It’s been several weeks since my last post on the monoliths of New Eden, but a lot has been done in the interim.  Many thanks to all the capsuleers who have reported sightings of monoliths throughout the cluster; particularly fellow Signal Cartel explorers, Breysyth Asythe (@Breysyth_Asythe) and Radical Divinity (@RadicalDivinity).

Findings in Brief

Thanks in large part to the dauntless reporting efforts of Breysyth and Radical, we can say with a considerable degree of certainty that the Monoliths have significance beyond that of a mere novelty.  Our core findings are as follows:

• Monoliths may be either static (as in the case of Dead End) or non-static (as in the case of monoliths at cosmic anomalies.)
• Monoliths are uniform in dimension (1:4:9 dimensional ratio)
• Monoliths appear to be uniform in size, but this has not been confirmed.
• Monoliths are non-uniform in albedo.  In other words, there appear to be differences in the amount of light (within the visible spectrum) which refracts off the surface.  Some monoliths, such as the one in Dead End, appear to have a low albedo and appear nearly black whereas others, such as the monoliths in the Sentinel and Conflux Drifter wormholes, refract so much incident light that they appear as gleaming silver mirrors in the midst of space.
• Insufficient capabilities exist in-game to allow for EMR (electromagnetic radiation) analysis of the Monoliths outside of the visible light spectrum.
• Monoliths are closely-associated with Talocan relic sites.
• Non-static monoliths do not appear to be correlated with any discernible temporal pattern.
• Non-static monoliths are correlated with spatial patterns like certain relic sites, certain wormhole locations, etc.
• Non-static and static monolith spatial positions do not appear to correlate with any discernible solar patterns in terms of the present classification of the suns in monolith-associated systems.  Since monoliths appear to be very old, historical solar analysis may reveal an underlying pattern.
• Numerical pattern analysis (i.e. corresponding to the ratio of moons to planets) has not been complete.  Radical Divinity remains a proponent of this line of investigation and it will be undertaken in the near future.
• Monoliths do not occur in groups of 2 or more at a single site.

Discussion of Spatial Patterns

Static monoliths (monoliths which are reliably present in the same location day after day) appear to be rare and have been recorded in four systems.  Two of these systems fall within empire space.

The first is in Dead End (Region: Genesis.  Sovereignty: Amarr Empire.  Sec: 0.2) and appears as a navigable celestial beacon.  This is probably the most famous Monolith and is heavily patrolled by a contingent of Blood Raiders.

The second is in Otitoh (Region: The Forge.  Sovereignty: Caldari State.  Sec: 0.5) and is embedded within a multi-stage static Talocan relic site called Devil’s Dig Site and bears the name Sun Reader.

The remaining two static monoliths are found within the so-called Drifter Wormholes of region K-R000333.  The first is found within the J055520 – Centinel and appears as a navigable celestial beacon.  The second is located in J2000727 – Conflux and also appears as a navigable celestial beacon.  These have been covered briefly in Rhavas’ illustrious Anomalous Findings post.

Non-static monoliths are much more common, though they are not present in the same location day after day and appear/disappear with cosmic anomalies.  There have been reports of non-static monoliths in regions of Sansha-controlled space (Catch and Stain) where they are closely-associated with Ruined Sansha Crystal Quarries.  In fact, reports seem to indicate that nearly all, if not all, of these archaeological sites contain a monolith.

Reports also seem to indicate that monoliths are commonly associated with certain Sleeper sites in wormhole systems, namely Unsecured Perimeter Transponder Farm and Forgotten Perimeter Gateway where they appear alongside Sleeper Enclave structures.

Given this information, it would appear that the monoliths, whether static or non-static, are closely-associated with wormholes.  Those found in the Drifter wormhole systems and the monolith at Dead End are closely linked with wormholes of major significance (e.g. Dead End is close to the Eve Gate).  The remaining non-static wormholes are found either in wormholes per se or in Sansha space and it’s a well-established fact that Sansha’s Empire and wormholes go hand in hand.

The reason for these association may relate to their presumptive relationship with the Talocan civilization whose mastery of advanced mathematics, technologies, and wormhole space has been well-documented.

Discussion of Social Patterns

The appearance of Monoliths at archaeological sites, particularly those associated with the Talocan civilization, suggests that these structures are very old.  This postulate is further supported by their cryptic nature in contemporary times.  The near-total absence of expository data in-game suggests a societal loss of history consistent with the loss of community and information suffered subsequent to the collapse of the Eve Gate.

With regards to societal associations, the monoliths appear to have a measure of significance to at least five extra-imperial factions.  The Blood Raiders closely guard the static monolith in Dead End and Rogue Drones fiercely defend the static monolith in Otitoh.  Drifters are found alongside the static monoliths in the two aforementioned Drifter wormhole systems and Sleeper Drone sites are home to the wormhole monoliths.  Back in so-called  k-space, Sansha’s Empire sites have a relationship with the non-static monoliths in Stain and Catch.  Assuming that the monoliths have a wormhole-centered significance, an association with Sansha, the Drifters, and Sleepers is unsurprising.

Though not confirmed, it appears likely that the Sansha, Sleeper, and Drifter structures were erected around the monoliths rather than the other way around.  All three of these factions have an interest in (and mastery of) advanced technologies so it is likely that the monoliths are serving some purpose to that end.  It is unlikely that any of these factions would entertain spiritual interests in these structures or any other non-technical interest.  Thus, in the context of these factions, it stands to reason that these monoliths are likely serving some function that is of great interest to these factions while remaining cryptic to the majority of New Eden’s other inhabitants.  Of course, the fact that the monoliths are linked to Sansha archaeological sites and Sleeper sites (which are generally presumed to be very old), also raises the possibility that they may have served a function in that past that is no longer of key significance to these factions and they have moved on.  The prospect that the secret purpose of these monoliths has already been unlocked by multiple extra-imperial entities and this investigation is simply a matter of accessing secret information is both frustrating and thrilling at the same time.

The Rogue Drone relationship is a bit more mysterious.  Then again, their documented interest in Isogen-5 and apparent fascination with the collection of technological detritus for use in their hives makes an association with monoliths less fantastic.

The Blood Raiders are also a bit of an anomaly among this group of monolith associates.  Historically, however, the Blood Raiders have served as agents of the Society of Conscious Thought who maintain a considerable level of interest in technologies (both ancient and contemporary) and wormholes.  It could be that the Raiders in Dead End are monitoring the monolith in Dead End for such a client.  There is also the possibility that the monoliths have some sort of religious significance to the Blood Raiders.  An agent by the name of Tamoko Raytio working for the Lai Dai Corporation mentions his family attempting to obtain a deadspace monolith with the intent of turning it into an attraction for spiritual tourists; particularly those of Amarr faith.  Being of Amarr origin themselves, the Blood Raiders may be engaging in a form of ritualistic veneration of the structure consistent with some component of the Amarr faith.

Mention of Tamoki Raytio also raises the possibility of an association with the Lai Dai Corporation.  There is a Lai Dai station in Otitoh (home of a static monolith) and the corporation has been engaged in publicly-significant activity related to the Drifter wormholes, Entosis technology, and Amarr military hardware recently.  Going down the rabbit hole a little further and understanding Amarr Empress Jamyl I’s association with the Sleeper Construct raises further questions about a possible link between Caldari mega-corporations such as Lai Dai and monoliths.

An Upcoming Raid and Further Initiatives

In the coming weeks, a specialized team of around 25 Signal Cartel explorers will undertake an unprecedented coordinated raid on the Devil’s Dig Site in an effort to better understand the Talocan relics therein and to document the Otitoh Monolith in detail.  Images and video from this raid will be available following the operation.

In the meantime, we will continue our endeavors to better elucidate the function and significance of these mysteries objects.