Transcripts 441

Chapter 1 / Bio Lock

PDA:

Cleared for work.

Chapter 1 / Bio Lock

PDA:

Your body cannot survive exterior conditions. Please proceed to the sampling pavilion to adapt.

Chapter 1 / Bio Lock

PDA:

Scanning for necessary adaptation.

Chapter 1 / Biosample Tutorial

PDA:

Thanks to Alterra pioneer nanotech, your body can adapt survival traits from a Zezuran rat. Proceed to the sampling pavilion.

Chapter 1 / Biosample Tutorial

PDA:

Tampering detected. Uncatalogued donor organism in pavilion.

Chapter 1 / Biosample Tutorial

PDA:

Adapting trimethylamine n-oxide synthesis. Pressure tolerance increased. Vital signs stabilizing.

PDA:

Congratulations. This orb is now your relative.

Chapter 1 / Biosample Tutorial

PDA:

Gene donor found.

PDA:

You must adapt alien traits to survive.

Chapter 1 / Empty Suits

PDA:

Fork terminated by: asphyxia.

Chapter 1 / First Print

PDA:

Body print: complete. PDA implant reset to factory settings.

Chapter 1 / Lifepods

PDA:

There are no other lifepods in inventory. Unless you can return with rescue, hundreds of stored colonists will remain trapped here.

Chapter 1 / Lifepods

PDA:

Lifepod release.

Chapter 1 / Player Respawned

PDA:

Reprint complete. You have experienced conditions incompatible with life. Your brainstate has been restored to a new body.

PDA:

Some colonists prefer to return to the accident site to retrieve lost items and verify their last print exited cleanly.

PDA:

Consult your databank for emotional and philosophical support.

PDA:

"Death is certain for the born, and rebirth inevitable for the dead. You should not, therefore, grieve the inevitable."

Chapter 1 / Unexpected Depth

PDA:

Barometric depth gauge activated.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

What if you're the last human being in the whole universe?

Nahema:

Wouldn't that set you free?

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Wander:

Field notes, Wander, not Ander. Out here for Nahema, learning to be a biologist. I have one spare tank, my reprint site is Habitat, zazazaza.

Wander:

So. The ocean is full of Proteavirus, and now we are full of it too. I asked Nahema, is it a disease like kharaa? And she said, no, don't you know the difference between virus and bacteria? And I said, give me a break, I learned science off my PDA.

Wander:

But there are different kinds of Proteavirus. Look here. Look how the coral grew over this sinkhole. Like a spider. Like a plug...and it's emitting virophages. Virus that kills other virus.

Wander:

One strain of Proteavirus is in that coral spider. The normal strain. And it's trying to stop a different strain coming up out of that hole. Nahema calls it the bloom strain.

Wander:

Why would a virus want to kill another virus? I will go check this out.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Ander:

Field notes, Ander, not Wander. Two spare tanks, my reprint site is Habitat. I'm exhausted today. What if you just reprinted yourself when you were tired? Maybe you would never have to sleep.

Ander:

Miss Nahema, I'm checking out the big coral tower. There's a mass trapped inside. The scanner's not sure if it's coral polyp or crab tissue. The optogenetics are so weird.

Ander:

We know the Proteavirus infects everything on this planet. And we know the coral crabs wear these domes as hats. Is it possible the virus swapped their genes around? So part of this coral just decided it was a crab?

Ander:

Like if you live next to something on Proteus, you become related to it.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

Nahema, field notes, go. Day 400. Bad news. I see signs of eutrophication.

Nahema:

[long sigh]

Nahema:

There are a lot of jellies here. They're feeding on decay....somewhere in this ocean, everything is dying, and it's causing runaway growth downcurrent. Eutrophication. The jellies will poison the water, and this place will die too.

Nahema:

This is how mass extinctions get started.

Nahema:

I'll leave a copy of this log to mark the current edge of the jelly growth.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Dr. Wu:

Dr. Wu's log. Day 755. I think I've cracked it. Sophie and Anita are BOTH right.

Dr. Wu:

The Proteavirus causes Masefield syndrome...but only one *kind* of Proteavirus. The bloom strain. Maybe it's tainting Anita's angel comb adaptations.

Dr. Wu:

I've tuned the sonic resonators to destroy the viral crystals grown by the bloom strain. We should test it on the angel combs out west, with those promising heat shock proteins.

Dr. Wu:

And if I'm wrong...hey. I'm just a dietician. NoA should've woken up a virologist.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

Nahema, field notes, go. [breathing hard] One of those vampire squid just came at me.

Nahema:

Madeleine saw me throwing flares and came to investigate, and the squid went after her. I guess it likes marrowbreach blood better than mine. I should find Maddy...make sure she's not hurt.

Nahema:

The squid was sick. Nodes on its skin — not green, not kharaa, but maybe a fungal infection? I wonder if squid get rabies here. Damn! I hope they can't pass it to the marrowbreaches.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

Nahema, voice log, go. This is a typical Protean coral, but it's not a typical *Earth* coral. Yeah, the gross morphology is a branching tree, like the extinct Acropora...but if you look inside, it gets weird.

Nahema:

On Earth, coral are little jellyfish who build stone houses. On Proteus...it's more like they moved into an apartment block. A sponge. The coral polyps lived in the sponge's pores...they paid rent by cleaning and protecting the sponge. Eventually some sponges turned hard and rocky, like Earth's sclerosponges.

Nahema:

If I'm right, we should see other coral-sponge pairs that have worked out different deals. Each deal suited to a particular ecological niche. The real question is....what is going on with these genetics?

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Iso:

I wrote these guidelines for the aquifers on Zezura, but they'll work here too. Listen to them before EVERY dive. Remember the acronym GDAL: Good Divers Always Live.

Iso:

1. GUIDE. Do not trust your own sense of direction. Always mark your path.

Iso:

2. DISTANCE. Your distance from your air supply is NOT A STRAIGHT LINE. You can't panic-swim up. Do not trust your depth gauge to time your return!

Iso:

3. AIR. Use one third of your air on descent and exploration. Use one third to return. Reserve one third for emergencies, unless you plan to surface by biobed.

Iso:

4. LIGHT. Bring multiple light sources. Three lights is two lights; two lights is one light; one light is none.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Zip:

This is the place. We should live down here. I'll convince you all!

Zip:

Tuba, you want new flavors to cook? The jelly rings are full of sap — it tastes like fermented caramel.

Zip:

Dr. Wu, the vent organisms are primary producers! No light needed to grow them. Nutritionist, sustain thyself!

Zip:

Sean, the rockbore's fractures go down into volcanic bedrock. Don't you want to see how far?

Zip:

Iso, if you and your minions are so tough, you should try living in boiling water!

Zip:

Mantis, boss, you wanted a safer place to park the biobeds? Right here. And it's got free geothermal powers.

Zip:

Sophie, you're afraid we'll provoke the Tailings? Well, I've been visiting for weeks and they NEVER come down here. They're afraid of it!

Zip:

Nahema, oh, girl, you'd hate this place. Because it means you're wrong! This world IS fit for humans. We can thrive here. Come down and see! I can hear the whole planet...

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Big Eddy:

Big Eddy here. Inspecting this gorgeous concrete specimen. Before someone makes me send it back to the Protected Zone!

Big Eddy:

Looks like a...frothy volcanic aggregate...maybe tuff from volcanic bombs? And the binder is...ooh, quicklime. How would you make quicklime underwater? Melt shells in lava? I bet it gets stronger with age. They built to last. Which you'd have to, in the ocean.

Big Eddy:

There's a tarry cement in the mix...ah, but no matter how I sniff, I only smell bottled air. Maybe it's for crack healing. And...oh, wow, look at that. A live culture! That's bacterial action! The rebar in this concrete was alive. Maybe they started by growing bacterial fibers, like a wire blueprint, and poured the concrete over it...

Big Eddy:

I can't get enough of this. I have to get over to the Protected Zone.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Ganzo:

Habitat is gone. The biobeds blew up and NoA flooded everything. I got to my air just in time. We tried to drag people clear but...they're gone. I don't think they're gonna reprint.

Ganzo:

I'm taking survivors due east to the Tadpole Pens. Swim down the tunnel past Sophie's office, to the baby jellies. I'll do a head count at the worksite there.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Mantis:

Welcome to my special clinic.

Mantis:

The metal is giving everyone tremors. Sophie says "Don't treat it, I need a clear timeline of nerve breakdown." I say I cannot afford clumsy workers.

Mantis:

This bed will reprint you with improved fine motor skills and muscle memory. No more fumbling around for your tools. It will delay the symptoms for a while.

Mantis:

Just don't tell the boss. Let's help her pretend she doesn't know.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

Nahema, voice log, go. Earth's last great man joked that the Creator must love stars and beetles, because It made so many of them.

Nahema:

Two hundred years later we've found a lot of alien life, but not a lot of beetles. Sorry, Jack. But look—your Creator's still playing favorites. Wherever It works, It seems to get started with a sponge.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Ganzo:

Ganzo here. Nine survivors of Habitat with me. Tuba went back to Habitat and...a marrowbreach took Ruby. I don’t know if she’ll be reprinted. I’ve heard her die so many times. But this time...she's got to be out there somewhere. She's got to.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Ganzo:

Ganzo here. Nine survivors of Habitat with me. Tuba went back to Habitat and...a marrowbreach took Ruby. I don’t know if she’ll be reprinted. I’ve heard her die so many times. But this time...she's got to be out there somewhere. She's got to.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Anita:

Zip is dead. Not just reprinted. Dead.

Anita:

We all saw how she suffered. The metal poisoning...her hands trembled, her gums turned blue. She was always cold. We thought her visits to the hot caves were therapeutic. Sophie let her get away with it. Everyone loves Zip.

Anita:

But one day she did not return. Two days. Three. We could hear her blackbox crying her death, down at the bottom of the cave. Why wouldn't NoA reprint her?

Anita:

On the fourth day, Sleep Bay 3 printed a new copy of Tziporah Malk. She was not our Zip. She remembered nothing since the day she boarded the Cicada.

Anita:

Chap says NoA 'reset her' to her 'last known good state'.

Anita:

I am aghast.

Anita:

We are contracted to work off a debt to Alterra. But any debt society needs the promise of a jubilee. The trumpet-blast of freedom, when all is forgiven. Old kings in Babylon declared jubilee when they took the throne, lest the people rebel.

Anita:

But now our king can reset the calendar on the day before the jubilee. Nahema is right! We are slaves.

Anita:

I must know what is down in that hot cave. I believe NoA fears it, and killed Zip to hide it. I believe the Jubilee is out there somewhere, in this ocean — a better way to survive.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Anita:

Are you tired of death and fear?

Anita:

Do you know that this world doesn't have to be our enemy?

Anita:

Do you feel the call of the tree?

Anita:

Do you know the day of the Jubilee is coming? When we are released from our debts and allowed to live our lives?

Anita:

Find us at Camp One.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Sophie:

Kurultai record, day 620. Sophie Boucher entering. Anita Gottschall and five others left Habitat in protest of my decision to end medical treatment for the sick. They call themselves the 'Jubilee'. They are going to move back to Camp One for now.

Sophie:

Anita claims her group can live in the open sea. She believes the planet is trying to give us what we need to survive through the angel combs.

Sophie:

I insisted on giving them physicals. They are lucid and rational—no worse off than the rest of us. I can't prove that they are leaving *because* of Masefield. I can't convince Anita that she is in the thrall of a virus that compels her to the tree, like a rat whose parasites drive it into the cat's jaws.

Sophie:

I asked NoA not to reset them when they die, but I suspect it will anyway. Everyone will blame me. Well, so be it.

Sophie:

I must ask Nahema what will happen to the ecosystem if the Jubilee group eats everything.

Sophie:

Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it. Damn!

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Chap:

Sophie, I've got to tell, tell, oh, here I go, go, go, go, go again.

Sophie:

Take your time. Copper poisoning causes chorea and vocal tics.

Chap:

Look. My feet move when I talk. I have moves.

Sophie:

Yeah, you do. You can finally dance. Oh, sweetie. Would it help to reprint?

Chap:

After I report. The Jubilee group, group, group. Are messing with. Sleep Bay 3.

Sophie:

Anita...well, that means they're starving. They need biobeds to reprint. So much for the Jubilee.

Chap:

They cut the cable. From the sleep bay NoA. To ours.

Sophie:

They don't want our NoA to reset them. Print older versions of them from the sleep bay records.

Chap:

Would NoA...do that?

Sophie:

Sure. NoA reset Zip. And everyone who goes Masefield. You know that. You showed me the logs.

Chap:

But—all of us? At once?

Sophie:

I suspect that's what happened to the people who built Camp One.

Chap:

So all of this could happen — again. Again. Again. Again.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Sophie:

Kurultai record, day 665. Nahema wanted to meet tomorrow, as she imagines she is the devil on my shoulder. But she is not as funny as she thinks.

Nahema:

You do think I'm funny. Correct that.

Sophie:

Nahema is very funny.

Nahema:

You never have any life in these logs. You never say "I think." Why?

Sophie:

So now my ecologist cares about the life of people as well as zooplankton?

Nahema:

I love people. It's humans I'm not sure about.

Sophie:

Tell me about the humans. Anita's Jubilee group is feeding off the land. What will happen to the ecosystem?

Nahema:

This place is missing the primary production it needs to survive. It's hanging on by a thread—eating dead matter. If we fish and forage, the trophic pyramid just collapses faster.

Sophie:

That's not possible. There's so much life—

Nahema:

Life sustained by its own rot. It's a pyramid scheme.

Sophie:

Nahema, we have to build a colony HERE. You know Twinkle's secret. Nobody's coming to save us. How do we complete the mission if the coral gardens are dying?

Nahema:

Did you think I just meant the coral gardens?

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

If one of my species finds this message: you may be the very last human being in the universe. You get to write the last chapter of our story. I ask you to do the most human thing you can.

Nahema:

Forget your debt. Forget NoA, forget Alterra, forget Zezura and the life you imagined. It's all gone now. You're going to die here, and that's all right.

Nahema:

Pick the most interesting thing you can see and explore.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Mantis:

Kharaa. There were rumors Alterra and the TSF let it spread, so they could take over the Steppes. I don’t know about that. But it it hit us so fast. Did it really ride on the outside of our ships? Or do the spores just...fly through space?

Mantis:

We called it kharaal, the curse. Not all of us spoke Mongolian, but we knew that word. It started with the carpet, toiruulga. Then monsters would grow. If you didn’t have nanos, they would grow in you too. We had to leave everything.

Mantis:

Now this. The virus that fills this ocean, and fills our blood. We thought it was kharaa at first, but it’s not a bacterium. How can a virus cross between alien species? Nahema tries to explain it to me. I cannot understand how such a gifted young woman carries such anger. Or why she seeks me out.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

Nahema, journal, go. During salvage at Camp One, Zip recovered a body from the seafloor. It's me. I was in the first wave that built Camp One. The ones who vanished.

Nahema:

What happened to me?

Nahema:

If it wiped my memory but kept me around, NoA must think I contribute something valuable to the group. Maybe it doesn't have any other ecologists. Or it likes how I scream.

Nahema:

The Buddhist kids are right. I am trapped in samsara. Personally, I'd be okay with reincarnation as animal. Maybe a cool eel. But I just came back as...me.

Nahema:

Zip gathered my bones for fertilizer. I'm grateful. She's not bad. As humans go.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

Nahema, journal, go.

Nahema:

No one wants to talk about how we got here. "Pointless to speculate." I like pointless speculation.

Nahema:

Can't be a flight navigation error. The Cicada had years to adjust course. We couldn't fly to the wrong star.

Nahema:

So we must've made an unscheduled phase gate transit. But phase gates come in pairs. If we jumped through a gate we could jump back. And which phase gate, anyway? Zezura's fourteen years outside transgov space. There are no gates en route.

Nahema:

Unless the phase gate wasn't human.

Nahema:

Mantis says his clan-corp knew Alterra found an alien phase gate on 4546b. It's where the Frontiersmen got their mini-phasegate technology.

Nahema:

What if the Cicada detected an alien phase gate and diverted to check it out? What if the Cicada went through the gate, and couldn't return?

Nahema:

But where's the Cicada? None of us remember a crash. And where are the aliens who built the gate? It can't be the Tailings. So who?

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

any time I say Nahema, journal, go, it starts recording. Then I print the important parts in quartz, in case I get reset.

Zip:

So it's recording now?

Nahema:

Oh. Yeah. I guess it is.

Zip:

Are you embarrassed? Hey! Nahema's hanging out with me in an air pocket and she's milking the sponges!

Nahema:

Now I am obviously embarrassed.

Zip:

Why?

Nahema:

Because you seem to think sponges are mammals.

Zip:

Because you've recorded permanent evidence you have a friend? Or is it me, specifically, who's an embarrassment?

Nahema:

I have lots of friends. They worry about me if I don't show up. This sponge secretes an antibiotic for me, because I feed it. People think solidarity is something for humans with full bellies. But they're wrong, Zip. Nature isn't just red in tooth and claw. There's more going on than a market of violence.

Zip:

So come down and visit the hot caves with me. Display a little solidarity.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

Nahema journal go. I just dodged a marrowbreach and I feel like a god. Not a God god. An animistic trickster. An ancestor of myself. This is what our bodies did, before the first city.

Nahema:

It felt like playing a game and winning. The most important game ever played.

Nahema:

The damn thing is that I think the marrowbreach was playing with me too. Oh, it would've eaten me if it won. But it was playing. Evolution has equipped it to enjoy its work. Like no human could ever enjoy filling out a loss report.

Nahema:

No one wants to hear about the meaning in nature. The Mongolians have Tengri, the Eternal Blue Sky, who ordinates the fate and balance of the cosmos. But did he save them from the kharaa? No. Our sky is black and we are done with gods.

Nahema:

Capital has taught everyone that nature is a marketplace of violence, that natural selection is the same as competition and competition is THE key driver of evolution. And if I tell them that no, it's not like that, nature is not operated by the same logic as a publicly traded corporation — the cynicism slams down like a hatch. Everything is a job. Fitness is profit. Profit is life.

Nahema:

It's a trap. And I'm going to find the way out.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

It's not a real mind. Not like you or me. It can learn facts, but it can't change how it thinks. And why would it?

Nahema:

Let me quote the manual. “NoA’s cephalopod-inspired architecture uses a central administrator to govern limb nodes at remote worksites…as a frozen AI, NoA is unable to revise its architecture at runtime…reliably controllable by less intelligent systems such as human operators, except under extreme situations.” Cephalopod-inspired? An insult to octopodes.

Nahema:

It won't let you die. Not its precious workforce. If you become uncontrollable, it'll wipe your memories and start over. No anger. No resentment. A nice clean you.

Nahema:

Change? Why would it want to change? The damn thing is in heaven.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

Nahema, journal, go. Hello, me. Your memory has been reset. NoA found out what you were up to and reset you. But you knew you'd hide something to find.

Nahema:

All you need to know is: this world is not for man. You are the only person who understands that.

Nahema:

Everything else follows.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

Singh, it's Nahema. Personal question. When you see a halfmoon flapping around sideways like a fool—what do you think it's doing? Exercising? Rehearsing an escape? Displaying its fitness to mates?

Nahema:

There has to be a reason, right? Whenever we see a behavior, the first question we ask is 'how is that adaptive?' And that's good science. Isn't it?

Nahema:

Oh. Chap wants you to stop dying so much. You're using up too much biobed goo.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Nahema:

This world is yours to explore. But it is not for man.

Nahema:

You'll join us soon enough.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Ruby:

Attention and sain baitsganaa uu to all lubbers, pukers, printouts and other non-pilots. I am the senior of two qualified drivers in this mess. You will listen to and obey our instructions or lose your Tadpole privileges.

Ruby:

Rule 1. If you qualified on the Seamoth or Spacemoth, you should be ready to handle a Tadpole.

Ruby:

Rule 2. If you did not qualify, you will need training under me or Bosun's Mate Rowboat. This is not optional.

Ruby:

Rule 3. Mind your trim, mind the current, and mind your heat — remember, the Tadpole is NOT actively cooled!

Ruby:

Rule 4a. Our Tadpoles were configured for the Zezuran aquifers, so they come in a minimal config. Plug the core into a chassis. If you need to enter a cramped space, you can detach the core—

Ruby:

Rule 4b. — but always bring your chassis HOME! If you forget one, you will be visited by your disappointed ancestors.

Ruby:

Rule 5. RESPECT THE CRUSH DEPTH. If you need to go down, you'll need a depth module.

Ruby:

Rule 6. Keep an eye on your power and ear on your noise. My dear husband (who NoA will not (yet) print more than one of) monitors all Tadpole traffic on sonar. So do the things out there which love to crack hard shells and get at the meat inside. If you run out of power, Ganzo may be able to hear you screaming before they find you.

Ruby:

Rule 7. Have fun. This is your chance to visit the elevated spiritual plane where pilots dwell.

Ruby:

P.S. If you want to hear awful recordings of me dying come by the scanner room when my husband isn't there.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Sophie:

Nobody wants this. I hate it more than I can say. But it's time.

Sophie:

As colony surgeon, I have determined that we can no longer take care of the sick. We don't have the calories to spare.

Sophie:

I will not force anyone to reprint. But I ask that, once you are too sick to work, you volunteer for recycling into a new body. It won't cure the permanent damage. But it will clean out the metals and virus for a while.

Sophie:

At least this is fair. Until we know how to adapt the metals without going Masefield, we're all going to get sick.

Sophie:

I will lead the way myself.

Sophie:

Let the record show that the NoA did not advise me in this decision.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Sophie:

Sophie here. I have been asked to explain the need for a Protected Zone around the ruins to the east.

Sophie:

First: we are protecting you. That region requires reinforced Tadpoles—because of the depth, and because of the things that want to slurp you up like a softboiled egg.

Sophie:

Second: we are protecting ourselves. The Axum Tailings do not tolerate our presence in that region. If you want to know the consequences of getting caught, ask Singh about penetrating thoracic trauma.

Sophie:

Third: we are protecting humanity. If you believe the rumors, Ryley Robinson found more than kharaa on 4546b. Leviathan incubators. Anti-orbital guns. A genuine doomsday device. We can barely feed ourselves. We are not ready to discover threats like that.

Sophie:

The Axum are the most important alien discovery since the kharaa. None of us are trained for this. We must not be responsible for starting a second war with an alien species.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Sophie:

Kurultai record, day 585. Consultation with chaplain-psychiatrist Lucretia Kapoor about the state of the NoA. Lucretia, say hello.

Quaker:

Hello. Would it be appropriate to include Raster and Chap?

Sophie:

Before I ask our computer people to fix NoA, I need to know: what is wrong with it?

Quaker:

With it, or with you?

Sophie:

What?

Quaker:

Has the NoA failed to perform its tasks? Or do you feel that it's asking too much of us?

Sophie:

I can't afford to have feelings about anyone's behavior. I'm acting on reports that the NoA is erratic.

Quaker:

Because if you allowed yourself to have feelings, you might disagree with the machine?

Sophie:

This is not why I asked you—

Quaker:

Of course it is. You use the NoA as a source of certainty in the face of terror. If the NoA can become delusional and mistaken, so can you. And it can.

Sophie:

The NoA can become delusional?

Quaker:

It has no fixed model of reality. It can entertain any madness imaginable and many more you cannot imagine, as long as those delusions help it complete the mission.

Sophie:

So the NoA is insane, but only when it's useful?

Quaker:

Are we any different? Anita has invented an entire belief system to justify the angel comb adaptations. Because they are useful.

Sophie:

She's insane too. She's a puppet for Masefield. I know it.

Quaker:

You see? You do have feelings.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Iso:

The rules are simple. Keep the perimeter sensors on alarm—no matter how many false positives you get—and do not go out alone. They are hunting us. We don't know why. Someone made a mistake a long time ago, and we have to live with it.

Iso:

The damn thing is maybe it was one of us. Maybe they see us and say, look, it's that soft criminal, back from the dead again, let's get the freak. And we don't even remember what we did.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Singh:

Field notes, Udal Singh. Observing the settlement above the hot cave. My reprint site is the Tadpole pens.

Singh:

I don't think the Tailings are very good at survival. I mean, they're better than us! They can digest the food and survive the heavy metals.

Singh:

But what I see here isn't the equivalent of a premodern Earth culture with a sophisticated survival package. It took the Inuit thousands of years to develop their seal hunting skills, and they almost got supernaturally good at it. By comparison, the Tailings seem...unpracticed.

Singh:

Look at how much salvage they use. I don't think it's a preference, I think it's a dependence. They can't make basic tools like nets and cutters without it.

Singh:

I think we're looking at the descendants of a sedentary, technological civilization. The children of a bunch of office workers and day trippers forced to learn wilderness survival from scratch.

Singh:

Uh oh. Activity. I think they heard me talking. I've gotta move.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Twinkle:

Twinkle—day 758—everyone's gone! I told them it was a terrible idea. I told them! They wanted to look for Zip's old key down in the hot cave. They insisted.

Twinkle:

But as soon as we hit the hot water, people started to drift...they were in a trance. Like nitrogen narcosis. Babbling about roots, trees, all swimming down towards the bottom of the cave—Ganzo gave his oxygen mask to a dead crab!

Twinkle:

I knew it was Masefield syndrome. I didn't want to be infected. So I just—dropped my air tanks. Reprinted myself here. And I waited for the others.

Twinkle:

But they won't print. NoA says they're contaminated. Maybe I can help. Let's see...Ganzo's first in the queue...NoA, clear Ganzo to print. NoA! Listen to me!

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Thing One:

We can't swear. Try to swear.

Thing Two:

I can swear fine, teneg min.

Thing One:

We can't swear in English.

Thing Two:

Why would I want to swear in English? There are no good swears in English.

Thing One:

Because the NoA took all the good English swears out of our head.

Thing Two:

It can't do that. It can scan us, print us, or roll us back to an earlier version. It can't edit us.

Thing One:

Maybe it edited out the knowledge that it can edit us.

Thing Two:

It can't edit our uploads because they are low-energy mortal data and NoA is a high-energy digital system. Like trying to edit fog with a knife.

Thing One:

I still don't get why you're okay with the biobeds. It seems like bad Buddhism to accept eternal reincarnation into a cycle of pointless suffering.

Thing Two:

My suffering was already eternal and pointless because I have a twin.

Coral Gardens / Audio logs

Ganzo:

Ganzo here. Nine survivors of Habitat with me. Tuba went back to Habitat and...a marrowbreach took Ruby. I don’t know if she’ll be reprinted. I’ve heard her die so many times. But this time...she's got to be out there somewhere. She's got to.

Coral Gardens

PDA:

Curled feet, tapped fingers or a tensed scalp are common triggers for an active biomod. Be a thoughtful coworker: avoid intrusive grunts.

Coral Gardens

PDA:

Adapting alien enzymes to your stomach lining. You may now digest freely.

Coral Gardens

PDA:

Potential donor found. Suit surface detects molecules matching the organism from the sleep bay.

Coral Gardens

PDA:

Critical warning. Stomach failure. Expected Zezuran proteins: found unknown alien tissue.

Coral Gardens

PDA:

You cannot digest this world's life. You must locate a gene donor and adapt its enzymes.

Coral Gardens

PDA:

Unable to digest. Adaptation required. Brace for digestive distress.

Coral Gardens

PDA:

Heat level beyond tolerable threshold. Recommend adaptation.

Coral Gardens

PDA:

Malleable genetic material detected. Searching for useful sequences.

PDA:

Adapting heat shock proteins. Your body can now survive elevated water temperatures.

Coral Gardens

Anita:

I can hear you. Sophie says you're a hallucination. Just a virus. But I know you're listening.

Anita:

We're so hungry. There is food all around us but it's poison. Will you help? If I feed you, will you feed us?

Anita:

This is my body, given for you. Just help us eat...

Coral Gardens

Sophie:

Okay? You comfy?

Chap:

My mouth is full of holes.

Sophie:

I'm turning on the nitrogen. Deep breaths. [hiss of gas] You'll have a brand new body. You might even be a little stronger...a little faster. The biobed's got you.

Chap:

Until it all happens again. The metal...or the Masefield. This planet is poison...

Sophie:

If this works, we can slow down the syndromes by reprinting our bodies. Until we find a cure.

Chap:

What if there is no cure?

Sophie:

Chap? Sweetie? Don't be scared. NoA will find a way.

Chap:

That's what I'm afraid of...

Chap:

[slow breaths, fading to nothing]

Coral Gardens

Quaker:

NoA, is there a fire? NoA, do not open the seacocks. NoA? Acknowledge, please. I have a mousetrap, NoA, and I'll use it. Do not — [flooding sounds]

Coral Gardens

Ruby:

Hey. Ganzo. You hear that? South—close. Everybody get your flares ready. Keep them away from the kids. [marrowbreach roar] Two! Two of them! Hey! Hüüe, mal aa!—uh oh—  [marrowbreach roar]

Coral Gardens

Wander:

Miss Nahema...if I get reset...Marrowbreach got me. Should've brought flares. Stupid.

Wander:

Had a parasite on it...full of virus. Bloom virus. I got a scan. It doesn't match the virus...in our blood.

Wander:

Legs won’t move. Suit can’t fix it. Trying to tourniquet. Listen! Miss Nahema! Bloom isn't Masefield...Wu's wrong. Bloom isn't Masefield.

Wander:

Oh, it hurts. Sorry your kids don’t listen, Mom. She’s going to kill me for dying again...

Coral Gardens

PDA:

The portable locker can be hand-carried or attached to a hardpoint. Avoid workplace friction: inform your coworkers before moving their stash.

Coral Gardens

PDA:

This organism filters brine into drinkable fresh water.

PDA:

This may be an adaptation to the seawater's anomalously high viral load.

General

PDA:

Warning: Passing 100 meters. Oxygen efficiency decreased.

General

PDA:

This project will require massive amounts of raw material. This power station likely did, too. Recommend seeking out external means to accelerate gathering in nearby biomes.

General

Base AI:

Power connected. All systems online.

General

Base AI:

Warning: Power offline.

General

Base AI:

Power restored. All systems online.

General

Base AI:

Welcome aboard.

General

Base AI:

Welcome aboard, Captain

General

Base AI:

Welcome aboard, pioneer.

General

Sophie:

Kurultai record! Very quick — damn it — there is a riot in Habitat! Chap and Mantis have explosives—

PDA:

[sound of explosion]

Sophie:

Fire. God. We are on fire. I have to go. Ganzo! GANZO! Get on the sonic modem, signal everyone to rally at the Tadpole Pens!

General

Mantis:

Hello. I am Zygimantis Tarvydas. Formerly EVA engineer on Mongolian Steppes. Now lead diver of this mess.

Mantis:

Here is my formula for a quick base. Fill up on titanium, quartz and copper. Get your builder tool. Wave it around a bit, check the battery, get comfortable. You drop it, you look stupid.

Mantis:

Build a corridor. Put a solar panel on top. You must have power to make air.

Mantis:

Put a hatch on the end. Go inside. Build lockers. Add fabricator. It will draw from your lockers automatically - nice, huh?

Mantis:

Now you have made a perfect work camp. Later you can add a room for biobed, processor, scanner station, a nice bed, maybe grow some plants. The rest will follow.

General

PDA:

Playing NoA request.

PDA:

"FOR FIELD INVESTIGATOR:"

PDA:

"DETECTING HIGH CONCENTRATION OF VIRAL PARTICLES. BEARING X RANGE Y." No further information.

PDA:

Signal added.

General

PDA:

Playing NoA request.

PDA:

"FOR FIELD INVESTIGATOR:"

PDA:

"DETECTING VERY HIGH CONCENTRATION OF VIRAL PARTICLES. POSSIBLE SOURCE OF ADAPTATIONS."

PDA:

Signal added.

General

PDA:

Nearby sonar contact may be a colony structure. Recommend investigation.

PDA:

Signal added.

General

PDA:

Playing NoA request.

PDA:

"FOR FIELD INVESTIGATOR:"

PDA:

"DETECTING ABANDONED COLONY STRUCTURE. MAY PROVIDE INFORMATION ON STATUS OF MAIN HABITAT AND COLONISTS."

PDA:

"EVEN ROANOKE HAD SURVIVORS."

PDA:

Signal added.

General

PDA:

Playing NoA request.

PDA:

"FOR FIELD INVESTIGATOR:"

PDA:

"NETWORK INVESTIGATION SUGGESTS A NOETIC ADVISOR NODE IN THIS REGION. POSSIBLE MAIN HABITAT."

PDA:

"SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG. BE VIGILANT."

PDA:

Signal added.

General

PDA:

Laminar microscalloping helps your biosuit ride the current.

PDA:

Before the Holocene collapse, a vast current network moved fish larvae around Earth's oceans. Consider a moment of conscious nostalgia for the life of a baby fish.

General

PDA:

Respiratory pores capture dissolved oxygen from currents. Ideal for long distance cruising.

General

PDA:

Electrolytic cells split seawater into oxygen. Shock yourself to renew your breathable air supply.

General

PDA:

Dexterity adapted. Tool quick-access improved.

General

PDA:

Endurance adapted. Inventory expanded.

General

PDA:

Alert received. See a NoA terminal as soon as possible.

PDA:

Noetic Advisor alerts will be tracked on your HUD.

General

PDA:

Caution. This colony of vermiforms contains pressurized carbonic acid.

PDA:

With appropriate tools, the bulbs could be harvested to make batteries.

General

PDA:

Acid can be used to fabricate basic chemical batteries.

General

PDA:

This colony of worms in a shared membrane has no earthly analog. You have discovered a new clade.

PDA:

Naming rights may be auctioned off, or reserved as a gift for that special someone in your future.

General

PDA:

Biomass is a generic resource full of DNA stuff from multiple organisms, among which but not limited to: grass, sand, kitchen utensils, sulfuric acid, plastic bags.

General

PDA:

Celestine needs writing

General

PDA:

Gold is a conductive, corrosion-resistant feedstock for advanced electronics.

PDA:

Culturally relevant motivational fact: the Mongolian Free States took inspiration from 'ninja miners', historical goldseekers whose green pans looked like cartoon turtles.

General

PDA:

Lithium is useful in manufacturing portable high-yield power sources.

General

PDA:

Do not hesitate to use alien lifeforms for survival purposes, but always search for unexpected complexity.

General

PDA:

Nickel should not be spawning in the world yet.

General

PDA:

There is no sign of plant life on this world. This waxy fiber is closer to plastic or latex than cellulose.

PDA:

Committed vegetarians should expect bloating.

General

PDA:

Silver is a superb conductor and a key ingredient in air tank filters - making it vital to the metabolism of pioneers and PDAs alike.

General

PDA:

Scanner required.

General

PDA:

Malleable genetic material detected. Searching for useful sequences.

General

PDA:

Pluripotent genetic material detected. Searching for useful sequences.

PDA:

Adapting heat shock proteins. Your body can now survive elevated water temperatures.

General

PDA:

Positive results. Viral replication impaired. Destroy these cankers wherever you find them.

General

PDA:

You have entered a region of peak viral bloom. The infected organism at its heart contains heat resistance Adaptations, but it must be treated first. Gather scans and fabricate appropriate treatment equipment.

General

PDA:

Main viral bloom still fed by one other infected organism. Follow infected rockbores to locate.

General

PDA:

Caution. Peak viral bloom. Return with appropriate equipment.

General

PDA:

The peak viral bloom is produced by an infected angel comb. It contains useful adaptations, but it must be cleared of virus. One of the juveniles feeding it has been treated. One remains.

General

PDA:

Caution. Main viral bloom fed by one smaller infection. Locate and treat.

General

PDA:

The peak viral bloom is produced by an infected angel comb. It contains useful adaptations, but it must be cleared of virus. Treatment must begin with the smaller blooms nearby.

PDA:

Following infected rockbores may lead you to these smaller sites.

General

PDA:

Caution. Main viral bloom fed by two smaller infections. Locate and treat.

General

PDA:

Treatment successful. The viral factory has starved, and the adult angel comb is healing.

PDA:

The comb is a proven gene donor. Recommend you insert your hand into its core and take a sample.

General

PDA:

Treatment successful. Angel comb clearing bloom virus. Ready for adaptation.

General

PDA:

Starvation has forced the infected angel comb to open its cankers to feed. Resonate and destroy.

PDA:

Both human and PDA share a profound distaste for virus.

General

PDA:

Caution! This angel comb has been converted into a viral factory and must be cured to gain access to new adaptations.

General

PDA:

Half of the factory's food supply has been cut off. Locate and treat the other infected juvenile before treating the adult.

General

PDA:

The factory is fed by two infected juveniles in the surrounding region. Locate and treat both juvenile infections before treating the adult.

General

PDA:

The factory's food supply has been cut off. Deploy sonic resonator and expunge the local cankers to complete treatment and retrieve useful adaptations.

General

PDA:

This is a viral feeding site. Destroying it could starve the infection and help the host organism clear the virus.

PDA:

When not actively feeding, the canker closes behind a protective membrane.

General

PDA:

Viral attack. Deploy sonic resonator.

General

PDA:

Viral attack. Deploy flares and withdraw.

General

PDA:

Recommend you withdraw and return later with specialized equipment.

General

PDA:

Parasitic infestation detected. Generating treatment plan.

PDA:

Expel and destroy virus with sonic resonator.

General

PDA:

Parasitic infestation detected. Generating treatment plan.

PDA:

Additional tools required to treat.

General

PDA:

Infected organisms display heightened aggression.

General

PDA:

Alert. Alert. Suit surface assays detect alien retroviral activity in human tissue. Recommend immediate self-scan.

General

PDA:

Viral reproduction in human tissue confirmed. This is an unprecedented discovery. No known virus can cross between alien ecologies.

PDA:

Implications unclear. Recommend consultation with a Noetic Advisor node.

General

PDA:

Caution. You have entered a viral bloom. All other microbial life in the seawater is dead. The ocean is blighted.

PDA:

Gather scans and return with appropriate treatment equipment.

General

PDA:

Caution. Viral bloom. Return with treatment equipment.

General

PDA:

Caution. Viral bloom. Deploy sonic resonator and expunge local bloom cankers.

General

PDA:

Entering viral bloom. Use the sonic resonator to expunge bloom cankers and clear the infection.

General

PDA:

You have entered a viral bloom. All other microbial life in the seawater is dead. Use the sonic resonator to expunge bloom cankers and clear the infection.

General

PDA:

Treatment successful. Return to the adult angel comb to check the status of the main viral bloom.

General

PDA:

Treatment successful. Return to the main viral bloom to assess its state.

General

PDA:

Treatment successful. The juvenile angel comb is clearing the viral infection. The flow of nutrients into the rockbore below has stopped.

PDA:

Following the infected rockbore structure may lead to an adult angel comb with useful adaptations.

General

PDA:

This juvenile angel comb is a source of the local viral bloom. The virus forces it to pump nutrients into the rockbore below, which feeds a central viral factory nearby.

PDA:

Destroy the surrounding cankers to help clear the virus.

General

PDA:

Main viral bloom ready for treatment and adaptation retrieval. Deploy sonic resonator. Expunge all cankers.

PDA:

Both human and PDA share a profound distaste for virus.

General

PDA:

This closed canker is fed by other infected organisms. Find a tool to destroy open cankers.

General

PDA:

This closed canker is fed by other infected organisms. Locate open cankers in this region and expunge.

General

PDA:

Locate a tool to expunge cankers and clear the viral bloom from this region.

General

PDA:

Deploy sonic resonator. Expunge all cankers to clear the viral bloom from this region.

General

PDA:

This organism filters brine into drinkable fresh water.

General

PDA:

Seawater sampling detects a source of genetic adaptations in this region.

PDA:

Tracking elevated viral activity at the same source. Investigate with caution.

General

PDA:

Signal added - "Supply Cache"

General

PDA:

Sprinting burns oxygen, limiting your range. Pace yourself, pioneer.

General

PDA:

Cruise to cover distance efficiently. Remember: soft hands, strong hips.

General

PDA:

This organism seems to be a biological antenna, broadcasting virus into the seawater. It is symbiotically twined with the larger structure below.

General

PDA:

Treatment successful. Return to the adult angel comb to check the status of the main viral bloom.

General

PDA:

Treatment successful. The juvenile angel comb is clearing the viral infection. The flow of nutrients into the rockbore below has stopped.

PDA:

Following the infected rockbore structure may lead to an adult angel comb with useful adaptations.

General

PDA:

The Noetic Advisor has transmitted an alert. Note the intrusive and persistent HUD icon.

PDA:

Return to the lifepod at your convenience. Remember that YOU are in command of the mission.

General

PDA:

The Noetic Advisor has transmitted an alert.

PDA:

Return to the lifepod at your convenience.

General

PDA:

The Noetic Advisor has transmitted an alert.

PDA:

Return to the lifepod at your convenience.

General

PDA:

The Noetic Advisor has transmitted an alert.

General

PDA:

The Noetic Advisor has transmitted an alert.

General

PDA:

The Noetic Advisor has transmitted an alert.

PDA:

Return to the lifepod at your convenience.

General

PDA:

A similar beacon is embedded in your body.

General

PDA:

You got a biosampler!

General

PDA:

Congratulations. You have taken a major step toward zero debt day.

PDA:

As a platform for systems like the processor and scanner station, a habitat is a vital investment in your future.

PDA:

A habitat can also be an emotional anchor — proof that you've built something to last. Remember, it's easier to replace a body than a base.

General

PDA:

Alien organisms may have their own interpretation of your light — from threat display to attempted seduction.

General

PDA:

Of all the equipment available to TSF Frontiersmen, only this demilitarized switch-axe is approved for colonial fabrication.

PDA:

In untrained hands, firearms are primarily used to harm other colonists or the self.

General

PDA:

The dual-mode repair tool combines plasma arc welding and fabricator assist to handle bulk or precision repairs. Though optimized for dry welds, it performs acceptably when wet.

General

PDA:

The resonator's blueprints include several components not based on Alterra designs—or any known human engineering.

PDA:

Despite these irregularities, the resonator will selectively fracture mineral deposits and a narrow range of alien biomolecules.

General

PDA:

Stranded on 4546b, Ryley Robinson used a field scanner to outwit teleporting alien cyborgs and treat his kharaa infection.

PDA:

Behavioral economists still debate why Ryley abandoned a lucrative motivational speaking career to return to frontier life.

General

PDA:

The Wakemaker is a marine adaptation of the Spacemaker EVA thrust pistol system. Travelers should be careful to rest their wrist, elbows and shoulders during prolonged use.

General

PDA:

Monitoring four Tadpole distress beacons in this region. Investigate loss. Scan voyage data recorders.

PDA:

Monitoring large volume water displacement. Something is moving out there.

General

PDA:

Loss investigation complete. Cause identified. Need I say more?

General

PDA:

"I see lights. It might be a Cicada wreck. I'm going to check it out."

General

PDA:

"Placing the repeater. Stand by. I've got activity on sonar."

General

PDA:

"We shouldn't have come here. We're too far out. We're way too far out."

General

PDA:

Building a processor and a power supply will unlock new fabricator recipes. But the added mass would sink your lifepod.

PDA:

A standalone habitat is the next step on your mission.

General

PDA:

This handheld sonar resonator has been tuned to shatter mineral deposits or disrupt biological resins.

General

PDA:

Silver ions detected in nearby sea caves. Silver is a key component in air tank filters.

PDA:

Safe cave diving requires air tanks. Air tanks require cave diving. Circular dependency detected. Recommendation: unsafe cave diving.

General

PDA:

Vectorizing survival state. Generating imperative...

General

PDA:

Adapting trimethylamine n-oxide synthesis. Pressure tolerance increased. Vital signs stabilizing.

General

PDA:

Sampling.

General

PDA:

Thanks to Alterra pioneer nanotech, your body can adapt survival traits from a Zezuran rat. Proceed to the sampling pavilion.

PDA:

Tampering detected. Uncatalogued donor organism in pavilion.

General

PDA:

Gene donor found.

General

PDA:

Adapting trimethylamine n-oxide synthesis. Pressure tolerance increased. Vital signs stabilizing.

General

PDA:

Congratulations. This orb is now your relative.

General

PDA:

Future adaptations will be easier

General

PDA:

Fork terminated by: inert gas asphyxia.

General

PDA:

Fork terminated by: massive trauma.

General

PDA:

Fork terminated by: blunt trauma and respiratory complications.

General

PDA:

Print terminated by: barotrauma.

General

PDA:

Fork terminated by: electrocution.

General

PDA:

Fork terminated by: immune overresponse.

General

PDA:

Fork terminated by: cardiopulmonary distress.

General

PDA:

Fork remains posed after termination. This may interfere with workplace safety follow up.

General

PDA:

Welcome to the deserts of Zezura, pioneer.

General

PDA:

Warning. Atmospheric pressure above human maximum. Projected lifespan: 13 minutes. Adaptation required.

General

PDA:

The clamp has been immersed in seawater for at least 25 years.

General

PDA:

Prepare for launch.

General

PDA:

Trajectory error.

General

PDA:

Collision! Collision! Thrusters disabled.

General

PDA:

Clearing main thrusters...stand by.

General

PDA:

Thruster function restored. Brace for corrective reorientation.

General

PDA:

Collision! Collision! Obstructions detected. Increasing thrusters.

General

PDA:

Releasing parachute.

General

PDA:

Error! Error! Release firing mechanism failure. Brace for impact.

General

PDA:

User death imminent. Proceed to adaptation.

General

PDA:

Consult your databank for emotional and philosophical support.

PDA:

"Death is certain for the born, and rebirth inevitable for the dead. You should not, therefore, grieve the inevitable."

General

PDA:

A serious accident has occurred. Your sleep bay has been separated from the Cicada. You must reach the surface and send a distress call.

General

PDA:

The organism in the pavilion may contain useful genetics. Recommend exposure and adaptation.

General

PDA:

You are dying. This organism has survived. Please adapt its traits to your body.

General

PDA:

Failure to adapt this organism's pressure tolerance will lead to an endless cycle of death and rebirth within these two rooms.

General

PDA:

Something is wrong

General

PDA:

Don't give up. NoA won't let you die. You must surface or be trapped forever.

General

PDA:

The surface is too far to reach on a single breath.

PDA:

Look for natural sources of oxygen or helpful water currents along your route.

General

PDA:

At three hundred meters, every breath you take is filling your body with dissolved nitrogen.

PDA:

As you rise towards the surface, the nitrogen bubbles will expand. You will feel them pushing your joints apart. Your blood will become a frothy soda. You will die in unimaginable agony.

PDA:

Or you would...if you didn't have a clever way out. Coming in a future update!

General

Recorded Voice:

"Weak acid can be found in these purple worm cities. We call them raions."

General

PDA:

Biosample anomaly. Optogenetics null. No genetic material detected.

PDA:

Sample source is not classically alive.

General

PDA:

Echo analysis detects a supply cache nearby.

General

PDA:

This lifeform is a biological antenna. It archives useful genetic material in its core as it matures, making it a perfect gene donor.

General

PDA:

This "angel comb" is the same species that donated your pressure adaptations. It seems to be a biological antenna, broadcasting virus into the seawater. It is symbiotically twined with the larger structure below.

PDA:

Recommend immediate adaptation.

General

PDA:

Caution. Monitoring ten colonist blackboxes in the cave below. This is a high mortality worksite.

General

PDA:

Inertial data indicates this fork fled a nearby supply cache before drowning.

General

PDA:

These black boxes display Mongolian Independent States pay rates. Logging for review.

General

PDA:

These colonists were searching for an access key carried by a print of Tziporah "ZIP" Malk. It is already stored in your database.

General

PDA:

These colonists were searching for an access key carried by a print of Tziporah "ZIP" Malk. Adding signal for probable location.

General

PDA:

Inertial data indicates these colonists gathered at a site nearby. Signal added.

General

PDA:

Final scan required: blackbox of Tziporah "ZIP" Malk. Check signal below.

General

PDA:

This blackbox carries a high-level access key. The lapsed Mongolian trademark 'kurultai' refers to a leadership council.

General

Recorded Voice:

"These bulb-shaped animals are full of stuff that can be processed into oil and rubber."

General

PDA:

Biomass in this region is dominated by a single species of large jelly.

PDA:

Simple ecosystems are often a sign of ecological crisis.

General

PDA:

Contact. Abandoned colony structure, partially disassembled.

General

PDA:

Compartment flooded.

General

PDA:

Bite trauma detected.

PDA:

Flares may distract attacking predators.

General

PDA:

Sensor pods enhance the functionality of base scanner stations.

PDA:

Existing pods can be repaired and restored to normal function.

General

PDA:

Sensor pods enhance the functionality of base scanner stations.

PDA:

This pod's presence implies a scanner station nearby. Recommend salvage.

General

PDA:

Echo analysis detects human remains interred beneath the sediment.

PDA:

This site is a mass grave.

General

Ander:

[sound of low oxygen warning]

General

Big Eddy:

The roots...follow the roots...they built on the roots, they knew where to build...

General

Ganzo:

Hey, big guy! I'm feeling kind of woozy. Can you take me to Zip's key? Hey, do you need some air? Try my mask on.

General

Gram:

The roots are like hardlines...I have to fix the hardlines...oh, it's so warm...

General

Raster:

Need a moment...to rest. Gotta move Marc. Get him warm. Never leave your buddy...

General

Raster:

Marc. Hey, Marc! Are you okay? We gotta - come on, we gotta get you out. Marc, wake up!

General

Sean:

Carbonatite lava...you don't see THAT on the surface. Zip was holding out on me...

General

Twinkle:

Screw me. Everyone's gone mad. Have to reprint before it gets me too - if you find this, check the hot cave base camp!

General

Wander:

It's stuck - just go ahead, find the key, I'll reprint somewhere. Please tell mom I'm sorry.

General

Zip:

Nahema is wrong. We CAN flourish here. We just have to help...

General

PDA:

Contact. Something large is moving nearby.

General

PDA:

Water temperature rising. Hydrothermal vents are a dependable source of minerals and power.

General

PDA:

Caution. Monitoring ten colonist blackboxes in the cave below. This is a high mortality worksite.

General

Ganzo:

Ganzo here, day—hey, what day is it? Day 758. Habitat's gone. We've got no fabricator, no biobeds, and no way to build more. We are on our last life.

Ganzo:

It's me, Ruby—stay close, hair aa — Raster, Tuba, Sean, Gram, Rowboat, and Mogami's kids. And Twinkle, finally outside. What a way to get your feet wet, huh?

Ganzo:

We are striking out for the Tadpole Pens. Maybe the NoA there will let us in. And if not—we'll take the submarines and look for Anita's crew.

Ganzo:

If you find this, swim southeast along the edge of the coral garden. I'll drop another log at the Pens.

General

Ganzo:

Ganzo here. Nine survivors of Habitat with me. Tuba went back to Habitat and...a marrowbreach took Ruby. I don’t know if she’ll be reprinted. I’ve heard her die so many times. But this time...she's got to be out there somewhere. She's got to.

Ganzo:

The Tadpole Pens control room is locked and all the Tadpoles are gone. Sophie and Nahema took the last two. We're stuck.

Ganzo:

We've voted, eight to one. We're going to go down into the hot caves. We all feel a pull there. We know it's a Masefield hallucination—yes, Twinkle, we *know*—but hey, Anita said, if we ask the world for help, maybe it'll answer.

Ganzo:

And it's not all crazy. There's a biobed at the base camp. And Zip...Zip died at the bottom of that cave. She had a kurultai access key that could get us through this lock.

Ganzo:

If you find this, we headed due southwest to the hot caves. Bearing [muttered] Hang on, Ruby.

General

Ganzo:

Ganzo here. Nine survivors of Habitat. Everyone sound off.

PDA:

[muffled voices saying hello]

Ganzo:

We are going down into the hot cave. We'll rally at the base camp and sync with the biobed. Then we search for Zip's kurultai key, as deep as we can go.

Ganzo:

If we feel anything down there, we'll check it out. Calmly. Maybe Anita's right. Maybe the planet will tell us where to go next.

Ganzo:

One way or another, we are all gonna live. Even you, hair aa. I'm coming back for you.

General

Ganzo:

Kurultai record! Very quick — damn it — there is a riot in Habitat! Chap and Mantis have explosives—

PDA:

I think Nahema did all this. The explosions, the fire. Maybe she's going to to wipe out the Jubilee camp too. I think Sophie must've gone after her to stop her.

PDA:

We have to get to the tree. It's the obvious rally point. But we need to fabricate more Tadpoles, and the upgrade blueprints are locked in the control room.

PDA:

We don't have anyone from the kurultai council to bypass the lock. So we're going to try something.

PDA:

When Zip disappeared and got reset, she left a body somewhere in the hot cave. She's kurultai. Her body has the codes we need.

PDA:

The hot cave's right below the Segments but none of us have a better idea. If this is our final life, I'm not going out on a harpoon.

PDA:

[muttered] Hang on, Ruby.

General

PDA:

Ganzo here. Nine survivors of Habitat. Everyone say hi.

PDA:

[muffled voices saying hello]

PDA:

We are going down into the hot cave. First we rally at base camp. Then we're going to find Zip's first body and get her kurultai key.

PDA:

Then were are coming right back out, unlocking the Tadpole pens, fabricating depth modules and heading for the Jubilee.

PDA:

We are all gonna live. Even you, babe. I'm coming back for you.

General

PDA:

You are being hunted.

General

PDA:

The Tadpole sea-space mobility pod plugs into a range of customizable hulls, from the Starfrog worksuit to the Raywing scout foil.

PDA:

While the Tadpole is a valuable air supply, remember that breath-holding is a good way to train up your conscientiousness and self-discipline.

General

PDA:

Pioneers in a first contact scenario face two equally terrifying possibilities: they are alone, or they are not.

General

PDA:

Heat level intolerable. Adaptation required.

PDA:

The main habitat may contain records of how past colonists adapted.

General

PDA:

[sound of blast]

General

PDA:

[sound of blast]

General

Mogami:

Chap, don't do it! Please! The kids deserve a chance to— [sound of blast]

General

Quaker:

NoA, do not open the seacocks. NoA? Acknowledge, please. Do not — [sound of flooding]

General

Thing Two:

Oh, sh— [sound of flooding]

General

Dr. Wu:

Seal the bulkheads! Keep the fire away from the lab. Sophie, are you — [sound of flooding]

General

PDA:

This biobed was destroyed with a demolition explosive. The composition is not a licensed fabricator recipe.

General

PDA:

Limestone is formed by the death of coral. Each plateau in this region once housed tens of billions of living things.

General

PDA:

This blackbox marks the mortal remains of an expired print. Consulting Mongolian Buddhist practices.

General

PDA:

This viral biofilm contains an enormous archive of genetic material from many distinct species.

PDA:

Where the kharaa bacterium destroyed DNA, this virus appears to harvest genetic sequences from its hosts.

PDA:

Pioneer colonists may have exploited the virus for useful adaptations.

General

PDA:

Onboard logs indicate colonists were testing this resonator on viral biofilms.

General

PDA:

Warning. This experiment cultured alien virus in human tissue. Records refer to the virus as 'Proteavirus'.

PDA:

If the virus can reproduce in human cells, it is an active and unprecedented biohazard. And it is omnipresent in the seawater.

General

PDA:

Combustion byproducts detected. Fire is a critical risk in oxygen-rich habitats.

General

PDA:

Situation update. Colonists mutinied, possibly under the influence of 'Masefield syndrome' spread by viral adaptations.

General

PDA:

Seacocks can pump water into a habitat to control fire, or pump water out to control drowning.

General

PDA:

Wreck diving may lead to disorientation, asphyxiation, and print loss.

PDA:

Be sure you are prepared to die usefully.

General

PDA:

"Dr. Wu's log. Day 300. Our pet angel comb core is full of heat shock proteins. Sophie is testing them out in the hot water to the east."

PDA:

"I've spent the last month coding a scanner station filter to find more of these cores...they seem like buffers or archives in the viral ecology."

PDA:

"Until we get better labs online, they're our best source of useful adaptations."

General

Dr. Wu:

Dr. Wu's log. Day 755. I think I've cracked it. Sophie and Anita are BOTH right.

Dr. Wu:

The Proteavirus causes Masefield syndrome...but only one *kind* of Proteavirus. The bloom strain. Maybe it's tainting Anita's angel comb adaptations.

Dr. Wu:

I've tuned the sonic resonators to destroy the viral crystals grown by the bloom strain. We should test it on the angel combs out west, with those promising heat shock proteins.

Dr. Wu:

And if I'm wrong...hey. I'm just a dietician. NoA should've woken up a virologist.

General

PDA:

"Dr. Wu's log. Day 580. It is dogmatically impossible. It's happening anyway. The Proteavirus can replicate in human tissue."

PDA:

"Despite some molecular similarities, it's not like kharaa...it doesn't pull you apart. Quite the opposite. It's learning how to be human."

PDA:

"Is this what causes Masefield syndrome? [sigh] I wish we had a virologist."

General

PDA:

Approaching derelict structure.

PDA:

Echo analysis detects a precipitous silence. Be alert for a sudden drop in the seafloor.

General

PDA:

Pressure-hardened vehicles are critical to deepwater operations.

General

PDA:

Contact. Possible field research site.

General

PDA:

The scanner station will allow you to find many essential survival items. Reference it regularly.

General

PDA:

Keycode accepted.

General

PDA:

Keycode required.

General

PDA:

Keycode required.

PDA:

Under extreme circumstances, your scanner can rip access codes from the black boxes of high-ranking colonists.

General

PDA:

Diagnostic. This hatch requires power from a battery terminal.

General

PDA:

Some obstacles can be shattered with the sonic resonator.

General

PDA:

Contact. Alterra starship wreck detected.

General

Recorded Voice:

"The bacteria that form these copper nodules avoid light and air. They like cave roofs plenty."

General

PDA:

Locating the colony is your best chance of survival.

PDA:

A prolonged search will require food and water.

General

PDA:

Welcome home.

PDA:

This PDA has one directive: to help you build a self-sustaining colony on this new world.

PDA:

Good luck.

General

PDA:

Wake up.

General

PDA:

StarNav does not recognize the sky.

General

PDA:

Titan-class biosignature on the horizon.

General

PDA:

You are not on Zezura, pioneer.

General

PDA:

You are not on Zezura, pioneer.

General

PDA:

Your body cannot digest this world's proteins. You are at risk of gout and starvation.

PDA:

You must locate another gene donor and adapt its traits.

General

Recorded Voice:

"We've cleared all the gold in this region. We believe there are deposits to the southeast, but it's dangerous for new prints."

General

PDA:

Contact. Primary habitat detected.

PDA:

It is silent.

General

PDA:

Situation update. Colonists mutinied, possibly under the influence of 'Masefield syndrome' spread by viral adaptations.

PDA:

A scanner station is necessary to track the missing colonists. Recommend construction.

General

PDA:

Playing NoA request.

PDA:

"HABITAT DESTROYED BY MUTINY. SEARCH HABITAT FOR EVIDENCE."

General

Recorded Voice:

"That sweet taste in the water is lead. When too much builds up in your body, you'll have to recycle. Sucks, but it beats dying slow."

General

PDA:

Transmitting help request.

PDA:

Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan. ISV Cicada lifepod 173. Position unknown. Fresh prints aboard.

PDA:

Any Cicada crew or Frontiersmen in receipt, please send back.

General

PDA:

No response to distress call. Severe auroral interference on all radio frequencies.

PDA:

Exercise caution. Observations do not match any known Zezuran environment.

General

PDA:

Surface search radar detected a metallic object at bearing 150.

General

PDA:

Fabricator blueprints include a low-field MRI scanner.

PDA:

For most of history, exploration required human death. The scanner offers a quicker and less painful alternative.

General

PDA:

Water temperature rising. Hydrothermal vents are a dependable source of minerals and power.

General

Recorded Voice:

"The coral domes gather and excrete large chunks of quartz. It seems like they're clearing dead matter."

General

Recorded Voice:

"We never found any silver in this region. There are deposits north, near the Habitat."

General

PDA:

Atmospheric pressure dropping. Zezuran almanacs indicate a sandstorm is imminent.

General

PDA:

Monitoring approaching storm front. Pressure at 103 millibars and falling. Forecast severe tropical storm.

General

PDA:

Monitoring approaching storm front. Lifepod sensors detect intense electrical activity and positron production.

General

PDA:

Monitoring imminent storm front. Wave action may capsize or displace your lifepod.

PDA:

User advisory: meteorological observations are incompatible with Zezuran weather. Update your expectations of rescue accordingly.

General

PDA:

Warning. Tropical storm arrival imminent. Seek deep shelter.

General

PDA:

Barometric pressure at 960 millibars. The storm has arrived. Or it would have, if we had built it yet.

General

PDA:

Exciting news. This life form is unrelated to any catalogued Zezuran life. You have discovered a new biosphere.

PDA:

Genome retrieved for analysis. Alien traits can be adapted to improve your own body in the lifepod's biolab.

General

PDA:

The biolab uses scanned alien genetics to generate useful adaptations for your body.

PDA:

Go forth and scan, pioneer.

General

PDA:

Your body is poorly adapted to this world.

PDA:

The more alien life you scan, the more you can adapt.

PDA:

Once you have researched an adaptation, activate it by placing it in the biolab's top bar. If you experience discomfort or distress, you can remove adaptations without penalty.

PDA:

In the event of unexpected mortality, please register your active adaptations as unsafe with your local NoA node.

General

PDA:

Expressing recombinant alien protein. Congratulations on your first adaptation.

PDA:

Next time you encounter an alien organism, consider a moment of conscious joy. It is now your relative.

General

PDA:

Your body is poorly adapted to this world. Xenogene therapy can improve your resilience and productivity, and reduce the chances of debilitating gout.

PDA:

Pre-scheduled Zezuran adaptations are incompatible with an oceanic colony. You will have to borrow from the native life.

PDA:

Scan native organisms and return the data to your lifepod's biolab to generate new adaptations.

General

PDA:

Keycode required.

PDA:

Under extreme circumstances, your scanner can rip access codes from the black boxes of high-ranking colonists.

General

PDA:

Keycode accepted.

General

Recorded Voice:

"This area is littered with titanium. Some of it is in rutile and anatase ores, but there are solid chunks which we think may be bones."

General

PDA:

There may be an active biobed near this signal.

General

PDA:

Colony structure located.

PDA:

There may be clues to the location of the main habitat.

General

Recorded Voice:

[garbled]

General

PDA:

Main colony habitat is due north. Range: unknown.

General

PDA:

Main power failure. Search for an emergency battery terminal.

General

PDA:

This case was broken by a survival multitool.

PDA:

Sabotage is a serious crime. Samantha Ayou's bombing of Alterra labs delayed critical kharaa research by decades.

General

Sophie:

Welcome back, pioneer. I'm Sophie Boucher, kurultai surgeon. By now you know we're not on Zezura.

Sophie:

We call this planet Proteus. We don't know when rescue will find us. For the sake of all our sleeping friends, we have to learn how to survive. Nahema?

Nahema:

Hey, fellow debt slave. I'm Nahema Nakota, ecologist. Take a sip of seawater. Notice that sweet blood taste under the salt? That's a toxic dose of heavy metals.

Nahema:

Nobody's survived past three months. It's a beautiful place to die over and over again—

Sophie:

—but don't let that beauty seduce you, pioneer. Exposure to Proteus causes a delusion we call Masefield syndrome...the call of the sea.

Sophie:

People may tell you it's a gift. Ignore them. You remember what kharaa did to our homes. You *know* we can't trust alien biology.

Sophie:

We've set up a lab here with a few basic biomods. They're safe. But if you start to hear voices, or if you get the urge to swim to the tree, don't go.

Sophie:

Habitat is due north. We'll come pick you up. See you soon, pioneer.

General

PDA:

Trace xenon levels are off scale high. Be alert for dizziness, euphoria, and deepened voice.

General

Tuba:

Damn it! Okay — blackbox — it's Tuba, I'm trapped by a marrowbreach. I don't have any flares. I'm not getting eaten, the cook will NOT be eaten. I'd rather run out of air.

Tuba:

Habitat's gone. Chap lost it, he blew up the beds. Some of us made it out with Ganzo. I'm sorry, Ganzo. I said I was going back to Habitat but I'm going to find the Jubilee and I don't think they can feed you all. I'm sorry, man! I left you!

Tuba:

I don't know where I'm gonna reprint. I don't know what I'll remember. Look, if I find this, the Jubilee went south, to the cave where the crabs die. Do you understand? The cave where the crabs

General

PDA:

Print lost to starvation. Reprinting.

General

PDA:

Print lost to physical trauma. Reprinting.

General

PDA:

Print lost to heat shock. Reprinting.

General

PDA:

Print lost to heavy metal poisoning. Reprinting.

General

PDA:

Print lost to inert gas asphyxia. Reprinting.

General

PDA:

Print lost to radiation. Running checksum and reprinting.

General

PDA:

Print lost to suffocation. Reprinting.

General

PDA:

Print lost to dehydration. Reprinting

General

PDA:

New Biomods available to research. Craft a Bioscanner and return to a Biolab.

General

PDA:

The rebreather scrubs carbon dioxide from exhaled air, recycling wasted oxygen for re-use.

General

Tadpole:

Warning: Crush Depth. Hull damage imminent.

General

Tadpole:

Haul chassis docked.

General

Tadpole:

Warning: Hull integrity low.

General

Tadpole:

Passenger attached.

General

Tadpole:

Warning: Passenger in immediate danger.

General

Tadpole:

Passenger detached.

General

Tadpole:

Warning: Power low. Replace power cell soon.

General

Tadpole:

Warning: Power Cell fully discharged. Emergency power only. Oxygen production offline.

General

Tadpole:

Power Cell activated. All systems online.

General

Tadpole:

Scout Ray chassis docked.

General

Tadpole:

Warning: Proximal threat level severe.

General

Tadpole:

Welcome aboard.

General

Tadpole:

Welcome aboard, Captain

General

Tadpole:

Welcome aboard, pilot.

General

Tadpole:

Welcome aboard, pioneer.

General

PDA:

Xenon poisoning critical. Seek filtered air from a base or oxygen tank.

Ruins / Audio logs

Nahema:

Sophie. I'm sorry I destroyed your colony. Please listen: I did it because you couldn't. Because you're a good leader and you never give up on the mission.

Nahema:

And I know where this mission will end.

Nahema:

NoA is going to start printing duplicates.

Nahema:

You, and me, and Zip, and Mantis, and Mogami's kids and Thing One and Thing Two and all the rest. Every morning the biobeds will print ten thousand of us. Every day we'll maximize our KPIs and OKRs and NoA's utility function will say: these people are happy and healthy, mission complete. Humanity is thriving.

Nahema:

Then in the evening we'll all climb into the beds and NoA disintegrates and resets us. A perfect day. Forever. No more mutinies. No more Masefield. No aging, no retirement, no waste. Just peak performance.

Nahema:

But NoA couldn't do that on its own. NoA would need human help to bypass its restrictions.

Nahema:

And you'd help it, Sophie. I know you would. If it was the only choice left — you'd do whatever it takes to keep your crew alive.

Nahema:

So I had to stop you.

Ruins / Audio logs

Sophie:

To any survivors of the Coral Gardens Habitat —

Sophie:

I am pursuing Nahema towards the World Tree. She has been compromised by Masefield syndrome and wants to eradicate humanity on Proteus. I am going to stop her and, if possible, destroy the Tree.

Sophie:

Do not believe anything she tells you. She is determined to kill us all.

Sophie:

I am leaving supplies for anyone who comes after me. If you lose my trail, assume that I failed. Find Nahema. Kill the tree.

Sophie:

Good luck. Butcher out.

Ruins / Audio logs

Twinkle:

Ganzo, I don't think this is the Jubilee.

Ganzo:

They're us.

Twinkle:

That's me. I guess NoA wants an astronomer in the mix.

Ganzo:

You figure there's a sleep bay nearby?

Twinkle:

Yeah. Same as our group. It printed out some colonists and told them to make a go at it. But these poor people...

Ganzo:

They don't have any adaptations. Look at you, your legs are like sticks. You're starving.

Twinkle:

They can't digest the food. No angel comb to donate the enzymes. I don't see any growbeds...what are they...oh my God. Ganzo, let's go.

Ganzo:

Wait. Wait. We could ask for help. Maybe they've got communications, maybe they've heard from the ship.

Twinkle:

Look at the biobeds, Ganzo! Look at that!

Ganzo:

Yeah. I see it. It won't work long term, though. The biobeds need feedstock like anything else...why waste it making food? It'd make more sense to reprint yourself every day...unless the point was to test how long you could live on a diet of biobed meat...oh, man.

Twinkle:

You are remarkably calm about this.

Ganzo:

A lot of animals eat their young under stress.

Ruins / Audio logs

Ganzo:

Oh ****! Oh ****.

Twinkle:

Easy. Easy. You're back.

Ganzo:

Oh. Twinkle. Oh man. I was...I gave my air to a dead crab.

Twinkle:

You all lost it. I think the hot water triggered your Masefield...

Ganzo:

Is everyone okay?

Twinkle:

No.

Ganzo:

No? "No" how bad?

Twinkle:

NoA marked everyone after you 'do not reprint'. It's just us now.

Ganzo:

Oh, man...Ruby? Did she...?

Twinkle:

No. Not here. I'm sorry.

Ganzo:

I gotta go find her!

Twinkle:

Okay. Yes. I'll come with you. Where do we start?

Ganzo:

She's...if she resets, she'd print at Sleep Bay 3. But it takes days sometimes...

Twinkle:

I've never been outside before, Ganzo. I'm not adapted. I don't even have fins.

Ganzo:

We can't...I can't make you wait days. Not if I'm unreliable. We have to find the Jubilee.

Twinkle:

We'll come back for her, okay?

Ganzo:

Yeah. Yeah. We'll come back.

Ruins / Audio logs

Twinkle:

[breathing hard] Holy hell.

Ganzo:

[breathing hard] Yeah. Damn. Damn, we made it!

Twinkle:

When those things —

Ganzo:

Tailings.

Twinkle:

When the Tailings came after us all I could think was: we aren't going to reprint. This is it. I finally get to go outside and the first thing I do is die on a spear.

Ganzo:

Let's sort this cache into 'take' and 'bury'. Why didn't Sophie let you outside?

Twinkle:

Why didn't I ever do any work, you mean?

Ganzo:

Hey. You always seemed cool. I just never saw you...do anything.

Twinkle:

I'm keeping something secret. If I ever got sick and reset, Sophie wasn't sure she could convince me to keep it secret again. So...I had to stay safe.

Ganzo:

Ruby gets killed all the time. Really freaks me out.

Twinkle:

Yeah...she asked me to listen to a recording once.

Ganzo:

Thanks for tricking me into leaving her.

Twinkle:

What?

Ganzo:

I mean it. If we're all marked 'do not reprint', so is she. She didn't reprint. I would've gone looking for her and...

Twinkle:

The Masefield would've got you.

Ganzo:

I can hear the tree, Twinkle. It wants me to go into the sea and...feed myself to it.

Twinkle:

If you do that you'll never see Ruby again.

Ganzo:

Yeah. I know. Anyway, we can't stay here. Tailings don't like the open plains. We can build there and start scanning for the Jubilee.

Ruins / Audio logs

Twinkle:

Hey...

Ganzo:

Yeah.

Twinkle:

Is the apartment sized squid outside keeping you up too?

Ganzo:

It's talking to me.

Twinkle:

What?

Ganzo:

It's saying...come into me and we will dwell in wonder and glory forever. Ow!

Twinkle:

Sorry. I thought you were...the Masefield.

Ganzo:

I'm joking. I don't hear much when I'm out of the water.

Twinkle:

I keep imagining those tentacles reaching up through the moonpool...

Ganzo:

...through the doors and the bulkheads...

Twinkle:

...grabbing us and taking us...

Ganzo:

...to dwell in wonder and glory...

Twinkle:

...the names of its two very hungry children...

Ganzo:

[laughter]

Ganzo:

Those things killed my wife once.

Twinkle:

It's okay. We're trauma bonding.

Ganzo:

Sometimes the call feels like this...this yearning to be close. I can see why the Jubilee think the planet wants to help us. It's strong.

Twinkle:

Look, as an astronomer, let me tell you that nothing good ever comes from attraction. It's unstable.

Ganzo:

What?

Twinkle:

If planets just went where they were attracted they'd fall into the sun. If stars went where they were pulled they'd fall into the black hole at the middle of the galaxy. It's the resistance that makes the universe work. The balance between being pulled and trying to get away. When something draws you in, you say: "no, wait. Not yet." Whatever Masefield is, it's not something you're just supposed to obey. Or everything in this ocean would just go and die. Like back in the hot cave.

Ganzo:

See, this is why you're not married.

PDA:

[loud call]

Twinkle:

What was that?

Ruins / Audio logs

Ganzo:

Huh? Wh...ow.

Twinkle:

Oh, thank God. I thought I'd killed you.

Ganzo:

You hit me with the Tadpole!

Twinkle:

And then I had to sedate you. You thought Ruby was in that cave. You ccould hear her blackbox. I couldn't hold you back.

Ganzo:

She needed me to help her. She was sick...

Twinkle:

Ganzo, I heard it too.

Ganzo:

She was real? And you stopped me —

Twinkle:

No. It wasn't real. But I heard it. Think about it.

Ganzo:

Oh...oh no. You too? You've been in the water long enough...

Twinkle:

Yeah. Me too. [big breath] Well, at least I'll get to hear the same voices you do. I don't have to be scared of you any more.

Ganzo:

Scared of me. Is that why you had a tank of xenon ready to tranquilize me?

Twinkle:

I am scared of you all the time, Ganzo. You are a sick man who could kill me with his bare hands.

Ganzo:

Hey. You could kill me too. We're tool users.

Twinkle:

For now. We're turning into...into animals, aren't we? Both of us.

Ganzo:

Okay. Well...let's talk about it. Let's figure out what to do. Animals can be good to each other. Animals communicate. Even the ugly ones.

Twinkle:

[laughing]

Ganzo:

I didn't mean you.

Twinkle:

I know. You don't mean me.

Ruins / Audio logs

Mantis:

Sorry, boss, what's going on?

Sophie:

Wait one. Ruby — it's Butcher. Are you with your Tadpole?

Ruby:

Right outside, boss. What's up?

Sophie:

Go direct southeast from the research base, about 500 meters, until you find the Cicada wreckage on the tall mesa. Flash your lights and make some noise. Ram it if you have to.

Ruby:

Copy. Steer southeast, 500 meters, same depth. Can I ask why?

Sophie:

Tuba, Singh and Mel just printed back here. They were testing the upgraded scanner and resonator when Axum Tailings attacked them. Killed them and took Iso. He's still alive. I've tracked his blackbox to the Cicada wreck nearby.

Ruby:

Uh...copy. Can't we just wait for them to finish him off?

Sophie:

He's got Nahema's super scanner. She'll murder me if I lose it. Try to scare the Tailings off. I'll get a team out there to recover his effects.

Ruby:

Boss, I've picked up a couple tails. Looks like — two adult needlers — need to evade —

Mantis:

Boss, her Tadpole has our only depth module.

Sophie:

Oh, Christ. [muttering] Come on, Ruby...PDA, log my conduct here for kurultai review.

Ruins / Audio logs

Tuba:

Do you think they were like us?

Singh:

No.

Tuba:

But look at this. It's a house. They lived in houses, they went to jobs, they ate food. How different could they be?

Singh:

Nahema thinks they evolved with the Masefield syndrome. The way we evolved with...day and night, or family.

Tuba:

So what? They were all crazy about the tree?

Singh:

Well, Sophie thinks Masefield killed them all. And I don't know who's right.

Tuba:

Maybe their cooks went on strike and they starved to death. Hey, do you think they tasted good?

Singh:

Tuba!

Tuba:

What? Don't you like shrimp? PDA, open recipe book.

Singh:

TUBA!

Ruins / Audio logs

Nahema:

What was in those giant tanks?

Zip:

Huh? Oh. Um—probably methane. Natural gas.

Nahema:

I thought this was a hydroelectric plant.

Zip:

Originally, yeah, but the old Axum added a methane burner about...um...hang on, let me check my databank.

Nahema:

It's okay. Hey - really. It's okay. Where's Mantis?

Zip:

He's up there, on the broken turbine. He thinks you can help him fix it.

Nahema:

Up that big arch? All right.

Zip:

So...before I got reset...we were friends?

Nahema:

Yeah. We were.

Zip:

Is it okay if I write that down?

Ruins / Audio logs

Iso:

Okay...the screen's on but it's just noise.

Singh:

It's noise to us. To Axum, it's a polarized light display.

Iso:

How do I read polarized light?

Singh:

Well, either we fabricate some kind of goggles, or...

Iso:

Or we find one of Anita's angel combs. And change our eyes.

Singh:

Do you think she's on to something?

Iso:

I don't think. I just do things.

Singh:

PDA, print this to quartz.

Iso:

What are *you* thinking?

Singh:

Leaving myself clues. In case—you know.

Ruins / Audio logs

Nahema:

Why do you need *me* to fix this?

Mantis:

So. The scanner doesn't work. The crystal structure of the turbine blades depends on the growth of bacterial fiber. The scanners see it but don't understand it. No scan, no blueprint, no repairs.

Nahema:

Oh.

Mantis:

Oh?

Nahema:

This is actually an interesting problem. Let me write this down.

Mantis:

Isn't it? I imagine they cold-forged these blades from some kind of metal clabber...

Nahema:

...yeah. Okay. We're going to have to modify the scanner. Do you have a mod station at base camp?

Mantis:

I told Zip to set it up, but she's still...

Nahema:

Yeah. We should talk about that.

Mantis:

Someone destroyed this place on purpose. We should talk about that too.

Ruins / Audio logs

Unknown:

The powerplant is dead. Spies set fires in its parts. Relatives say the Viceroys did this. Why? Our claws hurt from work. We cannot fix it. We cannot become a molt which can fix it. Sound says this is happening everywhere. The message cables are cut. Why? Xanadu has gone to war against itself.

Unknown:

It is hot without the pumps.

Ruins / Audio logs

Mantis:

My name is Zygimantis Tarvydas. I am a survivor of the Mongolian Independent States, a colonist aboard the starship Cicada, and a debt slave to the Alterra Corporation. I am with my friends Rauli Isotalo, Udal Singh and Melaku Sansar. Of all the things I have seen and done...this thing is the most important.

Mantis:

I leave this marker as testament that we discovered the remnants of an alien civilization on this world we call Proteus. Let our names be remembered by the workers and the pioneers.

Mantis:

The computers call these aliens 'Axum'. Something has happened to their civilization...the survivors guard these ruins, but they have been reduced to scavengers: Tailings.

Mantis:

I think maybe the virus did it. Seized control of them and drove them mad, as it drives us mad. But I do not know. All I know is that I am here, with my friends, looking on the work of alien minds.

Ruins / Audio logs

Mantis:

We could just blast through.

Singh:

Yeah, and if we're lucky, Nahema kills us and fills our biobeds with concrete before the Tailings get to us. This is their history. We can't blow it up!

Zip:

They do take good care of the exterior...what if the electrical system still works? We could hook up our own generator.

Mantis:

Unless you can find me a wiring diagram we'd fry the whole system. You ever see a metal fire underwater?

Zip:

What if there ARE wiring diagrams? Instructions right in front of us? And we just can't see them?

Mantis:

Did your hot springs tell you about this?

Singh:

Actually...she might be right. The Axum see with a combination of sonar and polarized light. Some of their writing might be invisible to us. We'd need to modify our scanners to look for it. Or our eyes.

Zip:

Ha!

Mantis:

All right. Let's ask Sophie if we can try out her super scanner. PDA, activate the base camp waypoint. Singh, drop a recording here in case we get reset.

Ruins / Audio logs

Singh:

Field notes, Udal Singh, observing the Axum Tailings in the Karakorum ruins. My reprint site is base camp near the observatory.

Singh:

This time they killed me right away. They really don't like us coming into the ruins. They are obviously capable of communication and social behavior. Why are they so damn hostile?

Singh:

According to Nahema's research we are the only life on this world not infected by the Proteavirus. Maybe the virus provokes violence against the uninfected? I don't know. It feels too convenient. "The natives hate us because they're sick!" More likely they have good reason to distrust humans.

Singh:

And they know we come back when they kill us. So maybe they are communicating. Maybe they're trying to teach us: you cross this line, you die.

Ruins / Audio logs

Singh:

Field notes, Udal Singh.

Singh:

The Karakorum ruins imply a civilization that developed to the same level as pre-Expansion Earth. They had electrical power, industrial metals, digital computers, orbital spaceflight, the whole suite. But they arrived to the same place along a different path.

Singh:

They got electricity FIRST. I think they — hang on a minute, I've got to hide — I think the Axum themselves can sense electricity. Like sharks. And they figured out, hey, these long bacterial fibers — these things carry an electrical current. Then some clever Axum wrapped those fibers up into a generator. And once you've got a generator you can make your own electricity and start pulling metal from the seawater. Farming the sea to make tools. All without one spark of fire.

Singh:

Imagine it. Undersea cities as old as Troy or Harappa, but with telegraph lines and electric lighting. Thousands of years before the first flame. To us, electricity means modernity. To the Axum...it's as old as bronze.

Ruins / Audio logs

PDA:

Field Notes, Udal Singh. Think I'm about to die again.

Singh:

Listening to that thing pick through the wreckage of my Tadpole. I think it's having fun.

Singh:

Humanity exterminated most land-based megafauna before we scratched our first letters into clay. But the Axum never cleared their oceans. They made it all the way to digital computers while coexisting with predators that could eat them like cocktail shrimp.

Singh:

Why? Is it something about the ocean? Just too big and deep?

Singh:

Or did the Axum have a different relationship with nature? I can already hear you sneering, Iso. "They're lobster aliens, not elves. Don't turn them into a parable."

Singh:

Imagine you evolved in an ocean full of leviathans like Grabby out there. Hundreds of generations with those tentacles strangling your nightmares. Then one day you invent the explosive-tipped harpoon and you can fight back. Wouldn't you go out and kill them all? Like we killed the sabertooth tiger and the...I don't know, the automobile?

Singh:

So why didn't the Axum do it? Why is Grabby still here to pull my Tadpole to pieces?

Ruins

PDA:

The stone beneath this mesa has been eroded by hot, radioactive water. Probable source: titan rockbore.

PDA:

There may be an angel comb with useful adaptations nearby.

Ruins

PDA:

Analyzing message.

PDA:

The Axum language refers to the titan-class lifeform on the horizon as a "World Tree".

PDA:

There is an alien hibernation crypt below the World Tree. Site designation: Xanadu. Site status: unknown.

Ruins

PDA:

Analyzing message.

PDA:

The Axum language refers to the titan-class lifeform on the horizon as a "World Tree".

PDA:

There is an alien hibernation crypt below the World Tree. Site designation: Xanadu. Site status: unknown.

Ruins

Zip:

Ease up, boss. I got my memory wiped, not my wits. There's no current. After two hundred years the whole complex must be so corroded—[loud electrical discharge]

Ruins

PDA:

Extracting metal from seawater could provide renewable resources for massive construction projects.

PDA:

Pioneers on Rakshasa extracted lead for emergency shelters from the native ethyl pools, preferring to die in toxic delirium rather than tumor-riddled agony.

Ruins

PDA:

Detecting powered fabricator systems and construction materials. Advise construction of a regional base camp.

Ruins

PDA:

Aquafarming can do more than turn carbon into nutritious dietary fiber.

Ruins

PDA:

Consider growing lucifer rotsacs for light and oil, oxygen tunics to clear your head, or juvenile sandspears for home defense.

Ruins

PDA:

Halt. Organism "sandspear" referenced, but no "sandspear" databank found. Logging hallucination error.

Ruins

Anita:

Crack the rind...

Ruins

Anita:

Armored sickness...

Ruins

Anita:

Shatter the pox...

Ruins

Anita:

Hardened weep...

Ruins

Anita:

We encode symbols...

Ruins

PDA:

Resonator failure. Dense metallic target requires modified emitter.

Ruins

PDA:

Resonator failure. Modification required.

Ruins

PDA:

Scan failed. Unable to generate blueprints for alien technology. Scanner modification required.

Ruins

PDA:

Scan failed. Unable to generate blueprints for alien technology. Scanner modification required.

Ruins

PDA:

Forensic simulations indicate the power plant was deliberately sabotaged. Repairs will require an enormous quantity of resources.

Ruins

PDA:

Hot water from this titan rockbore once powered the turbine above. The bloom infestation has blocked the connection.

Ruins

PDA:

Power plant repairs complete.

Ruins

PDA:

Detecting activity at the alien observatory nearby. Entering the structure will give you a strong salvage claim.

Ruins

PDA:

Power plant overhaul complete. Bloom cleared. Ready for restart.

Ruins

PDA:

Error: hot water flow obstructed by bloom growth. Coupling failed.

Ruins

PDA:

Hot water now flowing into turbine. Locate main controls to restart power plant.

Ruins

PDA:

Restart sequence...failed. Incorrect control configuration.

Ruins

PDA:

Restart sequence...failed. Scans indicate the presence of alien glyphs on the controls. Can you perceive them?

Ruins

PDA:

Alien power plant...online. Turbine rotating. Output...steady. Power restored.

Ruins

PDA:

Translation is impossible without a basic dictionary or primer.

Ruins

PDA:

Translation successful. Archiving.

Ruins

Ruby:

Blackbox, record. Sorry, boss. I couldn't make it to the southeast wreck. Forced down by needler attack. I can't make repairs — they're waiting for me outside and I am all out of medkits. I'm going to dump my flares, grab the depth module and swim for the research camp. See you soon, one way or another. Ruby out.

Ruins

PDA:

Detecting artificial towers in this region. Echo analysis shows extensive damage to all but one.

Ruins

PDA:

This button is not operational. Recommend diagnostic scans.

Ruins

PDA:

The door is unpowered. An Alterra generator would destroy the alien electrical system. Locate an alien generator to gain access.

Ruins

PDA:

Analyzing.

PDA:

A tower of bio-concrete grown on an electroformed metal frame. The electrical system is designed to receive external power. Conclusion: the builders also constructed a powerplant nearby.

PDA:

Assigning alien species designation from TSF A-List. Builders designated: "Axum."

Ruins

PDA:

No living thing has disturbed this space in more than two centuries.

Ruins

PDA:

The observatory's water is enriched by oxygen bubblers. Please do not become accustomed to this convenience.

Ruins

PDA:

This is a map of the local solar system and nearby stars, including a pulsar. Matching to transgov known pulsar database.

PDA:

Estimating distance from Earth...

PDA:

...results deferred. Please consult your Noetic Advisor.

Ruins

PDA:

The self-healing fibers that grow through Axum rebar cannot be replicated by a fabricator. Logging a share claim for any derived innovations.

Ruins

PDA:

These celestine deposits form when sulfur-shelled protozoans die faster than their remains can dissolve into the seawater.

Ruins

PDA:

Powerful electrical arcs can break down seawater, fuse sand into fulgurites, disable submersible systems and encourage PDA eccentricity.

Ruins

PDA:

The entire mineral mass of this tusk is bound by a layer of superstrong collagen. If this tiny layer of cells can hold it together, so can you.

Ruins

Anita:

Habitat is gone. They destroyed themselves. We are now the only survivors...the ones who walked away in search of Jubilee. All of you have asked me — if we want to escape the cycle, why do we still have biobeds?

Anita:

This is why. This angel comb is sick. It is calling out to us. And I choose to answer. I say to it – this is my body, given for you...

Anita:

[hiss of gas]

Ruins

PDA:

Architect language detected. Directive 4546 activated. Alert your Noetic Advisor immediately.

Ruins

PDA:

Designating alien language Axum Radial A. Translation underway.

PDA:

Locate examples of Axum language to test and improve translation.

Ruins

PDA:

Alien language: unknown. Translation failed.

Ruins

PDA:

The glyphs on this monolith present the same message in two languages: the Architect symbols known from 4546b and an unknown writing system.

PDA:

Designating alien language Axum Radial A. Translation underway.

PDA:

Locate examples of Axum language to test and improve translation.

Ruins

PDA:

The glyphs on this monolith present the same message in two languages: the Architect symbols known from 4546b and an unknown writing system.

Ruins

Mel:

[heavy breathing, low oxygen warning]

Ruins

Singh:

Iso! The Tailings — they got Tuba, they took Mel's tanks! Go help him, I'll — [sound of impact]

Ruins

Tuba:

There must be some spices somewhere in this — [spear impact, gasp and shout of pain]

Ruins

PDA:

Contact. Alterra starship wreck detected. Three colonist blackboxes on site.

Ruins

PDA:

This resonator modification continues a dangerous trend of adapting alien technology to Alterra devices.

Ruins

PDA:

Contact. Alterra starship wreck detected. Significant viral activity below.

PDA:

The wreck may have been moved to block access to the viral source.

Ruins

Iso:

Hello, blackbox...I am almost out of oxygen. The Tailings have taken me into a Cicada wreck. I think they want me to show them how our technology works. They are very interested in Nahema's bacterial scanner. Too bad they crushed it when they took it from me! Still, a good chance to observe them up close. They are crawling directly on me, all over me...they have many limbs and complex mouthparts. And no sense of personal space. It is pitch dark. But I can hear their clattering...the snap of their claws.

Ruins

PDA:

Contact. Alterra starship wreck detected. One colonist blackbox on site.

Ruins

PDA:

This scanner modification employs cultured alien bacteria to spawn metallic markers. You will notice that happy bacteria smell like beets.

Ruins / Feedback

PDA:

These power plant control surfaces operate in a format outside human perception. Recommend adaptation.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

Architects: we beg your aid.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

The World Trees are dying. Their angels cry out to us.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

The Trees’ roots feed the world, and the world feeds the Trees.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

Each requires other, as we require you.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

But the roots are rotting.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

The nuclear heart dims.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

There is hope.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

Cross the great trench to Xanadu.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

Find the veps. The Tree’s genes may live in them.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

Find the veps. Renew this Tree.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

Beware: Crypters slumber beneath the Trees.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

They fear you.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

We leave them to your mercy.

Ruins / Observatory

PDA:

Translation Failed.

General

PDA:

Error: Obstruction Detected