FLASH – Snuffed Out Attempting to Ransom Space Pope Max Singularity’s Sixth Empire <POPE> Alliance, Threatens to Destroy Sotiyo “Children’s Orphanage.” Timer is Thursday, January 21, 22:39 UTC.
Sinq Laison – Firille – Basgerin – Sotiyo “Children’s Orphanage”
His Holiness Max Singularity VI, Pope of New Eden, Harbinger of Faith, the spiritual leader of The Sixth Empire alliance, posted a request for assistance from the capsuleers of New Eden on Monday, January 18th to the r/Eve subreddit.
While The Sixth Empire is typically defended with equal vigor by both the major bloc alliances and the everyday pilots of New Eden, the current war in the south has opened an opportunity for would-be attackers to assault the small, charitable, neutral alliance. Snuffed Out, whom some regard as among the most toxic groups in New Eden, have taken the opportunity to earn their reputation by attacking one of the most beloved, and most vulnerable, groups in the game.
Babyface vs Heel
For those unfamiliar with professional wrestling terminology, a “Face” or “Babyface” (AKA “blue-eyes” or “técnicos” in lucha libre), is the hero, who always does what is right and acts with honor, while the “Heel” (rudo in lucha libre) is the villain, whose actions make everyone love to hate them. If ever there has been an EVE equivalent matchup to lucha libre, this would be it.
The Sixth Empire is a charitable alliance with a strict code of conduct revolving around being good to the real people behind the screens of EVE Online. They own the freeported Keepstar and citadel complex in Basgerin, which acts as a landing couch for everyone from deployed military, cancer patients, and corporations switching alliances. It is also functions as a safe neutral location to buy and sell supercaps. The alliance members are known for setting up structures for dying people, to leave a legacy for their corp mates, as well as anyone else with a good cause. Sometimes, this even includes donating PLEX to people in need.
Sixth Empire does this work gratis, existing on donations from across EVE. Sixth Empire and its spiritual head, Max Singularity, AKA the Space Pope, have earned this reputation from years of living by their ethos of being good to people. For the record, Max Singularity didn’t proclaim himself Space Pope: the EVE community did and he adopted the moniker.
Snuffed Out has a different reputation, as true killers in the Richard Bartle sense. Snuffed Out has been known to attack the weak at their weakest, laughing at them the whole time they’re dying – the EVE equivalent of the hyena (the animal, not the ship). Don’t expect “GFs” in local after an engagement either. Snuffed will wait for you to form your 15-man kitchen sink fleet and then drop 100 Legions backed by capital support, and call you a “scrub” for losing. Snuffed Out are not motivated by good fights, or even ISK (though they’ll certainly have your ISK). They do what they do out of pure sadism. If the Sixth Empire enjoys almost universal acclaim earned by reputation, Snuffed Out enjoys a very different reputation.
“Fuck You, Pay Me”
INN reached out to all parties, but has been unable to reach Max Singularity, Tau Ad, or Hy Wanto directly. However, a conversation between an unnamed Sixth Empire representative and Hy Wanto, to which an INN representative was a witness, went as follows:
Rep: “There won’t even be a fight.”
Hy Wanto: “Then I suggest you pay Tau and we go home.”
According to the INN representative, this was the equivalent of saying, “Fuck you. Pay me.”
The Sixth Empire has no navy. They exist solely on the good will of the EVE community at large. They can neither defend their infrastructure nor afford the ransom, though they wouldn’t pay it if they could. Snuffed Out offered an alternative ransom, by demanding Singularity declare them the new Space Pope. Singularity’s notes that he cannot transfer the title, as it was bestowed on him by the community.
Why You Should Care
The real losers here would be the EVE community. The Sixth Empire provides its services for the good of the real people behind the screens, especially those who must step away from the game due to real life constraints. Max Singularity is currently advising all players with assets in Sixth Empire structures to evacuate until the situation is resolved. Given the situation many people find themselves in while crashing on Sixth Empire’s couch, this will probably not be possible for the most vulnerable players.
Thursday January 21, 22:39 UTC
If you would like to defend this structure, you can rock up to Basgerin on Thursday January 21, 22:39 UTC; it might be a good idea to get there early. Judging from Reddit, this event has ignited the passions of the EVE community at large. At this point, it is still unclear what kind of organized resistance will be present, so if you go, expect some chaos. Some pilots are even donating ships to anyone (including alphas) who want to come defend. See the Reddit post for details on that. To quote one Redditor “Titus, get the crucifix,” to which another added, “The heavy crucifix.”
