Universe Online - Enter the Game: Complete Edition (7 page)

But survival comes first.

So I grab the Radiation Resistance for 400 CP, Scavenging Aptitude for 200 CP, Searching Aptitude for 200 CP, Aquaponics Aptitude for 200 CP, Growing Aptitude for 100 CP and the Cooking Aptitude for 100 CP.

For the Aspects, I keep it to the minimum.  I don't grab anything specific for the Radiation Resistance, and instead grab Range, Grow, Harvesting, Water, Air, Earth, Basic, Filling, Fast and Light Aspects.  Then I go back and grab Determination and Sight Aspects when I spot them before closing the window.

All told, my Aspect Web has become rather crowded, but I'm pleased with the results.  With one last look through of what's available, I do grab one last Aptitude.

Tied with the Reading, Writing, Learning, Understanding, Fast, Determination, and the Efficiency Aspects; my ability to pick up new things should be improved quite nicely.  It is also the last Aptitude I snap onto my basically full Innate Control Aptitude.

Now I'm left with just a little over 3000 Creation Points to spend, and I feel like my brain has melted from all the work I've put into getting this far.

But now its time to raise my Attributes!

I pull up the Character Creation Screen again and look over my stats once more.

After a little experimenting with buying and canceling spending my points, I figure out what it basically costs to up my Attributes.

It costs 10 CP per point up to 20, then 20 CP per point up to 30 and then 50 CP per point up to 40. It gets even harsher the higher you go.  The Applied Attributes take 100 CP per 100 points, while Luck takes 100 CP for 10 points.

After figuring that all out, I start assigning points.

10 points in Strength, Vitality, and Agility; bringing them up to 20 each for a total of 30 points, which costs 300 CP. I do the same for Intellect, Psyche, and Awareness, totaling 600 CP spent.  Then I drop 100 CP into Luck.

Total Spent so far: 700 CP.

From there it requires quite a bit of math, so I'm going to skip over all of that and simply state the results.

I spend the rest of my points as such, and even go ahead and buy 200 Psi and another 10 points in Luck with the remaining 300 Creation Points I had left over.

Aaaah!  Finally!  It has taken me a little over two hours to get this far.  I'm completely ready for a nap.  Almost.

Still, my racial bonuses are really nice.  Another player would have had to dump every Creation Point they could get their hands on just to get 80 in a single stat.

My Physical Attributes are also nice, but that only applies to when I'm in a proper suit.  Without it, I'd basically have Stats of 3 in them.  A full 90% reduction.  That'd leave me weaker than most kids.

”You have used all of your Character Creation Points. Are you finished?”

That woman's voice is back but I'm more than done with all of it.

“Yes. I'd like to try out the tutorial.”

”Very well.  Character approved.  You have two hours and forty three minutes remaining until launch.  You may go through the Tutorial Zone as many times as you wish during that time.”

The world goes black on me again.

-|- -|- -|-

*DING*

I wake up feeling cold and stiff.  Dim red light has flooded the small capsule I've found myself in.  Looking around, I realize that I'm equipped with my space suit and the mechanical harness attached to it.  My helmet is off to one side in an unused seat.

I grimace as the acrid smell of burnt plastic and metal greets my nose, more real than what I am used to.  The air is stale and heavy, obviously having become thick with CO2 and other noxious gases.  I unbuckle myself from my seat and grab my helmet, sealing it in place with a hiss.

Aaah.  The first breath of fresh air is refreshing, and I slowly stand up and check out my surroundings.  There aren't any windows in the capsule, and instead there is only a forward hatch and a larger one in the back.  I make sure to look over the interior of the capsule first though.

Four seats in a row, and a long crate mounted to the other wall against the floor.  Above it, the metal hull has been crushed in about six inches; probably from the impact.  I check the crate and find the starting supplies.  A week's worth of rations, air and water.  Some tools and even a small bag of seeds.

I pocket everything and then make my way forward.  The hatch is stuck, but I'm able to wedge it open with a bit of work and a crowbar-like tool I'd gotten from the supplies.

The front seat is empty though, and the console there is mostly smashed and sparking.  It takes me a few minutes to figure out how to shut it up without electrocuting myself.  There isn't anything else in what was obviously the cockpit.

Going back to the exit hatch, I make sure my suit status and supplies are good before hitting the emergency open button.  A small set of explosives jettison the large piece of metal.  But instead of falling, it starts to rotate out and upwards.  There's gravity within the escape capsule, but not in the dark room I've found myself in.

There is also no atmosphere, which means what was left of the stagnant air inside the capsule just got pulled out with it.  I nearly lose my footing from the suction of it.  Thankfully it doesn't last long.

Still, I cannot see more than a handful of feet due to the dim red emergency light from inside the capsule.  But the metal composite flooring is mostly bare, so I take the chance and climb down.  I'm really thankful that I went through the tutorial, because the transition between gravity and zero-g is more than a little funky.  And you have to  be able to control yourself very precisely.

I make it down though, and after a moment to test my footing, finally let go of the capsule to stand in this unknown space all by myself.

*DING*

I have to keep myself from chuckling as the messages pop up, and instead I close them after reading through them.

“A title, huh?  Well, home sweet home...”

-|- -|- -|-

Fun Fact #3: Never push the big red button!

Have you ever experienced darkness so deep and great that you lose yourself?  Feeling the pounding of your heart, the rasp of your breath in your ears?  The sort of darkness that may stretch on forever, and that there may be something
-else-
waiting out in the seemingly endless void?

My first steps into the space station were like that.  Only worse, far worse.

It was like the lack of gravity and the darkness outside of the dim light provided by the crashed escape capsule conspired to create a massive weight that chained directly to my mind.

In a word: Terrifying.

Utterly, ruthlessly terrifying.

You should know as well as I do that humans are beings born to live in light.  We need it to see, to act.  The night, the absence of light is basically anathema to us.  There's a reason why until the advent of artificial light we were only able to work when the sun was above the horizon.  Before that time, we'd crowd around our fires and try to sleep just to get away from the fear of it.

It’s a fear that rises up from our very instincts; from a place so deep and invasive inside of us that we've never been able to root it out.  Not even with modern medicine.

Even my breathing has turned heavy and rasping, with swift rapid pants that was sending me very quickly toward hyperventilation and shock.  I'm very much paralyzed as I stare unblinkingly into the darkness.

Several status icons have popped up in my lightly glowing HUD projected from my helmet; but I'm not able to concentrate on them.

Every instinct in my body is screaming at me, and all I can do is stand there like a frozen statue.

That is exactly how it goes for a while.

Slowly though, ever so slowly I come back to himself.  My breathing deepens, and something that'd been clenched inside of my mind slowly loosens then unravel.  Rationality kicks in, and with a rush the darkness loses its hold on me.

I actually let out a long sigh.  Finally notice I the icons that had popped up in my helmet that are already fading.

Shocked, Stunned, Suppressed.  Terrorized.  Traumatized.  A whole bunch of debuffs had hit me all at once.  But they are fading, disappearing even as I blink.

They didn't even have timers.

That means that they weren't created using skills.  It was the environment itself.  Unlike space, where the shine of the stars provide some backdrop to distract from the unending emptiness and blackness; in here there was no other light at all.  It was simply a void.

But I could feel the cold metal composite of the floor beneath my feet.  The soft hissing of the atmospheric unit of my suit keeping up with my air usage.  The rushing of blood in my ears along with the beat of my heart.  All of these things serve to anchor me to the here and now.

*DING*

I have to take a few more steadying breaths as I read the notices that have popped up, but by then I can only shake my head.  This game is insane.  People with weak mentalities or fears of the dark would have had a fucking heart attack if they'd gone through what I just had to.

It’s more than a little much, regardless of who it is.

Then again, that's why Universe Online can only be played by those who are 18 years old or older.

Those too weak simply wouldn't be able to survive the rigors of living in such a place.

Space, after all, is an unforgiving bitch.  We've known that ever since we pushed the first satellite into orbit around the Earth.  Simply advancing technology doesn't change that fact.

It’s survival of the fittest, and space itself is the last Boss character you'll ever face without any hope of winning.  All you can do is struggle to survive it.

That thought actually brings a grin to my lips.

Looking around though, I've noticed that I can 'see' my surroundings.  It’s like viewing everything through an old fashioned black and white TV, but it works.  Also, the dim red light from the capsule and the bare glow from my helmet projections also seem brighter, providing a greater contrast.

The effects of Dark Vision and Light Amplification are already showing results.

Back to the point though, I've found myself in some sort of storage bay.  There are crumpled and busted metal crates all over the place; some of them still slowly spinning around in the zero-g.  There is no air, so there's no air resistance to slow them down either.

Eventually, I probably would have been hit without even noticing it if I continued to stand in this position any longer.

Before that I had better check my stats.

“Status Screen.”

Hm. More points in Psyche, and thus more points in Psi. Not bad. Time to check my Aptitudes.

“Aptitude List.”

Whoah.  I had totally forgotten that my racial bonus basically doubles the starting level of any Aptitudes and Aspects I gain.  It is an instant win-win for me.  Except it'll be even harder to level them up from now on.

That list is rather massive too.  I'm almost dreading pulling up the list for all the Aspects I'd purchased or gained.

Still, I need the run-down.

“Aspect List.”

(There's already 55 of these bastards. It's a long list. Haha.)

Looking over everything, I contemplate a few changes to the Aspect Webs I'd set up, but decide not to mess with anything too much at the moment.  There are much more pressing matters to attend to.

First, I need to figure out where I am, and what is available for use.  That means finding access to power, air, water and food.  I'm more than willing to do everything the hard way, although I'd rather not have to go through all the trouble.  It would be singularly time consuming.

That being said, my space suit doesn't have any real motion controls for zero-g conditions.  No thruster pack or even magnetic boots.  So getting around is going to be a bit of an issue until I reach a wall or some other anchored structure.  That means slow going.

Even taking a step is a hard problem in Zero Gravity.  Without gravity to act as a countering force, your motion cause a 'bounce' that is both difficult to control and potentially dangerous.  Screw moonwalking, this is a thousand times worse.