...so in one of the topics not so long ago, I was joking that i should start preparing my 666th post:
I should prepare for my 666th post
And here it is
a big conspiracy theory about the little green (or are they?) men who have been influencing the Carcassonne countryside far longer than you have imagined... this might be a crazy topic but here goes
:
The first obvious sign of extraterrestrials comes in the form of crop circles expansions. Not only are the real-life equivalents of these shapes commonly associated with space-faring visitors, but the box they originally came in had a sticker depicting an alien meeple [1]. The text used to promote the expansion even read
"Sind da Aliens im Spiel?" Are the aliens involved?
The mechanics of the kornkreise tiles are clearly a play on the alien abductions. The option B (removing a follower of the associated type) means that the meeple was just abducted by aliens and taken away for studying. Option A (adding a meeple of associated type) represents the act of disguise and infiltration by the invaders who try to integrate into meeple society and learn more of their culture. Imagine a new knight suddenly moving into the immediate neighborhood of your city, perhaps with a strange accent that seems very foreign but you cannot quite pinpoint what it might be...
And all of these unsettling occurences seem to be somehow connected to the strange shapes appearing in the wheat. But the summer is not the only season this takes place, even during winter when no crops are there to be flattened, the same shapes appear melted into the snow.
These are actually the marks left behind by the engines of alien spacecrafts, pressure bending the crops, heat melting the snow. They have three types of ships dedicated to studying three different occupations taken by the common folk, each craft having a uniquely shaped exhaust. One of the ships tends to park in the middle of the crossroad masking its presence with a sophisticated cloaking device [2]. The travelers have often wondered what strange force blocks their way...
The aliens have been visiting the land of Carcassonne for a very long time. We know there are few religions in the area including catharism, and there is even a mysterious third cult competing with the monasteries, building shrines and gathering around cult places. But have you ever wondered who it is these cults worship? No idea? Well luckily for us the shrines contain a depiction of this mysterious diety [3]... pale grey skin, elongated head, large black eyes and a red scafander. That's right, it's the aliens! Hiding in plain sight all along. Their long term presence explains many things about the world of Carcassonne.
In their time, the visitors learned much about the biology, culture and nature of this world and its creatures. They performed many experiments using genetic engineering or other enhancements. The tinkering would result in several individuals with abilities far surpassing the common folk. The benevolent Mage and the mean Witch are just two examples of people onto whom aliens bestowed what the society would come to view as "magic". Other more frightening sightings include Solovei Razboyink and his devastating whistles, human/fish hybrid Vodyanoy, strange demons blocking the path of the Bogatyr, or the living house of Baba Yaga. Sentient food springs to life in the form of Gingerbread man.
Using the geothermal energy produced by the high volcanic activity around the landscape of Carcassonne, the aliens powered their machines and facialities, including a system of teleporters for individual fast travel. These would later be discovered and unearthed by the meeple society and used as "magic portals". By studying the alien technology, meeple society eventually achieved technological advancements allowing them to build new stuctures such as Darmstadtium or tollhouses.
Volcanoes became homes to another one of alien biological experiments - the dragons. They often ventured out however and terorrized the meeples. Even aliens could not control them after their release to the wild and rampaging dragons would be inconvenient even for such a powerful species. The solution was to create another hybrid being capable of repelling the dragon's wrath. Meeples who saw this being interpreted its actions as benevolent and crafted the myths of the Fairy.
To this day aliens stay hidden, waiting, watching and studying. Origin of many strange phenomena lies with them. It is only a matter of time until meeples discover some more...
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