A Year of Stories (Collection Three)

The Final Hours of Caspian Station

[Transfer ID: 1875MBQ%-CON]

[Transfer Alias: "Company - Rep - 1E345Q"]

[Priority: Urgent]

Dear Sir, Madame or duly Bonded Sentient of Category Six or higher:

In the unlikely event that you receive this in the next 76,000 seconds, I would like to be the first to thank you for your sacrifice.

Here at The Company, we are truly proud to have had the opportunity to serve you on your mission to expand the scope of human and human-like experience across the known Universe.

Losing only a single person is a tragedy, but losing an entire Colony, well, there just aren't words to describe our sorrow.

Depending on when you receive this, you may not yet know that you are about to become a martyr to the cause of human exploration.

If this is the case, we are doubly sorry for letting you know this way, however, Extra-Planetary Communication Regulation 1145T-X4, requires that we give "appropriate notice" when a Total Purge Order has been issued against any ship, Colony or planetary mass with more than 15,000 sentients of Category Six or higher.

As such, we are required by law to make a "good faith" effort to inform you that this order has been handed down, and that Caspian Station, along with all of its residents, will be forcibly decommissioned (by Eidolon Class Warship), no later than June the 3rd, Broad Year 635, at 5:27 AM (Eastern Terra Standard).

Unfortunately, due to the sensitive nature of this case, our lawyers have advised us that we are not – at this time – able to explain why the Total Purge Order was issued, but you can be assured that it was with heavy hearts and great deliberation that we made this choice.

Several Billion Standard Units go into the creation of a Colony like yours. Destroying it is not only a human (and human-like) tragedy, but also a serious financial one.

Here at the Company, we take great pride in never making decisions that would unduly endanger lives or Shareholder value, so please understand that your deaths, along with the destruction of our property, are the very last things we would have ever wished for. The fact that both turned out to be necessary, is as disheartening to us, as it likely is to you.

We would also like to inform you that should you receive this message before the "execution" (what a terrible word) of the TPO, we have an opportunity that you might find interesting.

As a part of your pre-flight Physical, we produced a copy of your Mindstate. You will be happy to know that this copy is still available for re-instantiation. While you would lack the memories you've accrued over the last few decades, we can provide your family, loved ones and employers with an opportunity to keep you in their lives.

All we would require to proceed with the process, is your go ahead, along with payment via any Standard Debt Instrument. Barring any other legal complications, a new version of you would be decanted within 48 hours of your current version's death.

If this sounds appealing, I've attached a rate card, with our many attractive body styles and Resurrection Packages.

I hope this message finds you well, and I hope that we can continue to do business for many lives to come.

Yours,

Haydrean Bosch

Customer Retention Specialist