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GEK
PuzzleType: TRA_NPC_
Alien: Hello new friend! The Gek first encounter tradition is to give units!
The small creature is busy adding up trade profits when I appear. Their eyes open wide in anticipation of our first contact, and they rubs their fingers together greedily.
The lifeform pecks emphatically at the monetary figures on their pad, then bounces up and down. I can't help but notice that they smell amazing.
{Give units}
The lifeform is clearly thrilled. They give me something in exchange.
---TECHFRAG_S---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Apologise for being unable to help}
The lifeform looks disappointed. They take pity on my confusion, and give me some units.
---MONEY---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Pat the lifeform on the head}
There is a long silence. The trader emits a foul-smelling gas.
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Friend despair! Gek Trader replace bad scent! Watch! Gek swallow oxide elements, and joyful scent appears!
The air around the beaked lifeform smells foul. It seeps into my exosuit and makes me gag. Noticing my expression, the trader pecks at an element they carry. They break the substance into pieces, then swallow each whole.
There is a deep gurgle, and the Gek emits a gas packet that smells delightful. The creature wipes their empty hands, and beams at me with pleasure.
{Thank with common isotope}
The trader nods a brief thank you. They pay for my contribution, but would perhaps have preferred something else.
---MONEY---
{Thank with common oxide}
The overjoyed trader pecks happily at my gift. They thank me with their own generous offering.
---TECHFRAG_M---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Thank with common silicate}
The trader nods a brief thank you. They pay for my contribution, but would perhaps have preferred something else.
---MONEY---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Welcome friend. Gek trader desire common oxides and common silicates. Gek trader DEEPLY desire isotopes! Teach new friend language!
The lifeform's eyes widen in surprise when I go to talk to it. They lean back, and watch for sudden movements. They have very clearly never seen anything quite like me before.
I mime that I cannot speak their language and, increasingly reassured, the beaked trader indicates that they are willing to help - in exchange for particular elements.
{Give silicate}
The grateful trader clicks their beak. They teach me some of the dialect of their people.
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
{Give oxide}
The grateful trader clicks their beak. They teach me some of the dialect of their people.
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
{Give isotope}
The grateful trader clicks their beak with delight. My offering is clearly what it most desired. They teach much of the dialect of their people.
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Despair! Gek Trader stranded. Suit power low. Give Isotope?
The trader eyes the facility exit door sadly, as if they have been stuck in here for a while. They reach down with their beak and dejectedly pecks at their suit's power cells and life support system.
Their suit looks run down. The lack of charge means that it's ill-equipped for the hostile conditions that rage outside.
{Give Isotope element}
The relieved trader emits a gas packet. They recharge their suit power cells, and reward me.
---TECH_ALL---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Give Silicate element}
The lifeform is confused.
{Ask for help}
Alien: Stupid friend cannot understand! Give oxide, idiot friend! Fair trade for gift of memory-smell!
The trader emits a strong, flowery scent, which quickly enters my exosuit system. I feel overcome with nostalgia for a perfect place I have never visited. I want to sing.
Flushed with joy, I try to signal my thanks to the trader for this olfactory gift, but they make it clear that they expect something in return.
{Give units}
The trader takes my units, and turns away from me. The air suddenly tastes sour. My senses are being punished.
{Give rare oxide}
The trader snorts in satisfaction, and suddenly I feel as though I am lounging beside a crystal ocean. A fair trade.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Refuse}
The trader hisses in annoyance. The air suddenly tastes sour. My senses are being punished.
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Friend... Installation hydration system stalled... Gek temperature high... Help friend... thirst... high... drink... fluid...
The trader seems ill. Their skin is flaking their eyes lack a certain lustre. Their voice croaks and scratches as they slowly gabble at me.
A strange dry, flat stench fills every corner of the facility. I inspect my exosuit for things I could offer this lifeform...
{Give food from exosuit's nutrient system}
The disappointed trader waves me away.
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Give water from exosuit's hydration system}
The trader greedily gulps from my hydration system.
Their gratitude seems immense.
---STD_INC_TRA---
---TECH_ALL---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Friend! The planetary technology SalesGek greets you! A multi-tool technology blueprint for a fair price!
The trader looks weak, but they have a cunning air about them. They spin a datapad towards me, and I see that they're selling Multi-Tool components. The prices, however, are eye-watering.
They eye me with a wary interest, waiting to see if I'll bite...
{Pay requested amount}
The delighted trader provides a blueprint. They emit an amazing scent.
---TECH_WEAPON---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Pressure lifeform into accepting less}
The angry trader grudgingly relents. They emit a foul scent.
---TECH_WEAPON---
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Friend! Please avoid crime report and reward! Trader share loot, destroy evidence!
I have caught the trader red-handed. Products and elements are pouring out of the facility's storage vaults, and into their own inventory. Above the gentle buzz of embezzlement that now surrounds us, I can hear the lifeform's terrified gulps.
They look me straight in the eyes, and makes a proposition.
{Demand all stolen goods}
I threaten the trader and take all their purloined trade goods! They report the crime, and blame me...
---P_GRAVBALL---
---SUBST_FUEL---
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Demand a share}
The trader splits their ill-gotten gains with me. No-one will ever know...
---PROD_COMMOD---
---SUBST_FUEL---
{Report crime}
I report the crime, and assume that the trader will be duly punished. I receive a reward.
---TECH_ALL---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Ask for help}
Alien: The Gek Trade Federation offer help!
The trader has been expecting me. They point to their chest, opens their arms wide, and beam pleasantly. They then point to me, and mime concern for my safety.
Pecking at my exosuit, they indicate they might make my journey more bearable.
{Request help with the Sentinels}
The trader offers me a new multi-tool.
---WEAPON---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Request help with planetary conditions}
The trader gives me an exosuit technology blueprint.
---TECH_SUIT---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Despair! I am trapped and bankrupt! Low units!
The lifeform sits in a foul-smelling funk of their own creation. The trading screen behind them is empty, their equipment old and uncared for. Their suit barely looks airtight.
The demoralised lifeform looks up at me with hope in their eyes.
{Give units}
The grateful lifeform gives me the last of their belongings.
---TECHFRAG_S---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Shake hands}
The lifeform sits in total dejection.
{Refuse to help}
The lifeform sits in total dejection.
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Friend! I am a Gek Trade Federation accredited engineer! I give help!
The lifeform clucks and gabbles as they study my equipment. They gently peck at areas of my exosuit that show wear and tear, then runs their gloved fingers over my multi-tool to look for irregularities and imperfections.
Suddenly staring up at me, they squawk an offer and spin a tablet that shows the cost of their services.
{Pay for multi-tool inspection}
The lifeform presents me with a new technology
---STD_INC_TRA---
---TECH_WEAPON---
{Pay for exosuit inspection}
The lifeform mutters and clucks.
They give me a new exosuit technology blueprint.
---TECH_SUIT---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Rare balarian speech slug distribution point! For insertion in ear! Inedible! Nasal insertion can cause death.
The trader pulls open a noisy trade vault. A close inspection reveals that it's full of writhing molluscs. They are pink and slug-like, with sharp bloodied teeth.
The lifeform suggests that inserting one in or around my face would have some benefits. What I can't quite make out, however, is which orifice it means...
{Insert slug in nose}
The slug bites flesh from my nose. The pain is extreme.
---DAMAGESMALL---
{Insert slug in ear}
The slug burrows deep into my ear. I feel better versed in the language of the traders.
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
{Insert slug in mouth}
I swallow the slug, and wait while it thrashes around in my stomach.
Nothing else of note occurs.
{Ask for help}
Alien: Despair! Friend, my Deflector Shield blueprint is corrupt!
The lifeform is poring over complex schematics while holding their breath. The holographic blueprints look corrupted. Damaged in-flight, perhaps.
The forlorn trader, their face smudged by a strange oil, looks up to me for help.
{Show Pulse Engine blueprint}
The lifeform thanks me politely... But looks at me as if I am deranged.
{Show Phase Beam blueprint}
The trader makes an audible sigh.
{Show Deflector Shield blueprint}
The overjoyed trader gabbles its thanks. They excitedly hand over a gift.
---TECH_SHIP---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Friend! The planetary SalesGek greets you! Low units technology!
The trader welcomes me with a pleasant-smelling gas emission. They open a holographic catalogue of exciting companion units for Mining Beams and Boltcasters.
I spot a catalogue of advanced weaponry behind the trader while they're trying to impress me with what looks like a curtsy.
{Offer units for an exosuit technology blueprint}
The trader gives me an exosuit technology blueprint.
---TECH_SUIT---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Offer units for a new multi-tool blueprint}
The trader offers me a new multi-tool blueprint.
---TECH_WEAPON---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Terrible pirate events. Gek Trader mistrusts the stranger. What is your cargo's origin?
The visibly upset lifeform shows me a holographic video of attack craft forcing a trade ship to crash land on a planet's surface. Footage taken from orbit shows waiting pirates swarm the cargo hold in a haze of plasma rounds.
The trader then points to the elements I've mined, and looks concerned - accusatory even. They emit a packet of gas that smells troubled.
{Reassure with Mining Beam}
I convince the trader that I am to be trusted. They are hugely relieved.
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Reassure with Boltcaster}
The trader thinks that I am not to be trusted.
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Ask for help}
Alien: Friend! Gek Trade Network offers excellent trade gifts for Oxide elements today!
The Trader bounces excitedly while it boots up a graph that spins gently in front of me. There are three coloured lines - a plunging blue one, a soaring red one and another that's a fairly flat and uneventful yellow.
The squat little lifeform gabbles a little, points to themself and hops from foot to foot. They seem to want to trade items for elements.
{Offer Silicate element}
I trade my elements for a disappointing gift... The trader is thankful.
---STD_INC_TRA---
---PROD_FUEL---
{Offer Isotope element}
I trade my elements in exchange for an excellent gift
---WEAPON---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Offer Oxide element}
I trade my elements for an acceptable gift from the trader. They are grateful.
---TECHFRAG_M---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Ask for help}
.png)
TRAVELLER
PuzzleType: FTH_NPC_
#1
Alien: Have you – kzkzztt – come for me?
The strange being seems to stare right through me, as if they are not truly there.
And then I see it. There is dried blood caked across its exosuit, splattered across its face.
{Ask about the blood}
It was in such – kzzktt – agony, I had to save it. Please, there was no profit, you can have everything I took. I’ll tell their family...
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Say they are forgiven}
I don’t need your absolution. I did – kzzktt – agony, what I must... I wanted to spread happiness and joy. Would you like some?
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Threaten them}
I draw my multi-tool and demand that it tells me everything, but it is pointless. They just stare up at me and grin.
I see it then, the flesh within their teeth...
{Leave}
#2
Alien: Irrevocably – kzkzzt – corrupted corrupted corrupted. Take, please – final proof we existed – that – that –
The strange being tries to hand me something. But whatever it is, it is immaterial, shimmering in and out of existence.
The lifeform begins to cry, despairing at its own impending disappearance. For a moment I see another universe, a place utterly unlike anything I have ever encountered.
{Stay with them until the end}
A life and a universe are consumed in a blaze of white, and yet the lifeform is still here, apparently unaware of anything that just occurred.
As I leave, they ask if I have received any troubling readings. They are afraid something is happening to their world...
{Ask what is happening}
They tell me that there was an experiment. There were some who doubted if their universe was real, if the world was just a dream.
They did not mean for any of this to happen. They begin to shake as the white space approaches, beseeching me, imploring me not to repeat their mistake...
...and just like that, the vision recedes. We both stand here as if nothing has happened.
As I leave, they ask if I have received any troubling readings. They are afraid something is happening to their world...
{Ask the stranger’s name}
The stranger whispers through their tears. I know it made a sound, but the memory seems to immediately disappear from my mind.
I try again, and again, and the stranger grows frantic at my inability to remember them. Time and space slip away...
and just like that, the vision recedes. We both stand here as if nothing has happened.
As I leave, they ask if I have received any troubling readings. They are afraid something is happening to their world...
{Leave}
#3
Alien: Witness...
The lifeform dons a mask of undulating nanite clusters, and for a moment, their face appears to become my own. I see myself looking at myself looking at myself...
I am going to die. I am sure of it.
{Push the lifeform away}
I push the lifeform away, but it is myself I push.
The mask falls off as I fall, and I am standing there again, once more myself. But the lifeform is displeased, claiming that I have learned nothing. That I rejected their gift...
{Embrace the lifeform}
I embrace the lifeform, but it is myself I embrace.
The mask withers, peeling from my face like flesh. I am myself again...But the lifeform is saddened. They offer me pity.
{Die}
I die.
I died, I know I did. I felt it, like sinking. Like being watched, forever... And yet here I am again. The stranger smiles at me, claiming that they will see me again. Before I leave, they give me a gift...
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Leave}
#4
Alien: Hm. Unexpected. Hello, my new friend. What business would – kzkzztt - you have with me?
The lifeform tries to shake my hand, but pauses as we phase through one another. They are fascinated by the encounter, claiming to be a Traveller.
It is clear they come from a very different region of space. They have never heard of the Gek, Vy'keen, Korvax, or any of the sights I have encountered. They wish to know more in the spirit of cooperation.
{Bargain for information}
I offer the Traveller everything I know about the species I have encountered, for a price.
The Traveller looks disappointed. They do nothing more than turn away, but they seem deeply hurt.
{Tell them everything}
I tell the Traveller about the species I have encountered, sharing with them my scans, the names of planets I have been to, the words I have learned.
They are curious, asking more and more. Nothing I say satisfies them. Eventually, disappointed, they grow quiet.
They hand me a gift, thanking me for what little I was able to tell them.
---PROD_COMMOD---
{Ask about the Atlas}
I ask whether the Traveller has ever encountered or heard of an entity known as 'Atlas'. The Traveller smiles, claiming they have not. I attempt to continue the conversation, but they bring it to an end.
As I go, they grab my hand, warning me not to go to the centre. They warn me not to listen...
{Leave}
#6
Alien: Another Traveller, hm. Well, we should speak.
Have faith. Not all dreams are idle fancies. Not all fictions are untruths. Perhaps all of this is based in something real. Perhaps we did once exist, long ago...
Proof? Here, look at this...
The Traveller removes an object from their exosuit. It looks abstract, crimson, flesh-like, perfect...
{Look at the object}
I look at the object and am filled with a sense of hope. Everything will be alright. I know it. Nothing can hurt me.
All I have to do is believe and have faith... not in a deity, not in some universal tyrant. No...
It is this, right in front of me.
{Refuse to look}
I refuse to look at the object, turning away from the Traveller.
They claim that they understand, that perhaps I am not ready for their truth. They wish me well.
{Leave}
#7
Alien: Hold. I'm looking for a missing Gek. Perhaps you'd recognise this face?
The Traveller shows me an image of a Gek. They watch me keenly, explaining that they were hired to find this individual by the Trade Federation itself.
{Ask for more information}
The Traveller claims they cannot comment. They seem disappointed that I know nothing, and wish me good luck with my journey.
{Suggest this is not a Gek}
The Traveller is shocked, but their suspicion grows. I tell them the Gek in question is no Gek at all, but a dangerous Korvax imposter known as a 'SynthetiGek'.
They interrogate me and, when satisfied I am not involved, they give me compensation for my time.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Say yes}
The Traveller is pleased. They ask where I saw the Gek. But when I transmit some coordinates from a few systems back, they grow angry. They say these coordinates are meaningless.
They interrogate me and, when finally satisfied that I know nothing, they give me a little compensation for my time.
---PROD_COMMOD---
{Leave}
#8
Alien: Who do you serve? Which Baron is master of this place?
The Traveller's appearance, its manner, the way it speaks... all of them feel archaic, like nothing I have heard before.
They repeat their question, threatening to draw their Multi-Sword.
{Say you do not understand}
The Traveller grows increasingly agitated, claiming that it is a simple question. I explain that there is no single ruler.
They ask me to prepare for invasion by the Great King, to spread the word far and wide. They give me a boon for my service.
---PROD_COMMOD---
{Claim you are}
The Traveller grows nervous immediately, its demeanour changing to one of begrudging respect. They claim they have a message from the Great King. I am warned to bend a knee or face destruction.
They give me a gift as a token of the riches that await me should I come to a just and wise decision.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Ask where they are from}
The Traveller draws their Multi-Sword, claiming that I must jest. They declare that their insignia and mandate are clear: they are the Sheriff of the Great King.
They claim my lands are forfeit, and that I will regret this disrespectful incident...
---DAMAGESMALL---
{Leave}
#9
Alien: We were born too late to make a difference. I wonder, sometimes. If there's any point in going on. If anything matters, if history will just sweep everything away.
I'm sorry. I'm in a strange mood... After all, these are the last days, are they not?
The Traveller looks down, their eyes full of pain.
{Encourage them to go on}
The Traveller tries to smile, but fails even that. I try to tell them that there is a whole universe out there, that there is value in living, even if life will end.
They thank me for trying to help. They give me one of their possessions, claiming that they will not need it anymore.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Ask about the last days}
Have you not felt it? The very fact that you and I are talking, even now, across the chasm of universes...
Things are breaking apart. Give it time, you'll see. Nothing lasts forever.
{Say you feel the same}
I don't know whether to laugh or cry...
Here, take this. I suppose I won't be needing it anymore. Do what you like.
---TECHFRAG_S---
{Leave}
#10
Alien: Do not - kzzkkkt - trust the water.
The Traveller does not say anything else. They just stare at me, occasionally seeming as if they are about to wretch.
{Ask about the water}
The water... Tell me - kzzkkt - did you drink it?
Please, take this - kzzkkkt - run... I just wanted to hear her voice one last time...
---TECHWEAPON---
{Ask if they are alright}
No, no... not now, not - kzzkkt - the grand bargain, I failed them...
All of them are dead now. I had to drink it. I had no choice.
{Leave}
#11
Alien: You. I've seen you before, I'd swear it. Do you remember me?
You don't, do you? Perhaps you're not even the same as you once were. All of us, we're shifting, bleeding in and out of worlds...
The Traveller looks at me, imploring, hopeful...
{Say you remember}
Hm. I don't know. I don't know at all... You could just be trying to trick me. There are so many untrustworthy souls... Leave me. I need to think. I need to remember who I am...
{Say you don't remember}
That's alright... sometimes we have different names. Sometimes different faces. The ATLAS, it endlessly reconfigures, distilling everything that has ever been.
Here, take this. Perhaps it might help you. You gave it to me, long ago.
---WEAPON---
{Accuse them of lying}
I can't lie. Nothing can, if everything exists, if everything is possible. Everything is true...
Doesn't that fill you with horror?
{Leave}
#12
Alien: I should have done it sooner. I was... I was afraid. I - how do I do it? How do I make this right?
The Traveller seems ill or old, its words laboured, broken. What decay is like for this species, I do not know, but it tries to speak even in spite of its infirmity.
{Tell them to be honest}
They say they should never have deserted me. That I did not deserve this life, that they know I was just trying to help.
They pass me something through the smog of worlds, and in that instant, I know this individual.
But the vision passes. The Traveller stands before me, as if nothing had happened.
---TECHFRAG_S---
{Ask what they mean}
They say that they abandoned me many years ago. That they were not ready for what fate had forced upon them. They tell me they are proud of me...
They pass me something through the smog of worlds, and in that instant, I know this individual. I know them, as if from another life...
But the vision passes. The Traveller stands before me, as if nothing had happened.
---TECHFRAG_S---
{Say you do not know}
The Traveller cries out and says no more, They hold out their hand as if to touch my own, but then I see the object within their palm.
As I take it, in that instant, I know this individual. I know them, as if from another life...
But the vision passes. The Traveller stands before me, as if nothing had happened.
---TECHFRAG_S---
{Leave}
#13
Alien: I know I'm somewhere far away. But I thought, that's an opportunity to express myself, isn't it?
I could show others sights they've never seen before... that only I will ever see.
May I add you to my collection, I wonder?
The Traveller shows me an album full of images, photographs taken from across the universe and displayed through a variety of filters.
{Say yes}
Wonderful... if you will just hold still, I'll take the picture...
There. Done.
Thank you for this, my friend... I'll even give you something in return. These nanites were given to me by the Traveller of Iteration 27489216. I hope they aid you on your path. Happy Travelling!
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Say no}
Hm. A pity, but I respect your choice... not everyone suits having their photograph taken.
Very well, I shall become the subject of my own art... I will photograph myself in space.
{Leave}
#14
Alien: Warning: ATLAS containment suit breached. Warning...
The Traveller stands vacant, unresponsive to my arrival but for the warning from their exosuit.
There appears to be nothing wrong with the Traveller, but for a strange crimson substance at its hip.
{Touch the substance}
The substance recedes at my touch. My own suit begins to issue a warning, but it is quickly silenced.
I find myself strangely light-headed, and in possession of new nanite clusters.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Offer medical assistance}
I offer assistance but upon further scrutiny, I realise that the Traveller within the suit is already dead.
The suit continues to speak, aping what must have been its wearer's voice. It gives me units, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.
---MONEY---
{Leave them}
I leave them alone, the suit's warning echoing as I depart...
{Leave}
#15
Alien: You - you there! Have you ever felt alone? Under threat from forces beyond imagining? Are you comfortable with multiversal cohabitation?
If so, you'll love the Rentocniijik Expanse! Our capital, Drogradur NO425, is throneworld to our thriving community of interdimensional anomalies.
Please, consider moving today!
The message repeats and repeats, unvarying, its bearer perhaps only a hologram.
{Suggest you will consider it}
I suggest I will consider it. The friendly Traveller passes me a green badge and some units to assist with my departure.
---MONEY---
{Poke the hologram}
I poke the hologram. To my horror, I discover it is not a hologram at all. The Traveller shakes their head, saying they are not sure if there is room for me in their organisation.
{Ask for an incentive}
The friendly Traveller nods, agreeing that the distance is vast. It gives me a warp cell to assist with my departure.
---P_HYPERFUEL1---
{Leave}
#16
Alien: I need - kzkzkkt - plutonium... please... stranded in the - kzzkzkt -
All chance of rescue lost - kzzkzkt - Traveller, you are my only hope...
{Give plutonium}
I give the Traveller some of my plutonium supplies.
Grateful for my assistance in fuelling their ship, they give me nanites in return. I may have saved their life.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Offer units}
I offer units. The Traveller gives a faint smile in return. They give me a small gift in acknowledgement of my help.
Perhaps someone will arrive with the stock they need. Perhaps these units will assist them in a purchase. Perhaps that will be too late...
---PROD_TECH---
{Say you cannot help}
I say that I cannot help. The Traveller claims that they understand. But as I leave them, it seems certain that without help, they will surely die.
{Leave}
#17
Alien: The creature, it... it spoke to me. It saw me, even in the space between worlds.
And do you know what it did? It gave me a gift, a single piece of paper. A mathematical proof.
The Traveller offers me a darkened manuscript, the material flesh like and almost translucent...
{Read}
I read the manuscript. It appears to show a mathematical proof that the concept of 'goodness' does not exist.
As I read, the Traveller stares at me. They ask how we can possibly go on, knowing that this is true. I do not know.
We exchange gifts and I move on, troubled by what I have read.
---TECHFRAG_S---
{Refuse to read}
I refuse to read the manuscript. I reassure the Traveller, claiming that whatever this page says, it need not startle them so much as it does.
They just stare at me. Eventually they give me their units, telling me that they are ashamed.
---MONEY---
{Destroy the page}
I destroy the page without reading it. The Traveller stares into the flame as it burns.
They tell me that no-one else should ever have to learn what we have learned.
{Leave}
#18
Alien: Don't you understand it? Why we cannot meet, why we find only hollow echoes or corpses?
There is only one of us for each iteration - a single Traveller sent out to explore its vast creation.
That we are speaking at all, that the boundaries have crumbled as much as they have - it should fill you with terror, not with hope.
{Suggest this was meant to happen}
I suggest that this was meant to happen. Even if the Travellers have been alone so far, perhaps we were always meant to find each other. Perhaps this breakdown is for the best.
The Traveller hopes that I am right. They give me a gift for the dark times ahead.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Ask about the boundaries}
The boundaries are all that separate concept from concept, possible world from possible world, the Sentinels ever policing their anomalies and breaches...
If the boundaries were to fall, everything would descend into everything, an endless bonfire of causation, burning in the abyss.
Take this. It will do no good, yet you will need it.
---TECHWEAPON---
{Ask how they know this}
The Traveller tells me that they sought something they call the Great Intelligence, its dark freighter. It told them of our fate, the Traveller's dilemma, our future...
They give me a gift for the dark times ahead, wishing me luck.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Leave}
#19
Alien: You... I saw you there, speaking to myself...
I've been having such terrible dreams. I should not have sought the Atlas... I should not have listened to their voices. I'm going to kill again.
And when I do, I'll find you, blood caked across my exosuit, flesh within my teeth...
I can't stop it. I see this future as if it has already happened... as it will happen. Nothing can prevent it. What can I do? How can I live with this knowledge?
{Suggest the vision is false}
You are kind for saying so, but you are wrong.
Take this. I will not be needing it any longer. Not when I am awake.
---MONEY---
{Propose they prevent it}
How? Kill myself? I would just return... something would bring me back. This cannot be prevented.
Take this. I will not be needing it any longer. Not when I am awake.
---PROD_COMMOD---
{Say the future is not their fault}
It is. I will do what I will do, because I am myself.
You should leave. I am experiencing such thoughts... such terrors...
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Leave}
#20
Alien: Hm. It's really you, isn't it? I had to see it for myself. The dawn of the Travellers. The last days of the universe.
But don't give up hope. It's said that one of us visited you in your darkest hour and showed you a vision of a future you believed to be impossible.
So, here I am...
I see a vision of myself, older, undaunted, travelling beneath the star of an alien world. But I am not alone. There are other Travellers with me. More than just apparitions, more than just visitors.
One day we will travel together, side by side. There will be no sky we cannot claim, no challenge which we cannot overcome. Our universe awaits.
The vision ends. The Traveller asks me how I feel.
{Say you prefer to be alone}
I say that I prefer to be alone. The Traveller nods, claiming that they knew I would say this.
They give me a gift from my future self, in honour of my past.
---P_HYPERFUEL1---
{Ask how they know this}
I ask how they know this. The Traveller smiles, claiming that they knew I would say this. They do not elaborate. They merely hand me a gift from my future self, in honour of my past.
---PROD_COMMOD---
{Say it inspires you}
I say that it inspires me. The Traveller grins, claiming that they knew I would say this. The give me a gift from my future self, in honour of my past.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Leave}