Greetings, fellow pilots.
A small OOC warning ahead of the main body: Post may contain knowledge of our current, real world brought into conjunction with in game proceedings and knowledge. For the sake of roleplay, I also took some liberteis in regards to how this knowledge got into New Eden. I hope you’ll understand.
As the thread on the Enheduanni Lore is closed by the system administrator unfortunately, I wanted to share my supporting research of the “Enheduanni = Triglavians” speculation in this topic.
I wanted to share my speculation from an in-character perspective. If you are not inclined towards this, please skip the first two parts as well as the closing part.
I came up with the relationship myself, but noted while looking for the right place to post today that @Festmester_Uctionsson already came up with this link before here, even though he didnt pursue it further, as it seems.
RP Pretext
I went to the scientific library, set on my goals for today. I wanted to see whether I could dig up something on the Triglavians. Not out of sheer interest. Out of the will to pay those bastards back!
I’ve never been a fervent follower of Jamyl’s as I really never understood the whole custom of the rituals and sacrifices nobility has to undertake in order to “ascend”. For me, the Heavenly and Holy resides in the small things like molecules, atoms, nanites, and quants, not in some gestures, words and incantations. But maybe that’s why I’ve chosen to pursue a scientific career instead of a political or clerical one.
But still. They murdering one of ours – I just cannot let that go.
I entered the reading hall and passed the receptionists sitting at their designated places. A brief nod, they knew me from my recent visits.
Passing the great reading hall, I set my acoustic receptors to filter out the flirring sounds of the electronic display devices which hung on the walls and displayed general information about the library. I was headed to the smaller alcoves where working undisturbed from the majority of the other Viziam employees was possible.
I sat down, took several long breaths and reviewed in my mind was I knew, what I wanted to know and laid out a plan for a path how to get there. I plugged the cable from the VR Holoreader into the little chrome jack behind my left ear. Transparent windows with little flashing buttons rushed into my field of sight. I closed most of them, as they were assistants and guidelines how to search the databanks and catalogues of the library. Then I opened up the main catalogue itself and began typing in the search string to start of my research.
Several hours later I had the results I was looking for and had gathered the material I needed. Now I just had to write everything down so I could publish it.
The findings would hardly prove to be groundbreaking. But maybe they’d inspire somebody else to start where I left off and find something which could be used against the Trigs. I saved them temporarily in the Memory implant. While the files, links and other pieces of information were rushing over the thin silver data cord ranging from the library’s host system console to my head, I reviewed them.
Introductory Rambling & Background
The first topic I gathered information on was the central theory that the Triglavians were the Enheduanni. Sure, several facts were already pointing towards this, but I wanted not only further substantiate the theory, but also try to dig up some additional information on their nature and their relation to the Sleepers and the Drifters, if possible.
While it was an unproven theory as well that the Drifters were the “others”, a number of artificial conscious entities which developed (on their own?) in the VR environment of the Jove fraction called the Sleepers or Architects, I had not much facts to start with. Except maybe for the names.
Triglav, triglavian. Basically the meaning of the word Is derived from an ancient language which is not home to New Eden anymore. According to the Archeotechs who surveyed some remnants of an old database found in a system close to the Eve gate several hundred years ago, the language or at least its radical was called “Slavic”. In this language, Triglav was considered a deity with three heads. Easy for us to understand, I thought to myself, as the word itself involves the prefix “tri”, which – and that is an assumption – we can also find in “trinary”, the positional notation underlying the current Sleeper technology. Some claim it was the key to quantum technology: Contrary to binary systems, which only have bits which can be expressed as either “0” or “1” (which basically means that you have to decide on either in order to proceed with your computations, something is either true or false), the trinary system (sometimes also called ternary system) has “trits”, which can be either expressed as “0”, “1”, and “2” or “-1”, “0”, and “1”. We can interpret this as the third characteristic having an “undecided” value (or a “maybe”). This allows for computations based on assumptions, which in turn allows for branching of computations and computing several possibilities at the same time as opposed to chaining computations in the binary system.
Be that as it may, this will lead too much into information technology, where I was not headed with the research at hand.
Main Part
Focussing back on the central hypothesis, the Triglavian side of things would not lead me to any results. That was the point where I started to look at the meaning of the second side to the assumption, the term “Enheduanni”.
Again an ancient database close to the Eve gate, again some hints from a culture (almost) long forgotten: A team of Archeotechs founds records of a person called “Enheduanna”.
The story takes places on an unknown planet in an unknown system. Enheduanna, princess and daughter to a very influential king was, in another city, also instated as high priestess of the goddess of love, Inanna, and high-priestess as well as “wife” to a god called Nanna. Nanna was considered the god of the moon of said planet as well as guardian to the priestesses city.
A new man of power – Lugalane – arose within the city and tried to take over power. As such, he wanted the support of the high priestess (which also wielded political influence through her father in no small measure) in the role of the city’s guardian god. Enheduanna declined his request (or: outright refused him), upon which Lugalane not only relieved her of her clerical duties and stripped her of her office in the city, but he also defiled and destroyed the temple, putting a knife in Enheduannas hand and suggesting the priestesses suicide.
Enheduanna chose the exile over ending her life. Separated from her temple to Nanna, from the exile she prayed fervently to Inanna. While she starts out with sounding out praise to the great goddess, after a while she also discloses her complaints to the goddess in her prayer. She tells her of Lugalane’s wrongdoings and that Nanna, god of the moon and protector of the city, has not intervened, tolerating this behavior.
This is basically where the records become indecipherable. Information fragments indicate that the high priestess was later reinstated in her office. What became of Lugalane, however, is not mentioned.
While this passed down story certainly offers no hard scientific evidence, one could draw certain resemblances:
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The Enheduanni were instated as caretakers or shepherds to the Architects or Sleepers, much as a high priest of a deity is the caretaker of the belief’s followers or believers.
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A strong man arose in the city under Enheduannas protection, much as one or more conscious, artificial entities (the “others”) arose and spurred rebellion in the sleeper VR construct under the Enheduannis care. Basically the others robbed the Enheduanni of their influence over the Architects, much as Lugalane robbed Enheduanna of her influence by exiling her.
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The priestess was exiled, nothing was heard from her any more. This could be interpreted as “went into hiding” or “nothing was seen from her anymore”, much as the Enheduanni vanished completely and without a trace from existence after the “others” appeared.
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Arking back to the central hypothesis and assuming that indeed the Triglavians are the Enheduanni, an also striking parallel between both are the firm believe in a divine order, or that a deity or god will assist them.
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Generally we can derive that for divine assistance, the adherence to a superimposed rule framework (loosely translated into “commandments” or similar articles of faith) is necessary.
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The priestess Enheduanna from the story offers her obedience and loyalty in the form of a prayer and praise; meanwhile, the Triglavians or Enheduanni also speak of a prayer and also of a rule framework called “flow of vyraj”, which was corrupted by the ways of someone else.
RP Closing part
While this certainly are only indications and offer by no means any conclusive proof, it’s a first step in the right direction.
I was content whith today’s results. I jacked out and left the library. All I had to do now was to compile this information in a rough scientific article, add some sources and get in touch with my friend over at the Archeologist’s Den how I liked to call it. Shed flesh the rest out, add herself as an author and publish the paper in one of those magazines.
I accessed my schedule while I was walking down the station’s corridors back to the dining district. All the searching left me hungry. A translucent display occupied the left part of my field of vision, the next two weeks were displayed along with a couple appointments. One stood out, marked in bright red. “Research on Triglavian Entropic Disintegrators” / “Possible Countermeasures” it read. I sighed. At that time I had quite some work left to do before I could finally make my way back to the blissful silence of Anoikis.
Looking forward to your thoughts on this.
o7
Fly safe.