Goonhub
12-24-2014, 01:34 AM
What follows is a thesis I made on the nature of the Solarium in the context of the in game universe. This isn't really any solid evidence towards any specific course of action, but it puts together some pieces, highlights the importance of a few particular aspects of the event, and reveals just what the hell all of this stuff even IS.
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The pieces of the gigantic puzzle that is Solarium are, seemingly, disparate and wildly varied in their distribution and scope. There seems to be little cohesiveness to the adventure as a whole...until you realize that the creatures known as “The Darkness” speak in a tongue identified as ancient Sumerian. When one translates these sayings, pieces start to connect together and the bigger picture starts becoming revealed.
The Darkness, who refer to themselves as the Yellow Elders, are members of a cult dating at least back to the original days of human civilization, seeing as they're speaking ancient Sumerian, focused around ascending to a state of enlightenment, becoming the creatures we know as the Darkness in the process. The Elders themselves describe the process as “slipping and opening their eyes”, going so far as to say that normal humans don’t exist. They follow a king, or “Minister”, that is most likely the King in Yellow, and various proper nouns come to attention when observing their terminologies: The Butcher, the Metal, and the Copper Servant.
The Copper Servant, the description of which bearing a heavy resemblance to the automaton found in Solarium, is apparently associated with knowledge, and is the centerpiece of an ancient rite that will “bring light”. This “light” is presumably the fire and destruction brought by Sol upon triggering the disaster. In addition to this, the Copper Servant is commanded by the Elders to watch or guard the Butcher.
The identity of the Butcher is vague, as is that of the Metal, but one key phrase hints towards the nature of the two: “hul-ál. lúír-lá-ene ina im-dugud-ene. n-ene. e-zé.” The preposition “ina” is vague and can mean a number of things depending on the context, but in any case, the Metal is the source of the Butcher, and the Elders seem to blame Space Station 13 for it. “ene” is a suffix used to denote high status, which suggests that the Metal refers to NanoTrasen as an organization, or perhaps Space Station 13 specifically.
As to the identity of the Butcher, the likely source of destruction is Sol itself. After all, Sol is the source of the solar flares, radiation storms, and fire that are the result of the Solarium’s activation, and its nature is definitely very curious. This hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that the Solarium seems to be luxuriously outfitted and contains various machines. Perhaps NanoTrasen sought to harness the energy of Sol for their megalomaniacal purposes...and it’s not too large of a stretch to say that Sol could very well be the source of plasma, the enigmatic and incredibly powerful material that NanoTrasen has great interest in. Examination of the Solarium shows that the only damage done is to the computers and machines, and the presence of a note written in more ancient Sumerian is evidence that the Elders staged an attack on the vessel in an attempt to stop the potential activation of Sol. As to the Copper Servant, the automaton spends most of its time watching Sol, and it requiring a number of keys to activate suggests that it is guarding against its activation, as well.
The Darkness makes repeated mention of a Gate. They use the ancient Sumerian word “ganzer” to describe it, which is usually a proper noun meant to refer to the gateway to the netherworld, in addition to being used as a synonym for darkness. When one considers the location of the Darkness, a large and sealed-off pit that is unfathomably dark and otherworldy in nature, this suggests that the location I've semi-jokingly referred to as the “hellpit” could very well be, truly, a pit to hell. The fact that the Darkness is hostile towards any intruders, not to mention the presence of the onyx key, both lead to the conclusion that the Elders, in their attempts to prevent Sol from being unleashed, hid one of its keys in the netherworld itself.
The Elders also seem to be responsible for the widespread dispersal of the keys to Sol, and they did a damn good job of it. However, there’s one curiosity that catches the eye: In the caverns of biodome, guarded by mythical runes and Skinners, the latter of which possibly being manifestations of the King himself, is the ancient armor. This seems out of place, but translation of one particular saying by the Darkness shows that they specifically ordered for the burial of a secret, calling it “the armor”. The ancient armor, then, has clear significance to the Elders, as does the obsidian crown by way of association.
There’s one more piece of evidence, the exact implications of which are much less clear. There's an onyx tombstone in an area of Meat Station can only be unlocked by the onyx key, which is found in the aforementioned hellpit. This unearths a crystal skull. If one considers that, through the biodome caverns, there are the remains of what is most likely Indiana Jones (or an expy thereof), the crystal skull and the Yellow Elders suddenly become connected. The story of the Crystal Skull states that the Skull belonged to a society of psychically powerful aliens that watched over humanity’s cultures and civilizations since the beginning. Multiple details don’t quite match up, but there is reason to believe that the civilization of the Elders is, in essence, the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
The play titled after the king of the Yellow Elders notable mentions a “pallid mask”, and while this is pure guessing, this could refer to one of two things: The crystal skull itself, being a monochromatic visage of a human, or perhaps the paleness given to those who tap into the hidden power of the ancient armor and obsidian crown. In any case, however, this evidence illuminates the purpose and function of the Solarium, the Automaton, and the nature of Sol, in addition to providing reason to believe that some particular artifacts not directly relating to Solarium itself might have significance in the grand scope of things.
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The pieces of the gigantic puzzle that is Solarium are, seemingly, disparate and wildly varied in their distribution and scope. There seems to be little cohesiveness to the adventure as a whole...until you realize that the creatures known as “The Darkness” speak in a tongue identified as ancient Sumerian. When one translates these sayings, pieces start to connect together and the bigger picture starts becoming revealed.
The Darkness, who refer to themselves as the Yellow Elders, are members of a cult dating at least back to the original days of human civilization, seeing as they're speaking ancient Sumerian, focused around ascending to a state of enlightenment, becoming the creatures we know as the Darkness in the process. The Elders themselves describe the process as “slipping and opening their eyes”, going so far as to say that normal humans don’t exist. They follow a king, or “Minister”, that is most likely the King in Yellow, and various proper nouns come to attention when observing their terminologies: The Butcher, the Metal, and the Copper Servant.
The Copper Servant, the description of which bearing a heavy resemblance to the automaton found in Solarium, is apparently associated with knowledge, and is the centerpiece of an ancient rite that will “bring light”. This “light” is presumably the fire and destruction brought by Sol upon triggering the disaster. In addition to this, the Copper Servant is commanded by the Elders to watch or guard the Butcher.
The identity of the Butcher is vague, as is that of the Metal, but one key phrase hints towards the nature of the two: “hul-ál. lúír-lá-ene ina im-dugud-ene. n-ene. e-zé.” The preposition “ina” is vague and can mean a number of things depending on the context, but in any case, the Metal is the source of the Butcher, and the Elders seem to blame Space Station 13 for it. “ene” is a suffix used to denote high status, which suggests that the Metal refers to NanoTrasen as an organization, or perhaps Space Station 13 specifically.
As to the identity of the Butcher, the likely source of destruction is Sol itself. After all, Sol is the source of the solar flares, radiation storms, and fire that are the result of the Solarium’s activation, and its nature is definitely very curious. This hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that the Solarium seems to be luxuriously outfitted and contains various machines. Perhaps NanoTrasen sought to harness the energy of Sol for their megalomaniacal purposes...and it’s not too large of a stretch to say that Sol could very well be the source of plasma, the enigmatic and incredibly powerful material that NanoTrasen has great interest in. Examination of the Solarium shows that the only damage done is to the computers and machines, and the presence of a note written in more ancient Sumerian is evidence that the Elders staged an attack on the vessel in an attempt to stop the potential activation of Sol. As to the Copper Servant, the automaton spends most of its time watching Sol, and it requiring a number of keys to activate suggests that it is guarding against its activation, as well.
The Darkness makes repeated mention of a Gate. They use the ancient Sumerian word “ganzer” to describe it, which is usually a proper noun meant to refer to the gateway to the netherworld, in addition to being used as a synonym for darkness. When one considers the location of the Darkness, a large and sealed-off pit that is unfathomably dark and otherworldy in nature, this suggests that the location I've semi-jokingly referred to as the “hellpit” could very well be, truly, a pit to hell. The fact that the Darkness is hostile towards any intruders, not to mention the presence of the onyx key, both lead to the conclusion that the Elders, in their attempts to prevent Sol from being unleashed, hid one of its keys in the netherworld itself.
The Elders also seem to be responsible for the widespread dispersal of the keys to Sol, and they did a damn good job of it. However, there’s one curiosity that catches the eye: In the caverns of biodome, guarded by mythical runes and Skinners, the latter of which possibly being manifestations of the King himself, is the ancient armor. This seems out of place, but translation of one particular saying by the Darkness shows that they specifically ordered for the burial of a secret, calling it “the armor”. The ancient armor, then, has clear significance to the Elders, as does the obsidian crown by way of association.
There’s one more piece of evidence, the exact implications of which are much less clear. There's an onyx tombstone in an area of Meat Station can only be unlocked by the onyx key, which is found in the aforementioned hellpit. This unearths a crystal skull. If one considers that, through the biodome caverns, there are the remains of what is most likely Indiana Jones (or an expy thereof), the crystal skull and the Yellow Elders suddenly become connected. The story of the Crystal Skull states that the Skull belonged to a society of psychically powerful aliens that watched over humanity’s cultures and civilizations since the beginning. Multiple details don’t quite match up, but there is reason to believe that the civilization of the Elders is, in essence, the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
The play titled after the king of the Yellow Elders notable mentions a “pallid mask”, and while this is pure guessing, this could refer to one of two things: The crystal skull itself, being a monochromatic visage of a human, or perhaps the paleness given to those who tap into the hidden power of the ancient armor and obsidian crown. In any case, however, this evidence illuminates the purpose and function of the Solarium, the Automaton, and the nature of Sol, in addition to providing reason to believe that some particular artifacts not directly relating to Solarium itself might have significance in the grand scope of things.