Here I am! My first duel.

I am a capsuleer!  I have been reborn.  I have shed the skin of my natural birth.  It has been almost a month and my self confessional has suffered. I must be more disciplined.  I have been absorbed by the vastness that is New Eden.

My early days were spent adjusting to my new self, life in a space station and life soaring amongst the stars.   My orientation was slow but aided by my studies prior to my bodies death and my clones birth.  I stumbled out of my protective space station and into cold dark space in my small egg shaped capsule.  My tiny metallic green pod silhouetted against  the enormity of space.  With the help of the new pilots orientation I navigated successfully to my waiting rookie ship, provided to me free, and docked my pod inside and took control of the simple frigate.  Initially the feel was foreign, it has grown less so, but I still have a ways to go before my communication with the ship feels like an extension of myself.  I returned to the space station and competed my mission.  This is a typical early mission in the orientation chain.  Nothing very difficult and when one stumbles there are chat channels with fellow capsuleers, some friendly and willing to help. I took advantage of their kindness and have sought to repay it to fellow rookies.  Over the next couple of days I worked my way thorough these mission chains and earned my pilots license.

After this I took advantage of the further orientations provided.  I was and still am overwhelmed at the sheer immensity of options and complexity of the strategic decisions available.  I began earning frigate sized ships (the smallest after shuttles) and worked my way through the separate career chains (combat, industry, exploration and business).  Still only a few weeks old in New Eden time I did not feel prepared to test myself against the full weight of this new universe and opted to continue my training by undertaking to complete the Blood Stained Tears epic arc chain.  This is a series of 50 missions geared for new pilots.  At this point I had to leave the womb that was my first space station and travel from Minmatar space to meet my new agent.  This meant leaving my orientation system and though still in high security space, where Concords firm hand quiets terror, terror still lurks.

The next few weeks were occupied in grinding out these more advanced orientation missions, increasing my aptitude at combat, learning my way amongst the stars and generally exposing myself to some of the new realities of my life as a capsuleer.  What I have learned is that I don't really care for missioning.  I did not become a capsuleer to test myself against Not-a-Capsuleer-Pilot('s) (NPC).  They are not plugged into their ships and thus at a disadvantage. Their tactics are weak, and though I did lose a ship against them (safely ejecting in my pod and returning to my station) I do not risk being podded (killed in my pod to be reborn in another clone, the closest a capsuleer can come to death).  They can overwhelm you with sheer numbers or higher quality ships but on a tactical level they are not sophisticated.  I need to be tested and for that only other deadly capsuleers will do.

What completing these orientations provides beyond the basic early experience of beginning to become acquainted with the mechanics of the game is some isk (money) and some frigate ships.  At this point I continued on with my pre-capsuleer plan of applying for membership in my first capsuleer corporation Eve University (Unistas).  A capsuleer institution dedicated to teaching the many facets of New Eden.  It took a few days to gather the majority of my belongings now scattered in space stations across different systems, due to traveling about in order to complete the epic arc missions. I am learning a lesson in logistics but I am now safely settled in Aldrat, my new home. I was accepted into the University and began the process of pouring through the reams of documentation about the rules and standard operating procedures, making my share of mistakes along the way.  I am now plugged into a capsuleer community and this corporation happens to be at war.  Excellent!

I took out my Probe, a frigate sized Minmatar ship built for exploration and scanned down a wormhole in my home system of Aldrat.  Wormholes are mysterious things for a new player, it is non-security (no-sec) space which means there is no Concord looking out for you and if someone decides to engage you, you are basically on your own and there are no negative repercussion for the aggressor (no Concord to take them out).  I nervously spoke with not so helpful members of my corporation as I stood gazing at the shimmering hole. The mysteries hidden behind it's gaping mouth  unknown. Seems the Unistas online at the time were not worm-holers.  I crossed the threshold alone and took a look around briefly.  Nervous and not confident in a ship that really could not exploit any of the resources here I quickly jumped back.  When I am stronger I will return, the mystery, danger and freedom of this place I think will suit me.  In Eve everyone needs a job, a way to make isk.  Ships are expensive and so are the fits for them.  I plan to lose many of them as I become more proficient in battle and for this I need a way to make isk.

Briefly on the isk earning front, the arrangement I made prior to starting my life as a capsuleer paid off and I now have a tidy sum in my account.  The goal is to keep this amount as a rainy day fund and be self sufficient from here building up my rainy day fund over time.  As of today I am negative almost 20 million ISK, not a lot for a veteran but it will take a young unskilled pilot like myself some time to make back and replenish my fund.  I have spent the money on ships, modules, ammunition, skill books... it all costs isk, the better the gear the more the isk.

I have continued my skill training and really have only had one adventure.  I scanned down a system close to Aldrat looking for a way to make some isk that didn't involve having to go through a mission agent and grind thorough NPC missions.  I found some cosmic anomalies and took it upon myself to clear them of pesky Angel Cartel NPC's.  The first den I cleared was rather easy as I swiftly destroyed all of their ships, collected a bit of loot and salvaged the wrecks.  The next nest was a bit of fun as wave after wave of Angel Cartel ships came after me.  At times my shields got quite low and when I eventually outlasted them I had many wrecks to loot and salvage.  As I was scooping up my rewards (which would be later sold for isk or some choice items kept in my hanger for later use) I was invited by a fellow Unista to a duel.  Now how could I a young Brutor steeped in the martial traditions of our people refuse?  Well I suppose I could of listened to my rational and critical mind which screamed, "you are only unskilled pilot, you stand no chance against an older veteran with more skills and countless other advantages".  So I immediately took up the challenge but as an enterprising capsuleer made sure to add a few details.  If this competitive pilot wanted my name on his kill sheet he was going to need to pay.  I was in my Rifter (Mimatar's most stellar tech 1 [or basic] combat frigate) that I had outfitted to the tune of 10 million isk and he was going to need to pay for this investment after the initial joy of his kill.  He would also need to salvage an Angel Cartel ship wreck that I had killed, as my meagre salvaging skills were not up to the task.  Also implied in the agreement would be that he would comment on the duel for learning purposes and take a look at how I had my ship outfitted.

So after I finished clearing my salvage and my future foe finished up with salvaging the ship I couldn't manage on my own, I flew back to my space station, unloaded my stash so as not to lose it when my spaceship went pop, undocked and prepared for my first capsuleer on capsuleer combat.  On my way back to the system system I had been in earlier, the destination for our duel, I was suddenly attacked by another corpmate, a fellow Unista, "this is not supposed to happen" I thought.  Despite a bit of adrenaline I calmly assessed that I really had no idea what I was doing so rather than engage I quickly headed for the space station and docked.  After hopping out of my ship I hailed the offending pilot and asked for an explanation.  I was laughed at by many a fellow corp member.  I was a bit puzzled and later learned that by not reading through all of the documentation and keeping abreast of the Unista news that I was in a system cleared for tech 1 frigate on frigate combat.  All gloves were off.  I was just fortunate that while I was clearing my Angel Cartel nests that I was not engaged by another capsuleer.

Well it was now time for my duel, I in my Rifter and my opponent in an Incursus.  "Whats's an Incursus" was the thought running through my head so I asked my foe.  Despite showing my ignorance and potentially making my opponent further drool at the thought of an easy kill he told me it was another tech one frigate.  During the brief delay I quickly punched up some information on the ship on my computer and designed a basic strategy.  I had a certain ammunition type that would be most affective on his shields and another for his armor, that is of course if he hadn't modified this.  But I would use another ammo, barrage, an advanced ammunition that I had spent much time training the skills to be able to use. This ammo in combination with my ships speed and agility would allow me to dictate the range of the engagement, or so I postulated.  In return his powerful blasters would be beyond their effective range and I could orbit him in my swifter ship and slowly knock down his defenses.

I was allowed the advantage of the first shot and off I went to employ my strategy.  So I proceeded to orbit and fire at what I felt was my best range and happily began to see his shields go down.  I was hardly being hit as it seemed my speed was too much for his blaster turrents to track me properly or my distance was just too great to do much damage.  His shields began to fail and I had him in armor, I began to have hope.  Then I quickly lost hope, he was obviously armor tanked (his defense was primarily in his armor not his shield) and he was able to actively repair the damage I was doing in between the rounds of my auto cannons.  I needed to rethink the situation.  Unfortunately I had no time as I suddenly noticed that my shields, my primary defense, was quickly being chewed through.  "How could this be" I thought and then noticed that a he had a drone deployed against me.  At this time due to a technical bug that has been haunting me during my time in EVE my controls locked up.  My ship continued to orbit and fire but I could not make any changes.  My idea was to shift to the drone as my primary target and take it out while continuing to orbit the Incursus as he was not really able to hit me for good damage.  Well before I could really figure out what was happening and being locked out of my controls due to the bug, which hit me at a really annoying time, I was forced to reload my computer interface.  By the time I cycled my computer back to life and was active again I was floating in my capsule and my ship was destroyed.

I had an idea what had happened but asked my opponent for comment. I was a bit taken aback by his lack of honor when he seemed to ignore me.  He did deposit the agreed upon 10 million isk in my account but by not living up to the terms of our duel I was offended, and rightfully so I imagined.  I have his name and know where he likes to hunt, so I may just go looking for him again someday.

A major purpose behind these confessions is to learn from mistakes, so let's do a post-mortum of my duel. A major mistake I made was not knowing my enemy.  I only did a cursory review, I should of known that as a Gallente ship that it was likely able to carry drones (as Gallente ships are known for their drone use) and checked to see if the Incursus had a drone bay.  This way I would of been prepared and possibly switched active targets to the drone earlier before my shields vaporized.  I am left to speculate at what actually happened to cause my destruction.  Despite my foe not fulfilling our agreement he did mention his blasters hit me for good damage, which I think is unlikely unless he did some good piloting and changed the initial impotence of this weapon system, but I will never know as said foe ignored my request for further information.  My suspicion is that I was orbiting far enough away and fast enough that his blasters were not doing me much harm, he then launched his drone which proceeded to chew me up.  I also really need to take time to train up my skills.  For example I could of fitted out my ship with a neutralizer, an electronic warfare module that wipes out another ships energy (capacitor).  His Incursus was using an active armor tank (using energy from his capacitor to repair armor damage) and repairing all the damage I was doing.  Had I used a neutralizer I may of been able to cut off his access to energy so he could not repair his armor, also his weapons use energy to fire.  I would still of taken damage from the drone but could have mitigated some of these tactical issues.  I need to calm down a bit and learn to multitask.  I need to look at my overview more, to see if other ships are joining the fray and I would of been alerted to the release of his drone earlier.

What did I do well.  I took the challenge.  Some pilots will not partake in duels or combat against other capsuleers (pvp).  I think my original plan to use my longer range barrage ammo and attack from some distance was sound against a blaster, or shorter range, ship.  I used my afterburner to increase my transversal velocity making me harder to hit.  My auto-cannons track better so all this plays to my advantage.

Hopefully it's lessoned learned.

AT X

I caught most of the first round of the Alliance Tournament today.  Must admit I couldn't really get into it as I had trouble following what was going on.  Most of the matches were lopsided a few were close.  The jargon is something I will need to spend sometime learning.  Like any profession they have their own language.  It was fun to see a couple of ships that I am thinking of piloting, but in the end they did not fare too well.  Wonder if I should start rethinking my plan a bit, but then I just shrug "What plan" and laugh.

I have slowed down my studies a bit.  Just seems so slow.  This will all go much faster when I am actually aboard my ship.  Sent everything in and now I just wait for the mystery day.  I go for long runs to clear my mind and of course retire to the shore and my blue ocean several times a day.  Almost feels like some sort of monastic life.  My parents are away finishing off careers that have spanned over forty years.  I think it's too hard on them to see me.  My friends checked in to see if I watched the tourney, strange as they have never really been into it before yet now it's important to them.  I suppose I can understand why.  I think I will continue to watch it for now.  At least if I am not busy dying.

Ok so that is a bit dramatic, it's just my bodies death.  The whole idea is no longer quite so alien.  I have an image of my future self.  I will include it in my confessional but I don't really feel like looking at it again just yet.  Not while I am still, well me.  It plays tricks with my soul.  To think my clone is being grown in some vat somewhere.  I know what that clone looks like.  I will wear it, him, me.  I am immortal but my clone is not.  I must learn not to fear the loss of my clones life.  To throw it around in the face of danger.  But I am afraid of losing my body, my soul, my humanity.  Does anyone really know who they will become when they can yield such power?  I don't pretend to.

Anxious Mind

Another day closer. Had a long talk with my parents this morning, makes it seem as if my day will arrive sooner than later. They were both crying as was I for a bit. I have purposely not delved deep into my private life here in this confessional. It is too painful and unnecessary. I know I am selfish, that I am choosing a life away from those I love, that I am hurting them. But I can't say no to this opportunity. Why lay it all out here, it's not like I can stop myself from feeling it, from thinking of it. Why dive into it here, now, when in a few days the person they recognize will be dead. I will have moved on, beyond. Looks like it's time for another walk to the beach.

I spend a good deal of time watching the ocean, and as the wind builds what was a smooth glassy sea now becomes angry and confused. I resonate with it. I needed this break, away from my studies, my preparation, inadequate as it surly is. The Alliance Tournament begins tomorrow. I have never watched it before. This will be the tenth iteration. It pits capsuleer pilots from various alliances in an elimination style tournament. I was tempted to view some of the past tournaments which are held annually. Despite my fascination with the capsuleer lifestyle I never really felt the need to watch this. I always let my mind wander into more philosophical realms or wonder at the possibilities for exploration. Combat was not a draw for me, but now it is. I feel it's deadly calling.  The  brutor path.  Destruction is a constant in New Eden, even if you don't go looking for it, it will find you. I will watch. I have also found a capsuleer corporation that I will most likely be applying to. Eve University seems like a natural transition. They specialize with new (noob, newb) pilots. The academic approach is one I am familiar with. I have already been studying recorded classes and worked my way through a good number of them. Not that I am retaining all that much but the exposure is a plus. I don't think I will stay long, but long enough to learn the lifestyle a bit. They will not accept you until you run a series of post orientation missions emphasizing different skills, so my initial path begins to form.

In the spirit of this journey I must confess I am looking forward to leaving my existence here despite the emotional complexities. These life resets are to be taken advantage of. I have begun pouring through the recorded experiences of a few capsuleers and they have been a varied lot. I followed a pirates exploits and saw what started as a low brow rollick devolve at times into depression and disgust covered by a thin veil of bravado. He is currently only a shadow of himself presently seldom piloting anymore. I wonder what weaknesses my recordings will show. One can't help but lay out ones own psychopathologies. It is so easy for others to see, so difficult to be objective with oneself. The truth is while reading his adventures which in the beginning I enjoyed, I laughed several times, but as I continued it was obvious that this man was not well, that he was cruel and sad. It is essential once one escapes into this lifestyle to become hard, but beyond that many turn sadistic. I hope that doesn't happen to me. I don't think it is wrong of me to laugh at times at the wickedness, on a base level it is funny, even if it may be culturally and morally unacceptable. I will be beyond these restraints soon. Is morality relative? I guess i'll find out. Yet I was also disgusted and saddened at times. Ultimately feeling sick inside for this person. I felt his unhappiness. It would be so easy for that to be me. I recognize parts of him in me. Eve makes this tempting.

I am almost certain I will not veer towards the other extreme, a kind of passive pacifistic surperiority. I am not doing this to crunch rocks full time like a miner, or run a desk job as an industrialist. I know I will need to kill. A part of me looks forward to this challenge. Like a long dormant instinct soon to be expressed. I wonder at the power of it. Not mindless killing (ganking) for pleasure but as a means. That is a big part of the life of a capsuleer. The ships I fly will mostly be weapons, I won't go through all this just to remain the same.

I just need this to start. The waiting has been too long, too hard. Too much thinking, it's time for this body to die.

I lean into the gale force breeze, my long hair being pulled backwards like long brown ribbons. I smile with my eyes closed.

The Tension Builds

So the madness that was my life has calmed. Turned over my apartment and I am back home staying with my parents, well at least for the next few days. I am alone as my father and mother are both working. Even at their age, they love it, I wonder why I didn't. I can't complain because had they not decided to give me my inheritance while they were still alive I would not be on the edge of things. I must admit that without their money and political connections I would never have made it. A capusleer is a means towards riches. Some make more in an hour than many make in a lifetime. Some get podded, killed in their pod (capsule) only to be reborn in a new medical clone in a distant star-base. Some win some lose, some break, some quit.

New Eden is big and well, hard to follow. I have been pouring over news streams, history tomes, anthropology articles, star maps, anything I can get my hands on. My eyes are tired and my mind a bit numb. I will never understand it all. But the good thing is I don't need to. I know enough to understand that when I awake in my medial clone there will be a new pilot orientation for me. I will start in a relatively protected patch of space for training. I exhale.

Tomorrow I will turn in my medical clone physical specifications and neural network profile. I will also need to choose which corporation I will apply for membership to. The corporation I chose determines which space-station will house my medical clone, basically where I will start to live. They will train me through orientation. If I so choose they will provide me with missions on which I can become rich, or lose my ship. I haven't decided on which one just yet. I really don't understand the differences, but in New Eden being a member of a corporation offers distinct advantages. Mostly though I am eager to join all capsuleer corporations. For that I will wait until I compete my orientation. I also won't mess around with the neural networks yet, the idea of remapping them when I know so little seems absurd. A curious feature of the medical clone package is the choices I have in terms of physical design. I could be male, female, fat, thin, blonde, old, young, black, white, tanned, bald, tattooed, with piercings... I have options to adjust features, tailor a nose, cheekbones, eyes, the size of my legs, arms, well the list goes on and on. This really is a new life. I have been working on my physical profile. I am tempted to go with the spirit of this rebirth and completely change things up. I have felt the power of female beauty, why not a shapely figure to go with the perfect face and bright smile. Yet somehow I just don't think a pretty face is going to save me from a pirate intent on killing me for the thrill and perhaps the spare change he can make from looting my wreck. I imagine it might be too disorienting for me to suddenly wake up in a place i've never been, in a life I can't even really imagine and look into a mirror and see a stranger. I am leaning towards having some kind of likeness to myself. It's all too much sometimes.

My neck is stiff from the tension, I rub the back of it and feel the smooth skin where a metallic hole will soon be, well not on my body but on my clone body. I will literally be plugged into my ship via a series of links running down my central nervous system. I will be able to control my ship with my mind, see out via the drone ship camera's again all with my mind. This will give me an advantage over non-capsuleers. They will not able to react as quickly, they will not be one with their ship. My humanity begins to slip. Or does it? I shake my head and try to stop the thinking.

I leave my parents house for another walk on the beach and a flood of memories pours in. I can't stop it. They are joyous ones mostly, i'll let it run for a while. Sometimes this rebirth feels a lot like death. I fight the sadness as I walk back to my parents house. I can see and hear people around me, each caught up in their own lives. I see them in ways I never have before. I am jealous for a moment but it passes. Out of many trillions only a few hundred thousand are capsuleers. I try but simply cannot properly imagine the immensity of over 5,000 solar systems and several thousand wormholes populated by only a tiny fraction of humanity and then only a sliver of them in the form capsuleers. Connecting these systems together by are a series of jump gates, and inter system travel in faster than light speed warp. More sedentary is the larger body humanity who populate only relatively few planets. I will be spending a lot of time alone in space.

Being one with my ship allows me to fly great vessels without the need for any other crew. I will be in my pod, attached to the ship, engulfed and padded in pod goo (a broth of cellular debris to help pad any trauma) and really only needing my brain while aboard. I keep this image in my head and almost shudder. How foreign. Still walking I begin to think about my skill training. What skill books and in what order should I inject them into my brain. How long will it take my brain to learn them? What implants should I add to the slots installed in my central nervous system to make my learning the most efficient. For that I need to know far more than I do now and my mind drifts to more familiar ground and the deadly Minmatar ships. How I have often dreamed of piloting them, in a few days I will. I feel a slight high. We Minmatar have a tradition with our designs honed in recent wars with the Amarr. I suppose what makes us unique from the other factions ships is our emphasis on speed and the flexibility inherent in our designs.  You are never quite sure how a Minmatar ship is outfitted, and in this mystery lies an advantage.   The names of ships like Rifter or Loki make my heart begin to beat more rapidly. The reality is that I really don't know anything and all this speculative thinking is largely a waste of time. My education really begins when my body dies. I look up and see my parents house and the sadness creeps in again.

Euthanasia Celebration!

Still seems strange to celebrate the death of my natural body, even if this is my long and closely held desire.  Some time next week, I hope, I will be euthanized. My friends and family are so happy for me. All the effort, money, leaning on connections, pleading and mountains legalese have finally led to this moment. I will indeed become a capsuleer.  I will break free from my terrestrial bondage and soar amongst the stars. I will become immortal.

I will go to sleep for the last time in this skin that has protected me since before birth. My soft newborn flesh which was caressed by my mother, kissed all over by her warm lips, stretching over the years as a quickly growing child and finally filled-out in my adulthood.  The pain and passions seared onto it, my history in it's scars. All this I will leave behind.

I walk alone along the sandy white shore and stare out towards the rippling dark ocean flecked in white. The hot sun, sweat on my face, the humidity slowly choking me, the faint smell of death and decay which of course means life. The cool water at my feet, the bright blue sky,  full clouds playfully lingering above. I think the physical sensation I will miss most of all is the coolness of the salty breeze over my tanned skin, tingling my body in tiny explosions of delight, reminding me that I am alive. It is small price to pay for what I will gain. I must remember the breeze.

After these eyes close for the last time new eyes will open. Peering into my new future, ever outwards, an exploration of infinite space. Contrasted with another deeper journey inside my soul. An understanding of the past, of who I am, who I will be. Liberty I have here with me now. I am Mimatar living in a Minmatar system and not a brother slave, but immortality is the key that truly unlocks the gateway to pure freedom. These thoughts bounce around in my mind as I wonder if my family and guests have noticed that I have walked off from the celebration. I will miss them all. I turn and walk back home and wonder how strange this will all soon seem.

I am frightened, imagine that a Brutor, a warrior, frightened. New Eden is not for the timid. I steady my breath and focus on the rhythm of my steps, my mind centers. I have told my parents not to let me know the date of my bodies death, I only know that most likely it will be next week. I will only learn that I will be leaving it behind on the morning of the procedure. Floating in the stillness a space-station will be my new home. I will awaken instantly after my bodies death, my neural networks scanned in incredible detail and sent immediatly to my waiting medical clone, my career as a capsuleer will have begun. I wonder what my parents will think of my corpse left here uneeded. I turn and look once more at the ocean, study the horizon, and turn towards my families home.

Later that night, after the guests have gone, I return to my now empty apartment and sit on the hard floor. I feel so unprepared. I have been studying but I feel that I am only grasping at the depths and complexity of a capsuleers life.  I have no set goals, no plan, I just know it's a journey I must take. I will be swept away on kinetic currents of space faring humanity. I will be one with my ship, gazing upon the stars, looking down on planets.  I will be hunted, I will also be a hunter. I suppose partly it's this duality of this lifestyle, the scientific and technological progress juxtaposed with the expression of the most primitive of human emotions. This same expression mirrored in my families warrior legacy through to present of my academic parents and now distilled in me. Educated but lingering for adventure, battle, victory. I will be immortal, I will learn not to be so afraid. In this pure freedom I can easily transcend the pressures, culture, education, love that has formed me. What will I become?  A sociopath, pirate, miner, industrialist, trader, I laugh at the near endless possibilities. I like to think that I will be an explorer but inside I already understand that the exploration will not just be tucked away in a newly born worm hole, or hidden in the darker reaches of the infinite void, I carry it within me. I also know that part of me wants to compete openly against the cruelest and brightest humanity has to offer. They have a such a large head start, some sitting on a hoard of wealth, fleets of ships, and corporations of many thousands, shaping markets, vying for control of systems, cementing their empires. Against this I fly alone. A small helpless laugh escapes thorough my native lips when I think  of how unprepared I really am.

I suppose it would be a bit too dramatic to say it's a scam (a scam being a basic currency in New Eden) but as I look to start my life as capsuleer I would like to begin with a little bit of isk (money) in the bank. It is a trivial thing really, but the more one studies the more one learns of opportunities. In exchange for a fee to the real lords of New Eden  I can purchase a Pilot Licese Extension (Plex)  and remain a capsular in this universe. I have simply discovered that by going through a third party, of course an enterprising capsuleer, we can both make some profit. No harm done and totally acceptable, and even if it wasn't, is there really a right and wrong for an immortal in New Eden? So as every new capsuleer grapples with this life that I am on the precipice of beginning, I struggle to familiarize myself with the fleets of ships, the seemingly endless skills that one must train, the nature of combat, economics, oh the list goes on and on. I begin to feel some fear again until I just close my eyes and imagine for a moment sitting in my capsule, tucked within the bowels of my ship, quietly drifting through space, appreciating the mystery and beauty that is this universe. So deeper into New Eden I come, next week I hope. I am not sure of the welcome. The mystery begins.