Where are the test results? (Galactic Conspiracy Theory)

Jaiotu · Apr 9, 2017

Come this May it will have been two years since Mars and Capitol both received samples of Soontill Relics for "further testing". TWO YEARS.

What is going on? Why hasn't either the Empire of the Federation opened up about the results of this testing? What are they trying to hide? It's time that we, the people of the galaxy, demanded answers. Are these relics related somehow to the Unknown Artifact / Probe phenomenon? To the "Barnacles"? Or maybe to the recent sightings of these "flower ships"?

Don't we have a right to know what is going on? Don't be quiet people! Let the Powers know that you want answers!

From Galnet News, May 18, 3301: https://community.elitedangerous.com/en/galnet/18-MAY-3301

Soontill Relics Test Results Queried
18 MAY 3301

As further alien artefacts claiming to be from Soontill are being sold on the open market, the results of the initial scientific tests have been revealed.

“We were looking for key markers,” explains Chief Xeno-Chemist Lyran Betar. “Elemental make up, crystalline structure, anything that indicates it could have originated from human hand.”

And the results? Inconclusive. The research team’s results clearly state that no known human technology could have created the relics, yet they do not quite align with known Thargoid materials. Whatever they are, they are indeed very old, with isotopic dating indicating that they could well be tens of thousands of years old.

Jean Molyneaux, a historian from France, Earth, suggests we look back at our own past to determine the home of these relics. “Imagine an alien travelling back two thousand years into mankind’s past. The varied culture, arts and building materials of the Aztecs, Greeks, the Shang dynasty, what have you, the alien could think they were all different species, if that was his way of thinking…”

The community seems wary of awarding these artefacts any title yet, given the fifty years of false hopes since Soontill was first mentioned by the Thargoids. However, reports indicate that these relics have now arrived at labs on both Mars and Capitol for further testing, and with any luck, we may soon finally agree on what these relics are, or are not.

madbilly · Apr 10, 2017

Good shout Jaiotu. I did wonder if Soontill was related to the Guardians, but if there is a link then it's not very relevant to gameplay from what I've seen. Maybe the Soontill story will continue if John Harper gets to write another ED novel, like the Salomé story is continuing with Drew's novel.

Jaiotu · Apr 10, 2017

madbilly said:
Good shout Jaiotu. I did wonder if Soontill was related to the Guardians, but if there is a link then it's not very relevant to gameplay from what I've seen. Maybe the Soontill story will continue if John Harper gets to write another ED novel, like the Salomé story is continuing with Drew's novel.

I've been revisiting Soontill with every new point release of the game ... just in case something gets added. I think Soontill itself is a dead end though ... Robert Garry did a number on that world. Still ... it bothers me that they teased that the testing results would be released "soon" and then ... nothing. No further word except Soontill Relics becoming an Engineering requirement.

madbilly · Apr 10, 2017

Jaiotu said:
I've been revisiting Soontill with every new point release of the game ... just in case something gets added. I think Soontill itself is a dead end though ... Robert Garry did a number on that world. Still ... it bothers me that they teased that the testing results would be released "soon" and then ... nothing. No further word except Soontill Relics becoming an Engineering requirement.

I wonder if the article was written by John Harper as an in-game "to be continued..." of his book, like Drew and others also seemed to do. I assume that John, Allen and maybe other authors thought that licences for future books would be available more widely than they have turned out to be, therefore at the time the article was written "soon" was not meant as SoonTM, but as a genuine soon. After the last Salomé article in 2015 (?) it was a long time until another one appeared, and that wasn't until Drew got the new book deal IIRC (I haven't checked the dates).

FWIW I hope that Drew's book is successful enough that it encourages Frontier to issue more licences for more books by the existing ED fiction authors with in-game tie-ins like Drew is doing with Premonition. I'd also like to read what new authors can come up with, because there's a lot of talent in the ED fan-base.