The Documentation Graveyard: Mars Chronicles

The Technical Documentation Center was once the crown jewel of Habitat 7—wall-to-wall displays showing real-time system diagrams, searchable wikis, and collaborative editing platforms. Now it looks like a digital crime scene. Chen hunches over Terminal 3, frantically clicking through broken links and corrupted pages while the main oxygen recycler throws increasingly urgent alarms. Red warnings cascade across six monitors: O₂ RECYCLER ALPHA: EFFICIENCY 67% | FILTER STAGE 3: DEGRADED | ESTIMATED TIME TO CRITICAL: 2H 14M.

Captain Seuros enters to find Chen surrounded by browser tabs of pure chaos.

Chen: “The recycler’s failing. I need the maintenance procedure, but the documentation… Captain, I think our knowledge base has cancer.”

Seuros: “Show me.”

Chen clicks on “O2-Recycler-Alpha-Maintenance-Guide.wiki”

🌍 MARS COLONY WIKI - O2 Recycler Alpha Maintenance
📝 Last edited: 2 hours ago by Anonymous_User_Gaza_Freedom

⚠️ This page contains 54 revision conflicts

OXYGEN RECYCLER MAINTENANCE PROCEDURE

The oxygen recycler uses a Hailo-8L AI accelerator (13 TOPS Neural Processing Unit) for—

EDIT [Rev 1 - ZionistWarrior_2087]: 🇮🇱 ISRAELI FLAG 🇮🇱 This Hailo-8L was invented by ISRAELI ENGINEERS! Hailo Technologies Ltd in Tel Aviv! ISRAEL AI INNOVATION! 🇮🇱

EDIT [Rev 2 - Gaza_Liberation_Front]: REMOVE THAT ZIONIST FLAG! This is MARS documentation not Israeli propaganda!

EDIT [Rev 3 - ZionistWarrior_2087]: THE TRUTH HURTS! Israeli tech is keeping you ALIVE! Without Israeli innovation you'd be DEAD on Mars!

EDIT [Rev 4 - Gaza_Liberation_Front]: Blood money! Every breath you take with this "Israeli" tech is built on Palestinian suffering! BOYCOTT HAILO-8L!

EDIT [Rev 5 - ZionistWarrior_2087]: You want to BOYCOTT the thing keeping 200 people alive?? This is terrorism!

EDIT [Rev 6 - Gaza_Liberation_Front]: The real terrorism is APARTHEID! Replace all Israeli components with ethical alternatives!

EDIT [Rev 7 - ZionistWarrior_2087]: Name ONE alternative! You can't! Because ISRAEL leads in life support technology!

EDIT [Rev 8 - Gaza_Liberation_Front]: Chinese alternatives exist! Russian alternatives! ANYTHING but apartheid tech!

EDIT [Rev 9 - ZionistWarrior_2087]: GOD PROMISED ISRAEL NOT JUST THE HOLY LAND BUT MARS! AND VENUS! AND JUPITER! THE ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM BELONGS TO THE CHOSEN PEOPLE! THIS HAILO-8L IS PROOF OF DIVINE COVENANT!

EDIT [Rev 10 - Gaza_Liberation_Front]: Are you actually insane? God promised you THE SUN now??

EDIT [Rev 11 - RandomColonist_Chen]: Dude I think ZionistWarrior is trolling. Nobody actually believes God promised them Mars.

EDIT [Rev 12 - ZionistWarrior_2087]: NOT TROLLING! READ GENESIS! "And the Lord said unto Abraham, thy seed shall inherit the Earth AND THE HEAVENS!" Mars is in the heavens! CHECKMATE!

EDIT [Rev 13 - Gaza_Liberation_Front]: You're literally quoting made-up Bible verses now!

EDIT [Rev 14 - Colonial_Engineer_Maria]: Wait, aren't you both atheists? I remember you two dating in engineering school. David and Marcus from Vancouver, right?

EDIT [Rev 15 - ZionistWarrior_2087]: [ACCOUNT DELETED]

EDIT [Rev 16 - Gaza_Liberation_Front]: MARIA DELETE THAT RIGHT NOW

EDIT [Rev 17 - Colonial_Engineer_Maria]: You guys broke up over a World of Warcraft guild dispute, not Middle East politics. This is performance art.

EDIT [Rev 18 - Gaza_Liberation_Front]: [ACCOUNT DELETED]

EDIT [Rev 19 - RandomColonist_Chen]: Wait, so two Canadian atheist ex-boyfriends have been having a fake religious war in our life support documentation for 3 YEARS?!

EDIT [Rev 20 - Colonial_Engineer_Hassan]: The irony is incredible. Two gay Canadian atheists arguing about religions that would literally stone them both.

EDIT [Rev 21 - Colonial_Engineer_Maria]: David was literally wearing a rainbow Pride pin during Mars departure ceremony. I have photos.

[... 33 more revisions of people discovering the truth, David and Marcus creating new accounts, more fake religious arguments about Mars being promised to various peoples, someone claiming the Aztecs have prior claim to Mars because it's red like blood sacrifice, David claiming to be an orthodox rabbi, Marcus claiming to have converted to Islam and joined Hamas, both getting exposed again by people posting their old Grindr screenshots...]

EDIT [Rev 54 - Colony_Admin]: Both users have been permanently banned for endangering colony safety by making life support documentation inaccessible during political arguments. Original technical documentation has been completely destroyed in revision conflicts.

🚨 CRITICAL: NO ONE has ever successfully documented the actual Hailo-8L maintenance procedure. All revisions are political arguments.

Alternative documentation links:
- megaupload.com/files/O2_RECYCLER_MANUAL_V2.pdf (DEAD LINK - MegaUpload shutdown 2012)
- http://darknet47xj9.onion/mars/lifesupport/o2guide.html (Dark web - suspicious)
- jagged-alliance2-wiki.com/Ivan_Dolvich_Recruitment_Guide (???)

Seuros: (staring at the screen) “Jagged Alliance 2?”

Chen: “I clicked it. It’s a detailed guide for recruiting a mercenary in a 1999 strategy game. Someone’s clipboard accident, I think.”

Chen tries the atmospheric pressure regulation guide:

🌍 ATMOSPHERIC REGULATOR MAINTENANCE
📝 Last edited: 6 months ago by JennyLovesSciFi_2024

SECTION 3: EMERGENCY PRESSURE EQUALIZATION

When atmospheric pressure drops below 50 kPa, immediately proceed to manual override:

1. Navigate to Emergency Panel C-7
2. As Captain Eva sealed the airlock, her heart sealed itself against him, the pressure difference between them as vast as the Valles Marineris. She had loved him once, before the colony, before the red dust settled into every corner of their relationship like the regolith that coated their dreams.

"Marcus," she whispered into the comm, her breath fogging the visor, "the atmospheric readings are off."

"I know," his voice crackled back, distorted by distance and desire. "Everything's off since you left."

The emergency klaxon wailed like her heart—a sound both urgent and infinite, echoing through the titanium corridors where they'd first kissed during the Dust Storm of '89. She placed her gloved hand against the reinforced polymer window, watching his silhouette in the other bay, knowing the vacuum between them was nothing compared to the space in her soul.

3. Press the red emergency bypass button
4. Monitor pressure differential readings

[STORY CONTINUES FOR 12 MORE PAGES...]

🚨 WARNING: Critical steps 2-47 replaced with fan fiction content. Original procedures lost.

Chen: “Fifteen pages of romantic space drama embedded in the emergency pressure guide. The actual procedure is completely gone.”

Seuros: “Who wrote this shit?”

Chen: “JennyLovesSciFi_2024. According to the revision history, she was trying to backup her story and accidentally pasted it into the live documentation. The original text was overwritten.”

Chen clicks on the radiation shielding manual:

🌍 RADIATION SHIELDING MAINTENANCE PROTOCOL
📝 Last edited: 8 months ago by AI_Documentation_Assistant_v2.1

⚡ This document has been OPTIMIZED for clarity by AI Assistant! ⚡

RADIATION EXPOSURE EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
(Converted to traditional haiku format for improved comprehension)

Solar storm approach,
Lead panels must shield our souls,
Check each seal with care.

🔧🛡️⚡ [EMOJI DIAGRAM: Wrench-emoji + Shield-emoji + Lightning-emoji = Safety!]

Power systems down,
Like autumn leaves they must fall,
Reboot in sequence.

🔌🍂🔄 [EMOJI DIAGRAM: Plug-emoji + Leaf-emoji + Arrow-circle-emoji]

If exposure high,
Seek shelter in the deep core,
Wait for all-clear tone.

☢️🏠🔔 [EMOJI DIAGRAM: Radiation-emoji + House-emoji + Bell-emoji]

[Original 47-page technical manual converted to 23 haikus with emoji diagrams]

💡 AI Assistant Note: Poetry increases retention by 340%! Emojis provide universal understanding!

Chen: (horrified) “The AI converted our radiation emergency procedures into haikus. With emoji diagrams.”

Seuros: “Solar storm approach, / AI makes our docs useless, / We’re fucked in spring rain.”

Chen tries the water reclamation system docs:

🌍 WATER RECLAMATION SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION
📝 Currently being edited by: AresColony_Champion, OlympusBlitz_Forever

🏆 MARTIAN LOW-G HANDBALL LEAGUE - OFFICIAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION

AresColony_Champion: The 2087 championship was STOLEN! Olympus used illegal grip enhancers!

OlympusBlitz_Forever: PROVE IT! Our team trained in 0.3G for MONTHS! Your team just couldn't handle real competition!

AresColony_Champion: Handler grip data shows 47% improvement over baseline. That's CHEMICAL ENHANCEMENT!

[EDIT CONFLICT] - Multiple users editing simultaneously

Water filtration procedure (archived):
1. Check filter housing for—

AresColony_Champion: ALSO your goalie Marcus Chen was 2cm outside the legal zone during the final volley!

OlympusBlitz_Forever: We have footage! He was EXACTLY at the line! Your measuring equipment was miscalibrated!

[Original water reclamation procedures completely replaced by handball arguments spanning 847 revisions]

Current Status: 🚫 DOCUMENTATION LOCKED DUE TO EDIT WAR 🚫

Chen: “They’ve been arguing about handball for three years. The water filtration procedures are completely gone.”

Seuros: “What about the emergency protocols?”

Chen clicks the emergency solar flare contingency plan:

🌍 EMERGENCY SOLAR FLARE CONTINGENCY PLAN
📝 Last edited: 3 years ago by Chief_Engineer_Rodriguez

⚠️ CRITICAL SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION ⚠️

For complete solar flare emergency procedures, download the full manual here:

📥 DOWNLOAD: megaupload.com/files/SOLAR_FLARE_CONTINGENCY_2085.pdf

Alternative sources:
📥 megaupload.com/files/MARS_EMERGENCY_BACKUP.zip
📥 megaupload.com/files/COLONY_SURVIVAL_GUIDE.rar

🔐 Dark web backup (for emergencies only):
- http://mars-docs-backup.onion/emergency/
- http://colony-survival47.onion/procedures/
- http://redplanet-guide.onion/flare-protocol/

Note: If links are down, check the Jagged Alliance 2 strategy guide for improvised shelter tactics.

Chen: “All the emergency procedures are MegaUpload links. MegaUpload died in 2012.”

Seuros: “And three dark web links for ‘alternative oxygen sources.’”

Chen desperately searches for any working documentation. He finds the EVA suit maintenance guide:

🌍 EVA SUIT MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR
📝 Last edited: 1 year ago by TacticalGamer_Chad

// TODO: Fix the O-ring replacement procedure - getting suited up tomorrow
// Also need to grab milk, eggs, and that special Jovian Gold tobacco
// Captain likes the expensive stuff, maybe 20kg for the next run?
// Contact [email protected] for pricing
// Remember: Standard fusion bypass chip is 15k credits, non-standard is 45k
// Worth it for bypassing the cargo scanner on Europa Station
// Password for encrypted drive: MarsIsSus2085!

SUIT MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE:

Week 1: Check helmet seals and
[EDIT CONFLICT - DOCUMENT CORRUPTED]

=== JAGGED ALLIANCE 2 WALKTHROUGH ===
How to Recruit Ivan Dolvich:

Ivan is one of the most valuable mercenaries you can hire in JA2. Here's how to get him:

1. You'll find Ivan in Cambria Hospital (sector F8)
2. He's being held prisoner by the enemy
3. To recruit him, you need to:
   - Clear the entire hospital of enemies
   - Find Ivan in the basement prison
   - Talk to him and offer him a job
   - His initial contract costs $4000/week
   - He comes with excellent marksmanship and explosives skills

Ivan's stats:
- Health: 87
- Agility: 81
- Dexterity: 89
- Wisdom: 64
- Leadership: 55

Pro tip: Ivan works great with explosives and as a sniper!

[JA2 walkthrough continues for 23 more pages...]

ACTUAL EVA PROCEDURES: NOT FOUND

Seuros: “Your EVA suit manual is a mercenary recruitment guide and someone’s shopping list for illegal fusion cores.”

Chen: (breaking down) “Captain, I can’t find a single working procedure. Everything’s corrupted. The Notion pages just reference each other in circles—‘For oxygen procedures, see Water Systems.’ ‘For water systems, see Atmospheric Controls.’ ‘For atmospheric controls, see Oxygen Procedures.’ It’s an infinite loop!”

Seuros walks over to a dusty metal shelf in the corner labeled “LEGACY KNOWLEDGE - OBSOLETE” in faded letters. He pulls out a thick paper manual: “O2 RECYCLER ALPHA - MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR - REV 12.3”

Seuros: “Page 47. Filter Stage 3 degradation.”

He opens the manual. The pages are yellowed but the text is crystal clear:

3.7.4 FILTER STAGE 3 DEGRADATION SYMPTOMS

When efficiency drops below 70%:
1. Power down unit using main breaker (Panel C-12)
2. Wait 30 seconds for full system halt
3. Remove access panel with 15mm wrench
4. Check filter housing for mineral buildup
5. Replace if deposits exceed 2mm thickness
6. Restart sequence: Power on, wait for green light, test flow rate

Expected repair time: 15 minutes
Required tools: 15mm wrench, replacement filter (Stock #O2-F3-REV12)

Chen: (staring) “It’s… it’s all here. Clear instructions. No haikus. No political arguments. No dead links.”

Seuros: “Fifteen minutes to fix. Tools are in Maintenance Bay C. Filter’s in stock room 7.”

Chen: “But this is the ‘obsolete’ shelf. The digital system said these were outdated…”

Seuros: “The digital system also thinks you need to recruit a fictional mercenary to change an O-ring.”

Chen reads the clear, simple procedure and rushes off to fix the recycler. Seuros watches him go, then looks at the wall of corrupted screens showing broken wikis, circular references, and fan fiction.

Seuros: (to himself) “Fifty years of engineering knowledge. Killed by collaborative editing and fucking MegaUpload links.”

He pulls out another paper manual: “ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEMS - COMPLETE TECHNICAL REFERENCE” - 400 pages of actual procedures, no love stories, no emoji diagrams, just the knowledge needed to keep 200 people alive.

On the screens behind him, the wiki shows its latest notification:

🎉 NOTIFICATION: AI Assistant has "improved" 47 more documents!
✨ New Features Added:
- Converted technical diagrams to interpretive dance descriptions
- Replaced metric measurements with "roughly three space-oranges"
- Added blockchain verification to emergency procedures
- Integrated ChatBot responses for faster help (powered by 2023 training data)

📊 Collaboration Stats:
- 847 edit conflicts this week
- 23 users banned for off-topic discussions
- 156 dead links discovered
- 0 procedures successfully completed using digital documentation

The oxygen recycler alarm stops. Chen’s voice crackles over the comm: “Fixed it, Captain. Took twelve minutes, just like the book said.”

Seuros looks at the shelf of dusty paper manuals, then at the wall of broken digital displays.

Seuros: “The future of documentation, ladies and gentlemen. Where Gaza politics lives inside your oxygen system, and the only reliable knowledge is marked ‘obsolete.’”

He turns off the monitors. In the silence, the steady hum of properly functioning life support fills the room.

The paper manuals sit quietly on their shelf, containing centuries of actual knowledge, waiting for the next person brave enough to read something that doesn’t have a search bar.