UA Mystery thread 4 - The Canonn

[drew]

Cannon's explosive multicannon in canon?

Good to see you Drew

In all seriousness, I am compiling a list of the interesting organisations and factions in the ED universe who have some 'personality' with a view to incorporating them into a future novel. If and when that occurs, I will advise. If folks can point me at the Canonn mythos for research I'd be much obliged.

As for all my in book mysteries and the in-game ones... lets just say it's early days.

Cheers,

Drew.

 

[EAGLE 5]

In all seriousness, I am compiling a list of the interesting organisations and factions in the ED universe who have some 'personality' with a view to incorporating them into a future novel. If and when that occurs, I will advise. If folks can point me at the Canonn mythos for research I'd be much obliged.

As for all my in book mysteries and the in-game ones... lets just say it's early days.

Cheers,

Drew.

HEY EVERYONE WE'RE GOING TO BE FAMOUS!!!!

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Just a post to all you fine people...

I am an oldbie/'84er... and older; back to Zero Wing, X-Wing & beyond...

I remember getting a game, opening the box and having treasure fall out; ship diagrams, manual, thingies... it was less "the stuff" than it was a world - something to bring me into the game's universe; the story. Something people had worked hard on for my enjoyment of the game. Something to sparkle in my mind. I read it all (pored over it, actually).

So I've been disappointed with many games issued past 2003 or so... no manual, some PDF abomination perhaps if you're lucky...

What I want to say to the Canonn is, thanks for the efforts, the pursuit of knowledge; for giving me more to flesh-out this Elite: Dangerous universe; to give me more to think about than pew-pew-I-win. Reading this thread (along with the old '84 info, the other stuff that came with the Frontier series, the novellas, etc) has been great fun & wonderment and... "the right stuff."

Yeah, I am a sloppy sentimentalist but... thanks, you guys

regards,
relayer


BTW... do you think these people should be made aware of the work on UAs?

‘We have no idea what it is’: Weird space signal could be from aliens

Maybe their radio telescopes are pointing at Merope?

This I agree with 100%

Rep given.

Also stick around things have a tendency of always getting interesting at Canonn Interstellar Research... they always do right Derthek?

 

[PsychoFish]

We're already famous, we were on TV .. YT ... whatever.

 

[relayer]

Yeah I think that's why some folks pay extra money for collector's editions of some games. And I also miss getting goodies like that with my game. Legend of Zelda and Starflight both immediately come mind. Kids now might not care for all that stuff, but I grew up getting maps and stories with my games, and now it feels empty when you just get like a 3 page manual and a bunch of advertisements for other games the company made. And if you get the digital version of a game you won't even get that.

It does feel empty. Even the manual for many games was storified. I have all my Mechwarrior boxes, the X-Wing series ones and many others framed on the the computer room's wall, along with the Homeworld Ships Specifications, maps of Morrowind, Cyrodiil & Skyrim, Liberty City, Vice City and others.

I certainly would pay extra for such things now. They are tremendous sources of immersion. Print me a high-quality map of the Human Bubble in E: D & I'll fork over the cash right off! (do you hear me, FD?)

 

[Jmanis]

I've been beta-ing, which distracted me from responding to a post about "The missing"... I interpreted that Galnet article as a way for hooking in discovery of populated worlds in systems which to-date have otherwise been unpopulated i.e no stations in them. This could be a hook-in to more exploration content, and possibly the UA thread, but I'll hold my breath a little.

 

[Dommarraa]

I've been beta-ing, which distracted me from responding to a post about "The missing"... I interpreted that Galnet article as a way for hooking in discovery of populated worlds in systems which to-date have otherwise been unpopulated i.e no stations in them. This could be a hook-in to more exploration content, and possibly the UA thread, but I'll hold my breath a little.

I had noticed one system in 1.4 that had population but no station. I cant remember where, I assumed it was a bug.
A system near Varati has been spotted in Beta as having population but no station. I may investigate today, but Material Location is a higher priority for me at the moment.

 

[LordZoltan]

In all seriousness, I am compiling a list of the interesting organisations and factions in the ED universe who have some 'personality' with a view to incorporating them into a future novel. If and when that occurs, I will advise. If folks can point me at the Canonn mythos for research I'd be much obliged.

As for all my in book mysteries and the in-game ones... lets just say it's early days.

Cheers,

Drew.

We might need to fill in some of the 'pre-3301' calendar for this; atm what we have is 'developing' mythos, some of which is in Galnet, some on our site, some in the Radio stuff done by vingtetun for Hutton Orbital Radio (it might be tongue-in-cheek, but there are also truths there!), and some of which is here

The Council will need to get our heads together on this I think, see what we can do. With all the 'buggehz' action going on right now, trying to hold anyone's attention for any length of time is proving difficult!

O7

 

[Han_Zen]

We might need to fill in some of the 'pre-3301' calendar for this; atm what we have is 'developing' mythos, some of which is in Galnet, some on our site, some in the Radio stuff done by vingtetun for Hutton Orbital Radio (it might be tongue-in-cheek, but there are also truths there!), and some of which is here

The Council will need to get our heads together on this I think, see what we can do. With all the 'buggehz' action going on right now, trying to hold anyone's attention for any length of time is proving difficult!

O7

Nicholas Powell has drafted a very nice history of the Varati system and the Canonn moving there. He probably has the final version on his desk somewhere.

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

Might be nice if someone from the Canonn council specifically let Drew know that using our Faction in his work would be OK. Even if he writes us as lunatic no-hopers, it would be good.

Or he could write the truth- a group of madly enthusiastic scientists but with some externally-imposed limitations on feasible investigative methods, that have nevertheless made a valiant effort to understand the Unknown Artefacts.

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'Planets Unlimited' were strictly corporate, so we can't always blame mil/pol

Big Corporates cold be worse- at least mil have to answer to pol who (in a democracy) have to answer to the people.

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

Back when I bought Elite it was from a strange man, with goat legs! A stone tablet rose from the ground surrounded be flames, and I had to sign my name in blood.

He said something about a soul, but it seemed like a fair deal to me

It's cheaper at the Frontier store!

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Plagiarism is the purest form of flattery, no? ;-)

Not in scientific circles!!

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

Hey guys!

So after two days in beta, we still havnt found a thing.
However, we did drop a UA on the dirt, run it over, and watch it roll around. Wanna see? Click here!

Maybe that's why the UA sphere has formed - they need us to plant them on planet surfaces in that region (perhaps they have no atmospheric glide capability). It is a plausible hypothesis which can be tested in Horizons, and might be a way to ascertain what new materials resist them.....

 

[Jorge]

All your fiction are belong to us

Michael

Looks like MB set up us the bomb.

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

Thanks - it was looked into way back in Threadnought 1, and people also took UAs there in 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 without noting anything of interest. RedWizzard's plots showed that there was no real correlation between the convoy sitings and Peregrina IIRC. As no one got infected by flying through the atmosphere of the moon, we concluded the quarantine was likely a cover-up for something else, although some still thought the Cerberus plague might have originated there.

That said it is quite possible there will be something there in Horizons (similar to many other permitted systems that have had absolutely nothing in them, or nothing anyone has been able to find anyways, to date) so it is definitely worth checking out the surface of the moon.

Spoiler

In Out of the Darkness, the human-Thargoid research lab was in the lower depths of the gas giant IIRC, and was destroyed

Edit: Also note that "alien artifacts" may not be the same thing as "unknown artifacts". These could be Soontill Relics, or Ancient Artifacts, or something else entirely (as well as possibly the UA).

Spoiler

Presumably it could be just story narrative for trade in leftover bits of Thargoid tech after the station was destroyed

I suspect this might be worth trying again by someone with a UA and beta Horizons- it seems very interesting that alien artefacts are specifically mentioned together with mention of minerals on the inner asteroid belt.....

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It Works. We don't have the environment to test it. At least not yet.

It's a good hypothesis but I'm no chemist.. what sort of materials could neutralise ammonium hydroxide- easily mineable in beta Horizons?
This hypothesis doesn't explain the blue "spore" behaviour, which I have viewed as being the UA corrosion mechanism (I could be wrong!)
It is based on the assumption that is ammonia- based (& therefore Thargoid-originated?), but what if it's something else.. needs someone with chemistry knowledge to do a bit of "what-if" thinking (I've not done any chemistry for over 40 years)

 

[LordZoltan]

Nicholas Powell has drafted a very nice history of the Varati system and the Canonn moving there. He probably has the final version on his desk somewhere. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/images/icons/vbposticons/icon7.gif

Yup - I read it - it's awesome

It's not on his desk though. I reckon it might have disappeared when he upped-sticks and left with a tonne of the Canonn's cash... Oh sorry, no, er, when he received that 'payment for services rendered' :$

 

[Dommarraa]

I had noticed one system in 1.4 that had population but no station. I cant remember where, I assumed it was a bug.
A system near Varati has been spotted in Beta as having population but no station. I may investigate today, but Material Location is a higher priority for me at the moment.

COL 285 Sector IX-T D3-43 is a populated but stationless system near Varati. No settlements appear on the Planet Map, and I have not discovered one, but as above, I am not hunting for Tech, just minerals. I did find an Auto Mine, and a Crash Site, but no population.

 

[Han_Zen]

It's a good hypothesis but I'm no chemist.. what sort of materials could neutralise ammonium hydroxide- easily mineable in beta Horizons?
This hypothesis doesn't explain the blue "spore" behaviour, which I have viewed as being the UA corrosion mechanism (I could be wrong!)
It is based on the assumption that is ammonia- based (& therefore Thargoid-originated?), but what if it's something else.. needs someone with chemistry knowledge to do a bit of "what-if" thinking (I've not done any chemistry for over 40 years)

I think the theory was just: If the UA contains ammonia, it will start to boil in room temperature. Boiling ammonia may leak out and react with moisture in the air. This would create the toxic corrosive liquid, ammonium hydroxide (normal household cleaner when diluted).

 

[Patau82]

COL 285 Sector IX-T D3-43 is a populated but stationless system near Varati. No settlements appear on the Planet Map, and I have not discovered one, but as above, I am not hunting for Tech, just minerals. I did find an Auto Mine, and a Crash Site, but no population.

It also has no factions and a population of just under 500,000
maybe its a thargoid colony

 

[who?]

All your fiction are belong to us

Michael

Hey! I'm not sure I like this..

"The Canonn object to the authorities' spying and violation of its IP"

Stop that! Stop quoting my comments!

"When pushed for a comment, a The Canonn spokesperson said no comment"

 

[PsychoFish]

It also has no factions and a population of just under 500,000
maybe its a thargoid colony

It's the 1st Galactic Debbie Convention. They are celebrating her life close to the place of her unfortunate demise.

 

[Nicholas Powell]

Nicholas Powell has drafted a very nice history of the Varati system and the Canonn moving there. He probably has the final version on his desk somewhere. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/images/icons/vbposticons/icon7.gif

Thanks, Han. (And LZ, just catching up with the Ol' 'Naught.) Kind of you to be kind about that stuff. And sorry to everybody else who, quite fairly, may have thought, "So, where's that gone, then? Wasn't that fly-by-night flouncer Nick working that up?" The fact is, as is well documented by Tamsin in her notes for my official biography... I'm easily distracted. Usually by Tamsin's complaints about her workload, but that's neither here nor there. What is or are, literally, here and there are the notes for the history of Varati from its discovery by Thompson to the arrival of Teh Cannnonn. It got away from me in a general sense, though I still pootle about with it.

I shall be presenting some Word Stuff after the latest Biscuit Barrel. So, next week. Probably in four main chunks. Basically, the four clear chapters of Varati's discovery, early development, later development and the coming of SCIENCE! I've been... well, preoccupied. And slack. So, yeah, stuff is coming next week. However... Although it has already seen (somewhat) public light of day already over on The Site's forums, many will have missed it so below is a very literal taster of some of the side-notes I was writing (when I was doing it properly). A little of the later, fuller info - as very kindly helped with by Han_Zen, Clavain, Danubezoe and others - is touched upon in what follows. (Also, as you will see at the bottom, while pasting it in here I have made note of 'Eureka' since it has some traction as a proposed (new/post-Canonn?) name for Varati's Earth-type.)

Anyhow, the following seemed to go down well when originally presented on The Site... and then I just got off-track with the rest of it.

---

Hickle and Pickle – A Glance at Local Foods

Pickled Varatian Mango – not as confused a taste as it first sounds – is a regular centrepiece food for important celebrations. Weddings, diplomatic functions and similar events are considered incomplete without this dish, which is rich in flavour and somewhat similar to a sweet gherkin in size and texture if not exactly flavour. The chemical peculiarities of the unique pickling process turn the ‘mango’ from its creamy brown to a vibrant turquoise, effecting a change in taste over several months from the remarkably bland to the sugary more-ishness it is so highly regarded for.

Due to the ingrained observation of agricultural restrictions and brisk seasonal limitations, it is expensive and delicious in equal measure. Specific and highly limited licences are required to farm and prepare Varatian Mango, pickled or otherwise. However, the limited taste and practically non-existent market demand for fresh ‘mango’ sees it rarely eaten.

Attempts to synthesize the taste continue to fall dishearteningly short of experimenter’s hopes. With the cost remaining high, it is a popularly generous gesture to offer (or request) to ‘pick the mango’ for another’s wedding or similar event. Many brides (or, to be perhaps more accurate, mothers of brides) consider a wedding better served by Pickled Varatian Mango than a beautiful venue for the evening’s reception festivities – and it is a poor bill-footer indeed who, upon hearing this ‘reasonable’ edict, fails to provide for both!

Similarly, Vucka, which also comes from the Varatian Mango, is an expensive alcoholic drink immediately recognisable for its sharply bittersweet character. Reserved for respectful toasts, its use is culturally confined to funerals. While the Varatian mindset generally avoids superstition, to be seen to be drinking Vucka at any other time is regarded as in bad taste and akin to wishing death or misfortune upon those present at the time.

Worse yet for those unaware of Varatian customs, anybody but a child abstaining from at least one of the traditionally ornate small glasses of Vucka when attending a wake is blatantly insulting the host and the dearly departed. To refuse such a drink at the funeral of a child has been known to result in mob hospitalisation and a blind eye turned by the authorities. Furthermore, it is a deliberately grave insult for a Varatian to tell another, “I’ll drink a Vucka to your memory.”

Of final note regarding Vucka: the drink will still be present following funerals for suicides but, short of faux pas by the uninitiated, those drinks which are poured are allowed to evaporate over time – usually around two to three days – as a curious manner of ‘toast’ to the departed. It is so common for somebody unfortunate or tragic enough to find themselves with no option but to take their own life to leave a bottle of Vucka to be found that, in Varati at least, it is not a suicide note that will be inquired after by loved ones and investigator but such a bottle.

Hickle, which is essentially a close local variant of the time-honoured paella, is a daily dish for the vast majority of Varatine families. Less popular among those living station-side or in the system’s planetary complexes away from the Earth-type [Eureka - ?], it makes use of the local rice which is plentiful and often contains those algae not protected by the stringent agricultural policies. Other rice dishes are also regular features of what might be viewed as the ‘national diet’ but they are also generally more popular on [Eureka] than elsewhere.