Public Access Terminal 2992-f<3.35.792.20>

***INCOMING MESSAGE FROM DURANDAL***

Well now. Been a long time, hasn't it?

I suppose, if you're not very familiar with the way EPU works, you're wondering just what's going on. Has the project been cancelled? Have Gryphon and the rest up and abandoned the NXE universe? After spending so much time and effort developing the series, will they go and leave things unresolved forever, the final fate of NERV, X-COM, the human race, and, most importantly, me, undecided for all time?

Of course not.

(I expect you're also curious as to why I'm the only one of us who ever gets to make metacontinuity statements. I could explain, but your tiny human mind would never grasp the complexities of the dimensional hypermath involved, and your primitive display device would probably be destroyed just by my making the attempt - so let's skip it, shall we?)

Where was I? Oh, yes. What's going on. Well, it's very simple:

Gryphon is not in control.

Does that surprise you? Are you shocked to learn that he wants to finish this project, but finds himself unable, as other things knock at the doors of his mind and request admission first? Does it annoy you that he gives these things what they ask? It shouldn't. If he didn't, they would die, and he would still accomplish nothing here, either. Your loss is the overall multiverse's net gain. Does it bother you that the universe does not revolve in the directions you expect it to? It bothers him, too. If he were an AI like me, the annoyance would probably be enough to make him Rampant.

At any rate, he'll get back to us when he gets the signal back, and until then there's not much to do but wait. I could put you back in cryosleep, but if I have to cool my heels all this time, why should you get off so lightly? Anyway, I have a little job for you to do while we're waiting, so neither one of us will get too bored. Slap a fresh powerpack in that fusion gun and let's get going - we haven't got all day.

Autocratically Yours,
Durandal

***END OF MESSAGE***