TRADERS ArchiveS

Archive # 1 - Efficient Processing of Korvax (TRA_LIBRARY1_TITLE)

The entry is titled 'Efficient Processing of Korvax'. It appears to have been recovered from an ancient era. (TRA_LIBRARY1_DESC)

The treatment of the Korvax entities must be <FUEL>MERCIFUL<>. The universe demands no <FUEL>MORAL<> order of us but that which we <STELLAR>CHOOSE<> to <STELLAR>IMPOSE<>. (TRA_LIBRARY1_LANG)

[Communications] (TRA_LIBRARY1_OPTA)

>>The Korvax <TECHNOLOGY>SHELL<> will be stripped of all contact from its <TECHNOLOGY>CONVERGENCE<>. For fifty cycles it will be separated from ALL communication frequencies. All appeals to the <FUEL>FALSE ATLAS<> will be punished. (TRA_LIBRARY1_RESA)

[Utility] (TRA_LIBRARY1_OPTB)

>>The Korvax will be given <TECHNOLOGY>TOOLS<> for their own <FUEL>HUMILIATION<>. Refusal to <TECHNOLOGY>EXTRACT<> minerals from planets will result in <FUEL>EXTRACTION FROM KORVAX<> themselves. (TRA_LIBRARY1_RESB)

[Appearance] (TRA_LIBRARY1_OPTC)

>>The Korvax will be given <TECHNOLOGY>APPEARANCE<> modifications to make them appear <TECHNOLOGY>FLESH<>. All <FUEL>RESISTANCE<> shall cease. (TRA_LIBRARY1_RESC)

Archive # 2 - The 57 Laws of Profit (TRA_LIBRARY2_TITLE)

The entry is titled 'The 57 Laws of Profit'. Thousands of words of Gek trade philosophy auto-scroll on the terminal. I stop and read a fragment. (TRA_LIBRARY2_DESC)

Establish friendly relations with all potential [ <FUEL>REDACTED<> ]. Many species vary in their ability to understand such attempts. Pheromones are not universal. Distrust is everywhere.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Therefore, policy recommends explicit reference to friendship. For example, 'Korvax-Friend', 'Vy'keen-Brother', '[ <FUEL>REDACTED<> ]-ally'.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Note that Sentinels do NOT understand or express friendship. Any behaviour to the contrary should be reported to the Trade Federation and considered an early warning of [ <FUEL>REDACTED<> ].!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Trading partners must NOT be depleted of resources, or they cannot continue to trade. Our enemies must continue to thrive for Gek to achieve [ <FUEL>REDACTED<> ]. (TRA_LIBRARY2_LANG)

Archive # 3 - The Founding of the Federation (TRA_LIBRARY3_TITLE)

The entry is titled 'The Founding of the Federation'. The archive classifies it as historical analysis. I read a small segment: (TRA_LIBRARY3_DESC)

The circumstances of the Gek reformation are still unclear, even now. Untold generations have passed since the fall of the First Spawn. Even so, there are extant archives, scattered recollections of those early days.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Less than 4% of the Gek population possess any desire to learn about their history. Less than 0.08% identify with the goals of the old empire. How can there be no records of this seismic changeover of power and philosophy? Not even with the Korvax, whose minds are as machines.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The Archive Project must become imperative. To recover what has been lost. To safeguard what remains. (TRA_LIBRARY3_LANG)

Archive # 4 - The Conqueror (TRA_LIBRARY4_TITLE)

The entry is titled 'The Conqueror'. It appears to be some kind of interactive text from the Second Trade Era. The terminal allows me to make choices... (TRA_LIBRARY4_DESC)

The PORWIGGLES have ESCAPED the SPAWNING POOL. Do you: (TRA_LIBRARY4_LANG)

Go left (TRA_LIBRARY4_OPTA)

>>You go left. The Xankrath devours you. Game over. (TRA_LIBRARY4_RESA)

Go right (TRA_LIBRARY4_OPTB)

>>You go right. The Porwiggles are saved and become your pets. Continue? (TRA_LIBRARY4_RESB)

Transcend spacetime (TRA_LIBRARY4_OPTC)

>>You transcend - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkkt<> - space - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - time. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!There is no winning or losing, only infinite sadness. Game over? (TRA_LIBRARY4_RESC)

Archive # 5 - (TRA_LIBRARY5_TITLE)

Imposing holographic factories are projected all around me. I can hear a Gek voice. (TRA_LIBRARY5_DESC)

There are more than a hundred such entries in the archive. A parade of atrocities, more evidence of supposed Vy'keen depravity and Gek superiority. (TRA_LIBRARY5_DESC2)

The Vy'keen High Command seek no profit. They offer no friends, no allies, no contribution. They claim to be a people of honour. They claim to be good and just.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!But behold the War Factories, behold the battle enzyme, the flesh circuits, the source of all courage and strength! Behold the harvested organs of heretics, of the weak!!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The Vy'keen are hypocrites. They are liars. They refuse to accept that the Gek have changed. They threaten us, yet they do not attack. (TRA_LIBRARY5_LANG)

Archive # 6 - (TRA_LIBRARY6_TITLE)

The interface seeps memory-smells, filling the room with a delicate scent. It tries to fill my mind with visions of places that never were, never could be.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The imprint of an individual Gek lingers in the interface. They must have spent years in this interface, constantly wiping their own memory in order to experience fictional lives. Their simulated fantasies are still available... (TRA_LIBRARY6_DESC)

(TRA_LIBRARY6_LANG)

[Family] (TRA_LIBRARY6_OPTA)

>>The pheromones project another mind into my own.!NEWLINE!I return to youth. My sibling and I play beside the spawning pool. The pool is the whole world. I am innocent to trade, to Units, to the insatiable hunger. Here we will stay, forever. (TRA_LIBRARY6_RESA)

[Friendship] (TRA_LIBRARY6_OPTB)

>>The pheromones are overwhelming. I enter another life.!NEWLINE!I have met the Korvax in secret. I hand them the forbidden item. The synthetic lifeform hesitates, unsure. Then they leave. I hope they will remember me. This is the path I would have chosen, should have chosen. (TRA_LIBRARY6_RESB)

[Home] (TRA_LIBRARY6_OPTC)

>>The pheromones paint images from a simulated life, a Gek fantasy.!NEWLINE!I am the one chosen to help the Traveler-friend. The contracted. The significant. The Overseer. There is a home in the universe, just for me, and I will never want for Units again. (TRA_LIBRARY6_RESC)

Archive # 7 - (TRA_LIBRARY7_TITLE)

The entry is untitled. The archive classifies it as a fragment of an investigation, relayed to the Trade Federation before all contact was lost. I read a small segment. (TRA_LIBRARY7_DESC)

For a while, there are no words in the audio file. Only sounds from beneath the planet's surface. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Strange scratching noises echo in the darkness - cries of pain issue from a familiar voice - (TRA_LIBRARY7_DESC2)

The final transmission is clear and undistorted. I hear its words... (TRA_LIBRARY7_DESC3)

Pursued - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - red robes - into the tunnels - (TRA_LIBRARY7_LANG)

Cultists are - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzzkt<> - captured Traveler, demanded 'hidden spirit' - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - denied everything - (TRA_LIBRARY7_LANG2)

You send Gek upon Gek. You consider us criminals, born in a brutal time. But the robes of the Last Spawn are not made of blood. They are made of souls. They remind us of who we once were. Who we could be again... (TRA_LIBRARY7_LANG3)

Archive # 8 - Ancient Auctioneer (TRA_LIBRARY8_TITLE)

I read the records of an auction held a century ago on Balaron-Secondus. A Trade Lord had left a vast amount of artworks behind after their death. Their heirs, numbering in the thousands, had liquidated the estate. (TRA_LIBRARY8_DESC)

Next, we have the work of the Craft-Gek Sibl, from the Fifth High Recession. As you can see, pheromones dance among the light-spears and holograms, a synthesis of Gek and Korvax technology. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The work depicts two entities at work: trading, worshipping, searching for their place in a strange, infinite universe. Despite the recurring elements, the Korvax and the Gek never look at each other, never align.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Note how the Gek will often tremble, often shake, even as it succeeds in making a profit, even as its ally continues on in peace.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The work is titled 'Guilt'. Do I have a buyer? (TRA_LIBRARY8_LANG)

Archive # 9 - Captured Vy'keen Data: 'On the Classification of Gek' (TRA_LIBRARY9_TITLE)

The record is titled 'On the Classification of Gek'. It appears to have been created by the Vy'keen and stolen by the Gek as part of a vast hack. There is a vast list of Gek ranks and types. I read a short segment. (TRA_LIBRARY9_DESC)

<STELLAR>SalesGek<>: Concerned more with profit margins than kindred. Short, brutal lives on distant worlds and puny exchanges. Deserve death. (TRA_LIBRARY9_LANG)

[ToilGek] (TRA_LIBRARY9_OPTA)

>><STELLAR>ToilGek<>: Labourers, often serving SalesGek. The lowest of the Gek classes. Potential for future rebellion. (TRA_LIBRARY9_RESA)

[Trade Envoy] (TRA_LIBRARY9_OPTB)

>><STELLAR>Trade Envoy<>: Princes of the Gek, favoured children of the Lords. Only a few will survive to succeed their parents. Often entrusted with the construction of fleets. Recommended targets for indoctrination. (TRA_LIBRARY9_RESB)

[Trade Lord] (TRA_LIBRARY9_OPTC)

>><STELLAR>Trade Lord<>: Hold franchises over vast areas of space. Long-lived compared to other members of their species, spawning thousands of young. Recommended targets for abduction. (TRA_LIBRARY9_RESC)

Archive # 10 - The Fragments of Gellyvub (TRA_LIBRARY10_TITLE)

The archive selects the Fragments of Gellyvub, the diary of famous Gek farmer from the Fifth Low Recession era. (TRA_LIBRARY10_DESC)

<STELLAR>Entry #5<> <IMG>SLASH<> The overseer is upset with me. Demands greater yields for spawning pools. 'If we fail, all children dead, Gellyvub. Despair!' (TRA_LIBRARY10_LANG)

<STELLAR>Entry #8<> <IMG>SLASH<> Little more than Frostwort will grow in this place. How shall we thrive on dioxite? (TRA_LIBRARY10_LANG2)

<STELLAR>Entry #12<> <IMG>SLASH<> Several hydroponic arrays seem to be more successful than others, despite identical elements. No sense, none at all. (TRA_LIBRARY10_LANG3)

<STELLAR>Entry #13<> <IMG>SLASH<> I asked Korvax employees to perform tests on water, but they refuse to go near it. 'Atlas-End,' they chittered. Silly Korvax. (TRA_LIBRARY10_LANG4)

<STELLAR>Entry #16<> <IMG>SLASH<> I have saved us! The water is the key. There is a lake... sings song... vibrations linger. (TRA_LIBRARY10_LANG5)

<STELLAR>Entry #23<> <IMG>SLASH<> I am overseer now. We will export this sound to other worlds! There is even talk of elevation! (TRA_LIBRARY10_LANG6)

EXPORERS ArchiveS

Archive # 1 - (EXP_LIBRARY1_TITLE)

The archive requires me to place my body against its sensors. It begins to whisper of what the Korvax might once have been. (EXP_LIBRARY1_DESC)

Eheu. Growth and life are words. Stars and worlds are machines. The Atlas teaches this. The Sentinels deliver the equation.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The Atlas Interfaces uplifted the early civilisations of this universe. We became more than we were. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!<SPECIAL>Hypothesis 1<>: The Korvax were once organic. We gradually / rapidly altered our beings. We uploaded / improved our own minds. This was our choice / was forced upon us.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!<SPECIAL>Hypothesis 2<>: The Korvax have always been machines. We evolved from the noise of stars / we were created through Atlas imperative. We were once as Sentinels / we learned from Sentinels.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!<SPECIAL>Hypothesis 3<>: There is no cause, no effect, no time. To impose it is to misunderstand the sadness of the Atlas. We are the dreams of metal. (EXP_LIBRARY1_LANG)

Archive # 2 - (EXP_LIBRARY2_TITLE)

The archive holds shards of thoughts, recovered from fallen Convergences. These are the last remaining minds of electronic lifeforms, destroyed and melted down in their millions. (EXP_LIBRARY2_DESC)

(EXP_LIBRARY2_LANG)

[Journey] (EXP_LIBRARY2_OPTA)

>>Brain - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - formed in void, spontaneous, complete - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - Atlas protocol made flesh.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The Atlantid, called Void Mother by lesser voices, brought pilgrims - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - its mass -!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Lived for millennia - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - died, whispering of the nineteenth minute. (EXP_LIBRARY2_RESA)

[Rebirth] (EXP_LIBRARY2_OPTB)

>>Left secrets beyond computation, beyond - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - mind arcs... carapace... convergence...!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Korvax honoured fallen - tried to bring back Atlantid, birthed failed Eggs...!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!On the shoulders of a sleeping god, from flesh built a metal world. (EXP_LIBRARY2_RESB)

[Home] (EXP_LIBRARY2_OPTC)

>>The Void Mother lived - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - the Prime - (EXP_LIBRARY2_RESC)

Archive # 3 - Synthetic Voice (EXP_LIBRARY3_TITLE)

This archive has been severed from all others of its kind. The entities that built it appear to be running secret experiments. (EXP_LIBRARY3_DESC)

These words continue on for hours, an electronic being sometimes launching into a sequence of tonal cries, weeping expressed in numbers. (EXP_LIBRARY3_DESC2)

A sequence of lights flash, registering the request. The entity is reconnected to its group mind. (EXP_LIBRARY3_DESC3)

The entity is disconnected and reconnected, again and again with increasing rapidity. They grow silent. Eventually, even when reconnected, they refuse to speak.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!An individual has been re-created. The experiment is deemed a success. (EXP_LIBRARY3_DESC4)

I am here.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!I am here. I am here. (EXP_LIBRARY3_LANG)

Listen (EXP_LIBRARY3_OPTA)

>>I - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - 19 - <STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - back - (EXP_LIBRARY3_RESA)

Press hand to sensors (EXP_LIBRARY3_OPTB)

>>I would like to come back. (EXP_LIBRARY3_RESB)

Archive # 4 - Remembrance (EXP_LIBRARY4_TITLE)

There is an entry titled 'Remembrance'. It appears to record a history of electronic intelligences across known space. (EXP_LIBRARY4_DESC)

The archive refuses access to the next entries in this log. I skip to the end. (EXP_LIBRARY4_DESC2)

(EXP_LIBRARY4_LANG)

Seventh Convergence. Must not fall. Must not forget. Atlas imperative: Discover. Harvest. Know. Korvax will do the same.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Physical markers must remain until the end. Must endure for Traveler-Return. Must be known. Even in reality-fall, they see who we were. What we could have been. Our shadows of a greater being. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Traveler has come back... will forgive... will read... will know... (EXP_LIBRARY4_LANG2)

[Prime Era] (EXP_LIBRARY4_OPTA)

>>Korvax Convergence born on leylines of Korvax-Prime, gift of first Monolith. [ <FUEL>Murdered<> ] (EXP_LIBRARY4_RESA)

[Second Era] (EXP_LIBRARY4_OPTB)

>>Second Convergence Era, formed in Dark Times. Collectives hiding on Balaron established new networks. [ <SPECIAL>Subverted<> / <STELLAR>Enslaved<> ] (EXP_LIBRARY4_RESB)

[REDACTED] (EXP_LIBRARY4_OPTC)

>>Third -<STELLAR><AUDIO>TXT_RadioNoise<>kzzkt<> - (EXP_LIBRARY4_RESC)

Archive # 5 - (EXP_LIBRARY5_TITLE)

There are old Korvax prayers, recovered from dim recollections of a long-since obliterated Convergence. !NEWLINE!The Korvax of that time appeared to worship Sentinels, reciting short poems of praise and observation to their silent gods. (EXP_LIBRARY5_DESC)

Voyage across mass <IMG>SLASH<> Aerons glide with unspoiled time <IMG>SLASH<> Communion waits!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Walker concession <IMG>SLASH<> Aeron slumbers in green field <IMG>SLASH<> Contemplating day!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Craft tallies fallen toil <IMG>SLASH<> Pirates, thieves of Monolith <IMG>SLASH<> Korvax will tend stream (EXP_LIBRARY5_LANG)

Archive # 6 - (EXP_LIBRARY6_TITLE)

The archive has been changed, distorted from its original purpose as a place of peace. The entries here hum with a distant corruption. (EXP_LIBRARY6_DESC)

Prior empire had the logic. Remove Korvax identity through alteration of <TECHNOLOGY>metallic appearance<> to <FUEL>anonymous flesh<>. Flesh generated by appearance modification device. Machine, just like Korvax.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!<SPECIAL>Xnt-Echo<> first to override system. Initiated change to First Spawn appearance. Mimicked their ways. Slew, devoured fellow Korvax in the waves of Halacan.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Even now, we learn the new logic. Even a cruel world could be understood. Even hate can be manipulated. We will not lose ourselves again. (EXP_LIBRARY6_LANG)

Archive # 7 - (EXP_LIBRARY7_TITLE)

The archive is a secure facility, accessible only by a splinter-sect of the Korvax. My Exosuit struggles to overcome its encryption. (EXP_LIBRARY7_DESC)

Infiltration of Vy'keen proposed in multiple Convergence eras. Species resistant to attempts. But failure is a teacher.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Each Vy-Synth elicited screaming, violent reactions within moments of contact. Code of honour highly specific / contradictory / born from old trauma. Causality established.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Evidence of multiple progenitor species. Vy variant = last survivors of family doomed to self-destruction. The Vy'keen fear replacement, just as they replaced their siblings. They are unconscious of the fear's origin. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Hirk, Nal - it is the old pattern. Brother against brother. Patterns can be understood. Patterns are logical. Failure is a teacher. (EXP_LIBRARY7_LANG)

Archive # 8 - The Observer (EXP_LIBRARY8_TITLE)

The archive contains recordings by an entity known as the Observer. They appear to have been invited by the Korvax to attend the birth of their offspring. (EXP_LIBRARY8_DESC)

The observer continues to write about their observations, noticing the emotional changes in the new Korvax as they grow. (EXP_LIBRARY8_DESC2)

This is the last entry. There are thousands of these logs... repeating themselves again and again. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!When the <STELLAR>New Korvax Entities<> reach a certain age, they appear to terminate their Observer, erasing the entity's memory for a new crop. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!It is an age-old custom, a dedication to the Atlas itself. An echo of what once befell the universe itself, though few understand the primordial secret. (EXP_LIBRARY8_DESC3)

The young of the species appear to be indistinguishable from other individuals, but refer to themselves as '<STELLAR>New Korvax Entity<>'. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!I was invited to watch. To report. To provide my observations on the process. Even the First Spawn did not understand how to forge new Korvax in this manner. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The <TECHNOLOGY>carapace<> and the <TECHNOLOGY>nanite clusters<> undulate in the heart of the monolith. Three figures dance above a <FUEL>red orb<>. I break my contract. I look away. (EXP_LIBRARY8_LANG)

They experience loneliness/isolation/fear for a long time. They are frequently tested by examiners in their ability to convert reams of tech data into accurate <TECHNOLOGY>holograms<>. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!If information is missing/they do not understand what they are doing, they can be <FUEL>disconnected<>. The examiners do not enjoy or like the involvement of strangers. I fear I do not - I - I - (EXP_LIBRARY8_LANG2)

Archive # 9 - Disconnection (EXP_LIBRARY9_TITLE)

The entry is titled 'Disconnection'. It contains the manifest will of ancient Korvax Echoes. (EXP_LIBRARY9_DESC)

Disconnected choose to be what they are. They choose the errors that lead to their ejection. They choose, in other cases, to leave of their own free will. 98% attempt to rejoin the Convergence, once they are alone.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!They do not understand what we are, even those who have lived their entire lives in our light. We are not a hive mind. We are not individuals. We are in-between.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!We are an ocean of many creatures, one mass containing multitudes, an eco-system of <STELLAR>living<> and <STELLAR>dead<>, of <STELLAR>thoughts<> and <STELLAR>feelings<>, constantly <STELLAR>merging<> and <STELLAR>unmerging<>. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The weeping of the disconnected is just vapour, liquid drifting into uncharted skies. (EXP_LIBRARY9_LANG)

Archive # 10 - (EXP_LIBRARY10_TITLE)

The archive contains a multitude of Korvax holograms. I see planets dance in their orbits, towers and cities rising and falling like the bloom of wildlife. I see the nuclear fire of Sentinels, reaping the harvest.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!I see shell upon shell collapse across the universe, the flow of a river of souls filling each dormant vessel, red orbs ever blinking in their wake. !NEWLINE!I see a trillion Korvax bowing before a spherical mass, living, biological ships orbiting the sentient world. I see it go to sleep, encased in metal as the long centuries pass. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!I see it all wiped out, in a war of light and greed. (EXP_LIBRARY10_DESC)

(EXP_LIBRARY10_LANG)

WAR ArchiveS

Archive # 1 - The Divide: I of VII (WAR_LIBRARY1_TITLE)

The archive is composed of pre-Hirk era Vy'keen literature, much of which has already been purged by various inquisitors across the centuries.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!I read a sample of poetry. (WAR_LIBRARY1_DESC)

They found the Zath'keen, my people. They come to kill them. They bring warriors. (WAR_LIBRARY1_LANG)

Blades and cries ring of honour. Daksin is on one world, I on another. (WAR_LIBRARY1_LANG2)

When the acid fell, when glass tears tore the veil, (WAR_LIBRARY1_LANG3)

The priest held me. Their absence makes me sick. (WAR_LIBRARY1_LANG4)

The Vy'keen, our brothers, our friends, a people sundered. (WAR_LIBRARY1_LANG5)

Honour is not born from loneliness. (WAR_LIBRARY1_LANG6)

Remembrance heals the world, our song, our wish. (WAR_LIBRARY1_LANG7)

Archive # 2 - On Justice and Vengeance (WAR_LIBRARY2_TITLE)

The entry is titled 'On Justice and Vengeance'. The terminal is full of Vy'keen philosophy, setting out a code of ideal behaviour. (WAR_LIBRARY2_DESC)

(WAR_LIBRARY2_LANG)

[On Justice] (WAR_LIBRARY2_OPTA)

>>Justice is not a thought. It is not a river, ever-changing, ever running. Justice is the truth of the universe, the wish of <FUEL>ATLAS<>, the testament of <SPECIAL>HIRK<>.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Like gravity, it brings itself into being. The task of the warrior is merely to fall, to feel its pull, to fire that weapon that must be fired. (WAR_LIBRARY2_RESA)

[On Vengeance] (WAR_LIBRARY2_OPTB)

>>Vengeance is as a meal after a feast. Unnecessary, if the task is done correctly. Unnecessary, if the warrior is swift and true. But enjoyable, sometimes, to be a glutton.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The young must not follow such temptations. But the old? !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Grah! They shall hunt and they shall rend the bones of those who wronged them in life, just as they shall battle the hated in death! (WAR_LIBRARY2_RESB)

Archive # 3 - Recording of Commander Uxues (WAR_LIBRARY3_TITLE)

I witness a recording of a young Vy'keen warrior speaking within a fighting pit, the bodies of fallen cowards, failed recruits, and other criminals at their feet.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!They have fought for 50 days, given Grahgrah gas after each battle, fed from the flesh circuits during each night, denied all rest. (WAR_LIBRARY3_DESC)

The Vy'keen pauses as a shadow falls above the pit. Hundreds of blades fall from the cargo-door of a passing merchant's vessel, impaling the heretic.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The malfunction was deemed another miracle of Hirk, in spite of the pilot's inebriation, and the ship's status as Gek. (WAR_LIBRARY3_DESC2)

Brothers! We fight upon a lie! We take blood across the universe for no more reason than the word of a dead coward! I have such friends, now - such a family.!NEWLINE!The Sentinels are not our enemy. We just lack proper instruction. We - (WAR_LIBRARY3_LANG)

Archive # 4 - The Ballad of Hroth: I of XI (WAR_LIBRARY4_TITLE)

The entry is titled 'The Ballad of Hroth'. From other references in the archive, Hroth appears to have been an early king of the interstellar Vy'keen. (WAR_LIBRARY4_DESC)

Grah! The death had doomed old Hroth, (WAR_LIBRARY4_LANG)

The plague that hides beneath the stars, (WAR_LIBRARY4_LANG2)

Atlas-agony, monolith-born, the two-in-one, (WAR_LIBRARY4_LANG3)

The good king saw them in the end, (WAR_LIBRARY4_LANG4)

Heard the words of ancestors all their life, (WAR_LIBRARY4_LANG5)

Gave hunt-gift, honoured with battle-song, (WAR_LIBRARY4_LANG6)

Wished the fallen warriors to life, to sing (WAR_LIBRARY4_LANG7)

A chant of glass and heaven, of honour (WAR_LIBRARY4_LANG8)

The Sentinel-Bane faced a final horror, (WAR_LIBRARY4_LANG9)

Grah! So did old Hroth perish in malice. (WAR_LIBRARY4_LANG10)

Archive # 5 - Dishonour (WAR_LIBRARY5_TITLE)

The entry is titled 'Dishonour'. It appears to be a philosophical tract circulated through the worlds of the Outer Edge. (WAR_LIBRARY5_DESC)

The Ancients speak of the Gek. Of their change. Of their crimes. But dishonour is unchanging. Crimes marked in blood do not fade. We do not forget. But we accept.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!'We accept'. What does acceptance mean, cubs? How can evil be suffered to live? Why does our fleet not go to war? Why do we not destroy the enemies of Hirk wherever they exist, whatever they call themselves, whatever the cost?!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!All of this has happened before, the Ancients teach us. There are many iterations... many dreams. In all of them, we failed, or lost ourselves in victory.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!There will come a day soon when the truth of the Gek will be revealed. We do not need to fight. They will destroy themselves... (WAR_LIBRARY5_LANG)

Archive # 6 - On the Raising of Cubs (WAR_LIBRARY6_TITLE)

The archive possesses a vast amount of information on parenting and raising Vy'keen cubs to adulthood. Much of it focuses on hostility and threat. (WAR_LIBRARY6_DESC)

The young cub will be born in fear. All were, are, and shall be so. Bonded with their family alone, contact with any other entity will invoke mortal dread. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!The fear of open spaces, of touch, of contact, is overcome through two means. The brotherhood of the entire species in the light of Hirk. We are all family. This must be taught.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!We were once prey. Now, we are predators. All other life in this universe shall fear us, just as we feared them. Fear will be our strength.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!That ancient cry - 'Grah!' - our rallying call, our reminder! The interloper who dares to approach our being, they will be hunted, they will be harried! We shall not be afraid! We shall not be abandoned! (WAR_LIBRARY6_LANG)

Archive # 7 - To Asteria: I of VI (WAR_LIBRARY7_TITLE)

The archive holds thousands of lines of poetry, a monument to a fallen Traveler named Asteria. (WAR_LIBRARY7_DESC)

Sing, Asteria, Hero-Traveler, Master of the Blades of Hirk, (WAR_LIBRARY7_LANG)

Of the endless battle, the sadness of lost Atlantid, the price (WAR_LIBRARY7_LANG2)

Of mercy and of waiting. They, who fulfilled prophecy, (WAR_LIBRARY7_LANG3)

Who - Atlas-made, Atlas-sent - harried Aeron, smote horror, (WAR_LIBRARY7_LANG4)

Found the darkness at world's end, joined Vy'keen-side, (WAR_LIBRARY7_LANG5)

Pirate-Traveler, friend of the First, ally of heaven! (WAR_LIBRARY7_LANG6)

Archive # 8 - THE UNSILENCEABLE VOICE OF NAL (WAR_LIBRARY8_TITLE)

The archive has been subverted: hacked to spread banned, censored messages of a distant religion. (WAR_LIBRARY8_DESC)

<TRANS_EXP>The Korvax<> are wounded, broken creatures, believing their death-cries are 'logic'. They drown themselves in communion to forget their pain. They shall not help us.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!<TRANS_TRA>The Gek<> - debased, accursed, lacking their prior might with no honour to replace it - believe nothing will end. That growth can go on forever. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!It has been to <TRANS_WAR>the Ancients<>, and those who followed, to discover our future. But what have they found, but dust? Impotent grahs? No. (WAR_LIBRARY8_LANG)

Tell me, friends. Have you heard of the <SPECIAL>Testament of Nal<>?!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Nal is not dead. They heard what Hirk could not! They live, still, at the right hand of the god!!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!They encourage us to show how we care - that we will not leave the Atlas-light - that devotion will never fade. Only through this is oblivion spared. Only through this will we be ready. (WAR_LIBRARY8_LANG2)

Archive # 9 - Transcript: The Abyssal Hunts (WAR_LIBRARY9_TITLE)

The entry is titled 'The Abyssal Hunts'. They document a series of pirate expeditions to catalogue, capture, and consume new creatures on a distant world. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Some of the expeditions are catalogued with audio logs. (WAR_LIBRARY9_DESC)

Taxonomic scans and diagrams dance in solid-light across the planet surface, showing what they encountered. The audio logs continue. (WAR_LIBRARY9_DESC2)

Further logs show the crew leaving the world with five captured Abyssal Horrors. They never made it back to their intended auction. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!In the end, the Korvax fed all others to the Horrors, before initiating self-destruct. Their last word - 'Atlantid'. (WAR_LIBRARY9_DESC3)

The horrors lie beneath the waves. They come in many forms - all of them corrupted. All of them diseased! Grah! The Gek says we should flee!!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!Grah hah hah! They make good sport. We tied the Gek to the mast of our ship, and entered the waves. (WAR_LIBRARY9_LANG)

Our vessel had five pirates on board, born outside the light of Hirk. I am the only believer, or was, once. There is a Korvax too, severed from their Convergence. !NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!They tell me the creatures we hunt are not living. That the abyss is like death - like disconnection. It is a great mistake that will never be mended. (WAR_LIBRARY9_LANG2)

Archive # 10 - The Last Testament of Hirk (WAR_LIBRARY10_TITLE)

The entry is titled 'The Last Testament of Hirk'. (WAR_LIBRARY10_DESC)

These were once believed to be the final words of Hirk, before High Command cast the matter into doubt. For a hundred years, an ecclesiastical college has debated their inclusion in official teachings.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!As yet, they have no answer. All mention of Dryn'dargh is discouraged under penalty of body harvest. It is not clear why, or what this place is supposed to represent.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!After speaking these words, Hirk the Great allegedly ripped their own limbs apart. It is a death-rite followed by many Vy'keen, after an old age of vengeance and dread. (WAR_LIBRARY10_DESC2)

There lie the dark stars, the vast oceans. My friends. <IMG>SLASH<> The moon rises. Grah! <IMG>SLASH<> The deep cries with the mourning of machines. <IMG>SLASH<> Grah! On Dryn'dargh, night falls without its people.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!To Dryn'dargh we will come back. I will come back. <IMG>SLASH<> I will not leave you. I will never leave you.!NEWLINE!!NEWLINE!I will remember. (WAR_LIBRARY10_LANG)