Late last night the fugitive Caldari scientists, Albert Vance and Vic Stats, broadcast what was ultimately a failed test of their prototype mind control device using the Caldari ftl communication channel.
Caldari State pilots, engaging in typical Caldari pod pilot banter, were surprised by the appearance of the ident code of Albert Vance in the monitored Caldari channels late yesterday evening. The scientists, fresh from a close encounter with pursuing authorities last week, announced to the galaxy that the first test of their recently completed Mind Control Device would be conducted and broadcasted live for all to see. This was where the experiment first began to go astray when Stats, hunting through their available test subjects for a terminally ill and therefore expendable specimen, was surprised by Vance who decided that he “need[ed] a healthy specimen” in order to gather the most accurate data possible. Unfortunately for Stats, he was the only healthy specimen in the vicinity, and before he was able to mount much of a defensive argument Vance initiated the first test cycle of the device. Caldari pilots watched on with horror as the device, initially functioning within parameters, began to suffer a number of increasingly catastrophic failures until the prototype failed, ultimately leaving both it and Stats' mind in pieces. The transmission was quickly severed at the source, but not before relieved observers were able to witness signs of life emanating from the hapless Stats, though some pilots reported that Stats appeared slow, disoriented and had a significant slur to his speech. Caldari authorities refused to comment on whether or not their technicians were able to trace the location of the broadcast.
Meanwhile, the application to Interbus to have Vance and Stats banned from travel on board their inter-system transports is currently under consideration, and Caldari authorities remain hopeful that Interbus will both respond positively and quickly, so that the pursuit team lead by Pete Sance can corner and apprehend them before Vance is able to complete his inevitable reconstruction of the device.