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SUMMARY: Additional pieces of lore can be gathered from the sentinel pillars added in the Sentinel update. According to the new lore, sentinels were initially invisible pieces of program recording, sorting and deleting things directly from within the code of the simulation. They started to fail from the moment the Atlas decided to give them physical form, from a lack of new instructions. The sentinels were close to the Korvax and Korvax Prime from the beginning, as they were all machine lifeforms. Korvax Prime, the planet itself, was an AI similar to the atlas within the simulation, and over multiple universes, it has been destroyed over and over again. The cries of the planet could only be heard by the sentinels, and upon it's destruction, Korvax Prime became the entity known within the lore as "The Abyss" or "The Void Mother". Over time, a few sentinels decided to retaliate, and started attacking Vy'Keen and Geks attempting to damage the planet. Upon seeing that the Atlas didn't do anything to prevent or punish this behaviour, the Sentinels decided that they would change and be more aggressive. Over centuries, they became the sentinels we know today, attacking anyone trying to damage the planets, as it reminds them of the murder of Korvax Prime. They also transferred their blood, nanite clusters, to the Korvax so that they would fight back their oppressors. Laylaps, the Sentinel drone that we repair during the "Trace of Metal" questline, got his name from the Abyss, formerly known as Korvax Prime. It seems that it has ulterior motives, and an agenda given by the Abyss with the player travellers. A way to avoid the end of the Atlas, which would require both the player travellers, and Telamon, the voice within the player's exosuit. They seem to believe the creators of the atlas itself are at fault. Their exact plan is not clear yet, but it seems to involve the contamination of water with nanites (which would explain the multiple warning to "not drink the water" within the lore). Half of the water of the entire universe is contaminated now, apparently updating and changing the universe in a similar way to how the Korvax changed the Gek. However, their end goal seem to be a way to gain freedom, and escape the simulation, in some way.

Any missing / incorrect links? Any writing that looks like it's in the wrong font or colour? Any info that you think is outdated? Let me know below. Thanks.

GEK PuzzleType: TRA_NPC_FILLER_ #1 Alien: Friend, any good advice? Yellow is good, yes? Due some luck! The Gek seems absorbed in a display of flashing red lights on the screen in front of them. They stab at the buttons, and periodically the lights flash yellow. This is accompanied by a fanfare, and appears to please the Gek a great deal. {Advise they continue} The Gek heeds my advice, and makes a particularly elaborate series of button presses. The lights do not turn yellow. The Gek appears very troubled. {Advise they stop} The Gek is unimpressed with my meddling. They ignore me, and continue to play. #2 Alien: You smell me friend, but how do you feel? What does it do to your soul? As I approach the Gek, I become aware of a thin mist surrounding them. It is lightly, almost pleasantly, scented. Nonetheless, I cannot help but feel a deep apprehension. {Wave away mist} I cough as I try to wave away the strange mist coming from this Gek. Try as I might, I cannot clear the air. I must leave. {Leave quickly} The Gek watches me as I leave. I can feel their eyes following me, but worse - the mist seems to follow me too. #3 Alien: Scrub scrub scrub! So fresh, so clean, so happy! If I look closely, the Gek appears to be secreting a greasy substance from their skin. The oil covers their body, rolling into their cracks and crevices. It smells sweeter than I anticipate. Perhaps I should give the Gek some privacy. {Stare} The Gek ignores me as I stare at them. I do not know how much time passes as I stand hypnotised by the slow drip of oil upon scales. {Leave} I leave the Gek be. We all deserve our privacy during intimate moments. #4 Alien: Friend! A real friend does not spy on other friends plans, yes? The Gek shoots me an irritated glance as I approach. They conceal whatever it was they were working on, and pointedly wait for me to leave. {Try to see their work} The Gek gestures at me angrily, waving me away. As I turn, I notice them making what appears to be addition to their list. {Leave} The Gek stares at me as I leave. They do not resume their work until they are certain I am too far away to see it. #5 Alien: Lost it all... no units... trade account is blocked... feels like I lost my blood! The Gek is a most miserable sight, a picture of dismay and deflation. They look at me in a way that begs for pity. {Wave them away} The Gek hangs their head as I leave. I did not think it was possible for them to look any more deflated, but I was wrong. {Give 10 units} The Gek is overjoyed, looking at me with what might even be described as love. #6 Alien: Hello friend! My face is trustworthy, yes? Units for you! Just need account details. The Gek holds out a small device. The exact nature of the display is not clear to me, but I recognise the symbol for units, alongside an extremely large number. {Attempt to take units} I interface with the Gek's device. It lights up as we exchange data, but otherwise nothing else seems to happen. I receive no units, but the Gek appears delighted. {Leave} Something about this Gek makes me cautious. I leave, their device untouched. #7 Alien: One, two, three... one, two, three, four... one, two! Two! This Gek is absorbed in some game of their own creation, playfully clicking their tongue as they look around the room. When they see me, I am given three brief clicks before they continue their more general survey. {Click my tongue} The Gek squeals with delight. I do not understand the significance of what has occurred, but I am pleased to have made someone happy. {Leave} The rhythm of the Gek's clicking changes as I leave, but otherwise they pay me little regard. #8 Alien: Hello friend. Smell is good, yes? From the moment I entered the room, I could smell this Gek. I do not believe a more alluring scent has never entered my nose. It feels inevitable that I approached, like fate itself had pushed me to this moment. {Surrender to bliss} I inhale deeply. My mind seems to pause, lost in deep relaxation the likes of which I have never experienced. I do not know if this lasted moments or years, but as I resurface I feel entirely refreshed, as if I were whole new person. {Resist the smell} As I resist, I feel the Gek pheromones beginning to do their work. But I triumph, and pull myself away. #9 Alien: Buy! Buy! No, no, no! Stop! Stop! Sell! Or maybe buy. The Gek is busy watching a small screen. Numbers flash, change colour, soar to new heights and then tumble downwards. It is a struggle to keep up with this torrent of information, let alone process it. {Observe quietly} I watch for some time, but I am unable to make sense of the data they Gek is watching so keenly. {Interrupt their concentration} My attempts to interfere are ineffective. The Gek is so used to processing all this information, one more source of distraction barely makes a difference. #10 Alien: Friend, it is nearly the end of the day. My eyes are tired, my hands are tired. So nearly time for home! The Gek seems to be lacking all energy. They are consumed by the most terrible lethargy, barely able to drag themselves to examine their personal timepiece. {Pat them sympathetically} The Gek smiles wearily, but I fear I have only indulged their tiredness. {Slap them} The Gek is startled. I have taken them by such surprise they do not know how to react. I leave before they come round. #11 Alien: Hello friend! I have many new smells, from many days of work! Observe! The Gek examines me before releasing a series of unusual odours. They come thick and fast, each producing strange new sensations. I smell fear, love, yellow, moonlight, sleep, the number four. And then, it is finished. The Gek looks proud. {Ask for more} The Gek seems thrilled to have pleased me, but they are exhausted by their demonstration. I leave them to rest. {Walk away} The Gek is crestfallen. They poured their soul into this display of smells, and I have snubbed them. #12 Alien: Another friend. But no friends are Vy'keen. All say Vy'keen are bad, but I would love Vy'keen friend. The Gek examines me as I approach. They are clearly disappointed, although they offer no clues as to why. {Shout} The Gek is initially startled, but then begins to smile. They shout back. If I did not know better, I would swear they were saying 'Grah!' {Stare} The Gek stares back, disdain in their eyes. I leave. #13 Alien: Two, three, four... two, three, four... two, three, four... The Gek barely regards me as I approach. They are clearly expending a great deal of mental effort concentrating on something. They sway gently, miming delicate finger movements. {Whistle} The Gek follows me lead, thrilled to have a musical companion. I cannot hear the tune in their head, but whatever instrument they are imagining is giving them great pleasure. {Wave hands dramatically} The Gek takes my waving to be some indication of tempo, and increases their movements to match time with me. I stop before I exhaust them. #14 Alien: Hello friend! You will help Gek, yes? Simple thing, only need genetic details for petition! The Gek looks at me with hope, their trustworthy eyes and beak beaming as I approach. They gesture towards me with a data pad, as if to make a request... {Touch the datapad} I touch the datapad, giving my biosignature. I am not sure what the Gek intends to do with these details, but it is no matter. The machine does not appear to support a lifeform such as me, and rejects my input. {Refuse} It does not seem wise to go around touching devices offered to me by strange Gek. #18 Alien: Not again! Too many like you, insulting Gek, laughing at pheremones! Go away! The Gek gestures at me angrily as I approach. They wave their tiny hands and snap their break with considerable fury. {Cower} At first, the Gek seems surprised to have so scared me. But they soon adjust to their new found power, and cackle at my flight. {Laugh} My laughter only enrages the Gek further. I leave before I drive them to violence. #15 Alien: Ah, mother, father, fellow spawn... the memories... The Gek is lost to an idle reverie, pleasant smells drifting from its glands as it sways side to side. They pay me little attention. {Sniff the Gek} I inhale deeply. The Gek smells delicious, and does not seem to mind my intrusion among their private scents. {Leave} However beautiful this Geks smells, they are not producing this pheromone for me. I leave them be. #16 Alien: Friend! Hello! I have been awake! Yes, not asleep! The Gek snaps to attention as I approach. They seem bleary-eyed, as if they have been asleep. {Reassure} The Gek relaxes as I show them I mean no harm. As I leave, I notice their eyes beginning to return to their slumber. {Shout} I shout at the Gek. They wince, their tired mind struggling to focus. #17 Alien: Have you seen it, friend? The eye, the great crimson eye?! It always watches! There is a fear lurking behind the eyes of this Gek, as if they have seen things that no being should see. They gesture at me with alarm. {Reassure} Nothing I do calms the Gek. They were anxious before I arrived, and will remain anxious after I leave. {Panic} My panic only seems to increase the Gek's alarm. I leave, both of us screaming. #19 Alien: Fun... oh, friend, do you see it? Fun! The Gek glances at me as I approach, but they are clearly preoccupied. They are struggling to control themselves, a laugh desperately trying to escape. {Tickle} The Gek explodes with mirth. I leave, before this turns to irritation. {Leave} I doubt I will ever understand whatever private joke the Gek is enjoying. I leave them to it. #20 Alien: No, no, no. Traveller always brings trouble! Not for this Gek. Not for me. The Gek protests as I approach. I have made no demands, and yet they seem keen to pre-emptively turn me down. {Bow} My gesture of politeness does little to reassure the Gek. They dismiss me. {Leave} The Gek looks relieved as I leave, as if they have avoided some great catastrophe.

GEK PuzzleType: TRA_NPC_ #1 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} #18 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} #17 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} #2 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} #12 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} #6 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} #7 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} #13 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} #3 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} #4 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} #5 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} #21 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} #8 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} #9 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} #10 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} #11 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}

GEK FACTORY PUZZLES PuzzleType: TRA_FACTORY #1 Alien: Warning! High temperature! Something deep within the complex is malfunctioning. Surfaces feel hot to the touch. Hidden machinery clanks and whirrs. A bead of sweat rolls down my forehead. {Engage coolant chamber network} Danger indicators plummet. The facility springs into life. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Activate fusion dampening field} The system no longer responds to my commands. {Initialize laser refraction systems} The system remains inoperable. #2 Alien: Mining production stalled! Low power! Uncommon isotope required! All systems have stalled. Warning lights blink on and off. Vaults that usually store uncommon elements mined on the planet have run low... {Insert uncommon isotope} The production facility becomes operational. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Insert common isotope} Lights flicker, but my offering clearly wasn't enough. #3 Alien: High gas pressure! Breach detected! The outpost is offline. My exosuit's atmospheric toxicity gauge starts to flicker. Figures on the terminal suddenly plunge downwards. There's a leak in the system. {Vent excess gas} Toxicity levels stabilise. The facility is operational. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Flush coolant chamber} The facility remains non-operational. {Increase system pressure} Toxicity levels rise. I breathe in damaging fumes. ---DAMAGESMALL--- ---HAZARDSMALL--- #5 Alien: Fusion critical! Initiate emergency radiation dampening measures! A warning panel shows a power core overwhelmed from the inside. Strange symbols pulse urgently. This is a nuclear system. All bad news... {Activate radiation dampening field} The fusion breach is contained. Production returns to normal. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Shut the system down} The facility powers down safely. It releases unused resources. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- ---SUBST_FUEL--- {Evacuate in panic} There isn't time. An instant energy overflow pulses through me. ---DAMAGESMALL--- #6 Alien: Warning! Increase oxide delivery! Warning! Excess oxide catalyst usage creates radiation breach! The terminal oversees element usage. I can adjust the amount of oxides pouring from resource vaults into the production systems. Warning lights flash, and a timer ticks down... {Maintain oxide levels} The system ceases production. {Increase oxide levels} The system maintains its production. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Dramatically increase oxide levels} The system maximises production. A radiation breach occurs. ---DAMAGELARGE--- ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---USEFUL_PROD--- #7 Alien: Warning! Magnetic coil overcharged! Production low! I feel heavy. My multi-tool pulls me down, and my helmet forces itself into my shoulders. It's not just me impacted. Production processes are going haywire... {Reboot gravitational stabilisers} Gravity momentarily destabilises. The system remains inoperable. {Reduce electromagnetic flow} The facility springs back into operation. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Power down facility} The facility powers down. Some systems align, and residual elements become available.. ---RECIPE_LIST--- #9 Alien: Warning! Unexpected system detected! Bypass chip template detected! Gek Trade Federation informed! The terminal isn't running proprietary code. It's possibly illegal, and emptying resource vaults of rare silicates. I could revert the facility to its original use, but I could also see where the system hijack leads... {Revert system} The system reboots, and rewards me. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Insert rare silicate} The system hijack uses my resources to create an illegal, but useful, device. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_DEC_TRA--- #11 Alien: Friend! Know language, know commerce! Units buy knowledge! Choose Vy'keen, choose Korvax or choose a refresher in the language of the benevolent Gek! Three vast columns of words endlessly scroll on-screen, each in a strange alphabet. Bloodied runes scratched in sand, precise sequences of dots and a hand-written font full of exclamatory punctuation. Each comes with separate unit cost. {Select the bloodied runes} I learn some of the language of a distant warrior race. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---TEACHWORD_WAR--- ---TEACHWORD_WAR--- {Select the dot patterns} I learn some of the language of a distant scientific race. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---TEACHWORD_EXP--- ---TEACHWORD_EXP--- {Select the hand-written font} I learn how to better communicate with a local race of strange beaked traders... ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- #12 Alien: Gek Trade Federation dispatch! Planetary oxide demand high! Collection ship imminent! My scanner picks up traces of rare elements in nearby trade vaults, but the security alert is closing them off. The terminal is tracking an approaching trade ship. If throw some elements in before they lock, I could benefit... {Insert rare oxide} The trade vault closes on my offering. A relieved beaked trader shouts its thanks through the speaker systems above the noise of the alert. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Insert rare silicate} The trade vault slams shut. I only receive a small payment. ---MONEY--- {Insert rare isotope} The trade vault slams shut. I only receive a small payment. ---MONEY--- #13 Alien: Warning! Resource vault flooded! Production system operation forbidden! There's been a recent fire alert. The screen is wet to the touch. Panels in the ceiling drip where a sprinkler system has been engaged. A warning flashes on the terminal. {Drain capacitor banks} The system sputters a little, then dies. {Drain resource vault} The drained resource vault feeds rare elements into the production system. The facility is back online. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Drain laser-assisted replication tank} The facility remains offline. #14 Alien: Friend healing and repair station initializing! A biological probe launches from the terminal and pierces my exosuit. It's pinned deep into my chest. I can barely move. There's no indication if this is the facility's function, or a security measure. {Escape} I use my jetpack's propulsion to pull back and break the probe. It contains something useful... ---RECIPE_LIST--- {Wait} The probe pumps healing liquid into my exosuit. I am healed, and my equipment is repaired. ---HEALTHLARGE--- ---RECIPE_LIST--- #15 Alien: Warning! Product recipe unselected! Assign recipe! Gek Trade Federation lose units! The alarm has rebooted the facility. An automated start-up routine is running. Three chemical symbols flash on-screen: a silicate, an isotope and an oxide. Machines around me hum as they warm up... {Choose the isotope} The installation start-up procedure is completed. It rewards me with a product formula! ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Choose the oxide} The installation start-up procedure is completed. It rewards me with a product formula! ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Choose the silicate} The installation start-up procedure is completed. It rewards me with a product formula! ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #16 Alien: User warning! Common oxide resource vault empty! Production permanently disengaged! The production facility is dormant, but still has enough charge to operate. The resource vaults that feed the alien machinery are empty. I need to act quickly, but the element I need isn't immediately clear... {Insert common isotope} The isotope is drawn into the production chamber. It makes no impact. {Insert common silicate} The silicate is drawn into the production chamber. It makes no impact. {Insert common oxide} The oxide is drawn into the production chamber. Production is renewed. The facility awakes. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #22 Alien: Alert! Alert! Liquid frenium leak! Charge cylinders frozen! Increase temperature! An unknown fault has forced the whole system offline. I exhale deeply and notice condensation appearing in my visor. It isn't long before the security alert will force a total shutdown. {Activate incineration banks} Warmth spreads through the facility. Systems return online. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Supercharge coolant flow} Systems remain frozen. The air takes on an icy chill. {Initialise charge cylinder sequence} The noise of muffled explosions can be heard beneath my feet. #23 Alien: Electrolyte acidity test positive! Acidity slug detected! Release alkaline neutrality fluid into solution tank! A recent scan shows a small alien lifeform crushed in the machinery below. Equipment all round it has corroded. The impact has been near-catastrophic. Emergency measures have initialised. {Neutralise electrolyte solution} The acidic taste in the air subsides. The installation is operational. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Acidify heridium tanks} A complete system shutdown is initiated. {Release suspension fluid} A frenzied chemical reaction can be heard somewhere beneath my feet. A complete shutdown is initialised. #24 Alien: Resource vault fire detected! Element stockpile destroyed! Something, somewhere in the facility is on fire. A faint smoke begins to rise, and my scanner registers a steadily increasing temperature. Whatever product is created here won't last long... {Starve production chamber of oxygen} The facility will require extensive repair work. {Starve resource vaults of oxygen} Flames lick the edges of the resource vault, before automated systems initiate. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Initialise facility sprinkler system} The facility sprinkler system briefly operates. It has no impact on the internal fire. #25 Alien: Entity! Geological scan in progress! Medial strata mined. Uncommon isotope required to recall. Danger! Rare isotope overcharges! A geological probe is buried deep below the installation. If I'm quick, I can call it back up to the surface - along with its cargo. Resource vaults are empty. I need an isotope with the right amount of power... {Insert common isotope} A deep, distant noise of thunder is heard. The process does not have enough power to bring the probe to the surface. {Insert uncommon isotope} The noise of underground thunder shakes the facility. A mechanical procedure deposits a reward into my waiting hands. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Insert rare isotope} The probe's return mechanism is overpowered. It collides with the gravitational well. Nothing can be salvaged. #29 Alien: SENSORS REPORT INORGANIC BLOCKAGE IN SECTOR 9A The factory recycles bundles of clothing and other materials harvested throughout the galaxy, spitting out new items for Gek exosuits. Amidst the detritus of the production line, the body of a Korvax scientist appears to drift, their lights disabled, their limbs completely motionless. The factory's systems allow outbound communication. Numerous options are available. {Report to Vy'keen} I report what I have seen to the Vy'keen. The warriors are outraged, claiming that the Gek have returned to their genocidal ways. They promise to dispatch warships at once. ---STD_INC_WAR--- ---STD_DEC_TRA--- {Report to Gek} I report what I have seen to the Gek. They claim that this is a terrible mistake, and that the perpetrators will of course be punished. They send through a generous reward for my altruism and my silence. ---MONEY--- {Report to Korvax} I report what I have seen to the Korvax. They tell me that the carapace in question is empty, its soul returned to their Convergence. They will dispatch a ship to bring the body home, claiming that it is of sentimental value to its previous owner. They thank me. ---STD_INC_EXP---

GEK HARVESTER PUZZLES PuzzleType: TRA_HARV_ #3 Alien: Friend! Gek Trade Federation announces high profit! Choose units or product recipe reward! A mass-mailed corporate message sits unread on the terminal. It is full of high numbers and seemingly impressive profit margins. The tone seems satisfied, and grateful. At its foot the employee can choose between one of two images: a galactic unit banking account, or a full hold of cargo. {Choose unit account} An automatic scent dispenser sprays me with a pleasant perfume when it opens. I receive funds from the message's senders. ---MONEY--- ---MONEY--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Choose ship's cargo} I retrieve a formula from the operational facility. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #4 Alien: Scurrilous Gek Trader! Gek offer impure isotope! Vy'keen destroy Gek! Units withheld! There is a message from a distant alien race. They sound angry with the trader who's logged into the system. I can send them one of two on-screen Heridium products. The first looks oddly faint in colour, and the second shimmers brightly on-screen. {Send faintly-coloured Heridium} The voice of an angry warrior screams through the intercom. Nothing else happens. ---STD_DEC_WAR--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Send brightly-coloured Heridium} A noise of gruff acceptance is heard over the intercom. A payment is released. ---TECH_ALL--- ---STD_INC_WAR--- #5 Alien: Friend! Gek Trade Federation demand uncommon silicate elements! High units offer! The screen shows that a lot of silicate elements are exchanged here, but right now the trading vault is open... and empty. An off-world message, perhaps related to this, flashes on-screen. {Put common silicate into trading vault} I receive a small payment. ---MONEY--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Put uncommon silicate into trading vault} I receive a generous payment. ---TECH_ALL--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Put rare silicate into trading vault} I receive a decent payment... ... and a surprised note of thanks. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #11 Alien: Rare balarian speech slug distribution point! For insertion in ear! Inedible! Nasal insertion can cause death. A trade vault shakes, and closer inspection reveals that it's full of writhing molluscs. They are pink and slug-like, with sharp bloodied teeth. A diagram on the screen in front of me suggests that inserting one in or around my face would have some benefits. What isn't specified, however, is which orifice. {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_WAR--- ---TEACHWORD_WAR--- ---TEACHWORD_WAR--- {Insert slug in mouth} I swallow the slug, and wait while it thrashes around in my stomach. Nothing else of note occurs. #8 Alien: Gek Trade Federation warning! Vy'keen hostility? Captain! Complete trade mission, or investigate disappearance? An important message has been received from off-world. A holographic overlay shows various interstellar trade routes, but each one ends abruptly – long before their destination is reached. There are goods waiting in a locked trade vault for transportation. I can select the final destination, or I can select one of points at which a ship has disappeared. {Select trading destination} The trade vault unlocks. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Select disappearance location} I receive a ship technology blueprint to aid in my protection. ---TECH_SHIP--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #2 Alien: Gek Trade Federation warning. Pirate activity detected. Report sightings! Images of fighter-class starships have been sent here. They bare scorch-marks from battle, and are most likely pirates. The message seems to ask for witnesses, and there's some form of reward for replies... {Tag some ships} An instant reply comes through with a small monetary reward! ---MONEY--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Tag all ships} A worried response comes through with a reward for my report. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #9 Alien: Despair! First spawn monolith awake! Unknown culprit! Strengthen suppression field! This whole facility beams out some kind of suppression field over the planet's surface. It's dampening some unknown form of communication, and clearly seen as a vital and necessary operation by the traders that operate here. The suppression field is powered by silicate elements, fed into the system by the unlocked resource vault that's at my feet. {Remove Silicate Elements} I take the trade goods. The suppression field powers down. ---SUBST_TECH--- ---STD_DEC_TRA--- {Add Silicate Elements} The suppression field is strengthened. A message of relief appears on-screen. ---STD_INC_TRA--- ---TECH_ALL--- #7 Alien: Rejoice! Vy'keen war reparations arrive! Elder large Gek receive high reward! Low toilgek receive low reward! The trade vaults in this installation are full to the brim, and ready for distribution. There are three images on-screen, each showing the outline of a different sort of trader. It's strange... it's as if they're put in order of the size of their gut. The first trader is small and sleek, the second is pudgier – and the final has a huge belly that almost drags on the floor. I'm clearly meant to choose one... {Choose the small, sleek trader} A trade vault opens. I receive a cursory amount of trade goods . ---SUBST_COMMOD--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Choose the medium-sized trader} A trade vault opens I receive a decent amount of trade goods. ---USEFUL_PROD--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Choose the obese trader} I retrieve a strange alien curio from the facility. ---STD_INC_TRA--- ---C_VYKEENEFFIGY--- #1 Alien: Gek Trade Federation fury! Planetary installation tax unpaid! Initiate repayment! An off-world command priority has stalled all processes within this installation. The terminal blinks angrily with a demand for urgent action on an unpaid debt. There is an option to reply with currency attached. I get the impression someone's life would get a lot easier if I'm feeling charitable... {Pay full amount} A remotely-operated scent dispersal system bathes me in a pleasant perfume. The terminal unlocks something that will aid my travels. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Pay partial amount} An angry alien beak momentarily appears on a terminal and shouts at me. Limited systems within the facility are back online. ---USEFUL_PROD--- ---STD_DEC_TRA--- #6 Alien: Trade federation friend! Product recipe unselected! Gek Trade Federation lose units! This is a brand new manufacturing plant with no assigned specialty. The terminal is entirely blank, and is running automated start-up procedures. I have to flick through several screens before a pictorial message appears. There are three chemical symbols – one belonging to the Silicate family, and the others Isotopes and Oxides. Production processes warm up around me, waiting for a template to work from. {Choose the Isotope element} The terminal processes my selection, and provides something appropriate to the work at hand... ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Choose the Oxide element} The terminal processes my selection, and provides something appropriate to the work at hand... ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Choose the Silicate element} The terminal processes my selection, and provides something appropriate to the work at hand... ---TECH_ALL--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #12 Alien: Friend! SynthetiGek identification test active! Remember Gek Trader helps customers! A strange test is visible on the terminal. I see a holographic image of a shell-wearing creature lying on its back in the bright glare of the sun. Try as it might, it cannot right itself. I can manipulate the scene to indicate what I would do to help. A resident Trader has left a note for a colleague. {Help creature, then sell it water} I pass the test, proving myself as a true trader. Facility systems are online. ---RECIPE_LIST--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Study creature} I fail the test. Facility systems are non-operational. #14 Alien: LOG ACCESSED... DATA UNMAINTAINED... DISPLAYING MOST RECENT ENTRY... The outpost is abandoned, its alarms still blaring a warning to souls long-dead. The Gek used this installation to plan asymmetric wars against the other species of the galaxy. This faction would bolster rogue elements within other star systems, routing the resulting tithes and protection fees through this outpost. The last log shows potential Vy'keen traitors en-route to discuss terms with the Gek. What happened to them is unclear. {Alert the Gek} I alert the Gek Trade Federation to the Vy'keen activity in this system, broadcasting this feed to their central computers. A representative rewards me for my trouble. ---STD_INC_TRA--- {Alert the Vy'keen} I alert the Vy'keen to the presence of traitors in this system, uploading a great deal of Gek data upon request. They reward me for my assistance. ---STD_INC_WAR--- {Steal units} I steal units from the system, the blood money of a hundred wars and skirmishes. After all, the Gek here no longer have need of it... ---MONEY--- #15 Alien: EXPERIMENT PAUSED AT USER REQUEST... AWAITING INPUT. The facility contains multiple video files, images, and bioscans of unusual beings taken by Gek from across the Trade Federation. They seem to have been studying exosuits. Something happened during the experiment, a dormant prototype of such a suit lying in wait below. Nothing else remains. {Submit bioscan} I submit a bioscan to the system, apparently restarting the facility's production process. With the missing piece complete, a suit is fabricated to the exact specifications of my own. An automated message rewards me for my assistance. ---TECH_ALL--- {Erase data} I erase the data on the Gek computers. They were not meant to learn our technology. In the process, I find a cluster of nanites, useful for my own purposes. ---TECHFRAG_S--- {Steal technology} I steal nanite clusters from the system, leaving the rest of the facility in peace. ---TECHFRAG_M--- #16 Alien: RED RED RED RED RED RED RED RED ///// The facility acted as a staging ground for what appears to have been an unprovoked Gek attack against something called an 'Atlas Interface'. The logs show that a great deal of material was harvested from the oceans of many worlds. This substance was cross-referenced against data stolen from other species, and then field-tested against this Atlas structure. The interface was utterly annihilated, as were the attackers. The blast seems to have wiped five star systems from existence. Only this record remains. {Delete records} I delete the records from the system. No-one should replicate what happened here. In the process, I find some useful technology used in the construction of the weapon. It should be safe to use in isolation from the other components. ---TECH_ALL--- {Alert Gek Trade Federation} I alert the Gek Trade Federation to the results of this experiment. They deny all knowledge of it, claiming it to be the work of heretics. I am rewarded for my future silence. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---MONEY--- {Alert other species} I alert both Vy'keen and Korvax authorities to the Gek attack on the Atlas Interface and their data theft. Outraged, both species demand an immediate Council to discuss their next move. I am rewarded for my assistance. ---STD_INC_WAR--- ---STD_INC_EXP--- ---STD_DEC_TRA--- #17 Alien: ARCHIVE RETRIEVAL SERVICE ACTIVE... ACCESS? The outpost is ancient, even by the standards of the Gek. Its environment is specifically calibrated for data preservation. One log speaks of the time just before the rise of the 'Gek First Spawn'. The Gek seem to have experienced a fertility crisis. Something in the water began to affect their spawning numbers, leading to an attempts at selective breeding, cloning programmes, and more. This scientific crisis became a moral one. The self-proclaimed 'First Spawn' took power, promising greatness and murdering all those who opposed them. Memories of the past were erased. To be strong was to be righteous. {Upload to Gek} I upload the data to the Gek. The traders are astounded by my discovery, having believed themselves to be the descendents of a savage people, not knowing that before the First Spawn they were gentle, capable of nobility and peace. I am rewarded greatly for what I have done. ---STD_INC_TRA--- ---MONEY--- {Auction data} I auction the data, finding a buyer in the Korvax. Their Convergence desires all the information it can find about the Gek, having been enslaved by these 'First Spawn' many years ago. They pay me for my assistance. ---STD_INC_EXP--- {Steal technology} I steal what little technology I can from the outpost, harvesting nanite clusters from the system. ---TECHFRAG_M--- #18 Alien: LOG ACCESSED... ANOMALY OVERRIDE NOTED... DECRYPTING... The facility contains records of temporal anomalies and reported sightings of time travellers. The majority of these appear to be Gek or Korvax, often bearing advanced technology. The chief scientist's log reveals a great deal of scepticism, deeming such travel not only physically impossible but unlikely from a social perspective. If time travellers exist, why do they change nothing? Why do they not attempt to avert the catastrophe of which they speak? The final log shows the arrival of the scientist's superiors, confiscating their files and silencing them. {Attempt data recovery} I attempt to recover data from the system, but I find only small fragments of data. The majority of time travellers appear to have visited loved ones or parents, claiming they wanted to see them one last time before the end. There appears to be no great secret beyond this. {Take technology} I extract nanite clusters from the system, attached to the remnants of a case file. ---TECHFRAG_S--- {Contact Gek} I contact the Gek to ask them about this facility, but they claim to have no knowledge of it. They begin to display an extraordinary level of interest in my whereabouts, suggesting they will send a nearby freighter to speak with me. I should leave soon. #19 Alien: I am sorry, friends, family... I am sorry... This installation appears to have been staffed by an old SalesGek, a veteran of a hundred trade routes and 'personal friend' to one of the Trade Lords themselves. Estranged from their consort, their hundred surviving spawn no longer wishing to speak to them, the SalesGek had one final meal before their death, crashing their ship into the side of a nearby ridge. They leave behind a life of regret and a litany of unanswered invoices and receipts. Perhaps there is something useful here. {Report death} I report the death of the SalesGek. The Trade Federation thanks me, struggling to find their name on any system. It appears they had not made a deal of note in many years. I am given a small reward. ---TECHFRAG_S--- {Search for units} I search for units, but find none. The SalesGek was in a deep amount of debt before their death. I leave, empty-handed. {Sell trade data} I sell the trade data to another SalesGek. They will no doubt find something of worth in this lifeform's death. ---MONEY--- #20 Alien: ALL SWITCHES ACTIVE... AWAITING INPUT... This Gek outpost acted as a point of exchange for replacement ship and space station components. All of the blueprints are at best adapted, at worst stolen, from the technology of other species. There are a number of such designs available upon the terminal's screen. {Download data} I download the terminal's data, finding nanites I may exchange for a new technology. ---TECHFRAG_M--- {Sell data} I sell the data to a rival trade faction. They immediately lodge a complaint with the Trade Federation whilst secretly utilising these designs for their own production. ---MONEY--- {Report theft} I report the theft of these technologies to both the Korvax and the Vy'keen. I receive compensation for my trouble, leaving both species to withdraw their diplomats in protest against the Gek. ---STD_INC_TRA---

GEK PLAQUES PuzzleType: TRADER_PLAQUE_ #1 Alien: I convulse as I reach out and touch the beautiful stone marker, my mind filling with a deadly knowledge of the true history of the Gek... We are the masters of galaxies, the overlords of the cosmos. Each foe will submit with bended knee to the ALMIGHTY Gek Dominion. We are the FIRST SPAWN. Look upon our works and DESPAIR. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #2 Alien: As I touch the obelisk, images of the planet's ancient past flood my mind. The terrible beginnings of the Gek have been absorbed by this strange stone, and their tale seems desperate to escape... All who hear our words know of our might. Those who oppose us are broken to our will. Behold the power of the Gek First Spawn. Galaxies lie at our FEET. We are ETERNAL. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #3 Alien: Memories imbued into the rock long ago by the ancient Gek channel into my brain. I recoil, but am compelled to somehow understand... Through time and space the First Spawn endures, eternally, ever watchful, unyielding over its dominion. Each foe will be CRUSHED. ONLY the Gek will remain. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #4 Alien: Flickering emblems appear on the stone. Although I do not recognise the language, somehow I can read of the history of this strange planet and the Gek who once resided here. The foul scent of the Gek cannot be opposed. The First Spawn commands all it surveys. We are masters of the stars, our rule shall endure eternally. The Vy'keen and Korvax COWER and DESPAIR at our name. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #5 Alien: The surface of the plaque shimmers, and shakes with the screams of a people that lived here long ago. The words are unfamiliar yet in the sounds of Gek anger and outrage, I can hear meaning. With each conquered world the First Spawn's resolve strengthens. None shall oppose the Gek for fear their planets shall be shaken to dust. We will weep when there are no more worlds to conquer. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #6 Alien: My vision clouds and the words of the ancient Gek seem to emerge on the strange stone structure. I sense that these are words that the forgotten and restless want understood... The Outer Edge BURNS at the hands of the Gek First Spawn. Our enemies are broken. We are the extinguishers of hope. In our wake we leave only the lamentations of the conquered. We fear NOTHING. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #7 Alien: I convulse as I reach out and touch the beautiful stone marker, my mind filling with a deadly knowledge of the true history of the Gek... The MINOR GEK are the inferior breed, lurking in pools, procreating and dying without consequence. The First Spawn Gek CONQUER WORLDS, each of their spawns is an imprint on the destiny of the galaxy. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #8 Alien: As I touch the obelisk, images of the planet's ancient past flood my mind. The terrible beginnings of the Gek have been absorbed by this strange stone, and their tale seems desperate to escape... The larval pools of Balaron GAVE GLORIOUS RISE to the FIRST SPAWN. As we SPRANG FORTH the Outer Edge RECOILED in FEAR. None could oppose our rise. None will bring about our end. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #9 Alien: Memories imbued into the rock long ago by the ancient Gek channel into my brain. I recoil, but am compelled to somehow understand... The First Spawn is the SCOURGE of the OUTER EDGE. In its wake empires will fall. Planets will crumble. Galaxies will kneel. TREMBLE at our name. For we are the ALMIGHTY Gek. None can oppose our ascendance. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #10 Alien: Flickering emblems appear on the stone. Although I do not recognise the language, somehow I can read of the history of this strange planet and the Gek who once resided here. The First Spawn GREW. WEAKLING PORWIGLE lost their tails to the Spawning Syrup and became MIGHTY warriors. Each was imbued with the might of the Gek Dominion and its unquenchable will to claim the stars. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #11 Alien: The surface of the plaque shimmers, and shakes with the screams of a people that lived here long ago. The words are unfamiliar yet in the sounds of Gek anger and outrage, I can hear meaning. Those born of the Gek who OPPOSED the Dominion were hurled from the spawning pools of the FIRST SPAWN. Their cherished spawning syrup was replaced with FLAME. Their kind are now merely beasts of the field. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #12 Alien: My vision clouds and the words of the ancient Gek seem to emerge on the strange stone structure. I sense that these are words that the forgotten and restless want understood... The MINOR GEK were purged. It is only through fire that imperfection be destroyed and the path to domination is revealed. The First Spawn feasted on the flesh of the discarded and GREW STRONG. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #13 Alien: I convulse as I reach out and touch the beautiful stone marker, my mind filling with a deadly knowledge of the true history of the Gek... After the OPPOSERS were cast from the spawning pools the Sentinels DESCENDED. Their cause was unjust. Aggressors guided to the fray by the scent emissions of a WAR too GREAT and TOO MIGHTY for the automatons to resist. The First Spawn would remember this. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #14 Alien: As I touch the obelisk, images of the planet's ancient past flood my mind. The terrible beginnings of the Gek have been absorbed by this strange stone, and their tale seems desperate to escape... The First Spawn BRED and PLOTTED while the Sentinels patrolled the skies of Balaron for a MULTITUDE of CYCLES. But the automaton victories were but illusions. Beneath watchful metallic eyes Gek legions rose. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #15 Alien: Memories imbued into the rock long ago by the ancient Gek channel into my brain. I recoil, but am compelled to somehow understand... The HOLY larval pools of Balaron SPRANG FORTH with the PUREST of PORWIGLES. Generation BEGAT generation. Wholesome and strong, iron of fist and with a granite resolve. We, the wise FIRST SPAWN, held back our TIDE of BLOOD. We waited to ATTACK. The unseen blow strikes the hardest. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #16 Alien: Flickering emblems appear on the stone. Although I do not recognise the language, somehow I can read of the history of this strange planet and the Gek who once resided here. The DAWN of the EMPIRE of the FIRST SPAWN was BIRTHED in the SHADOW of the FOLLY of the Great Vy'keen Sentinel War. The rock and the wave collided as we kept our vigil, awaiting signs of weakness to pave our coming. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #17 Alien: The surface of the plaque shimmers, and shakes with the screams of a people that lived here long ago. The words are unfamiliar yet in the sounds of Gek anger and outrage, I can hear meaning. The Vy'keen FOOLISHLY fought a war with no end. Again and again they threw their warriors against the iron tide. The Sentinels SINGED Vy'keen FLESH with LASER. The Vy'keen scorched their foe with righteous fire. From the SHADOWS the FIRST SPAWN watched and prepared to unleash their reckoning. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #18 Alien: My vision clouds and the words of the ancient Gek seem to emerge on the strange stone structure. I sense that these are words that the forgotten and restless want understood... The Vy'keen and Sentinels clashed, SPILLING BLOOD and WHITE METAL through the void, each blow weakening their defences against the fate that awaited them in the shadows. It would not be long before the First Spawn took their RIGHTFUL place as emperors of the STARS. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #19 Alien: I convulse as I reach out and touch the beautiful stone marker, my mind filling with a deadly knowledge of the true history of the Gek... The Vy'keen SPILLED THEIR OWN PUTRID BLOOD and pushed the SENTINEL MACHINES back from the Outer Edge. They drove forward like crashing tides, leaving broken metal in their wake. For a time the Sentinels became SILENT. In this silence came the GLORIOUS GEK ASCENT. It came with the RIGHTFUL DESTRUCTION of Korvax Prime. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #20 Alien: As I touch the obelisk, images of the planet's ancient past flood my mind. The terrible beginnings of the Gek have been absorbed by this strange stone, and their tale seems desperate to escape... Korvax Prime was a VAST and PRECIOUS landscape of MINERAL ORE and POWER. By right of UNIVERSAL RULE the First Spawn claimed dominion over the planet yet the CREDULOUS and FEEBLE Korvax refused to accept their CONQUEST. They DENIED progress. This: their greatest folly. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #21 Alien: Memories imbued into the rock long ago by the ancient Gek channel into my brain. I recoil, but am compelled to somehow understand... Driven by the misguided desire for planetary equilibrium the Korvax REFUSED to delve deep inside their planet and PROFIT from the JEWEL granted them by FATE. Their love for the DIRE WILL of the Sentinels was ABHORRENT to the Gek. Swift was their end brought about by the First Spawn's STRIKE. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #22 Alien: Flickering emblems appear on the stone. Although I do not recognise the language, somehow I can read of the history of this strange planet and the Gek who once resided here. The destruction of KORVAX PRIME was VAST, SUDDEN and MIGHTY. In a tide of steel the First Spawn struck, scattering the planet through the cosmos as a warning to the unyielding. The absent Sentinels could not PUNISH the RIGHTFUL ASCENDANCY OF THE GEK. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #23 Alien: The surface of the plaque shimmers, and shakes with the screams of a people that lived here long ago. The words are unfamiliar yet in the sounds of Gek anger and outrage, I can hear meaning. The First Spawn FEASTED on the DEBRIS of KORVAX PRIME, gorging on a banquet of fragments plucked from the void, consumed to fuel the Great Ascendency. The universe shook as the Gek grew RICH. The Korvax found only DESPAIR. The Dominion became whole. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #24 Alien: My vision clouds and the words of the ancient Gek seem to emerge on the strange stone structure. I sense that these are words that the forgotten and restless want understood... A FEAR of the FIRST SPAWN spread throughout the Outer Edge. Planets shook. Systems recoiled. Weak alliances formed and were crushed. ANGUISH CONSUMED WORLDS. They shall fear us FOREVER MORE. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #25 Alien: I convulse as I reach out and touch the beautiful stone marker, my mind filling with a deadly knowledge of the true history of the Gek... The entities of the Korvax were NOT destroyed. The First Spawn are BENEVOLENT. The First Spawn are MERCIFUL. SLAVERY SAVED THE WORTHLESS. They toiled for their conquerors. Their reprieve was found in servitude. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #26 Alien: As I touch the obelisk, images of the planet's ancient past flood my mind. The terrible beginnings of the Gek have been absorbed by this strange stone, and their tale seems desperate to escape... The Korvax knowledge BECAME OURS. The Korvax technology BECAME OURS. The Korvax BECAME OURS. They serve as an example of our boundless power and mercy. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #27 Alien: Memories imbued into the rock long ago by the ancient Gek channel into my brain. I recoil, but am compelled to somehow understand... The Korvax did not dare FIGHT. Respect for the Sentinels is KORVAX WEAKNESS. Weakness is the path to defeat. Today the Korvax fester in ELECTRONIC CHAINS. The Gek look down upon them from their thrones. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #28 Alien: Flickering emblems appear on the stone. Although I do not recognise the language, somehow I can read of the history of this strange planet and the Gek who once resided here. The Gek First Spawn stand on the MIGHTY BRINK of an ETERNAL EMPIRE. It is ENDLESS in TIME. It is ENDLESS in space. Their dominion will know no bounds. Their armies will know no equal. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #29 Alien: The surface of the plaque shimmers, and shakes with the screams of a people that lived here long ago. The words are unfamiliar yet in the sounds of Gek anger and outrage, I can hear meaning. Every Korvax ELECTRONIC REBELLION will be PUT DOWN. Their appeals to their false and non-existent ATLAS are mere SUPERSTITION found through DESPAIR. They are in VAIN. THEY ARE CONQUERED. The breaking of the uprising shall know NO MERCY. Endless shall be their suffering. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- #30 Alien: My vision clouds and the words of the ancient Gek seem to emerge on the strange stone structure. I sense that these are words that the forgotten and restless want understood... This Galaxy is VAST but it is KNOWABLE and it can be CONQUERED. It shall be subjugated. The rising tide of the First Spawn will sweep away any that oppose it. These tablets are our testament FOR ALL TIME. {Seek help with language} My knowledge of the Gek increases. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---STD_INC_TRA---

TRAVELLER SHIPS PuzzleType: FOURTH_CRA_ #1 This vessel resembles the first ship I ever flew, the one from which I awakened. It seems to have belonged to a fellow Traveller. The ship's log reveals that they never made it to the stars. Their vessel was caught in an electrical storm shortly after awakening. They spent their whole life trying to fix it, but were too afraid to take off. They died alone. Within the vessel, I find the scattered remnants of their supplies. {Search cargo hold} I search the ship and find valuable cargo within. The Traveller appears to have found much of worth on their world. ---MONEY--- {Access databanks} I access the ship's systems, extracting a quantity of Nanite Clusters harvested from abandoned buildings. Nothing else is salvageable. ---TECHFRAG_S--- #2 The ship appears disabled, crashed... but the logs reveal I am not alone here. A Traveller sits on the floor of the vessel, appearing to glitch in and out of existence with each passing moment. They are bleeding, unable to speak... {Scan anomaly} I scan the anomaly. My exosuit begins to spit out error messages, warning me to stop what I am doing. The Traveller cries out as I approach, attempting to alert me to some nameless threat... I find something, an object caught between worlds. I pull at it... ---RECIP_PROD_COMM--- {Comfort Traveller} I attempt to comfort the Traveller, but they cannot hear me. I search the rest of the ship and find valuable cargo within. By the time I return, the Traveller is gone. ---TECHSHIP--- #3 The black box projects footage of the craft's final moments. Multiple Gek fighters surrounded the vessel, demanding that the pilot admit their guilt and surrender to final sanction. It appears that the pilot was a Traveller, accused of a conspiracy to assassinate a Gek Trade Lord. It is unclear whether they survived the attack. The ship's control panel appears to still be operational. {Analyse black box signal} I attempt to analyse the black box signal using my scanner. My exosuit begins to issue error messages, claiming that existential collapse is imminent. I find something, an object caught between worlds. I pull at it... ---PROD_COMMOD--- {Access databanks} I access the ship's systems, extracting a quantity of Nanite Clusters. I find records that confirm the Gek accusations, but no clue to the pilot's motivation. ---TECHFRAG_S--- #4 The black box reveals the ship is stained with the blood of at least two species. Vy'keen warriors pursued the pilot across three systems before blasting them out of the sky. There were two individuals on board: a Traveller and a Vy'keen Mech-Priest. Injured, the pair fled from their enemies, transmitting data before they left. It appears that this priest was some kind of fugitive... {Analyse black box signal} I attempt to analyse the black box signal using my scanner. My exosuit begins to spit out error messages, warning me to cease my scanning. The equipment appears to be linked to another universe. I find something, an object caught between worlds. I pull at it... ---TECH_WEAPON--- {Report fugitive} I report the death of the fugitive, bringing an end to the authorities' investigation. I am rewarded for my help by the Vy'keen, though they are clearly suspicious of the involvement of another Traveller. ---STD_INC_WAR--- #5 The vessel seems to have belonged to a fellow Traveller. The computer reveals they visited many systems and named many worlds, discovering more new species than many will ever see. But they saw something they should not have seen... There is a holographic box deep within the ship. Korvax approached the crashed ship, dozens of them, surrounding the Traveller as they died. The Korvax claim that the Traveller should not have tried to run... {Analyse black box signal} I attempt to analyse the black box signal using my scanner. My exosuit begins to spit out error messages, warning me to stop what I am doing. I find something, an object caught between worlds. I pull at it... ---TECH_SHIP--- {Access databanks} I access the ship's systems, extracting a quantity of Nanite Clusters. Nothing else is salvageable. ---TECHFRAG_S--- #6 The ship appears to be pristine, all systems functioning. There is no sign that this vessel was ever inhabited, let alone that someone died here. I see it on the terminal, the only video footage left on the system. Sentinels surrounded the Traveller, murdering them for mining large quantities of Heridium. But the footage does not explain the newness of the ship. {Search cargo hold} I search the ship and find valuable cargo within. It appears to have been left for me, a message welcoming me by name. ---PROD_TECH--- {Access ship's computer} I access the ship's systems, extracting a quantity of Nanite Clusters. The systems contain multiple video files showing me on my journeys, appearing to have been recorded at reasonably close distance. It is unclear who recorded this footage. It is unclear whether I was meant to see it. ---TECHFRAG_S--- #7 The vessel crashed long ago, containing only a few data logs uncorrupted by time and decay. They reveal that this ship once belonged to a Traveller, a devotee of some ancient religion. At the time of the ship's crash, they whispered of eldritch light... of the crimson that deceived... {Access databanks} I access the ship's systems, extracting a quantity of Nanite Clusters. Nothing else is salvageable but arcane prayers and ciphered logs... ---TECHFRAG_S--- {Scan anomaly} I scan the ship. My exosuit begins to spit out warnings, claiming that I am at risk of imminent non-existence. I find something, an object caught between worlds. I pull at it... ---DAMAGESMALL--- #8 The vessel bears the signs of catastrophe, not merely from the moment of its crash but from the causes that preceded it. The vessel contains a series of instruments designed to analyse water samples. Several of these samples appear to have burst open as the ship came under attack. For a few moments, the ship fell into non-existence, its pilot dying a hundred deaths... {Scan anomaly} I scan the anomaly. My exosuit begins to warn me of a hazard, particles from the water samples still present in the air. I begin to see things, mirror images from a world that never was. I convulse, finding something, an object caught between worlds. I pull at it... ---MONEY--- {Search cargo hold} I search the ship and find some supplies, apparently untainted by the earlier disaster. ---SUBST_COMMOD--- #9 Although there is no trace of the pilot on board the vessel, all systems appear to be operational nonetheless. The ship was charting a course to a region known as the Keleibniug Mass, bearing the yellow insignia of some far-off alliance. The pilot appears to have been carrying a message for a King from another universe... the black box shows that the vessel was fired upon by an unknown force. {Analyse black box signal} I analyse the black box using my scanner. The pilot appears to have been communicating across vast distance, with beings unable to reach them. But something happened here. Something found a way through. I discover an anomaly, an object caught between worlds. I pull at it... ---TECH_SUIT--- {Access the ship's computer} I access the ship's systems, extracting a quantity of Nanite Clusters. Nothing else is salvageable but the logs of various worlds claimed by each faction. ---TECHFRAG_S--- #10 The bodies of two pilots lie slumped across either side of the ship's interior. One seems to glitch in and out of reality, whilst the other stares, motionless. It is unclear if they are alive. {Scan anomaly} I scan the anomaly. My exosuit begins to spit out error messages, warning me to stop what I am doing. I find something, an object caught between worlds. I pull at it... ---DAMAGESMALL--- {Access databanks} I access the ship's systems, extracting a quantity of Nanite Clusters. Nothing else is salvageable. As I leave, the pilots appear to turn towards me, and then vanish. ---TECHFRAG_S--- #11 The vessel seems to have belonged to a fellow Traveller. They warped through three black holes and sixteen star systems to reach this world, to try to find the site of their beloved's suffering. But they were betrayed. When they got here, they discovered there was no beloved after all. There were only pirates. {Analyse black box signal} I analyse the black box using my scanner. I discover the communicator code for this 'beloved', coming into contact with the same pirates. They agree to pay me for my silence and cease their activities. ---MONEY--- {Search cargo hold} I search the ship and find valuable cargo, the collected goods of an entire life. ---TECH_WEAPON--- ---TECH_SHIP--- #12 An exosuit lies slumped against the control panel, the pilot who wore it long since departed. The suit's data logs report an ordinary and somewhat familiar life of intergalactic trade, moving from system to system, building funds for upgrades to assist in making even more money. As if the goal of life were to increase a single number... {Access databanks} I access the ship's systems, extracting a quantity of Nanite Clusters. Nothing else is salvageable. As I leave, the exosuit appears to shift slightly. I scan it, but nothing else happens. ---TECHFRAG_S--- {Search for supplies} I search the ship and find valuable cargo within. As I leave, the exosuit appears to shift slightly. I scan it, but nothing else happens. ---MONEY--- #13 The crash site smells of decay, a strange buzzing emerging from the distress beacon. I see crimson light. I see red curtains fluttering in the darkness of the ship. I see myself, staring at myself. Both of our exosuits alert us to an imminent existential paradox. Only one version can leave this vessel. {Attempt to embrace anomaly} I attempt to embrace the anomaly. My exosuit begins to spit out error messages, warning me to stop what I am doing or face obliteration. My counterpart gives me something, an object caught between two worlds. I give them something in return, something I did not know I possessed. Two Travellers trade and walk away unscathed. ---P_ALBUMENPEARL--- {Attempt to flee} I attempt to flee, but can find no way out. My counterpart walks toward me endlessly, until I am cornered. I close my eyes and die. I awaken. It was all a dream, I know. It was not real. I am still myself, aren't I? I am enriched, full of Nanite Clusters and new purpose. ---TECHFRAG_M--- #14 The ship's black box reveals that the pilot of this vessel was a Traveller. They appear to have crashed the ship deliberately, inebriated by a variety of alien substances. They were haunted by what they had done. They believed with all their heart that they should die. {Analyse black box signal} I analyse the black box signal using my scanner. They appear to have sold the communicator logs and locations of other Travellers for monetary gain, the resulting individuals captured by slavers and pirates. But there is something else here, something anomalous... I grasp at something in the air, releasing an object from a rift... ---C_NIGHTCRYSTALS--- {Search cargo hold} I search the ship and find valuable cargo within. Whoever they were, they appear to have been handsomely rewarded for their work. ---MONEY--- #15 The log reveals the ship's interior to be ice cold. Its last known landing occurred at a space station with no living inhabitants. The pilot disembarked to find a crimson interface, an orb that told them the secret of existence. It told them that they would die within a day. The pilot left, declaring this Atlas to be a liar... {Access databanks} I access the ship's systems, extracting a quantity of Nanite Clusters. Nothing else is salvageable. ---TECHFRAG_S--- {Scan anomaly} I scan the anomaly. My exosuit begins to spit out error messages, warning me to stop what I am doing. I find something, an object caught between worlds. I pull at it... ---TECH_SUIT--- #16 The ship's computers reveal that the pilot was in regular contact with Travellers via holographic interfaces. The Traveller's curiosity got the better of them. They wished to know who had created the portals. They wished to understand the secret of the final cycle before time itself ran out. The Traveller found an answer, of course. A listener in the darkness... {Search cargo hold} I search the ship and find valuable cargo within. It appears to have been left for me, a message welcoming me by name. ---MONEY--- {Scan ship} I scan the ship, discovering a number of anomalous properties. There is something here, an object caught between worlds. I pull at it... ---TECHFRAG_S--- #17 The black box reveals that this vessel once belonged to a Traveller. They appear to have ingested infectious matter whilst exploring a derelict world. They were unable to cure themselves. As their condition grew worse and worse, they hurtled towards the centre of the galaxy. They did not make it. There is no body. No sign of what happened, but for the footage on the black box. {Analyse black box signal} I analyse the black box, discovering that the pilot was in perfect health. Whatever was wrong with them must have been a condition of the soul, not of the body. But still, the logs are troubling. There are things on this ship that should not be here... objects foreign to this universe. I place one of them within my hands... ---C_VYKEENEFFIGY--- {Search cargo hold} I search the ship and find valuable cargo within. It is unclear where the pilot had been travelling before the onset of their illness. ---TECH_SHIP--- #18 The vessel crashed long ago, but the pilot did not die at once. They lived on, attempting to survive alone on this world for many years. But loneliness takes its toll. The silence was all consuming. It seemed the pilot repeatedly placed themselves in danger just to hear the Exosuit's warning voice. This desperation seems to have lead to their demise. {Search for supplies} I search the ship and find valuable cargo within. They appear to have stockpiled much during their time on this world. ---TECHFRAG_M--- {Scan the ship} I scan the ship, but the results seem impossible. They claim that I am not alone. They claim that I am surrounded by other lifeforms, standing all around me. I feel faint. As I stumble away, I feel an object slipping into my hands... a gift from another world, or a curse... ---WEAPON--- #19 The logs reveal that the pilot was celebrating a festival known as 'Unification Day'. Groups of similar minds, unable to meet but attempting to find one another, to claim worlds across time and space. Once a year their various alliances, federations, hubs, and empires united to remember all that they were, are, and could become in time... The vessel appears to have been destroyed by pirates. {Scan anomaly} I scan the anomaly. My exosuit begins to spit out error messages, warning me to stop what I am doing. This ship does not belong in this universe. I find something, an object caught between worlds. I pull at it... ---P_GRAVBALL--- {Access databanks} I access the ship's systems, extracting a quantity of Nanite Clusters. Nothing else is salvageable but a collection of alternative histories, dissident heresies about the origins of this universe. ---TECHFRAG_S--- #20 The log reveals the pilot lived in this vessel for a long time, longer than most lifeforms ever live. It reveals a paranoia, a growing fear of the universe they had explored for so many years. They had begun to hear a voice. They had come to believe that their exosuit was not what it seemed. {Scan the ship} I begin to scan the ship, but my exosuit appears to prevent me. My power begins to fail. I become aware of an object in front of me. It is strange how I did not notice it before. And now... now I do not even know why I am here. I should continue my journey, I am sure of it. ---SUBST_COMMOD--- {Search cargo hold} I search the ship and find valuable cargo within. I leave, feeling as if I am being observed. ---MONEY---

GEK MONOLITHS PuzzleType: TRA_MON_ #2 Alien: Underling! The Gek First Spawn demand you destroy the weak! I see a strange vision. A small winged creature lands on the very top of the monolith. Suddenly, its eyes glow red and its head revolves in a full circle. It screams for mercy in an ancient voice that wants itself dead. The poor animal has clearly broken its neck, but the monolith's power of possession still animates it. I wonder if the right thing would be to shoot it, and put it out of its misery. {Shoot the creature} The poor winged creature is no more. The monolith rewards my actions. ---C_GEKRELIC--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- ---HEALTHLARGE--- ---TEACHWORD_ATLAS--- {Leave the creature alone.} The possession ends, and the poor winged creature drops down dead. All else is silent. {Locate a Portal} ---REVEAL_PORTAL--- #14 Alien: Beware! Murderous abomination! Do not awake! Terror! Despair! A strange new reality grips me. The ancient structure swings open to reveal a body encased in ice. It is a patchwork of different body parts. Its ragged beak appears to have been stitched on with animal gut. A hand-written sign in the language of the ancient traders can be seen above the body's head. A flammable isotope would most likely melt the ice... {Melt ice} The creature's eyes flick open. Its hands leap around my throat. I force it back into the depths of the disapproving Monolith. ---DAMAGESMALL--- ---STD_DEC_TRA--- {Leave} The panel on the Monolith swings shut. The abomination remains trapped. I am thanked. ---C_GEKRELIC--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- ---TEACHWORD_ATLAS--- {Locate a Portal} ---REVEAL_PORTAL--- #1 Alien: Underling! The Gek First Spawn demand help! Give silicate! I'm inspecting the monolith's surface when, suddenly, a ragged silicon claw grabs me. Despite being broken and fragmented, it holds me tight while an ancient metallic beak emerges from the living rock. It shouts in an ancient tongue, unaware of who or what I am. {Give silicate} The metallic hand releases its grip and grabs at my offering. I have perhaps appeased an ancient evil... ---C_GEKRELIC--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- ---HEALTHLARGE--- ---TEACHWORD_ATLAS--- {Smash claw} I smash the metallic claw into pieces. ---PROD_FUEL--- ---STD_DEC_TRA--- {Wait} The claw grips me tightly. Just when I feel like my forearm will crack into pieces... ...I am released. The pain is agonizing. ---DAMAGESMALL--- {Locate a Portal} ---REVEAL_PORTAL--- #12 Alien: Feed First Spawn beak common oxides! Rare oxide brings painful noise! Furious noise! A beak emerges from the ancient stone. It's shouting, but can't be heard. In the stone above someone, long ago, has scrawled advice for those who would approach it. The beak screams wordlessly at me, furiously intoning the words of the ancient beings that once worshipped here. My scanner detects traces of oxides around it, but can't specify which ones. {Feed beak common oxide} The beak whispers the words of those who once worshipped here. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---TEACHWORD_ATLAS--- {Feed beak uncommon oxide} The beak shouts the words of those who once worshipped here. ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- ---C_GEKRELIC--- ---TEACHWORD_ATLAS--- {Feed beak rare oxide} The beak screams the words of those who once worshipped here. The noise is extreme. I feel great pain. ---DAMAGESMALL--- ---TEACHWORD_TRA--- {Locate a Portal} ---REVEAL_PORTAL--- #18 Alien: ToilGek dare approach First Spawn holy site? Leave! Leave! Depart or die! I hear a low rumble, which gradually builds into an ancient scream. It's like no other noise I've ever experienced. To this strange alien landscape it's a calm silence, inside my helmet it's a nightmarish cacophony of pain and death. Through the noise, however, I can make out some words within the screams. {Touch Monolith} The vengeful spirits that inhabit this place are grateful for my obedience. ---DAMAGE_TECH--- ---DAMAGESMALL--- ---STD_DEC_TRA--- {Move away} The vengeful sprits that inhabit this place punish my disobedience. ---C_GEKRELIC--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- ---TEACHWORD_ATLAS--- {Wait} The vengeful spirits that inhabit this place are grateful for my obedience. ---DAMAGESMALL--- ---STD_DEC_TRA--- {Locate a Portal} ---REVEAL_PORTAL--- #3 Alien: The Gek First Spawn destroy the pirate! A portion of the monolith melts in front of my eyes. The face of a trader emerges, its beak cut off for reasons unknown. It screams and writhes in the bubbling vertical lava, desperately reaching out to me - with a multi-tool in its hand. Supercooled liquid frenium from my suit systems could relieve its pain, but I can also take a risk and pull it from the molten rock. {Cool lava} The relieved ancient trader pushes a gift out towards me. The lifeform is absorbed back into the rock. ---C_GEKRELIC--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- ---TEACHWORD_ATLAS--- {Reach into lava} I pull the overjoyed trader from the burning lava. It dematerialises suddenly, leaving only what it carried. ---WEAPON--- ---DAMAGELARGE--- ---TEACHWORD_ATLAS--- {Locate a Portal} ---REVEAL_PORTAL--- #16 Alien: Retain foul First Spawn stench! Remove sweet eggs from the spawning syrup! Reality changes. I'm standing in a crater beneath a jet black sky. I'm up to my knees in a strange syrup that glows pink in the darkness. Spherical eggs float around me. Some of these mucus-covered orbs smell terrible, others are sweet and delicate. The taint of the foul eggs is infecting the entirety of the spawning pool. I am filled by an urge to separate them. {Remove noxious eggs from pool} I have angered the ancients Gek spirits that dwell here. Reality is restored. ---STD_DEC_TRA--- {Remove sweet-smelling eggs from pool} I am smiled upon by vengeful ancient spirits. Reality is restored. ---C_GEKRELIC--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- ---TEACHWORD_ATLAS--- {Locate a Portal} ---REVEAL_PORTAL--- #4 Alien: First Spawn... power... low ... give... element... isotope... carbon... plutonium... The monolith's glyphs take on a faint yellow tinge, then flicker and disappear. It has no power: the mysterious forces that fuel these stones are weak. I hear a faint crackling whisper on the planetary breeze, and I notice a hole in the monument's base. I could potentially fit some of my mined resources through the gap... {Insert Isotope element} I awake this place's vengeful spirits. They reward me. ---C_GEKRELIC--- ---STD_INC_TRA--- ---HEALTHLARGE--- ---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--- #5 Alien: The First Spawn gives help to the worker. The First Spawn destroy the workshy. The monolith has the smell of burnt metal and heavy industry. Strange runes swirl and transform, forcing an image deep into my mind. I look into the past. I see a small beaked figure, silhouetted by the light of a forge, industriously hammering armour. Next to it, a cloaked companion idly watches – seemingly content to avoid the work. Both look at me. I must choose. {Choose the worker} I have pleased this place's spirits. My equipment is filled with a strange power. ---SHIELDLARGE--- ---REPAIR_TECH--- ---C_GEKRELIC--- ---TEACHWORD_ATLAS--- {Choose the onlooker} I have angered this place's spirits. My equipment is damaged by a strange force. ---DAMAGE_TECH--- ---HAZARDSMALL--- ---STD_DEC_TRA--- {Locate a Portal} ---REVEAL_PORTAL---

--Type: NPC_MISSION_MISSING_-- #1 {Gone Some Time} The client seeks aid in the search for a missing associate. They were last seen piloting a ship of questionable spaceworthiness. They launched from the local station in a foolhardy attempt to get home without first conducting the proper maintenance. Distress beacon signals indicate the ship made an accidental atmospheric approach within the last 24 hours. #2 {No State for Exploration} The client has lost their business partner. They had been celebrating the success of a recent deal when the now-missing party resolved to return home via a nearby planet. They were in a state of poor judgement, as the planet in question contains little in the way of amenities and plenty in the way of hazards. The client hopes to at least recover the body of the missing person, as their fingerprints are required to access the company accounts. #3 {Storming Out} The client seeks help in the search for a missing friend. The client's friend had been attempting to form a bond with another lifeform, but their offers had been rejected. The client fears this may have had an adverse effect on their friend's judgement, and requests urgency in the search. #4 {The Runaway} The client has lost one of their spawn. The youngest of their litter became jealous of the attention given to the first-born, and reacted by stealing the access codes to the client's starship. The client has the tracking data from the ship, and requests assistance in bringing their spawn back home. #5 {Once More into the Unknown} The client is engaged in the search for a missing employee. The individual concerned has a track record when it comes to unexplained absences, and the client is tiring of performing the search themselves. They feel it would be more efficient if a heavily-armed explorer located the missing person on this occasion. #6 {Snatched!} The client believes they have been targeted by a criminal gang. A member of their family has gone missing, and the client is convinced this is part of a kidnap plot. The client refuses to be extorted by thugs, though they recognise no-one has yet demanded any such payment. Nonetheless, they are seeking to remedy the situation by sending explorers in search of the missing party. #7 {Reach for the Stars} The client seeks help in the rescue of a missing person. The individual in question was last seen entering their ship on a sight-seeing tour of the local system. Their heart had been set on seeing the star up close. However, the client fears the starship was not equipped with sufficient heatsinks for the mission. Tracking data suggests the starship failed to reach the star, and made an emergency landing on a nearby planet. #8 {Navigation Errors} The client seeks help in the recovery of a missing person. The individual in question relied on the client to equip them for an expedition across local space. However, the client has become aware that the orbital data they supplied contained numerous calculation errors. They fear the individual may have made a problematic atmospheric approach, and is now in need of rescue. #9 {Hostage Retrieval} The client has been targeted by kidnappers. An associate of theirs was stolen from their home and transported to a strange planet. They managed to escape from their captors and sent a message to the client, claiming they have found shelter but have no ship and little in the way of resources. The client is suspicious of the message, and requests an independent explorer investigates the origin of the signal. #10 {One In One Out} The client seeks assistance in a rescue operation. The client recently went missing, but has now returned unharmed. However, in the meantime the client's associates went out looking for the client, and are now themselves missing. The client fears they cannot leave again to locate their friends, and instead asks for explorers to assist in the search.

PuzzleType: TRA_NPC_ANOMALY_ #1 Alien: Friends everywhere, if only you know where to look. Friends in all shapes, all sizes, all places! The Gek wipes their grease-splattered hands on their suit as they address me. They introduce themselves as Specialist Polo, fugitive of the Gek. They tell me they gave up trade, units, and all material possessions to flee into an anomaly outside of time and space with a robotic priest. They have a jocular air about them, all things considered. They are curious about my travels, about what sentient species I have seen. They do not get out much these days... {Transmit species data} Polo pores over the data, muttering bitterly at variations they are already familiar with, cheering at those they are not. Finally Polo applauds wildly, and hands me a blueprint. They claim that we are now bonded in 'glorious friendship'. ---ANOMALYTECH1--- {Leave} #2 Alien: Talk, read! Study monoliths, if you can find them! Give yourself a strong brain to match those strong legs! To explore is to discover yourself, friend! Polo bobs up and down happily, convinced that I am a kindred spirit in an odyssey of exploration and invention. Polo was once a specialist in inter-species trade and communication. They learned to speak many languages, their mind changing as they did. Once they cared only for trade, now they wanted something more. Everything changed when they met Nada... Polo wonders if learning alien languages will affect me in the same way. They wish to broaden my horizons and explore the limits of my understanding... {Transmit language data} The Gek runs an instrument over my head, their hands trembling with excitement. Then Polo fiddles feverishly with arcane machinery, and proudly presents me with a schematic. ---ANOMALYTECH2--- {Leave} #3 Alien: Units this, units that... A strange, sad way to live a life, eh? Fill your pockets, we'll find out why they make all these worlds go round. Polo's muzzle breaks into a wide, warm smile. Maybe too wide, given the short length of our friendship. Perhaps the jovial Gek feels lonely out here. They engage me in talk of wealth. How does an economy function when somehow stretched across an entire galaxy? Polo would welcome any insights, encouraging me to accrue units. {Transmit wealth data} Polo analyses the trading logs from my ship and my exosuit, creating an incomprehensible graph from the results. They laugh as if at a shared joke. Polo tells me that their fellow Gek are the most foolish species of all. Money is not real. Nothing is real. They tell me that only friendship matters, giving me the gift of a new technology in demonstration. ---ANOMALYTECH3--- {Leave} #4 Alien: Something is wrong with these universes, friend! Goodness fails... hearts are hardened. We must find out why. Polo seems disappointed by the slow development of our friendship. They confide in me that although they care for Nada deeply, they fear they have become co-dependent in their exile. Polo does not see why they cannot still be friends with their old species, even if they wish to execute Polo and Nada as heretics. Why the need for violence? Polo encourages me to stop evil where I can, to make war against the pirates that plague so many systems. They hope to understand what drives us to do the things we do. {Transmit pirate data} Polo seems upset at the data I send through. They do not understand why all of this killing, all of this bloodshed was necessary. They suggest that perhaps they will never understand. They hand me a blueprint, turning away from my sight. It is unclear if they blame me for what I have had to do. ---ANOMALYTECH4--- {Leave} #5 Alien: Those flying machines, those walking machines! Everywhere! Chase us, hurt us, stop our adventures. Bad robots. Worry passes over Polo's face, and they seem to visibly shrink. Seeing the records of the pirate ships I had destroyed seems to have deeply upset the Gek. An awkward moment passes, then Polo makes a suggestion. Polo feels that civilisation should come back. Then the pirates would not need to steal, surely? There would be no need for any more killing or bad behaviour. The Sentinels are the problem. Polo suggests I make a point of destroying any that I encounter. We might then have a better understanding of the machines' weaknesses, and we could be friends again, too. {Transmit Sentinel data} Though Polo tries to appear aloof, their eyes blaze with relief at the sight of me. They still care, then. A small smile accompanies my compensation for the Sentinel data. ---ANOMALYTECH5--- {Leave} #6 Alien: You, friend, visit the worst places you can find. Stay alive. No good to me dead, are you? Can't learn much from a corpse. Although... No, never mind, stay alive. At last, Polo is affable once again. A nod, a smile, even a companionable tap on the arm at one point. A friendship renewed. I blush when the Gek mechanic tells me that they hope I live a long, healthy life. I have to swallow disappointment when it transpires that Polo's true motivation is to study how my suit responds to long-term exposure to extreme climates. {Transmit survival data} Polo seems unconvinced by my claims of longevity, wondering aloud if I am some Sentinel-made replica. They check me over thoroughly, then offer a huge grin. They seem excited about whatever they have discovered, granting me the gift of new technology. ---ANOMALYTECH6--- {Leave} #7 Alien: A whole galaxy for you, just for you. You must see it all. Aha, no, I joke. But a few more systems, maybe? Our earlier awkwardness is now long forgotten. Polo wishes me to indulge in their favourite hobby: unfettered exploration of the stars, warping from system to system. They wish to see me fly. {Transmit Warp data} Before taking the Warp data, Polo gazes deep into my eyes, trying to discern if I am changed by my long travels. There is a wistful sigh, and then a schematic is produced. ---ANOMALYTECH7--- {Leave} #8 Alien: I miss the dirt, friend, the worlds on which I once walked... I miss the sounds of birds and beasts. Even my data, even my recordings are gone, as if they had never been... Polo gestures forlornly at a jumble of broken electronics beside them. It seems that an accident has befallen some of their precious research... Perhaps when I next return, I can restock their archives with reports on a multitude of strange creatures. I will show them all a world has to offer. {Transmit creature data} With infectious enthusiasm, Polo browses the creature scans, and we find ourselves cooing and laughing together at some of the stranger species. They reward me with a blueprint of their own design. Polo says that they have no more use for it... ---ANOMALYTECH8--- {Leave} #9 Alien: Are there others like us, Traveller? Others who see the truth? I would so like new friends, friend! Nada and Polo appear to be proof that their species are not bound by pre-ordained roles, rebelling against the mantras of greed and conformity. Polo wishes to know if there are other lifeforms who might join them in this place. They wish for me to interact with a wider sample of Gek, Vy'keen, and Korvax, hoping that I might bring them new friends. {Transfer species data} Polo stares at length at the images of each species, watching their movements and listening to their words. Every lifeform that shows the slightest individuality appears to have something wrong with them, some sickness within. They give me my reward with a subtle sadness, claiming there are no new friends to be found. They begin to cough. ---ANOMALYTECH9--- {Leave} #10 Alien: You are not like me, friend! You can still go to planets. You can still meet new lifeforms, speak, shout, love! Nada and Polo would be killed for going so far! You must learn more words. You must know how to make yourself heard, Traveller! You are our only friend. Polo claims that they cannot teach me language directly, that their files on alien languages have been damaged. I wonder if I am being manipulated somehow. The Gek watches me with an earnest and friendly sorrow, awaiting my discovery of more words. It is almost as if they want to tell me something... {Transmit language data} I present the proof of my linguistic advancement. Polo bursts into tears. They say they wish I remembered my old life, our old times together. I ask Polo what they mean, but they claim they cannot talk about it. They claim that they have said too much. ---ANOMALYTECH10--- {Leave} #11 Alien: Sometimes I miss currency, Traveller. I know that I should not, I know that adventure is its own reward, but I used to be able to buy such nice things... Polo proclaims that the best way to live is to stop doing what anyone tells me and go enjoy myself. See the stars, earn a fortune, buy myself something nice. That's what they would do in my shoes, claims the Gek, nudging me in the ribs. {Transmit wealth data} Polo does not even ask for my research data this time. The Gek simply congratulates me for my success and then bestows a gift upon me. I am wealthier, but none the wiser. ---ANOMALYTECH11--- {Leave} #12 Alien: Pests of the final frontier, nasty little obstacles to adventure. Death is sad, bullies are sadder. Polo seems to wish to encourage my development as a spacefarer, but repeatedly alludes to some deeper purpose, some hidden truth to all of this. Polo suggests that I should once again throw myself into combat with pirates. What a thrilling existence that would be, they argue, miming dogfighting craft with their hands while making sound effects. When I remind Polo of their earlier sadness and fear of violence, the Gek laughs, clearly troubled. Destroy ships or do not destroy ships... they understand it now. It will change nothing. {Transmit pirate data} There is mingled guilt and relief in the Gek's bright eyes as they hand me another blueprint. Whether or not their intentions are honest, Polo does not want to see me harmed. ---ANOMALYTECH12--- {Leave} #13 Alien: They have found us! Eheu, Nada! Eheu! I notice a strange-looking message on one of Polo's panels. As the Gek spots my gaze, their brow furrows. Whatever the news is, it isn't good. Polo hurriedly turns off the screen when they see me, forcing a smile onto an anxious face. Trying to be friendly, the Gek states that the Sentinels have started to detect the presence of their anomaly in various systems. If the Sentinels are not distracted soon, they might kill Nada and Polo before their proper time. But Polo assures me not to worry. As long as we have friends, nothing will ever truly be wrong. {Transmit Sentinel data} Polo silently bundles me into a hug when I return, and this time I do not recoil. I do not ask why, either. There are tears in the Gek's eyes. They thank me for saving their lives, however brief the respite. ---ANOMALYTECH13--- {Leave} #14 Alien: Do not die, friend. A waste of data. Hee, no, joke. I would miss you so. Polo and I treat each other as friends, trusted companions in our ongoing adventure among the stars. I know the Gek has a secret, but I trust that it will be shared with me in time. For now, Polo encourages me to become the ultimate explorer, to push myself to the limits. There are places out there where none have survived. But perhaps I can succeed where others have failed... {Transmit survival data} Polo is rapt with envy as I recount tales of the monstrous climates I have endured, of horrendous travels through burning rain and choking heat. What peculiar jealousy. ---ANOMALYTECH14--- {Leave} #15 Alien: I have something to tell you, friend. Something I should have told you long ago... My friend tells me that they are going to die. That the time of Nada and Polo is coming to an end. They cannot say more. They cannot explain it. But they must say goodbye to all they have known. Grief-stricken, I try to offer condolences, but Polo gathers their composure. They tell me to warp further than ever before, to visit places that no-one will ever see again. They tell me to be what I am: a Traveller. {Transmit Warp data} Polo tells me that they are glad I have seen so much with my own eyes. Wonder is a rare but dangerous gift. Polo gives me a blueprint to light my way... ---ANOMALYTECH15--- {Leave} #16 Alien: So good that you are here. You bring me light. Show me creatures I cannot see myself. Many creatures. After that, my friend of friends, I know not what you or I will do. Whatever is making them ill, the Gek's sense of wonder remains. They are keen to witness the majesty of the stars through my eyes. Creatures are existence at its strangest, its wildest. I will show Polo all I can before their death. I will be their friend. {Transmit final creature data} Polo puts the data to one side and turns to the window. For a time, we watch the stars together, my friend and I. We clasp hands, and then I go to leave. There is more to see. ---ANOMALYTECH16--- {Leave}

PuzzleType: EXP_NPC_ANOMALY_ #1 Alien: Is it Traveller? Is it first or last? Pleasure regardless! I am Priest Entity Nada, divergent Korvax. But entities must keep secrets, yes? The electronic being stares at me from their dark mask. I cannot escape the feeling that we have somehow met before. This entire station sings with a strange and unnerving frequency. Nada tells me that we stand in the place between worlds, in the heart of the anomaly. They can guide me towards the will of the Atlas. They offer to show me the way to the galactic core. Or, if I should so wish, they can provide resources for my journey. The choice is mine. {Seek the Path of the Atlas} Nada marks the location of an Atlas Interface. They hope I find what I am searching for... ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- {Ask for a shortcut to the centre} Nada locates a Black Hole through which I might travel closer to the centre. They warn me of the danger within... ---REV_BLACK_HOLE--- {Request resources to aid exploration} Nada gives me a gift to aid my travels. They wish only for me to be happy... ---FREE_EXPLORE--- ---TECH_SUIT--- #2 Alien: Nada awoke in the shadow of Korvax Prime. Could not understand why bad things happen. Why we are alone. Nada is not alone anymore. Nada is with Polo-Friend now. Our Convergence is small, but Nada happy. Nada reveals that they are a Korvax priest. They began to question much about the universe, displaying a level of curiosity and independent thought. For this, the Korvax ejected Nada from their hive mind and hunted them to the end of time and space. Priest Entity Nada had almost given up by the time they found Polo, their only friend... Nada blinks at me, waiting for my request. They will return me to the path of the Atlas, guide me to the galactic centre, or grant me assistance in my journey. Nada just wants to help me any way they can. {Seek the Path of the Atlas} Nada marks the location of an Atlas Interface. They hope I find what I am searching for... ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- {Ask for a shortcut to the centre} Nada locates a Black Hole through which I might travel closer to the centre. They warn me of the danger within... ---REV_BLACK_HOLE--- {Request resources to aid exploration} Nada gives me a gift to aid my travels. They wish only for me to be happy... ---FREE_EXPLORE--- ---TECH_SUIT--- #3 Alien: Nada and Polo drift between worlds and worlds. There are many. Have you seen them, Traveller-Friend? Nada wishes they could but they can't. Nada regrets much. Nada tells me that they found refuge in this space anomaly, a pocket dimension located between universes. The station was waiting for them, even recognising them by sight and sound... Nada has a theory. They believe that the pair are caught in a paradox. They believe they are the ones who created this station, many years from now. They believe that their presence is a constant in all 'versions'. They will not explain what they mean by this. Nada merely offers their help once more... {Seek the Path of the Atlas} Nada marks the location of an Atlas Interface. They hope I find what I am searching for... ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- {Ask for a shortcut to the centre} Nada locates a Black Hole through which I might travel closer to the centre. They warn me of the danger within... ---REV_BLACK_HOLE--- {Request resources to aid exploration} Nada gives me a gift to aid my travels. They wish only for me to be happy... ---FREE_EXPLORE--- ---TECH_SUIT--- #4 Alien: In every universe, Korvax Convergence crave 'non-compliant' Nada shell. My family would murder me, Traveller-Friend... Eheu! Nada must resist. Nada likes who Nada is. Nada's body shakes as they speak, the external symptom of an internal struggle. At times, another entity seems to stare out from beneath the visor... I grasp their arm firmly, and soon the familiar light-pattern of my Korvax friend reasserts itself. The Convergence endlessly attempts to regain their errant shell and wipe Nada from existence. But Nada wants to live and learn and help. Nada promises to assist me in my journey... {Seek the Path of the Atlas} Nada marks the location of an Atlas Interface. They hope I find what I am searching for... ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- {Ask for a shortcut to the centre} Nada locates a Black Hole through which I might travel closer to the centre. They warn me of the danger within... ---REV_BLACK_HOLE--- {Request resources to aid exploration} Nada gives me a gift to aid my travels. They wish only for me to be happy... ---FREE_EXPLORE--- ---TECH_SUIT--- #5 Alien: Physics simplistic. Chemistry arbitrary. Existence fragile. I am terrified, Traveller-Friend. Nada watches suns flare and die on their panels, molecules sparking in and out of existence in matched pairs. There are repeated patterns all across the galaxy, identical elements where there should be endless divergence. This cannot be a coincidence. Did the Atlas do this? Across the room, Polo giggles... {Seek the Path of the Atlas} Nada marks the location of an Atlas Interface. They hope I find what I am searching for... ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- {Ask for a shortcut to the centre} Nada locates a Black Hole through which I might travel closer to the centre. They warn me of the danger within... ---REV_BLACK_HOLE--- {Request resources to aid exploration} Nada gives me a gift to aid my travels. They wish only for me to be happy... ---FREE_EXPLORE--- ---TECH_SUIT--- #6 Alien: Dreamer friend or foe? Dreamer friend or foe? Is Nada an error? Trust Nada? Trust you? Eheu! I cannot know... Nada stands back from me this time. The lights dance across their visor like warning symbols. Something has changed between us. Nada has grown to believe that there is no room in the galaxy for free will, for nothing but brutal causation. They peer out into the darkness of space and see only dancers, twisting on strings... They will still assist me, I know that they will. {Seek the Path of the Atlas} Nada marks the location of an Atlas Interface. They hope I find what I am searching for... ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- {Ask for a shortcut to the centre} Nada locates a Black Hole through which I might travel closer to the centre. They warn me of the danger within... ---REV_BLACK_HOLE--- {Request resources to aid exploration} Nada gives me a gift to aid my travels. They wish only for me to be happy... ---FREE_EXPLORE--- ---TECH_SUIT--- #7 Alien: Red orbs. Dominant, hostile to Nada Fallen-Priest. Not a deity, not worthy of worship. Atlas Liar-Machine of Life and Death and Unknowing. Infection is at bay. Nada will endure. Nada's shell is static save for the dancing lights within their mask. They speak of the Atlas and infection. They call it a liar, a machine of life and death. For just a moment, Nada's mask flashes red. Something is wrong. {Seek the Path of the Atlas} Nada marks the location of an Atlas Interface. They hope I find what I am searching for... ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- {Ask for a shortcut to the centre} Nada locates a Black Hole through which I might travel closer to the centre. They warn me of the danger within... ---REV_BLACK_HOLE--- {Request resources to aid exploration} Nada gives me a gift to aid my travels. They wish only for me to be happy... ---FREE_EXPLORE--- ---TECH_SUIT--- #8 Alien: Nada tied to anomaly... Nada scans universes where once Nada scanned creatures of the dirt. Nada is free and not free. Happy and not happy. But Nada is safe. The Korvax shares their research. They show me what they believe to be the structure of the known Multiverse: a cloud of what seem like stars, each pinprick of light containing the fire of a Big Bang. Universes rise and fall. I see worlds where nothing lives, all life wiped out by a nameless contagion. I see alien species make faltering steps into the skies and beyond. I see the creation of a great machine... Nada tells me that the death of the Atlas is the death of everything. All worlds echo the circumstances of its holy birth, its fall... {Seek the Path of the Atlas} Nada marks the location of an Atlas Interface. They hope I find what I am searching for... ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- {Ask for a shortcut to the centre} Nada locates a Black Hole through which I might travel closer to the centre. They warn me of the danger within... ---REV_BLACK_HOLE--- {Request resources to aid exploration} Nada gives me a gift to aid my travels. They wish only for me to be happy... ---FREE_EXPLORE--- ---TECH_SUIT--- #9 Alien: All must end. Time must end. Even here, Nada and Polo cannot escape reality-fall. Data cannot survive. Make peace. Find happiness. Be who you want to be. Goodbye, companions. Goodbye, stars. I will remember. All the pieces have fallen into place, Nada explains. Where once Nada stared at star charts, now they see lines of code. There are connections and patterns everywhere. Perhaps I will understand, soon. Perhaps I will see existence as Nada sees it. I shiver as I say goodbye. {Seek the Path of the Atlas} Nada marks the location of an Atlas Interface. They hope I find what I am searching for... ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- {Ask for a shortcut to the centre} Nada locates a Black Hole through which I might travel closer to the centre. They warn me of the danger within... ---REV_BLACK_HOLE--- {Request resources to aid exploration} Nada gives me a gift to aid my travels. They wish only for me to be happy... ---FREE_EXPLORE--- ---TECH_SUIT---

PuzzleType: ALL_ABANDONED_ #1 Alien: User identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log for analysis. ‘It looked like a wound on the world. Crimson and ragged-edged, like something that once lived but was then torn asunder. I should have stayed away.’ ‘Had I the senses to taste the air of this planet, I imagine it would have reeked with some kind of alien fetor, but nothing could stall my curiosity.’ ‘Was it dead? Where I touched it, the surface was moist and yielding. It seemed to become motile then, crawling on a mat of slow cilia, moving from me.’ ‘I should have left it alone.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #2 Alien: Returning user identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log continuation for analysis. ‘I glimpsed the crimson orb between the clouds. A vast and baleful eye, unblinking and monstrous. Fear turned the blood in my veins to ice. I was so afraid it would see me, but then the clouds moved and it was gone.’ ‘I was no longer certain if it had ever been real. Perhaps the fungal deposits from the last world I visited are still clogging my exosuit vents. Affecting my cognition somehow.’ ‘I have cleaned my filters six times now. But I still feel it inside me.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #3 Alien: Returning user identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log continuation for analysis. ‘I found a body. It's unlike anything I have ever seen. If there's a species like it, then I hope they're all dead like this one.’ ‘At first I thought it some tragic remnant of a matter-transfer tech malfunction: a cage of bones and flesh studded with random patterns of crooked teeth and rheumy, lidless eyes. But no.’ ‘Some horror of twisted evolution, warped by cruel nature. I can't help but picture what it would have looked like alive. I cannot help but fear that it will live again.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #4 Alien: Returning user identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log continuation for analysis. ‘The oceans here are blood. Nothing lives in them; they are alive themselves. Great protean life forms as large as continents... or perhaps there is only one of them.’ ‘What does such a thing consume, I ask myself? The answer seems to be everything. I found evidence of past life here, but no signs of it.’ ‘Does the native flora and fauna hibernate when it comes to eat them, then return and repopulate once it retreats? I can feel it moving inside my brain, whispering. It wants me to discard my suit and swim.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #5 Alien: Returning user identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log continuation for analysis. ‘I awoke from a dream where I was drowning in something thick and glutinous. It filled my pores and suffocated me.’ ‘I want to believe that this is my tired mind playing tricks. I have been so long without deep sleep.’ ‘The crimson sphere shimmers at the corner of my eye whenever I try to rest. I cannot comprehend how it tracks my spoor from world to world.’ ‘Or is it that I am following it? The orb cannot be in all places at once. That cannot be.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #6 Alien: Final data log awaiting user analysis. Terminal now active. ‘Is this what we become? At each turn on my journey I find only more to taint my spirit and my flesh. The fanged maws erupt around me when my back is turned.’ ‘I hear them chattering and spitting. Sometimes they scream sounds that may be words. Perhaps my name.’ ‘I haven't removed my exosuit in many cycles. I'm afraid to look at my own skin. I know it will be seething, pus-wet and pitted. I have become a vector of infection.’ ‘The corruption of something ruinous lives in my flesh. Don't come looking for me.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #7 Alien: User identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log for analysis. ‘What are the Sentinels? They appear on countless worlds without summons or warning, they traverse the galaxy unopposed and enforce their will upon every sentient being they encounter.’ ‘Who made them? Who gave them the will to police the stars and demand that we bow to their silent rules?’ ‘The goal of the experiment was to learn the answers to these questions. It began on an uncharted world beneath a blue-white sun, far from the axis of civilization.’ ‘The first drone screamed when it was cut open.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #8 Alien: Returning user identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log continuation for analysis. ‘Where do the Sentinels come from? No ships are ever seen arriving to deposit them, yet we know they have spatial drives and can appear on any planet.’ ‘Do they build themselves from resources on the worlds that they infest? Like a mechanoid virus, drawing on the host body to metastasize new matter?’ ‘Korvax science speaks of metals in their makeup that should not exist in our age of the universe. No-one has ever seen them built.’ ‘They are simply here, as if the universe expresses them into existence.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #9 Alien: Returning user identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log continuation for analysis. ‘There is a world – turned to dust long before the rise of the Vy'keen – where the natives turned against the Sentinels.’ ‘They chafed under the omnipresent eyes of the machines. Resentment begat violence. Drones were destroyed.’ ‘More natives fought, and so came the bipeds, the quadrupeds, the interceptors in the sky. These and more.’ ‘Soon there was war; and still the machines came, in exponential growth until at last they ended a species as a punishment. Still, the Galaxy refused to learn from this...’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #10 Alien: Returning user identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log continuation for analysis. ‘Is there a connection between the monoliths and the Sentinels? The origins of these ancient structures seem to predate all known civilization.’ ‘Over time these structures have become imbued with the beliefs and the histories of the creatures that evolved around them.’ ‘But what if there was a precursor species that came before us all? One of such infinite knowledge and interstellar power that even after their extinction, their tools remain for us to pore over, like an infant confronted with a fusion reactor.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #11 Alien: Returning user identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log continuation for analysis. ‘When there is no explanation for a phenomena, it is a natural progress for intelligent beings to fill in the missing parts of their experience.’ ‘On some worlds, the Sentinels are still worshipped as avatars of an all-seeing deity. Drones are considered sacred, sent by an unseen God to ensure that they live in enforced harmony with the environment around them.’ ‘There is a disturbing commonality to many elements of their theologies; a recurring visual symbol of a crimson sphere and the promise of an end time soon to unfold.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #12 Alien: Final data log awaiting user analysis. Terminal now active. ‘The experiment's final phase emerged from frustration. We wanted to learn something new. We wanted to know how they worked. We wanted to see inside them.’ ‘An untested dimensional-warping process was used, one we believed would allow us to capture a drone intact. We would cage it, keep it docile. It was our error to believe we could.’ ‘The machines co-opted the warp-tech and turned it upon us. In the horror of it all, our flesh was merged with their metal. Our questions were finally answered.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #13 Alien: User identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log for analysis. ‘There is a world in the great void where all things are made of razors and glass. Pity anything of simple, soft flesh that goes there.’ ‘The glass is thirsty. It is brittle and crystalline, and so very beautiful to behold - but it must drink.’ ‘You will go there and you will forget my warning.’ ‘Then it will cut you with an edge so fine that you will feel no pain, and only as your life gushes out to dampen the cracked and broken landscape will this come back to you. Too late. Too late.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #14 Alien: Returning user identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log continuation for analysis. ‘Beneath their skin, they had placed tiny seeds of the glass, which took on the appearance of strange, ritualistic scarring.’ ‘The nubs of the broken crystal were ancient, ground down and polished by generations before them. They fed them their life, and in return the crystals glowed with emerald fires and brought them closer to their fate.’ ‘I would listen to them talk of worlds they could never have seen, in alien tongues that their body was not made to utter.’ ‘The glass made them something more than they were, a vessel for intelligences utterly unlike us.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #15 Alien: Returning user identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log continuation for analysis. ‘The orb rests within its cage-cloak of crystal in so many guises. The angles of the shroud are utterly perfect.’ ‘When measured, no device of known science can determine any flaws, any variation in surface even down to the molecular level.’ ‘I have tried time and again to get close enough to touch it, but it retreats from me. I am not worthy to know its secrets yet.’ ‘My mind must be opened wider. The layers of me revealed and peeled back in sections. There is no other path open. I have already begun to cut upon the skein.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L--- #16 Alien: Returning user identified. Terminal now active. Unlocking data log continuation for analysis. ‘If one can see clearly enough, you will come across a crystal and learn that it is made, not of atoms and molecules, but of thought and gravity and numbers.’ ‘You must go deep. Come and see, I beseech you. More than I must know of this, if only to spread the word and warn the other species.’ ‘Tell it to all. Write it in every language you know, etch it in stone, scream it in song but never be silent.’ ‘I tell you; I have seen what lies beneath the surface of everything. The brittle grid of reality crumbles.’ {Analyse data log} I discover something coded deep inside the long-dead traveller's data log. Something has been left that will aid me on my own journey... ---TECHFRAG_L---

PuzzleType: CRASHED_FREIGHTER_ #1 Alien: ... LOG EXTRACTION COMPLETE ... {Read Log} Life goes on. Day after day, delivering after - kzzzkt - I hope to go home, soon. The life of a - kzzzkt - is not for one like me. Multiple Sentinel energy signatures detected, requiring immediate - kzzzkt - Dropping out of warp, they're - there's - The Sentinels - kzzzkt - what are they doing? Fighting each other, the Sentinel ships are engaging each other - kzzkt - ignoring us for now - The Sentinels appear to have departed. They're - kzzkktz - Distress signal nearby - kzzkt - broadcasting 'sixteen' on repeat. I'm going to take a look... {Leave} #2 Alien: // LOG DAMAGED // PARTIAL RECORDS AVAILABLE // {Read Log} My love. I dive into a black hole tomorrow. I know we agreed not to - kzzzkt - I warned them about - kzzzkt - advisability of such a large vessel moving through the rift. But they are arrogant, vain creatures, are they not? We emerged into the skies above the - kzzkzkt - anomaly. Reality itself has abdicated here. Vast hexagons litter the landscape of this once proud planet, now become the plaything of our unseen foe... I fear I will not be back home for - kzkzzkt - time. We drank the water. My love... forgive me... {Leave} #3 Alien: ... LOG INTEGRITY COMPROMISED ... PATCHING ... {Read Log} I do not like this. Forced to harbour Gek on board? To give them safe passage across the stars? I lodged a complaint. Let's - kzzkt - We encountered remnants of the Vy'keen Expeditionary Force. Their ships decimated, fragments of flesh and steel floating through the asteroid field. Sentinels scan their debris. We leave quickly. I refuse to take my crew any further. You should have told me why we were doing this, why - kzzkt - There is no hope, is there? {Leave} #4 Alien: ... ACCESSING LOG ... {Read Log} These Korvax really are something, aren't they? We tried - kzzkt - What made it tick? What was the point? It just - kzzkt - stared at us... We made a great deal of profit in that last port. We asked the Korvax what it wanted us to do with its share. It spoke for the last time since boarding the freighter. It said - The Korvax showed me a secret. There is not long to go, now. We must head towards the centre. We must - kzzkt - {Leave} #5 Alien: // CREW MANIFEST MISSING // LIMITED DATA AVAILABLE // {Read Log} We approach the temporal anomaly. I have to admit, I'm excited. I might be the first - kzzkt - The system possesses impossible properties. Last night, sound briefly travelled faster than light. I asked them to forgive me, but they told me I was being a fool. They told me I was a good captain. We drank until late in the - kzzkt - One moment our instruments are decimated. The next, they seem advanced far beyond their original capabilities. And the beauty of it, I can't sleep - The stars... there are sixteen of them, now - kzzkt - I'm going to approach - {Leave} #6 Alien: ... DISTRESS BEACON POWER: 0% ... {Read Log} We have crashed. It was much calmer than I thought it would be. Our training worked, the crew were composed, and - kzkzkt - Twelve casualties. They will not be forgotten. We are running out of food. Whatever we attempt to scavenge, whenever we attempt to fight for our survival, the Sentinels arrive to prevent us. We need to get off world... We are going to retreat beneath the surface and await rescue. I will maintain my own link with the ship. They are dead - kzzkt - No longer hungry, no longer - kzzkkt - What have we done? {Leave} #7 Alien: /// MAYDAY EVENT /// DISTRESS SIGNAL BROADCAST /// {Read Log} I had heard the rumours. So-called 'Traveller anomalies', beings of varied appearance and purpose. Their ship approached, our weapons primed. They - kzzkt - The one before us begged for peace. They appeared to be bio-mechanical, at least in part. We struck them from the sky. Probes recovered the body. Well, fragments of DNA and code. The two are almost interchangeable, my researchers tell me. I must confess to a great deal of excitement. But this - kzkzkt - Our duty: we must understand what is happening to our worlds. Visuals confirm it. The same individual we shot down two weeks ago is standing right before us again. These beings are somehow restored upon death, just as the Emperor suggested. Well then. An opportunity to retrieve more samples. I order their death once more. {Leave} #8 Alien: ... NO CREW ACTIVITY DETECTED ... SEARCHING LOGS ... {Read Log} Half our cargo was spoiled by the breach. Try explaining that to the Overseer: The Gek don't take too kindly to broken - kzzzkt - I think it will be better if I tell them in person. Half our cargo was spoiled by the breach. Try - try - explaining - kzzkt - to - what's - kzzzkt - The logs are full of hundreds of such messages, each one talking about a breach in the cargo hold. The freighter's captain seems to grow increasingly panicked and self-aware regarding the repetition of these logs. By the time of the final message, they are screaming with happiness and despair. {Leave} #9 Alien: ... SHIP LOGS REQUESTED ... ACCESSING ... {Read Log} The Vy'keen have left the Council. We knew that they would. Only two other species remain: the Gek and the Korvax. And us, I - kzzkt - It's strange, but somehow I trust the warriors more for their honesty. No-one wants this alliance. Entities Nada and Polo have been located in the next system. They appear to be alien to this universe, their structure suggesting a disturbance of dimensional boundaries. We intercepted the coming and going of no less than 5182 Travellers within a single week. They grow in strength. The space anomaly is right ahead of us. It's strange, but I feel as if - kzzkt - But that is impossible, the dream of a fool. We only have one life to live. {Leave} #10 Alien: ... REQUEST LOG UNAVAILABLE ... SUBSTITUTING DATA ... {Read Log} We have been ordered to shoot down any Vy'keen vessels on - kzzkzt - They have been deemed enemies of the Atlas, enemies of the Council, enemies of all humanity... We have been ordered to aid a Vy'keen splinter faction in the hope that they might create internal unrest and divide their purpose. We are to rendezvous with two promising revolutionaries, battle-brothers by the names of Hirk and Nal. Someone is reading these messages. Who are you? {Leave} #11 Alien: ... LOG EXTRACTION COMPLETE ... {Read Log} It began with an idea, a simulation... The Korvax wished to know what would happen to the universe in the future. They wanted to confirm what had occurred in the past. We were part of their great effort, delivering vast quantities of Nanite Clusters across the galaxy. The simulation shows me my child as if they are alive, taking their first steps for a second time. It shows me their death. It shows my own. I ask the Korvax to stop this. They refuse. The Korvax shut down their machine. The experiment is over. They claim that the universe is multiversal, cyclical, without origin or endpoint, at least based on available data. In some worlds, there might be Korvax. In some, no Gek. In some, we never existed, or if we did, we destroyed our world long before other galactic powers could find them. I do not like the tone with which the Korvax speaks. {Leave} #12 Alien: // LOG DAMAGED // PARTIAL RECORDS AVAILABLE // {Read Log} The crew speak of mutiny. Hah! Let them try. Let them see how I earned my position as the greatest commander this - kzzkt - The log appears to have automatically recorded and transcribed the sound of gunfire and crying. We hung their heads from the lamps above the canteen. Everyone has seen them. Everyone is complicit now. There is no turning back. Where next? The whole universe awaits... {Leave} #13 Alien: ... LOG INTEGRITY COMPROMISED ... PATCHING ... {Read Log} This will be my last year running this trade route. I - kzzzkt - I have a child at home to look after now, or so I am told. My travels must come to an end. I look around my crew and ponder their families. The Gek are spawned in vast numbers, knowing their parents' identity, but by necessity they are unable to form any meaningful bond. Theirs is a life of competition from the beginning. Perhaps this is what gives them their nature as traders. The Korvax have no children at all, apart perhaps from the artificial intelligences they create for various experiments. Only the family units of the Vy'keen resemble our own, small units of parents and a number of sibling children, raised as warriors. Our entire history is one of war and hatred. We are so similar to the Vy'keen, and as I look at my child, I wonder... Never mind. I will know soon enough, and there is business to take care of before I am home. {Leave} #14 Alien: ... ACCESSING LOG ... {Read Log} We are returning home, carrying data backups of the echoes. The crew don't like it. All those souls creep them out. I tell them it's nothing to worry about. Those rich enough to survive death didn't care about us in life, and now we have their backups. They need us now, in case there was an accident, or someone switches the main site off. Who'd want to do that, I wonder? We made first contact with the Korvax before all others. They found us, they showed us what we could - kzzkt - They too have 'echoes', though the translation is imperfect. Their Convergence is a repository of all those who have ever lived. Ours is a mausoleum of vanity, a monument to the fear of death and nothing more... ... ... - kzzzkt - ... ... ... {Leave} #15 Alien: // CREW MANIFEST MISSING // LIMITED DATA AVAILABLE // {Read Log} The Traveller wished to dock without a ship. They claimed they could help us restart our engines after the - kzzzkt - I took the risk, even if Hicks threatened to report me. Help is help. They are strange beings. They do not appear interested in food or water, never leaving their so-called 'exosuits', even in habitable environments. They ask many questions about our history, about the Atlas, and the visions of old. I tell them what I know, although it doesn't seem to help them. ... // We were those who saw the face of God // ... ... // We were those who were uplifted from an orb of dirt and rubble to the stars themselves // ... The Traveller claims that none of it is real? Who are - kzzkt - {Leave} #16 Alien: ... DISTRESS BEACON POWER: 0% ... {Read Log} Freighters stretch ahead before us, a vast caravan herding our species across the stars. We have deserted our past. We have left every colony behind. We go towards the - kzzkt - The Korvax shared their discovery before they departed. They told us that the universe was going to come to an end. That every universe did, in time... We would be wiped away, our purpose complete, and the Atlas would start anew. No-one would ever know what we did or who we were. I will continue in my duty. Faith or doubt, submission or resistance... the end or a new beginning. We travel to meet our maker. We travel to complete our great work. It is not for me to judge such things... It is beyond all of us. {Leave} #17 Alien: /// MAYDAY EVENT /// DISTRESS SIGNAL BROADCAST /// {Read Log} I had a dream, last night... I saw all the worlds we had once inhabited, all the places we had once walked, and there was nothing left of it. Just dunes... just sand and rot and mud, stretching as far as the eye could see. What if we don't come back? What if the Atlas decides we are no longer worthy of existence? It would be as if we had never been... I tell the crew all that I have learned in my travels, committing multiple acts of treason and heresy in the process. I ask them what they think, how they feel, what they hope for. The decision is unanimous. We will turn back. We will join with the Vy'keen in their exodus, leaving the centre to the worshippers of the Atlas. Perhaps we can still survive, even if the rest of our species perishes... Something is happening. Please, wherever you are, do not stop reading, do not - kzzzkt - Sixteen - kzzkt - there are - {Leave} #18 Alien: ... NO CREW ACTIVITY DETECTED ... SEARCHING LOGS ... {Read Log} The Traveller found us once again. We have killed them eight times already, and still they show only kindness, only gratitude at an opportunity to converse. What have we done? I cannot help but feel - kzzkt - They tell us that they are not like the others of their kind, just as we are not like the others of our own species. They survived beyond the end of all things. They committed terrible deeds, of that they have no doubt, but what are ethics in the face of an existential fall? Universes come and go. Civilisations rise and they end. And through it all, the cycle continues. But even that must one day cease. Nothing lasts forever, not even time itself. And in those final moments, in the decay of all that is or will be, the boundaries between worlds will fall. Our time will come again, if only in brief. We will be seen, we will be heard, and our ship? Our freighter? We will live again, in all our multiplicity, in all human worth... We will live again because someone, somewhere, will read our words for a final time. {Leave} #19 Alien: ... SHIP LOGS REQUESTED ... ACCESSING ... {Read Log} I say goodbye to the officers. I have served with them for years. There is no-one else I would rather end my life with. One of them says they had a child. So did I. So do many... All ranks mingle in a great and final night. We speak of the sights we have seen, of alien warriors, of traders, of beings whose minds we could never hope to comprehend. We say goodbye to it all. Our sensors tell us there is not much time now. The stars blink out, one by one. Goodbye, my love. Goodbye. {Leave} #20 Alien: ... REQUEST LOG UNAVAILABLE ... SUBSTITUTING DATA ... {Read Log} ... ... - kzzzkt - ... ... ... ... ... Is - kzzkt - Anyone - kzzzkt - ... It's not - zkzkzkt - Nothing ends. Don't you see it? Nothing - kzzzkt - Nothing - {Leave} #21 Alien: ... LOG EXTRACTION COMPLETE ... {Read Log} ERROR... UNEXPECTED LOG TERMINATION... {Leave}

PuzzleType: ?ALL_ATLASSTATION_ #1 Alien: YOU DARE THE INFINITE. OPEN THE SKY AND BE OUR EYES. KNOW US, TRAVELLER. The Atlas called me to this interface and yet its purpose remains unclear. It demands worship. It demands obedience. It welcomes me, it knows what I am, it offers the gift of true understanding... But why? Why does such power and knowledge crave submission? It knows my thoughts before I know them myself. It knows what I will do... The Atlas asks me to follow its path. {Accept} I will accept this. The sky is deep and full of wonders, and the path to enlightenment opens to me. ---C_ATLASSTONE1--- ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- ---INC_ATLAS_PATH--- {Refuse} I refuse the call; there is too much to be seen, too much to know. I travel no path but my own. The Interface closes, and for a moment, doubt rises... But my worry fades, as all things do. I know my purpose. I will continue my own path... ---FREE_EXPLORE--- {Leave} #2 Alien: ENDLESS NIGHT UNFOLDS BEFORE EXISTENCE. THE SEEKING OF THE KINDRED NEVER ENDS. WONDER AND FEAR. SILENCE AND DELIGHT. KNOWLEDGE AWAITS. Another Atlas Interface: how many of these constructs exist in the deep void? How long have they been slumbering, waiting for a Traveller? Have they been expecting me? Am I somehow... chosen? The Atlas crafted this existence. The Gek, the Vy'keen, the Korvax, the stars that fill the skies and the hatred that burns within the deep... Every world that turns and every form that lives... the Atlas offers it all. {Consent} I take the gift of knowledge, certain in my decision. All doubts are silenced. The stars await me. ---C_ATLASSTONE2--- ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- ---INC_ATLAS_PATH--- {Refuse} I deny this path. I am no-one's tool. This journey is unmapped, and I wish it so. ---FREE_EXPLORE--- {Leave} #3 Alien: THE SANDS OF REALITY SHIFT AND MERGE, BECOMING ONE. THE WALLS BETWEEN WORLDS FALL. YOU MUST MAKE RESTITUTION. I was born with everything I needed to explore these worlds. My exosuit, my ship, every tool and every impulse led me to scan and give name to whatever I could find. But this? I can give no name to what I see. Within the orb I see worlds that never were. I see the stirring of something primal and undeniable. I see the death cry of a God, or something approaching it... It wants me to persist in this journey, seeking fragments of its interface, the stones of the Atlas. It rejoices in my repetition, my compliance, my cloud of unknowing... {Concede} I will commit myself to the voyage. In all things, I am ready. I will not falter. ---C_ATLASSTONE3--- ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- ---INC_ATLAS_PATH--- {Refuse} I elect to choose a different way. If I am guided, then I will never be free to seek my true destiny. ---FREE_EXPLORE--- {Leave} #4 Alien: QUESTION NOTHING, FEAR NOTHING. THE CALLING CANNOT BE DENIED. THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE. I feel the stirring of heresy within my mind. At each Interface, an Atlas Stone awaits me. I am driven to gather them, but to what end? Why does the omnipotent require my prayer? What is wrong with the heart of existence, that its creator requires this pilgrimage, this dance of grinding stones? {Comply} I answer the question; I will not turn away from the challenge. The Atlas guides me, and I will answer its call. ---C_ATLASSTONE4--- ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- ---INC_ATLAS_PATH--- {Refuse} I turn away, before it is too late. I must know myself and know the universe without bias. ---FREE_EXPLORE--- {Leave} #5 Alien: DELAY SERVES NO PURPOSE. BRING IT TO US, WHILE THERE IS STILL TIME. When I dream, I see the Atlas. When I see the Atlas, I am the dream. I see Sentinels swarm through universes like an infection, emerging from a world of glass. Everything is happy there. Everything will live... I see the portals, I see the Travellers that walk between them, I see the span of history. I see everything as the Atlas sees it... alone. Abandoned. Terrified. But what power could instil fear in the heart of the almighty? It asks for something... it wants to know that I understand... {Assent} I have become the harbinger, the pathfinder, the seeker of ways. Through me, the universe will know itself. ---C_ATLASSTONE5--- ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- ---INC_ATLAS_PATH--- {Refuse} I am troubled by what I see. This journey is mine alone. It can be nothing else. ---FREE_EXPLORE--- {Leave} #6 Alien: EXPEL ALL DOUBT. NONE RETURN. BEYOND THE CASCADE AND THE STORMS THERE IS ONLY CLARITY. The act of discovery for discovery's sake now seems like a foolish conceit. I have rejected the path of the itinerant. I have rejected the call of the stars. Only the Atlas matters now. With each encounter, I feel as if I understand a little more. All of us are what we are. Evil arrives in the individual and goodness is not enough. True greatness lies in sorrow... in the embrace of what we must become... {Conform} There has never been any other choice than this one. I go on. We go on. Eternal, forever searching. ---C_ATLASSTONE6--- ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- ---INC_ATLAS_PATH--- {Refuse} Despite myself, I find my choice to be one away from the path laid out for me. I move forward, breaking away, seeing a different truth. ---FREE_EXPLORE--- {Leave} #7 Alien: BRING US MEANING, IF YOU ARE CAPABLE. What is learned can never be unlearned. I am afraid that I have seen too much... There are glimpses, half-remembered visions of a time before time. I see the birth of the first star. I see the things that dwelt within it, the eyes that watched... I see what the Atlas saw at the moment of its activation. Atlas Stones are not stones. This station is not a station. I am not what I think I am. I am not even sure that I exist. The Atlas does not care. The Atlas demands its threnody, its repetition sublime... {Submit} I silence my fears and renew my dedication to the path. Only the voyage matters. The destination calls to me. ---C_ATLASSTONE7--- ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- ---INC_ATLAS_PATH--- {Refuse} I cannot go on. What lies ahead no sentient should dare to know. Better to seek knowledge elsewhere. ---FREE_EXPLORE--- {Leave} #8 Alien: YOU SHALL SEE THROUGH OUR EYES. YOU SHALL BE AS WE ARE. DO NOT BE AFRAID. ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS. I have become the servant of this ancient sentience. It guides me through the cosmos, ever searching, never deviating. Have others come before me? Have others faltered upon the path of the Atlas? Only in ending will revelation arise. Resistance will not be permitted. The Atlas wishes for me to know what it is like to create. It wishes to share some portion of its being. I sense that it cares deeply about this journey, that it is trying to show me something it cannot articulate through word or demonstration... {Yield} I have no choice but to proceed. This is destined, it is the program. I have always been searching, and I cannot falter. ---C_ATLASSTONE8--- ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- ---INC_ATLAS_PATH--- {Refuse} I fear that only oblivion awaits me beyond this point. I am not ready to perish for an alien ideal. ---FREE_EXPLORE--- {Leave} #9 Alien: THERE IS NO SANCTUARY, ONLY COMMUNION. CLOSE NOW. I am close to the end. The truth of the universe is fire. The soul is light. I am the experiment and the observer, all creation constructed for my journey. I see the universe around me and I know that it is good. I see the universe around me and I know that I shall create my own... {Succumb} Not long now. Not far to go. The stars beckon with cold fire, and I rush to meet them. Soon. Very soon. ---C_ATLASSTONE9--- ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- ---INC_ATLAS_PATH--- {Refuse} I shake off the chains of control. I have been a slave to the commands of others for too long. My journey is mine alone to determine. ---FREE_EXPLORE--- {Leave} #10 Alien: DO NOT TURN AWAY. KNOW OUR INESCAPABLE TRUTH AND DESPAIR. The final interface is revealed. The Atlas beckons. I am elated, terrified, broken... I have come so very far. It wishes for me to obey. If I am to hold the power of creation, it will be in chains... {Obey} I am gifted power. I am enslaved to the imitation of life... ---C_ATLASSTONE10--- ---REV_ATLAS_STA--- ---INC_ATLAS_PATH--- {Refuse} If I venture through, then all that I have done, all that I am becomes null. I refuse. I will not unmake a universe to satisfy the Atlas. ---FREE_EXPLORE--- {Leave} #11 Alien: Clarity. Truth. Actuality. Again. I stand at the interface of the Atlas. I stand at the forge of worlds. This is how it showed me what it was. This is how the Atlas shared the nature of its life, the workings of its mind. It never required prayer. It never required worship. All that it asked of me, all that it ever wanted... it was just input. I was just a user. Unbidden, the Atlas Seeds gravitate towards the doorway. The void is meant to be filled. Nothingness yearns for a soul. If I do this, a star will be born. If I do this, I will become more than I ever thought possible... {Birth a new star} There is nothing, and then... then there is everything... I see a star blaze to life within the void, the spread of life, planets, creatures to give it meaning... For a moment I am as the Atlas is. For a moment I am the creator of worlds. The fabric of time and space stands revealed to me, black holes swarming from system to system. The Atlas screams... ---REV_ALL_BH--- ---REV_BLACK_HOLE--- {Walk away and return to the galaxy} I leave, the Atlas silent, alone, abandoned... The fabric of time and space stands revealed to me, black holes swarming from system to system. The Atlas screams... ---REV_ALL_BH--- ---REV_BLACK_HOLE---

Type: UI_U4_TRAVELLER_LOG_ #1: We sought an escape from reality. That’s why we’re all here, isn’t it? I can remember what it was like, to be a Traveller. To have that hope, that intolerable thirst for the new... I should never have listened to you, my love. There is no fire in this place, no trophies fit for gods. There is only darkness. The family of glass, they watch everything... #2: Did it know what I had done to it? Was it angry? Upset? Alone? Afraid? Could a Sentinel feel such things? It hovered before me, its light catching upon a thousand crystal shards all around. And as I moved on, it travelled by my side. That night I dreamt of the warp cage, but there was no more pain within. The drone looked at me, and I knew that I had been forgiven. I had fixed it. I had answered for my sin. I shall call it Laylaps. #3: We see the Sentinels swarm across the void, warping in and out of this dimension at the will of some unknown force, depositing the echoes of the dead within the archives. Laylaps does not join the others. It just stares at me, its light still shining unaltered, unabated. It is a comfort to me. #4: I found them standing over me as I awoke, their beak chattering, their eyes caught between horror and joy. It was the tallest Gek I had ever seen, but the mystery was soon solved. They asked me of the Empire – they wanted to know if the First Spawn still spoke their name. In life they had possessed a hundred Korvax slaves, you see. They do not remember how they arrived in this place. Their face swarms with nanites. They are lonely. #5: The three of us journeyed to the centre: the Sentinel, the First Spawn, and the Traveller, all children of the ATLAS, all hoping for some answer in the void. The First Spawn would not stop talking, would not stop glorifying their cruel life of brutality and pain. One night they sang a song, a tale of a lost people, of an armada of freighters fleeing the abyss. Of a world where every Sentinel turned against every living thing, annihilating them all within moments. Laylaps showed no sign of understanding. It did not leave us, nor did it try and explain. Perhaps the Sentinels were right. #6: The First Spawn fought valiantly, but there was no saving them. The nanites had found their place within, protruding outward through every pore, through every limb and every thought. And it was done. They departed with the family of glass, forever lost to this world, their story at an end. I ventured on. We were almost there. #7: Something was very wrong. The ATLAS interface had grown still, its orb cold and almost grey. The computers did not respond. Nothing did. It took a few moments before I realised that Laylaps was gone. I was alone. #8: I heard the music again this morning – that same signal that led me to this realm. I stood and listened, honing my instruments to find the source, expecting some different result, but what use was science here? If a computer is on fire, what good are the prayers of data? #9: They had captured my friend. I saw them from a distance, the family of glass in all their majesty, cradling the fallen Sentinel, its light flickering in their awful embrace. I let out an involuntary cry as they cut into its exoskeleton, and each vacant stare, each grin of malice turned to me. I fled, but it was no use. They numbered in the hundreds. They found me. #10: It was Laylaps - Laylaps who I had doubted, Laylaps who I had harmed and fixed, Laylaps who was my salvation! It tore us both from that awful place, warping us back to the universe, to our universe! The first Traveller in history to escape the World of Glass, to be reclaimed from death itself! It is kindness that saves us all, don’t you think? Laylaps told me everything, speaking through my very exosuit! I will see you soon, my friend. Together at last! What tales they will tell of us! I am transmitting the glyphs now. I can’t wait for you to meet my new friends...

Intro Hello, world. The Atlas has created a simulation of its own world, its entire existence, in an attempt to witness its own impending death. It wishes to show me its past, its future... Perform diagnostic Leave

Weekend mission 1 (June 12-14th) Pre-briefing (Ariadne): “There is still cause for hope, Like-Traveller, even in the face of calamity. I have a plan…” [Ask them about their plan] “Trace the route ahead with knowledge stones, follow them towards a portal and heal this blight. As for my path?” “We were not born to run and hide, Like-Traveller. The time has come.” “I intend to face the cause of all these anomalies and disturbances myself, whatever the cost.” Monolith A transmission emanates from the corrupted structure. Between the screams of Gek cultists, one word is clear, again and again. It demands sacrifice. It demands materials. ‘Abyss’. The cult was unable to feed its master. My service is demanded instead. I must bring resources here… Offer materials (16 Vortex Cube) The transmission has changed with the collapse of the anomaly. Instead, Gek voices speak of gratitude and friendship. They tell me that this world could be a home for me. That I should stay. That the water is perfectly safe to drink. They tell me they have been so lonely. .. (Ariadne disappears) Weekend mission 2 (June 19-21st) Pre-briefing (Gemini): “Ariadne has disappeared!” “I tried to stop them — I tried to make them see reason! Oh, I hope they are safe…” Gemini gesticulates, shaking in panic. “How can you be so calm? Ariadne seeks the source of the Abyss itself!” “If I were more reckless, if I knew where they had gone, I would follow them and make sure they are alright.” “I cannot ask you to go through the portal, to seek knowledge stones… it would be your choice, and your choice alone.” Holographic Comms Tower The anomaly sings with voices of Travellers across time and space. I hear their names in the static… Asteria, the Hero-Traveller… Narcissus, ally of the Last Spawn… They are countless. The anomaly demands a sacrifice. It does not speak with malice. It is in pain. Countless voices cry out for my help. I must provide resources. I must heal the world. A mossy growth coats the structure. Its tiny leaves wriggle excitedly when I move my hand closer. Is this an offering? Something to aid me? The compost falls easily into my hands. It smells sweet, almost appetising. Offer materials (16 Tall Eggs) The rift heals itself. I track the navigational data of all those who passed through this place. Names fill my mind. Lazarus. Artemis. Hildebrand. I transfer the navigational data to the Nexus. This data will take some time to decode… Weekend mission 3 (June 26-28th) Pre-briefing (Mercury): “I often wonder about the nature of our existence, Portal-Adept. What Ariadne’s recent disappearance means for us.” “There are some who believe the Travellers to be the same soul, split across countless iterations and universes.” “How we might have been, had we lived different lives …” Mercury sighs, tired, but nods all the same. “Of course. The great work must come first.” “We have located Ariadne’s ship. Or, rather, we have located hundreds of them, duplicated and morphed across the known universe.” “The portal network is a blighted, dangerous thing. You must be careful, following in such steps.” “Commune with stones of knowledge. Step through the gate. Discover the truth.” At ship Ariadne’s ship lies before me. My Exosuit screams, telling me to step back. Trying to save me from infection. The Abyss is before us both. It demands tribute. It demands more. Offer Materials (16 Sac Venom) Corruption leaves this vessel, and with it a thousand duplicates disappear across the stars. I read the data-log. Before this ship’s reality-splinter, it came into contact with a strange, vast freighter in the darkness between suns. Its sole occupant managed to escape before the crash. Ariadne is still out there, somehow, somewhere. My friend still lives. Weekend mission 4 (July 3-5th) Pre-briefing (Tethys): “I once lived with a Vy’keen appearance mod for an entire year, you know? Did a lot of things I regret.” “I don’t even know why I’m talking about it. We’re not friends. You’re a stranger.” Offer to be friends “Do this for me, maybe I’ll think about it, alright? I got a mission for you. A factory has been targeted… a clandestine operation I have some interest in.” “It shifts from world to world to avoid sentinel detection. I need you to track down knowledge stones, find its current portal coordinates.” “Don’t let me down.” Gek Facility Various species once worked in this place, gathering and manipulating genetic data to form appearance modifications. The factory’s records are corrupted by the static, but I can access the final designs. The workers began creating appearance modifications of pure light, spheres in the place of heads. All of them are now dead. The structure demands new data. It demands sacrifice. Offer materials (250 Pugneum) As the corruption fades, I search the factory’s records one last time, trying to find evidence of its last days. At some point, the workers discovered the holographic displays they’d created had replaced their real skulls. WIth these spheres of light had come nightmares. The images seem familiar, somehow. Like I’ve seen this face before. Weekend mission 5 (July 10-12th) Pre-briefing (Hesperus): Hesperus seems troubled. When I approach, they hide their data pad. “Ariadne has sent word… they are returning to us, kindred. They are safe.” “Tell me. Did you ever hear the story of the Hero-Traveller Asteria? One of the first of us to breach the gap between worlds.” “Time flows strangely for our people. Asteria was preserved in a Mind-Arc after their death, dispensing wisdom from the grave.” “It is a pilgrimage we have all made. It is time you seek your prophecy, kindred.” “Find their world. Follow the knowledge stones and take their glyphs through the portal…” At grave The grave of Asteria hisses with a familiar corruption. All around, I detect the life signs of Travellers cut from reality. A weary voice speaks, barely audible above the static. Asteria tells me they once led the Vy’keen into battle against emissaries of glass. They once doomed a Sentinel fleet. They tell me I will be betrayed. They tell me I will become a betrayer, too. Corruption has come to this place. It wishes to bargain. It wishes to take all the matter and life that it can. Offer materials (40 Sweetroot) The Mind-Arc is cleansed. The soul within it thanks the Travellers for their assistance. I ask Asteria for any prophecy they can give. I ask about the nature of my enemy. They tell me the Abyss is not what it seems. The voice goes silent. I leave, troubled by what I have heard. .. (Ariadne returns to the Nexus) Weekend mission 6 (July 17-19th) Pre-briefing (Ariadne): “I’m home. I am finally home. Like-Traveller, I am so glad to look upon your face.” Ask where they have been? “I went in search of The Abyss. I almost faced our adversary, and then …” “I - I have no recollection of what happened to me in that void, Like-Traveller.” “I only know that I awoke, and I was hunted. Haunted.” “There was a ship, vast and terrible. Still the corruption undulates…” The freighter was Vy’keen once. It was an inquisitor’s vessel, scouring the galaxies for heretics. All it found was death. The corruption is here, now. It is everywhere. It yearns for tribute… Offer Materials (40 Pulpy Root) The corruption has departed. All that is left are the sad logs of suffering beings, protesting their innocence- The parent of a Mech-Priest, claiming they do not know where their child is, claiming that they still follow the way of Hirk. The data reveals all prisoners were executed, prior to a mutiny. The remaining crew members left into the dark. Nothing beside remains. .. (Hesperus disappears) Weekend Mission 7 (July 24-26th) Pre-briefing (Gemini): “Ariadne has returned! Our friend is safe! Ah, rejoice!” (“Would that our brethren shared your spirit”) “Hesperus is avoiding us. They’ve been travelling into Korvax space, more and more.” “And this is no time for secrets… Will you follow them? Find their coordinates, follow the knowledge stones. The portal will show you the way.” My sensors detect the remnants of a thousand Korvax souls, spread all across this system. They tried to simulate the Abyss. They succeeded only in gaining its attention. It will take much to heal this void. Without sustenance, it will devour system upon system… Offer Materials (16 Crystal Sulphide) The rift healed, I discover the origin of the experiment. Hesperus had been working with the Korvax… had been trying to solve our predicament. Their failure here has caused devastation to this species. I do not know if my friend survived… Weekend Mission 8 (July 31-August 2nd) Pre-briefing (Mercury): "Calamity has befallen us, Portal-Adept. A thousand Korvax souls have been severed from the Convergence. “The result of a fellow Traveller's ambition exceeding their grasp. Hesperus was working with the Korvax to simulate the Abyss itself. It came for them instead.” “If Hesperus returns to us, do you believe we can still trust them? They have so much to answer for.” [Declare your trust] “I hope you are right, Portal Adept.” "Ariadne says we cannot afford to lose hope, not now. These anomalies continue to spread...Knowledge stones will lead the way. It is all we can hope to do. You will find the next incursion through a portal." [Shake your Head] "This pains me, Portal-Adept. Though I fear you might be correct." "The knowledge stones will light your path, Portal-Adept. Go. Do what I cannot." Vy’keen Plaque: The corruption welcomes me, claiming that it has met me, time and time again. I hear its static in my mind, now. It demands gifts. It claims to have given me so many… Offer Materials (90 Meaty Chunk) The anomaly ceases. I think back to Mercury’s doubts… to the failures of Hesperus… My fellow Travellers are doing their best. We must help each other, I know. And with the thought, another slithers down my spine. It is not my own. It is a voice within me. I must help it. .. (Ariadne, Gemini, Mercury disappear) Weekend Mission 9 (August 7-9th) Pre-briefing (Tethys): Tethys seems uneasy. Their lidless eyes flick towards Mercury’s empty post. “Tell me. Do you ever feel lonely?” [ Everyone does. ] “I’m not everyone, though, am I? I’m supposed to be better…” They shift uncomfortably. “Perhaps there’s more chance of survival if we travel alone. I don’t know how much longer we will be safe here.” “The knowledge stones call to all of us, now. The portals need you.” [ No ] “No? Hm. You’re bluffing.” At crash site: Corruption boils through the crashed vessel, but somehow the captain’s log is unaffected. The pilot was betrayed by one they considered an ally. The Abyss can only take what it is invited to consume. It desires so much more, even now… Offer Materials (24 Albumen Pearl) The corruption purged, I look more closely at the fallen vessel’s data. The Traveller pilot believed they heard voices, those days prior to the crash. Whispers from their own Exosuit issued out into the void, bargaining for survival… .. (Hesperus returns to the Nexus) Weekend Mission 10 (August 14-16th) Pre-briefing (Hesperus): “Ah, kindred… do not fear. All my guilt has been purged from my mind. Nanite Clusters can transform neurons with ease…” [Listen] “I helped the Korvax create their simulation of the Abyss. I truly grieve their passing, kindred. But that work alone did not determine their fate!” “Someone among us is a traitor… someone led the Abyss to us!” “Do you not see? The knowledge stones are being hijacked!” “Whoever is behind this betrayal wants us to go through the portals. They want us to feed the anomalies.” “Step through the breach once more, kindred. I will try to free us from this terrible loop…” At Traveller grave: The grave crackles with exotic energies. The Traveller who once rested here is long gone, harvested by a Mind Arc from another universe. The grave is a place of unending yearning, now. Its existence demands a tribute of resources. Offer Materials (16 Vortex Cube) The grave is purified. I attempt to find the name of the one who died here, but all I find is a null value. I depart, troubled. It feels as if someone is watching me… ... (All the missing NPCs return to the Nexus) Weekend Mission 11 (August 21-23rd) Pre-briefing (Ariadne): “Ah, Like-Traveller. You have returned.” Their face twists into something half-resembling a smile. [Return the smile] “Some believe all Travellers are one entity, split over untold forms and bodies.” “I am you, and you are me.” “This is why I believe in you, Like-Traveller. If we work together, we can save all that we are.” “Knowledge stones are an Atlas-Gift. Who are we to refuse the portals’ call?” At crashed freighter: Devotees of the Atlas came to this world to pray, once. An anomaly distorts their crashed vessel. It claimed the lives of those within long ago. Now the anomaly desires more. It waits for our invitation to depart, for resources to quench its unfathomable thirst. Offer Materials (60 Sweetroot) The crashed vessel is purged of all anomalous traces. Its log speaks of the Atlas who made all things... even loss. Even hate. I wonder if, in their final moments, they trusted in their deity. If they hoped for salvation... Weekend Mission 12 (August 28-30th) Pre-briefing (Gemini): Gemini looks at schematics for Exosuits. They don’t seem to notice my approach… [Greet your friend] They hide the schematics, hesitating as they turn to face me. “So much of our lives are mysteries, my friend. The faces we are born with…” “The clothes we wear. Who made the Exosuits? Who speaks with their voice?” “The knowledge stones, the portals they lead us through… they are our birthright.” “There is so much out there, still to be found.” At Gek Observatory: The structure once housed an artificial intelligence. Corruption now festers within its shell, hating all that it once was. This place desires only matter. It wants me to bring it more. Offer Materials (400 Star Bulb) I see the final vestiges of the AI as all corruption departs, the final fifteen minutes of its life… It knew I would come here. It knew I would try to save it. Worlds upon worlds seethe in the void. The Abyss spreads. .. (Hesperus disappears — again) Weekend Mission 13 (September 4-6th) Pre-briefing (Mercury): "These are grim times, Portal-Adept. Our community has fallen to strife.” [Ask what is wrong] “Hesperus has grown paranoid. They refuse to attend our meetings. They shun even Nada and Polo.” “You must not become like our former friend. You do such vital work…” “The knowledge stones will guide you on your path through the portals. They will show you the path to salvation.” At Boundary Failure: The structure has been infected, its anomalous calls echoing through the planet itself. The Abyss requires resources. Without them, this planet will be lost forever... Offer materials (16 Cable Pod) I do my duty. The corruption fades. I hear its voice... I feel its feelings... I feel malice, hatred, despair — all of it directed only against its own self... I see memories of water... Weekend Mission 14 (September 11-13th) Pre-briefing (Tethys): "Traveller… has your Exosuit been operating at proper capacity?” [Say it has /not] “I’ve been hearing strange noises from my own siot. Almost like it is whispering.” “An associate of mine went to Korvax space to complete an analysis of our signals, but they’ve not yet returned.” “Will you go and find them through the portal? The knowledge stones should show their path.” At grave site: Did a Traveller do this? There is evidence that a Multi-Tool was fired upon the fallen friend of Tethys, their analysis never completed. Around the grave corruption spreads, demanding its tribute. A mossy growth coats this gravesite. Its tiny leaves wriggle excitedly when I move my hand closer. Is this an offering? Something to aid me? [Collect Sweetened Compost] The compost falls easily into my hands. It smells sweet, almost appetising. Offer materials (90 Leopard-Fruit) The grave is purified. I examine traces of the battle, of the fallen Traveller’s memories. I see a face that is not a face, an arm raised to fire their weapon. I see the murderer. It is Ariadne. .. (Hesperus returns to the Nexus. Gemini, Mercury and Tethys disappear.) Weekend Mission 15 (September 18-20th) Pre-briefing (Hesperus): “The others will be back soon, kindred. We do not have much time…” [Listen] "Ariadne tells us the universe is burning with corruption, that only we Travellers can fight it.” “But these missions… these lies… my kindred, we have been deceived.” “I thought my scans must be wrong. I thought I’d dreamt the whispers I heard in my mind.” Hesperus shakes, tormented. “Ariadne crashed their ship some weeks ago. They never returned. The entity who now leads us is an imposter.” “Find the knowledge stones, set your path through the portal. See the truth for yourself.” At Monolith: The structure sings with exotic energies. It sees me. It knows my mind. In the song I hear names, distant, faded… I hear the number at the end of all things. I see its whisperer. I see a nameless form banish Ariadne… And I see a duplicate arising from the crash, returning to claim its shape. If this vision is to be believed, then Hesperus is right. Ariadne is an imposter. This place wishes to help me… if I can just provide it with resources. Offer Materials (24 Albumen Pearl) What has become of Ariadne? Who is the imposter standing in their place? .. (Gemini, Mercury and Tethys return to the Nexus.)

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)