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March 7, 2084 continued

*BEGIN RECORDING*

We made a huge mistake. Lives were lost.

Recruits came flooding to recruitment stations all over the city. Ex-soldiers, mercenaries, gun enthusiasts, and they came in droves. We began processing the recruits, did a quick background check with the city's database.

In lieu of the tragedy of the latter events of the day, we may be missing out on a small piece of history. We have our first ever non-human X-COM agent - “Soup-Bot” as he likes to be called is an android.

Androids have had it very rough in Mega-Primus. Originally built as a mechanical emulation of the human body, they were designed to do the jobs too difficult for humans. High unemployment rates that had nothing to do with androids generated paranoia and ignorance amongst the people, and eventually got the best of them. In 2076 the government passed a law banning the use of Androids in any function except those too dangerous, or too dirty for humans.

An Android lobby group formed in the wake of this – S.E.L.F. – The Sentient Engine Liberation Front. Some might call S.E.L.F. nothing more than a terrorist group. Fortunately, in typical robotic A.I. logic, the members of S.E.L.F. have never been violent, and never have made unreasonable demands.

Personally I side with the rights movement of S.E.L.F., and looking through the bio of Soup-Bot brings this into clearer focus. Soup-Bot was originally a surgeon in one of the cities hospitals, helping to save the lives of countless patients. Banned from practicing medicine, he now he runs a soup kitchen in the slums. I think it’s a tragic story. Soup-Bot knows he can do more for humanity by joining X-COM, and I hope he can be a leader for others of his kind. His only requirement is that he still believes in the Hippocratic Oath, and refuses to kill anything.



Unfortunately, not all of the new recruits are as honorable as Soup-Bot. Our first group of recruits gathered for briefing by Soldier Mindfish. The video follows:

----

Mindfish: All right listen up! We’re here to protect humanity and kick some alien ass! You with me?

Soup-Bot: I WILL PURSUE THIS GOAL WITH 100% OF MY ABILITY.

Mindfish: It’s good to see your kind on our side.

Mindfish: Anyone else having anything to say?

Staplegun: I do sir.
Mindfish: What is it soldier?
Staplegun: X-COM has helped to destroy and pollute the Earth.

Staplegun: X-COM refuses to utilize peaceful diplomatic actions.

Staplegun: X-COM IS A PLAGUE ON HUMANITY!
Mindfish: Give me that!

*sounds of struggle*

*Incoherent overlapping sounds from everyone*

Guerilla Medic: What the fuck? Anyone wounded?

Coolswa: Aaaah! I’ve got shrapnel in my legs!

Mindfish: Everyone!.....spread out…..return to base….

----
*video ends*

Our first day, and we have three fatalities and nine casualties.

We went back and re-examined the application and data files regarding soldier “staplegun”. Again, everything checked out. Agents were sent to search his home and found nothing out of the ordinary. I don’t think we’ll ever prove it, but I know what his motives were.

When T’leth exploded and polluted the Earth, many people blamed X-COM. In the eyes of some, we were no longer the heros of the planet. To them, we were the bringers of doom. Due to the nature of our mission, declassification of past reports is a slow and ongoing progress. Many people don’t understand that there is no negotiation with the aliens, no surrender.

The biggest problem with democracy is that if people want to be idiots; if they want to believe lies there is nothing to stop them. It’s almost a requirement that there always be a counter-side to any belief, no matter how correct the original belief is.

Thus was founded the Cult of Sirius.

From their HQ in the Temple of the Apocalypse they recruit, brainwash and train soldiers. While they may have the same legal status as S.E.L.F., the Cult cannot be described as anything but a violent, terrorist group.

Who knows how long staplegun was kept under deep cover, waiting for the moment to strike out at X-COM? Who knows how many more deep cover Sirian agents are already in our midst?

A hundred years ago the country known as The United States had a pledge saying that its members would defend the country from threats “foreign and domestic”. For the first time, X-COM will have to face a war on two fronts. We will have to fight our own kind.

We will not make this mistake again.

MacGyvers Mullet and Fermata, R.I.P.

*END RECORDING*


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