#ancient interstellar civilization

[monkeyandelf]

The Isis Project and the Tisul Princess: Echoes of a Forgotten Civilization

On https://www.monkeyandelf.com/the-isis-project-and-the-tisul-princess-echoes-of-a-forgotten-civilization/

The Isis Project and the Tisul Princess: Echoes of a Forgotten Civilization

In the shadows of official history, beyond the cold archives of archaeology and state secrets, exists a tale whispered among intelligence veterans and fringe researchers. It connects the sands of Egypt with the frozen depths of Siberia.

Two separate discoveries, decades apart, may form the puzzle pieces of one of humanity’s most staggering secrets — that advanced beings, possibly not of this Earth, once walked among us.

Operation Isis: The Lost Tomb Beneath the Sands of Giza

In 1961, at the height of Cold War tensions, the Soviet Union launched a top-secret operation in Egypt under the codename Isis. Officially, Soviet scientists and military advisors were assisting in archaeological excavations. Unofficially, the mission’s real objective was far more clandestine: to locate and recover an unclassified artifact hidden beneath one of Egypt’s forgotten tombs.

With covert support from informants within the Egyptian Antiquities Authority, the Soviets unearthed a sealed burial chamber beneath the Giza Plateau. What they found shocked even the most seasoned operatives. Inside was a pristine white sarcophagus, adorned not with hieroglyphs, but with geometric engravings and strange star maps aligned to the Orion constellation — a symbol that has long fascinated ancient astronaut theorists.

The sarcophagus was transported under maximum secrecy to a Soviet research facility. But what lay within it would ignite whispers of disbelief and fascination. Submerged in a pink-blue luminescent fluid was not a mummified pharaoh, but a flawlessly preserved woman. She had long brown hair, pale skin, and features that curiously resembled modern European women — not those of an ancient Egyptian.

Her clothing was crafted from a material unknown to science, woven with microscopic fibers that defied analysis. Her body showed no signs of decay, no rigor mortis. Some claimed her eyelids fluttered faintly, as if she were not dead — but merely asleep.

The Tisul Princess: Unearthing a Sleeping Beauty from Deep Time

Eight years later, and over 5,000 kilometers away in the Soviet village of Rzhavchik in Siberia’s Kemerovo region, coal miners stumbled upon another baffling discovery. While excavating a coal seam some 70 meters underground, they uncovered a perfectly intact marble sarcophagus embedded within the ancient coal — a material formed hundreds of millions of years ago.

When the lid was pried open, the scene mirrored that of the Egyptian find: a beautiful young woman, around 30 years of age, lay in a clouded pink-blue liquid. Her features were serene, her blue eyes open, her white silk-like dress undamaged by time. Those present described her not as dead, but appearing to be in some form of suspended animation.

Alongside her rested a mysterious black rectangular object — eerily similar to the device allegedly discovered with the Isis tomb. The miners alerted authorities, and within hours the area was quarantined. Witnesses were detained. Those who spoke of the event publicly later died under unexplained circumstances. The sarcophagus was flown to an undisclosed location, and the site was buried — both literally and in the archives of history.

Breaking the Boundaries of Time: A Challenge to Science

What makes the Tisul Princess even more mystifying is the geological age of the coal bed where she was found — estimated to be over 300 million years old. This completely disrupts the accepted timeline of human evolution, as no hominid, let alone a modern human, is believed to have existed then.

More astonishingly, a Soviet scientist later revealed that DNA analysis confirmed the woman’s genetic makeup was 100% identical to that of contemporary Russian people. Her garments were produced with techniques far beyond our current technological capabilities. The liquid she was preserved in could not be fully analyzed — only traces of ancient plant compounds, including onions and garlic, were identified.

These inexplicable similarities — the preservation fluid, the sarcophagus style, and the nearly identical appearance of the women — across two different continents and time scales suggest a unified origin. Some theorists believe they were not human at all, but advanced beings or genetically engineered entities placed on Earth by a far older, extraterrestrial civilization.

The Sleepers of Orion: Earth as a Colony of the Gods

Legends from across the world — from the Egyptian “Orion gods,” to the Chinese “White Spirits,” to the Siberian Sky-Maidens — speak of beings who came from the stars, taught humanity the secrets of civilization, and then vanished.

Could these preserved women be the remnants of such a race? Suspended in time, waiting to return when humanity is ready? The theory of paleocontact, once dismissed as fringe fantasy, gains renewed strength in light of these cases. A technologically and spiritually superior race may have visited Earth during its formative epochs, leaving behind guardians, messengers, or biological archives.

Some believe these sleepers are still alive, held in stasis by mechanisms we don’t yet understand. If awakened, they could reveal truths capable of reshaping every facet of human knowledge — history, religion, genetics, and cosmology.

Suppressed Truth or Protected Legacy?

Both the Isis Project and the Tisul Princess discoveries share one troubling trait: aggressive suppression. In both cases, the initial discoverers were silenced, their testimonies erased, and physical evidence removed from public view.

Those involved in the Tisul find were reported dead within months under strange circumstances. The Soviet government classified all documents related to both operations. And yet, rumors persisted — carried in underground publications, whispered in university halls, and occasionally echoed in the confessions of aging scientists.

One such Soviet insider, speaking anonymously in the 1990s, claimed: “They are not dead. They are in transition. Waiting for the world to mature. Their awakening will not be a myth — it will be a reckoning.”

A Global Pattern: Were There More?

It’s no longer just about Egypt or Siberia. Similar legends have emerged from Ecuador, where another preserved female figure was reportedly found in a crystal coffin. In China, folklore speaks of the “White Empresses” — celestial women sleeping beneath sacred mountains. Could these be part of a network of stasis chambers spread across the globe, each a node in a planetary system of cosmic knowledge?

The technology, the timing, and the symbolism all point to a single conclusion: Earth may have once been a colony — not of gods in the mythological sense, but of advanced beings so powerful they inspired the myths.

The Awakening: A Warning or a New Dawn?

If these beings awaken — either by accident, by design, or by humanity reaching a necessary level of understanding — the consequences could be profound. Will they act as guides to usher in a new golden age? Or will their return trigger ancient safeguards designed to test our readiness?

The line between fact and legend may be blurring. What was once relegated to science fiction or esoteric belief may now represent a hidden chapter in the human saga — one waiting to be revealed.

Humanity’s Forgotten Past May Be Its Future

Whether we label the stories of the Isis Project and the Tisul Princess as conspiracy, suppressed history, or extraordinary truth, they pose questions that mainstream academia refuses to confront. How could two nearly identical preserved women be found across continents and separated by millions of years — and yet be genetically indistinguishable from modern humans?

If even part of these stories are true, then our understanding of civilization, human origins, and our place in the universe must be rewritten.

The past is not gone. It sleeps beneath our feet — in marble coffins, under ancient pyramids, within walls of coal. And perhaps, soon, it will wake.

[epicstoriestime]

The Ink of the Stars: A Cosmic Mark of Destiny

Daily writing promptWhat tattoo do you want and where would you put it?View all responses Beneath the endless canvas of the cosmos, her mark blazed like a living constellation, a bridge between ancient wisdom and humanity’s boundless journey. In the distant reaches of the universe, beyond the star systems we know, there existed a race of ancient beings who called themselves the Vraxians. They…

[zomb13s]

Randy’s Collection of space warships

The Evolution of Sky and Space Travel: A Journey Through Time and Space Introduction Since the dawn of human civilization, the desire to explore beyond the familiar horizons has been an intrinsic part of human nature. Initially confined to terrestrial domains, humans have always been fascinated by the skies and stars, seeking to unravel their mysteries. This fascination evolved into tangible…

[twocupsofsugar]

Another sophont I've been working on. I've been trying to design these guys for a while. They've had a lot of iterations figured it was time to post them here.

Anyway, here are the Ah'Chikiri, reptile like aliens from a dying world.

The Ah'Chikiri home-world is a little bit like mars, it orbits a red giant and the majority of their worlds oceans evaporated a long time ago. Water still exists on the surface, but its isolated to lakes and aquifers. Rain is rare and generally unpredictable.

Their civilization is actually quite old, and predates the Imsee, by thousands of years. They used to be an FLT-capable civilization as well but at some point in their history their interstellar civilization collapsed and only the populations isolated on their home-world survived. Most of what remains of their civilization prior to contact with aliens in the modern era are a bunch of city states warring over the remains of their ancient technology, what they call "Earth-Eaters", Many millennia old autonomous machines created to terraform their dying world.

The Ah'chikri reproduction system is somewhat unique in that they have androdioecy, so their two most commonly occurring sexes are males and hermaphrodites. The hermaphrodite sex is generally larger than their counterparts.

Ah'Chikiri eggs are hatched in water and can under go two forms of metamorphosis either into a nymph and develop into a type of tadpole where they later grow into juvenile Ah'Chikiri or into a barnacle form and become filter feeders, during this state they can produce more Ah'Chikiri larva through budding. So a single egg can reproduce a ton of Ah'Chikiri.

Young Ah'Chikiri don't really need their parents to survive, and will generally form small nomadic troops among themselves. I'm still working on their social structures as it varies a lot more by culture than it does with other sophonts.

[ronqueesha]

40k lore post!

Today, I wanted to talk about abhumans.

In the 40k universe, humanity has been exploring/conquering/settling worlds for nearly 35,000 years. Records of such ancient times are scarce in the Imperium, but some say that the first real interstellar empires began to form around the year 15,000. From there, the dark age of technology erupted into full swing, and humanity's technology became so great and powerful that the species had near-total dominion of the galaxy.

For the next ten thousand years, different empires rose and fell, human colonies formed their own civilizations, and science went unchecked in countless places. A mixture of environmental factors on planets vastly different from Terra, as well as science both ethical and unethical, began to create mutations and genetic differences between humans in different parts of the galaxy.

Then in the year 25,000, what was left of the crumbling aeldari empire murderfucked Slaanesh into existence, and the galaxy was ruined by the age of strife. Worlds were cut off from each other as warp travel became impossible. And cosmic horror descended upon planets that were once technological utopias. Planets that were already showing distinct genetic differences were left to their own devices. Others were warped by the influence of the immaterium as it plagued the galaxy for the next 5,000 years.

By the time of the Imperium, there are countless known abhumans. Near-human offshoots that are the result of genetic abnormalities, mutations, engineering and warp trickery. Many of them are killed on sight by loyal servants of the Emperor. Mutants are just as vile as heretics and aliens.

But as of now, there are 73 recognized strains of abhumans that are just close enough to pure humanity (or at least deemed useful in combat) to be allowed to live, and serve the Emperor.

Here are a few:

Ogryn are probably the most recognizable abhumans, and the most commonly seen among the astra militarum. They are humans who descend from ancient, high gravity and cold-environment colonies/prison worlds. Most ogryn have very limited intellect (but not all of them), but are massive in size and strength. Some can nearly match a space marine in pure physicality... but not much else. Ogryn are commonly hired as bodyguards to the rich and powerful, or sent on suicidal tasks in the midst of battle.

Longshanks are literally the opposite of ogryn. The descandants of low-gravity environments, or even populations that have lived for centuries in space stations or voidships. A common trait for voidborne is to be exceptionally tall, but longshanks take it to the extreme. They aren't nearly as commonly seen in battle because their great height often makes them easy targets. Much less fit them into human-standard doors and corridors.

We were recently re-introduced to the Leagues of Votann. Or as some Imperials call them, squats. They are actually not part of the Imperium, but an entirely separate human civilization that survived the age of strife all on their own, and were not contacted by the Emperor during the great crusade. Their home world is one of the oldest human colonies in the galaxy, near the galactic core, and thus subject to extremely high gravity. Which is why they are all quite short compared to the standard human height. Their technology is superior to that of the Imperium, because they do not share the same culture, nor do they have the same dogmatic hesitation toward innovation.

Squats used to be canon in 40k for many years as part of the Imperium, until Games Workshop quietly retconned them out of existence. They were clearly space dwarves, just like ogryn are ogres and ratlings were hobbits from warhammer fantasy. But when the franchise began to form its own identity, a lot of those connections were scrubbed away. Until recently when the Leagues of Votann came back in a major way.

Beastmen are, as their name implies, humans with strong beast-like appearances. From goats to cows to pigs and other creatures. They are most likely the descendants of populations horribly mutated by the warp during the age of strife. (this is also the origins of beastmen in warhammer fantasy. humans in the wrong place at the wrong time cruelly mutated by chaos) Most beastmen are completely feral and bloodthirsty, often found organized into primitive cults that worship the gods of chaos. They are routinely exterminated by the Imperium. But now and then, an ambitious and/or stupid commander gets the idea to treat them like cannon fodder and throw them at the enemies of humanity.

Felinids are sort of a meme, but they're 100% canon. Cassia even mentions them in one of her banters in Rogue Trader. The only thing is that there has never been an official canon depiction of them, nor are there any actual descriptions of them. Just mentions of their name, and an alien (a kroot) trying to describe one. But the xenos gave a very poor description indeed.

Catgirls are canon in 40k.

Oh, and the only other thing we know about them is that their homeworld is called Carlos Mcconnell.

Rogue trader mutuals already know about psykers and navigators. But they are just as much abhumans as the others on this list. The navigators have thousands of years of politics and necessity to shield them from being mistreated by the Imperium. Psykers are living weapons at best, or chattel to be fed to the Emperor.

[cryptid-catnip]

An Unnecessarily In-Depth Deconstruction of the Lore and Problematic Elements of HDG

Why did I make this fucking post. (TWs for discussions of imperialism, cultural genocide, and a mention of systematized sexual assault)

So, to preface, I am going to be pretty harsh when it comes to criticizing the setting and lore of HDG, but I do not give one iota of a shit if someone finds its more problematic elements hot. Hell, I myself have found quite a few of the more fucked stories hot.

Secondly, if you want to rebute this post, please refrain from using Thermian Arguments as much as possible. If you don't know what a Thermian Argument is, it was coined in this video by Dan Oslen. It's only a five-minute watch, but, if you can't be bothered, it details an increasingly common argument in fandom spaces which consists of rebuking problematic elements of media by using in-universe reasoning, despite the fact that everything in a story is there because the writer put it there.

With that out of the way, let's begin.

So, in a previous post of mine, I wrote that The Combine from Half-Life 2 are essentially the same archetype of sci-fi civilization as the Affini (ie, ancient, vast conquerors whose interstellar conquest is so ancient that not even they know where they're from), with the only difference that the Affini are to be seen as the heroes of the story because... well because the writers say so.

Now you may say "Callie! You stupid bitch! Life in the Compact is way better than that on Terra!" and, to that I say "That's a Thermian Argument."

GlitchyRobo (and basically all other HDG writers) made the conscious decision to have Terra be Super-Mega-Ultra-Death-Capitalism(TM) to serve as justification for the Affini's colonization of Terra.

And this opens up a massive can of worms, considering that the Affini canonically want all non-Affini to be Florets and believe that all non-Affini would be better off as Florets.

The reason I'm calling this a can of worms is because the Affini are so vast, so long-lived, both individually and societally, that there has to have been at least one society that was doing really well for themselves, and were crushed by the Compact, right?

As I've alluded to prior in this post, the Affini are a fundamentally imperialist entity and does not care what your opinion is on their interstellar conquest, now go get your mandated mindbreak implant.

I think it's fair to say that the Affini are a shining example of the Designated Hero trope, as for a civilization whose bread and butter is imperialism, cultural genocide and systematized rape, they ARE The Good Guys, because The Narrative says so. This isn't even hyperbole, nearly all of the Canon Guidelines and the Writing in HDG pages are "The Affini are the good guys and are always in the right and are 59 steps ahead of the Terrans and functionally and narratively invincible with awesome tits."

But special mention goes to this line which basically confirms the thing I said previously:

What if you feel okay on your own? What if you don't want the Affini Compact running the show? What if you're already a communist society and are doing your level best to ensure everyone gets what they need?

The Affini response will be, "That's okay, petal, you've done enough. We'll take it from here."

And this line, which is basically just there to handwave some of the grimiest elements of HDG:

(Discussions about systemic floret sterilization and comparisons to real life reproductive violence and eugenics are definitely overthinking it.)

Like, motherfucker, I'm not the one who wrote this implication into the story. It's not my fault you decided to do White Man's Burden IIIIIIIIINNNNNN SSSSSPPPPPAAAAAACCCCEEEE with the femdom plant aliens.

And this is not only wretched morally, but it's just bad fucking writing. It is the closest that comes to an actual rule in writing (unless, like other "rules" in writing, it exists in your story for the purpose of deconstruction): DO NOT HAVE IMMORTAL, ALL-POWERFUL PROTAGANISTS.

The Affini are written like the player character of "That Guy" in every RPG horror story ever, with them being essentially invincible and immortal (functionally and narratively), are portrayed as the good guys while conquering planets and brainwashing people.

Or, to put it another way, most HDG stories feel like pro-Compact propaganda written by and for the Affini.

I was going to end this post with a thing where I say, "well i don't really think any of the writers/fans think that this would be good in practice/irl, and they all know it's just wish fulfillment kinkfics", but I genuinely do not think that's true for many people.

The constant defense of the righteousness of the Affini Compact in the text itself, as well as the constant stressing in the fucking wiki, leads me to believe that many people just straight-up believe that they are in the right, and not just the purpose of being kinkfics, and that deeply fucking disturbs me.

[literary-illuminati]

An Arbitrary Collection of Book Recommendations

(put together for a friend out of SFF I've read over the last couple of years)

Cli-Fi

Tusks of Extinction and/or The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. They’re pretty different books in a lot of ways – one is a novel about discovering a certain species of squid in the Pacific might have developed symbolic language and writing, the other a novella about a de-extinction initiative to restore mammoths to the Siberian taiga – but they share a pretty huge overlap in setting, tone and themes. Specifically, a deep and passionate preoccupation with animal conservation (and a rather despairing perspective on it), as well as a fascination with transhumanism and how technology can affect the nature of consciousness. Mountain is his first work, and far more substantial, but I’d call it a bit of a noble failure in achieving what it tries for. Tusks is much more limited and contained, but manages what it’s going for.

A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys. In a post-post-apocalyptic world that’s just about figured out how to rebuild itself from the climate disasters of the 21st century (but that’s still very much a work in progress), aliens descend from the sky and make First Contact. They’re a symbiotic civilization, and they’re overjoyed at the chance to welcome a third species into their little interstellar community – and consider it a mission of mercy besides, since every other species they’ve ever encountered destroyed themselves and their planet before escaping it. Awkwardly, our heroine and her whole society are actually pretty invested in Earth and the restoration thereof – and worried that a) the alien’s rescue effort might not care about their opinions and b) that other interest groups on earth might be more willing to give the hyper-advanced space-dwelling aliens the answers they want to hear. Basically 100% sociological worldbuilding and political intrigue, so take that as you will.

Throwback Sci Fi

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky is possibly the only thing I’ve read published in decades to take the old cliche of ‘this generic-seeming fantasy world is actually the wreckage of a ruined space age civilization, and ‘magic’ and ‘monsters’ are the remnants of the technology’ and play it entirely straight. Specifically, it’s a two-POV novella, where half the story is told from the perspective of a runaway princess beseeching the ancient wizard who helped found her dynasty for help against a magical threat, and half is from the perspective form the last surviving member of a xeno-anthropology mission woken out of stasis by the consequences of the last time he broke the Prime Directive knocking on his ship tower door and asking for help. Generally just incredible fun.

Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh is, I think, the only thing on this list written before the turn of the millennium. It’s proper space opera, about a habitat orbiting an immensely valuable living world that’s the lynchpin of logistics for the functionally rogue Earth Fleet’s attempt to hold off or defeat rebelling and somewhat alien colonies further out. The plot is honestly hard to summarize, except that it captures the feel of being history better than very nearly any other spec fic I’ve ever read – a massive cast, none of them with a clear idea of what’s going on, clashing and contradictory agendas, random chance and communications delays playing key roles, lots of messy ending, not a single world-shaking heroes or satanic masterminds deforming the shape of things with their narrative gravity to be seen. Somewhat dated, but it all very impressively well done.

Pulpy Gay Urban Fantasy Period Piece Detective Stories Where Angels Play a Prominent Role

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark stars Fatma el-Sha’arawi, the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities in Cairo, a couple of decades after magic returned to the world and entirely derailed the course of Victorian imperialism. There’s djinn and angels and crocodile gods, and also an impossible murder that needs solving! The mystery isn’t exactly intellectually taxing, but this is a very fun tropey whodunnit whose finale involves a giant robot.

Even Though I Knew The End by C. L. Polk is significantly more restrained and grounded in its urban fantasy. It’s early 20th century Chicago, and a PI is doing one last job to top off the nest egg she’s leaving her girlfriend before the debt on her deal with the devil comes due. By what may or may not be coincidence, she stumbles across a particularly gruesome crime scene – and is offered a deal to earn back her soul by solving the mystery behind it. Very noir detective, with a setting that just oozes care and research and a satisfyingly tight plot.

High Concept Stuff That Loves Playing around With Format and the Idea of Narratives

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente is a story about a famous documentarian vanishing on shoot amid mysterious and suspicious circumstances, as told by the recovered scraps of the footage she was filming, and different drafts of her (famous director) father’s attempt to dramatize the events as a memorial to her. It’s set in a solar system where every planet is habitable and most were colonized in the 19th century, and culturally humanity coasts on in an eternal Belle Epoque and (more importantly) Golden Age of Hollywood. Something like half the book is written as scripts and transcripts. This description should by now either have sold you or put you off entirely.

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez is the only classic-style epic fantasy on this list, I believe? The emperor and his three demigod sons hold subjugated in terror, but things are changing. The emperor, terrified of death, has ordered a great fleet assembled to carry him across the sea in pursuit of immortality. The day before he sets out on his grand pilgrimage to the coast, a guilt-ridden guard helps the goddess of the moon escape her binding beneath the palace. From there, things spiral rapidly out of anyone’s control. The story’s told through two or three (depending( different layers of narrative framing devices, and has immense amounts of fun playing with perspective and format and ideas about storytelling and legacy.

I Couldn’t Think of Any Categories That Included More Than One of These

All The Names They Used For God by Anjali Sachdeva is a collection of short stories, and probably the most literary thing on this list? The stories range wildly across setting and genre, but are each more or less about the intrusion of the numinous or transcendent or divine into a world that cracks and breaks trying to contain it. It is very easily the most artistically coherent short story collection I’ve ever read, which I found pretty fascinating to read – but honestly I’m mostly just including this on the strength of Killer of Kings, a story about an angel sent down to be John Milton’s muse as he writes Paradise Lost which is probably one of the best things I read last year period.

Last Exit by Max Gladstone �� the Three Parts Dead and How You Lose the Time War guy – could be described as a deconstruction of ‘a bunch of teenagers/college kids discover magic and quest to save the world!’ stories, but honestly I’d say that obscures more than it reveals. Still, the story is set with that having happened a decade in the past, and the kids in question have thoroughly fucked up. Zelda, the protagonist, is kept from suicide by survivor’s guilt as much as anything, and now travels across America working poverty jobs and sleeping in her car as she hunts the monsters leaking in through the edges of a country rotting at the seams. Then there’s a monster growing in the cracks of the liberty bell, an in putting it down she gets a vision of someone she thought was dead is just trapped – or maybe changed. So it’s time to get the gang together again and save the world! This one’s hard to rec without spoiling a lot, but the prose and characterization are all just sublime. Oddly in conversation with the whole Delta Green cosmic horror monster hunting subgenre for a story with nothing to do with Lovecraft.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh is a story about aliens destroying the earth, and growing up in the pseudo-fascist asteroid survivalist compound of the last bits of the human military that never surrendered. It stars a heroine whose genuinely indoctrinated for the first chunk of the book and just deeply endearing terrible and awful to interact with, and also has a plot that’s effectively impossible to describe without spoiling the big twist at the end of the first act. Possibly the only book I read last year which I actively wish was longer – which is both compliment and genuine complaint, for the record, the ending’s a bit messy. Still, genuinely meaty Big Ideas space opera with very well-done characterization and a plot that does hold together. 

[klimkovsky]

The Great Orion Nebula

The Great Orion Nebula, also known as Messier 42 (M42) or NGC 1976, is one of the most spectacular and well-studied star-forming regions in our sky. Here are some key points about this celestial marvel:

Location and Visibility: It's located in the constellation of Orion, specifically in the sword of Orion, below Orion's Belt. It's visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy patch, but binoculars or a small telescope reveal its intricate beauty.

Distance: The nebula is approximately 1,344 light-years from Earth. This distance means we're looking back in time when we observe it, seeing it as it was over 1,300 years ago.

Structure: The Great Orion Nebula is an enormous cloud of gas and dust where stars are born. It's part of a larger complex known as the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. M42 itself spans about 24 light-years across. The nebula's core is illuminated by a cluster of young, hot, massive stars known as the Trapezium Cluster, which lights up the surrounding gas, making it glow.

Star Formation: This region is a stellar nursery, where new stars are still forming. The nebula contains thousands of young stars, many of which are hidden by the dense dust clouds but can be detected in infrared light. The process of star formation here includes the collapse of gas and dust into protostars, which then evolve into main-sequence stars.

Historical Observations: The nebula has been known since antiquity, but it wasn't until the invention of the telescope that its nature was better understood. Galileo was one of the first to observe it through a telescope in 1610, describing it as a bright patch.

Scientific Importance: Studying the Great Orion Nebula helps astronomers understand star formation, the life cycles of stars, and the chemistry of interstellar space. It's a prime example for studying how solar systems like ours might have formed.

Aesthetic: Photographically, the Great Orion Nebula is one of the most photographed objects in the sky due to its beauty and detail. It shows off vibrant colors from hydrogen (red), oxygen (blue), and sulfur (green), among other elements, when viewed through appropriate filters.

Grok AI

This publication is an example of how Grok AI can briefly and succinctly tell about popular astronomical objects. But his story requires at least one clarification: Galileo Galilei really looked through a telescope to where the Orion Nebula is located, but he did not notice the nebula - the optics of his telescope were too weak for such observations - not high-aperture. But he noted the triplicity of the star Theta Orionis, located in the very center of the nebula. Now we know that this star system has at least 16 components and is a small open star cluster.

The ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome also did not know about the Orion Nebula. But the Maya Indians knew about it in the era of antiquity (although this is only an assumption based on the study of Myths). The first European who actually saw the Orion Nebula was Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc. This happened at the very end of 1610.

And finally, a short video based on an amateur astrophoto of the Orion Nebula taken by Lisa Bromfield:

[elbiotipo]

VERY VERY rough geography and geopolitics of my Spelljammer setting

The "Known Spheres" are usually defined as one of the arms of the Galaxy, usually called the "Starpath". In practice, it often means the constellations that were once conquered or influenced by the great Star Khaganate, the largest interstellar empire before it dissolved.

The galactic directions are "coreward" and "rimward", that is distance to the Core, and "spinward" and "trailing", that is, towards or opposite the direction of galactic spin. XYZ coordinates are used in navigation, though most people describe the spheres by constellations (groups of stars) and the currents between them.

Coreward, of course, there's the Core, a restless swarm of stars, awash with the light of strange radiations, untamed aetheric currents and perpetual storms. Very hard to navigate, it's widely considered a natural barrier. A few spheres here, however, hold spiritual significance. The nature of the Center itself is unknown.

The Spinward Spheres, sometimes known as the 'Old Worlds' are dominated by the Elvish High Admiralty, which has a few ancient, rich core worlds, and outposts and ports everywhere there are elves, an archipelago so to speak, created to "protect the interests of Elfkind" whatever they agree or not. There are also fiercely independent dwarf clans, as well as many other 'Free Spheres'… principalities, merchant republics, Giff legions, and so on…

The Trailwise Spheres are dominated by the more centralized Scro Order, which has taken a good portion of the former Star Khanate, united by an ideology of strength through state building rather than individual. Of course, there are plenty of split hordes and principalities from the former Khaganate, as well as many other Free Spheres

The Rimward Spheres are just being 'integrated' to coreward routes. Many remain unknown to the 'known spheres', including many independent civilizations spread across whole constellations. Their goods and culture are making way to the core, especially by the way of free ports such as the Rock of Bral, which are on key aetheric currents. The Admiralty and the Hegemony are of course competing to spread the control before the other gains the upper hand.

There are very few attempts at outright land conquest and colonization because of the logistics of interstellar warfare, but there are plenty of attempts of imperialism by economic control and vassalage. The Admiralty and the Hegemony, having fought two wars already, are in a cold war with each other, with the Admiralty a naval and trade power and the Scro a centralized and industrial power.

The 'Known Spheres' of course cover a quarter of or so of the galaxy, presumably one of many. Exploration is still ongoing, and rumors of other great civilizations abound.

[heavenboy09]

30 YEARS AGO, ON OCTOBER 28TH, 1994 ⭐⛩👽🌌🛸🖖

METRO GOLDWYN MAYER PRESENTS

THE FILM THAT UNLOCKED A UNIVERSE. THE MOVIE THAT STARTED IT ALL.

ROLAND EMMERICH'S 1ST SCI FI CLASSIC.

IN 1928 AT GIZA, EGYPT, ARCHEOLOGIST PROFESSOR PAUL LANGFORD, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS DAUGHTER CATHERINE, UNEARTH COVER STONES (also called pyramidion or capstone) ENGRAVED WITH EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS & OTHER MARKINGS. BENEATH HE DISCOVERS A LARGE METALLIC RING OF UNKNOWN PURPOSE.

A "Stargate", an ancient ring-shaped device that creates a wormhole, enabling travel to a similar device elsewhere in the universe.

The central plot explores the theory of extraterrestrial beings having an influence upon human civilization.

In 1994, the now elderly Catherine invites Egyptologist and linguist Daniel Jackson, Ph.D. to translate the hieroglyphs.

The stones are now part of a U.S. Air Force classified project overseen by Special Operations Colonel Jack O'Neil.

WITH DR. DANIEL JACKSON'S HELP

UNLOCKING 7 OF THE SYMBOLS OR CHEVRONS

OPENS THE PORTAL

A DOORWAY TO

A WHOLE NEW WORLD 🌎 IN A DISTANT GALAXY UNLIKE OUR OWN

COLONEL JACK O'NEIL & DR. DANIEL JACKSON

WILL GO BEYOND EARTH 🌎

&

JOURNEY TO A NEW WORLD & DISCOVER A NEW MEANING OF INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL 🌌

METRO GOLDWYN MAYER PRESENTS

ROLAND EMMERICH'S 1ST FILM 🎥 THAT CHANGED THAT WORLD 🌎 FOREVER

IT WILL TAKE YOU A MILLION LIGHT YEARS

FROM HOME 🏡

BUT WILL IT BRING YOU BACK ?

ENTER

THE

STARGATE ⭐⛩👽🌌🛸🖖

HAPPY 30TH ANNIVERSARY TO MGM'S

STARGATE ⭐⛩👽🌌🛸🖖

#StarGate #ColonelJackONeil #DrDanielJackson #DrCatherineLangford #Ra #Skaara #Shauri #Kasuf #LtColonelCharlesKawalsky #LtLouisFerretti #Abydos #KurtRussell #JamesSpader #RolandEmmerich #MGM

[lilburlap]

I’ve been thinking about how In Stars and Time and Outer Wilds are almost complete opposites when it comes to time loop mystery games.

Spoilers for both games ahead.

Outer wilds is a very open-ended game set within a large playable area (an entire solar system) where the bulk of the story takes place ages before the player character is even alive. The main character is such a blank slate they don’t even have a name.

In Stars and Time has a linear structure, and most of the interesting bits of the game are about characters who you can meet and talk to.

That’s all very surface level, but the most interesting thing to me about the two games is how different they are in scope.

The main story of outer wilds is about the natural end of the universe. The stars in the night sky slowly go out over the course of the loops, until eventually the star near you explodes as well. You spend the game flying between entire planets in a spaceship searching through the remnants of an alien civilization, which was only one clan cut off from their massive interstellar whole. You spend much of the game walking through engineered wonders, you see towers dedicated to teleporting folks across the solar system, you see the lab where the ancient aliens invented time travel itself, you see 2 planets exchanging most of their mass through a giant column of sand between them, eventually you even see your own star explode. Every revelation in the mystery of outer wilds has very large visible ramifications, making the story feel bigger and bigger until you eventually witness the end of your entire universe, and the beginning of a new one.

Compare that to In Stars and Time. The game starts by introducing an entire country slowly being frozen in time by a curse creeping it’s way along the land, while you and your friends are the only ones set up to stop it. Despite the heavy stakes, ISAT focuses mainly on character moments. Plot revelations are important to the characters first and foremost, and the ongoing story second. The plots 6 acts are all focused around changes in Siffrins moods and behaviors, and every large plot moment narrows the story down more and more into focusing on the cast of main characters.

I went into ISAT expecting an experience similar to Outer Wilds, but I was (pleasantly) surprised to be playing through a linear plot with so many impactful character moments. It even got the the point where I had to turn off my switch and take a walk after the first time I went on the familytale side quest with Odile. Overall both games are incredible and have genuinely changed the way I think about the art I create.

[allengreenfield]

‘Interstellar highway’: A hidden tunnel could link us to distant worlds https://www.businesstoday.in/visualstories/news/interstellar-highway-a-hidden-tunnel-could-link-us-to-distant-worlds-213881-04-03-2025

[boinkingbattlemechs]

Ostroc

The Ostroc is a heavy 'Mech, weighing in at the lower end of its weight class, originally designed to act as an urban combatant during the Age of War. The best-known of Ostmann Industries' Ost class of 'Mechs, the Ostroc debuted in 2511 and proved so successful in this role production continued for approximately 200 years. Its unique walker/pod profile, later seen in the Stalker and Marauder, combined with a low silhouette similar to the UrbanMech makes the Ostroc difficult to spot in an urban environment. Fast for its size, well-armored and boasting good medium- and short-range firepower, the Ostroc was also capable when fighting outside a cityscape, particularly as a heavy scout/raider.

While a quality 'Mech, the low production capacity of Ostmann Industries made the Ostroc a rarity; indeed the company licensed their other "Ost" 'Mechs out to Kong Interstellar just to maintain their rate of production, and the majority of those produced were assigned garrison duties within the Terran Hegemony. Still, the 'Mech saw action in every major conflict of the Star League, especially towards the end in the civil war and subsequent First Succession War. The destruction of Ostmann Industries meant an end to any new Ostrocs, although all sides of the Succession Wars continued to field these 'Mechs in combat, particularly the Draconis Combine. It was because of the small number and wide dispersal of surviving Ostrocs that the design was largely passed over while others were being updated after the Helm Memory Core discovery.

A major revitalization of the design took place within the Capellan Confederation after the Clan Invasion. Having largely rebuilt their forces after the previous decades' setbacks, the Strategios wanted to update the ancient 'Mech, but rather than reverse engineering the original they ordered all Capellan 'Mech manufacturers to submit bids for a replacement. Ceres Metals was the only one to send in a proposal which matched exactly what they wanted and won the contract, completing the first production run in January 3067. Versions of these new Ostrocs also started showing up in the Taurian Concordat and Circinus Federation, a result of espionage according to Capellan charges.

The Ostroc carries as its primary weapons two Fuersturm-C large lasers in the left and right torsos. These give the Ostroc good medium to long range damage capabilities. The Ostroc's secondary weapons are two Fuersturm-b medium lasers also mounted in the side torsos and a Totschlagen SRM-4 launcher in the right torso for close-range combat, with one ton of reloads carried in the center torso. While the Ostroc's laser-heavy weapons payload allows it to operate well as a guerrilla fighter since it has limited dependency on supply lines, its short arms are a handicap in close combat, and the shocks of hand-to-hand fighting can easily damage the Fuersturm systems. The nineteen-ton Vlar 300 fusion engine propels the Ostroc to a cruising speed of 86.4 km/h, fast for its size, while fifteen heat sinks provide adequate heat management. Although nine tons of armor provide good protection for the 'Mech, very little is used to protect the arms, meaning the loss of one or both in battle is likely.

[talonabraxas]

🔹The Sirians🔹 Talon Abraxas

Uncovering Your Cosmic Origins: Traits, Gifts & Soul Mission of Sirian Starseeds on Earth

The Sirius Star System: Home of Sirian Starseeds

Sirius binary star system located approximately 8.7 light years from Earth in the Canis Major constellation. Comprises Sirius A, the brightest star visible in the night sky, and a smaller white dwarf Sirius B orbiting Sirius A. Sirius B was once a larger, brighter star than Sirius A in the distant past before evolving into a white dwarf.

Sirius is known by many names in ancient Earth cultures including “Dog Star” and “Nile Star.” Egyptians based the calendar on Sirius helical rising coinciding with the Nile annual flooding. Marked winter season for Polynesians and chronicled in ancient Vedic scriptures.

Sirius A believed inhabited by highly advanced spiritual beings focused on overseeing the ascension of the Sirius system itself. Sirius B original home of Sirian starseeds before the system underwent cosmic evolution. Sirians from advanced water planets were forced to evacuate when Sirius B transformed from a gaseous state into a white dwarf star. Although the home world forever changed, spiritual wisdom and technologies survived to pass down ensuing generations.

The Soul Mission of Sirian Starseeds on Earth

What drives Sirians to voluntarily incarnate on Earth again and again even when the planet is still so chaotic and dense? Each starseed has an overarching mission guiding its incarnations, though the specifics will vary. Here are some of the core objectives behind the Sirian Starseed soul contracts:

Activate higher dimensional portals and light grids on Earth’s power points and sacred sites. Sirians are encoded with advanced sacred geometrical information and wisdom from Atlantis which can energize and stabilize the crystalline grid now rising.

Anchor light and frequency through their energy field and presence. By simply existing in a high vibration of love, gratitude, and inner peace, they raise the resonance of their environment and touch all souls they contact.

Awaken humanity to its true origins, unlimited potential, and purpose for being here now. Sirians remind us of our divine nature and push us to expand our limited beliefs.

Prepare humanity for open contact with the galactic community of benevolent interstellar civilizations. Sirians educate people on ETs and bridge the gap between human and cosmic perspectives.

Teach advanced technology and innovation to be responsibly integrated for the planet’s greater good. As technically skilled as they are spiritually adept, Sirians guide how humanity can evolve through technology without misusing it.

Be spiritual teachers, healers, and leaders who reveal higher truths and inspire people to live in harmony, peace, and unity. Their wisdom and grace touch people’s hearts.

Protect and speak up for the vulnerable, oppressed, excluded, or environment. Sirians act from a place of selfless compassion that honors all life.

Help shift humanity out of duality consciousness, fear-based programming, and rigid belief systems by embodying Unconditional Love and unity consciousness.

As multidimensional light beings, Sirians work on many levels and domains to uplift humanity’s understanding and play a pivotal role at this incredible time in our planet’s ascension process.

[the-demigod-project]

Demigod Creation Info

The Creation of Demigods: A Legacy of Forgotten Gods

The creation of Demigods is a testament to the resilience, desperation, and ingenuity of humanity. The process, shrouded in pain and moral ambiguity, was discovered by accident but has since become a cornerstone of the global arms race. The origins of this groundbreaking method trace back to ancient times, where the truths hidden within mythology and religion began to surface under the scrutiny of modern science.

The Origins of the Process:

The process of creating Demigods began with a revelation by a Japanese scientist during the late stages of World War II. This scientist, working on a classified biological research project, discovered a shocking truth buried beneath layers of myth and legend. The beings worshipped as gods, revered as monsters, and feared as demons in ancient mythology were not supernatural entities but extraterrestrial visitors. These "gods" were advanced alien beings who had come to Earth eons ago, their abilities and technology so far beyond human comprehension that they were mistaken for divine. These beings lived among early humans, shaping civilizations, inspiring religions, and leaving behind stories that would form the foundations of human mythology. But time proved to be an equalizer. Even these godlike beings were not immortal. They eventually perished, either due to age, battles with one another, or the rebellion of humanity itself. While their bodies turned to dust, their bones—imbued with their alien biology—remained, buried deep within the Earth, forgotten by time. It was only millennia later, as scientists and archaeologists unearthed ancient ruins and fossils, that these bones were discovered. The Japanese scientist who stumbled upon them initially believed them to be remnants of extinct creatures. However, further analysis revealed that these bones contained traces of unique, dormant DNA—genetic material that did not match any known species on Earth. This discovery led to the hypothesis that these bones held the potential to awaken superhuman abilities in modern humans.

The Science Behind Demigods: The DNA Extraction Process

The creation of a Demigod begins with extracting the genetic material from the fossilized remains of these ancient beings. This process is exceedingly complex, as the DNA has degraded over thousands of years and must be reconstructed using advanced biotechnological techniques. The resulting DNA is highly unstable and incompatible with human biology in its raw form. To fuse this alien DNA with a human host, scientists developed a method that pushes the human body to its absolute limits. This ensures the host’s biology is prepared to accept and adapt to the foreign material. The process is akin to forcibly rewriting a human's genetic code, requiring immense physical and psychological resilience.

The Creation Process: Steps to Becoming a Demigod

• Rigorous Physical Conditioning: Before the alien DNA can be introduced, the human body must be conditioned to handle extreme stress and adapt to rapid changes. Subjects undergo grueling physical training, forcing their bodies to operate at peak performance. This phase is designed to test and push every limit of the human body—strength, endurance, reflexes, and adaptability. Those who fail to endure this stage are either severely injured or die, as their bodies cannot handle the strain. [Survival Rate: 63.6%]

• Genetic Modification: Once the subject’s body is sufficiently hardened, the alien DNA is carefully fused with their own. This involves injecting the reconstructed DNA into the subject’s body, where it begins to integrate with the human genome. They introduce the serum D.E.M.I (Divine Empowerment Molecule Of Interstellar Origin) over the course of months. As the synchronisation between the serum and DNA of host is a very delicate combination of having the right enzymes, bone marrow, stem cells and blood type matching with the foreign Alien DNA. However, the process is not seamless. The alien DNA attacks the host's natural genetic material, initiating a violent struggle for dominance within the body. This phase is the most dangerous, as the subject’s immune system often perceives the alien DNA as a threat and attacks it. To combat this, scientists suppress the immune system, leaving the subject vulnerable to infections and other complications. Many subjects die during this stage due to the sheer trauma inflicted on their bodies. [Survival Rate: 31.2%]

• Metamorphosis and Adaptation: If the subject survives the genetic fusion, their body enters a period of rapid adaptation and transformation. This phase, known as The Metamorphosis, involves the complete restructuring of the body at a cellular level. The alien DNA activates dormant potential within the human genome, granting superhuman abilities such as enhanced strength, speed, agility, and sometimes unique powers like energy manipulation or regeneration. This process is excruciatingly painful, as bones, muscles, and organs are broken down and rebuilt. This process can last from hours, days to even months. Subjects often describe the sensation as being burned alive from the inside out.

• Psychological Conditioning: The transformation does not end with the body. The alien DNA often affects the subject’s mind, introducing visions, memories, or instincts from the ancient beings it once belonged to. Subjects must undergo extensive psychological conditioning to retain their sense of self and avoid being overwhelmed by the alien influence. Some lose their sanity during this stage, rendering them unstable or dangerous. [Survival Rate: 0.3%]

• Final Testing and Training: Once the transformation is complete, the new Demigod must undergo rigorous testing to evaluate their abilities. This includes combat training, power control exercises, and mental resilience tests. The goal is to ensure the Demigod is battle-ready and can function as a weapon on the battlefield.

The Ideal Candidates:

Through trial and error, scientists discovered that children aged 12 and younger are the most suitable candidates for the process. This is because their bodies, still in the developmental stage, are far more adaptable than those of adults. Prepubescent children have not yet undergone the genetic "hardening" that occurs during puberty, making their DNA more malleable and receptive to foreign material. This revelation led to ethical dilemmas, as the process effectively sacrifices the childhood of its subjects. Children are subjected to inhumane conditions and stripped of their humanity in the pursuit of creating weapons. Many countries justify this by pointing to the need for survival in the escalating global conflict.

Moral and Ethical Implications:

The process of creating Demigods has sparked widespread controversy. While the results are undeniably powerful, the cost in human lives and the suffering endured by the subjects have raised questions about the morality of these experiments. Critics argue that the creation of Demigods is a violation of human rights and dignity, while proponents insist that it is a necessary evil in a world where survival depends on power. In secret laboratories across the globe, the race to perfect the Demigod creation process continues. As the three powerhouses push the boundaries of science and morality, the question remains: how far will humanity go to secure its future?