When Humans Play GOD and the Delusion of Historical Nostalgia (Operation Starseed) - Starfield Lore

As we sail through the black sea of space, we receive a sudden transmission in the Charybdis star system that appears to be automated. We receive the coordinates to what it refers to as “Facility Crucible” which the automated message states needs vital materials to sustain the “Mission”. In this video, we will be examining the lore and horrors behind this mysterious colony of clones we Spacefarers can encounter in Starfield. There will be spoilers including references to other questlines and if

you’re interested in other lore videos for Starfield or even other games, definitely check out the rest of the channel. And as always, if you’re ever hungry for more Starfield information, you can visit my partner StarfieldWiki.net run by the team behind UESP. Following the coordinates to Charybdis III, we touch down on the planet. From our ship, we can observe what seems to be a human settlement made up of several structures surrounded by tall walls. Our curiosity kicks in as we can’t recall an

y mention of a human colony nor any information from the League of Independent Settlers that announced any settling of the Charybdis system. Like sailors being inevitably drawn in by the frothy maw of Charybdis in ancient tales, we just can’t help visiting the settlement and to also figure out why we received that earlier transmission. Standing at the opening of the settlement is a Medical Robot Model A called “Tobias” which announces that we have arrived at an undisclosed secret location and th

at we are an “Outsider” not part of the “Plan”. Before this meeting escalates to violence, we clarify that we heard a distress call and Tobias accepts this as a proper explanation for our presence here and we are allowed into this rather empty looking settlement. Suddenly, we hear a surprised woman who goes by the name of Ada. She marvels at our arrival as visitors are non-existant. Ada tells us that there are three factions or “Societies” and tensions have risen recently in the settlement. She

suggests that we talk to someone called Franklin to gauge the situation. Upon seeing Franklin, we can’t quite put our finger on it but he looks rather familiar especially in what we recognize as outdated pre 22nd century attire. Throughout our conversation with Franklin, we learn his name is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the former United States of America on planet Earth. More specifically, he is a genetic clone of the historical figure FDR. Franklin reveals that he is not th

e only clone in the settlement, in fact all of them are clones of important figures from the various time periods of human history before the destruction of Earth in the year 2203. We realize that even Ada who we had met earlier is a clone of Ada Lovelace, a daughter of Lord Byron and a person widely considered to be one of the first computer programmers following her work with Charles Babbage in the early 19th century. With our mind still reeling from this revelation, Franklin explains that he

is the leader of the Pragmatist Society, one of the three factions vying for control of the settlement’s future and direction. He states that the other two Societies are the Renegades led by a Genghis Khan clone and the Believers led by a clone of Queen Amanirenas. Things get rather interesting once Franklin explains that none of the clones know exactly why they are in this settlement called the Crucible. Indeed, no one really knows why they even exist. Worst of all, not all the clones know who

they are a clone of as the complex known as the Facility that churns out these clones from time to time if they die has gotten faulty or sloppy over the decades in educating the clones. All they really know is that there’s other humans out there in the Settled Systems and that they are truly isolated. Reproduction is also impossible amongst the sterile clones as Franklin confirms that they tried sex repeatedly to produce offspring to no avail. It's clarified at this point that none of these peop

le have control over the automation nor machines of this bizarre clone colony which do not let them leave without killing them producing a conflict of both beliefs and interests between the three Societies. Indeed, violent fighting had already occurred multiple times in the Crucible and before we Spacefarers came along, the Crucible had more than twice the population we see now filling the dirt streets. As we turn around to leave, we are greeted by the sight of a suddenly lively town with clones

having come out of their hiding places once we were determined to not be hostile. We are greeted by a clone of Wyatt Earp, a notorious American lawman from the turn of the 20th century who offers us room and board which we accept for a fee. We make our way to the clone of Genghis Khan who’s sitting in meditation outside the walls of Crucible and we immediately fight off hostile alien predators with Genghis who seems to at least possess the fighting genes of his ancestor. We greatly sympathize w

ith the grievances put forth by Genghis as he explains his perspective. He wants to be free of the Crucible as he sees it as a prison. He has no idea why he exists or why he’s there. He fervently believes any memories or knowledge have been falsely imprinted into their neurological sensory. None of the clones can actually leave before they mysteriously drop dead once they’re out of a rough mile range from the Crucible. He just wants the freedom of choosing his fate just like any other human shou

ld regardless of whether he’s a clone or not. Genghis passionately argues that he is not Genghis Khan, the terrifying Mongol conqueror who killed so many in his conquests which lowered the global carbon dioxide levels of Earth. He is himself, he is his own person. We can certainly sympathize with his views. After all, would we not want the same? Should a person really be judged for who their ancestor was and not by their own being and actions? After talking to Genghis, we approach the clone of Q

ueen Amanirenas, a queen of the ancient Kingdom of Kush on Earth who was mostly known for being one of the few rulers that successfully resisted the Roman Empire’s attempted expansion in Africa. Amanirenas and the Believers are in staunch opposition to the ideals of Genghis and the Renegades. In fact, unlike the Pragmatists and the Renegades, Amanirenas claims she does indeed have memories of her ancestor or former life. She describes the environment of Egypt and Sudan. She remembers people from

her ancient past, lovers, traitors, friends and enemies. She can even remember the smells of her homeland which certainly gives us some pause as we consider the ramifications of her claims. As a result of her experiences, Amanirenas is adamant that the clones are meant for a great purpose which is why she and the Believers accept the circumstances of the Crucible. Amanirenas’ interprets the “Mission” mentioned by Tobias and the other robots to be a mission that only the clones can handle. She b

elieves that they are meant to lead the Settled Systems to what she dubs a new “Golden Age” in which presumably they take charge and make everything somehow magically better. Of course she also believes that the only way they can leave the Facility is to pass the mysterious “Test” set by the Crucible’s AI parameters. The conflict we have unknowingly entered into makes a bit more sense at this point. Franklin and the Pragmatists believe that they are not actually the people they are cloned from a

nd that they are not ready as their own individuals to foray out into the world considering they have been so dependent on the amenities of the Crucible and the Facility. Genghis and the Renegades believe that they are cruelly suppressed prisoners and that they must break free at all costs. The Believers want to improve and keep the status quo, sticking to the program of the Crucible for as long as it takes to fulfill their “Mission”, whatever that may be. Further context is added when we actual

ly read the data logs of the current Amanirenas and Genghis which further reinforce their perspectives. Most curious however is Genghis’s recordings of his conversation with Ada Lovelace who is implied to have posited that Genghis may not even really be an actual clone of Genghis. Another mystery is how Amelia, the clone of the famous 19th century aviator Amelia Earhart, somehow has the imprinted knowledge or memory of knowing how to pilot a starship despite having never left the planet of Chary

bdis III. Before we can ruminate on all that we’ve learned, we are beckoned to by the clone of Wyatt Earp who asks to meet him in a cave right outside of the Crucible’s walls so that no one can eavesdrop on our conversation. It’s a little suspect but we agree and it turns out Wyatt is quite afraid of the other clones and their factions. He then confesses that he’s lied about being a clone of Wyatt Earp. Instead he admits to us that he’s a clone of H.H. Holmes, an American serial killer from the

late 19th century. And..we’re in a cave full of explosives alone with him. Holmes’ admission of his ancestry would also sort of explain why lawman Wyatt Earp is in the inn business as this is a reference to how the original H.H. Holmes purportedly had a hotel “murder castle” built for his victims. Holmes explains that he’s lied about who he’s cloned from as the other clones could potentially just imprison and torture him for being a clone of a serial killer although in some ways his fear may be

unfounded considering the orders and actions of Genghis Khan led to the deaths of tens of millions of human beings on Earth. Holmes truly does not like some of his imprinted knowledge or memories of who he was or rather who his ancestor was. At this point, we Spacefarers can persuade Holmes to not attempt to kill us and live or we can just let him kill himself with explosives. If we do let him live, we can let Franklin, Genghis and Amanirenas know of his real ancestry. Interestingly, Franklin an

d Genghis sympathize with Holmes while Amanirenas wants to punish and execute Holmes which we will speak on later in the video. After we’re given the coordinates to what the clones call the Facility, the origin spawnpoint of themselves and their fellows, we travel there to find that it’s a rather dilapidated looking set of structures. Dangerous Maggotmaws, aggressive Medical Robot Model A’s and hostile spaceroaches roam the premises and we find that the interior of the Facility is covered in Mag

gotmaw secretion and evidence of violence. Fighting our way through the Facility, we pick up clues in the form of data slates and entries. The previous generation of clones that had inhabited the Facility determined that the Facility was salvaged and constructed from a spaceship called Galathea and that there was a sister ship called the Beagle at one point before Galathea landed on Charybdis III. It appears that the current conflict between the three Societies had manifested with the previous g

eneration of clones with one saying: “This confinement is driving me crazy. Day after day underground. I think Genghis is right, escape is the only option.” Later we find the following information on another data slate: “Genghis somehow got a hold of explosives. Last night we woke to a thunderous din. The Facility has been repeating incessantly: Containment Breached. It is maddening. An expedition was sent to the outside this morning, they report predators... deadly ones, all about. Amelia and A

manirenas are furiously working to come up with anyhting that could be used as a weapon. I tried to get into the Facility’s inner sanctum – to no avail. There is nowhere to hide. Nothing to be done but wait.” Things obviously got dire as for the first time ever, the previous generation of clones with little to no survival skills was forced to confront the outside and hostile environment of Charybdis III. Arguments undoubtedly escalated and we are told by the last words of an anonymous clone: “I

woke up for the first time right here. And now I bleed. When I first heard the Mission, I felt a thrill. We were chosen. We would rule again. But after spending countless days? Nights? Who is to say in these windowless halls. We do nothing. The Facility feeds us, the Facility provides. And we just... argue. But now we do more. We turned to murder. I pray you find this brother of my blood. Do not trust Bill Hickock. He is not who he seems.” Bill Hickock is of course not only referring to American

Western folk hero Wild Bill Hickock, but the fact that his name was used as an identity by H.H. Holmes before he adopted the identity of Wyatt Earp. Eventually we reach the Facility computer whereupon we discover we need a Security Override Code to turn off the containment breach lockdown and to access the inner sanctum of this mysterious Facility. So far we still don’t have answers as to why the clones exist, why this Facility was made and why all of this that we discover to be called “Operati

on Starseed” had to be kept secret from the rest of the Settled Systems. We return to the Crucible with the notes and our other findings. It’s at this point we can decide who to give our knowledge to. If we choose Franklin, Genghis sees it as a betrayal and will later become too aggressive to negotiate with. If we choose Genghis, it puts us at violent odds with Franklin and Amanirenas. If we choose Amanirenas, there may be more negotiation room with both Genghis and Franklin leading to a mostly

peaceful resolution. Regardless of who we choose, we must venture to the Beagle to hopefully find a security override code for the Facility. Based on Ada Lovelace’s astronomical observations, she believes that the Beagle is located in the star system of Zelazny and so we grav jump to said system. We find the Beagle floating within a small asteroid belt around a barren celestial body. We try hailing the Beagle and receive nothing but static. Without any other recourse, we board the Beagle to find

that the AI security system has made both the turrets and even the Medical Robots hostile to our presence. Again, we must storm our way through what seems to be a ship devoid of human life. As we do so, we Spacefarers stumble upon four major clues that allow us to piece a part of this evergrowing story together: An audio log titled “Last Conversation with Dr. Chiang” has this for us to listen to: ---- A computer terminal that belonged to a Doctor Zhao has the following logs: “A pox on Chiang Go

ds curse Dr. Chiang. The Facility is a hell full of vicious predators, the amount of resources we will need just to provide basic protection is ludicrous. With Dr. Baskinda passed it falls to me to reconfigure the experiment. Otto von Bismark needed Amanirenas as a counter-weight and even then he would be hard to stop. Although many say that Franken-Genghis is vital to the experiment, I am not fully convinced we properly sequenced his DNA from his descendants. And his indoctrination program? It’

s an embarassment. No, Amanirenas is the key.” “FREON! The Captain is aware we are dangerously low on Freon. I have enough to keep all the specimens frozen for a year, or more. So he keeps deprioritizing my request. Will he listen?” It’s clear at this point that the Beagle and the Galathea were to accompany one another to establish a clone production facility. We can infer from Doctor Zhao’s logs that the Beagle was running out of a material called Freon which allowed the safe freezing of the ge

netic samples needed to reproduce these historical figure clones. We can also conclude that half of this operation’s genetic samples must have been on the Beagle with the other half on the Galathea which was to become the Facility on Charybdis III based on Doctor Zhao’s comment about how the 19th century Prussian and German statesman Otto von Bismarck needed a competent foil in the form of Amanirenas so he wouldn’t run amok. And Doctor Amani’s log where it reads: “No one listens I am tired of no

one listening to me. We should’ve boarded the Galathea and taken their genetic samples. The whole plan requires all of the specimens. How can we hope to engineer the Golden Age with only half of the test?” Our first takeaway from these logs is that the suspicions of the clone of Genghis Khan and Ada Lovelace were spot on. Genghis as referred to by “Franken-Genghis” or Frankenstein Genghis seems to be a messy amalgamation of various genetic materials that the scientists thought would make up who

they perceived to be Genghis Khan. This is a rather disturbing thing to pick up on as it implies shoddiness on the work of the other clones. Does this mean Amanirenas who predates Genghis Khan is also made up of various genetic materials? We understand that knowledge or false memories can be imprinted into the minds of the clones somehow but the very fact many of the Believers truly believe that they are what they think they know is a bit sickening. It’s clear from the argument between Doctor C

hiang and Captain Lapido of the Beagle that Doctor Chiang really wanted to settle this “Mission” of achieving a “Golden Age” for humanity on Charybdis III while Lapido argued the planet was insufficient. This conversation more than likely took place over communications as Doctor Chiang was on the Galathea while Captain Lapido who is accusing her of mutiny was on the Beagle based on Doctor Amani’s comment about how they should have boarded the Galathea. We realize that these records, these people

existed long before our time. Specifically in the 2160’s as they mention the United Colonies and from the established timeline, we know that the UC was formally founded in the year 2159 when humanity had to start evacuating our homeworld of Earth. These scientists and officers ended up surveying planets for their “Mission”, whatever that may be. How long it took them is anyone’s guess although based on Doctor Amani’s following records, it was a really long time: “Bel System: Struck out The Bel

system has no planets that meet our criteria. If only the Mission had access to the United Colonies recon data we wouldn’t be bumbling in the dark. No one says anything but many think Captain Lapido did the wrong thing. We celebrated a birthday of young Roberts, well Dr. Roberts now. And he’s 65. Even if we find our planet, at this rate none of us will be physically or mentally able to set up the experiment. True, the Facility protocols theoretically need no manual intervention. But let’s be rea

listic: when has a large piece of code ever worked without some debugging after launch?” If Roberts was referred by his crewmates as “young Roberts” for a while, we can presume he was maybe in his 20’s when the Beagle and Galathea set off from Earth. If he was in his 20’s and he’s 65 by the time this schism happened, these people were out in space for approximately 40 years which befuddles us as we can’t imagine how the clone colony we see now could have made any of that effort and time worth it

. Lastly, we find out the tragedy of the Beagle and what exactly happened following its parting from Galathea. Perhaps the first or second generation of the infamous Crimson Fleet pirates in three ships arrived to take the Beagle by force by whatever means necessary. Despite Captain Lapido’s attempts to negotiate, the Beagle had to take damage in order to destroy the Crimson Fleet starships. Half of the Beagle’s crew died and the ship only had enough Helium-3 fuel to jump to the Zelazny system i

n which we found the ship. It was the crew’s last hope to finally establish their “Golden Age Mission” but the Beagle’s engines unfortunately died meaning they couldn’t even survey the planets in the Zelazny system. It’s implied here that Captain Lapido committed suicide while Doctor Zhao seems to slowly go insane trying to readjust their experiment despite the stark reality of their situation. The Beagle after the scrap with the Crimson Fleet and of course the low amount of Freon needed to pres

erve genetic samples, has lost 20% of said genetic material. 119 days later, the author of the Final Entry says: “Day 120 of being adrift. No more food, no more water. I’m the last that’s left, I don’t know how long I have. The Beagle’s mission has failed. If Dr. Chiang or anyone from Galathea read this: you were right. We should’ve all stayed with you on the FAcility. I’m disabling all security so you can grab whatever you need for salvage and recovery. I am ashamed to report that all of our ge

netic material did not survive. I pray the Mission continues on the Facility. God have mercy on us all.” We wish the dead a good sleep as we download the Security Override Code for the Galathea’s computer banks from the Beagle. When we return to the orbit of Charybdis III, we pick up a transmission from a panicked Franklin, Genghis or Amanirenas depending on our previous choice. The tensions have reached a crescendo due to us acting as a catalyst. Franklin wants to take 20 years to get the clone

s more mature and trained to take on the Settled Systems and he wishes to be granted administrator privileges to set the new parameters for the “Test” that the clones must pass in order to leave the Crucible. Amanirenas wants a similar thing while also improving the Facility with repairs although she believes she is the rightful leader. Genghis wants the Facility to be destroyed so that he and the Renegades can just leave, “Test”, “Mission” and “Golden Age” be damned. Assuming we peacefully reso

lve the conflict of the three Societies as best as we can, it’s agreed eventually that Genghis Khan and the Renegades will leave the Crucible should we resolve the matter of the Facility. Franklin and Amanirenas will not fight one another and agree to a peace. Or we could just repeat the cycle of violence that the clones have been stuck in and kill a lot of people. No matter what, we must head to the Facility with the Security Override Code. Once we finally open up the restricted part of the Fac

ility, we run into some unforeseen trouble in the form of not just hostile robots and turrets but also clones who immediately start shooting at us with old Earth ballistic weaponry. After we kill these seemingly random clones, the Facility seems to be something out of a dystopian Sci-Fi novel. We can observe vats for clone reproduction with bloodied body bags lining an assembly line. Harvested organs in a nearby room one can find for whatever purpose whether it was for experiments or even for su

stenance perhaps. And upon closer inspection, we find to our horror that the clones we’ve killed seem to all be Genghis Khan clones which tells us that the production of Genghis Khan clones continued in the time the Crucible settlement was built and that the Genghis Khan that had set off the explosives was successful in at least gaining some sort of bizarre control over his fate in some ways. We need more answers as we formulate even more questions in our minds. We approach three terminals that

are placed in a convenient row. Starting with Doctor Fallon’s logs, we can try to decipher exactly what he said past the corruption of data, note that speculative text is in brackets so take it with a grain of salt: “Hello Mission! [Things looked] bleak for so many years. Earth is [f’ing screwed], the governments fumble ineptly... It was [absolute chaos]. [During that time was] when the Council first approached me. The symposium [may have offered a Mission for] preservation? Or [do I just take]

the internship in London? [Obviously, perservation.] [I chose] the Mission, it was [humanity’s] ray of hope [and something I feel like is the culmination of] my whole life. The past is already lost, but we need to [do our best in leading humanity with the Mission]. [The Council] chose me. Before [we went on the Mission, I was] joking with Rajiv Roberts that [he will be old enough by the end] to be bringing us along [to fulfill the Mission]. And one hour into the voyage, [there were complications

with a] machine. [Hopefully the others will] learn from [me and I can] prove they were right to pick me.” “Farewell Chiang [Doctor] Chiang died of a [brain] hemorrhage last night. Just [f’ing great]. He was so [meticulous], he’s left notes [and a to] do list. Or something. I need to write [his records down and work on programming code].” “Last Survivor To think, that I am the final [survivor and this situation is now] what the Mission is. All the arguments, all [the experimentation], the though

t experiments... And the ultimate [Mission of humanity left] to chance. The last survivor. [The Mission might] be simple – but to me [the Mission didn’t calculate the variable of] bringing humanity [into] the equation. As scientists [we were wary that the destruction] of Earth progress from distant [possibility] to absolute certainty [in which it showed] that governments and corporations were not [interested in any semblance of our Mission though we may have needed them as we’ve] built a system

so complex [that it’s impossible] any one person [can handle] everything. So [hopefully as intended] the Mission [will produce] exceptional individuals. [Hopefully the Facility and its lessons will help] them over time [so that they can] break through barriers. [Perhaps once they succeed, they can] tame [humanity] itself and bring [order] to it. [We often] argued whether pure force [or other forms of] leadership are the key – so Crucible [will in the end determine who was right.] [I’ve made it s

o that the] third batch of clones compete, I do not [know if making them compete against one another for their growth] could work! If only [Doctor Chiang] lived to see it....” “The Final Call [Damn], I’m ill. Probably terminal. I [still can’t afford to put] anything down. [All of our efforts and time spent traveling from] the old Earth [… in the end no matter what] the burden falls on me. I’ve done [some programming] to finish the [work on the Test in addition to establishing kill boundaries to

establish] the criteria for success. How do we know a [clone won’t simply skip out on the Test? In all] likelihood we get one chance [to fulfill the Mission and bring about the Golden Age so the] Test cannot be simple. They [must succeed so the clones can] go up to [others]/the UC and the [governments and peoples will hopefully rally behind] them. And [the responsibility to make this happen] is mine. As contrary [as it is, I think my next experiment may offer] no solution. If the clones [can fig

ure this all out and even] outwit [the Facility and also figure] out how to reproduce on [this planet, they could eventually] neutralize the safety protocols. [They need to] subvert the machines [with their intelligence and the creation of] their own tools. If they can’t beat [the mere Facility, how can they hope to bring a Golden Age to] the galaxy? I [can picture Doctor] Chiang trying to strangle [me from beyond] the grave, but if we [don’t take such drastic measures, the Mission and its succe

ss will be] nearly impossible – prove it [to all of us, clones]” In Elmer’s message who we could speculate to not be a scientist considering we don’t see a Doctor title next to their name the logs supposedly read: “My experiment Arrived on the Galathea. [Space fatigue] is real. Time [to toy around with an] experiment within an experiment.” “Samples switched [I took the] opportunity to make [the sample] switch. Goodbye Wild Bill. We have [to take this time to finally answer] the big question: nat

ure vs nurture?” “Holmes is ready [Update on the progress]. After the Beagle left, I [hoped to have more time on experimenting]. No matter how much I [try], I just have no time. But [it turns out the] HH Holmes indoctrination sequence [is clearly intact and the clone] will know who he was, what he did, [that he] terrified a nation. The question is: will he do it again? There’s [no concrete proof that indicates a clone of a serial killer will] be a serial killer. No [recreation of] tragedies, wel

l, not directly. Are our futures written in double-helixes? Or are [we predestined by our genetic makeup to be what we are?] In Doctor Chiang’s computer logs, we can read the logs that supposedly reads: “Goodbye Beagle All of our equations and all [our hard] work assumes we have the complete genetic record to work with. So that’s no longer [viable]. The solution lies within. [We can instead take the genetic] samples of all the scientists and [fill in] the missing variables. [I was going to get]

Elmer to help [me]. But he’s reliable [only when you ask him to] spell the [words] exactly. Fallon’s actually [more knowledgeable in this field as he] had his dissertation when more of us [didn’t], he deserves it.” “Facility Complete The core of the Facility has been [completed,] the robots were programmed by capable engineers to do [all of this] but still the speed and precision! Remarkable. The Facility [will provide shelter for when] we do our first trials. The real experiment [will be above]

ground in a very precisely designed location. We [have come up with a] name for the place. Fallon’s [suggestion is] calling it Crucible. Too literal for my tastes, but I [can’t think of] anything better. The greatest [dangers posed to us on] Charybdis III is clearly its [apex] predators. Extremely dangerous. But [the presence of] sub-sonic [ballistics] and turrets should do. The Facility robots can [deal] with whatever remains. [I’m not] complaining [but I didn’t think I’d be] living [to be] so

old... [On with] the Mission. “Missing Equation [Our] change of focus is [important as the] simulations are running better [if we had] what we were missing! [The sad] truth is our experiments never [had a chance]. The sim would devolve [into] violence. Every time. [What our] sim needed were “pawns.” George Washington wasn’t a [person known for] his fighting skill, but [known for his ability to] motivate people, [he] could inspire. But if you only put great figures [from throughout history], the

y counter each other. [It’s time we] double down. I [have procured] all the genetic samples I can get. The ship [samples], those stray un-ID'ed DNA [samples that were languishing] in cargo, everything. Let’s outnumber the clones. [You need leaders and pawns to push] people this way and that. [There’s also] no time to give the new clones [any of the indoctrination] education. Fingers crossed.” “Real progress! One year [to go] if the code gets tricky. All the [pieces are] coming into place. [I can

] see the second batch interacting and seeing that the equations [were correct]. I must confess [that a] younger me [would have ever thought of the necessity of Genghis Khan.] But unlike the first batch, [this new generation of clones will need someone] to marshal. This is going to work.” To sum it up, it’s clear that Operation Starseed at this point became a scrabbled together mission with clearly desperate and perhaps masochistic individuals leading the Mission of conjuring up their imagined G

olden Age. It’s clear as to why the clone colony is called the Crucible as the highly unethical scientists wanted the literal definition for this twisted experiment’s outcome to occur. The fact that genetic samples were randomized with little care for potential health issues or scientific standard is crazy. Furthermore, the designation of sentient and sapient living beings with hopes and dreams as pawns for other designated clones to lead with the intent to leave little room for free will outsid

e of the confines of the experiment is mindboggling. Unrealistic expectations set by the clones’ creators indicated the collective delusion of all those involved in this operation until their last breath. It’s an astonishingly breathtaking display of human arrogance and zealotry. We find that there are three options that face us when we get administrator access to the entire Facility. The first choice accompanied by a note is to reboot and restore the Mission parameters set by the original scien

tists. This will produce a status quo with not much repair to guarantee the continuation of the unethical experiment. The second option is to reboot and choose a new Super-Admin. This option is clearly meant for a clone leader who managed to break through the barriers mentioned by the experimenting scientists and passing the vague “Test” by taking control of the Facility. A note accompanying this command verifies our conclusion as it says “Hopefully your struggles have prepared you for the next

step., If you think the Facility is draconian, wait until you see the Settled Systems.” The note from Doctor Fallon also says that he hopes it’s Amanirenas calling her the best hope of the Mission. The third option is of course to end the experiment and purge everything. Killing all clones in the Crucible. In the end, no matter what option we choose, based on what we’ve uncovered and discussed, Operation Starseed was simply doomed to fail from the start. True leaders aren’t born nor bred specifi

cally. Ironically, the very fact that they included a figure like Genghis Khan speaks volumes as the early life of Genghis or Temujin was fraught with dangers and struggles. Many of the leaders we are familiar and enamored with led lives of trials and tribulations. Alexander the Great for example didn’t just wake up one day because he had his parents’ or allegedly Zeus’ genes and succeeded immediately in his conquests from Macedonia to India. He was taught by Aristotle yes but the guy had to fig

ure out a lot of stuff on his own. There were trials and errors, he had to experience real battle and real wounds, real world problems demanded real world or very creative solutions of him. For a closer example to Starfield let’s even look at Hadrian, the clone of Vae Victis aka United Colonies war criminal Francois Sanon. Despite being a clone of Sanon, Hadrian is not at all like her parent in either personality or conduct. And that’s the point, she’s had her own life, her own struggles and exp

eriences that define who she is now completely separate from what her progenitor is. Yet the scientists of Operation Starseed simply cast all this aside. All of what we are talking about here applies to anyone else in human history we could look at except of course Kim Jong Il flawlessly carrying out 11 hole in one’s on his first time golfing. The premise of Operation Starseed in determining the eligibility or qualifications of a human leader is both insulting and shortsighted. It also didn’t ta

ke into consideration just how long after the deaths of the scientists the operation would conclude. If we are to assume at least three generations of clones starting from the 2200’s when the Facility was built, well it’s been more than a century as we are exploring the Facility and Crucible in the year 2330. In that century, there has been 3 major galactic conflicts, entire factions and governments that have risen and a tide of other events that have changed the trajectory of human history amon

g the stars. To think that a clone leader even if they take charge of an isolated settlement of clones would be fit to somehow lead completely new and foreign governments or systems or somehow unite the fractured political space of the Settled Systems is just insane. If FDR has his way of teaching and testing the clones for 20 years so they can become self-reliant and ready for the Settled Systems, that still wouldn’t prepare them for what’s to come without them actually experiencing it firsthan

d. If Amanirenas has her way in abiding by the Mission with her standards, well it’s just futile. She even lashes out at us angrily claiming that her false imprinted memories could be portents or messages from gods despite the whole cloning business. She also wants to punish and execute H.H. Holmes which speaks to her level of inexperience as not just a leader but a human being who doesn’t understand people are not their parents. And even if we are to assume somehow the clones end up in a positi

on of leadership for the Settled Systems, what are we humans to do after they die? What is the guarantee in the next batch of clones that need to be re-trained? Isn’t that just how humanity works anyway? The scientists as much as they wanted to play god, couldn’t have possibly known what the future holds for humanity or what seemingly insignificant event could upset their notion of the future for the Settled Systems. Ironically, despite causing the most potential issues and being rather difficul

t to negotiate with, Genghis Khan may have been the most correct here in that the clones should determine their own ways with their own free will. If they want to try to be leaders, they can, if they don’t want to, they can. But all of that starts with the freedom of choice first. There are some additional questions that remain after we unravel the secrets of Operation Starseed that we must discuss at some length before we end the video. In my opinion, Operation Starseed is an awesome examinatio

n of a lot of things here: First, it’s clear that there is a big theme of humans playing God. The very act of cloning has often been criticized in our reality by some religious communities. Human cloning is viewed by some as playing or acting as God by usurping the natural order or natural reproduction. The religious, ethical, philosophical and scientific views on human cloning end up becoming knotted and riddled with more questions than answers at times. Should we genetically modify clones to b

e a certain way or would that border on eugenics? Does cloning affect the autonomy and individuality of our offspring by essentially using them as vehicles of our desires? It may just be as again, the scientists literally imprinted false memories and random knowledge into the minds of these clones. Would Amanirenas be a completely different person without her so called memories? Would the Amelia Earhart clone be adventurous or want to go into space to explore had she not known how to pilot a sta

rship? Furthermore, does the commodification of human life as a research or medical product align with our values as implied by the Facility’s assembly production of clones? Perhaps one of the bigger questions just as we discussed in our lore video about sentient AI, is are we humans truly ready for the implications of human cloning? Operation Starseed shows that we are not. The very names of the clone ships, Beagle and Galathea are a nod to our behavior. Galathea refers to the Greek myth of Kin

g Pygmalion who obsessed over his perfectionist sculpting of a statue he fell in love with. He names the statue Galathea. His obsession with how perfect the statue is escalates with the Roman Poet Ovid going so far as to state in his Metamorphoses, Pygmalion kissed, dressed, pampered, fondled and slept with the statue. Galathea eventually comes to life with the help of Aphrodite and Pygmalion of course marries her and so on. There are many interpretations one can take away from in this myth such

as Ovid’s comments about how Pygmalion’s “art concealed his art” meaning that Pygmalion deceived himself in his perfectionist replication of a woman which symbolically usurped the natural world or natural order of things. This applies of course to Operation Starseed’s premise as a mission and the scientists’ obsessive need to perfect human beings or human leaders into exactly how they see fit. Pygmalion also ignores that his infatuation with what he perceives to be perfect has produced this fal

se equating of physical beauty to actual perfection or moral goodness. Just because the FDR clone physically looks like FDR does not mean he is FDR nor is he morally good or fit to be a leader. Beagle on the other hand is of course a reference to the ship HMS Beagle that Charles Darwin sailed on when he would survey various areas including the Galapagos eventually leading to a book called Voyage of the Beagle and his subsequent work on the theory of Evolution which is of course the opposite of t

he story of Galathea and Pygmalion. There is a heavy irony in the scientists naming the ship the Beagle as Operation Starseed shows that these humans thought to determine the course of evolution or tamper with other living beings simply because we’ve gained the knowledge to do so or because we simply can. The decisions during the course of Operation Starseed whether we’re talking about the decision to predetermine the purpose of human beings in a microcosmic society and to even make a serial kil

ler clone shows the glaring ignorance of evolutionary morality and psychology on the part of the scientists. The fact that the H.H. Holmes clone was a personal experiment of one of the Galathea crew to see if a serial killer clone would become a serial killer to prove some basic notion of nature vs nurture is horrifying and perhaps one of the most unethical things I’ve seen in Starfield considering how terrified the clone is. The last thing to examine within the lore of Operation Starseed is thi

s idea of nostalgia as a powerful motivator behind Operation Starseed and the dangers of historical nostalgia when determining the future of our human affairs. Let’s just think about Genghis Khan who at first glance seems to be an anomaly and a caricature of an aggressor who must move the plot of the story forward. If the Golden Age was to occur, out of so many historical figures to choose from, we might be asking ourselves, why would the scientists choose Genghis Khan? There are two possibiliti

es as to why Genghis and perhaps other more divisive historical figures were cloned. First is that they weren’t meant to act as the ultimate leaders of what the disillusioned Earth scientists dubbed the new “Golden Age” of humanity, they were meant to help develop the other clones such as Amanirenas or Franklin Roosevelt or whoever else into said leaders. Although it seems based on Doctor Zhao’s writing about Otto von Bismarck needing Amanirenas as a foil probably indicated that the scientists w

ere either in disagreement about which clones would be suitable leaders or the experiment’s variables was always in flux whether the genetic samples were lost or not. The second possibility is that the scientists genuinely believed that a lot of these historical figures could prove to be humanity’s golden leaders. As terrifying as Genghis Khan, his hordes and descendants were, in our reality, many Mongolians today still view him as a great leader and unifier which is definitely a different persp

ective from those in the Middle East or other regions of the world. The same nuanced perspective can be applied to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, yes he led the United States on almost four presidential terms through the Great Depression and the second World War but he had some pretty questionable decisions and policies such as establishing concentration camps for innocent Japanese-Americans, the refusal to let Jewish refugees into America in the 1930s or even the refusal to support an anti-lynching

bill. And we can no doubt look through the lives or accounts of everyone else throughout human history and find the same, flawed human beings that we often times dangerously reduce to individuals for blind glorification. So what else besides leadership qualities do all a lot of these people have in common? You guessed it, the sense of historical nostalgia or the longing for the good ol’ days where we perceive that our tribe or the state of our people were on top of the world. Politicians and ot

hers take advantage of this easily corruptible sense a lot in our own reality, usually producing not such a great result in the end for a lot of people involved. Nostalgia often blinds us and in times of disillusionment with our own present time and the state of the world as we see it, we let the past guide our future instead of trying to find solutions that work specifically for us. It’s exactly what happened with these scientists and other individuals who found the governments of Earth and its

successor the United Colonies incompetent. They were disillusioned and thought they could do something or find someone or in this case, create someone, that could lead them and the rest of humanity forward. They quite literally attempted to have the past guide the future and somewhat predictably in the end, Operation Starseed never sprouted. I hope you guys enjoyed this video. Big thank you to the people who suggested doing this quest, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think it’s definitely a story

worth experiencing multiple times in its different endings. If you want to support me and watch more lore videos in the future, you can do so by subscribing to the channel. It helps me a lot and I just want to say the level of support this past month from all of you has been absolutely stellar. Thank you so much to the people who have dropped by the livestreams to let me know that you enjoyed the videos. You guys are amazing, thank you so much for watching and see you all out there in the star

field.