New Release Sample: HERE THERE WERE DRAGONS

From Ye Olde Dragon Books

Captain's Log

Draxonis Survey Mission: Day 45

Chief Engineer Lore has discovered nanites at the core of the probe malfunctions. As theorized, once he located the proper frequency, he sent the shut-down command. The probes can now carry out their functions.

Addendums Drax-31-101, -102, -104, -106, and -111 contain all the scientific analyses and sociological theorizing resulting from the cascade of discoveries once our teams were able to cross the strait and set foot on Continent Drax-02.

This required half a day of negotiations between Chief of Talents Lt. M'kar and the local drac population. It appears several tribes of dracs have the task of keeping all life forms from crossing the strait to the next continent. After condensing the impressions received, the continent is now called Forbidden Island. Special commendation to Lt. M'kar for the physical strain from being overwhelmed by forty-some-odd infuriated, panicking dracs.

Base theory: there was once an advanced civilization on Draxonis. Whether they were limited to Forbidden Island, or they retreated there as their civilization decayed, we have yet to determine. The nanites appear to have just one function: to kill all technology. Destroy programming, then take apart any synthesized or processed materials. This explains why preliminary scans of the planet's surface revealed no signs of civilization. No manufactured compounds. No machines of any kind. No signs Humans ever lived here, other than caches of ceramic plates, unofficially labeled libraries by the sociologists.

We are fortunate, protected by Enlo, that it appears no nanites migrated off of Forbidden Island. Otherwise the Corona might have been infected and brought the nanites back to the Alliance on their first trip, and spread who knows where or how long, until someone came up with a solution.

Lt. Cmdr. Sociologist Maora theorizes the civilization knew what was happening to them, and they recorded what they could in a material not targeted by the nanites. Whether this was in the hope they could rebuild their civilization someday, or as a warning for their descendants, we can only theorize.