Chainstation Alpha is a large station. Even with over 25,000 MoonCats added to its population after the rescue, and both the Etherians and MoonCats happily browsing the Boutique , enjoying fizzy refreshment , and taking part in various research and education experiences happening on the station hasn't made it over-crowded inside.
At first the puddles of moon vomit were thought to be caused by a combination of expired space tuna and gleeful overindulgence in MoonCatPop. Analysis of these floor rainbows, however, revealed a unique chemical signature our systems matched to an experimental pixel-solvent from an abandoned research project.
MoonCats had stolen their way into a decomissioned lab on Level 1, where Ethereans had long ago experimented with solidity materialization techniques. There we found Zer0, hammer in paw, attempting a retrofit. We later determined that it was these engineering attempts that had caused the leaks of cryonic residue which the MoonCats had been sampling, and regurgitating.
MoonCats were having an existential crisis. They knew they were on-chain, but they couldn't see themselves on-chain. Did they exist at all?
MoonCats love stuff. The acclimation process endowed them with the capacity to possess ethereal objects of their own, and a few well timed and gutteral growls have clued us in to their desire to use it!
To facilitate this, an enterprising group of MoonCats donned adorable hardhats and set about converting a section of the station's pavillion into a galleria to show off their favorite possessions and pet Ethereans. Named in honor of the sounds they made when they completed it, we are pleased to unveil:
But wait, there's more…
Commerce is humming along here on the station. Just last night a strange ship requested emergency clearance to dock in bay 4. We were relieved (and some other things) to learn their only distress was that they had "a deal so great it just couldn't wait!"
Apparently some sort of interstellar beverage vendor, they came to offer MoonCats and their pet Ethereans a sparkling opportunity. We tried to shoo them out, but word travels fast. Before we had a chance to show them to the airlock we were all knee-deep in a sea of purring. So, it seems that 256 MoonCats will be offered the position of SpokesCat for their own flavor of:
Space-thirst, prepare to be quenched!
After a frantic week, our network team finally tracked down the source of some unusual traffic patterns. It turns out the MoonCats have gained access to the uplink and have been sneakily researching Etherean customs (between binges of crypto twitter, which they seem to find irresistible.) When we approached them about it, they ignored our questions and focused on the earth custom of "pet ownership". They purred that the concept was a perfect description of their relationships with Ethereans, and addressed some of their most pressing concerns. In particular: in all the vastness of ChainSpace, how could they keep track of their Pet Ethereans?
Deliberations were tense, and it took some time to convey that the majority of Ethereans would not be happy getting microchipped. At last a compromise was reached. The engineering team, in collaboration with the Etherean Resources department, worked around the orbit and, having gotten the go-ahead meows, leveraged the ENS system to produce:
Unfortunately, the MoonCats have learned that the fastest way to get our attention is to wander up the bridge under the pretense of cuddlyness and start knocking our coffee cups over onto critical control panels. It didn't take long for us to understand what they were after. We immediately floated a few ideas to the engineering team (actually, everything floated for the week it took to drain and clean the artificial gravity and inertial dampener controls).
It happens that Ethereans all over the station had been talking about loot and adventures for weeks, and the MoonCats had taken notice. As you know, MoonCats love loot, and have grown dearly fond of adventure. One of the station's Deep Space Project researchers had a proposal. Their team had already been hard at work desiging special MoonCat-ready spacecraft, and the blueprints for multiple ship forms were already complete.
And, with that, we bring you…
…just in time to save the reactor-core controls from another precariously balanced beverage.
Fellow Ethereans, your creativity is astounding; it's been mere days since the Boutique opened here at the ChainStation, and already hundreds of unique products are stocking the shelves! Needless to say, the MoonCats are delighted! Ship operations have been complicated a bit, as we dodge model rockets & mini lambos, and wade through piles of toys & treasures, but the pain in our feet from stepping on doge keychains is no match for the warmth in our hearts. We even had to tweak the inertial dampeners, as the resonance of thousands of purring MoonCats threatened the stations very structure! Not to mention the airlocks, which have been cycling well past their duty rating, as MoonCats venture out to test their shiny new helmets!
Unfortunately, MoonCats are never quite satisfied. Even when chowing down on their favorite snack. It isn't enough to own all these great accessories, they want to show them off. We followed the meows to find dozens rubbing against an abandoned prototype deep in the bowels of the ship. We told them it wasn't ready, and it might not even work, but they stood firm. So we carted it up to the promenade deck and plugged it in. To everyones delight, it powered right up. Rough edges and all, the MoonCatPhotoBooth is up and running!
Nowhere on the station is safe from the crescendo of meowing that has been growing for weeks. Vital equipment has taken a beating from an endless barrage of objects knocked from shelves and clogs of rainbow space fur. Since they left their home, they have wandered naked and toyless through the vast expanse of chainspace. We now understand what the MoonCats have been crying for, something of their own, something to make this place their home; in a word: Accessories!
Genesis MoonCats have always been a special and headstrong breed. You've probably heard the rumors already via a whisper in a corridor, or a quiet poignant purring, and it is indeed true. Twenty-four of the freshly Acclimated Genesis MoonCats have determined that they will transcend the traditional MoonCat/Etherean relationship and instead spread their love across large swaths of the community. They have pooled their adoption papers, split them into 10,000,000 shards, and offered us all an opportunity to share in their nobility. Still, that wasn't enough. With the spirit of the rescue mission fresh like spacetuna on their minds, they demanded that 400 Ethereans be selected at random to receive a portion of their gift. The random Ethereans chosen were these addresses .
In other news, the acclimation process continues to proceed smoothly. With gas prices falling, acclimation is more convenient than ever. There is an electricity in the air here on the station (more than what the electrostatic-cat-hair-collectors usually generate!); as, one by one, MoonCats adapt, the future is looking bright, and the possibilities are growing.
The MoonCat ship was met with much fanfare as it docked here at Chainstation Alpha. Over the coming days, however, it became apparent that MoonCats were not as well adapted to blockchain life as we had anticipated. Nearly four years had passed since the mission began, and MoonCat travel technology had not kept up. So we set to work, as carefully and quickly as we could (hiring MoonCats as consultants did not speed things along as much as we hoped, given their contractual demand for 11 daily nap breaks). However! After many long epochs in the lab, we think our results attest for themselves. We proudly present:
Welcome to ChainStation Alpha!
The MoonCatRescue mission was a success, but that was only the beginning.
After long and arduous debate, the ethereans have collectively decided to allow the Genesis MoonCats to stay behind on luna. Attempts to bring the genesis cats onto the spaceship, or even near the transporter pad, proved futile. We have the scratches to prove it. It was clear that the 160 Remaining Genesis MoonCats had made their choice.
No anomalies detected during full diagnostic.
Live voting system status reads: ONLINE
Preliminary telemetry received. The mainnet voting contract has been successfully deployed. Visit the voting page here and cast your vote when voting begins on Saturday.
With the help of TechCrunch we were able to establish a subspace voice-link to MoonCatRescue Community Headquarters back on earth. It was an honor to be able to address the community directly, and discuss some of the issues we are facing together.
After almost three and a half years we have finally completed construction of the underground moonbase where we carefully designed accommodations for the billions of MoonCats that we can't take on the journey. Equipped with the finest cat towers, scratching posts, and an unlimited supply of space tuna, there's no doubt that the unrescued MoonCats will live comfortably here forever.