Further Adventures In No Man's Sky

FURTHER ADVENTURES IN NO MAN'S SKY

My spacecraft propelled me through the green mist of a nebula, shrouding the next planet waiting to be explored. From this distance I could make out vast swathes of desert and the twinkling of sunlight reflecting off of rocks bleached from exposure to the star's rays.

Down I flew, heading toward the surface. It was dominated by sandstone. Red hills and cliffs carved by the ceaseless action of eroding dust blown by the moaning winds. Above this desert landscape two neighbouring planets stood sentinel in the orange skies.

I initiated landing procedures, taking care to avoid the sharp crags of the surrounding cliffs. Dust billowed up from the dry mud surface as my landing thrusters brought me down with a gentle bump. Upon climbing out, I was surrounded by tortured cliffs silhouetted against the burning heat of day. Every now and then strange calls would echo around the rocks. There was life here, then.

Making my way along the parched ground, it did not take me too long to spot one of this planet's indigenous species. It was reptilian in appearance, much like a giant gecko. Its four, curiously webbed feet held up a body that was quite slender, but with a fat tail. Two orange eyes fixed their gaze on me and the animal emitted a sharp alarm call before dashing away.

Onward I trekked, eventually leaving the canyon of tortured cliffs and finding myself in a more wide-open space. Rocky hills rolled off into the distance where they became shrouded in the haze, and hanging silently above them there were those planets, lit by the halo of sunlight reflecting off of their atmospheres.

A low, rumbling sound diverted my attention from the majestic sight of those planets. Walking past me came two animals, obviously of the same species. They were heavily armoured looking brutes, with backs protected by a bony shell studded with spikes. And their heads...their heads looked to me to be made out of rock. This was surely not the case, and must instead have been some organic material evolved to look as hard as stone.

My journey continued, picking a path that kept mostly to the shadows cast by the cliffs and rock formations, some protection against the relentless heat. A sudden glint of ultra-bright light grabbed my attention. It was so dazzling I had to adjust my visor so that it reduced the glare. There was something some distance away that was reflecting light almost as well as a mirror would. I felt sure that this could not be any natural object and so, with my curiosity piqued, I headed off in the direction of that light source. True enough, there among the desert landscape rose an artificial structure made of polished silvery metal that probably would have blinded me had I not been wearing eye protection. I felt compelled to wander around this facility and maybe learn something about its creators.

I should have known something was amiss before I ever stepped foot inside. The area was too quiet. There was no sound of industry or any kind of activity save for the occasional call of some nearby animal. And the smell...it was one of decay, off putting enough for me to activate filters to counteract its nauseous effect. I stepped inside to become witness to a scene from a horror movie. Furniture lay scattered as though a riot had taken place or someone had fled in panic leaving destruction in their wake. And everywhere there was this slime, glistening green and pulsating and...moving. Yes, moving toward me in a purposeful way. With horror I realised that this was a biological experiment gone horribly wrong. Large, puffball-like appendages inflated and deflated like balloons filled and emptied of air. Something told me that if these were to burst they would release spores that could be deadly. I felt it was time to make my escape.

Thanks to Hello Games for the images