No Man’s Log #005 120816a

My continued exploration of the Yasrril System is going well. I am bouncing between the planets Frostjarlmir and Humidaril as I go back and forth from the nearby Space Station. Both planets have their charms and I am enjoying uncovering their secrets.

Frostjarlmir feels like it was once home to many Korvax judging by the ruins I keep uncovering. It has long since been abandoned with the remaining Korvax seemingly working in research and support roles in the occasional remote Outposts I come across.

Humidaril is very interesting. While I explore its surface I have to be somewhat cautious because there are persistent levels of radiation that pervade the whole planet. Which means I have to keep an eye on my suit’s radiation shields. Thankfully I have found that the gel from a specific glowing yellow plant can be used to top up my shielding. So if needed I can explore a reasonable distance from my ship providing these plants are in the vicinity.

Despite the constant threat of a slow, painful death Humidaril is teaming with life. Strange plant life is everywhere and grows in large and diverse clusters. I am constantly finding and documenting new vegetation wherever I go. The planet also has several interesting animals that are equally as strange and varied. Here are the details of the ones I have catalogued and named so far:

Here is a better image of the Many Faces, they tend to jump around a lot so getting a good image of them is hard work.

Whenever I am on foot It is always exciting to stumble across a new creature or a variation of one. Scanning to see their finder detail. Then observign them to see how they interact with each other and their environment. For example Snootlysaurs travel in family groups of 2–4. While the Many Faces are either found on their own bouncing through the plants of Humidaril or bobbing along the open planes in small herds.

My scanner and computer do a good job of organising the information I am constantly gathering. I am also enjoying the ability to rename things before uploading them to whatever mysterious database that my equipment connects to. As you can see from the details I have included here, I am taking the write-the-first-thing-you-think-of approach to naming things.

It hasn’t all been an intergalactic safari experience however. Exploration continues to bring me to more ruins and artefacts from a long forgotten age of history. Raising yet more questions and concerns about just exactly has happened and why I am here. I found my way to many on my own and the rest from solving number sequences or using the right beacons at the right time.

On Frostjarlmir I continued to find ruined structures on top of or nestled into carved out parts of mountains. The first of these was the Hymechae-Ecti Landmark. Perhaps the largest ruin I have searched so far, also one with a unique mystery to it.

Where did this large head from of statue of a Gek come from? Hymechae-Ecti is a Korvax ruin yet this was proudly placed on top of it. I have also yet to see any Gek in this sector of space so I can only assume that at one point in time either the Gek ruled the Korvax or vice versa. Maybe the Korvax drove the Gek out of this part of space? It is hard to tell from one out of place statue piece.

The ruins also contained a Korvax Plaque that relayed the following message to me,

“The Atlas Interfaces drift alone in the endless void. They are silent. They are unknowable fragments of an ancient whole. Yet their imprint on time and space molds our existence.

They are the equation, and life is its answer. Through their Monoliths they give understanding to their boundless meaning, and that of our own.”

Which once again confirmed my suspicions that Atlas is some sort of force that has shaped the stars I find myself lost in. From this, it is clear that the Korvax seem to revere it. Seeing Atlas as the literal answer to life, the universe and everything. Which is a nice idea on the surface but then you remember the warnings I received from the mysterious Nada and Polo. Suddenly the idea of a benevolent creator watching over their creation turns into a thing that may have tampered with the fabric of the universe for reasons only known to them.

A few hours after this came the Korvax Plaque, the Ashes of the Fodripior which again informed me of some Korvax history,

“The Korvax Echoes tell of a time, long ago, when the Monoliths of the Atlas awoke the civilizations of the Outer Edge. Their presence filled them with a desire for knowledge.

From these beginnings empires were born, spoke out and fell silent once more. An eternity that cannot be quantified passed.”

From my own interpretation I assume that through the Monoliths, Atlas brought enlightenment to multiple civilisations in this region of space. Which thanks to this plaque I now know is the Outer Edge.

Again this seems great on the surface. Progress and prosperity for all but then you think on, “empires were born, spoke out and fell silent once more” for a bit and I get worried again. It is something which could easily be interpreted as they were crushed by Atlas for speaking out or turning against it. The other reading is that they destroyed each other or simply ran their course as prominent cultures in the Outer Edge of space. I do not know which conclusion to draw at the moment.

The last piece of antiquity I found on Frostjarlmir was another monolith, this time situated in the Ruins of Ocatoriu-Rebus.

This monolith behaved slightly differently to the previous fear inducing vision ones. It spoke to me in native Korvaxian of which my understanding is still very limited. So all I could make out was; “korvax echoes” and “traveller.” Suddenly I was being surrounded by a cloud of small pyramid like objects that came as if from the surface of the planet itself. They seemed to be fixated with my Multi-Tool following wherever I moved it. I eventually raised it above my head and the the small pyramids started to shimmer with a blue light. Sensing I was in the midst of another test, I let the pyramids swarm over me and go into my Multi-Tool causing it to glow with the same blue light.

The vision ended and I had a new technology blueprint logged in my computer. It was certainly a different way of acquiring knowledge than what I am used to.

Over on Humidaril I found two Korvax Plaques both planting words from the Korvax Echoes in my brain. The first was of the Memories of Icsettusl,

“The Atlas Interfaces await the arrival of the Travellers, those who would seek the ends of the universe through its very core. Within the infinity of time their arrival is probable.

Their potential could know no bounds. One dimension in billions will receive them.”

This is not the first time I have seen or heard reference to travellers. I’ve even been greeted as a traveller by multiple Korvax robots I have met on my, well, travels. I initially took it as a friendly greeting amongst those with ships passing each other in Space Stations. However it seems that there is perhaps a purpose to my sudden and unexpected arrival on Winkle and the start of my journey. Am I one of THE Travellers that Atlas and by extension the Korvax have been waiting for?

It would explain why there was that strange Atlas orb next to me when I awoke. You know the one I ignored the offer of help from? According to this it seems I meant to head to the Core of the Universe by way of the Atlas Interfaces. Which I would assume are orbs similar to the one I woke up with and the many, many, many doors I have come across that require Atlas Passes. Also the path to the Universal Core is constantly highlighted to me when I look at the Galactic Map on my ship. The reason behind everything that has happened to me so far could be the results of some weird multi-dimensional waiting game being played by Atlas.

Fuck, why did I refuse the guidance of that damned orb? I could be well on my way to the Core and out of this mess rather than being stuck out here in the Outer Edge! But then what about all the warnings I’ve seen about Atlas. Also let’s not forget the messages and help I have received from Nada and Polo.

It feels like I am being played. Manipulated by Atlas and whatever intentions it has for me.

Also if I am indeed one of the Travellers then it seems I am not alone. The Korvax Echoes mentioned multiple Travellers. So does that mean there are others who woke up stranded on alien worlds with no idea how they got there?

I have too many questions as the moment and it only got worse when I made my way to the second Korvax Plaque, the Remnants of Hevation-Nuop.

“We are the Korvax Echoes, ever enduring Entities of the Convergence. We live on through the logic and wisdom passed through our metal skins.

Each generation is greater than the last.”

Entities of the Convergence! WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?! Did the ancient Korvax do this to themselves? Turn themselves into the Echoes found in the ruins so they could pass on knowledge to their descendants? How does a collective of robots reproduce? Or as seemingly everything in the Outer Edge is this something that Atlas did to them?

All these questions are driving me mad!

I think I need to stop investigating ruins, its not good for my sanity. Visions, hallucinations, voices in my head. The sense that I am being manipulated. The messages from Nada and Polo. My ship constantly telling me I need to head to the Core of the Universe. Why is this happening to me?

After this one, two punch of revelations and near nervous breakdown I wandered around Humidaril aimlessly to try to calm down. Gathering resources and checking out a few outposts that popped up on my suit readout.

I have yet another new Multi-Tool, even more deadly than the last but also, crucially with plenty of upgrades to its Mining Tool. So I can now mine faster for longer before the Multi-Tool overheats. I also finally found a way to upgrade the amount inventory I can carry in my suit’s backpack.

A lone drop pod that had been left open and undisturbed on Humidaril had an upgrade for my suit within it. I will be keeping an eye out for similar devices going forward because more space to carry things is very welcome.

Before passing out in my ship and presumably having nightmares about the invisible hand of Atlas manipulating my life, I decided to investigate one more outpost that appeared on my suit readout. When I reached it I found Aktotovo Tower, a Korvax Transmission Tower.

On the lone console within the tower was an unanswered distress call. Similar to the Observatories I have found I had to complete a sequence of numbers to see the location of the call. So after some thought and a long-ish flight I found this at the source of the distress call,

A crashed ship!

Inside I found a recording of a Korvax pilot crashing in flames seemingly knowing it was about to die and using the distress call to report back to base. After the recording stopped I did the only natural thing I could, check the ship for supplies and see if it was salvageable.

Turns out that the ship is in dire need of repair but I can get it space worthy again. It will be worth it to because it is a substantial upgrade the ship I started with on Winkle. The main thing is that it has better offensive and defensive capabilities which I am likely to need in future. The only downside is that I am down some space in the cargo hold due to these upgrades that have been built into the ship.

I should be able to manage for the time being. Like my initial ship this feels like the stepping stone to a more robust craft but a good interim one none the less.

I just have to get it working, which is taking longer than expected. I worked on it for most of the night only just getting the Jump Thrusters working as dawn broke. One ship component repaired, many more to go. I am hoping I will be back in the skies soon…