Of note, these ‘orbs’ are not actually glowing spheres, just ‘lights’. They aren’t actually visible if you take a stroll in the garden, just the light they cast, so to my interpretation they just illuminate this particular area. But nether the less, I like the associated HPL linkage O7.
The Quest To Find Raxxla
- Thread starter Macros Black
- Start date
My thoughts here will be very indulgent to say the least, but lets assume we are back in 2015 and the missions are still present and somehow potentially lead to a Raxxla path.
Earlier in this thread (around 2018) people touched on HPL's mythos.
In HPL's Silver Key story refers to worshippers of Yog Sothoth as "...crustaceans of Yuggoth worship as the Beyond-One, and which the vaporous brains of the spiral nebulae know by an untranslatable Sign..."
The alien Mi-Go fungoid creatures do resemble the Thargoids - capturing people and abducting their minds.
Similarly with the 'brains of the spiral nebulae'. This does resemble the Guardians with their "untranslatable sign" language and cryptic remains.
There is also the Raxxla logo which has been damn impossible to translate
I've discovered HPL's poem the Fungi from Yuggoth which was a precursor to his fully established stories. These 'fungi' creatures (later developed as the Mi-Go in the Whisperer in Darkness story) worship the Outer Gods such as Nyarlathotep and the Nameless One. In contrast to his stories, the poem positions Yuggoth as a location upon a planet / otherworld called Nithon. (As an aside, I wonder if the word 'Nithon' is HPL's variation of the sanskrit word "nithin' which means eternal / perpetual).
Sonnet 3 of the poem is literally called "The Key"
The portal book was discovered in an old run-down / abandoned house located in the harbourside area of a town. This makes me think of abandoned star ports and dark mysterious stations
This key/book gives access to a place "beyond this earth's precisions". HPL describes this place a few times in the poem and it sounds like a form of otherworldly Paradise.
The relevant ED mission names themselves were thematic with HPL mythos:
Obfuscated in the Outer Rim - Yog Sothoth is in the realm of Outer Gods 'obfuscated' by "the space-hung screens that hold the undimensioned worlds at bay".
Answering the Call of Adventure - sonnet XIII Hesperia speaks of "adventure-fraught" expectant wonders.
Interestingly in the same section it refers to "the land where beauty’s meaning flowers" --> sounds a lot like Beaumont???
To support the "mountain / hill" idea, the place is described as where the "great river Time begins its course" -ie starting in a mountain gully.
An earlier sonnet VII is titled Zaman's Hill. Zaman is an Arabic and Hebrew word for time, era, or life. The Hill is said to have had a village that mysteriously disappeared implying that the mountain had swallowed it / made it vanish in its "jaws stretched wide". -- a rift??
Given the otherworldly setting of HPL, this could easily be a kind of liminal gateway as well.
Further references in the poem could also be extrapolated.
Sonnet XIV titled Star-Winds references the star Fomalhaut as well as "geometries of outer space".
Considering HPL's repeating use of cold wintery places, there is an asterism known as the Winter Hexagon which is relevant to sonnet XXVII.
In Sonnet XXVII The Elder Pharos references a place called Leng which could also be the Mandarin word for "cold".
Capella is sometimes known as the Shepherd's Star due to it's associations with goat herds. Capella is also part of the Winter Hexagon asterism.
Pharos is referring to the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt. In ED there is Bast which is the best candidate for an Egyptian themed Elder God.
A potential in-game location is at Hinds Nebula (NGC1555) which, when viewed from Earth is located near Aldebaran in the Winter Hexagon (as well as Hyades and Pleiades!). The nebula is at the T Tauri system which also has an asteroid base (a Pharos / tower of stone?). In TTauri there is also a curious bird-shaped silhouette in the nebula - HPL's bird theme.
The Elder Pharos sonnet references beating drums, which I had not associated with anything at first, however I noticed sonnet X The Pigeon Flyers (another birds reference) also uses this to symbolise something like heavy industry / machines and it has a very sci fi flare to it which would be very fitting to MB's imaginings
The flat roofs, hidden drums with measured beats and 'fires brewing monstrous things' certainly sounds like military / heavy industry.
"Birds of space" = ships taking cargo from "dark planet's crypts". One ship's "evil beak" carried an especially dangerous item - a powerful weapon?
Returning to Yog Sothoth, it is said to take the form of a "conglomeration of glowing spheres", and assuming HPL borrowed from the Qlippoth, then Crowley's version conveniently lists 10 spheres on the 'tree of life'. It was also established earlier in this thread that the station gardens have been around since 2015/16 which is relevant to the mission's era, and our Milton Garden just happens to have 10 glowing spheres too
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I’d be interested to learn your thoughts on Brookes work ‘The Space Inbetween’.
In particular the concept of ‘creation’ being stolen from the older gods. And your interpretation on ‘where’ in a Miltonian model universe, that ought to be?
I know my answer, but I am not a fan of Lovecraft, so cannot really draw an informed assumption on the works in relation to the game.
Yog-Sothoth Is by my understanding not an actual place, or location, nor physical in any logical sense. Where as in Milton’s text ‘creation’ - our universe; hangs from a very specific vantage point.
One thing I’m looking into in regards the garden map, is how other aspects in that garden (commonalities which reappear and may thus have symbolism) may assist in establishing landmarks in the game.
On its own the garden insinuates the model exists but doesn’t give us any indications on how to orientate ourselves.
I came at this sideways many moons ago, at that point in time without awareness of the garden design; but from a literary point of view, and found various naming conventions which actually do map these zones and do correlate to other aspects identifying an architecture.
But on its own the garden seemingly doesn’t give us as many clues, except evidently there ought to be an Underworld zone (discovered); a zone of Chaos (discovered) and an Empyrean (discovered).
But on its own the garden has not legend of scale, nor approximation in which to originate ourselves.
The presumed apex I’ve established from literary aspects I believe can be identified. But it’s a well mapped and traveled area.
An evident and probably intentional clue is to look for a system with maybe (?) 3-4 bodies… but frankly even this is still up for interpretation, hence why I’m looking for other map-legends.
If there aren’t any other legends then my assumption is the garden design was to probably intended to work either alongside some other content, long since removed, or it’s no more complex than we observe and it’s intent was to advocate the importance of a specific system with a unique set of bodies at a specific location.
So it would be interesting to here alternative interpretations from a HPL perspective to see what might emerge!
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On the Orbs - the nature of the Sefirot are viewed to comprise both metaphorical "lights" and "vessels". So in this instance, because this is a map, I'm interpreting the garden lights as figurative. It also fits the idea of Yog / Qlippoth as a place that is not a place because, in one interpretation, the centre circle appears to sit "behind" the central path.
One theme connecting the three circles is the mosaic water. We have already reasonably established that the largest circle (1) represents the Milton cosmos and therefore the mosaic water is in the location for Hell. Yog is an entity of "malignant globes" - thus, a cosmological evil beyond our comprehension.
The smallest circle (3) has 6 trees which corresponds to the object within the middle circle (2). It also shows the path leading 'around' it, not through - which is suggestive of a portal within / through this relative "position" on the path.
Yog Sothoth is stated as being "coterminous" with reality - meaning end-to-end or sharing common boundaries.
As you can see the two ends of the garden have the gates - with what I interpreted as gothic / runic Haglaz and possibly isaz beside - Hail and Ice respectively. This also fits with HPL's poetic use of coldness. The Kabbalah sphere of Hod is associated with the angel Michael - so in the Qlipploth it is associated with Samael / Satan.
This leaves us with the four small circles along the 'path'. If there is a Kabbalah relationship, then there is also the Four Worlds which are four spiritual realms in a descending chain (with a primordial fifth as the 'highest'). Perhaps the higher fifth realm (ie. Adam Kadmon) is represented in this line, but it is an ethereal thing. More like a 'potential'.
There are also the four trees in the Miltonian Pendent World circle within (1), which perhaps explains why the path 'leads' to / from the Empyrean / Universe side of (1), and not Hell.
The MiGo fungoid creatures also travel much like Thargoids do through an 'other' space which is similar in the way the Kabbalah has connecting 'paths' between its spheres. Perhaps they are simply using a network that is far older than them. They simply use it to serve their master.
Furthermore, the cultish nature of the Raxxla Toast and Dark Wheel does give me the impression that Raxxla is revered like a god, and perhaps their reverence is naively directed toward this ancient network - which is effectively a component of an Outer God's being.
I know this doesn't glean much in terms of in-game spatial relationships, but I wonder if this helps place Raxxla in a "ranking" context between thematic zones. The Lovecraftian element acting kind of like a 'glue' tying everything together. In this sense, the Milton cosmos - Hell, Chaos, Night, Pendent World, Empyrean - are 'coterminous' with this malignant Outer God - imprisoned / held at bay by some force, and Raxxla may be a means of accessing this powerful network, but with Dangerous risks.
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On the Orbs - the nature of the Sefirot are viewed to comprise both metaphorical "lights" and "vessels". So in this instance, because this is a map, I'm interpreting the garden lights as figurative. It also fits the idea of Yog / Qlippoth as a place that is not a place because, in one interpretation, the centre circle appears to sit "behind" the central path.
One theme connecting the three circles is the mosaic water. We have already reasonably established that the largest circle (1) represents the Milton cosmos and therefore the mosaic water is in the location for Hell. Yog is an entity of "malignant globes" - thus, a cosmological evil beyond our comprehension.
The smallest circle (3) has 6 trees which corresponds to the object within the middle circle (2). It also shows the path leading 'around' it, not through - which is suggestive of a portal within / through this relative "position" on the path.
Yog Sothoth is stated as being "coterminous" with reality - meaning end-to-end or sharing common boundaries.
As you can see the two ends of the garden have the gates - with what I interpreted as gothic / runic Haglaz and possibly isaz beside - Hail and Ice respectively. This also fits with HPL's poetic use of coldness. The Kabbalah sphere of Hod is associated with the angel Michael - so in the Qlipploth it is associated with Samael / Satan.
View attachment 436805
This leaves us with the four small circles along the 'path'. If there is a Kabbalah relationship, then there is also the Four Worlds which are four spiritual realms in a descending chain (with a primordial fifth as the 'highest'). Perhaps the higher fifth realm (ie. Adam Kadmon) is represented in this line, but it is an ethereal thing. More like a 'potential'.
There are also the four trees in the Miltonian Pendent World circle within (1), which perhaps explains why the path 'leads' to / from the Empyrean / Universe side of (1), and not Hell.
The MiGo fungoid creatures also travel much like Thargoids do through an 'other' space which is similar in the way the Kabbalah has connecting 'paths' between its spheres. Perhaps they are simply using a network that is far older than them. They simply use it to serve their master.
Furthermore, the cultish nature of the Raxxla Toast and Dark Wheel does give me the impression that Raxxla is revered like a god, and perhaps their reverence is naively directed toward this ancient network - which is effectively a component of an Outer God's being.
I know this doesn't glean much in terms of in-game spatial relationships, but I wonder if this helps place Raxxla in a "ranking" context between thematic zones. The Lovecraftian element acting kind of like a 'glue' tying everything together. In this sense, the Milton cosmos - Hell, Chaos, Night, Pendent World, Empyrean - are 'coterminous' with this malignant Outer God - imprisoned / held at bay by some force, and Raxxla may be a means of accessing this powerful network, but with Dangerous risks.
Thank you @selbie I appreciate the discussion, it’s very enlightening.
Below are some loose thoughts about how maps could be utilised; again I believe I understand the map (to some extent?), but I suspect there are aspects to it we are missing primarily because its context probably has been lost over time, as I suspect there was supposed to have been some type of ‘Codex’ to enable us to read it
…Below then are some loose thoughts… ultimately I don’t believe all ought to utilised, a map ought to be simplistic.
Centralised Narrative
In this respect our narrative - I am certain is a Miltonian cosmological model, and thus Raxxla ought to be located - I speculate, much like the pendent globe, above Chaos, underneath the Empyrean. Thus I believe the map is conveying exactly this.
First circle is the model; second circle is the system it’s in (inside the first); the third is the body (inside the second).
Much of my research is formed from literary associations in game separate from the discovery of this garden (which I’ve discussed previously and assessed as highly likely); relationship mapping; spatial orientation and behavioural backcasting.
From that I believe we can identify the model in game, and identify the apex of Chaos.
The map is an incredibly clear match; likely in my opinion this was probably the original method of discovery for this model - but as a map on its own it ought to ‘communicate to us’; it ought not to exist in isolation but hold the seed of information to convey or assist in orientation.
In that respect my studies speculate such context has been eroded, due to the removal of the old missions - which likewise I’ve identified have a likelihood of correlation… thus this garden may likewise be archeological!
Albeit still relevant.
Thus for a map to have merit it must Identify waypoints or nodes. I believe these exist in the map, but we lack a legend to understand all their meaning.
Ultimately there ought to be a unifying theme or cosmology which ties every element together and it is this theme which we ought to understand.
It is equally possible it’s not this complicated, and the map is just a glyph, and exists only to convey the concept… again I speculate there was additional content to these journey, which has either been removed or has still yet to be found.
Spatial Structure and Orientation
There ought to be some form of primary axis or spine, a river, or a processional path.
All of the key features ought to likewise align upon this path, in the map I believe this is so as there is a direct line of sight upon a central axis in the garden.
But there ought to be some cardinal direction. For instance a compass denoting at least one point of orientation, a form of directional symbolism. In most maps this is shown as a common arrow or symbol for North, but it could be anything.
Obviously garden map is unique because it’s actually a map within a map. So a cardinal direction may not be necessary, eg it actually shows us a Miltonic map, one which through research is based upon a cardinal system., but this is still guess work, if you didn’t know of the model in game, this the garden design should be giving us these clues…
I know there is a compass linked to this model in game, I’ve established it correlates, but where is this inside this map?
Is it really necessary?
There ought to be sight-lines, so users discover major elements in a deliberate sequence… again I believe this is so in the map as we see repeated patterns of trees and benches in defined numbers which correlate in a nested pattern. Or these equally form a line of sight upon the axis.
Symbolic Materials and Palettes
In real life maps we can use various materials to convey information, these can be utilised to identify common palettes, eg legends and thus help with orientation, such as ‘this is what denotes a hill, this a tree etc’ this colour denotes a certain height etc; a map can use various symbols and therefore can be encoded via symbolism.
Thus certain waypoints or nodes, can be assigned symbolic meaning, eg to materials such as stone - for permanence, water - for transition etc. or simply to convey a significance to a primary location, eg this is Hell, this is of importance, start here, go there first etc…?
Plants likewise could act as symbolic metaphors or mythological associations.
I’m at a loss to understand their meaning but I do suspect the actual plants (bushes) in the model could hold some yet to be understood esoteric meaning? Eg their origin or nature correlates to certain systems?
Do some of the trees hold similar meaning, cypresses or cedars? Both hold potential for symbolism?
There are various literary references to certain types of tree being associated with liminal zones…but does the numerical aspect have some deeper meaning?
Thresholds and Transitional Elements
Gateways, arches, bridges or hedged tunnels could be utilised to identify markers between various “zones”.
Ground surfaces such as gravel to grass, stepping stones to flagstone could signal a shift in meaning or a transition along a boundary or concept.
Layering of low walls or raised beds could be utilised to create nested spaces reminiscent of map contours.
In the map I speculate the path ways denote the transitions between these tiered universes, there aren’t literal, but simply hold our imagination to convey this layered cosmological?
Scale, Proportion, and Vantage Points
A human-scale perspective may herald deeper meaning?
Changes in elevation (ramps, steps) could simulate ascents and descents.
Focal sculptures or viewpoints could be utilised at high points, to act like map landmarks.
Interpretive Aids and Wayfinding
Much like when undertaking field work, mapmakers and walkers use way finders, these can be desecrate plaques, engraved stones or stylized maps or glyphs at key points or junctions, to enable orientation.
These ought to be consistent symbols (icons, colors) on signs to orient visitors within this narrative!
Or is this map, simply a glyph itself…and it’s not intended to be any more complex. It’s does its job.
But if something else correlates, it can help further narrow down the sphere of influence.
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Hypothetical worst case scenario
What would players feelings be if the following occurred?
FD one date unlocked various bubble based permit locked systems following a significant patch, which included the old DW missions and a storyline involving the slow discovery of Raxxla.
Known facts; these missions were confirmed removed, confirmed linked to the Raxxla mystery (albeit not conclusively), confirmed linked to the Trinkets and a removed story, which they stated they couldn’t indicate if it would ever be turned back on.
So, what if they did, eg opted to release that storyline but at a time of their choosing. This is not a speculation on if that was what occurred, but a what-if that was a reality that did identify this quest had actually been narratively locked since 2018 and the codex was but a reductive resolution of a discarded aspect of an older narrative. The hypothetical confirmation that they chose to hold Raxxla back, and thus only release it at a future date, simply for fiscal reasons, when it best suited them.
All other logical reasons are accepted in this thought experiment as redundant, accepting that FD never considered this an issue, never felt it pertinent nor relevant, as their decision was to retain development cohesion.
All assessments and assumptions up to that point, were taken into consideration by FD and treated as archeological and navigated, with the asset physical moved to a new location; to stop us from making any quantum leaps in any narrative they then choose to concoct?
It’s a worst case scenario, but what if it occurred…
I’ve just had a slice of very sugary Victoria sponge and I’m experiencing a sugar depression. But it’s an elephant in the room. I can argue against this logic, but honestly I’ve seen worse managerial decisions in my time…
I always keep this concept in the back of my mind, it staves off the space madness, the whisperer…
What would players feelings be if the following occurred?
FD one date unlocked various bubble based permit locked systems following a significant patch, which included the old DW missions and a storyline involving the slow discovery of Raxxla.
Known facts; these missions were confirmed removed, confirmed linked to the Raxxla mystery (albeit not conclusively), confirmed linked to the Trinkets and a removed story, which they stated they couldn’t indicate if it would ever be turned back on.
So, what if they did, eg opted to release that storyline but at a time of their choosing. This is not a speculation on if that was what occurred, but a what-if that was a reality that did identify this quest had actually been narratively locked since 2018 and the codex was but a reductive resolution of a discarded aspect of an older narrative. The hypothetical confirmation that they chose to hold Raxxla back, and thus only release it at a future date, simply for fiscal reasons, when it best suited them.
All other logical reasons are accepted in this thought experiment as redundant, accepting that FD never considered this an issue, never felt it pertinent nor relevant, as their decision was to retain development cohesion.
All assessments and assumptions up to that point, were taken into consideration by FD and treated as archeological and navigated, with the asset physical moved to a new location; to stop us from making any quantum leaps in any narrative they then choose to concoct?
It’s a worst case scenario, but what if it occurred…
I’ve just had a slice of very sugary Victoria sponge and I’m experiencing a sugar depression. But it’s an elephant in the room. I can argue against this logic, but honestly I’ve seen worse managerial decisions in my time…
I always keep this concept in the back of my mind, it staves off the space madness, the whisperer…
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If there was some sort of puzzle I'd try to solve it first, give it a few days. Grab bunch of acreenshots.
Then I'd post it all here.
Edit: I'd post just the location, some screenshots and how to find it. Not the solution to the puzzle.
Don't want to spoil it for everyone.
Then I'd post it all here.
Edit: I'd post just the location, some screenshots and how to find it. Not the solution to the puzzle.
Don't want to spoil it for everyone.
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If Raxxla was gated behind some kind of prerequisite narrative decision that FDev have simply kicked down the road I would be very disappointed and would probably drop the game entirely. What I suspect to be more likely is that Raxxla is accessible, but the means of accessing it are so vague that players simply cannot get a foothold on the method to find it.
There are examples of this dilemma from other games too. Fez has a mysterious puzzle where, despite being brute-force solved by dissecting the game files, the method of solving it through gameplay has still not been found for over 13 years. There is a solution path that was confirmed by the developers, but the clues are so disparate and fleeting that people don't have enough threads to connect it together. Just like Raxxla, the aspect of time has also meant that less people care to solve it, so less chance of expert eyes finding the solution.
Similarly I would guess that the design of the Raxxla puzzle has aspects that don't give enough context to lead people closer to a solution and changes to the game over time may have compounded that issue. If that is the case then there is a chance that maintaining the gameplay path to Raxxla may periodically fall into a backlog and become delayed for a time (coughcough Odyssey) - leaving the issue exposed and causing potential puzzle-solvers to miss critical elements of it.
There are examples of this dilemma from other games too. Fez has a mysterious puzzle where, despite being brute-force solved by dissecting the game files, the method of solving it through gameplay has still not been found for over 13 years. There is a solution path that was confirmed by the developers, but the clues are so disparate and fleeting that people don't have enough threads to connect it together. Just like Raxxla, the aspect of time has also meant that less people care to solve it, so less chance of expert eyes finding the solution.
Similarly I would guess that the design of the Raxxla puzzle has aspects that don't give enough context to lead people closer to a solution and changes to the game over time may have compounded that issue. If that is the case then there is a chance that maintaining the gameplay path to Raxxla may periodically fall into a backlog and become delayed for a time (coughcough Odyssey) - leaving the issue exposed and causing potential puzzle-solvers to miss critical elements of it.
I don't know. I am currently at Sag A again and realized no ones even hit the pushback zone within the blackhole. So what's hiding in there cause it takes days to weeks to reach that zone in normal space and you cannot use fsd inside it. On approach it def looks like something is orbiting inside there along with an orbit line. Why go there? Why explore something like that?, It's basically a journey on itself in real time. Well to find what easter egg they plopped in there and you cannot convince me otherwise they didn't cause that would be the perfect place to hide something that's been missed since 2014. Its been in the game since start. It's massive. It calls for you. It sings and never shuts up . It's 40ls from entry point to exclusion zone. I'm flying my panther clipper inside this and its been a day of flying. I have everything turned off even the engines except some sensors so I am coasting at max speed.
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That's a rabbit hole not worth going down really. We have to assume it's possible to reach through game mechanics that we can verify exist.
Black hole exclusion zones were bigger in earlier versions it's been hit. I did have that thought about that concept of hiding in a black hole or passing through one but they're excluded around the bubble so it feels unlikely with how well those few are visited.
I should re word that better. I meant the pushback zone blackholes and no entry planets have.
Has anyone hit Sag A's. That's what I am getting at. It feels like a journey people would give up on halfway through due to time. Others can be hit within minutes. The great annihilator's can be hit in no time. Yes nothing is in those ones. But what's the chance something is indeed orbiting inside Sag A. From me looking it up it seems no one has hit the pushback zone inside the blackhole due to distance to travel to it.
I'm pretty sure that was the first thing I tried when I got there but since nothing special happens nobody bothers reporting it.
During testing my "Raxxla detection via Gravitational Wave observations from Gaia satellite" hypothesis a couple of years ago Ive dived numerous BH, including Sag A* during DW2 expedition; never found anything inside them apart on occasions some nice visual effects of surrounding nebulae etc
I think FD are kicking the Raxxla narative down the road. I think they always have done that. The removal of the EF missions didn't change much. They were meant to lead to the discovery of the guardian ruins. They probbaly also indicate a link between guardians and Raxxla.
I don't think (hope) FD have gated Raxxla. I just think it's really hard to find. Imagine the first time the Voyage probe was found. That was hard. It was hard even when we knew it had been added to the game, knew it was in Sol and knew it's launch year, speed and direction.
For Raxxla we only "know" it's in the game. If Raxxla is out there with the same mechanics as Voyager had, we will not find it. there is to much space. The chanses of someone going slow in supercruise and paying attention to their nav panel at the exact location, is small enough to keep Raxxla safe. Even if it's completely ungated.
We need narative input to determine "launch year, speed and direction". Even then, we probably need a bunch of pilots searching in the right location.
I don't think the game contains the information to do a realistic search, for the time being.
I don't think it is a narrative. I think it's an old school shout out to the 80s style easter egg. With that in mind anyone hoping for narrative input is probably out of luck. It's got more value to them as a hamster wheel that keeps people searching than as a narrative that'll always disappoint people after a decade of imagination.
On the Orbs - the nature of the Sefirot are viewed to comprise both metaphorical "lights" and "vessels". So in this instance, because this is a map, I'm interpreting the garden lights as figurative. It also fits the idea of Yog / Qlippoth as a place that is not a place because, in one interpretation, the centre circle appears to sit "behind" the central path.
One theme connecting the three circles is the mosaic water. We have already reasonably established that the largest circle (1) represents the Milton cosmos and therefore the mosaic water is in the location for Hell. Yog is an entity of "malignant globes" - thus, a cosmological evil beyond our comprehension.
The smallest circle (3) has 6 trees which corresponds to the object within the middle circle (2). It also shows the path leading 'around' it, not through - which is suggestive of a portal within / through this relative "position" on the path.
Yog Sothoth is stated as being "coterminous" with reality - meaning end-to-end or sharing common boundaries.
As you can see the two ends of the garden have the gates - with what I interpreted as gothic / runic Haglaz and possibly isaz beside - Hail and Ice respectively. This also fits with HPL's poetic use of coldness. The Kabbalah sphere of Hod is associated with the angel Michael - so in the Qlipploth it is associated with Samael / Satan.
View attachment 436805
This leaves us with the four small circles along the 'path'. If there is a Kabbalah relationship, then there is also the Four Worlds which are four spiritual realms in a descending chain (with a primordial fifth as the 'highest'). Perhaps the higher fifth realm (ie. Adam Kadmon) is represented in this line, but it is an ethereal thing. More like a 'potential'.
There are also the four trees in the Miltonian Pendent World circle within (1), which perhaps explains why the path 'leads' to / from the Empyrean / Universe side of (1), and not Hell.
The MiGo fungoid creatures also travel much like Thargoids do through an 'other' space which is similar in the way the Kabbalah has connecting 'paths' between its spheres. Perhaps they are simply using a network that is far older than them. They simply use it to serve their master.
Furthermore, the cultish nature of the Raxxla Toast and Dark Wheel does give me the impression that Raxxla is revered like a god, and perhaps their reverence is naively directed toward this ancient network - which is effectively a component of an Outer God's being.
I know this doesn't glean much in terms of in-game spatial relationships, but I wonder if this helps place Raxxla in a "ranking" context between thematic zones. The Lovecraftian element acting kind of like a 'glue' tying everything together. In this sense, the Milton cosmos - Hell, Chaos, Night, Pendent World, Empyrean - are 'coterminous' with this malignant Outer God - imprisoned / held at bay by some force, and Raxxla may be a means of accessing this powerful network, but with Dangerous risks.
After your detailed analysis, it's a bit embarrassing to express such simple ideas, but I'll say it anyway
The park clearly resembles a map of the system:
Mosaic water - class B star (?).
The balls closest to them are planets orbiting stars.
Trees are satellites.
And it may not necessarily be related to the Raxxla. Maybe this is a tribute to some important system from ancient times? This corresponds to the logic of the park's symbolism.
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It's probably not a narrative yet, at least. What FD decides to do in the future, is anyone's guess.
Yes. Working backwards, "how is Raxxla hidden?" is the big question. At a very high level:
1) It's not really hidden, it's just that the chances of accidentally visiting the system it is in are virtually nil unless you already know to look there. (e.g. Zurara)
- implies it's likely a long way from the bubble and certainly cannot be within the extended bubble
- the "answer" to the puzzle needs to give at least an approximate position
2) It's got some minor protection on it (e.g. it's unmarked but inside a belt cluster or other marked POI) so a honk-and-jump explorer will miss it but someone who expects it to be in that system and does a thorough search will find it easily enough (e.g. Hesperus)
- implies it's not within the original bubble but could still be within a few thousand LY especially in an obscure direction
- the "answer" to the puzzle needs to give a very precise system
3) It has some complex protection on it which makes stumbling across it accidentally essentially impossible even with extreme luck (e.g. Voyager probe)
- no theory yet has any idea what that protection is or how it might be overcome which arises from the information given
- the "answer" to the puzzle is mostly "how is it hidden?" not "where is it?"
The other question is "is this a single-stage puzzle, or a multi-stage one"?
- if it's a single-stage one (e.g. Zurara, Voyager probe) then you discover you had the right idea by finding Raxxla
- if it's a multiple-stage one (e.g. Hesperus) then you discover you had the right idea by finding a further clue.
So far no-one has either found Raxxla or something which might be a further clue, so it's very hard to tell.
4) It's something that no-one (or comparatively no-one) think could be Raxxla, and so remains overlooked. It may have been already 'found', or clues to it have been found, but overlooked because it's an 'outside context' solution to the mystery.
Incidentally, and 'outside context' event is exactly the meta-plot of Michael Brooke's favourite book, Excession:
"An Outside Context Problem was the sort of thing most civilizations encountered just once, and which they tended to encounter rather in the same way a sentence encountered a full stop."
— Iain M. Banks, Excession
"So why is Excession such a great book? The first reason is the big idea. Something Banks and other good science fiction authors do is have a big idea at the core of the story. In this case it is an excession event, an object appears that cannot be understood by even the technologically advanced races nearby. The story concerns the effects the event has rather than trying to explore the event itself."
— Michael Brookes, writing on Excession
Consider this in relation to that last quote:
"It was more of a spiritual successor than a direct sequel. We did look at a story involving Raxxla, but felt that was a story that should be played out in game rather than as a novel." -- Brookes forum post 2015
So, ask instead:
- What are common assumptions about Raxxla?
- What do people assume at a base level about the solution to the mystery?
- What areas of the game environment aren't being considered as solutions to Raxxla?
- What might Raxxla be if it were something very unexpected (whilst still being viable in-game given the limitations)?
Ive been following this thread since 2019 as its a very interesting read and something occurred to me a few weeks ago, I showed the codex Raxxla picture to a friend who is new to the game and straight away he said " Its a space station " I didnt think much of it till one day I was entering a Coriolis Station and the flashing 3 lights at the far end of it caught my eye and the thought it reminds me off the belt of Orion, I cant remember which station it was but it was in the bubble.
So I went to a view so I could view them looking from below and the 3 lights where different distances from the station on pylon like structures and the distances were a rough equivalent to the 3 stars in the belt as viewed from Earth, I know that this was probably coincidence as Ive seen that these lights do vary from station to station but perhaps this is a breadcrumb of a clue alongside clues like the garden layout in some stations. Perhaps this could be a small clue for a getting a waypoint and bearing, the 6 points needed to find something in Space.
Well thats my 2 cents worth. o7
So I went to a view so I could view them looking from below and the 3 lights where different distances from the station on pylon like structures and the distances were a rough equivalent to the 3 stars in the belt as viewed from Earth, I know that this was probably coincidence as Ive seen that these lights do vary from station to station but perhaps this is a breadcrumb of a clue alongside clues like the garden layout in some stations. Perhaps this could be a small clue for a getting a waypoint and bearing, the 6 points needed to find something in Space.
Well thats my 2 cents worth. o7