Colonising The Death Planet

Red, Hideki, and Spike quickly realised there wasn’t much hope. Thriving within the subterranean planet was almost certainly futile. Water, warmth, food, and oxygen were practically non-existent. The initial survey determined they were inside The Death Planet. How and why they were there was anyone’s guess. The first Duplicant would be printed in a few cycles. Strike the earth!

The crew set out to clear some space and gather some resources to prepare for the first night, which was rapidly approaching. The earth was mined and materials were gathered, enough to hastily assemble three cots and an outhouse. As the night settled in, so too did the Duplicants. When morning broke, it was time to build a power source and a microbe musher. Red set to producing some mush bars to keep the crew going. Hideki and Spike surveyed the land and started to assemble the start of what would become home.

A few cycles in and things are looking good. There’s enough mush bars to go around, the outhouse is being kept clean, and the algae deoxydizer is busy converting algae into life giving oxygen. Some caverns the crew had broken into had contaminated some of the oxygen, but they were able to keep the contamination under control with the help of some air deoderizers. One of these caverns was home to something monumentally useful. A body of clean water. It sat patiently, glimmering gently before them. Proper amenities were close.

Suddenly, the Duplicator burst into life, and Bubbles stepped forth. She took a moment to get her bearings and greeted the crew as she passed by to begin construction on the sewerage system - Duplicants don’t care much for pleasantries. Disposing of waste is not a glorious task, but a robust and resilient sewerage system would allow for the expansion of the colony. It was no menial task either with extensive planning, massive excavations, unending days of labour, and the ever looming threat of death.

Despite the treacherous conditions, it was still an unfathomable shock as Bubbles discovered the body of Spike, lifeless, and still clutching his tools. He suffocated a stone’s throw away from the air lock. The oxygen wasn’t rich down in the facilities line, but it was enough for short stints of work. Spike must have stayed back to finish off his work. A burial site was made, but the work must continue otherwise the entire colony might meet the same fate as Spike. The Death Planet had claimed it’s first victim.

The colony had grown to around ten Duplicants, and construction on the sewerage system had recently completed. The bathroom facilities were up and running, but something wasn’t right. Unbeknown to the colony, the pipes were laid incorrectly and only one toilet was functioning. When the crew realised, it was too late to begin the huge effort to resolve the situation. The tireless workers had to go where they stood and continued to perform their duties. Conditions started to deteriorate rapidly - and then the crew ran out of algae. One by one, the algae deoxydizer’s stopped working. In the span of one cycle, conditions became unsustainable - and they were closing in on death.

The surveyors had determined there was a deposit of algae residing within the earth not far west of the colony. It could keep the algae deoxydizer’s going for a bit longer. They could dig further out and hope to find oxygenated caverns, food, water, anything. With few options left, the colony began mining what became known as The West Tunnel. It was a race against time, and the harder they worked, the faster the clock ticked. The oxygen in the tunnel was sparse and toxic in places. The length of the tunnel meant that only small portions of work could be completed in one journey. To be put to work within The West Tunnel was a harsh and gruelling assignment.

As work on The West Tunnel dragged on, Duplicants started to suffocate in the tunnel. Duplicants starved at home. The algae deposit was reached, but most of the crew lay motionless where they fell. Bubbles and Eugene were the only Duplicants left standing. There was enough rations to keep them going, and the algae would be plenty for just the two of them. The West Tunnel sat deathly still as it leeched toxic air into the carcass of the crew’s home. The West Tunnel was stripped of its algae supply and no further attempts were made to dig further. Toxic air, strange creatures, and corpses were all that were left within the tunnel, and it was sealed off - never to see the artificial light of technology again.

Bubbles and Eugene migrated essentials to the level above their home into a pocket of breathable oxygen. All three original founders had now passed. Bubbles was the first Duplicant to step into their world, and she saw it her mission to rebuild and truly colonise The Death Planet. As they worked to stay alive, the machines built below slowly died as the power drained and the dust settled. The only machine that stood tall and lit the cavern was the Duplicator.

Progress was being made, the crew had bolstered to five Duplicants. The West Tunnel was never breached again, but the old home saw expeditions to retrieve water and salvage dead machinery. The algae supply was almost empty, but an electrolyzer was constructed to replenish the oxygen. A new piping system was built and ran straight through the old home to bring water up to the electrolyzer. The crew was able to maintain a steady supply of oxygen and food with new facilities.

Now the threat was exhausting the water supply. Construction began on expanding the contaminated water supply storage area, and constructing an additional storage zone for clean water. A water purifier was slated to be built, allowing a continuous source of clean water.

While constructing the new storage zone, Bubbles fell off the ledge into an unreachable location filled with toxic air. The clock started ticking as the rescue crew scrambled to build a ladder to bring Bubbles back from limbo. The crew wasn’t going to make it in time, though Bubbles wasn’t about to accept her fate as there was much work to do. Bubbles tunneled through the earth into a pocket of oxygen to buy the crew more time. Just as Bubbles inhaled the last of the oxygen, the rescue crew made contact and Bubbles was successfully extracted preventing The Death Planet from claiming yet another victim.

Cycles passed and the colony began to prosper. New Duplicants joined the ranks and the recycled water system was functioning which allowed oxygen production and food creation. The colony was at ease again and lived happily just above the rotting carcass which served as a perpetual reminder of the toils endured to get to where they were.

Bubbles reminisced about Red, Hideki, and Spike wishing they were able to see how far they had come. None of this would have existed without them.

Suddenly, a new patch was released which meant older saves could no longer be played but it had new content like more buildings and items and stuff.