SWT: Entity - Chapter Seven
Path Found
Welcome back to Solum’s Weird Tales - Entity. Last time, Arden explored a small, abandoned and ancient settlement, believed to have belonged to the alien species that inhabited this planet. While we didn’t manage to find out final aspect, we do now have a lead in the form of an alien satellite in the clouds that interfered with out signal. Arden hopes to find a grounded version with which to use to help communicate with the one in the stars, marking the final piece of the puzzle for this mission. Let us see if they manage it, on Day 15.
IAP Arden (They/Them)
ADAPTIVITY - 5 ANALYTICS - 4 TECHNOLOGY - 3Survival - 3 Physics - 2 Robotics - 1Communication - 1 Biology - 1 Information Technology - 2Navigation - 2 Chemistry - 3 Engineering - 3Mission - Pathfinder
Arden’s Cave - Day 15
Finding a satellite indigenous to this planet was harder than I would have thought, as it turned out. Without a close up and physical inspection of the example in the upper atmosphere, I was using a lot of logic and guesswork that had a very Earth point of view. Still, I had a few matching signals in a two day radius around my cave and so I had a few possible choices, the closest being over a days walk away.
Location - Dark Matter Pools: A valley where dark matter seems to pool, causing strange gravitational effects.
I had picked up a reading with a 75% compatibility rating to the satellite I had scanned at the top of the habitat spire a few days ago. That number was not precise, given that 32% of it was assumed and so a more accurate number would be much lower, but I needed a morale boost after having my signals scrambled and seeing those strange, shadowy figures in the alien city. There were a number of strange gravitational readings at the site with pockets of the topography going as low as .2 Earth Gs and as high as 3.5 Gs. Not the strangest reading I had received, but I would have to be cautious, given my suits limitations.
Travel - 4 - Challenge - You encounter an unexpected weather phenomenon - corrosive rain that threatens to damage your suit.
The first day passed without incident, and I was able to scan and collate a lot of local visual data to add to my mapping software. If my theory of the satellite in the the upper atmosphere proved correct, my on the ground data could still be useful for added context, so it was still an appropriate usage of my CPU. The day cycle shifted from day to dusk to full night, although with the red pyramid perpetually overhead, there was honestly little difference and a lot of light to see by so I didn’t need to swap around my ocular sensors. It must be matching the orbit, as it was never out of sight. I wondered how far I would have to walk to get the horrid thing out of my eye line. As the night turned to dawn of my second day of travel, storm clouds emerged over head.
Survival,
chemistry
Survival DC 8 - 4 and 8 - Strong Hit
My readings of the clouds gave me pause, which gave me the time I needed to chart a path around the worst of the storm clouds. It was acid rain, a fact that would have been hard to judge as they clouds sat above a stretch of desert that was largely unaffected by the acidic rainfall. It would have done an unfortunate amount of damage to my suit, if I had gone in blind, but my experience the previous week had me leery of any unusual weather phenomena, which seemed like the best approach on this strangely hostile planet. I circled around the storm clouds, and was able to navigate back to my path with minimal time lost.
Location encounter +6 Data Nat 10 +6
Challenge, Opportunity, Finding, Aspect
Challenge - As you move deeper into the area, a section of the ruin’s ceiling begins to crumble, threatening to bury you.
Interesting. The gravitational inconsistencies seemed to be tied to pools of empty space. They hadn’t showed up on my readings but up close, I identified them easily as Dark Matter. I hadn’t seen Dark Matter within a planet’s atmosphere before and it was having a peculiar effect on the local gravity. There were a few habitat units around, many of which had been subsumed by the pools of oily blackness. Perhaps this had been a research station? Or perhaps that was the Earth point of view rising up within me again. I couldn’t imagine any other reason to set up here, given the kilometers of desert that surrounded it. I would have to pass through the main hab unit to reach my objective so I had to hope that the various pools of dark matter that surrounded it wouldn’t cause me too many problems. I had traversed most of the blank, featureless ruin when, of course, the dark matter made itself known. I had been monitoring the nearby pools and had registered that one underlaid the center of this hab, but it was registering at 1.1 Gs, very much within my suits parameters. I was monitoring all of the pools, which was fortunate as it readily became apparent that these gravitational anomalies were not stable or constant when one of the pools outside oscillated from .5 to 2gs in a matter of nano seconds. I had enough time to register that fact before the pool beneath me shook the ground and ramped up to 3GS.
Engineering,
Robotics
Engineering DC 6 - 1 and a 9, weak hit.
Pump shields to avoid the strain. - 3 Energy (3/10)
My suit withstood the strain of the increased gravity with a the sound of complaining servos ringing through my helmet and after a moment to adjust, I was able to get moving again. Unfortunately, the structure above me was not as secure as my suit was. The ceiling began to crumble and fist sized rocks pelted me as it was drawn inexorable downwards. The large parts threatened to crush me, but there was only so fast I could move under the extra gravity. I moved as swiftly as I was able, but just as I reached the perimeter of the gravitational anomaly, a huge piece of ceiling collapsed towards me, unavoidable and while my suit would survive impact, much of my own internal workings may struggle to deal with the physical shock if I didn’t do something about it. I waited for the opportune moment, and then I flashed my personal shield. Thankfully, the structure was not strong enough to withstand the sudden impact and crumbled around my shield long enough for me to drag myself to the relative safety of normal planet side gravity. I watched as my power levels dropped from the expense, and swore to actually take some time to give this suit, and my own weary snyth-flesh, a rest as soon as the Holo-room was ready for finalization.
Opportunity - You stumble upon an alien depository of exotic matter. Collecting samples grants 2 Energy and 2 Data on Success.
The alien satellite, or what I hoped was an alien satellite in any case, was at the rear of the settlement, so I still had a few buildings to traverse before reaching my destination. The next one was thankfully free of dark matter but it was not as featureless as the last one had been. A small treasure trove of alien matter and minerals were sealed in containment units, with small index cards in that same language I was unable to read. I was more sure now that this was some kind of research station, and so I desperately wanted these minerals for myself for further study.
Physics, Chemistry, Robotics
Chemistry DC 7 - 8 and a 9.
Spend 2 energy to reroll 1 6 weak hit. Mark a strain. (1/10 energy.)
Opening the sealed containers proved easy. If I had been able to read the index cards, however, I may not have been so eager. The moment the seal hissed in release, I was able to get a single momentary scan of the minerals involved. Both were highly, almost comically, toxic. If I was human, I would be dead already despite my suit and as it was, I needed to act quickly or my suit would likely face heavy damage. I broke off the door of container and crammed into my repurposing 3D printer while the fumes from the minerals caused my HUD to flash an angry red. I could smell burning as something in my exterior suit began to melt but I managed to repurpose the door into a miniature seal and I claimed the minerals in a safe box, with only minimal damage. I would study these on my return to camp. Curiously, my energy levels were reading slightly higher, despite the strain my suit had taken getting these dangerous minerals under control.
Finding - find old mining equipment that can be repurposed. Gain 1 Resource. (Already at maximum)
My goal was a single building at the rear that overlooked a small cavern a handful of meters deep. The building was filled with old mining and excavation equipment, most of which I ignored for now. My goal was there. Sitting in another display pod and discarded to the side. A small, sleek probe, with wires and alloys of unfamiliar materials. I was sure this was what I needed. If it was even slightly functional, I could use this to at least converse with the network up in the atmosphere and form an accurate holographic map of the whole planet. I lifted the pod reverently and allowed myself another human smile.
Aspect 4/4
Side activity - install upgrade
Data Mining Algorithms (2E): This upgrade provides advanced algorithms to streamline and optimize data processing.
• Gain +1 Data upon acquisition.
I perused the last area. I had a number of interesting resources within my storage tank and the mining equipment gave me an idea. I obtained a few of their digital computers and while I couldn’t make heads or tails of them, their microprocessors were not so different from Earth ones, once you got right down to it. I broke it apart and use my multi tool and on board 3D printer to create a new module for my suit as I was relatively safe from the pools of dark matter here. In keeping with the theme of mining and excavation that surrounded me, my new module offloaded a few of my data mining subroutines. I would be able to use it in conjunction with my standard data suite to forage extra packets of information and data, when the opportunity arose. It wasn’t efficient yet, it would use a fair amount of my suits energy, but if there was anything I had learned in two weeks on this planet, it was that any extra data would be crucial in all my future projects, so it would serve for now.
Mission complete. Structure
Holographic Mapping Room: This room creates detailed, three-dimensional maps of the surrounding terrain.
Gain Navigation +1.
Arden’s Cave, Day 54
Building the Holo-Room took slightly longer than I had anticipated, but it allowed me to run a full diagnostic on my suit and place it outside for a few weeks, along with my pod, soaking in the solar energy and recharging to full. Using the alien satellite, I was able to tap into some of the network in the upper atmosphere. My Holo-Map was a perfect representation of the local area, as well as the area I had explored thus far. But I was only able to communicate with one satellite at the moment, and it seemed to be in tune with the rotation of the planet. It never strayed far from the Spire I had first registered it. I could ping other satellites in it’s network, but without a greater understanding of its language, both the code it uses on the back end and the native alien species language, I was unlikely to connect to other satellites in its network without a greater understanding of the language involved. Still, it was excellent progress.
At the edge of my Holo-Map, I noticed a spire similar to the one I had traversed in the habitation settlement, only this one was alone, atop a large hill. Once the map was up and running and my suit was fully charged, I set out to explore it. I spent a full day at its base running tests as I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. The spire, or perhaps obelisk is a more accurate descriptor, was different than anything I had seen since leaving the Phaeston, except perhaps for one thing. I glanced at the Red Pyramid in the sky, almost directly above me. The energy that wreathed this monument was too similar to dismiss is out of hand, and the alloy it was made of shouldn’t be possible. It was a combination of metals and minerals that shouldn’t, by all rights, be compatible, even with my limited knowledge of the minerals used on this planet. And yet, here they were. The technology required to make this monument, let alone the Pyramid was something I was unable to wrap my programming around. I took as many samples as I dared and returned to my cave. I sealed them away for now, for study at a later day. For now, I needed to to clear out a new part of the cave to make space for my next project. If I wanted to understand this planet, I needed to understand it’s people. And there is no greater way to understand a culture than through its language.
Talking Unknown: Set up an Exolinguistics Research Facility to boost your Communication with local alien life.
Aspects 0/3
And so we conclude Arden’s first mission! I will be ending this here, although I will likely be playing the game more as I’ve really enjoyed playing through it. I’ll talk more about it in the Post Script, but Thank you so much for reading!
A cool game fore sure, lots of supplements too.
The wonder of space and unknowable things came across well in tArden's adventure.