Ultimate Ending: The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory Part 4
Penny's suspicious of Jay because he seems to know more than what he's telling us. When we arrive at the Control Room after finding out Maintenance Room #1 was a bust, Jay tells us we'll have to take the air ventilation shaft to get to #3 on time. "Penny smirks. 'The air vents? Seriously?' Jay shrugs. 'Why not? It worked in Die Hard. Come on, in you go".
Never take advice from anyone who thinks crawling through the air vents is safe because he watched Die Hard once. Besides, doing this in La Prisión hacked my character to pieces.
"You land on nimble feet inside the room. A moment later Penny drops next to you. She gives you a smug grin. The room is identical to the previous one, with computer banks of dials and knobs covering three walls. You begin examining the instruments, looking for any clue as to what system this is for, but everything really does look the same. 'Let's just turn it on', Penny says. Before you can say anything, she throws the lever.
One light next to the switch flashes green for three seconds. Then more lights join it, and then the hum of computer fans and clicking of hard drives, until the entire room is operational. 'Okay', Penny says, looking expectantly. 'Figure out if this is the right one.' You squint at the measurements on the nearest screen. They don't really look familiar. Another screen doesn't give much data either. You move to the other side of the room and examine the data there. It's all just numbers!
Finally one dial sticks out. It says O2 Percentage, and the needle is hovering around 30 percent. Next to it is another dial that says N2 Percentage. That one is about 70 percent. 'O2 is oxygen, and N2 is nitrogen', you say. 'The two most common elements in the air we breathe. That means this is the Maintenance Room for the oxygen system!' 'Aww man', Penny says. 'Two in a row!'
'Only one place left to look', you say cheerfully. You stride over to the door. 'Can't go wrong this time!' The door handle won't move. You try it again, but it doesn't budge. It's locked, and there's no way to open it from the inside. Penny realizes what's wrong. She tilts her head back to look up at the vent. 'Can we get back up there?'
You try lifting Penny up to the vent, but even on your tiptoes you can't reach it. She tries the door herself next, putting her foot up against the frame for leverage. It's no good. You're stuck. Maybe Jay will eventually come looking for you. Hopefully that will be before the laboratory suffers a meltdown. But even if it is, for now you have reached. . .THE END".
My CANONICAL ENDING is Inconclusive. We're trapped in the wrong Maintenance Room with some false hope of escape.
Results So Far
0 Good Endings
0 Deaths
0 Bad Non-Death Endings
0 Neutral Endings
1 Inconclusive Endings
0 ULTIMATE ENDING
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
Ultimate Ending: The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory Alternate Endings Part 1
Let's get a few obvious failure endings out of the way before I start hunting down the ULTIMATE ENDING. This is what happens if you fail the dice rolls in CHOICE #4 or #5.
"You remain frozen in place, CS Rifle held across your belly. The Causality Neutrino pulses with energy, almost like a lighthouse, except you've never seen a lighthouse that makes such a strange humming sound. A crackle of electricity shoots off the blue orb, striking a table. Its atoms turn bright white, spreading apart and disappearing into the air and ground like mist. Jay doesn't look scared, but you can feel your body trembling. The rifle is heavy in your hands. You bend your knees to put it down. Another bolt launches from the Causality Neutrino, striking you in the chest.
For a long moment, you don't feel anything. There's no pain or discomfort. Then the room begins to move, shifting side to side. Slowly it moves faster and faster. You feel like you're standing on a train platform while a train goes shooting by. Distantly you hear Jay yelling. There's a high-pitched whine, then a pop, and then everything is different.
The room is completely empty of tables and equipment. It's just the floor and ceiling, the walls, and the three doors. The door leading back to the Control Room is open, and you hear the sound of pickaxes. You walk in that direction and peer inside. The walls are exposed rock, and there's no floor. It's as if the Heisenberg [sic] Laboratory hasn't finished being built yet. Construction equipment attached to batteries are littered on the ground. The corridor only goes for twenty feet before ending at a rock wall, which two men are working on with pickaxes and drills. They're wearing hard hats and overalls.
One of them stops to wipe sweat from his face. He turns to the other and says 'La construction prend trop de temps!' 'Oui, trop longtemps'. They're speaking in French. You have no idea what they're saying. One of them suddenly notices you. He practically jumps out of his shoes. 'Qui es tu? Que faites-vous ici?' 'Appelez la police', cries the other.
You hold your hands up defensively, but they're already pulling out walkie talkies to call for help. You get the distinct feeling you don't belong there. Hopefully Jay will be able to set things right back in the other timeline. But there's nothing for you to do until then, so you've reached. . .THE END".
I don't know French, but I guess they're saying "Who are you? What are you doing here?" and "Call the police" based on my Knowledge: Romance Language minor skill. You can muddle through some basic sentences if you know Spanish.
It's surprising to see characters speaking another language in this ending, while in the beginning, you'll find people asking "Vat are ve vaiting for?"
I normally clean up some of the typos when I quote endings, but the "Heisenberg" Laboratory line was so bad I had to leave it in. This is an Inconclusive Ending where JEREMY HELLER becomes a Phase Being, with some hope that Jay might solve the problem. (Even delusional hopes count for the purposes of an Inconclusive Ending. . .)
Results So Far
0 Good Endings
0 Deaths
0 Bad Non-Death Endings
0 Neutral Endings
2 Inconclusive Endings
0 ULTIMATE ENDING
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
Ultimate Ending: The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory Alternate Endings Part 2
CHOICE #2 is (you guessed it) pointless! Running diagnostics and failing to abort the experiment also leads to CHOICE #3, except you get an extra scene that's not worth discussing in these posts. The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory is a strange Choose Your Own Adventure. Long intervals between CHOICEs at the beginning, and several you do get to make are irrelevant to the story's outcome.
Maintenance Room #1 does have a clue for us. The RADIATION SYSTEM warning seems to be a red herring, but it's still not the right room to solve the current crisis. We learn part of the shutdown sequence. . . .MUST THEN OPEN THE CORE AS THE FOURTH STEP IN THE SEQUENCE IN ORDER TO. . .
Now it loops back to CHOICE #11. The only place left to try is Maintenance Room #2. I can either try to get to it on foot or try Jay's Die Hard air vent solution in CHOICE #12. Jay says I could avoid Phase Beings this way too. But I have a CS Rifle. What do I have to be afraid of? Dice rolls, of course!
A Phase Being appears, and I have to "FLIP TWO COINS!" If both are heads, it's page 37. If not, the CHOICE #13 outcome will be page 23. Both landed heads, so. . .
I hit the Phase Being in the arm, which is good enough to survive. This one was Bob the animal handler. "Yeah, we have an Animal Enclosure just down the hall. Mice and rabbits and a few cats, for testing some of the effects of our electromagnetic research!" Penny's response is making a face and shouting "I hate mice!"
I pull the lever because I'm the "physics boy", according to Penny. The Network Systems say this:
1. Main Reactor
2. Control Room
3. Engineering Bay
4. Physics Wing
5. Living Quarters
I put this in bold because I may need to use it later. The Heidelberg Laboratory must use Fallout 3 computers, because I'll have to enter the correct password from one of 4 guesses: BEHEAD, THREAD, SHREWD, and RACKET. This is CHOICE #14.
The hint comes when Jay punches in POURED, only for the computer to say:
INCORRECT INPUT
CORRECT CHARACTER MATCH: 1
SYSTEM LOCKDOWN IN: TWO ATTEMPTS
Penny says "I'm usually good at these. Let's see. . ." But she doesn't offer her own guess.
BEHEAD is incorrect, and has 3 characters in common with the correct answer. Only one more attempt left. But I have one advantage these characters don't: the ability to read page numbers. CHOICE #15 has THREAD go to page 33, exactly the same as in CHOICE #14.
All systems go online and the screen gives us the beginning of the shutdown sequence. . . .FIRST STEP IN THE SEQUENCE IS TO DISABLE THE SAFETY SYSTEM, WHICH WILL OTHERWISE ATTEMPT TO HALT THE. . .
Jay says we don't have all the necessary steps yet, but still manages to drop the reactor's internal pressure from 95% to 77%. CHOICE #16 depends on whether or not I have "four out of five steps". For a recap, I'll post the ones I got in order.
FIRST STEP IN THE SEQUENCE IS TO DISABLE THE SAFETY SYSTEM, WHICH WILL OTHERWISE ATTEMPT TO
[2nd step missing]
THIRD PART OF THE SEQUENCE IS TO EXTEND FLOOD TUBES
MUST OPEN THE CORE AS THE FOURTH STEP IN THE SEQUENCE IN ORDER TO
FIFTH AND FINAL STEP IN THE SEQUENCE IS TO PERFORM A FULL COOLANT DUMP. WHEN THIS IS DONE. . .
To get the final instructions, I'll need to check either the west or east side of the laboratory. The hint for CHOICE #17 is that the west side option says "again".
Nothing useful is in the Recreation Room. "An order sheet for some scientist's daughter, selling Girl Scout cookies. You didn't even know the girls scouts [sic] were in Switzerland". Girl Scouts are everywhere. Why do you think there are urban legends about contingency plans specifically to counter them?
Other materials in the Recreation Room include "Mark Twain, Michael Crichton. Lots of bestsellers. . .'
CHOICE #18 is to go to the Sleeping Quarters, the Bathrooms, or the Kitchen.
For comedy value, I'll go to the bathroom for some kind of No Me Llames Tami Death. Surprisingly, I get a clue from a sheet of paper on the mirror in the men's room.
NOT ONLY IS IT POSSIBLE TO RESET THE CAUSALITY NEUTRINOS IN ALL ATOMS WITHIN THE FACILITY, BUT IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOLLOWING A CATASTROPHIC DISASTER. BY ENTERING CODE 1-4-6 INTO THE CORE REACTOR AS THE SIXTH STEP IN THE ABORT SEQUENCE, A CAUSALITY SHOCKWAVE WILL EMANATE FROM THE REACTOR. THIS WILL SERVE TO. . .
The player character is surprised that there's a 6th step, but I knew something was up when the 5th step ended with ellipses. Remember the TREA box from The House on Hollow Hill?
Randomly picking the Supply Closet in CHOICE #19 proves successful. . . .NECESSARY TO POWER UP THE BACKUP SYSTEM AS THE SECOND STEP OF THE ABORT SEQUENCE, SO THAT POWER IS NOT LOST WHEN THE CORE REACTOR. . .
Just like in Fallout 3, I'm the one who has to charge into the radiation to save the day. "Since the reactor core is unstable, it's impossible to open at the door. The safety systems are in place to keep anyone from entering. To manually override this, I have to stay here in the Control Room. You are going to have to be the one to go inside the core, run the sequence, and stop the meltdown!"
The book at least has the courtesy to provide a hazmat suit. Penny insists on joining me. "You feel like you're walking around in a suit made of trash bags".
The reactor core room has cables on the ground "like the black roots of some enormous redwood tree", and catwalks above. CHOICEs #20 through #23 is where I start to input the sequence necessary to win the game. This is less dramatic than it should be because the failure options recycle page numbers between CHOICEs, except for #23. CHOICE #24 requires me to input 146 as the page number, which I learned in the men's room.
The bathroom code makes a metal pedestal appear that the CS Rifle plugs into. The computer says INITIATING EMERGENCY CAUSALITY PROTOCOL.
Then Jay says from the Control Room "As a matter of fact, that was the very thing I hoped you two would do". At this point, he might as well swivel around dramatically in his villain chair. Or at least that would happen in any other book. Instead, we get the ULTIMATE ENDING.
"There's a conspiratorial tone to his voice. 'Okay, good. I am only speaking to you now. Our dear Penny cannot hear us."
Jay does indeed work in the Heidelberg Laboratory, but "I'm from the year 2036". He points out how he's been avoiding physical contact with us because "I fear doing so would rip an entire hole in space-time through which all matter would be destroyed".
His true identity: "I told you my name is Jay, but that is not entirely true. J is the first letter of my name, which I gave you because I could not tell you my true name. My name is. . .Jeremy Heller". That's the reason he's been calling me "young Mister Heller" the whole time.
The Tower of Never There came right after this book, reusing the "alternate reality player character is behind everything" twist.
Jay explains that being close to me somehow stabilized his atoms enough to make him different from other Phase Beings. He had to give us vague clues instead of directly telling us the shutdown sequence in order to avoid changing the future. At least it's a better excuse than Mr. Goosen sending us into his murder mansion so we can look for old love letters. Dr. Kessler will be more cautious in the future, so I'm supposed to go easy on him.
Jay considered shooting himself with the CS Rifle to go home if all else failed, but he wanted to save all the other scientists too. Penny was immune to all this because JEREMY HELLER has a romantic relationship with her in the future. No, really. "Penny Kessler remained stable in this timeline because of her close relationship to you-that is to say, her close relationship to us".
Jay can't say much more about Penny. "I'm afraid I can't be too specific, or it might interfere with your futures. But I think you understand what I'm saying. You're a smart guy, after all!" No, JEREMY HELLER isn't smart. He doesn't know there are other subatomic particles besides protons, neutrons, and electrons despite graduating with a degree in particle physics. Herman Gigglethorpe knows more about science than this scientist!
I get one last bit of advice from Jay: "When you and Penny go skiing in 2024, avoid the slope with all the moguls. Those are the bumpy spots that are difficult to navigate. Trust me!" Wait, will this change the future or not? I'm confused.
Jay disappears while looking like a "photograph out of focus". Dr. Kessler comes and at last shows concern for Penny. "Oh, Penny! My sweet Penny. I was so afraid you weren't safe".
I'll quote pages 130-131 to conclude this ULTIMATE ENDING post.
"Penny lets go of her dad. 'Jeremy did it, I just went in with him for support.' She looks around the room. 'Hey, where is. . .'
You realize she's wondering about Jay. You unzip your HAZMAT suit and quickly say 'He's gone now. He'll meet up with us later.' You turn to Kessler. 'Sir, you and the other physicists were stuck in time after the Causality Neutrino test. I gathered the six steps in the sequence and reset everything.'
Kessler looks you up and down. 'You did this? An intern?' You nod. 'What an amazing feat! The emergency abort sequence has never been run in the history of the lab, and you carried it out and saved my daughter in the process. Doctor Almer, why is this young man just an intern?' Almer looks embarrassed. 'I don't know, sir'. Kessler puts a hand on your shoulder. 'We're going to change that. We need more physicists like you, Jeremy. I want to hire you full-time. Your first duty will be to figure out how this mess happened!'
You remember what Jay-your future self-said: how Kessler was the one to overload the Particle Beam and cause the disaster in the first place. Awkwardly, you say 'Of course, I'll get to the bottom of it.' He leaves you then, and goes to examine some of the data on one of the computers. Some fingers find your hand. You look down and see they're Penny's, wrapped in your own. 'I think my dad likes you. And he doesn't like anybody.' She's smiling happily at you.
You're not sure what to say. 'Yeah, I guess you win a lot of friends when you save an entire physics laboratory from disaster.'
She laughs a carefree laugh at your joke. 'Are you hungry? You're coming to our house for dinner tonight. I insist. My mom makes the most amazing spaetzle. German noodles, cooked with butter. My dad usually hates when I bring boys over for dinner, but something tells me he'll be fine with you. So you'll come? To dinner?'
'Of course I will come to dinner!' 'Great, so it's settled. I want to get out of this crazy laboratory, but I don't want to go alone. Will you take me up to the surface?' You give her the most charming smile you can. 'Penny, I'd love to escort you there.'
'Hopefully we'll see Jay up above! I really liked him.' You walk toward the Decontamination Chamber, hand-in-hand. 'Oh, don't worry. I'm sure you'll see Jay again in the future".
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE REACHED THE ULTIMATE ENDING!
In recognition for taking up the gauntlet, let it be known to fellow adventurers that you are hereby granted the title of Causality Crusader!
I'll edit in the certificate once I enter the code on the website.
It's possible I could have gotten the ULTIMATE ENDING first if I had gotten luckier with the Maintenance Rooms. But the book feels like a cheat. Some of the CHOICEs don't matter, the book takes longer to get going at the beginning without any better story to make up for it, and dice rolls are necessary to survive instead of being a backup. There aren't as many silly puzzles as The Tower of Never There, or pranks on the reader like The House on Hollow Hill. At least we can make fun of the "science".
Results So Far
0 Good Endings
0 Deaths
0 Bad Non-Death Endings
0 Neutral Endings
2 Inconclusive Endings
1 ULTIMATE ENDING
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
Ultimate Ending: The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory Alternate Endings Part 3
Although I found the ULTIMATE ENDING, we're not done with this book yet. Time to check out the "15 Perils" and "21 Conclusions". But as I've proven in posts on earlier entries in the series, the authors don't know the amount of endings they put in their stories.
If I don't punch in the bathroom code in CHOICE #24, this will happen. The nuclear reactor is stable, but the other scientists are still Phase Beings for now. Jay says "It's possible they will become unstuck naturally, over time. Causality Neutrinos have a way of finding their way back to their proper atoms, eventually. But that may be a long time."
How would a Causality Neutrino "know" which person to link to? A human isn't one giant atom. More likely they would attach to, say, the closest nitrogen or oxygen atom. But maybe I'm overthinking a "subatomic particle" that's large enough to be visible to the naked eye.
Jay tries to avoid hugging Penny by saying we might be "slightly radioactive". Entering the steam in the Decontamination Chamber is "pure joy" after dealing with a potential nuclear meltdown.
When Penny and I leave the laboratory, this happens.
"The men are uniformed, with rifles held across their chests and SWAT style helmets covering their heads. For a moment they're surprised by your appearance. Then they aim their guns at you. They begin shouting in accented French. You raise your hands. There's not much else for you to do. Behind them on the mountain top sit two helicopters, with men unloading gear from inside. In the distance you see three more approaching your location. It's like a military invasion!
'Penny? Penny!' Someone pushes through the ring of SWAT members. It's Penny's dad, Doctor Kessler. He runs forward and embraces her. 'Oh, Penny. I thought you were gone!' At first she hugs him back and cries out with joy. Then she frowns and pushes him away. 'How did you get up here? You left me down there!'
'Sweetie, I don't know what happened.' He looks confused. 'The Causality Neutrino went haywire, there were papers and debris flying in all directions. . .it felt like I was flying through the air, even though my feet stayed planted on the ground. Then suddenly. . .I appeared here. Up on the surface. We called the emergency response team, but everything was locked down. Even the elevator, until just a few minutes ago.'
'The Causality Neutrino displaced you', you say. You were stuck in time. Kessler sees you for the first time. 'Stuck in time? Who are you?' 'This is the man who saved me', Penny says. 'His name is Jeremy Heller.' 'He's just an intern', Kessler says dismissively. 'He doesn't know what he's talking about.' 'Sure I do. Jay told me. . .'
'Who is Jay? What's his last name?' Kessler asks. 'Jay, one of the physicists. I don't know his last name. He helped us collect the emergency core abort sequence.' Kessler's eyes widen. 'The abort sequence. . .Did you succeed? Well?' You try to remain humble, but a big smile invades your face. 'We did. We ran the five steps inside the reactor core and stopped a meltdown.' Penny bobs her head in agreement.
Kessler's mouth hangs open. 'But. . .you are just an intern! How could you possibly accomplish that?' Medics appear and wrap blankets around you and Penny. 'I told you. Jay helped us.' 'There is no Jay that works here. I know everyone in the facility.' He smacks you on the shoulder. 'Come on now. Is Jay just a nickname for Jeremy? You won't get in trouble. You saved the facility! Take the credit.'
'But I'm telling you. . .' 'We need to give you more responsibilities here', Kessler continues. 'As soon as the Laboratory is cleaned up I'm hiring you full time. No more of this intern business. How does that sound?' You try to protest more, but someone calls Kessler over to the elevator. They talk for a few minutes, and he descends into the Laboratory.
You look at Penny. 'I didn't imagine Jay, did I?' She shrugs. 'Nope, he was definitely there. Hey, why didn't we get stuck in time like the others? It seems like a strange coincidence that hundreds of people disappeared except you, me, and Jay.'
Huh, that is strange. 'I don't know. I'm sure they'll figure it out in the coming days. Hopefully they'll be able to save all the other Phase Beings, too.' She rests her head on your shoulder. 'Do you have a place to stay?' Her head feels warm on your shoulder. 'I'm renting a room from an old woman in town. It's above a restaurant, so it's loud, but I don't mind.' 'Why don't you come home with me and dad tonight? My mom makes great spaetzle.'
'What's that?' 'German noodles. They're delicious! I won't take no for an answer. It's settled, you'll come get a warm meal with us. You deserve it.' She lifts her head and looks at you. 'And not just for saving the Heisenberg [sic] Laboratory. You saved me. I'll never forget that, Jeremy Heller.'
There's a warmth in her eyes that relieves you of all the fears of the day. There's something special about Penny, you can feel it. It's as if you've known her your entire life. 'Yeah. I'd like that.' She smiles.
You're ushered onto a helicopter to be taken back to the city at the base of the mountain. Penny holds your hand the entire time. Despite the failed test, and despite all the trouble afterward, you decide it was a good day. You had an adventure. You got to use your knowledge of physics to save the day. And, most importantly to you just then, you've made a good friend in Penny. This is a pretty wonderful way to reach. . .THE END".
This is the consolation prize for not quite reaching the ULTIMATE ENDING. The only major difference is that it will take longer for the scientists to return to normal. A similar situation happened in The Tower of Never There. Did the authors settle into the formula for the series by Book 6? Book 2, The House on Hollow Hill, had branching paths that lead to various Good Endings like a more typical CYOA.
And the authors messed up and called it the "Heisenberg" Laboratory again. Was that the original title, and they decided later to go with "Heidelberg" for some reason?
Results So Far
1 Good Endings
0 Deaths
0 Bad Non-Death Endings
0 Neutral Endings
2 Inconclusive Endings
1 ULTIMATE ENDING
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
Ultimate Ending: The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory Alternate Endings Part 4
What happens when I choke on the last step of the nuclear reactor shutdown on CHOICE #23?
"You type the command to open the core, and then press enter. The text disappears from the screen, and all that remains is a blinking cursor. You wonder if anything is happening. Abruptly, you find out. There's a rushing sound, like a bathtub faucet pouring free. Bluish liquid rushes into the three coolant tubes, surging toward the core. But when they reach the outer shell, they begin spraying out the side of the valve instead. The force is so strong that the tubes are pushed back with a groan of steel, and the coolant dumps straight down on the ground.
'You initiated the coolant dump too soon!' Jay cries. 'You were supposed to open the core first!' Penny looks horrified. 'What did you do?' 'I thought that was the next step!' Liquid pours into the room, flooding the floor. The electronics down there begin shorting out, sending arcs of electricity into the air.
'You have to get to the door', Jay says, sounding hurried. 'If you don't get there within two minutes. . .' 'We can't!' Penny exclaims. 'The floor is flooding!' Helplessly, you watch as the liquid slowly rises. The core begins to groan as the pressure inside grows. You hope in vain that the coolant can do some of its job on the outside of the core, but it quickly becomes apparent that's not the case.
Penny sits on the catwalk and pulls her knees up to her chin. You can't even look at her. You were in charge, you had the sequence, and you entered the wrong one. This is a lousy way of reaching. . .THE END".
And that's why you don't make an intern the nuclear safety inspector. Dr. Kessler's laboratory is about as safe as Mr. Burns's power plant.
Results So Far
1 Good Endings
1 Deaths
0 Bad Non-Death Endings
0 Neutral Endings
2 Inconclusive Endings
1 ULTIMATE ENDING
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
Ultimate Ending: The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory Alternate Endings Part 5
Dumping the coolant in CHOICE #20, #21, and #22 gives the same Death as doing so in CHOICE #23, except maybe a few lines are changed. The rest is verbatim. No, I'm not counting that as a separate ending for Results So Far.
So let's open the core too soon instead.
"You type the command to open the core, and then press enter. The text disappears from the screen, and all that remains is a blinking cursor. You wonder if anything is happening. From the speaker in your suit, you hear Jay gasp. 'Did you just open the core?' 'Yeah, it was the-' 'You have made a very grave mistake!' Jay shouts. 'Ohh. Without the flood tubes extended, the valves. . .'
Sirens go off in the core room, and alarms flash red, spinning like police lights. You grip the catwalk railing and peer down at the core, where valves in the outer shell are beginning to open. 'The radiation will be terrible. Get away! Quickly, get away!' You stare as the valve opens completely, and a new type of green glow shines out. Penny tugs on your arm.
'Come on! Let's go.' She pulls you away and you bang down the catwalk. 'It's too late', Jay bemoans. 'Now that the core is exposed, I can't open the blast doors for you!' The alarms grow louder as you slow to a stop. There's no point in even going down the ladder. You're doomed. You turn and face the core. A strange glowing stream is drifting out. It looks almost peaceful. . .if it weren't, you know, radioactive.
You feel bad for failing. You feel even worse for Penny. She came up here to help you, and you let her down. For although you're fine for the time being, you have reached. . .THE END".
So if JEREMY HELLER dies, does that create a Metal Gear Solid time paradox when Jay is erased?
Results So Far
1 Good Endings
2 Deaths
0 Bad Non-Death Endings
0 Neutral Endings
2 Inconclusive Endings
1 ULTIMATE ENDING
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
Ultimate Ending: The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory Alternate Endings Part 6
Now it's time for the flood tube failure in the reactor shutdown sequence.
"You type the command to extend the flood tubes, and then press enter. The text disappears from the screen, and all that remains is a blinking cursor. You wonder if anything is happening. Then the groan of machinery can be heard. You realize where it's coming from: doors have opened on three walls below you, halfway to the floor. Slowly, a few inches at a time, the flood tubes are being extended from each of the three coolant towers. They crane across the open space beneath you until they connect to valves on the outer surface of the core. The moment they touch, there's a flash of electricity. One by one, all the lights in the room go dead, plunging you into darkness.
'What did you do, young mister Heller?' 'I extended the flood tubes from the three coolant towers.' 'Ohhh', Jay moans. 'Oh, that was very bad. Very bad indeed. You have to power up the backup system first, because as soon as the flood tubes extend all power drain on the main reactor ceases!' Oh no.
'Okay, we'll start over', you say. 'Can I retract the tubes and start over?' 'Of course you can', Jay says darkly, 'In twenty minutes.' 'Twenty minutes?' 'Yes! That's how long it takes to power up the backup system from scratch, and get all the other systems online. I can't even open the blast doors with the power out. . .'
The blast doors. Penny reaches out from the darkness to grab your arm. 'Jeremy! What are we going to do?' Jay is still squawking in your ear, but you've stopped listening to him. The darkness magnifies your fear. You turn toward the reactor core, which still glows green, the only light in the room. Penny is talking to you, too, but you're frozen, thinking about what it will look like when the meltdown occurs. You failed to punch in the abort sequence, and it's too late to escape. This is very bluntly. . .THE END".
Looks like this one is a slower Death than the other times JEREMY HELLER fails the final challenge. The "very bluntly" line must have been included specifically for ending classification systems like mine, which make even the most forlorn hope an Inconclusive Ending.
Results So Far
1 Good Endings
3 Deaths
0 Bad Non-Death Endings
0 Neutral Endings
2 Inconclusive Endings
1 ULTIMATE ENDING
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
Ultimate Ending: The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory Alternate Endings Part 7
The final nuclear reactor Death comes from powering up the backup system in CHOICE #20, the only time this failure option is available.
"You type the command to power up the backup system and press enter. The text disappears from the screen, and all that remains is a blinking cursor. You wonder if anything is happening. Then the low hum of machinery reaches your ears, like a turbine turning on. It sounds like it's going well. . .until it abruptly cuts off. The screen flashes with text:
BACKUP SYSTEM PREMATURELY INITIATED OVERLOAD POSSIBLE SAFETY SYSTEM OVERRIDE
Jay's voice chirps in your ear. 'What did you do? Did it work?' 'I don't. . .I'm not sure. I powered up the backup system.' You hear Jay groan. 'No! That's not the first step! The first thing you have to do is disable the security system, or it will just override the command and shut everything down!'
'Oh, you just now remembered?' You can feel your heart pounding in your temple. 'Okay, that's no problem. We'll just go back and start over.' 'You can't start over! It's going to put a thirty minute lock on the system!' You try the keys and realize the screen is frozen. 'Oh no!'
'We've got to get out of here', Penny says. 'You don't understand!' Jay says. He sounds delirious. 'The system is locked. That includes the blast doors! Ohh, why did you enter the wrong. . .' You and Penny realize what he means. Despite what he says, you frantically run down the catwalk to the ladder, taking the rungs as fast as you dare. The reactor core begins to hiss, and the metal groans like a submarine. You rush to the blast door, but of course it's still closed.
'I'm sorry', Jay says. 'I can't do anything for thirty minutes. I'm so sorry. . .' The reactor begins to rumble. Penny begins to weep. If only you had entered the sequence in the correct order. But you didn't, and that means when the reactor suffers a meltdown soon it will be. . .THE END".
To think all the Fallout 3 protagonist had to do was type 216 into a computer. . .
Results So Far
1 Good Endings
4 Deaths
0 Bad Non-Death Endings
0 Neutral Endings
2 Inconclusive Endings
1 ULTIMATE ENDING
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
Ultimate Ending: The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory Alternate Endings Part 8
Flunking the Fallout 3 computer password puzzle in CHOICEs #14 and #15 forces Penny and JEREMY HELLER to flee the laboratory through the Decontamination Chamber. Jay says he'll stay behind to try to bypass the locked-out computer.
"Put the weapon down', someone shouts. IT takes you a long while to realize they're talking to you. You're still holding the CS Rifle. You drop the weapon like it's a rattlesnake. The men don't lower their guns, though. Why don't they trust you? Behind them on the mountain top sit two helicopters, with men unloading gear from inside. In the distance you see three more approaching your location. Wow, this is a big deal! It's like a military invasion.
'Penny? Penny!' Someone pushes through the ring of SWAT members. It's Penny's dad, Doctor Kessler. He runs forward and embraces her. 'Oh, Penny. I thought you were gone!' She frowns and pushes him away. 'How did you get up here? You left me down there!'
'Sweetie, I don't know what happened.' He looks confused. 'The Causality Neutrino went haywire, there were papers and debris flying in all directions. . .it felt like I was flying through the air, even though my feet stayed planted on the ground. Then suddenly. . .I appeared here. Up on the surface. We called the emergency response team, but everything was locked down. Even the elevator, until just a few minutes ago.'
'The Causality Neutrino displaced you', you say. 'You were stuck in time.' Kessler sees you for the first time. 'Stuck in time? Who are you?' 'This is the man who saved me', Penny says. 'His name is Jeremy Heller.' 'He's just an intern', Kessler says dismissively. 'He doesn't know what he's talking about.' 'Sure I do. Jay told me. . .'
You trail off as another rumble shakes the mountain. Up high, with the other mountain peaks in the distance and the valley below, it gives you the feeling of being near a volcano when it erupts. The shaking goes on for several seconds, and knocks a few people to their knees. Finally it stops. 'I think that was the big one', Penny says. 'Jay was down there!' you say. 'Who is Jay? What's his last name?' Kessler asks.
'Jay, one of the physicists. I don't know his last name. He stayed down there to try to stop the core from melting down. We were collecting parts of the shutdown sequence. . .' Kessler scrunches his face up. 'And did you succeed? The sequence is printed in manuals all over the facility!' 'I. . .we tried, but. . .there was so much damage and debris everywhere it was tough to find. . .'
Kessler rolls his eyes. 'This is why I don't trust interns. You had a chance to save the facility and you failed. Come on Penny, let's go.' He takes her by the shoulder and leads her away, despite her protests. You want to run after Penny, but someone wraps a blanket around your shoulders and starts asking you questions. You answer them numbly as you watch Penny get on the gondola and disappear down the mountain.
You got out in one piece, so overall this was a success. But you regret leaving Jay, and wonder what will happen to the other Phase Beings stuck in time. Could you have saved them if you had hacked the system? You also wonder if you'll ever see Penny again. Somehow, letting Penny go feels worse. It's a deep sadness in your chest, like you've lost something more important than you will ever know.
The Heidelberg Physics Laboratory is no more. But you're alive, and that's all that counts. One of the medics gives you a cup of warm broth, and it tastes salty and delicious. You put your face close to the rim to let the steam hit your face, and accept that this is. . .THE END".
Although Penny and JEREMY HELLER survived, the laboratory is destroyed and there's a clear sense of failure. So this will go in the Bad Non-Death Ending category.
If Kessler distrusts interns so much, why did he appoint one to monitor his nuclear reactor? Then again, this is the guy who thinks "use twice as much power as necessary" is the best way to run his experiment.
Results So Far
1 Good Endings
4 Deaths
1 Bad Non-Death Endings
0 Neutral Endings
2 Inconclusive Endings
1 ULTIMATE ENDING
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
Ultimate Ending: The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory Alternate Endings Part 9
Crawling through the Die Hard air vent in CHOICE #12 makes us overshoot the Maintenance Room and land in the Animal Enclosures instead. The cages are about the size of a TV, and the book doesn't explain whether I'm supposed to have the mental image of an old cathode ray tube TV or a newer TV.
JEREMY HELLER tells Penny he named one of the rabbits Thumper. But she's never seen Bambi, so the reference is lost on her.
'You've never seen Bambi? Wow, we need to change that. I have to show you Bambi, it's a classic. Err, I mean if you want to.' She gives you a coy look. 'We'll see.'
Their idea of a date night is Bambi? Maybe my conspiracy theory of these two being kids possessing the bodies of adults may be true. . .
Humans aren't the only ones who can be Phase Beings, as shown when 3 mice approach us. CHOICE #25 is to either shoot them with the CS Rifle, dash to the Maintenance Room door, or climb on top of one of the cages.
The CS Rifle is ineffective because it can only hit one mouse, so I'm sent back to CHOICE #25 minus the shooting option. Climbing onto a cage leads to another air vent that goes to the CHOICE #14 hacking puzzle.
You can fail in CHOICE #25 if you try to run for the door.
"Penny is practically shaking. 'I hate mice!' 'The door to the Maintenance Room is right there. Come on!' You grab Penny by the hand and lead her back across the room. The mouse Phase Beings make strange squeaking noises as they follow. You reach the door and slap the open button. It flashes red. Nothing happens. 'Hurry up!' Penny cries. 'They're coming!'
You press it again, and again, but it just won't open. You spin around. 'We need to find another way. Or get on top of. . .' Penny shrieks and bolts for the door you entered through, but there's not enough time. One of the Phase Beings cuts her off, colliding with her shoe. She falls to the ground with a cry. The atoms of her foot brighten and float apart like dust. The brightness spreads up her leg, making her look just like the Phase Beings. 'Help me!' she says, reaching a hand in your direction.
The wave of atomic instability moves up her arm and the hand drifts apart. The last thing you see is her wide eyes before she's gone entirely. You hop onto the nearest animal cage, which provides safety from the little Phase Beings, but you feel defeated. You let Penny get hit. Now she's stuck somewhere in time! You feel a profound sadness, as if you lost someone very important to you, not just a girl you met mere hours before.
You might be able to continue and escape unharmed, but Doctor Kessler certainly won't be happy about you losing his daughter. Because of that, and since you're too sad to even move from where you stand, you have reached. . .THE END".
Another Bad Non-Death Ending, but this time I fail to save even Penny. What time period are the mice stuck in?
Results So Far
1 Good Endings
4 Deaths
2 Bad Non-Death Endings
0 Neutral Endings
2 Inconclusive Endings
1 ULTIMATE ENDING
"I wonder what that even looks like, a robot body with six or seven CatClaw daggers sticking out of it and nothing else, and zooming around at crazy agility speed."
