Player
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Character
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Name
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Unknown
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Role
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Protagonist
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Picture above
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Player's "conversation" with Murtaugh in Sub4
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The player is an unknown person whose likely objective is to escape confinement in the subnet. During the course of the series the player travels to many locations and interacts with Murtaugh and Elizabeth through notes and computers, finally seeing their mummified bodies in Submachine 9: The Temple and seeing them alive in Submachine 10: The Exit.
Description[]
Absolutely no background information on the player is ever given in the Submachine series. There has never even been a distinction made as to whether the player in the main series is the same player as the one that we play as in any of the side games, including Submachine Universe.
At one point, a message from Murtaugh states that the player (or whoever the message was intended for) was chosen to work in a lab due to having extensive training in handling wisdom gems. This has not been directly confirmed by any other source.
Role in the Submachine lore[]
Submachine 1-4[]
In Submachine 1 the player begins in the basement without any opening sequences. The player escapes the basement by solving basic puzzles with items and devices that give the player access to four tiles. The player uses the tiles to travel to an area where they could take an elevator to a perceived free area, thinking that they "escaped" the basement. It is then revealed that the freedom area is fake and the player had been secretly teleported to the lighthouse.
In Submachine 2 the player navigates through the lighthouse while reading notes left behind by Murtaugh (still known only as "Mur" at this point). The player follows Mur's instructions and activates an unstable portal Mur had built in the lighthouse. This portal transports the player to the loop, leading to the events of Submachine 3.
In Submachine 3 the player solves a series of puzzles, all the while moving deeper away from the reality of the lighthouse and further into the loop, a timeless, spaceless anomaly in the subnet. In the eleventh level, the player finds a note written by Murtaugh instructing the player to activate a portal to disconnect from the loop. This teleports the player out of the loop and to the rooftop, where they can access the research base.
(The player can also choose to complete the final puzzle, which causes the player to fall into an endless loop and die of dehydration.)
In Submachine 4 the player, having disconnected from the loop in Submachine 3 ends up on the roof of the lab as Murtaugh predicted earlier in Submachine 3. Upon making their way in, the player communicates with Murtaugh via a computer with limited communication and is then instructed to explore areas of the subnet via a lab portal. Murtaugh gives the player a set of coordinates and reveals that there are four other teams exploring as well.
The player explores the areas of the submachine, solving puzzles along the way in order to reassemble the statue. Upon fixing the statue, it is revealed that the player had passed all the tests flawlessly and that the player would begin working at a lab soon, as the player's "application" was considered positively. The player is then told to "wait for instructions", hinting at the opening of Submachine 5. This shows that the entirety of Submachine 4 was a test to examine the problem-solving capabilities of the player while in the subnet.
Submachine 5-10[]
In Submachine 5 the player awakens in Dorm 38C. The player follows instructions left by Murtaugh on a computer for an assignment to travel to the Root and retrieve three wisdom gems in the Subnet. The player then uses these gems to power the mover in 747 to reach and investigate the Edge.
In Submachine 6 the player reaches the Edge in the mover but is stopped by the defense system. the system dumps the player in the cliffs. Here the player discovers that Murtaugh lied about how nobody else had been to the Edge. In the course of the game, the player discovers more notes in the tunnels left by other people sent by Murtaugh and learns of Murtaugh's true objective to disable the Subnet's defense system so his invasion can reach the Core. From the tunnels, the player infiltrates the defense system and hacks terminals to obtain access to the mainframe, where the host computer controls the entire DS. The player shuts down the DS and is thanked by Murtaugh, who reveals that the invasion can now proceed. He then declares that the player's adventure ends here and abandons them. With the system disabled, the player escapes through a vent that leads to the outside and activates an Edge portal that teleports the player to the Core.
In Submachine 7 the player arrives at the Core, the center of the entire subnet. Here the player finds Elizabeth's notes to them and finds out more facts regarding the subnet. The player also learns of Murtaugh's experiments in traveling through the different dimensions of the subnet via karma portals and the destruction that was wrought on the different layers (aka "dimensions") of the subnet as a result of his experimentation. The player seeks Elizabeth and finally gains access to her ship, where it is discovered that Murtaugh had invaded the Core already and Elizabeth had fled to the fifth layer of the subnet. At the end of Submachine 7, the player enters a green karma portal that Murtaugh created to travel to the fifth layer of the submachine network.
In Submachine 8 the player falls into another karma portal drawn by Murtaugh within the green karma portal of Submachine 7 and lands on the dock. The player finds a navigator nearby and after activating the beamer uses it to travel between the different layers in an area called Sector 9. Along the way, the player learns more about the seven layers of reality of the subnet from notes left behind. The player solves various puzzles in the seven layers accessible in order to get to the fifth layer and follow Murtaugh and Elizabeth. The player eventually activates the gateway located in the water pantheon in the fifth layer and heads through it to end up outside a giant pyramid in the garden.
In Submachine 9 the player enters the pyramid and solves a series of puzzles with the use of karmic water, discovering its properties firsthand. After some time exploring the Knot, the player finally discovers the tombs of Murtaugh and Elizabeth in the middle part of the temple. Along the way, the player reads notes left behind that describe the extent of Murtaugh's powers and the crippling of the entire subnet that he triggered. The player uses the golden seals of Murtaugh and Elizabeth to descend to the lower part of the temple. In this area, the player finds the last button for the navigator that gives access to layer 8. The player then follows the trails of light and activates yet another portal.
In Submachine 10 the player travels in a giant white portal to arrive at the Northern Garden docks, where they gain access to a ship in order to use a karma portal located there. The player then discovers a binary portal, which only works with 3 binary coordinates, resulting in 8 possible combinations. While solving more puzzles and revisiting locations of the previous Submachine games, the player finds out about Murtaugh's experiments on the reconstructing effects of karma, and how both Murtaugh and Elizabeth are actually time-traveling, meaning that, despite their tombs in the temple they are still alive. The player then finds the karma stabilizer which they then use to reassemble the shattered fabric of reality around old karma portals to reassemble them so they can gain the final pieces to reach the lighthouse tower. There they use a light sphere to exit the lighthouse and end up outside the subnet itself.
The game concludes in the player meeting Murtaugh and presumably Elizabeth as well in the desert, where they greet the player before the series ends.
Submachine 0, FLF, 32 Chambers, SubUniverse[]
The player appears in the Submachine spinoffs Submachine 0, Submachine FLF and Submachine: 32 Chambers and Submachine Universe. However, it is unknown if this is the same player from the main series or a different player. It is possible that the player in Submachine: 32 Chambers is the author of a note which can be found in Submachine 4.
Submachine: Legacy[]
A new intro in Submachine: Legacy shows that the Player willingly entered the Basement (crossing a one-way gate in the process). Their reason for doing so is unknown, and seems to clash with their presumed goal of exiting the Subnet.
See also[]
People |
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Creator of the first Submachine - Einstein - Elizabeth - Henry o'Toole - King - King's Master Urbanist - Murtaugh - Predecessor - Predecessors - sunshine_bunnygirl_17 - Exploration team - Player |