X-Com Chronicles: The Archives

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister Storage, recovering available data now.

 

-- All data classified to highest levels. Unauthorized viewing of this data in a manner that harms the operational secrecy of X-Com is considered treason.

 

Checking credentials.

 

Credentials confirmed.

 

Compiling UFOpedia.

 

Done. Have a nice day.

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 894, X-Com Archives. Technical briefing for SR77H 'Skyranger' light transport.

 

Vehicle Type - VTOL Aircraft, powered by 2 variable turbofan engines.

Weight, unloaded - 12 000 Kg

Maximum VTOL takeoff weight - 50 000 Kg

Maximum VTOL takeoff weight with one engine inoperable - 30 000 Kg

Maximum conventional takeoff weight - 56 000 Kg

Maximum conventional takeoff weight with one engine inoperable - 38 000 kg

Maximum fuel weight - 36 000 Kg

Cargo area - 9.4 m long, 2.2 m wide, 2.3m high.

Normal flight range - 14 000 Kilometres

Maximum speed - 1 450 Km/h

Cruise speed - 930 Km/h

Conventional takeoff field length - 1620 m

Conventional landing field length - 1360 m

 

Length - 24m

Wingspan - 14m

Height - 8m

 

Crew - One pilot and copilot.

 

History of Design - In the 1970s, the old USSR began working towards creating a vehicle suitable for replacing helicopters in use for extremely long range special operations. More specifically, for use in depositing and supplying special operations groups in the United States of America.

Initial designs were unable to make the cross-global distances required, due to size and weight constraints. The most suitable version was unveiled in 1977, at an astronomical cost. The old USSR was forced to abandon the project for other, more important, methods of gaining ground in the cold war.

After the collapse of the USSR, the project was lost entirely.

When the X-Com project was hurriedly specced out, it was clear that no known aircraft could fulfil initial troop transport requirements. Several former KGB officers recalled the 'Skyranger' project, and the old designs were brought out as speedily as possible.

It was determined that with new state of the art materials and engines, the 'Skyranger' could operate as desired. The original moth balled Skyranger was brought out and re-fitted immediately in America, before being forwarded to X-Com. A small 'research' facility was then put together several kilometres outside of Moscow, which produces 'Prototypes' as X-Com requires them.

 

Description of Design - The SR77H is, at its heart, one of the most effective special operations transports available.

The main positive aspect to the design is in its VTOL Capacity. Vents within the engine housings can, variably, redirect thrust to a number of nozzles on the undersides of the craft fuselage and wings, vented through ducts in the aircraft's sides. This system allows the vented exhaust from the system to pressurise all nozzles at once, and gradually switch the VTOL thrust over to regular thrust. Also, one engine being damaged does not ground this craft.

The design makes use of two sets of wings. The rear wings and stabilisers are set high on the craft's rear, and the rear wings are the larger set. The second set is mounted just aft of the craft's nose, and closer to the middle of the craft. These wings cut the air ahead of the aft wings, so as to have air flow evenly across both sets of wings at once, increasing stability, and increasing 'lift' dramatically.

Accommodations on the craft are crude at best. The extended cockpit contains an enclosed chemical toilet booth, and a small MRE heating oven, behind the pilots.

The rear bay of the craft is large, with rails along the walls and floor for the insertion or removal of cargo storage equipment. Skyrangers in X-Com use will primarily make use of rows of seating and storage along either wall, allowing up to fourteen personnel and their equipment to be stored effectively.

Remote controlled heavy weapons platforms, due to their sizes, will reduce the amount of seating available.

The Skyranger's rear bay terminates in a swinging ramp, which serves as the rear wall of the craft in normal flight. On landing, the ramp is lowered, providing a path down to the ground. It is entirely flat, but coated in non-slip rubber to enhance traction.

The Skyrangers in use will also have advanced communications stations in place on the craft, to relay messages, data, and orders up to a satellite in orbit, or retransmit them over long distances.

It is projected that as X-Com expands, Skyrangers will be used more and more frequently in a covert freighter role, moving personnel and equipment from base to base.

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 443, X-Com Archives. Audio recording transcript. Hypnotic memory recovery from possible abduction victim 995, Janessa Greene, March 5th, 1998.

 

They're here. Again. I can't move.

No. I can move. I just don't want to.

The lights in front of my eyes... Blinding.

Where's Scotty? He's my dog. My terrier. He always gnaws on my shoes.

A yelping. I can't see anymore. My eyes are wet.

I got Scotty to wake me up if this ever happened again.

I'm weightless, I'm moving. Floating on a bed of air that tingles.

I can't fall.

Burnt meat. I smell burnt meat.

I see one, there. To my left, beside me. It's one of them.

Such big eyes. It has a device. Long. A boxy end with a hole in it. There's steam rising.

It doesn't look at me.

I want to move. I want to get up and look for Scotty.

My legs aren't listening.

I'm going outside. They opened the door.

Why isn't Scotty barking?

So much light! It's blocking out the sky. An octagon. A beam of light is pouring down from underneath.

They're taking me into the light. I'm being lifted. I can't run. I want to run away, hit them, anything. I can't.

I'm floating. I'm inside.

They're turning me, turning me to the left. They're picking me up, carrying me. No. I'm walking. I can feel my feet touching the ground. I can't move them the way I want.

There's a machine.

It has sharp arms. There's a glass tube. There's a little baby in it. No. No!

It's a monster! One of them! The arms, they're reaching for me!

 

-- Recording ends. --

 

--- Notes of hypnotherapist

Janessa is clearly traumatised over some kind of vulnerability issue. The imagery in her 'memories' are particularly strong, being stripped away from what she knows, into the unknown.

It's possible that the surgical machinery, as well as the baby within, could suggest a fear of pregnancy, or a fear of her own maternal instincts, possibly harmed by her own mother.

Resolving this may take some time.

 

--- Notes of investigator.

Data has been correlated with a faint radar trace, picked up earlier that night. ASPCA centres in the area reported finding no terriers within a two week span of area. Subject has no immediate recollection of the dog 'Scotty', but neighbours confirm that subject had such an animal with her on walks previously.

Preliminary investigations show little physical evidence of visitations on site, however a partial body of an animal, rendered un-identifiable by extreme burns, was found by local children some weeks afterwards.

I recommend closing the case, pending further information.

 

--- Notes of followup investigator.

Reports received that subject was pregnant. Ultrasound images 'recovered' show a humanoid, but non-human, foetus.

Subject has been missing since the third of July, 1998.

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 894, X-Com Archives. Technical briefing for command and control software (Code name 'GEOSCAPE')

 

The central X-Com command and control facilities are located in an NBC immune bunker at the Pentagon in the United States of America. This facility is code named the 'war room', and is the foremost of the command and control centers.

This facility is at the heart of the GEOSCAPE network, however it is not vital to operations so long as any independent base command and control room remains active. The war room is, however, the primary strategic decision-making X-Com facility. Also, X-Com agents who handle investigations into the status of the funding nations, as well as items procurement, work in contact with the war room. Should the war room be lost, this role will be passed on to the most efficient base for the task.

All that is required to access the GEOSCAPE software is a regular computer terminal of almost any make capable of connecting to the central supercomputers at any base.

GEOSCAPE was originally developed in 1986 by the NSA of the United States to coordinate and control military assets in the event of nuclear war. The main design key points of all versions of GEOSCAPE include multiple radar system input and control, simplified communications to any military unit down to person to person level, high speed data transfer, and encryption of the highest quality.

The version now in use by X-Com is an offshoot of the original GEOSCAPE project, and is properly termed GEOSCAPE 6.7 XC-BLACK, designating its status as improved for our particular covert needs.

 

GEOSCAPE's main use is for observing and coordinating X-Com's global assets. The main operative mode of GEOSCAPE displays a global map, on which is projected such data as current day/night lighting conditions globally, real time updated radar traces, locations of assets such as personnel and aircraft, locations of bases, locations of known or suspected enemy presence, etcetera.

Accessing the icons used to represent such assets or radar traces will display any known data on what the icon represents.

As an example, a radar trace so accessed would display the geographical coordinates, height, speed, size, and shape if possible. If visual contact has been made with the radar trace, images may be displayed. Any interceptions launched towards the radar trace would also be listed by GEOSCAPE operators, and as such be available to view.

 

GEOSCAPE may also be used to access data pertaining to X-Com bases, current schematics, what is stored in the bases, etcetera. GEOSCAPE also allows real time conferencing between the war room at the pentagon and individual base commanders, to allow a free flow of information so as to ensure the needed facilities are built, and the required resources moved from base to base.

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 1778, X-Com Archives. "Our flawed vision," inflammatory essay by John Weissman, Xenobiologist. Published in 'Another look', April 2082 Edition. Badly received despite portions of technical accuracy.

 

After the discovery of DNA and further investigation of genes, Darwin's evolutionary theories required yet more modification to fit man into the great schemes of the world.

With the public confirmation of extraterrestrial life after the first Alien war, man's role in nature was thrown into yet further question even before Alien genomes were publicly available for research.

By the time X-Com's deeper records were leaked when the UFOpedia was released to Transtellar in 2051, our entire understanding of the global ecology should have already been discarded and replaced.

 

There are serious indications in transcripts of interrogations with higher ranking Alien captives from 2000 to 2002 that humanity, and possibly all life on earth, was 'seeded' on the planet earth at a primordial date. This alone accounts for how life emerged on earth. Unwieldy theories as to the generation of base proteins prove insufficient, and data gained from certain Alien specimens never otherwise found on earth share far too many traits for there to be only a 'coincidental' link between humanity and Alien life.

Sectoids themselves, the apparent 'common' Alien race, or at least the baseline one, are extremely old. There is every sign however that they are a fully genetically engineered race, with an entirely artificial evolutionary course. With this in mind, we can compare their genetic code to our own and note various 'genetic markers'. These markers are chemical trends in genetic patterns, often having no apparent effect on the development of the individual life-form in question. However, they are there, and as genes mutate and evolve they change along with the rest of the genetic code.

These 'markers' in Sectoid DNA seem to be an older, undistorted form of markers to be found in the genetic samples of you and I. There has been a search since Darwin's day for the 'Missing link' between humanity and Neanderthal man, but it is my firm belief that there is no missing link.

It is clear to me that the Alien city T'leth is somehow responsible for modern humanity. The initial seeding of earth by the Aliens clearly resulted in an evolutionary pattern that would give rise to disturbingly similar forms of life. Either humanity was artificially engineered from Sectoid stock, or modified from the 'natural' stock of early primates.

This would also account for the apparent Sectoid fascination with mingling Human and Sectoid genetics to produce the 'Hybrids', or Sectohumes, as well as their success.

 

So, if humanity is indeed somehow fathered by the Sectoids, if indeed somewhat less specialized towards psionics, what role do the Ethereals play? By following these genetic markers we can see that Ethereals are also related to the Sectoids, and are at a similar state of 'advancement' from them as we are. (As no Ethereals were with T'leth, it is my belief they originated at some point within the last ten to forty million years.) However the Ethereals are honed even further towards an ultimate goal of Psionic realization, seeming to indicate that as a mind grows stronger the body increasingly withers in an attempt to support it. (It is worth noting here that the Psilords encountered in the frontier appear to be an entirely different evolutionary or engineering path, and are as divergent from Sectoids are as they are from Mutons or Snakemen.)

Looking further into our own origins, we cannot ignore the machinations of the Alien Horror of T'leth, nor the Martian Brain. Sadly no samples exist from either being, however it is my conclusion that the Alien Horror was one of the few surviving members of a race that had long ago achieved that which the Ethereals and Sectoids seem to be slowly moving towards, a perfect Psionic existence. The Martian Brain seems to be a legacy of this race, driving the Ethereals and Sectoids towards this goal. (It is my firm belief that the aliens within the frontier were under the control of either a being very much like the Alien Horror, or a series of biocomputers such as the one at Cydonia.)

 

Our own evolution is clearly artificial, and we cannot look at it from the perspective of natural selection any longer. If records had survived from T'leth, we may have been able to learn more about our own origins, but as it stands the evidence is overwhelming that humanity are descended from Sectoid experimentations on Neanderthals, which are themselves a divergent and designed evolution from the very same which eventually spawned the Sectoids themselves.

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 914, X-Com Archives. Transcript of personal report on early X-Com Findings, Peter Weissman, 6657-9fd-XRC, 05/02/2000

 

"Alright, look. In basic, the entire Alien social development -can't- have been anything close to ours. At my best guess, Sectoids are the original species. Humanoid, like us, but it's clear that in their background they were aquatic. They can breathe our atmosphere, but I think there's some kind of inbuilt mutation going on. Like, they engineered themselves to be able to handle any atmosphere. Almost all of the other encountered types have been given cybernetic augmentations. And -nothing- like our development is moving towards.

"Let me explain this in more concrete terms. We, evolving as we have, used our environment around ourselves. As a result we are primarily mechanical in our outlook. Chemistry, medicine, every other science is, for us, additional. We approach everything from a mechanical point of view.

"You see this in our technology, we use a lot of kinetic energy, solid state matter, etcetera. But these Aliens... My god. I think that aquatic evolution must've given them some kind of jump start in chemistry. A view of the world based on... chemistry. Non-solid matter states.

"Just look at their weaponry. We've pulled it apart - we can't get it to work - but it's not complex in the -least-. I'm sure we can replicate some of this once we can understand their computing, which seems to involve organic matter somewhere. The point is, they understand magnetic fields, timing, radioactive particle decay... Just look at Elerium! The stuff is -unreal-. It doesn't act like matter in the way we understand it when subjected to certain kinds of magnetic fields. It opens up, goes radioactive... I can't describe it. The stuff is pure flipping magic.

"None of their weaponry, in short, is reliant on mechanical systems. Neither are anything we've seen on their craft, and those discs observed with sectoids seem entirely solid also.

"The robed race, still unclassified, they've got those walking gun platforms, that might be ceremonial. Maybe under those robes there are just older sectoids, we just don't know, but I assure you, these aliens find our mechanical outlook just as strange and alien as we see their familiarity with energy and biochemistry. They're advanced, but not as advanced as we think."

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 914, X-Com Archives. Transcript of personal report on Snakeman social and economic culture, Peter Weissman, 6657-9fd-XRC, 15/11/2001

 

"Yes, interrogations are proceeding smoothly. But in light of current budgetary problems, well...

"Let me explain myself. From the data we have, we can extrapolate that the Snakemen are not of sectoid origin or modification. Other than key genome alterations, similar to those in mutons, Snakemen are almost untouched from their original species.

"Their heat tolerance is exceptional. They've inherited self-modifying genomes relating to their body chemistry that allows them to slowly adjust to almost any atmosphere in any kind of noticable pressure. Hell, some of the new high altitude intercepts, craft coming down from orbit, possibly the theorized base on the moon or one of the other near planets, have snakemen with partially digested tablets in their guts, containing oxygen and other similar atmospheric chemicals bonded with several protiens. More research is needed, but I'm fairly sure that they're breathing tablets. I don't think the snakemen even need to breathe anymore.

"They seem to have a relatively free society, compared to the Mutons or Floaters, and as a result I think that from all indications, they're operating under a... mercenary capacity. I have no idea what the Sectoids and Ethereals are paying them, but they are here of their own free will.

"Interrogations lead me to suspect that the entire Snakeman 'empire', if you will, is composed of semi-independant colonies, protected by mercenary armies, that are entirely self funding. Snakeman technology was at one stage more similar to our own, this is clear, though their predatory base led them very quickly to, what for them, is an efficient pinnacle of their economic culture.

"The problems we're having with X-Com, international funding, treaties, etcetera, were all very cleanly swept off the board by the Snakemen by simply making their militaries entirely independant and private, responsible to their leaders, which, admittedly, are most likely ethereals.

"If budgetary constraints and similar problems continue to be a problem... well, I think we could take a real page from the Snakemen's book."

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 1677, X-Com Archives. Transcript of observations report, Agent L. Schaltz, 3667-3xp-XPI, 03/04/2084

 

"It has been confirmed.

"There is...

"There is Something in this city."

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 430. X-Com Archives. Transcript of unknown debrief, tenatively linked with project 'Twilight'. Unknown subject, possibly Lieutenant Peter Conners, 3576-9jp-XBP, 06/03/2000

 

"It's not like anything I can describe. The closest I can come to it is when you've just come out of surgery, when you're not sure who you are, what's real or not. That's when you're lucky.

"If you're unlucky you relive the worst pain you've ever felt, emotional or physical. They just pull it up out of your head. I've seen rookies go down with that. After you've been shot three or four times you learn to deal with excruciating pain, just grit your teeth and move on.

"What to do about it? What advice I can give?"

 

"I was hoping you'd tell me."

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 1778, X-Com Archives. Excerpt from anonymous essay, Circa 2082.

 

 

We have been told everything. X-Com fought the alien threat and won, over and over again. The loss of the Patton was explained away, the ships' traces in the frontier explained away.

 

We know that the reports from soldiers in the first and second wars of unidentified combatants were a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder related delusion. We know that reports of missing funds and blank spots in flight records as well as the continuing rumours of missing 'soldier robot' research units are just bureaucratic hiccups in X-Com's red tape, an organisation now well known for coordinating research efforts across more than eighteen countries to produce laser weaponry from near scratch in less than eight months, as well as the production of no less than three entirely new aircraft designs from scratch in under two years.

 

We know that the 'underwater war' was no different, with the alien city of T'Leth destroying itself through a 'chain reaction' through power conduits which miraculously destroyed every power system across the entire craft causing its total destruction. This from an alien race known for the production of massive submersibles capable of running with more than thirty-five percent of the entire hull structure destroyed.

 

We know that every fact of the Frontier war has been explained away, including the rumoured existance of the 'Nova Bomb' superweapon, accompanied with rumours of aliens doomsday devices. To this day there has been no explanation of why multiple stars underwent incredible flare activity within the Frontier, fortitiously always in alien controlled sectors, destroying facilities en masse.

 

We have been told repeatedly that there were no unknown soldiers, no unrecorded covert operations, no threats we have never been informed about. We have been told this by X-Com, best known for managing to maintain utmost secrecy in its operations throughout the most significant wars in human history.

 

We know we are safe, that there is no new alien threat. We know we have the answers. It all makes sense, doesn't it?

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 914, X-Com Archives. Transcript of briefing on Chryssalids to soldiers, Peter Weissman, 6657-9fd-XRC, 04/02/2001

 

 

"Chryssalids...

 

"You could fill several books with details on their life cycle. Let me give a simple description.

 

"Fully grown, a Chryssalid is two meters tall. It looks roughly insectoid, although it's difficult to classify in terms of our local taxonomy. It's covered with a near black carapace, which is a little under a two inches thick on average. The joints are weak points, they're covered with slightly pink leathery flesh. Internal musculature is solid. It walks on two legs that seem somewhat digitigrade, although in fact the Chryssalid has no ankle structure, just two extremely strong toes with an extremely good range of motion allowing them to clutch things... they are able to climb particularly rough surfaces relatively well despite their size, there have been reports of troopers having them drop out of trees.

 

"Arms are relatively short, end in two-part pincers with a rather remarkable amount of strength and hardness. Chryssalid musculature is almost... hydraulic, you might say. They compress body fluids in rather heart-like pumps behind all that armour plating in their chests, which flood constrictive organs in the limbs, forcing movement. It's very elegant, quite energy efficient.

 

"There are two antennae-like spines which jut out of their shoulders. There were some theories that these were sensory, and this was later proven to be an auditory structure of some kind, with a honey-comb of air pockets linked to nerve receptors. Their eyes are very good, with nerve clusters which give them vision estimated at slightly better than ours, particularly at night.

 

"Reproduction is quite a disturbing matter... Behind the mandible plates, which give a Chryssie a very pleasant smile, there is a sort of tongue located just underneath the digestive tract. About eight inches long, three wide, the tip is slightly concave, with a kind of... beak, in the centre. Very flexible organ. The Chryssalid latches onto its victim with the tip of its tongue, there's a specialised muscle grouping which allows it to flex the concavity, producing a suction effect which leaves a very distinctive bruise pattern, almost like a hickey.

 

"The central beak, or perhaps a flat two-part needle, one might call it, is gouged into the flesh. Typically there will be an egg, three inches long, about an eighth of an inch wide, within this beak. The two halves swing open, and the egg is deposited about three to four inches underneath the flesh, along with about sixty CCs worth of a very powerful psychotic drug... It basically makes rational reasoning impossible, triggers flight or fight reflexes, deadens pain... very nasty.

 

"The end result is a bruisey looking wound with a relatively thin cut in the centre.

 

"This egg is basically a more or less complete juvenile Chryssalid. All it has to do is start syphoning off blood or other fluids from the victim, and it begins to gradually expand... at this stage the juvenile is very flexible, as it hasn't yet developed its carapace. Within about forty five seconds or so, the juvenile has taken on enough fluid mass to run around on its own, and will actually begin producing eggs at the two minute mark.

 

"A juvenile Chryssalid at this stage stands a little under thirty centimetres tall, very soft structure. But it can survive and act under its own volition. At the fifteen minute mark, the Chryssalid begins flooding its victim with acids and enzymes which start breaking down cell walls and gradually turning most of the soft organs, liver, brain, lungs, to a kind of jelly.

 

"Around an hour and a half after implantation, the host is basically irrecoverable, but still alive -- barely. Fluid will be steadily pouring into the damaged lungs, the Chryssalid will have consumed most of the body matter and be inhabiting most of the torso, consuming the digestive tract first.

 

"Two hours after implantation, the brain starts to shred apart and the victim goes into a coma. The Chryssalid will shortly consume all other internal organs and begin working on musculature... Two and a half hours after implantation, the Chryssalid starts pulling itself out of the remains, which will basically just be musculature and bone structure.

 

"Normally a Chryssalid out in the field will run from its victim's body, but if left to their own devices with no threats, they will then consume their victim's remains, including the bone structure, allowing their carapace to form.

 

"As you can probably guess, the Chryssalid has a disturbingly fast metabolism. The longest we've kept one alive in the lab has been about three months, at that stage for reasons not terribly clear to us they just stop eating, become listless, and eventually starve.

 

"From implantation to adulthood takes roughly four hours if the Chryssalid is allowed to consume its host corpse. If you kill a fresh implantation victim, the juvenile will 'hatch' prematurely... not so well armoured as an adult specimen, it is still very dangerous. Very mobile, also capable of implantating fresh victims.

 

"If left alone, a premature Chryssalid will cause a 'sterile implant', using the same mechanism as before, but only using venom at a much higher dosage. This renders the victim more or less insensible, and the premature Chryssalid will eat the victim alive, bit by bit.

 

"... They seem to go after fingers, first.

 

"An adult specimen runs at a little over forty miles an hour. They have disturbingly fast reflexes, as well... We know they can jump and leap, but we don't have any really solid information there. As mentioned, their pincer-like claws on the arms are very strong. There are recorded incidents of Chryssalids tearing into heavy weapons platforms, for example, although this can take some time. Their claws are certainly hard enough to get the job done!

 

"Chryssalids may or may not be a natural life form... Their biological burn rate seems a little too high for any kind of stable ecosystem, they go through prey extremely quickly, as evidenced by the death rate in New York over the holidays...

 

"This may just be a purpose bred subspecies, however. It seems likely to me. They, like the Snakemen whom we presume share a homeworld, use an androgynous reproduction method based around 'eggs' with genetic uniformity prevented through a rather ingenious system of recursion of the chromosomes... but I don't expect you're terribly interested."

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 1037, X-Com Archives. Briefing for Relativistic Motion Detection Unit (Motion Scanner) 'Problem'. Probably an internal memo, origin of document otherwise unclear. Dated 2014.

 

The technology behind this device and its origins has often been misunderstood. The exact origins of the device lie with the Pre-War Black Project Codename 'Dream Kin', as part of the package of information turned over at the start of Project Codename Blackbook, also known as Operation 'Enemy Unknown', The Extra-Terrestrial Combat Unit, UFO Defence, or as it has most popularly been known, X-Com.

 

The technology, making use of superconducting cores built around a metallic alloy antennae with a disturbing similarity to the later-discovered Alien Alloy, is based around difficult to understand physical properties. Some of these slot in neatly to our understanding of special relativity, others only make sense when viewed as part of super string theory.

 

The basic idea is that moving objects contain kinetic inertia, something we all know. This energy is, of course, only relative to the motion of other objects. This technology allows this type of information to be 'read' with varying degrees of accuracy.

 

Similar technologies have been discovered in the ways in which the alien craft navigate, although the semi-organic optical computation networks utilised in the 'navigation devices' seen on alien craft are considerably more advanced.

 

The first results of research into these principles were completed quickly, culminating with Project Twenty-Twenty in March 1999. A ruggedised unit was produced, with a 'scan' resolution of objects with mass greater than sixty kilograms at one gravity moving at speeds greater than 1 m/s.

 

The ruggedised unit which went into service with X-Com weighed two kilograms, had a pistol grip, three calibration dials and four antennae. The battery pack, weighing approximately another kilogram, was either clipped to the back of the unit or carried on the belt, with a cable extending to the unit. The unit has a shoulder strap which allowed the unit to be used 'hands free' with the pistol grip removed, but this was often considered difficult to manage in a combat situation.

 

The casing was made out of a durable fireproof polymer, with an armoured glass shield over the LCD readout screen. The bulk of machinery, including the antennae, were behind the screen.

 

Crude by current standards, the operator needed to move the unit in slow sweeps while depressing a trigger which charged the unit. The motion allowed the unit to build up a 'motion' charge of its own, which made it capable of detecting moving objects within a radius of sixty meters. The field of 'vision' of the unit meant it could only accurately determine an object's location on the horizontal plane relative to the unit.

 

Some soldiers would tilt the unit while scanning, and as such were able to get a fix on moving objects at various planes of elevation. Unfortunately the results from this method were relatively innacurate, due to the unit's calibration to the gravity field of the earth.

 

The faster a unit moves, or the larger and heavier the unit is, the larger and more striking the 'scan' result. This technology is unblocked by any known materials, although high presences of Elerium and Gravity-Wave engines are known to distort readings, sometimes significantly.

 

Only five units built prior to October 1999 are still known to exist, and the details of Project Twenty-Twenty and the origins of motion-scanning technology are still hotly debated outside of the public eye.

 

Ultimately it is only a matter of time before otherwise insignificant sections of the UFOpedia become public and someone realizes that the Scanners' exitance proves the existence of Project 'Dream Kin' and the Roswell incident.

 

It is reccomended that all five units are replaced with units built post-October, proof of documentation fabrication created and Psi specialists engaging in memory alteration as neccesary to ensure historians stick to our version of events.

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 1037, X-Com Archives. Lecture Transcript on 'Myths of Heavy Weapons Usage During the War in Popular Media', Clegg Martinez of the Trove Museum (sponsored by Zippi Cola), London branch, 2023.

 

"I think we all here have played the games, seen the various movies based directly and indirectly on the war and X-Com... I myself am an avid collector, with all five box sets of 'X-Com: Days of Battle'.

 

"As a fan, I can appreciate the drama of these various entertainment products. As a historian, however, I must question the accuracy of many of these. This goes beyond Sectoids and Ethereals sharing blood colours, however, to something far more intrinsic.

 

"Let's start with what has become one of the defining weapons of the war, the Autocannon. I think we all remember the sequence from the Anime, 'Tokyo Terror Attack', with the big guy blasting off the autocannon in his personal armour, the little blond guy with his mouth wide open, the Muton Commander?

 

"A lot of people know, obviously, that the plasma sequence, with its almost gun-like muzzle flashes, is way off the mark. Far fewer stop to consider, hey, here's a beefy looking guy, and he's carrying an Autocannon. An Autocannon.

 

"What is an Autocannon? It was a modified aircraft weapon, russian in make, based off the GSh-6-23 gatling gun. The originals weighed in at seventy-six kilos, without ammunition, and were one and a half meters long, roughly. The modified Gearhead version just cut down the barrels and rebuilt the weapon's casing to make it suitable for open use in hazardous environments, leaving the issued units at 68 kilograms of weight.

 

"Yet, the famed unnamed soldier, wields it like a toy. We see the legend of the 'brute with the autocannon' returning in major films like 'Attack of the Reapers' and 'Fall of Bombay', untill stills from several of these films were being claimed as authentic battle footage.

 

"The facts, however, are clear. No man could lift an autocannon and expect to fire it. The concussive blast from expanding gasses in the 23mm shells alone would have caused serious injury without hearing protection, and the recoil alone would have thrown him on his back They were only ever deployed with power suits, first seeing usage at the end of 2000 in the hands of Project Gearhead.

 

"Heavy Cannons, often thought to be more similar to high calibre grenade launchers, are another case of this. They too were generated in Project Gearhead, they made heavy usage of alien alloys to keep down the weight, were two meters long, and most incriminatingly, had no conventional stock or handle. They were built for power suits, shot off 90mm projectiles, were recorded as being able to partially disable sectopods, and had an advanced mechanical loading system.

 

"These were X-Com's response to terror units like reapers, which could not be brought down without specialized anti-tank weaponry, unsuitable for usage at extremely short ranges.

 

"Yet, in the recently published tactical shooter, published by Zippi-Media, X-Com World Defence, both of these weapons are portrayed as man portable and inferior in damage capabilities to even light laser weapons.

 

"Heavy Weapons Platforms, or as they were slangishly referred to, 'H-Whips', are equally poorly treated. Portrayed as something akin to today's AI-independant drone vehicles, the H-Whips used in the war were advanced, yes, but were remote operated vehicles used to carry heavy weapons, ammunition for soldiers, light artillery, guided missile racks and GMGs or grenade machine-guns. The only AI they had was in relation to pathfinding, and often soldiers would operate the H-Whips manually when required.

 

"They were used on long missions, generally controlled by a team member through the GEOSCAPE style interface, with laser designated targetting of the main weapons. They proved invaluable on all missions, particularly larger ones, including base assaults and terror attacks.

 

"The popular fallacy that these platforms were somehow independant or replacements for regular infantry makes a mockery of the war effort. It's almost as ridiculous as the proposed Enforcer Project. A legged and humanoid platform, capable of providing the same level of support with higher mobility in difficult terrain and cramped space, was an enormously enticing concept to anyone who'd heard about it. The simple fact of the matter however was that the required technology did not exist at that stage. Some very preliminary work has been done in the area, however, and dividends are expected to be seen within the next fifty years.

 

"On the whole, we as a society seem to have forgotten the hard and fast facts behind the usage of weapons platforms, the heavy weapons of the war, and, indeed, the reality behind the dramas that we now view on vidscreens and play with in arcades.

 

"What other ridiculous notions are going to creep into our heads? That the aliens were not bent on our genocidal destruction? That perhaps they might have been our 'friends'?"

 

--- Archiver's note, 2037: The emergence of the Cult of Sirius in '27, less than five years after Clegg's comments, makes me wonder if we couldn't have done something to prevent the Inquisitor war last year. Could intelligence services have done more? Or were we all blinded during those wild years of governmental collapse and refounding?

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 917, X-Com Archives. Overview and Technical Briefing on the results of Project Brighteye for new personnel. Last updated 2004.

 

Project Brighteye

Status: Terminated. (Results completed 05/05/2000, first manufactured batches began entering service 16/08/2000. Continued to operate as manufacturing project up until 15/03/2004)

 

Objective: Develop man-portable weaponry based on laser technologies from Project Polar to production models, set up covert manufacturing network and supply blueprints and operation manuals to armouries as required.

 

Date of initiation: 01/07/1999

 

 

In the aftermath of Intercept 0083, it was determined that man portable energy-weapon systems would help to close the gap in firepower between X-Com forces and the Alien Invaders, preferentially with less bulky ammunition than conventional systems. This was deemed as a high priority task by the research project development campus. (There has been some conjecture that at the time, this was seen as an impractical solution at best and was in fact an attempt by Alien sympathisers to tie up valuable research assets in difficult to complete projects with no significant military gain.)

 

With the news that Project Polar, initiated by Russia in 1997, was to be shut down as part of the 'Late-1999' batch (Including Projects Tidebreaker, Hallowed, Mirage and Enforcer at low levels of classification), the decision was made to salvage the advanced Laser developments made by project Polar in their Anti-Orbital Laser/Missile systems.

 

Early attempts to minaturize the systems were seriously held back by power constraints, however the energised gas laser systems developed by Project Polar were thought to be inevitably tied to high wattage batteries, intended to be run directly by jet-turbine generators.

 

Thanks to the extensive documentation provided by Project Polar on their various attempts at energised gas-laser systems, it was determined that a finalised gas mix could be produced which would begin lasing (producing photons capable of being directed into a laser) when exposed to heavy doses of radiation.

 

The still controversial design step was taken of utilising high-energy radioactive isotope pellets encased in blocks which merge with the laser systems to excite the gas used. Hits from plasma weapons and grenades could burn open the original isotope blocks, resulting in dangerous radiation emissions. In 2001 alternative Cydonium encased blocks were issued, and older blocks were eventually re-cased. Currently all issued blocks use a Cydonium casing.

 

More recently (2002) an Elerium-based radiation emitter has been used, often with an improved gas mix, however this is often seen as excessively expensive, given the inability to gain elerium in the current post-war period. Most elerium emitters, in fact, have been scavenged out of laser weapons for use in other applications. (2004)

 

Project Brighteye was based out of the UK, primarily making usage of facilities at Edinburgh Base and throughout the United Kingdom's research community via a government screening programme. Parts were produced nationwide, especially in Ireland, with the completed weapons assembled at Edinburgh base.

 

Isotope blocks and gas canisters were produced as needed at all bases. Laser weapon frames utilised high-wattage internal batteries, which could last for approximately 72 hours in heavy operation, and held an effective charge for up to a maximum of six weeks. The batteries could be replaced if required.

 

The weapon frame contained the actual lasing chamber, focusing lenses, and firing mechanisms.

 

In basic operation, the gas canister and isotope block are slotted into the laser weapon frame. Then the gas canister is opened and it pressurises the lasing chamber. Once pressure has been equalised, the isotope may then be exposed to the gas mix. At this point the weapon may be fired, and it is noted that the lasing chamber radiates an intense amount of heat regardless of being fired or not. The gas mix tends to last for forty-five minutes, during which time the weapon may be fired continuously, typically with a pulse time of roughly .03 seconds, with a wait time between pulses of .2 seconds. (The heavy models required a full 2.8 second firing cycle.) During each pulse the gas mix is violently pumped through the weapon to ensure optimal energetic performance, although this does cause enough motion within the unit to pull a shooter's aim off target. As such, it is possible to manually prevent the pump cycle, however this causes shots after the first to drop in efficiency.

 

Laser weapons were distributed initially in three types, being a light pistol-like model, a rifle-like model, and a heavier rifle-like model. The size of gas canisters, lasing chamber pressure, beam bore and overall pulse strength and length varied between the models.

 

The pistol-type model had an enclosed frame, covering all extremely heated portions of the weapon to allow it to be safely holstered and used as a side-arm. This requirement cut down on performance, causing the pistol-sized system to be far less efficient than the other models. The beam width was fairly wide, causing the weapon to be unable to pierce or cut through heavier armours, although it could easily flash-burn exposed flesh. Laser-pistols are still considered the best generally avaliable side-arms.

 

The rifle is often considered the most popular version of the series. With an open frame, replacement of the red gas canisters is an extremely rapid and efficient movement, although heat-resistant gloves are required. With similar pulse times to the pistol models, the rifle however had half the beam width and a much more efficient lasing chamber, allowing far more energy to be put on target based on area covered by the beam than the pistol system, and a far greater capacity to flash-burn through armour. The heat generated by this weapon is known to cause discomfort to soldiers, who frequently require face-masks to reflect heat away from them.

 

The heavy unit sacrifices much of the finesse of the other systems for power. Making use of an enhanced gas system that was not employed in the other weapons frames, the heavy unit utilised a chemical catalyst to enhance lasing, which rapidly bonded with the gas and causing it to become relatively inert within milliseconds. As such, each shot causes the weapon to vent a sometimes massive plume of now inert gas. The gas is not, as some soldiers concern themselves, radioactive or harmful unless breathed for an extended period of time. Each cycle of laser-fire from the heavy systems is in fact a long pulse over the span of .06 seconds. The first part of the pulse flash-vapourizes the surface being struck, with the second part superheating the gas emitted by vapourization to cause a small localized explosion. (This is particularly effective on fleshy targets which produce a lot of steam.)

 

The heavy system was prohibitively expensive, and the loss of fire rate was often considered to make it unsuitable outside of specialist roles. Gas canisters were good for approximately 35 shots before losing pressure and needing to be replaced.

 

The fourth man-portable laser system was an enhanced version of the heavy unit, made for usage by power-suited soldiers. Some of these 'Power-Lasers' were scaled up and mounted on craft, and were derived into a two man emplacement weapon which proved economically popular.

 

British soldiers making usage of laser systems in the testing phase often used the mnemonic 'SPIT on the QUEEN' to memorize the operation sequence.

 

Slot, (place the gas canister,) Pressurise, (open the gas canister,) Ignite, (engage the isotope,) Three-Quarters of an hour, (Length of time the gas is useful for,) Extinguish, (Disengage the isotope,) Empty, (Vent Gas,) Another one, or as the brits put it, "'Nuvver one". (Repeat the process by placing in a gas canister.)

[Skonar]

--- Data Canister 1526, X-Com Archives. Transcript of frontier-side interrogation, Ethereal subject 82722068frnt, 08/11/2068.

 

(Hatred/Anguish/Regret) <We/I/Mind> made life flourish on many worlds like the red world where you killed <God/Machine/Brother> - <We/I/Mind> took dead worlds and gave them life gave them civilization gave everything and they (Hatred/Anger/Jealous) thrived without us and they did not give back freely they were not of us they were young but (Nostalgia/Joy/Schadenfraude) we took and they repented and they died - then you (Hatred/Anger/Bloodlust) did not even though some came to us you did not <Brother/Hive/Culture> and threw our gift of <Life/Genes/Soul> in our faces and killed the <God/Ancestor/Brother> (Hatred/Anger/Bloodlust) so we must do the same to you (Satisfaction/Hatred/Bloodlust) - you are a meat thing trapped in meat (Revlusion/Illness/Hatred) with no <Soul/Mind/Brother> and so you will die as <Animal/Thing/Food> - <We/I/?> do not want to <Die/End/?> - it will (Satisfaction/Hatred/Bloodlust) be <Glory/History/?>

 

 

--- Archival Note, 2077

 

What kind of death as a base creature (my interpretation of psi-concept Animal/Thing/Food) merits inclusion as <Glory/History/?>? These transcripts are worthless without direct experience, but I can't find a reference to who ran the interrogation - or even that there were any psis running interrogations out there. What the hell was going on in the frontier? I thought it was just a war over a couple of elerium deposits?

 

 

--- Archival Note, 2077

 

My terminal picked up a kill algorithm trying to find this, I've seperated it into canister storage - all the network copies are gone. Header file on the kill algorithm was dmkncns92. I thought the earth-side X-Com GEOSCAPE and UFOpaedia networks were unused by anybody but scholars these days? I'll bet it's Michael Decarci, bastard hates the fact I get better grades than him.

[Hobbes]

--- Data Canister 894, X-Com Archives. Technical briefing for SR77H 'Skyranger' light transport

 

Has anyone else noticed that the Skyranger on the new game has the marking 'SR77H' (better seen when returning from missions)?