It is quite exciting to think there is an undiscovered gateway out there, that could lead to another galaxy, where untold riches or new high tech awaits. While we won't actively be searching for it every day, we will keep my eyes and ears open at every station and in every system. We may even set my jumps to economical and start scanning every system from one point to the other.
 
is it too crazy to think that the double xx means something relating to the female gender? as some sort of a subtle hint? otherwise its just 2 x's thrown in to sound sci-fi ish...
mabye my tinfoil hat is on too tight?
 
it's this line that bother's me a bit:

I can tell you with total certainty that it does not and intrinsically cannot exist within the stunted sterile static and stumbling Elite Dangerous universe.

Seems like whatever version of Raxxla is in-game, it may not be in keeping with the original idea (Despite the bitterness of the quote). I have a sinking feeling also that whatever version of Raxxla is in-game will be non-interactive and/or behind a permit lock.
 
it's this line that bother's me a bit:



Seems like whatever version of Raxxla is in-game, it may not be in keeping with the original idea (Despite the bitterness of the quote). I have a sinking feeling also that whatever version of Raxxla is in-game will be non-interactive and/or behind a permit lock.

I wouldn't put a lot of stock in that particular quote. While I'm sure that some of Bell's bitterness is justified I think his criticism of Elite: Dangerous has more to do with his history with David Braben then the game itself or its "limitations". Ian Bell's own website features collections of examples where the media or publishers of the official Elite: Dangerous fiction have failed to mention him alongside DB when crediting him as the creator of the Elite franchise.

Since we don't know exactly "what" Raxxla is (or how it would be realized in-game) it's not possible to rule out the likelihood of it existing in the game as it is now.
 
Just reread the Dark Wheel, haven't done that is i read it back when i was a wee lad when our school got it for the lone BBC Model B we had.

Made me think again about this whole thing. Some things came to mind.

In the novel, Raxxla is meant to be a planet. Regardless of what Ian Bell says, if its a planet, it can exist. Maybe he was referring to the alledged gateway to other universes which unless FD have been sneaky, there are no other universes/galaxies/regions.

The novel referes to humands and sentient alien races living side by side. This is not in line with ED canon. Therefore whatever was in the Dark Wheel is open to revision, including the nature of Raxxla. Therefore again, making Ian Bell's statement redundant.

Considering the limitations of drives back in that era (which does match ED lore) and that Jason Ryder found it and was spending time with his son before planning to return would indicate that it shouldn't be too far away from the old Lave/Leesti area in terms of galaxtic scale. Going off the sparse information we have from that, and (big assumption) assuming DB had it placed in line with the novel, it might even be within the bubble itself. If that is the case, it probably means that it doesn't appear to pings and can only be found by flying (relatively) close to it... possibly way out of the system or off the system plane.

Oh well, more useless speculation.
 
Just reread the Dark Wheel, haven't done that is i read it back when i was a wee lad when our school got it for the lone BBC Model B we had.

Made me think again about this whole thing. Some things came to mind.

In the novel, Raxxla is meant to be a planet. Regardless of what Ian Bell says, if its a planet, it can exist. Maybe he was referring to the alledged gateway to other universes which unless FD have been sneaky, there are no other universes/galaxies/regions.

The novel referes to humands and sentient alien races living side by side. This is not in line with ED canon. Therefore whatever was in the Dark Wheel is open to revision, including the nature of Raxxla. Therefore again, making Ian Bell's statement redundant.

Considering the limitations of drives back in that era (which does match ED lore) and that Jason Ryder found it and was spending time with his son before planning to return would indicate that it shouldn't be too far away from the old Lave/Leesti area in terms of galaxtic scale. Going off the sparse information we have from that, and (big assumption) assuming DB had it placed in line with the novel, it might even be within the bubble itself. If that is the case, it probably means that it doesn't appear to pings and can only be found by flying (relatively) close to it... possibly way out of the system or off the system plane.

Oh well, more useless speculation.

I think that's a valid theory; Raxxla in the bubble, not pingable, but only will appear when nearby, far off from any stars (dark planet?). Currently reviewing 18 hours supercuise in Shinrarta Dezhra headed for Lave.
 
Oh well, more useless speculation.

Useless speculation is just about all we really have :)
The novel referes to humands and sentient alien races living side by side. This is not in line with ED canon. Therefore whatever was in the Dark Wheel is open to revision, including the nature of Raxxla. Therefore again, making Ian Bell's statement redundant.

Walk with me for a moment. In the original Elite it seemed like intelligent alien life occupied every nook and cranny of space. When Frontier: Elite II came along it was almost as if this life had been wiped from memory. It's easy to blame this on David Braben retconning the galaxy to make way for the next game, Frontier First Encounters, in which humanity has its first encounter with an alien intelligence: The Thargoids.

I'm not sure if I said it here or elsewhere but one of the things we do know about Raxxla is that Rafe Zetter believed it to already be occupied by what he termed as "twisted men". What if these twisted men are using the portal on Raxxla to cross the barrier of time? How do you insure that a galactic human empire has the best chance to thrive without the worry of being wiped out by a potentially hostile alien race? Why you wipe that alien race out before it has the opportunity to evolve of course. As soon as you find another sapient civilization just go back in time and wipe out the competition before it has evolved intelligence. This would explain the enigma of why the Elite Dangerous galaxy seems so devoid of life.
 
I think that's a valid theory; Raxxla in the bubble, not pingable, but only will appear when nearby, far off from any stars (dark planet?). Currently reviewing 18 hours supercuise in Shinrarta Dezhra headed for Lave.

Make sure you're not flying faster than 2-300L/PS. You only have a 1000 LS detection capability to detect an anomaly if you're looking for anything within the normal 'surprise' mechanisms. Same as with the Voyagers.
That should give you 3-4 seconds to detect it and slow down before it's gone again.
 
How do you control humanity for centuries by pulling the puppet strings of major powers, become rich beyond your wildest dreams, introduce "new technology" right before any big disaster strikes humanity, and keep everything you do secret?

Raxxla

Power, Wealth, Control. He who control Raxxla controls all the riches and technology from beyond. The Dynasty Club.
 
Considering the limitations of drives back in that era (which does match ED lore) and that Jason Ryder found it and was spending time with his son before planning to return would indicate that it shouldn't be too far away from the old Lave/Leesti area in terms of galaxtic scale. Going off the sparse information we have from that, and (big assumption) assuming DB had it placed in line with the novel, it might even be within the bubble itself. If that is the case, it probably means that it doesn't appear to pings and can only be found by flying (relatively) close to it... possibly way out of the system or off the system plane.

I think that's a valid theory; Raxxla in the bubble, not pingable, but only will appear when nearby, far off from any stars (dark planet?). Currently reviewing 18 hours supercuise in Shinrarta Dezhra headed for Lave.

When my grandfather used to tell me tales of Raxxla, he always said that it was in a different galaxy.

He was always a bit crazy though, used to reckon that in his grandfather's day they'd had hyperdrives capable of intergalactic jumps.

Sounds a bit far fetched to me. I mean we can do biiig distances these days. I've done the 250ly jump over the Col 70 wall myself and look at what that crazy cyborg Jacques did.

But intergalactic distances? That's just something else altogether.

But who knows, maybe with that old quirium fuel they were actually able to do some really big jumps. Maybe to other parts of the galaxy if not further.

Maybe, just maybe there was some truth to all those children's stories. There always been something very strange about those recent pioneers who've travelled to the far reaches of the galaxy only to find strange sectors permit locked for undisclosed reasons...

</RP> "Cirag is Cirag, and Raxxla—if it exists—is in another Galaxy; you know the legends." - E Fields from Chapter 7, para 5 (or 6 depending on version) of TDW.

I don't think it's been 100% canonised, but IIRC correctly the current lore explanation for the intergalactic hyperdrives have been retconned to be to distant parts of this galaxy.
 
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How do you control humanity for centuries by pulling the puppet strings of major powers, become rich beyond your wildest dreams, introduce "new technology" right before any big disaster strikes humanity, and keep everything you do secret?

Raxxla

Power, Wealth, Control. He who control Raxxla controls all the riches and technology from beyond. The Dynasty Club.

The Club are just themselves unwitting puppets of the ECOPTMW*.

(*The folks on Raxxla.)
 
Make sure you're not flying faster than 2-300L/PS. You only have a 1000 LS detection capability to detect an anomaly if you're looking for anything within the normal 'surprise' mechanisms. Same as with the Voyagers.
That should give you 3-4 seconds to detect it and slow down before it's gone again.

Maybe starting at Earth and flying in the direction of Lave might reveal something? Earth being the most important planet to humanity and Lave being the most important planet to old-school Elite fans.
 
I wouldn't say that searching for Raxxla right now is a lost cause. This is THE big puzzle of the Elite universe.

Raxxla.

Everyone and their dog knows about Raxxla.

When Jason Ryder, moments before his death, spoke that word to his son Alex ... Alex had no idea what the word meant. It was foreign to him. Totally alien.

Flash forward to the year 3303 and Raxxla is now a brand name (and no, I don't mean guitar pedals).

We have "The Children of Raxxla" advertising the place in their faction name. Salome speaking about Raxxla from Beagle Point and stating that it was first mentioned "in Federation data banks on Earth in 2814".

I just really have to wonder ... what happened in the galaxy that something so obscure that Alex Ryder had never heard of suddenly becomes so prominent that an independent minor faction includes it in their name?

Ah, so on her tour round the Sol system Salomé was actually investigating the Fed databanks for any hint on the Rift and/or Raxxla; thanks, that finally makes sense-I had wondered about her Beagle Point reference to Raxxla. So it is a widespread urban (galactic) myth by 3302/3. As an Imp Senator she probably would also have been given some sight of the Alien Artefact.

I'm in the process of catching up on this thread, and just my off the wall thought process, but has anyone considered Raxxla might be Triton? It is permit-locked, it is visited by Fed military ships (I've watched them), it is a landable moon of Neptune (i.e. ties in with Neptune Ryder), is at the heart of the bubble, "Triton" & "Raxxla" have the same number of letters- I'm no good with codes but it may be an encryption of the name...
 
Raxxla would be the one thing that might entice me to do a third ED book. I'd love to chronicle that mystery. :)

Cheers,

Drew.

Go for it Drew! We need more ED books to read!

p.s. Do you know who the new FD executive producer is to replace MB? I haven't seen any announcements
 
Since MB said yes Raxxla is in the game, you will get no hints about it, it could very well be Permit Locked. It is in the game like he said, but he never said whether or not it was accessible. We think the more likely scenario for that permit locked moon is a Thargoid Base.

Triton is geologically active; its surface is young and has relatively few impact craters. Although Triton's crust is made of various ices, its subsurface processes are similar to those that produce volcanoes and rift valleys on Earth, but with water and ammonia as opposed to liquid rock.

But it could also be locked because it has an atmosphere:

Triton has a tenuous nitrogen atmosphere, with trace amounts of carbon monoxide and small amounts of methane near its surface
 
Nice update and well concluded. I think I'm a fan of this theory.
Especially now after looking through the code & testing the name-generator for the old Oolite / Elite universe.
I discovered it has no way of generating a name with "RA" + "XX" + "LA" simply because the double-x variant doesn't exist in the generators strings. And it cannot use single letter-combinations in any variant from what I can see.

Hence I like your idea that it may be in the current game somewhere as homage to Mr. Holdstock.
And in context to what you wrote, then the original "Raxxla" construct have no sublime message including coordinates in it's name or anything either, so then any conversion of the letters to any number format is just a waste of time.

We're back to keeping our eyes peeled for anything that can give us a hint ingame as to where this homage is.

I've seen Raxxla spelt as RaXXla, could it be that the XX should be substituted by another digraph to get the true name/coordinates?
 
It is quite exciting to think there is an undiscovered gateway out there, that could lead to another galaxy, where untold riches or new high tech awaits. While we won't actively be searching for it every day, we will keep my eyes and ears open at every station and in every system. We may even set my jumps to economical and start scanning every system from one point to the other.

I can't see FD programming a second universe only accessible via "Raxxla". I suspect that the Raxxla that DB/MB have confirmed is within game and for which there will be no clues (suggesting no lore is applicable) will only be a metaphorical treasure and a literal dead end. But it's nice to have something to look for!
 
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