Alien archaeology and other mysteries: Breaking News, Theories and Tinfoil Hattery

Not sure if FFE articles are lore, but interesting stuff! I wouldn't be surprised if the articles and maybe some/all of the accompanying shorts are still relevant in a historical sense.

Would love to see all those old articles added to Galnet Archives in ED if they are considered lore by developers. Just for the sake of history!

The FFE articles have been declared non lore. However, the new lore does in most cases not diverge from it at all.
There are things like the massive use of clones in the Empire and androids in the Federation, that probably isn't valid any more.

The Thargoid story on the other hand, seem to be an exact match, up to the point where the player decided the outcome.

I'm absolutely not sure that these articles are valid, but they show that we are dealing with a game and that everything isn't always as they seem from a 2017 RL point of view. :)
 
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The FFE articles have been declared non lore. However, the new lore does in most cases not diverge from it at all.
There are things like the massive use of clones in the Empire and androids in the Federation, that probably isn't valid any more.

The Thargoid story on the other hand, seem to be an exact match, up to the point where the player decided the outcome.

I'm absolutely not sure that these articles are valid, but they show that we are dealing with a game and that everything isn't always as they seem from a 2017 RL point of view. :)

Which means of course that space whales haven't been ruled out either. Just saying. Sorry, the Rift thread is locked (without explanation) so I guess I will have to post here from time to time when I bother to check in. Fair warning.
 
Which means of course that space whales haven't been ruled out either. Just saying. Sorry, the Rift thread is locked (without explanation) so I guess I will have to post here from time to time when I bother to check in. Fair warning.

It's good to see you either way :)

Space Whales FTW!
 
Sorry might be a silly question

But with regards to the space Fungi

Only the Brain Pods have been found in multiple systems, with possible connection to the Guardians, is that correct?

Or is the Fungus found in the various Nebulae, Colonia, California, Witchhead, found in multiple systems in said nebula?
 
That's some great comments and ideas there.

I'm not going to go round and round debating this forever. I appreciate everyone's input and it's a been a great discussion but I'll leave it here :)

I think we're all excited to see where this storyline goes, one way or the other, one of the great things about it is that there's so many ways it could go, and to be honest many of the various theories and ideas suggested would make good stories moving forward. Maybe Fdev left it open to interpretation so they'd encourage debates and they'll cherry pick the best ones to put into the game. I know that's what a company I worked for a long time ago used to do lol!
Thanks in turn from me. Not just for that response, but also for what personally has been a (genuinely) thought provoking discussion.

And yeah, I have wondered if FD ever read some of the stuff and go "well that's better than what we had..."! :)
 
Sorry might be a silly question

But with regards to the space Fungi

Only the Brain Pods have been found in multiple systems, with possible connection to the Guardians, is that correct?

Or is the Fungus found in the various Nebulae, Colonia, California, Witchhead, found in multiple systems in said nebula?
Braintrees have been found in all areas where there's Guardian ruins.

If I'm not mistaken, there's also a cluster of systems with braintrees which although in the general vicinity of the main Guardian bubble have not had any Guardian sites (yet) found immediately nearby.
 
Speculation: in the old thread there were several speculations (not from me) about "blue matter" underground stream that was supposedly visible (in beta ?) and under the relics.
Good point this. The blue was there under the cairns that the artefacts (other than the Relic) are found in. Not sure if that's still the case.

Also, a cmdr had found a spot on a landable body where there appeared to be blue liquid coming from the ground. It was never clear where it actually was though. I checked the suspected system for Guardian ruins after the RT mission had been completed but there was no sign of ruins. I also tried a couple of other systems based on their route and jump range but no joy. (Very little chance of getting the right system that way anyway, but worth a bit of a look.) I never went onto any of the landable bodies though; I just checked for ruins.
 
I'm just going to leave these two articles from FFE here. Not sure if they are still valid lore.

************************
DNA TRANSPOSON
J.F.

All life is one. This bold statement can be found in research papers published posthumously by the Harris Powell Foundation. DNA (see box) has long been known to be of limited mutability, a fact that explains the theory of punctuated evolution which displaced pure Darwinism in the early thirtieth century.

The Powell theory makes use of this limit. In a densely worded paper Powell points out that using the Huffen transposon theory and assuming viral vectors, all later DNA can be created from the most primitive form ever discovered. The process is surprisingly simple, requiring merely extremely large computers and the largest DNA database ever created. Then, using random transposon disruption generated by the controlling program,

Powell is able to generate all known cladograms, animal, vegetable and, surprisingly, mineral. Even the siliconeys are included in Powell's great family of life.

DNA ADDENDUM
J.F.

The Powell Foundation (see our last issue) has published an addendum to their epoch making paper on the origins of life. While not so wide ranging in its claims, it is even more disturbing. It claims that all higher organisms - which in accordance with Powellism means non-vegetable life - are able to cross-transfer DNA. The addendum was still being worked on by Powell himself just before he died, and as such may be incomplete. However, in it he traces a mathematical construct which he calls 'life-space', a multi-dimensional universe involving the higher organisms in a close-knit whole. Then he simulates the whole when animated by viral carriers and demonstrates the speed with which beneficent genes spread via the viruses across the species barrier. There have been indications that this is so.

A few years ago it was shown that the kingfisher fur mutation (a true radiation-induced mutation) had spread from the cat population of Canolol to a large proportion of the planet's human population in only ten generations. We cannot share Powell's quasi-religious conclusion from his data, and his theory goes further than true scientific rigor will strictly allow. But even so we are somehow warmed by the idea of life collectively taking on the blind hostility of the inanimate, all for one and one for all.

We will never look at the office cat in the same way again.
********************

Call me crazy here, but if it was lore, wouldn't the lore just be literally what is stated, i.e. that someone published a paper?

Can't see anywhere that it says that the contents of the paper were accepted as true.
 
Call me crazy here, but if it was lore, wouldn't the lore just be literally what is stated, i.e. that someone published a paper?

Can't see anywhere that it says that the contents of the paper were accepted as true.
I think what he means is that FD have said that none of the previous games' lore, including the FFE journals, can be considered canon for ED. Only the new books and what has appeared in game are canon. So we don't know what, if anything at all, is even useful (let alone accurate, as many of the news items aren't) and applicable to ED from the old stuff. Some may be, but until it appears in-game or via some other canon lore source we won't know for sure. At one point there was some talk that the two RPGs being released would have sourcebooks that would be considered canon lore for ED. Not sure if that is still the case.
 
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I think what he means is that FD have said that none of the previous games' lore, including the FFE journals, can be considered canon for ED. Only the new books and what has appeared in game are canon. So we don't know what, if anything at all, is even useful (let alone accurate, as many of the news items aren't) and applicable to ED. Some may be, but until it appears in-game or via some other canon lore source we won't know for sure. At one point there was some talk that the two RPGs being released would have sourcebooks that would be considered canon lore for ED. Not sure if that is still the case.
Oh yeah, got all that, don't get me wrong!

What I mean is that even if it actually is lore, then the contents of the paper aren't lore. All that's lore is that the papers were published.

It's similar to a news article about a con. It would be lore that the article was published, and could possibly be considered lore that the con itself took place, but it doesn't mean that whatever the con was is genuine (it can't be, otherwise it wouldn't be a con). If you see what I mean...
 
Oh yeah, got all that, don't get me wrong!

What I mean is that even if it actually is lore, then the contents of the paper aren't lore. All that's lore is that the papers were published.

It's similar to a news article about a con. It would be lore that the article was published, and could possibly be considered lore that the con itself took place, but it doesn't mean that whatever the con was is genuine (it can't be, otherwise it wouldn't be a con). If you see what I mean...
I think - although my brain is starting to hurt. If the contents of the paper is summarized in the news item doesn't that become lore too though? Whether accurate or not? i.e. not all lore is necessarily true.
 
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Braintrees have been found in all areas where there's Guardian ruins.

If I'm not mistaken, there's also a cluster of systems with braintrees which although in the general vicinity of the main Guardian bubble have not had any Guardian sites (yet) found immediately nearby.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Thatchinho again.
 
I think - although my brain is starting to hurt. If the contents of the paper is summarized in the news item doesn't that become lore too though? Whether accurate or not? i.e. not all lore is necessarily true.

Well I guess the analogy I'd draw is that in the mid-late 2010s there are lots of YouTube videos claiming that the Earth is flat.
- Would it be lore that those YouTube videos existed? - yes
- Would it therefore be lore that the Earth was flat? - no. In no way whatsoever. :)
 
I think - although my brain is starting to hurt. If the contents of the paper is summarized in the news item doesn't that become lore too though? Whether accurate or not? i.e. not all lore is necessarily true.

Yup, and we've been had by that one a few times.

When Palin issued speculation about UAs he wasn't always right; and FD do definitely take the idea of some of their other reporters/characters as unreliable narrators and run with it.

Ultimately, that's a good shout IMHO, so long as we eventually get the truth when we need it :)
 
I love the Known Space novels


I think of Niven & his worlds a lot in regards to the Thargoid Question. I almost threw a Puppeteer into a previous discussion when the thing about flexible digits & opposable thumbs. The thing I think most often is Beowulf Shaeffer's observation that a Puppeteer did not understand his reference to tidal forces and guessed that the Puppeteer homeworld didn't have a moon.
 
Is there a new prison ship in merope today? Alcatraz class prison ship JJF-048 orbiting Merope 3...

EDIT: And it's been whacked by Thargies

M0t6BR3.png
 
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I think of Niven & his worlds a lot in regards to the Thargoid Question. I almost threw a Puppeteer into a previous discussion when the thing about flexible digits & opposable thumbs. The thing I think most often is Beowulf Shaeffer's observation that a Puppeteer did not understand his reference to tidal forces and guessed that the Puppeteer homeworld didn't have a moon.

Totally! I love how alien the puppeteers are and that they have to have special training to deal with humans, and even then it's only the "mad" ones that can deal with other species at all.
 
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