The Lands Beyond (Outer Wilds/The Land Before Time)

[X] Speak to one of the Great Valley's residents. Must write in what to ask or talk about. Cannot be done with space suit equipped. (1 hour)
-[X] Opal and Quartz, the Mayor and her subordinate researcher who spend their days unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos at the Observatory.
—[X] Time to learn about Quantum Mechanics!
—[X] Ask them what a Quantum Consciousness would be based on their understanding.

Opal is obviously the next person to talk to in light of what Cobalt said. Perhaps she can explain what this "quantum" stuff the Far Beyonders kept mentioning was. You order the Bridge Drone to cloak itself, then turn to exit the Museum.

The moment you step out of the Museum entrance's threshold, you feel something in the background shift slightly. You don't hear anything, so you look around and find nothing around you has changed. It is only when you look straight up that you see it. The Wandering Moon is hovering almost directly above you, with its cloud cover easily visible. You gasp in amazement. The Wandering Moon rarely appears this close to Wild Nest!

You gaze deep into the Wandering Moon's clouds, trying to find any hint of a surface, but nothing appears. It's said MBV has tried to land probes on it before, but every time one approaches it, it moves to a different orbit.

Deduction Roll (Challenging): 6 + 1 + 4 (Deduction) + 4 (Encountered Quantum Objects) + 1 (A Dream of Flight) = 16
16 vs. 12 = Success

Of course. The Wandering Moon must be quantum just like the Quantum Shards! That means you have even further reason to speak to Opal.

The stairs to the Observatory wind up Saurus Peak in a circle, with entrances to homes carved into the side. You've never been to the Observatory, but in light of the day's events that feels like a very minor concern. Carefully, you make your way up the carved stone steps, watching the ground grow smaller beneath you. Eventually, you make it to the peak and are faced with a single large door. Hesitantly, you approach it and grab one of its knobs with your mouth. It creaks as you push it open, though it's not like you were going to sneak it. The hallway inside is relatively well-lit, courtesy of the geothermal plant's electricity.

"Who is it?"

The soft, feminine voice comes down the corridor and stops you in your tracks. However, you promptly continue forward, walking into the corridor. Immediately, you spot a circle runner with a whitish-pink coat of feathers standing at the end. She seems deeply perplexed by your entrance.

"Well- oh, what brings you all the way to the Observatory, little one?" she asks.

"I...uh, I'm Littlefoot and Cobalt told me to ask you and the Mayor about something," you say awkwardly, following up with "I hope I'm not bothering you or anything."

"Ah, Littlefoot!" she responds excitedly. "My husband has told me all about you. You seem like a truly curious hatchling, so eager to learn... come in, come in!"

You tentatively step towards her, allowing her to escort you into the Observatory proper.

"My name is Quartz. Allow me to introduce you to the Mayor!" she continus.

Beyond the corridor lies the Observatory's central chamber: a vast room with a large telescope assembly placed in the middle and sticking all the way to a currently closed shutter in the circular ceiling. On the sides of the walls are various bits of scientific equipment and pictures taken using the telescope. Standing on the raised platform that holds the telescope's control and output computer is another circle runner with a light blue feather coat. Her feathers look faded and patchy - the distinctive signs of age in a feathered Saurian. You cautiously approach the center of the room, letting your reverence for the figure in front of you slow you down.

This is Mayor Opal, the most powerful Saurian and premier scientist on Wild Nest who authorized the foundation of Mysterious Beyond Ventures. Without her, Sauriankind would all be stuck on this rock, and you would be a far less interesting hatchling. You are left dumbfounded. What can you say to her? What should you say to her? What if you say something wrong and she-

"Ah, welcome, Littlefoot. I trust you are paying attention to your studies?"

The Mayor's voice comes from the platform, faded yet firm. You hesitate to answer for a few moments before realizing that not answering will only make things more awkward.

"Uh... sure I am, Ms. Mayor!" you say. The Mayor finally turns to you, her eyes carefully scanning you as she continues her conversation. Something about it makes you feel uncomfortable, as if she's somehow peering into your soul itself. All the while, she continues to speak.

"Good, good. Your grandparents and I may not always see eye to eye, but I am immensely grateful for what they provide to the hatchlings nonetheless."

"You know who my grandparents are?" you ask incredulously.

"Oh, of course. Every time we've met, they've always mentioned you. They may be worried for you, but they are also proud of having such a curious and attentive grandson! I, for one, commend your interest in the Mysterious Beyond. So many four-legs are woefully uneducated on the great work we do at the City. I am glad you have a greater understanding of our mission than many grown-ups!"

Her words allow you to relax. It seems that she likes you! This should make things easier.

"Now, what is it you wish to ask?" she asks.

"So... Cobalt and I were talking about the wandering shard and he said you knew about something called 'quantum theory' that could help us figure out what's going on with them?"

Opal pauses, then gives out a chuckle.

"Quantum theory... oh, that's going to be difficult to explain. In truth, we are barely starting to understand it ourselves. Forgive us if we cannot answer all your questions," she responds. She takes a moment to compose her thoughts before continuing.

"To make a very long story short, some of our experiments have discovered that, at microscopic scales, objects do not behave as we expect them to behave. Light and other waves act as if they are sometimes particles - in fact, it is from this that the term "quantum" stems from. Conversely, seemingly solid particles such as electrons sometimes behave like waves... almost as if there is no difference between wave and particle at all!"

This only confuses you more.

"What does it mean for something to be like a wave?" you ask.

"Well... let me explain it this way. If you produce a single wave on the surface of a pond by, say, dropping a rock in it, you will have a good idea of where the wave is, but not its length. Conversely, if you produce many waves on a pod by splashing it over and over, you will have a good idea of the length of each wave, but not their positions. It is the same with the position and velocity of a quantum particle. These are inherently uncertain. In fact, we name this principle the "uncertainty principle," and we know this uncertainty is everywhere at microscopic scales."

You stop to ponder her words. The idea of solid matter being all spread out and diffuse like ripples on a water is very strange to you. Why do the objects you see in daily life still have a well-defined position and velocity, then?

"But... what does this have to do with the shard?" you ask.

"Patience, Littlefoot. According to our calculations, the "matter wave" of a macroscopic object is so miniscule as to be completely irrelevant. This then presents a conundrum, in regards to the shard: how is it that its position is uncertain when it is far, far larger than an electron? Or more curiously, how is it that this behavior could exist in an object as massive as a moon?" continues Opal.

"So the Wandering Moon is also quantum?" you interject.

"Precisely," replies Opal. "Of course, there is another factor to consider. The phenomenon we are seeing with the shard and the Wandering Moon is quite different to the wavelike uncertainty we have established. It seems that these objects somehow coexist in completely different definite states - a "superposition" - until they are "observed," and this presents another issue."

She pauses before continuing.

"We have established the importance of observation in affecting the behavior of a quantum object in the laboratory by using it to force an electron to have a definite position when passing through a double slit. However, this "observation" is in fact some form of physical interaction that affects the electron's state. What we see with the macroscopic quantum objects is that the simple act of perceiving it causes it to exist in a single state. To say that this makes little scientific sense is an understatement."

You realize this is a perfect segway into the other topic you wanted to ask Opal about.

"Hmm... is it something to do with... a quantum consciousness?" you ask. Opal's face grows dark when she hears those words leave your lips.

"Now where would you have heard of something like that?" she asks. She is silent for a few moments, but then continues.

"Yes, there is a... hypothesis we have considered. You likely do not know this, but the different clades of Saurians all have significantly different brain sizes and structures, yet we all can think just the same. We have attempted to study the nature of Saurian consciousness for years, yet clear answers have eluded us. However, what we do know implies that the seat of Saurian consciousness lies somewhere else than in the individual interactions between nerve cells... and this is where "quantum consciousness" would come into the picture."

She pauses again.

"A "quantum conciousness" would be something that arises from the combined interactions of electrons or other particles delocalized across an entire brain. It would be an evolving quantum system of incredible complexity... complex enough to create thought. If Saurian conciousness is indeed quantum, then it would explain why perceiving a macroscopic quantum objects would count as "observing" them. Perhaps the act of a quantum consciousness perceiving a quantum object causes the quantum system that produces the consciousness to interact with the object, causing superposition collapse in a manner that a more traditional form of observation such as the impact of photons or other particles does not? It is something to consider, and yet we are not even close to being able to verify this hypothesis experimentally."

She brightens up.

"I hope I have answered your questions to the best of my ability," she says. You nod.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Mayor!" you reply. She smiles.

"My pleasure, Littlefoot."

You are about to turn to leave before the pictures on the walls catch your eye.

"Hey, before I go, can I go look at those pictures?" you ask. Opal nods.

"Anytime."

With greater confidence, you stride towards the pictures. You are presented with an array of star clusters, nebulas, and even entire galaxies - a truly marvelous sight. As you admire these, you spot a few notes hanging beneath a large image of an incredibly bright object surrounded by some sort of space cloud. You quickly begin to read the first note.

"This is an image of the Great Spiral's core, estimated to be about a hundred thousand light years away. This relatively tiny portion of the Spiral must contain countless stars! If only our equipment were sensitive enough to make it out in finer detail!"
-Quartz

You move on to the next note.

"These latest results are astounding! According to calculations by the Mayor and I, the Great Spiral contains as many as a hundred billion stars! That's three thousand times more than our own galaxy! Are other galaxies just as enormous as the Great Spiral is?"
-Quartz

You read the final note.

"That's odd. According to Opal's calculations, our galaxy is in a tight vertical orbit around the Great Spiral, close enough to where it should pass through the latter's arms in about a hundred million years. For how long has this been happening?"
-Quartz

Your mind is struggling to process what you just read. The Great Spiral has a hundred billion stars and ours is going to collide with it? It doesn't seem possible, but you know that Opal and Quartz are probably right. You doubt it'll be relevant to anything going on right now, but there's no harm in learning it.

The following has been added to the Knowledge section of your Character Sheet:

The Uncertainty Principle: Wavelike properties. Uncertainty. Superpositions. The microscopic world abounds in strangeness, and Opal's "quantum theory" is only scratching the surface. Yet, what you've learned doesn't seem to explain much about the Quantum Shards or the Wandering Moon. You feel there are still many missing pieces of the puzzle. +1 to Deduction checks involving quantum objects or quantum-related phenomena.

What will you do now?

[] Write-in actions

Time: 9 hours/?? hours
Health: 10/10
Food: 100%
Sleep: 6 hours of wakefulness remaining
Inventory: Bridge Drone

[X] Speak to one of the Great Valley's residents. Must write in what to ask or talk about. Cannot be done with space suit equipped. (1 hour)
-[X] Your grandparents, who are ever so concerned for your well-being and full of wisdom.
--[X] Learn any vocabulary you don't understand. Like Disestablishment.

Part of you wants to huddle up in the Observatory and never step one of your little feet outside ever again. Here, you are surrounded by not just the frontiers of Sauriankind's knowledge, but also with people who understand your interests. You wish you could forget about the rest of the world, with its Topsies and nagging guardians who only want to crush your dreams and-

You recoil from that train of thought. Your grandparents love you very much and are trying to help you, even if it doesn't always feel that way. Sure, they and you may not always see eye to eye, but they're still family. Perhaps it's time to stop running away from them and see if they can help you understand what's going on.

With reluctance, you turn towards the Observatory's exit and begin heading towards it. Right as you are reaching the threshold, you hear Opal's voice call out to you.

"Oh, Littlefoot, please tell your grandparents I said hello."

You reply with a "got it!" before continuing out the door. Upon your exit, you get a sudden sense of vertigo as you find yourself standing before a thirty meter drop. Fortunately, there's a guardrail to calm you down somewhat, but the sight makes you nervous nonetheless. You quickly turn away from the cliff and head back down the stairs.

When you return to the Circle of Learning, you spot the arc of your grandparents' necks over the trees. For once today, being home is exactly where you wanted them to be. You check to make sure your Bridge Drone hasn't uncloaked before approaching them.

"Grandma, grandpa!" you call out. Your grandparents both turn to you, with expressions of relief on their faces.

"Littlefoot!" your grandmother calls out.

"Well, someone's been busy today!" says your grandfather with a chuckle. "I was just telling your grandmother about how I saw you by the Circle of Learning only an hour ago! If only we knew where you were going..."

Oh. It's been an hour, hasn't it?

"It's... sort of a long story? I can tell you about it later."

"Well, anything to get a hatchling like yourself moving about!" replies your grandfather. "Say, what's brought you back? There's still a few hours before nightfall."

"Oh, about that..." you begin.

"There's a few things I wanted to ask you about. Like, words I heard but I don't really understand."

An expression of concern crosses your grandparents' faces.

"By words, I do hope you don't mean inappropriate words! That wretched Topsy..." begins your grandmother.

"Oh, no, these aren't dirty words or anything! They're more sciencey, I guess," you quickly reply before your grandparents get any ideas.

"Well, that's a relief," replies your grandmother. "In that case, we're always glad to help!"

"Aww gee, thanks! So, first, what's a frontal cortex?" you ask.

"That's... it's the part of a Saurian brain that is responsible for higher thought processes, such as reason. Forgive me, biology was never my strongest subject," replies your grandfather.

"So, it's where what people call 'consciousness' comes from, right?" you ask.

"Yes, consciousness, our ability to be aware of ourselves and exist as people," replies your grandfather.

"And that's like sapience?" you follow up the reply with.

"No... well, a bit. Sapience is our ability to reason, to understand the world around us, and to alter it to suit our ends," replies your grandfather. You pause for a moment as you piece together what he's told you with what you remember of the logs. It appears the Far Beyonders were specifically examining the part of a Saurian's brain that allows them to think, but were shocked that Saurians could think at all, as they had reason to believe they couldn't. This throws the Far Beyonders' treatment of your kind as animals into a different light. What if that's because they expected creatures like Saurians to be just like animals? Does that mean there's something... wrong with Saurians?

Regardless, you have more words to ask about.

"And can sapience... or consciousness get entangled?" you ask.

"I-no, that sounds nonsensical. Our consciousness is not something that can just get trapped in rope or something of the sort," replies your now-confused grandfather.

"Can it... decohere?" you ask hesitantly.

"Decohere? Your consciousness decoheres every time you fall asleep or you lose your train of thought," replies your grandmother. You get the feeling this isn't the answer you were looking for. Regardless, you continue on.

"Sure, got it. So, what's an 'internet?" you ask. A bewildered expression crosses your grandfather's face.

"'Internet?' I don't believe I've ever heard of something like that. What would it even mean?" he replies.

"Uh.. okay, sorry. Then... what does 'disestablishment' mean?" you ask.

"Well... that's when something that exists, or used to exist, is made to no longer exist," replies your grandfather. His words make you nervous. Is the Great Circle Contingency going to stop existing in the future? Does it somehow know what's going to happen? Considering that it might be stopping something bad from happening, that's a very disturbing thought.

You try to think of what other words you could ask them about, but you realize the remaining ones all sound like they're rather technical, and you think that the Twins would be better help for that.

"Alright, I guess that's it. Thanks so much!" you conclude, hoping your grandparents will let you on your merry way.

"Now, hold on a moment, Littlefoot..." begins your grandmother. Well, it's never that easy, isn't it?

"...you've brought us so many strange words that I can't help but wonder where exactly you got them from? Have you been eavesdropping on the Mayor?" asks your grandmother. The directness of her words takes you aback. Are you in trouble now?

"Well... uh... I wasn't eavesdropping but I actually did... just visit the Observatory. The Mayor told me to tell you that she said hello!" you blurt out, not wanting to give away everything. A dark look crosses both your grandparents' faces.

"Littlefoot... for what reason did you head to the Observatory? That's no place for a hatchling!" your grandmother replies, the concern dripping from her words. Panicking, you try to think up a response.

"No, Cobalt said I could speak to the Mayor any time about science stuff!" you blurt out.

"What science are you speaking of? All these words you have asked about, your disappearance all day... Littlefoot, is there something you have not told us about?" asks your grandfather. The admonition and fear buried in his words crush you with fear. You don't know what you could possibly say to make them feel better. If you told them you were using Far Beyonder technology and sneaking into unexplored ruins, they'd ground you for weeks!

You can't deal with this. Part of you wants to cry. If only you could be anywhere else!

"I... please... it's... I didn't... it's..." you mumble incoherently while on the verge of tears. Part of you wants to hate your grandparents for this, but another part of you knows they're right to feel this way. After all, you are nothing but a failure: a hatchling consumed by impossible fantasies.

"Littlefoot..." your grandfather begins, the tone of his voice growing softer. "...I see you've been disturbed by something today."

"Y-you don't understand..." you reply, sobbing.

"Oh... there's no need to cry, Littlefoot. We are only trying to help. Perhaps it would be best if you stayed with us until you are ready to tell us what is bothering you," he replies, trying to comfort you.

"B-but-" you begin, only to be interrupted by your grandfather.

"Hush, Littlefoot. Let yourself calm down."

A solid minute of silence passes while you breathe in and out, letting your emotions tamper down. Then, your grandfather speaks again.

"Forgive us for being so controlling... we just cannot help but be concerned with your behavior. We have seen many four-legged hatchlings such as yourself be consumed by an obsession with the Mysterious Beyond, even though exploring it remains an impossible dream. Your own mother fell victim to this and we lacked the wisdom to recognize what was happening to her. Ultimately, she ran away from the Valley and into the Outer Wilds when she was just a hatchling about your age. We... we never saw her again after that, and it was your return that informed us of the terrible fate that befell her."

Your grandfather's voice cracks as he speaks that last sentence. You feel a dull pain in the recesses of your mind. Is this what your mother went through as well? Could you also end up dying alone, just like her?

"Littlefoot, I understand that you may sometimes feel as if we are your enemies, but we just want you to be safe and happy! Please understand that we love you more than anything in the world. You are the only part of our daughter we have left and... and we cannot afford to lose it."

You don't know what you could possibly say to that.

"Now, Littlefoot, perhaps you shouldn't be wandering around the Valley unsupervised. Spend the rest of your free days with us. Perhaps we can help you," suggests your grandmother. Your instinct is to recoil at the thought. How can you let your grandparents ground you when you've just stumbled upon the secrets of the Far Beyonders and when something is about to happen in the future that only you can-

Well, can you do anything to stop it, if it's bad? You are just a hatchling. What power do you have to change anything. After all, the Far Beyonders built a Contingency to stop whatever's happening. Perhaps you should just... trust their wisdom. It would be relaxing to just let this all go and spend some much-needed time with your grandparents.

[] Accept your grandparents' suggestion and drop your quest for now.
[] No. You must continue on, even if it kills you.

Time: 10 hours/?? hours
Health: 10/10
Food: 100%
Sleep: 5 hours of wakefulness remaining
Inventory: Bridge Drone

[X] Accept your grandparents' suggestion and drop your quest for now.

As you think over your grandfather's offer, you begin to realize more and more just how... exhausted you are. All this time, you've been trying to unravel a vast mystery, but with each new discovery made only confuses and terrifies you in equal measure. You just don't know where to go from here except to spill the beams on your association with the Far Beyonders and their drones... but what would happen then? Are "37 standard time units" enough for the grown-ups to do anything?

You realize that perhaps you've gone too far. That whatever is happening is out of your hands. That it's best just to step back from all of this and be a hatchling again. Who knows, perhaps you'll finally get the knowledge you've been looking for once that timer counts down?

"Grandma, grandpa..." you begin.

"I... I'm really sorry about everything. I should've just asked you for help on... trying to understand."

"Trying to understand what, Littlefoot?" your grandmother asks. You sigh under your breath. You can't tell them the whole truth, but you can give them enough to explain yourself.

"When I was in the Museum this morning, there was a weird rainbow face who called himself "Mr. Endling." He said that he's from the Outer Wilds and that the Far Beyonders told him something bad was going to happen soon. The weirdest part is that the Far Beyonder statue in the Museum was glowing when I went there, and I'm not making this up because Cobalt saw it too!"

You shudder at these words to make your lie of omission more convincing. Your grandmother shakes her head.

"Littlefoot, that rainbow face sounds like a very disturbed man. It pains me to say this, but you may have been speaking to a lunatic."

"A lunatic?" you ask.

"Yes. A person who has lost their reason. Traveler knows "Mr. Endling" was not the first lunatic this City has seen," she replies.

"Endling? What a strange moniker," your grandfather butts in. "It's a word for the last living member of a clade, after whose death the clade becomes extinct."

That gives you pause. If the Far Beyonder named himself an "endling," does that mean he is the last Far Beyonder left alive? If so, for what reason would he randomly visit Saurians instead of trying to respond to the impending "disestablishment?"

Of course, you don't let on any of these thoughts. You simply try to continue as if your grandfather never said those words.

"I... I guess I was just fooling myself, then. I can't believe I thought everything he said was real and ran across the entire Valley!" you say to sell the lie. A pang of guilt strikes you, but you set it aside. The worry on your grandparents' faces begins to clear.

"Well, now that you have learned a valuable lesson, perhaps you would care to join us as we gather dinner?" your grandfather asks. You reply with "oh, sure!" and move to join him. You spend the next hours with your grandparents at the grove south of the geysers as the amber haze of afternoon slowly fades to the dark blue of dusk.

That night, you find yourself snacking on pinecones while staring up at the sky. With all the light reflected by Firmament's day side, few nights on this hemisphere of Wild Nest are truly dark. Still, plenty of stars are visible to the unaided Saurian eye. Shrouded Ember, Lofted Ether, and Gale's Abyss are all visible, presenting a strange and wonderous constellation of celestial bodies for you to marvel at. The best part is that Lambent Creep is nowhere in sight.

You spend the next two days in your grandparents' company, unbothered by any distractions. On the first day, an aggrieved Mendy comes to you to ask you for a favor, but your grandparents shoo her away, leaving you all to themselves. They regale you with stories from both their childhood and your mother's as you carelessly wander around the Valley, the hours seeming to pass by in the blink of an eye. You never had thought about them once being just as young as you are... or that they had been just as curious and occasionally troublesome as you. It appears the pinecone really doesn't fall far from the tree.

Of course, you occasionally sneak a few peaks at your Discovery Log when your grandparents aren't looking. The web of clues you've noted stretches across your vision. Two extra-large entries draw your attention in particular: the Creep and the Great Circle Contingency. You don't know how exactly they relate to Mr. Endling, but you know that most of the clues you've found thus far tie back to them somehow. Unfortunately, most of the leads you see point to places in the Mysterious Beyond, making them impossible to reach. Perhaps someone from MBV would have been able to investigate them, but you don't know how they could get Bridge Drones up to their existing expeditions anytime soon.

You also steal a few moments to play around with the Far Beyonder items you've acquired. From what you see on the display projected by the Bridge Drone, the Auto-Doc is meant to automatically treat injuries or administer medicine to Saurians. If you got hurt somehow, this device would spare you a healer... and would probably do a much better job as well. The Dart Shooter, on the other hand, shoots tranquilizer darts at Saurians to subdue them. It could allow you to "neutralize" any grown-up attempting to stop you from entering areas you aren't supposed to be in, but doing such a thing would get you dragged in front of the authorities and stain your reputation forever. You don't even want to think about doing it.

On the second night, you again find yourself beneath a canopy of stars, while your grandparents are lying down beside you, having already fallen asleep. The other inner moons of Firmament are in the sky once more, though Gale's Abyss has progressed halfway through its four day orbit. You try to fall asleep like your grandparents, but there's something stopping you that you can't identify. You feel tired, and yet... you can't help but stay awake.



The night is still and the stars twinkle above you as they always do. However, there's a background feeling that just won't go away. Slowly, as you lie still, you realize what it is.

Dread. It comes from the deepest recesses of your mind. You don't know how, but you feel in your bones that what you were waiting for is finally coming to pass. As you try to make sense of this, you feel the wind suddenly pick up and hear it whisper through the trees nearby. The ground seems bathed in an eerie atmosphere as the sense of wrongness you feel increases. It looks like-

Your eyes shoot open fully. The light! The ground shouldn't look this way at night! Yet, unmistakably, you see something horribly wrong in the illumination of your surroundings. A hint of crimson.

You get up with a start, and stare up at the sky. You see it then on Firmament's dark side. Flashes of flame-colored light peeking out from beneath the clouds. Your heart sinks deep into your stomach as you can only stare in horror while the light steadily grows stronger with each passing second. Then, you spot Firmament's radius begin expanding ever so slowly.

You are left paralyzed at the sight, knowing full well there's nothing that can be done. Soon, the flame-colored light also begins shining through Firmament's day side as its expansion becomes more and more noticeable. The gas giant's atmosphere turns a deeper and deeper shade of blue as its cloud bands begin to roil, losing all coherence over the span of only a minute.

The end comes in only ten seconds. The fire that had been hidden beneath Firmament's clouds suddenly shines forth as the gas giant's atmosphere lurches outward. Then, it flashes a brilliant white that overwhelms your vision... and then, you can see no more. You feel a searing heat on your scales as the smell of ozone fills your nostrils, all while you are floundering with overwhelming terror, unable to see the wave of plasma about to impact Wild Nest-

A light shines through the darkness. You feel a lurching sensation as you are dragged towards it and it transforms into an imposing statue with a single glowing eye. Suddenly, you fly forward as you feel an overwhelming force slam into your mind. Images flash before you at a dizzying speed: Firmament's explosion, the time you spent with your grandparents, your discussions with Opal and Cobalt, your adventures to the Astrodrome and the Far Beyonder ruins - no, the Zoological Laboratory. Finally, you witness Mr. Endling and your initial wanderings around the Valley before the visions fade out and awareness strikes you.

With a jolt, you wake up and feel a sore sensation on your right flank. Looking there half-dazed, you spot the fragments of a pinecone that you just rolled onto.

A very familiar pinecone.

With growing horror, you take a look around you while the uncannily detailed dream (it has to be a dream, right?) that you somehow remember every second of still is crystal clear in your mind. There it is - that same orange glow of morning. You look up, and spot Shrouded Ember transiting Firmament with Gale's Abyss and Lambent Creep beside it. Exactly as you remember them.

Your breathing grows frantic as you start to panic. This... how can it be happening? You dreamt that Firmament somehow exploded right before the Far Beyonder statue in the Museum showed you images and now you feel like you've seen all of this before! It was just a dream, but it felt so real and-

You scream at the top of your lungs when the Bridge Drone decloaks in front of you. Quivering in fear, you can just barely make out your grandfather's voice echo through the trees nearby, calling your name. Despite the fear clouding your mind, you manage to order the Drone to decloak - another thing taken from your dream - before racing towards your grandfather as fast as you can. You find him standing beside a particularly tall tree he was going to use for breakfast. He looks at you with worry as you half-stumble to him.

"Littlefoot?! What happened?!" he almost shouts. You just barely manage to sputter out a response.

"I-I had a-a d-dream that Fir-Firmament blew up and-"

Your grandfather shakes his head.

"Oh, you poor thing... there, there, Littlefoot. It was only a dream," he responds, trying to soothe you. You know that it wasn't just a dream. The Bridge Drone was right in front of you! Still, you can't let your grandfather know anything is wrong. Not until you can confirm what you suspect.

"I... I'm sorry, grandpa. It just seemed so real," you reply. Your grandfather clicks his tongue.

"Well, it could not have been real, Littlefoot. As far as I know, gas giants cannot explode. Only the largest stars do that! We are at no risk from Firmament," he explains.

"How-how do you know that?" you ask fearfully.

"Well, it is what the astronomers at the Observatory have deduced. Perhaps you should ask them for the more detailed explanation that I know you will want to hear," he says before adding, "Just make sure not to interrupt their work at an inconvenient time!"

You nod before responding.

"Well, I'll have to wait a bit anyway."

"Planning on going to the Museum, Littlefoot," your grandfather asks. You nod, to which he only tuts.

"I fear you spend far too many of your free days in there. I find this obsession... a tad unhealthy. Hatchlings like you should have many interests!" he explains, half-admonishing you.

"I'll... I'll figure something out," you reply meekly. To which your grandfather only responds with, "I pray for that."

You immediately turn around and run towards your City while that burning suspicion in your mind cannot be suppressed any longer. You race through the streets until you find yourself across the bridge leading to the Museum. There, you see it: a cordon across the entrance and a Saurian in a hazard suit cleaning up a spill in front of it.

"H-how" you stutter, your mind struggling to even grasp what you are seeing... or perhaps, you mind refuses to. In one final attempt to salvage your sanity, you listen closely... only to hear the sound of a commotion in the town square. Topsy's outburst.

You can no longer hold it in. As the full realization of what has happened washes over you, you begin sobbing right in front of more than one Saurian.

"Littlefoot, by the Traveler!" exclaims a voice besides you. Cobalt.

"I-I don't understand!" you blubber.

"Oh, dear, you don't understand what?" asks Cobalt with great concern.

"It's...this already happened! Everything's already happened!" you cry out, leaving Cobalt all the more worried and confused. Of course, you are only less, for you now understand.

It was all real. You met with a Far Beyonder, bonded to a Far Beyonder Bridge Drone, explored the Valley in your suit, then spent two days with your grandparents. Two final days together before Firmament exploded. And then, the Far Beyonder Circle Statue somehow turned back time. You woke up right back your started, as if nothing had ever happened, and yet you somehow remember everything.

It all clicks together in your mind. The Circle Statue was part of the Great Circle Contingency. This is what it was built for - to turn back time but preserve the memories of those it has been connected to. Then, that's what the Bridge Drone must be for, and why Mr. Endling had forcibly connected you to it.

You shudder at the realization. All this time, he had been trying to help you. Did he knew that Firmament would explode? Is he also connected to the Great Circle Contingency? How could a gas giant explode anyway? ...Will Firmament explode again?

You know understand you have so much more to do. You've been granted a new lease on life, and you must go further. A number of possibilities lie before you. By your estimate, it is... about 65 hours before Firmament exploded in the "past," as much as you can call it that.

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Time: 0 hours/65 hours
Health: 10/10
Food: 100%
Sleep: 15 hours of wakefulness remaining
Inventory: Bridge Drone