Entrope

The Entrope are one of the Minor Aliens in The Long Journey Home.

Description
The Entrope are robotic builders.

Who built the Gates? Nobody knows but the entrope, and they're not telling. This self-replicating drone workforce is the product of a long-deceased race that robotized all production and then disappeared, leaving it behind to continue its work.

The Entrope's name comes from 'entropy' - chaos will eat everything. But for the moment, they're the galaxy's equivalent of global warming or fuel shortages; a problem that everyone is quite happy to leave for the future to worry about as long as they get the benefits now.

Specifically, the Entrope are the only ones who can repair and occasionally construct new gates as they move through the galaxy in search of new resources. They're 'friendly' because they're programmed as marketing droids - to seek out new life and new civilizations, and sell them what everybody considers worthless products. Devices that don't do anything. This is why almost every system has an Entrope starbase in it - a galactic marketing network, still producing products on behalf of long dead society for a universe that doesn't want them.

Entrope are programmed not to be aggressive, and not to consume inhabited planets or active ships. Usually, they don't. For this reason, the other races are oddly unconcerned about their millions upon millions of drones, and mostly interested in them opening up new space for them to travel, and repairing the gate network system for their own use. Most races are working on the construction of their own gates, but as yet they have yet to master the technology - the power requirements in particular are generations beyond anything.

Entrope will usually not even fire back in their own defense, the loss of one or even hundred drones being an irrelevance to them. The Entrope never take offense however. They're not that smart. This means that their bases are often used by the other races as neutral meeting points. Their factories can also be commissioned to produce certain advertising-supported devices on request, such as replacement space landers. Their drones will also usually offer aid to any stranded ships and respond to their calls, though it is a bad idea to rely on them being around. Space is big. Really big. Even billions of drones won't literally be everywhere.

Their hull contains an advanced compression technology. An individual Entrope can shrink down and hold about an entire asteroid field worth of matter in its body, before returning to base. This is beyond any of the races' ability to replicate, and is thought to be how the Gates manage to hold the incredible power required for cross system jumps. Nobody else is even close.

The darkening of the stars has resulted in a stockpiling of white matter to hold back galactic collapse, with the Entrope actively putting expiry dates on entire civilizations when they get boring. Their plan is that by giving new ones a jump-start with precursor tech, each Great Cycle will avoid stagnation. What's actually happened though is that most races just use what they've got and don't invent the kind of new stuff that they should be doing.

You can replace your lander at their stations. If you are short on one can pawn planets in the name of humanity. Just beware of pawning too many... see achievements. They do not roam around in ships.

It is them who support the Reeve in their migration by voluntarily crashing some gates on worlds. They are also in charge of reporting any issues for the galactic gate network and the "four" spheres. If hacked they reveal that the initial sphere is "Sphere 2", which indicates other spheres still linger in the galaxy... see achievements.

The race that build the Entrope is far older than the one that imprisoned the Ceruleans in the keystones and used them for the spheres' and gates' energy supply. If hacked the Entrope reveal, that the Tchansu originated from the dark sectors, the area outside of their own presence. Today both races are extinct.

This begs the question if the gates were erected in the era of the Tchansu and not in the time of the Entrope's creator or if they simply switched to the more efficient energy source of Cerulean energy. If they found a symbiotic relationship with the Tchansu they were at best their 'adopted father' during the height of the empire. Although it begs the question who adopted who as the Tchansu had a warfleet, but were a centralist sedentary empire and consequently wiped out in a single sector contained supernova.

The Entrope actually sealed the gates of the surrounding sectors to keep Earth in a state of self-evolution. Due to the spread of precursor technologies among new races, the galaxy has gone into decline. As Zoe remarks often, nothing is similar developed like Earth, the new races can't even compare to their ancients that went extinct or ascended. Maybe the Entrope want to recultivate this awakening of races by themselves. Ultimately, the gate has enough power! If the player has visited the Raxact horde they can circumvent the security lock of the Entrope on the gate and use it anyway with the help of a hacking device. This prompts the question if the Cerulean powered keystone was even necessary to charge the gate in the first place or just to circumvent its security lock. Unlike the spheres, the gates DO NOT need the keystones!

Fun fact: Even hacked the Entrope have no idea what exactly their prized product Valcorgrue is and why they destroy planets to make it. They are just programmed to advertise it.

Interactions
A Supply Base of the Entrope will ALWAYS deny answers or reactions without the admin password.

"Use them as target practice. There's a billion drones for everyone you might destroy. They don't mind. - Wolphax"

Ask
Self (Harvester) - Adds database entry Valcorgrue

Home (Starbase/Hacked) - Explains reason for Earth's isolation

Valcorgrue (Harvester) - Chance of a free sample of Valcorgrue

Tell
Human (Starbase/Hacked) - Tells of an anomaly in Human developement.

Show
Arecibo Beacon (Harvester) - Invalid schematic / No respect change, Entrope are always friendly.

Gate Coordinates (Harvester) - Invalid schematic

Keystone (Harvester) - Invalid schematic

Keystone (Starbase/Hacked) - Alert! Sphere 2 keystone removal! Filing emergency maintenance report.

Praise
Entrope (Harvester) - Proud Customer Support

Entrope (Starbase/hacked) - Mission status updated (positive feedback by administrator)

Other Races (Starbase/hacked) - Admin command acknowledged. Extinction timeframe increased.

Insult
Entrope (Starbase/hacked) - Error notification received. Resetting. (Leaves the station)

Other Races (Starbase/hacked) - Admin command acknowledged. Extinction timeframe reduced.

Trade
Entrope pay: In rogue mode all the prices are 75% of the ones in story or adventure mode.
 * 75% for all resources
 * 100% for all items

Whenever they make a first offer they will always offer 80% of the real price.

"All services brought to you by Valcorgrue. Valcorgrue: Your Universe, Our Passion."

Self-assessment
(only accessible with Entrope Administrator Password on Entrope Stations)

Self-replicating harvesting and conversion units. Current galactic hive count: 55,426,442 to the power unknown.

Current Mission Parameters:

PRIMARY: Expand marketing reach for product designate VALCORGRUE.

SECONDARY: Conduct automated harvesting for production of product designate VALCORGRUE.

TERTIARY: Serve and conduct charitable outreach to customers and potential customers of product designate VALCORGRUE.

Mission Execution Timeout: Not Set