 The player must explore solar systems , gather clues , and find special artifacts that grant access to the Crystal Planet , ultimately destroying it before the player 's home system flares . Commander McConnell 's last journal entry can be found on the surface of the Crystal Planet ; in it , he shares his discovery that Endurium is actually a race of living , sentient beings who are being burned up as fuel for interstellar travel . Because their metabolism is extremely slow due to their crystalline makeup , they are not even aware of outside life and have come to view other races as a virus . The game is won after the player successfully plants an artifact on the Crystal Planet 's surface and retreats back into space , causing the planet to explode , though the game can still be played after the Crystal Planet is destroyed . 
