Ebony Tower

The mysterious fortress sits, Barmalie shining in the background

Legend tells of an old story of two opposing towers. One: a shining beacon of free beings everywhere, standing as a guard against the forces of darkness. The other: black as night, and home to one of the greatest evils ever known. The two towers commanded their armies, ending in a massive battle that would determine the fate of that ancient land. Would good or evil triumph? Of course, being a children’s story, good ended up trying. I always suspected that there was more to the story than my parents ever told me, but I never quite wanted to ruin the mystique and wonder of that original story as only my parents could tell it. Yet I was reminded of that old story as I made my way to the next site on my list. Given the mysterious name of the Ebony Tower, I couldn’t help but imagine some vast castle out of the days of old, turrets and keeps as far as the eye could see. I’ve already discussed my love of castles, and I would see another version of a modern day castle. As I flew into the site, I had Aura pull up some basic information.

The Ebony Tower is a fortress built by parties unknown. Theories abound as to its origins, but nothing has ever been conclusively proven. Today, it houses various anti-corporate splinter groups – activists, militant protestors and eco-terrorists comingle within its echoing confines, plotting all kinds of doom for the headless monster of capitalism.

One of the small ships standing guard near the Tower

It certainly gave an interesting enough backstory. Assuming the Tower hadn’t been moved (and given the fractured state of the groups currently inhabiting the tower, I would be surprised if they had gotten the will to move it), it was clearly originally constructed as part of some kind of orbital defense system for the temperate planet below. Unfortunately, GalNet was sorely lacking on any details of any cultures that might have been present in Barmalie in ages past. Could it have been one of the traditional ancient civilizations? Were they guarding against the Yan Jung? Could this have been one of the original Sleeper planets? Or some other civilization we’ve yet to learn anything about? It was a pity that records from the Dark Ages were so sparse (but given that whole, you know, need to survive thing, I guess I couldn’t really fault my ancestors. I bet the Jove had great archives though…), but there was really nothing I could do about that. Whoever originally built the tower could quite possibly be lost to the Ages, as with so many other things in the Cluster.

Professor Science banks in front of the Tower.

Given the age of the Tower, it was in surprisingly good condition. Carved directly out of a larger asteroid (one that I can only imagine would have the miners salivating), the Tower dwarfed my Buzzard as I flew around it. Surprisingly, there was very little evidence of any kind of development on the asteroid’s surface. If I had just been conducting a visible inspection, I would not have guessed that there was anything under the surface except rock except under close inspection. I tried to figure out how to even get inside, flying Professor Science low over the surface. That crater over there could potentially be a port… and those spikes on the bottom were probably part of a thermal regulation system… but it took incredibly close inspection to gather any hint of occupation. Of course, the two ships standing guard were certainly conspicuous enough to draw attention as well.

The Tower floats in space, its original purpose completely unknown

It was clear, however, that I would not be permitted docking privileges. It seems that the various factions guarded their turf carefully, and they weren’t about to let some unknown capsuleer gain access to this ancient marvel. It was a shame, I would have loved to have a chance to walk around the interior of the Tower, and take it all in. The thought of walking the very halls that people built possibly countless millennia ago was very tempting to me. But I suppose it was not to be. I set a course out of the system. As the Ebony Tower receded into the far distance, I thought back to the stories my mom used to tell me in bed. Where there was a black tower, there was always a white one to stand against it… I wonder if there was ever an Ivory Tower…

Basic Information:

• Attraction: Ebony Tower
• System: Barmalie
• Security Rating: 0.5
• Region: Sinq Laison
• Potential Hazards: If you’re below a -4.5 in security status, or -5 standing with the Gallente, you’ll have to deal with some rather unpleasant policemen.
• Additional Notes: This also serves as an Gallente COSMOS site.