 The game takes place on Anachronox (a portmanteau of anachronism and noxious, meaning "poison from the past"), a small planet floating inside a huge artificial sphere known as Sender One. Husks of futuristic cities exist on artificial tectonic plates, which constantly shift to connect different parts of the planet. Inhabitants believe that diseased aliens were quarantined there eons ago, resulting in the name Anachronox. Northern Anachronox is clean and upscale, while southern Anachronox is crime-ridden and run-down. Humanity travels to different planets from Sender One, which had been the center of a transportation system for a race of non-humanoids enabling faster-than-light travel. Inbound and outbound traffic stops at Sender Station, an orbiting construct above Sender One with hotels and a red light district. Civilizations conduct business using currency like the one-dollar coin known as a "loonie", while several people collect MysTech — shards of rock with markings, believed to be dormant weapons or art pieces created by an extinct alien race. MysTech were first found three-hundred years ago, and are poorly understood, though avidly collected.
