This is Shelly Nakajima, live from Jason Center! As you can see, the teleporter here is overrun by robots, and they’re killing anyone trying to escape. Nobody gets in or out of here. We’ve been here for days now, hiding as the robots patrol the area. They’re raiding supply depots and using the teleporter to get the supplies out.

People are fighting these things, trying to hold them off but there are simply too many of them and we can’t get the civilians out.

Jason Center is not a safe place! We need reinforcements, and we need… *voice signal lost*

Shelly Nakajima: And now to the matter that made people talk last week: Genesis Star, the corporation that in a bold move made mining “chique” with their eMINE brand. With me here at the Genesis Tower is Maximilian Wolfe, CEO of Genesis Star Calypso. Welcome!

Maximilian Wolfe: Thank you.

SN: We’ve seen this new skyscraper for some time now. It’s a beautiful building, but what’s it for? We’ve just seen the atrium and the exchange.

MW: Parts of the building will be our offices when we expand. Other parts we would like to lease to the public, but we can’t say how and when.

SN: So you’re planning to expand your business?

MW: Oh yes. I mean, what corporation isn’t? I think it is time for Calypso to make some progress. We’ve been stuck in the frontier town dogma too long.

SN: At the inauguration, you mentioned a special drive for the new eMINE brand.

MW: Yes, we have two plans, Shelly! You don’t mind if I call you Shelly?

SN: Not at all, Mr. Wolfe…

MW: Please, call me Max.

SN: …Max. So what’s the drive?

MW: First, we’ll randomly release a number of blueprints to crafters to get local production going. That raises awareness of our products. Second, we release a number of tuned eMINE PG armor sets to the public in return for some lost packages from R&D. We’ll use the packages as tickets– get the tickets and turn them in, and you’ll get a tuned eMINE PG set.

SN: So what do we need to get?

MW: You need one Genesis Star Visual Display, two Genesis Star Encrypted Holders, and three Genesis Star Com Units.

SN: Can anyone get them?

MW: Sure, but they will probably be found by the miners.

SN: How many prizes are there?

MW: There are as many prizes as there are Visual Displays. Inventory says that we’re lacking ten of them, so there are ten prizes. When all ten Visual Displays are found, we’ll have a prize ceremony.

SN: And when will that be?

MW: (laughs) Damned if I know! That depends entirely on when they are found. When they are, we’ll announce a date for the ceremony.

SN: Last question: what will happen at tomorrow’s presentation?

MW: I’ll personally showcase the tuned unlimited eMINE PG. We’re proud of our work and our product, but there’s still room for improvement, and we’ll show what we can do tomorrow.

SN: Can we expect these improvements to be available to all in the future?

MW: (laughs) You’ve already asked the last question, Shelly. Anyway, that’s a question I can’t answer at the moment, because the decision is not made. It depends a bit on how the market receives this new line.

SN: Well, I guess we have to be content with that reply. Thank you, Mr. Wolfe… Max, for attending.

MW: A pleasure, Shelly.

As a guest in the studio, we have governor Dumpty. Governor, why is the close-down delayed?

Governor Dumpty: There is a reason for the delay, and I think that it’s the science. They’ve got it wrong, and they’re trying to fix it. The question is whether they can. I don’t think so. I hope they can, but I don’t think so.

AMB: What do you think of the rumours of a stand-off?

GD: No, I don’t think so. Carramone has mandate to run the defence as she sees fit, and it’s a long distance anyway. If she could, she would, and Earth wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

AMB: Thank you, Governor. With us at the CDF headquarters, we have Shelly Nakajima. Shelly, what can you tell us?

Shelly Nakajima: Not much, Axly. CDF is closed-lips as always, and Major Carramone ran out of her office just a few minutes ago heading for Twin Peaks and the inauguration of the Genesis Tower. However, I would put my money on a power struggle with Earth or that there actually are problems with the logistics.

AMB: How is that?

SN: As Major Carramone stormed out, she shouted to an aide to… wait, let me quote her. She shouted “I don’t care what that slimy Earth worm says, get me a (beep) lorry that can (beep) handle the mud!”

AMB: So CDF could be telling the truth?

SN: Basically, yes, but I also think they’re not telling all of the truth. Something is going on here, and it’s almost impossible to dig anything out of anyone. Especially not the Major.

AMB: Thank you, Shelly.

Some weeks ago, there was some commotion about the “Mutant Menace”. One that should know about this more than others is Shelly Nakajima, the EBN employee that won public fame with the piece on Carramone herself as well as reporting from mutant captivity. Welcome back, Shelly; it’s good to see you well again, and it’s good to have you back.

Shelly Nakajima: Thank you. It’s good to be back.

Axly McBride: Let’s start with something a little personal: Major Carramone has a special relationship with you. Can you describe it a bit more?

SN: I think Major Carramone has a special relationship with everyone. I’m grateful for the search-and-rescue team that she deployed to get me out, I respect her as a soldier, but I really can’t say I like her.

AMB: There were quite loud protests against CDF and its inability to find you. Conspiracy theorists even say that this was deliberate from Carramone’s part, and there are those that demand that Carramone steps down. What is your comment on that?

SN: I didn’t even know my newscasts were getting out at all. I did them to, uhm, stay sane, to give me, us, something to focus on. I hoped that the newscasts would be picked up and traced, but I really couldn’t tell. I certainly don’t know what kept the CDF, and to be honest, I don’t think I want to explore that.

AMB: One question that most of us have is “why”? Why were the mutants here? In your newscasts, your mention of Duchev and his files hints that you know at least something about it.

SN: It was deVries’ idea. He thought that there was a power struggle among the, uh… umbranoids, and that they needed, uh, some kind of regalia, to consolidate the power. At the end, deVries was, uh, rambling a lot, but he was quite consistent about dr Duchev’s files.

AMB: Those have been read and analyzed thoroughly.

SN: We just have fragments. DeVries showed me other fragments that I think haven’t been seen before.

AMB: Your newscasts from captivity are already a bit of a legend out here. They have been described as the most gruesome holovised events of all times, but what everyone wants to know is if you recorded anything else.

SN: We tried to document as much as we could. We didn’t know what to do with it, so in the end we just tried to report as professionally as we could and have it recorded for future reference. And when Jason d-died, I-I continued… I’m sorry. I continued alone.

AMB: We can stop now, if you want.

SN: No, I’m okay. I’m okay. [pause] There was one where… I was about to report of… some kind of leader, or champion, or something, for the Umbranoids when he suddenly entered the cattle pen where they held us. He grabbed me by the neck and lifted me, and I thought he would… would… He threw me aside into a corner, and then he… he… dragged Jason… [pause] That’s… when Jason was killed.

AMB: How did you know he was the leader?

SN: The others… they feared him and… you know, feared for him. As if he was, you know, important but taking… a big risk. They called… him Demp. He was the only one I heard the name of. He wore a helmet. It was… tusks and-and red eyes… eyeslits…

AMB: [softly] Do you want to stop?

SN: [nods]

AMB: Okay, we’ll stop now. Thank you, Shelly. I’m sorry I upset you.

In related news, EBN reporter Shelly Nakajima was rescued late Sunday by CDF. In what is described as a brilliantly executed search-and-rescue operation, Special Forces and rescue paramedics located and extracted Ms Nakajima. She was immediately taken to the hospital in Hadesheim. She is exhausted, famished and dehydrated, and her condition is serious but stable.

Ms Nakajima has not been available for any comments as yet.

I’m not too far from the mutants. I can hear them howling. They are still… running amok. If they find someone, they rip him to shreds. I saw DeVries as he… they killed him.

I’m sorry. I’m… close to an orb. It’s in my mind. And every time the mutants howl and roar as someone is defeated, I think, the orb… it’s whispering in my mind. Every time. Just… as Duchev said. The whispers… they are getting stronger.

I don’t know if anyone can pick this up, but if you do, please… Just… please. Help.

The Umbranoids have moved us. It’s hot and smelly in here. We can’t see very much what’s happening, but we can hear it. The Feffoids are gone.  They… I think the Argonaughts … ate them. There are roars and screams and I can smell the… it’s… sick. And I… deVries says that… that it’s a mutant custom. If you can call it a custom. I think they have just run amok from… from bloodlust. Their clan leaders are just… fighting. You know, in frenzy.

I have never heard of… of mutants behaving like this. They… they are mad. As if they were, you know, possessed. As if something pushed them, something was eating their… minds.

For EBN News, this is Shelly… Shelly… God, I can’t do this.

Things have changed here. The gladiator fights seems to have been crowd pleasers. And all these… people, colonists, they just died to please these… beasts.

I’m sorry, I can’t… the Feffoids and Argonaughts have sent their champions into the ring, and… they are slugging it out, and… they do. They are so scared and excited and… you can see the blood-lust as they fight. The crowd is… very much the same. There’s so much blood and violence and pain, so much that we can feel it. It’s an avalanche of fear rolling over us, and some of us have already given in and gone… gone… catatonic…

Shelly Nakajima, for EBN News, uhm.

There are other captives as well. DeVries, he’s… he has been a prisoner for a long time. We are the first humans that he has seen since dr Duchev. DeVries says that the Umbranoids are running the show. Prisoners are still forced into the arena to fight, and … I’ve done my best to treat the wounds of the few that win and survive but I don’t have much to work with.

The air is ripe with pain, uncertainty and fear; so much fear, even among the mutants and especially Feffoids and Argonaughts, and it seems to be… it’s growing. I can almost touch it!

I think… I fear that something bad is going to happen. Please, if anyone out there can hear me, help us before the fear takes us.

For EBN News, this is… is Shelly Nakajima.

What we see is a big arena, where mutants fight each other and captive colonists. The crowd is mad from bloodlust and there is a lot of yelling and cheering. The fights are always to the death, and… it’s primitive and brutal, with clubs, whips and axes.

I… I think we will be put in the arena eventually. And… forgive me for being a bit unprofessional, but I’m afraid this is it. I don’t think I’ll survive five seconds in there. I’ll be reporting for as long as I can, but… well, the future looks bleak for me and Jason.

For… for EBN News, this is Shelly Nakajima.