32 Chambers
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Unknown
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The 32 chambers is an area in the Subnet. It was mentioned back in Submachine 4: The Lab and was finally revealed in the short side-story game Submachine: 32 Chambers on August 2nd 2010. Two sub-locations were later added to the Submachine Universe.
History[]
Submachine 4: The Lab[]
The location was mentioned by a member of the tomb exploration team. They described it only as chambers filled with sand.
The member also mentions that they hadn't written down the coordinates.
Submachine: 32 Chambers[]
It is not known whether this game describes the journey of the tomb exploration team from Sub4 or an independent explorer. In either case, the explorer of the chambers eventually came across a sundial. It had holes in it, and the rings had been turned so that the calendar made little sense.
To complete the game the player must insert the gemstones they have collected into the disks and turn the outer rings to their place. Then they must insert bacab plates into their place and rotate the face in the middle to fit in its place.
The calendar then starts to glow and electricity flows out of it. Then it teleports the explorer to an unknown location. The calendar shift shown on-screen at the end suggests the end of the world was evaded in 2012 and pushed to year 7137.
— The game
Submachine Universe[]
Later, Murtaugh drew two portals in the second tomb and the ancient section, which connected to two sealed off areas in the 32 chambers, known as Ixtab's chambers and Stele's chambers respectively. Access to the other chambers is unavailable due to mechanisms previously opened by the explorer now being shut again.
Architecture[]
The area has walls made out of stone, some covered in moss. Sand is everywhere. It covers the floors and most of the passageways. The beginning screen puts the player at a portal but it is too old to use. Upon trying to use it, the portal will shatter to pieces.
The game's puzzles deal with using various sticks, stones, bowls, and other similar objects to open up pathways blocked by sand. Scattered around the area are jadeite crystals, topaz crystals, and bacab plates that the player must collect for the final puzzle.
The ground in the middle area is not sand, as the Player is instead supported by metal beams over a seemingly bottomless pit. Spears jut out and retract back into the walls on the left and right sides to discourage the Player from traveling too far horizontally.
After passing through a narrow tunnel containing two large movable stones, the player returns to rooms with sandy floors and statues before visiting the famous Aztec calendar.
Throughout the game, many references to Meso-American civilizations can be seen. This area is the most concentrated location in the Subnet for such cultures. Various inscriptions and glyphs can be seen throughout the game describing different gods and phrases. The cultures represented include the Olmec, the Maya, and the Aztec.
Cultural references[]
Full references to Central American culture can be found here.
Quotes[]
— Member of the Tomb Exploration Team
“I’m considering adding whole 3chambers to the subnet, zerp.”
— Mateusz Skutnik and Zerpentos, discussing the locations future connection to Submachine Universe.
— The description of the area in Jayisgames.
— Submachine: 32 Chambers