Dear Commander Cholmondeley
I have listened to 'Elite[:] The Musical' many yonks ago. ...all the way through. ...while following along reading the lyrics. ...Cringe much! Much cringe, indeed. The yonkier ago, the happier I am. I hope I will never be forced to endure the torture again, thank you. It reminds me of that time we hitched a ride on that Vogon ship, and they caught us, and read us some of their poetry, before they airlocked us... but I digress.
However, I have nevertheless spent the day to reread the book and *some* of the lyrics in an attempt to present my analysis for your perusal.
So, here we go...
*
Regarding any references to so-called 'GalCops'...
‘GalCop’ first appears in the ‘Space Trader’s Flight Training Manual’, p. 6, par. 4, where it refers to some organisation associated with the ‘Lave Authorities’, probably that of the ‘Galactic Co-operative of Worlds’ mentioned on p. 5.
Page 43, par. 1, has ‘galCop’, but, compared to all the other 'GalCop'-s within the text, that is clearly a typo, and the context remains consistent with that which had been established previously.
‘Imprint’, p. i6, ch. 2, par. 1 (for example): ‘[...] he had made his way towards GalCop licensing.’ The context of the quote (obtaining a pilot’s license) also refers to an organisation.
‘The Virtuous Misfortune’, p. 15, towards the bottom: ‘In the distance, a flight of four ships headed roughly in our direction – tagged as “GalCop”.’ This quote might be misinterpreted as indicating that the Police Vipers were known as ‘GalCops’. However, considering all other references, that is indeed a misinterpretation, since it might rather be better interpreted as meaning that the approaching Galactic Co-operative Police Vipers were tagged as belonging to the GalCop organisation.
‘GalCop’ is not a job title for any kind of cop or other law enforcement officer. Hijacking and bastardising of terminology merely facilitates confusion through ambiguity, and cannot contribute constructively to the clarification of current canon.
There is also no ‘CORPORATE STATES POLICE FEDERATION’. Each stellar system is independent of any other, as evinced by the fact that criminal records do not carry much weight much beyond the limits of the local system. Also, the corporate states do not have a different police federation that is separate from those in all the other stellar systems in GalCop Space.
‘Elite: The Dark Wheel’, p. 23, par. 5: ‘"Whatever happens now," Elyssia said as they took positions at the bridge consoles, "You’re going to get an 'offender' status tag. But Rafe thinks that[,] if you respect [Spacetrader Henry Bell’s mummified] body[,] they’ll just post [the criminal charge here] at Tionisla itself. Destroy the body[,] and they’ll probably notify most worlds in the vicinity [...]."'
*
General observations regarding character descriptions...
The character Ash is described as ‘Half-humanoid-half amphiboid . .. human father, lizard mother.’ An amphibian and a lizard are from two different taxonomic classes: amphibia and reptilia. Also, the original referred to ‘frogs’ (vs. ‘amphib...’ of any kind), and also distinguished between ‘humanoids’ and ‘human (colonials)’. Besides, it’s ‘amphi-bi-oid’; not ‘amphi-boid’. (Crossing a human with another class of animal/organism might be possible in the 32nd century, though.)
Celandine... ‘Bargains with pirates on behalf of the planet LAVE.’ It is, however, not explained under whose authority she actually does this. Furthermore, her associate Bramble’s apparent unprofessional habit of ratting out her ‘clients’ does not seem conducive to smooth diplomatic relations between Lave and other planets and/or systems. It seems doubtful if she would carry any real authority within the official GalCop structures. Describing her as bargaining with pirates on behalf of the entire planet, therefore, seems to be at least somewhat questionable.
*
Scene inconsistencies...
Scene III: ‘They will attempt to track Cleavers by sifting around Anarchy planets; Maple to Onisqu and Hawthorn to Ara.’ Why go all the way to the other side of the chart, when there is Soinuste and Qudira within two jumps from their starting system of Engema? No logical explanation is even attempted!
Scene V: ‘[...] Celandine who bargains with pirates on behalf of the plant Raale.’ Her initial character description said, ‘Lave’.
*
Conclusion:
The writers of the ‘ELITE’ musical might ‘have taken the essence of the Elite game and woven from them a crime adventure story, basing characters, dialogue and place settings on the game,’ but that seems to be about all they did.
At least, Holdstock had read the ‘Elite Players’ Guide v.7’ (
http://www.elitehomepage.org/playguide.htm) before writing the ‘Space Trader’s Flight Training Manual’, and, at least, he had
tried to play the game, before writing ‘Elite: The Dark Wheel’. Braben or Bell had to hack the game so that he could survive, because, by his own admission, he was hopeless at it – but, at least, he tried.
(
https://robertholdstock.com/articles/the-games-we-play/)
The only positive and possibly intriguing connection between ‘Elite[:] The Musical’ and original lore that I can find, seems to be implied in the subtlety of the title of the second last song in Scene XI, ‘Just a Game’, which might be oppositely relatable to ‘Elite: The Dark Wheel’, p. 6, par. 2: ‘Let’s be clear about trading. Trading between worlds is no game for a youngster with ideas of getting rich quick.’ Like the song’s title and the Dark Wheel quote carry opposite meanings with respect to each other, the substance of the song’s lyrics also bears no relevance to interstellar trading, though.
Other than the above-mentioned connection, the only other positive contribution made by ‘Elite[:] The Musical’, might be, apparently, the first ever Elite Theme, by Aidan Bell as arranged by Chris Abbott, and could perhaps be a candidate for an alternative to the Oolite Theme Music by NoSleep (2004), along with Saga’s ‘Will it be you? (Chapter Four)’.
https://through-the-interface.typepad.c ... -bell.html
‘Who came up with the name Elite?’
‘[Ian Bell] was fond of 'Black Starlit Grave' which was a song by a Canadian Rock band Saga [...]’
Actually, ‘black starlit grave’ were merely some lyrics from Saga's song ‘Will it be you? (Chapter Four)’ from their self-titled debut album from 1978.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_(band)#The_Chapters
https://youtu.be/dkwxdgo9p2E?t=947
See?... That’s what I call good, canonical (meta-)lore: it brings other good, canonical (meta-)lore things to mind – consistently, and without any unexplained contradictions – and then I digress again ever so blissfully...
To answer your question, Commander Cholmondeley, as far as I’m concerned, ‘Elite[:] The Musical’ does not really contribute anything significant to the written Xlite lore canon that hasn’t been done better by any other, more-legitimate fanlabour or official lore-sources. It's story, undulating and writhing as it might be, twisting rather cleverly in the tail, many layers deep, is just too local and disconnected from any other lore for it to make any significant contribution, IMHO. It could just as well have been written in any other universe, with little change to the story, and it would still be what it is.
‘Elite: The Dark Wheel’ (BBC Elite 1984) was the original.
‘Imprint’ (PC Elite 1991) was official.
‘The Virtuous Misfortune’ (Oolite 2006) was the first piece of Oofic about the crew of a Python-Class Cruiser, and had cameo appearances by Rafe Zetter and Henry Bell, establishing a deeper connection between them than just that which had merely been vaguely hinted at in ‘Elite: The Dark Wheel’, and establishing a connection between the two stories themselves. It also featured a reference to a certain cat on a big, dark and deserted ship, and some trumbles, not to mention how it opens up with a reference to the established IU lore of a hyperspace-misjump temporal displacement that then continues to explain consistently the connection between the Xlite and Frontier Universes... It is the quintessential, indispensable Oofic! Much of this story would have to be rewritten or lost if it were to be transposed to any other universe.
‘Elite: The Musical’... Nah. ...Not so much. It pales miserably in comparison. Much cringe! Except in name, and in family ties, it is actually just really not Elite enough to warrant inclusion as authentic canon. ...for me, at least.
I would be interested to read any other analyses and/or critiques of 'Elite[:] The Musical' in terms of its relationship to established lore.
SACRILEGE!!
This is a "strict colligatory criterium" which I would very strongly support and propagate, if it is not part of standard, conventional, colligatory practices already. ...which it should be! 
![[EliteWiki]](/images/elitewikismall.png){kind=small}
Alien Systems
