[providence932]

I've been spending the last few hours intentionally failing Universal Truth. Of all of the endings, one of them has me completely baffled. If you

Spoiler:

sit and wait at the beginning of the level, or turn around when told to run

Then you receive the ending

Spoiler:

We do not know how the subject managed to stabilize the pocket of subspace his exit trajectory carried him to. It appears that he passed through at least two separate meta-Hubble domains, configuring each one to the demands of his disintegrating psyche. Given what was observed in the domain he eventually occupied, we can only consider it a blessing that he did not successfully return to the launch point.

When the Shadow Guardians were inserted into the subject's exit point they immediately broke contact. We assumed that they had been subverted by the subject's unknown, nascent ontostatic capabilities.
However, at insertion plus fifty five hours, indirect observation of the subject's volume indicated total collapse and necrosis of the manifold, leading to the loss of the Shadow Guardians, the subject's stealth craft, and any data relating to the initial contact between the subject and the target volume.

This concluded the incident colloquially referred to as the Transcend. All further testing of the Sync drive as a means to conduct transdimensional travel was immediately halted by order of GTVI Subspace Systems Command, Special Projects Branch, and the target area was designated as anathema for any future transits, planned or accidental.

It is fortunate that the 14th's transit did not bring it there.

is someone there

can you hear me?

HELP ME

It's pretty obvious that the reccomendation text is from Laporte, who has been turned into a vegetable and is trapped inside of her own mind or... something. But this seems to take place in the future, under an operation under the control of the GTVA.

[BritishShivans]

uhh no

there's several endings

for some reason I kept getting the transcend one all the time, namely this one

however i did not last time, i got one where Laporte said they need to turn up the heat on the Maysaf since ever since she's taken her skin off it's been so cold

[providence932]

I just got the an ants one by remaining in the network at the very end of the mission.

[An4ximandros]

Huh? What was your sanity meter's reading?

[providence932]

Perfectly Fine

[An4ximandros]

 Lay off the Nagari-drug combo.

 Ahem. It sounds like there might be something wrong with the events? Unless there is some sort of trigger for each ending and the Transcend one is "default" (It is in the mission file twice as separate endings.)

[General Battuta]

There's nothing wrong the events. The ending you get when you go insane for any reason is selected randomly from a pool.

[providence932]

Yeah, that's why I started to get thanks to lots of time compression.

What I'm trying to is what exactly happens to Laporte during the ending that I quoted in the OP. It's very different when compared to the other endings, where she's woken up from the Nagari network and just goes nuts.

[An4ximandros]

The random choice seems inappropriate when keeping the transcendent's ending in mind. And the visit by it.

[General Battuta]

It works the way it does for a reason.

[providence932]

Is it technical or canonical?

[Delta_07]

And the reason may be "it's impossible to predict what Laporte will do/will go once she's insane"?

[General Battuta]

Canonical.

And the reason may be "it's impossible to predict what Laporte will do/will go once she's insane"?

This guy's on the right track. Causal mapping between the stimulus and the reaction would be, in the words of an earlier post, hugely inappropriate.

[providence932]

Awesome!

The only problem is that I'm completely confused with what this reaction is.

...since I cut my skin off

And the one in the OP are so radically different. I'm confused as to what exactly happens to Laporte when she meets that second ending for whatever reason.

[Delta_07]

But, given her last sane events (e.g., staying at the end or taking too long, etc...), woult it be possible to "bias" Laporte's insane reactions?

[providence932]

Apparently not, who knows what the entities running the Nagari network want to do with her after she's turned into a vegetable. Could be kill everyone in the room; forget everything that she's seen, tell her compadres nonsense, and then mutlate herself; turn into a vegetable; or possibly whatever happens in the ending that I quoted in the OP.

The latter, however, is very curious to me, and I want to investigate it fully.

[BritishShivans]

Why do you think it'd be Laporte specifically? I always took the Transcend ending as just being that; Transcend. Hell, if you've even played it, while it's somewhat hard to tell, the Transcendent  says "help me" and some other stuff.

[Molybdenum]

I think its just an easter egg since that mission was largely inspired by Transcend.

[perihelion]

I think its just an easter egg since that mission was largely inspired by Transcend.

That would be disappointing, and it would seem inconsistent with the level of thought put into all of the other details in this mission/campaign/mod.

[Gregster2k]

@Everyone & OP: I don't think the OP (providence932) has played Sync or Transcend -- Providence932, you should play  Sync and Transcend ASAP to understand what that debriefing text was referencing.  They're great campaigns

There are six debriefings to this mission in total.  Interestingly, two are duplicates:

UNIVERSAL TRUTH (MISSION 23) DEBRIEFINGS EXTRACTED FROM FRED FILE (SPOILERS)

ENDING 1: Marathon Infinity Reference Ending - verbatim from an infamous lore terminal in Marathon Infinity
Reference: http://marathon.bungie.org/story/wherearemonsters.html

Personal Log, Noemi Laporte

Seven hundred and sixty one armless and legless corpses float inconspicuously around the inside of hangar ninety six.  I say that they are inconspicuous because it is their arms and legs which demand my attention.  I did this, or I could have stopped it.  Which is it?  It doesn't matter now.  I did this and could have stopped it, but nothing in nature ever follows a gaussian curve.  Sure, they'll tell you that it does.  They say that every five minutes someone dies in a car accident, but how often are there seven hundred and sixty one armless and legless in one hangar?

Recommendation: You should cut your arms and legs off in order to pass this mission.

ENDING 2: Transcend Reference Ending - assuming to be written by BP team.  References Sync and Transcend by Ransom Arceihn

We do not know how the subject managed to stabilize the pocket of subspace his exit trajectory carried him to. It appears that he passed through at least two separate meta-Hubble domains, configuring each one to the demands of his disintegrating psyche. Given what was observed in the domain he eventually occupied, we can only consider it a blessing that he did not successfully return to the launch point.

When the Shadow Guardians were inserted into the subject's exit point they immediately broke contact. We assumed that they had been subverted by the subject's unknown, nascent ontostatic capabilities.
However, at insertion plus fifty five hours, indirect observation of the subject's volume indicated total collapse and necrosis of the manifold, leading to the loss of the Shadow Guardians, the subject's stealth craft, and any data relating to the initial contact between the subject and the target volume.

This concluded the incident colloquially referred to as the Transcend. All further testing of the Sync drive as a means to conduct transdimensional travel was immediately halted by order of GTVI Subspace Systems Command, Special Projects Branch, and the target area was designated as anathema for any future transits, planned or accidental.

It is fortunate that the 14th's transit did not bring it there.

Recommendation:

is someone there

can you hear me?

HELP ME

ENDING 3: False Success Ending

Personal Log, Noemi Laporte

It's over. The intrusion into the Nagari network was successful. I don't remember a damn thing, but they tell me that it worked.

Recommendation: your gallbladder is dripping, please mop that up

ENDING 4: Ants

Personal Log, Noemi Laporte

I didn't realize the truth until they woke me up. Falconer was one of the ants. It was so obvious - I don't know how I missed the jaws, or the eggs dripping from her abdomen.

I had to kill her first. The rest of them were self-defense.

I think they're trying to get in again. It's all right, though. They won't be able to tell which one I am.

There was lots of surgical equipment in this room, and plenty of corpses to graft from. I'm sure they won't recognize this face, or the bones beneath it. I never looked a thing like Kovacs.

I hope I can get this tongue to stick in time.

Recommendation:

kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara kuwabara

ENDING 5: Transcend Reference Ending (Reprise)
this is the same as Ending 2, no need to quote this

ENDING 6: Mission Successful (Non Insane)

Congratulations, Operator. We brought you into the Fedayeen to complete this mission, and you have excelled beyond all expectation.

Analyst Thorn and the CASSANDRA unit have completed their review of your experience. These are their conclusions.

It appears that the Council of Elders has been in Nagari contact with the Vishnan aliens for decades. The Elders cooperated with the Vishnans in an effort to move humanity towards enlightenment - an unknown form of cognitive and social reengineering, perhaps culminating in merger with the Vishnan subspace psyche.

The GTVA discovered the Vishnans independently, and determined that these aliens posed a threat to human survival. Their invasion of Sol appears to be, in part, an effort to purge humanity of Vishnan-influenced leadership.

We do not object to the notion of cooperation with the Vishnans. However, it appears these aliens have determined their plan has failed and ordered the Shivans to annihilate mankind.

We must therefore consider the Elders compromised and untrustworthy. The information you retrieved from the Ken entity provides the only remaining option to escape extinction.

Fourteen minutes ago, the Elders requested that we turn you over for questioning. We have reported your unfortunate death during the Nagari intrusion.

Our priority for the moment remains victory against the GTVA. We will contact you once we have determined how the Ken entity can assist us - and what price we will pay to avert this existential catastrophe.

Your skills are needed on the front line. We are working with Admiral Calder to supply you with a covert identity and a squadron command. You will return to military service, but you will always remain Fedayeen.

The things you learned about me are true, Operator. I am all of the Fedayeen. And I am grateful.

Recommendation:

Personal Log, Noemi Laporte

The truth. Or a part of it. Extinction is coming, on Vishnan orders. And the Shivans are offering us a way out.