Part 9: Ding Dong, The Worm is Dead

Chapter 9: Ding Dong, The Worm is Dead

Dear Mr. Hutama, why does the alien tubers make my pee smell funny?

-Bobby Sands of Jimboomba, Age 6


Bobby, you must be mistaking me for a science whiz. I majored in Political Science. But! Thanks to our wonderful new computers, I can look up the answer for you. Turns out it's because of a compound they produce that reacts with your stomach in a weird way, and your stomach can't completely digest it. It might cause your pee to turn a weird color too, but it's perfectly harmless, so don't worry.

Unfortunately, that's as far as I can go with the regular schedule. An hour before this broadcast began, I received word that Polystralian soldiers had begun an all-out assault on the Great Worm.



There is no reason to be afraid. The ultrasonic fences are up and running at full power thanks to the even greater efficiency of our thorium reactors. We are in no danger here. But we should all take a moment to say a prayer for our brave marines.





There are a number of quests that fired this update, but rather than hold a vote on each one, I picked what seemed to make the most sense based on previous votes. This should allow us to get farther in the game with each update. I hope nobody minds.





Given our ethos of living well, getting more Health out of Pharmalabs seemed like the only choice. The other option was more Science, for the record.





The other choice was +5% Military Unit production, which doesn't seem to fit us at all.





This either gives Explorers an additional Expedition module they can use before returning to a base and resupplying, or gives Laboratories an additional +1 Science. I went with the Science, since we've already explored most expedition sites in our vicinity.


For the same reason, I have to postpone my interview with Doctor Sochua. But that's good in a way, because we'll have more to talk about next time, since our scientists have developed some neat new robots.



Now those geniuses are hard at work unlocking the vast energy potential of the region's geology.



Anyway, our finest commanders and biologists are already on the scene, so I decided it would be best to step out of the way and trust them to do their job. Thus, the Q&A session earlier. And... I'm now receiving word that the assault has concluded, with our forces victorious. That's right, the Worm is dead.



I'm taking a rover to the site now, so I can reward these heroes with the honor and riches they deserve. Have a safe day, everyone.




“I thought you'd never wrap that up. There are a lot of things that need your attention.”

“Hey, I'm not the only leader around here, you know. This is exactly why we have a Committee.”

“Right, sorry. But you are the one who sets the beat for everyone else.”

“No worries, intern. What's up?”

“First of all, you remember that weird... signal you got on your computer a while back? We may have found a possible source. The only problem is that it's coming from a lake of high-protein xenomass, and we need to decide if investigating is worth draining and disrupting the lake. It might also be a good idea to leave it alone, so whoever it is doesn't know we discovered them. ”



“What makes you think it's related?”

“It might not be, you're right. But as soon as we found the signal, it somehow deposited encrypted files in our laboratory's computer banks, which the scientists have had only limited success deciphering. It really has them spooked.”



“Hmm. Okay then. I'll decide on that on the way. Is that all? We have to get moving.”

“You're not going to like this next bit.”

“Out with it.”

“Just... look at this satellite image.”



*Incoherent Indonesian swearing*


Yep, that's right. Another fucking Siege Worm, in the exact same fucking place. Hahaha,

Anyway, for the Cultural Burden decision, the first option gives us a Xenomass tile, which is currently useless since we can't improve it, while the second option leads to another choice:





The cultural records give Purity XP, and the technology records give Supremacy XP. Both are useful and justifiable, but it's up to you guys.

Killing the Siege Worm also got us enough culture for a new Virtue, so please vote on that as well. Here is the new one we have access to:



As well as: Adaptive Tactics (+50% military unit XP gain), Frugality (+10% Food retained after city growth), Foresight (+10% Science when Healthy), Scalable Infrastructure (+15% Wonder production), and Social Investment (+2 Production from Manufactories)

Also, here is what our whole tree looks like:



To say we are an industrious people is an understatement.