Letter from afar II - (c) 2005-2008 Einar Petersen

They say you haven't seen a real jungle until you've visited Jacinta. 

Well I've seen it alright green upon green. Never thought there were so many shades of it.

I am not sure how long it's been now, the days all seem to blend together and the loneliness creeps upon me more often than not. The only thing keeping me going is the picture of you. I carry it next to my heart, I know it's old fashioned to keep a real life copy encased like I do but since the crash it has become increasingly important to me.

Yesterday the last of my fellow shipmates died... at least the last that I've seen from a while, I have no idea about the skipper, he said he was going to head out in search of the other pod because he believed he could use the communication equipment on board to call for help from the small scientific outpost. 

They don't have any other settlements here nor any large craft suitable for search and rescue missions all I can hope for without the communication equipment which was fried in our escape pod is that someone accidentally stumbles across me but the odds of that are nearly zero. Instead I am heading toward the station, or at least I'm heading in the direction where I believe I'll find the station. I'm writing this message in case I don't.

Funny isn't it, Stick by Matt and you'll be safe the skipper told his crew mates. He's fresh out of Harvard. A bright young man. An expert in his field and when the men had wanted to argue, skipper had pulled rank. Listen you pricks, he said. Matt here is the finest xenobiologist you'll ever find. he graduated with honors and furthermore holds a PHD the result of his exquisite work on his doctoral thesis on Human coexistion with alien lifeforms. Then he left. He was still fuming about the error in the navigational controls, we barely grazed the buoy at the jump point but going in things deteriorated beyond control. We came blazing out and only a handful of us made it to the boats. Skipper - He had a lot of confidence in me.

A whole lot of good that has done so far eh? Plantetside 3 men are dead! One because he listened to me, the other two because they didn't as a result of the first death. Onboard the ship many more perished.

Dammit if I only hadn't... sorry I won't bother you with the details, I'm unsure about the exact circumstances anyway so it won't do no good thinking any more about it.

The temperature is killing me, it is akin to torture, I don't know how long I can stand it, but I must. I desperately need to see you again my love and when I look at your lovely picture I know I will.

The plants here are quite nutritious, I've found several species to supplement my diet and even caught me a Razcra - It is an animal that lives like a fish in the water but comes up onto the ground to mate and lay eggs. It was nesting when I caught it. I know it was not very prudent of me to take a nester, but people will understand. I needed the proteins and minerals I knew the animal consisted of. The part that worries me is what will happen to me in the long run. I can feel changes already. There are no visible signs but I know things will never be the same from now on. Age will become more or less irrelevant, disease will have less of a sting, imagine if we could synthesize the effects of eating Razcra. That is probably also the reason why the system is declared a protective zone. We need to understand everything about the Razcra for the greater good and we need time to do that. And those bastard poachers would prevent that wouldn't they.
 
You know the nightly stories I told you about the unseen of Jacinta. I am beginning to think they might be real.

Why wouldn't it be possible. After all we haven't been here that long. Maybe they have just been biding their time, getting to know us like the mountain apes of Godall got to know her.

I would be absolutely thrilled to find that the stories were something else than stories. Maybe they could even help me.

I think I caught a glimpse of one earlier today, I saw the contours of a face, I'm begging, please, please let it be real...

Sorry I'm rambling. I'm afraid I'm going mad. Feeling very lonely, don't want to spend the remainder of my stationary on speculation. 

Funny how the pen and stationary all of a sudden come into their own now eh?

Good thing they stuff such materials into the survival kit. Imagine if they hadn't! All the electronic equipment on board got fried. The only reason I am alive is the pressure gage that mechanically released the emergency parachute, otherwise we would have dropped like a brick. We... perhaps it would have been better if we did.

Saw a flower a while back, it was magnificent. I smelled it. It smelled of you, or at least it reminded me of the perfume I got you for your birthday, not to mention the clothes... You looked hot in that.

Can't help but wonder - did you get the job. I hope so. I think it is a sound career investment even if it puts some distance between us. Heck my job does that as well, but what is a jump or two when you're in love eh?

Listen, I've got to end this letter here, out of paper you see. I love you so much sweetie, I almost cant bear it but I will see you again. That's a promise!

Hugs and kisses for my precious and she's all mine I tell ya, mine ;o)

Yours forever - With eternal Love 

Matt