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Are humans the most dangerous species in Elite: Dangerous?
Thargoid interactions are rapidly changing, rumours are circulating and tension is rising, but are our alien counterparts really more dangerous than our fellow humans?
The idea of alien life forms is fascinating – creatures beyond our wildest imaginations, technology that humans would never be able to understand – it’s just a shame that in our lifetimes, we’ll likely never truly know if there’s anything else out there.
That’s a somewhat depressing thought, but fortunately games have given us the opportunity to interact with more alien species than we can count. Some use them as throwaway enemies, while others treat them as deep characters with whom to form relationships. Few, however, have given us what feels like an almost realistic approach to how we discover them, until Elite: Dangerous, that is.
After years of no alien activity in the Elite: Dangerous universe, suddenly rumours started to spread of alien ruins on planets. Slowly but surely alien sightings started to show up, and before we knew it we were sharing the universe with the Thargoids.
Interactions started out slowly, human ships might be interdicted, scanned and released. At other times Thargoids would just float around space. However, if they were attacked then deadly force would be used. Their technology was superior to ours, resulting in no wins for human pilots. As we learnt more about them, thanks to some questionable research techniques, we developed weapons that were capable of bringing them down. But mostly, relations remained fairly civil, unless some rogue pilots got too big for their boots.
But now the Thargoids are attacking. More specifically they're targeting human AEGIS space stations, destroying them and taking thousands of lives. In what likely isn’t a coincidence, AEGIS is the organisation behind the weapons that can bring down the Thargoids, so all things considered their response isn’t crazy. However the devastation they leave behind is catastrophic and has forced some players to try and run deadly rescue missions for those stuck on the burning stations.
“Not only did I have to deal with the hot and burning ship, explosions, and collisions with fellow CMDR, I had to avoid the human griefers too,” says CMDR F99, who embarked on multiple rescue missions. “They were preying on us on the notion that the passengers shouldn't be saved. They said that those attacked were all AEGIS (The new INRA) stations. AEGIS were responsible for making new Thargoid-killing weaponry. The griefers will kill anyone who is rescuing the passengers. I was shot down twice myself.”
The recent changes in Thargoid behaviour have splintered the Elite community. Some see this as a big threat to human existence, while others believe we should look for a peaceful resolution. What's for certain is that those who have dealt with the Thargoids in combat rarely come out alive, unless they have top-level weaponry and experience, meaning many pilots are out to exact revenge.
Human tech has advanced quickly to fight Thargoids
© Frontier Developments
“After I scooped up my second escape pod, the Thargoid opened fire,” recalls Kyle “CMDR CK0420” Lewsader, when speaking about his experiences saving people from burning stations. “A few seconds later, my ship’s console went dark. I was destroyed. Since that day, I've made it my goal to wage total war against the Thargoids.”
He’s not alone in this quest. Many players believe that the Thargoids are here for no good reason and that they must be taken out before they do it to the human race. After all, they have incredibly strong weapons and it usually takes multiple ships to bring down just one Thargoid vessel, so it wouldn’t be too difficult for them.
“As for whether we should seek a peaceful resolution, I feel that ship probably sailed with the mission carried out by the honorable CMDR John Jameson to end the first Thargoid war in 3151,” continues Lewsader. “The Thargoid race has proven itself a very smart adversary. They wouldn't have returned yet unless they were fully prepared and I'm confident we've yet to see much of their true military might. We need to be prepared for war, on all fronts.”
This is certainly one of the more aggressive approaches to the situation, but it’s somewhat difficult to fault his logic. The Thargoids have already been defeated once, and there’s no way they would have come back to this part of the galaxy unless they knew they could hold their own. That is unless they were forced to. Space is a pretty big place, but it might not be big enough for everyone, and some think that the Thargoids were forced to return.
The aftermath of a big fight
© Frontier Developments
“We know very little about them, other than their bio-organic tech which, if not superior, is very alien to ours,” says CMDR Arithon, author of elite-dangerous-blog.co.uk. “Somebody needs to find out if they're here because they wanted to come, or because something worse is chasing them. If that’s the case, war with the Thargoids might be the least of our concerns.”
With both sides using considerable force in certain situations it almost feels like war is inevitable, even though many are opposed to the idea. But the questions remain: whose fault is this tension, was it always going to happen and really, who is the most dangerous force in the galaxy?
“Without doubt the human race is the most dangerous thing in the galaxy,” exclaims CMDR Arithon. “A peaceful approach should be tried. So far, the Thargoids do not seem bent on conquest or attacking at random. I have been hyperdicted by Thargoids and all they've done is scan my ship and leave in peace. All their hostility seems aimed at AEGIS held stations, which is the faction that has been experimenting on Thargoids and developing weapons against them, so it may be that their actions are retaliation, rather than direct aggression.”
There’s no doubt that when it comes to aggression, the humans are much more problematic than the Thargoids. Humans are often the aggressors when it comes to combat, and will also happily take out their own species, something we haven’t seen Thargoids do. However, when it comes to how much destruction each race could be responsible for it’s difficult to look past our alien counterparts.
“I'd say Thargoids are more dangerous than humans, mostly because they’re unpredictable and impossible to reason with. I don't think Thargoids understand what peace means,” says CMDR Sereina, a veteran Elite player. “But I don't think that we need to commit yet another genocide against them either, just to leave them alone. They started appearing in the Pleiades and it didn't take me long to understand that this place is important to them. Unless we leave them alone in the Pleiades, I think that war is unavoidable at this point. Not necessarily all-out war as Thargoids are focusing their attention on AEGIS, but they do it regardless of innocent casualties. If they reach the bubble, they will be threatening humanity as a whole.”
Clearly both species have the potential to inflict serious damage on each other and even on themselves, especially if this in-fighting between Thargoid sympathisers and hunters continues. However, some believe that there's a lot more at work than simply a slowly developing war between two species.
“The dangerous one now is the humans,” says CMDR F99. “There were lot of conspiracies before and still are now. Whatever the three big powers are doing, it’s very suspicious. They’re hiding something. Proof is emerging. INRA sites, CMDR Jameson's log, AEGIS, etc. Humans are easily misled.”
In Elite: Dangerous, it seems that the powerful members of the human race are up to something, and the rest of us are almost powerless to stop it. We know that both the humans and the Thargoids can inflict serious damage on each other, but if the humans in power have something planned, there could be disaster for mankind and aliens-alike.
