The Thargoids are alien to humans in perpetually every way: physiology, technology, and mentality. To the public, they are known as past relentless killing machines that destroyed anything that crossed into their territory; only relenting when humans drove them off with biological warfare. The Thargoids we see in Elite Dangerous behave very differently from this description, however.
The first instance of Thargoid interaction were the unknown artifacts and probes. Alien devices left around to float in space or collect dust on some random planet. We discovered recently that these devices are keys to Thargoid machinery. Now this is rather suspicious, as no rational species would just leave such important machinery lying around with no purpose.
The second instance are the crash sites: planetary debris fields of crashed Thargoid ships. Again, why leave such conclusive evidence out in the open? Surely they know humans are prone to scouring everything they come across.
The third, and first conclusive instance, was the acts of hyperdiction conducted by the Unknown Ships. Plucking ships out of hyperspace and shutting them down is a trick only the Thargoids knew; and as such is an excellent way to make a statement. That said, what's really interesting is how benign these ships behave: They don't fire or return fire. They get right up to the ship's cockpit to give the pilot a good look. And they simply fly away after doing a scan, not even bothering to silence their witness.
Another Thargoid appearance is their interaction with barnacles: They'll turn off any ships in the area and do a quick "refueling" trip, regardless of how many witnesses there are.
And then there are the Thargoid surface sites: sprawling bases that not only are visible from orbit and left basically unguarded, but also house a working cartographic machine. When activated, it gives an audio message that converts to this image; an image that looks eerily similar to our own image.
That said there have been outburst of violence from them, but only to specific groups. Alien crash sites are often surrounded by destroyed Anacondas, hinting that they fought. However little data is given about these Anacondas, suggesting there is more to this story. The most notable instance, however, is their assault on a Federal escort fleet.
This fleet, as you may know, attempted to steal Proffesor Palin's collected data on the Thargoids. Perhaps the Thargoids saw this as an impediment to their "sharing of knowledge" and destroyed the fleet as a warning. Either way you look at it, the Thargoids are not happy with the Feds. The Empire and Alliance, however, don't seem to have attracted their ire. No matter how I look at it, it appears the Thargoids want to be found, and despise anyone that slows this search down.
The first instance of Thargoid interaction were the unknown artifacts and probes. Alien devices left around to float in space or collect dust on some random planet. We discovered recently that these devices are keys to Thargoid machinery. Now this is rather suspicious, as no rational species would just leave such important machinery lying around with no purpose.
The second instance are the crash sites: planetary debris fields of crashed Thargoid ships. Again, why leave such conclusive evidence out in the open? Surely they know humans are prone to scouring everything they come across.
The third, and first conclusive instance, was the acts of hyperdiction conducted by the Unknown Ships. Plucking ships out of hyperspace and shutting them down is a trick only the Thargoids knew; and as such is an excellent way to make a statement. That said, what's really interesting is how benign these ships behave: They don't fire or return fire. They get right up to the ship's cockpit to give the pilot a good look. And they simply fly away after doing a scan, not even bothering to silence their witness.
Another Thargoid appearance is their interaction with barnacles: They'll turn off any ships in the area and do a quick "refueling" trip, regardless of how many witnesses there are.
And then there are the Thargoid surface sites: sprawling bases that not only are visible from orbit and left basically unguarded, but also house a working cartographic machine. When activated, it gives an audio message that converts to this image; an image that looks eerily similar to our own image.
That said there have been outburst of violence from them, but only to specific groups. Alien crash sites are often surrounded by destroyed Anacondas, hinting that they fought. However little data is given about these Anacondas, suggesting there is more to this story. The most notable instance, however, is their assault on a Federal escort fleet.
This fleet, as you may know, attempted to steal Proffesor Palin's collected data on the Thargoids. Perhaps the Thargoids saw this as an impediment to their "sharing of knowledge" and destroyed the fleet as a warning. Either way you look at it, the Thargoids are not happy with the Feds. The Empire and Alliance, however, don't seem to have attracted their ire. No matter how I look at it, it appears the Thargoids want to be found, and despise anyone that slows this search down.
