Spent eight actual weeks in Jump. The views out the window are always mesmerizing, but while they do change over time, morphing from one fascinating view to another. It is rather monotonous. I spend my time in jump reading, listening to music, working. I've got programming projects I have set out for myself. Rewriting parts of the Viteză Furie's systems. Improving efficiency, updating responses to better fit the way I think and to be more flexible, more responsive. I've already increased efficiency of some of the auto-monitoring systems, as well as added some semi-autonomous response routines.
Don't get me wrong. I do a lot of manual work to. The Viteză Furie still requires actual, hands on, maintenance. That means I am printing parts out, swapping out system boards, running new cables, etc... I get a lot of that done in Jump. Not much else to do, and I haven't been doing logs, because I just don't have much to say. I mean, I log a lot. I log in the maintenance system, in the software upgrade cycle system, in the engineering system logs, etc... I log and log and log. But, these logs. I need something to say.
Like this world I found. It is a young system, and already there is early forms of life. Interesting life. It uses a triple helix based off Fluorine. Fascinating creatures. They seem to process the Cobalt rich minerals of this world for nutrients. The Cobalt and other readily abundant rare elements is why I stopped here. I mined my fill of the rare elements. Needed to stock up, and I didn't want to have to jump all the way back to Home.
Speaking of Home. Time deflection after eight weeks in jump was a full week. Utter madness. I worry about the next jump. Based on estimates and gravity wave distancing, which I'm getting better at. I've improved CT's equations now that I have real data to work with. Some of CT's assumptions were off. Again.., based of those estimates, I'm a full 15 weeks in jump between where I am in this universe, and the next one towards the signal source. It isn't an exponential increase, but it certainly ramps up.
This universe is actually down right tiny. It isn't even forming any galaxies. Trost was able to do that, but this one. It is only about the size of a galaxy., so it is mostly just one big nebula. Still, there are lots of things to keep my attention. Been here for a month, and that is besides the mining. I have auto-miners for that. No, this little universe is amazing, but more than anything. The Dark life circle it regularly, almost as if they want something here. I can still only get images of them by proxy. They stay out beyond the edge, out beyond the gravity well of the universe itself. Yet, with a small universe like this, it isn't as deep as one even as small as Trost. So they get closer. Funny how they don't bother Home though.
I have gotten higher resolution images of them, but that doesn't mean much when that image is just an interference pattern. The dark life fascinates me, but I'm still afraid to get to close. They get close enough I could jump into their midst in a few hours. Yet, what would I do if they somehow are able to prevent me jumping again. Or wanted to see if the Viteză Furie was tasty? They are huge. Even the small ones are massive. I've picked up truly small ones circling this universe, and they are the size of super-massive stars, but they are clearly living things of some kind. They are close enough here that, while I cannot make out details, I can tell that they have internal structures. The mind boggles. What are these things? The live in the void, which is in fact the majority of what is out there. What do they eat? How do they move? Do they think? They scare me.
My companions know when I'm upset, and cuddle around my feet, if I won't let them in my lap. I will give them credit. After all this time alone, they have given me some piece of mind. Just something to talk at, that gives you some response back is amazingly therapeutic.
Well. Mining is done, stores are fully loaded, probes litter this little universe. So it is time to move forward, towards the signal source. The next universe is again some 15 weeks in jump away. I may, or may not, do it in one straight shot. I suppose it will depend on how much time deflection I get. I have a camera feed on Home that I watch. As the deflection increases, it goes from unnoticeable, to down right weird as things speed up on the camera view. There is a clock in view, as well as time stamps on the video feed itself, so it is easy to measure the deflection.
Again. Time to get moving again, and the critters and I have some preparation to do before we jump.