I think that Raxxla being a 'place but not a place' suggests that you cannot just select a system on the Galaxy Map, jump to it and supercruise there like it was a space station. If it was like that then, once found, there would be no 'personal journey' - you would watch a YouTube vid of someone doing it and just head to the system and see the sight for yourself. This is why I think there is some sort of journey that needs to be done. From in the in-game, in-character perspective, maybe there is something in the design or (deliberate) programming in our navigation systems that prevents us getting there and that needs to be worked around somehow. Mis-jumps, for example, are supposed to be impossible with our current hyperdrive tech but were much more common in the past. So perhaps travelling a particular journey will allow a mis-jump at the end of the route?
My suspicion is that The Dark Wheel have hidden their base somewhere in the Lost Realms region that CMDR Rochester describes. They may well have followed similar clues and think that Raxxla is somewhere around this area as well but have got stuck on the exact route. This is a class of problem, like a Falken's Maze, where only the exact combination of steps, in order, leads to a valid solution but we have no feedback on whether any individual step is right or wrong. Even so, The Dark Wheel might have information that could help us fill in the gaps. I agree with CMDR Han Zen, that Shinrarta Dezhra is going to feature somewhere on the route.
I'll make time to visit ES Cancri today to check out the tourist beacon there.
The description of door/key, place/not place is something which was referred to in game via the PF/DW missions.
The Lost Realms region is tied to Robert Holdstocks book. A very fitting reference to that writer as it’s not as obvious as his other works which reflect on Raxxla and Raxxlians directly or indirectly.
Lost Realms is of interest because our codex talks of a specific set of mythology lands, these are noted in that book, in close correlation. Holdstock also draws them to be examples of the primary lost land, Eden. He also draws upon the myth of Yggdrasil.
Eden is of importance because of the Milton qoutes, dropped by FD and already in the codex, about a pendent jewel, that is Eden (paradise) in Milton’s paradise Lost.
Holdstock draws upon and indicates various mythical entry points to such lost realms, roads, or portals under the waves, in hills or mountains, these are ‘
other-worlds’ places which are not places, the key to getting there….
No one knows.
It is highly possible the DW station is a potential next step.
It’s very difficult to hide something in game, because of our scanners if it was labelled, it would have been found already.
I don’t believe in any additional RNG mechanics other than what already exists in game, it’s possible the DW station exists on low power and can avoid our scanning, except for the Mki eyeball or close proximity.
It’s possibly they are all dead (In my opinion) and their station a dead hulk, but with recordings giving more hints.
It’s also possible Raxxla does not appear in our galaxy map; for instance we know FD made errors and duplicated stars do exist in game, but we can’t plot a course for these…this is one of my favourite hypotheses because it ties back to the early pre-launch exploration mechanics; what if FD simply just took it out of the gal map, plenty of Cmdrs may have gone through it, or around it but never noticed; we would only potentially see it if we’re in the correct vicinity and it pops up on our side panels!? Probably isn’t just called Raxxla; but no one knows.
But the more I read into this, Holdstock and appreciate Brookes clever use of ‘mystery within mystery’ I suspect the codex might be correct in that although it may have a definite place, it in actuality, is far more esoteric and bigger than a simple moon… we wait to see, but the evidence for me is striking that the ‘underworld’ and ‘Lost Realms’ are placed intentionally, it’s just a case of trying to understand if they focus upon one area and if they have any greater relevance other than as a homage.
My experience forces me to look for hotspots. If we can identify a specific region which has a very high likelihood of holding something, then your efforts and resources are focused likewise, and you can apply any and all means to integrate it. If it pulls up short then you reassess the findings, test for bias and if it still stands strong, we’re either missing something, or something hasn’t been inserted. If it’s wrong then we’re wrong and back to square one.
However I sincerely believe we’ve solved at least 2/3rds of the codex.
In my opinion, Tau Ceti denotes 2296 and a sphere of influence which identifies Pandemonium snd the Greek underworld.
Cora comes home denotes the path of Persephone to the underworld, identifying the Greek underworld. It may also identify the Triad goddess and a link to Michael Brookes book Legacy.
The passage about Atlantis, Cities of Gold and Prester John denotes the book by Holdstock, and a number of systems in the underworld linked which refer to Lost Realms.
Wider of this mark, the children’s story, I feel is a reference to Brookes book Legacy, which sits within context to the Greek systems and reflects upon the Triad goddess, likely also referring to the path of Persephone, or something else in that location.
Likewise Delphi and Donars Oak represent the Axis Mundi, and Yggdrasil. The underworld is centred around Axis Mundi, and Yggdrasil sits over it. The lost realms also seem to have some relationship with rivers and mountains (see above). Axis Mundi likely can also be identified in the Codex through the use of the term Omphalos.
The reference to burning jewels, sirens in deepest voids, I believe is a poetic metaphor for Raxxla, a the burning jewel of Eden, as if handing from a golden chain, but it is obfuscated on the outer rim within deepest void of the lost realms….
What this shows us ultimately in my opinion is the codex is actually a map. It probably doesn’t pin point a definitive location but does give us an area of probability of where to look.
). The most interesting system on the journey was Firdaus, with the station Robert Aitken Orbital being in an extremely tight orbit of its gas giant parent. I have been there a few times and had already scanned the tourist beacon 'Storm Cloud'. There was nothing else of particular note on my route.
