#15

Alien: Seal gap! Protect Monolith! Precious valuable material lost! Use oxide!

I place my hand on the ancient structure and feel an intense heat burning within. Suddenly, as if attracted to my suit, a liquid metal starts to seep from a hole that's been broken into the rock.

What starts as a drip, becomes a surge forcing itself through the gap. The monolith's previous contents are draining, and its glow is starting to fade. A voice screams out.

{Plug hole with oxide}

The hole is sealed. The monolith's contents are secured.

I am safe, and thanked.

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Plug hole with silicate}

The silicate reacts with the molten material. It vaporises, both within the structure and without.

The monolith's power fades.

---STD_DEC_WAR---

{Take molten substance}

The molten material burns my suit.

Its value makes the pain worthwhile.

---DAMAGESMALL---

---PROD_COMMOD---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#7

Alien: Respect the Vy'keen Ancients sacrifice. The beast has holy sight.

A portal opens on the monolith, and the body of a huge winged animal falls to my feet. Its throat has been ritually cut, and its wings have been tattooed with faces of an ancient warrior tribe. The eyes though, the eyes look strange...

Its original eyes have been cut out, and replaced by glittering red orbs. The more I look, the more they blaze. An advanced technology clearly lies at their centre. Can I bear to desecrate this sacrifice for help with my journey?

{Remove sacrifice's eyes}

The red orbs glow, then crackle information through my multi-tool.

I gain a blueprint, but have angered an unknown power.

---TECH_ALL---

---STD_DEC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Respect sacrifice}

The ancients that dwell here smile on my decision.

I am blessed.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---SHIELDSMALL---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#8

Alien: Feed the beast

The giant mouth of an ancient hound suddenly emerges through the face of the monolith. It opens its jaws wide, and foul-smelling spittle streaks my visor. My nausea is tempered by the sight of valuable commodities balanced on its giant tongue.

In a sudden movement the hound shifts the goods to one side of its mouth, spraying saliva over my arms. There's space on the tongue for more, should I wish to give up some of my cargo...

{Place goods on giant hound tongue}

The hound swallows my offerings, and licks me enthusiastically.

I am blessed by an ancient power.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Remove goods from giant hound tongue}

The giant beast clamps its jaws, puncturing my arm with a yellowed canine.

I retrieve the offering.

---DAMAGESMALL---

---PROD_COMMOD---

---STD_DEC_WAR---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#9

Alien: Brave interloper! Resist fear!

An ancient warrior's feet and legs slowly emerge from the bottom of the monolith. The rest of its torso then follows, unceremoniously pushed out onto the alien turf. It has been decapitated.

Blood drips at my feet and high above me a disembodied head laughs at my shock. It shouts a guttural command of encouragement down to me. Behind, I hear an ancient blade unsheathe, and someone rushing towards me...

{Stand}

A spectral blade passes through my neck. I pass the test.

The blood that drips from the warrior's exposed neck turns into a reward.

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Kneel}

A spectral blade passes over my head. The disembodied skull seems disappointed.

I have perhaps failed some sort of test.

---STD_DEC_WAR---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#10

Alien: The Vy'keen feed the Atlas stone rare oxides. It builds. It towers.

The monolith fragments before my eyes. It folds down in on itself, again and again, until it is a tiny red orb surrounded by dancing lights. It feels like something truly ancient, perhaps something divine, is showing me the origin of these strange constructions.

The oxides I carry are physically dragging me towards it - desperate to help it rebuild. It's not so much that I'm a pilgrim bearing offerings in hope of a blessing, but more that the elements I carry want to offer themselves...

{Give common oxide}

I see my insignificance within the infinite bounds of space.

The monolith slowly rebuilds inch by inch. I am pitied.

---STD_INC_WAR---

{Give uncommon oxide}

I see my true place within the infinite depth of space and time.

The monolith slowly rebuilds. It pities me.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Give rare oxide}

I see my true place within the infinite depth of space and time.

The monolith rebuilds, and rewards me in consolation.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---SHIELDLARGE---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#16

Alien: Light brings power. Darkness brings resilience.

The body of a gilled blob creature materialises on the surface of the rock. It is an ancient sacrifice, impaled through its wide, open eyes with metal spears.

Liquid is dripping from the body down the monolith through a channel cut into the rock by ancient hands. It can be diverted toward two carvings – one of a sun, the other of a moon.

{Divert body liquid to sun}

The Monolith creates my chosen reward.

I am blessed.

---TECH_WEAPON---

---HEALTHLARGE---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Divert body liquid to moon}

I take the metal spears. The blob fades away.

I have disappointed an unknown power.

---TECH_SUIT---

---HEALTHLARGE---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#17

Alien: Ancients consume interloper life force! Ancients reward interloper for rebirth! Closer! Faster! Closer! Faster!

I feel drained. Readings on my multi-tool and exosuit start to gradually pull downwards, and a feeling of lethargy overwhelms me. I breathe normally, but my body screams for oxygen.

The monolith, silent and unmoving, towers above. A thought from outside my own mind starts to echo through my consciousness.

{Touch monolith}

The monolith swiftly drains life force through my outstretched arm.

It is rejuvenated, and I am rewarded.

---DAMAGESMALL---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---STD_INC_WAR---

{Stand still}

The monolith slowly drains me of my life force.

After an extended period of lethargy and pain, I am rewarded.

---DAMAGESMALL---

---DAMAGE_TECH---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Move away}

I move beyond the reach of the life-draining monolith.

It towers above me. Implacable and disapproving.

---DAMAGESMALL---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#18

Alien: Hirk took the treasure of Nal after battle. Treasure now hides in the city of Hirk.

It's the time of day that this mysterious site becomes active. A beam of light shines down from the sky and is focused by ancient glyphs onto a stone surface marked with ancient carvings.

The beam of light slowly traces towards images scratched into the stone. A vast warrior battle, an alien city and what could be a stolen treasure. The hand prints of pilgrims cover each one...

{Touch battle image}

The beam of light disappears.

I am left alone in this desolate place.

{Touch city image}

The image of the city begins to glow.

A part of an ancient treasure becomes mine.

---STD_INC_WAR---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Touch treasure image}

The beam of light disappears.

I am left alone in this desolate place.

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#19

Alien: Warning! Keep clear! Ancient radiation pulse site!

A sudden pulse of destructive energy flows through my exosuit. My multi-tools sensors sense another build-up of energy growing deep within the monolith. It will soon unleash itself on me, and the landscape that surrounds the ancient site.

I can use my Protection Mesh functions to dampen the imminent energy wave, but systems are too overwhelmed to identify it...

{Prepare to absorb radiation}

The radiation wave is absorbed and the site made safe once again.

The planetary overseer is grateful.

---MONEY---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Prepare to absorb toxins}

I am overwhelmed by the energy wave.

Systems cannot cope and planetary ecosystems are disrupted.

---DAMAGESMALL---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

VY'KEEN MONOLITHS

PuzzleType: WAR_MON_

#11

Alien: The Vy'keen Ancients burn thieves and pirates.

I place my palm on the monolith, then stand back when it melts in response to my touch. Molten rock drips down the stone, exposing a hollow interior. Inside, I see riches that are beyond belief. Ancient technologies and cargo that would aid my journey.

Lava continues to drop, and the edifice seems unstable, but equipment that could aid me is within arm's reach. Suddenly, the voice of an ancient tribe shakes the ground I stand on...

{Reach in}

The molten monolith collapses onto my exosuit.

The edifice is reconstructed – the damage remains.

---STD_DEC_WAR---

---DAMAGESMALL---

{Stand back}

The ancient warriors who once worshipped here bless my show of respect.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#1

Alien: Isotope given. Ice thaws. Vy'keen rise.

I am trying to read the glyphs on the ancient monument when I feel a strange chill. A layer of frozen gas suddenly coats the monolith from bottom to top. It's so cold that I can see my breath inside my helmet.

There is one small gap in the crystal ice, and I feel convinced that I could feed some of my mined elements through it, so they can come into contact with the monolith behind.

{Insert isotope element}

The frozen gas melts into the atmosphere.

I am rewarded.

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---PROD_FUEL---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Insert oxide element}

There is silence.

My elements are not returned.

{Insert silicate element}

There is silence.

My elements are not returned.

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#12

Alien: Grah! Learn language of the conquerors! Learn language of the conquered!

There are three vast columns of words on the ancient structure, each written in a different alphabet. The first column's words are like savage runes scratched in sand, the second shows precise sequences of dots. The final column has wide and welcoming letters, almost appearing hand-written in hard stone.

The dirt and blood of ancient hand prints cover the base of each column.

{Press hand against runes}

The ancient spirits that dwell here infuse me with the language of their warrior descendants.

---TEACHWORD_WAR---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Press hand against dots}

The ancient spirits that dwell here infuse me with the language of a distant race of electronic lifeforms.

---TEACHWORD_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Press hand against letters}

The ancient spirits that dwell here infuse me with the language of a distant race of beaked traders.

---TEACHWORD_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#2

Alien: Respect the Warrior! Respect their weapon!

The body of a warrior emerges from the obelisk, a jagged tear in their midriff suggesting that the dangerous-looking multi-tool that sits in their hand was not enough to save them.

The surface of the sculpted rock blurs and shows images of military worship. It's trying to tell me something.

{Bury the soldier and multi-tool}

Ancient voices howl their appreciation in a wind that whips around me.

An offering emerges from the monolith.

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---HEALTHSMALL---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Take the multi-tool and leave}

I take the multi-tool from the body.

I'm about to turn to leave when a crimson bolt of energy strikes me on the right shoulder.

---WEAPON---

---STD_DEC_WAR---

---DAMAGESMALL---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#3

Alien: Grah! Vy'keen Ancients bless your journey!

I see a strange vision. A small terrified creature emerges from the monolith and runs between my legs. I hear the noises of an ancient hunt: the howls of pack animals in pursuit and the thunder of hooves.

Warriors on vast beasts charge through the rock, and amidst the chaos one sees me staring. It raises its facial tendrils in greeting, barks a few words and swings a bladed weapon down towards me.

{Grab weapon}

The hallucination fades, but the blade remains.

It transforms into a multi-tool I can use.

---WEAPON---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Dodge weapon}

I dodge the warrior's attack.

The hunt disappears, and I am left alone.

---STD_INC_WAR---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#13

Alien: Rebuild the ancient warrior body. Restore monolith power.

I become a part of a strange new reality. The ancient rock opens. Inside, the dried out heart of an ancient warrior is strung up between wooden pillars. It pulses slowly as it hangs there, still beating.

Lying below it on a dusty floor are a set of wrinkled lungs that look forever doomed to wheeze stale air. A desiccated eyeball stares up at me. Unblinking.

{Shoot heart}

I hear an ancient scream.

The monolith's power fades.

---STD_DEC_WAR---

{Place lungs with heart}

The heart and lungs pulse in harmony.

The monolith's power is restored.

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Respectfully depart}

The monolith closes.

I hear disappointed wails from inside.

---STD_DEC_WAR---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#4

Alien: The command of the Vy'keen Ancients! Sacrifice the beast! Blood for Hirk!

The monolith shows images of creatures lying dead before it. Each sacrificed, butchered and offered up to whatever Gods were once worshipped here.

Suddenly, the head of a small woodland animal raises up through the earth below me. It stares at me with wide-eyes, then gives a joyful skip when its tiny hooves reach ground level. Something is clearly expected of me...

{Sacrifice the creature}

I blast the woodland animal in two.

I am rewarded for this offering.

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---PROD_COMMOD---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Let the creature live}

The creature skips around my feet with joyful abandon.

It runs away and out of sight.

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#20

Alien: Warrior accepts journey's end. Embrace death.

I am suddenly underwater. I am drowning. Water clogs my lungs. My chest is on fire. I gasp for air where there is none, and feel only tepid liquids filling me inside and out. My vision is clouding. I know this is my time. This is it. This is what it feels like.

Suddenly, a green hand thrusts itself through the surface of the water. The light is fading.

{Reach for hand}

I reach for the hand, but it pushes me back down.

Reality reverts. I live, but have disappointed.

---DAMAGESMALL---

{Die}

The lights go out. Reality reverts.

I have known death, and it makes me stronger. The ancients bless me.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#5

Alien: Choose healing blood or renergising bile of the Vy'keen Ancients. Drink destiny.

Two ancient stone cups materialise in front of the monolith. One is filled with a dark red viscous liquid, the other contains a sticky fluid that is bright yellow and smells powerfully bitter.

On the stone tablet behind the cups ancient glyphs swirl to form an image. A powerful and muscular warrior surrounded by a red halo challenges an opponent clad in bright yellow armour.

{Drink the viscous red liquid}

The liquid seems to clot as I swallow it.

I feel somehow reinvigorated.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Drink the bitter yellow liquid}

The liquid tastes foul as it washes down my throat.

Suddenly an unknown power repairs all my equipment.

---REPAIR_TECH---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---SHIELDLARGE---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#6

Alien: Pathetic dead coward lies here! Interloper! Take your remuneration...

The monolith rips like paper, opening a window to another world. It is laced with a giant web. Just within my reach, an ancient warrior lies cocooned. It has been there for centuries. Dead, vacant eyes stare through me and on into the landscape beyond.

It carries a rusted multi-tool, while a bulging webbed sack on its chest suggests it might carry greater riches on its body. Suddenly, the strange leathery growth starts to move...

{Take multi-tool}

The multi-tool is not operational.

I salvage a new technology blueprint.

---TECH_WEAPON---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Search body}

Hundreds of arachnids burst from the warrior's corpse.

Their bites are poison, but my search is rewarded.

---DAMAGESMALL---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#14

Alien: Choose your warrior! Vy'keen ancients reward interloper howl!

I live within a new reality. I am inside a vast coliseum and beneath a blood red sky. The noise is overpowering. Warriors scream and bark at the battle set up before them.

Two combatants are squaring up on the crimson sand. One has lost its blade, and hides behind a shield. The other stalks towards it, with a spear raised. I feel compelled to add my voice to the howl of the mob.

{Support endangered gladiator}

The gladiator decapitates its foe with the sharpened shield. It bows towards me.

I am thanked with something to defend me.

---TECH_SUIT---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Support spear-wielding gladiator}

The gladiator plunges the spear straight through its rival's head. It bows towards me.

I am thanked with something to help me destroy my enemies.

---WEAPON---

---STD_INC_WAR---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#7

Alien: Bathe in our waters. Feel Korvax Echoes calm.

I'm running my fingers over the ancient glowing runes, when I look down. An expanding pool of liquid metal has rippled out of the obelisk's base. My feet have already been covered. In the bright reflection I see my expression turn to horror as I begin to sink.

I feel warming hands on my legs, pulling me down into the silver sheet. Every hazard detection device on my multi-tool is going haywire. Radiation, heat, cold... every danger imaginable.

{Sink}

I emerge from the metal pool in a fetal position. I feel alive and reinvigorated.

Some equipment is repaired and recharged.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---REPAIR_TECH---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Struggle}

I thrash from side to side in the metal pool.

I am free, but the hazards have taken their toll.

---HAZARDSMALL---

---DAMAGESMALL---

---DAMAGE_TECH---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#9

Alien: Korvax Entities escaped slavery. Korvax Echoes share this knowledge.

Two stone blocks slowly revolve on the base of the monolith. Two beads of red light then trace images on each one. The red lights then pool together and liquefy in an indentation below. The closer I get, the more agitated the red pool becomes.

The images both show masked electronic lifeforms. The first shows the lifeform absorbing power to break free from its shackles. The second shows it hiding from its captors.

{Place hand on the lifeform breaking free}

The red liquid surges into my multi-tool.

It somehow unlocks a technology blueprint.

---TECH_WEAPON---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Place hand on the lifeform taking shelter}

The red liquid surges into my exosuit.

It somehow unlocks a technology blueprint.

---TECH_SUIT---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#10

Alien: Korvax Echoes embrace Traveller gift.

A chiselled hole appears at the foot of the obelisk. From its smoothed edges and the scraped markings around it, it's clear that over centuries unknown creatures have pushed elements through this gap.

It's impossible to tell quite what will happen, but below it are three blocks of the exact same dimensions that look like they can be turned by a mechanism deep within the monolith itself. I search my gear for the rare elements that look like they could fit...

{Insert rare isotope}

The monolith somehow transforms my offering.

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Insert rare silicate}

The monolith somehow transforms my offering.

---WEAPON---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Insert rare oxide}

The monolith somehow transforms my offering.

---TECH_ALL---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

---STD_INC_EXP---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#11

Alien: Behold the holy Atlas stone. Avoid contact. Show respect.

The Monolith disappears. The landscape around me seems the same, but somehow the planetary vegetation has moved. Sitting central to where the mysterious stone once stood is a red glowing orb.

The intensity of the orb burns the ground beneath it. It crackles with an unknown power. I feel compelled to pick it up, and become a part of it. A distant voice speaks to me...

{Hold red orb}

The red orb scorches my skin.

I am torn back to my own reality.

---DAMAGESMALL---

---STD_DEC_EXP---

{Stand back}

The red orb convulses, hovers up and plunges into my chest.

I am blessed and rejuvenated. Reality is restored.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#14

Alien: Korvax Echoes request! Traveller! Restore holy casing to Korvax Convergence! Ignore valuable casing! Please!

An empty shell of an electronic lifeform emerges from the monolith. It is ancient and weather-beaten. The light in its mask has been extinguished for many centuries.

It holds a rusted canister in its hand, and my scanner detects that it once held silicates. The scan also reveals an unknown substance deep within the defunct entity's casing.

{Add silicate to canister}

The lights in the mask flicker on. The casing convulses before being absorbed back into the monolith.

I am blessed.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Open casing}

I crack open the metal casing and retrieve a valuable reward.

A strange feeling of coldness and desolation comes over me as I do so...

---TECH_ALL---

---STD_DEC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#15

Alien: Overpowered Korvax Echoes subvert reality. Restore order. Remove power. Remove isotope.

The land around me suddenly inverts. My reality is flipped. The inside of the planet is hollow, and I'm standing at the base of its vast bowl. Around me the roots of trees push upwards from uncovered alien soil.

I look down, and see the foundations of the Monolith raised at my feet. Crystalline veins of different elements pulsate through the exposed rock. I hear a lifeform screaming in binary.

{Extract isotopes}

Reality is restored. Inversion ends.

I am thanked.

---SUBST_FUEL---

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Extract silicates}

The inversion gets worse. I feel as if every part of me is fed through itself.

I emerge alive, but broken.

---SUBST_TECH---

---STD_DEC_EXP---

---DAMAGESMALL---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Extract oxides}

The inversion gets worse. I feel as if every part of me is fed through itself.

I emerge alive, but broken.

---SUBST_COMMOD---

---STD_DEC_EXP---

---DAMAGESMALL---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#18

Alien: Traveller. Embrace unknown. Shine light in darkness. Discover galaxy centre.

Stars have aligned above the monolith. In the heavens above two distinct lines of distant suns can be seen stretching out into the depths of space. To be here at this exact moment in time, when the moving parts of the galaxy are aligned so perfectly, would seem almost an impossibility.

I am filled with a strange calm. One line of stars points towards the glow of a dull red giant, the other an unseen point far, far beyond my vision.

{Choose red giant}

The stars seem to move out of alignment.

I am unrewarded, and alone.

{Choose unseen point}

I am blessed with a gift that will aid my journey to this distant, unknown location.

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TECH_SHIP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#19

Alien: Beware! Monolith create dangerous toxins! Poison! Move back!

I feel faint. Ill, even. Looking around, the vegetation that surrounds this ancient structure looks withered and sickly. The creatures of the planet, meanwhile, appear to keep their distance. Environmental warning sensors in my exosuit are behaving erratically.

I could tie some of my Protection Mesh's operations to this place, but it's unclear exactly what. The answer perhaps lies in a warning that's been etched into the stone...

{Reduce monolith's toxicity}

The toxins released by the monolith are temporarily contained.

I am thanked by the planetary overseer.

---TECH_ALL---

---MONEY---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Dampen monolith's radiation}

The monolith continues to poison the land around it, and myself.

---DAMAGESMALL---

---STD_DEC_EXP---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

KORVAX MONOLITHS

PuzzleType: EXP_MON_

#1

Alien: Calm, child.

I feel faint, as if my mind is being invaded. Pustules on my skin grow, bubble and pop - and I feel countless tiny stabbing pin-pricks scrabbling from each gaping hole.

Suddenly metal spiders, perhaps tiny Sentinels, run up my shoulder and into my visor. Can this be real? This CANNOT be real. I start to scream.

{Wait it out}

The hallucination fades. I have passed some sort of test.

A reward materialises.

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Fire weapon}

The hold on my mind is shattered when I strike the monolith.

Reality is restored.

---STD_INC_EXP---

{Remove helmet and scrape away tiny metal spiders}

The metal spiders enter my skull, and I foolishly rip off my helmet.

The hallucination fades. The pain does not.

---DAMAGESMALL---

---STD_DEC_EXP---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#2

Alien: Korvax Echoes will advance the Traveller. Korvax Echoes will advance Traveller's technology.

Tiny floating tetrahedrons emerge from the planet's surface and surround me. I try to wave them away with my multi-tool, but each time they swarm closer to it - as if attracted to it somehow.

I raise my multi-tool, and they shimmer blue as they dart this way and that. Closer and closer. They are within touching distance of my multitool. They make one final surge...

{Let the tetrahedrons in}

My multi-tool glows bright blue.

I have a new technology blueprint.

---TECH_WEAPON---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Escape the tetrahedron cloud}

The sharp edges of the floating objects rip holes in my exosuit.

I gasp for air while it repairs.

---DAMAGESMALL---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#8

Alien: Past is dead. Reconstruction impossible.

I see a strange vision. Blue light pours from the monolith as if a curtain has been dropped within. I hear a gentle hubbub of voices, and catch a familiar smell on the breeze. I cannot remember my home, but I know that this doorway leads there.

I ache for a past I cannot remember. Every inch of my soul wants to make the leap back. I look to the skies, and the infinity beyond. Can I truly abandon my journey, when it's only just begun?

{Step back into the past}

The portal slips shut as soon as I make a move.

I feel the pity of the spirits that live in this place.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Resist temptation}

I try to capture a memory of these sensations, before turning away.

The spirits that dwell here admire my decision. I am rewarded.

---STD_INC_EXP---

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#13

Alien: Past is dead. Youth is over. Only the traveller journey remains.

A child emerges from the monolith. It takes a few moments before I realise that... it's me. I look carefree and innocent. The little one stares up at my exosuit, and tries to see me through my visor.

The child suddenly starts to weep, and clings to my knees. It implores me never to leave. It doesn't want to be alone. I should stay here forever. We should be reunited. Whole again once more.

{Stay}

The child withdraws and shakes its head.

I try to embrace it. It turns to dust.

---STD_DEC_EXP---

{Comfort, then leave}

The child understands. We embrace.

It leaves me with a gift.

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Leave}

The child wails. It can't understand my decision.

The monolith looks down upon us in silent judgement.

---STD_DEC_EXP---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#3

Alien: Sleep, child. Korvax Echoes bless you.

I begin to feel dizzy. A strange lethargy comes over me, and I feel compelled to lie down in front of the ancient relic. This place feels calming. It feels like home, wherever that might have once been.

I know that if I truly wanted to fight the impulse to sleep I probably could, but I feel warm and comfortable basking in the glow of the ancient runes.

{Sleep}

I sleep deeply.

I awake reinvigorated.

---HEALTHLARGE---

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Resist}

I resist the command of the monolith.

Its power fades.

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#4

Alien: Korvax Echoes command: reward yourself.

A flickering reflection of my own body emerges from a portal. It mimics every move I make. When I wave, it waves. When I raise my multi-tool, it copies instantly. The doppelganger makes a motion to suggest it wants something, and we both recoil when I realise I've instinctively matched its movements.

Its body shimmers, but its equipment looks somehow real. Its multi-tool looks better than my own. The dimensional irregularity is fading.

{Give multi-tool}

We hand each other our multi-tools before the doppelganger disappears.

The mirror-me fades, but the gift can remain.

---STD_INC_EXP---

---WEAPON---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Shoot doppelganger}

I see my own look of fear in the doppelganger as I pull the trigger.

I blast myself in the chest.

---DAMAGELARGE---

---STD_DEC_EXP---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#12

Alien: Korvax Echoes bless with language. Do not resist.

I'm trying to read the ancient glyphs when a liquid metal lasso emerges and wraps itself around my helmet. It freezes in place, before pulling my head into contact with the glow of the monolith.

The ancient stone is warm, and deep inside I hear the hum of an arcane technology as it prepares to unleash itself. I look up back up to the glyphs to try to guess why this might be happening. They talk to me in an alien tongue.

{Wait}

An entire language floods every part of my mind.

I retain what I can. The rest fades almost instantaneously.

---TEACHWORD_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_EXP---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Pull free}

I wrench myself free. The strange metal connector sparks and hisses.

I retain the rare elements it was made from...

---SUBST_TECH---

---STD_DEC_EXP---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#16

Alien: Traveller! Move back to join future. Touch monolith to restore timeline.

My movements seem normal, but everything else is running faster than it should. The sun spins around this globe in seconds, days endlessly turn to night and back again. The creatures that graze and hunt around site pass by in a blur.

I'm trapped in a time vortex. Numbers on my multi-tool seem to tick higher and higher. The closer I get to the Monolith, the more disturbance is added to the timeline...

{Touch monolith}

The timeline is reverted and restored.

Nothing has changed.

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Move away}

I step out into the future.

My experience is unchanged, but galactic interest rates have had an effect on my unit count.

---MONEY---

---MONEY---

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#5

Alien: Reject greed. Embrace Atlas.

For many ages it appears that pilgrims have carved numerical figures between the glowing glyphs of the monolith. Looking down, I notice an ancient coin. I scrape the ground with my boot, and unearth several more.

The site is otherwise silent. Perhaps it's eternally unresponsive, or perhaps it waits for something.

{Offer units}

The echoes that dwell here awake.

They thank and bless me.

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---HEALTHLARGE---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Take coins}

The echoes that dwell here awake.

They are disappointed.

---MONEY---

---STD_DEC_EXP---

---DAMAGESMALL---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#6

Alien: Korvax Echoes bless technology. Allow entrance.

I stand next to the powerful glow of the monolith, studying ancient runes, when suddenly my multi-tool begins to heat up. I can see wisps of a strange blue energy being pulled in from the obelisk and surrounding my combat attachments.

If I pull the trigger, the exhaust will automatically open - allowing this strange ethereal substance into the body of my equipment.

{Pull the trigger}

The blue energy field fills my multi-tool.

It somehow installs a new technology blueprint.

---TECH_WEAPON---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Dismiss the attentions of the monolith}

The blue energy slowly dissipates.

I feel alone once more.

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#17

Alien: Traveller, retreat! Korvax Echoes give protection. Move back.

I am being watched. A red laser dot appears on the ancient stone structure. I'm a target. I turn, but can't see the potential assailant. Somewhere out there on the alien landscape, someone's about to pull a trigger.

There's no cover to speak of, and no time to get behind the obelisk. Suddenly, the words of an unknown power blaze brightly on the monolith.

{Touch monolith}

The monolith does nothing. A distant crack of a long-range boltcaster wounds me.

Beyond that, silence.

---DAMAGESMALL---

{Stand still}

The monolith does nothing. A distant crack of a long-range boltcaster wounds me.

Beyond that, silence.

---DAMAGESMALL---

{Move back}

I quickly move back, allowing a bright red energy surge to build in the Monolith.

It targets a distant figure, who is swiftly vaporised.

---C_KORVAXCASING---

---STD_INC_EXP---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#6

Alien: Oxide for the First Spawn! Oxide for the ancient terror of the galaxy!

The ground in front of the monolith is indented by the knees of a thousand ancient pilgrims who once knelt here. A stone block, slowly, pulls back in front of me. Inside the hollow recess I'm surprised to see canisters of luxury products that have built up there through the ages...

I feel greedy unknown forces watching my every move.

{Give trade goods}

The undiluted joy of a forgotten tribe spills from the monolith.

I am healed, blessed and rewarded.

---C_GEKRELIC---

---HEALTHLARGE---

---STD_INC_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Take trade goods}

I retrieve several canisters.

A feeble howl of pain and dismay whispers around me.

---PROD_COMMOD---

---STD_DEC_TRA---

{Give nothing}

A feeble howl of pain and dismay whispers around me.

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#7

Alien: Destroy the impure. Destroy the low.

I am not alone. Tiny beaked creatures gambol around my feet. To them I am a giant, and they recoil in terror when they see me towering above them. The air fills with an unpleasant aroma, as they pin themselves against the hard edifice of the unforgiving monolith.

The terrifying obelisk itself sits in judgement above us all – both myself and the creatures of the vision.

{Pet the creatures}

Before they disappear into the ether, the creatures thank me.

The spirits that haunt this place, however, are displeased.

---SHIELDLARGE---

---C_GEKRELIC---

---STD_DEC_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Further terrify the creatures}

The spirits that haunt this place are greatly amused.

When the quaking beaked creatures disappear, they are replaced by a gift...

---C_GEKRELIC---

---STD_INC_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#8

Alien: Underling! Drink the healing spittle or drink the recharging spawning syrup of the First Spawn! Choose or die!

A terrible thirst overwhelms me, but my hydration systems are suddenly inoperable. My throat is dry, and I feel dazed. Two ancient stone cups appear.

The first is vibrant red chalice full of a slick bubbly transparent liquid. The other is embossed with the shape of a circular red shield, and has a faint yellow tone. Neither look appetizing, but if I don't take in water my death feels certain. My hand wavers between the two.

{Drink the transparent liquid}

I gag slightly as the liquid treacles through my hydration systems.

Suddenly, my body feels renewed.

---SHIELDLARGE---

---HEALTHLARGE---

---C_GEKRELIC---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Drink the yellow liquid}

The bitter taste of the liquid washes through my hydration systems.

Suddenly, all my systems are stored and repaired.

---SHIELDLARGE---

---REPAIR_TECH---

---C_GEKRELIC---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#9

Alien: Choose your death! First Spawn favour obedient ToilGek underling!

An unseen replication of my own self and exosuit stalks around the edge of the monolith. It screams in an ancient tongue while forcing me down onto my knees.

The doppelganger first places its boltcaster to my forehead, and then mimes cutting my belly open with the mining beam. It smiles pleasantly. I am to choose my desired execution.

{A bolt to the brain}

I close my eyes and await death. It does not come.

The doppelganger leaves me a multi-tool technology blueprint.

---TECH_WEAPON---

---STD_INC_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{A laser beam to the torso}

I close my eyes and wait to be scythed open. The pain never comes.

The doppelganger leaves me an exosuit technology blueprint.

---TECH_SUIT---

---STD_INC_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#10

Alien: Burn almighty First Spawn obedient ToilGek! Respect First Spawn belongings!

A barely visible crack down the centre of the ancient edifice spits out dust. The monolith shakes, and two vast doors swing open. The interior of the ancient structure is hollow, and has been used as a burial chamber.

An ancient beaked lifeform with bulging eyes lies desiccated atop an unlit funeral pyre. At its feet lie ancient treasures and technologies that have been left with it for its next life... wherever that might be

.

{Light pyre with Mining Beam}

As it burns the corpse awakes. It nods to me, howling in pleasure.

It leaves me its tribute.

---C_GEKRELIC---

---STD_INC_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Take tomb treasures}

I snatch away some of the corpse's tribute.

The doors slam shut, but an ancient curse hangs heavy around me.

---C_GEKRELIC---

---STD_DEC_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#11

Alien: Friend... worship us... kneel before the Gek First Spawn in silence...

The Monolith stands forlorn and seemingly forgotten. If I strain, I can see faint marks in the ground where ancient tribes would once come to worship and commune with the edifice. A gust of alien breeze carries a faint whisper of a voice. I struggle to hear it.

Again, the voice echoes around me. Stronger this time. I try to make out the words desperately crying out for my attention.

{Kneel}

The spirits that have combined with this strange monument bless my journey.

---C_GEKRELIC---

---HEALTHLARGE---

---STD_INC_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Try to communicate}

There is no answer to my call. I talk only to the wind.

{Turn away}

The spirits that are melded with strange monument remain silent.

---STD_DEC_TRA---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#15

Alien: Stop the destruction! Save the Monolith! Protect the First Spawn!

I am an observer. I witness beaked traders dressed in modern exosuits leaving an object at the base of a Monolith. It is a small mesh of wires and canisters. They charge it with rare isotopes, then quickly depart.

As if in a dream, I approach the ancient edifice. It all suddenly feels real. I live and breathe in the recent past.

{Leave object alone}

The device explodes. Reality is restored.

The Monolith was not destroyed, but the spirits that haunt this place are angered.

---STD_DEC_TRA---

{Remove rare isotopes}

The device is made safe. It was due to explode.

Reality is restored. I am thanked.

---C_GEKRELIC---

---SUBST_FUEL---

---STD_INC_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Locate a Portal}

---REVEAL_PORTAL---

#17

Alien: The First Spawn watches you underling. Cower and despair! The First Spawn watches you underling. Cower and despair! The First Spawn watches you underling. Cower and despair!

I am being watched. I look above, and see a giant lidless eye hovering over the monolith. It stares down at me unblinkingly. It does not move. It does not look elsewhere.

Its gaze is remorseless. It feels like it has always been there. Its centre crackles with a bright technological blue...

{Cower}

The satisfied eye fades away.

It benevolently leaves a gift.

---C_GEKRELIC---

---STD_INC_TRA---

---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---

{Stare back}

The eye fades away at my challenge.