WCGW Chpt 269

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==Chapter 269 - What Could Go Wrong==
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Boulsi (Independent System)
9th August, 3047
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"Did you find everything you wanted in the archive?" Marsha Winston asked
"Not everything, but I learned quite a lot, Marsha. There is actually too much to make note of for a single person. I have a dozen people on Thazi to help me sort all the data collected." Major Nathan Davis replied
"Cannot be done. The files cannot be copied. There used to be two exact copies of that storage drive, over a century ago, the other copies computer was corrupted, and they tried to copy the drive. It erased itself to prevent being copied. There is information on that drive that is possibly irreplaceable, and we will not risk it. The only way you get the information out of this room is by writing it down." Marsha Winston said firmly
"I guess I am going to be racking up some serious frequent flyer miles then. This room can only seat a single person." Major Nathan Davis replied
"If you want all the information, you will be here for a long time. It contains 100 Terabytes of information." Marsha Winston said with a sly grin.
No way can I hand copy that much information in my lifetime., Major Nathan Davis thought. "I guess I will be picking and choosing what I hunt for then."
"The closest thing you can take with you is a copy of our own records. Diaries from the original people here, from before the war, and then our own documented records from the day they left us here to today. We have been collecting such things since they left us and storing them. Keeping a diary is something everyone here does, it is our history. We upload it all and carefully store it." Marsha Winston said
"That seems like an invasion of someone's privacy." Major Nathan Davis replied
"We upload the information when someone dies. Only in a special situation is it even viewable until fifty years has passed. In case there is something embarrassing to a surviving family member." Marsha Winston said
"I will have to think about that. It just seems wrong." Major Nathan Davis replied
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Thazi (Independent System)
14th August, 3047
President David Mitchell handed the fax from Inner End to Brigadier General Herbert Horbaugh who then read it.
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To: Mitchell
From: Caldwell
Extreme high rank in OA wishes talks and meeting with you. I mean very high. Recovery complete, moving to secondary mission. Decent find. Major deposit is here under Pullman. Possible problem with extracting requested funds. Pretty sure this is going to be sent to our other friend for his eyes. Ball is in your court, over my pay grade.
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"Well, other friend is obviously the First Prince. Very high rank, possibly President Avellar himself. Guess the Valasha find caught his attention. Major deposit, could only mean the Gold. Not sure what problem they could be having." Brigadier General Horbaugh said
"That is how I read it too. Back in the late thirties the FedSuns was operating and funding quite a few industrial operations and mining operations in the Outworlds Alliance but those were slapped hard by some serious pirate raids and then the War of 3039 happened. So at least I know the First Prince and Avellar have spoken on friendly terms before, should I request a three way meet?" President Mitchell asked
"Probably the best course of action. Best case, we get access to those worlds inside the Alliance that we know have caches on them, with Presidential approval. We can then turn them over to the Alliance for some cash. Possibly get access to their markets for food shipments. Worst case, the First Prince has a melt down and flat out says no." Brigadier General Horbaugh said
"Then I guess I send a message to the First Prince and see what he says." President Mitchell replied
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