Mysteries left by Star Control II

This is a list of mysteries that are still open at the end of Star Control II.

Why did the Melnorme's bridge turn purple?

The Melnorme offer to tell you this piece of information for 120,000 credits (on the PC version) or 12,000,000 credits (on the 3DO version and UQM), but it is impossible to gather this many credits.

From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both Paul and Fred here):

"<Fwiffo> I promise here and now, that in our next SC project, we'll answer that Purple Bridge question to your ultimate satisfaction."

*What happened to the Androsynth? Are any still alive?

From a fan email with Fred Ford:

> Were ALL the Androsynth destroyed when the Orz came?

Perceptive lad. This was a leading plot candidate for our theoretical sequel.

Are there still Taalo alive?

From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both Paul and Fred here):

<_Stilgar> <che`z`puf> Are the Taalo really dead, and when the Pkunk spoke of rocks that were awakened, did they mean the Taaolo?

<Fwiffo> The Taalo LIVE!

Do the Orz have a special purpose for the Humans, as the Arilou have?

From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both Paul and Fred here):

<Mephisto_> Fwiffo: What exactly did the Arilou *quickbabies* do to piss off the Orz so much?

<Fwiffo> The Arilou always *jumped in front*, which was both a physical taunt as well as a political one. They got to the humans first.

What happened to the Precursors?

From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both Paul and Fred here):

<Fwiffo> In our rambling thoughts about SC3 we did seriously consider having the Orz assume a much larger and more ominous role, opposed to the return of the Precursors.

Does the Spathi's Ultimate Evil really exist?

From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both Paul and Fred here):

<_Stilgar> <Spyhunter> Fwiffo: "How does an "Ultimate Evil" -race in an SC2 -style game behave when meeting the player?"

<Fwiffo> You mean the big carnivorous teddy bears on Spathiwa?

<Xxyl> I believe those were those "Evil Ones"

<_Stilgar> <Spyhunter> Fwiffo: "No, I mean the main enemy in the game. ;)"

<Fwiffo> Oh yeah. Well, I rarely paint someone as absolutely "evil" -- it's all a matter of perspective. What is interesting is why people (aliens) do things that seem evil to you or me, and what prevents us from doing the same.

The fact that Paul/Fred didn't recall the Ultimate Evil suggests that this is not an important plot point, but merely a product of the Spathi's paranoia. Fwiffo's description "[...] it lurks just outside the range of even the most sensitive, long-range detectors [...]" supports this idea.

Is the Ultron still in working order?

Are the events in the outtakes with respect to the Ultron to be taken seriously?

What happened to the Tobermoon and its crew in the Vela Oort Cloud?

The Star Control II manual states that The Captain finds the drifting, battle-damaged ship, "Strangely, there were no bodies at all on board." Who attacked it, and why take the bodies but leave the ship?