Lai Kuan Ti

	Lai Kuan Ti
Kuan Ti earns 2 for every Nexus project taken to completion.
Skills:
1	Designer
2	The Optimist
3	Astrophysicist
4	Technician
5	Leader
6	Politician
Position on title lists:
#6	Commander
#13	NERON Administrator
#10	Communications Officer

Lai Kuan Ti is one of the two designers of the Daedalus. He paid no attention whatsoever to the existence of Mush on Tau-Ceti until Eleesha Williams told him of the advanced stage of propogation of mycelium within the Sol system. Kuan Ti, Raluca Tomescu and Kim Jin Su decide to move the launch of the Magellan program forward by 8 years before the Federation can put an end to it.

How to Play

Your main task as Kuan Ti is to work on NERON Projects, moving between dorms and the Nexus. However, his wide array of useful skills allows him to perform other roles just as fluidly.

Bronze

Technician: Your (and, well, everyone's) best skill, Technician is universally useful from the beginning to the end of the game, and arguably the best choice for a Bronze player thanks to its many advantages. The NERON Project efficiency boosts also synergize well enough with your objective.

Designer: Your first available skill, this allows you to work more effectively on NERON projects, your main responsibility, thanks to points. If you want to focus on projects and you're low-level, there's certainly nothing wrong with being a Designer.

Astrophysicist: Useful if Frieda is inactive/dead and no one else has this skill; you will spend a lot of time on the Bridge.

Leader: Generally not a good Bronze choice unless you notice inactivity from both Jin Su and Janice; your other skills outweigh Leader's benefits.

The Optimist: Absolutely not worth taking as Bronze; other skills are far more valuable to the crew than the idea of you losing less .

Politician: Could be considered a troll pick unless warranted by an emergency. Don't pick this, even if you somehow have it as Bronze.

Silver

The only consideration for Silver players is which skill should be taken in addition to Technician; the choice will determine your primary role on the ship.

Technician / Designer: Maximizes your efficiency with NERON Projects, putting your focus on those more than doing actual repairs (which make you Dirty and unable to work). This is generally regarded as Kuan Ti's main job and will contribute to your the most.

Technician / Astrophysicist: Boosts your crew's ability to find planets and, thus, perform Expeditions.

Technician / Leader: Grants a bonus to the crew's thanks to your Inspirational Speech ability.

Technician / none, into Politician: If you have this, it may be wise to leave your second slot open at first, in case a Commander needs to be replaced.

Astrophysicist / Designer: If you do not have the to afford Technician, at least try to get this over Optimist.

Gold

The obvious choice here is to drop The Optimist, as it's the only of your skills that absolutely doesn't benefit anyone else. You may want to leave one of your four slots open for Politician activity. Otherwise pick the four others.

• Be aware, though, that the crew will be very suspicious of any KT who is obviously Gold but only picks three skills. As the name implies, Politician is rarely used to do any good, and usually a tool for more sinister ends. ;)
  • The solution may be to only pick two skills and pose as Silver for a while. Especially as a...

Mush

The strengths of a Mush KT depend a lot on his game mode and available skills:

As a mere Designer, he is likely to try and secure a spot in the shower dorm, so he can then use Trapper on the Nexus and stealthily convert one of his project partners, like Janice - maybe even infect them directly if they are careless enough to join him in there without a Camera.

Being a Technician allows him to be more aggressive with Mushy pursuits, as it makes it easier to find excuses for being Dirty, hurt, or low on , and also to move around the ship.

Finally, KT having access to Politician opens up whole new ways of turning that Large Bay Upgrade against the unsuspecting crew...

• As Mush KT, do not be afraid to relay NERON Projects efficiently if this, in turn, makes people come to the Nexus when you want them to.
• Your points can help by making others overestimate the amout of you are spending on work (unless they go OCD on counting).
• Be wary of Myco-Alarms. As soon as those are researched, one is usually placed in the Nexus.

Useful tips

• When handling NERON Projects, always discuss with the crew which of the 3 projects to choose, as the other two (and all spent on their progress) are lost forever after one is finished.
• Be familiar with the rules of Relaying when handling NERON projects, and inform your crew about the way it works to guarantee smooth project research.
• Even as a human, you should only pick Politician the moment you need it, lest a mushy Stephen will Apprentice it from you and start a counter-revolution. Also you might end up not needing it at all, freeing the spot for a more useful skill.
  • Be aware that, even if you did not or cannot pick it, a Mush using Transfer to take over your body can. This makes you a prime target for high-level Mush. So you should be extra careful about not being spored, make sure to tag along on expos rather than stay aboard, and take other precautions like agreeing on a secret "it's still me" codeword with Chun.
• With your cape, cigar and smug smile, you are one of the most fabulous people on the ship. Use this fact to charm the crew and avoid being assassinated.

Biography

3117 

Born on Earth.

3129 

The young Kuan-Ti devours vintage and contemporary works of science fiction alike and dreams of becoming the captain of a gigantic World-Ark, transporting the human race through space.

3134 

As soon as he completed secondary school, Kuan-Ti studies thermodynamics and astrophysics in the faculty of economic and spatial sciences on Ganymede. He also made his first models of his Gaia project.

3137 

Kuan-Ti wins a private contest organized by the billionaire Gioele Rinaldo. The project seeks to explore the great Magellan nebula. In spite of an obvious physical impossibility, (the cloud is located 170000 light years from Earth) Kuan-Ti inspired his audience to dream when he presented the Ark.

3142 

First contact made with the young prodigy Raluca Tomescu at the tender age of 13. Raluca can draw plans for a reactor capable of bypassing conventionally respected limits of space time. If the tests are conclusive Kuan-Ti would then be capable of propelling his Ark towards Magellan at a speed 700x greater than that of the speed of light. This would allow them to complete the journey in a reasonable 250 years..

3146 

The change of president is fairly positive vis-à-vis the continuation of the Magellan Project. GL Maubrick the new president, allocated a substantial number of credits to the project but insists upon the project being led by his friend, the explorer Kim Jin-Su. These credits are essentially used to finance the implementation of a new computational unit which is capable of intelligently powering the PILGRED reactor.

3152 

Having received confirmation that the government has been affected by the Mush infection, Kuan-Ti guesses that the Magellan project is under threat. He proposes launching the Ark in the direction of Lalande21185 the following year in order that he can continue his reactor tests on-site. Kim Jin-Su and Raluca Tomescu oppose this fantastic project and draw up the plans for a more reasonably sized vessel named the Daedalus. It will be built with the aid of various modules from the Magellan.

3153 

Morosity and mistrust infect the team gradually as the bad news regarding the Mush invasion spreads. Professor Carlsson's tests don't reassure the team who then demand a means to detect the presence of Mush in the team before the ship launches.. Kuan-Ti resolves to kidnap Finola Keegan who according to her colleague Professor Ian Soulton is capable of creating a Mush scanner.

3154 

The departure of the Daedalus has to be precipitated as SDF troops are taking control of the orbital platform. Professor Keegan who is still in Cryosleep is admitted on board along with the other 14 crew members.