The Signal at the Edge of SOL

A Gaming Memory, a Journey into Elite Dangerous I’ll Never Forget.

Jul 12, 2025

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*This story was created with immersive audio in mind. Headphones and narration recommended!

A journey that started with a simple goal… and ended with chills, became a story that remained etched into my life, like a constellation on the night’s sky.

Setting Course for Sol

Games have the power to do that, you know?
To turn stories into actual memories.
That’s because we LIVE them. We take the risks, we make the discoveries.

I’ve always loved space. Pair it with sim-games, science, and exploration, and I’m all in. So when I found

Elite: Dangerous Wallpapers | Page 7 | Frontier Forums

Elite Dangerous, it felt like a game made for me!

A 1:1 recreation of the Milky Way, containing all that we know of:
Stars, neutron stars, planets, nebulas, black holes, and so many more… all simulated.
Add to these, a flight model rooted in real physics, using gravity, inertia, heat management…

It was rough at first—a bit like the Dark Souls of space sims, unapologetically rough, but fair. But once I found my bearings and upgraded to my second ship, the Adder,

with its unique diesel-like engine hum, I set my first real goal:

Visit our own Solar System.

Curiosity at the Edge

I entered the destination to Sol, set it for the Fastest Route and off I went!
Only to get stuck a few jumps after… not enough fuel.
Small ship, small tank! First lesson learned, Economical Route is the way to go.

When I reached our Sun, I paused. Refueling from our actual star? That felt oddly comforting.

Then, came the tour:
Mercury. Venus.
Earth— where I spotted my country and sent a ping from orbit.

The Moon, then Mars—now Terraformed and populated.
Jupiter and its satellites: like Europa and Callisto.
Saturn, where I had a majestic flight through its rings.
Uranus. Neptune. And...

And Pluto.

Even though it’s lost its planet status, I had to visit it. But that’s when I noticed something strange in the system map.

After Neptune, there were dozens of new names:
Orcus. Charon. Salacia. Haumea. Makemake, Sedna, Eris, Persephone...
Elite Dangerous had included them all. Every known dwarf planet and large body in
the Kuiper Belt.
I had no idea they existed, so…

It became an educational moment, which made me visit and learn about each one.
The coolest discovery? Charon is a giant moon of Pluto, so big that they are actually orbiting around each other. Brothers in orbit, I guess.

I was having fun, was learning, and smiling like a kid… all the way to the edge of our Solar System.

Here, my goal was complete. But the Journey? It wasn’t.

The Signal

As I pulled away from the outermost planetoids, I looked back to our Sun.
How tiny it had become.

I reminisced about the journey to this point, but also felt something else—a familiar feeling of… curiosity. I turned my ship outward. Toward the stars beyond, just to look.
To glance upon the vastness of unending space, filled with…

A signal!?

Tiny. Faint.
My radar pinged it.
“Unknown Signal Detected.”
I shifted course, diverted full power to sensors.
Ancient Probe.

What?!

Was this a secret? A hidden Easter egg for the few of us who ventured this far out?

I boosted toward it— and started to make my way to… wait… I’m not advancing?!
I checked the distance.

2,317,435 light-seconds… away.

My jaw dropped. How am I to reach that?
That’s the kind of distance you'd normally Hyperjump, like between stars.

But there was nothing to jump to. Just empty space.
It could only be reached by using Supercruise, and hope to have enough fuel to return.

I hesitated. Then I clenched my jaw, shifted all the power to the engines… and went.

The Long Drift

As I flew, something amazing happened:
The farther I got from the Sun’s gravity pull, the faster my ship went.
100c. 500c. 900c, the speed was incredible, 1700c…

Eventually, I was flying at 2,001 times the speed of light.
A speed I didn’t even know was possible in Supercruise.

But the journey would still take time. Real time.
And my fuel reserve… was at 70%.

Well… let’s put this ship in autopilot. I guess is time for a snack.

About 30min later, belly full and with a Mug in hand…
Fuel check: 43%.
Distance left: 867,000 light-seconds.
Still moving. Still committed.

Let’s browse the internet, as it got updated while I was in Earth’s range.
I discovered a little platform called Substack. Good writers, no cheap fuel ads, interesting articles… hmmm, let’s see.
In the end, I read a No Man’s Sky article by

Joe

The Saved Game

How No Man’s Sky Helped Me Escape

The Game Sitting on My Shelf…

4 months ago · 13 likes · 7 comments · Joe

He might be a similar space cadet, like me. Good article, worth a subscription. Sad I don’t have enough credits yet, to give him a boost.

Ok, let’s go back and check the ship!
Oh, speed started to drop?! It means I’m getting closer.
10,000 Ls.
5,000.
500.
The ship began braking automatically. I adjusted course. Sensors lit up.
Prepare to disengage.

I dropped out of Supercruise... into… nothing?!

Just stars and… Silence.

Diverted all power to sensors again. Scanned the void.
Then—there it was.
A tiny dot. 200km away.
I approached slowly. Careful to not lose the still faint signal.

100m.
50m.
Turning the ship lights ON.

Finally, there it is—white, metallic, cold.

The Probe.

The Voice

I inched closer. 10 meters.
Then... sound?!

Chatter. Static at first. Then clearer. Voices?
I turned up the volume. Focused.

And then I heard it.

“Salutarile noastre calduroase tuturor celor care aud acest mesaj.”

My native language?! Romanian.

Suddenly I froze. Goosebumps all over.
I was shivering in my chair.

How??

I listened again. Other languages followed. Russian, English, Spanish and many more, each with its own… “Warm greetings to all that hear this message.”

Then it hit me.

The Golden Record.

This was Voyager 1.
An Ancient Probe indeed, it was launched back in 1977, so over 1300 years ago.
A relic of humanity, still transmitting to this day. Still out there.
And Elite Dangerous had recreated it—tucked into the edge of our solar system for curious explorers to find.

I just happened to be one of them.
And the first words I understood… were mine, like just for me!

A Memory Etched in the Stars

After studying the probe, learning all that the Golden Record had contained, about Voyager Program… with 15% fuel left, I eventually jumped back to Sol, but with one of the best gaming memories I’ll ever have.

What started as a tour through our virtual, yet familiar solar system… became a story through curiosity, and surprised me with an invitation to a real long journey to uncover something only a few will find.

Elite Dangerous created something special… it managed to connect the threads between real and virtual worlds.

I learned about our solar system.
I saw Pluto in a new light.
I visited an ancient real Earth probe I didn’t know I’d find.
And I heard my own language echo back to me from the edge of space.

It reminded me why I play games, how they can create real stories and realized that this memory will always remain in my “ship’s log”.

Got your own unforgettable gaming detour? Drop it in the comments—I’m always curious where other explorers have wandered. 👇