Ok thats fine - but i would argue that you are missing out an a big part. I get you are focused on the nifty hidden-image at the centerish of the Galaxy. But Id say there is a reason it is there and it has to do with the path... and the Path is Lore... And lore (well the story i guess actually -
Awen) especially in this case is made of allusions and references to things that arent always right in front of us. The reason I keep mentioning the Langford Basalisk from the FFE Journals is i believe the thing in the Center you are interested in - is a new Elite version of it.
A bit about the storyline in elite ive noticed:
A while back we had Marlinists who were fighting the empire.... Theta group folks... they were called
The Nine Martyrs - ive linked to a site about the actual Nine Martyrs of Orthodox Christianity - look at the last name on the list. The Nine has another meaning - Ennead the name of a system and one of the Marlinist Ships... There is also the Nine Maidens who stoked the fire below the Cauldron... I believe we are on the path to
Annwn one way or another.
Regarding Drew.... Im not trying to speak for him but id say- yes he is a big fan and a writer - im sure he understands the allusions he is using and he has been looking for raxxla longer than most of us- he is also under NDA. As to the comparison of Characters its pointless if you arent interested in looking at Holdstocks work.
I don't think I am missing anything, I actually think I've deeply considered all the options and dismissed 'Holdstock Expanded Universe' theory as a dead end.
It is worth remembering that Allen Stroud (official Elite author, Holdstock expert, and one of the primary contributors to Elite Dangerous' general background lore) told us
on this very thread quite a lot that directly relates to this.
Everyone should read this quote (and check out the original postings Allen made, they're lengthy and detailed). We're very fortunate that Allen took the time to answer some questions and straighten out a few things for us all a while back, it's a shame so much is buried deep in the bowels of this thread!
"We all expected
Elite: Legacy to be a direct sequel, which was why most of the other writers steered clear in their central plots and then tried to hint at things that could relate to Raxxla, the Dark Wheel, etc. These areas were pretty much off limits for a direct narrative at the time. However, replication of Holdstock's mythmaking is something many of the writers attempted. There are connections between the books, the game, the rest. It is worth looking at T James' book
Out of the Darkness (which I edited) to get a snapshot of how close many of us were allowed to 'the crown jewels'
The mythos around Thargoids was very closely guarded. T. James worked up the Thargoid booklet draft. I had a bit of time to look at it and we had one or two discussions (T James, David Braben, Michael Brookes and I), where we considered the origin of Thargoids and how that related to other elements of the mythology. I was very much the fourth person in that discussion, whereas I was more involved in the other areas.
Michael made several announcements whilst project lead during that period. He was incredibly overworked trying to fulfill the commitments placed on him by the Kickstarter and Frontier. He was lovely to work with. I'd say he was more Lovecraft influenced than Holdstock influenced, but there's a similarity. I would say his intention was always to include Raxxla, The Dark Wheel, and references that would provide a narrative continuance. I worked with that in mind, preserving and developing the hints given in the background from
Frontier: Elite 2 and
Frontier First Encounters. I don't know how far they got on game implementation of that narrative but he would always reply confidently that it was in the game."
- Allen Stroud, 2021,
this thread.
Specifically, burn this into your brains:
"He [Brookes] was incredibly overworked trying to fulfill the commitments placed on him by the Kickstarter and Frontier ... I'd say he was more Lovecraft influenced than Holdstock influenced ... intention was always to include [in the game] Raxxla, The Dark Wheel, and references that would provide a narrative continuance."
Allen is just one person, but what he's saying here is very, very consistent with what Drew Wagar says in his many livestreams, and it's fully consistent with an analysis of the Raxxla myth as it exists in game, and with Brookes' own work, and his personal website - so I find no reason to think Allen is unreliable.
My solution to the Raxxla mystery (since you mention it) is deeply wrapped into the game lore and narrative, very simple to implement, actually exists entirely within the game, requiring people to use in-game exploration skills and techniques consistent with other puzzles that have been in the game. There may well be more to it as a next step, but we'll never know if everyone continues to ignore what's in-game.
