He owned, of all things, a trash planet. How did he manage to own an entire planet? Well, when you have an IQ that puts nearly all of the rest of the human race to shame, it's not hard to figure out how to get ownership of such a thing. Besides, no one argued much when he won the bet and requested a trash planet in a rather out-of-the-way area of space as his reward. And, with it, he was able to tinker to his heart's content with a nearly inexhaustible supply of parts. He had been 18 then, and now at 25, his newest project was almost completed.
The ship was odd, to be sure. Made of dozens of parts from several various races, but it worked perfectly. Strong engines, improvised defensive weaponry, and the inside was almost as luxurious as an expensive passenger liner. But he did not build it for himself. His ship towed the odd-looking vessel from the planet and he headed toward the planet where his close friends lived. The "dinos" as he called them had not only saved his life, but had been there when he was young and had no one else to turn to. Especially one family in particular. This gift, one of love, gratitude, and admiration, was for them. -- Anon Guest
One man's trash is another man's treasure -- Ancient Human saying.
Never bet Doughnuts to Planets with a Human -- A far more modern saying.
Jun had been eighteen when he won the trash planet. The generous dinos -who had more or less raised him from a feral stowaway they'd found in their hold- made sure he had adequate nutrition, shelter, and company whilst he tinkered with everything left on the trashworld. He'd named it New Workshop. It was everything it said on the tin.
Jun's first invention was a series of seekerbots that went out and found the essential elements. The second, after a small array of programming mishaps, was a set of seekerbots that sought out potentially active technology first. That cut down significantly on the "new craters per Standard Week" statistics.
There were still plenty of instances where Jun needed to check his notes. At least he was able to prepare for that more often than not and watch the resulting explosions from a safe distance. Nothing was wasted, technically speaking. It had all begun as waste anyway. Thanks to molecular disassemblers and molecular fabricators, Jun had everything he could possibly need, dream up, and design.
Many of his inventions in order to work effectively on the Big Project were highly profitable. Jun incorporated and hired one of his dino parentals to manage the funds for the good of the many. The management of all that wasn't as important as the Big Project. Not to Jun.
There on the trashworld, there were pieces of technology from just about every civilisation known to... well... civilisation. Some from civilisations nobody had heard of before. Half of Jun's extended work was finding out what half of his finds actually did and perhaps, on the way, what they were supposed to do[1].
The next step, was figuring out how to make the best available technologies work together. This is, as one might suppose, harder than one might think at the onset. Yet, through a combination of determination, serendipity, and relentless tinkering, the Big Project finally launched.
Vorax shielding, Zelphanian scanners, the infamous Human-made Hungry Caterpillar, and a gravy drive installed by a passing family of Nae-hyn who had moved in for the joy of the living project. The very best of molecular disassemblers and re-assemblers, the very best protein growth vats, the very best contained crop and oxygen rejuvenation facilities. The very best cleanliness booths. The very best habitation units.
Jun had thought of everything. In meticulous detail. It may have won some form of note for being the first Human-made vessel that did not contain so much as one gram of ductape. At least, within common knowledge[2]. It lifted off the surface of New Workshop like a poem, graceful and luxurious in its ascending spiral.
It also, Jun revealed, contained the very best livesuits and defensive weaponry. By which, he also counted himself. There's something about being the person who invented several very well-known weapons that makes people not want to attack the ship they're on.
"This," he announced to his surprised parentals, "is the Grattitude's Gift. The perfect exploration and planetary survey vehicle. You can go almost anywhere in this thing, find out everything, even explore with the maximum possible disaster protection."
It would get its inaugural piece of ductape a month later.
[1] This is a very important distinction for Human inventors. Most of Human progress can be encapsulated in the following thoughts: "Hey! It wasn't supposed to do that. I wonder why it did..."
[2] Because, by the time most Human-made vessels make it to other destinations, they're going to contain some ductape in their construction.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / TsuneoMP]
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