Hereafter

[Wayne23]

1/5/2055: We win our first 4 Big 10 games, all of them easily.

Rutgers was here for the first and we embarrassed them 84-34. We held them to 14 first half points. 15, 6 for Mal Niro, 14, 4, 5 for Buck, who played 32 minutes. Dub Wite turned an ankle early and we kept him out. It's nothing serious and he was back for our next.

A big computer issue in the engine room. I don't really know what it's about but the Chief Engineer told the Captain that it would be best if we stopped the ship until it gets fixed. We're stationary in space. This is not a problem. We can stay this way for as long as necessary.

This is, of course, a concern, but the Chief Engineer has his people and the geek squad working on it. Life support is not affected.

78-66 at Ohio State in the closest of the four games. We led by only 1 at the half but we took control early in the 2nd. Dub Wite had 21, 4, 5. 20, 4 for Vic Coop, 13, 7, 6 for Wolf. +34 in the paint.

77-51 at Indiana. We were never challenged in this game. 22, 9 for Abe Wolf, 16, 5, 7, 3 for Wite. 11 TOs.

At this point we were still at a standstill with the engine room computers still down. We don't seem to be anywhere near a solution.

“It's the main engine. We could run on the auxiliary in an emergency, but the computer people feel that there's a strong possibility that if we do that the problem may spread to the auxiliary engines. So unless there's big trouble we're better off just waiting it out until we figure out what's going on.”

Back home for a very easy 81-56 win over Minnesota. 18, 17, 3, with 5 blocks for Miro, 13, 13 for Coop, 15, 3, 3 for Stou. +19 RBs.

Great start to Big 10 play!

Still no idea what's going on with the engine room computers.

“It gets complicated trying to figure these things out. You dig deeply into the programs, and then more deeply and more deeply. One tiny little mistake in the code is often the culprit, and that can be miserably difficult to find. Other times, as a program is operating, it will somehow get corrupted, and it's a matter of figuring out when that happened. The program can run for a long time before the corruption affects it. So we work backwards and hope to catch the problem. No luck so far.”

“Can we just start over again? Print a new 3D engine and a new computer to run it?”

“The error would almost certainly exist in the new computer since the operating systems and programs would come from files in the corrupted computers. We just need to wait it out. We'll find it.”

[Wayne23]

1/22: 3-1 in this set of 4 games.

We started with a loss at #14 Illinois, 68-79. We didn't shoot well and they were +10 at the line. They took an early lead and held it, leading by as many as 20. Not one of our better nights. Foul trouble was a large factor, for 4 starters and for our two best subs.

In a very big game at #5 Michigan we played much better and came away with an 84-72 win. It was tied at the half, and back and forth for much of the 2nd.

Then we went on a late run and took control. 25, 13 for PF Mal Miro, 17, 5 for Wolf. We had to work hard for this one but our hard work paid off!

82-61 in a rematch with Indiana here. 21, 2, 5, 3 for Dub Wite, 18, 7, 3, 3 for Wolf, 14, 14 for Miro. +34 in the paint.

The 4th game was an easy win over Ohio ST here, 93-70. All 5 starters had 12 or more and we were in charge all the way. +30 down low, and only 8 turnovers.

We're in a 3 way tie for 1st place. Highly touted Michigan, still ranked #6, is only 2-6 in conference play, which is kind of shocking! They're going to spoilers moving forward.

3 of our next 4 are away.

We continue to be motionless in space with no solution in sight for the computer problems, and no cause having yet been discovered.

“Look, I know the Council and the people are running out of patience. We're digging deeper and deeper, we have people and robots checking and rechecking everything. But this can take a lot of time. We're moving as quickly as we can but trust me, you don't want us rushing through any of this.”

[Wayne23]

1/29: Mal Miro is #19, Abe Wolf #24 on the Norton list.

2/8: 4-0 in this set of games.

We won 98-78 at Penn ST. They couldn't stop our O. 19, 15, 4, 4 blocks for Miro, 19, 3, 7 for Wite. 17, 6, 3, 3 for Wolf, 15, 3 for Stou. +17 RBs.

We absolutely crushed Clemson here, 105-62. 23, 5 for Wolf, 15, 7 for sub F/C Mel Fick. We've started to play him and he is responding very well; his D could use some work though. 14, 7, 4 for Coop, 14, 2, 9 for Wite. Great night to pad the stats! +20 RBs, +26 in the paint.

87-65 at Iowa. 15, 15 for Miro, 7 players with 10 or more. +24 RBs, +30 down low.

Finally, 75-54 at Rutgers. We beat them by 50 at our place! 17, 12 for Wolf, 20, 6 for Miro. A bit less O, but great D! +23 RBs.

We're 1st in the nation in scoring, 2nd in RBs, 6th in assists.

We're 21-2, 11-1, ranked #2, NET #1.

2 game lead in the Big 10.

Nate Mott hurt his wrist. Out a week.

“People of the ship. We are the Zeelah. You appear to be in jeopardy. May we assist you?”

“Welcome, Zeelah. We call ourselves 'humans.' We would prefer to get to know each other before seeking your assistance.”

“We come in peace, but it is always wise to be cautious. Would you prefer to send representatives to us, or to have a few of our people go to you?”

“Why not both? May we send three humans to you, and have you send 3 Zeelah to us?”

“That is acceptable.”

“May we ask where you came from? We detected no sign that your ship was in the area.”

“We have very effective cloaking technology. There is a very slight shadow but unless it was being actively looked for it would be unlikely to be detected. This allows us to travel in safety. When we encounter another ship, or visit a solar system, we remain cloaked, assess the situation, monitor the other life forms' communications and so on. If we deem it safe, we uncloak.”

“Very handy technology!”

“We can teach you.”

We are in the process of sending 3 people to them and welcoming 3 of them here.

[Wayne23]

2/11: Ike West sprained a toe. Out for 2 games.

2/12: The Zeelah, at least so far, seem to be exactly what they say they are. They are friendly, open, and seem that they want to be helpful.

“We know that your problem is with the computers that operate your engines. This is a serious problem. We believe we can effect the necessary repairs. These things are very simple for us- or rather for our highly sophisticated computers.”

“Our Council will need to discuss this.”

“Yes, we are aware of your very inefficient decision making process. Still, it is your way, and we have no desire to intrude. We shall await your answer.”

“Damn it, Jed. Are we seriously considering allowing an alien race that we know nothing about to get into our computer systems!”

“Yes Mick, we are seriously considering that. It seems pretty obvious that if they wanted to just go ahead and do it, they could. The fact that they are asking, and seem perfectly willing to abide by our decision makes this seem safe to me. We're sure not getting anywhere trying to fix it ourselves.”

“NO! JUST NO!”

“Mick-”

“I move that the Council deny the Zeelah permission to touch our computers or any other operating systems or any systems of any kind.”

There was a second. Someone “moved the question” quickly. The motion was defeated 7-5.

“As Chair I suggest that we thank the Zeelah for their interest and tell them we are not yet comfortable allowing relative strangers to interact with our operating systems.”

Someone made the motion and it passed, again 7-5.

2/16: We are getting to know the Zeelah. They are much more advanced technologically, and they seem pretty evolved. They are calm, friendly, not at all controlling. We're still not ready to have them touch our “stuff.”

2/24: 4-0 in this set.

75-59 over #7 ranked Illinois here. Good D and enough O. 24, 5 for Coop, 17, 5 for Miro. +16 in the paint, 10 fewer TOs.

111-78 over Purdue at home. That was ugly! 32, 12, 4, 4 for Miro, hell of a game! All 5 starters had 10 or more. 12 assists for Wite. Having West out with an injury didn't slow us down tonight!

Mal Miro is #15 on the Norton list.

88-60 over Iowa here. 15, 7, 10 for Wite, who has been incredible with the ball in West's absence. 12, 13 for Miro, 14, 9 for Wolf, a terrific 20 and 6 for Fick. +15 RBs.

West was back for the 4th game, an 85-58 win at Nebraska. 28, 4 for Miro, 17, 7, 7 for Wite, 16, 9 for Coop.

We're a machine these days. 25-2, 15-1, #2, NET #1. 3 game lead in the Big 10 with 4 to play. My old team, San Diego ST, is #1.

“Mr. Chair, I move that we request that the Zeelah attempt to repair our engine room computers.”

“No!”

There was a second. After long and heated debate the motion was passed by the usual 7-5 margin.

“Mr. Chairman, I move that our computer department, as well as 3 representatives, meet with the Zeelah to see what other improvements can be made to the ship. I am particularly thinking of the cloaking technology, but I know there are other things.”

The usual objection, the usual debate, the usual 7-5 vote in favor.

[Wayne23]

2/25: The computer is fixed.

“Chair Jed, we have shown your technical staff how to place something in all of your computers that will self-correct these sorts of errors- both already existing errors and any new ones that may occur.”

2/27: We talked about other major improvements to our computer systems and to many of the ship's operating systems, vastly improved 3 D printing technology, the cloaking technology, and a few other things.

“We are willing to remain with you until your Council approves or disapproves each change.”

“That may be awhile.”

“Time is not as important to us as it is to your people. We will stay.”

3/4: 4-0 again!

90-76 over #15 Michigan here. All 5 starters put up great numbers. Dub Wite had 10, 2, 12, 5 steals, 4 blocks. +34 in the paint. As I predicted, Michigan got better, but not as much as I'd expected.

85-72 at Wisconsin. 23, 8 for Miro, 14, 11 for Coop. +24 down low, 10 TOs.

88-69 over Michigan ST here. 11, 6, 12 for Dub Wite, who has been an assist machine! 15 each for Miro, West, and Stou. +26 inside, +12 RBs, 10 TOs.

73-53 at Clemson. 18, 12, 4 for Miro, 13, 10 for Wolf, 14, 5, 4 steals for Ike West, 11, 6 for Stou. +17 RBs.

Mal Miro hurt his foot in the last game but he'll be back for our first post season game.

29-2, 19-1, #1, NET #1. We win the Big 10 by 3 over #7 Illinois, 5 or more over the rest.

+19.6 PPG, #1 in scoring, #1 in margin. +11.1 RBs, #2 in RBs, #1 in margin. -4.2 TOs. Too many, 13.0. +6.3 assists. +3.8 steals.

Miro leads us with 16.0 per game. Wolf gets 14.5, Coop 11.4, Wite, 11.2. Miro gets an impressive 9.8 RBs, Wolf gets 7.5, Coop 6.8. Wite gets 6.1 assists.

3/5: Mal Miro is #9 on the Norton list.

We lose starting C Vic Coop and promising guard Ed Nole to the draft. Could have been worse!

Some changes were approved, some were not. The cloaking technology is being installed. That's a good one and it passed 10-2. The computer stabilization thing also was approved 10-2. Some more minor things were approved, most of them were also things that stabilized some systems and programs.

“We, the Zeelah, roam through space seeking knowledge, as you do, humans. We also seek to assist those in need. We will leave you now.”

And with that they were gone. They were a huge help to us. We're moving ahead with a much stronger, more stable, more well protected ship.

[Wayne23]

3/8: It's the post season! We start with #9 seed Indiana, 13-19, 7-13. We beat them by 26 and then 21.

3/9: We score the first 9. Up 22 after 10. 47-31 at the half. Sub Mel Fick has 14. +9 RBs.

89-73. 18, 6, 8, 3 for Dub Wite, 17, 9 for Wolf, 16 for Fick, 12 each for Miro and Stou. 30 for the bench. Only 8 RBs.

[Wayne23]

3/10: #12 seed Purdue, 14-18, 7-13, rode two consecutive upsets to the semifinal game with us. We crushed them 111-78 at our place. We would need to have a horrible night to lose this one.

Game time: They scored the first 2, we scored the next 17. 51-20 at halftime. No contest at all, as expected. Stou, Wolf, West, and Coop are leading the way on O. Everyone is playing good D.They are 3-20 from the floor, 0-7 on threes. 2 TOs to 12.

91-63. 21, 7 for sub Ron Stou, 17, 7 fror Coop, 10 or more for the other starters. +21 RBs, 5 TOs.

I'm beginning to be a bit concerned about Hali and aging. She's 49, which is fine. Since I'm aging normally in this hereafter “life,” I claim an age of 58, and look a little younger than that. In a few years that could become a problem. I haven't thought through the aging thing.

It may require some sort of reset of all of this at some point. Of course I have no idea how to do that.

[Wayne23]

3/11: It's #2 seed, #6 ranked Illinois, 26-5, 16-4, for the title. They won by 11 there, we won by 16 at home. They have an excellent PG and are probably better outside. We're better inside and score 10 more a game. They're only 3-3 vs. ranked teams. As it usually does in big games it will probably come down to who's hot.

Game time: It's close, down 1 after 10. A 16-3 run puts us up 40-26 at the half. +13 for the bench. +16 in the paint. They're shooting 25%.

And we put it away early, up 20 with 12 to play.

80-67 and the title! 15, 6, 8 for Wite, 13, 8 for Miro, 6 others had between 6 and 9. +18 in the paint.

[Wayne23]

3/12: We expect the #1 overall seed.

#1 East, #1 overall. It's a decent bracket.

3/14: We start with play-in winner Denver, 16-17.

3/16: We take the lead right away but they stay relatively close for a long time. 38-24 at the half. 12 for Coop. +14 in the paint. Up 19 with 10 left.

74-58 but it wasn't that close. 29, 8 for Coop, impressive game! +24 in the paint.

Bench Coach Shay Corr: Can we win it all?

Jed Clark: We definitely can, but it's a long journey and one poor night ends it. If we keep our focus and get a break somewhere along the line, as I always talk about, sure we can.

[Wayne23]

3/17: 2nd round opponent is #8 seed Penn ST, 22-10. I truly HATE to play conf. rivals early on. We won by 20 there. If we play our game this should not be a problem.

3/18: Big early lead. 56-33 at the half. 12 each for Wolf and Buck. 2 TOs. +16 down low.

101-80. D was awful in the 2nd but it didn't matter. We were WAY ahead. 21, 4, 4 for Wolf, who is red hot. 14, 6, 8 for Buck, 3 players with 11 each. 9 TOs, +28 in the paint.

Costly win, 6th man SF Ron Stou broke his arm and is out for the season. Mel Fick, who has been playing really well, will get his minutes.

The ship is running really smoothly.

“Captain?”

“I wonder if we're all going to be out of a job with all of these improvements the Zeelah made.”

“Wait for the other shoe to drop. Who knows what they might have snuck into our systems and computers.”

“Seems pretty unlikely, Mick.”

“Right.”