Zaff's+Journal

I have decided that it would be beneficial for me to keep a journal of my exploits. An intellect such as mine should keep a physical record in case something was to happen to me. People should know of me, and what I will surely accomplish, and they should not hear of it second hand.

Of course, as this is as close to a true look into my mind as anyone shall ever have, I must work to be sure this journal never falls into the wrong hands. Many of the things I write are considered heretical, and as such, if this journal is found and it is traced back to me, I doubt that I will receive mercy a second time.

I must take a moment as I have just completed the first foray off this ship amongst a group of officers, something that should be considered a great honor. What I found instead however was that the majority of those leading us are uncultured swine. The only man who held himself to any kind of decorum was our Lord Captain, the rest seemingly oblivious to proper tact. I suppose that is to be expected upon a rogue trader vessel, as the people here are outcasts by trade.

Still, it is a sign of my providence that I was chosen to go on a landing mission with the officers, not once but twice. The first mission ended with disaster, one of the ships falling from the sky due to a pulse of electromagnetic interference caused by the obelisk, of which I am now fairly certain is an ancient construct of artificial intelligence, clearly heretical. Even I, who tempts the wrath of the Imperium by studying Xeno Technology, would not dare to foray into the disgusting practice of non-cognitive AI. Such a thing is an affront to the Omnissiah, and must be destroyed.

While delving into the Obelisk, we were directed to what looked to be a control room of sorts, all written in ancient languages. Luckily for me, I was trained from birth to read these symbols and had the technical knowledge to work the machinery. The machine spirits were kind to me, and allowed the machine to be in working function. As per out Lord Captain’s decision, we reactivated the obelisk. Unfortunately, as I have previously stated, it seems to harbor heretical AI.

I am writing the entry during this brief respite, but I fear we may not have much time. I hope that I can survive our escape from this accursed obelisk and get to watch its destruction. Even though it needs to be done, it is still a little sad. The design elements of this building, the white tiles, seamless walls and light patterns to denote power, all are beautiful and would please the Omnissiah, I am sure. If only I had some time to study it further…