Try reaching out with your mental capacities.

Like I’m trying to communicate with an Administrator?

Yes.

Alright.

Alan concentrated, trying to detect some sort of machine presence or consciousness he could interface with. To his surprise, he detected a faint presence before him, and initiated contact.

Hello? Anyone home?

… Systems Initializing. Error. Warning: Limited Power.

Greetings Traveler. Warning: ERROR. Main Systems Offline.

Traveler? Are you an Administrator? What are you doing here?

ERROR: Bad Request.

Wha—

Resuming Power Savings Mode. Estimated remaining power supply for limited functionalities: 34 Millennia. Please contact the Authorities and repair or supply power source, Traveler. Current threat level: Gamma.

The presence cut off, and a new quest appeared before Alan:

Threat level? What’s that? And how did you know that I should reach out to try to contact some machine presence?

I am unsure. My actions have been motivated by a faint sense that I have been here before, or I know something I shouldn’t… There is no data in my memory to indicate I was ever here before. This is highly disturbing. A threat level only appears in a quest which could potentially lead to far reaching and possibly horrific consequences. The highest known threat level is Alpha, which was only once recorded during a universe wide genocidal rampage, the Predecessor War, while the lowest threat level is Gamma.

Yet even Gamma threat level quests have been known to influence the fate of entire planets. I am unsure if the threat level is because of the time limit or possible effects of the quest. Guilds and factions, even enemies such as the Empire, Haxlards and the Republic often band together to solve such quests. We should continue on, and try to find more. Proceed with caution.

But, there’s no way forward.

Try again.

Alan pressed his hands forward once more, pushing against the invisible structure before him. This time he heard a whir of gears as a passageway opened. Alan stepped through the entrance, finding himself led through a boxed in, dimly lit metal tunnel. It was comforting to be surrounded by walls and a ceiling again. What was more disturbing was the information Eve had.

The tunnel led into a central hub area, about the size of a movie theatre. It seemed to have been long forgotten, scavenged clean of any furniture, parts or items. There was a large screen on a far wall, but it was broken and looked to be ancient. Alan didn’t notice anything else of import in the room, not even a control panel for the screen. There were several tunnels that led out of the room. Clearly, this wasn’t a simple labyrinth. Perhaps it was some sort of research station or…

A prison.