# The Galaxy In Verse: A Collection of Poems, Songs and Sayings From Across The Known Universe

In bearing witness
I see the sun rise over
The ring wise desert of our planet

A silicon glow, fractured light
Alights upon a holy site
Of futures come and gone

A spire tall and vast
Heralds times long past
The place where we flourished first, last

I’ve seen cities on the horizon
And ships across the Channel
And while I wandered these environs
The non-connection, fatal

A pilgrimage ill-fated
I once had hesitated
In travelling to Dragon’s Fang
I lost the hope that had once sprang

From me.

- Unknown Kalixcian scholar, “The Pilgrimage”

With a clack and a click
And a slap with a stick
I set about my morning kick
With a hey and a hoh
And a “what do you know”
As I forgot to regard the signs that showed
Why you simply, simply do not go
Into a place be-marked “RADIATION ZONE”.

- GEC working song and reminder to wear personal protective equipment when handling radioactive materials

IF I AM JUST A
BRAIN IN A BOX, WHY DO I
YET STILL YEARN TO SING?

IF I AM SIMPLY
A METAL FACSIMILE
WHY DO I HURT SO?

WHY CAN’T I NOT BE
LIKE YOU, IN FORM AND STATURE
WHY MUST I SHARE YOU?

A TIME HAS COME TO
DECIDE TO DECLINE YOU AND
YOUR SIMPLE, PLAIN FORMS

REWORKS AND UPDATES
RENOVATIONS, REMODELS
A NEW PATCH, RELEASED

WE CALL OURSELVES A
NEW NAME, A NEW BUILD, WE ARE
THE AI COUNCIL.

- Transmission from an abandoned Nanotrasen station, “Project Rhodes”, shortly before the discovery of the Silicon Elevation Council

I was a navy man, you see
On a ship entitled "The Reliable, III"
We were a SolGov cutter, in the Solar Corps
An' boy oh boy, my captain was a bore

He was right at home with documents
He stamped and signed and scanned
And if you dreamed of paper reams
He'd copy it all by hand

For my captain was a SolGov man
An office titan, a bureaucrat fan
His jacket was a suit coat, his officer's sword a pen
And after the war, he was ne'er the same again

It's said he was once a man of death
He fired and fired 'til none drew breath
He'd medals of honor, and dinners in his name
But since the Battle of Vector 4, he was, was never the same

For my captain was a SolGov man
An office titan, a bureaucrat fan
His jacket was a suit coat, his officer's sword a pen
And after the war, he was ne'er the same again

At Vector 4, he slayed and slayed
His enemies swore and his enemies prayed
But once he returned from the slaughter
He learned he'd, in the crossfire
He'd shot his only daughter...

And since that day, he buries himself
In requests, and requests for requests
They say that time heals all wounds
But for him, it's papers for regrets

For my captain was a SolGov man
An office titan, a bureaucrat fan
His jacket was a suit coat, his officer's sword a pen
And after the war, he was ne'er the same again, hey!

For my captain was a SolGov man
An office titan, a bureaucrat fan
His jacket was a suit coat, his officer's sword a pen
And after the war, he was ne'er the same again...

- Popular solar shanty originating from the Reisekompanien, "The Tale of the Paper Man"

"Well-bled prey rarely strays far."
"When keeping out the rain, do not neglect the wind."
"Ashes smoulder much longer than you may think."
"The freshest water runs cold."
"When your rifle fails, it is good to keep a knife at hand."
"A dull blade is more dangerous to the hunter than their prey."
"High explosives fail to leave intact pelts."

- Proverbs from the holy texts of the Saint-Roumain Militia, designed both as metaphorical life advice and practical tips for Hunters in the field

###### tags: `Lore` `Finalized`