I'm rather confused. The Changelog has:
"New character! (SECRET!) - after meeting all the Council Members for the first time, sleep then visit the Nexus"
Now does "meeting all the Council Members for the FIRST time" (my emphasis) mean that I have to RESTART the game from scratch so that I can meet them for "the FIRST time"?
BTW, if the Crystals are the Unit of Currency being used, it wouldn't be totally inaccurate to refer to them as "Cash", as opposed to "Credit" or "Barter", which is probably the Merchant's concern.