Less than one year past, the Precursors returned to the Galaxy in force - their ships streaming through an ancient portal on the far Galactic Rim. Their purpose is yet unknown.

All attempts at diplomacy have been futile, since they seem only to communicate telepathically. Ominously, they seem to view humans with little more regard than we might have towards wild cattle - herding our fleets away with a vast psionic wind.

There is now an urgent need to retrieve a unique human telepath from an isolated planet: the 'Man in the Maze', to act as a go-between. However, six teams of ALTERRA Marines already sent on this mission have long ago failed to report, and are presumed dead from misadventure within the Maze's hazardous ruins.

Your own mission will try amore nuanced approach - entering 'The Maze' planetoid unarmed, to try guile and diplomacy instead of force.

The player takes an active role in the retrieval of the ''Man in the the Maze' from within a hostile open world of Precursor ruins - dotted with exotic traps and escaped test-subject species - eventually pursuing him deep into this artificial moon's internal sea.

At the outset little is known to the player about this world or it's sole occupant. But clues and notes are left behind by the target, documenting:

• His movements (and eventual clues to his final location).
  
• His methods of dealing with various traps
  
• His entire backstory leading to his presence here, his uplift at the hands of AL-AN, and his recent evasion of other intruders (see section below)
  
• Speculations on the Precursor culture, and their purposes for building this planetoid.

Equipment and upgrades are available from:

• Scanned remains of earlier failed missions launched by ALTERRA
  
• Various repairable Precursor devices, including 'Psionic Skill Amplifiers' that grant particular but modest psionic abilities

Single or Multi-player?
This could be a nice enough single player game. But a multiplayer co-op version could allow players to act in concert to disarm complex traps. This might resonate well with an underlying theme of collective culture represented by the Precursors.

The Maze is a wrecked and distant artificial moon. Although it's interior is aquatic, it is covered by a cracked metal shell encrusted with ruins of ancient Precursor origin. Several quarantine enforcement platforms still function, making approach extremely hazardous.

Its original Purpose:
Research notes can be discovered here to indicate what the Precursors were attempting to do:

• Test just what non-hivemind species, if any, could be meaningfully considered as 'sentient' creatures
  
• Experiment on uplifting promising species to become 'civilised' telepathically linked psionics
  
• Evidently, they rated schooling aquatic creatures among their list of promising candidates

The Surface:
On the ground, expeditionary teams face a thicket of lethal traps of exotic and unpredictable design. Some traps seem to be lethal IQ tests designed to euthanise any test subjects who fail them. On the plus side, various Precursor devices can be discovered and may be useful to defeat some traps - notably skill-specific 'Psionic Skill Amplifiers'

The Sea:
Late game takes place mainly in the aquatic interior. Danger in this area is less often from traps and more often from the aquatic ecosystems now thriving here - drawing their sustenance from the many heat vents radiating from a still-functional giant central reactor core. Many creatures here have acquired some offensive psionic abilities, thanks to earlier Precursor experimentation.

These details are initially unknown to player, but can be discovered through various journals and recordings the target has left behind during his travels here.

His Earlier Mission:
Several decades past there was a rumoured sighting of a surviving Precursor within the Maze. ALTERRA sent in a lone unarmed trade emissary - seeking to purchase rare psionic services suitable for industrial espionage. There he met Al-An (the Precursor encountered in Below Zero). Eventually the Emissary returned, now gifted with a powerful psionic skill - but not quite what was hoped for.

Psionic Enlightenment:
At the hands of AL-AN, he acquired an extreme telepathic skill, so complete that he could not help but see clearly into the entire minds of everyone he met. But because connection was total, the reverse was also true: No secrets could be hidden from him, but nor could he have the duplicity required to function as a useful spy. Moreover, without the shields of their 'social masks', the flawed 'real selves' of other humans became intolerable to him. Likewise, everyone saw their true selves reflected in the Emissary's mind, and most were uncomfortable with what they saw. Even his previously happy family life became unbearable.

Self Exile:
So the Emissary fled before ALTERRA could find other uses for him, choosing self-exile back inside the Maze. He has remained isolated there for several decades - combing the ruins for his survival needs, mastering the booby-trapped environment and exploring its ocean.

Current Situation:
Having recently detected so-called "rescue" parties sent after him, the Emissary has retreated deep into the moon's watery interior.



























He's a cranky looking bloke!

After retrieving the Emissary willingly and unharmed, the Player witnesses his negotiations with the invading Precursors, including AL-AN who speaks in support of granting rights to the human species.

1. A reveal that the Emissary's earlier forced uplift as telepath was a last ditch experiment conducted by AL-AN to test whether telepathy was compatible within a real-world human culture.
   
2. The Precursors' judgement that the Emissary's willing return from exile to help his species indicates that humans are at least marginally evolved beyond simple animals, and so are granted certain rights of autonomy and continued existence.
   
3. Cut-scene showing the Precursor fleet departing the Galaxy

If the Emissary was returned by force, rather than persuasion (e.g. captured with a propulsion cannon) the outcome of the meeting will be less favourable:

1. AL-AN's appeals for preserving Humanity will be dismissed as invalid.
   
2. A cut-scene is shown of the Precursors rapidity terraforming several occupied planets - changing them into water-worlds (more suited for nurturing uplift-able species).
   
3. The player will have a final opportunity argue for Humanity and halt this destruction by choosing answers wisely from a dialogue tree (this outlines a philosophical debate between Collectivism and Individual Rights). If successful, the Precursors will depart.

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