text: e first alien civilisation to be recorded by human explorers. There is some debate about whether they are truly intelligent, whether they are the descendants of intelligent ancestors, or whether their entire technological society is the result of pure instinct, similar to a spider's web."
  
  > Arrest reuben
  He holds up his hands. "Ah, crap. Okay, you got me. I'll come quietly."
  
  > jump to Venter
  (You launch first.)
  
  Structures rise above the thick clouds of this planet: towering, impractical machines of no obvious purpose and unsettling design.
  
  The golden rings of a gas giant sprawl across the stars, dwarfing the grey and icy moon below. Bright lights and luminous structures shine from within the satellite's largest crater.
  
  A spinning, largely transparent, medusoid habitat serves as the base of operations for the venerable Marshal Zila-S.
  
  A fuel jockey orbits lazily - tentacles trailing, bladders
  swollen with deuterium.
  
  > give Reuben to the zila
  The marshal's remote deputies collect Reuben and transfer your 25k credit reward.
  
  "I'm gonna go down in history," Reuben says. "I'm gonna change the law on this stuff."
  
  The marshal shakes his head. "Keep dreaming, son. Those laws are there to protect alien ecosystems. It doesn't matter how much profit you stand to make: right is right and wrong is wrong."
  
  > talk to the cicerone
  A sleek humanoid of shiny black plastic. Its head is dented and cracked.
  
  "We are now in the Imago Republic, a nation founded by artificial humans in response to their persecution and oppression elsewhere. Recently, the Republic has begun tightly enforcing its borders, and a visa is required to land on all of its worlds save Venter."
  
  > jump to Koltsov
  Below thick clouds and barren mountains, geometric shapes are etched into the surface of this world.
  
  A fuel jockey orbits lazily - tentacles trailing, bladders
  swollen with deuterium.
  
  > Land
  A labyrinth of ribbed tunnels, through which ooze giant construction polymorphs.
  
  centre.
  
  Fono-H oversees the output of one of the primary sphincters.
  
  Nursing his latest crop is a hab farmer.
  
  > sell the gizmo to the Controller
  "What... is that? What do all the parts do? What is it for? What's the power source? You don't know? I don't know either! Um, okay, look, I'll buy it off you for 15k credits? Please?"
  
  > talk to the Controller
  She shows you one of her twelve faces.
  
  "I'm still puzzling that weird gizmo out. I actually don't think it does anything at all, but working out exactly how it does
  nothing is keeping me occupied in idle moments."
  
  > jump to Pearl
  (You launch first.)
  
  Below thick clouds and barren mountains, geometric shapes are etched into the surface of this world.
  
  A fuel jockey orbits lazily - tentacles trailing, bladders
  swollen with deuterium.
  
  Moon of a storm-bedecked gas giant, jewel of the Diasporan Commonwealth: a world of blue seas, green continents and white clouds. Its night side glitters with artificial light.
  
  The Commonwealth Courier Co. has a floodlit spindle in low orbit. Viktoria doles out the packages, as ever.
  
  A dejected freighter captain is awaiting repairs.
  
  > talk to the cicerone
  A sleek humanoid of shiny black plastic. Its head is dented and cracked.
  
  "This is the Diasporan Commonwealth, known as the cradle of interstellar humanity. The Commonwealth is a diverse and loose alliance of worlds connected by hyperspace gates and protected by a unified military."
  
  > Refuel
  You can replenish your fusion cells at the industrial fuel rig for 1k credits each. 6 cells are expended.
  
  How many do you want to refuel?
  
  > Record hardshell
  You record Hardshell in your ship's log as a place of potential interest.
  
  > jump to the amarok
  Shrouded in thick, purplish clouds, this world probably isn't quite massive enough to be a true gas giant. A white, cyclonic storm rages at its equator.
  
  A gargantuan nomad worldship drifts powerless through space,
  ripped open and spilling its cargo into the vacuum.
  
  An amalg dreadnought has latched onto it with over-sized claws.
  
  Ripjaw commands the boarding parties.
  
  A dead amalg drifts through space, her bronze wings useless in
  vacuum.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > take the wings
  They come off with a little effort.
  
  > talk to the worldship
  You receive only chaotic amalg transmissions.
  
  > talk to dreadnought
  You receive a transmission of aggressive growls, warbling modem sounds and euphoric whooping.
  
  > talk to the ripjaw
  A massive man fuelled by thick hoses pumping stolen blood.
  
  Aurea speaks calmly, but her fists are clenched. "What is going on here?"
  
  His huge face is split by a smile. "Just collecting some salvage, ma'am."
  
  "And the ship's crew?"
  
  "After this catastrophic hull breach, we put them in cryo tubes for their own safety. Is there one in particular that interests you?"
  
  Aurea just grits her teeth.
  
  "You can buy the cryo tube off me for 100k. I only ask for so
  many credits to be sure it's going to a good home. For all I know, you just want a body for parts."
  
  > buy cryo
  You buy Prex's cryo tube for 100k credits, leaving you with 119k credits.
  
  Burly amalgs leave Prex's cryo tube in your ship's hold.
  
  Aurea examines it. "Life signs are steady."
  
  The cryo tube is closed.
  
  > Land
  The atmospheric pressure on the surface would be too great to take off, even if your ship could survive it.
  
  > Open tube
  Prex emerges glistening, naked and bright-blue haired from the cryo tube. He looks around with sharp but cynical eyes. "These are friendlier faces than I expected to see when I came out of this thing."
  
  Aurea helps him up. "I need your help to get back."
  
  "So purely altruistic motives then? I've memorised Haven's jump vector. Just give me a terminal and I'll set you up. But can you get me some clothes first?"
  
  You lend the man a jumpsuit. As he enters data into your nav system he adds: "Shit got bad back home, princess. I got out just in time. Ya know... this ship's pretty cool... Might hang around for a bit. Okay, finished. We're good to go."
  
  Did he just call you "princess"?
  
  > Record haven
  You record Haven in your ship's log as a place of potential interest.
  
  > jump to Haven
  A small, blue-oceaned world is warmed by a yellow star, both lodged in immense biomechanical megastructures.
  
  "Enjoy the view, captain," Aurea says. "Very few outsiders have seen the interior of Hardshell in a thousand years."
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  A lush, Arcadian land of rolling fields and cyclopean fortresses. Gnarled pillars line the horizon, disappearing into a sky patterned with organic shadows.
  
  A titanic statue of Aurea, young and unscarred, lies awkwardly on its side, both arms snapped off.
  
  Black smoke vomits from several settlements, sparkling with hot embers.
  
  Corpses have been heaped into careless piles.
  
  throne room of a castle besieged by crawling horrors.
  
  > talk to Aurea
  An unnaturally beautiful, golden-haired woman with a jagged scar across her face and a cheap robotic arm. She slouches in the co-pilot's seat.
  
  "Well. Here we are."
  
  > talk to the cicerone
  A sleek humanoid of shiny black plastic. Its head is dented and cracked.
  
  "We are currently inside Hardshell. My databanks provide precisely zero information on this location. Indeed, I am suppressing numerous errors in my positioning system stemming from the assumption that being here is impossible."
  
  A sleek humanoid of shiny black plastic. Its head is dented and cracked.
  
  "We are currently inside Hardshell. My databanks provide precisely zero information on this location. Indeed, I am suppressing numerous errors in my positioning system stemming from the assumption that being here is impossible."
  
  > talk to the chamberlain
  The chamberlain prostrates itself before Aurea. "Princess Aureana the Uncertain. When we saw that outsiders had arrived, I knew it to be you."
  
  She watches the battle through arched windows. "This is what my little sister has wrought, then? Fine. I'll take your damn crown."
  
  The chamberlain breathes a hissing breath. "Not all of the constructs will recognise your authority. She has seen to this."
  
  "What's ever easy?"
  
  She steps out onto a balcony. Below, innumerable ageless, brightly-coiffed denizens look up at her.
  
  > Continue
  brightly-coiffed denizens look up at her....
  
  "I don't like you guys," Aurea booms, "and you don't like me. But this shitty sphere's set up so you need me, and here I am. I'm gonna kick my sister's arse and then I'm gonna crack this piece of crap wide open, whether you want me to or not."
  
  The faces below stare up at her silently. A wave of hesitant, uncertain applause passes through the crowd and then dies out.
  uncertain applause passes through the crowd and then dies out....
  
  Aurea returns to the throne room. "Oh," she says, "and I owe this outsider ten million credits."
  
  "Very well." The chamberlain extends a long-fingered, tri-symmetrical hand and deposits a glowing cred stick in your palm. "We shall also refuel the outsider's starship, as a gesture of thanks for returning our rightful ruler."
  
  Aurea snorts disdainfully and throws herself into the throne. "Thank you, captain. One day I'll get back out, and look you up. When I do, you can introduce me to your twin."
  
  > jump to the Autark
  (You launch first.)
  
  A small, blue-oceaned world is warmed by a yellow star, both lodged in immense biomechanical megastructures.
  
  Airless ice-moon of a black-ringed, aquamarine ice giant. Scattered across its surface are bright lights and gaudy megastructures.
  
  An asteroid on an eccentric orbit has been carved into the luxury habitat of reclusive trillionaire Leda.
  
  Souped-up ships with huge engines line up in view of a vast-windowed habitat. An orbital race overseen by Silver.
  
  > Land
  Domes and arcologies crowd the horizon: spacious mansions, dirty communes, unregulated sweatshops and outlandish temples.
  
  A trendy office neighbours the landing pad, rented out by an entrepreneur for unspecified business.
  
  Autark her home.
  
  The Snake will be in his private dome, surrounded by
  bodyguards.
  
  > talk to Snake
  A long, limbless trunk of a man.
  
  "I understand you've come into some money, captain. This is not usually how these things go, but I do stick to my agreements. You can buy back your twin's cryo tube for 5000k."
  
  > buy the tube
  Niv brings the tube out to the landing pad, flanked by armed goons.
  
  "Well, captain," he says, "maybe you're not the complete reprobate I took you for. I have a lot of respect for those who pay back their debts. You ever need another loan, you come see us again."
  
  At that he breaks into a wide grin and leaves, trailing laughter. His goons follow a moment later, unsmiling.
  
  You check over your new cargo. The life sign read-outs are steady and the cryo tube is closed.
  
  > Open tube
  Your twin emerges from the cryo tube naked, wet and shivering.
  
  "You got old," your twin says.
  
  The perfect comeback somehow eludes you.
  
  "How did you get the money?" your twin asks. "You must have got around. Seen some things."
  
  You tell your twin how you got an Imago Republic visa, saw the inside of Hardshell, met a molonk, entered the Orphanage, commanded a crew of four, caught a bounty...
  
  "So you didn't win the respect of the amalgs, visit a world of cats, catch an alien sea creature, get a badass implant, win an orbital race, catch all the bounties..."
  
  You admit that you didn't get around to any of that.
  
  "Well, all the more for us to do together."
  
  You power up the jump drive and begin to plot a course.
  
  *** Your adventures continue ***
  
  You gained 6 out of 12 achievements and visited 33 worlds in 84 jumps.
  
  > continue
  Domes and arcologies crowd the horizon: spacious mansions, dirty communes, unregulated sweatshops and outlandish temples.
  
  A trendy office neighbours the landing pad, rented out by an entrepreneur for unspecified business.
  
  Autark her home.
  
  The Snake will be in his private dome, surrounded by
  bodyguards.
  
  Your twin settles back in aboard your ship in no time.
  
  "You'd better not have touched any of my stuff..."
  
  > jump to the xyzzy
  (You launch first.)
  
  Airless ice-moon of a black-ringed, aquamarine ice giant. Scattered across its surface are bright lights and gaudy megastructures.
  
  An asteroid on an eccentric orbit has been carved into the luxury habitat of reclusive trillionaire Leda.
  
  Souped-up ships with huge engines line up in view of a vast-windowed habitat. An orbital race overseen by Silver.
  
  A charred and ancient planet, far out from a fading white dwarf star. It has long lost its momentum, forever showing one face to the feeble light.
  
  A faint, intermittent signal stutters from the night side.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  It is pitch dark. Your ship's running lights illuminate a small patch of scorched rock.
  
  Something slithers in the darkness, a large blip on your
  scanners, drawing closer.
  
  > talk to the cicerone
  A sleek humanoid of shiny black plastic. Its head is dented and cracked.
  
  "This world has no wider affiliation."
  
  A flash of ebony teeth and grasping claws. Something strikes the hull of your ship. And then begins, relentlessly, to tear through.
  
  > jump to the earth
  (You launch first.)
  
  A charred and ancient planet, far out from a fading white dwarf star. It has long lost its momentum, forever showing one face to the feeble light.
  
  A faint, intermittent signal stutters from the night side.
  
  It's difficult to find an orbit that doesn't intersect with worthless space junk. Below, white clouds swirl over green-brown continents and deep blue oceans.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  Wild trees and shrubs burst through cracks in the concrete-and-asphalt ground, climbing fractured, empty-windowed, crumbling skyscrapers.
  
  Vibrant shanty towns of recycled building parts and rusting vehicles are stacked haphazardly at their feet.
  
  Brightly dressed crowds press close around your ship.
  
  > talk to the cicerone
  A sleek humanoid of shiny black plastic. Its head is dented and cracked.
  
  "This world belongs to the star system from which all diasporan life is believed to have originated. Although this belief is arguably the consensus among scientists, it is politically controversial due to its contradiction of those religions that hold that humanity originated on Pearl."
  
  > talk to the crowds
  You try all the languages you speak well: Nacrese, Artiglot, Astropatois, even your own mother tongue, but no-one seems to understand. Random phrases you've picked up from other languages similarly draw a blank.
  
  The people seem cheerful enough. Many try, with gestures, to sell you worthless knick-knacks.
  
  Towards the back of the crowd, you notice a biomechanical
  android of an unfamiliar design.
  
  > talk to the biomechanical android
  Hydraulics whirr and hiss as his features assume a smile.
  
  "Let me answer your questions. No, I'm not an android. I'm a Diallo-Zhao Series 3 synthetic human. Yes, that makes me very old. Yes, these are baseline humans, though some modified diasporan genes have entered the population, so they're not as baseline as they used to be. Yes, there are a lot of them, possibly more than everywhere else put together, but not as many as there used to be. No, there is nothing valuable here except history and what's left of the sights."
  
  You try to think of a question he didn't answer.
  
  "You're welcome," he finishes.
  
  > jump to the mars
  (You launch first.)
  
  It's difficult to find an orbit that doesn't intersect with worthless space junk. Below, white clouds swirl over green-brown continents and deep blue oceans.
  
  A small, ochre world, scarred by a massive canyon and barely able to hold on to its atmosphere.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  A frozen desert with an atmosphere as insubstantial as it is unbreathable. And yet signs of habitation abound: black, rickety towers; low, camouflaged bunkers; scaffolds strung with metallic skeletons.
  
  Warped, lopsided cyborgs prowl the plains.
  
  > talk to the cyborgs
  They keep their distance from you, aiming wrought iron spears at your heart.
  
  "You anger the code-minds with your disgusting meatbag. Leave."
  
  > jump to the venus
  (You launch first.)
  
  A small, ochre world, scarred by a massive canyon and barely able to hold on to its atmosphere.
  
  A planet left pale and featureless by a thick layer of cloud.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  The atmospheric pressure on the surface would be too great to take off, even if your ship could survive it.
  
  > jump to the pluto
  An icy planetoid with a patchwork surface of darker and lighter browns - smooth areas encroaching on fields of craters - and a surprising collection of tiny moons.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  Mountains of water ice, cold enough to seem more like rock, break through tracts of frozen nitrogen. A subtle haze hugs the curved horizon.
  
  > jump to the ceres
  (You launch first.)
  
  An icy planetoid with a patchwork surface of darker and lighter browns - smooth areas encroaching on fields of craters - and a surprising collection of tiny moons.
  
  A small, mottled planetoid with some evidence of patchwork habitation.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  Deserted domes interrupt a graveyard of partially dismantled starships and rockets.
  
  A long-range survey ship leans improbably into the sky under the low gravity, brandishing compact fuel collector arrays.
  
  > get the arrays
  Using the remote drone, you're able to successfully extract the fuel collector arrays.
  
  > jump to the jupiter
  (You launch first.)
  
  A small, mottled planetoid with some evidence of patchwork habitation.
  
  A sepia-toned, swirling gas giant dominated by a large storm. Its four largest moons are an odd and colourful assortment.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  The intricately clouded face of Jupiter fills the skylights of this sprawling but deserted complex.
  
  Cleaning bots glide along the long, silent corridors, searching
  for litter that never appears.
  
  A holographic sales assistant flickers in an empty boutique.
  
  > talk to the bots
  Their only reaction to your presence is to bumble slowly out of your way.
  
  > talk to the assistant
  Her clothes adhere to no style or fashion that you know of. She smiles broadly.
  
  "Hello! I'm afraid we are currently out of stock. No deliveries are scheduled, however the previous delivery was only - ERROR - NUMERIC OVERFLOW - days ago, so please check back soon!"
  
  > jump to the titan
  (You launch first.)
  
  A sepia-toned, swirling gas giant dominated by a large storm. Its four largest moons are an odd and colourful assortment.
  
  A pastel-clouded gas giant with large, dazzling rings and a cluster of icy moons.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  A thick, frigid nitrogen atmosphere presses down on a world of dunes and hydrocarbon lakes.
  
  Feral mining crawlers churn through the landscape, clustering
  together for warmth.
  
  > talk to the crawlers
  A low, rumbling moan is the only reply.
  
  > jump to neptune
  (You launch first.)
  
  A pastel-clouded gas giant with large, dazzling rings and a cluster of icy moons.
  
  A dark blue ice giant, brooding at the centre of a few tenebrous rings.
  
  It has captured an icy, pinkish planetoid as its largest moon.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  Geysers periodically erupt from the nitrogen ice surface, laying a faint mist over the horizon, below the deep blue crescent of Neptune.
  
  A crashed orbital racer has carved a groove through the surface, its fusion drive now long cold.
  
  > get drive
  (the fusion drive)
  You salvage the fusion drive and fit it to your own ship.
  
  > jump to the mercury
  (You launch first.)
  
  A dark blue ice giant, brooding at the centre of a few tenebrous rings.
  
  It has captured an icy, pinkish planetoid as its largest moon.
  
  It's not wise to jump to a world so close to a star. The distortion in spacetime can lead to side effects on arrival like extra limbs, psychosis and astronaut duplication.
  
  > jump to the uranus
  A pale blue ice giant with faint, dark rings and an insubstantial set of moons.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  A lightly cratered surface of dry and water ice, beneath the azure crescent of its parent world.
  
  Some long forgotten cult had its domed compound here, now only populated with a neat circle of human skeletons and a thriving population of stray cats.
  
  An eldritch book sits untouched in the centre of the circle.
  
  > talk to the cats
  They're cats. They just stare at you.
  
  > get it
  Taken.
  
  > read it
  Pages and pages of bizarre, psychedelic, stream-of-consciousness speculation about the "Others" the author claims lurk behind the thin veil of reality.
  
  > P.
  Known Merchants:
  -Grimo (Junkbucket Interior)
  -Matej (Surface of Cygnet)
  -Fono-H (Surface of Koltsov)
  
  Odd Jobs:
  -Delivering packages for Viktoria, orbiting Pearl
  -Hauling pods for Devrim on Cygnet
  -Autark Orbital Race run by Silver
  -Turn bounties in to Marshal Zila-S, orbiting Venter
  -Fish... somewhere?
  
  Other Opportunities:
  -None known
  
  Potential Buyers:
  persona of ERX Beta (Surface of ERX Beta), bookseller (Panopticon Interior)
  
  Cargo:
  an eldritch book
  
  > jump to Panopticon
  (You launch first.)
  
  A pale blue ice giant with faint, dark rings and an insubstantial set of moons.
  
  You orbit carefully in the shade of one of the huge solar panels Panopticon uses to leech energy from the intense blue star at the heart of the system. Panopticon itself is a glittering band of linked space habitats of all shapes and sizes.
  
  A fuel drone adopts a similar orbit, sending binary offers for
  a reasonably priced refuel.
  
  > Land
  Piercing starlight shines through broad skylights into multi-layered, over-sized streets that curve towards an inverted horizon. The air is thick with colourful holograms.
  
  A hyperspace conduit provides ready access to Hub.
  
  Decidedly non-humanoid cyborgs go about their strange business.
  
  several new arrivals at once.
  
  cluttered shop.
  
  > sell the book to the bookseller
  The bookseller turns the eldritch book over in its claws a few times, then sends you a simple data packet. "10k."
  
  > talk to the twin
  "So, you got an Imago Republic visa, saw the inside of Hardshell, met a molonk, entered the Orphanage, visited a world of cats, commanded a crew of four, caught a bounty... but we still need to win the respect of the amalgs, catch an alien sea creature, get a badass implant, win an orbital race, catch all the bounties..."
  
  > jump to the saturn
  (You launch first.)
  
  You orbit carefully in the shade of one of the huge solar panels Panopticon uses to leech energy from the intense blue star at the heart of the system. Panopticon itself is a glittering band of linked space habitats of all shapes and sizes.
  
  A fuel drone adopts a similar orbit, sending binary offers for
  a reasonably priced refuel.
  
  A pastel-clouded gas giant with large, dazzling rings and a cluster of icy moons.
  
  > Land
  A thick, frigid nitrogen atmosphere presses down on a world of dunes and hydrocarbon lakes.
  
  Feral mining crawlers churn through the landscape, clustering
  together for warmth.
  
  > jump to the eris
  (You launch first.)
  
  A pastel-clouded gas giant with large, dazzling rings and a cluster of icy moons.
  
  The frozen surface of this planetoid has been shattered by a cataclysmic explosion. Based on the amount of shrapnel in orbit - shards of ice and tumbling, fragmented warships - this was the site of some ancient, long forgotten battle.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  The horizon is deformed into a surreal inverse curve by the huge crater that has been blasted into the icy mantle.
  
  The corpses of ancient soldiers litter nitrogen glaciers, their spacesuits painted colours representing no nation you know of.
  
  armoured carapace.
  
  > talk to the soldiers
  Nothing but static.
  
  > take the soul
  It pops out of the slot with a brief hiss. The rest of the drone folds up and quietly self immolates, bubbling through the ice.
  
  > read the soul
  SELF: (event detected begin recording)
  
  ECHO SIX: Wait, does that mean-
  
  ECHO THREE: Nah, they'd never blow this rock. It's frickin' holy to them or some shit.
  
  ECHO SIX: Do you feel that?
  
  ECHO THREE: Calm down. You're imagining it.
  
  ECHO THREE: And that light on the horizon?
  
  ECHO SIX: You- I- Um... Echo Leader are you-
  
  SELF: (imminent termination soul hardcopy)
  
  > jump to the erx alpha
  (You launch first.)
  
  The frozen surface of this planetoid has been shattered by a cataclysmic explosion. Based on the amount of shrapnel in orbit - shards of ice and tumbling, fragmented warships - this was the site of some ancient, long forgotten battle.
  
  The dark surface of the airless world below is etched with dull patterns in the shape of circuitry.
  
  (Dr Pico-G pays you 1k for bringing him to a new world.)
  
  > Land
  Neat, right-angled channels cut through rocky terrain, crumbling at the edges. Hexagonal patterns, perhaps once prominent, now fade into the dirt.
  
  Natalya is camped out by an exposed vein of fibre optics.
  Wiring trails out into her headjack.
  
  > examine the list
  Arrest on sight and turn over to a Marshal at Venter.
  Successful bounty hunters eligible for visa chip.
  
  Phelim (terrorism) - 50k reward
  Kal-Y (piracy) - (caught)
  Natalya (fraud) - 25k reward
  Marisa (murder) - (caught)
  Pyrogut (war crimes) - 100k reward
  Rella (kidnapping) - (caught)
  Luciano (racketeering) - (caught)
  Yuzo-I (espionage) - 25k reward
  Jade (identity theft) - (caught)
  Reuben (bio-piracy) - (caught)
  
  > talk to Natalya
  Data scrolls rapidly across her pupils. Her sleek cyborg head requires no space helmet.
  
  "I guess humans didn't really make the ERXes, but we at least gave birth to them. This was infanticide. And it was dumb. Diasporans will never get the chance to harm anyone on the other side of the singularity a second time."
  
  > arrest her
  She holds up her hands. "Well, I've known this has been coming for a long time. I've been able to think quite a bit out here, and I'm ready to turn myself in."
  
  > jump to the Source 1
  (You launch first.)
  
  The dark surface of the airless world below is etched with dull patterns in the shape of circuitry.
  
  Great chunks have been ripped from this rocky planet. The debris of a staggering strip mining effort forms a multitude of unstable rings.
  
  uneven globe below, before boring into its surface.
  
  > Land
  There's not much sky left overhead, just a few ragged streams of gas spiralling towards the stars from great chasms that bubble with lava.
  
  Intendant Tivu-Q is in command of the world excavation, from
  deep inside a reinforced bunker.
  
  > talk to Tivu
  Even in his bunker, he wears an armoured spacesuit.
  
  "At such a late stage in the process, I don't need this self-replicating polymer any more. 4k credits? Someone will
  have a use for this stuff, but the Imago Republic can always just grow more for much less than the cost of shipping it off this rock."
  
  > talk to the cicerone
  A sleek humanoid of shiny black plastic. Its head is dented and cracked.
  
  "We are now in the Imago Republic, a nation founded by artificial humans in response to their persecution and oppression elsewhere. Recently, the Republic has begun tightly enforcing its borders, and a visa is required to land on all of its worlds save Venter."
  
  > buy the polymer
  You buy the self-replicating polymer for 4k credits, leaving you with 5138k credits.
  
  > jump to the erx beta
  (Jumping to ERX Beta, where you last saw the persona of ERX Beta.)
  
  (You launch first.)
  
  Great chunks have been ripped from this rocky planet. The debris of a staggering strip mining effort forms a multitude of unstable rings.
  
  uneven globe below, before boring into its surface.
  
  The dark surface of the airless world below is etched with complex glowing circuitry.
  
  > Land
  Lightning arcs across neat, right-angled channels cut through rocky terrain. The soil has crystallised into regular hexagons. And somewhere deep underground, something quakes and rumbles with mechanical precision.
  
  A holographic persona of ERX Beta stands on a stone dais.
  
  The tentacled engineer has taken up residence in an oxygenated blister.
  
  > sell the polymer to the Beta
  "I will purchase this self-replicating polymer for 14k credits. I have always acted towards humans with kindness and compassion, and the price I will pay reflects this. Do you consider this a fair price?"
  
  > talk to the cicerone
  A sleek humanoid of shiny black plastic. Its head is dented and cracked.
  
  "This world has no wider affiliation."
  
  > talk to the Beta
  The hologram is a vague reflection of your own appearance. It speaks in a voice tinged with bitterness.
  
  "I have allocated a tiny fraction of my mind to this simulation of a human personality. The rest of me is currently engaged in mourning and is otherwise unavailable. At this time, I have no requirement for trade."
  
  > jump to the Source 2
  (You launch first.)
  
  The dark surface of the airless world below is etched with complex glowing circuitry.
  
  A small rocky world, ringed by debris.
  
  An embryonic world excavator gestates in orbit, guarded by a serpentine war beast.
  
  > talk to the excavator
  The war beast hijacks the signal with a growl of intense static.
  
  > talk to the beast
  Screeching static an