Intergalactic Summit

Hello, terrible space people. I have accidentally done some science. I will try to ensure it does not happen again in the future, but I can make no promises.

Report Summary

Surveys using tri-level interpolation (Kayaku and Yo 113) of a tidally-locked terrestrial planet in w-space have uncovered a megastructure belonging to the "sleeper" culture, of a type not previously identified in the archaeological literature. Notes on location, method, and initial findings are provided. Assistance of Amarrian capsuleers requested regarding out-of-date Imperial signal-corps emergency coding; see end of report for details

Planet Background

For corporation security reasons, the exact designation of the planetary body must remain redacted until such time as we leave the system; for the purposes of this report I will refer to the system as J-XX. J-XX is a G5 main-sequence star in w-space; it is mildly anomalous, with abnormally low luminosity (0.03).

J-XX-1 is a tidally-locked terrestrial with anomalous atmospheric properties, namely, heat-transfer between sunny and shady sides. The atmosphere is too thin to explain this heat-equalization through most conventional chemical theories -- leading me to speculate that there are either highly-exotic compounds present (such as noble-gas polymers -- see Kindred 99) or low-density nanite clouds actively discharging solar energy.

As a result of this atmospheric anomaly, the climate is "near-miss" for humans. The planet averages 75 degrees celsius on the sunny side and -60 degrees celsius on the shady side. It is also extremely muggy. Shallow subterranean swamps are present and support unicellular life-forms.

Site Discovery
All timestamps are Rens station time as reported by Alyexylva Paradox anchorage

At 0720 115.07.12, Anima, a Hoarder-class industrial, arrived on-station at J-XX-1, escorted by 3 Allotek "Seagull"-model shuttlecraft modified for transatmospheric remote-sensing, and carrying 6 flights of AMI "Boaz" planetary-survey drones. The survey group deployed in the "champagne fountain" doctrine outlined by Kayaku and Yo (113), in which the industrial ship maintains low planetary orbit, the shuttles cruise the upper atmosphere, and drones are deployed at 30 000 feet. Briefly, this three-level model allows interpolation of high- and low-resolution scanning over a vast surface area at much lower cost than full-resolution ground sweeps.

[There is a file attachment that leads to what seems to be a completely irrelevant video, played at 4x speed, of Andrea out of pod on the command deck of a Hoarder, Bouncing basketballs off of bulkheads, drinking margaritas, attempting to hot-box the executive bathroom with disastrous consequences, chatting with the crew, and napping]

The scan took three hours, until 1020, and covered a transect from 15 to 75 degrees north, from dawnline to duskline. Base metal deposits and microorganism colonies were identified, and a planetary command centre touched down at Point Echo [coordinates attached] at 1052. Extractor heads were deployed and processing facilities were constructed; planetary facilities were operational by 1301. During this time, analysis of scanning data revealed a huge structure north-west of planetary installation.

Two seagulls, AS-1 and AS-2, proceeded north-west from Point Echo to 40 degrees north, 32 degrees west of the dawnline and confirmed the structure visually. AS-1 then landed and crew conducted an initial ground survey of the site, while AS-2 remained aloft. No artifacts were removed from the site, and both AS-1 and AS-2 returned to Point Echo by 1745.

Site Description

The site is of a type not previously described in the published literature. It consists of seven metal pylons of height varying from 100 to 300 metres, spread across 3.7 km of open, flat ground. They are arranged in a straight transect, from shortest to tallest, with empty "loops" near the top. The bases of the pylons extend downwards into geologically-stable bedrock. Unlike Sleeper ruins observed in space, the pylons are badly preserved, showing signs of extensive corrosion.

Between and around the pylons are various lengths of large, flexible tubing made from what appears to be a woven, high-tensile polymer with a heavily-degraded inner coating of a friction-reducing colloid. The tubing sags between a few of the pylons, but other segments have become completely detached from the structure and are scattered over the plateau. Also present are perhaps four dozen "husks" of Sleeper drones, apparently cannabilized of all internal components in the distant past, but with frontal probe-digits and casings mostly intact.

Also present was an Amarr shuttle, obviously of much more recent vintage but still abandoned for at least a year, and stripped of all internal fittings. The outer hull of the shuttle was tagged with radar-fluorescing tack-paint, spelling out a message in what appears to be Imperial signal-corps lettering [Several high-resolution photos are attached of the lettering, which stands out starkly against the corroded hull; in the background the beetle-like wrecks of Sleepers are visible canted towards the orange sky, their spectral fingers grasping at heaven]

So, uh... I try to keep up-to-date with what the other empires know about Amarrian signal language, because, you know, political enemies. I can't be sure of the message's content, but I gave it a good shot and you aren't going to like it. Some of it I can't translate, but I'd suggest it says something akin to what I've written down here.

Please note that the signalling language is high-bandwidth and so often uses a single symbol to denote an entire, commonly-used phrase. A "/" indicates that a symbol break, and that a single phrase was constructed of multiple symbols. Some words were spelt alphabetically, indicating that there was no single symbol that denoted that specific word - I have put these words in quotation marks, like "so." Some conjunctions and prepositions are intentionally omitted by the signalling language's syntax for brevity - anyone with fluency in the language will be able to determine their correct placement - I have placed these words in [brackets] for ease of reading. Possible alternate translations or interpretations have been placed in (parentheses).


*these sections appear to be using a co-ordinate and measurement system peculiar to the signal language they're written in. You'll have to ask someone who can read the signalling language with more than an intelligence agent's fluency to get accurate co-ordinates. I put a question mark next to "below" because I literally do not know whether these co-ordinates indicate something up or down.

I'm fairly certain my translation is basically correct but you may want to have an actual Amarrian pilot look it over - anyone taught by the Imperial Navy would have such knowledge as a graduation prerequisite.

This message, obviously, is a warning about some form of serious danger that the site poses. Apparently, the Amarrians in the shuttle either had or believed they had no other method of conveying warning about the danger other than signalling language, which meant that they had lost access to any method of communication that was more technologically sophisticated than leaving symbols in radar-flourescent paint. They felt the danger was significant enough to warn others not to approach (and, by extension, not to attempt a rescue), which would suggest they felt the danger was somehow communicable beyond the site.

Of particular note is the fact that they apparently took the time to spell out the word "repulsive." Given the terse, urgent and hurried nature of the rest of the message it seems like an odd addition. Why would someone who was afraid for their lives and the lives of those who might come looking for them - who, it should be noted, apparently did not have time to provide a more accurate description of the nature of the danger - spend precious seconds spelling out an emotive word that doesn't tell us anything about what we're dealing with?

Mysterious Sleeper planetary structures, when Sleeper things have only ever been seen in space before?
Creepy Amarrian ghost ships with no crew, and sinister messages ?

Sounds like the plot for a blockbuster action holo-film.

Well, you know what they say about finding millenia-old archaeotech festooned in arcane warnings and portents of doom...

Poke it with a stick.

Maybe its friendly!

At first I thought this thread had the Gutter press all over it till I saw the author of the post.

[Attached video file:

The camera drone pans slowly across the harsh, still landscape of the plateau. Thermals ripple in the distance. Three figures in lightweight survival suits move around the site described in the original report, tagging, snapping stills, operating remote sensing equipment. There's a shaded work-station set up near the Amarr shuttlecraft, and parasols erected here and there across the site. Whether by instinct or to preserve their suit batteries as long as possible, the people on camera tend to jog from shade to shade, spending as little time as possible in the direct sunlight.

The camera drone, showing a timestamp [OKAZ:10:20:50] in the corner, lifts slightly and moves towards the massive metal structures. Like demented sewing needles, they stand slightly canted with irregular looped crowns, masses of cabling spilling downwards along their corroded green-brown flanks.

The camera swings in closer to the 3rd largest pylon, and then scans slowly upwards from the base, flipping through metallurgical and structural scanning routines. The structure appears to be hollow, constructed of what experienced industrialists will recognize as poor-quality "tech 3" salvage materials and with obvious signs of crude welding and jointing.

When the camera flips over to a surface-penetrating sonar, it becomes apparent that the hollowed insides of the structure is filled with a complex array of wiring and ad-hoc circuitry, whose state of decay makes functional analysis difficult.

I have included a databurst of the results. Looks like I was a bit fast on the draw in my original report; if the Sleepers built this it was as a kidnergarten arts-and-crafts project. However, I don't think it's just a shrine, either -- it does appear to have been constructed to fulfill a function of some kind.

Unfortunately, because it's made from salvaged materials ageing it is extremely dicey. Most of the ageing results are going to give us the age of the drones I assume this stuff was pulled out of or off of.

So, what about the dire warnings? Well --

[Another camera drone attachment. This one is a static surveillance pod marked [AS2GC:timestamp:

Again you have a view of the survey team working on the site. As four humans move across the frame of reference, the shuttle's "gun cam" tags them with its IFF -- OKAZ, YANG, KISG, LAV2. It's a long clip, and doesn't show anything remarkable.

Looks fine, right? Thermoscope, same thing: [ The relevant footage is attached.]

Okay, so here's the ladar version:

[The footage plays again. This time, the figures are glittering assemblages of wave-reflecting matter, brilliant where the chemically-active material flows through the coolant lines of their survival suits. As they walk across the apparently lifeless landscape, glittering motes of matter bunch and flow six to twelve inches beneath them, within the hard-pack soil of the plateau. The whole place is alive with microscopic motes of ... something; inorganic but motile.

And then a fifth figure can be seen. It's hard to say where they came from because of the fixed angle of the camera, but at some point the four are joined by a stranger who walks among them, slowly and ponderously. Its features are impossible to make out, but it appears to be humanoid, six feet tall, and cloaked or robed in flowing garments like a desert nomad.

After moving among the four humans for about half an hour, the figure walks towards the Amarr shuttlecraft wreck. It pauses near the entrance hatch, and looks in the direction of the camera, raising a hand as if to shade its eyes from the sun. Then it turns and enters the shuttlecraft, disappearing from view.]

Yeah, so that's a thing that's happening. One thing I think I wasn't wrong about was the presence of nanite clouds, though I didn't think we'd find them in the soil. We've made double sure our suits aren't being penetrated and we've established decontamination protocols at Point Echo. The funny thing is that we've caught this guy on camera... a few times now, and I'm pretty sure he's not actually reacting to us. His motions seem repetitive every time he shows up; he always walks to the shuttle, pauses, looks into the distance and then goes inside.

No more messages from our missing precursors, yet.

Well then.

I'm torn between intense, nigh-overwhelming scientific curiosity and the urge to tell you to nuke the site from orbit, glass the entire planet for good measure and study this phenomena as monomolecular debris.

Galnet isn't very reliable here and is also turning up a lot of horrifying stuff about cytomems swarms that I'm a little rattled to sift through. Any chance you can boil it down for me?

I still don't remember confronting... Dr. Kisgari, but it appears that all four of us are now suffering from some, ah, disassociative symptoms.

evac is inbound

i have restrained dr yang who was attempting to remove one of the filthy growths on his lower body i am unable to convince him that those are his legs meanwhile i find as long as i don't look at kisgari i can remain calm

more details when i can thanks for all your help