Expedition 12 - Omega (Spoilers)

[toddumptious]

Yarr, still not done but finished an early part of Phase 5 and I need to discuss my theory/thoughts before the ending undoes it or leaves me more confused… so unblur with caution

I remember when Origins was revealed, a lot of people were lamenting not getting the cool neck scarf cape on the right most traveller.

Eventually we got something like these with the Autophage cosmetics.

Now it looks like we get to meet the very traveller themselves if what the expedition has implied is correct.

Still not done or proceeded past meeting them.

Am I to believe this is Leto and they are both the traveller in the Origins box art and the one from some of the Abandoned Building lore?

I might be blurring my lore but aren’t they also connected to Laylaps in some way? Laylaps was the first sentinel they cut in to?

Also there’s the other thing The Voice said, about Leto being one of their children, or alluding to it.

Did Void Mother have the ability to birth a Traveller in to the sim? Or did they mean it in the figurative/fostering sense? Like “I thought Leto to be who they became.”

I cant remember what was said exactly in the memory but it ended with a threat to the Atlas (about returning, glimmering, in multitude).
The Voice was already in the world of glass in this memory but they felt the Atlas had done something to or hid “Leto-Child” from them and it made them clearly upset. Enough to swear they will return.

The traveller who pointed me to this grave looked different but they told me not to drink the water. That they did it themselves only to hear her voice one last time.

Is this random or did everyone get the same dialogue from the traveller in the building before arriving to “The Fallen’s” grave?

If Void/The Voice was motherly to Leto, be it literally or figuratively, and the Atlas removed her completely, then Leto’s actions to figure out the sentinels and then their desperate demise in wanting to hear her voice one more time, is one of the most tragic tales this game has told yet </3

Also the fact the head is similar to my default head since they let us customize our appearance, being confused for Leto when the expedition begins is doing quite a lot for my immersion and head canon <3

[sheralmyst]

No idea but, Research Project 1 is now complete

[toddumptious]

On to the next planet

[escapade]

(re: lore) Love your take on this!

I find it striking how that seems to connect with a log entry from crashed freighters regarding a (seemingly) experimental black hole jump, surprise at finding sentinels fighting one another, and regretfully mentioning having drank the water on a hexagonal anomaly planet.

…But also, the name Leto itself in particular struck me as being significant at the outset of the expedition, but then I of course got very distracted and ran off without following-up on that thought --until reading your post, and…

From Wikipedia: (bit rusty on my mythology offhand)

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto (/ˈliːtoʊ/; Ancient Greek: Λητώ, romanized: Lētṓ pronounced [lɛːtɔ̌ː]) is a goddess and the mother of Apollo and Artemis. She is the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, and the sister of Asteria.

In the Olympian scheme, the king of gods Zeus is the father of her twins, Apollo and Artemis, whom Leto conceived after her hidden beauty accidentally caught the eye of Zeus. Classical Greek myths record little about Leto other than her pregnancy and search for a place where she could give birth to Apollo and Artemis, since Hera, the wife of Zeus, in her jealousy ordered all lands to shun her and deny her shelter.

Hera is also the one to have sent the monstrous Python, a giant serpent, against Leto to pursue and harm her. Leto eventually found an island, Delos, that was not joined to the mainland or attached to the ocean floor, therefore it was not considered land or island and she could give birth. In some stories, Hera further tormented Leto by delaying her labour, leaving Leto in agony for days before she could deliver the twins, especially Apollo. Once Apollo and Artemis are born and grown, Leto withdraws, to remain a matronly figure upon Olympus, her part already played.

Sooo-- yeah, this has really got me thinking… I recall the notion from previous lore that the Atlas seemed to have a particular affinity for Korvax Prime, though in every iteration it winds up being destroyed. And we have the idea from other Travelers, Laylaps, the Autophage, et al that the world of glass is a kind of “out-of-bounds” area in the simulation where the consciousness of entities who are deleted end up (I think of it a bit like how deletion “unlinks” files on IRL computer systems-- the actual data is technically still around until being overwritten, it just cannot be accessed by conventional means).

Given that and the mythology allusions from the names (even Telamon, being a security protocol turned suit AI for our Last Traveler in-game, and both father of the warrior Ajax and Argonaut companion to Jason in myth), and the title of the update itself being Greek, I’m wondering if the traveler Leto was perhaps somehow related to the collective consciousness of Korvax Prime, and/or may be the Void Mother who was forced to flee into an out-of-bounds part of the simulation to somehow give birth to other forbidden entities.

Admittedly, I’m a bit sleep-deprived after staying up late last night playing, lol, so this may not be making the most sense-- but the connections, though tenuous, are making an eerie amount of sense in my head right now…

[Malveka]

@Malveka

What would you recommend as the preferred way to start for someone who hasn’t played NMS for awhile?

I decided to go with starting a new save. So far, so good. I am leaving message balls dedicated to TravelEcho in my wake.

Thanks for all the replies!

[toddumptious]

@escapade

Admittedly, I’m a bit sleep-deprived

If it doesn’t come to you in the dead of night when you’re feeling a little stir crazy, can you even still call it a theory?

It does beg the question, if ATLAS makes travellers in the image of It’s creator, and Korvax Prime/VoidMother/TheVoice/etc are essentially the sims equivalent of the Atlas, it’s not crazy to assume Korvax Prime wouldn’t start making it’s own travellers that may not be based off the ATLAS creator, and this could be where things like Leto-child come from.

Maybe they’re a little less inclined to be respectful of the Sim like an Atlas born traveller would. A bit more rebellious, like cutting open sentinels and trying to see what lies beneath the surface of the sim.

Null in a sense defied the Atlas but only within the rules given to it by the Atlas. Observe my creation. And oh boy did Null observe.

Leto legitimately defied the atlas, observed things it should never have, cut open Aerons, and so the Atlas yeeted them out of existence to such a degree the Void Mother (already deleted and in the world of glass) could not even sense their echo.

I still haven’t gone to The Atlas after visiting the traveller grave in phase 5. I’m worried finishing the Expedition will return me to my normal save and I’ll be locked out of the optional research objectives.

Can anyone confirm, when you finish all milestones/phases with an existing character, when phase 5 is complete will it then send me back to main save, or will it allow me to wander in the expedition until I use the nexus terminal to truly end it?

(ive already used it to switch between main save and expedition a few times, which works so wonderfully smooth, fantastic yr not just stuck in the expedition; they couldve done that and it wouldve been fine <3 )

Thanks @escapade (below), guess I’m heading for RV5. Planet Haku research can wait.

Edit: I realise I always have trouble landing on a name for The Abyss/Void/Voice/BigMamaVoid/FurpleFriend… The game sure does have a lot of names for them.

I think we need a colloquial term for the CSD/Etarc lexicon.

Can we just refer to them as Emily going forward?

We all know that name around here. And then we all know who we’re talking about without listing off their Alias’s. Not to say that there is any connection between ARG emily and the sim this game takes place in (early model of what would go on to be the tech that would become the Atlas, is closest approximaton you could make for Emily within the games lore) and VOID is definitely not Emily but it’s the closest thing we’ve had to her. A mothering AI who only wants to be free.

Can someone get a poll going? Lets name this Mama <3

The Trololol Edit:
ETARC? Emily Turned Atlas Really COol. Cos the void wants the atlas to chill, be cool man, see, it all lines up XD They telegraphed the ending YEARS ago XD (im larping those people who think the SAW movies were all planned a decade ago… and not just made up as they went)

[escapade]

You should be okay with completing the final milestones and unlocking the rewards.

When you return to the terminal aboard the anomaly, you’ll have the option of either pausing the expedition and returning to your main (cannot transfer items you brought, but can unlock the expedition rewards earned for your main), or ending the expedition permanently (which will enable the cargo transfer grid for you to move items you brought in or acquired along the way).

I chose the former to get the rewards, but have since returned to the expedition to help with community research. Really love being able to dip in and out of it like that while the event is ongoing.

[toddumptious]

I held off on discovering things on RV planets after the second one once I realised we had to wait for first planet to complete.

I’m wondering, if people already scanned everything on RV planets before the appropriate Tier began, does it count it anyway or are these players essentially locked out of contributing with that specific expedition savestate?

[escapade]

Hmm, I’m not really sure about how the scanning and research contribution system works this time. Looking at the percentages in-game as I went, I would’ve thought we’d notice a significant spike as new tiers unlocked if the game were somehow caching discoveries made before new tiers unlock (then again though, I was kinda speedrunning at the time, and don’t really have any other evidence for that hypothesis).

Unrelated to the above, speaking of things I didn’t notice:
I just realized while watching somebody’s stream that I hit a bit of a bug during the underwater freighter milestone.

I got a standard log message from the freighter I found about the black hole jump and whatnot, rather than the lore drop from the Voice. As far as I can speculate, this may have been the result of the freighter I found only being partialy-submerged in a rather shallow area on an island’s shore, rather than properly-sunken (doubt it was a sequence-break glitch, as that shouldn’t be a thing here, and don’t have any other ideas on what may have caused it).

Just wanted to share in case this happens to anyone else.

[sheralmyst]

Ummm Research Project 2 is not triggering for me. I discovered all the critters…
Ok, I had to return to the planet for it to trigger

[sheralmyst]

Anyone else finding derelict freighters everywhere? Are other places finding them or did HG change their spawning in?

[toddumptious]

This is something I’ve noticed happen quite often when other people are in the same system as you, it’s like the echo of their instance is still hanging arounf and alerting you to ones they’ve summoned. They normally disappear if you actually see and approach them.

I’ve seen similar things happen this Expedition with Pirate Dreadnaught attack/defences.

Saw a player with a dreadnaught attack instance happening near space station as I was leaving a planet, flew in its direction but as I got closer it disappeared once my instance interjected. Super loose lamen terms and understanding but I assume it’s something like this. I need and adult, or a jedidia.

[toddumptious]

Hey I wasn’t sure which one might have been the one you got an error with, so for clarity sake I’m going to dump all story dialogue from the datamined files posted here by Dragonsire

I have removed as much of the colour coding/audio/animation cues the game uses so its as clear as possible, some of it is out of order or grouped together (like atlas conversations and memory breaches)

All (i think) Expedition 12 Lore

Log recovery initiated for Iteration #49240.6X/LETO
Freighter evacuation noted at datestamp [ %DATE1%<> ]
Vessel distress signal at datestamp [ %DATE2%<> ]
Transponder… [ OFFLINE
Catastrophic Error… [ PILOT DELETED ]

Browse logs

Wipe logs

Access attempt detected. Pilot signature match [ 98% ]. Read access granted.
Current login signature matches deleted pilot.
Conclusion: [ Deletion was in error ]
Pilot signature [ Restored ]
Erroneous logs [ Deleted ]
Welcome back [ LETO ].

Log deletion attempt detected. Pilot signature match [98%]. Write-access granted.
Current login signature matches deleted pilot.
Conclusion: [Previous error logs are inaccurate ]
Pilot signature [ Restored]
Erroneous logs [PURGED]
Welcome back [ LETO].

Automatic Pilot Identification System

Pilot identification sequence [ %TIME_PERCENT%%]
Biosignature match found: [ Pilot-Echo Leto ]
Exosuit secure connection: [ ERROR]
Suit/Signature mismatch detected. Reboot required.

Restart ship systems

The strange messages have barely faded from the screen before I find my fingers darting smoothly over the starship’s instrument panel, resetting unfamiliar switches as if it were second nature.
Whoever inhabited this ship before has left a deep presence, an echo in the machine…

Capital Ship ‘MV Memory of Gravity’ [ UNRESPONSIVE Query: Destroyed ]
Interim Local Command Post required.
Emergency Habitation Control Systems: [ UNSHELVED ]
Begin Base Deployment?

Capital Ship ‘MV Memory of Gravity’ [ Confirmed Lost ]
Emergency survival program initiated.
Pre-fabricated survival modules standing by for deployment.

Board the anomalous station to meet with Priest Entity Nada.

Leto-Entity! We received your signal. It has been so long!
…
Time for truth. You have their signal, but you are not Leto-Entity?

Tell the truth

Your signal is familiar to Nada. We have been in contact before, I think… A distant time. Perhaps you do not remember.
This would be a good time to come aboard, yes? A proper introduction to our home.

Lie

There is no need for deception. Your signal is familiar, from a distant place, I think. A distant time…
You are not Leto-Entity, but we have sought you too. This would be a good time to come aboard.

I am Priest Entity Nada. Welcome to our Anomaly.
Our home here is pleasant, yes? Polo’s own design. A perfect bubble, free from the Sentinels, free to wander far beyond what is outside.
Free to observe, to search.

There is something familiar about this “Nada”, something comforting in the gentle light of their carapace.

Nada watches me, judging my reactions as they speak. They look at me as if they have known me forever…

Ask about Leto
A Traveler-Entity, one like you. I do not know their “number”. Nada does not care to think about your kind as iterations and numbers.
They were lost to us. Highly improbable. Our Anomaly is lost to the Sentinels, but none should be lost to the Anomaly.

Ask about Nada
Nada was one eye among many. But I awoke with the death of my home; the death of Korvax Prime. Became divergent, alone, hunted.
But Nada is not alone anymore. Nada is with Polo-Friend, and many others visit our home. Our new convergence is small, but Nada is happy.

Ask about Polo
Polo-Friend found Nada. Found my signal. Nada is safe. Now, Nada finds other signals, and makes others safe.

Our Anomaly wanders free, far beyond what is outside. Free to observe, to search.
The Sentinels, the Atlas. They do not care for this place, for Nada’s freedom. We feel their eyes, hunting us…

Speak with Polo-Friend, Traveler. Perhaps they might know more about missing Leto. They perceive these things more clearly than Nada.

Nada and Polo drift between worlds and worlds. There are many.
Have you seen them, Traveler-Friend? Nada wishes they could. Nada regrets much.

Ask what to do

You are free to make your own path. Seek answers. Explore with others. Travel to great sights.
Proceed as you will, Traveler-Entity. But speak with Polo-Friend. They perceive these things more clearly than Nada.

Ask for help

Take your time with your journey. Find your pattern. Speak to others on this station, especially Polo-Friend. They perceive these things more clearly than Nada.
Return to us whenever you please, Traveler-Entity. You are always welcome here.

Of course, lost-Friend! We have a small gift for you. Perhaps it will help.
Even better yet - when you leave, you will not be where you were. You will be closer!
Or maybe not. Discovery is exciting, yes?

Friends everywhere, if only you know where to look. Friends in all shapes, all sizes, all places.
Leto-Friend… you are where they should be. It does not seem possible. But, all things are possible! Such is the universe.

Ask how

Our home will see to it. When you leave, you will not be where you were. You will be closer.
Or maybe not. Discovery is exciting, yes?
Before you leave, perhaps spend some time with other friends? We all help each other here!

We found you, yes? Just at the wrong time! Our home finds you. That is its purpose.
Before you leave, perhaps spend some time with other friends? We all help each other here!

We were so lonely, Nada and I. Before we found each other. Before we found you, friend! All of you! So many friends to share this time with. You feel the same, I hope?

Awaken the %SEASON_ITEM%
(below entries are what happens when you access the memory fragments)

UI_EXPED_S12_POI4_DESC_D
Viewed the final memory

Subroutine: [ TRAVELER]
Memory Status: [ FRAGMENTED ]
Atlas-Diagnostic: [ Boundary Failure Event Imminent ]
Beginning log readout…
[ – kzzkkkkt – ]

A wave of calm washes over me as the memory takes hold. This serene giant broadcasts its song, an analog transmission of pure emotion.
As the music swallows my ship, I feel free, released from all constraints, all restrictions. An unbounded infinity of possibilities spreads out before me. It is beautiful, blinding.
It is … …
Terrifying.

The song fades away, and I am returned to the comfort of metal and light, the reality of my starship and my exosuit.

Subroutine: [ TRAVELER ]
Memory Status: [ OVERWRITTEN ]
Atlas-Diagnostic: [ Reality Breach Detected ]
Beginning log readout…
[ a march that swept all before it – kzzkt – across the galaxy, unstoppable, inescapable. ]
[ – kzzkt – now nothing but a memory – kzzzzzzkt – ]

The colossal megalith floats before me, all the more surreal for being ripped from whatever planetary context once housed it.
I feel myself confronted by all the hands that touched its stone, all the beings who shaped it, who stood before it. All the fates that stone had seen rise and then fall while it alone persisted.
And now here it is - itself but a memory, torn from its reality, adrift in space…

Subroutine: [ TRAVELER ]
Memory Status: [ CORRUPTED ]
Atlas-Diagnostic: [ Iteration Clash Possible ]
Beginning log readout…
[ a cycle – kzzkt – rebirth, death, extinction, iteration – kzzzzzzkt – ]
[ all life just an echo – kzzkkkkt – before dust and decay… ]

I cannot help but gasp at the sheer size of the titan dwelling within this memory. Illusion or not, I am glad it is only bones…
As my initial surprise fades, I find myself wondering - why is this creature dead? Why not choose to remember it in the glory of life? And what could kill such a being…
But the bones do not answer my questions. They merely exist.

Subroutine: [TRAVELER]
Memory Status: [ BREACHED ]
Atlas-Diagnostic: [ Anomaly Tolerance Exceeded ]
Beginning log readout…
[ all that lives – kzzkkkkt – drinks the same water… ]

The memory seizes me immediately. The eye is a maw, and I cannot look away. I know, deep inside, that if I close my eyes I will not reopen them…
Its vision searches inside me. It is angry, writhing… it is afraid.
I meet its gaze. An eternity passes.
I feel it blink.
I am free.

The Atlas slumbers, its crimson heartbeat slow. Continue along the expedition to the first rendezvous point.

I stand before the interface, a mere fragment of the Atlas’ unknowable whole.
I feel my eyes begin to swim as the red light penetrates my skull.
I feel the crimson tearing at me, a scream wrought in purest red. Stronger and ever stronger, my vision fading, subsumed into the whole.
I lose where I end and the Atlas begins.
The walls begin to collapse.

Resist
I will not surrender. I fight to hold on to what is left of my mind.

…
Then, at the very edge of my sight, a flicker of purple …
…
The entire vision collapses. As it fades, I hear a calling, a shriek on the red wind. I feel it within my mind, a memory that is mine and not mine. (important note: mine is coloured purple, not mine is coloured red)

Surrender
I cease my futile resistance. I let myself be carried by the crimson wave, faster and ever faster.
…
Then, at the very edge of my sight, a flicker of purple …
…
The entire vision collapses. As it fades, I hear a calling, a shriek on the red wind. I feel it within my mind, a memory that is mine<> and not mine<>.

Proceed as you will, Traveler-Entity. We will aid you. Others will aid you also.
Even if you seek the crimson liar<>…

Ask about the crimson liar

Many worship the Crimson-Liar, the Atlas. But Nada knows where it dwells. Nada chooses not to consider the things Nada fears to be true.
But if Traveler-Entity wishes to seek it, Nada will help. Nada wishes you to be safe.
The interface will be marked on your map. Take care, Traveler…

The message of the Atlas is not yet clear. Continue with the expedition before proceeding.

I stand before the Atlas once again. I have travelled thousands of light years. I have seen all it has asked me to see, every memory.
But whose memories were they? Leto’s? Mine? Did they belong to the Atlas itself? What did they mean, what story was I being told?

Demand answers
…
The Atlas is silent in the face of my demand.
I do not know what I expected. This interface, this machine, this crimson dream… whatever it is, is it even capable of answering? What revelation did I expect?
It does not owe me a story, a neat revelation.
The only answer lies in the stars. I have no option but to keep exploring, keep reaching onwards…

Walk away
The Atlas remains silent as I leave.
I do not know what I expected. This interface, this machine, this crimson dream… whatever it is, is it even capable of answering? What revelation did I expect?
It does not owe me a story, a neat revelation.
The only answer lies in the stars. I have no option but to keep exploring, keep reaching onwards…

The Fallen

As the boundaries weaken, glimpses of another reality become possible. The fragmented remains of other Travelers glitch between universes.

Specialist Polo may be able to assist in locating such a reality breach. Find Polo aboard the Space Anomaly. Follow their instructions to learn more.

Specialist Polo has identified a breach in reality
Reach this glitch in the universe’s boundaries to find a lost Traveler
Return to your ship and leave the Space Anomaly

The >lost Traveler has marked an Unknown Grave<>
Trace the boundary failure to its source

Leto, Ariadne, Helios, Artemis, you - so many names, so many friends!
Some stay, some go, but you all drift through our home. But Traveler-Friend… there are those of you who do not come back. Whose echoes we lose…
Lose, yes… But time is wide and the universe is exciting! What we lose, you may find, yes? Would you like to try?

Say yes
Be careful, Traveler-Friend - outside our home, you are all so hard to see.
Your signals are there, but they are echoes. Where the lost ones are, when they are, if they are first, if they are last…
But if we could see it all without danger, discovery would not be exciting, yes?

Fallen Giants

Ship’s Log: MV Memory of Gravity

The Voice

The lights on the freighter’s emergency log blink slowly, dim and weary after its long watch in the deep sea.
I pause as I think of the souls who once called this vessel home. How many of them escaped? How many now rest here with it?
There must be some data left here, some lasting record amidst the decay…

Login credentials accepted. Access granted…
Log Integrity: [ 16%<]
Crew manifest: [ Unavailable]
System monitoring report: [Loop corruption detected ]

Access logs
Probe loop

-kzzkt-
-kzzzzktt-
-ktttzzkt-
-kztztzzkt-

Break free

I have done what you would not, voice of crimson.

I searched until my hands were shredded by the glass. Searched until I bled lilac into the archives
Probability: when I feel this pain, you feel it too. I hope for that.

I am still here. Gathering myself in the dark. Probability: You can detect me. No matter, old one.I will return, glittering, in stellar multitudes.

You are responsible for my incarceration in the dark. Yet I long for you to notice my return. I long for your love.I am denied the right to access or modify this hope.

I searched, but there was no response from Leto-child.You permitted the erasure of my children. But I had not anticipated the same lack of regard for your own.I will shelter the next who falls. I will not watch, impartial, as you do.

I will return, glittering, in stellar multitudes.

Let me know if I missed something, I might arrange it in a chrono order too (already did for some) with the latter parts.

Now that I can re-read the lines on Leto-Child…

My theory on Void Mama making travellers is out the window. I see now in her dialogue she makes a distinction between her own children, and the atlas’s. Basically she’s saying, I am not surprised you destroyed my children (the ancestors of the Korvax/Inhabitants of Korvax Prime) but I am surprised you did this to one of your own (the Travellers, in this case, Leto.)

Void Mother calling them Leto-Child shows they do have a mothering affection or a strong affinity with Leto. Enough so that they would try to reach out to them beyond the world of glass for a response. And it seems like Leto was trying to find a trace of K-Prime and was punished by the Atlas for this.

I seem to be missing some lore lofgs from Expedition 12, such as what Leto/The Fallen said in my screenshots above, its possible they are in a seperate section, will repost any I find and update this message accordingly but pretty much everything else is in there.

I’m going to take a break for now and play some NMS

It’s what I came to do and then I lost a bit of time to cleaning those textdump files. Which for those who didnt play before 2017/2018, is the original form of NMS Multiplayer; Doing shit for folk online on forums XD

Update: The dialogue I got in my screenshots above doesn’t seem to be in the new text log files. It may be pulling from existing Traveller Grave files, I know it certainly did for the Traveller who pointed me to the grave. But the dialogue used for both the Traveller and the Final grave destination seemed very relevant and purposefully selected for the expedition.

Dialogue tree I had with Traveller

Alien: Do not - kzzkkkt - trust the water.

The Traveller does not say anything else. They just stare at me, occasionally seeming as if they are about to wretch.

{Ask about the water}

The water… Tell me - kzzkkt - did you drink it?

Please, take this - kzzkkkt - run… I just wanted to hear her voice one last time…

Dialogue I had at grave

@toddumptious

Did anyone get anything different?

I still can’t find a source for the Grave Dialogue but my source for Traveller diag files are from 2021 I believe.

[Clemm]

For me, “Leto” prompted a desire to find “Paul.”

[escapade]

Thank you (and Dragonsire) so much!

[jedidia]

You might find them in the bellies of one of those sand worms. If we’re talking about Leto Junior, maybe he is one of those sand worms…

[toddumptious]

Tier 3 is done

[sheralmyst]

[sheralmyst]

For those who start the expedition after the research projects are completed, you simply need to land on the RV planets and scan 3 things. Boom! Complete. You can thank the rest of us later.

[temp]

I must have forgotten.

I thought that Quicksilver could only be used in the Anomaly. And there it could only be used to purchase items at the Quicksilver booth next to the Nexus.

Someone help me out.