Soooo, about that phone call...

[APixelatedLemon]

So quick recap on what I'm talking about. About half way through episode 2 we are sent to the Hunting Lodge in Broken Railroad to grab a spear to fight 'The Old Bear'. While inside the lodge there is a phone call, but we are not able to answer it in time to talk to whoever is on the other side.

From what we can tell, the lodge was used as a base for a group of environmentalists/eco-terrorists called Forest Talkers. Seems like someone wanted to get in contact with them, but... Who?

[JackTrysGames]

Remember, the only thing functioning after the Aurora were party lines.

So odds are Molly was calling Astrid, and she picked up before Will could answer the phone in her stead.

At this point, bad luck is the only thing keeping the pair apart.

[Glacia]

On 9/3/2022 at 5:42 PM, APixelatedLemon said:

the lodge was used as a base for a group of environmentalists/eco-terrorists called Forest Talkers

Is this confirmed?  Because the lodge it's very close to the yard, if not a part of the yard. The aurora buffer memories of the yard have several info about how maintenance yard employees report the attacks of the forest talkers, if they really have been using the lodge as their base, this would mean an story writing inconsistency.

On 9/3/2022 at 5:42 PM, APixelatedLemon said:

While inside the lodge there is a phone call, but we are not able to answer it in time to talk to whoever is on the other side.

The episode 2 happens at the same time when episode 3 go by, it's surely Molly but this can't be 100% confirmed.

[Glflegolas]

Pretty sure it's one of Molly's many calls - remember that Astrid can hear Will on the shortwave later in Episode 3. Episode 2 and 3 run roughly con-currently.

[ajb1978]

Pretty sure it's nobody at all. Or I mean in-game it's "someone" in the sense that the phone just didn't ring itself, but it's not named character. The Hunting Lodge is a LONG ways away from Pleasant Valley. Considering how busted up the infrastructure is all the way from BR to PV, there's no reason to think they're on the same circuit. Maybe they were at one point, but not with the way all the lines are torn up now. Plus Molly said that all she has to do is keep letting it ring until someone picks up. The call in the lodge only rings a couple times and then goes dead.

I suppose you could argue that Molly let it ring a couple times then hung up because she had to go pee or something and realized it wasn't a good time to be on the phone. But there's really no indication at all that it was Molly. It's 100% pure speculation. Heck, it could just as easily have been the priest, trying to figure out who the hell keeps calling and letting the phone ring over and over.

[Semple Fi]

It’s Molly. She even tells you that it’s the party line that rings across the ENTIRE island. When you pick up the phone on a party line, it rings EVERY phone on the island. So when she is calling Astrid later in the game, it’s “cinematic universe” at the same time that Will is in the Hunting Lodge.  Astrid picks up the phone in PV at approximately the same time as Will is attempting to answer the phone in the lodge.  Because in “real time”, episodes 2 and 3 are happening at the same time.  

[APixelatedLemon]

 

Ok... I wasn't expecting this thread to become active after nearly 3 months...

On 11/22/2022 at 5:09 PM, Glacia said:

Is this confirmed?  Because the lodge it's very close to the yard, if not a part of the yard. The aurora buffer memories of the yard have several info about how maintenance yard employees report the attacks of the forest talkers, if they really have been using the lodge as their base, this would mean an story writing inconsistency.

In the basement of the lodge in episode 2, there is a note on a desk that's called "Forest Talker Map Note" and it say the following:

"Meet up at abandoned hunting lodge on the outskirts of Mystery Lake park, GPS coordinates [unreadable]. We have to stop those Breyerhouse corporates [expletive]."

So admittedly me calling it a 'base' for the forest talkers was likely a bit of a stretch on my part (oops). But this note does seem to suggest that the Forest Talkers were at least meeting up in the lodge to some extent.

As for the buffer memory, I wouldn't say that discredits the lodge being a meeting area of sorts for the Forest Talkers. The lodge is close by, and there is a nice view of the maintenance yard from up there, making it a solid spot as a staging area to plan an attack on the yard.

[ajb1978]

On 11/22/2022 at 2:37 PM, JackTrysGames said:

Remember, the only thing functioning after the Aurora were party lines.

So odds are Molly was calling Astrid, and she picked up before Will could answer the phone in her stead.

At this point, bad luck is the only thing keeping the pair apart.

Had that happened, Will would've heard Molly and Astrid talking. That's how party lines work. Every phone rings, everyone picks up, and if the call isn't for you, you politely hang up. There is nothing at all to stop someone from eavesdropping though, which is why I'm like 99% sure it WASN'T Molly. Because Molly clearly states, she just has to keep letting it ring until Astrid picks up. The fact that it only rings a couple times (assuming you actually go to the phone and don't stand around waiting) and then goes dead is not Molly's MO. Molly will call and let it keep ringing and ringing until someone picks up.

Now had Will picked up and said "Hello", and THEN the line went dead, I'd say that could reasonably be Molly. She was hoping for Astrid, someone else picked up, so she'll just try again later. But it didn't--it simply went dead before Will got to it.

[angelfolks]

On 11/25/2022 at 6:05 PM, ajb1978 said:

Had that happened, Will would've heard Molly and Astrid talking. That's how party lines work. Every phone rings, everyone picks up, and if the call isn't for you, you politely hang up. There is nothing at all to stop someone from eavesdropping though, which is why I'm like 99% sure it WASN'T Molly. Because Molly clearly states, she just has to keep letting it ring until Astrid picks up. The fact that it only rings a couple times (assuming you actually go to the phone and don't stand around waiting) and then goes dead is not Molly's MO. Molly will call and let it keep ringing and ringing until someone picks up.

Now had Will picked up and said "Hello", and THEN the line went dead, I'd say that could reasonably be Molly. She was hoping for Astrid, someone else picked up, so she'll just try again later. But it didn't--it simply went dead before Will got to it.

 But the phone doesn't go "dead,", it just stops ringing because someone else picked it up. Astrid could have been quick about it. Surely the phones don't keep ringing even when someone picks up? 

And since Will doesn't try to even pick it up once it stops, we can assume that on the other end he would have heard Molly and Astrid speaking.

[ajb1978]

1 hour ago, angelfolks said:

 But the phone doesn't go "dead,", it just stops ringing because someone else picked it up. Astrid could have been quick about it. Surely the phones don't keep ringing even when someone picks up? 

That's precisely my point--with party lines, the line stays active. If I'm calling my friend Dan, and your phone rings, you pick up and answer, I'm like "Hey angelfolks, I'm trying to reach Dan," you go "Oh ok sorry," and hang up, then I keep ringing. Then eventually Dan picks up and I have my conversation. If you wanted to be a jerk though you could just quietly pick up and say nothing. I would have no idea you're there, I would keep ringing, until eventually Dan picks up, then you could just eavesdrop while we were none the wiser. (Back then you wouldn't pick up and say "Hello", you'd pick up and say "Churchill residence, Winston speaking," or something to that effect.)

So with a party line if Molly were ringing Astrid and Will approaches the phone, the fact that it just spontaneously went dead would simply mean that Molly stopped ringing the phone. Had will picked up, he could've heard Astrid/Molly talking (or whomever else was on the line).

It's also worth mentioning that despite the plot device of party lines being used, none of the phones we see in the game are actually party line phones. Those are the old school ones where you pick up the earpiece, put it to your head, turn the crank (which powers a dynamo that triggers the chime on all phones on the circuit) and then you speak directly into the mouthpiece which was mounted to the wall.

Edit: #3 on this list does a fair job of explaining party lines: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/62876/10-aspects-old-telephones-might-confuse-younger-readers

Another common misconception I've seen is the use of the word "party" in this context. It's not party as in "whose turn is it to bring the keg", it's party as in "party of 5, your table is ready." Party as in a group of people.

Edited January 20, 2023 by ajb1978

[desertedone]

I honestly thought that phone call was a bug. It was scary and I like it that way. Guess I wasn't hearing things

[Leeanda]

Imagine getting them in survival mode and when you pick up,there's just weird noises or shallow breathing.

[conanjaguar]

2 hours ago, Leeanda said:

Imagine getting them in survival mode and when you pick up,there's just weird noises or shallow breathing.

Spooky.

I recall reading in @TheEldritchGod’s thread about telemarketing machines coming alive during the aurora.

”Excuse me sir or madam, would you be interested in renewing your car’s extended warranty?”

[Leeanda]

1 minute ago, conanjaguar said:

Spooky.

I recall reading in @TheEldritchGod’s thread about telemarketing machines coming alive during the aurora.

”Excuse me sir or madam, would you be interested in renewing your car’s extended warranty?”

Lol😁.    I can imagine how I'd feel getting that every time I answered the phone! 

[Semple Fi]

3 hours ago, conanjaguar said:

Spooky.

I recall reading in @TheEldritchGod’s thread about telemarketing machines coming alive during the aurora.

”Excuse me sir or madam, would you be interested in renewing your car’s extended warranty?”

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

Even in the quiet apocalypse!!!  That phone call would be worse than a clown 🤡 pop-goes-the-weasel box!!

[LunarLime]

I agree with @ajb1978in that it likely isn't someone we know, or will ever know. I'm pretty sure the only reason why it rang for story reasons was to foreshadow that the phone lines still work to an extent, which is important for episodes 3 & 4 and potentially episode 5.

A more "In world" explanation could be that it was some nameless Forest Talker out there calling their hang out spot for whatever reason. It could have even been the same one we talk to in that one side mission. I think Jeremiah said that the group has been around for decades, so it's pretty believable to me that at least some of them knew the phone number to the lodge, or at least the party line for the area.

As for the reason why the call abruptly ends before you can even pick up is a bit tricky. It could just be the standard horror cliché of "Someone tries desperately to get a phone call out, but the killer gets them first".

[ajb1978]

10 hours ago, LunarLime said:

It could just be the standard horror cliché of "Someone tries desperately to get a phone call out, but the killer gets them first".

Interestingly enough in Episode 3 there's a random corpse a short ways away from the one burnt down cabin that somehow still has a working phone. You could argue they were trying to get a call out, realized a wolf had spotted them, and tried to make a run for it.  Pure speculation of course, but why not.