"After gazing at the sun one last
time we took off, chanting ritual songs to keep our spirits up, just
like the Yskay used to perform. From the tribe's inscriptions
we knew that if our mission was to be accomplished it would be by
departing from exactly this point of the earth's crust." [...] "The
darkness is overwhelming and seems illimitable, but so far technically
everything appears to be stable. We're on what we think is the right
course, the route of ancient celestial empowerment." [...]
"Unexpectedly, we breached a massive block of what might have been big
accumulations of metallic salts, bringing us to a grotto of vast
magnitude, in which we discovered further inscriptions of the
Yskay!" [...] "We deciphered the main part, consisting of a
somehow cryptic warning of a 'GREEN CREATURE'. Disregarding the
warning, we incautiously set course - after all it's certain now that
we are on the accurate path."
"The information of the second
part of the tribe's inscriptions we copied from the grotto is a rebus
which we yet fail to solve. We have different cybernetic algorithms
deciphering its complex structure as I write." [...] "Our instruments
show unsteady and alarming densities of radiation in harmful quantity.
Source unknown. We ought to slow down." [...] "The main drill is
suffering from a malfunction! A luminescent fog seems to be covering it
with a green material. We have sent robotic units for analyzing
purposes. Whilst waiting, we notice the haunting beauty of the greenish
shimmering material. Pure magnificence. The robots are reporting that a
plant-like organism is trying to conquer our vehicle, it is in the
middle of devouring us!." [...] "Wrong conclusion, the plant
established a symbiosis with our vehicle, illuminating our path while
nourishing on our exhaust fumes. We're perplexed and astonished."
"Arrival at a stone-carved gateway leading into what must have been some form of sacred room to the Yskay." [...]
"Shimmering substances just beneath the ceiling remind us of solar particles. Their physical behaviour seems equal to those above the crust.
But down here?" [...] "We feel exhilarated. Pure mental well-being. The warm light, the symmetric pattern of the blue and golden floor tiles,
the geodesic physical structure - it's mere harmony. Or is it an odd light-headedness that is affecting us?" [...] "Slight electric shocks are discharging.
Stimulating our brain cells; leaving thermal marks on our skin. Leaving our skin. Beyond our sphere of influence we are leaving the real domain." [...]
"Suddenly, we are let go. Investigating our out-of-body experience, it is certain: We got a glimpse of the imaginary domain the Yskay used to reach the sun."
"100ad² under the earth's crust and counting. Steady progress." [...] "Our floodlight seems to be suffering from a loose connection. Cause unknown.
Lights have terminated. All-consuming, utter darkness. Back-up generators failing." [...] "Organic matter has corrupted the wiring, leading to hyperthermia and blackout.
Repairs have been initiated; we brought sufficient black glass to substitute everything." [...] "The wall's surface of our trenched shaft echoes the clattering,
clanking and sizzling in the most peculiar way. Sparks bouncing from rock to rock; vanishing." [...]
"Cogwheels are squeaking again, cylinders start rotating, the light engines are slowly regaining power supply. We are relieved. Proceeding."
"In the absence of colour one is able to distinguish between the slightest differences in the degree of darkness. Certain shades of black turn out to be profoundly beautiful." [...]
"As we turn our spotlight towards the way we came, a multitude of eyes stared back at us. As if there were thousands of bats hanging at the ceiling, watching over us." [...]
"Our orientation devices don't make sense anymore. We may have dug through fossilized lodestone, creating electromagnetic interferences. Where are we heading?" [...]
"Lost in a maze. Not one made of walls, but a magnetic maze. Without spatial orientation, we're forced to rely on intuition and good fortune." [...]
"The deciphering algorithms decoded another part of the Yskay's inscriptions:
'To conquer the maze, you must loose yourselves in spheres of madness and reach the cybercore.' ... What?."
"At ease, we celebrated another milestone in our journey towards the earth's core under the stimulating sounds of our machines moving forward." [...] "Not paying too much
attention to our indicators, we abruptly were alarmed by a series of monstrous noises. We've hit a water reservoir of enormous proportion. We're going down!" [...]
"Unbelievable amounts of water are pouring into our vehicle. All electronics have to be shut down immediately. We're thunderstruck with panic." [...] "In theory all
electronics are designed to be waterproof. Let's hope this is true or we will be stuck here." [...] "We repaired the breakage and manually removed even the last puddle
from the interiors. It's time to switch the lever back on." [...] "It's rumbling, it's crackling, a few electrical shorts but nothing too serious. They take their
time but all major engines are up an running again. Phew."
"Finally, the numerical program 'Alysa-Chant' has solved one part of the Yskay's rebus we found some time ago, introducing another riddle:
'In the center of the bridge one can find the soul of the star'." [...] "Our error matrix is printing unsettlingly random number codes. It may be the green nano-creatures
which by now have nested on some major instruments. Their luminescent particles are corroding the wiring as if they were acid." [...] "The wiring has to wait: we've come
across Yskay ruins! Never have we found larger traces of this dead civilisation. It's stunning." [...] "From the marks in the stone, it is obvious that they used a kind of
rhythmically enhanced electro-magnetic pulse to build these structures on the edge of those ravines. We should try to investigate this 'Yskayan pulse', we may need the
technology to proceed."
Excerpts from the YUYAY Expeditions Logbook 
