• As Bart you follow the trail of Ishmael, a rebel Precursor scientist, to a unique crater beyond the Void. Ishmael's return there is to resume dangerous research, against AL-AN's orders,
  
  
• Encounters include psychological and physical attacks from creatures, of the kind that prompted the Precursors to abandon their research complex there.
  
  
• The player uses biologically based tech to survive unique hazards of the new zone, and searches for clues to unravel the mystery behind this peculiar new location.

This opening scene updates the player on the key events leading to his current situation when, as Bart Torgal, he must soon flee the main Crater for safer shores.


The player is locked within a small habitat on Crater's edge above the Void, filled with Bart's lab equipment. His cowardly PDA can be picked up from a desk. It contains several files conveying the following information:

• Bart by now has achieved wiz-level competence in practical bio-engineering: He now sports a pair of rudimentary gills that allow him to extend his scuba supplies by 10%. His notes discuss his ambition to increase their function, and also his experiments building habitats from living coral and shell.
  
  
• Despite his efforts to fake his own death, Alterra is hunting Degasis survivors with a swarm of security droids dropped from high orbit (it seems Alterra disapproves of foreign industrial spies & trespassers, so hastens to do this before Mongolian diplomats raise treaty objections)
  
  
• A journal page by a rebel Precursor scientist, Ishmael, who rejected AL-AN's methods. He speaks of leaving for the 'Cerebral Crater' to resume past research on an apparently hostile intelligence at work there. As AL-An has disabled its phasegate, Ishmael plans to "ride the migration." His notes timetable this annual event - due to pass this point again this very day!

1. A herd of Reefbacks assemble outside the habitat. One of them has a small Precursor structure grafted onto its back, now similarly encrusted with marine growth.
   
   
2. The habitat doors will open now - but Bart's nervous PDA AI advises Alterra's drones are inbound and he has only minutes to depart
   
   
3. Bart will be safe if he swim towards the lead Reefback and enters its Precursor built 'cockpit'. Then the Alterra security droids will arrive, but their fire will only prompt the Reefback school to begin their migration across the Void

However, if the player chooses to linger or explore elsewhere, then the droids will arrive and begin firing on him until his health is exhausted - restarting the game.

Inside the cockpit, there are no controls only a wired helmet. When worn, this creates a neural interface with the Reefback - the player can see through its eyes and control its movements (within limits of the migration course), and as the lead Reefback, the others will follow. The reefback's FOV is very wide, and predators are highlighted. Memory-shape outlines will overlay the Reefback HUD, indicating the direction of remembered encounters

A pair of Ghost Leviathans will menace the herd's juveniles. Reefback adults will ram the attackers, and the player can control his own Reefback to participate in the defence.

This is supended in the Void by a coating of floaters. For a time, the Reefback herd will nudge it along gently, perhaps in encouragement to join their migration. The player can explore within, and find the ship's log recording some doomed castaway's attempt to escape the first crater.

Similar to a Vent Garden. The herd will circle beneath it for a time, feeding on a cloud of waste organic particles it exudes from below. This one contains a Precursor lab, once used to study the Void ecosystem. A researcher's notes discuss AL-AN's difficulties in the main crater, and this unit's need to return to assist him. Ishmael has passed this way too, adding concerned notes comparing AL-AN to an obsessive captain named AY-AB in some old seafarer's tale.

A underwater Island archipelago. The central island is guarded by an very large mother Ghost leviathan. Beneath her coils she shelters a writhing mass of small juveniles. She will not leave her nest, but will attack anything that comes withing striking distance. Exploration of the surrounding satellite islands can be made with caution, and one is topped by a Precursor observation dome. Ishmael's notes found here warn of madness ahead for any who follow him to the Cerebral Crater.

The Reefback migration halts at the north side of a vast crater lagoon, seemingly during a very high tide. The lagoon's high surrounding cliffs mean the player must enter by jumping down to the calm waters below - leaving his barnacled companions behind to graze in the up-welling currents.

The creatures of the sensitive inner crater (only) dislike any artificial submersibles or constructions - inviting the player to use new organic technologies (below)
- Small fish will damage any submarine by swimming deliberately into it kamikaze style.
- Predators will attack titanium habitats and submersibles on sight.

Bart's gills and tolerance to water pressure can be improved once he builds a lab. Upgrades are achieved by studying material sampled from various creatures he encounters. Creatures found at greater depths give better upgrades. Eventually the player will have no need for air supplies.


As a genius genetic engineer, Bart is able to analyse the DNA of various molluscs he finds, to use as a blueprints to 'grow' habitats with his building tool, out of coral and other organic materials. As the player goes deeper, he can scan new creatures that let him construct progressively more elaborate organic habitats, similar to these:




Creatures can be hijacked as transport using Precursor neural-link interface tech. Blueprints are species-specific, and can got by scanning any creature found with a neural-link dart already projecting from its skull. When controlling a creature Bart wears a neural-link helmet and sees through the creature's eyes. Interestingly the view of the world differs between each species - FOV varies, and features are revealed that are normally visible only in the infrared or ultraviolet.


A wireless neural-link upgrade kit can be found late-game in a wrecked Precursor Lab. This not only frees the Bart from being wired to his mounts, but allows remote control of creatures as reconnaissance drones.

As Bart, the player is plagued by a series of aquatic phantoms, all claiming to be his Father (however, these In fact are flawed communication attempts by the planet's intelligence).

They begin as nightmares, then are encountered 'in the flesh' as the player penetrates further into the crater. Despite their fearsome appearances the phantoms are benign, and can easily be scattered into their component creatures by any attack. The core message behind the planet's communication is eventually revealed as: "Avert the Crisis! Seek me within the Nucleus"




-------------------------------
Precursor research bases in this crater were all abandoned do to their failure to engage properly with their own phantoms - experienced as their deceased loved ones. Scattered notes and journals reveal their unfolding reactions, as they penetrated further into the Crater.

Outer Shallows
1. Blissful Ignorance - elated at the location and research possibilities. etc.
   
2. Partial realisation - unsettling dreams (visitations by deceased loved ones)
   
   Outer Depths
   
3. Denial – Material avatars now encountered, but seen as hallucinations - perhaps due to a local neurotoxin
   
   Inner Shallows
   
4. Fear and Anger – acceptance now manifestations ARE material, but are threats that must be destroyed (this became the official policy set by AL-AN)
   
5. Bargaining - individuals communicate with phantoms, seeking to dispel any past unresolved injustices. Others see them as sea spirits and make offerings to gain their protection (these individual responses begin unravelling the Precursors' collectivist culture)
   
   Inner Depths
   
6. Depression – "Remaining here dooms us all to madness" (abandonment of the site)
   
7. Acceptance – "These creatures are NOT our dead. This planet is trying to communicate something important to us" (as experienced by the maverick scientist Ishmael only)

Most every Precursor ruin contains some note left by Ishmael, who feels he may not return from his investigation into the heart of the crater, so leaves these documents for posterity.

• He soon reveals his motives for returning to the Cerebral Crater are not entirely scientific. Whereas Bart is haunted by his father, Ishmael is visited by apparitions of his dead wife, and longs to meet with her again. But the further he progresses, the more he realises these are merely illusions generated by the planet.
  
  
• At the same time, Ismael becomes entranced with this world, after seeing it through the eyes of the creatures he neural-links with, and gradually sees his engagement with the planet itself as a potential solace to his sense of longing.
  
  
• He describes the Crater's draw upon him with the increasing enthusiasm e.g:
  “I felt the knowledge and the unity of this world circulate in me like my own blood"
  
  
• Otherwise, in other journals he critiques his own Precursor culture, feeling their extreme collectivism has left them prone to xenophobia, with little hope of understanding other species or the true nature of this planet.

There are five zones, increasing in difficulty towards the centre:

1. Outer Shallows
   
2. Outer Deeps
   
3. Inner Shallows
   
4. Inner Deeps
   
5. The Cerebral Labyrinth and the Nucleus beneath the Crater

Each zone is detailed at the end of the guide. But for now, let's skip to the end game . . .

A vast cavern at the core of the Labyrinth is a safe zone - its swirling shoals of sea creatures will not attack. At its centre an ancient temple complex shelters the 'Nucleus' - the goal sought by rebel Precursor Ishmael: It seems to be a gigantic pulsating brain coral.

The brain coral is in fact a 'brain'. Attached is the living body of Ishmael, now somehow fused together with the planet's 'mind'. The player can now speak with the great Mind via Ishmael, by choosing from a number of dialogue options:


Call Me Ishmael, if you like. I am him and . . . more. What you see of me is only a husk. I . . . he has chosen to meld in his intelligence to become . . . part of a greater whole, adding to the many millennia of acquired knowledge of those who came before. His mind is is no longer constrained within his tiny husk - but dissolved throughout like the salts that flavour the Ocean. Let us speak together then, in yours and Ishmael's shared dialect of . . . material science.

Perhaps . . . or perhaps he consumed Me. He ate, drank and breathed enough until no atom in his body was other than Mine. You too have eaten of my flesh, so I too live in you - as with all the creatures here. The illusions of individuality are like the fleeting surface waves imagining they are distinct from the Ocean. In that way at least, this world is like any other,

And what you see here as a 'planet', you might better understand as a vast single cell - its teeming creatures akin to cell organelles exchanging substance and energy. Moreover, many function to give the Whole cognition - their myriad hatchings and deaths akin to the 1's and 0's in your brittle primitive devices. Priests of long past Ancient races sensed this connection and made their auguries from flights of birds and the schooling of fishes.

The attacks on artificial structures here are not willed by the Whole. In your understanding these are auto-immune responses that safeguard my most vital areas from parasitic infections. Older races saw it merely as the clash of elements in opposition, which is a kind of truth.

Before Ishmael, this world lacked any voice you could understand. Your phantoms were my communication attempts . . . images from memories that would compel your attention. Alas, how many races past have been content to fear or worship messengers, but seldom to listen.

A world Apocalypse . . . but not a divine judgement. When under extreme stress my kind will 'encyst', again much like a bacterial cell. This involuntary reaction rapidly exudes a gel-like planetary shield - sealing it from the Galaxy for passing aeons. This is not an outcome I welcome, but one I will be unable to halt it once it begins.

1. Merge with the Whole and shed your fleeting illusion of individuality - just I did as Ishmael before you. All your knowledge of your species will be added to the Whole. In return you will see, hear, feel and know all that I do. Then the you-in-I will share in something close to immortality, regardless whether or not this planet encysts for a fleeting aeon or two.
   
   
2. Or else return to your Humanity as my intermediary. Negotiate for my protection to prevent the shield from forming - an outcome that benefits no one. I would merely sleep through your species' brief flourishing and learn nothing from it. And Humanity's imprint in the sand will be lost to the surging tides of Time. Or perhaps . . . your kind may prove worthy to dip its pitcher into the vast reservoir of knowledge of those who came before - the many species that 'worshipped' here in times long past by melting-in their greatest minds - just as I did when I was merely Ishmael.

If the player chooses this option, then he is treated to a cut-scene of the universe from the Planet's POV:

• Many such ocean worlds scattered amongst galaxies, communicating with each other though slow pulses of energy and entangled particles.
  
• An ocean planet is seen reproducing by dividing like a cell
  
• Another is seen perishing from a parasitic infestation of billions of tiny creatures (humans)
  
• Another forming an encysting shield around itself, trapping all its colonists within

If the player chooses this option he is transported off the planet:

• The player is seen standing on the water's surface at the centre of the crater
  
• Water spirals up around him and forms into a gelatinous bubble
  
• This capsule is launched through the atmosphere towards a small fleet of orbiting ships of Alterran construction

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(covered just to reduce reader-overload here)

The following is likely the order that zones will be encountered by a player as they unlock various tech solutions to overcome the difficulties unique to each region


Depth Range: 0-100m (but with some 150m depth kelp rifts intersecting it).
Biomes::
- Safe Shallows
- Shallow Twisty Bridges
- Kelp Forest rifts
Creature Behaviours:
- Normal (no undue attacks on structures or subs)
Neuro-linked creatures:
- Stalker
Genetic Blueprints:
- Simple dome habitat
- Coral tube corridors
Ruins:
- Intact Precursor living apartments
- Inactive Precursor phasegate (linked to a principle gate in the labyrinth)
- Destroyed phasegate (Formerly linked to the main crater. Disabled by AL-AN)
Phantoms:
- Dreams of deceased Degasi crew only
Precursor Journals:
- Elated at location and research possibilities.
- Unsettling dreams (visitations by deceased loved ones)
Ishmael's Journals
- Dissatisfaction (with AL-AN's research approach in the earlier crater)
- Rebellion (his unsanctioned return to here complete his earlier research)


Depth Range: 0-200m
Biomes::
- Kelp Forest
- Grassy Plateaus
- Mushroom Forest
Creature Behaviours:
- Swarming around titanium structures & subs (no attacks)
Neuro-linked creatures:
- Sandshark
Genetic Blueprints:
- Coiled Shell Multipurpose Room
Ruins:
- Intact Precursor industrial buldings
Phantoms:
- Burbling Mass
Precursor Journals:
- Denial (phantoms interpreted as hallucinations due to some local neurotoxin)
Ishmael's Journals
- Research (his earlier 'entropy scans' of the interior indicate a vast mind is located there)


Depth Range: 0-150m
Biomes::
- Purple Vents
- Thermal Spires
- Shallow twisty bridges
Creature Behaviours:
- Minor attacks on titanium builds and subs
Neuro-linked creatures:
- Brute Shark
Genetic Blueprints:
- Coiled Shell MP Room,
- Coiled towers
Ruins:
- Functional Precursor labs but dented and scarred
Phantoms:
- Intermediate Humanoid approximating Paul Torgal. Warning of a coming crisis.
Precursor Journals:
- Fear & Anger (manifestations ARE material. AL-AN orders their destruction)
- Bargaining (Individuals seek to resolve injustices with their own dead)
- Concern about creature swarming behaviours
Ishmael's Journals
- Acceptance (The phantoms are not our dead. This planet is trying to communicate something)
- Animal behaviour theory (creature attacks are local immune response by a living planet to foreign materials)


Depth Range: 0-500m
Biomes::
- Tree Spires
- Crag Field
- Bulb Zone
- Grand Reef
Creature Behaviours:
- Artificial structures and subs attacked on sight
Neuro-linked creatures:
- Blood Crawler
- Boneshark
- Reaper Leviathan
Genetic Blueprints:
- Clamshell Large Room
Ruins:
- Destroyed Precursor labs
Phantoms:
- Coherent late stage (speaking with Paul Togal's voice urging a meeting at 'the Nucleus')
Precursor Journals:
- Alarm (creature attacks on builds and subs require constant attention, making research difficult)
- Depression (remaining here dooms us to madness - we abandonment this crater)
Ishmael's Journals
- Resolve (he will penetrate the Labyrinth below, to uncover the cause of the hauntings)


A large 3D maze of large tunnels patrolled by a giant eel much larger than other leviathans. At its centre is the Nucleus cavern.

Depth Range: 600-800m
Biomes::
- Cooled inactive lava zone
Creature Behaviours:
- Gargantuan eel patrols the tunnels and will attack any intruder
Neuro-linked creatures:
- None
Genetic Blueprints:
- None
Ruins:
- Disabled principle phasegate (linked to Outer Shallows gate when reactivates)
- Ishmael's hidden lab (functional)
Phantoms:
- A late stage phantom will accompany the player and reveal Ishmael's lab location
Ishmael's Journals:
- Realisation that there is an ancient and creative intelligence at the centre.


























The sun rises and the sun sets;
and hurries back into the Deep

The wind blows south, and then turns north;
but patterns just the surface of the Deep

From where the rains and streams all come;
to where all the rivers run - but never filling up the Deep

Generations go, then generations come;
but what remains forever is the Deep

Solaris, 1961 novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(novel)

Moby-Duck, 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville.
(not really a duck, but Steam's censor algorithm is tragically pre-sapient)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-♥♥♥♥

Man and his Symbols.1978 Speculative psychology by C. G. Jung,
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176324.Man_and_His_Symbols

The Diamond Sutra. 868 AD. Buddhist text by anonymous author, Translated by Red Pine 2001
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Sutra

Ecclesiastes 1, Abrahamic text attributed to King Solomon, circa 950 BC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastes_1