Lore Appendices

Ahem… I wanted to be a little more solemn in inaugurating the first log of the study of this impressive discovery, but I've recorded this three times already, and I honestly don't care anymore.

Out with the important stuff: Luis Alejandrowic, interim research lead of the crew of the Colony Ship Sunnyhome. Or… well, what's left of it, really. We arrived in this system in date 03.10.2179 when our sensors detected a new element. To research it, we headed towards this system, however a mysterious subspace disruption separated the crew. My group is the one that was on the bridge at the moment of the incident. Under the command of captain Martin Falk, we have set up a temporary base in the system's green nebula.

In there, we've accidentally stumbled on an unprecedented find: an enormous artificial structure in a spherical shape. It appears to be inert and gravely damaged, with a giant hole in its side from which we've been able to glean a look at its hollow interior. Curiously, its walls are lined with what looks like cryogenic pods. They're empty and without power, yet appear to be far more advanced and complex than anything I've ever seen in my life. I'm sure chief researcher Yoshida would've loved to see this.

Anyway, we're going to study this machine. It likely holds many secrets that could help us figure out something about this mysterious star system.

I'll keep this log updated with any new finds but for now, Alejandrowic out.

Bonadan told me they managed to find another group of refugees. This place is more inhabited than we thought. I've already asked for any of them skilled with electronics or archaeology to be assigned to my group - this might be the most important work a human has ever done.

Anyway, back on the relevant subject: the spectrographic analysis of the dust surrounding the machine has just finished, and it seems it might be helping us shed some light on the nature of the material it's made of.

It's… something we have never seen before. It's some kind of alloy, clearly, because the spectral patterns don't match a single element, yet they don't match the pattern of any known element. If it's something completely novel and unknown, it might explain why our attempts at traditional chemical analysis have failed - and why it's seemingly impossible to break, even to get a small chip off of it. It seems like we'll have to leave material analysis for a little more, so the electromagnetic patterns will probably be next.

Progress with the machine is glacially slow. It seems like chemical and physical analysis methods will have to be phased out. There's only so many times I can hear “the readings are off the scales” before it all starts blurring together.

As expected, the dust covering the machine is a thick coat of various cosmic dust materials, as expected of something that sat inside a nebula for so long. However, aside from all the expected stuff like ice, polycyclic hydrocarbons and silicates, there's also something that wasn't expected: traces of an element unique to this system which we've dubbed Trinium.

It might be the secret behind the impossible resilience of this thing's outer shell, since there was an extremely small amount. Even titanium would've been ground to dust by all the micrometeoroid impacts and constant radiations and chemical oxidation that no doubt occurred in the abyss of time this thing has sat here.

Which prompts a really disturbing question: what the hell was capable of blowing *that* big a hole in it, then…?

IT SPOKE! Granted, in a language we don't yet understand but … Well, it did! Initially, we thought these soundwaves were only mechanical noises, of things grinding with each other, but it wasn't! IT WAS EFFING TALKING THIS WHOLE TIME! That … That changes so many things! And we even figured out how to somehow change the encoding to something clearer to the human ear. Bunch of “O” sounds, like some kind of bad lyrical music. That, or singing Tibetan monks from the old Earth, to quote one of the interns.

How can something so old, and seemingly unpowered at that, still be somewhat working? It's like these machines are … alive, somehow? Especially since it's so old. We decided to allocate most of our resources to study its language. With a bit of luck, it might be able to understand us, or even better : to give us answers.

Imagine that - we'd be talking with a machine holding data dating from far before the Symbiotes even existed. And perhaps they could give us the information we're all craving: why aren't the Symbiotes following us here?

Spoke too soon, I guess. Yesterday's enthusiasm got extinguished pretty quickly when analysis of the signal coming from the machine revealed some kind of repeating pattern in its transmission - it might be a prerecorded message of some kind, possibly by some kind of hidden transmitter we can't detect.

Or at least, that's Bukharin's opinion. Frankly, I understand his perspective - he's an engineer, a practical man who doesn't have time for this kind of flights of fancy. But there's too many things that don't add up. The repeating patterns don't make up the majority of the message, for starters. If it were prerecorded, you wouldn't expect it to be so long, and the repeating pattern would be much clearer.

I still believe it's possible to establish contact with this machine. Even if it's not some kind of true AI, it could still be able to hold a conversation of some kind. My request to get our linguists to work on this has gotten the Captain's greenlight.

Updates will follow, hopefully.

I… I saw something under the glass of the machine's cryopods. They were empty, I'm sure of that. We looked inside every one of them. Something must've changed after I tried inputting frequencies similar to the ones of the machine's transmission into the base's radio system. I got a transmission I'd never gotten before, as if this thing was actually talking. But what the hell is it saying? I really am going crazy trying to figure this out.

Maybe it's best if we stopped now before it's too late, but the captain insists - he says… says this is the solution he's been looking for, and he's willing to risk it alongside us.

This stupid hunk of metal is mocking me, I'm sure of it. It's gone back to its old predictable transmissions now. And I STILL can't figure out what they mean! I've tried new inputs but it appears to be stuck. What the fuck am I missing?

Palmer wanted to go back to check on the cryopods, to see if I'd just hallucinated something inside. What a stupid idea. Those pods are a waste of time. The key is in the transmissions. It HAS to be!

I'm sure of it now, I'm slowly becoming crazy. I did so since I learned their language, and it got worse after I taught the others.

Why ? And how ? How can words, even in a strange language, fuck with your mind this much ? The worst thing is that most people seem to still be working together even if they're acting strange, sometimes even psychotic, they're just … It's like everyone that they don't know is nothing to them anymore.

Captain Falk is even more affected than the others. The other day he asked me if we could clone him. Out of the blue, like that. What the fuck. What's happening to us ? What are we becoming?

I… I've figured it out. Klang help us all, I've figured it out. I wish I hadn't, but I did. I went back inside the cursed machine, and looked in the pod. Something was in there, something human… why, why?

I know what this thing is. What I don't know is… why? What have we done to deserve this? What unpardonable sin have we committed to be condemned to this limbo?

I looked outside. The stars are out. The nebular gases get in my suit, I tried to get a coffee. It was all green.

We're the last star in the universe. We're dead, and this must be the afterlife.

The captain gave me the order to talk to the machine again. I did. It answered.

And then… the pods opened. I saw myself staring back from those pods, times a thousand.

The log seems corrupted. All you hear is strange metallic noises and static. If you pay closer attention, you can hear what sounds like a disturbing, distorted laugh in the background at some intervals, then more metallic noises.

A new voice replaces the previous one. The familiar one of Captain Middle-Finger

Look over the horizon, what do you see?

A far away comet lights up the dark with fire of gold and blood-red. Ice seeps into your veins.

A green blot is the festering wound in the Milky Way's hollow shell. The skin of the sun. It will eat the skin of the sun, and then be born anew.

We will all be born anew. A bright sapphir'd light guides the way, like a lighthouse to the weary mariner, guiding him to perdition into the abyss of the sea. Land and water, sky and space, exchange of place.

The end of the Chain is Horizon's beginning.

Horizon's beginning…

Today, we stand as the victors in the face of tyranny, as the architects of our own destiny, and as the avengers of a thousand injustices suffered under the heel of the Damascan Empire! The fall of that oppressive regime, the empire born in the Damascus system, is a testament to the indomitable spirit of a people pushed too far, the spirit of those who refused to kneel any longer!

The Empress, and all her lords who feasted while we starved, who reveled in their opulence while we toiled and suffered, are no more. They have met their just fate, cast down by the hands of the very people they oppressed. We have decimated their power, reduced their grand palaces to rubble, and shattered their illusions of invincibility!

The Damascan Empire, once a symbol of unbridled greed and cruelty, now lies in ruins, a testament to the might of the oppressed when they rise as one. Our revolt was not just a moment of chaos; it was a calculated strike against the heart of tyranny, a blow that reverberated through the cosmos!

Today, we mark the end of the Damascan Empire, and we herald the dawn of a new era—a future where power belongs to the people, where justice prevails over oppression, and where the spirit of revolution lives on, inspiring others to rise against the chains of tyranny. You, the people, have been lied to. A lie meant to control the masses with both fear and hope. A lie called ATK-07. There is no ATK-07, and our riches will no more be sent to wherever the nobles kept their golden castles.

Let the fall of the Damascan Empire serve as a warning to all who would seek to exploit and subjugate the masses. We, the people, will never bow before the oppressor's yoke, and we shall always rise, united and unyielding, against those who dare to oppress us!

Long live the revolution! Long live the free and united people of Damascus!

Vik Shal, Leader of the Revolution [Communication closes permanently]

Today, I stand before you to address a somber event in the history of our galaxy - the collapse of the Solar Republic. It is a moment that serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and challenges that can arise when civilizations extend their reach beyond the confines of a single system.

The notion of a space republic was a testament to our boundless human potential and our desire to explore, discover, and more importantly to put an end to the Symbiote threat. It was a bold experiment, an attempt to unite diverse peoples and cultures under a common banner, fostering cooperation in the boundless expanse of the cosmos.

However, as we have witnessed, such grand aspirations are not immune to the same frailties and conflicts that have plagued societies throughout history. This collapse is a poignant example of how the weight of governance, the struggle for resources, and the inevitable differences in values and beliefs can fracture even the noblest of endeavors. After the election of Bartholomew Hubskutchs, the Republic collapsed into faction infighting for power, while the Damascan population was left with nothing but despair.

In the darkness of this collapse, we must find the strength to envision a brighter future, one where the lessons of the past guide us toward a more peaceful and prosperous coexistence in the vast tapestry of the universe. Yet … All of this cannot become a reality unless you, fighters of ATK-07, behead our enemy and put an end to the Symbiotes. Bear in mind this means you have, for the foreseeable future, no easy way of going back to Damascus. You are now our only hope. I will leave this task into your hands, because I believe in what I saw. I believe in a future where factions are able to cooperate.

But I … I am tired of fighting. It was an honor fighting by your side. Thank you. For everything.

Elise Hurlevent *Sound of a gunshot*

Datapad #4
Log. The shadows are long, and our hope is dim. The Symbiotes have spread their corruption, their influence seeping into every crevice, every metallic vein of this station, every cable. Time's become a distorted mirror, days melting into nights, weeks into mere blinks of cosmic horror.

The engineers, our dear colleagues, have become nothing more than grotesque statues, their forms distorted by the insidious grip of the Symbiotes. The rich purple hue of their bodies bears testimony to the relentless invasion. It's a chilling sight to behold, a grim reminder of the unseen enemy within our walls. And yet, I'm afraid it will not stop there.

Datapad #5
We’ve been burning the infected areas, but it's like trying to hold back an ocean with a sieve. The Symbiotes are drawn to energy like moths to a flame. The reactors… they are a feast for these invaders, a source of their uncontrolled multiplication.

We discovered another log from a Scorpion class ship. Their struggle mirrored our own. The desperation, the loss of identity, it was all too familiar. It's a haunting read, 'Do not approach their ships, do not approach the pink planet and do not under any circumstances let them near reactors.' The echo of their plea is a constant reminder of our shared fate.

The humanoid figures they glimpsed, could they be our predecessors? Fallen to the Symbiotes, their wills usurped, bodies mutated into hideous mockeries of their former selves. It is a fate we fear, a future we dread.

Datapad #6
Our struggle feels like a losing battle. But we persist. The very humanity within us rebels against the idea of submission, of surrender. We are the last bastion against this cosmic terror. The data, the research, all our efforts must be preserved, must be passed on. We have to. For it is our duty.

If anyone finds this… heed our warnings. Keep away from the reactors, burn all potential infestations, and avoid the pink planet at all costs. Remember us, not as victims, but as fighters, as scholars of the cosmic unknown.

This is Research Facility Zeta-5… refusing to go quietly into the night.“

End Log Entry.

Cpl. 'Jaxon Tryst' Final Data Log
They allow us to write in this as our only means of… sanity.. our only means of voicing our thoughts as they use us. The presence of this ship makes us weaker… makes us.. unable to think rationally. I can feel something crawling around me at all times and can never shake the feeling that i'm slowly becoming not me…

Why do they need us? Why prolong our deaths?

We get glimpses of humanoid figures, the constant dizziness and damage to our eyes makes it hard to make out exactly what… but I believe they are just like us.. controlling the ship.. is this what we are to become? Husks of our former self, adapted, mutated and forever misshapen into this symbiotic lifeform?

I had to voice whatever thoughts I had of my own.. I'll be locking this now in the hopes when I am not me, I do not remove it. If anyone does find this - do not approach their ships, do not approach the pink planet and do not under any circumstances let them near reactors.

I hear a voice repeating that…

Datapad #7
Log. The routine of our days has evolved into a strange dance with dread. Wake up, clean, eat, attempt research, sleep… All while the metallic heartbeat of the station echoes around us, a grim reminder of our perilous situation.

The Symbiotes continue their onslaught, invisible yet ever-present. Our brave engineers, now distorted figures of purple decay, are horrifying symbols of the enemy we face. Their transformation haunts my dreams and fills my waking hours with dread.

I used to enjoy some old… Zombie flicks, I think they called it. This, this all, it eerily reminds me of it. It hurts to see former colleagues lose themselves, and knowing you might be next is the rotten cherry on top.

My duties have been augmented from pure research to include… containment. Every day, we set out to purge the spreading infection, torching areas where we find evidence of the Symbiotes' metallic corruption. It's a short-lived victory each time. The Symbiotes are drawn to energy and our effort

Datapad #7.1
I have, a few days back, gotten a log from Zeta-5. It is voice recorded, but in a creepy, monotonous voice. Until they reach a certain point, which they start to repeat, their voice ever turning shriller. Their desperate words echo in my mind, 'Do not approach their ships, do not approach the pink planet and do not under any circumstances let them near reactors.'

It… it is possible. We could be the next. A fate wprse than death. Yesterday I had to burn a close acquaintance… Behind those eyes, there was still a will, human thoughts! As the flames licked around her, our eyes locked for a last time. Those were eyes that had not yet given up hope.

And we burned her nontheless. We have no choice. It is in the name of self preservation. We need to persevere, we have no choice.

And yet, the victories seem so shortlived…

Datapad #7.2
Despite the growing fear, we continue our fight. Our mission is not only to survive but to gather as much data as possible for those who may come after us. To whoever finds this log, heed our warnings: Stay clear of the reactors, burn the infected areas, and avoid the pink planet at all costs. We fight not only for ourselves but for all of humanity.

This is Researcher Sigma-7 of Facility Omega-3, continuing the battle against the darkness.”

End Log Entry.

Log Entry 1:
Date: *Unknown*
Location: Research Facility, Sector Alpha

Subject: Symbiotic Lifeforms

This log is dedicated to documenting my recent findings regarding the existence of symbiotic lifeforms that have evolved to manifest and shapeshift as humans. It all started with a series of unusual observations and reports from various field agents, which initially piqued my interest in this particular area of research.

Log Entry 2:
Date: *Unknown*
Location: Research Facility, Sector Alpha

Subject: Correlation Between Corruption and Symbiotic Lifeforms

After conducting extensive analysis of the field reports and collected samples, I have discovered a significant correlation between corruption or infection and the manifestation of these symbiotic lifeforms. It appears that if corruption or infection is left untreated or allowed to progress unchecked, it provides a fertile ground for the symbiotic organisms to take hold and begin their metamorphic process.

Log Entry 3:
Date: *Unknown*
Location: Research Facility, Sector Alpha

Subject: Shapeshifting Abilities and Assimilation

Further experiments and observations have revealed the astonishing shapeshifting abilities of these symbiotic lifeforms. They possess an innate capability to assume the form of humans, imitating their appearance and behavior with remarkable precision. The assimilation process involves the gradual replacement of the host's tissues and organs, resulting in a seamless transition between the original organism and the symbiotic entity.

Log Entry 4:
Date: *Unknown*
Location: Research Facility, Sector Alpha

Subject: Advancement and Adaptability

The symbiotic lifeforms have displayed an impressive level of advancement and adaptability throughout my research. They seem to possess a collective intelligence, sharing knowledge and experiences among themselves. Additionally, their ability to shapeshift allows them to blend into human society undetected, making it incredibly difficult to identify their presence.

Log Entry 5:
Date: *Unknown*
Location: Research Facility, Sector Alpha

Subject: Risks and Concerns

While the discovery of these symbiotic lifeforms opens up exciting possibilities for scientific exploration, it also raises significant concerns. Their inherent nature as corruptive entities poses a threat to human society if left unchecked. If the corruption or infection is allowed to persist for extended periods, the symbiotic lifeforms can overwhelm the host, leading to a complete assimilation and loss of individuality.

Log Entry 6:
Date: *Unknown*
Location: Research Facility, Sector Alpha

Subject: Future Research and Containment

Moving forward, it is essential to develop effective strategies for both containment and potential symbiotic lifeform eradication. Understanding their lifecycle, vulnerabilities, and modes of transmission will be crucial in devising countermeasures. Collaboration with bioengineers, geneticists, and experts in related fields will be necessary to develop innovative solutions to this emerging threat.

Log Entry 7:
Date: *Unknown*
Location: Research Facility, Sector Alpha

Subject: Conclusion

In conclusion, the discovery of symbiotic lifeforms capable of manifesting and shapeshifting as humans represents a significant breakthrough in our understanding of biological evolution and parasitic relationships. However, the potential risks associated with their corruptive nature necessitate further research, vigilance, and the development of comprehensive protocols for detection, containment, and eradication.