[SPOILERS] SOMA unsolved mysteries thread

[Bigbob]

I have a possible new unsolved mystery.

Was Strohmeier with the ARK team? You hear his voice in the first terminal where you update the omni tool. When you first enter Tau there's a box you can data mine and someone talks about the "failed evac story". They sound very similar.

Edit: The ARK team is:
Catherine Chun
Sarah Lindwall
Ian Pedersen
Nicolai Ivashkin
Jasper Hill

The first 2 are female and we hear Pedersen multiple times and I don't think it's him. That leaves Ivashkin and Hill as possibilities. I think we hear some extra voices when you data mine Catherine's body? Do we know for sure what Ivashkin and Hill sound like?

[Abion47]

Strohmeier was part of the group that was evacuating Theta trying to get away from Akers, along with Goya, Frost, Koster, Alvaro (Emma), Jonsy, Strasky, Thabo, and Hart.

• Strohmeier, Goya, Frost, and Koster were all caught by Akers and are currently in the structure gel induced sleep in the tunnels underneath Theta.
  
• Hart blew the O2 Surplus, cutting off Akers and allowing the rest to escape. She died in the process.
  
• Jonsy died at the door to Omicron while they were pounding on the door, asking to be let in. (This is when they find out that everyone at Omicron was already dead.)
  
• Strasky ran out of oxygen on the way to the annex. He panics and removes his helmet, taking his fate into his own hands.
  
• Thabo and Alvaro died in the annex running out of air while chatting, having accepted that they were screwed.
  

[Bigbob]

I have a theory on the Jiangshi. I know there's questions about the validity of Transmissions but I thought this worth mentioning. In the last video Martin Fisher is outside running out of oxygen. Reed is watching him.

Later he comes back and attacks them saying you left me to die. Then Reed removes his helmet and structure gel gushes out. I wonder if this is a hint to what the Jiangshi are?

[Abion47]

I'm going to say that it's unlikely. Martin Fisher was a diving suit filled predominantly if not entirely with structure gel. The Jiangshi, however, were completely naked, with the head covered in gel corruption and WAU growths. Furthermore, Fisher can talk in a way that implies he is still coherent and intelligent (albeit murderously insane), whereas the Jiangshi are completely mute and just walk around aimlessly. There's also the fact that Fisher didn't show any abilities of producing EMPs or teleportation.

There's some overlap in that both of them involve gel enveloping the head (or at least where the head used to be), but that's where the similarities seem to end.

[Romulator]

Pretty certain that's more alluding to what's become of Yoshida in Tau in terms of game canon.

[Bigbob]

• Strohmeier, Goya, Frost, and Koster were all caught by Akers and are currently in the structure gel induced sleep in the tunnels underneath Theta.
  

Wanted to ask what your basis is for thinking Strohmeier is one of the ones in the gel? I'm thinking you probably have a very valid reason since you usually do.

I listened to another let's play today and I'm pretty sure it's Strohmeier's voice. I mean it could simply be a mistake by FG since we can track the HP suits and I believe there weren't any unaccounted for? If you get a chance try to listening to it let me know what you think.

Strohmeier can be heard at the terminal in the first room and outside Theta when he says not to kill yourself. Pedersen is heard interviewing about the ARK on the pc where your track the ARK, he comments on the odds not being great for the ARK to make it to space in a data mine in Theta, and in the Abyss on the way to Tau when they 1st make contact with Tau.

The data mine I'm questioning is when you first enter Tau.

[Abion47]

We know Strohmeier was part of the group escaping from Theta because of his discussion with Brandon Wan (when Brandon sacrifices himself). Furthermore, in the Theta exit sequence after Simon wrenches his way out of the WAU dream state, there are four mind coral humans corresponding to each of the people I said didn't make it out of Theta (their entity names confirm their identities). If you approach these bodies, you can listen in on their sleep talking:

• Koster is in the train car to the right after you wake up out of the structure gel. She's dreaming of being on a date with Brandon.
  
  
  Spoiler below!
  

  Brandon... I knew you'd come. Too much of a romantic to forget. But do you remember this? The necklace you gave me. *giggle* Come on, let's go inside. They make the best coffee. And the view -- to die for. I'd live here if they'd let me.
  
  
  
• Strohmeier is at the far end of the first room you encounter the proxy in. He's dreaming of working on a plane or something with an old close friend named Doug.
  
  
  Spoiler below!
  

  Doug, quit hogging the screwdriver. Sun's going down already... Let's get this thing running. Don't worry, it's going to fly all right. We'll be soaring across the fields. It's gonna be incredible. When we're sick of it, we'll head back to town. Get some beer, shoot some pool. Just like the good old days. Now hand over the damn screwdriver.
  
  
  
• Goya is just before the vent in the hall where the proxy is patrolling, across from the alcove. He's dreaming that he's back at Delta and he finally beat Akers in a game of chess.
  
  
  Spoiler below!
  

  I can't believe I won! That's one for the books. Now I can finally die happy. Forget it, Terry. I'm not playing anymore. Holy... did you hear, Brand? Yeah, I won. Got the king cornered. Oh, a new order's in? Great, let's work it! Is it another communication satellite? Military? Better make sure we get it right then. Come on, Brand. Let's help out our boys.
  
  
  
• Frost is to your right after crawling out of the vent. He's dreaming that he is announcing a major scientific discovery/breakthrough of some kind. (Possibly discovering alien life?)
  
  
  Spoiler below!
  

  I'd like to thank the committee. Her Majesty Queen Christina II, thank you. This discovery belongs to everyone. It's been hard keeping it secret. Now recognized, at last. We're living in an exciting time. Learning that we're not alone. Is perhaps greater than anything. I have to dedicate this to my father... The late Elliot Frost, who inspired me, all these years.
  

If you're referring to the datamine in the dive room at Tau, the people involved are Steve Glasser, Sarah Lindwall, and Ian Pedersen (which is confirmed by looking at the lang entries of this conversation). Glasser is the guy at Tau who welcomes the ARK team upon their arrival and is the guy who accompanies Ross to the climber (and dies on the way). Pedersen is the guy who tells him about how everyone at Omicron thinks Tau is dead and who ultimately ends up killing Catherine. (I think we all know who Sarah Lindwall is.)

[Bigbob]

I've got a few more.

In Mark Sarang's room is a map that looks like outer space and a circle drawn on it. There is something written but it's just a few letters. The 1st one is either V or U. The 2nd one is 4 or H and the 3rd one is either S or 8. Any ideas?

I did find a short film called V/H/S but I might be reaching.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/V/H/S

The other thing I wanted to ask about was that 4th Legacy scan seems pretty random and I wonder if it's a reference to anything. Here's what it says:

The Nanami - composition
Type: compressed Nakajima neurograph
Captured: March 12, 2014 (before Munshi, Berg and Jarret)
Author : Nakajima Shin
Name: "Nanami"
Sex: F
Birth: December 11, 1997
Death: July 17, 2021
Nationality: Japanese

I googled this too and found some Japanese Manga but couldn't find any potential references.

[Abion47]

In Mark Sarang's room is a map that looks like outer space and a circle drawn on it. There is something written but it's just a few letters. The 1st one is either V or U. The 2nd one is 4 or H and the 3rd one is either S or 8. Any ideas?

It says UH8, as in the helper bot.

The other thing I wanted to ask about was that 4th Legacy scan seems pretty random and I wonder if it's a reference to anything.

No idea. There's a Shin Nakajima at the National Institute of Informatics in Japan and a Shinichi Nakajima in a Berlin institute who has published papers on computer vision and machine learning, but I'm not sure if they are so significant that they are the ones referenced by that scan.

One possibility is that it's a reference to (Shin) Megami Tensei, an older RPG game. In that game, the protagonist is named Akemi Nakajima, and he's a prodigy in the use of computers and has to battle against demons who were summoned and given physical bodies by a program he made. It would be an interesting parallel, but I can't find a significance reference to "Nanami" anywhere in the Megami Tensei canon. The only thing I can find is the name of an actress who played the supporting role of the protagonist's (not Nakajima) girlfriend in a minor spin-off TV series

There's also the possibility that it isn't a reference, though. That first scan could just exist to show that the technology to do that kind of brain scan wasn't invented by Dr. Munshi. He merely used it in his thesis as a part of a potential treatment for brain injuries.

[Bigbob]

I thought of UH8 but how does that tie in to a map of space? I have 2 theories on the space poster. Most of the 1st half of this post you probably know but it helps to have the facts to understand my theory so I'll take the time to type it out.

For this to make sense we have to have an understanding of what Soma tells us about Carthage industries: in the 4 years directly before the comet Carthage comes in and gets the 3 employees secretly on the staff, site Alpha created, the WAU incorporated, the WAU monitors the black boxes, and Ross gets the fail safe for the black boxes removed. It's strange timing that this happens directly before the comet.

Delenda Est. It's a short story by Poul Anderson and part of the Time Patrol series. Main character Manse Everard and his colleague travel back to 1960 Manhattan, NY where they are quickly captured. Everard doesn't understand the language until he meets a scholar named Deirdre. Deirdre is able to communicate using classical Greek which Everard understands, and helps him determine it's an alternate timeline in which 2 other renegade time travelers went back in time and using a butterfly effect changed history as we know it in our actual time line.

Everard thinks to himself that Deirdre is helping him figure out what happened in her timelime, not realizing that she's actually helping him to change events back to how they were, causing her timeline to cease. Not sure if this theory ties into Soma in any way. When Carthage sent Dahl, Sarang, and Ross to Pathos 2, where they able to get Pathos 2 employees to give them information that led to their individual stories? I can't think of anything specific but it's fun to think about.

The renegade time travelers brought guns to the 2nd Punic War in approx 200 BC and caused a sequence of events that caused the death of 2 Roman leaders and changed history by allowing the country of Carthage to defeat Rome. Roman influence died out in this timeline and history proceeded with Carthage as dominant. Everard goes back in time and kills the renegade time travelers(meaning the butterfly effect does not happen), and causing the 2 Roman leaders to not die (like in our present history), and Everard returns to our timeline.

The Gameological Dig YouTube video series makes the Delende Est analogy that Manse Everard traveled back in time to change history and Simon traveled forward in time to save the human race by launching the ARK. He didn't elaborate beyond that although I'm not sure if he contemplated what I'm saying.

However all along I've considered if Carthage Industries is in the future and sent the 3 employees back in time to change history. Dahl covers the evacuation attempt of Tau to buy Ross time to study the WAU at Alpha. She's towing the company line. They sent people back in time to try and make sure the WAU would survive the comet. It also explains your theory on a Carthage employee creating Simon 2.

It wasn't until the comet hit that the WAU changed protocol. The only person in the game that realizes this is Ross and he couldn't communicate with Dahl/Sarang because the WAU leaked the gel which caused the wildlife to knock out comms. It could fit that since Dahl didn't know the WAU was out of control that's why she was pleased that no more evacuation attempts would be made. It doesn't matter if people starve to death as long as Ross can make sure the WAU survives to create an alternate future in which Carthage Industries has power, or at least the WAU carries on as an AI even after humans are extinct. Possibly to assure the Vivarium can be finished.

Therefore I was wondering if the map of space indicates that Carthage/Sarang knew about the comet ahead of time?

The other theory I had was the map indicates Carthage is operating from somewhere else in our galaxy.