The Interstellar Boundary Marker sits at the Anomaly's heart. It is a portal device like a personal micro-portal, but larger and more stable. With the marker online, a user can jump to any space for which there are valid coordinates. Its size and stability allow it to move more kinds of cargo and living beings than a handheld ring. That performance is why Rocky chose an Anomaly as his base.
Rocky steps up to the marker. The ring spills quiet blue light. He reaches for activation.
The marker boots, but the destination list is empty.
[ The Universe Deep Space Network is not connected. Unable to obtain interstellar coordinates for transmission. ]
He expected this. A boundary marker is an enhanced portal. It still needs a backbone. Without a network bridge, the coordinates cannot be resolved. In No Man's Sky, only planetary ruin portals can work from coordinates alone. Black Star cannot tap Earth's Net from here. Coverage hugs near-Earth space, and much of cyberspace is still contaminated by the Old Net. The part humans can use is small. Rocky never planned to lean on it for interstellar work.
He files the result and walks deeper into Black Star. On a quiet platform, he calls the System.
{ Module: Atlas (low-level prototype copy)
Request: Redeem
Owner: Ascension Technology
Status: Confirmed }
{ Description: Atlas is the core intelligence of the No Man's Sky universe.
Role: Supercomputer able to model and simulate at the cosmic scale. This instance is a weakened, low-level copy suitable for network and cyberspace construction. }
This is his solution to inter-universe comms. All of his spacefaring tech so far comes from No Man's Sky modules. Matching it with a No Man's Sky-style network keeps failure modes predictable. Atlas is the entity behind that network. As a universe-scale computer, its theoretical computing is terrifying. Even a cut-down copy is enough to build a new cyberspace and harden Ascension's data posture.
Buying the Anomaly and this Atlas nearly empties three months of accumulation. Rocky accepts the cost. With these two, Ascension Technology can enter a phase of fast growth.
He confirms
A huge translucent prism resolves in the air. A deep red sphere floats at its center and breathes.
"Creator…"
This Atlas has not decayed, has not been replaced, has not been abandoned. It greets Rocky with open protocol and sends a signal. Rocky returns the handshake and assigns the mission.
Atlas begins to work.
A universe network starts to spread from Black Star's coordinates, deploying outward through nearby star fields. Cyberspace takes shape.
On Earth, at the Ascension Technology lab, a base computer that Rocky prepared for deep-space integration wakes when Atlas's signal reaches the planet. Its receiver locks, then issues a connection request to the universe network. Atlas accepts. Feedback pings Rocky: the relay has engaged.
He orders Atlas to link the universe network and the base computer.
The moment the base computer joins, Atlas harvests its location and its network profile. The relay hooks into Ascension Technology's server net. With that bridge in place, Atlas now connects both spaces at once. It becomes a live link between the universe network and the Earth network.
The Anomaly on the lab side draws the attention of Viktor (Vik) and Lissandra. Viktor knows Rocky went to space and that this device would be the key to a universe link. Details were light, so he watched.
Lissandra executes the task Rocky gave her before launch. Using the base computer's bridge, she enters the universe network.
In cyberspace, she arrives in a new region.
Lissandra is a self-aware artificial intelligence. She has her own thinking, and because of her calm nature, she seldom shows emotion. The instant she steps into this universe cyberspace, she is surprised for the first time. The space is vast beyond anything she imagined and seems to have no end. In this space, she feels small for the first time.