Tales of Rimworld

Adventurer's Descent

When I initially set out to the Rim, I was excited. I had heard rumors of the numerous adventures and thrilling lives of those who managed to escape from it. I had grown bored of the Glitterworld, where everything ran smoothly, where there was no excitement. We could do and experience anything thanks to VR and simulations, but I never could satiate my lust for adventure. The were was no challenge to live, and even death could be cured with a simple resurrection mech serum.

In my naiveté, I decided to go on a rimworld, equipped with basic survival knowledge and a trusty charge rifle. Feeling overconfident, I didn't bother to bring an escort or ensuring an extraction company should I be in danger. After all, I wanted to have the full experience.

With one last gourmet meal in my stomach, I set out on an adventure, not knowing the dangers of the real world. I stepped out of my landing capsule, feeling for the first time the unfiltered air of a frontier planet. I had chosen to land in a temperate forest, its lush vegetation would provide me with both food and wood. I felt smart for choosing this location, and I merrily built a shelter and gathered some berries.

According to online guides, it was important to plant crops and so I did. It was quite time consuming, but it gave me a feeling of fulfillment as I tilled the soil and as I could feel the sweat running down my forehead. And everything I did; it was as if I was a child discovering the world. Sure, there were some inconveniences, like having to cook and clean myself, there was the childlike wonder for every new task I did with my own hands.

As days passed, I settled in my new base. I had cut down some trees to build a decent bedroom and, despite having a shoddy uneven bedframe, I felt contempt.

My first interaction with a human on the Rim was quite frightful. The person wasn't wearing anything but a frown and a wooden hand. The stranger charged at me with a rusty knife, but my rifle made them crumble after getting shot twice. They staggered, looking at their wound, then at me in disbelief before falling on the ground with a loud thud that echoed in the forest and in my mind.

It had been instinctive, and my mind was slowly processing that I had just shot a living human being for the first time. With my conscience resurfacing from the initial shock, I rushed to the injured and brought them to an empty room to tend to their wounds. I wasn't very experienced in medical, and so my hands fumbled a few times as I disinfected the burnt wound. The smell of burnt flesh was disgusting, but I was still intent of trying to save the person's life. As the pool of blood grew larger, my heartbeat quickened as well. I never harmed another human being just yet, and I still didn't know why they attacked me. And I never would, as I saw the life fade from their eyes.

I... didn't know what to think or do as I stare at the lifeless body in front of me. I absentmindedly look at my hands, they were shaking uncontrollably, and they were covered in blood. Their bloods were on my hands. I was breathing heavily as I froze in place. One of my thoughts was to use a resurrection mech serum, but then I remember that I wasn't on a Glitterworld anymore.

With guilt and shame, I buried my first corpse, not knowing that it wouldn't be the last. I didn't even know their name, nor where they came from. My initial optimism had been shattered after this fateful encounter, but with each passing days, the trauma faded. I rationalized it by saying that it was self-defense and that I tried to save them. I tried to remove my guilt as best as I could. I wished that I was back in my home world, I wished to flee from the reality of my murder, I wished that it was just a bad dream.

But I had no way home, and so I decided to try my best to build my own spaceship, like in the stories I had heard. I focused on gathering resources, uncovering new technologies, and expanding my base. I soon realized that I couldn't do it on my own, but there was no way for me to find new people to help me. And if I found a settlement, I wasn't sure that they would be friendly or hostile.

One day, as I was harvesting my crops, a stranger arrived in the gale. They wore a smile and waved at me, proposing to join my base in exchange for a place to stay. It was the first friendly person I had met after weeks of landing on the Rim. I eagerly accepted. It was a boon for me as it meant an additional pair of hands to handle the mountain of tasks. With the workload cut in half, we kept expanding the colony and we began to get to know each other. They used to be wanderers and they had useful passions that would help us survive. I learnt that there were different factions on the planet, with tribes, outlander unions, and pirates. At that moment, I realized that the world wasn't as monochrome as I thought.

With my new friend, we fought off those who tried raid us, trying to capture them alive and trying to change their mind. Unfortunately, I couldn't save everyone as unlucky shots killed some in an instant. Despite all of that, I talked with most of our prisoners, trying to understand them, offering them a new path in life. While most of them were reluctant at first, persistence paid off. I realized that accepting them with their flaws was much more genuine than with the people from my home world, I learnt to find middle grounds, to debate, to laugh, and to find genuine connections amidst the harsh frontier. The colony grew, and I felt closer and closer to my ticket home. Feeling confident, I set out to explore the world, knowing that my base was secure.

I had heard rumors of abandoned facilities from a by-gone era, so I went to explore them. And for the second time in my life, I left the comfort of my home to venture in the unknown. Since others had important task, I set out on my expeditions alone. 

I felt like an adventurer once again, the reason why I came here in the first place. And for days, I forgot my goal of escaping the Rim. As I explored the ruins of old research labs, broadcasting stations, and the likes, I couldn't help but stare in awe at the traces of old civilizations. Despite walking around dimly lit rooms with ancient skeletons in them, I didn't feel scared or uneasy. It felt like I was in a movie. The exhilaration of wandering in the unknown was satisfying, it almost made me forget my first traumatic experience on the Rim.

As I carefully stepped inside a musty room, my curiosity was piqued by a beeping console that glowed red. After wiping the accumulated dust off the panel, I pushed a few buttons, and the walls began to shake, with dust falling off the ceiling. I quickly ran outside, and I saw familiar looking things landing nearby. I was surprised to see mechanoids approaching, but they looked quite primitive compared to those on my home world. These ones were noisier, and their designs were similar to those depicted in old story book about the wars. Their former immaculate white paint had faded into a more greenish hue, a sign of how ancient they were.

With a blinding flash, a bolt of energy whizzed past my head, digging into the rusted metal wall behind me. I staggered, not understanding what just happened. Another projectile landed in front of me, sending dirt flying towards me. I decided to run inside to take cover, firing my charge rifle at the hostile mechanoids. Their small frames were hard to hit, but the massive mechanoid wielding the charge blaster was a better target. Some of my shots managed to pierce its thick armor, but before I could celebrate my marksmanship, the big enemy fired its weapon, destroying my cover with ease. I ran deeper inside the abandoned facility, only to disturb an ancient power node, which hissed as it was about to explode.

I barely had time to exit the room that a ball of flame emerged from the ancient object. Black smoke was already seeping through the adjacent rooms, and I quickly realized that I was stuck between a burning inferno and metallic beast, so I had nowhere to escape. With adrenaline coursing through my veins, I chose to run outside, trying to outflank the mechanoids. I caught them by surprise, destroying one in the process. I moved from cover to cover, fire a couple of shots every time. Their ancient program became their weakness as they needed more time to aim and fire. But they still managed to land a few lucky shots on me, grazing me and giving me small cuts.

After three long hours, I finally managed to take down the massive mechanoid, which let out what sounded like an agonizing cry as it fell on the ground with an earthshaking thud. Panting heavily, with the taste of blood in my mouth, I stared at the defeated beast. I had survived. I had won. With the remaining energy in my body, I trudged back to the colony. As I limped, I began putting on bandaged on my numerous wounds, staining them with my blood. Every step became slower, every movement became heavier, every breath became shallower. As my vision began to blur, I lost my balance, heavily falling on the ground. The grass became my last vision as I fell unconscious, not knowing if I would ever go back to my home base nor my home world. But at least, I lived an adventure like I always wanted to. I had met real people with their own personalities, I had learnt to work to get what I needed, and I learnt the value of living in the real world. I drew one last breath, feeling warm in my chest.