Lottery

The lottery is the weekly chance for people to get one of three random new items.

Here is a short explanation on the lottery, first the part interesting for most users, followed by a more technical insight into how it works inside the bot,

Usage
In order to get items from the lottery, you have to go to the Discord Server and type  in the DM with the bot, or in the commands channel, after that you will be sent a list of three items you can choose from. Send 1, 2 or 3 in order to get the corresponding item.

A deeper look
The source code is private, but that doesn't mean that it is secret, in the following few paragraphs, you can see how the bot works and what is inside.

Pool
The Pool of all things that can be got thanks to the lottery includes all regular DNA Samples and SMI, excluding Mythical items. Event items are not in the lottery as well.

Chances
Calculating the chances of a specific item or a specific rarity being chosen is not so easy and changes whenever new DNA samples and SMI are added, so, instead we will see an explanation on how exactly the odds are calculated. The first step is that a random number between 1 and 100 is chosen. If then number is lower than $$\lfloor\frac{100}{2^{tier-1}}\rfloor$$ for an items rarity, it is added to the drawing pool. The tiers are identical to the complexity tiers of aliens. After the pool is completely built one item is randomly drawn from it. Since Common items are more numerous than Epic for example, even if we have epic items in the pot, the propability is still in favour of getting a common item. Now, using that knowledge, you can calculate the odds for yourself.

Welcome Gift
When you first join you get 4 items.
 * 1 Alien DNA that is uncommon or higher
 * 1 SMI
 * 2 random lottery pulls

Lore
The lottery is a hard won compromise between Ben and the Magistratus. The Magistratus wanted the sifters to undergo the same beureaucratic process to acquire SMI and DNA samples as if they would be requesting standard equipment, but Ben wanted the system to be a bit looser, to foster creativity and lateral thinking, making interpersonal communication and also luck essential in obtaining those items. This, obviously, is one hell of a liability nightmare. It was agreed, reluctantly, and only after Azmuth explained the limitations and agreed to insert kill switches in all decitrices that Ben may do with the materials he requests as he sees fit, but he would carry sole liability.