There are some pilots whose name will echo through the ages, their deeds and achievements undisputed, forever taking their place in the pantheon of New Eden.
This is the story of one of those pilots, an explorer who flew into the deepest corners of nullsec and returned to tell a unique tale. Legends built up around him, stories are still told, and his disapearance ranks amongst the greatest mysteries of our time.
This is the story of INNOMINATE NIGHTMARE.
The Beginning
Graduating from the Caldari State War Academy in 108, the pilot known by his many fans simply as Inno, planned an ambitious journey. In his own words he wanted to plunge "head first into the dark scary domain of [nullsec] and low security space... with only a keen sense of adventure to aid him in his merry quest." He called it the "0.0 Experiment."
He decided to publicly announce his plans for an expedition to the general populace via GalNet. The journey would see him travel the most dangerous regions of space. This announcement was met by mixed calls of good luck and derision. Sceptics said he would never make it into nullsec, let alone fly around. Some of them, like opportunistic pirate Devilish Ledoux, simply welcomed him "to the 'Hunted' subclass" to which Inno gleefully replied "My very first threat! Thank you Devilish, I look forward to the chase. Being mercilessly gunned down is all part of the thrill of the game!"
Despite the negative comments Inno pushed on with his plans and his first entry into his GalNet diary brought great acclaim. After several entries with ever growing audience numbers, the public GalNet connections were beginning to feel the strain and Inno decided to privately host an enhanced diary on a dedicated private broadcast service.
A Celebrity Is Born
As the viewing figures contined to climb, he developed a cult-like following amongst the GalNet observers and, more importantly, the people loved him. "His journey became famous and that fact, gave him [the] right to travel through unsecure places without [the] fear he had in the first few days" explained pilot ShuPac the3rd. These were access rights to areas of alliance space many dare not venture. Of course, there were those who decried this favoritism and said it went against the original goals of the experiment.
But there were no goals, no stated objectives and only one rule; to never venture into space with a higher CONCORD security status than point four. Inno was interested in having an adventure beyond what other low security residents had experienced before him. In his own words he wanted to "elegantly summarise a man in a shuttle flying through terra incognita... and being mercilessly chased by a multitude of hostiles intent on bringing about his podding in a dastardly and unashamedly hostile manner."
Did he meet hostile forces? Plenty, with some of them seeming to quite literally queue up to be the next to send him back to the cloning station. However, Inno also had friends, and lots of them. Numbered amongst the supporters of his journey are some of the most recognised pilots in New Eden, including Seleene, CYVOK, Verone, and Backdoor Bandit, who appears regularly throughout Inno's adventures.
As his fame and fanbase grew, Inno was rarely short on resources, with gifts and donations ranging from docking rights and spare ships (including a luxury Interceptor courtesy of Seleene) through to direct contributions of ISK. So it came as a shock to some when he started looking at the corporate and financial elements of New Eden.
Rags To Riches
"Due to the large level of rampant demand for equity in my corporation INNOMINATE NEUTRALITY, I have decided to indulge these requests and am pleased to announce this earth-shatteringly entertaining IPO" explained Inno. "INNOMINATE NEUTRALITY is a true innovator in the field of doing absolutely nothing. We are the first corporation to publically declare that the entire purpose of our existence is to neutrally gather dust in a manner that indicates we are not doing anything constructive at all."
Unperturbed that a few pilots were disenchanted with this latest development, Inno simply found it "fascinating to see how different people can view the same events in differing ways." A large number of friends, supporters and pilots rushed to invest in the shares, which were seen as both a souvenir of his adventures and a way to help support his expedition. This elevated Inno into the ranks of the mutli-billionaires of New Eden.
Stargazing With Steve
One particular situation described within Inno's diaries shows how far people were willing to go to support him. One of the defining moments in New Eden history came with the unveiling of the first Titan class vessel (nicknamed Steve by Ascendant Frontier pilots). This behemoth was piloted by CYVOK and Inno had been invited to view the unveiling. In his own inimitable style, Inno arrived late and discovered the titan had already left to return to its safe port. However, when CYVOK learned of Inno's arrival in the system, he decided to bring the titan back just so Inno could see its majestic beauty.
Inno also had the privilege of being present for the first test of the Judgement doomsday device on the Avatar titan. According to official records Inno was the seventh person to be killed by the very first blast.
The journey didn't stop there however, he continued to visit other areas of space and was intrigued by the idea of heading "to the unreachable region on the map called "Jove" Space, where the 'Gods' of New Eden resided, and [he] would boldly try to go where no pilot had been before: To seek an audience with the creators." Unfortunately the plans were cut short when he, like so many others, failed to discover any entry points into Jovian territory.
Not to be deterred, he pushed on with his expeditions, continuing to travel back and forth through the vast distances of the universe.
Journeys End?
He was once asked by a pilot called Eveliddia "What are you gonna write about once your dreams have been realized?" To which he replied "If such a day arrives, perhaps I will hold a farewell party and retire into the mists of obscurity."
Although at the time it was difficult to believe Inno could simply disappear, one day he undocked from the ISS station 'Borealis' and was never seen again.
No one knows what happened to him. Did he retire and change his name? Did he fly off the edge of the known map to undiscovered territory? It will always be a mystery. Whatever the circumstances one thing is true, summed up nicely by capsuleer ShuPac the3rd:
"So... INNOMINATE NIGHTMARE... you definitely reserved your place in the history of New Eden."
External GalNet References:
The Original GalNet Diary Broadcast with Comments
Unofficial Edited Version : Featuring Just The Diary Entries
The Official 0.0 Experiment Diary