Unknown Artefact (or artifact) Community Thread - The Canonn

[simulacrae]

Just had a stray thought enter my head - don't dolphins communicate by chittering? Wasn't there an FFE mission about an intelligent Dolphin that you had to carry as a passenger somewhere? (Heading back to journals to check).

Edit: You'll never believe what world you had to take the dolphin from:

Nice ! I went and got the description of Liaququ from the FE II Gazetteer

Liaququ

The water world of New California is famous for the wide range of medicines which the abundant ocean life provide. The World is devoid of advanced life forms, with no natural vertebrate forms. Evolution appears to have pursued a similar route as on Earth, with plants and simple life developing in the oceans, but the most advanced species are equivalent to the terrestrial echinoderms. Despite the unsophisticated anatomy of the animals, the ocean teems with life and it yields an abundant harvest for the farming communities which now inhabit the world.

The life forms of New California may lack sophistication, but a huge variety of developments have occurred in the benign environment of the hot ocean. On Earth, some of the most potent poisons known to mankind are found in the jellyfish, and this is true of Liaququ's planet as well. Early settlers fell easy prey to the local creammis floaters and flying drevis froms with their potent nerve toxins. Even nowadays, the fish farmers have to beware of the swarming migration patterns of whip slimes.

The deadly venom of many of the species of New California have spawned a thriving pharmaceutical trade. The factory and laboratory ships of major interstellar drug companies keep track of the ocean currents and harvest a rich variety of natural drugs and medications. They also serve to notify the resident fisheries of unexpected concentrations of dangerous fauna.

Many varieties of aquatic life from Earth and other worlds have been introduced to the oceans of New California. Local environmental lobbies have made no progress at limiting the import of foreign life forms. In many cases the introductions have been unsuccessful and several ambitious commercial farming ventures have come to nothing. The dolphins and killer whales of Earth, and the barabous and inqoqo of Cemiess have done particularly well, but are not commercially exploited due to their recognised intelligence levels. The most successful commercial fish crop is the stinger of Facece which is the local staple food and a valuable export.

The largest predator on New California is a species of eleven limbed starfish known as Godzilla, a historical reference of uncertain origin. The naturalist and environmental lobbyist M'harma Dennet has captured on film the remarkable fight between a godzilla and a sperm whale following the battle in an aircraft and finally diving into the ocean to catch the final moments as the godzilla dispatched the giant mammal. The film has won several awards, including the prestigious DIGMA bronze star.

D.M.

http://lotf.co.uk/fe2_gazetteer.html

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Since Lianququ is not in Elite ... Im wondering if California is just another "Its Whales" hint in the Wings Trailer - But good catch Han Zen !

 

[LordZoltan]

Sorry - I think I must be missing something. Clavain will vouch for me when I say I'm addicted to this thread - I read so frequently I'm never more than two pages from the most recent post!

But I'm not thinking 'it's whales'.

So would someone who does think it's whales just do a quick bullet point summary of the evidence for this? Go on, do a slightly frazzled 'theoretical researcher' a favour ...

 

[Derthek]

Sorry - I think I must be missing something. Clavain will vouch for me when I say I'm addicted to this thread - I read so frequently I'm never more than two pages from the most recent post!

But I'm not thinking 'it's whales'.

So would someone who does think it's whales just do a quick bullet point summary of the evidence for this? Go on, do a slightly frazzled 'theoretical researcher' a favour ...

I agree, I think the connection to whales (honks) and dolphins (chitters) is a bit of a stretch and has nothing to do with thargoids

 

[clavain]

I agree, I think the connection to whales (honks) and dolphins (chitters) is a bit of a stretch and has nothing to do with thargoids

Who said it has anything to do with Thargoids - at all? We have no evidence for that whatsoever. What we do have is whale sounds and some Morse.

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Sorry - I think I must be missing something. Clavain will vouch for me when I say I'm addicted to this thread - I read so frequently I'm never more than two pages from the most recent post!

But I'm not thinking 'it's whales'.

So would someone who does think it's whales just do a quick bullet point summary of the evidence for this? Go on, do a slightly frazzled 'theoretical researcher' a favour ...

That would be Han Zen's "Hunt for New California": https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=162998&page=182 and https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=162998&page=187

 

[Derthek]

Who said it has anything to do with Thargoids - at all?

It's more likely than space fish.

 

[Kyp Shard]

So, the cryptic links to New California(s) are interesting, but the wings trailer suggests that our intrepid Ishmael picks up his UA in the California sector.

Have we been there with it? I mean - the only UAs we find are in convoys - but presumably they must come from somewhere...

Seems to me to be that one of the 'nicest' things to do would be to take it back where it belongs.

There's talk on the old thread about going there (p215/216) - but I'm not sure it was ever actually done with a UA on board, and observations made.

I suppose I'm saying, why think cryptic?

Just remembered - wasn't there a hint from Mike Evans or somebody back when there was talk of the forbidden rift about making things "less nebulous", and getting to the "core of the problem". Maybe it's the California Nebula we need to check out indeed.

 

[clavain]

It's more likely than space fish.

Bet you a pint it's not Thargoids. ;-)

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Just remembered - wasn't there a hint from Mike Evans or somebody back when there was talk of the forbidden rift about making things "less nebulous", and getting to the "core of the problem". Maybe it's the California Nebula we need to check out indeed.

That was Drew Wagar and related to the Formidine Rift search and Salome/Kahina, and the Heart and Soul Nebulae, which in a galaxy far far away a long long time ago we thought might be related to the UAs, but as that story is officially dead I think we can safely discount it.

 

[rizal72]

Sorry - I think I must be missing something. Clavain will vouch for me when I say I'm addicted to this thread - I read so frequently I'm never more than two pages from the most recent post!

But I'm not thinking 'it's whales'.

So would someone who does think it's whales just do a quick bullet point summary of the evidence for this? Go on, do a slightly frazzled 'theoretical researcher' a favour ...

I don't know if someone read it, but this morning I've said that I've listened to different sounds of orcas, whales and dolphins, and they are very far than similar to the UA howls, sorry. I mean, the Howl remembers something about whales, but very very distantly....

By the way, the "Moby " theory and all the hints in the trailer, must be taken in account. So some kind of test should be done. there is a New California in Epsilon Eridani, very very near to Altair, an easy zone.

@Jmanis:

The hidden MORSE that I can hear in the Background sound of the UA, is always there, and I can hear it without any sound manipulation or software help. Just listening to the UA and I distinguish it very well. BTW I'm too used to it.
I'm still trying to find a meaning to it, because it's really fast, but I am almost sure that there is a system name in it. Right now it is HEL 8 (.... . .-.. ---..), but I am not so sure still.
I'm going on in my spare time, just to be TOTALLY SURE it is not a code, but just a simple BG sound with no meaning.

 

[Derthek]

Bet you a pint it's not Thargoids. ;-)

Make that 1 metric ton of beer, delivered in game, and you're on

 

[clavain]

Make that 1 metric ton of beer, delivered in game, and you're on

Done! Out of rep.

 

[rizal72]

"As for the curiosity market there were two hundred fossilised Dironothaxaurian life-bones on
offer, at forty credits each.
'Ever heard of them?' Elyssia asked.
Alex said, 'I've seen one. And heard one. In a museum on my homeworld. They sing. They're over
forty million years old, and still they sing; waiting for something, a hatching, or a change of
climate. They're bones from the pelvic region, so they could be incubation pods. Nobody knows . . .'
'Are they valuable?'
'Very. Exactly by how much I don't know.'"

- The Dark Wheel.

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I've said it before in this thread, and I'll say it again, i think the next stage of this puzzle is to complete multiple runs of the 3 elite-only quests. I'd do it myself, but I'm not elite

S*it, I have to read that book!
Your citation is very interesting... can we find if this Dironothaxaurian has an home system of some kind?

 

[simulacrae]

I agree, I think the connection to whales (honks) and dolphins (chitters) is a bit of a stretch and has nothing to do with thargoids

More and more im thinking this is not Thargoids

From the first I heard the UA i thought of Whale Song - the Wings "Ishamel" I thought was funny but looking back its an obvious connection - The Nimoy, California, and Vengar links are a bit tenuous

Really what I am seeing is a link to the Voyager Probes - I know people brought the UA out to them and nothing happened ... but

The Song of the Spheres sounds too much like the Music of the Spheres (on voyager) - Voyager also had Morse and Whale Song on it ...

The Probes also seem to have gone missing ...

What any of this means ... got me

 

[Han_Zen]

Since Lianququ is not in Elite ... Im wondering if California is just another "Its Whales" hint in the Wings Trailer - But good catch Han Zen !

That was my tought as well. The trailer is full of hints with the names, California sector is a name hint as well.

As the hole system is gone, I got a bit conserned with this quote:

"No-one knows what will be the effects of so many drives working in tandem. No research has been done on the effects of such a huge mass being dropped into witch space. Theoretical studies indicate reality backwash which might render whole systems uninhabitable. Before our governments permit the terrorists to board their new ship, urgent theoretical research must be carried out. Otherwise, when the last few inhabitants of Sheehan World fire their craft up for the first time, they will be carrying out a terrifying full scale experiment which could rend the fabric of space-time itself.

Who knows what bizarre and infinitely improbable events could then occur?"

There isn't a planet called "New New California" in-game?
That would have been typical Elite

 

[Derthek]

More and more im thinking this is not Thargoids

From the first I heard the UA i thought of Whale Song

It's understandable that it wouldn't be Thargoid, however I highly doubt it's aquatic origins.

Realistically, the sound file for the UA was make with a horn instrument slowed down with added synth sounds.
While it may sound whalish I don't think it points to whales.

It's more likely a race of tubas bent on destroying humanity with diseases and wasting our time with sound analysis equipment

 

[Kyp Shard]

By the way, the "Moby " theory and all the hints in the trailer, must be taken in account. So some kind of test should be done. there is a New California in Epsilon Eridani, very very near to Altair, an easy zone.

Yep, was just looking at that one too. Worth check I reckon.

 

[Drazz]

I think you guys are over thinking this UA stuff a bit to much I say.

I do not think these UA are meant to wander around the galaxy. They do not seem to hang around by themselves. They seem to record what is in the area then they go away. Now where they go or what happens when they do no one knows. If you do look at the videos of them going away it does show some strange happenings at the end.

If i had the last of these puppies i would get a wing of people and record video of multiple shoots and close ups of them and the strange effect when they go away. And keep listening and shooting video after for awhile just to see if anything else pops back.

Be realistic about this. Do you really think if this is related to the thargoids coming into the galaxy. Do you really think FD would scrap that because the last of the UA's got lost. It would be more realistic they would let more UA out.

But thats my thoughts.

Edited----

PS please dont say go and find one and test it yourself. It does not look like anyone will find anymore of them.

 

[clavain]

Yep, was just looking at that one too. Worth check I reckon.

There are four - all listed with details in earlier posts above (check the links I just posted for Zoltan).

 

[Keeval]

I hadn't seen the mission about the SAP8 containers before, I wonder if this is one of the clues - not necessarily the mission itself but the title "The Song of the Spheres"

Doing a quick google search comes up with :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musica_universalis

"Musica universalis (lit. universal music, or music of the spheres) or Harmony of the Spheres is an ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies—the Sun, Moon, and planets—as a form of musica (the Medieval Latin term for music). This "music" is not usually thought to be literally audible, but a harmonic and/or mathematical and/or religiousconcept. The idea continued to appeal to thinkers about music until the end of the Renaissance, influencing scholars of many kinds, including humanists."

I'm not sure if it helps but I thought I'd put it in here for reference.

 

[clavain]

It's understandable that it wouldn't be Thargoid, however I highly doubt it's aquatic origins.

Realistically, the sound file for the UA was make with a horn instrument slowed down with added synth sounds.
While it may sound whalish I don't think it points to whales.

Have any of our numerous audio experts compared it with the whale sounds on the Voyager golden discs? Might someone just be playing it back to us?

 

[LordZoltan]

Out of rep, too, otherwise you'd both be getting some

Turns out I wasn't missing anything, though - I'm not sold on any of this. We have a location in California Sector, from the wings trailer, near where the pilot must have collected his UA (or, granted, it could've been a lot further out, but let's just take the clue at face value).

On the whale front, there's a whole load of 'nearly the same...' and 'isn't it a bit like...' supposition and cryptic stuff (but I admit, it's all very inspired), with each step of which makes that theory more and more tenuous, and more and more something you 'want' to be true, rather than something that's reasonable.

Just saying, is all.

I also agree - there is still no actual evidence for it being Thargoid. Insectoid? I'd say so - you only need to look and listen.

Sounds more like an insect (buzzing anyone!?) than a whale, certainly!

This is Elite - not the Voyage Home.

But ultimately, I'm the same as nearly everyone else here - I've not had a single idea that's been right, so my opinion on the theory has no right to be treated as actually valid in any way!

Ultimately - you guys can prove me wrong by proving it right, and I will gladly laud your good selves for years to come. I'll donate beer too