The Empyrian Space-port

I look at the massive structure and see this is the most active part of the city. I don't know anything about the world of Empryian. For all I know, this is the only space-port. My mind zooms through calculations and probability. The exact odds of this being the only space-port on a non-chain world. It's 37.17% of being the only one on the whole world.

There are surely others. In truth, I don't even know the name of the city I'm in, only the world I'm on. I look around for any signs of the name of the city. My mind is racing through all the information I'm absorbing. My traits are no longer jumbled chaos. It's now calculated precision. My mind and body had adjusted, it seems, perfectly to the abilities in my head.

I look through the memories and information from all I have seen. I can recall everything I've looked at, heard, or felt since I've spawned in. My mind shoots to a memory of a giant hairy beast speaking to another. The name of the city is said, I'm in the city of Newton-14. My mind slows down into a calm and cool, relaxed state now that I have the answer to my question. Thirteen other Newton cities on different planets must exist.

I turn my attention back to the giant space-port that reaches into the clouds. I begin walking to the entrance. There are so many different races coming and going from this place. I ignore all that and focus on what I came here for, how much a personal starship would cost. I enter the space-port and see a giant sign as I enter.

The sign reads BP SpacePort. I crack a smile at the strange name of the space-port. I look around and see many different departments. There are what looks like bounty hunters and mercenaries. They are hanging out near a department themselves. I can deduce that it's someplace people in their line of work go to get jobs and get paid.

I see plenty of other departments down my left and right. It goes in a circle. The space-port is in the shape of a spire, so it makes sense that it goes in a circle like this. I decide to go left and walk. I notice that other players have also made it here. You can tell them apart from the expressions they wear. I continue walking until I see a shop a lot of players are standing in front of.

I look up and see a sign. It's a starship store. I walk up and look through the windows like everyone else. I see that the store is actually much larger than it looks. It has a personal hanger and actual starships on display. I look at the hanger, and it leads to a launchpad on a gravity rail. My mind works out the math and science as I stare. The gravity rail brings ships in and out once they land on the launchpad. It's using powerful magnates and using the polarity of atoms as a natural stabilizer.

The problem-solving stops, and the information is stored in my brain. "Can you believe the cheapest starship is 1.4 million credits... I've only gotten my hands on four so far..." I squint my eyes as I hear that. That's a big credit goal. I've only got 760 credits. To get the cheapest one, I'll need 1,399,240 credits.

It's going to be a while before anyone gets off of Empyrian. I'm sure once people find out ways to earn money efficiently, it'll be an easier number to hit. Instead of just staring through the window, I walk to the door and actually go inside. Once inside, I stare at all the ships and technology. As I do, they all appear in my head and disassemble.

Each piece, big or small, is memorized. I see how each starship on display is built, how the technology inside it works, and any errors made in its current state. Once everything my eyes have laid upon has been disassembled and memorized, I take a small breath enjoying the new wealth of knowledge. This is what the Primordium race is gifted with. In The Aeternus Universe, I'm the very last of them.

As I continue to stare at the starships, an older-looking alien walks up to me. He is tall and slender, without hair, and has big colorful eyes. "May I help you with anything?" A calm voice exits the alien's mouth. She is a she, by the sound of her voice. "I do not doubt how much money you have, but before you do any shopping, we need to see your credit balance." Her voice stays calm and even. I turn away from her and stare at a starship on display.

The particular one I'm staring at has a catastrophic failure in it. I saw it in my mind when it was disassembled. "That is the Star Crawler RXC. It's top of the line in terms of combat, single-seat, of course." I walk up to it, and the tall, slender alien follows me.

I look at her and back at the Star Crawler. She doesn't know. I could help her out. "May I see the hyperdrive?" I ask her with subtle confidence and wait for her response. I can see the slight hesitation on her face. The catastrophic problem I saw was with the hyperdrive. "I promise I won't damage anything. If I do, you can charge me for it." I don't doubt that this ship is more expensive than 1.4 million credits. She looks at the ship and nods her head with slight cockiness. She must think I know nothing about starships. I know everything about everything in this entire room. Thanks to my traits. She waves her hand for me to try. I walk up to the Star Crawler and climb the ladder to the top.

I immediately head for the middle of the ship and open a panel that leads to the hyperdrive. I go into the crawl space and barely fit. I can hear the tall alien woman demanding I come out, but now that I'm in here. I don't ever want to leave. I think about the problem, and my memory goes straight to the problem I saw when my mind first disassembled it.

I crawl to the specific section and see that there is a damaged quantum converter. I reach for it and gently pull it out. If someone tried jumping, they would have likely died. The other possibility is a quantum split into all realities, but that's extremely low—around 0.00017% of happening. I place the quantum converter in my inventory, and as I do, I get a notification from the system. I open it as I carefully make my way out of the crawl space.

[Discovery for player Scott Autumn!]

[Way's to leave Empyrian]

[Explanation: There are 3 main ways to get off Empyrian. The first being the purchase of a ship with credits. The second being a shuttle off-world and to another. The third being the construction of your own ship. While there are plenty of other ways to get of Empyrian, these are obvious. Good Luck!]

I get out of the crawl space and see the frustrated-looking alien. I see another standing next to her. This one is slightly taller with deeper skin color. This must be her male counterpart. I get off the ship and walk towards them. She is about to start chewing me out, but the male holds up his hand. "If you damaged anything, you will pay for it." I hear the seriousness in his voice. This must be the guy in charge of this store.

I smile and pull the damaged quantum converter out of my inventory and hold it in my palm in front of him. He looks at me, slightly confused, and picks it up. The reality of the situation dawns on him, and shock spreads across his face. "How did you know... That was to be sold soon too..." I look back at the ship and smile.

I take a breath calming the excitement from being inside the technology of the ship. "None of your other ships in here are damaged. I suggest you talk to whoever brought you that Star Crawler. That quantum converter has been damaged for a while. They most likely knew when transporting it here, on another ship. That is how it got here, right?" The tall, slender alien nods his head in confirmation. "Thanks for all your help. I know everything I need to now." I turn to start walking away, but the tall alien's hand lands on my shoulder gently. I guess he wants to continue talking. I turn around again to face him and wait for him to start. These aliens are around 6'10 and 7'0 feet tall. So they tower my 6'3 height.

He puts the damaged quantum converter in his inventory and looks me in the eyes. "I won't ask how you know that. I do want to ask you if you want a job?" I nod my head in excitement, my first doable mission. "I have some starships in the back that need working on if you prove useful. I'll pay you 10% of the worth of every ship you fix. That sounds fair to you?" It sounds really fair to me, but I have a way better idea run through my mind. I have been thinking of new ship designs ever since I disassembled every ship in the store with my brain. I already have a ship I want to build.

I take a breath to prepare my answer. "Instead of paying me, can you give me parts and technology to build my own ship?" He looks at his female counterpart, and their eyes glow slightly. They are capable of telepathy. How cool is that? They both look back at me and nod their heads. This is working out great.

I watch them open their arms in the direction of their backroom workshop. I even get to start right now. This is awesome. It will not be long before plenty of players begin to leave Empyrian. I want to be one of the first. As I enter the shop, I get two missions. I open them to read.

[Fix the Ships!]

[Description: Fix every ship in the workshop]

[Mission difficulty: D+]

[Rewards: Small reputation boost with the Kalarians]

[2,500 EXP]

[Note: Due to personal traits, the difficulty is much lower, normally it would be an S grade.]

[A personal Starship]

[Description: The reward for your work with the Kalarians is all the supplies you need to build a ship.]

[Mission Difficulty: C-]

[Rewards: Personal Starship.]

[15,000 EXP]

[Note: Quality of the starship depends on you. It'll be rated from 1 star to 10 stars.]

[Note: Difficulty of the mission is lower due to traits, would normally be SS+]

As I read the last two notes, I get another message from the system. I open it to read it to.

[Discovery for player Scott Autumn!]

[The grading system.]

[Explanation: There are 2 grading systems. The first being for quest difficulty and ship parts. Ranging from F- all the way up to SSS+. The second being for starships and mecha suits. These range from 0.1 stars all the way to 10.0 stars. Learning more about mecha suits and starships is up to you. The tech you put into starships and mecha suits affects its star rating.]

I love this game way too much already. I smile as I look at all the things in this workshop, and they get disassembled in my mind. I'm going to have too much fun.