Humanity has learned that we are not alone in the universe. And yet we are outraged with how utterly insignificant we are to the greater civilizations of the cosmos.

The Galactic Collective shapes the fate of the Milky Way, but they have no interest in any species still bound by the primitive laws of relativistic physics. In order to join the Collective, humanity must first demonstrate that we are capable of achieving LIGHTSPEED!

You are the captain of an experimental starship, compatible with exotic and alien technologies. Your mission is to explore beyond our solar system in search of more advanced equipment and the secrets of faster-than-light travel.

You have 40 days of life support; this should be enough to reach our waystations near the outer planets, where you can recharge.

Your ion propulsion engine — the culmination of decades of human research — provides a constant acceleration. There are rumors of more powerful engines elsewhere in the galaxy.

A collector array is installed to harvest antimatter, the de facto currency of the galaxy. The faster you go, the more likely you are to collect antimatter particles before they annihilate.

Objective:
Achieve lightspeed by reaching 300,000,000 m/s.

Good luck!

You come into range of a stranded vessel as a desperate voice crackles over the emergency frequency:

"Our reactor has failed, and we're down to our reserve life support! Please help us, and we'll give you something valuable from our cargo!"

Sensing a trap, you decide to leave the distressed craft behind. Better safe than sorry.

You approach the ship and see that it is indeed incapacitated.

Your engineering team has discovered that your reactor cores are compatible with the helpless ship. Aiding the ship would permanently weaken your reactor, but you're tempted by what they offer in return.

Trade one reactor core:
Your current reactor loses 1 reactor core permanently.

Receive in return:

You have no use their "valuable" cargo. You leave their crippled ship to the fate of the cosmos. Why should you compromise your own vessel to help another?

A fair trade! Your engineers uncouple a reactor core and install it in the incapacitated ship. Their reactor hums to life, and the crew cheers!

"Thank you, captain! We owe you our lives!"

The ship limps away in the direction of the nearest waystation.

As you approach the ship, a warning blast grazes your hull. You've fallen into a trap! A sinister voice assaults your radio:

"There's no chance of escape. Give us your antimatter, or your ship will be destroyed!"

Do you give in to their demands? Or do you chance an escape? Your crew looks to you for orders.

Your engines whirr to life, catching the bandits off guard. You manage to evade a volley from their weapons system and rocket out of range.

You engage your engines, but the bandits are ready. A barrage of artillery crashes into your ship. The last thing you see is fire as your hull is torn apart.

As you attempt to pull away, a volley of fire explodes against your fuselage. Your ship is rocked, but your reinforced hull holds as you zip out of range.

You reluctantly transfer over your store of antimatter.

"Heh heh, nice doing business with you..."

The bandit ship speeds off, and you are left broke.

A Galactic Collective support frigate appears on your sensors. It's uncommon for the Collective to make a presence this far out from the Galactic Core. Your radio hums, and you hear a frustrated voice piping through your translator:

"...with such primitive technology. Is it working now...? Greetings Earthling vessel. This is the Galactic Collective. We are part of an outreach program intended to assist inferi-, er..., advancing lifeforms like yourself. Please allow us to recharge your life support system."

You dock with the enormous ship, and you soon hear your life support tanks refilling. You can see alien creatures smiling and waving at your through their portholes; or at least you think they are smiling and waving.

"Helping the intellectually disadvantaged fills our lives with purpose, thank you. Most wastematter try to avoid us in these times."

You're not sure what they mean by "wastematter," but you are grateful for the assistance.

An alien vessel comes into range and contacts you on hailing frequencies.

"Greetings. We are a peaceful research vessel classifying the spacefaring lifeforms of this galaxy. We have no record of your kind in our databanks. Please send over an individual from your crew so that we may scan them with our equipment. The process is quick and painless, and in return, we will compensate you with 0 particles of antimatter.

Seduced by the offer of antimatter, you volunteer yourself for the examination despite the protests from your officers. The anatomy scanner seems far more advanced than any Earthling technology and gives you a tingling sensation. It's unclear why the researchers insisted that you be naked, but you would do anything for science. Besides, it would be rude to rebuff free antimatter.

A warship with pirate markings intercepts your vessel. Your radio squawks, and you hear an unfriendly voice:

"We have you in our sights. Surrender your antimatter or eat plasma!"

A decision must be made: give up your antimatter, or run.

You fire up you engines in an attempt to escape, but the pirates are prepared. An energy blast tears through the bridge, and you are sucked out into space. Your eyeballs freeze, and you are forced to spend your last moments watching your ship burst apart in a bluish fireball.

Your ship lurches away from the pirates before they can spin up their weapons. With some skillful maneuvering, you evade their fire and escape into the void.

You hope this reinforced hull was worth the price as you spin up your engines. Several energy shells bounce off your exterior. You hurtle away laughing as the curses fade from your radio.

You have no choice but to give up your precious antimatter.

"Thanks for stopping by, ha...ha...ha..."

You'll think twice before stopping for the next anomaly you detect.

A large, strange-looking craft drifts toward your ship. You spin up your engines preparing to flee, but a soft-spoken voice fizzles through your radio:

"Fear not, traveler. We have no interest in impeding your journey. We know that you seek the secrets of lightspeed, as we once did. Would that we could share our knowledge! like the ancients before us! Alas, our covenant with the Galactic Collective forbids it. Prejudice has poisoned their hearts, and they guard the revelations of the cosmos jealously..."

The voice drones on for quite some time, recounting the history of the Galactic Collective, its constituent members, various bylaws, administrative addenda... You feel drowsy.

You awake with a start as the voice concludes:

"... and though we are bound by our oath, we are not without compassion for the oppressed! Please choose from one of these gifts, and may it serve you well."

Choose a module to add to your ship:

Your engineers have no trouble installing the new module, despite the alien technology.

"May the stars light your path. Farewell."

The vessel blinks away. You feel quite refreshed after your encounter.