(Citizen Star News) - 2014-04-28 - Hadesians... so called from the system Hades, known for its dead worlds, but with the intriguing signs of an ancient civilization that apparently destroyed itself in a self-induced apocalypse. With the new $45 Million stretch goal announced in today's Letter from the Chairman, we will be granted a key to ... the mysteries? To an ancient treasure trove?

Who are these so called Hadesians? What do we know?

The Hades System was named by someone with a sense of humor: it is the apparent graveyard of an ancient civilization… everything is dead. Exohistorians theorize that the race destroyed itself in a system-wide civil war. Of the four planets, three have been utterly devastated by bombs and weapons unlike any which have been developed by mankind. The fourth planet was literally cracked in half but still sits in orbit, a lasting memorial to this ancient and ultimately suicidal war. Less-than-noble archaeologists frequent the system, hoping to find some evidence of the advanced war making technologies used by the “Hadesians” to destroy themselves. There has been little progress on this front, however, and the system is not at all a hotbed for weapons sales: it seems the inhabitants of these worlds wiped each other out quite thoroughly. Most traders avoid traveling through Hades, as the whispers around the shipping hubs are that the system is haunted. Shippers claim to haveencountered the ghostly visage of the “blue man” while traveling near the star.

Now we have a puzzle, a box to acquire and unlock. What will we find? Is there only one reward? The first to the prize taking all the fame and glory?

The votes are in and the winner of the $45 million reward is… the mystery object! It’s pretty cool seeing the community take a chance on something unknown instead of going for a free weapon or other upgrade. And you won’t be disappointed! The mystery object is more than just a piece of flare, it’s a puzzle players will someday compete to solve. Where the artifact lead you? A lost Hadesian outpost, a cache of technology, a hidden jump point? It’s up to you to find out! Hadesian Artifact – The mystery of what happened in Hades has been one of the great archeological puzzles ever since the system was discovered in the early 26th Century. The evidence suggests that the Hadesians nearly erased their entire civilization in devastating civil war that left a planet cracked in half, but so many questions remained. Who were these Hadesians? How did the war get started? Over the centuries, even the public became enamored by the mystery of this system. This curiosity was inflamed when scientists recently discovered a lone Hadesian artifact on the black market of all places. Trinket manufacturers quickly tried to capitalize on the resurgence of interest by building exact copies of the artifact for sale to the public, even replicating the unidentified symbols along the base…

Early readers of Jump Point Magazine may find something naggingly familiar with this description. In the first issue a lore story "Whisperer in the Dark" by David Haddock, describes a visit to the Hades system by one Tonya Oriel (also featured in "The Lost Generation"). Tonya finds this artifact in an upside down city beneath the surface, "A mirror city to be precise. While the one on the surface reached for the sky, this one was carved down into the planet. Walk ways connected structures built out of the walls on the various levels."

She also finds an "image" of a Hadesian burned into the wall, "The Hadesian was probably seven to eight feet tall. It seemed to have a roundish, bulky main body with multiple thin appendages. A thousand-year-old stain on a wall is hardly much to go by, but it looked like it had four to six legs and two long arms. Even as a silhouette, it looked terrified."

The story ends with our heroine a bit freaked out by her visit and the artifact sitting in decontamination, she apparently sold it on the black market soon after. Clearly was picked out by scientists and replicated for memorabilia collecting pilots across the 'Verse.

Update - 2015-01-06: Added link to newly published Hades Galactic Guide

See Also

Galactic Guide: Hades System

Announcement of 45 Million Stretch Goal: Hedesian Artifact

Unlock: Hades System

Subscriber Only - Jump Point 01.01 - Whisperer in the Dark