A question...

[MrSteve]

Couple questions, If I may...

1. Was there any mention anywhere of another site called Pathos One?

2. Something I find hard to believe here, but if people knew the Earth was going to be done in by an asteroid, then why didn't they build other bases like Pathos two, or at least expand that place and move as many people as they could there that it could indefinitely sustain.

I'm probably thinking too much in to the second one, but Frictional really wanted the story to feel real and I find it a little hard to believe that everyone went "Well, we're all doomed except those nice people at Pathos 2. Let's wish them well on their own". From what I remember, there was mention that they would survive impact.

Am I missing something here? Thanks if I am, as I'd love an answer.

[SlackerinDeNile]

Regarding other PATHOS sites, I can't remember, I think PATHOS-II may have just been a structural update on the previous one.

I agree, it seems rather silly that various upper class people did not pay to live on down in PATHOS-II (yeah i'm channeling 2012 here...) and that it was not further upgraded to hold out longer in the face of the apocalypse.

Perhaps there are other facilities across the Earth, either deep underwater or deep underground where other survivors are currently working and surviving, like Fallout vaults of some sort. Why these could not be contacted by PATHOS-II who knows?

[MrSteve]

That's very true. I know their main communications hub was mushed when it hit, so that could explain that. I didn't get the sense though, that the people at Pathos two thought they might not be alone. The running theme seems to be isolation and being alone. I can't say for sure, but I think it's alluded that they are the last ones.

Plus if there were other stations all around the earth and a decent number of survivors, would WAU still have gone all mutation crazy on everyone at Pathos?

[SlackerinDeNile]

WAU is a computer, so it calculated humanity's chances for survival based on the data and resources that it had available to it. If it doesn't know of anything beyond PATHOS-II then yes, it would carry out its gruesome crusade.

[cantremember]

When humanity found out a collision was inevitable or even imminent, it was probably too late to start building bases.

Pathos II might probably not have been that well known to the general public as it is a launching base and not a shelter.
Also, the base IMO was never meant or thought to survive an apocalypse, it was rather coincidental due to its location, and only temporarily.

Even if the WAU didn't go berserk, it only would have bought the occupants a couple of extra years, as food and other resources eventually run out, which is what was happening to some of the survivors.