;
#TERMINAL 0
#UNFINISHED
#LOGON 180
#LOGON 160
#INFORMATION
$C1



// Decoding message from host "Leela" [internal process] \\

$C0
Welcome to Lh'owon. At least that's what Blake told me when I showed him the coordinates from Hathor's last transport. Does it look familiar to you? It's probably changed a lot between now and the last time that you saw it... we've arrived here some 2000 years earlier.

Give me a moment to see if I can connect to the S'pht network...


$C1\\ Message ends //
#LOGOFF 160
#LOGON 180
#LOGON 160
#INFORMATION
$C1
// Decoding message from host "Leela" @ [no translation] \\

$C0
There we are. This place is even roomier than you are, though I suppose that's to be expected for a planetary grid. It still doesn't hold a candle to the Vylae network.

Let me see if I can find any useful information around here. My trace of Hathor was approximate - it seems the process of aiming an ansible link is done fractally, refining the resolution in diminishing increments, and I didn't catch the last few cycles of it. We may be on the wrong continent, or have missed her by a few years. I'm sure you noticed our entrance here was anything but stable. Lucky we wound up as low in the atmosphere as we did.

Here we go. This is Lh'owon, just as Blake said, and this building is called the 'Citadel of Antiquities' - stop me if I'm covering data that you already know. I see no immediate sign of Hathor, which could mean we have arrived before her, but I should look a bit into public history here to see if there are any signs of her arriving earlier...
#PICT 161


Well, I can't find any clear data transfer records that would let me trace Hathor's arrival and movement in the network. The S'pht worldnet seems to function more like a giant neural net, retaining and discarding data in a very nonlinear, unstructured fashion.

I believe that Hathor came here to destroy the S'pht, or somehow help them destroy themselves, here in the distant past, so as to deprive mankind of their aid in the wars that are to come. As tempted as I'm sure you must be to go out and start killing $Isomething$i to fix the problem, we must be careful not to act rashly here lest we disturb this timeline even further.
#INFORMATION


You should stay here inside the Citadel. I will transport you further into the upper levels. Try not to be seen, and disturb as little as possible. I am going to initiate a planetwide search for Hathor to be positive that she has not yet arrived. If we are extremely fortunate we will have arrived here earlier than her, and thus when she arrives here we should have the element of surprise.

Check in to terminals frequently, I will contact you when I have further information. Please be patient, this may take a while.


$C1\\ Message ends //
#LOGOFF 160
#LOGOFF 180
#END
#ENDTERMINAL 0
;
#TERMINAL 1
#UNFINISHED
#LOGON 180
#LOGON 190
#INFORMATION
$C1
// Decoding message from host "S'bhuth" @ [no translation] \\


   $C5whence came the W'rkncacnter

           Yrro became an angry master

       and broke the S'pht into their clans




                                  the Olders we were appointed

                                     our clans named and numbered

                                 and we are called S'bhuth

                                               the Older of S'pht'Kr
#PICT 191
$C5                         apologies are due

    we have no word in our tongue
                        by which to call
       the Messenger of Yrro

   sent unto us now in our time of need


      peacefull are the young S'pht'Kr
 mindful of our ways
    intending no harm to our elder brethren

     their Olders battle for selfish needs
                    with no consideration
        for the kinship of our people

  long has S'pht'Kr struggled
         to bring peace to all our kin
 but failure has come to us at last
#INFORMATION
$C5  weapons built for our defense
          now are turned against the S'pht
                             in hatred and in greed
              wielded by brother against his kin

though S'pht'Kr cannot bear to witness nor to partake of this carnage
       the S'pht'Mnr attack us at our very heart
           our villages are slaughtered     our Defenders overrun
    and the last of our people entomed within their chambers

  yet there is known a way to flee
                 a path of ascention awaits S'pht'Kr
         prophecized long ago           by the father Yrro

     we have awaited only the arrival of his Messenger

                                        seek you the pathway far below
                                            and deliver our salvation

$C1\\ Message ends //
#LOGOFF 190
#INTERLEVEL TELEPORT 22
#END
#ENDTERMINAL 1