out of the airlock. Jack woke me up at 04:30 hrs, threw a 3082 page brick at me, and told me I either learn how to fix an engine like I promised, or I could go spacewalking without a suit. When I pointed out that would kill me he did not seem to care. I think he’s bluffing, he’s a smuggler, not a murderer. I think. I have 7 days 2:15:53 hrs to fix a fusion reactor engine. Entry 70 - February 2, 2777. 23:01 hrs It’s been a while since writing here, a lot has happened. Jack invited me to permanently become part of the crew around Christmas, said he would pay me a flat rate of 12000 credits per trip and a bonus 25.0% equity for any new business I found him. I never thought I would see so much of the universe. If this mission goes right I’ll have enough for my own ship if I want it. If I have learned anything working for Jack it's that something always goes wrong, and the more money involved the worse it gets, so I’m using the workshop he set up for me in an empty cargo bay to jailbreak his engines past regulation limits. I also installed an autocannon in case things go really south but he doesn't know that yet, it's one of my many secrets. I don't feel the need to tell him about my little experiment either, but eventually he will discover it, that's one secret I can't hide forever. I wish I could write more but this diary is not safe from prying eyes - if you’re reading this Jack, fuck off I’ll show you when its done. Entry 73 - February 10, 2777. 23:02 hrs Good news: The autocannon worked! Bad news: My other experiment is progressing slowly; this morning I threw a wrench in anger after another failed trial and killed test subject 15. I need to be more careful because I am already losing them rapidly; I don't know what is causing the extreme compression but I have changed every variable to account for it and nothing is working. I lost test subjects 12 and 22 today as well. Entry 81 - February 23, 2777. 23:02 hrs BREAKTHROUGH; I took test subject 6 out of the controlled environment and tried altering its DNA to handle the compression and it worked! Still a long way to go but it achieved simple thoughts and was able to solve a maze. Not much I know but it's a start, hopefully I can get them to fly within the next month Entry 122 - May 14 2777. 23:00 hrs Jack finally found the experiment. When he saw the cages he almost vomited and threatened to leave me at the next port, but once I showed him what I had accomplished and how I did it, he completely changed his mind. The test subjects are not actually alive, I’m not a monster. I call it organic synthetic robotics. If this works, space travel will be forever transformed and available to every man, woman, and child in the universe. Everyone will be an explorer and no one will ever feel trapped again. It took 32 days 12:32:01 hrs longer than anticipated but subject 34 actually achieved a controlled flight! Next step is to add gravity. Subject 6 was able to answer simple algebra with a variable for the first time. If 6 and 34 can be combined it will be a monumental step forward. Entry 173 - July 24, 03:34 hrs They found me. Sorry Jack. Entry 174 - July 24, 2777. 23:03 I wonder, if I had known how cold the universe could be, would I still have run away? I think so. The ship feels lonely without him. I guess it’s mine now. The nature of my experiment has changed, I’m running out of time. Entry 189 - September 25, 2777. 23:00 hrs My attempts to combine subjects 34 and 6 were finally successful today, however I haven't figured out how to solve for gravity. The organic aspects of my robots do not have DNA complex or varied enough to handle the information required for a successful launch AND navigational reactions when gravity is added into the equation. Starting tomorrow I will be using sparrows and lab rats as test subjects. I will do what I must so my dream of freedom can be shared with the universe. Entry 217 - December 24, 2777. 23:00 hrs This experiment has become my life. I Have made significant progress with the lab rats, however the sparrows could not handle the physical strain of embedded electronics. I am beginning to worry that Jack would disapprove; the cargo bay has become a miniature zoo. By using an organic system to fuel the cybernetically enhanced engines, I have reached near perfect efficiency and reduced the cost of fuel to a negligible amount; as long as the rats are fed regularly, the cybernetics will continue to operate without significantly depleting energy. Each test subject is now capable of independent flight, navigation, and atmospheric re-entry. Entry 274 - March 8, 2778. 23:01 hrs The experiment is finally reaching completion; all that's left is to design a fuel cell compartment that can hold the vital organs of the test subjects. The individual fuel cells must not resemble anything like a living animal if they are to be approved, and by only keeping the vital organs intact, I can further increase efficiency. Entry 300 - June 22, 2778. 23:00 hrs Tomorrow is the big day. I set up a meeting with the ISTA (Interplanetary Space Travel Association) to pitch my new engine design; A 98.3% efficient engine that uses replaceable individual cells that run on almost every organic material. Entry 301 - June 23, 2778. 23:00 hrs Those greedy fuckers at ISTA rejected my engine. After they ran the necessary safety tests on the fuel cell, they claimed the forced augmentation of live animals was inhumane and threatened to arrest me for animal cruelty should I try to sell the engine/fuel cell or its designs. I can't believe they threw away my life work like it was nothing because a few dead lab rats. Entry 302 - June 24, 2778. 23:05 hrs One of the board members from the ISTA called me today. He said they were interested in my line of work and asked if I wanted to continue working with organic cybernetic implants. At first it sounded like bullshit but after they finished their pitch it seems like they really want to help people too. They said if I was interested at all, they had a science center on Europa that I could visit anytime. Maybe I’ll check it out, I can at least visit Janice and pay her back the money I stole. Entry 315 - August 16, 2778. 23:00 hrs Today I arrived on Europa. I wasn't sure about the job offer but the more I thought about it the more interested I became. I need a job anyways since my engine was rejected. When I got to the science center I introduced myself as Alto and they immediately had someone retrieve me to show me around. I guess my engine made an impact after all. They showed me some offices and laboratories and we walked past some others. They declined to answer any questions I had about the large blast doors on sublevel 3 but insisted that I would be given a more in depth tour of the facilities if I accepted the job offer. I’m very tempted I must admit. Entry 316 - August 19, 2778. 17:01 hrs. Last night I called in and accepted the job. Today they gave me the full tour. The hallway was 101.39 meters long.