Rosy Sphere

The Rosy Sphere is one of a trio of Precursor artifacts whose mystical link to each other has been sensed by Pkunk psychics and given simple names based on their color and shape (the other two artifacts being the Aqua Helix and the Clear Spindle). This was one of many apparently useless historical oddments obtained by the Druuge from the Utwig in exchange for the Ultron. The Utwig, using the Ultron's own power, predicted that this storehouse of unidentifiable, unusable artifacts they had accumulated would possess the secret of changing and purifying the racial nature of the Druuge. They gave these relics to the Druuge as a charitable act, in return for the Ultron. The Druuge were angry at being cheated of their truly sought prize, the incredibly powerful Precursor bomb the Utwig had found, but had to accept the deal to maintain their lie about the Ultron. To this day, the Druuge attempt to unload as many of these relics on foolish travelers as they can.

Ironically, one of these relics was a copy of a component of the Ultron itself that became necessary to repair the Ultron after it was damaged by the Utwig High Proctor. The Druuge perhaps realized this, since they kept the Sphere in a special secure vault separate from their other wares, perhaps hoping to offer to repair the Ultron in exchange for the Bomb. However, they otherwise seemed to place very little value on the Sphere, and when The Captain arrived bearing objects valuable to the Druuge, they were willing to trade the Sphere to him without even requiring the customary trade of slaves that they demanded for other ancient artifacts. This allowed The Captain to complete his own project of repairing the Ultron and gaining the gratitude of the Utwig, allowing him to claim the Bomb himself.

The sphere is relatively small, about 5 centimeters in diameter, translucent and perfectly smooth, possessing the unusual property of being ferromagnetic while completely non-conductive to electric current.

Gameplay notes

Sources of information

The Pkunk vaguely mention the Rosy Sphere and its location. The Melnorme are a more complete source of information about this item, explicitly revealing its location and purpose.

Acquisition

The Rosy Sphere can be purchased from the Druuge at their home planet either for one of several devices (Portal Spawner, Burvixese HyperWave Broadcaster, Deep Child Egg Case Fragments) or for 100 crew. Alternatively, the Sphere can be obtained from the ruins of the Druuge homeworld after they are wiped out by the Kohr-Ah.

Uses

If the broken Ultron is also part of The Flagship's manifest, then selecting and "using" the Rosy Sphere from the Devices submenu automatically applies the Sphere to the Ultron, effecting a third of the needed repairs.