Let's talk lore theories about erchius and related things

I'm actually quite curious about Erchius Ghosts. We have little to no lore on them (like nothing at all), and I'm starting to juggle ideas in my head that them, the Erchius Fuel types, and the Erchius Horror are connected.

Furthermore, the nature of the events of the Erchius Horror mission postulate scientific questions about Erchius Crystals and whether or not they are purely non-living minerals. This may mean the crystals have some sort of a parasite-entity or living-mineral deal going. This suggests that Erchius Crystal is really dangerous to mine on a large commercial scale, due to the potential of further outbreaks like the Erchius Horror incident.

An inconsistency that bothers me, even if it could be written off as different materials. Erchius Crystals and solid Erchius Fuel are likely similar on a geological level, which questions why you don't get Erchius Ghosts on the Erchius Facility. Again, could be jossed by being different materials.

 

It's possible that the Ruin is somehow connected as well. I think it's inferred somewhere that Erchius Ghosts only started showing up on moons after Ruin's attack on earth.

Also, there's something potentially interesting about how erchius fuel existing on all moons, but no other celestial bodies. I suspect they haven't made up a lore reason for that yet, but still.

 

I think parasite might be a great place to start, the erchius fuel has to spread because it exists throughout the cosmos. This could be due to an initial explosion event or it could be spread when spent by ships travelling across the universe. As for the difference between the horror and the ghosts, perhaps the erchius-as-parasite consumes all organic matter on a celestial body to replicate and the "horror" is the vehicle it uses to do that which is why it consumes living things and turns them into thralls. After all the living matter is consumed the planet is barren except for the erchius and even the horror is consumed and its casing shatters. Without organic matter the manifestion of the erchius would be non-corporeal.

 

I think erichius fuel and crystal are the same thing, only difference is structural integriy (sorry, my english vocabulary aint big enough for such things). Like, there is plenty of moons full of fuel and only few with crystals. Maybe, constant asteroid bombardment shatering surface of the planet breaks crystals into shards and only few places (like mining facility) was lucky enough to be away from big ateroid fields

 

...Hmm. Erchius fuel and crystals are probably the same thing, kind of like Dilithium in Star Trek or something, it's just that you need a particularly big, high-quality one for your ship's reactor (The same reason that despite your car needing oil, you can't just go suck it out of the ground and put it in your engine.) Erchius horrors are apparently common enough that the company running the mining facility you save has an automated message that basically says "Welp. Sucks to be you. Bye!" ...So Erchius has been around and causing trouble for a while. It's noteworthy that the Horror could well be some kind of crystalline-based life form, as opposed to Carbon, hence the horrific mutations on the miners affected by it and why you don't seem to see 'wild' Erchius monsters. (Their lifespan is probably measured in hours at most.)

As for the ghosts? I figure they're probably around because of the Ruin, but I don't think there's a direct connection. Like it or not, there's a definite measure of the supernatural in Starbound now (The whole God/Devil thing in the Cultivator and Ruin, magic staves/wands, and the like.) It's possible that Erchius has some kind of unknown mystical property (Given you don't exactly see Space Hogwarts, I'm assuming magic is rare-ish,) and the ghosts are basically the embodiment of those killed when the Ruin did its thing to Earth. At least, that's what I figure given they're still around after the events of the finale.

 

you can make theories but they are all for nonsense they are just placed things to furfill a lore unconnected role.

 

And we will make theories. Making theories is fun, even if they are all for nonsense.

 

my theory are that moons are the remnants of planets destoryed by the ruin. and that when the ruin awakes again it sets off the ghosts that are life forms created from the erchius which is asume is the ruins ecence. remember that since the human artifact is the first mater manipulator the fight between the ruin and the cultivator happend 500 years ago in starbound time and at some point humans and other races discovered erchius and make ftl travel. consider how the ruin makes portal to other worlds and how that may be linked to ftl travel. and 500 years is enough time for the artifacts to be forgoten bucuse i asume the only race that knew of the ruin and culitvator where the ancients whos head is missing from the gates.

 

I feel if I were to give this a try, I need to work off of my other theory. The ghosts are beings who exist in the third and fourth dimensions, with the Ruin. They sustain themselves off of the energy of other beings, literally sucking life straight from anything near them. If two were to get near each other, the simultaneous draining of life from each other is very disorienting for them. They tend to be anti-social because of this.

The extra dimensions are only slightly mirrored to the first and second dimensions. Planets, stars, and moons exist in all dimensions, but different parts exist in each dimensional pair. Where moons in the first and second dimensions are made of rock and dust, they are Crystal and fluid in the third and fourth dimensions.

The erchius has special properties that these creatures are able to exploit. If another living being were nearby, the creature channels it's life draining ability through the erchius to magnify it's effect, draining life faster. Because of this, they are attracted to these crystal moons, and often make them their homes. It is very rare that a crystal moon is found unclaimed, and if it were, it would only be a matter of time before one comes along to claim it.

When the first gate was opened, releasing the being later known as Ruin into the first two dimensions, other effects were felt throughout the universe. Some planets were warped, exhibiting new and strange biomes which exist naturally in the extra dimensions. Moons were discovered to nearly universally have strange crystals and liquids manifesting in them, which was later found to be a very efficient fuel allowing easier access to space travel than before, which required large quantities of more dangerous highly radioactive materials.

When the cultist gate opened, destroying the earth, the tear released a strange, unintended ripple spread through the extra dimensions. The creatures, who were for so long linked to the erchius moons, we're effected by this ripple, and could now see (and be seen,) in the first dimensions, while still only existing in the extra dimensions. They were unable to interact directly with the first dimensions, but by channeling their life drain through the erchius that touches both dimensional pairs, they could drain life from those in the first dimensions without physically residing there. From the first dimensions, these beings are seen as ghosts, since they only exist in the extra dimensions. They can not be touched or harmed except in the extra dimensions. If it were possible to visit a moon while in the extra dimensions, it may be possible to kill one of these creatures, making the moon safe, at least for a short while before another comes to take it's place.

The mining facility which the Horror was found was on the nearest surviving moon to the destroyed Earth. The creature who resided on that moon was effected more strongly to the cultist gate ripple than other creatures on farther moons. Instead of existing in the extra dimensions, and seeing into the first dimensions, it was pulled out of the extra dimensions into the first dimensions, while still being able to see into it's extra dimensional home. The atmosphere on the moon was inhospitable to the creature without the erchius crystals. In order to survive, the creature gathered erchius around it and cocooned itself inside them. The first dimensions were vastly different than it's extra dimensional home. Strange things happened to it while it housed itself in it's erchius shell. It mutated into something grotesque and unfamiliar.

Starving for sustenance, when the miners approached, it attempted to drain the life from them. Just as the strength of the Ruin excessive while in the first dimensions, resulting in crushed planets when it's intent was to merely hold them, so was the attempted life drain of the Horror. Instead of drawing life energy, beams of destructive plasma emitted from the crystal instead. Life was extinguished quicker than it was drawn. Instead of drawing life by channeling through the crystal, it had to do it directly and naturally, which meant bringing the miners into the crystal with it.

It's abilities seemed changed as much as it had physically changed in these new dimensions. While it found sustenance in the life of the miners, instead of simply killing them, the miners mutated into something else as well. The life of the miners tasted different than the lives it feasted on in the extra dimensions. As the miners mutated while being fed on, the taste of their life became more bitter, and it was unable to finish with them. At that point, the Horror would release the mutant into the mines, and draw another human into it's crystal.

 

Well, my theory is that the Erchius Ghost is some unknown entity, from another dimension. It apparently rises out of Liquid Erchius, they live on all Moons across the Galaxy ever since Earth was destroyed, so they're connected to The Ruin. Everytime they close their eyes, they travel to another dimension, invulnerable to damage. It appears they have their eyes "closed" all the time. You gain this info when you captured one back before they were capturable with lava... Anyone else find it odd that, such a being is capable of traveling through DIMENSIONS, and rises out of Liquid Erchius? The very thing USED in FTL travel... Is it possible, that every Erchius fueled ship, has their own Erchius Ghost, who is still asleep, or, residing in another dimension, before coming to ours, and collecting any nearby Liquid Erchius to create a form? Doesn't explain the Erchius Horror, or why no Ghosts were present in the mission. Perhaps, a machine somewhere off-sight is created, to ward off any Ghosts?

It might be possible that the Erchius Ghosts might have taken part in the creation of The Gates, and The Outpost, that is on an asteroid, that resides in a pocket dimension, or another dimension. Just like The Ruin is.

Also the fact that when the Erchius Ghosts are closer to sucking your life away, your character's color starts to rust, and become stone like? Reminds me of the statues at the Ark. Who's to say the Ruin's strongest helper, was turnt to stone by an Erchius Entity? Who's to say that something killed off The Cultivator? Right after the fight that involved pushing The Ruin into another dimension, and continue fighting it's strongest helper...

Far fetched, I know.

Letheia Corp may know a thing or two about any Erchius DNA creatures. Possibly helping the rare species grow, giving them more flesh mutants. Just like a certain Beta menace.

 

Oh, and in the Lunar Mining Facility, there is an odd cavern formation where the morphball would shortcut... Let me find my Steam screenshot.

Here:http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=725399704

I've also found this in Avian pyramid temple bricks, a smaller version. Might be the Unidentified Fossil species with 3 protrusions instead, or the All Seeing Knight NPC. I'd like to hear your guy's/gal's thoughts about this... as for i've never seen anyone mention it.

 

Personally, I find the fact that they're referred to as Erchius Ghosts in the first place interesting, since they behave a lot more like wraiths, and "ghost" generally refers to the spirit of a deceased person that can't or won't escape from the dimensions of time and space for some reason or another. This is some pretty wild extrapolation, based on some very minor evidence, but hear me out.

Greed is a bit of a theme when it comes to erchius. It's a very valuable, very necessary, and fairly expensive product, and a lot of hidden lore has to do with certain employees feeling uneasy about the mere idea of mining the stuff. Moons are very dangerous places, and mining erchius is pretty risky business. I mean heck, I got one-hit killed by a meteor while mining erchius once myself! Moreover, once you run of of surface Erchius, you have to start digging, and it's quite possible to get lost and starve down there. Countless people have doubtlessly died in pursuit of erchius, but what if, sometimes, dying isn't enough to stop them? Yeah, here's where it gets crazy.

Basically, they die, but are held down by their own attachment to erchius. They simply REFUSE to go to the afterlife, because they can't take their precious purple riches with them. Let's just, for the sake of argument, say that they can do that if they wish. They just spend the rest of eternity mulling about their desolate homes, gloating over all of the erchius fuel that rightfully belongs to them, and them alone. They're not attracted to you because you're carrying erchius; they're angry at you because you're carrying their erchius! That's why as you keep mining, they keep getting faster. They're not getting hungry, they're getting desperate. They want it all back; every last shard!

It would also explain why there were no Erchius Ghosts aboard the Lunar Mining Facility; there's a ton of erchius concentrated there, but they aren't attracted to it because they aren't worried about it. They know nobody's getting out of there with their precious treasure.

 

This thread is to cool to die! I have a question though:you can find these in avian pyramids? Where?

 

ERCHIUS GHOSTS
MUST BE VULNERABLE IN FUTURE UPDATES

Using a new type of weapon, like a plasma weapon? (the horror was killed by a cannon, so the ghost should be killed by that too)

 

o

In the dessert, you may find little pyramids/tombs. On the blocks, you can see symbols enscribed on them…
Also, when you mine temple bricks/blocks, the main picture of the block contains the symbol too.

Oh, maybe Letheia Corp has a ghost buster type weapon? Suck up the Erchius Ghosts AND gain some Liquid Erchius? It's possible that all the Liquid Erchius in the Lunar mission was sucked up, along with any Ghosts. After it had been cleared out, miners were sent in to mine the Crystalized version that is used in FTL engines.

 

Maybe Erchius Fuel has the power to mutate things into ghosts, and erchius crystals mutate things into Moontant?

 

I looked into Starbound's assets, and found the effect used by the Erchius Ghosts to make the player turn from pink or "fleshy" to rust, and then stone. It's called "erchiussickness". Oh boy, a sickness....

Erchius Crystal might do the same process, but very slowly, and most miners became fleshy mutants, and the size of the Erchius Crystal, along with the other non-living crystals must've kept sucking out the miner's life force. Pulsating the sickness around the facility, the miners' had started to grow little wings, and starting to lose their minds. If we had left them be, it's possible they might become rusty looking weirdos, and then stone statues?

Live statues?

 

My theory is that the ghost are the final step of the whole "mutant" thing. They start off as pink humans, then turn into fleshy pinky wingy things, and then after some stages they turn into ghosts. The body of a mutant slowly turns itself into Erchius. The Erchius Horror is simply the "queen" which births them in the first place, and from that they spread across the galaxy. Maybe the ghosts are even the source of Erchius in the first place. Like, it's the "eggs" from which new ghosts rise, and that's why they're so aggressive to attack. Because you're effectively stealing their eggs.