Guardian Lighthouse

20th March 2024

Introduction

The question has been asked many times over the years since the discovery of the Guardian Beacons: ‘Does anything happen when you get multiple people to light up multiple beacons at the same time?’ For years the only answer we could ever give with any certainty was ‘Dunno, no one has tried and talked about it’. That was the genesis of the Guardian Lighthouse Project, the quest for a better answer. What became known as Project Guardian Lighthouse, or Project Lighthouse for short, was the fever dream of Canonn Staff member Larzok. While Larz had experience herding cats as Commander of the Church of the Space Cat, the feat was daunting. At time of writing there are 30 known Guardian Beacons. Getting 30 commands online, at the same time, in separate locations that are not far but also not close to the bubble, during the middle of the second Thargoid War, seems to be an incredibly challenging task. After weeks of planning and last minute backups answering the call, Canonn Interstellar Research became the first group to ignite all 30 Guardian Beacons simultaneously.

The only clear answer to the question ‘What happens if more than one is lit?’, seems to simply be, ‘More than one Beacon is lit’. Any other more far reaching reactions have yet to be encountered as of March 20 3310 (2024). Below detailed reports from participants can be found where provided. We shall see what may come of our possibly wayward science in the future, but for now, we must be content with the satisfaction of a question answered.

The Beacons

The following sections show each ignited beacon. While some CMDRs participating in the voice chat and recorded their proof of ignition, others wrote expanded reports that will be detailed here.

SYNUEFE KU-F B44-4

I have been out in guardian space way too long. Listening. Watching. At least now there will be more people. Project Guardian Lighthouse could not come at a better time. My mind has been wearing thin from staring at spectrographs and binary readouts for weeks now. I thought we were getting somewhere with Chatterbox but now… I am not so sure.
In any case I arrived in system and spent the night at the beacon. All was fairly peaceful. When time came to activate all pylons powered on as expected, though it took at least 4 minutes for the last beacon to light. By 20:34 all of the beacons were lit and, just as expected, nothing significant happened.
Commander Bro Ken Wan

Full report by Commander Bro Ken Wan.

HIP 36823

Cruising through HIP 36823 the excitement was building as the beacon’s adjacent gas giant grew larger on approach, promising a great view for my activation run. Dropping out of supercruise I was met with the gloomy blue cloud surrounding the beacon, pitching my ship and sliding around the beacon, the k-type star burst into view beautifully diffused by the cloud, providing the view I hoped for on approach.
Beacon activation went smoothly, having my beacon lit as scheduled and monitoring for any anomalous activity. Once all beacons were confirmed lit around 4 minutes into the test there were no changes observed with my beacon. We continued to coordinate a scan of all orbs at the 41 minute mark but again no changes/anomalous behavior observed.
Commander Fraxinus Artrald

Full report by Commander Fraxinus Artrald.

SYNUEFE HA-P C22-22

Waking up to the blue light of a Guardian Beacon was a welcome change after all that combat malarkey yesterday. The peace, the solitude, the calming blue glow all added to the ambiance. On top of that, my headache was gone.
Moving in to position in order to take part in Project Guardian Lighthouse, the beauty of the moment seized me. The organisation, cooperation, and the ethereal blue glow all seemed to make sense. For Science! We don’t understand Aliens, that’s why we have to do all these tests. I tried sticking some relics in a Thargoid Device once or twice, I didn’t die. This time either.
The beacon activation proceeded as normal and at the appropriately signalled moment I scanned the Orb and collected an Ancient Key, together with 29 other Commanders. No unusual phenomena were observed here, but my eyes were somewhat focused on the soothing blue glow.
Commander Space Cadet Smith

SYNUEFE RL-C B46-6

Commander Herix

SYNUEFE CS-H D11-121

Commander X1three

SYNUEFE QA-E B45-4

I’ve arrived to my assigned system, SYNUEFE QA-E B45-4, at almost exactly 00:04, just a few minutes ahead of my carrier. FSS scan of the system yields nothing of note, except the Beacon of course. No additional carriers, so there shouldn’t be anyone interfering with my end of the experiment. My carrier just arrived, assigning them to orbit the beacon body while I make some initial observations.
Beacon appears to be unremarkable from the other beacons I’ve visited, but that should be expected. It reacts to my presence, so I know it’s operational at least. Having been to the Thargoid Titans recently, it’s definitely of note that the cloud surrounding the beacon looks much like the caustic clouds surrounding those giants, though much smaller, a different color, and lacking any noticeable effects. Going to run a test activation just to get my bearings, haven’t done this in a good while.
Test activation completed in approximately 1 minute 13 seconds. I really should figure out which way is “up” on these things, if there even is such a thing. Now we just wait until experiment time.
I was up and out of my quarters by 19:30 and hurried to my ship. Quickly equipped a cargo hold to grab the Key, since I might as well. Arrived to my beacon a little early and established communication with the rest of the project members. Project lead Larzok counted us down and my beacon was activated without issue. A still image from my helmet was shared with the team for recording purposes. Nothing seems to have happened at first, but maybe something will come of it in time…
Commander forgotten being

Full report by Commander forgotten being.

IC 2391 Sector MX-T B3-6

With the orange grove income squandered on an outrageous Anaconda Commanders Outspan and Delmonte sought solitude among the stars.
Happy in their own company and too anti-social for social media they wondered without issue to Sagittarius A* amongst the first 100 to do so. They ran Rare’s routes for credits and pottered around the backwaters of the galaxy beholden to know one.
The only anchor on this merry journey was pledging to the Princess fair Asiling Duval, down with slavery and up with Fancy green prismatic shields!
This relationship with what is claimed to be a civilised world soon soured as week after week merits went astray at the great intergalactic FD Server farm making a mockery of their efforts to help reform the galaxy one slave at a time.
Once again cast adrift throughout known space until…….
“UA sighted commander” .
“Sorry a what???” …
“Unknown Artefact floating in space, Should we bring it aboard for a squeeze to see what happens?”
Squeezing things being in the very essence of the family tree.
So began a new tale, a home in Varti with multiple ships dedicated for different roles. Working with others towards common goals and an invitation to the esteemed council of the “CANONN”
Now to our latest endeavor, ACTIVATE THE BEACONS FOR CANONN
Commanders Outspan and Delmonte

SYNUEFE ZG-J D10-49

Commander Minerva Nox (Lasers)

SYNUEFE IL-N C23-15

Commander Novak of Yale

NGC 2451A SECTOR LX-U D2-25

I arrived in position one week ahead of time, aboard my Fleet Carrier Tycho Station which is positioned around the main star.I fiddled around with my fleet for a few days, changing ship and loadout until I realized which ship was optimal.Turns out my optimal ship is the Adder Gozerian.
I arrived on site with the beacon 1 hour prior to meet-up time and 1.5 hours before light-up time.
The expected outcome is simply that the beacon at the location will light up. If we are lucky, something especially neat will happen.
Commander plscks

Full report from Commander plscks.

SYNUEFE FF-P C22-35

Commander FlyingdutchmanAW

SYNUEFE OF-E B45-4

I turned down the radio chatter in the cockpit, as the commanders were starting to get a little bit excited about activating their beacons. It took a while to get them all aligned, even heard some chatter about a ship being missing and a replacement ship racing through jumps to get in place in time. Seems like they got it all sorted out though in the end. Then I heard a thargoid roar, dropped my mug, spilt my gin and nearly soiled myself. A Commander had rigged the comms to have us all hear that while waiting for the activation and once the fear and shock wore off, it was rather funny. As the time approached, I activated my 3 charge ports on the beacon and watched it come to life. The confirmations started to roll in on the chatter and I smiled at Mikayla, “We did it”. “Ya we did something” replied Mikalya, “not sure exactly what, or what is to come of it. Will have to wait and see.”
Commander Marxanthius

Full report from Commander Marxanthius.

SYNUEFE HP-E B45-4

Commander Heliaxx

SYNUEFE GJ-G B44-9

The call of the dark, mysteries hidden by time, hope in the unknown …
Here in solitude, bereft of human matters, silence breathes expectancy with rhythmical atomic fluctuations.
Trilateral, towering and vast, a monument of ancient wisdom … awaiting activation in expectancy.
Auditory senses perceive amazing sonic presence.
Energy sparks and crackles, subsonic transmission waves are whipped up into audible crests on top. of – foaming noise streaking through communications.
Commander Oborax

IC 2391 SECTOR HG-X B1-7

Commander KnightArch

NGC 2451A SECTOR TO-R C4-3

Commander Riley Angel

NGC 2451A SECTOR RT-R C4-19

Commander MughraghThe2nd’

SYNUEFE BO-G B44-6

Commander J4MES

SYNUEFE FU-E B45-5

Commander ItsKakorot767

SYNUEFE HL-N C23-4

Commander Notes McTotes

SYNUEFE IT-F D12-5

Commander Drunken

SYNUEFE DK-D B46-12

I didn’t think I was going to be a part this. My cmdr woke up in Yami at 20:04, hearing that help may be needed. Jumped over to Banka to get my highest jump range ship (72ly) added a Beam laser and started jumping towards Guardian space. I didn’t know where help was needed so I picked the beacon in Synuefe DK-D b46-12 at random. I needed to make 12 jumps (~770ly) in ~20 minutes – quite doable but cutting it close.
When almost there I got the request that help was needed in Synuefe DK-D b46-12 – the system I had picked at random. There was another cmdr travelling there, but they started further out and there was a chance they would not make it in time.
I arrived at the Beacon with 3 minutes to spare. Activated my Beacon at the allotted time … waited for the signal to scan the Orb. Observed nothing unusual so far. Got the signal that all 30 Beacons were active and proceeded to scan the Orb. Observed nothing else unusual, but who knows if something has awoken inside that dormant machinery
Commadner Grinning2001

Full report from Commander Grinning2001.

SYNUEFE JZ-F B44-8

Commander Just_

IC 2391 SECTOR FG-X B1-9

Commander iMetal

SYNUEFE WL-J D10-113

Commander DikbutDaGrate

SYNUEFE RA-E B45-5

Commander Obone4888

SYNUEFE DK-P C22-35

15 Mar 3310
All is set for Canonn’s “Project Guardian Lighthouse” tomorrow afternoon. I returned to Thompson Dock today to change out my Type 9, the Bull Netch, for the more nimble Phantom “Aviflora.” And I am glad I did, I had gotten used to the Type 9 but the difference in speed and maneuverability of the Aviflora never fails to disappoint! I arrived at SYNUEFE DK-P C22-35 and located the Guardian Beacon orbiting SYNUEFE DK-P C22-35 3 and conducted a dry run of beacon activation at about 8:15 PDT. All appears consistent with the other beacons I have seen. Upon approach, the pylons extend, revealing their energy collectors. Energizing them with a laser powers the beacon, causing it to open fully, revealing the orb inside. Scanning the orb provides a Guardian key. Now to settle in for the night and get ready for the group effort tomorrow.
Commander GammaMetroid

Full report from Commander GammaMetroid.

SYNUEFE IJ-G B44-5

Commander Nekomeko

SYNUEFE AS-H D11-9

As a primarily combat pilot and a habitual explorer, the opportunity to assist Canonn wasn’t one I could pass up. I never really interacted with Guardian content before, making this a new experience!
So I got into RNC Nürburg and made my way from Cubeo to Synuefe AS-H D11-9 to finally visit a Guardian Beacon.
Upon arrival, the atmosphere was quite eerie. A blue tint engulfed the local K-Class Star, which cast its light upon the beacon, lightly illuminating it.
When the Signal was given, the Beacons were activated, ancient mechanisms coming to life, thirty times, in unison. For now, we don’t know what might’ve happened.
Commander Monol Wolff

Full report by Commander Monol Wolff.

System was a joint effort between Commander Monol Wolff and Commadner T Fives.

IC 2391 SECTOR CQ-Y C16

Today, we are calling the ones that shed us light when we were desperate against the Thargoids. Now that we have proven that we also can fight our common enemy, we’re calling our saviors once again to show them what happens when humanity unites and learns about another civilization’s demise.
Will they come back and be proud of us?
Commander HaLfY47

Full report by Commander HaLfY47.

Lightkeepers

For their contribution to the project, Canonn would like to thank and recognize the following 38 members who made the project a reality. Named for the lighthouse keepers of old, they will forever be recognized for their support in this achievement. And if igniting all 30 beacons has happened to summon anything from the deep black, then these are the 38 to scold!