EVE General Discussion

After studying an Unidentified Structure site that popped up near my home system in overview, I began to investigate with one Aerios Spiritus the strange new phenomenon of scavenging sleepers. They appeared after Rhea update and seem to be all over New Eden, from High Sec to Null, but in seemingly random locations. After some time studying, I have compiled an initial entry in my notepad, as well as the beginning of an image album recording my findings. A thread of our findings can be found centralized here https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=390811 where many others are assisting our research. You can contact Aerios Spiritus or myself if you would like to assist us with information, post to either of our forum threads, join our research channel Rhea Sleepers, or send us mail/private convo. If the sites do not move, we plan on mapping as many of these sites as we can within high/low/null sec and, if observed, WH space.

Here are my raw notes as of 9 December 2014:

Circadian Roaming Sleepers, appear in overview location "Unidentified Structure" at seemingly random locations all across New Eden. My initial study is in Sotrentaira. The site is a beacon surrounded by grimy, dark clouds with static electricity 3 sleepers were active and were sending beams to the beacon with the overview label. After lengthy observation, these beams appear to be scanners. The sleepers and scan beams do no damage and cause no noticeable effect to it's target, but engage to seemingly random points in addition to noticeable points of interest, such as wrecks, the beacon, and my own ship. These beams also target empty space from time to time. Each sleeper uses up to two beams to scan. It is unknown whether they share their findings between each other or if each is an independant unit. It is also unknown whether these beams have an outcome that they mean to reach, as they will appear in this deadspace until they are destroyed.

Their movements hold no noticeable pattern as of yet, but they do hold a sense of self-preservation... sometimes. When a Circadian seeker is attacked, all three will move away from the threats and align to some safe location. From my observations, I have seen them move into deadspace and towards planets, stations, and asteroid belts. However, I could not track them because the ships do not register on D-scan. The ships can be jammed by scramblers, disruptors, and warp disruption bubbles to keep them from warping to safety and continue their search for shiny objects.

After following one for about half an hour, I cannot understand any sort of flight or search pattern. In groups, they stayed separated from each other, but seemed to focus on the same target of interest. For example, my first contact with them I noticed they all scanned the beacon, but when I came within firing range they all began scanning me. My first attack was with a long-range Raven armed with cruise missiles. My second attack was with a catalyst, high dps. Worked like a charm, used it to hold the final one down for study. Their explosions are quite violent and electrifying. Left to it's own devices, however, the sleeper proceeded to warp in and out of the site (with a rather violent warp sequence) and fuss about with no discernable agenda. Cargo scans show no salvage or items and it warps in at abut 30-40km from the structure, showing no reporting order. It almost seems confused. It's warp schedule varies around 5-6 minutes, depending on it's distance.

After maxing out the graphics, I found that there is a massive, crystalline structure that is the source of the lightning. The structure is cloaked and massive in scope, pulsing space around it and phasing in and out subtly. http://imgur.com/ADxqM6v projected model. It is the unidentified structure mentioned by the beacon. Did the sleepers lose it or are they here to return artifacts? No damage can be dealt to it, but it can be targeted. Attempts to scan it with a Buzzard cargo scanner found nothing in container. Attempts to get close enough to use T1 analyzers failed, as the closest approach/orbit distance was about 5200m. Attempts to ram into it, hoping to get close enough to bump the structure within analysis range, failed. Without T2 analyzers, I cannot see if it is possible to do so.

Cloaked observation of the sleeper revealed something startling: it's activity changed! When I was uncloaked, the sleeper would wander aimlessly, scanning items of interest (read: anything) and would warp off after 5 minutes. When I cloaked and it returned, the sleeper came to a halt, 0m/s, and did nothing for a good 6 minutes. No scan beams, no wandering, nothing. After 6 minutes, it aligned to something in deadspace and began scanning anything within 10km and wandered around between wrecks and the structure. I remained cloaked until it warped off 6 minutes later (mark 23 minutes) and returned to see what would happen if it sat there when I revealed myself. I waited until it's return, another 6 minutes, when It proceeded to scan a wreck and approach the tower. I believe it transmits data it collects on salvage and items to this tower, as it warps off shortly after giving it's information. I also noticed it bumps right into the tower, as the cloak distortions from it were causing color anomalies on the sleeper (like separating colors with 3D glasses). Revealing myself to it showed no effect, but when I began to move and scan it's cargo it whipped around and warped off like a podded capsuleer (6 minute time again). Bumping it with a mwd did not affect it's warp sequence.

You can target the structure? I tried to find a spot where to do that but couldn't hit it. If that is possible, I'll have tests to run on one.

Just add "Large Collidable Object" to overview.

Seeing as how the ship is scanning, maybe try throwing some blue loot in your hull? Maybe its looking for all the sleeper data libraries that have been removed from its systems.

My journal on the Circadian Seeker Sleepers, entry #2, 10 December 2014/YC 116.

http://imgur.com/a/MvVA1 <-- This is my album of shots taken of these Circadian sleepers and the super structure. More will be updated as research continues.
Circadian Seekers, Unidentified Structures and other Rhea Anomalies <-- Here is a central link by the project lead, Aerios Spiritus, who has graciously compiled links and data made by Capsuleer and non-Capsuleer media and independent researchers.

I asked around the questions you have given me and have come up with answers. Abrazzar and Chribba, the super structure can be found as a Large Collidable Object in overview, or you can find where the sleepers scan seemingly random space (thank you Noriko Mai). mr ed thehouseofed, the sleepers and structure do not appear on D-scan, even with everything turned on overview. Virgil Nightingale, a man named Siegfried Tahl informed me that he tried to put such loot in a ship and entice the Circadian sleepers, but yielded no results out of the ordinary. He also confirmed my first entry's notes that they shut down for a period of time when cloaked (or when nobody is detected by the Circadian).

The question arose of why the Circadian sleepers have shields while their WH counter parts do not. I have a theory: Circadian sleepers are built to scavenge for new and interesting material in New Eden, which means they must be physically prepared for any natural dangers, such as radiation clouds or asteroids, and artificial dangers, like capsuleer guns.

The Sleepers in WH do not need shields because they are not designed for combat, they are designed for maintenance and were meant to be left alone. Shields require energy, which can be precious to those who wish to conserve it, such as whatever lives in the VR worlds on Sleeper strongholds. This may explain why these K-space super structures are suddenly becoming revealed, as the cloak and shields are obviously beginning to fail. Could they be simply running out of energy, or are Sleeper shields not up to par with New Eden standards?

Doubtful, but I would put my money on maintenance standards being not as well addressed as the WH variants. After all, their activity seems to be limited to search, explore, salvage, and scan. The Circadian design is not meant for extensive repair, as all mechanical arms are directed towards it's belly or it's side, merely mainpulator arms for whatever it collects. We are not seeing any other sleeper or drone design, which would make sense to limit their presence and maintain stealth to avoid conflict and collect what they want, but surely they could have sent stealthy repair drones to work within the super structure? It is not much of a stretch to make it work.

This does not add up. Either the K-space Sleeper presence is part of their agenda for something great that they want to share with us or they have a personality flaw that neglects their far-away structures. I wouldn't think of drones as lazy. Perhaps the scans and secrecy are because they are searching for something in particular, like something small and extremely dangerous to them, or they are collecting data for some mass invasion or different technology to fight the Jove Empire.

After CCP shut down the servers for an emergency reboot, and the server came online once more, I discovered that the Unidentified Structure returned to the same place they were at the night before. I know this because I had the structure bookmarked then in a fatal attempt to warp "within" the structure for analyzer scans. Aerios Spiritus and Kinthras, two others who are assisting to spearhead the research project, had a spreadsheet set up for the public to edit, designed to keep track of all solar systems with an Unidentified Structure within it in a certain region. I tasked myself with Lonetrek, with some assistance from a corporation member Dylan Tompkins. We found 17 US in the region, scattered at random until further analysis is made. More were made in Solitude and other regions by helping hands and friendly contributors. The super structures are legion.

To those who assisted, I give you my personal thanks. Join our channel in EVE, Rhea Sleepers, if you would like to contribute any information. I plan on looking into the shattered WH's for further information, when the time permits.

I tried that but it showed no interest so I ejected the sleeper stuff out into a can but they did not want to scan that.

Tears have been shed UaE :'(

Maybe the explosion eminates from 5 sources, one central and four around it, like in the epicenters of Thera and the shattered wormholes?

someone ever try to use the new sansha data analyser module on it ?

It's almost like they're scanning everything in some sort of massive reconnaissance operation, finding out our strengths and weaknesses. If you stay too long near them, they'll scan you too. OMG, they are learning everything about us!

Surely this can't be related to the huge explosion that was first thought of as Caroline's Star... It's impossible to think that this event could be something that causes an invasion of our space, since the way through Jove space is closed...

The plot twist is... er... not that twisted at all.