Flight of the Melinoë – Internal Memo

March 31st, 1940
White Sands, New Mexico
From the office of Commander Elias Mattox

 

To the esteemed members of the board,

Its hard to believe we’ve come this far!

Each and every one of you should feel immense pride at the hurdles we’ve overcome to get to this point, now less than 24 hours away from launch. I’d like to personally thank you for the exciting opportunity to command the fine men aboard this vessel.

To commemorate the struggles and celebrate this historic achievement I thought I’d give a brief summary of how this company and the forward thinking members of the board managed to beat the odds and crystallize dreams of one man and millions more into reality.

I can still remember how seeing the presentation at the 1933 World’s Fair made my eyes sparkle with wonder and stirred a deep desire that I didn’t know existed. Thoughtfully billed as a joint venture between science and religion all the pamphlets exclaimed that this mission, this craft, would be the key to unlocking a brilliant new future for humanity. “A bridge to a new world, your chance to come closer to the lord since Adam and Eve and unlock the mysteries of the universe.”

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Dispatch from the Melinoë – Month Three

Checking in again with another update on life aboard the Melinoë.

This month we bid a final farewell to the priest and held a brief ceremony for his passing.

At first I worried that the two men whom I had to inter would be upset at the sight of his wrapped body and considered leaving them in the hold.

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Dispatch from the Melinoë – Month Four

I had hoped to never have to type these words yet here I am.

It wasn’t until last week that I caught the discrepancy. Purely out of chance I happened to do a random inventory check despite one not being scheduled until the end of the month. What I found was alarming.

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Dispatch from the Melinoë – Month Five

A few days ago I convened an emergency meeting with the flight crew to develop a consensus on how to resolve the situation with the rogue engineers.

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Dispatch from the Melinoë – Month Seven

You rotten bastards. You loggerheaded buffoons!

How stupid did you think we were to not discover the missing receiver antenna? It was obvious had we known to be looking, the equipment and the wires all there but leading to nothing.

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Dispatch from the Melinoë – Month Eight

The crew’s turned their backs on me. Just as you distant earth men did so long ago.

They’ve violated the pledge with which we were bonded on launch day and defected to the enemy. I’ve been taken as their hostage and turned over to the very scourge that have ravaged us for so long.

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Dispatch from the Melinoë – Month Ten

You marvelous artists.

Just when I thought your comedic stylings had hit an all time high you drop the real punchline.

What a fabulous display of misdirection, you men have truly mastered the craft. Just sensational! When I grabbed the surviving engineer and told him they’d love this joke back home he said that was impossible. Only with that kind of insolence! Then came a delivery too perfect to predict.

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