Ancient Ruins on a White Planet

In the star system where the New Empire was located, there was a white planet far from its star. It was as pristine as if adorned with swan down. Mountains, rivers, and plains stretched as far as the eye could see, all blanketed in white. It was a world of ice and snow.

Two Collectors struggled across the snow-white plains against a dry-ice blizzard. Dry-ice snowflakes struck their insulated shells before sliding down to the ground.

"Where are the coordinates?"

"38.7 degrees east longitude, 24.9 degrees north latitude. We're still twelve kilometers away. We'll be there soon."

"This planet's chaotic magnetic field interferes with radio communications. Determining our position is such a hassle."

Hearing this, the Collectors could not help complaining. The planet's magnetic axis changed its inclination at a rapid rate, and its rotation speed was also relatively high. This caused the entire planet's magnetic field to tend toward a chaotic state.

When the two Collectors had landed, the chaotic magnetic field had caused a slight deviation from their intended landing site. That small deviation had been magnified by the planet's rapid rotation, resulting in them landing more than forty kilometers away from their planned location.

By now, they had already trekked more than thirty kilometers through the dry-ice blizzard.

"We should have had our kin colonize this planet and modify its magnetic axis. Then we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble now."

"Wasn't it because we were worried that the colonization process would damage the experimental ruins left behind by the Brilliance Civilization? Besides, most of the cluster's efforts were focused on fighting the Coordination Council at the time. We had neither the leisure nor the resources for it."

After continuing for another five kilometers or so, the two Collectors felt the wind weakening. The dry-ice