Where in the Galaxy is Tepka-101?
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Today, we’ll be deep diving into one of the greatest mysteries of modern intergalactic travel. A mixture of scientific anomaly and unprecedented superstition.
Everybody thinks they already know the story of Tepka-101: a failed prototype, locked away in a museum until it was stolen, and showing up in increasingly strange circumstances. But we’re about to blow all your theories out of the water.
Tepka-101 - The Hyper-condenser That Couldn’t
After the failure of their Silvum series hyper-condenser, the Ulmaat scientists began work on a new Tepka series model. The Ulmaat scientists hoped that, with a vastly improved technical design and a more efficient power generation system, the Tepka series would power the first ever Relay Station.
Designs were finalised. Construction began shortly after. It took nearly three years of non-stop work and rigorous testing until the Ulmaat scientists had finally engineered a functional Tepka series hyper-condenser. They dubbed their creation Tepka-101.
Under controlled testing parameters, Tepka-101 performed without issue time and time again. From that perspective, the Ulmaat scientists deemed it logical to take testing into the next phase: installing Tepka-101 into their prototype relay station, the Forward Arc.
Where did it go wrong?
Tepka-101 proved to be a very troublesome piece of technology.
The installation of the hyper-condenser into the Relay Station went all according to plan. It was when trying to engage Tepka-101 that things started to go wrong. Years of lab testing without so much of a minor issue, thrown out because Tepka-101 seemed incapable of engaging once installed.
The Ulmaat scientists checked everything thoroughly.
Every screw, every cable, every electrical wire. Any component that they could conceive of being incorrectly connected to the hyper-condenser or the relay station, the double and triple checked. Months were spent trying to deduce the cause of Tepka-101’s unforeseen failure.
No one knows how many times the Ulmaat scientists tried to reinstall the hyper-condenser. A common consensus is that they lost count after the tenth try.
As more and more time passed, those Ulmaat scientists were forced to concede that the Tepka-101 model was a lost cause. Tepka-101 was uninstalled and the team began working on the Tepka-201 model.
Many years after its construction, Tepka-101 was officially decommissioned by the Ulmaat Prime Association. They stopped all research on it and shipped it off to be displayed in the Lavitun Muse on Ulmaa. There, Tepka-101 stood as a testament to the Ulmaat determination. A reminder to the people that, although there were many hardships during the process, the Forward Arc was finally complete and the Ulmaatis were the first species to jump from one galaxy to another.
It wasn’t until after Tepka-101 was stolen from the Lavitun Muse when the rumours began to spread.
Sabotage on the Forward Arc
A common theory amongst the Ulmaatis and undoubtedly the one that makes the most sense.
The Curators of Honest Tales (CoHT) Society pieced together a timeline for all of the scientists who worked on the Tepka series hyper-condenser. They found that two of the lead scientists - Z’Poxu and D’Urquan - were in charge of installing Tepka-101 in the Forward Arc. Every instance of it’s installation, at least one of the two scientists were present.
Not much of a conspiracy to start with, but add in the fact that Z’Poxu and D’Urquan were longtime friends and that both were removed from the project late into the development of Tepka-401, it adds a little bit more sustenance to the theory.
Further digging by the CoTH Society found that Z’Poxu and D’Urquan were against the design schematics of the Tepka-101 and were vying for their own schematics to be used in its place. Their theory is that, being angered by both Tepka-101 and Tepka-501 and the formers remembrance in the Lavitun Muse, Z’Poxu and D’Urquan stole Tepka-101 from its display (or more likely, hired someone to do it for them).
“Spite.”
“What?”
“Spite! I’m telling ya, Tepka-101 didn’t work out of spite! The bloody thing was sentient, they stuck it in a muse, then when they realised exactly what was wrong with it they faked it being stolen.”
“You’re crazy, M’Andock. A hyper-condenser can’t be sentient. It’s impossible.”
“Oh ya, then why is the Ulmaat Prime Association so insistent on covering the whole thing up?”
Was Tepka-101 Conscious?
An unlikely theory, of course. The probability of a hyper-condenser having any form of consciousness is almost nil (the Ulmaat Prime Association were unwilling to rule out the possibility, no matter how small, which is likely why such a rumour has grown so much in the first place).
No one truly knows how this rumour started. Some claim the source to be a rowdy debate at a local bar. Others claim that one of the scientists removed from the project - again, Z’Poxu and D’Urquan make an appearance - were removed because they wanted to reveal the truth to the public. Others believe that the Ulmaat Prime Association started the rumour to cover up the more sinister truth.
No matter what one believes the source of the rumour to be, they all think the same. Tepka-101 had been aware and refused to be installed as the hyper-condenser for the Forward Arc. Was it spite? Did it long to be something more than a hyper-condenser? Did it simply wish to not be left alone, knowing that such a scenario would be inevitable if the installation was ever completed?
The Haunting of Tepka-101
By far the most outlandish theory. The idea that something was haunting Tepka-101 is more popular amongst other species, particularly the Terrans (they find it extremely funny) and the Zarcants (who are rather superstitious).
The theory goes that something was killing the scientists who were trying to instal Tepka-101 on the Forward Arc. Believers of this theory imply that the being - referred to simply as ‘the Gharl’ - would possess any scientist that came near Tepka-101 and use them to kill the other scientists present.
It goes on reports from scientists working on Tepka-101 that they experienced a constant feeling of unease, especially under the ever watchful eye of their lead scientists. It also goes off of a one of report, published by a mysterious group that didn’t actually exist (rogue scientists from the project trying to reveal the truth, perhaps), that the death toll during the installation of Tepka-101 was almost into the hundreds.
An unbelievable tale, for the most part. But then during Tepka-101’s time at the Lavitun Muse, many people said they felt a similar unease walking past or around Tepka-101’s display.
As for who removed Tepka-101, the theory claims two possibilities. 1) The Ulmaat Prime Association removed it from the display and destroyed it after a rise in attempted murders at the Lavitun Muse. 2) That the Gharl haunting Tepka-101 possessed someone exploring the Muse and forced them to steal it.
Regardless of what you believe, Tepka-101 has reported sightings across the entire galaxy. From being on pirate ships, to ending up in personal collections of private collectors. Each sighting shares a similar tale - once Tepka-101 was identified by an outsider, violence in the area increased and those who identified Tepka-101 usually ended up dead.
When I climbed aboard the Astraza (albeit, unknowingly) I didn’t think I would find such a treasure. It is everything the rumours say it is and more.
Tepka-101.
The pulse it emits beats in time with all three of my hearts. I can hear it - the whisper of a song - but so can they. That’s why they want to kill me. But no. I need to kill them.
That’s what Tepka-101 wants right? Blood.
A sea of pirate blood.
UGY 4200 - Tepka-101 Becomes a Pirate
After being stolen/removed from its display in the Lavitun Muse, Tepka-101 spent years missing. Eventually, Tepka-101 was spotted aboard the Astraza, a ship helmed by Captain Y’Karee and her crew of thieves.
The account comes from a stowaway who accidentally stumbled upon the Astraza after a drunken night with friends. The stowaway, never named when the story is retold, broke into the Captain’s quarters in an attempt to hide from the crew once they realised an outsider had gotten aboard the ship.
There before the stowaway was a hyper-condenser, the core still pulsing a light blue, contained in a delicate glass case. Before the stowaway was found, he documented the sighting on a piece of paper and hid it in his coat pocket.
He was found some time later in a crate on Jov’n Bay. When Ulmaat Prime Association officials finally came to collect his battered and bloodied body, they found the note, and with it a piece of hope at recovering their lost Tepka-101.
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Author's Notes
This article was created as part of the World Anvil Summer Camp 2020 event.
Summer Camp 2020