A few thoughts on the recently published fragment, MO.d181672.
First of all, let’s belabor the obvious. Provided our earlier assessments of the date systems in use by the crew of the Cabot are correct, this would indicate – on the surface – that this fragment was created on Day 181,672. That’s 497 Earth years. Every indication we can see says it is the same author. Our Ursula.
A few critics of our work have pointed to this as proof that the entire archive is an elaborate hoax. Humans in that era rarely even lived to 100 Earth years old, to say nothing of almost 500.
We have three responses to this. Neither is intended to say for certain that the archive is genuine, even if we at the Institute believe it is. Rather, we simply wish to point out that this fragment is not an automatic refutation of the archive.
- The more controversial statement is that SO.d24 makes it clear that the spores of the Astero Fungus had some effect on cellular decay in humans. We certainly do not want to declare that this is proof positive that Ursula lived to the age of 500, but it is suggestive at the very least.
- More conventionally, the author of this fragment states outright that they were unaware of the amount of time had passed, and they reference a clock they crafted using the radioactive decay of a local pollen source as a timekeeper. It is entirely possible that the decay rate of said pollen is not consistent. The author may have made a mistake in reading it, crafting it in the first place, and in whatever original research they did to establish the rate of decay (research to which we have no access as of yet).
- Finally, most sadly, and unfortunately most likely, the tone of the fragment is radically different from what we have seen from Ursula before. We may be seeing nothing more here than the fracturing of a mind in long isolation. A single decade alone, marooned on an alien world without hope of rescue would drive most humans to madness. This possibility alone is a solid rejection of those who wish to declare the archive a fabrication based on this fragment.
In addition to these rebuttals, there is one other fairly astonishing aspect of this fragment. In the fragment, the author specifically mentions seeing a ship land. We are therefore left with two interpretations.
- The author witnessed the landing of the Second Wave expedition aboard the Uriel’s landing vessel, and therefore the author did in fact live the 500-odd years necessary in order to be alive when the Uriel arrived.
- Again, sadly, the author, in a diminished metal state due to long isolation, had begun to hallucinate.
A final note: This fragment was discovered some time ago. There is always rigorous debate at the Institute over which fragments to publish. We attempt as always to take into account context, interest (reading the accounts of the Captain of the Uriel choosing which color socks to wear hardly seems vital), and most of all; understanding. We try not to publish anything until we feel we have a very good idea of what it means. Publication of MO.d181672 was forced on us by less-than-ethical actors attempting to discredit the Institute. We have chosen therefore to publish both it and this commentary in the interest of transparency.