It seemed I hadn't gone in too soon, for shortly after I had locked the sturdy door I heard the sound of beasts come sniffing all around. They clearly were looking for something to eat and I heard them try a couple times to get in, though they found no weakness that they could exploit. After making sure they were not going to find their way in I sat down at my table with the crude lamp I had hand made illuminating the small room and started carefully taking apart the device, cataloging in my mind where each piece went. There were many parts and I had to take quite a bit of time studying how they were connected to make sure I could put it back together. The most fascinating part of it was how simple they all were, they had been hand made and the device must not be of a very high quality compared to what I could create when I used it. I didn't have any paper with which to write, so my walls became my parchment and the residue from the lamp my ink. The sun started to come up again when I had finished cataloging and drawing everything and when the device was back together there was a knock at my door.
I didn't even have to open the door to know it was the same elders as before, but they had brought a few others with them as well along with some supplies to draw with and create plans. Inwardly I smiled at their foresight in the need of these things and wished I had done the same when I had come out yesterday, though I hadn't anticipated what I would have been up to then. I was tired and they had been thoughtful enough to bring food. As I ate they asked me about what I had drawn so crudely on my walls and I explained that I was trying to create a new device before the one I had broke. They were surprised that I mentioned the device could break and I could see fear in their expressions. I told them if they would be patient I was ready to begin trying to recreate the thing they desired so much. When they consented I brought in the materials I thought I would need and sat down, staring at the wall with all the drawings and notes I had made. It took quite some time and I could hear the elders shuffling behind me, but slowly the parts were recreated and even better than the previous ones. As each piece came into existence I replaced the one in the device I was using, testing it out and so long as it worked it remained. Some of the parts took a few tries but eventually I had figured out what I had done to make it in the first place. It wasn't until each piece was made that I got to work gathering all the materials again and instead of making just the bits and pieces I created a fully new and redesigned device. It was smaller, sleeker, stronger and much more capable than the original and when it was done and fully tested I used the new one to destroy the old one, much to the shock of the elders. When asked why I had destroyed the original I explained that it was a dangerous device to leave lying around due to the way it could alter their ways of life. I assured them I would help them rebuild, but they would need to take the time to learn the technology on their own. I would not artificially advance their society and would work equally with all the towns to make sure they maintained equality in some measure. As they made their way out the door, frustrated, I began to think about what I had accomplished today. I felt some sense of familiarity with the device I had in my hands and began envisioning further use of it to acquire better resources. I knew not all the elders would agree with my decision, but I knew their society would benefit from learning instead of receiving. With the remaining light of the day I quickly made my way back to town and picked up my remaining possessions, taking a moment to appreciate the refinement of the other tools compared to the original refiner. It really was amazing that the first tool could be made by hand and then be used to quickly produce the rest.
Monday, November 7, 2011
My Own Place
I awoke, as I expected to, to the sound of someone trying to open the door, and being unable to they knocked loudly. I could tell by the amount of light coming in to the room that it was still early. I quickly checked that everything was in place in the room and picked up my tools, making sure to keep them near me at all times and then unlocked and opened the door to see who it was. It was one of the staff that ran this establishment, they had come to inform me that I had visitors already. I told him that I would come out shortly, once I had a chance to get ready. With that I closed and locked the door once more and took my time getting ready for the day. I knew they would be annoyed at having to wait, but I also knew it would be a long day and I wanted to be prepared for it.
When I entered the room to meet my guests I saw there were just a handful of elders. Upon seeing me they quickly approached and handed me a bag full of food for breakfast and then, with only a couple quick words informing me that we needed to move quickly and quietly we made our way out of the town and back towards the place where I had constructed my pavilion. I wasn't sure what this was about but they clearly wanted to make sure no one else knew where we had gone. As we came to the structure the sun was finally breaking through the morning haze. The structure was just as I had left it, but there were quite a few footprints going all around it. With the town at such a distance the elders began talking and informed me that the structure I had made was amazing to their people, they had never seen such fine work completed so quickly and the structure was more sound than most of their own homes. When they found out what it was made of they were surprised that scraps could be put together in such a way using such a small device. They wanted to see it work again, this time on something bigger as I hadn't made anything like the building in front of them. I expressed to them that I actually wanted to make a workshop here but would need more materials than what I had. With that they wasted little time talking and all of us were gathering all the different resources we could find. By the time we were done it was close to noon and the food we had brought was gone. We were quite hungry and two of them left to find something to eat while the rest of them sat to observe the device in action.
Each task in the process produced questions, most of which I could not answer. They were amazed as the device pulled in all like materials from the pile and then just as rapidly created a stack of usable materials. When it was all done there was enough to make a small house, just big enough to be my workshop and still leave me some materials to make some furniture. I waited for the others to return before I moved on to this step. One thing that began to worry me, however, was that the device looked like it was starting to wear out. This would be one of the last things I could do with it before I needed to start taking it apart to understand how it worked, I just hoped I would be able to put it back together after I had seen all the bits and pieces of it. When the others had returned and we had had our lunch of fruits and nuts I got to work creating the house and all that was within it. The structure was very strong and they put it to the test trying to damage it, but it was beyond their means without having some tools. With that they were satisfied with this private demonstration and expressed their interest in having me help rebuild their town, to which I replied that I would be happy to help them once I finished understanding this technology and could reproduce it. I then informed them that now that I had a place of my own I intended to sleep here for the evening and would return to town tomorrow to pick up the rest of my belongings. They hesitated in giving in to this, but I made it clear it wasn't a request and they reluctantly left, but not before they secured a promise that I would be here in the morning when they returned. Once they were gone I picked up a few pieces of wood and got to work creating a crude light source so I could continue my studies here in solitude.
When I entered the room to meet my guests I saw there were just a handful of elders. Upon seeing me they quickly approached and handed me a bag full of food for breakfast and then, with only a couple quick words informing me that we needed to move quickly and quietly we made our way out of the town and back towards the place where I had constructed my pavilion. I wasn't sure what this was about but they clearly wanted to make sure no one else knew where we had gone. As we came to the structure the sun was finally breaking through the morning haze. The structure was just as I had left it, but there were quite a few footprints going all around it. With the town at such a distance the elders began talking and informed me that the structure I had made was amazing to their people, they had never seen such fine work completed so quickly and the structure was more sound than most of their own homes. When they found out what it was made of they were surprised that scraps could be put together in such a way using such a small device. They wanted to see it work again, this time on something bigger as I hadn't made anything like the building in front of them. I expressed to them that I actually wanted to make a workshop here but would need more materials than what I had. With that they wasted little time talking and all of us were gathering all the different resources we could find. By the time we were done it was close to noon and the food we had brought was gone. We were quite hungry and two of them left to find something to eat while the rest of them sat to observe the device in action.
Each task in the process produced questions, most of which I could not answer. They were amazed as the device pulled in all like materials from the pile and then just as rapidly created a stack of usable materials. When it was all done there was enough to make a small house, just big enough to be my workshop and still leave me some materials to make some furniture. I waited for the others to return before I moved on to this step. One thing that began to worry me, however, was that the device looked like it was starting to wear out. This would be one of the last things I could do with it before I needed to start taking it apart to understand how it worked, I just hoped I would be able to put it back together after I had seen all the bits and pieces of it. When the others had returned and we had had our lunch of fruits and nuts I got to work creating the house and all that was within it. The structure was very strong and they put it to the test trying to damage it, but it was beyond their means without having some tools. With that they were satisfied with this private demonstration and expressed their interest in having me help rebuild their town, to which I replied that I would be happy to help them once I finished understanding this technology and could reproduce it. I then informed them that now that I had a place of my own I intended to sleep here for the evening and would return to town tomorrow to pick up the rest of my belongings. They hesitated in giving in to this, but I made it clear it wasn't a request and they reluctantly left, but not before they secured a promise that I would be here in the morning when they returned. Once they were gone I picked up a few pieces of wood and got to work creating a crude light source so I could continue my studies here in solitude.
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Wealth of the Earth
Competition has been fierce. Everyone wants a piece of the pie and it doesn't get much sweeter when resources are in such high demand. I don't normally see many people, but the evidence of their passing is there. So many miniature holes in the ground slowly closing themselves back up. It's amazing that there is any plant life left with all the probes we've sent forth, but the planet recovers. Luckily the technology does its best to help, which is why the holes close up pretty well after we've done our surveying. In a rare instance, as I was out, I saw a green dot appear on my radar, it quickly adjusted course and came towards me, another curious individual who just can't go about their own business. As they ran past me they didn't say a word, just kept running and dropped a set of probes right in my path. A bit rude I thought, but at least they were going a different direction than I was, though it did fill me with dread, typically if someone was in the same area as me they would find what I was looking for, I decided to keep on though, maybe today would be my day to find it.
It didn't take long after that dot had passed from my radars range that I hit something, it wasn't much, but at least I was still getting something. Shortly after however I hit something a bit nicer, seeing that IX on the screen made me smile. I would be able to live off that, at least long enough to look for another. After I had the resource up I continued on, finding another smaller claim and then, to my surprise, another IX appeared on the display. I hardly ever found two such lovely finds in a run, especially when I couldn't afford an amp to improve my chances and especially so close together. I happily pulled up that resource and proceeded on my course. I didn't expect much to happen after this, I had made profit already and was pretty happy. Another small find showed on my screen and shortly after that an XII, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't remember a run so good as to get three finds of such a size in such a short time. At this point I was actually laughing at my luck and how I had thought that I would get nothing after seeing the other miner out and about where I had been. I continued on, and though I didn't find any more finds with that lovely X to mark the spot, I did get one more find qualifying as VII on the finder. It wasn't as spectacular but I was happy about it. After that run I decided it was in my best interest to take a break for the evening and get some much deserved rest. My dreams, I knew, would be filled with glorious images of my future discoveries of the wealth of the earth.
It didn't take long after that dot had passed from my radars range that I hit something, it wasn't much, but at least I was still getting something. Shortly after however I hit something a bit nicer, seeing that IX on the screen made me smile. I would be able to live off that, at least long enough to look for another. After I had the resource up I continued on, finding another smaller claim and then, to my surprise, another IX appeared on the display. I hardly ever found two such lovely finds in a run, especially when I couldn't afford an amp to improve my chances and especially so close together. I happily pulled up that resource and proceeded on my course. I didn't expect much to happen after this, I had made profit already and was pretty happy. Another small find showed on my screen and shortly after that an XII, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't remember a run so good as to get three finds of such a size in such a short time. At this point I was actually laughing at my luck and how I had thought that I would get nothing after seeing the other miner out and about where I had been. I continued on, and though I didn't find any more finds with that lovely X to mark the spot, I did get one more find qualifying as VII on the finder. It wasn't as spectacular but I was happy about it. After that run I decided it was in my best interest to take a break for the evening and get some much deserved rest. My dreams, I knew, would be filled with glorious images of my future discoveries of the wealth of the earth.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Disorder Before Dinner
It didn't take long to finish refining the materials, somewhere in the options I had was one that told the device to pull in all the materials that were the same as the one I targeted. With all of them properly refined I pulled them all in to the device and once again brought up my plans for the pavilion. The device quickly adjusted the design for me using the higher quality materials and with one last press of a button and a few moments for the device to do its thing I had a sturdy pavilion before me that I could use as a shelter for additional materials and a place to work. By this time it was starting to get late, so I gathered what was left of the resources I had and started storing them safely under the roof of this new structure. As I was busy with this the being that had passed by before came through again and this time stopped and stared with wonder at the thing that now existed in the middle of the woods. When he could gather himself once more he asked where in the world this had come from and how I had built it so quickly. I explained to him as best I could how the tool I was holding had the ability to take resources, refine them, design things with them and then produce the end result quickly. Once he heard this he rushed off, not asking any more questions and it took a moment to realize he was about to tell the elders what I had just said which would mean a whole new line of questioning was in store for this evening. I finished organizing everything as quickly as I could and followed in the same path he had taken towards the village.
As I approached I could already hear the raised voices of those discussing what had been said about my doings for the day and tried my best to slip quickly and quietly into the building I was staying in, however I wasn't able to do this unobserved and though I made it in I was followed by a swarm of beings as well. Before I could even take my place at the table there were questions being thrown at me from all directions and I just sat there and smirked as there was no way I could make out any individual's question from another and waited until they could compose themselves and ask in a more orderly fashion all that they wanted to know. Lucky for me the food had already been laid out and I was able to eat quite a bit before they realized I was waiting for them to restore order to their group. Once they were successful in this endeavor they dismissed the rest of the villagers and the elders sat down at the table to join me in the meal and began asking me all the questions they had about what this device could do and how I had figured it out so quickly.
The conversation went well into the evening and included some demonstrations of what I had learned. I could see in the looks on their faces that they greatly desired to learn how this worked and to reproduce it for themselves, which I was sure we would eventually get to, but for now with just the one device to work from I still had much work to do to learn how it all functioned. As they slowly trickled out a few of them took the things I had made with them, I was sure some of them would use them at home and with some of the questions I got I was sure to see other pieces being sold or bartered in the market the following day. By the time I was able to get to my room it was very late and, having not slept much the previous night, I was exhausted. I did however have the clarity of mind long enough to make a small change to the door of my room and modified it to have a lock and key that would help keep the tools I had safe. I was sure someone would notice before I woke up and have much to say about this security measure, but I figured they would understand my position given that I didn't know everything about their culture yet and simply wanted to ensure that my only connections to my past were kept safe.
As I approached I could already hear the raised voices of those discussing what had been said about my doings for the day and tried my best to slip quickly and quietly into the building I was staying in, however I wasn't able to do this unobserved and though I made it in I was followed by a swarm of beings as well. Before I could even take my place at the table there were questions being thrown at me from all directions and I just sat there and smirked as there was no way I could make out any individual's question from another and waited until they could compose themselves and ask in a more orderly fashion all that they wanted to know. Lucky for me the food had already been laid out and I was able to eat quite a bit before they realized I was waiting for them to restore order to their group. Once they were successful in this endeavor they dismissed the rest of the villagers and the elders sat down at the table to join me in the meal and began asking me all the questions they had about what this device could do and how I had figured it out so quickly.
The conversation went well into the evening and included some demonstrations of what I had learned. I could see in the looks on their faces that they greatly desired to learn how this worked and to reproduce it for themselves, which I was sure we would eventually get to, but for now with just the one device to work from I still had much work to do to learn how it all functioned. As they slowly trickled out a few of them took the things I had made with them, I was sure some of them would use them at home and with some of the questions I got I was sure to see other pieces being sold or bartered in the market the following day. By the time I was able to get to my room it was very late and, having not slept much the previous night, I was exhausted. I did however have the clarity of mind long enough to make a small change to the door of my room and modified it to have a lock and key that would help keep the tools I had safe. I was sure someone would notice before I woke up and have much to say about this security measure, but I figured they would understand my position given that I didn't know everything about their culture yet and simply wanted to ensure that my only connections to my past were kept safe.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Modifying the Handheld
Using some of the resources I had gathered for further modifying my handheld wasn't the easiest decision to make. In order to create a more durable and useful device required a few of the more precious materials I had found, but I figured it would be worth it in the end and it would also give me some new capabilities in working with my equipment. One of the parts I had added was a wireless link so that I could connect to any of my tools without having to actually plug it in, which would help me with another change in that I didn't want to carry the device in my hands anymore and redesigned the shell of it to go on my wrist, allowing me more freedom to do other things in between mining drops. Modifying the tools wasn't too hard either, I had already changed them so much already that I knew exactly where I wanted to place the new component. A few other changes I made to it would soon allow me to communicate once again with those people who I knew still on Calypso, but I had to make sure the signal wasn't traceable, otherwise I could have other problems added to my task of surviving on a new planet.
Once I had the device completely modified and all my security pieces in place I connected the device back to the communications network. It took a few additional tweaks to the programming, but eventually I was able to get connected using whatever alias I desired to use, which meant that even if they started to catch on with one alias I would be able to change it quickly and continue along in my own business. I knew that if anyone caught on to what I did I would be in trouble, but it would be worth it so that I could continue figuring out what it all had meant when every one and every thing showed up all those months ago. I wasted little time in getting back in contact with some of my closer friends and what I learned from them was very valuable to me. Apparently they had been questioned about my whereabouts, to which they denied knowing anything and even when they could contact me they never knew where I was. I also learned that they indeed had thought I was dead, which gave me an advantage in knowing that they shouldn't be actively looking for me. I then informed them that they still wouldn't be able to locate me and I needed to keep it that way, both for their sake and my own. But I also asked them to keep their ears open in case they started hearing anything more about the situation. When all was set I sent them the code modification they would need to put into their device in order to find my current alias. They asked if this wouldn't pose a problem if their device were compromised to which I replied that I had already made plans to make the change necessary to destroy the ability from my end and that I was fairly sure I would be safe. With the task completed and friends informed I continued exploring the ruins and looking for resources. There was a large demand and I didn't want to miss out on my chance to make a bit of profit.
Once I had the device completely modified and all my security pieces in place I connected the device back to the communications network. It took a few additional tweaks to the programming, but eventually I was able to get connected using whatever alias I desired to use, which meant that even if they started to catch on with one alias I would be able to change it quickly and continue along in my own business. I knew that if anyone caught on to what I did I would be in trouble, but it would be worth it so that I could continue figuring out what it all had meant when every one and every thing showed up all those months ago. I wasted little time in getting back in contact with some of my closer friends and what I learned from them was very valuable to me. Apparently they had been questioned about my whereabouts, to which they denied knowing anything and even when they could contact me they never knew where I was. I also learned that they indeed had thought I was dead, which gave me an advantage in knowing that they shouldn't be actively looking for me. I then informed them that they still wouldn't be able to locate me and I needed to keep it that way, both for their sake and my own. But I also asked them to keep their ears open in case they started hearing anything more about the situation. When all was set I sent them the code modification they would need to put into their device in order to find my current alias. They asked if this wouldn't pose a problem if their device were compromised to which I replied that I had already made plans to make the change necessary to destroy the ability from my end and that I was fairly sure I would be safe. With the task completed and friends informed I continued exploring the ruins and looking for resources. There was a large demand and I didn't want to miss out on my chance to make a bit of profit.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Discovery of Refining
Morning just never seems to come early enough, sleep wasn't something I had a lot of during the night but when the sun came up and I heard movement I quickly emerged from my room and partook of breakfast. Once again I surprised my hosts in showing up so soon, and I also missed most of those that would have come to visit me. In fact, as the first of the elders started to arrive I was just finishing up and packing some food for later, I had no plan to return quickly once I made it out into the country side in my search for materials and understanding. As I started to make my way towards the door a few of them started walking with me, inquiring as to where I was going, to which I replied that I had started learning about the tools I had and needed to get outside of the village in order to continue my research, but that I would return before the evening meal and at that time I would be more willing to have further discussions with them. The look on their faces as I said this told me they were amused at my enthusiasm and they didn't delay me further from my mission for the day.
Once outside the village I wasted little time moving out of sight, I didn't want any of them following me if I could help it as I needed to be able to focus on the task and work on understanding on a deeper level how this technology worked. In a nearby woods I found a clearing and started gathering up some bits and pieces of wood, I wasn't sure if I would need bigger pieces or not, but I figured I'd see if it could handle scraps first. Once I had what I figured would be enough to make a small roofed structure I pressed the button that pulled in all the materials. Then, using the interface, I began manipulating what I had to work with into a shape that I desired, unfortunately as I finished the design I started seeing some messages that indicated that this structure couldn't be completed. My attempt to force it didn't work and eventually I found a menu that indicated that I was missing some materials necessary in the construction, it didn't give me anything specific but rather informed me that I needed something a bit harder to go with the scrap I had gathered in order to make the structure stable. With that I found a large rock to see if that would be acceptable and once it was scanned in the error went away and a confirmation screen came up. Before hitting the construct button I once again went to the menu and found a section that would give me some details regarding this structure. I was surprised to find the amount of information available, such as how well the structure would hold up in different conditions and how much force it would take to destroy it. Going deeper into the various pieces of it I could find the weak points and strong points of my design, which made me realize where I could improve it. I continued gathering different resources and trying different combinations to improve the design until eventually I had something that I thought would hold up pretty well. Unfortunately when I had this design I realized I had wandered quite a bit from my spot and the resources I had gathered were making the device quite heavy. I decided to leave some of the materials behind and take what I could handle back to the site, then come back for what I had to leave. It ended up taking a few trips to get it all there comfortably and when I had finished it looked to be just a little past noon and so I took a break to eat before I continued.
While I ate what I had brought I picked up a small stone with the device and with one hand I kept playing with the options until, to my surprise, I found an option to refine the material. Looking at the information regarding the starting material and the end result showed me that it would get rid of the garbage parts of the material, leaving me with a stronger substance to work with and also making it much lighter. I confirmed the process and a very tiny brick of the material appeared before me. Checking it against the other rocks in the area it was clearly superior in quality for a building material and I wondered if I needed to once again redesign the pavilion I was working on. I decided it wouldn't hurt to try and gathered up my materials again, though the option to refine was not there. Perplexed a bit about it I emptied it again and scanned in just a single object. To my delight the option was once again there, but if it could only refine one object at a time I would have a long day ahead of me. As I pondered this idea I heard a noise behind me and turned around to see one of the villagers coming into the clearing. He seemed equally shocked when he saw me, clearly he hadn't been looking for me and never expected to encounter anyone out here in the woods. After a moment we made introductions to one another and he asked what I was doing with the pile of junk I had in front of me. He listened intently until I finished and once my story was finished he asked one simple question that I was surprised I hadn't though of. He asked if the device could only handle one type of material at a time when it was improving it. I wasted no time in answering and quickly scanned in a whole pile of rocks that I had planned to use, sure enough the refine option was still there. He just smiled at my delight in the discovery and quietly excused himself to return to the task he had.
Once outside the village I wasted little time moving out of sight, I didn't want any of them following me if I could help it as I needed to be able to focus on the task and work on understanding on a deeper level how this technology worked. In a nearby woods I found a clearing and started gathering up some bits and pieces of wood, I wasn't sure if I would need bigger pieces or not, but I figured I'd see if it could handle scraps first. Once I had what I figured would be enough to make a small roofed structure I pressed the button that pulled in all the materials. Then, using the interface, I began manipulating what I had to work with into a shape that I desired, unfortunately as I finished the design I started seeing some messages that indicated that this structure couldn't be completed. My attempt to force it didn't work and eventually I found a menu that indicated that I was missing some materials necessary in the construction, it didn't give me anything specific but rather informed me that I needed something a bit harder to go with the scrap I had gathered in order to make the structure stable. With that I found a large rock to see if that would be acceptable and once it was scanned in the error went away and a confirmation screen came up. Before hitting the construct button I once again went to the menu and found a section that would give me some details regarding this structure. I was surprised to find the amount of information available, such as how well the structure would hold up in different conditions and how much force it would take to destroy it. Going deeper into the various pieces of it I could find the weak points and strong points of my design, which made me realize where I could improve it. I continued gathering different resources and trying different combinations to improve the design until eventually I had something that I thought would hold up pretty well. Unfortunately when I had this design I realized I had wandered quite a bit from my spot and the resources I had gathered were making the device quite heavy. I decided to leave some of the materials behind and take what I could handle back to the site, then come back for what I had to leave. It ended up taking a few trips to get it all there comfortably and when I had finished it looked to be just a little past noon and so I took a break to eat before I continued.
While I ate what I had brought I picked up a small stone with the device and with one hand I kept playing with the options until, to my surprise, I found an option to refine the material. Looking at the information regarding the starting material and the end result showed me that it would get rid of the garbage parts of the material, leaving me with a stronger substance to work with and also making it much lighter. I confirmed the process and a very tiny brick of the material appeared before me. Checking it against the other rocks in the area it was clearly superior in quality for a building material and I wondered if I needed to once again redesign the pavilion I was working on. I decided it wouldn't hurt to try and gathered up my materials again, though the option to refine was not there. Perplexed a bit about it I emptied it again and scanned in just a single object. To my delight the option was once again there, but if it could only refine one object at a time I would have a long day ahead of me. As I pondered this idea I heard a noise behind me and turned around to see one of the villagers coming into the clearing. He seemed equally shocked when he saw me, clearly he hadn't been looking for me and never expected to encounter anyone out here in the woods. After a moment we made introductions to one another and he asked what I was doing with the pile of junk I had in front of me. He listened intently until I finished and once my story was finished he asked one simple question that I was surprised I hadn't though of. He asked if the device could only handle one type of material at a time when it was improving it. I wasted no time in answering and quickly scanned in a whole pile of rocks that I had planned to use, sure enough the refine option was still there. He just smiled at my delight in the discovery and quietly excused himself to return to the task he had.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Getting Through the Basics
The first few days were pretty easy compared to Calypso. They were very organized in their approach to introducing you to the planet, though listening to some of the lectures was a bit boring due to the fact that I had been living on a planet that wasn't Earth for quite some time now. The basic equipment they let us take a look at was adequate, though nothing spectacular compared to what I had been handling before, luckily I had a few of the tools I brought with me when I flew to this planet and since I had already modified them a bit it would save me some work making sure I could remain anonymous on this planet as well. I didn't have any problems syncing my handheld device with their network either, they had made it fairly open for us due to all the changes in technology on the various planets we were coming from. Mine, surprisingly, looked very outdated from the ones I saw and so I determined I would need to work on it a bit more to make it look a little newer and have all the features I needed. After finishing all the courses they had for the new arrivals I wasted little time getting out of the facility and starting the process of living off the land, well, at least as much as any of us can. There were many new types of resources I hadn't seen before and some that were very familiar. The technology they utilized on this planet was harder to hack, which meant that most of it was not repairable, but it would do when I had need of it, for now I was good with the equipment that I had.
After a few days of learning I had already picked out a handful of favorite spots, though I couldn't help but want to wander here. The ruins scattered all around were marvelous to behold, they held secrets that I couldn't wait to learn about, though they would not let us look for any artifacts yet, they were, however, making preparations to provide training so that we could soon. I had high hopes of helping find new technologies in the ancient ruins and hoped to figure out the history of this planet. I wondered how the Arkadians, who had made such a thing as The Signal, could have lost to the Oratan, we had clearly found a way to survive at least this long, but perhaps there was something we were missing and the full onslaught hadn't happened yet. I also wondered where the ships were and why the Oratan that remained here didn't seem to have any vehicles or ships to get them around. This troubled me a bit as well, if these were just the remnant of what had been here before, would we soon have another war on our hands when their ships arrived? The robots had been enough before, but these creatures seemed just as dangerous. I knew eventually I would have to do some more training in weapons, but for now I would just take my time learning about this planet, worst case would be I'd have to learn the hard way, but I was used to that.
Mining here was much like it was there, there was a lot of time to think about things. I took some of this time that I had to continue trying to look into what happened and where the time went, but all I could see was that for a while there were postings with a bounty on my head, though always for me to be alive, not that I could have died if they shot me anyway, and then they started to fade into the background, no news of my capture, a few people inquiring for an update on the bounty status but in the end the final word was: "Bounty Canceled", which made me assume that they thought me dead. But why would they think that? Clearly they must have been able to at least somewhat follow the trail of my jump, most people can't really move around much without being at least partially tracked. I suppose it was possible that when the chip had been damaged they lost that capability, but it seemed unlikely. I even looked through the logs on my device, but it seemed that there was no gap in them, one day I was looking into things and then the next day according to the logs I had escaped from my captors. I had even had to force the thing to sync up briefly with a network to get the correct date and time, which then really threw things through a loop, but at least now I know when it is. I keep wondering what happened and the only thought I have that makes any sense to me so far is that somehow the surge that went through the chip and fried it somehow also bent time and threw me forward almost a year. It didn't seem likely, and I recalled many stories that existed in our history that fancied this would be possible, but it still seemed strange that it could really happen. Then of course that leads me to think that if I can jump forward, could I also jump back? And what implications would there be if this were possible? It also makes me wonder what exactly our brains are capable of, if we can do this with technology magnifying our natural abilities then would it be possible that with the right modifications and practice I could master the ability to travel not only the space around me but the time that the space existed? These thoughts were distracting, and because of them I had almost missed a very good find, so once I caught it and realized how much I would have missed out on I quickly moved on from this thought process, determined that if I wanted to visit it again I would have to wait until I was resting.
Mining here was much like it was there, there was a lot of time to think about things. I took some of this time that I had to continue trying to look into what happened and where the time went, but all I could see was that for a while there were postings with a bounty on my head, though always for me to be alive, not that I could have died if they shot me anyway, and then they started to fade into the background, no news of my capture, a few people inquiring for an update on the bounty status but in the end the final word was: "Bounty Canceled", which made me assume that they thought me dead. But why would they think that? Clearly they must have been able to at least somewhat follow the trail of my jump, most people can't really move around much without being at least partially tracked. I suppose it was possible that when the chip had been damaged they lost that capability, but it seemed unlikely. I even looked through the logs on my device, but it seemed that there was no gap in them, one day I was looking into things and then the next day according to the logs I had escaped from my captors. I had even had to force the thing to sync up briefly with a network to get the correct date and time, which then really threw things through a loop, but at least now I know when it is. I keep wondering what happened and the only thought I have that makes any sense to me so far is that somehow the surge that went through the chip and fried it somehow also bent time and threw me forward almost a year. It didn't seem likely, and I recalled many stories that existed in our history that fancied this would be possible, but it still seemed strange that it could really happen. Then of course that leads me to think that if I can jump forward, could I also jump back? And what implications would there be if this were possible? It also makes me wonder what exactly our brains are capable of, if we can do this with technology magnifying our natural abilities then would it be possible that with the right modifications and practice I could master the ability to travel not only the space around me but the time that the space existed? These thoughts were distracting, and because of them I had almost missed a very good find, so once I caught it and realized how much I would have missed out on I quickly moved on from this thought process, determined that if I wanted to visit it again I would have to wait until I was resting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)