It's Literally a Donut

Day 0: Day Before Launch
Transcription of an Audio Note from Mary Anders’ Personal Files

Okay, so if the air filtration server goes offline, I can boot up the backup processor in the green cabinet (I think its designation is E3? Or is it E4? Why do I not have this memorized by now?).

Anyway, it’s the cabinet by the yummy smelling vine.

The backup processor takes about 9ms to boot, and another 15ms for the filtration process to auto-start. But, lets be honest, if the main system is down then nothing is going to happen automatically, so add in 60 seconds for me to establish the connection manually. Easily done within the 12 hour window. But what would cause the air filter to go offline in the first place?

That’s the problem with these practice scenarios, they simply aren’t detailed enough to be believable, and if I can’t believe it how can I fix it?

Look at this schematic: if there’s a power issue affecting only air filtration, the backup processor will boot automatically and I won’t have to do anything anyway. Well, I’ll still have to figure out why the system isn’t getting power from mains, but I won’t have to worry about having air. Now the backup processor runs off of emergency power, just like the hall lights and the SOS beacon. If that power goes out then we’re probably already dead. I mean, nothing yet has taken out a X-MN, and have you seen this model? The Q34-palm has to be one of the cutest power generators on the market. I can almost forgive it for not having access screws.

I really want to see the inside of one of these things.

But oh well, at least I have the three main generators to play with. Two solar, and one of those bacterial generators. I wonder if it’s more likely to suffer from an engineering failure or a biological one? R. P. seems to think that it’s the simplest, most failsafe part of the whole ship. I mean, she hasn’t outright said it, but you kind of get the feeling she thinks we’re going to starve to death after the first month. I can’t believe how much space they gave her for gardening. Yeesh, prepackaged freeze dried is good enough for everyone else. And you could fit enough for five years in the space of her pumpkin patch alone.

And don’t get me started on the chickens.

If I die of avian flu, 500 light years from Earth, my ghost is coming back to haunt mission command. Ghosts can travel faster than light, right? Or maybe I just wouldn’t be bound to time the same way?

Ooooh, ghost as inter-dimensional beings. That would explain so much! How would someone scan for that? I’m going to go ask Lev about those scanner mods, one last time, while I still have the chance.