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GEK FACTORY PUZZLES
PuzzleType: TRA_FACTORY
Alien: Warning! High temperature!
Something deep within the complex is malfunctioning. Surfaces feel hot to the touch. Hidden machinery clanks and whirrs.
A bead of sweat rolls down my forehead.
{Engage coolant chamber network}
Danger indicators plummet.
The facility springs into life.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Activate fusion dampening field}
The system no longer responds to my commands.
{Initialize laser refraction systems}
The system remains inoperable.
Alien: Mining production stalled! Low power! Uncommon isotope required!
All systems have stalled. Warning lights blink on and off.
Vaults that usually store uncommon elements mined on the planet have run low...
{Insert uncommon isotope}
The production facility becomes operational.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Insert common isotope}
Lights flicker, but my offering clearly wasn't enough.
Alien: High gas pressure! Breach detected!
The outpost is offline. My exosuit's atmospheric toxicity gauge starts to flicker.
Figures on the terminal suddenly plunge downwards. There's a leak in the system.
{Vent excess gas}
Toxicity levels stabilise.
The facility is operational.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Flush coolant chamber}
The facility remains non-operational.
{Increase system pressure}
Toxicity levels rise.
I breathe in damaging fumes.
---DAMAGESMALL---
---HAZARDSMALL---
Alien: Fusion critical! Initiate emergency radiation dampening measures!
A warning panel shows a power core overwhelmed from the inside. Strange symbols pulse urgently.
This is a nuclear system. All bad news...
{Activate radiation dampening field}
The fusion breach is contained.
Production returns to normal.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Shut the system down}
The facility powers down safely.
It releases unused resources.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
---SUBST_FUEL---
{Evacuate in panic}
There isn't time.
An instant energy overflow pulses through me.
---DAMAGESMALL---
Alien: Warning! Increase oxide delivery! Warning! Excess oxide catalyst usage creates radiation breach!
The terminal oversees element usage. I can adjust the amount of oxides pouring from resource vaults into the production systems.
Warning lights flash, and a timer ticks down...
{Maintain oxide levels}
The system ceases production.
{Increase oxide levels}
The system maintains its production.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Dramatically increase oxide levels}
The system maximises production.
A radiation breach occurs.
---DAMAGELARGE---
---RECIPE_LIST---
---USEFUL_PROD---
Alien: Warning! Magnetic coil overcharged! Production low!
I feel heavy. My multi-tool pulls me down, and my helmet forces itself into my shoulders.
It's not just me impacted. Production processes are going haywire...
{Reboot gravitational stabilisers}
Gravity momentarily destabilises.
The system remains inoperable.
{Reduce electromagnetic flow}
The facility springs back into operation.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Power down facility}
The facility powers down.
Some systems align, and residual elements become available..
---RECIPE_LIST---
Alien: Warning! Unexpected system detected! Bypass chip template detected! Gek Trade Federation informed!
The terminal isn't running proprietary code. It's possibly illegal, and emptying resource vaults of rare silicates.
I could revert the facility to its original use, but I could also see where the system hijack leads...
{Revert system}
The system reboots, and rewards me.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Insert rare silicate}
The system hijack uses my resources to create an illegal, but useful, device.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_DEC_TRA---
Alien: Friend! Know language, know commerce! Units buy knowledge! Choose Vy'keen, choose Korvax or choose a refresher in the language of the benevolent Gek!
Three vast columns of words endlessly scroll on-screen, each in a strange alphabet. Bloodied runes scratched in sand, precise sequences of dots and a hand-written font full of exclamatory punctuation.
Each comes with separate unit cost.
{Select the bloodied runes}
I learn some of the language of a distant warrior race.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---TEACHWORD_WAR---
---TEACHWORD_WAR---
{Select the dot patterns}
I learn some of the language of a distant scientific race.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---TEACHWORD_EXP---
---TEACHWORD_EXP---
{Select the hand-written font}
I learn how to better communicate with a local race of strange beaked traders...
---RECIPE_LIST---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
Alien: Gek Trade Federation dispatch! Planetary oxide demand high! Collection ship imminent!
My scanner picks up traces of rare elements in nearby trade vaults, but the security alert is closing them off.
The terminal is tracking an approaching trade ship. If throw some elements in before they lock, I could benefit...
{Insert rare oxide}
The trade vault closes on my offering.
A relieved beaked trader shouts its thanks through the speaker systems above the noise of the alert.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Insert rare silicate}
The trade vault slams shut.
I only receive a small payment.
---MONEY---
{Insert rare isotope}
The trade vault slams shut.
I only receive a small payment.
---MONEY---
Alien: Warning! Resource vault flooded! Production system operation forbidden!
There's been a recent fire alert. The screen is wet to the touch. Panels in the ceiling drip where a sprinkler system has been engaged.
A warning flashes on the terminal.
{Drain capacitor banks}
The system sputters a little, then dies.
{Drain resource vault}
The drained resource vault feeds rare elements into the production system.
The facility is back online.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Drain laser-assisted replication tank}
The facility remains offline.
Alien: Friend healing and repair station initializing!
A biological probe launches from the terminal and pierces my exosuit. It's pinned deep into my chest. I can barely move.
There's no indication if this is the facility's function, or a security measure.
{Escape}
I use my jetpack's propulsion to pull back and break the probe.
It contains something useful...
---RECIPE_LIST---
{Wait}
The probe pumps healing liquid into my exosuit.
I am healed, and my equipment is repaired.
---HEALTHLARGE---
---RECIPE_LIST---
Alien: Warning! Product recipe unselected! Assign recipe! Gek Trade Federation lose units!
The alarm has rebooted the facility. An automated start-up routine is running.
Three chemical symbols flash on-screen: a silicate, an isotope and an oxide. Machines around me hum as they warm up...
{Choose the isotope}
The installation start-up procedure is completed.
It rewards me with a product formula!
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Choose the oxide}
The installation start-up procedure is completed.
It rewards me with a product formula!
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Choose the silicate}
The installation start-up procedure is completed.
It rewards me with a product formula!
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
Alien: User warning! Common oxide resource vault empty! Production permanently disengaged!
The production facility is dormant, but still has enough charge to operate. The resource vaults that feed the alien machinery are empty.
I need to act quickly, but the element I need isn't immediately clear...
{Insert common isotope}
The isotope is drawn into the production chamber.
It makes no impact.
{Insert common silicate}
The silicate is drawn into the production chamber.
It makes no impact.
{Insert common oxide}
The oxide is drawn into the production chamber.
Production is renewed. The facility awakes.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
Alien: Alert! Alert! Liquid frenium leak! Charge cylinders frozen! Increase temperature!
An unknown fault has forced the whole system offline. I exhale deeply and notice condensation appearing in my visor.
It isn't long before the security alert will force a total shutdown.
{Activate incineration banks}
Warmth spreads through the facility.
Systems return online.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Supercharge coolant flow}
Systems remain frozen.
The air takes on an icy chill.
{Initialise charge cylinder sequence}
The noise of muffled explosions can be heard beneath my feet.
Alien: Electrolyte acidity test positive! Acidity slug detected! Release alkaline neutrality fluid into solution tank!
A recent scan shows a small alien lifeform crushed in the machinery below. Equipment all round it has corroded.
The impact has been near-catastrophic. Emergency measures have initialised.
{Neutralise electrolyte solution}
The acidic taste in the air subsides.
The installation is operational.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Acidify heridium tanks}
A complete system shutdown is initiated.
{Release suspension fluid}
A frenzied chemical reaction can be heard somewhere beneath my feet.
A complete shutdown is initialised.
Alien: Resource vault fire detected! Element stockpile destroyed!
Something, somewhere in the facility is on fire. A faint smoke begins to rise, and my scanner registers a steadily increasing temperature.
Whatever product is created here won't last long...
{Starve production chamber of oxygen}
The facility will require extensive repair work.
{Starve resource vaults of oxygen}
Flames lick the edges of the resource vault, before automated systems initiate.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Initialise facility sprinkler system}
The facility sprinkler system briefly operates.
It has no impact on the internal fire.
Alien: Entity! Geological scan in progress! Medial strata mined. Uncommon isotope required to recall. Danger! Rare isotope overcharges!
A geological probe is buried deep below the installation. If I'm quick, I can call it back up to the surface - along with its cargo.
Resource vaults are empty. I need an isotope with the right amount of power...
{Insert common isotope}
A deep, distant noise of thunder is heard.
The process does not have enough power to bring the probe to the surface.
{Insert uncommon isotope}
The noise of underground thunder shakes the facility.
A mechanical procedure deposits a reward into my waiting hands.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Insert rare isotope}
The probe's return mechanism is overpowered.
It collides with the gravitational well. Nothing can be salvaged.
Alien: SENSORS REPORT INORGANIC BLOCKAGE IN SECTOR 9A
The factory recycles bundles of clothing and other materials harvested throughout the galaxy, spitting out new items for Gek exosuits.
Amidst the detritus of the production line, the body of a Korvax scientist appears to drift, their lights disabled, their limbs completely motionless.
The factory's systems allow outbound communication. Numerous options are available.
{Report to Vy'keen}
I report what I have seen to the Vy'keen. The warriors are outraged, claiming that the Gek have returned to their genocidal ways.
They promise to dispatch warships at once.
---STD_INC_WAR---
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Report to Gek}
I report what I have seen to the Gek. They claim that this is a terrible mistake, and that the perpetrators will of course be punished.
They send through a generous reward for my altruism and my silence.
---MONEY---
{Report to Korvax}
I report what I have seen to the Korvax. They tell me that the carapace in question is empty, its soul returned to their Convergence.
They will dispatch a ship to bring the body home, claiming that it is of sentimental value to its previous owner. They thank me.
---STD_INC_EXP---
.png)
#20
Alien: Danger! Excess power! Decrease energy use immediately! Delivery at maximum!
Systems are super-charged despite the security alert. Equipment beneath my feet buzzes and whirrs with a high intensity.
Suddenly, I detect the smell of burning. A warning appears.
{Reduce power delivery levels}
Power delivery is reduced across the board.
The installation returns to acceptable activity levels.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_EXP---
{Increase fan power delivery}
The added strain on power delivery leads to a small internal fire.
Systems are now offline.
{Increase coolant power delivery}
The added strain on power delivery leads to a small internal fire.
Systems are now offline.
#22
Alien: Databank back-up process stalled. Common silicate required to finish process.
The alarm has triggered the instant incineration the elements used here. The process they were being used for, however, is still online.
My scanner is picking up traces of silicates, but there's no indication of which ones.
{Insert common silicate}
The facility uses my element, and feeds it back to me in a new form.
---RECIPE_LIST---
{Insert uncommon silicate}
The facility takes in my element, before the resource vaults judder and spark.
The system becomes non-operational.
{Insert rare silicate}
The facility takes in my element, before the resource vaults judder and spark.
The system becomes non-operational.
#30
Alien: Warped flesh with metal, saw the truth - the truth - the -
The terminal shows numerous schematics relating to the technology of Sentinel drones and walkers.
The creators of this facility appear to have been particularly interested in something called a Vortex Cube. They were attempting to replicate its design.
Sensors in the bowels of the factory show strange signs. Something still shakes down there in the darkness, something neither alive nor truly dead...
{Purge depths}
I use the factory's purge protocol to release a gas into the factory's depths, apparently causing the hidden creature to lie motionless.
I take what technology I can find and leave. No good can come of remaining here.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Take Vortex Cube}
I take a Vortex Cube and leave. No good can come of remaining here.
---R_CAVECUBE---
{Scan for Sentinels}
I initiate a scan for Sentinels. The result is incorrect... it must be. According to this scan, they are all around me, watching me even as I stand here.
I take what technology I can find and leave. No good can come of remaining here.
---TECH_ALL---
#31
Alien: Where is entity?! Transfer failure / non-existence / terminate! Transfer, transfer!
The factory appears to produce replacement parts for the exosuits of the alien Korvax, spitting out face mask after face mask, arms, datapads, even feet.
As I witness the production line on the terminal, one of the disembodied masks begins to scream.
The terminal awaits input, a timer informing me that a ship will be on its way quite soon.
{Reassure the mask}
I reassure the mask, telling it that a ship is on its way. I show the mask its surroundings, transmitting audiovisual data on the entire complex.
The mask appears to calm a little, but still it shakes with a deep and abiding terror. It awaits rescue.
{Report system malfunction}
I report a system malfunction, causing the mask to immediately grow still, purged of its individuality.
---R_CURIO7---
{Cease production}
I initiate a shut-down of all production, causing the conveyor belt to cease movement. But soon, something else happens.
The various other limbs on the production line begin to shift, moving towards the mask as if to assemble themselves into a bipedal figure.
But they just flail past one another, some of them falling to the floor, others beginning to spark energy. They merely possess the illusion of life, nothing more.
#32
Alien: MONITOR SYSTEM NORMAL... ALL LIFEFORMS WITHIN OPERATING PARAMETERS
The terminal shows a variety of motionless lifeforms standing in colossal rows in the darkness beneath the factory.
They look like Gek and Vy'keen, unblinking, apparently unaware of where they are.
{Initialise system}
I initialise the system, causing the lifeforms below to wake up. They lurch forward, their heads slowly turning towards the camera. They reward me for my assistance in their awakening.
---STD_INC_EXP---
{Report to Gek}
I report the factory's existence to the Gek authorities. They respond with anger and fear, claiming that this complex and others like it produce 'SynthetiGek', artificial versions of the Gek for espionage and infiltration. They reward me for my assistance.
---STD_DEC_EXP---
---STD_INC_TRA---
{Report to Vy'keen}
I report the factory's existence to the Vy'keen authorities. They respond with confusion, promising to send starships to uncover the factory's purpose.
---STD_DEC_EXP---
---STD_INC_WAR---
#33
Alien: Echoes fade. Origin remains. Start of time, Korvax will persist... Even in face of end. Even before abyss.
The factory is unlike the other Korvax facilities I have seen. It does not appear to produce machines or files, but strange reams of a plastic substance, covered in precise sequences of dots.
It looks like writing, but what use would the Korvax have for such primitive communication?
{Shut down production}
The dots on the plastic rolls appear to move as I look at them. No good will come of this place. I shut down production.
Amidst the detritus of the factory, I find some discarded technology. Perhaps it will be of use.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Report to Korvax authorities}
I report the factory's existence to the Korvax authorities. They claim that the installation was not for me to see, paying me dearly for my silence.
---MONEY---
{Steal technology}
I attempt to steal technology, but the factory's automated defense systems blast a bolt of energy at my suit instead. Whatever is here, it is not worth the trouble.
---DAMAGESMALL---
#34
Alien: Trapped in system... please, help me...
The factory stands vacant, producing nothing. The production lines have long since ceased, and though the alarm sounds, it is unclear why.
A voice calls out, sad, alone.
{Start production}
I start the production line once more, restarting the assembly of what appears to be Korvax body parts.
After a short time, enough parts have been assembled for a lifeform to rise and thank me profusely for its rescue. I am rewarded for my efforts.
---TEACHWORD_EXP---
---STD_INC_EXP---
{Wipe system}
I wipe the system. The error is fixed.
{Alert Korvax authorities}
I alert the Korvax authorities to their faulty factory. They dispatch a science team to examine the anomaly, thanking me for my trouble.
---STD_INC_EXP---
#35
Alien: TRANSFER IN PROCESS: 38% PROGRESS. SEE MORE DETAIL?
The factory produces components for starships, fabricating them using the resources available on this world.
This installation creates parts for Korvax exploration vessels. They are asymmetrical, prioritising verticality and function far more than the worldview of any organic organism would allow.
When I examine the terminal more closely I see a transfer in progress. Data leaps from ship to ship, altering blueprints as it goes.
{Disable process}
I disable the process. The factory abruptly grinds to a halt for a few moments before the process begins anew.
The machine fires a bolt of energy at me when I try to interact again. The console communicates in broken speech, telling me that these ships are not tools to be turned on and off.
The console tells me that Korvax ships are living bodies, just like Korvax bipeds... all contain the souls of the scientist race.
---DAMAGESMALL---
{Attempt download}
I attempt to download the data. As I do, a sound emerges from the console, from the walls, from every component in this entire installation...
It is the sound of screaming. The data is mine. I receive nanite clusters to form as I desire.
---TECHFRAG_M---
{Wait and watch}
I wait and watch the console.
After a few minutes, the process is complete. I see it then, clear upon the screen: each Korvax starcraft is alive.
Each of their ships has a soul, no different from the bipedal bodies in which they normally stand. I have witnessed the birth of new entities.
---TEACHWORD_EXP---
#24
Alien: // TOXIC // ATMOSPHERIC // INVISIBLE//
An automatic process has scrambled the output of the terminal. I can make out a few words, but the rest is lost in static.
They could lead me to the overseer's workflow, and bringing the facility back online.
{Gas}
The electronic overseer's workflow is restored.
The system comes back online.
---TECH_SUIT---
---STD_INC_EXP---
{Shield}
I fail to access the electronic overseer's workflow.
The installation remains offline.
{Exosuit}
I fail to access the electronic overseer's workflow.
The installation remains offline.
#14
Alien: Warning! Temporal capacitor disengaged! Production time loop detected!
I rapidly flick through alien warnings to discover what's brought the facility offline. All too late, I realise I'm doing the exact same thing again. And again.
I've done this before. Many times.
{Recharge flux crystals}
I loop in time for several days.
An automated process eventually rescues me.
{Engage temporal capacitor}
The temporal capacitor ends the time loop.
The facility resumes operations.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_EXP---
{Reset clock}
I loop in time for several days.
An automated process eventually rescues me.
#25
Alien: // HIGH // ORBITAL // TECHNOLOGICAL //
My intrusion has led to the work underway on the primary terminal being scrambled. It's a jumble of words.
Using what's visible I can reboot the overseer's workflow, and get systems online.
{Satellites}
The electronic overseer's workflow is restored.
The system comes back online.
---TECH_SHIP---
---STD_INC_EXP---
{Asteroids}
I fail to access the electronic overseer's workflow.
The installation remains offline.
#6
Alien: Korvax research log. Primary entity: product recipe research. Secondary entity: technological blueprint reconstruction.
Two electronic lifeforms are registered on this terminal.
The primary entity's work is full of complicated chemical symbols, the secondary entity focuses on diagrams of electronic circuitry.
{Login as Primary Entity}
The primary entity's workflow procedure provides some useful knowledge.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_EXP---
{Login as Secondary Entity}
The secondary entity's workflow procedure provides a technology blueprint.
---TECH_ALL---
---STD_INC_EXP---
#11
Alien: Eheu Entity! Vital words accidentally corrupted? Pay units to relearn!
A wired metal dart springs from a panel and slams through my visor. It pierces the skin on my forehead, and I feel a faint electrical current.
Whether ransom, paid service or security device - the terminal seems to want payment...
{Insert units}
I learn more of the binary language of the electronic lifeforms.
---TEACHWORD_EXP---
---TEACHWORD_EXP---
{Insert units}
I learn a little of the binary language of the electronic lifeforms.
---TEACHWORD_EXP---
---TEACHWORD_EXP---
---TEACHWORD_EXP---
{Remove dart}
I remove the dart.
The terminal's processes conclude.
---SUBST_TECH---
#26
Alien: // CRIMINAL // STARSHIPS // CONTRABAND //
The security alert that's firing is jamming the terminal. Static covers most of the screen, obscuring nearly all relevant information.
The words left unobscured could lead me to the outpost's current research focus...
{Pirates}
The electronic overseer's workflow is restored.
The system comes back online.
---TECH_SHIP---
---STD_INC_EXP---
{Traders}
I fail to access the electronic overseer's workflow.
The installation remains offline.
{Orbital station}
I fail to access the electronic overseer's workflow.
The installation remains offline.
#2
Alien: Warning. Calm, entity! Contact Convergence technology entity for help
The primary terminal is non-responsive, but comms seem open.
I can open up conversation with whoever - or whatever - installed it.
{Request remote help}
The bright lights of an electronic lifeform appear on a nearby screen. It chitters brightly.
I receive a reward for my report.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_EXP---
{Hard reset the system}
The facility becomes entirely unresponsive.
#17
Alien: Warning! Vy'keen vessel transmission detected. Data upload to starship.
The installation has been hacked. A coded transmission has breached security and is stealing data.
Two wavelengths are open. One from this planet's surface, and the other from high above.
{Block planetary signal}
The coded transmission takes full control.
The terminal powers down.
{Block orbital signal}
The coded transmission is blocked.
The facility returns to an operational status.
---RECIPE_LIST---
---STD_INC_EXP---
{Report intrusion}
The transmission is blocked.
I receive a note of thanks from the facility overseer.
---TECH_ALL---
---USEFUL_PROD---
---STD_INC_EXP---
#23
Alien: Help! Feed me silicates! With silicates I escape! Combine with technological Korvax Entity! Escape!
The terminal talks to me. A basic AI program rapidly spells out words in the language of the electronic lifeforms.
At my feet, a resource vault hatch falls open.
{Insert common isotope}
The AI program is unaffected.
It powers down the terminal
{Insert common silicate}
The AI program escapes the terminal.
Systems become operational.
---TECH_ALL---
---STD_DEC_EXP---
{Insert common oxide}
The AI program is unaffected.
It powers down the terminal
#27
Alien: // WORSHIP // PRAISE // RED // ORB // JOURNEY // STARSHIP // ATLAS //
The security breach has obscured the screen with a glowing red orb. Few readable words remain.
Working out what the overseer was studying here would reestablish its workflow...
{The Atlas}
The facility pulses red. I am energised. I am thanked.
I am complete.
---TECH_ALL---
---STD_INC_EXP---
{The Foretold}
The facility pulses red. I am energised. I am thanked.
I am complete.
---TECH_ALL---
---STD_INC_EXP---
{The Traveller}
The facility pulses red. I am energised. I am thanked.
I am complete.
---TECH_ALL---
---STD_INC_EXP---