The year was 2755 of the new galactic calendar and the human race has narrowly avoided extinction, having drained Earth of every possible resource.

The little that remained of humanity was forced to abandon their once flourishing home planet, now left as nothing more than a gigantic, barren rock.

Traveling further and further through the vast unknown space, they explored all sorts of new planets in search of one capable of sustaining human life, rich enough with resources to last generations.

There have been numerous planets discovered since Earth was abandoned, each ultimately being exploited and used as a temporary stop in an effort to keep the search going as strong as possible.

But very few were minimally colonized, leaving humanity spread thin throughout the galaxy. Due to the difficulty of finding a suitable permanent home, humanity's numbers have dwindled to dangerous lows. Even though the human race has pushed the boundaries of exploration and the known universe, survival and avoiding extinction seemed an almost impossible struggle ...

Or at least it was, until the discovery of Myceliandre.

The savior planet Myceliandre was first discovered by a crew of research scientists, working with the United Savers Of the Human Race (USOHR).

In their first exploratory reports, they highlighted how this planet was not suitable for sustaining human life, because the entire ecosystem specifically evolved to support the already dominant species; a type of fungus or mushroom growing symbiotically with acidic geyser formations.

By analyzing collected samples of this new life form, the team decided to name it Mycelium, after its mushroom- like appearance. They also determined the mushrooms' composition was extraordinarily rich with all the necessary nutrients and vitamins to support a healthy human diet, in even more abundance than basic foods could ever have provided back on Earth.

Soon enough, they began eating Mycelium; raw, cooked, even boiled as a soup. Each recipe highlighted in archived "Top Chef" episodes were created using Mycelium. And after only a few weeks of eating their culinary experimentations, the crew of scientists were not only in excellent health, but their morale was at an all-time high.

As scientists, they were bound to trust the evidence and results from their own tests. However, in addition to being the most complete food composite ever discovered, Mycelium demonstrated performance enhancing properties, such as boosting intellect, instincts and the basic human senses

After a few weeks of closely monitoring the results of their diets, there were apparently no side effects.

Before they began eating Mycelium, crew reports often contained several cases of illness and diseases - nothing too unusual for such a large group on long exploratory missions. But later reports highlighted nothing but the excellent health of the entire crew. Is it possible that the ultimate salvation for humankind was found with Mycelium?

But nature always finds a way to keep the balance. Myceliandre was unfortunately not only a host for an incredible resource, it was and still is a planet which continues to suffer from frequent and crippling natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes, exploding acidic geysers. All these occur in the same areas where the cherished fungus proliferate.

The discovery of Mycelium was so important, it overshadowed other reports confirming the planet was also rich in oil, iron, and a new unknown mineral, with a different composition than anything else ever seen in the galaxy; Vibrium. Named for its ability to absorb vibrations, they believed its evolution was due to the frequent earthquakes marring the planet.

Given the importance and value of the discovery of Myceliandre, the USHOR deemed it wise to keep it a secret. But as always, the most primitive of human behaviors, greed, eventually took hold of the many. Driven by the desire for wildly ludicrous rewards and power, the biggest corporations quickly learned the exact coordinates of this modern age El Dorado.

A few short years after Myceliandre was discovered, all the major galactic corporations made plans to try and exploit it as much as possible. One method used to gain their foothold was harnessing the strong winds to generate power for their automated factories, while building energy domes to protect their various installations from the volatile elements.

The race was on for the planet's resources, specifically Mycelium. Once again, another planet had become the playground for faceless companies, armed with huge capital funds, astonishing technologies, and an insatiable hunger to claim the biggest piece of the pie at any cost.

Not long after its discovery, Mycelium has unwillingly made its way throughout the galaxy, considered by many to be the first truly valuable resource worth fighting over since leaving Earth.

The farther away you are living from Myceliandre, the higher the price inevitably becomes. More and more scientists, adventurers, settlers, engineers, technicians, and even traders are finding their way to the planet.

Those who move and work there must accept the risk it poses to their life, but overall it was still a better chance of survival than most other places; plus their regular pay often included some small pieces of Mycelium on the side, just to keep them happy and compliant. This is how the Galactic Corporations have attracted new people to come and work in their installations. And it was an incredible success!

A few decades have passed and the now nicknamed 'Magnet Planet' is literally crawling with sprawling cities filled with buildings, mines, and of course humans. Every single area on the planet growing the coveted mushrooms is being exploited under the banner of one of the four major galactic corporations.

But they are all starting to realize how wrong they might have been. It appears that as the planet is being depleted of its resources, specifically its Mycelium, the more devastating and frequent the natural cataclysms have become...

As the natural disasters became more frequent, geyser eruptions were determined to be the number one factor behind helping large fields grow even bigger and potent mushrooms.

So more geysers means more numerous and potent mushrooms, leading to increased production and ultimately more profit! Some corporations are even reaching the point where they are trying to drill through the planet crust in order to induce new geysers.

With every galactic corporation understanding the potential of this new 'piercing' technique, it's quickly becoming abused and the planet is pockmarked by countless ugly pits.

From this abuse, came the Living Planet theory.

After the last fifty years of exploiting Myceliandre, a group of highly regarded scientists have released a new study correlating the noticeable increase in number of large scale cataclysms recorded with the industrialization of the planet.

They prove that in each and every area analyzed, the frequency and strength of the various cataclysms observed are directly connected to the level of stress being put on the land.

Not only are the geysers occurring more frequently due to the huge holes drilled over the years, but the tornadoes and earthquakes are also linked to the nonstop plundering by humans!

This theory hypothesizes the planet itself is a living organism, with its continued exploitation being compared to draining an animal's blood through its veins.

In its conclusion, this study claims the planet is literally reacting to the torture and pain humans are causing it, with little Vibrium left to help absorb the shock. And the more it suffers this way, the angrier it becomes, triggering cataclysms all over to try and drive-away its tormentors.

In a follow-up study, the same scientists have been tasked to try and predict what will continue to happen to the planet in the near and far future, assuming the rate of human damage to it remains constant.

As of right now, if continually confronted with unbearable levels of suffering, this living planet will be left with two options. First, it could surrender itself the imminent death, becoming one more meaningless, empty rock orbiting the sun.

Or second, it could accept its fate but not go quietly, begin launching vicious and irreparable major cataclysms that would bring it and its unwanted inhabitants in complete oblivion, together.

Looking at the recent data, the scientists felt confident the planet was choosing the second option. They pleaded with the powers to be for the mass exodus of Humans, to flee the planet before they are destroyed alongside it.

But the human race isn't one for giving up easily, especially with something so important and valuable on the line. As it has often been the case over the course of history, those in positions of power will not leave this planet before taking as much as possible, leaving behind a depleted, useless rock.

This brings us to you and your story's beginning. As a renowned Program Director for one of the big four corporations, you've been assigned to organize its settlement and protect its interests in this new era 'gold rush' and to ensure your employer comes out on top.

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