Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hello journal. This is Sunil. How have you been? I’m feeling super right now. I finally found my way off this damn cubic world. No more watching all my hard work get reset after a certain number of days passed. No more surprise attacks from monsters. No more having to survive off mushrooms to retain my sanity. This endless cycle has finally reached the end. Now that I’ve properly built this goddamn Door, I can finally go home!

Day 0: Before the Fall
God dammit.

The nightmare continues. Where am I now? I don’t know, but it has curves. This world, thankfully, has curves. I never thought I’d see the day where I could truly appreciate the aesthetic nature of curves. I love me some curves.
I must be losing my goddamn mind. This is what that cubic world has done to me. But thankfully, I’m no longer in that world. Unfortunately for me, this still isn’t home.

This time around, I’m on a space ship. In space. As if that wasn’t obvious enough. I don’t recognize a lot of the technology, so this is quite the huge shift from what I had to deal with in previous worlds. I particularly like this thingymabob called a ‘Fabricator’ that seems to have these things called blueprints that can reproduce a lot of things like food or items or even vehicles. So it’s kind of like a 3D printer… whatever that is. So cool. I wonder if it can make a Door?

It can, but it’s not the Door. Oh well. I made some yarn to take my off things for a couple of hours. It was great. Say, I wonder where this ship is going? I should probably ask someone about it.

My role this time around seems to be a combination of researcher and construction worker. I’ve never done any sort of research in my life. Well, okay, no that’s not true. I’ve had to research a lot of things in the previous world in order to survive. And back when I was a slave there were a lot of construction projects I had to do because my Beorc overlords didn’t want to get their delicate hands dirty. So I guess I do have experience with both aspects. This particular ship, the Aurora, is gonna terraform a planet. What’s terraforming? Ah ha. So basically we’re gonna take a planet people can’t live on yet and make it so that people can live on it. Colonizing and stuff. Cool, I can dig it. What planet are we colonizing?

A planet that’s pretty much all water.

…

Can I get off this ship yet? I really, really, REALLY don’t want to be here anymore. No? Okay.

Day 0: The Fall
Well, I think I familiarized myself with the layout of the ship. Good thing there are maps everywhere. There’s a canteen area that I’ve become fairly accustomed to now, but I can’t understand why these people think eating these flavorless bricks (I guess they call them rations?) are tasty. I guess it fills you up and gets you the necessary vitamins and nutrients (thanks science), but I like my food how I like my friends: colorful and exciting. And tasty, but you can’t your friends… can you?

My ears! They bleed! Can they not turn off that loud annoying sound?! Wait, there’s something being said.

[[The Aurora has been hit by a pulse blast of some sort. Nuclear reactor has taken substantial damage. Probability of ship destruction around 98%. All hands, evacuate the ship. Please go to the escape pods.]]

I don’t like the sound of that. Uh, where are the escape pods? Okay, here’s a map, and the escape pods are… here! Okay. Time to flee! D:

Okay, managed to snag an escape pod. On my way over here, something grabbed me and forced me into this really tight outfit. The voice was saying something along the lines of it being a wetsuit and how it’ll protect me in the water. I have no idea what that means. Most of the other escape pods are already gone. I don’t know if there’s anyone else coming, so I guess I have to go on my own. How do I launch you…?

Day 1: Stranded
[Oh man, my heart’s racing. That was probably the second most terrifying experience I’ve had. So, I guess I have some things to recap. First off, I managed to launch successfully. That’s the good news. Bad news is, I got to see the ship explode right in front of my eyes through the top of the escape pod. How is that bad news, you ask? Well, the force of the explosion damaged my escape pod and one of the panels got dislodged and went flying everywhere before it hit my head. I blacked out after that.

When I came to, the escape pod was on fire. I don’t do well with fire. Fire is terrifying, especially when you’re trapped with no way out. My flight instincts couldn’t kick in because I was trapped, so I had no choice but to fight the fire. My only saving grace was that there was something included with the escape pod that can put out fires, so I made good use of that after a bit of a panic attack. (it’s called a fire extinguisher. Nifty). Unfortunately, my journal was destroyed by the fire. However, I managed to salvage this little doohickey from what was left of the escape pod. I’m currently using it to log this entry. Would ‘logging’ be the right word? It looks like it’s voice-activated and recording my words for this entry. So it’s basically happening in real time so I can make a journal entry without having to think back on the event. It’s called a ‘PDA’ (What does it stand for? Public Displays of Affection? Pat Dat a**?) and comes with a little female voice assistant. It seems to keep a record of all sorts of things like my health, hunger, thirst, and air among other things. I think I’ll call it Rita (AI) because she’s always looking after me and it rhymes with PDA. Yes, it does sound like Pee-dah and Rita rhymes with it. Kind of. I dunno. At least I won’t be alone this time. Let me take a look around the escape pod and see what I have to use.]

[So I seem to have about 3 days’ worth of food (ew, rations) and a little less of water. There’s also these things that Rita (AI) has identified as flares that would be good for lighting up an area. All that is in a storage locker. There are two fabricators on board. One of them is the same as the one on the Aurora so I can make stuff with it. The other seems to generate first-aid kits every once in a while. That’s nice. I actually took some damage from when I got hit by the panel, so I patched myself up. No more blood on the face! There are also 3 self-sustaining power cells (some sort of pocket-sized energy source. Makes me think of using Thunder-type tomes to generate power) to power the escape pod.

Now for the things that don’t work. The radio transceiver is out. I think it’s because the wiring from the panel that bopped my face was damaged from the explosion, and that’s what caused the fire in the first place. I should probably get that fixed, because according to the writing on the wall, the ‘gravitational anchor’ and everything else is malfunctioning, meaning that I could potentially drift from my current location. And that would be bad.
According to Rita (AI), I’ve been out for about 3 hours after the Aurora exploded. I should check out the fabricator and PDA a little more.]

[So the PDA comes with some entries on what to do when in an emergency situation and what to do when stranded on a deserted planet. That’s handy. I’ll be sure to try to follow along with it to make my situation a little better. The fabricator has a lot of items it can create, but I’ll need to get materials to make them. It’s divided up into 1) [Basic Materials] with the subcategories of [Basic Resources], [Advanced Resources], and [Electronics], 2) [Cooking] with the subcategory of [Water], 3) [Personal] with the subcategories [Equipment] and [Tools], and 4) [Dispensable]. More things might be added as I discover them. I think I want to look at the [Personal] options first and go from there. It looks like… I want to first get a [Scanner], then a [Survival Knife]. A [Flashlight] would definitely be handy, and – Oh! I should look into the [Welder] and [Habitat Builder] as well. Those are from the [Tools] option. Under [Equipment], I will definitely need these [Air Tanks] and [Fins]. I should also keep an eye on my food and thirst levels. I don’t want to use the emergency rations and water unless it’s my last resort.

But how do I get these materials to make these things? Like, how do I acquire [Titanium] or [Quartz] or even a [Battery]? Let me take a peek outside of my Escape Pod through the top side. Will I be able to breathe out here?]

[Oh. Oh no. I’m completely surrounded by water. This… this is my nightmare. I am more than likely going to die. Where did I go wrong in my life to deserve this sort of end? At least it looks pretty out… if it wasn’t for the giant wreckage of the Aurora just ahead of me and the large amounts of water around me that probably go down into some dark, scary area that has never seen the light of day and there are big scary monsters out here in the water that will more than likely eat me and and and oh gods my heart’s racing so much my poor heart can’t take this.

Hrbaoglgh. Ugh, that tasted nasty. Lunch overboard. I’m getting seasick too. I’m… just gonna go sit in my escape pod forever and hyperventilate now kthxbai.]

[So… I managed to find something hidden under all the emergency stuff in the storage compartment. It’s a single syringe with some liquid stuff in it. Rita (AI) has identified it as a [stimulant] of some sort that will supposedly deal with my hyper-anxiety with water and make it so that I can at least manage go out into the ocean without passing out from terror. It’ll also deal with any sort of seasickness I get. How long will it last? Is it permanent? How do I use you – oh, I just need to pop the cap off of it and – wow, that is a sharp needle. I don’t really do well with sharp, pointy objects and – whoops, I accidentally just stuck myself with the sharp pointy tip. Thanks waves. Guess I’m just gonna have to go through with it.]

[I should have probably looked up the side effects of doing this but TOO LATE NOW. Is it working?]

[I guess I’ll have to go out again to see. Just gotta climb up this ladder and… oh hey, water. I guess it works. I don’t feel nauseous looking at the ocean anymore. Can… can I enter the water? I mean, that’s where I gotta go. Let me just put on my helmet and take the plunge and see. I’ll know if it doesn’t work if my body just suddenly seizes up and I die or something.]

[Oh. Oh wow. It’s actually really colorful down here. I was not expecting this. I was expecting it to be dark and dreary but it’s vibrant and full of color. And the fish! I wanna catch some and eat them! Wait. How do I swim?]

[After several attempts of floundering and flailing about, I think I can swim now. It’s not the most graceful movements, but I can at least move now. I do need to keep an eye on my oxygen levels because there’s a limit as to how long I can stay underwater. Uh… 45 seconds is apparently my limit. Boy, I’m sure glad I at least have a suit on where I can talk underwater. There’s no way I could manage this without it. It’s my little safety container to protect me from the water.]

[Hm? Rita (AI) is pointing me towards a rock near me and telling me to break it. Uh… *tink* *tink* *tink* *boosh*! What’s this? Oh. I found some [Copper Ore]. Don’t I need this for the [Battery]? Huh. Cool. What else did I need for it? [Acid Mushrooms] or something? If I see any, I’ll take them. I’ll probably just explore for now.]

[There’s another escape pod near me with the number [3] on it, but it’s at the bottom of the ocean. It’s literally right next to my escape pod. At least this area’s shallow. But… I don’t like the look of that sunken escape pod. It’s damaged. There’s a hole in the side of the escape pod that looks like it was melted through from extreme temperatures on the inside. The edges of the hole are still really hot, but I can’t tell if this was done during or after we crash-landed on this planet. I wonder if the guy who was in here is okay? I can only hope that he and the others are okay.]

[Alright, I’m back at my escape pod and I think I have enough materials to make myself some cool things. Let’s start with the [Scanner] since that’s probably going to be the most useful thing I’m ever going to get. How do I feed the items to you, Fabricator? Do I just set them on the shelf that pops out? Okay, yeah that works. Got me a [Scanner]. Time to scan everything.]

[Oh, it’s getting dark soon. Should I stay out, or should I explore some more and get a better feel for my immediate surroundings? Hmm. I think I’ll wait a little and see how dark the water gets.]

Night 1:
[I’m standing on top of the escape pod now, and I’m looking at the water. Does it get dark? Oh wow. It is so bright underwater. Everything just lights up. The plants, the fish, even the rocks. I might actually do some more exploring. Yeah, let’s do that.]

[So about the area I landed in with the escape pod. It’s pretty shallow. There’s all sorts of colorful fish out here. Makes me feel like I’m in a tropical area. Let’s see if I can scan some of them with the [Scanner].

There’s these large-eyed chirpy fish called [Peeper] that hang around here. I tried to catch some of them but they’re fast. Like, really fast. If I could move as fast as I can on land in the water, I could totally run laps around these guys. But sadly, they’re too quick for me now. But someday, I will catch you. And I will eat you. Or maybe make you my little fishie friends. I dunno. There are also these transparent sac-fish called [Airsack] that are around here. They’re not too fast but they are slippery little devils. I managed to catch a few. Then there are these green fish shaped like a boomerang that are actually called [Boomerang]. They’re also slippery little devils that are somehow difficult to catch. But hey, I only recently learned how to swim! Cut me some slack here. Other critters include the purple fish with a hole in the back [Holefish], the yellow fish with red light fins and eyes on little antennae [Garryfish], blueish-green fish with green links on the top and bottom [Hoopfish], and these clicking-sound critters that have a single large eye and a claw backside called [Shuttlebug]. I can grab everything but the [Shuttlebug], but I can’t catch the [Peeper]. Oh well. I’m kind of hungry so I’m going to go back to the escape pod and see what I can do with these fish.

There are also these large tube things made of coral, [Quartz] crystals, [Writhing Weed] and [Acid Mushrooms] on the seabed. I can’t do anything about the coral or weed yet, but I did snag me some of the [Quartz] and [Acid Mushrooms] to bring back with me. I also grabbed a few of the [Metal Salvage] I found lying around, but they take up a lot of space. I think they’re part of the Aurora, and I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t be using them for something else but at this point no one will complain if I use it to survive, yeah? Let’s just lug this back to the escape pod.]

[So I tried a [Boomerang]. It wasn’t too bad, but it did leave me a little thirstier than before. I hope there’s a better way to eat these things. Fabricator has given me an answer by allowing me to [Cook] or [Cure] the fish. I can also use the Fabricator to make [Distilled Water] using the [Airsack]. The air sacs on them are apparently really good at filtering out particles in the water, so if I use one and run some seawater through it, it’ll get rid of most of the nasty stuff and the water will be drinkable. That’s handy. Thank you, science.

Oh gods, the fish taste so much better after cooking them. Forget eating it raw, cooking is the way to go. I should learn how to cook, you know? It could make mealtime a little more interesting.

I can also break down the [Metal Salvage] to get a bunch of [Titanium], and I can refine the [Quartz] to make [Glass]. I’m going to use some [Glass] and [Titanium] to make an [Air Tank], so that I can probably stay underwater a little longer. 45 seconds is not enough to work with, and I’d rather not drown if I can help it.

The [Air Tank] gave me another 30 seconds of air, so that bumps me up to 75 seconds that can be spent underwater. Less, because I do need to surface or find something that will replenish my air supply. There was some coral I found called the [Purple Brain Coral] that seemed to release air bubbles. I need to figure out how I can make use of this. Can I carry a bit of it with me and just have an unlimited supply of air, forever? Would be nice. At the moment, I don’t have the means of harvesting it.]

[Rita (AI) is running some numbers and calculating my chances of survival and what will be the most likely thing to kill me. That’s a rather sobering topic after all this cool stuff I found. Let’s see what my chances are. Malnourishment, dehydration, and drowning seem to be top contenders. So is running into hostile creatures. This thing called ‘radiation poisoning’ is pretty low, but she said it’ll become the most likely thing to kill me if the Aurora explodes. I don’t know much about ‘radiation’, but I know a lot about ‘poisoning’, and that’s bad. I think I’ll be screwed if the Aurora explodes.]

[I took a peek at the Aurora from the top of the escape pod, and it looks stable… for now. I don’t know how long this fragile peace will last, but I hope it doesn’t end anytime soon.

I should get some sleep. There will be more exploring and crafting in the morning.]

Day 2: Disaster
[It’s the second day of being stuck on this planet. Honestly, things could be a lot worse right now if it wasn’t for that stimulant. But you know what? I can manage. Somehow. I don’t know how, but I can and probably will. So let me explore my options for today.]

[I took a look at the data in the Fabricator, and it seems to have something useful for me to combat radiation poisoning on the off-chance the Aurora explodes. Under the [Personal] > [Equipment] section, there’s a dive suit called the [Radiation Suit] that will protect me from radiation. To make it, I’m going to need to get [Lead Plates] and [Fiber Meshes]. I don’t know how to get [Fiber Mesh] since it’s not listed anywhere in the Fabricator’s databanks, but I can make a [Lead Plate] with [Batteries]. So I’ll need more [Copper Ore] and [Acid Mushrooms] for that. So let me grab some more of those.]

[I have decided to name this area the [Safe Shallows]. Why? Because it’s shallow and it’s safe. The seabed’s fairly close to the surface and I haven’t found anything hostile… yet. There’s another area not too far from my escape pod (if we’re using cardinal directions and this sun is anything like the sun I know, then it’d be like south or southeast) and it looks different than the [Safe Shallows]. I think I’ll check that out today. There might be some things out there that I haven’t found yet that might make my life a little easier.

It’s so… green. There are vine-like seaweed plants that stretch out from the seabed up to the surface. Some of them are fairly thin, while others are thicker and have large bulbous ‘seeds’. The [Scanner] has identified them as [Creepvine] and the seeds are [Creepvine Clusters]. I don’t know how to get the [Creepvine] itself, but I can take the [Clusters] back with me. Lemme just grab a couple and – wow these are huge! Will my small pockets be big enough for all of this? Thankfully they’re not too heavy but jeez!]

[Okay, so there’s some new stuff I can make with the [Clusters]. Two of them will make a [Silicone Rubber], and three make [Lubricant]. I don’t think I can do anything with the [Lubricant], but I know a lot of things need the [Silicone Rubber] like the [Fins]. I do have the materials to make them, so let me do so now.

Alright, I’ve got my [Fins], so I should be able to swim faster now. Awesome. Maybe I can catch those [Peepers] now.

Oh, [Silicone Rubber] can make a [Survival Knife], and I have the materials to make a [Flashlight] with [Glass] and a [Battery]! I should go back to that seaweed place for some more!]

[I think I’m going to name this green area the [Creepvine Forest], because it’s just loaded with these [Creepvines]. I wonder if there are other places like it in this ocean? What about the [Safe Shallows]? Are there more of it too? There’s gotta be. The ocean is a big place.]

[Rita (AI) seems to be scanning the Aurora and said something about the ‘dark matter reactor’ reaching 85% or something. I don’t know what that is, but hopefully nothing bad happens? Lemme just grab some more of these [Creepvine Clusters] and swim on back to the escape pod. I wonder if I can grow these so I don’t need to go out all the time to the [Creepvine Forest]? I probably don’t have the means to yet, but it would be nice.]

[Ah… never have I felt safer with a blade in my hand. It’s weird. Normally I don’t like using metal weapons, but something about a [Survival Knife] might actually be enough to fend off the more aggressive creatures. It’s sharp and pointy, but thankfully it’s facing me. The [Flashlight] will definitely make nighttime exploration a little safer, especially in the darker areas.

I am a little worried about the Aurora though. Ever since Rita (AI) mentioned something about the [Dark Matter Reactor] I can’t help but feel like something’s going to happen. Let me just get on top of my escape pod and look at it. Wait, the PDA has a log of what Rita (AI) said earlier. Let me read it and see what she was talking about.

[[Warning: Local radiation readings exhibit characteristics consistent with total degradation of the Aurora’s dark matter drive core. A quantum detonation will occur with a probability of 85.5%. Advise observing from a 1km safety range.]]

Wait wait wait. There’s a chance that the ship’s gonna explode?! I think I might be too close! I need to get out of here! Whe—

[[Emergency: Seismic readings suggest that a quantum detonation has occurred in the Aurora’s drive core.]]

Oh no.

[[The reactor will reach a super critical state in T-10, 9, 8 --]]

Wait you’re counting down?! Nonono too fast! Too fast! Wah! Abandon ship! Swim like you’ve never swum before!

[[3, 2, 1--]]

Argbognbgahl!!!]

[So. The Aurora exploded. It definitely looks a lot worse now, and I think I swallowed a lot of seawater after getting flung about in the water from the blast. Urp. I think… I’ll be okay. The escape pod was apparently just far enough away from the Aurora that I’m not caught up in the radiation, but it will probably spread and there will probably be something called a ‘fallout’. I don’t know what that means, but all the more reason to start building up a [Radiation Suit] ASAP. All I know that it’s no longer safe to go out towards the Aurora without the suit. I wonder what will happen to the fishies that live out near there. Are they going to die? Or are they going to become terrifying abominations?

Oh, right. While I was being flung about in the water (I was near the surface at the time. Looking back, that was probably pretty stupid. What if I got radiation poisoning?), I noticed that large chunks of the Aurora were blasted into the ocean. I didn’t see where any of them landed, but I think I can go check them out. Maybe they’ll have useful things inside that will make my life easier out here.

Let me just catch my breath and calm down, and then I need to go find more [Copper Ore] and [Acid Mushrooms]. I still don’t know where I’ll find the [Fiber Mesh]. Maybe I need the [Survival Knife] for it. I also want to get more materials so I can try to make another [Oxygen Tank] and maybe a [Welder]. The escape pod wasn’t looking too good before because of the fire, and after the Aurora blew up it’s really not looking too good. Worst case scenario, I might have to abandon it, so I might want to look into that [Habitat Builder] too. The [Welder] needs [Magnesium] which I can make using the [Salt Deposits] I see lying around near [Acid Mushrooms], a [Battery] which I know how to make, and [Crash Powder]. Once I figure out how to get the [Crash Powder], maybe I can repair the escape pod and get a little more use out of it. For now, let me take this one step at a time.

Let’s start with the [Quartz] because of how necessary it is. With a second [Oxygen Tank] I can dive longer and thus get more materials. I think I saw some in a cave near a tower-like structure outside. I can worry about the [Radiation Suit] and [Welder] later because I don’t know where to find the [Fiber Mesh] and [Crash Powder] for them.]

[That’s a weird soun—oh gods what are you?! Swim away swim away ack is it homing on me?! Do a barrel roll!]

[I was just attacked by a red balloon-like fish that chased after me and then exploded. Thankfully I managed to flounder far enough away from it that I managed to avoid getting hit by the blast, but still! First the Creepers, now these things? Why do the worlds I end up stranded on always have to have an explosive guy? Are there more of them in that cave opening?! Let’s approach it a bit more carefully… okay, there’s no more in there. Let me grab that [Quartz] and check out this weird plant thing that the balloon fish came out of.

Huh. So according to the data I pulled using the [Scanner], the red balloon fish is called a [Crash] and it lives in this plant called a [Crash Home]. Sometimes, the [Crash] leaves behind a [Crash Powder], which this one did. That means I can make the [Welder] and fix up the escape pod. Awesome.
This is probably a bad idea, but I’m going to keep looking in the caves around the [Safe Shallows] because I know I saw a bunch of [Quartz] in some of them. Maybe I’ll find some cool stuff in there, but hopefully I don’t run into any more of the [Crash].]

Night 2:
[I really don’t know what to say because I’m just in awe of how colorful and lit up the seabed is in the [Safe Shallows]. I guess I’m not really used to having a voice-activated journal that I can use to record my thoughts and what’s been going on. Don’t get me wrong, I love having these events recorded in real-time, but there’s only so much commentary I can make when I’m focusing on gathering materials. Unless you like to hear me say “oh, found some more [Acid Mushrooms]. Now I can drop acid and get high off shrooms at the same time!” Except that’s a terrible idea because these things probably don’t taste good… right? Hm. I actually don’t know. Should I try sampling an [Acid Mushroom]? I mean, I’ve got some on hand right now for all the [Batteries] I’ll be needing. Maybe just a small lick…

Eye maid aye mish-take. Eye canth fheel mah tung. Wurst eyedear evuh.]

[Can Eye tulk nurmally nao? Noh.]

[Finally. That took forever. Never doing that again. I’m surprised I didn’t burn a hole through my tongue. Probably would have if I didn’t just barely touch it with the tip. That’s gonna get taken out of context. I really need to be more careful with my wording oh hey, this is a new kind of rock. [Sandstone Outcropping]? I usually see [Limestone Outcroppings]. I wonder what’s inside?

Ah ha! I found some [Silver Ore]! Wait, don’t I need this for a [Computer Chip] to make a [Habitat Builder]? What else did I need for the [Computer Chip]? Was it just some [Table Coral Samples] and [Quartz] to go with the [Silver Ore]? Huh. That saves me a lot of time. There’s plenty of [Table Coral] around here since they’re the ones on the walls, so it’s pretty much already made at this point. I wonder if there’s any more [Sandstone Outcroppings] in this cav – oh no not another [Crash]! Run away! *kaboosh* Gah! I’ve been hit! Man that hurts!]

[Well, I think that’s all I’m going to get for now. I’ve snagged plenty of [Quartz], [Copper Ore], and [Acid Mushrooms], two or three [Silver Ore], and enough [Salt Deposits] for [Magnesium]. I managed to get another [Crash Powder] from the [Crash] that hurt me too. Man, I’m so glad I decided to make a [Flashlight]. There’s no way I would have been able to notice the other [Crash] and the outcroppings in this darkness. I’m going to see what’s at the end of this tunnel… hm? The air – er, water—changed color. I swear it wasn’t me. I don’t see any other fish here though. Wait, isn’t this the same color as the water around the [Creepvine Forest]? Huh. I must have entered it just now. I think I see some light up ahead… so I think dawn’s approaching which brings us to…]
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To be continued...