Neopian settlements in MHC-R3

The cholocate museum was nice.

Also, I learned that the Neopians resettled on the storm planet MHC-R3 VI and the temperate world of MHC-R3 III. A visit will likely take me planetside. We have offered and delivered assistance with moving some of the artefacts and archeological finds, but to be honest I think they accepted out of politeness towards us and did not really need much help. 

Still, the offer to safeguard some of the artefacts they found by keeping them in our highsec station vaults stands. I have not yet heard back from the Governor, but will remain on stand by for a bit longer before I go to see what is going on in the Eugales dig. I figure I can always quickly scoot back here if I do get an audience.

Gateway to Syndicate

I have reached MHC-R3, and was happy to discover there is an I-RED Astrahus in the system. These are our Syndicate allies, so I can safely tether up and dock whenever I want. 

The Neopians learned from Eugales, and keep their structures off the scans. Even probes do not reveal the location of the arcology and the structures that have been moved. I could only find an Athanor belonging to the "Manqci", probably local heathens engaging in peaceful mining operations.

I will remain in the Astrahus, aptly named "Syndicate Visitor Center". The system is, after all, a gateway into Syndicate from Placid. After disembarking I received several folders about local exhibitions and attractions for visitors, as well as tourist information about the region at large. Ranking high among the advertised tourist attractions is a chocolate museum and factory at the Astrahus station itself. So, I'll know what to do while waiting for an audience with Governor Brezia (I assume she took on the usual title of Intaki Syndicate station leaders).

Two birds, one stone

The infomorph wellness center in Tar is absolutely amazing. Your worries and anxieties are lifted from you, like a yoke lifted from a horse. You feel lighter and at ease - at peace with the world. And this is achieved through the calming environment, rather than through chemicals. I installed a clone here (which only cost me 1 isk) and intend to come back and relax when I need it.

As I was preparing to leave, I got a message from the Neopian federation. It seems I can catch two birds with one stone on this journey! Earlier, I had offered help from LUMEN's library to safeguard relics and artifacts from the Reliquary project - they need to be kept safe from the troubles that the Neopians have with the Federation and Concord in Eugales. It appears I can combine the transport of precious artifacts with helping Mitsiro!

The Neopians and House Brezia are suspected to host sentient AI's, and this has drawn the attention of Concord's DERAIL division as this type of AI is forbidden in the core empires under Concord law. 

As a result, the structures of the Neopians have come under attack - including the precious Reliquary project. They relocate to the MHC-R3 system, which probably lies outside of the control of the Federation and Concord, being a null-sec system in Syndicate. But still, they may need help in finding a safe home for some of the artifacts they have recovered, and this is where LUMEN can help. I've arranged for transport of these artifacts to our library in Mehatoor, and I look forward to oversee and coordinate this in person. 

Indulgence

I continued my journey to Eugales, passing the piracy hotspot of Vecamia without any trouble. 

In Tar, a system on my route, I noticed that one of the structures in the system was the famous "Infomorph Wellness Center". This is a station maintained by Chatelain Auxiliary Response. They work together with our allies of I-RED to offer relaxation and rest to capsuleers. They have a beautiful resort, called "Kalmintra Tree", with all the services to help one find inner peace.

I gave in to temptation, and booked a night at the resort...

Towards Eugales

My curiosity overcame my reservations and I decided to help out Mitsiro. He was very happy and relieved when I told him. 

Their site is in the Eugales system, a system that is contested between the Federation and the State. It is a controversial place in archeological circles... Recently, ancient underground structures were discovered on Umai, the first moon of Eugales V. Surprisingly, this undergound structure was still running on low power! The structure became known as the Umai Reliquary Complex. 

In a bold move, the United Neopian Federation extracted a chunk of the moon containing the underground site using a moon mining drill laser. They moved the chunk first to a Raitaru, and then to the orbital complex around Eugales VI, where they could investigate it in detail. There was a lot of criticism about this brute force excavation and the damage it may have caused! Yet, in the end I believe it saved the Reliquary Complex from mining operations by other corporations who were not interested in archeology at all.

Mitsiro's site is not a part of the Reliquary Complex, but it is also on Umai. It is near the north pole of the moon, a place that luckily has little value to the mining industry and is left undisturbed by mining operations.

Making my way from Amarr to Eugales today, I received a warning message that the piracy activity in Vecamia was at an exceptionally high level of activity. So I stopped in Lor, where our blessed alliance has industrial activities. I'll resume my journey tomorrow.

A cursed tomb

I have been contacted by an archeologist student from the State, Mitsiro Nakubara. His thesis promotor stumbled on an ancient Yan Jung ruin, and was leading an international team to survey it, but Mitsiro thinks it is a "cursed tomb". Some of those that ventured inside died under various mysterious circumstances. Mitsiro's supervisor became ill as he was studying the tomb - he was feeling flu-like symptoms and then suddenly died of a heart attack.

Another senior researcher took over the task of mapping out the tomb and studying the paintings on its wall, but he died in a traffic accident just two days later.

A digger - a local hired to remove the sand or dirt on the tomb - fell to his death from the scaffolding around the tomb.

These events, taken together, have caused enough of a stir that the other locals refuse to continue to clear the site. Mitsiro knows I am also interested in archeology, and moreover I am a capsuleer. If I should die of some curse, I reclone... 

He asked for my help, and I must admit I am intrigued... 

History tours

Foundation day went well - we organised a history tour for capsuleers, bringing them to famous space sites around Amarr. It is an activity that we have been organizing for a couple of years now, and every time there are a bunch of new capsuleers that take the tour. I was happy to see some folk from out of the Empire for this one. Capsuleers from the Federation also attended! 

This must be a result of the "détente" between the Empire and the Federation. We are starting to get curious about each other, now that we are no longer formal enemies at war. It is a good development, and I would very much like to find capsuleer tours of the Federal highlights. There are a lot of very interesting sites there, both for natural phenomena and for historical recollection.

Trouble in Syndicate

We're having an influx of refugees and fortune-seekers from Syndicate at the moment. There's a conflict going on there at the moment, and some stations are being evacuated. Saccade, the (in)famous station where Evelyn Arnoux is governor, is one of them.

I did not have the opportunity to meet our missionaries active there, but I know there was an active church on that station. My personal recollections are not altogether positive, as I was one used as a vessel to bring a designer virus containing proprietary information stored in its DNA to Saccade. It gave me a bad case of hallucinations before wearing off...

Lord Garion brought a patient there that we should give the highest care before turning him to the Avarr estate for further treatment. Apparently a cousin of the governor. He didn't want spiritual guidance but preferred a set of specialized drugs requiring special permissions. That, and the finest Thukker whiskey.

Statistics

As Foundation day comes closer, we are making preparations for it. Celebrations at the chapel, cake at Gottin's Lamp bar. And perhaps ship blessings.

During coffee break discussions yesterday I argued that blessed ships, by the definition of blessing, should last longer for any given capsuleer, provided the capsuleer in question does not horrendously sin after the blessing.

Slowly, a project in statistics started to dawn on me. I can compare the average (or, alternatively, median) time for unblessed ships to get lost with that of blessed ships. A clear statistically provably significant difference would constitute a proof of divine providence. If there's no difference, it still does not prove anything - as there are many complicating factors - but if there is, it's a smoking gun that the atheists in the cluster cannot ignore.

I look forward to gathering my empirical evidence.

Battling entropy

I am using the rare moment of relative quietness to clean up my work space. My living quarters I keep very minimalistic, but my desk at the library, and the little room I use as some sort of office, that is a different affair altogether.

My desks are landscapes of paper piles of various heights and dubious structural stability. 

The two largest stacks are severely tilted, and each one separately would certainly fall over, but they lean against each other to give each other stability and together they do not collapse. They look like a metaphor for some couples that I married in the Chapel.

I scribble a lot of notes while working, and they go on a pile. I get brochures and advertisements, and when I plan to go through them later, I put them on one of the piles. Conference notes - or notes I took during interesting lectures? When I get back to the library, I put them on my desk, to sort and summarize later. Interesting papers I think I must read? Same thing. Official letters I get? After reading them I drop them in the office to sort or store later. In the end it all gets buried in big piles of paper that I do not dare to throw away, because perhaps there is still something important in there that I want to keep. 

Today, I sifted through them, and chucked anything I have no use for any more in a cardboard box used for moving. In this case it will move to the trash. I have not done this in a while, and as I got deeper down to the bottom of the piles, I dug deeper into the past. It is like an archeological excavation: layers deeper down were buried in a more distant past. 

From time to time, the excavation reveals a forgotten treasure. I found a souvenir I bought at the Achur monastery I visited two years ago on a cultural exchange programme, some sort of charm for good luck, still in its original wrapping. I had forgotten about it. Also, I was shocked that already two years have passed.

I also found a small cordless scewdriver. I vaguely remember buying it as a gift for one of the library assistants that complained about how many screws there are in the new book cases. I have no idea how it got snowed under with papers. Perhaps I put in on my desk and put a few papers on top to hide it. And then forgot about it.

Then at some point one finds nice papers that still look interesting to read. That is when I start to hesitate and slow down, and get more picky about what to throw away. That is the danger. When you start doubting whether to throw away this piece of paper that you have not looked at in years and did not even remember you had, you must steel yourself, and chuck it out anyway.

Today, I got rid of five large boxes worth of paperwork (of which I throw away four and keep one) and looking at my pristine desk I am satisfied with my clean-up. 

The cycle can start again.

Quiet days

It's been relatively quiet these days, it must be the calm of the summer.

Well, of course there is the usual. Ishta is in trouble and on trial in a monastery that is suspected of human traficking for the cartel, and we have had a drug-addicted capsuleer slave in the chapel, sedevancantist influences amongst our holders, piracy, and blasphemy.

I have not heard back from Yun-Hee. She promised to let me know about her departure. I guess she is still preparing herself. With the relative calm now at the Lamp, I have time to think about her words, especially that she can no longer see meaning to her existence. Perhaps it is linked to the fact that those who do not believe in God have difficulty finding any meaning in creation?

 

On suffering

I kept following the discussion on the InterGalactic Summit (IGS). It has turned about the everlasting question of evil. Is God himself evil because there is so much suffering in the world? One can turn this around and equally ask: if God is truly evil and hateful, why is there so much good in the world? This is also part of a discussion I have with one of LUMEN's own. I record in these logs part of this discussion, perhaps for future use: 

"It is easy for people in the IGS to depict God as a clockmaker, bent over some intricate machine with cogwheels and springs. These people stand behind God and tell him, “I would put that piece here”. In such a narrow and mechanistic vision of the act creation, where moreover we think we know it all, it is natural to be angry if the universe does not live up to our vision of how it should be, if it does not deliver what we think we are entitled to. But creation and reality are not mechanistic, deterministic, following the laws of cause and effect. Heck, even at the deepest level of our understanding of physics, the world is not deterministic, and a cause can have many different effects. To me, creation can be corrupted by the acts of the creatures living in it – if it weren’t then the world would be a soulless, dead place. To prevent us, God would have to take away our soul – in stead He freely became vulnerable to allow us to exist."

Race and religion

I am not in the habit of reading or consulting the International Galactic Summit (IGS) forum, but when a contribution of the Directrix-Emerita appears, I do get a 'ping', or warning.

Nicoletta Mithra can rightly be called a capsuleer Doctor of the Faith, and her writings always offer valuable theological insights. 

This time around, there was an argument about the superiority of Amarrians over other races. That was the opening paragraph of the discussion as stated by some fervent but misguided youngster. Lady Mithra clearly laid out that the duty of all faithful are the same regardless of race. We are not selected as God's chosen because of our genetic makeup, but because of how we live. Here is a pearl of wisdom that she shared: "The first and most important convert in the life of any True Amarr is themselves."

Later in the discussion, the argument somehow turned to theodicity. In that regard, I need to talk to one of our own LUMEN capsuleers who blasphemed saying she would kill God if she met Him.

Award money

The award money for the writing contest has been disbursed. I've added it to the skillbook fund, which now has been more than replenished! With this, our library can fund courses for very advanced skills. I have sent out a message to all LUMENeers to remind them of this. 

That way, I can combine benefits of winning an insane amount of money with my vow of poverty...

A farewell

For immortal beings, we remain so very fragile.

Yesterday I had a long conversation with Yun-Hee Yubari, a capsuleer that I met before on several occasions. I never got to know this shy Achuran very well, but I have always appreciated her for her kindness. I think we first met when she was working at Café Marlinea in Mehatoor's 24th Imperial Crusade station. She gave up on that job soon after LUMEN (the café's main client) moved to Nasreri. She followed us there and did some security jobs. We shared tea at her home and garden. After LUMEN moved back to its Mehatoor headquarters, we lost contact.

Recently, she informed me that she no longer wanted to live. Not just reclone and wipe some memories, as I at first thought, but biomass without recloning.

Our first instinct, hard-wired in the oldest vestigial folds of the brain, is to preserve life at any cost. Send her to the medbay, perhaps with force, and try to change her mind. Yun-Hee had foreseen such a reaction, and agreed to meet me on the explicit condition that I would not spend my time trying to talk her out of her decision. Having no other option, and no real power over fellow capsuleers, I conceded.

So we talked about life, and her feeling of not fitting. Her feelings of constant sadness, tiredness of life, an inability to find meaning. It became clear to me that she has taken a long time to consider and think through her decision. It is not on a whim, or because of some acute problem. She has been suffering mentally for a long while, and there is no solution to it. It would be unjust of me to force her to prolong this suffering indefinitely.

I am grateful that she explained this to me, as it offers some consolation, and a way to accept her decision at a rational level. But deep down I cannot escape the feeling that I failed to save a life, not yesterday, but years ago.

((ooc: if the topics discussed in today's blog affect you or if you're struggling with these issues, please know that there are always people you can turn to. In Eve's community we have "broadcast 4 reps" and on their resources page your can find links to professional help and programs.))

The investigation

I talked to the handmaid of lady Raleigh, to find out if her ladyship has any associations with Sedevacantists or with Disciples of Purity. Ishta happened to be present also. It appears we form a good investigative team despite -or perhaps because of- our different approach and character. It is not a "bad cop, good cop" thing like in a Nugoeihuvi crime movie, perhaps it is more of a "naive chaplain, former criminal" thing. Anyhow, in many ways we complement each other. 

Istha saw right away that the handmaid was an addict, a slave to the drug called 'Exile'. I realized this somewhat later, when the handmail refered to our beloved Empress as 'her catty ness', and then started a ramble on Gallente cat people. No sober handmail in the Empire would do that. We brought her to the medbay for detox.

Some good came from her drugged state, nevertheless. "In vino veritas": the drunken person lets their guard down. They even say that in some places, like Nakri, if you do not drink your vodka while the others in your company do get drunk, this is seen as suspect behavior - you clearly have something to hide. 

Anyway, from the handmaid's slurred mumblings I could make out that lady Raleigh has not been meeting in secret with Nauplius (whom she calls 'knee up phallus'). At the very most she can be accused of composing slightly inappropriate poems about the Empress.

Awards ceremony YC125

Yesterday evening was the annual award ceremony for literary prizes, in the Starlight ballroom in Tebu Ankhuman. It is an evening my bookish heart looks forward to.

This year to my surprise I was honored by a first prize! These come with a large sum of ISK - one I cannot accept for myself due to my vow of poverty, but traditionally I add this amount to SFRIM's skillbook fund. This year I can raise the maximum grant amount.

The prize also comes with the temptations of vanity and pride, grave sins, and moreover ones that particularly affect those in academia, and those in the creative arts. Especially the atheist artists: they have no choice but to build their life's meaning through their own creations. Doing so, they have none but themselves as ultimate judge of meaningfulness, which must lead to some existential doubt. So, any outside acknowledgment is an encouragement. 

I also found it hard to shield myself from these twin sins. I admit I felt pride. It seems like God's retribution was immediate: suddenly, the heretic Nauplius appeared at the ceremony.

Rationally I know that Tebu Ankhuman is a freeport, and that all were allowed to come and not be harmed, but nevertheless I felt outraged that he was not immediately apprehended. Khan Arline Kley, bless her sword, was ready to do God's work, but was stopped. She must have felt the same indignation. Matters got worse: Nauplius started spewing his venom, saying that the throne is vacant. Most Amarrian capsuleers just looked away rather than decrying this lie. I may have shouted 'Hail the Empress' louder than I expected. The hails were not echoed. 

Some of our capsuleers did worse than stay silent: lady Raleigh was flattering the heretic, even being flirty. She did repent after the fact, but I could not bring myself to give her absolution right there. I heard her words, but could not judge whether they were truthful.

It all made me angry to a degree that surprised myself. Perhaps this anger in a way was still a reaction to my own failings a year ago, some sort of overcompensation too late after the facts.

Exotic virus

Exotic lands come with their own specific flora and fauna, and viruses. I fell ill with some virus I picked up in P8-BKO, during a visit to the tropical zone of the fouth planet. 

The planet is famous for its blue coffee. Well, famous is an overstatement, these parts of the universe are too far removed from the core regions for anything to be really well-known except big battles. But nevertheless it is the local colonists' claim to fame. The coffee beans contain anthocyanins, the same molecule that turns blueberries, well, blue. However, the bitterness of the brew still overpowers any sweetness that could come from the cyanin. I visited a plantation and brought some coffee home with me. 

The exotic disease specialist at the Lamp's medbay told me that I picked up a mosquito-borne virus, probably during that planetside visit since it's unlikely that these mosquitos would survive in any of the orbital stations. Also, my immune system has never been in contact with this virus, so it wasn't able to respond and the virus could spread. It has a long incubation time: I started to feel the flu-like symptoms a week after my return. And no, I didn't turn blue. 

It is not contagious here since it needs its mosquito host to spread, but I took no risks and stayed in my quarters while I let the illness run its course.

Not what I was looking for

I got contacted by an explorer that I met in Feythabolis, Kemiloto Kashuken. She is not part of the Zerg (who mostly avoided me, thinking I am either crazy or dangerous or both), but an explorer from wormhole space.

She kindly asked how my search had been, and when I told her I had come up empty-handed, she had news for me:

[ 2023.06.21 20:39:52 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > OhOh, I found a couple of talokans.
[ 2023.06.21 20:40:50 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > Talocan System Interface Unit  Do you need this one?
[ 2023.06.21 20:42:07 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > Talocan Automation Accounts  Talocan Intricate Formulas or this?
[ 2023.06.21 20:49:30 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > If you need any of these items, I can provide them

People can be so kind! Or perhaps entrepreneurial, although our conversation did not turn into a discussion of the price for these items. She found these items in other parts of space, wormholes. She could get more if I needed more.

She did not understand that what she offered was not what I was looking for.

I found it hard to explain to her I did not need these particular items - perhaps I disappointed her. I do not want to build anything out of Talocan stuff... I tried in vain to explain that I was looking for traces of this ancient race, of some proof that they had been out there in Feythabolis. Of some link to the barbarian tribe that lived here before. 

She looked at me as if I had lost my mind, but set me blue anyway.

Goodbyes

I have been exploring the system intensively over the past week - safe in the knowledge that the Zerg are happy to have me around. They say hi and wave hello, but apart from that they appear as taciturn as ever.

Unfortunately, I have found no trace of the Talocan. In fact, no trace of any ancient race. These systems are infested with Angel cartel sites, if any.

It is time to wrap up my expedition here and accept that I was wrong about the Talocan leaving relics here. 

I will thank the Zerg again, and clone jump back to Mehatoor. It feels all right to leave this cheap exploration vessel and a clone in their station. They've been around for two weeks, which is more stability than anyone can expect from the sovereign nullsec lands. Perhaps the station will be blown to bits tomorrow, in accordance to the fickleness of these parts of the cluster. But perhaps, as I hope, the Zerg will endure for somewhat longer than their peers.

Lord Meza's message

To my surprise, I received a message from Lord Romuil Meza. As far as I can discern, he is second in command in the Zerg hierarchy. He wrote:

Subject: 0/
From: Romuil Meza
Sent: 2023.06.11 20:27
To: Theodosius Savnar  

You can loot your stuff) i dont need that : D

Apparently, they have no use for objects from relic sites, nor from data sites. I contracted it to lord Meza as a token of gratitude for the docking rights he kindly gave me. I had told him I would keep any relics pertaining to the ancients, but I would contract him the rest so as not to interfere with his own minions' explorations. But no-one wants this junk out here.

I answered:

Re: 0/ 
From: Theodosius Savnar
Sent: 2023.06.12 20:25
To: Romuil Meza  

Dear Lord Meza,

Thank you once again for your hospitality.

If I can be of service while I am here, please let me know and I will gladly help. 

Do you have any public chat channel for the Zerg? 

By His light and His will,
Brother Theodosius Savnar

Perhaps, if I am allowed on their internal communications, I can extract more information from them about the fate of the Talocan Star Empire. Although, to be honest, by now I have come to doubt it. They came into this territory just about at the same time as I did. And, given their lack of enthusiasm for exploring (they prefer mining) I doubt they would be quick in finding Talocan constructions.

No sign of the Talocan

I spent another day scanning and probing this constellation, the former homeworlds of the Talocan Star Empire, now extinct. No success. There is not a single Talocan structure or relic out here. Not even inscriptions, crumbled ruins or small artefacts, let alone large structures or labyrinths. I begin to suspect that the Talocanites took it all with them. Or worse, that they just liked the legends of the "Talocan", and appropriated that name to appear more formidable.

The Zerg remain as taciturn as ever, except to ask why I at some point used combat probes rather than scan probes. I wanted to make sure there was no Talocan construction left around, and sometimes the combats pick up more than the core scanners. It spooked my friends for a short moment. Yet they have grown more confident, with the "activity defense modifier" of their systems increasing slowly after their takeover.

There is no increase to the number of visitors of the Catiz I Chapel in P8-BKO. Some missionaries are coming over with the Interbus to run it, using my continued sponsoring. They'll have their work cut out for them.

Zerg silent hospitality

This tribe is quite hospitable in their own special way. At least in comparison to their peers in these regions, as they do not try to hunt me down and kill me. Yet, in my experience the Zerg have a very strong distrust of any talking and they will usually not respond to any message in local. 

Today, I've been given access to one station in each and every Zerg system. I am no longer confined to P8-BKO, they were so kind to give me docking rights and access to clone bays in their stations, along with free passage in their constellation. With minimal conversation, as is their custom. I asked if they have a channel that I could join, however that was not so easy. Their leadership will meet in the coming days to debate whether an Amarrian preacher is allowed to converse with their members. Docking rights, no problem. Talking rights, that's another matter.

But, while exploring, I met a Zerg who was slightly more talkative: Silya Gocman. I helped him with exploration, contracting the loot of a jointly explored site. This made him relax and open up to conversation.

He told me that the Talocanites were already gone when they got here, no refugees left behind. The Zerg basically moved into an empty space, without facing any resistance. Zergs were happy to take over this unused space. This tracks with my own experience - the Talocanites were not to be seen by the time I arrived here and tried to make contact. 

I did do some further exploration in their systems. Sadly, I did not have any success finding Talocan relics. I found a lot of other stuff, which I contracted to them as a token of my gratitude. It was just an hour of exploration, but they were very happy as it amounted to fifty million isk. I will keep rewarding and stimulating their silent hospitality.

News of the Edict

News apparently took a little while to get to this place here in the boondocks, but today the edict of Empress Catiz got relayed to these places. What a momentous change! A historical moment! Our beloved Empress has opened a way for fast reclamation, faster than anything in the previous millenia apart from Jamyl's mass manumission. We will have to adapt, and provide services and information for slaves that are on this fast track.

At the same time, this seems geared to increase the numbers of soldiers in the Empire's armies. Perhaps war is upon us? Is the goal of all of this to assemble a large host under the banners of each royal Heir?

Be that as it may, here I have hired a small office space in the First Zerg Overmind citadel in P8-BKO. I turned it into an improvised chapel devoted to our Empress, and started preaching to the station dwellers. Not with much success yet, I have to admit. My congregation consisted of four people. Three, actually, as number four came in an then took the some of the chocolate chip cookies I had prepared, and immediately left, without listening to my sermon.

Anyway, it's a start.

Hospitality

The Zerg are a quiet but hospitable and peaceful people. It is a rare treat in these faraway lands to find such folk.

They are mostly busy with mining and keeping to themselves. I suspect the Zerg king, Vladislav Mernher, is a good man. He did not reply to me, though. While he does have the text "LIKE RAGE PEOPLE" (yes, all caps) in his bio, he also included an image of a kitten in his bio. From this, I conclude his soul must be redeemable.

I have been given rights to dock in a citadel of theirs, in P8-BKO. It even has a free cloning bay service. I was greeted with a welcome message, again in all caps. These people have not properly mastered the art of the alphabet yet. The message was "WELCOME TO ZERG CRINGE LAND". 

After settling in in my hangar, I went on an exploration tour in the constellation, but till now I did not find any relics of the ancients. I did find useless trash in data sites: data cores and decryptors. As the station is controlled by Mernher's lieutenant, Romuil Meza, I contracted the loot to him. His bio just consists of the sentence "You can write me", so that is encouraging. Also, it was not all in caps, so he must be a man of refined culture out here.

Contact with the conquerors

I went back to Feythabolis. The first attempt failed, and my only crew member got ejected in a life pod. I had not kept enough attention to the fact the the Interdiction Nullifier has a recharging time that is rather long. After using it to bypass a bubble on a outgoing jump gate, I found myself in a bubble at an entering jump gate without enough time to recharge...

My second attempt - without crew member as she is making her way back to hisec - was successful. I made it out to the Talocan systems, now held by other alliances. Their lands have been divided by the Skeleton Crew (C45-9Y constellation) and ZERG (RGH-40 constellation). The Talocanites are... extinct here. At first, I failed to get a response from the new lords of the lands. But, warping into a mining crew, at last I connected with the Zerg! And they got the Pax Amarria to their leadership - it will only take a moment before they see the light!

[ 2023.06.05 21:37:23 ] Theodosius Savnar > Greetings, miners. I mean no harm. I come from the worlds at the core of the cluster, from Amarr.

[ 2023.06.05 21:38:25 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > Greetings explorer, good luck with your flight!

[ 2023.06.05 21:39:01 ] Theodosius Savnar > Thanks! I would like to learn about the former occupants of the system, the Talocan Star Empire. Are any of them still around?

[ 2023.06.05 21:40:19 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > We do not know. We're just mining for the glory of the Queen!

[ 2023.06.05 21:41:05 ] Theodosius Savnar > Glory to Empress Catiz! I have brought copies of the Pax Amarria, and I can drop some at your Territorial Claim Unit.

[ 2023.06.05 21:42:16 ] Theodosius Savnar > Would it be permitted to explore in this constellation? And could I get access to one of your stations? I am only interested in relics from the ancients, and would gladly contract the rest to one of you.

[ 2023.06.05 21:42:23 ] Qqes > OK am can take it

[ 2023.06.05 21:43:26 ] Qqes > am on star gate  Stargate (Minmatar System)*

[ 2023.06.05 21:43:52 ] Qqes > P8-BKQ

[ 2023.06.05 21:44:06 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > I'm sorry, I don't have the right to open docks

[ 2023.06.05 21:44:31 ] Theodosius Savnar > The Pax Amarrias have been dropped close to your territorial claim unit, and I have abandoned cargo, so you can just take them.

[ 2023.06.05 21:44:56 ] Qqes > не трогайте его

[ 2023.06.05 21:45:26 ] KROSSTAR > да ктож такой грех на душу возьмет

[ 2023.06.05 21:45:52 ] Theodosius Savnar > I shall not interfere, для вас нет риска

[ 2023.06.05 21:46:10 ] Qqes > we can speak whith our Ceo about that

[ 2023.06.05 21:46:21 ] Theodosius Savnar > Yes! Please bring me to your leader.

[ 2023.06.05 21:46:54 ] Theodosius Savnar > Perhaps we can negociate something mutually beneficial

[ 2023.06.05 21:47:27 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > We will deliver Pax Ammaria to our leader!

[ 2023.06.05 21:48:06 ] Theodosius Savnar > I'll stick around for some days. Who is your exalted leader?

[ 2023.06.05 21:49:36 ] Theodosius Savnar > I am only interested in the relics of the ancients, in particular the Takmahl and the Talocan. All the rest I find here, I will drop off to any station that you wish.

[ 2023.06.05 21:50:07 ] Qqes > am can teke a contact

[ 2023.06.05 21:50:14 ] Qqes > secon my friend

[ 2023.06.05 21:50:23 ] Theodosius Savnar > First, I need permission to explore in your space!

[ 2023.06.05 21:50:35 ] Theodosius Savnar > Blue standings, if possible.

[ 2023.06.05 21:51:16 ] Theodosius Savnar > Also, to make a contract, I need a station to drop off the loot.

[ 2023.06.05 21:52:01 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > Our leader is resting today. You need to come earlier and contact our leader.

[ 2023.06.05 21:52:35 ] Qqes > Kbyrfybnt Dkflf

[ 2023.06.05 21:52:40 ] Qqes > Линканите влада

[ 2023.06.05 21:53:00 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > Vladislav Mernher Our leader

[ 2023.06.05 21:53:27 ] KROSSTAR > ZERG REBORN we will put Your present to our Leader with a pleaser. Ssory for making Your highesty to wait

[ 2023.06.05 21:55:09 ] Theodosius Savnar > All right! I'll send Vladislav an evemail. Thank you for indulging me. I hope to be exploring alongside with you all soon!

[ 2023.06.05 21:55:37 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > Fly safe!

[ 2023.06.05 21:55:41 ] KROSSTAR > Theodosius Savnar Fly safe!

[ 2023.06.05 21:55:48 ] Theodosius Savnar > you all too!

[ 2023.06.05 21:55:54 ] Kemiloto Kashuken > We also need to rest.

This is most promising, and much more fruitful than any of my attempts to contact the Talocan Star Empire. They've taken the Pax Amarria's to their leadership! What more can a missionary ask for? I have sent their king a mail, asking humbly for permission to explore. I eagerly await his answer.

Talocanite collapse

The Talocan Star Empire collapsed. The few remaining systems they held have been swept away by their foes. I was about to go back to them, when I checked the star maps again and found that they have been completely wiped out. So, I was going to forego any further exploration, but Gaun talked some sense into me. I should go there and find out if there are refugees from the Talocanites, and if so, bring them back to the Empire. The expedition is going forward!

Wordweavers

My new hire for cloak and probes turns out to be a daughter of a wordweaver couple. Among the many unique cultures in the cluster, for linguists the wordweavers are probably the most interesting ones.

Initially, on their home planet there were two very distinct cultures. They shared one continent on a temperate planet. The people of  the northeastern parts, the Krk Krzj, spurned vowels in their language. The inhabitants of the southwestern region, the Aoai Ue, did not use consonants. No-one has any idea how this came about. But, unable to have a conversation or even pronounce each other’s name, misunderstandings soon led to war. For a thousand years, the sounds of frontline battle rang across the continent, "grr" versus "aai".

It was only when facing a common challenge, in the form of the Amarr 10th Expeditionary Force, that they started to collaborate. 

Negotiations between with the apostolic legates required always both a Krk Krzj interpreter and an Aoai Ue interpreter. When, for example, they would need to say "Amarr", the two interpreters would alternate and interweave their speech. The Aoai Ue would do the "a"s and the Krk Krzj would do the "m" and "r".

Quite rapidly, this developed into a special and unique form of art, wordweaving, where a Krk Krzj and an Aoai Ue sing together, attuned to the pace of their voices in such a perfect way that the words, with both consonants and vowels, flow seamlessly as one. 

Of course, the voices need to match well if the words are to flow harmoniously and be well understood. This required close collaboration between voice partners. Great voice matchings soon led to great marriages. And with that, peace returned to the continent.

Ethnologists and linguists are nowadays hurrying to record such performances, as the art is in decline because the children of mixed marriages between Krk Krzj and Aoai Ue grow up using both vowels and consonants. It turns out that wordweaving is only made possible by the inability of pronouncing some sounds, rather by the ability to produce some.

Ms. Ayoagan had difficulties with consonants, and pronounces her own family name closer to Aioa'aha so it appears she has a stronger influence of her father (who belongs to the Aoai Ue), but nevertheless she is able to work with consonants too.

Reship

This year, like the previous, I made submissions to the New Eden Writer's contest. I may have made more than usual, and somehow I feel the sting of sin, being vainglorious. I should not come out so strongly, and remain more humble...

On different news, the Talocan Star Empire seems to have stabilized. They did loose the worlds where I dropped Pax Amarrias, so that is a concern. 

I am heading out to Dital. As I went in a shuttle to Feythabolis, I went without crew and delayed picking up ms. Ayogan who has been contracted to work for me as crew member in a covert ops ship. 

Advertising

The Talocan Star Empire seems to have stabilized again, keeping a smaller nucleus of systems in Feythabolis. Perhaps I should take an exploration vessel out there this time, rather than a shuttle.

Meanwhile, I have been busy with advertisements. The constant strean of advertisements sent to me by Federation publishing houses has made me think about how common this "marketing" way of communicating anything from products to political ideas must be in the Federation. 

At the same time, I became aware of a new initiative from the owners of the billboards in Upwell stations. They will allow capsuleer corporations to display their own adverts, and this all over the cluster. 

This seems to me a great opportunity for spreading the light of faith peacefully to our neighbors. It could also be of help to our diplomatic efforts in Caille. Based on my experience making documentaries, and with the suggestions of Amicia Cora (who has experience in diplomacy), I made a draft version of such an advertisement.

Prime directive

I have been troubled by a bout of guilt. I dropped Pax Amarrias at the infrastructure hub and territorial claim structures of the Talocan Star Empire, in order to get their attention.

What if that drew in the neighboring Skeleton Crew, hungry for the faith and starved of scripture in these faraway lands? In their search for redemption, they may have tracked down the containers with the valuable Pax Amarria, and thus stumbled on the sovereignty infrastructure of the Talocanites, who in turn were still to frightened to come out of hiding and defend their settlements? 

Did I intervene in the evolution of these primitive cultures, violating a prime directive of non-interference? Perhaps without this action, the Skeleton Crew might not have ventured into the Talocanite space, and the Talocanites may still be living there. Even if this is so, I do not know what to do about it... any additional intervention might only worsen things. For now I will just keep monitoring things from afar.

Resettling

I was about to reship into an exploration vessel to go and investigate the Talocan Star Empire. If the natives do not want to meet me in the open, I can still probe them down. It would be a bit dangerous to get there, as I've noticed a few warp interdiction bubbles in the systems just beyond our borders. But once past that danger zone, the rest of the journey appears to be through rather desolate systems.

So-called "system sovereignty" is updated on a daily basis at the Amarr Cartographic Society, and it shows the Talocanites loosing further ground in Feythabolis, while they appear to have gained some systems in the region of Insmother. Perhaps they are moving?

I decided to wait and let the situation reach a new equilibrium. If the Talocanites do resettle, they are likely to take whatever relics they have with them. Hopefully they are not a nomadic tribe, and this move just happens to occur at the same time I was seeking them out.

Collapse of the Talocan Star Empire

I had forgotten the fickleness of these barbarian lands.

The Talocan Star Empire, absent from space, is losing its systems to the Skeleton Crew, the new rulers in town. To be honest, I haven't seen Skeleton Crew members either, they must be keeping different hours. I know they were around since the territorial claim has changed. Today again, I only met a single person, a traveler unaware of what is happening - and he jumped system in fear of my shuttle:

[ 2023.05.23 19:44:18 ] Theodosius Savnar > Ave, Platanus! How are you?
[ 2023.05.23 19:45:11 ] Platanus Occidentalis > Good, tnx
[ 2023.05.23 19:45:51 ] Theodosius Savnar > Are you a member of the "Talocan Star Empire" who used to own this system?
[ 2023.05.23 19:46:46 ] Platanus Occidentalis > Amm, prob no
[ 2023.05.23 19:47:00 ] Theodosius Savnar > Or are you part of the "Skeleton Crew", the new owners?
[ 2023.05.23 19:48:42 ] Theodosius Savnar > I am trying to get in touch with the Talocanites.
[ 2023.05.23 19:49:09 ] Theodosius Savnar > No need to jump system, I am in a shuttle and come in peace.
[ 2023.05.23 19:49:17 ] Platanus Occidentalis > Amm, no :)
[ 2023.05.23 19:49:23 ] Platanus Occidentalis > im by myself
[ 2023.05.23 19:49:25 ] Platanus Occidentalis > freeman :)
[ 2023.05.23 19:49:31 ] Theodosius Savnar > Have you seen any of them?
[ 2023.05.23 19:50:22 ] Platanus Occidentalis > No, not here at least. But im here only for today probably. Will move away from here soon :)
[ 2023.05.23 19:51:15 ] Theodosius Savnar > All right, I wish you a good exploration today! I'll move around to try and find them, don't mind me.
[ 2023.05.23 19:51:27 ] Platanus Occidentalis > Good luck!
[ 2023.05.23 19:51:28 ] Theodosius Savnar > Fly safe!

This has been disappointing. Perhaps they left? Or am I witnessing the collapse of another civilization based on Talocan technology? Anyway, I am tired of sleeping out in deep space safes in a shuttle, and I miss Mittens. I'll return to Mehatoor and rethink my next move.

A fellow explorer

Good news, and bad news. 

I shall start with the bad news. Still no sign of the Talocanites in what should be their heartland system of RIT-A7. The good news is that I met a fellow explorer, who confirmed the presence of relics of the ancients! Here is the transcript of our conversation:

[ 2023.05.21 14:06:39 ] Theodosius Savnar > Ave,  Vladblodemag !

[ 2023.05.21 14:06:50 ] Theodosius Savnar > I come from the center of the cluster, from the Amarr Empire
[ 2023.05.21 14:07:00 ] Theodosius Savnar > Are you part of the Talocan Star Empire?
[ 2023.05.21 14:07:25 ] Vladblodemag > Not, but i want to find who they are
[ 2023.05.21 14:07:36 ] Theodosius Savnar > Me too!
[ 2023.05.21 14:07:49 ] Theodosius Savnar > This is why I came in a humble shuttle
[ 2023.05.21 14:10:39 ] Theodosius Savnar > Perhaps they went extinct, like the real Talocan? Or they are hiding, as soon as they see us.
[ 2023.05.21 14:10:59 ] Vladblodemag > here there are 2 relics of the ancients
[ 2023.05.21 14:11:07 ] Vladblodemag > i have no time to collect it
[ 2023.05.21 14:11:31 ] Theodosius Savnar > Ah, wonderful! I was already suspecting that there was a link with the ancients here.
[ 2023.05.21 14:12:21 ] Theodosius Savnar > If I can meet the Talocan Star Empire leader I can ask for permission to explore, and come back with an exploration ship. It would be of great value to me.
[ 2023.05.21 14:12:37 ] Theodosius Savnar > It is nice to meet a fellow explorer.
[ 2023.05.21 14:12:42 ] Vladblodemag > You should do it
[ 2023.05.21 14:13:48 ] Vladblodemag > i have to return to other systems and make some plasma researches
[ 2023.05.21 14:13:54 ] Vladblodemag > good luck
[ 2023.05.21 14:14:19 ] Theodosius Savnar > Good luck to you too! Fly safe

More than ever I am convinced there is a link between the natives of the region and the Talocan. I will try again to meet them tomorrow, but if it fails again, I will return and come back with the Indigatrix. I am eager to scan these anomalies!

Errant Bishops of Ancient Amarr

Also today, I did not encounter the Talocanites.

I changed the nanobeacons identifying the shuttle to show LUMEN colors when I entered their domain, and I again donned my monk's gown. But now I start to think the natives are hiding or scurrying away when they see an Amarrian approach. 

So far away from the Empire, settlements are rare and far in between. Even star systems are farther apart than in the dense center of the cluster. So, not much news from the core worlds must reach this distant place, and when it does it will be distorted. The locals may have heard about the Amarr Empire, but it might be more in terms of myths and legends about a far-away golden place with planets that are home to billions of souls. 

In order to show them my peaceful intent, I dropped some Pax Amarrias in a container close to the I-hub structure. After a while I went back to a safe in the system, and powered down the shuttle. I will try again tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I am reading St. Ahlwin's "Advise to the Errant Bishop", a famous classic. It is a three-thousand year old treatise written at the onset of the reclamation of Amarr. In that age, some bishops would travel far away to heathen lands to try and bring the Faith there. Their travels were beset with dangers, as they went only with a small group of acolytes (the people, not the drones), and performed open-air masses in front of locals. Sometimes the peasants they encountered ignored them, but sometimes they chased them away or tried to kill them. The latter happened especially if the missionary bishop would smash the idols of the local gods - which they would do more often than not. The most important advise that St. Ahlwin gives is to perform miracles stronger than those the local gods can do, in particular miraculous healing. 

I am no bishop, but this collection of travel stories is appealing to me in my current situation. Also, I should have brought anti-viral agents and advanced medicine with me, to perform miracles of healing.

Empty space

I traversed the space of many strange alliances. Mostly, there was no other capsuleer in the system. If there were capsuleers, it was at least a dozen. There were almost no stations, but there were structures. Infrastructure hubs, Ansiblex jump gates. From time to time an Astrahus, but I did not have docking rights. 

I first spent a long time going through space controlled by the "Dracarys" alliance. Then "Hisec Miners", wrongly named, in Tenerifis. The nebula reminded me of the one visible from the Khanid Kingdom. The controlling instance then changed to "Destiny's call" in U2U5-A still in Tenerifis. Still, I was mostly alony as a capsuleer in any system I traversed. The Angel cartel is strong here, but there are no stations visible on the overview.

Then it changed quickly, from system to system. Legion of "XXdeathXX", and "Paper Numbers", before -finally- the Talocan Star Empire. The first few of their systems were empty of capsuleers. I proceeded to the center of their Empire. It didn't get better. I toured their home constellation of RHG-40: no-one home. Nowhere. Not a soul in sight.

I went back out, to the constellation C45-9Y, controlled for the most part by the Talocan Star Empire. The only capsuleer I encountered in the Talocan controlled systems was a man named "makshard". I contacted him in local:

[ 2023.05.19 18:10:02 ] Theodosius Savnar > Greetings, makshard ! Are you affiliated to the Talocan Star Empire ?
[ 2023.05.19 18:15:20 ] makshard > hello
[ 2023.05.19 18:15:32 ] makshard > how im affiliated?
[ 2023.05.19 18:15:50 ] makshard > what do u mean?
[ 2023.05.19 18:15:53 ] Theodosius Savnar > I'm trying to get in touch with them
[ 2023.05.19 18:16:07 ] Theodosius Savnar > But you belong to a different alliance?
[ 2023.05.19 18:17:05 ] makshard > idk
[ 2023.05.19 18:17:09 ] makshard > yes i gues
[ 2023.05.19 18:18:02 ] Theodosius Savnar > Oh, I see. So you cannot bring me to their leader? And tell them I come from Amarr, and I come in peace?
[ 2023.05.19 18:19:25 ] makshard > no i cant
[ 2023.05.19 18:19:31 ] makshard > are u joking me? XD
[ 2023.05.19 18:20:20 ] Theodosius Savnar > No, I'm not! No worries, I'll head into their heartland systems and will probably meet them sooner or later.
[ 2023.05.19 18:20:27 ] Theodosius Savnar > Fly safe!
[ 2023.05.19 18:20:32 ] makshard > fs

I went to RIT-A7. Once again, I logged off while in space, hoping the shuttle won't get destroyed.

Waking up in foreign lands

Relief. I woke up and I have not recloned, despite staying in space in nullsec territory. The shuttle went into low power mode about fifteen minutes after I "powered down", but no-one scanned me down during that time. The backdrop of the Amarr nebula is still prominent on the sky.

Donning the Aliastra captain's jacket and my whig I am unrecognisable:

After checking that the hull's corporate colors indeed show the Intaki corporation's colors, I proceeded. Thirty-nine jumps through barbarian territory...

First leg of the trip

Here's the new Gallente shuttle, with Aliastra skin:

D61A-G is the first system where I venture beyond Empire space, and immediately I land in a bubble and a large group of hunters. Luckily, the shuttle is immune to this, as Gaun predicted. I can continue my way to the LUMEN controlled system of F-YH5B. A slew of strange new icons appear on the Concord interface: Infrastructure Hubs and Territorial Claim Units.

There's nothing there. No stations to dock in. A lot of planets and moons, yes. I warped to the Infrastructure Hub, and to the Territorial Claim Unit. No way to dock up there. I warped to the neighborhood of planet VIII and logged off, hoping that the lack of enemies will keep me safe as I spend the night a sitting duck in space...

Coffee

Worries about Ishta have kept me from heading out to the Talocanites. That, and all sorts of urgent matters at the library, with new shipments of books coming in from the Gallente publishers. They've somehow figured out I like coffee and now also send brands from the Federation to me, specialty items. These strong coffees make me all jittery...

The disguise

I  bought a Gallente shuttle. I hesitated about also buying the Angel's "spirit" skin for it, but in the end I went for a ship skin that I already had: the Aliastra colors. They are general retailer, and a large corporation with Intaki roots. They trade all over the cluster, and although they are anchored in the Federation, they are quite independent. I will also wear a regular Gallente captain's jacket rather than my usual monk's robes. 

This should make me inconspicuous across most of the heathen lands, and I hope I will not draw attention as an Amarr target. Moreover, a trader from the core worlds should be welcome among these barbarians. So, I've opted for the road through Providence, rather than through Sansha or Angel territory. 

This will also allow me to meet up with our people in Providence, in the systems that LUMEN patrols. And, close to them, also with the systems controlled by the fine folks of CVA.

Expert suggestion

It is always good to talk plans over with experienced capsuleers. Especially with Gaun Arel, who is wise and like myself drawn to coffee. 

He made a brilliant suggestion: perhaps I could first go to the heirs of the Talocan in a simple shuttle. It would not allow me to probe anomalies, but it does allow for first contact, and the opening of negotiations to allow some research. I do not have to jeopardize any crew - former or new - as they are not useful in a simple shuttle. Moreover, the shuttles are immune to warp disruption bubbles, and can give me an idea of how heavily camped the gates are before I go there in an exploration ship.

Between a rock and three hard places

My initial enthusiasm to visit Feythabolis and the Talocan Star Empire's home constellation of RHG-4O has substantially cooled after I consulted to star charts to plot out a good route.

There are essentially three viable routes: through Curse, a region dominated by the Angel Cartel, through Providence, where the Curatores Veritates alliance and LUMEN are trying to bring some order to these lawless lands, or through Stain, home of the Sansha.

None of these regions are welcoming to a faithful LUMEN capsuleer. I will need camouflage and subterfuge to pass these lands without being stopped - by cartel gangs in Curse, or by insurgents in Provendence, or by Sansha in Stain.

Proselytizing

Delays, delays. The relic analyzer needs some repairs, and the necessary chips are not in supply right now so I have to wait. I could simply fly to Amarr and buy a new one, but that would be wasteful... 

In the meanwhile, I heard that the barbarian horde of the Goons will join the Empire in the warzone. They're a vast bunch of ruffians, and some seem pleased to have them on our side. 

I'm not so sure. 

It seems we just got rid of the previous untrustworthy mercenaries, the ones flying under the banner of the pirate Mikal Vektor, whose misdeeds went so far that even the Sarum court had to speak out to rein them in. If the other core powers want to use pirates and barbarians, let them. We should not follow suit.

The news made me wonder though... is the Talocan Star Empire allied to these Goonses or not? If they are, they might be friendly to me and welcome my visit. I might then use the opportunity to spread the faith. Indeed, the Book of Reclaiming urges us to do so, "I give to you the destiny of Faith, And you will bring its message to every planet of every star in the heavens".