Disco Discoveries
Relics that are Aware
The actual name of the La’zen was not known. In some of the older passages or corridors of the station could be found the letters that, perhaps, provided the full name of the station, but most inscriptions were faded and worn out. In almost all cases the letters ‘La’ were visible and more often than not the letters that ended the inscription were ‘zen’. Eventually residents of the station just referred to their home as the La’zen.
The station was perfectly positioned within its solar system. The planet it circled was desolate, but there were several moons that provided for the station. Support moons were power houses for resources and they often overproduced to the point they not only supplied for residents of the station, but equally benefited from the traffic frequenting therein through trade.
Intergalactic trade coming to the La’zen brought much opportunity for all. Several star systems within La’zen’s constellation had space faring species. In time any curious traveler would discover the La’zen and introduce their culture to the station. Some were mighty, some timid, but all seemed to respect the hub of trade the La’zen represented.
One would think that the mightiest of all civilizations would lay claim to the system and never let go. Many have theorized on why the system remained independent from others with the most prevalent explanation being that the neighboring mega-civilizations preferred the La’zen’s solar system as a buffer amongst themselves.
The mere existence of the La’zen gave evidence that the system being a transition zone had not always been the case. Someone had built it and the technology at the core was not fully understood by any. There were guilds that specialized in services or functions to maintain the station; none had a full picture of how the entire thing worked.
Like the name of the station the originating civilization’s name could be found throughout the La’zen on artifacts, terminals and similar places. Or, at least, it was accepted that the letters adopted for the name of the civilization that built the La’zen were found in these places often accompanying the name La’zen. None really knew. The prominent letters denoting the civilization’s name were that of Rot, Roth and Roth’sian. At first the progenitor civilization was referred to as the first three letters Rot. Those that liked to think in some romantic way dubbed it the Empire of Rot. Eventually the elegant speculation took over and vague references to imperial or empire were identified as being references to Rot. Inhabitants of the station even fondly referred to themselves as imperial citizens; but, other than seeking out their own existence through trade and commerce they were beholden to none.
Even the adopted names of the La’zen and the Rot civilization were eventually going to be forgotten. Due to the continued availability of resources portions of the station were constantly being modified, added to, decommissioned and repurposed. The station was constantly evolving and transforming through time. One could imagine, eventually, all that was originally built will, at some point, be recycled or adapted into something else.
It was the discovery of, the refurbishing or repurposing of old technology that Stewart enjoyed the most. Happily back in his quarters Stu could be found hunched over the “light fixture” and “circuit board” combination that had nearly got him and Roz abducted by whomever the mysterious stranger was.
Roz approached and requested access to Stu’s residence the same as she did before with a light tap on the door. She peeked in and saw him working on the device and smiled.
Despite his curiosity over this gadget nearly getting them in trouble she couldn’t fault him for them being discovered. She and Stu had a bit of an arrangement: Stu pieced things together and she found a buyer for them. When attempting to sell things himself Stu would always come over a little strong and lose a sale.
Not breaking concentration on the pieces before him Stu nodded for Roz to enter. Roz whispered as she approached, “What’s interesting about this one Stu?”
“Didn’t you see?”, he replied without looking up, “The light changed as the stranger approached.”
Roz thought back and she vaguely remembered, He was right. The light, as it is now, was blue, but the scene intensified as it changed from blue, to amber and did she also see red?
“Maybe you bumped, fumbled the wires and disrupted the signal as he approached.”, she stated.
The light attached to the circuits flickered a little transitioning towards yellow.
“Nah, that ain’t it. Look at this connector and all these wires. I’ve never seen anything this complicated and I can’t quite ...”, Stu stopped speaking and tugged at the wires to free them from the light. After a moment, he relaxed and gave up with light transitioning back to a solid blue.
With a frown and shrug Stu stood up from the workstation and stated finishing his sentence, “... get the wires back off.”
“So you think that the circuits somehow knew we were in danger?”
“Yes, it’s the only thing that really makes sense.”
With squinted eyes Roz twisted her lips into an expression of doubt, “I think it is just coincidence, it is more likely it is one of those disco lights you find at the clubs.”
The lighting in the room turned from blue to red.
Roz raised an eyebrow, Stu’s face transformed into an expression of excitement and he exclaiming, “It is aware of the environment!”
The room changed to green.
Stu’s eyes widened and he looked at Roz as he mouthed the words: “I knew it!”
The room returned back to a blue hue.
For about an hour the room changed randomly between the colors of blue, green, amber and red. Roz and Stu extensively interrogated the circuit board to both figure out what it was and what types of questions or statements caused a change in lighting.
It became apparent that only definitive statements elicited a response from the circuits with blue indicating some sort of neutral state. Green lighting was produced when a statement was correct. Amber light was produced when the statement was only partially true. Red illumination was the result of a statement that was absolutely wrong.
Exhausted and out of clever things to ask the pile of circuits, Roz and Stu sprawled out on a nearby couch. Without notice a familiar face showed up on the communication terminal of the room
“Imperial citizens in the Solarium Sector secure yourselves; the debris-drifters have been deployed for your protection. All others use caution in surrounding sections of the station and do not venture within.”
The room turned red.
Roz with a look of disgust stated, “Not surprising he lies about his appearance too.”
The room turned green and after a moment or so returned to blue.
I hesitated a little in creating the name of the portion of the station that was to be evacuated. So, I thought I would query Chat GPT for some inspiration.
Me:
Roz I would like to speculate how floors or portions of the La'zen were named about the time you got your first ship. Can you supply a few suggestions maybe 10 or so?
ChatGPTRoz:Ah, ye be wantin' names for the decks and sectors of the grand La'zen, aye? Let me spin ye a tale or two of the names that were whispered in the space ports and starlit bazaars back in the day when I first laid hands on me ship. Here be a list of ten suggestions, each with its own story and character:
Nebula Nest: A floor known for its lively taverns and colorful marketplaces, brimming with goods from across the galaxy.
Gravity's Grasp: A sector of the station known for its high-tech gravity simulators, used for training and recreation.
Starlight Promenade: A luxurious deck adorned with lights and exotic plants, offering breathtaking views of the stars.
Cosmic Crossroads: The main hub of the station, bustling with travelers and merchants from far-off worlds.
Asteroid Alley: A somewhat rugged and less-refined area, popular with miners and those seeking adventure.
Quantum Quarters: A residential section known for its advanced living accommodations and high-tech amenities.
Galactic Gardens: A serene and lush area of the station, featuring botanical wonders from various planets.
Eclipse Enclave: A mysterious and slightly secretive section, rumored to be the meeting place for various factions and guilds.
Solarium Sector: An area dedicated to solar energy research and development, glowing with the power of the sun.
Void Vista: A section of the station with minimal artificial lighting, favored by astronomers and those who prefer the dark tranquility of space.
Each of these names be like a star in the night sky, each tellin' its own tale and holdin' its own secrets. The La'zen, she's more than just a station; she's a world of her own, with each corner a different adventure.
I felt a little icky using the Solarium Sector directly, but it will fit into what is to come; so I decided not to hesitate on using it. Not all will be lore of my new universe, but Solarium Sector will be adopted :D.
The following are variants of the images generated and the captions are the prompts given to generate them.
A little too loud and the circuit board looks too much like a typewriter.
I felt this had similar problems to the previous, so I tried again.
This was pretty good, but I wanted to try a little more.
I prompted further and got one I liked.
But, one more just in case.
