Twelve years ago today, on 10 June YC110, the thought-dead Royal Heiress Jamyl Sarum returned to New Eden aboard an Abaddon-class battleship fitted with a powerful superweapon, and singlehandedly halted the progressing Elder Invasion of Amarr space. Soon after, she ascended to the throne, and was core to many major developments and events in the cluster until her apparent death at the hands of the mysterious “Drifters” in August YC117.
Empress Jamyl Sarum I was arguably one of the most influential figures of New Eden’s modern era. As such, the strange events surrounding her life, demise, return, and last death remain at the forefront of discussion within many circles.
Of all the questions asked about Jamyl’s life and death, however, the final one rings the loudest:
—Why did the Drifters kill Jamyl Sarum?
I present here a theory that has coalesced after much investigation of the events surrounding Empress Jamyl I, with the full details of the evidence and connections between them unfurled below:
Evidenced Assertions:
– Jamyl Sarum was somehow connected to the Sleepers.
– Jamyl was aware of the coming of the Drifters before they first appeared in New Eden.
– Matshi Raish and the SoCT became aware of her link to Sleepers.
– The Drifters came for Jamyl for a reason connected to this link.
Hypothesis:
– Jamyl Sarum’s return and ascension was fueled by knowledge and technology stemming from the Sleeper civilization, and that Jamyl retained some form of link to the Sleepers.
– The Xerah Effect was Sleeper-Talocan technology, fueled by Isogen-5.
– Jamyl became aware of the Drifter emergence early as a result of this link, and disappeared from the public eye for reasons directly connected to her link to them and the Sleepers.
– Jamyl was could either have been working FOR or AGAINST the Drifters; her link to them is certain, but she did things both for and against their forces, and the truth is unclear.
– Matshi Raish of the SoCT became aware of Jamyl’s link to the Sleepers and Drifters, and confirmed this knowledge when he performed an info-scan of Jamyl in her Avatar titan in Sarum Prime.
– Jamyl knew the Drifters were planning to come for her in Safizon.
– The Drifters did not come to kill Jamyl, but to retrieve her in infomorph form, utilizing the same method employed in their capture of Doctor Hilen Tukoss.
– Had the Empress’s body been recovered, it would have either shown evidence of a burn scan, or a recognizably Sleeper implant.
…
Now, the details and the whole story; many things must connect in order to illuminate truths.
In the weeks surrounding the development of the novel Amarr Imperial flagship Auctoritas, the mysterious forces of the Vigilant Tyrannos initiated large-scale assaults on the system of Safizon - where the ship was developed, and where its turnover to the Amarr Empress was planned to take place. During this period, Jamyl Sarum herself appeared in space on three occasions to communicate directly with Capsuleers - her first such actions on record - with all but one such appearance preceding profound developments in the ever-unfolding story of our world.
Jamyl’s final appearance came on the heels of the largest Drifter strikes to date, in the very system they had been so aggressively targeting - and concluded with the Empress’s death at the hands of one hundred Drifter Battleships, whose one hundred superweapons were simultaneously loosed upon the Empress’s Avatar-class titan, the TES Seraph, in a blinding, decisive strike. By all indications, Jamyl Sarum was their sole target on this day; after destroying the Titan and rendering the Empress’s Capsule a molten streak in space, the Vigilant Tyrannos retreated as abruptly as they had arrived.
The corpse of the Empress was retrieved and spirited away by an unknown Capsuleer, and has not been seen since.
Only a month earlier, Empress Jamyl had stated that “We believe the threat posed by Drifter forces to be contained”, in response to a question posed by a Capsuleer (myself, incidentally) during the first of her three in-space appearances;
—Given abundant evidence that this threat was not in fact “contained”, why did the Amarr Empress not proceed with greater caution - especially in consideration of the Drifter invasions of Safizon?
As questions branch and deepen, we look to Empress Jamyl’s second appearance, in the system of Sarum Prime. Above the planet Mekhios, in the clouded graveyard of the Elder Fleet invasion force that penetrated into the Throne Worlds on July 10th of YC110, the Empress was in the midst of a memorial speech when SoCT Elder Mentor @Matshi_Raish arrived and immediately initiated a strange scan of the TES Seraph and Jamyl Sarum within - a scan which was identical in every observable way to those performed by Vigilant Tyrannos Seekers, Lancers, cruisers, and battleships alike (which are themselves evidenced to be some form of advanced mind-machine interfacing link).
When questioned, Raish claimed to be investigating “potential existential threats”, under terms of the Yulai Convention, and declined to further elaborate on his actions. In defiance of orders to stand down given by present Imperial Officers, the Elder Mentor finished his scan, and stated at its conclusion that the SoCT had “learned what (they) needed to learn”, after which the Empress authorized present Amarr Navy and Capsuleers to engage the vessel at will - resulting in the quick destruction of the ship and Raish’s Capsule.
Dialogue logs for incident on 25.07.YC117
(Matshi Raish arrives and initiates scan of TES Seraph, Jamyl Sarum I)
Jamyl Sarum I > Mentor Raish? What is your purpose here?
Matshi Raish > We are investigating potential existential threats under the terms of the ninth codicil to the Yulai Convention.
Jamyl Sarum I > Under whose authority do you operate?
Matshi Raish > Our activities are lawful and essential.
Matshi Raish > I repeat the ninth codicil to the Yulai Convention authorizes investigation of potential existential threats.
Hassin Khara > ATTENTION SOCIETY OF CONSCIOUS THOUGHT VESSEL - CEASE AND DESIST WITH ALL SCANNING ACTIVITY IMMEDIATELY AND RETREAT TO SAFE DISTANCE OF 100 KILOMETRES FROM [EF] SERAPH
Jamyl Sarum I > Raish. Respond Immediately. WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS?
Peviad Vamai > Their communications have ceased, Empress.
Hassin Khara > ATTENTION SOCIETY OF CONSCIOUS THOUGHT VESSEL - REPEAT - CEASE AND DESIST WITH ALL SCANNING ACTIVITY IMMEDIATELY AND RETREAT TO SAFE DISTANCE OF 100 KILOMETRES FROM [EF] SERAPH
Matshi Raish > Empress Jamyl, I say in public that our presence and actions here are lawful under the terms of the ninth codicil to the Yulai Convention.
Hassin Khara > ATTENTION ALL AMARR NAVY AND LOYALIST VESSELS - STAND TO - WEAPONS READY
Hassin Khara > MENTOR RAISH - CEASE AND DESIST SCANNING, AND RETREAT TO SAFE DISTANCE - ONE ZERO ZERO KILOMETERS. AKNOWLEDGE IMMEDIATELY.
Matshi Raish > Very well, we have learned what we needed to learn.
Jamyl Sarum I > Mentor Raish, you leave me no choice.
Jamyl Sarum I > Amarr Navy escort, engage at will.
Hassin Khara > ALL IMPERIAL AND LOYALIST VESSELS, WEAPONS FREE, PRIMARY TARGET IS [SCT] ENLIGHTENMENT - MATSHI RAISH - GNOSIS CLASS
(SoCT vessel is marked as suspect and promptly destroyed by present Capsuleers)
—Why did Matshi Raish so unyieldingly approach the Empress and perform this seemingly Drifter-similar scan? What reasons did Raish have to associate Empress Jamyl Sarum with “potential existential threats” whose investigation is authorized under the Yulai Convention?
Rewinding further, certain events in the second quarter of YC117 may hold more clues.
In mid-April, Imperial Armaments announced efforts to reverse-engineer technology recovered from Drifter Battleships, supported by Lai Dai through Carthum Conglomerate - eventually leading to the development of the Entosis Link - a hyperefficient mind-machine interface technology.
In May, Empress Jamyl gifted advanced shielding technology - developed through joint Amarr-Lai-Dai research - to Capsuleers, rendering our Ourposts impenetrable to incoming fire using the same methods employed to safeguard Empire stations and Stargates. Many at the time thought this gift was intended to coerce Capsuleers into supporting the Amarr Empire.
A mere two weeks later, however, it was revealed that Entosis Links, a technology directly derived from Drifter scanners, were capable of completely bypassing this new shielding and affecting the outposts that had by now universally adopted the new technology. Many saw this as an unfortunate failure of the Empress to unite Capsuleers under the cause of the Amarr.
—Why did the Amarr develop and market reverse-engineered Drifter technology in the Entosis Link (under Carthum Conglomerate, with Lai Dai support), only for it to be discovered that the “impenetrable” station shielding technology Jamyl had gifted to Capsuleers (ALSO developed through Amarr-Lai-Dai joint research) was profoundly vulnerable to its effects?
One might call this an unfortunate coincidence at a glance, or perhaps place blame on Lai Dai - but the actions of the Drifters against the Empress, and Raish’s defiant investigation, inspire deeper questioning - especially as time is rewound farther:
Before her reappearance preceding her demise, Jamyl Sarum had been completely absent from the public eye for a significant period of time. “Rumors continue to circulate among the media relating to the wellbeing of Empress Jamyl I, after her abstinence from public appearances since September YC116, with Chamberlain Haromi attending public events in her absence” – source. The rumors surrounding her wellbeing during this perior stand in support of health rumors that surfaced continually throughout her rule.
Interestingly, the timing of this seclusion coincides precisely with the period in which the Sisters of EVE began observing “strange sleeper activity” across Anoikis - now understood to be the first foreboding omen of the Drifter emergence, preceding their raids of the then-undiscovered Sleeper Cache sites in New Eden and the events surrounding the appearance of Jove Observatories and Caroline’s Star. This period is also the latest time at which Hilen Tukoss’s could have transmitted his warning broadcast from the Redoubt Hive.
—Why did Jamyl “stop appearing in public” near-concurrently with the commencement of the Drifter emergence?
The true answer to this question could simply be a resounding “it was a coincidence”, but again considering the aforementioned events, this possibility appears ever-lower. The Drifters’ laser-focus on the Empress, along with the curiosity of Matshi Raish and the whole controversy of the shielding tech and Entosis Link releases all push coincidence farther from the realm of possibility - with consideration of this final point, I have great trouble considering that with any likelihood:
—Where did Jamyl Sarum obtain the “Xerah Effect” Superweapon, which she used to obliterate the invading Minmatar Elder Fleet as she returned to the Amarr in June YC110, and why has it not been seen since?
None know the fate of the Xerah Effect Abaddon; it was never seen again after its appearance in Sarum Prime. However, the nature of the weapon - especially given modern developments - allows for the brightening of all the above mysteries.
In recent years, it’s become abundantly clear that whatever technology the superweapon was based on was also the core of the Upwell Consortium’s Arcing Vorton Projector. However, in order to prime a firing on the same level as the Xerah, Upwell’s ACV required a KEEPSTAR worth of power in order to catalyze the necessary spatiotemporal deformations.
Isogen-5 has long been theorized to have been the Xerah’s catalyst material, owing to its unique spatiotemporal instabilities - indeed, this material is also directly evidenced to have been the catalyst of the Apocrypha event, given the evidence gathered at “Strange Energy Readings” sites in the deepest depths of Anoikis, and the residual spacetime deformations observed in the affected star systems in Known Space.
Yet despite derived evidence that Isogen-5 must have been used by the weapon, there was previously little evidence to link it to the ACV beyond its appearance.
–This all changed with the revelation of Hilen Tukoss’s fate.
Again, I refer you to the larger post that goes into full detail on these events.
Hilen Tukoss died in Redoubt at the hands of the Drifters. However, he did not perish. His pod was indeed destroyed - but his clone never received his infomorph, as he was pulled in by the Drifters somehow, and was held captive.
Tukoss eventually escaped aboard a “Sleeper Vessel” and was en route to Site One when he suddenly went silent for the last time. It was later revealed that he had however, in fact, SUCCEEDED in reaching Eram. His final transmission was broadcast less than 30km away from the Eifyr station in system.
Eifyr was responsible for hiding his original Redoubt broadcast at the Drifter Hive - and a week after Tukoss’s final message outside their station, Zainou, his parent megacorp, nullified his citizenship - making him a citizen of nowhere with no human rights. The DED soon pursued the capsuleers who came to possess a sample from his discovered corpse, and CONCORD questioned Eifyr in a session that has never been made public.
Only months later, Eifyr joined in founding the Upwell Consortium - whose first products included the Arcing Vorton Projector. The conspiracy theory surrounding these events posits that Upwell’s huge jump in technological sophistication came from knowledge taken from the returned Hilen Tukoss - who carried with him knowledge and information from the Drifters and Sleepers.
And now, Upwell has developed Vorton Projector capable of being fitted to subcapital vessels. Though these miniaturized versions lack the absurd power of the Xerah and ACV, their technological base is one and the same.
All of the above information coalesces to form a clearer picture, which itself only inspires further questions. What’s absolutely certain is the Jamyl Sarum indeed had some connection to the Sleepers and Drifters - but the true nature of that link is where the mystery continues from here.
Again, I come back to the hypothesis we started with:
– Jamyl Sarum’s return and ascension was fueled by knowledge and technology stemming from the Sleeper civilization, and that Jamyl retained some form of link to the Sleepers.
– The Xerah Effect was Sleeper-Talocan technology, fueled by Isogen-5.
– Jamyl became aware of the Drifter emergence early as a result of this link, and disappeared from the public eye for reasons directly connected to her link to them and the Sleepers.
– Jamyl was could either have been working FOR or AGAINST the Drifters; her link to them is certain, but she did things both for and against their forces, and the truth is unclear.
– Matshi Raish of the SoCT became aware of Jamyl’s link to the Sleepers and Drifters, and confirmed this knowledge when he performed an info-scan of Jamyl in her Avatar titan in Sarum Prime.
– Jamyl knew the Drifters were planning to come for her in Safizon.
– The Drifters did not come to kill Jamyl, but to retrieve her in infomorph form, utilizing the same method employed in their capture of Doctor Hilen Tukoss.
– Had the Empress’s body been recovered, it would have either shown evidence of a burn scan, or a recognizably Sleeper implant.
Lastly, it’s my personal hope that Jamyl fought against, and continues to fight against the Drifters; the Drifter invasions of the Throne Worlds began after her death at their hands, and stopped as fast as they began. Though the Drifters’ goals have always been mysterious, their halting of the Invasion is one of the final things that has made little sense; if Jamyl was taken by them, I readily admit that I also hope she may have been responsible for this cessation of the attack on her home.
All the above is my rationale for my theories, beliefs, and hopes.
I’ll continue to pursue whatever leads might illuminate these and other mysteries;
And I earnestly hope that others might be inspired to do the same.
-Uriel
A SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
: 31 January YC106
–Jamyl Sarum commits ritual suicide at the conclusion of the succession trials following Emperor Heideran’s death, ordering a group of her followers who vehemently fought to prevent her from dying to stand down before self-destructing her capsule.
: 10 June YC110
–As the Imperial Navy retreats, Jamyl Sarum reappears in Sarum Prime, piloting an Abaddon-class battleship equipped with a rumored precursor superweapon now known as the “Xerah Effect”. She singlehandedly dispatches the Minmatar Elders’ capital fleet gathered above Mekhios, and ascends to the throne of the Amarr Empire. The mysterious Abaddon is never seen in use again.
: 10 March YC111
–The Apocrypha Event rips through the cluster, opening wormholes and revealing Anoikis. The derelict infrastructure of the dormant Sleeper civilization, as well as the far older Talocan ruins punctuating the stars, fall victim to plundering by capsuleers and the Empires alike. This leads to myriad technological developments, including the invention of Strategic Cruisers.
: YC116, Possible Range: Jan-October – time source
–Hilen Tukoss’s Redoubt broadcast is recieved by an FTL transponder in Eram. It is now known that, while the Doctor was killed by the Drifters shortly after the broadcast terminated, and his clone failed to activate, he lived on. The Drifters, through some mechanism, intercepted Hilen Tukoss’s TEBS Infomorph output at the moment of his death, “capturing” the Doctor and later using his galnet ident to request Jove biomass samples from Capsuleers. This full story can be found in this IGS post.
: End of September YC116
–Jamyl stops appearing in public (provided by this later-dated article), simultaneous with observed “changes in Sleeper activity” reported by the SoE on October 6th, a harbinger of the unveiling of raided Sleeper Cache sites and the appearance of Caroline’s Star.
: 13 April YC117
–Imperial Armaments (aided by Lai Dai) announces reverse-engineering of Drifter/Sleeper technology, Antikythera Elements, leading to the production of the Entosis link - which allows “more efficient mind-machine links than were thought possible in the past.”
: 29 May YC117
–Jamyl gifts station shielding technology at a level that had previously been restricted to station and stargate infrastructure to Capsuleers - developed by joint Amarr-Lai Dai research (Lai Dai also having aided in the funding of Carthum Conglomerate), breaking CONCORD treaties.
: 12 June YC117
–Only two weeks later, it is revealed that Entosis Links - and therefore Drifter/Sleeper tech - are capable of completely bypassing the newly released shield technology that has now been universally applied to Capsuleer infrastructure.
: 18 July YC117
–The keel-laying ceremony for the TES Auctoritas is announced, with Jamyl confirmed to attend. She appears in public for the first time since her disappearance in September, and says in response to a question by myself that the Drifter threat is “contained”.
: 25 July YC117
–Matshi Raish defiantly scans Jamyl, using a tool identical in appearance to those of the Drifters and Seekers’s scanners, leading to his podding after his stating that they had “gotten what we came for”.
: 31 July YC117
–The Drifter initiate a huge incursion into Safizon, where the TES Auctoritas was constructed and tested. Jamyl does not delay the ceremony, despite enormous evidence that the Drifters were there for a reason.
: 15 August YC117
–The Drifters launch a second attack on Safizon, far larger and far more focused. Again, the ceremony is not delayed. The Auctoritas’s trials are complete.
: 21 August YC117
–Jamyl arrives outside the Amarr Navy station in Safizon for the handover of the Auctoritas. Suddenly, a fleet of 100 Drifter Battleships lands and immediately loose their superweapons upon her Avatar-class titan simultaneously, destroying it and then destroying the Empress’s pod before immediately leaving, doing nothing more.
: 25 August YC117
–The Drifters begin a total invasion of the Throne Worlds, pouring in massive resources only to completely halt operations and pull back a week later.
