...we need to talk about the machine...

[AdamvR]

so, what was it supposed to do? It's still unclear to me, even after finishing the third tale.
what I gathered from Rüdiger's ramblings was that he wanted to change the world/see into the future (?)
what data did he collect and how?

at the same time it seems to me clear, that the (mal?)function of the machine caused the energy burst, that caused the earthquakes and chaos and Aurora-overblow.
somehow it also affected peoples' minds, even during the construction (if I got it correct from the 1st tale), and after the burst it made wolves more aggro. how?

what I can imagine is that it was somehow generating a huge magnetic field, that attracted more charged particles from the sun to the region, causing the initial aurora.

What did others make of it?

[Serenity]

All that stuff happened decades ago. It had nothing to with the earthquakes or the aurora. See the date here:

https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/A_Page_From_A_Journal

The earthquakes were already an issue while the built the machine:
https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/Foreman's_Site_Report_Day_45

that attracted more charged particles from the sun to the region, causing the initial aurora.

That happens all the time naturally during coronal mass ejections

[AdamvR]

Thank you for your comment!
I did read through all of the notes again, apparently missed the date on top of that one 18-jun-1991.
Do we know when the game is taking place? ie, the extreme aurora downing Astrid's plane?
 

12 hours ago, Serenity said:

Quote

that attracted more charged particles from the sun to the region, causing the initial aurora.

That happens all the time naturally during coronal mass ejections

Yes, of course, that is why I wrote "more" above. Aurora is the charged particles attracted by the Earth's magnetic field's "lines" around the poles.
My understanding was that somehow the machine created an even greater magnet or amplified the magnetic field so that it attracted _more_ than the usual amount of those particles. Maybe amplified as a result of it being built around/above mineral resources under the ground.
As in Rüdiger's 2nd diary:
"Even if I could never have predicted this result.
How powerful and destructive the amplification would be.
The cascading, corrupting energy from the machine."

Also in the Security Chief's Log 23:
"We ran power to Rüdger's machine for the first time yesterday. It was nothing like what they predicted, even at half-energy".

And in some latter notes the foreman is talking about adding even more generators/power.
Foreman's Site report 38:
"...Makes access easier, if we need to bring in more generators. This think needs all the juice we can find."
and in Foreman's Site report 45:
"The generators they brought in could power a small town through the winter."

[ThePancakeLady]

Somewhat off-topic, yet still on-topic:

Did you know that "The North Pole" (where Santa is said to live) is not the magnetic North Pole. It is the northernmost point on the Earth's Axis. The magnetic North pole is actually in the southern hemisphere, and the magnetic South pole is in Northern Canada. Otherwise a compass (which is also a magnet) would not point in that direction, since with magnets- North always repels North, South always repels South when ends are placed facing each other.

How is this relevant? In my mind, the machine caused such a large fluctuation or change in the Earth's magnetic fields that a geomagnetic reversal or anomaly was initiated (which would qualify as a geomagnetic storm on its own... add a large CME or series of CMEs and --- oopsie!). Geomagnetic reversals or excursions have happened many times in Earth's history, and supposedly none have been definitively linked to any mass extinction events. The game is science fiction- the machine in the game may be exploring a concept of the machine being used to intentionally cause a massive magnetic anomaly or geomagnetic reversal/excursion, unintentionally causing one, or accelerating or altering one already in progress. Theoretical science instead of known/proven science.

[sierra 117]

I don't have much of a theory about the machine , however I was a bit disappointed at the end of the tales , as I thought we would maybe be able to deactivate the glimmer fog. I thought seeing as the glimmer fog only happens in the far territories, that it might have something to do with rudigers machine. 

But sadly no, still have to deal with glimmer fog.

[ManicManiac]

[AdamvR]

4 hours ago, ThePancakeLady said:

In my mind, the machine caused such a large fluctuation or change in the Earth's magnetic fields that a geomagnetic reversal or anomaly was initiated

That does also look like a possible explanation, thank you!

In the meantime I dug a bit deeper into the rabbit hole... bear with me, I think it is quite interesting and will make a lot of sense...
TLDR? Too Long? Do Read it! 😉 

0) While going through Tales, I kept having the feeling that Rüdiger was suffering from some untreated mental condition, and most of his visions (ramblings) are just the result of some manic episode: "In every man’s journey there is a moment of total clarity. When a blue sky or an empty road shows the way forward." [https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/My_Testament]
I think however, that it would be too easy to discredit the whole thing on that. Afterall, he did manage to get this ginormous operation done - so he must have had some credibility to start with...

1) Uranium Mining
The mine in ZoC may have been a coal mine initially, which moved on to mining Uranium.
It is hinted on in the Mining Newsletter found in Idle Camp:
"Increasing numbers of Canadian mine operators are turning to uranium production."
[https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/Mining_Newsletter]

2) Funding the machine construction
It's been bugging me how this years-long operation got funded, but there are hints on it:
Foreman's Technical Log 3:
"One last mission to fill the ledger before moving on to better days. Debts paid, the director off my back for good."[https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/Foreman's_Technical_Log_3]
AND
Foreman's Technical Log 4:
"Did you think the board was going to sit by and let you just walk away? After everything you promised?" [https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/Foreman's_Technical_Log_4]

I imagine that Rüdiger was promising the board of the Mining Company, that he could help the Uranium mining operation somehow (see later).
That is how he got the greenlight and funding to build the machine. [as he failed, the Foreman was tasked to hunt him down]
"The build has the green light. 25.9.82." [https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/Stained_Paper]

3) Uranium Ore formation
To understand what Rüdiger wanted to do with his machine, we need to dig a bit deeper into how Uranium ore forms...
Uranium is found everywhere on Earth, but only in select places in minable concentrations, as there was not a very high concentration to start with, and much of it has decayed since the Earth's formation (due to radioactive decay). The areas that do have higher concentrations could have formed/remained in various ways, two aspects of which are of particular importance for us:
A : As uranium-salts are highly soluble, they can be leached and later deposited with underground water processes - most is found like this. [It is unimportant for us.]
B : Where granite rocks are cracked (due the increased seismic activity), the underlying magma precipitates Uranium into the cracks, which could later raise to minable depths. [this will be important for us]
C : While much of the initial Uranium decayed over the billions of years since Earth's formation, it retained in higher concentration in areas, where cosmic rays have been bombarding it and thus replenish it around the same rate as it decayed. 
"Cosmogenic radionuclides are of less importance, but unlike the primordial radionuclides, which date back to the formation of the planet and have since slowly decayed away, they are replenished at roughly the same rate they decay by the bombardment of Earth with cosmic rays." [this will also be important for us]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_ore]

4) So why was the machine built where it was built, and what was it meant to do...?
I think 2 hints are important here:
1: "This island was meant to give up its secrets to me. Knowledge wired into its very bones. The rocks, the mountains, the deep places under the earth.
A *new* geology. It promised much - a vexing, teasing, crack in the window to the future.  [https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/Rüdiger's_Diary_2] 

2: "Great Bear Island's instability, its many earthquakes and shifting mountains, were thought to be key attributes in our scientific game.
And that proved partially true. Its gnashing rocks, the clash of old and new forces in opposition, did grant us a look in the right direction." [https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/Rüdiger's_Diary_1]

In my current theory: the seismic activity of the island (which apparently was already a thing, before any construction) was important, as these areas have some Uranium to start with [see B above]. Which he somehow wanted to locate ["give up its secrets"] using the machine-generated magnetic field/impulses as a kind of radar; And even enhance/grow by attracting a highly amplified rate of cosmic rays (which were already coming in the polar region as Aurora) [see C above].
By "new geology" I think he meant not only finding, but creating ores and enhancing/speeding up the otherwise slow geologic processes: a "window to the future" technology.

He did understand that this was risky, and that this growth will also come with some form of destruction.
Both in a geological sense: as the earthquakes might get amplified during such an intrusive process; but also philosophically: as it starts a new era that makes most of the existing technology obsolete.
"If we are to move forward as a species, we will need better models for understanding our planet and its potential for *creative destruction.*
Eras when it wipes the slate clean and starts again."

As the inventor of this technology, he "wanted to profit from this knowledge."  [https://thelongdark.fandom.com/wiki/Rüdiger's_Diary_3]

 

+1: cosmic radiation exposure also explains the memory and other cognitive problems observed in all people involved.
"Radiation-induced impairments in spatial, episodic and recognition memory were temporally coincident with deficits in executive function and reduced rates of fear extinction and elevated anxiety." [https://www.nature.com/articles/srep34774]

What do you think?

Edited September 9 by AdamvR
adjusted some formatting, added the reference about cognitive impairments

[Sito]

WOW! That was a good TLDR; kudos.

I always like any lore speculation about TLD. I sure hope that the final Wintermute episode answers these questions but I suspect it will not to full satisfaction. I am just happy to play in survival mode without much story.

[Veskaida]

On 9/8/2024 at 5:29 AM, AdamvR said:

so, what was it supposed to do?

at the same time it seems to me clear, that the (mal?)function of the machine caused the energy burst, that caused the earthquakes and chaos and Aurora-overblow.
somehow it also affected peoples' minds, even during the construction (if I got it correct from the 1st tale), and after the burst it made wolves more aggro. how?

what I can imagine is that it was somehow generating a huge magnetic field, that attracted more charged particles from the sun to the region, causing the initial aurora.

I made a thread similar to this subject here, would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Here's a few points though:

Spoilers for WINTERMUTE and Tales From The Far Territory.

Spoiler

It isn't clear what Rüdiger's data was, or even his motives aside from 'wanting to change the world' with his "My Testament" speech. I don't think that Rüdiger was necessarily malicious (theories on that in my thread, linked above), but interpret that as you will: either with him being reckless, well intentioned but oblivious, or malicious.

 

• Rüdiger's machine is some kind of electromagnetic emitter. Far as I can tell there is no real-world phenomena similar to TLD's symptoms of exposure, so this seems to be a fictional aspect if TLD's setting.
• Rüdiger's machine when powered causes some kind of mental illness to humans exposed, based on proximity and duration, though these effects seem irreversible and will continue to deteriorate the subject's mind over the coming hours/days/weeks.
• It isn't clear if Rüdiger's has any effect on wildlife. It is possible but we see no evidence of it.
• The symptoms of Rüdiger's team who were exposed to the energized machine are similar to what we see in the cinematics of WINTERMUTE Episode 4 (insomnia, fascination with large bodies of water, etc).
• I don't believe Rüdiger's machine caused the First Flare/Aurora, rather it is being energized by the Aurora.
• There seems to be a Rüdiger machine in the same region as Perseverance Mills, or an adjacent region to it which is causing these "symptoms" in the residents. Note: this occurs prior to the First Flare. I'd expect that this machine is probably going to be disrupted/destroyed in Episode 5 of WINTERMUTE.
• Rüdiger probably has some affiliation with Seraphim or Jahn Industries, or both.
• Astrid was a doctor working at Seraphim Sleep Research Center. She stole the The Hard Case from them, which I believe is likely some machine or drug which can protect or heal humans afflicted by a Rüdiger's machine exposure.

 

I don't think there is any meaningful connection to uranium and Rüdiger or his machine, at best I think this is a red herring. Other users on these forums have mentioned "earthquakes" in similar light. I'd assume Occam's Razor regarding such information, that it is mundane with the simplest explanation unless proven otherwise. From my understanding there was a uranium boom which is what caused the ZoC Langstone Mine and Rüdiger's team is appropriating this abandoned uranium mine years/decades later for their own experiment much later, either after it has finished operations entirely or considerably downscaled it. I do not believe Rüdiger's machine is powered or built of uranium, since one of the Foreman's audio logs mentions "bringing enough fuel to power a small town through winter". Which to me sounds more like gasoline/diesel than e.g. uranium fuel rods. We also see no evidence of high-level nuclear waste, only corrosive and/or toxic byproducts of the uranium mining process (not nuclear enrichment).

Edited October 26 by Veskaida

[AdamvR]

Thanks for your comment!
Have you by any chance read the rest of the thread, or just the first 7 lines...?
(which were just my initial questions/thoughts as it becomes apparent as you read further)

23 hours ago, Veskaida said:

I do not believe Rüdiger's machine is powered or built of uranium, since one of the Foreman's audio logs mentions "bringing enough fuel to power a small town through winter". Which to me sounds more like gasoline/diesel than e.g. uranium fuel rods. We also see no evidence of high-level nuclear waste, only corrosive and/or toxic byproducts of the uranium mining process (not nuclear enrichment).

I'm not sure what you are referring to here, I said the exact same thing, that they needed to bring in extra power to run/amplify the machine. Where do you think I said it was running on nuclear energy? that is not at all how nuclear energy works...

 

disclaimer: I have not played Wintermute yet, I'm waiting for the last part to be out to play it in one go - so not sure what reference is there, and for not to spoil it I skipped those paragraphs in your quote.

 

[AdamvR]

On 10/26/2024 at 10:13 AM, Veskaida said:

I don't think there is any meaningful connection to uranium and Rüdiger or his machine, at best I think this is a red herring.

This is also an option, of course. What i tried above is link the info we have with scientific background i could find. Whether this is what Raph and Hinterland came up with or not, we may or may not learn with Ep5…:)

 

Given the Wintermute spoliers in your thread, i’d visit it only after ep5 is out - hope it makes sense!

Edited October 27 by AdamvR

[Veskaida]

Posted 55 minutes ago

13 hours ago, AdamvR said:

Given the Wintermute spoliers in your thread, i’d visit it only after ep5 is out - hope it makes sense!

I'm just a player, so I'm not privy to more information than any other non-Hinterlands person, so all my info is from Wintermute Episodes 1-4 and Survival Mode (mainly TALES). But sure, feel free to check it out after Episode 5 releases, I'd love to hear your thoughts and see what I got right or wrong!

23 hours ago, AdamvR said:

I'm not sure what you are referring to here, I said the exact same thing, that they needed to bring in extra power to run/amplify the machine. Where do you think I said it was running on nuclear energy? that is not at all how nuclear energy works...

 

disclaimer: I have not played Wintermute yet, I'm waiting for the last part to be out to play it in one go - so not sure what reference is there, and for not to spoil it I skipped those paragraphs in your quote.

 

I was mainly replying to this post. What I meant was that I don't think there is evidence of connections between uranium and Rüdiger's machine aside from the building site. (e.g. like the machine containing/being powered by a reactor or an RTG); ZoC is contaminated with unknown corrosive and toxic products, which Hinterlands says are from reckless mining processes here, and there are chemical poisoning/corrosion hazard signs throughout the region (not radiological ones). We don't see evidence of resumed mining in ZoC after Langston closed, just that Rüdiger's team appropriated a section of the mine for their project (possibly in an attempt to mitigate it's exposure, given GBI's remote location and building the machine underground).

Mentioned it earlier but other users have discussed earthquakes (in other threads) and a possible connection to Rüdiger's machine or Auroras; I think these are also red herrings. TLD's worldbuilding seems relatively modern and realistic, and we know of GBI's vulnerability to earthquakes since at least the early 1900's which I think harms any technological theory to the quakes (e.g. like TLD's world is some mechanical world).

I believe ZoC was clearly an industrial-scale uranium mine, compared to the relatively small and primitive (and older) coal mines scattered about the isle. So I don't think it's guessing much to suggest ZoC always has been a dedicaded uranium mine, where as e.g. Cinder Hills always was coal.

I think Rüdiger is being rhetorical when he says "*new* geology." , that he's not actually talking about rocks and minerals but timescales or epochs. He's talking about the future, I believe it seems Rüdiger is aware of some hazardous natural process, one he is trying to study or harness with his machine, possibly a natural process which caused extinction-level events in the past and is either trying to study it or harness it for some purpose. I believe this purpose is benevolent, Rüdiger seems ambitious and admits multiple times he assessed the danger of this project and either overestimated his abilities or underestimated the danger: introspection I wouldn't expect from a reckless "mad scientist" type or someone who was aware of danger ("consequences be damned") and e.g. inflicted inhumane experiments on his team-members.

e.g.

Spoiler

"... If we are to move forward as a species, we will need better models for understanding our planet and its potential for *creative destruction.*

Eras when it wipes the slate clean and starts again.

I wanted to profit from this knowledge. Probabilistically my chances were good. A dice roll, yes. But the numbers suggest a favorable one.

Based on my current condition, I overestimated my chances."

I don't think The Aurora/First Flare is as simple as a geo-magnetic shift or pole reversal, that might create short-term chaos, perhaps temporary electrical disruptions but TLD's worldbuilding suggest a large scale and ongoing cataclysm; e.g. if it was just a pole reversal that might be a problem for a few days/weeks, bad news if you're a ship or aircraft or in the wilderness with a compass, but Hinterlands/Raph has stated before that items like a "compass" don't belong in TLD's setting because of the these geo-magnetic phenomenon. So I think whatever is happening is likely a fictional electro-magnetic phenomena unique to TLD's world, or is a real-world phenomena (e.g. pole reversal) that Hinterlands is heavily embellishing for gameplay reasons. Though even that seems a bit far-fetched to me, since Rüdiger talks about "wiping the slate clean" e.g. some kind of Mass-Extinction Level Event, and humanity would have been minimally or unaffected pre-electricity (last 100-150 years or so) by such a disturbance. So I think it's pretty clear Rüdiger, Rüdiger's machine, and The Aurora are all addressing some fictional geo-magnetic process, one of sufficient magnitude to create an extinction-level event (like Rüdiger suggests in his diaries).

 

On 9/9/2024 at 5:49 AM, ThePancakeLady said:

the machine caused such a large fluctuation or change in the Earth's magnetic fields that a geomagnetic reversal or anomaly was initiated (which would qualify as a geomagnetic storm on its own... add a large CME or series of CMEs and --- oopsie!). Geomagnetic reversals or excursions have happened many times in Earth's history, and supposedly none have been definitively linked to any mass extinction events. The game is science fiction- the machine in the game may be exploring a concept of the machine being used to intentionally cause a massive magnetic anomaly or geomagnetic reversal/excursion, unintentionally causing one, or accelerating or altering one already in progress. Theoretical science instead of known/proven science.

"The 1859 Carrington Event" comes to mind, particularly for unpowered wires shocking people and auroras in anomalous parts of the world. This is close to my personal theory (or rather 'was' pre-TFTFT) for the cause of The Aurora. Personally I'm not really that big of a fan of the idea for The Aurora being artificial in nature, I think that goes against much of TLD's theming of "man VS nature". As a rebuttal to that, far as I'm aware there is no in-game mention of solar flares, sun spots, CME or the like and Hinterlands has since the original Kickstarter mentioned the Aurora as a "geo-magnetic storm". I think my pushback against it being a technological apocalypse also comes from a lack of in-game representation of this information during much of TLD history (unless I'm missing things)

Spoiler

aside from 'maybe' The Hard Case, but that's pretty ambiguous, and I suppose 'aurora wildlife behavior'.

I agree, TLD definitely is science-fiction post-TFTFT (if this theory is correct), though it seems to be the case just in The Aurora/First Flare and Rüdiger's Machine (perhaps also The Hard Case). All-in-All I'm hoping we get more information and clearer answers to what is actually happening in Episode 5, since it seems to me that  TFTFT ended up asking more questions than it answered regarding Wintermute/Story Mode and what actually is happening in the apocalypse.

Edited October 28 by Veskaida

[Veskaida]

 Researching further into geomagnetic storms I think it is also worth mentioning "Miyake Events"; Miyake Events are evidence for periods of extremely powerful solar activity from The Sun: Carbon-14 concentrations in tree rings and Beryillium-10 and Chlorine-36 in ice cores. Known dates for Miyake Events are 7,176 BCE, 5,259 BCE, 660 BCE, 774AD and 993AD. Miyake Events are a relatively newly discovered phenoma and thus are poorly understood, with a key difference between them and The Carrington Event of 1859 being scale and energy output: Carrington created anomalies in abnormal longitudes, where as Miyake Events are many orders of magnitude more powerful and produced phenomena on a global scale.

Personally I do not think that Miyake Events necessarily are relevant to TLD's story given they were only discovered ~10 years ago (2013/2014, or around the time TLD's Kickstarter was made), so unless TLD has undergone story changes since then to reflect this information I think TLD was made before this phenomena was discovered (or well understood);  even if this is not the case though, I still this this information is interesting to contextualize the energy levels which could be involved in a TLD-style apocalypse.

Comparison of energy released:

• The Hiroshima atomic bombing produced 15-16 kilotons of TNT worth of energy (1 kiloton is 1,000 metric tons)
• The Carrington Event had the equivalent energy of 660 billion (660,000,000,000) Hiroshima bombings worth of energy
• Miyake Events from 774AD and 993AD were both 500% more energetic than the Carrington Event
• Larger Miyake Events like that which occurred ~14,000 years ago was twice the size of 774/993 AD Miyake Events

Comparing the energy output of The Long Dark's "auroras" and "The First Flare" (assuming they are not localized in Canada/Great Bear Island but are a global phenomena), it is reasonable to assume TLD's energy output is somewhere greater than that of the Carrington Event (in 'most' ways) but likely less power than most Miyake Events, and discrepancies between the two could be mistakes or deliberate game design decisions by Hinterlands (e.g. what is more fun/interesting gameplay vs realism).

Similarities between TLD and Carrington/Miyake Events:

• Spoiler

  • Sparking/fires from electrical devices/wires, shocking people (though only superficially, not to the level of hazard TLD's electrified wires/water, or burnt down structures reflect)
  • Electrical Devices being powered (even when turned off)
  • Abundant and abnormally bright auroras at longitudes which normally never experience them (bright enough to read at night).
  • Hinterlands has described TLD's apocalypse as a "geo-magnetic storm" since even early materials (Kickstarter, in-game Survival Sandbox Beta text, etc. and still reflects this in-game, TLD's store page, Hinterlands website, etc.).
  • Official Hinterlands videos (admittedly old/early in development) show real-world footage of Solar Flares ( e.g. "The Long Dark - What is The Long Dark? (Developer Diary)" in the thumbnail and at ~0:30, as well as other videos)
  • Rüdiger's Machine seems to be a magnetic dynamo or emitter and could be producing the "Glimmer Fog" weather in The Far Territory.
  • Potentially The Suzuki Radio-Telescope on Great Bear Island and Atwood/Jace/Jeremiah were observing solar activity (sun spots, solar flares, etc); if this was true then "Wintermute" could likely be an emergency codeword intended for the Canadian government (or a similarly relevant organization) warning of such an event.

TLD Detractions:

• Spoiler

  • Wildlife Behavior: TLD changes wildlife behavior during auroras (prey flee, predators show increased aggression, orca mass strandings, Black Bears (normally hibernate during winter) are active). This isn't necessarily a detraction since wildlife anomalies were not studied (or recorded/preserved) from The Carrington Event, but it is possible this still occurred.
  • Exposure to an energized Rüdiger's Machine (magnetic activity) causes insomnia, degenerative memory loss, hydrophilia, and suicidal ideation in humans.

Carrington/Miyake Event Detractions:

• Spoiler

  • Auroras so bright they were visible and present during the day (TLD auroras can only occur at night, though Glimmer Fog can occur during the day it is not even a pan-Great Bear phenomena and is localized to TFT for some reason (possibly because it is being generated by Rüdiger's Machine)
  • Carrington lasted continuously/near-continuously for ~17 hours, where as TLD's nights only last for ~9.5 hours. If this was reflected in-game it would mean Auroras which started one night would consistently last throughout "daytime" and into the start of the next night.

Wintermute/Rüdiger Detractions:

• Spoiler

  • Rüdiger's Machine is artificial and seems to be a magnetic dynamo or emitter, but not necessarily 'geo-magnetically'. I think this 'could' suggest that TLD's apocalypse is artificial in nature (though personally I dislike that idea for a number of reasons), but it could also mean that this phenomena is being actively studied in TLD's alternate timeline. This could mean that TLD's apocalypse is not a solar phenomena but is artificial in origin, or is a hybrid of both.
  • Rüdiger's machine only produce emissions when energized (which seems implausible from Auroras directly given how deep underground it is, and how good good rock is at shielding atmosphere magnetic activity (e.g. US military EMP weapons testing like Operation Starfish)). Though it is also possible Rüdiger's Machine is fully shielded from auroras directly, but is being powered from non-subsurface electronics/wiring connected which then feeds back subsurface to the mine.
  • Yet unexplained connection between Astrid, Seraphim Sleep Research Center, The Hard Case, Perseverance Mills, and the unknown female Astrid is trying to meet there. These are all likely related, and given "Tales From The Far Territory" and Rüdiger's story/machine is meant to tie-in to Wintermute, I think it is a fairly safe bet that there is some kind of machine similar to Rüdiger's in Perseverance Mills or a nearby region. The biggest question in my mind is how/why Astrid, Seraphim, and Unknown PM Female know about this
  • Yet unexplained motivation for and connections between Rüdiger making his machine in ZOC, and why The Foreman was trying to kill him,  Rüdiger being aware of this (possibly why he hired hiring Security Chief), or Jahn Industries connection to Rüdiger/his machine.
  • "Methuselah" seems aware of what The Aurora/First Flare is, why it is happening, or he is simply a didactic and totally insane but coincidentally accurate mysterious old man.

Given this (and TLD's representation of Auroras in-game) along with TLD literally calling them "Auroras" and "Geo-Magnetic Storm" I think it is a pretty safe bet that The Carrington Event is at least partially responsible for the inspiration of Hinterland's setting, but without words from Raph or other folks who've worked on TLD's narrative I guess it will likely remain a mystery (or perhaps be answered in Episode 5).

Edited November 9 by Veskaida

[Nervous Pete]

So I just finished Tales this evening and really enjoyed it - although I had to backtrack to the Omega bunker after returning to Transfer pass, where I hit J and then realised I had only 4/5 from the last section and still needed to find something in the Omega bunker. Gagh. Anyway, after completing I eagerly dived into this thread as I had some ideas of my own and wanted to see what everybody else was speculating. I think both AdamVR and Veskaida both have great points and ideas. As it stands at the moment either of you could be right, or a mix of the two. I'm leaning more Veskaida's notions personally, but that's less to do with what I think is correct and more to do with what I want it to be. 
 
My idea's a little different from the both of yours. I've put it below. I've spoilered it in-case I'm on the money. I highly doubt I am, but click and read away if you're interested. I will say beforehand that I think the aurora is natural, and that Rüdiger was trying to protect us from the event with his invention. 
 

Spoiler

I think Rüdiger was concerned about the possibility of a large scale Miyake event. (Hey Veskaida, I only knew of Carrington level events, didn't know about this Miyake business - thanks for the information!) This is where he talks about the 'slate wiped clean', which is less about mass-extinction and more about the loss of both information and history owing to the great 'digital void' and collapse of society following such an event. 

Now I don't think Rüdiger conned his employers as to what he was trying to do exactly. I think Rüdiger had the idea of a generator that could run and generate electricity during extreme aurora activity or an EMP strike, allowing cities to stay powered. This would be a great boon in the event of a nuclear exchange, or a Miyake event and he probably pitched it from both those angles. As the defence industry was already looking for uranium ore on the down-low they chose to double-up on the top secret operations at Langstone mine by adding Rüdiger's efforts to the project. They also possibly built the bunkers around Great Bear Island with the plan for chosen personnel to ride out an extreme Miyake / Carrington event affecting the rest of the planet, using the isolation of the place as an added guard from the outside breakdown of society. 

Unfortunately Rudiger's machine didn't work quite the way intended. I don't think it was designed to see into the future, or alter people's minds, but simply to either provide and EMP / aurora shielding effect or to generate electricity in some unknown way. Unfortunately it all went wrong.  Rüdiger seemed to have entertained the notion that there could be a chance of some deleterious effects on people with temporary depression and memory loss. He clearly didn't expect the effect to be so strong however. My theory is that the machine was unable to discharge its excess power into the ground owing to the igneous metamorphic rocks that form the pre-Cambrian shield in Canada. It's this shield that amplifies aurora effects such as in the Carrington event in causing disruption to electrical grids as it prevents current from flowing through the earth. This is what causes the glimmer fog. All that energy builds up and discharges into the air rather than the current flowing through the Earth. 

This lack of dissipation of the harmful effects whenever the machine was tested caused the gradual build up of deleterious symptoms in the workers at the mine and on the project. Eventually everything falls apart and the population of mine wander and freeze to death, with only a few surviving long enough to leave the notes. It seems mental preparation helped hold some individuals together for longer, but it wasn't enough. With the expensive project a bust and the uranium mine shutting down, vengeful employers behind the scenes decided to exact revenge. Which is a bit odd, as Rüdiger is really only guilty of miscalculation and you'd think they'd still consider some value in him, even to the point of repurposing the project. But anyway. Now whenever the next wave of aurora hits the Earth it activates  Rüdiger's machine again and causes the glimmer fog. The aurora is still a natural - yet highly unusual - activity, it's just that it causes the buried echoes of  Rüdiger's failure to show again. 

So the question is, why isn't friend player or the animals effected? Well, they are, a little. It's shown by the insomnia. But not to anywhere near the same degree as  Rüdiger and his team.  Rüdiger and his team go the full brunt of the effects being down in the mine close to it whenever it was repeatedly triggered. This caused a harmful build-up of symptoms with little in the way of breaks for the body to adjust. The surviving player and the local animals are able to ride these glimmer fog incidents out to a degree due to their relative infrequency.

Obviously all the above could be complete guff. It's going to be interesting seeing how the mystery of Astrid's briefcase and the 'disease' plays into it. Possibly Astrid was researching sleep deprivation as part of an assignment into researching the effects of Rüdiger's folly. It's possible that the experiment is being attempted again and that the 'outbreak' at Perseverance Mills is the unintended result. Astrid has a potential cure from her research, but has been forbidden to interfere as they're trying to keep the experiments secret. Hence the hard-case and her 'no questions' stance.

The big question is what's the 'Wintermute' codeword mean? My feeling is that it's a 'Rome Falls', meaning that it is the announcement of the end of civilisation owing to a Miyake effect and to put the plan into operation. Obviously the main part of the plan is shot to hell, but Jeremiah hopes that their combined knowledge and the bunker prepping that has gone on at a previously unknown location, plus the application of a new refined version of  Rüdiger's machine, means that the plan can at least save the remaining local population of Great Bear Island, and perhaps more people from then on using the island as a base to pick up survivors from the mainland.

I'm pretty certain I'll have a "No, hang-on..." moment in the shower a few days from now and junk all this. But anyway those are my immediate thoughts on completing the tale! 
 
 

 

Edited November 11 by Nervous Pete

[Veskaida]

9 hours ago, Nervous Pete said:

So I just finished Tales this evening and really enjoyed it

Glad you enjoyed it! I did too: well made and challenging with excellent music(my favorite is ZOC's theme). If I had one criticism of the TFTFT DLC it would be a lack of more clear narrative information. A lot of mysteries asking questions, but not a lot of answers. Though I can see why Hinterlands might want to be scarce with details that could spoil or diminish the impact of Wintermute Episode 5 (or require someone who finished Wintermute to play Survival/TFT to understand what happened).

9 hours ago, Nervous Pete said:

I think the aurora is natural, and that Rüdiger was trying to protect us from the event with his invention...

Regarding 'Rüdiger's morality':

I agree. I don't see Rüdiger''s actions as necessarily evil/reckless (e.g. mad scientist/faustian), he acknowledges risk and consequences, though clearly bad things happened regardless of his intention. Rüdiger writing about "the odds" says this the most clearly.

Regarding "Loss of Information"

Interesting idea for Rüdiger's goal. I hadn't considered that for Rüdiger specifically, but that seems appropriate for TLD (damage to electronics) and other apocalyptic settings (technological stagnation/degradation) vs a different setting/story like "A Canticle for Leibowitz"; personally I see human civilization (ala "The Selfish Gene") as information: genes (genetic information) and memes (cultural or technological information); humans without memes would not be dissimilar from animals in lifestyle, and technology without humans would be autonomous from humans/humanity. So this isn't a bad theory, but I'm not sure it fits Rüdiger's goals.

• Rüdiger and Security Chief mention GBI being important for their work because of it's remoteness, which could work for both theories. (e.g. control over a weapons testing site/dangerous experiment, or a safe place to store data if there's a cataclysm).
• We do not see Rüdiger being an archivist: squirreling books/data discs of the most important human knowledge into a hardened bunker (ala Svalbard Global Seed Vault). All we see are schematics of his machine(s)/work and research on humans exposed to it.
• Rüdiger builds this machine, studies the field it emits, and tries studying the psychological effect the field has on the human minds.

Yes, Rüdiger has 'his' data (about the project), and imo his goal traveling to SP seems to be to transmit it using the array in the high-elevation area there, but it isn't clear (yet) who/what "The Board", "The Director" or "The Foreman" were or their goals. It is clear Rüdiger knows them and that he was being hunted. The Foreman being added to Rüdiger's team and calling his work an "op" and that "the others were still in the dark" makes it clear he is an under-cover spy.

I think you could still make an argument for information preservation/memes by saying even if books/computers/etc were preserving knowledge, that raw information is meaningless if humans decivilize and cannot understand it (or all die out), so Rüdiger's machine causing humans to go insane and die could service both theories.

• One extant issue is the Perseverance Mills "outbreak" clearly begins recently (TLD takes place 30-40 years after Rüdiger's shenanigans) but prior to Wintermute Episode 1 (pre-First Flare). I think it's safe to say we'll get more information about this in Episode 5.

Regarding Rüdiger 'conning' people:

I think it's clear from Foreman and Rüdiger in Last Horizon that Rüdiger is trying to keep his data away from The Company/Foreman, and Foreman is trying to acquire it (e.g. "Did you think the board was going to sit by and let you just walk away? After everything you promised?"). If Rüdiger's goal was simply to do research for The Board, I don't see why he wouldn't simply turn over the data and leave GBI (and survive); so I suspect Rüdiger possibly stole research/money from at least one organization and is now trying to complete his research elsewhere, or is having second-doubts about turning over his findings he's promised. Clearly he would rather risk his life (and die) than give over his data. We know his mind is affected by exposure to the machine, but compared to the others Rüdiger's symptoms seem low.

Regarding Energy Creation:

I don't see much evidence for this. The Foreman says that Rüdiger's machine 'requires' power ("enough to power a small town through winter"), and yes it's still an experiment/prototype so maybe it's not as efficient as it could be, but it seems clear to be it's costing power to run rather than producing it. We also don't hear Rüdiger talk about energy, e.g. whining about how costly the price of gas is now, etc.

Regarding EMP Shielding or the like:

Out of the theories you've proposed I like this the most, be it trying to protect against Cold War-era nuclear weapons or some fictional geomagnetic process, or TLD-setting (e.g. the sun in TLD's Sun is having some superflare event). Rüdiger uses flowery phrases a lot, but I think his goals are clear ("My Testament"): he is an old and wealthy/successful man looking back on his life (in an "Ozymandias" way) and is is realizing none of it will matter when he is dead (or if human civilization collapses). So I'd argue Rüdiger's goal is still servicing his ego (he wants to enact lasting impact/change) but also he either sees some an imminent disaster and wants to save the world or the potential for a disaster and tries to study/mitigate it.

9 hours ago, Nervous Pete said:

It's this shield that amplifies aurora effects such as in the Carrington event in causing disruption to electrical grids as it prevents current from flowing through the earth. This is what causes the glimmer fog. All that energy builds up and discharges into the air rather than the current flowing through the Earth. 

That's interesting, I hadn't considered that the reason Glimmer Fog being TFT exclusive is because Rüdiger's machine is subterranean, where as The First Flare/Aurora elsewhere seems to be atmospheric. I'm still not 'entirely' sure what this means for Glimmer Fog though, since if Glimmer Fog and Auroras are one and the same (being generated from off-GBI and influencing Rüdiger's machine on GBI) I'd expect either:

• We should always see Auroras 'with' Glimmer Fog in TFT
• We should see Auroral effects during daylight in Lower Great Bear

Pure speculation, but if it is The Sun creating TLD's auroras then that could be an explanation for why they only occur at night:

• The Sun emmits visible light and other kinds of radiation.
• The Earth is constantly rotating, but 'day' obviously the area facing the sun at a given time, and 'night' away
• The shape of Earth's magnetic field is not uniform but bowed away from The Sun, this difference in shape could explain why TLD auroras can only happen at night or glimmer fog only during the day.
• It could also be level of exposure: real-world auroras are solar energy which is trapped inside The Earth's magnetic field, perhaps the geometry of Earth's magnetic field inhibits day-side auroras, but Rüdiger's machine acts an amplifier for this low-power signal: creating a new phenomena.
• I suppose another explanation could be Auroras 'are' happening during the day, but they are too weak to be visible. This is real-world accurate, but I don't think it fits TLD's setting-specific Auroras with their unique mechanics.

9 hours ago, Nervous Pete said:

So the question is, why isn't friend player or the animals effected? Well, they are, a little. It's shown by the insomnia.

I agree. I've seen other speculation if/how much influence Rüdiger's machine might have on our character in Survival, like you said I think it's a clear "yes" it has 'some' influence (insomnia), but the level probably low given since we lack other symptoms: strange dreams (voids/water), memory loss, and sleepwalking or suicidal ideation (maybe these are one and the same). Maybe it'd be hard to model some of that in-game, but I think if it was critical to TLD's design we would have seen it implemented (voice lines upon waking saying "Wow, what a strange dream!", skill/map rust, etc).

• I can't find/remember the source, whether it was a Raph Tweet, post here on the forums, or somewhere in-game but I recall hearing someone say that The Aurora 'does' affect wildlife behavior in TLD which is why prey all flee and predators go berserk.
• Aside from Glimmer Fog we are also were definitely exposed to Rüdiger's machine when the player interacts with it during Buried Echoes. We know (from First Medical Officer in Signal Void) that "proximity to exposure" (to the energized machine) is likely the cause, and given most of the Player's exposure via Glimmer Fog is literally kilometers away (in other regions) I think that's a 'low level of exposure'; but to be fair we don't have hard numbers for distance/time/frequency for Rüdiger's team, so I suppose it is possible Buried Echoes scrambled our survivor's brain.
• More subjectively: a Feat for completing all 3 Tales is "Settled Mind", which in my reading of 'mind' in it's name makes me think it could be in reference to lingering effects of our exposure to Rüdiger's machine, though I admit that's ephemeral at best.

You know, all this talk about scifi-technology in a video game affecting the player character's brain reminds me of a non-canon fan-theory for the game "Mass Effect 3" called the "Synthesis Ending". Did you know some Hinterlands staff have also worked on the Mass Effect franchise? Maybe Rüdiger's machine uses Element Zero, or auroras in Canada are a sign of Reaper indoctrination!   😜👽🤖

[Nervous Pete]

Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I'm going to write a review later of the Tale as a whole. I think it's a good mystery and I think one of the reasons for it to be called 'Buried Echoes' is that it is going to 'echo' the mystery behind the main Wintermute story. It makes sound commercial sense as well, to hopefully bait some pure survival owners into buying the story campaign!

I think the aurora and glimmer fog are entirely separate, except for the aurora being a trigger for the machine. The aurora is natural and effects Great Bear Island and the rest of the world. The machine gets powered by the aurora, which in turn causes the glimmer fog but only as a localised effect. You're right that the machine needed a power supply, so it is the aurora that is triggering the machine rather than vice versa. I think the aurora only being at night is just more of a game mechanic and probably doesn't tie into anything, though the shape of Earth's field is an interesting theory. I don't think Rüdiger's machine is acting as an amplifier as I just don't think the power level and capability is there. The aurora is effecting the Earth globally.

An interesting question is regarding Methusulah. Was he connected with the project? He seems to have anticipated the aurora, or at least being very forthright about its global scope and reach and how this is the 'Quiet Apocalypse'. It's also possible he wasn't connected but knew of the coming aurora event and moved to Great Bear Island way ahead of time as it posed the best possibility of survival. After all, in such an apocalypse the main danger would be the starving hordes fighting over supplies. Being a trapper in the wilderness you'd have a fighting chance. 
 

It's possible that there were signs also of 'solar dimming', which has happened before, which would lead to longer and harder winters - basically a new ice age. There's an interesting sci-fi novel by John Christopher called 'A World in Winter' which revolves around this. Extreme aurora activity could possibly be just a by-product of this transitional solar phase. I had wondered if this was foreseen by other scientists and a powerful organisation was setup to create a new 'prepped' society to ride out the change. Maybe it happened way earlier than they anticipated, and the new 2030's Wintermute era testing of the machine wasn't complete, nor was the infrastructure finished. There does seem to be a lot of outlandish over-sized industrial projects for Great Bear Island that got abandoned during the collapse. Such as the hydro-electric dam. Could the forest-talkers have been unwittingly struggling with this heavy handed organisation obsessed with a coming apocalypse and dedicated to engineering a place for chosen ones to ride it out? 

One argument against the solar dimming theory is that Northern Canada is the last place you'd want to be and that nearer the equator would be wiser. However with the global population movements headed towards the equator there'd be a lot of violent struggle down there also, so maybe a short-term survivor colony would have banked on being in the last place anyone would have thought to have gone. 

There's a possibility the aurora is human made. I'm hoping not, as I like the idea of humanity helpless in the face of a natural cosmic event. However in Day of the Triffids what is thought to be a natural but deadly event in the form of the comets that blind humanity is actually very strongly hinted to be the accidental or purposeful discharge of orbiting satellite weapons that burn the retinas. An impressive concept for a novel written in '52. 

Lots of food for thought! 

[Veskaida]

1 hour ago, Nervous Pete said:

The aurora is effecting the Earth globally.

Yeah, I agree. Given the scope of damage which we know happens in TLD (mainly Episode 1 of Wintermute, and the number of plane crashes in Survival), as well as some tidbits here or there of (what little) we know about TLD's world outside of GBI, I think it's safe to say the apocalypse is global (and the state of TLD's world pre-apocalypse was either on a downward trajectory, or at least vulnerable to a disaster). Personally I'd be rather disappointment if e.g. Episode 5 ended with non-GBI Canadians showing up on GBI and asking about what all the commotion is, or similar 'localizing' of the disaster. Think that would go against the spirit of the story quite a lot and diminish it's scope/gravitas.

1 hour ago, Nervous Pete said:

I don't think Rüdiger's machine is acting as an amplifier as I just don't think the power level and capability is there.

You're right, it could be purely gameplay mechanics. I think it could be interesting though if whatever is causings TLD's 'aurora' phenomena (be that technological or natural) could be occurring at a low level constantly regardless of time-of-day, maybe even at night during non-aurora weather, (iirc Raph has made statements like "compasses would not work in TLD's setting", rather than e.g. 'compasses do not work during Auroras'), so I suspect there is constant (perhaps low-level) geo-magnetic interference constantly post-First Flare; maybe even pre-First Flare? Hence Rüdiger's research and Wintermute mysteries? But if that was the case and it was common knowledge, doesn't make much sense why well educated people like an aircraft pilot would be oblivious to what is happening.

1 hour ago, Nervous Pete said:

An interesting question is regarding Methusulah. Was he connected with the project? He seems to have anticipated the aurora, or at least being very forthright about its global scope and reach and how this is the 'Quiet Apocalypse'. It's also possible he wasn't connected but knew of the coming aurora event and moved to Great Bear Island way ahead of time as it posed the best possibility of survival. After all, in such an apocalypse the main danger would be the starving hordes fighting over supplies. Being a trapper in the wilderness you'd have a fighting chance.

Here are two great threads about Methuselah:

• Methuselah is a Ghost
• Why is Methuselah Not in Episode 4?

I think the best answer is the simplest: Methuselah is some GBI resident who knows something about Rüdiger/'s Project or The Aurora, for as-of-yet unexplained reasons.

Honestly I don't even know if we 'know' Methuselah is a trapper. Personally I think Jeremiah is "The Trapper" given "Trapper's Homestead" and Methuselah isn't.

There are lots of crazy Methuselah theories. Personally I don't think any of these are particularly satisfying or fit TLD's narrative that well:

• Methuselah is just some crazy hobo/schizophrenic
• Methuselah 'is' Rüdiger (or The Foreman)
• Methuselah is some other Rüdiger team member (or GBI resident during the time of Rüdiger's experiments) since he's old enough for that to be possible
• Methuselah 'is' Will from the future (in some sort of semi-self-aware flashback of how the apocalypse started)
• Will's dad (imagined) or some figment of Will's imagination (like a manifestation of his trauma)

1 hour ago, Nervous Pete said:

It's possible that there were signs also of 'solar dimming', which has happened before, which would lead to longer and harder winters - basically a new ice age. There's an interesting sci-fi novel by John Christopher called 'A World in Winter' which revolves around this. Extreme aurora activity could possibly be just a by-product of this transitional solar phase. I had wondered if this was foreseen by other scientists and a powerful organisation was setup to create a new 'prepped' society to ride out the change. Maybe it happened way earlier than they anticipated, and the new 2030's Wintermute era testing of the machine wasn't complete, nor was the infrastructure finished. There does seem to be a lot of outlandish over-sized industrial projects for Great Bear Island that got abandoned during the collapse. Such as the hydro-electric dam. Could the forest-talkers have been unwittingly struggling with this heavy handed organisation obsessed with a coming apocalypse and dedicated to engineering a place for chosen ones to ride it out? 

One argument against the solar dimming theory is that Northern Canada is the last place you'd want to be and that nearer the equator would be wiser. However with the global population movements headed towards the equator there'd be a lot of violent struggle down there also, so maybe a short-term survivor colony would have banked on being in the last place anyone would have thought to have gone. 

There's a possibility the aurora is human made. I'm hoping not, as I like the idea of humanity helpless in the face of a natural cosmic event. However in Day of the Triffids what is thought to be a natural but deadly event in the form of the comets that blind humanity is actually very strongly hinted to be the accidental or purposeful discharge of orbiting satellite weapons that burn the retinas. An impressive concept for a novel written in '52.

Reminds me of a scene that from: "The Long Years" (in "The Martian Chronicles") where it's apocalyptically cold outside, and the protagonist puts frozen oxygen on the fireplace (bit colder than even Canada! 😆🍁).

From my understanding GBI was kind of a hell-hole before The First Flare: much of it's industry was already destroyed or abandoned by (at least two) major earthquakes we're aware of, maybe I'm mixing my pre-dux and redux lore, but iirc one quake was in the 1960's and another in the 1980's. My guess is that given TLD's setting seems to be experiencing some global economic depression ("The Collapse"), I think the stage is set that humanity in TLD's world is vulnerable and civilization is on the brink of collapse, with The First Flare being that event humanity is vulnerable to at it's moment of weakness. I agree with the 'Day of the Triffids' comparison, and I think TLD is going for a similar apocalyptic vibe in that it's a killing-blow for humanity, not just 'one' disaster but humanity being in a vulnerable state 'when' the disaster hits.

That's an interesting idea. I've mentioned in other threads the idea that if TLD really wanted to drive home the idea of it's setting's apocalypse being solar-caused, devs could have easily added e.g. visible sunspots or coronal mass ejections on the in-game Sun model, or perhaps even chance the color or the sun, but far as I'm aware this has never been the case. Maybe you could argue these wouldn't necessarily be visible to the naked eye, but I think it'd be a nice touch given how detailed TLD's skyboxes are, so if that is the cause of the apocalypse I'd be a little surprised that detail was never added.

I think it's pretty clear there is some connection to the geo-magnetic apocalypse, "Wintermute", Atwood, Jeremiah, Astrid, The Hard Case, and Perseverance Mills. I'm pretty sure we'll get answers to some of that at least in Episode 5, and perhaps even some answers to what Rüdiger and The Company were up to.

Personally I don't think Forest Talkers have a particularly large role in TLD's story. Their representation in-game seems a bit goofy and ill-equipped/prepared, also they don't seem particularly influential IMO. IIRC they're 'just' a GBI faction of radical environmentalists, who at-most have vandalized some buildings/trucks. Not like, machiavellian illuminati 'trying to destroy the world to return it to nature' or the like.

[The Feng Hunter]

NB: before getting into what I think the machine is and what I believe causes the Glimmer Fog (and Insomnia and Cabin Fever!), the palimpsestuous nature of Zone of Contamination needs to be noted. It was first a traditional Coal Mine, then a retreat Coal Mine, followed by an Open Pit Mining Operation once Langston ran into gas pockets; in the 1970s or so, they switched out to Uranium mining, before being bought out by the Jahnn Corporation (most likely due to the “lack of capital” alluded to in Uranium letter) who used the extant infrastructure to build the Machine. It was then left abandoned, for the most part.

Interestingly, no one has hit on the connection of the Jahnn Corporation — that’s the company which not only employed Rüdiger & Vertasky, providing the financing behind the Machine, but also built Blackrock Power Station — a power station that is, if you will all recall, hydroelectric in origin.

If you follow the pipes coming from Unquenched Extraction, they lead directly into the Concentrator. From the best I can surmise, this is actually a closed system and that water then empties into Overladen Pond. The kicker is a note one finds in the Pump House noting that the hardware wasn’t made to handle such corrosive materials — these materials would, most likely, have been Uranium tailings.

This said, why are there TWO ponds of corrosive materials — one underground and one above? It’s actually common practice to keep your tailings pond underground with a small hole at the top to prevent overheated. This was accurate. It’s the outdoor pond that’s the anomaly. I believe the corrosive chemicals infiltrated the second water line, corrupted it over time.

Just like the two ponds, there are two pipes running from Unquenched Extraction: one goes directly into Concentrator, and the other goes into the Mountain.

My theory is that the generators spoken about by the Foreman are hydroelectric; we never actually SEE them, after all … and the infrastructure to run generators “enough to power a small town” off of fossil fuels just isn’t there. There are no pipelines. The power lines from Carter Hydro were cut, meaning whatever powered that space was produced on site. 

True, it COULD be nonrefined uranium, however, we never see a nuclear warning sign. Hinterland is VERY good about details … this one is extremely basic. I find it highly unlikely they’d leave it out, especially because all of the other warning signs actually *do* check out when it comes to Canadian Hazard regulation (I looked them up).

The Machine

Which leaves the Jahnn Corporation’s speciality: hydroelectric power.

I propose part of the machine is a hydroelectric generator, built under the Concentrator. This explains how it would be infinitely powered, how it continues to electrify the immediate area, and why the effects are similar to — but not as potent as — a solar storm. This power would then be pressed into the central focal point we find in the Mine.

Glimmer Fog

Given the weakened state of the magnetic field and the contaminated nature of the water, I would assert the Glimmer Fog is the result of: weakly nuclear chemical interactions in a geomagnetic anomalous environment.

Mental Health: Insomnia/Cabin Fever

I would go further and say this produces an abnormal number of positive ions. These positive ions can lead to unsettling emotions, snowballing into insomnia over a period of time. Similarly, being inside for extended periods can expose people to a large number of positive ions, generating negative emotions, before blossoming into Cabin Fever … interestingly, caves are a place naturally rich in negative ions, something GOOD for your mental health. Moreover, I’d assert this is why we really never find people inside … they’re driven outdoors, all by ‘Cabin Fever.’

So that’s my answer. It’s kind of deep and there are more details to it than provided here, but this is the main idea.

Hopefully you found it interesting. 

Edited November 21 by The Feng Hunter