Further Adventures In No Man's Sky

FURTHER ADVENTURES IN NO MAN'S SKY

My spacecraft flew high above a watery world dotted here and there with islands. The sun rose over the horizon, bathing my surroundings in a golden light that made the waters below me appear to be on fire.

As I descended further I could make out more detail of the island's terrain. I could see red rocks with holes whose craters had turned green, perhaps because some algae preferred to live in these depressions.

I landed my craft on the red stoned surface of the island and climbed out to survey my surroundings. The most dominant feature of my immediate location was a tall tree with a twisting trunk, topped with scaly-looking leaves and what looked like vines dangling like loops. Large mushrooms littered the ground before me, and in the distance I could make out strange white and red-tipped cones. Were those plants or corals? From this distance, I could not tell. The sound of waves lapping at the water's edge enticed me over to the sea.

I waded out until the water was up to my stomach, and then began swimming, my environmental protection suit providing me with breathable air as I swam beneath the surface. The waters were clear and on the seabed below me I could make out all kinds of corals, some like twisted horns, some resembling giant blue brains. A movement caught my attention, and diverted my gaze toward a school of squidlike creatures. They were bright red, with whip-like tendrils that constantly waved around as the animals snared whatever tiny morsels were drifting on the currents.

My underwater swim eventually brought me close to the shore of another island. Many of its rocks stood alone, sentinels cut off from the mainland by the eroding effects of pounding waves. The island appeared to be somewhat sparse in terms of life, with only a few treelike plants clinging to its barren, rocky surface.

I made it to the shore and wandered onto land, my wet boots leaving damp prints on the rocky surface. A deep roar directed my attention to a huge creature, slowly hauling its bulk up the slope toward the island's summit. It had a decidedly dinosaur-like look to it, with a huge scaly head and a back dressed with plates just like that of a stegosaurus. It looked a powerful beast indeed, but as I watched it caught the top of a tree between its mighty jaws, bit right through it and chewed the prize into a swallowable package. A herbivore, then. Nevertheless, I gave it a pretty wide berth. It was, after all, very large and powerful.

I walked across the island until I reached the shore on the opposite side. There, I once more swam beneath the clear waters. Above me, sunlight made the waters sparkle, rays of light occasionally puncturing the water to create a dappling effect on the seabed. Weeds waved lazily in the currents. I swam down until my feet were stirring up clouds of silt.

While I was swimming close to the seabed, brushing past strands of red aquatic plants, a weird wormlike creature, came toward me, moving through the water by undulating its body. I could not make out a mouth; the front end of the creature sported only one thing: a single large eye. I did not fear the animal, as it had no mouth with which to try and eat me. My lack of wariness was costly, however, for as soon as it got close it moved with surprising speed and wrapped its wormlike body around me. As I watched in amazement needlelike protuberances that ran the length of its body tried to penetrate my suit. That must have been its method of extracting nutrients from its prey. Fortunately, my suit was far too tough for it to penetrate through to the fleshy being that was me inside. And, being a purely aquatic creature, when I was able to stand out of the water, it had no choice but to let go and head back to its natural habitat.

The next island came into view. Like the last one I had visited it was sparsely covered with treelike plants.

I stepped ashore and began my ascent toward the island's summit. At first the rocks were wet and slippery but as I climbed higher I reached a point where the tideline marked the furthest the waters could reach, and not much further beyond that the rocks were dry and a lot easier to traverse. The sun was setting, it's golden orb casting deep shadows. Upon reaching the summit I gazed around me across the sea to the various islands I had visited, and as I stood in contemplation two flying creatures, held aloft by batlike wings and with tails like a sharp V, flew swiftly past. I watched them land with well-practiced skill on the edge of a cliff, disappearing into a small cave which was presumably their home.

I decided it was time to leave this aquatic world and go in search of new worlds.

Thanks to Hello Games for the images.