Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter (original version)

Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter (original version) (aka Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter time sector) was a time sector in the Space Quest Companion and visited during SQ4. Roger once lived through it and later reached it through the use of the Sequel Police's time pod. It represents an earlier reality which Roger Wilco lived before he changed things via time travel. Roger had changed his past somehow and no longer remembers his time in this era, instead his memory is of the new timeline.

This is the version that appears in Space Quest I EGA, The Official Guide To Roger Wilco's Space Adventures (1st Edition), and in all versions of SQ4.

Background

Much later, in Space Quest 4, Roger returned to Ulence traveling back in time to the Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter (original version) time sector and revisited Ulence Flats. His visit resulted in a run-in with the Monochrome Boys and the retrieval of a pack of matches from the Rocket Bar.

When he first landed, he didn't appear to notice anything different. But it seems as if things began to lose resolution before his eyes (perhaps implying that he first saw things in SCI (likely in full 256-color VGA, rather than 16-color EGA version of the game), as seen in the remake). Soon, he noticed that everything seemed different than the Space Quest I era as he remembered it. Things appeared flat and less detailed than he could remember. He assumed that things were different as a side affect of all the time travel he was involved in both in the past and the future.

This period seems to be set unspecified amount of time after events of The Sarien Encounter as Tiny's changed the name of his ship shop to Honest Tiny's Used Spaceships. The Droids-B-Us was forced to close down and file for Chapter XI. The Monochrome Boys have had time to come to the world.

Through a lucky quirk, there exists an account of Roger's internal monologue of his full adventure in this era before the influence of time travel. But there is also a version where he does not remember having been there, since he remembers having lived through the alternate version era The present Roger Wilco remembers the alternate Kerona only.

Roger's accounts of the time sector would later inspire the Two Guys's very first Space Quest game.

The influence of time travel would later change things into the Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter (time sector).

This time sector was adapted into the Space Quest I - The Sarien Encounter time sector in the game by the Two Guys from Andromeda.

Incidently Roger Wilco (original version), though a bit of a klutz/bumbling, is considered far more intelligent, quick witted, courageous, heroic, and honorable in this timeline, and it follows into the Space Quest II: Vohaul's Revenge (time sector), and generally into Space Quest IV. He doesn't just try to avoid endangering his life, but actively persues being a hero and saving the rest of the galaxy as well.

Differences in the "original version" time sector

• Roger Wilco (original version) and Roger Wilco (alternate version)/Roger Wilco (expanded universe)
• Slash Vohaul (original version) and Slash Vohaul (alternate version)
• Starlab/Arcada (original version) and Capon-class starship/Arcada
• Starship/Deltaur (original version)/Sarien Battle Cruiser and Deltaur/Mantis-Class StarRipper
• Kerona (original version) and Kerona
• Keronian Desert and Burning Desert
• Desert Cliffs and gigundasaurus/Doug-o-saurus (giant Grell) remains
• Falton sand skimmer ('original version') and '86 Pleides GL sand skimmer.
• Keronian (original version) and Keronians
• Grell (original version) and Grell
• Orat (original version) and Orat
• Ulence Flats (original version) and Ulence Flats
• BAR/Ulence Flats Bar and Rocket Bar
• Bartender (original version) and Bo.
• Mugger (original version) and Mugger
• Droids-B-Us and Droids-B-Us (original version)
• Cylinder-headed alien and Pimpoid
• Sarien Battle Cruiser and Mantis-Class StarRipper
• Tiny's Used Spaceships and Honest Tiny's Used Spaceships/Tiny's Used Spacecraft (Tiny's Used Spaceship Lot)
• Tiny (original version) (large beast) and Tiny (Icthyoid)
• Model QR 7 Pilot Droid and Nav-201 pilot droid.
• Service Droid and Weapons Droid
• Kerona has purple sky or green sky.
• Xenon (original version) and Xenon

See also

• Welcome to: Space Quest I—The Sarien Encounter (original version) (This is the original version visited during Roger Wilco's time travel in his 'reality' ('our future') (as covered in the Space Quest Companion).
• Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter (time sector) (this is the version as it appears in SQ1 remake, and 2nd Editon of The Official Guide To Roger Wilco's Space Adventures)

Behind the scenes

A novelization of the original version era is included in the first edition of The Official Guide To Roger Wilco's Space Adventures. By the second edition the timeline had changed to the Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter era.

Strangely the world seems to be implied to be called "Ulence" in SQ4. The sun is described as the Ulence sun, and there are several references to the "dunes of Ulence". There are no specific references in the time sector calling the world "Kerona" (other than the offhand remarks to Kerona ale brand).

• In SQ4 it's suggested that the timepod returned to SQ1 era some time after SQ1, enough time for many of the businesses to have gone out of business or file for Chapter XI bankruptcy.

• Incidently, in the SQ1 remake, when Roger leaves Ulence Flats on his newly-purchased spaceship (north lot of Tiny's), the time pod arrives in the same location where Roger just left (just in time to encounter the mugger whose ship was just stolen by Roger). In Space Quest IV, the timepod actually arrives to the northeast of Tiny's, just north of the bar. The mugger is not around. As for visual continuity SQ4 takes Roger back to AGI SQ1, where as in the SQ1 remake the timepod appears in in SCI remake's world. See Parallel universe.

• The Space Quest Companion takes the route of blending some of the SQ4 "EGA/AGI" and SQ1VGA details, in that Roger returns to Ulence Flats, at about the same time the Drallion cruiser he was flying was blasting off into space (he notes having seen it in the sky). However, he doesn't encounter the mugger. However, like in the game, Droids B Us is closed (explained as "gone fishin"), Tiny had sold off most of his merchandise and is missing. In addition, Roger finds the 'AGI/EGA' look to the world to be strange, as he remembers it once being a higher resolution VGA (SQ1 VGA remake, as opposed to the rarer EGA edition of the remake). He believes it to be some strange side effect of time travel.