On your discovery missions through the wonderous galaxy of Stellaris, your science ship might encounter an anomaly surrounding a mysterious Exile. What is the deal with this weird fellow and what are the outcomes of each event choice? What happens if you investigate?

The Exile

The event text reads like this.

The readings originate from a small research outpost – which the [Your Empire] has no records of establishing or indeed authorizing – on the surface of [Anomaly Planet]. It is staffed by one [Your Species adjective] scientist, a fairly talented and industrious one if their research on [Anomaly PLanet] is anything to go by. There is a problem with regards to their identity, however; we have been unable to match them against official state records, and they refuse to identify themselves save for stating that they are “an exile.”
They have expressed an interest in returning to [Your Capital] and serving the [Your Empire] directly, on the condition that the [Science Ship name] immediately depart [Anomaly Planet] and no [Your species adjective] ships ever return there.

You then are faced with two choices regarding this mysterious exile.

• Out of the question. Search every nook and cranny of that outpost.
  • Gain 24x your monthly physics output
  • Follow up regarding on what you find

• The [Your Ruler] welcomes the Exile back into the fold.
  • A scientist of your race named “The Exile” will be created. He will have 500 XP.

Now the second choice is fairly obvious. Even if it is completely odd that you should find such an Exile on an unknown planet, nothing else is going to happen anymore. There are no repercussions to taking the Exile in and no related follow-up events (sadly).

The first choice however is a little bit more interesting. The likely thing to happen is that you simply find nothing.

First Choice Result: Cold and Empty

The likely result is the “Cold and Empty” follow-up screen. It looks like this:

There is nothing unusual about the research outpost itself. It is little but a temporary shelter erected against the savage elements, allowing surface-level planetary study for a limited time before it wears down and conditions become untenable.
The outpost on [Anomaly Planet] is nearing the end of its lifespan, but the planet’s intense chill has yet to critically degrade the impermanent structure. The equipment – functional, cheap, intended to be abandoned – is well-used, and the local databanks are filled with detailed but ultimately mundane accounts of the planet as well as the simple experiments that were carried out in its harsh environment.
Curiously, no closer examination seems to have been made of the mineral outcropping the outpost’s foundations rest on; scans by the [Science Ship] indicate that the geological formation, a mountain mostly buried under ice, may be partially hollow. More alarmingly, Science Officer [Your scientist’s name] reports that the sole inhabitant of the outpost, the mysterious “exile,” has gone missing and is nowhere to be found.

You will still gain the Physics bonus though. One might tend to believe that this is the only outcome as it easily can happen multiple times. But there is an 80% chance for this to happen, while the other 20% will lead to a much rarer outcome.

First Choice Result: Down Below

There is something unusual about the research outpost on [Anomaly Planet]. The structure itself is commonplace enough – a temporary shelter erected against the harsh elements, allowing surface-level planetary study for a limited time before it wears down and conditions become untenable – but it is situated on top of a rocky formation poking through the sea of ice that covers the planet.
The crew of the [Science Ship] found an intricate system of caves and narrow passages leading into this mountain, accessible from inside the research outpost.
In one of the larger cavern-halls, they found the desiccated remains of the outpost’s original staff. This contingent of [Your Species Adjective] researchers had originally been dispatched elsewhere, but evidently diverted to this uninhabited and hostile planet to set up shop.
Of course, the self-proclaimed “exile” is now nowhere to be found. The [Your Science Ship] has launched one of its escape pods, transporting the bodies of the deceased back to [Your Capital].

You will again gain the Physics bonus, except that there is now additional information for you to try to unsolve the mystery of the weird Exile.

Is there any follow up regarding The Exile?

If you’re wondering if picking any of the choices will have later repercussions or will somehow affect your empire negatively, you can rest assured that it will not. As mysterious as this event sounds (and I am sorry to be spoiling you here), there is nothing going on after that. The science officer will at this stage of the game not do anything spectacular even though he has a very disturbing and bloody secret. You will also not find the Exile again if he escapes.

Unfortunately, this event is just a little bit of a stat boost (potentially) with some extra flavor but no real deepness. I think there is a possibility to build upon this event but on an unmodded Stellaris version, there is nothing more going on. There is no underlying history to the Exile, no deeper story or any further explanation.

So when you face this mysterious Exile yourself, you can simply pick whatever feels more important to you at the moment. A free (solid) science officer is definitely not a bad pick, although I would recommend the physics output as it is usually a little bit more useful for me.

At any rate, you should know that only those two factors matter for your decision and nothing else.