I failed to warn you.
Distant Worlds began and I thought, nice, a party!
I had been back in the bubble for a month. I was doing the normal thing. I forgot about the Pull.
Last time, it caught me at about two or three months, maybe after some 45kly.
This time on Distant Worlds, happened at 12kly. I feel it. I must jump.
From April till November 3301 I made a trek across the Milky Way. My first time away for longer than a week or two.
The first months, it was about getting away, finding rare star and planet types, and thinking of the ranking and credits it would pay. My name on stars. Oh, I knew I was going to be away for half a year, but that was a rather abstract thought. Everything was from a perspective of the bubble. Then things happened there. Powerplay came. New ship types, I read about it on the forum. I was no longer part of it. I was here, a single green spot on the map away from the other the other green and red spots, and always a next star to jump to.
I got to Sag A* after a fair detour, flying on the 'look at me go' new-explorer-feel. I met with Cmdrs. Zefod and Dandak; we were still close to inhabited space. Somewhat beyond there, I realised I wasn't even halfway to Beagle Point. While being out for already two months. There was going to be more than twice this time before I would get home. What am I doing with my life?! It's a silly goal, and it's way beyond mundane scope.
Sagittarius A* is quite close to home.
Ooowww, but there are lots of places nearby that no one has been to yet. A sea of stars yet to sail stretching ahead.
At that point, the tether broke. I was free. I didn't need the thought of return anymore, only forwards, free!
So many places no one had ever seen, and no one will ever see again. I must pass through them, I must honour them with at least two human eyes ever seeing them.
Hello there beauty.
So I continued the routine, sometimes relaxing, often boring. If this wasn't boring, I wouldn't be doing it. Being bored stiff yet going on is what separates explorers from the rest. Isn't it? Push on! You're breaking your distance record! Ooo a silly looking gas giant, just like a mint bubble gum. Scan, carry on. Last arm before the gap, cross at X4000 should work. No, too sparse! Detour of 8000 ly to cross at X8100. Some despair. What had I started on? What a pointless grind! Hull down to 88% all due to stupid mistakes. I will probably fail. I think I'm turning back. But my mate was already across, I should go too.
I carried on X-positive on Scutum-Centaurus, crossed the Abyss and into Solitude, moving X-negative. It was starting to feel cold. My mate didn't have time to wait for my detour of three weeks. So I arrived at Beagle Point, alone like him before me. What a thin bluish white line the Milky Way has become. What an utter emptiness when looking the other way. There must be more of this.
Let's go further X-negative. Such clean sparseness. Another star onwards. More clear sky further left. My, is it cold in here. Mmmmm...
Ice, dust, the Long Distance Duck, a far away nebula and a single star.
I got to CEECKAEA MQ-N C23-0, at about X-1600, before I got the shivers too much. Radioed Razorwire that I was turning back.
Quite far enough.
Or so I planned.
Just need to go right, right? There's a star to the right within range, and then the next and the next. Let's travel at half tank to be able to make longer jumps. And now there's no further star anymore. Hmm, need to go back, follow the white system icons on the map. OK, I'm back, need to try another track. Which was the one I just left and which one was the one I originally came? Dunno, just try another track to the right.
Hey, I've been here before.
And here too.
I started sweating.
Anxious scrolling of the map. A small pocket of stars and I can't find the isthmus connecting it to Solitude. I have found the terrible secret of space. I am lost!
For three days I jumped around before I got out.
A little bit of longing for home had awoken in me. Relief to get across the Abyss. Bee-line it for the bubble. Another two months. Ah well, nice and calm. There is so much variety. Look at that, would it be a record breaking flattened gas giant? What's with these people talking about Community Goals? There are squashed coloured balls to admire. Fly straight at it at some speed to retain the green circle to show how off-circular it is. Come closer and add me to your collection.
Greeting an Old God.
I looked at these impressive old ones. Was its purpose to be found by me? I shook it off. Else I could go on forever.
I returned! Yes, I returned. My mates Zefod and Zevier guided me to a station. I almost forgot to request docking permission and couldn't find my landing gear button at first. But I got back. Or at least the pixels of my ship did. But some parts of me, I'm not sure about.
Procedural stars and planets - it's just numbers, right? It looks the same to all of us. Deterministically produced pseudo-random. Everything was already predetermined before the algorithm was run! And the meaning given to the numbers are symbols made up by people. This number becomes an L star, that number a high metal content planet. The entire number set that generates our galaxy already existed before the game was made! And was given meaning by the technoshamans at Frontier. There can be a ghost in the machine. And when you float through it long enough, you start to feel it. Or think you feel it, which can't be distinguished.
With FSD boosts, the lure of going further into the sparse lands will be even stronger. And we will keep count of how many we have used up and need for return. But will we pick the right path back? Will we be able to exactly retrace our steps? Trying and discovering a new star is a strong pull for us. But maybe that star requires one boosted jump more to return from than we have jumponium for. Where I was protected by a fixed jump range, this time we will not be stopped to go just one further...
Erimus, Allitnil, Marlon Blake, Obsidian Ant, ... We regard them as heroes, as pioneers. But have you seen how long and far they went? How meticulously some of them scanned every rock? They are deep, deep under the spell.
And now they take us along. Like the rat catcher of Hamelin.
Hold on to that tether! Keep your perspective that of a puny human with insignificant desires. Don't attempt to fill yourself with the full scale of the galaxy. That way madness lies.
That is it. All of it.
Distant Worlds began and I thought, nice, a party!
I had been back in the bubble for a month. I was doing the normal thing. I forgot about the Pull.
Last time, it caught me at about two or three months, maybe after some 45kly.
This time on Distant Worlds, happened at 12kly. I feel it. I must jump.
From April till November 3301 I made a trek across the Milky Way. My first time away for longer than a week or two.
The first months, it was about getting away, finding rare star and planet types, and thinking of the ranking and credits it would pay. My name on stars. Oh, I knew I was going to be away for half a year, but that was a rather abstract thought. Everything was from a perspective of the bubble. Then things happened there. Powerplay came. New ship types, I read about it on the forum. I was no longer part of it. I was here, a single green spot on the map away from the other the other green and red spots, and always a next star to jump to.
I got to Sag A* after a fair detour, flying on the 'look at me go' new-explorer-feel. I met with Cmdrs. Zefod and Dandak; we were still close to inhabited space. Somewhat beyond there, I realised I wasn't even halfway to Beagle Point. While being out for already two months. There was going to be more than twice this time before I would get home. What am I doing with my life?! It's a silly goal, and it's way beyond mundane scope.
Sagittarius A* is quite close to home.
Ooowww, but there are lots of places nearby that no one has been to yet. A sea of stars yet to sail stretching ahead.
At that point, the tether broke. I was free. I didn't need the thought of return anymore, only forwards, free!
So many places no one had ever seen, and no one will ever see again. I must pass through them, I must honour them with at least two human eyes ever seeing them.
Hello there beauty.
So I continued the routine, sometimes relaxing, often boring. If this wasn't boring, I wouldn't be doing it. Being bored stiff yet going on is what separates explorers from the rest. Isn't it? Push on! You're breaking your distance record! Ooo a silly looking gas giant, just like a mint bubble gum. Scan, carry on. Last arm before the gap, cross at X4000 should work. No, too sparse! Detour of 8000 ly to cross at X8100. Some despair. What had I started on? What a pointless grind! Hull down to 88% all due to stupid mistakes. I will probably fail. I think I'm turning back. But my mate was already across, I should go too.
I carried on X-positive on Scutum-Centaurus, crossed the Abyss and into Solitude, moving X-negative. It was starting to feel cold. My mate didn't have time to wait for my detour of three weeks. So I arrived at Beagle Point, alone like him before me. What a thin bluish white line the Milky Way has become. What an utter emptiness when looking the other way. There must be more of this.
Let's go further X-negative. Such clean sparseness. Another star onwards. More clear sky further left. My, is it cold in here. Mmmmm...
Ice, dust, the Long Distance Duck, a far away nebula and a single star.
I got to CEECKAEA MQ-N C23-0, at about X-1600, before I got the shivers too much. Radioed Razorwire that I was turning back.
Quite far enough.
Or so I planned.
Just need to go right, right? There's a star to the right within range, and then the next and the next. Let's travel at half tank to be able to make longer jumps. And now there's no further star anymore. Hmm, need to go back, follow the white system icons on the map. OK, I'm back, need to try another track. Which was the one I just left and which one was the one I originally came? Dunno, just try another track to the right.
Hey, I've been here before.
And here too.
I started sweating.
Anxious scrolling of the map. A small pocket of stars and I can't find the isthmus connecting it to Solitude. I have found the terrible secret of space. I am lost!
For three days I jumped around before I got out.
A little bit of longing for home had awoken in me. Relief to get across the Abyss. Bee-line it for the bubble. Another two months. Ah well, nice and calm. There is so much variety. Look at that, would it be a record breaking flattened gas giant? What's with these people talking about Community Goals? There are squashed coloured balls to admire. Fly straight at it at some speed to retain the green circle to show how off-circular it is. Come closer and add me to your collection.
Greeting an Old God.
I looked at these impressive old ones. Was its purpose to be found by me? I shook it off. Else I could go on forever.
I returned! Yes, I returned. My mates Zefod and Zevier guided me to a station. I almost forgot to request docking permission and couldn't find my landing gear button at first. But I got back. Or at least the pixels of my ship did. But some parts of me, I'm not sure about.
Procedural stars and planets - it's just numbers, right? It looks the same to all of us. Deterministically produced pseudo-random. Everything was already predetermined before the algorithm was run! And the meaning given to the numbers are symbols made up by people. This number becomes an L star, that number a high metal content planet. The entire number set that generates our galaxy already existed before the game was made! And was given meaning by the technoshamans at Frontier. There can be a ghost in the machine. And when you float through it long enough, you start to feel it. Or think you feel it, which can't be distinguished.
With FSD boosts, the lure of going further into the sparse lands will be even stronger. And we will keep count of how many we have used up and need for return. But will we pick the right path back? Will we be able to exactly retrace our steps? Trying and discovering a new star is a strong pull for us. But maybe that star requires one boosted jump more to return from than we have jumponium for. Where I was protected by a fixed jump range, this time we will not be stopped to go just one further...
Erimus, Allitnil, Marlon Blake, Obsidian Ant, ... We regard them as heroes, as pioneers. But have you seen how long and far they went? How meticulously some of them scanned every rock? They are deep, deep under the spell.
And now they take us along. Like the rat catcher of Hamelin.
Hold on to that tether! Keep your perspective that of a puny human with insignificant desires. Don't attempt to fill yourself with the full scale of the galaxy. That way madness lies.
That is it. All of it.
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