Captain Gecko Posted January 2, 2022 Posted January 2, 2022 (edited) Read and discover how much I can ramble about theories on a very niche fictional universe because I'm that much of a nerd. --- Beyond the actually anomalous stuff (which is one of the main reasons why the station exists in the first place, to study them), and the non-cannon, antag-related moments; the Aurora itself, and its crew, not only get to go through some seriously messed up, or straight up weird events, their whole life seems to get a bit... Strange. Most of these can be explained, OOCly, by a simple reason: It's a game in which we need things to happen, and these things tend to happen around the station in which we play. But can we explain this ICly? Playing an Anomalist, I've been making a bunch of theories to explain in-game mechanics, for roleplay's sake, mostly, but that's generally applied to small details... The high ammount of anomalous materials in the rock, the unusually high ammount of wrecks we end up finding, the fact that spectronomical dating can give us result telling us that a find can be 20 years old despite being completely alien... But never something so crazy. I've looked at all of the unusual things I could find about the Aurora and its crew, may it be related to game mechanics, or player-made roleplay and stories and such, and then, I started looking for reasons. What I found out is perhaps worse than I could have ever anticipated, something more nightmarish than "muh corporate dystopia"... The Aurora and its crew are in hell, and perhaps more harrowing, they are taking hell around with them. That probably sounds weird, obviously, so let me explain properly, and thoroughly. This will be a two-post thing, since the forum tends to die when our posts get too long. Firstly, let's speak about the "weird things" that happened on the Aurora are. What we could call the curses. For simplicity's sake, these "weird things" will be called "signs" from now on. Spoiler Gameplay-related signs - The shape of the Asteroid changes to some degree, constantly. Obviously this is because the map, outside, is randomly generated, but this means that no one, since this rock was found, ever could map the area, at least what caves could be accessed without mining gear. - The high number of "sites". By sites, I mean the structures that may or may not spawn as the asteroid is generated. These ranges from entire based with storylines for you to discover to tiny mining outposts, corvette-sized spacecrafts full of treasures to crashed escape pods. These are quite rare, in truth, after playing an Anomalist for way over a year, I must've encountered a couple of dozens with most being tiny escape pods. Still, in total, just Sezrak Han'san during his career on the NSS Aurora got to spot THREE corvette-sized ships, and THREE full bases... AND that's just Sezrak, I know of many other miners, anomalists and Xenoarch that happened to stumble upon their fare share of sites too (Padraig, I'm thinking about you). Space is vast, and the chances that a spacecraft lands on our rocks out of any other in the area are quite slim... So for so many ships to be here, no matter the reason for them crashing/landing here in the first place, there needs to be a reason. As far as installations and outposts go... Of course, our rock is interesting place, if not for the scientific aspects, for the high reserves of Phoron, so it's no surprise that some may have tried to take it for themselves earlier... And considering this theory, it is no surprise that these installation are nothing but abandonned, derelict ruins, their crew, long gone... - The "sites" come out of nowhere. So there was a 40-meter long spacecraft, still barely powered, right there, merely 50 meters far from the Mining airlock. Both the Icarus and the station can spot things like escape pods and flocks of carps approaching the station, so it's no stretch to assume that no one could've missed it when it crashed here... That means that the spacecraft HAD to be here BEFORE the station was built and/or crewed. Then... how did the original prospectors and engineers that built the station MISSED THIS? This makes no sense either... Especially if there's way more than a single spacecraft or outpost on this station in the first place! That and as far as installations and outposts go... Well it's not like someone could stealthily land and build a whole micro-station without anyone noticing, so it had to be before the Aurora... And yet, once again, how did no one notice when building the Aurora? So, if the the sites being here prior or after the construction of the Aurora makes no sense, then there can be only one explanation... They spawned! And yes, of course they spawned, they literally did when the map was generated, but I mean spawn in an IC perspective too... It may explain how whole space ships managed to land/crash in areas that are compltely surrounded by rock too... - The high number of anomalies. Just like with the rest, generated with the map, of course... Still, it doesn't explain how there can be so much, let alone how sometimes you may need to reach the edges of the rock, and the next shift may just find an anomaly literally two meters next to your airlock. Sezrak already ICly made the theory that anomalies may spawn out of Bluespace, although that's certainly not as crazy as the spaceships and outposts since, well... Anomalies are anomalous, they could be, and do anything. Still, that's a sign we have to take into account. Roleplay-related signs - The High ammount of tragedies. I'm not just speaking of deaths. Space is hazardous, a scientific outpost is hazardous, put the two and two together and you get the perfect place for bodies start piling up after workplace incidents. But what I'm talking about here is closer to events. The sheer ammount of death that the crew encounters is astounding. Putting aside more general events like King of the World, where the crew meets Solarian Marines like pretty much anyone in Tau Ceti at that time... Take things such as Bad Moon on the Rise or Ghost of War. For a workplace to go through such an adventure (or tragedy considering the cost in life) is exceptional... Yet, it just keeps happening, event after event, as if fate kept lashing out against the Aurora and its crew... - The Crew's isolation. Finding love at the workplace? Yes it can happen. And yes, I'm sure that in a setting mostly ruled by corporations, it must happen a tad more than nowadays. However, life in 2464 doesn't seem so different than life in 2022, putting aside the progresses in technology and having to live alongside aliens. People still have a life... So why are there so many characters who's life only take place on the station? I get it, not everyone feels the need to make lore around their character beyond just what they do on station, or roleplay on the relayn ad that's alright, that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is for the characters that DO have such a thing... Why is the station so important to them? So many get in couples with fellow co-workers, to many spend time on the relay even when not working, visitors that don't even have a contract just keep coming back, despite the place being a hazardous shithole... What if something steered people? Note: For the theory to be valid, we only take into account what's canon, meaning that antag rounds and expeditions don't count! Now that this is clear, I will need to point out a few things. While all of this is theory, we need to point out what is set in stone, in the current lore. Most of these will quotes with links to the wiki page it came from... Of course, wiki pages are updated constantly, so what you see here is what's canon, while I am writing this. This section will also include real-life information that should still be valid in the lore (we'll need it for the theory!) Spoiler Bluespace: "Bluespace is a very strange form of pocket dimension, that is largely unpredictable and completely unexplored. While there is speculation about the possibility of celestial bodies existing in Bluespace, it is highly unlikely." Dephts of Bluespace: "...There is only one way for a vessel caught in an interdiction system to break the interdiction and that is to dive deeper into bluespace. Most ships are incapable of doing this as they operate on pre-plotted co-ordinates. Those that have the capacity to "tweak" jumps in real time are able to move deeper into the bluespace dimension, strengthening their bluespace field and increasing their speed allowing them to potentially outrun their pursuers. Diving deeper into bluespace carries its own risks. Vessels navigate "light bluespace", a region in which material travel is increased. Going too far into "light bluespace" may cause a vessel to enter "deep bluespace". Little is known of the region but for one truth - vessels do not return from it. It's common for ships caught in the throes of an interdiction system to skim deeper into bluespace briefly, and then move further towards realspace. This repetition allows the victims bluespace field to regenerate and its bluespace drive to cool down. The sudden jarring increase and decrease in speed can cause extreme fatigue to a ships superstructure and the crew within." Bluespace Precursors and interactions with Realspace: "A small segment of the scientific community have become increasingly alarmed at how fast the known galaxy have invested in bringing Bluespace into society, while there are still several major mysteries surrounding this new dimension and its interactions with our own. Since the discovery of bluespace, humanity has managed to discover several strange artifacts and lifeforms not known to follow the laws of our reality, including slimes, which were originally discovered in areas along with artifacts. These new discoveries - which often ended in tragedy as the artifacts hold mysterious, dangerous powers - has prompted Nanotrasen to create an entirely new field of study: Xenoarchaeology. The leading station for this field is the NSS Aurora, where a research outpost was created on an asteroid filled with xeno fossils and artifacts. Two leading theories have emerged from initial speculation: Either an advanced race exists in bluespace and they have made moves into our own in the past, leaving these artifacts behind, or the second theory that the bluespace mysteries and fossils are entirely separate, and that the "precursors" are not related to the strange, exotic mysteries surrounding bluespace." Time Dilation (Real life): In short, time is not linear, and intense gravity can cause time to "dilate" or slow down in some areas. If you've seen Interstellar you probably get what I'm trying to say, if not, the linked blog post explains it better than I ever could. And now, let's get to the actual theory. Edited September 18, 2024 by Captain Gecko 1 Quote
Captain Gecko Posted January 2, 2022 Author Posted January 2, 2022 (edited) We are now in "theory territory", none of this is set in stone, everything can be discussed... But still, as I go, things will start adding up and make more sense. Just like above, I'll explain the theory in parts, open each spoiler (they are made to be red in order) to get a part of the theory... Dimensional Dephts We know for a fact that there is a depht to Bluespace. We also know that most of what we see of Bluespace is shallow, or "light Bluespace". As explained earlier, few ever come back from diving deeper. This now begs the question of how dimensions interact with each other, and what lies beyond what we know. Above is a (very simple) diagram of what the theory assumes and one that we will use as support for the theory. In it: - Light Bluespace refers to the area of Bluespace that WE USE, generally for travel. Do keep it mind that it remains next to completely uncharted and misunderstood. - Deep Bluespace refer to the area of Bluespace that WE KNOW ABOUT. It isn't the entierity of what is "below" Light Bluespace, but rather, what we indirectly know is there, in the same way that we knew that Black Holes existed before ever seeing them. We can mostly assume what this section of bluespace is, even though we're not exploring it. - Darkspace is an EXTREMELY BROAD TERM. It refers to what is deeper than Deep Bluespace. Why I chose to name it this way and not simply something akin to the Abyss, is because it is something completely different than Bluespace; another dimension, in truth. Darkspace is simply the assumption that there may be something else that is "not Bluespace", beyond it (BONUS: For your antag gimmick, remember that you car refer the spooky Darkspace, Redspace, the Veil or whatever you call it. Gives your Cultists or Vampire and such a somehow scientific side). Darkspace, is entierly theorical, and not essential to the theory, but it may be useful to take its possible existence into account. - We can also assume that there is something "above" Realspace. Now, the "directions" and "sizes" of the dimensions on the diagram are absolutely arbitrary, In truth there is no direction to have because dimension are sort of layered upon each other in existence (I have my way with words to make it sound like things make no sense). Most assume that Realspace and Bluespace are entierly disconnected but I'm not so sure. As long as you can generate a "Field" around your ship with your Bluespace/warp drive, you can dive in Bluespace, as deep as you wish, since ship can dive deeper to attempt to avoid interdiction. Thus, interdimensional travel is not a matter of entering Bluespace to travel through dimensions, but rather to get the means to travel (the field) in order to, then, dive. Take this like flying, with the sky being Bluespace. You are not separated from the sky, but you can't reach it because you can't fly by yourself, unless you get the right tools, a way to generate lift (or a field to allow interdimensional travel). This is the point I want to get to, so long as something has a way to do interdimensional travel, then it will be able to freely make its way to whatever dimension it wants, no matter how deep it is, whatever it is. Anomalies and psionics... Bluespace is, for sure, dangerous to your physical being. Gameplay wise, if you were to walk in some Bluespace tile, you'd generally just disapear, dead, obviously. But there also seems to be a link between dimensions and psionics most importantly, through anomalies. The SHEER AMMOUNT of psionic anomalies and even artifacts is astounding. From this, we can assume that Psionics work in Bluespace just like they do in Realspace. ...And areas of high-bluespace activity Well, we also know that the Romanovich cloud, or at least, the very rock on which the Aurora sits is ABSOLUTELY BLOATED with anomalies. There is no wiki article that I can pull out stating this, however it has been referred to and pointed out by many players and most seem to agree on this part, so unless it is retconned by the wiki or something, we will assume that the Aurora is in an anomaly-rich environment. This can also be explained by the sheer numbers of sites. These ships? What if they were spacecrafts once stuck in Deep bluespace? Crafts that went too far down, only to be spewed out later on... And what better place for Bluespace to throw it than in the same area where it throws all of these Anomalies? When they actually entered Deep Bluespace doesn't even matter since time may simply not matter in there... Remember, we know next to nothing about Bluespace, and we know that time isn't linear, even in Realpsace... And what if most of these outposts weren't even built on the rock in the first place? But something related to Bluespace caused them to simply end up there? The influence of Bluespace What if Bluespace stuck to people? Yes, this is it. This is the main point of the theory. Bluespace leads to high numbers of anomalies in the area, and anomalous activity can lead to psionic activity, yes... This activity can lead to consequences for the crew of course. Assume that you have dozens upon dozens of anomalies somewhere in the rock. Even if not active, they do make emissions (this is from these emissions that your local Xenoarch will locate them in the first place), and it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that so much emissions, especially on the long term, could affect the crew, or the station. I am losing my mind help- From this, then I MAKE THE BOLD CLAIM THAT THE REASON FROM EVERYTHING WRONG ON THIS STATION IS BLUESPACE. Okay, not everything, but the signs I pointed out, for instance. Anomalous influence causes the station and its people to go "wrong" bit by bit. Bad things happen more and more. Their emission stick to people too, most importantly, as even when going to some Casino the influence of Bluespace brings more chaos and fucking Bayonet Hand comes in. The station, and its crew is LITERALLY CURSED by bluespace... They should be confined and studied, most importantly, kept on the station to not bring the chaos of their curse everywhere they go, but things will only get worse now... Remember, soon, we're getting our very own spaceship... Edited September 18, 2024 by Captain Gecko 1 Quote
Colfer Posted January 2, 2022 Posted January 2, 2022 Jesse what the fuck are you talking about This is actually really interesting and has way more thought put into it than I would think. Non-canon stuff could be explained in an extra reachy theory way by saying that bluespace and the aurora may have a field of bluespace distortion, which explains why things change round to round in an OOC sense, such as distorting the placement of rock faces and objects on the station. Bluespace inhibitors on the station may not actually be for preventing teleporting, but for preserving the structural integrity of the aurora station under the danger of constantly distorting rock faces. Another reachy theory that I could add that has no basis on anything and is just for the conspiracy theory value is that bluespace corruption allows people to be controlled by these bluespace entities 4 hours ago, Captain Gecko said: advanced race exists in bluespace And this is why everybody on the station may act a certain way, as they are partially under the control of these entities (in the form of server rules). Which explains why people new to the game act differently to people who have been here for a long time. The advanced race that exists in bluespace is YOU THE PLAYER. What if the nuke on the station isnt actually to preserve the stations assets, and is actually just something to remove the connection between bluespace and realspace by directly destroying any vessels on the station under the control of these entities? What if the captains mindshield isnt to save him from brainwashing, but instead to prevent influence of these entities? What if Ian is actually the source of all of this? Think about it, have you ever seen a server that has Ian and doesnt have bluespace? I didnt think so Quote
KingOfThePing Posted January 2, 2022 Posted January 2, 2022 Very solid theories. It's always interesting to see how OOC things may be explained ICly. Have you ever thought about that Bluespace could also just be a gate to another Universe? You bring up real life theories, so maybe Bluespace is a gate into just an alternate Universe, as the Multiverse Theory suggests. The Veil, as you called it could be thinner in some places. Maybe the Romanovich Cloud, through any anomalous property it might have the Veil is thinner, meaning that Bluespace has more of an effect to the real world. Some examples, you also brought up could be the randomized asteroid (no one finds it strange that the asteroid is randomized every shift, it's like no one notices or can notice it), crashed ships, which have been crashlanded or shot down because in another universe during the latest solarian invasion it was shot down there (as an example). Structures could be the same, solarian listening posts because the latest interstellar conflict has led to a cold war situation, maybe they were constructed because some advanced cloaking technology exists in another universe - the possibilities are endless. Fun read, I'd love some more anomalous things in lore. Both for IC and OOC knowledge. Quote
Butterrobber202 Posted January 2, 2022 Posted January 2, 2022 My theory on Bluespace's position is the opposite of yours. Spoiler In Bluespace, you travel quicker and that would imply time moves slower compared to Greenspace, despite you going the same physical speed in Bluespace you were going through Greenspace with. Redspace, to me, is the opposite. Time moves much faster than greenspace, and you travel that much slower. Nar'sie hasn't waited 5000 years to come back because he's nice, he's only waited a fraction of that, but from Greenspace, the time difference is staggering. As for the interactions with biology, my theories are rather scrambled in my head as is, so I won't dump the gibberish here. 1 Quote
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