The Arc of Yesod/Inlay

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                                'THE ARC OF YESOD'

Many month's have passed since the Rt. Hon. Charlemagne Fotheringham — Grunes,
Charlie to his friends, found himself caught up in affairs of an organisation calling
itself 'ICPUPS', (International commission for Universal Problem Solving). Month's
over which Charlie has had time to regret his impulsive decision to help them out of a
tight spot.

It all began innocently enough early one Sunday morning when he met a foreign
gentleman who went by the name of Smith. Little did Charlie realise that this
encounter would mean his being whisked off to the Moon in an attempt to locate and
destroy a device buried deep in the Lunar Caverns. A device that was transmitting
data out into the Galactic Spiral, data that told of the vulnerability of Earth's defences
against an attack by a hostile force from Outer Space.

The search for the device had all gone off smoothly enough. The various Moon
inhabitants had proved a bit of a worry first, but after a while Charlie learned how to
deal with them fairly effectively, and so came as no great surprise to him when he
finally confronted the alien artifact that was transmitting such compromising
information out to this, as yet unseen enemy. No, the real surprise came when he
tried to destroy the Monolith, for the slab like structure threw him off and promptly
vanished. Teleported back to his home planet by the creators of this ultimate in
eavesdroppers.

On Charlie's sombre return to Earth after suffering this defeat, the man calling
himself Smith met and escorted him away from the landing area. He told Charlie that
they had tracked the ionic disruption in the Time Space Continuum caused by the
teleporting Monolith, and that it led to a planet called Ariat, and furthermore that a
Spacecraft had been readied for immediate lift off — its destination Ariat!

As Charlie ascended the small flight of steps leading into the new craft that had been
prepared for him, Smith imparted these final words.

'As we now know the Monolith was really an extremely sophisticated tactical warfare
Computer. This means that if you don't succeed in this mission before the Ariatans
can make use of the information contained within it there will be no Earth to come
back to.'

Now as Charlie's craft touches down safely but not undetected on the outskirts of the
Capital City of Ariat where the Monolith is being stored, you must become Charlie —
his mission is now yours.

                          BACKGROUND DATA FOR ARIAT
                                CONFIDENTIAL
                      'ICUPS' Document No. 12/340/PGS
                               SUBJECT ARIAT

This planet has a Methane/Argon atmosphere with traces of Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Hydrogen and
Carbon Monoxide. The inhabitants of the planet are not natives, but have been genetically engineered
to survive in this hostile climate, hostile not only in terms of the atmosphere but also in terms of
temperature, -50° to +175c. For this reason even the machines and Biots (Biological Robots), as the
inhabits are scientifically referred to, have to live and work undercover for most of the time.

The Biots and Machines are collectively called Ariatans and are considered to be technologically
advanced and very dangerous. Proof of this is recorded in document No. 567/8700/AGC which
chronicles the Biots rebellion against their home planet of Verdase, on which the first Biots were
conceived and built. Verdase was totally destroyed in this uprising and the Biots became autonomous
as opposed to being just another Satellite of the central power which was based there.

The inhabitants of Ariat are believed to have built a large Space Cruiser with enough fire power to
subdue most if not all of the planetary defences in this entire quadrant of the Galaxy. Intelligence on
this subject is still coming in, though it is sketchy as our agents out there are usually terminated within
one week of infiltrating the planets security system.

NOTE: Regular reports on this planet have been recommended, they are to be classed as
'TOP SECRET' and must have grade 1 priority.