It has been challenging lately to sit down and write about Eve Online. With everything else going on around us. And I won't bore you with a list. I know you have your own list. We all do. All of which seems so much bigger than Eve right now. More important. More pressing. More critical. On the other hand there has never been a time that this community of friends, players, and enemies has been more important. Or more challenged to be important. Right now Eve is the most important it has ever been.
We've faced moments before. Typhoons (the storm, not the ship), wildfires, losses, death, and huge wars. But we've never faced a moment like this. A global moment that has impacted all of us no matter where we happen to live. And while some parts of the world are faring better than others, everything that is happening impacts all of us. We all feel it. Some worse than others. But this moment is unique in so many ways, and one of the most important ways is how it has touched all of us in one way or another.
When I log in I do so to play a game, but I also do so to re-connect with that shared Universe virtually, and here at home. To escape the constant, never-ending vitriol of the news, to give rest to my brain and my soul. To be surrounded by friends. And by enemies. To feel the roar of my warp drive. The comforting sound effects of gate jumps, pounding auto-cannons, and the buzz thrill of the unexpected. To soak in the vistas of infinity, the familiar star scapes, nebula, and wonders of New Eden. And while Eve is an escape from reality, it is also a connection to that reality. As we share our stories with each other, pictures of new babies, new homes, new jobs and the personal tragedies that we are all facing. Eve is a game sure. I suppose. But it is also a lifeline.
There has never been a time when Eve has been more important than it is right now.
In the face of a global pandemic Eve serves as a network of support, of sharing, and of caring. And while we cannot be together physically right now, it is more critical than ever that we remain connected virtually. That we continue to be a community in the face of reality.
Right now someone you know, someone you have shared space with, is in trouble. Right now someone needs to hear from you, a joke, a meme, a word of support, something to help them get through the day. I don't know who they are, but they are out there right now. I encourage you to reach out to someone and touch base. See how they are holding up. Share a story. Stay connected. Touch base. Because someone might need it right now.
It has often been said, and often in these pages, that the Eve community is the greatest gaming community the world has ever seen. Now is when we prove that. Now is when we step up and stay connected. Now is when we support each other, lift each other up, and be there for each other. Now is when we do the best we can.
We are all in this together.