Hello everyone!
In this episode we explore the latest post on Medium from the Star Atlas team titled:
" Star Atlas NFT Cosmos: The Hunt for an Ancient Artifact"
You can find a the link to that article below. But there’s no need to do that! Because I’m going to breakdown all of it for you. The quotes are from the article and the italics are from me. Let’s go!
"Zulro, an explorer, was drifting away in her bar stool while being mesmerized by the glowing bands of dancing particles in the nebula. "
Zurlo needed something to distract her from the reoccuring nightmare she had had last night and every night of her life. It was the nightmare of her name auction.
‘You know,’ she thought to herself, ‘I picked the name Zulro because I could have sworn no one else would take it or even want it. The seven days I spent in that name auction bidding war took half my damn Atlas. Unfrickingbelievable…’ she thought to herself as she glanced again at the nebula.
“She was enjoying a quiet, lonely drink after a lengthy expedition to identify mining and salvaging opportunities in uncharted deep space territory, when she received a transmission from the human captain of the Torch of Ulysses. Even though the two spacefarers weren’t in the same faction — humans mostly in MUD, and Mierese aliens like Zulro in ONI — life on the fringes of Star Atlas wasn’t always based on tribal loyalty. Personal alliances were fluid, and information shared today may mean a favor that could be called in tomorrow.”
It may mean a favor that can be called in tomorrow. It probably won’t. But it may.
“An ancient artifact, one lost by the first humans to reach for the stars centuries ago, was spotted in contested space that the Torch of Ulysses barreled through during a supply run. The human crew fended off ONI marauders but was unable to double back for a retrieval mission. Perhaps a freelancer who was nearby was up for a treasure hunt?”
Mmmmm, perhaps you say?! I too always give away potential treasure to whoever happens to be nearby good sir.
"Zulro transferred a few bits of ATLAS, the intergalactic currency, to close her bar tab, slid into her Opal JetJet — the fastest modifiable space racer with a massive engine block — and keyed in the vectors provided by her MUD contact. "
Another thing I really like to do is listen to random transmissions from strangers and then immediately act on what they say.
"Updated maps indicated she would have to cruise into an Ustur enclave, a recent change in the sector’s status after landowners holding POLIS, Star Atlas’ multifunctional governance token, voted to remap control of this space. "
The Ustur voting to remap control of an area in space sounds fun. And it sounds like a cause for celebration!
Sing along with me, and all of the Ustur Enclave Voting Council, to the tune of “This Land Is Your Land”!:
This land was your land, now this land’s my land, we own more POLIS, and now you’re renting, from the edge of this system, to as far as the eye can seeeeeeeeeee, POLIS takes your land, and gives it, to meeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEE!
“But if the human’s tip was legitimate, it was a risk worth taking. Artifacts commanded a handsome premium in the Galactic Marketplace, and this one seemed even more promising.
Besides, this was a mission fit for a true explorer.”
Yes good job Zulro. Instead of wondering about marauders and being cautious why not focus on your greed and your unending desire to finally be known as a ‘true explorer’ instead.
"At her destination coordinates, Zulro found the wreckage of ONI pirate ships, each once an NFT controlled by players, burned forever after the ships were destroyed in dogfights. She initiated a scan of the proximal territory around her. A faint blip registered on her instruments. A rare mix of artificial materials, some no longer produced by any faction, was dead ahead. "
Zulro shows up and sees dead pirates. She thinks that the pirates died in dogfights. And instead of putting too much effort into figuring out what could have killed them she is just like “Oh wow dead pirates. Ok cool! Let’s do a quick short range scan just to see where the loot is and that’s all the scanning that’s needed!”
“Zulro coasted toward the signal and discovered a Vintage Astronaut Suit, an archaic garment worn by human explorers in harsh conditions. The suit was weathered by time, but its functions were intact. It could still protect the wearer from harmful cosmic radiation during extravehicular activities and provide a modest health boost — a testament to human engineering even during ancient times. The retrieval was easy — almost too simple an affair.”
Why shouldn’t she get the suit and get away? Why shouldn’t it be easy? Why shouldn’t she wear it… I mean, afterall… she deserves it. Her precious. She only has eyes for her treasure.
“With her bounty secured, Zulro wasn’t about to press her luck in hostile territory, so she initiated a turnaround and glided slowly along a heading that would take her back to the safety of a Security Zone. The JetJet could roar, but Zulro kept its power signature low to avoid detection by Ustur patrols.”
The one thing her ship has going for it is it’s one of the fastest hunks of junk in the galaxy. It can roar. So she gets this rare artifact in her possession and the strategy she comes up with is to use her incredibly fast ship to take… things… slow.
That brings two mysteries to light. One is why the hell does she think this is a good idea? And the second mystery is how Zurlo has stayed alive all these years with this decision making process. They say it might have something to do with the luck trait found in her Primordial GLO jacket. But no one knows for sure. No one knows.
“A split second after the JetJet’s alarm sounded, two explosions disabled the ship’s engine.”
Her alarm system warns her a split second before she gets hit. I can warn you a split second after we get hit. Hell your pet will warn you immediately. She says she has the best scanning systems around and yet this happens. Something does not add up. I’m guessing she got her scanners at a black friday sale or something.
"The torpedoes were fired from a Calico Guardian called The Curator, captained by an Ustur museum director named Embr.soul, who needed new objects in their collection to attract visitors to prestigious exhibitions of NFT-powered experiences. A continued rotation of rare items on display was the only way to justify their hiked ticket prices.
Judging from the assortment of rare collectible tags on Embr’s accoutrements, Zulro could tell they were acquisitive.
There was no point in negotiating. With her ship dead, the ONI transferred her Vintage Astronaut Suit to the Ustur android, the NFT passing from one wallet to another in hopes that her ship would be spared from destruction."
If she had a self destruct it seems like she could have tried to negotiate and make some sort of bargain here.
“As final punishment for the ONI intruder, The Comething.urator fired off a blast from its heavy turret. In the final seconds of Zulro’s existence, she realized the MUD captain must have struck a deal with the Ustur collector. They needed her specialized in-depth scanning equipment — gear that only an explorer would install on her ship — to locate the prized artifact.”
She finally realizes she was betrayed. It took her until now to figure it out.
And I would think the Curator of a large museum could afford to buy or hire his own scanning system. But who can say for sure.
So there you go. I think we all learned a valuable lesson today. And that lesson is that if you own an NFT museum in space, and ticket sales are low, you can justify killing just about anyone and taking their loot.
Tune in next time and maybe we’ll find out how things went for Zurlo in her brief stay in the afterlife before her reincarnation!
Original Medium article here: Star Atlas NFT Cosmos: The Hunt for an Ancient Artifact