Spheres

**Spheres** is a Normal Mystery storyline in *Surviving Mars*.

## Overview

When the scientists discover a mysterious sphere on the Colony of Mars, it is revealed it has a thermal absorbtion effect that could plunge Mars into its own ice age. Great care must be made in the experiments on the Sphere unless the humans on Mars enjoy becoming human popsicles.

## Events

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#### Spheres: A Buried Secret

The way this sphere reflects its surroundings has struck our team as being especially odd. It reflects not what one would expect, and in some instances seems to entirely ignore the observer from the reflection.
This has the potential to be something monumental. Further excavation is most definitely encouraged by everyone here at Mission Control.
* Effect: A half-buried sphere is revealed

#### Spheres: System Shock

We will be waiting for further test results.
* Effect: The Sphere begins charging.

#### Spheres: Hello, Goodbye

Around it, temperatures fell drastically, creating a cold area that moved around with it. Mission Control is scrambling to predict where it's headed to and if this cold zone is a byproduct of its propulsion method. Or more like its function.
These are exciting times - scary, but exciting.
* Effect: The Sphere begins moving.

#### Spheres: The Sphere is a Sucker!

<hint> The Sphere drains batteries and charges quicker.

#### Spheres: Bad Vibrations

Our researchers have several theories on what this phenomenon is and should we prioritize it, we may be able to come up with a way to protect our citizens from the harmful influence of any such Sphere.
* Effect: Sphere Protection research available.

#### Spheres: More to Come

The second Sphere is now entirely independent from the first, moving in a direction of its own choosing, yet the two Spheres are clearly interacting with each other at a distance. Their humming frequencies are changing simultaneously and the more they resonate, the more a slight ionization of the atmosphere around them becomes evident.
At the moment of the splitting, vast amounts of data were gathered by our instruments, so we may have the means to dig deeper within this mystery. Until then we can only predict that some event will trigger when a certain resonance frequency has been reached by both Spheres.
* Effect: The Sphere divided into two separate Spheres.

#### Spheres: It Works!

However, this is critical for closer observation and research.
* Effect: A Sphere is being held motionless.

#### Spheres: Choose Your Poison

Our scientists are quick to inform us that any Sphere free from our decoy buildings will roll back to its splitting phase and will most probably try to retrieve the critical amount needed for their collective purpose.
We feel we have gathered enough information from these Spheres. It's been deemed that decomposing all the Spheres is our best road of action.
* Effect: A Sphere was converted into resources.

#### Spheres: 3 Up, More to Come

The good news is that the more there are, the more observation material is available for our scientists.
We should be able to paint a general picture of their purpose after investing some time to research them.
* Effect: Purpose of the Spheres research available.

#### Spheres: Climate Change

If we want to stop the change, we must find a breakthrough based on what we already know and learn how to control or cancel this process.
* Effect: A prolonged, extremely strong Cold Wave has begun.
* Effect: Xeno-Terraforming research available.

#### Spheres: To Future Generations

Our scientists are confident that we have recorded and gathered all data necessary for making sense of this encounter in the coming decades. Also, they are confident that the Spheres themselves had overstayed their welcome.
Keeping them around would have meant living with the ever-present danger of re-activating the endless Cold Wave once more, even if we had managed to find a way to halt it without destroying all the Spheres.
And despite the risks, despite the purely pragmatic reasons for destroying all the Spheres, one can't help but wonder how the generations to come will feel of this deed. Will we go down in history as cowards? Or maybe as too insensitive to the magnitude of the encounter, the very first non-man-made technology ever found?
When our scientists give up on trying to determine the origin of these Spheres, will textbooks mention that because of the rash actions and fears of the few pioneers that lived on Mars at the time, the riddle will never be solved?
* Effect: No more Spheres are left.
* Effect: Cold Wave dispelled.
* Effect: Cryo-Sleep research available.