The riddle of the new alphabet seems to have been solved. The symbols that dr. Cornelius brought to me, and that decrypted to a passage from Epitoth, is not an ancient script. He, and a pilot named Elinore en Divalone found the full code, and the symbols can now be considered as confirmed.
It appears to be linked to the so-called "war clones". With Upwell using cloning technology to give workers a new body (and an obligation to work), it is no surprise that this technology also find military applications. The same is being done with soldiers, upgrading their bodies, and treating these bodies as disposable "ammunition" to be used up on missions. It is not a good evolution - we have seen that in capsuleers this sort of immortality leads to worsening morals.
Cloning has always had a bit of a strained relation to Amarr culture, although the Theology Council condones it and has ruled that the soul is transferred too, during a clone jump. But there is a tension with the Doctrine of the Sacred Flesh, which states that the members of a Royal family should not be clones.
Now, in principle God could elevate any of the faithful to become a member of a Royal house, or even to the station of Emperor. There is a feeling that by cloning one closes off any possibility of such a miracle. Even though it is always extremely remote, as long as you remain in your original flesh, it is not impossible. We as capsuleers are often not aware enough of this sentiment that lives among non-capsuleers, and make them think twice before installing even a medical clone.
Anyway, rumor has it that this alphabet is in use both by Upwell and by the war clones. It is easily stamped or templated, and it has a standardized square shape. So it would indeed match military-mercantile applications.
((ooc attribution of the alphabet picture: this ooc forum thread))
