Space sim Elite Dangerous is set in a mind-bendingly vast 1:1 replica of the Milky Way, with 400 billion star systems to explore. But this is no Mass Effect or Star Trek. Elite's galaxy isn't teeming with eccentric aliens with ridged foreheads, planet-sized extraterrestrial cities, and weird spaceships zipping back and forth. Much like actual space, it's big, quiet, and empty. A terrifyingly huge cosmic void that humanity has only managed to get the most microscopic of footholds in, in a region of space known as the Core Systems, or the Bubble.
Humans basically have the Milky Way to themselves, but over the years an enigmatic, elusive new species—the Thargoids—have been creeping into their territory. I met them myself in 2019 while out on a trade run. I was pulled out of hyperspace and watched in horror as my ship was remotely shut down and creepy biomechanical ships appeared in front of me. Some players take these encounters as an invitation for a fight, but I just fled. I'm a lover not a fighter in Elite, and I doubt my puny little hauler would have stood a chance against them.
It was a shocking moment, because Elite is a largely uneventful game. I play as a trader, which means a lot of long journeys through space as I ferry cargo between orbital stations and planets. If that sounds dull, well, it is—but that's why I like it. It's strangely relaxing, and the flight model and atmosphere are so sublime in Elite that I don't mind the repetitiveness. So when those Thargoids yanked me out of hyperspace, I nearly jumped out of my seat. It was a sudden, unexpected surge of excitement and fear in the middle of a boring workday.
The increasing boldness of the Thargoids has been part of the Azimuth Saga, an ongoing story in Elite Dangerous. A controversial scientist calling himself Salvation had been 𝄹planning to unleash a superweapon that would rid the galaxy of the alien threat for good—and yesterday that weapon, the Proteus Wave, was finally activated. All the Thargoids were destroyed and now the galaxy is at peace. Hooray! Well, that was the plan. Turns out firing this weapon has actually made things much worse, triggering a new story: The Aftermath.
Fly to the HIP 22460 system in Elite today and you'll see the catastrophic aftermath of Salvation's unstable weapon—including a sea of wrecked capital ships. A dramatic sight for sure, and no doubt perfect for taking moody screenshots of your Asp floating in front of, but you might not want to hang around for long. There are now more Thargoids than ever in this part of space, and if you have advanced Guardian technology fitted to your ship it'll decay rapidly as you spend time there. The lesson we can take from all this is: don't trust unhinged scientists with untested doomsday devices making wild promises to save the galaxy.
This event will, according to Elite Dangerous developer Frontier, "lead into content updates for the rest of the year and beyond." So it seems we haven't seen the last of the Thargoids, and they're probably going to become even more of a menace. Also, Salvation has conveniently 'gone missing', so he'll likely be a part of the next wave of storylines too. I just hope the Thargoids' presence isn't too intrusive, because as much as I'm enjoying this storyline from afar, I still play Elite to relax. I don't need aliens pulling me out of hyperspace every time I go out trading. I'm not worth it. I'm just a simple space trucker. Leave me alone.