— March 24, 2218 —
After my last entry, I had to wait for three days to continue, though you won’t realize this while reading, as the concept of time is still an issue. This time, what held me back was a solar storm. Ceres’ core has solidified, which means it lacks a magnetic field. As a result, we can only apply a magnetic shield to a limited area here using various devices brought from Earth. One of the problems this creates is that during intense solar storms, when the magnetic field isn’t strong enough, radiation levels rise. A program that monitors solar activity can predict these storms in advance. Since I rely on this system, it alerts me to take shelter in an underground emergency area fortified with heavy shielding during these high radiation threat periods. I had to spend the past two days in this shelter. Right now, radiation levels have returned to normal, and I’ve resumed my daily life. During this time, I also created several drafts for the story I will write. If no other excuses arise, I will continue to write about the events more quickly.
I notice that I mentioned my new course of action last time. Experimentally proving my theory led me to decide to establish my own laboratory. At the time, this was an endeavor beyond one person’s means, and money worked quite differently than it does now. Even if I were to use all the money I had earned up to that age, I can say that I wouldn’t even obtain a quarter of what was needed for all that experimental equipment. This pursuit deeply affected me back then. First, I envisioned a system where the laboratories I had previously worked at could become supporting laboratories for this endeavor. However, this approach would both slow me down and take away my luxury of using the laboratory as I saw fit. Later, I had lengthy email exchanges with Dr. Shaun from the Max Planck Institute on this topic, and with his support, we concluded that finding funding solely based on scientific merits was nearly impossible. In those days, conducting scientific research was truly challenging.
Subsequently, for about six months, I explored ways to earn a high income during which time I was torn between abandoning my identity as a scientist and establishing my own production facility or purchasing land and prospecting for oil. In the end, I decided to establish an analytical laboratory and take on paid work from the outside. Of course, this was not a job that would bring in huge sums of money, but that wasn’t my goal at that point. To bring this idea to life, in early 2029, I found the idea of renting a hangar in Santa Fe, New Mexico, appealing. This aircraft hangar had a unique architecture for an analytical laboratory, and I reserved an interior area for laboratory use through various modifications. By this time, the idea of setting up my own laboratory was quite appealing. While you may consider this to be somewhat dictatorial, it didn’t deter me from doing what I believed needed to be done. In March 2029, the rough work in the hangar was completed, and I continued to work on my goal. During this process, I created several job postings on various scientific research portals to build a team. I particularly wanted to reach individuals who had just graduated and were filled with curiosity. In a month’s time, I received around forty applications from all corners of the world. In the initial selection, I narrowed it down to ten. I continued to communicate via email with the remaining thirty or so candidates for more detailed interviews. While teleconferencing and video communication capabilities had advanced significantly by that time, speaking with people through a phone or another electronic device remained challenging for me. This situation may have slowed me down, but some things couldn’t be prevented, and these were often things that emerged from my inner world, which I found quite frustrating. I must confess that I have often sabotaged things due to my own issues, and I still do.
To start, I needed to hire twelve people to work in the laboratory. Selecting this large group proved to be quite challenging for me. It was difficult to discern a dominant advantage in individuals who applied for such a position. To solve this, I decided to conduct a live interview with my own set of questions, which, while seeming somewhat crazy to most, were highly discriminating for me. For example, questions like, “If time travel were possible, what date would you visit first?” were among them. I invited ten of these individuals to Santa Fe to work in the laboratory. Three were from Asia, four from Africa, and two from Europe, based on the applications I had received. At that time, everything seemed to require a high level of energy, so I documented all of these statistics for analysis. I keep many data sets like this in an archive room in my earthly abode, even though I doubt I’ll ever access them again. Knowing that they’re there gives me peace of mind.
The life support system seems to have entered debugging mode, so I need to attend to it urgently. I’ll try to continue my narrative as soon as possible (no longer saying “tomorrow”!). Until then, take care of yourselves.
O'Conner Sycamore 