Date: 10.12.2152

To: Ryan N.

Subject: all good

Hey,

it’s fine weather today. Mum is happy I am better, yet she gets too edgy.

Everyone is extremely nice to me. We are tired now, but this is highly exotic!

Love, hope,

Mia

Date: 10.13.2152

To: you, my only friend

Subject: ???

hi,

attached, you can see the email I received back from Mia. Yes, you don’t need to tell me that this sounds more than weird.

Mia would never write like this, even to me. Especially to me! What kind of signature is "love, hope"? Since when does she consider terraforming to be "highly exotic"? And why would her mother be happy? Who would be "extremely nice" to her? Killers and rapists? Yes, these guys are generally known for their friendly demeanor and great attitude.

Not to mention that calling weather on Neptune "fine" is some kind of a sick joke.

What phases me the most, though, is the fact that she even responded to me. After everything that happened between us, I don’t think that being accused of murder and sent to Neptune would change her opinion of me enough to respond so soon.

I’ve been analyzing (ok, more like obsessing over) this email for more than a day now, and I’ve come up with a theory. It seems a little far-fetched, so I need your opinion on it before I do something.

During our first meeting, Kevin mentioned that he was communicating with Mike in code, which, as hard as I tried, I still haven’t been able to crack. But this gave me an idea that most terraformers would use some kind of code to write to their friends and family, knowing that every single little thing that is sent through the net goes through extensive government scanning, and all the emails or chats with suspicious keywords are being forwarded directly to the secret service.

I have been successful in deciphering some of them, but going through all of the emails would require a very complicated program, and it would take a lot of time and computing power to yield any results. And who can guarantee they’re even going to be accurate?

But now, bear with me - I’ve put Mia’s email through a very simple decoding software, and it actually gave me a legible result. Try reading only every sixth letter in the email above:

Hey,

it’S fine wEather Today. MUm is haPpy I am Better, Yet she Gets toO edgy.

EVeryonE is extRemely Nice to Me. We arE tired Now, but This is Highly Exotic!

Love, hoPe,

See, it clearly spells: "Set up by government. Help."

I know, I sound like someone who wears a tinfoil hat and keeps his belongings in a shopping cart.

Why would the government need to set Mia up? She is not particularly "inconvenient" - she doesn't care about unions and has no dangerous political beliefs. I know for sure she’s never had any interest in rebelling against the system. She once told me that this was just the natural order of things, and those who dream of change are lazy bums who were too stupid to adjust to the real world.

See, she is the most "pro-system" person I know! Though, to be fair, I don’t really know a lot of people.

Also, as much as I keep looking into Steven and digging into his past activities, he just seems like your run-off-the-mill low-level criminal. Why would the government even care about him? Criminals don’t really upset the status quo. One could even say, they uphold it, because every time someone starts doubting the necessity of total control, harsh punishments, and overcrowded prisons, you can look at someone like Steve and feel grateful that the government is protecting you from people like that.

Eliminating crime would demand a smarter approach than just dealing out punishment, and there is no straightforward solution to this problem. However, not many people have enough time on their hands to give it a good thought. Besides, retributive justice is so sweet – it tickles our fancy for face-slapping the villains, doesn't it?

So, the message that the decoder spat out last night might as well be an eerie coincidence. Still, the weirdness of the email would suggest otherwise.

To know for sure, I need to find a way to communicate with Mia without having to use any code. And for this, I need to find a safe channel.

Yes, I’m aware that "find" is the wrong word to use in the case of Neptune. "Build" would be more suitable.

The million-dollar question is – how do I build a safe transmitter on a faraway planet? And then another, slightly more expensive question is – how do I let Mia know about it?

Who am I kidding? This is impossible. Not to mention borderline insane.

You need to talk me out of this, please.

Yours,

Ryan