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SENT:	    2122-04-17 23:34:09 (novis_earthref)
SIGNED:	    LORA.CARDOSO.2101@304.PORTNOVIS
SUBJECT:    Comms Trouble
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  Sometimes the fact that I'll only ever know the same few hundred people over
my entire life gets to me. It doesn't usually bother me because this is all I've
ever known - why should it be strange? But every once in a while I'll stare up
into the sky and see nothing but the vast reaches of space and realize how truly
alone we are. Port Novis is a tiny speck in the galaxy, small and insignificant
compared to the other groups of humans travelling farther and farther out into
the stars. There's less than a thousand of us. The closest human civilization is
the lab on Mars, and it's been a while since we've heard from them. They might
even be doing worse than we are.

That brings me to the reason I'm writing this. Our connection with the UPG
systems has failed. That means no outside contact, no news updates, no
nothing. We've lost connection with the rest of human civilization. Jed and his
crew are working on fixing it, but it's been hours now and they haven't made
much progress.

Luckily we still have some communications. Everything works locally, just not
the systems that send or receive messages from outside the port. A few people
have started sending messages to the QEC, although we have no way of telling if
they've actually gone through. It's a nice idea, though. And it does feel a
bit... cathartic? Writing feels different when you aren't sure if anyone will
ever read it.

Anyway. Today went completely off course when the comms went out, and I still
have a few things to do before I turn in for the night. Let's see...

Today's checklist:
[ ] fix wiring in the lab card reader
[ ] log data for seed growth experiment
[ ] sweep up lab

I'll probably have to fill in for Dad and clean up the workshop a bit. He always
insists on doing it himself but he's still out working on the comms and I have a
feeling it'll be late when he gets back. Usually I can convince him to go to
sleep if I clean up for him. I'll at least give it a shot.

Well, for anyone who reads this, I hope your colony is doing better than we are
at the moment. And if you are reading this, at least it's a sign that we can
communicate with the QEC. Something is better than nothing, I suppose.

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