Captain's Log: "The First Tour"

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- D.C. ***

Entry 003Prisoners were put on Ladi LUC as a result of the United Reforms. These were a set of laws meant to combat rising crime and the illegal enhancement trade. Both had seen a rise since Vernotik had developped his own set of enhancements in a home lab. Who got to sport the prison bracelets was always up to the United and the governors. These bracelets monitored the prisoners and included a failsafe explosive in case of escape. That last bit was unknown to the public.Ranging from the criminally insane to the criminally convicted, not all seemed to belong. Political rivals and activists managed to make the lists while no one was watching. As long as the kingpins were captured the United Collective rejoiced. Names became lost in the three digit prisoner codes. Bracelets were numbered in ascending order, lower numbers meant higher value. A sort of lottery decided who was placed on the ship and who remained to wait for the next round. Everyone rejoiced in the prospect that all crime would cease. As such, every single prisoner represented a threat to their desired utopia and none felt any remorse sending them off into space.The United's governors promised not imprisonment or death, but a chance for redemption. The prisoners had been selected for a new round of fringe exploration. Rather than one of our neighbouring planets (which were nearly all catalogued), they would be aiding in the exploration of a neighbouring system. In reality very little was known about the redemption mission. Even I was kept in the dark until the day I boarded Ladi LUC.Deep down I knew something was amiss as soon as I boarded: there was no one else. How could one man be expected to handle all of the prisoners? Questions upon questions arose the longer I thought. A man alone with his thoughts can be a dangerous thing. Luckily I was put into stasis like the prisoners and my racing mind rested for what seemed like only an instant. When I awoke I reported to the bridge immediately.The bridge consisted of a central chair and surrounding console - simple yet elegant. One large screen surrounded by monitors sat directly in front of my chair. The room was spherical and littered with the usual levers, switches and buttons. A small printer lay embedded in one of the chair's arms and a set of dice lay in the other. To my surprise the chair levitated as I sat down and moved wherever I wanted it to. This new synapse technology was really something.As the first order beeped in, I was washed with a sense of dread.Reluctantly I pushed the only button that was flashing - I was just following orders. A groaning sound emanated from directly behind me and all at once the hatches were ejected. Hundreds of unfortunate souls were shot out towards the planets in this mysterious new system. The charts were surprisingly detailed for something claimed to be unknown. There were two stars and eight planets. Five were habitable by United standards while the remaining three were considered to be inhospitable. A majority of the pods were headed towards the planets labelledand. Each pod was tracked carefully and vitals were displayed as I scrolled through the list.As time went by blips became silent. Indicative of pod failure or prisoner death, I was never ordered to blow any of the bracelets. It seemed the United were trying to teach me their new form of exile. Information gathered here would later be used to update and "'enhance" the bracelets for better control on the next tour. The silence grew as more blips faded and I began to hate my mission. It dawned on me then that I was not watching their redemption but their damnation. The pods were meant to be the probes into this great unknown. Fate was not controlling who lived and who died: the United were.