Elite Dangerous 028 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40 Don't Panic - Always Carry A Towel Gordon's Progress - Weaver Vision - Kuiper Depot Restaurant at The End Of THe Star System The Grand Tour, PAGE 28
NOTE: All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun. At least, according to the in-game architect’s view. There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts. Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI. I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me. :^)
Elite Dangerous 027 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40 Coke Sanctuary - Lee Horticultural Holding - Kobayashi Hydroponics Market Farmer Horizons - Wright Defense Barracks - Priest Arms Installation Brewer Engineering Enterprise - Geiger Command Outpost The Grand Tour, PAGE 27
NOTE: All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun. At least, according to the in-game architect’s view. There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts. Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI. I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me. :^)
11A Orbital 00 Coke Sanctuary Communication Installation (Alethia) DOCK: NONE
No famous author or scientist here. I just figured Coca Cola should have at least one station dedicated in their name.
Because, after all… Things go better with Coke. (And, as I edit this post this very moment, I'm sipping a Coca Cola.)
11A Surface 00 Lee Horticultural Holding Agriculture Settlement Small (Consus) DOCK: Small
Cozy Mystery author, Mother, Wife, and to my wife and myself, she was a good friend. Lea Wait was a remarkable individual whose life was defined as much by her intellectual curiosity and professional expertise as by the warmth she extended to those around her. Before she became an author of cozy mysteries, Lea was the proprietor of an antique print shop. Her deep knowledge of historical art and the stories behind the images she curated informed her later career, bringing a unique authenticity to her writing that brought her books to life.
Her Antique Print Mystery series featuring protagonist Maggie Herbert, was a testament to her passion. She masterfully blended the intrigue of a well-crafted mystery with the world of antique prints. Her final work, which centered on the theme of adoption, held a deeply personal resonance for her; as someone who had adopted her own children, this narrative was a true labor of love.
Beyond her literary success, Lea was a generous and thoughtful friend. She was the kind of person who made you feel seen and valued.
Her final years were marked by immense personal difficulty, including the loss of her husband and her own battle with cancer. Despite the weight of those circumstances, the memory of her spirit remains bright. We cherish our time with her and the way she invited us into her world, through her books and through a shared, quiet friendship. She left behind a legacy that lives on in the pages of her novels and in the memories of everyone who had the privilege of knowing her.
11A Surface 01 Kobayashi Hydroponics Market Agriculture Settlement Small (Consus) DOCK: Small
See Kobayashi Command Base, 08C Surface 00, for the full description.
11B Orbital 00 Farmer Horizons Communication Installation (Soter) DOCK: NONE
Philip José Farmer (1918–2009) was one of the most radical, boundary-pushing iconoclasts of science fiction's Golden and New Wave eras.
Farmer was a monumental literary rebel who specialized in shattering traditional genre taboos, injecting raw realism, grand mythological restructuring, and high-concept cosmic pulp into the medium.
Farmer is globally immortalized for his Hugo Award-winning Riverworld saga, which begins with the landmark novel To Your Scattered Bodies Go. The narrative operates as a massive, planet-scale thought experiment where every human being who ever lived on Earth, from prehistoric Neanderthals to modern 20th-century historical figures, is simultaneously resurrected along the banks of a seemingly endless, millions-of-miles-long river on an artificial alien world. He used this staggering platform to explore human sociology, cultural clashes and survival, tracking an eclectic group of historical figures as they construct makeshift riverboats to sail upstream, desperate to confront the god-like architects behind the resurrection matrix.
Beyond Riverworld, Farmer was a master of grand, multi-dimensional worldbuilding, most notably in his World of Tiers series. In these novels, he created a universe engineered by an ancient alien race known as the Lords, who constructed artificial pocket universes. The World of Tiers is a massive, tiered planet shaped like a stepped pyramid where each level possesses its own unique ecosystem, physics and civilizations. Farmer had a profound fascination with classic pulp literature as well. He wrote brilliant, metafictional biographies that connected legendary fictional heroes into a single, massive, genetically advanced family tree within the Wold Newton universe.
In the Wold Newton family universe, where he treated classic pulp heroes as real, living historical figures. Farmer conceptualized a brilliant, sprawling alternate history based on a real-world astronomical event. In his lore, a radioactive meteorite struck Wold Newton, Yorkshire, in 1795, causing a radical mutation in the passengers of a passing coach. The descendants of these families inherited superhuman intelligence, physical strength, and sensory awareness. He posited a massive, interconnected family tree of legendary adventurers including Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, and the characters who fascinated Farmer most: Tarzan and Doc Savage.
Farmer channelled this obsession into a series of highly respected fictional biographies that treated pulp icons with the absolute seriousness of a historian. In his landmark 1972 book Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke, and his 1973 companion volume Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life, Farmer completely bypassed the cheesy, simplistic tropes of old comic strips.
Instead, he meticulously analyzed decades of original stories, applying rigorous real-world logic, geographic calculations, and psychological profiling to explain how an actual human being could survive growing up in a wild jungle or undergo the intense, lifelong scientific training required to become the world's ultimate renaissance man and adventurer.
Alongside these biographies, Farmer wrote classic high-octane adventure novels. In Escape from Loki, he penned the official, canon story of a young Doc Savage's very first adventure during World War I. He also collaborated on The Dark Heart of Time, an authorized Tarzan novel.
However, Farmer’s boundary-pushing nature occasionally crossed into highly controversial territory. The less said about those books, the better, in my opinion.
Yet, when he restrained his worst impulses, Farmer’s legitimate work with Doc Savage and Tarzan redefined how modern culture views shared universes and crossover lore.
11B Surface 00 Wright Defense Barracks (Was GoTo) Military Settlement Small (Ioke) DOCK: Medium
John C. Wright is a prominent voice in contemporary hard science fiction, recognized for his complex deep-future space operas. Before turning to fiction full-time, Wright worked as a trial lawyer. This gave him a rigorous understanding of legal philosophy, corporate contracts, and social architecture. Within this framework he created his core books, the Golden Age trilogy. Set thousands of years in our future within a post-scarcity solar system ruled by the Golden Oecumene, humanity achieved functional immortality, mapping their consciousnesses into a vast virtual network where planet-sized artificial intelligences manage the background simulation of interstellar society. Wright explores the legal and moral ramifications of post-human evolution, tracking how an advanced civilization handles memory manipulation, corporate monopolies, and the ownership of artificial minds.
What distinguishes Wright’s approach is his adherence to the realities of physics and economics. His stories detail the engineering protocols required to construct Dyson spheres, dismantle moons for raw industrial materials, and manage long-range exploration fleets. His characters navigate worlds where thoughts can be commodified, and digital identities can be fractured across multiple physical bodies. Worlds where corporate syndicates engage in financial warfare across centuries. Wright explored the grand scale of humanity's dark dreams.
11B Surface 01 Priest Arms Installation Military Settlement Small (Ioke) DOCK: Medium
Christopher Priest (1943–2024) was a master of British science fiction and speculative literature. His works explored the manipulation of time, memory, and reality.
Christopher Priest is globally recognized for his award-winning 1974 speculative masterpiece, Inverted World. The narrative centers on Earth City, a massive, mobile settlement built on wheels that must continuously travel along railway tracks laid across a topologically distorted planet. To survive, the city’s guilds must perpetually tear up the tracks behind them and lay new ones ahead, racing toward a geographic point called the optimum. Time dramatically slows down behind the moving city and rapidly accelerates ahead of it, meaning a surveyor spending a single day exploring the frontier returns to find months have passed for the population.
Priest also wrote The Prestige (also a movie starring Hugh Jackman), a historical speculative novel about an intense rivalry between two Victorian stage magicians that explores the dark overlap of showmanship and experimental science. He also created the Dream Archipelago series, an intricate collection of stories set across a vast network of islands on an unmapped planet. Within that world, shifting political factions, strange geometric anomalies and psychological fragmentation challenge the very nature of objective truth.
11C Surface 00 Brewer Engineering Enterprise Industrial Settlement Small (Fontus) DOCK: Small
From a company flier available at Brewer Engineering Enterprise’s local office:
Welcome to Brewer Engineering Enterprise!
On behalf of the Brewer Corporation and Brewer Logistics, we are thrilled to welcome you to our forward-operating industrial facility. You may already know our parent corporation as the master architects behind the Drake-Class Fleet Carrier—the five-billion-credit marvels of modern engineering that have permanently rewritten the rules of interstellar transit and allowed independent commanders to establish thriving colonies tens of thousands of light-years from the core worlds. Here at this Small Industrial Settlement, we bring that exact same spirit of macro-engineering, structural grit, and frontier ambition down to the planetary surface.
While our massive orbital shipyards handle the grand assembly of interstellar megastructures, Brewer Engineering Enterprise serves as the vital, boots-on-the-ground precision core of our localized operations. Our facility specializes in processing rare metallurgical catalysts, refining specialized tritium fuel manifolds, and fabricating the heavy structural framing components required to maintain the region’s transport fleets and fleet carrier infrastructure. Every weld struck and every ton of raw material refined within these automated manufacturing bays directly feeds the industrial pipeline that keeps our sector connected to the wider galactic economy.
We pride ourselves on being the silent partner in your journey through the void. Whether you are an independent hauler stopping by to trade high-grade polymers, an extraction specialist offloading raw planetary ores, or a traveler exploring the edge of human civilization, our dedicated team of engineers and logistical coordinators ensures that the mechanical arteries of this system never stop flowing. Thank you for visiting Brewer Engineering Enterprise—where we don't just witness the expansion of humanity across the stars; we forge the tools that make it possible.
11C Surface 01 Geiger Command Outpost Military Settlement Small (Ioke) DOCK: Medium
Taken from a sector garrison briefing:
Geiger Command Outpost stands as a vital, forward-operating defensive shield and environmental monitoring garrison for the sector. Named in honor of Dr. Hans Geiger, the pioneering physicist who co-invented the particle-detection technology that allows humanity to measure ionizing radiation, this small military settlement embodies the eternal vigilance required to survive the invisible dangers of the cosmic void. In a galaxy where active stellar nurseries, volatile neutron stars, and radioactive anomalies pose a constant, lethal threat to human biology and structural hull integrity, this outpost serves as the sector's premier early-warning shield.
Architecturally and systemically, the garrison is optimized for high-readiness reconnaissance and environmental containment. Rather than functioning as a massive staging ground for heavy capital ships, Geiger Command Outpost operates as a specialized, rapid-response monitoring hub. The facility houses a dense matrix of high-frequency deep-space scanning arrays, atmospheric radiation scrubbers, and armored tactical reconnaissance wings. The military personnel stationed here are tasked with mapping volatile solar flares, tracking localized electromagnetic anomalies, and securing the surrounding planetary boundaries against hostile pirate incursions or illegal black-market salvage operations looking to exploit irradiated wrecks.
For any independent commander operating in the region, dropping anchor at Geiger Command Outpost offers an immediate sense of structural stability. The station’s automated defensive batteries and tactical patrol wings enforce strict legal protocols, maintaining a secure perimeter that allows commercial haulers and scientific research vessels to pass through the sector without fear. By anchoring your security network with this specialized garrison, you are acknowledging the cold, mathematical reality of frontier survival: the vacuum of space is a radioactive crucible, and the forces stationed at Geiger are the only shield standing between civilization and the silent, blinding forces of the cosmos.
NOTE: I asked Gemini to create a company flyer for Brewer Engineering Enterprise. It was perfect for an AI's bombastic, overly florid writing. I was thrilled with the result, which resulted in Gemini getting 'locked in' to that viewpoint. Without my requesting it, he also created this page for Geiger Command Outpost in the same style. I went ahead and accepted the second "in-universe viewpoint" description. And then realized Gemini was stuck in that mode, and didn't want to break away from it. For a while I shifted to Grok, trying to give Gemini time to "reset." I don't mind editing AI text, adding my personal thoughts and style to the writing. But this was an entire perspective shift, and Gemini really resisted going back to our previous collaborative style. AI has its good and bad points. It's been very interesting, learning how to get it to follow my goals.
Elite Dangerous 026 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40 Read Hub - Verne's Garden - Hardy's Keep - May Enterprise - Israel Vision - Wolfe Sanctuary The Grand Tour, PAGE 26
NOTE: All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun. At least, according to the in-game architect’s view. There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts. Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI. I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me. :^)
10J Orbital 00 Read Hub Scientific Outpost (Prometheus) DOCK: Medium
Read Hub celebrates the pure and timeless act of reading itself — the gateway through which imagination, knowledge, and wonder flow.
In the vast universe of science fiction and beyond, reading has always been humanity’s most powerful technology. It allows minds to travel faster than light, experience impossible worlds, and connect with ideas across centuries. From the earliest pulp magazines to the greatest novels, reading has been the foundation upon which science fiction was built and shared.
Reading launched my curious young mind onto a lifetime journey of enjoyment, learning, and refuge. When Covid took my mother-in-law in 2021, it also took my ability to read and comprehend at a glance, plus the ability to visualize full color and and limited motion images while reading.
Mom is memorialized in this system (and another) as Georgie Girl.
Reading, once effortless, has been a struggle since Covid. At first I had to sound out each word with the next word, string them together and try to find meaning. With a job at the newspaper focused on advertising, legal notices, and obituaries… not being able to read quickly, and with comprehension, was an issue.
I began skipping lunches, working late off the clock, all the while slowly losing ground as I was trying to re-learn everything. Not only work suffered, but also entertainment. I was out for a month with Covid, wasn’t sure I’d live, not sure if I cared. Afterward, aside from losing my skill for reading, it was impossible to play my favorite games, Elite Dangerous being at the top of the list. In the course of ONE month, it all became overwhelmingly incomprehensible.
For several years, my reading was on the level of simple point-of-view stories designed for ‘young readers.’ My memory and cognitive skills were severely limited, and trying to read was depressing.
Rather than a pleasure, it was a constant reminder of what I’d lost. Couldn’t give it up, but had to carefully choose… simple… plots and stories. It was like starting all over again in school. We all talk about Elite being a grind… but the real grind personally was the years spent trying to relearn lost skills.
One of my happiest moments was the day I opened up an August Derleth anthology and realized I could read his convoluted stories and follow the plot once again. Slowly, having to re-read many sentences and paragraphs, but that was a huge landmark. (I mentioned this in the Derleth segment also. Bear with me please. Hitting that landmark was the first time I had real hope in years.)
An even happier occasion occurred in late 2024; I’d improved enough that it occurred to me maybe I could relearn how to play Elite Dangerous. I was right, but it took from End-of-October 2024 to February of 2025. It involved writing in-depth notes, creating spreadsheets, studying, forgetting, learning, and re-learning things that used to be second nature.
I still forget things too easily. If I don’t play daily, basic things fade away quickly. It helps to work on one specific loop at a time. For months now, that loop has been Colonization. I keep copious notes and guides open in a journaling program (Obsidian, it’s been essential.) My favorite thing is to write a personalized short guide to anything I do, and keep those open in tabs, like a browser. Doing a detailed system and planetary scan is a great example. I can’t store that in memory. Every time I need to do a detailed scan again, I have to follow my guide. It’s a bit overwhelming, but anything that can be done step by step at my own pace, I can generally grasp long enough to use my notes.
Monique is very proud of my determination to read, and keep improving. She also believes, as I do, that re-learning how to play Elite, and doing so daily, has been a major reason I’ve had so much improvement.
Again, can’t say enough good things about Obsidian. It’s not just journaling software. It allows links between one note and another, like online links from one site to another. Over the past 3 years, I’ve written (or copied, at times) over 5,000 pages of notes, memories, guides, and interlinked them thoroughly. It’s like a neural network map of my brain. Obviously, there are gaps that are just gone; but if a memory comes to mind, it’s important to stop everything and write it down before it’s gone again. Bit by bit, I’m getting back things that were lost. And with the links, there’s a logical structure so re-finding something in my notes is usually pretty simple.
I’ll be turning 66 next month (Correction, I HAVE turned 66.) By now, memory/cognitive issues from Covid are inextricably blended with simple “getting older” issues. Things are slowly becoming more difficult again. Elite helps keep my mind active, but there’s always the fear that someday the servers will go down for one final time, and not come back. Either that, or I’ll finally hit the point where the ability to understand, remember, and keep playing Elite will fade.
In an effort to create lasting memories of the fun I’ve had playing Elite, and the personal progress it's meant, I spent the past 6 months colonizing this system – Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40. Nearly another month just creating the videos of my "Grand Tour."
And now, writing this station-by-station guide to what each name means to me. Grok and Gemini (my 2 favorite AIs) have helped tremendously. My writing, like my reading, has suffered. But it's also improved. Some of these descriptions are completely mine. Many from the AIs I've heavily edited to put my spin on it. And some... have only had minimal editing. It depends a lot on my mental energy. If I get stubborn and keep working after energy for concentration and focus is gone, then I tend to let Grok or Gemini slide by with minimal editing or make very bad mistakes. You can probably tell those times. I usually can.
It’s unlikely anybody besides myself will read this incredibly long, boring series of blog pages. That’s okay. This is part of my plan, to help keep my personal memories of creating something meaningful. If someone reads it, that’s cool; but it’s not essential to the plan.
When this write-up is done, I’m going to take a Grand Tour of the entire system. All 138 facilities. I’ll be using a Cobra Mk V, custom-built for the job. With the Cobra, no matter how small the facility, if it has docking, I’ll be able to land. The entire process will be recorded on video, in sequence from nearest the sun, to farthest.
NOTE: Already built the Cobra, already took the Grand Tour, make the videos, edited the videos, wrote the text... At this moment, I'm still uploading the videos, assembling the blogs, and doing this last pass for the editing. The project is nearly over...
The videos will go on YouTube, not so others can see my boring adventures… but so I’ll always have access to these memories, even if something catastrophic were to happen to my computer or hard drives. These bios will go here in my blog, to link with the matching videos.
That, in itself, will be enough to entertain and occupy me for quite some time. And when it’s done, I’ll have a bank of videos and blogs, that will always be available from any connected computer, to remember. When Elite as a game, or my ability to play it, is gone, I’ll always have a reminder of the incredible fun and amazing recovery that Elite made possible.
READ HUB is for every reader who stayed up late turning pages, every dreamer who found refuge or inspiration in words, and every curious mind that used stories as a launchpad into the stars. And for everybody who struggles in one way or another, found escape, and hope for the future, in reading.
10J Surface 00 Verne’s Garden Agriculture Settlement Small (Consus) DOCK: Small
See Verne Outpost, 10D Surface 00, for the full description.
10J Surface 01 Hardy’s Keep (was Corner) Military Settlement Small (Ioke) DOCK: Medium
David A. Hardy (born 1936) is the longest-established professional space artist in human history. Decades before space probes sent back high-resolution photos of distant worlds, Hardy was mathematically calculating what planetary surfaces would look like and painting them with stunning, realistic precision.
His vibrant astronomical scenes graced the covers of sci-fi magazines like Galaxy and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Hardy collaborated with astronomer Patrick Moore to create illustrated astronomy books like Challenge of the Stars (1972). He even designed the iconic mechanical Martian tripod art for early iterations of The War of the Worlds.
Hardy's lifetime of work was so vital to how humanity visualizes the cosmos that in 2003, Asteroid 1998 SB32 was officially named "Davidhardy" in his honor.
11 Orbital 00 May Enterprise Satellite Installation (Angelia) DOCK: NONE
Julian May was an absolute force in speculative fiction, celebrated for her ability to seamlessly fuse hard science fiction, human evolutionary biology, and mythic fantasy into highly structured narratives.
Her career in the genre began remarkably early when, as a teenager in 1950, she wrote a brilliant short story titled Dune Roller that was eventually adapted into a feature film. Despite this early breakout success, she stepped away from writing fiction for over two decades to focus on editing and researching for technical encyclopedias, an experience that gave her an incredible baseline of scientific knowledge. When she finally returned to writing fiction in the late 1970s, she used that research background to construct her masterpiece, the Saga of Pliocene Exile, followed by its brilliant companion series, the Galactic Milieu.
In her fictional universe, a small percentage of humanity began to develop powerful latent mental abilities like telepathy, telekinesis, and precognition. Rather than treating these as magical superpowers, May analyzed them with the precision of a biologist, exploring how a species transitioning into a telepathically linked society would suffer sociological friction and political upheaval. Her books detailed the bureaucratic and corporate infrastructure that grew around these psychic factions, showing how profit-and-power based organizations would abuse the people with abilities, and the power.
Her worldbuilding mapped out how humanity's chaotic mental evolution eventually caught the attention of the Galactic Milieu, a co-equal federation of highly advanced alien species who had been quietly monitoring Earth. May dedicated thousands of pages the intricate diplomatic, philosophical, and economic realities of a young, rough-around-the-edges human race overwhelmed by technologically superior alien civilizations. She showed that the true challenge of exploring the stars wasn't just building the physical rockets, but adapting the collective human consciousness to survive the scale of an already populated galaxy.
11 Orbital 01 Israel Vision Communication Installation (Alethia) DOCK: NONE
Dr. Werner Israel is an absolute heavyweight of real-world physics. His contributions to gravitational theory make him one of the foundational architects of modern astrophysics.
Werner Israel revolutionized the scientific understanding of black holes by proving the "No-Hair Theorem," which mathematically demonstrated that a collapsing star sheds all its complex irregularities as it crosses the event horizon. He showed that no matter how chaotic, jagged, or magnetic a star is before its death, the resulting black hole becomes an object of supreme, mathematically pristine simplicity, definable only by its mass, spin, and electrical charge. He famously described the surface of a black hole as being as smooth and structurally uniform as a soap bubble. This breakthrough completely altered how physicists map the geometry of space-time, transforming black holes from theoretical anomalies into predictable celestial entities.
Later in his career, Israel collaborated extensively with Stephen Hawking on advanced relativistic thermodynamics and cosmic string dynamics. His equations mapped out the physical conditions hidden deep inside event horizons, analyzing the inner geometric boundaries where space and time break down completely.
...Kind of puts our traditional trip to Sagittarius A* in a whole new light, doesn’t it?
11 Orbital 02 Wolfe Sanctuary Communication Installation (Soter) DOCK: NONE
Before he became a full-time novelist, Gene Wolfe was a highly accomplished mechanical engineer who worked for decades in corporate manufacturing labs. He is most famous in industrial history for helping design the complex mass-production machinery used to manufacture Pringles potato chips. Think about that for a moment... his work gave us... enough Pringles to feed the world!
This deep engineering background gave his writing a unique, ruthlessly logical viewpoint; he understood exactly how gears, metals, and industrial processes worked. When he transitioned into writing fiction, he used that same mindset to create masterworks like The Book of the New Sun, a sweeping narrative set on a dying Earth millions of years in our future.
Wolfe’s writing completely redefined the boundaries of speculative fiction by introducing the concept of the complex, unreliable narrator. His characters rarely understand the true nature of the deep-space machinery or alien artifacts they encounter, leaving it to the reader to figure it out. His stories frequently feature generation ships, ancient automated resource hubs, and corporate space-farers in an indifferent, ancient universe.
Elite Dangerous 025 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40 Mayberry Legacy - Knight Enterprise - Sherlock's Conservatory - Luna Cultivation Hub The Grand Tour, PAGE 25
NOTE: All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun. At least, according to the in-game architect’s view. There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts. Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI. I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me. :^)
10I Orbital 00 Mayberry Legacy Communication Installation (Alethia) DOCK: NONE
Stephen Mayberry is a contemporary American science fiction author known for his character-driven stories that often explore themes of exploration, artificial intelligence, and the human condition.
His writing is noted for its realistic portrayal of near-future technology and its focus on how ordinary people respond when faced with extraordinary scientific and societal changes.
Notable works include the novel The Silicon Messiah and several well-received short stories that have appeared in science fiction anthologies and magazines. Mayberry’s style tends to be more introspective than action-heavy, favoring psychological depth and moral questions over space battles and laser fights.
His contributions represent “quiet” science fiction — stories that ask important questions about consciousness, identity, and humanity’s place in an increasingly technological universe.
The Andy Griffith Show The name also pays affectionate tribute to Mayberry, the fictional town from the classic television series The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968). Set in a gentle, slow-paced Southern town, Mayberry became an enduring symbol of small-town America, filled with colorful characters and wholesome humor.
Iconic residents include Sheriff Andy Taylor, his bumbling but good-hearted deputy Barney Fife, Opie, Aunt Bee, Ernest T. and the unforgettable Darling Family — the musically gifted, backwoods clan led by patriarch Briscoe Darling, famous for their energetic mountain music and appearances in several episodes.
10I Orbital 01 Knight Enterprise Scientific Outpost (Prometheus) DOCK: Medium
Damon Knight (1922–2002), is a towering figure in American science fiction as an author, editor, critic, and mentor to generations of writers.
Knight began publishing in the 1940s and quickly earned a reputation for sharp, intelligent, and often darkly humorous short stories. He is best remembered for his classic 1950 tale “To Serve Man,” which was famously adapted into a chilling episode of The Twilight Zone. The story’s twist ending has become one of the most iconic in all of science fiction.
Beyond his own writing, Knight made an enormous impact as an editor. He founded the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and served as its first president. He also edited the influential Orbit anthology series (1966–1980), which became a major platform for innovative and literary science fiction during the New Wave era.
Knight was known for his rigorous critical standards and his famous quip: “Science fiction is what we point to when we say it.” His dedication to elevating the craft and quality of the genre helped professionalize science fiction and inspired countless authors who followed.
10I Surface 00 Sherlock’s Conservatory Agriculture Settlement Medium (Picumnus) DOCK: Large
See 221B Baker Street, 09C Orbital 00 for the full description.
10I Surface 01 Luna Cultivation Hub Agriculture Settlement Medium (Annona) DOCK: Small
7. Again, Luna See Luna Market, 07A Surface 03, for the full description.
Elite Dangerous 024 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40 Mitchell Nutrition Biome - Verne Mining Exploration - Locke Enterprise Miyazaki Botanical Farm - Zelazny Terminal - Hidalgo Excavation Site Luna Nutrition Enterprise The Grand Tour, PAGE 24
NOTE: All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun. At least, according to the in-game architect’s view. There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts. Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI. I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me. :^)
10G Surface 00 Mitchell Nutrition Biome (Was Gallo) Agriculture Settlement Medium (Annona) DOCK: Small
David Mitchell (born 1969) is a critically acclaimed British author known for his ambitious, genre-bending novels that frequently incorporate science fiction, fantasy, and history. Known for the complexity of his work, Mitchell has become one of the most respected literary voices of the 21st century.
He achieved international breakthrough success with Cloud Atlas (2004), a sprawling novel spanning six different time periods — from the 19th century to a distant post-apocalyptic future. The book features dystopian sci-fi elements, cloning, corporate tyranny, and reincarnation themes. Later it was adapted into a major motion picture by the Wachowski brothers.
Other notable works include The Bone Clocks (2014), which blends literary fiction with fantasy and science fiction across decades, and Slade House (2015), a chilling supernatural tale.
Though often categorized as literary fiction, his frequent use of science fiction and speculative elements has earned him a strong following among genre readers. His ability to transform between multiple contextual styles makes him an influential figure in contemporary literature.
10G Surface 01 Verne Mining Exploration Mining Settlement Medium (Mantus) DOCK: Medium
See Verne Outpost, 10D Surface 00, for the full description (1 of 4 different facilities named after Verne.)
10Ga Orbital 00 Locke Enterprise Space Farm (Demeter) DOCK: NONE
George Locke (1936–2019) was a British science fiction author, antiquarian bookseller, and noted bibliographer who made significant contributions to the preservation and study of the genre. A passionate collector and dealer of rare science fiction and fantasy books, Locke was highly respected in the collector community for his deep knowledge and meticulous scholarship.
As an author, he published a number of thoughtful science fiction stories beginning in the 1950s, with his first professional sale being the short story “The Human Seed” in Authentic Science Fiction. His fiction often explored psychological and philosophical themes with an introspective style. He is perhaps best remembered today for his important bibliographical work, including A Spectrum of Fantasy and other reference books that helped document and catalog early science fiction/fantasy publications.
Locke’s dual role as both a creator and preserver of science fiction made him a bridge between the genre’s past and its dedicated fans. His lifelong dedication to hunting down obscure titles, preserving literary history, and supporting the science fiction community earned him quiet but lasting respect among collectors, historians, and fellow writers.
A Personal Memory Regarding “Locke” Circa 1989, and why I actually chose this name:
Back in the days of the Amiga, I used a compiled basic called “Blitz Basic.” By the standard of the times, this was amazing software. Using Blitz Basic, I wrote a game. It took nearly a year, and the dot matrix program printout was 70 pages long. It was called “Sword of the Warlock.”
It was inspired by “The Bard’s Tale,” though not nearly as professional. I had fun programming it, and playing it. Released it as shareware. You could play the entire game, and save your progress, but the ‘catch’ was a 30 minute live timer. If time ran out, the game shut down. If you saved before time ran out, you could load your saved file and continue the game. It was possible to completely defeat the game this way, and I received some very nice letters (mostly from college kids binging on weekends) telling me how much fun they had.
Of course, if they bought the game, they got a fully unlocked game with no time limits. My point of pride was what seemed like a fantastic innovation to me at the time… A "Power" component to the spells.
For instance, the game had teleport blocks in some zones. But if you had enough power, and funneled enough of that power into your teleportation spell, you could overpower the block and teleport in spite of being blocked.
Also, you could create weapons. Create your weapon, add up to three spells (any spell that you already knew how to cast), and set how much power each spell had. When you cast magic with that weapon, it cast every spell you had imbued in it, using the amount of power you dedicated to each of those spells, with every use. And it didn’t use up the power, that amount of power was permanently embedded into each spell. The catch was… you permanently lost that many spell-points when creating the weapon.
No limit, other than your personal spell reservoir. If you spent a month leveling up your magic power, you could use every bit of that in making your weapon. Leaving you personally powerless, but with an amazing weapon. Given time, you could gain more levels and replace that power, but it was a balance, and you got to choose exactly how to use what power you earned.
I never sold a lot, but sold a few throughout the world; America, England, Germany, Japan… but the best part was the letters from people telling me how much fun they had playing it.
And here’s where “Locke Enterprise” is my own personal tribute to the joy I received from that game. When I playtested, “Locke” was always, and I mean always, my character name. A not-so-clever wordplay, from “Sword of the WarLOCK”, to “LOCKE.” For many years after, every game I played, “Locke” was my name.
10Ga Surface 00 Miyazaki Botanical Farm Agriculture Settlement Medium (Picumnus) DOCK: Small
Hayao Miyazaki (born 1941) is a legendary Japanese animator, filmmaker, and co-founder of Studio Ghibli. Widely regarded as one of the greatest animated filmmakers in history, Miyazaki is renowned for his visually breathtaking films that blend fantasy, environmental themes, anti-war sentiment, with a deeply human perspective.
After beginning his career in the 1960s as an animator, Miyazaki rose to international acclaim with classics such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), and Spirited Away (2001) — the latter becoming the first animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
One of his most beloved and heartfelt films is Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989). The story follows a young witch named Kiki who, following tradition, leaves home at age 13 to live independently for a year. She settles in a charming seaside town and starts a delivery service using her broomstick. The film beautifully captures the joys, loneliness, self-doubt, and personal growth that come with becoming independent — all told with Miyazaki’s signature warmth and gentle humor. Many viewers consider it one of his most relatable and comforting works.
The English-language dub of Kiki’s Delivery Service is widely praised as one of the best anime dubs ever produced. The cast, led by Kirsten Dunst as Kiki, is exceptional and considered equal to the original Japanese version in tone and emotion. Particularly memorable is the late Phil Hartman as Gigi (Jiji), Kiki’s sarcastic black cat, whose dry wit and perfect comic timing made the character iconic for English-speaking audiences. The English version also features a new opening and ending theme song that many fans feel matches the spirit and quality of the original Japanese songs.
Other major works include The Wind Rises (2013) and the acclaimed The Boy and the Heron (2023), which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Miyazaki has announced his retirement multiple times, only to return with new masterpieces. His influence on animation, storytelling, and visual arts is immeasurable. Miyazaki’s ability to create films that appeal to both children and adults while maintaining artistic integrity has made him a beloved figure worldwide.
10H Orbital 00 Zelazny Terminal Commercial outpost (Plutus) DOCK: Medium
Roger Zelazny (1937–1995) was an American science fiction and fantasy author widely regarded as one of the most brilliant voices in the genre. Known for his lyrical prose, mythological allusions, and complex, often morally ambiguous characters, Zelazny won six Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards during his career.
He first gained major recognition in the 1960s with his groundbreaking short stories and novellas. His most famous work is the Chronicles of Amber series, which began with Nine Princes in Amber (1970). In this landmark fantasy series, a man named Corwin wakes up with amnesia in a hospital on Earth, only to discover he is actually a prince of Amber — the one true reality from which all other worlds (including our own) are mere shadows. The series is celebrated for its intricate politics, intrigue, depth, and blending of fantasy, science fiction, and mythology.
Zelazny also produced some of the most acclaimed short fiction in the genre. Two standout stories frequently praised are:
• "The Last Defender of Camelot" (1979), a powerful and moving tale that reimagines the Arthurian legend with Lancelot still alive in the modern world, guarding the remnants of Camelot’s dream.
• "Unicorn Variations" (1981), a clever, witty, and deeply satisfying story mixing time travel, chess, and unicorns in a small town facing the end of existence.
His other major novels include the Hugo-winning Lord of Light (1967), which masterfully blends Hindu mythology with science fiction, and This Immortal (1966). Zelazny had a rare ability to combine literary sophistication with gripping storytelling, creating works that feel mythic yet still human.
Though he passed away in 1995, Roger Zelazny’s influence on fantasy and science fiction remains profound. His Amber series and masterful short fiction continue to inspire new generations of writers and readers alike.
10H Surface 00 Hidalgo Excavation Site Mining Settlement Medium (Mantus) DOCK: Medium
Hidalgo is a fictional nation in the pulp adventure stories of Doc Savage, one of the greatest heroes of American pulp fiction. Created by Lester Dent (writing under the house name Kenneth Robeson), Doc Savage — known as “The Man of Bronze” — was a nearly superhuman adventurer, scientist, doctor and crime-fighter whose adventures thrilled readers from 1933 to 1949 and beyond.
In the Doc Savage canon, the remote South American country of Hidalgo holds special significance. Deep in the mountains of Hidalgo lies a vast, hidden gold mine worked by the descendants of an ancient Inca civilization. This incredible wealth was discovered by Doc Savage’s father and later inherited by Doc himself. Rather than using the fortune for personal luxury, Doc channeled the resources of the Hidalgo Trading Company (his secret financial arm) to fund his global war against evil.
The Hidalgo gold allowed Doc Savage to operate with near-unlimited resources while maintaining complete independence — a key element that made him one of the most formidable forces for justice in pulp literature. The hidden valley in Hidalgo, with its advanced but isolated Inca descendants, became one of the most memorable locations in the entire series.
While most Doc Savage adventures were written by Lester Dent, later authorized works by Philip José Farmer expanded the mythos. Farmer’s novel Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life famously reimagined Doc’s world. Farmer’s “Loki” story and the adventure involving the discovery of King Kong’s island are among the more imaginative later additions to the Doc Savage universe.
For many readers who grew up with the Doc Savage paperbacks in the 1960s and 1970s, “Hidalgo” became a symbol of hidden wonder, vast resources used for good, and larger-than-life pulp adventure.
NOTE: I wish this could have included more about Doc, his 5 aides, and cousin Patricia Savage, but I’m trying to keep these bios at least somewhat on point.
10H Surface 01 Luna Nutrition Enterprise Agriculture Settlement Medium (Annona) DOCK: Small
6. More Luna See Luna Market, 07A Surface 03, for the full description.
Elite Dangerous 023 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40 Bradbury Beacon - Haldeman's Inheritance - Luna's Plantation - Luna Command Complex The Grand Tour, PAGE 23
NOTE: All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun. At least, according to the in-game architect’s view. There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts. Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI. I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me. :^)
10F Orbital 00 Bradbury Beacon Commercial outpost (Plutus) DOCK: Medium
See 08C Orbital 00, “Bradbury Relay” for the full description. This is one of two different facilities named after Bradbury.
10F Orbital 01 Haldeman’s Inheritance Mining/Industrial Installation (Phorcys) DOCK: NONE
Joe Haldeman (born 1943) is an acclaimed American science fiction author and one of the most respected voices in the genre. A Vietnam War veteran, Haldeman is widely praised for his gritty realism, blending psychological insight and anti-war themes into science fiction.
He is best known for his landmark novel The Forever War (1974), which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. The book follows William Mandella, a soldier drafted into an interstellar war against an alien species. Due to the effects of relativistic space travel, centuries pass on Earth while only years pass for the soldiers — a powerful metaphor for the alienation experienced by Vietnam veterans. The Forever War is considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time and a defining work of military SF.
Other notable works include The Forever Peace (1997), Camouflage (2004), and the trilogy beginning with Mindbridge (1976). Haldeman’s writing is known for its believable characters and hard science elements. His thoughtful exploration of war, trauma, and time explores what it means to be human.
A multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner, Haldeman has had a long and distinguished career. He taught writing for many years and remains highly regarded for his ability to blend serious literary themes with accessible storytelling.
10F Surface 00 Luna’s Plantation Agriculture Settlement Medium (Annona) DOCK: Small
4. More for my puppy. See "Luna Market", 07A Surface 03
10F Surface 01 Luna Command Complex Military Settlement Medium (Enyo) DOCK: Small
5 of 8. See Luna Market, 07A Surface 03, for the full description.
Elite Dangerous 022 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40 Derleth Legacy - Pohl Drilling Hub - Luna Mining Facility The Grand Tour, PAGE 22
NOTE: All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun. At least, according to the in-game architect’s view. There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts. Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI. I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me. :^)
10E Orbital 00 Derleth Legacy Commercial outpost (Plutus) DOCK: Medium
August Derleth (1909–1971) was a prolific American writer, editor, and publisher who played a pivotal role in preserving and popularizing horror and weird fiction of the 20th century. Derleth was the co-founder of Arkham House publishing company, and instrumental in rescuing the works of H.P. Lovecraft from obscurity after Lovecraft’s death in 1937.
Derleth was a literary whirlwind who published over 150 books across multiple genres. While he wrote regional historical fiction, detective stories (notably the Solar Pons series, a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes), and poetry, he is most remembered for his contributions to horror and the supernatural. Together with Donald Wandrei, he founded Arkham House specifically to publish Lovecraft’s stories in hardcover — an act that helped transform Lovecraft into one of the most influential horror writers of all time.
Derleth also wrote a large body of his own “Cthulhu Mythos” stories, expanding Lovecraft’s universe with new gods, locations, and lore (though his interpretations sometimes sparked debate among purists). Key works include the collections The Mask of Cthulhu (1958) and Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (1969), which he edited and contributed to.
A tireless champion of genre fiction, Derleth helped establish horror and weird tales as serious literary forms worthy of preservation. His dedication to publishing quality weird fiction had a lasting impact on generations of writers, including Ray Bradbury, Ramsey Campbell, and many modern horror authors.
PERSONAL NOTE: When I was struggling to re-learn how to read in the early 2020s, for several years I was stuck at a very simple level. Got deeply sick of reading books aimed at ‘young readers’, or self-published books by mediocre writers. All I could manage was linear plots. Start here, go there, end of story. Simple words, not much plot.
One day in the summer of 2024, my eye fell on an old August Derleth book. One of his Cthulhu compilations. It was a favorite of mine before the cognitive issues.
He’d been over my head since 2021. This time it was a struggle, but I found myself able to follow the story. It was slow going, and required a lot of backing up and re-reading parts, but I was able to understand enough to read, and love, the entire book.
That was my turning point. May never get back to 100%, but Derleth was my transitional author. Now I’m truly reading again, and enjoying many books that I thought would never be in my reach again. For this memory, Derleth will always be a favored author to me.
10E Surface 00 Pohl Drilling Hub Mining Settlement Medium (Orcus) DOCK: Large
See “Pohl’s Deposit” for the full description. This is one of four different facilities with Pohl’s name.
10E Surface 01 Luna Mining Facility Mining Settlement Medium (Mantus) DOCK: Medium
3 of 8. Another one named after our little puppy. See "Luna Market" for the full description.
