Mysteries left by Star Control II
This is a list of mysteries that are still open at the end of Star Control II.
Major mysteries
Mysteries referenced by more than two canon sources.
What happened to the Precursors?
From the Slylandro:
- Joyous Lifting, who has a better memory than I recalls that the Shaggy Ones were described as being... worried.
- They were always hurrying from place to place, seeking knowledge as though they were in a desperate search for some important secret some answer to a question that they never shared with us.
- Sullen Plummet remembers that the last time the Shaggy Ones visited our world they came aboard a great circular starship, one even larger than your own.
- They had discovered their Answer and were leaving to go somewhere and they didn't tell us exactly where 'somewhere' was.
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.
What is the purpose of the Rainbow Worlds?
From the Slylandro:
- We were told the planets were... again this is confusing... organized (?) in some pattern which in some way alluded to the Shaggy Ones' ultimate fate.
Who are They/Them?
What happened to the Androsynth? Are any still alive?
From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both Paul and Fred here): <LordR-man> Fwiffo- What really happened to the Androsynth in sc2? <Fwiffo> In regards to the Androsynth: They were snagged by the entity who/which projected its fingers into our dimension (which looked to us as the Orz.)
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.
Lore mysteries
Minor mysteries with an eventual impact on the plot.
Arilou
What are the Arilou's motives for messing with humans?
Were the Humans and the Syreen the same species initially?
Were the Syreen some sort of control group for the Arilou experiments on the human race?
Did the Arilou interfere in the development of other races besides the Humans?
Commander Hayes mentions that the Arilou intimated that they "had some fun" with "an alien race in Draconis" (the Thraddash).
Who or what are the Nnngn that the Arilou are chasing?
Orz
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.
Where did the Orz come from?
They name their dimension "*below*", so apparently HyperSpace and TrueSpace have reality phases between the phases of *below* and QuasiSpace (*above*). What is *below* exactly like and why did the Orz leave it?
What is the history of the Arilou with the Orz?
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!
Post-SC2
How were the alien societies affected by the fall of the Ur-Quan?
- The Battle Thralls
- The Fallow Slaves
- Other races
How will the Ultron change the Druuge?
How did it change the Supox?
What happened to the neo-Dnyarri?
Did he survive as it is said in the out-takes?
Is the Ultron still in working order?
Are the events in the outtakes with respect to the Ultron to be taken seriously?
How did The Captain find the Mark II?
How did he use it?
What does the rest of the galaxy look like?
Pre-SC2
Who created the Mother Ark that built the Mmrnmhrm and with what purpose?
How did the Pkunk and the Yehat get separated?
Trivial
What does the face of an Utwig look like?
What is the relevance of ground warfare in the Star Control Universe?
What ground weaponry is used by the various alien races?
Additional
Who are the Keel-Verezy?
Does the Black Spathi Squadron really exist?
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, and their conversation tree doesn't include a response for this.
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."
How can slave shields be shut down?
Can they decay, as it may have happened with the Faz's planet?
How did the Chmmr shut down the slave shield from withing?
Note that one method of cracking slave shields is known: in the ending video of the 3DO version of Star Control II, the Chmmr insert a network of satellites in Earth's slave shield, the resulting disruptions causing its collapse.
How does the MetaChron work?
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.
Other mysteries
Minor mysteries resulting from extrapolation or critical analysis of the canon lore.
Why didn't the Mycon Sphere of Influence expand more during the years?
Their primary goal is expansion; why, then, do they progress so slowly?
Why is the VUX Beast the only one left of its species?
Is it really a superorganism? Is it the same Beast documented by ZEX's ancient alien handbook or a descendant of it? What alien species wrote the handbook? What did the Beast after killing ZEX?
Are there Spathi still out there not under the Spathiwa slave shield?
Are there any Ilwrath and/or Thraddash left after their war?
Where are the new Shofixti settling?
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?