NMS: THE NEXT ADVENTURER

NMS: THE NEXT ADVENTURER

LOST

The traveller awoke from the oblivion of unconsciousness. The awakening did not happen all at once, as though some switch had flicked on inside vis head. Rather, it was a more gradual process of sights and sounds forming amidst the nothingness of a deep sleep. There was no shape to those sights, nor form to those sounds. They were just vague impressions emerging in and out of semi consciousness.

The traveller did not know where ve was or who ve was. For all ve knew, ve had never existed until a few moments before that time when ve could trace vis thoughts back to those first impressions of vague awareness. Every attempt to trace those memories back further and locate some core identity resulted in a dead end. The traveller was the ultimate stranger, unknown even to virself, lost on an unknown world.

The traveller could see, though, and as vis eyes adjusted to the bright light of day, vis surroundings came into focus. Ve struggled to vis feet and stood at the edge of a steep slope that offered a panoramic view of the surroundings. Great clouds drifted through a purple-tinged sky, casting shadows that hugged the contours of a rugged landscape. Everywhere was dust and rock.

But no, not quite. The traveller noticed plants, each with a single, gigantic leaf, enduring the hot wind that ceaselessly…

A persistent and repetitive audio signal snapped the traveller’s attention away from the scene. Although memories of who ve was were missing, nevertheless some recollections were penetrating the fog of amnesia. The sounds were not good news; they were a warning that the traveller’s exosuit was running low on power.

The traveller stared down at vis own hands, clad in thick, orange gloves. Ve became aware of how peculiar vis breathing sounded, occurring as it was within the confines of a helmet. The traveller’s exosuit was effectively a personal habitat, providing protection from the inhospitable environment just centimetres away, beyond the Perspex of the visor. The situation was not good, but nor was it desperate. The traveller remembered-or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say ve instinctively knew-that ve was equipped to maintain the suit’s integrity via the gathering of resources.

Prioritising was the key to survival. Focus on the most urgent tasks and accomplish them swiftly, but not so hastily as to end up making a mistake. Out here, on an alien world with nothing but your own equipment and survival skills to depend upon, even small mistakes could be costly. The traveller brought up diagnostics, and important information seemed to float in space before vis eyes. “Recharge thermal protection with sodium. Locate sodium with scanner”.

A small, orblike device, perched on the traveller’s shoulder, sent out a pulse of blue light that quickly spread out to touch every object in the vicinity, bringing back information regarding its molecular composition. A source of sodium was located, and the traveller set off in the direction indicated.

The going was arduous. A steep slope had to be negotiated, and the traveller was only too aware of what a tear in the suit could mean as be scrambled down amidst small rocks with sharp, jagged edges. Care had to be taken, but at the same time, the warnings were becoming more urgent as the traveller’s exertions taxed the exosuit’s ability to maintain a comfortable environment, draining the power to the point where the power indicator had gone from yellow to orange. It would not do to take too much time.

Reaching a valley, the traveller walked up an incline, the signal indicating the presence of sodium growing stronger. Holding up a multi-tool, the traveller attempted to pinpoint its source. Was it that clump of blue crystals? The results were negative. What about those red, barrel-shaped plants that looked like spineless cacti? Another null reading. Maybe it was that yellow flower? Success!

The traveller aimed the multi-tool, and a green beam of focused light shone from it and touched the plant. It was atomically disassembled, relevant elements taken by molecular-sized robots that hurriedly constructed the necessary components with which to restore power to the exosuit.

With power indicators back to the reassuring colour of green, and the audio warnings now silent, the traveller became aware of a more melodic sound. It was barely audible at first, but it grew louder as its source grew nearer. Following its direction, the traveller gazed skyward. There was a creature, its voice clear and songlike as it soared through the air on feathered wings, with a mammalian head that….

A priority signal attracted the traveller’s attention. Along with the source of sodium, the scanner had picked up another item of interest. Now that the exosuit had adequate power, this item, whatever it was, had become top priority.

The traveller headed off in the direction indicated. As the day drew toward a close and the shadows grew longer as daylight gave way to dusk, the traveller spotted a plume of smoke rising beyond the crest of a hill.

Upon ascending its slopes, the traveller came across a crashed spaceship. Unusable, obviously. The smoke and sparks pouring out of damaged areas made that conclusion undeniable. But, even so, it was a ship. It could be repaired. Escape from this place was possible.

The traveller lay a gloved hand on the ship’s hull, as if to express gratitude for its presence. As ve ran vis fingers across its smooth surface, a thought came to mind. Was it not too great a coincidence that a downed spacecraft should just happen to be here? The only plausible explanation was that the spacecraft belonged to the traveller. But, struggle though ve might to remember where this machine may have taken the traveller before ve ended up in this place, the traveller could form no such recollection. If the traveller was to ever rediscover who ve was, the answers would have to be found out there, amidst the stars that were emerging as night fell on this mysterious world…

The adventure continued.

Thanks to Hello Games for the images.