[SPOILERS] SOMA unsolved mysteries thread

[Mudbill]

Okay that explains that. Was David Munshi aware of what was going to happen? Did he copy Simons consciousness into the robot on Pathos-II in an effort to save humanity?

As far as I know, David Munshi was using Simon's original brain scan to simulate different treatments for his injury. I think that was the only intention to begin with, but as you find out later in the game, he was unsuccessful in finding a proper treatment. He talks to Simon (both of them still in Toronto) about how he failed, but Simon reassures him that it's okay. David then asks if he can use Simon's scan for research after Simon passes away, which Simon agrees to.

That's where it all starts. Exactly what David did after that I'm not sure, but when they failed to save Simon, they still had his brain scan to study, which eventually ended up as a legacy scan in Pathos-II.

David himself did not load Simon's scan in the body in Pathos-II either because he had been dead for a long time before that. Remember, this took place 100 years later - in 2104.

[Abion47]

Mostly correct, although it was Simon's idea for Munshi to keep and use his brain for research. But yeah, by the time the part of SOMA's main storyline happens, Munshi had likely long-since died.

[Karba]

That's where it all starts. Exactly what David did after that I'm not sure, but when they failed to save Simon, they still had his brain scan to study, which eventually ended up as a legacy scan in Pathos-II.

Is it possible that Simon died from the brain scan, but his consciousness is saved and then copied and put into a robot in the future as a last effort to save humanity? It could be possible since I don't think one has understanding of time when dead.

[Abion47]

That's where it all starts. Exactly what David did after that I'm not sure, but when they failed to save Simon, they still had his brain scan to study, which eventually ended up as a legacy scan in Pathos-II.

Is it possible that Simon died from the brain scan, but his consciousness is saved and then copied and put into a robot in the future as a last effort to save humanity? It could be possible since I don't think one has understanding of time when dead.

He was alive for at least a month after the scan. In Theta, you can listen to some of Munshi's audio logs with Simon, and the logs are dated. And no, he was copied, not preserved.

As for him being a last effort to save humanity... sort of.

[Mudbill]

What the game doesn't explicitly tell you is that when you step in the chair to be scanned as Simon-1, the gameplay changes to another entity. It's almost like it's changing the main character, the protagonist, to a completely different person, except it's still the same character because it's the same persona in the mind.

After Simon gets scanned, he steps out of the chair with Munshi still in the room, and life goes on for a while. But the game's focus has placed you into the mind of another copy of Simon 100 years into the future. What this Simon (whom we refer to as Simon-2, although he could be any number) perceives is that he steps into the scan chair, gets scanned and then wakes up in Pathos-II. Why? Because his perception is a continuation of where it left off.

The scan created a point in time where the two Simons split into different entities and different minds. This is the same as when you copy yourself again in Omicron. The only difference is that the original scan put into Simon-2 was suspended for 100 years before enabled, but Simon-2 never experienced this rift in time (just like Catherine in the Omnitool) so to him it seemed instant.

[Abion47]

I wanted to add a bit of information that I found in support of my Carthage theory. Take a look at the crew list for Upsilon:

CHIEF FACTOR
Adams, Jane (Loc: Theta)

DISPATCHER
Jonsdottir, Vigdis (Loc: Theta)

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER
Rogers, Baxter (Loc: Theta)

FIELD SERVICE TECHNICIANS
Azzaro Amy (Loc: Upsilon - Shuttle Station B)
Finley, Gavin (Loc: Theta)
Meuron, Louise (Loc: Theta)

WRANGLERS
Semken, Carl (Loc: Upsilon - Control Deck)
Shankar, Aashish (Loc: Theta)

As you can see, of all the people designated as Upsilon crew members, Carl Semken and Amy Azzaro were the only ones that were actually stationed at Upsilon. Everyone else operated out of Theta. Their presence at Theta is also confirmed by Catherine's scan log and the Theta "Guests" log.

This information means that the man who died in the Omnitool room couldn't possibly have been some minor Upsilon crew member. He literally has no established canon explanation as to why he was there.

[cantremember]

According to the cut content seems like he was going to be some scan reanimated in "something". For whatever reason he was cut.. but I still think of him as a WAU creation.
Even without the crew list, the intercom buffers indicate that Carl and Amy were the last people to leave.

Still.. the second missing diving suit in Upsilon, doesn't feel like it could be the one he has, he's inside a permasealed room.. and the suits are inside another permasealed room... unless everyone always travels through vents in that game.

My theory is that the SOMA makers just didn't put as much thought into it as we're doing now, and some inconsistencies slipped in as things were added and cut from the game.

[Abion47]

According to the cut content seems like he was going to be some scan reanimated in "something". For whatever reason he was cut.. but I still think of him as a WAU creation.

I disagree here. He had no visible mutation or signs of structure gel corruption, and he had fresh wounds that are bleeding with regular blood. Unless the WAU somehow created a being who was physically indistinguishable from a normal human, and for some reason did this before creating Simon (allegedly), then I say that the man was human through and through.

(Not to mention that there are no other examples, in-lore or in-game, of WAU creations turning on each other.)

Still.. the second missing diving suit in Upsilon, doesn't feel like it could be the one he has, he's inside a permasealed room.. and the suits are inside another permasealed room... unless everyone always travels through vents in that game.

This does seem like a mystery, though if you think about it, it might not be much of a mystery at all. There were two people leaving Upsilon at the end. Since Amy was stationed at the Shuttle Station (per the above crew log), it's conceivable that she would have her own dive suit there. That would leave Carl with the second missing suit.

Alternatively, the two missing suits are both Amy's and Carl's, and the diving suit Reed/Simon is wearing is the one that Reed originally wore from Lambda to Upsilon.

As for the vents, it would be entirely appropriate for a secret agent to insist on traveling everywhere via vent. Silliness aside, it would make sense for him to want to travel through vents as opening any permasealed room runs the risk of activating and/or releasing a murderous infected robot.

My theory is that the SOMA makers just didn't put as much thought into it as we're doing now, and some inconsistencies slipped in as things were added and cut from the game.

Oh, I have no doubt that this is the case. While FG might have some vague idea as to the cause of everything, I doubt that every bizarre and inconsistent detail was placed intentionally. That doesn't mean that this endless cycle of theorycrafting isn't fun, though.

[bbqface]

However, there is one thing that does make sense. If you assume that it was Carthage who created Simon, then an explanation comes to mind. That man was a Carthage operative, tasked with doing the preparations for Reed's body to accept Simon and initiating the scan. He would've been able to do everything necessary, including opening the security lock on the door to gain access and the locking up behind him to protect a confused Simon from being immediately killed. He then could've retreated to the robot bay and taken refuge in that spare room until he was either rescued or could find a way out - neither of which happened, as we know.

As I mentioned in the reddit thread regarding who made Simon 2, the Omnitool room was locked from the outside by a human.

This leaves two possibilities I can think of, either the person in the Omnitool room locked it from the outside, then entered again from the vents. Or another Carthage agent locked them inside (maybe for their protection, maybe not).

[Abion47]

As I mentioned in the reddit thread regarding who made Simon 2, the Omnitool room was locked from the outside by a human.

This leaves two possibilities I can think of, either the person in the Omnitool room locked it from the outside, then entered again from the vents. Or another Carthage agent locked them inside (maybe for their protection, maybe not).

All the locked doors were already locked by Amy or Carl, and as the person who authored a lot of the posts you are referring to, even I think that suggesting there is a second operative in Upsilon is too much of a stretch. I'm having a hard enough time convincing people with my points about a guy who shouldn't exist. Trying to prove the existence of a second guy who doesn't exist is a bit too much.

I think a more likely either-or question would be whether the man locked the door to the scan room behind himself after creating Simon or if he entered and then exited the scan room by way the vent. Either way, From what I can tell it's almost certain that he entered the Omnitool room through the vent.