We all know THAT scene in Tunic, but what's really going on at the bottom of the Ziggurat? Is the heir responsible or is the air poisoned? I also just noticed another interesting connection in the Cathedral...we're definitely heading there in the future. Join in on more Lore here: kzread.info/dron/ZiCI57OIjGhQmJ_-WFGrrw.html

@zakgrubb7512

Жыл бұрын

Are you going to make a video of translating what the ghost foxes are saying?

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Perhaps! We have a discord where we catalogue all of the community’s research in one place, and we have a dedicated channel for the ghost fox translations. Here is the discord invite if you’re interested: discord.gg/HNG5Mb6T

Re: "Being near [a cavity] doesn't hurt." The Manual consistently refers to your health, and at least once or twice the health of others, as your "will to go on". It seems that the miasma and poisoned creatures really don't hurt the Ruin Seeker's _body_ at all, it's just that taking in the miasma in any way, shape, or form is _so_ depressing that eventually the poor little guy can get hit _once_ and just decide to lay down and succumb to the injury.

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Yes! I agree completely! Love this

@Mudkep_

Жыл бұрын

Also with stamina, “Everything hurts more when I’m tired!” So hurts more as in mentally? I guess it is easier to feel more depressed when your mind is just exhausted.

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

That’s a really good point

@Nukestarmaster

Жыл бұрын

The red bar - what would be called health in another game - is will, the green bar is vigor and the blue is soul. That's what they're called in Tunic.

@SalvableRuin

Ай бұрын

Lie down* not "lay down."

How isnt everyone raving about this game and its lore? Tunic is truly one of the deepest rabbit holes in gaming. Thank you SO MUCH for making these.

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

That’s what I’m saying! I love how layered this game is, truly a masterpiece

@chase_h.01

Жыл бұрын

I just think back to Undertale and everyone scrambling to find all it's secrets. I'd argue this game has FAR deeper ones, so yea it is odd.

@arik2216

11 ай бұрын

Because it's too short probably only 5 hours of gameplay. It's dosn't offer epic combat, abillity and long adventure as Zelda or Kirby has. Oh Zelda doesn't need you to solve complicated hidden puzzle like this game as its replay values. Some gamer feeling not worth of penny.

@arik2216

11 ай бұрын

Because it's too short probably only 5 hours of gameplay. It's doesn't offer epic combat, abillity and long adventure as Zelda, Souls or Kirby have. Oh Zelda doesn't need you to solve complicated hidden puzzle as its replay values. Some gamer felt it's not worth of penny.

@alexepena

8 ай бұрын

​@@arik2216only 5 hours? It took me 35 hours and that's bc I couldn't even beat the heir 😮

The music is a little loud, its a bit hard to hear your voice. but this is a fantastically detailed video! Love it!

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the feedback and kind words!

Seeing the creatures getting crushed into the obelisks was pretty weird. But when they noticed me and started to screech? I felt kinda sad for their race's use in the present. Not when they attacked me in the Cathedral and Monastery, though >:(

No matter where it may be, if you encounter one of those purple ghosts that doesn't attack(yes even on the elevator going down surrounded by them) and you choose to pray they will all begin to watch you intently.

Dang, that 'heir' - 'air' pun is so freaking clever. So much thought put into every detail of this game. Loving the videos! Keeping em' coming. Maybe the next one can be on the Shopkeeper?

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

I’m so glad you mentioned the shopkeeper, that was what sparked my interested into the lore! I must know the shopkeeper’s story!!

@julianlak1017

Жыл бұрын

Just like ruin/rune seeker

@gianlucaconsiglio8335

Жыл бұрын

@@julianlak1017 Oh yeah! Good catch

So around 8:40 you say that the miasma creature that disappeared from the cathedral is the same one we fight in the monastery, but to me it seemed more like the creature that we fight had stepped out of the cracked obelisk, just outside the room.

A small part of the cavities reducing the ruin seeker's health: The section about increasing strength mentions that when they make an offering to the heir, they're given "delusions" of strength, so are the cavities instilling hopelessness by forcing them to recognize that their strength isn't real?

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Oh! I love this! That’s a really good point

@rocketlanterns

Жыл бұрын

This doesn't work entirely, as the golden stats are implied to be about the seeker recognising their own inner strength, rather than that of the false hope of the heir, and you can still take miasma damage with gold HP.

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Also a really awesome point! I read the golden stats to be more like “remembering true self,” ie the true power the original hero had before discovering the forbidden power. The untainted version of the heir’s power. If this were the case, it makes sense why it’s still affected by the miasma, because it’s still able to be tainted like it was originally. Of course, this is all definitely up to interpretation!

@omriorgad7771

Жыл бұрын

I think it makes sense that if delusions of grandeur can give power, than feelings of hopelessness can sap it

One thought about the miasma in the cathedral (6:40 ish), the instruction manual page for the cathedral describes the hexagon pool in the eastmost room as a "baptismal font", implying they were doing more than just drinking the stuff.

When I first saw the creatures imprisoned in the sarcophagi I straight up cried. Since I perceived the miasma and the fluid as the product of harvesting them for fuel, I believed that the spider creatures that crawl out of the fluid to be pure corrupt reconstitutions of the souls that comprise the miasma.

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

You’re not alone in that theory about the corrupt spiderlike creatures

The first time I ventured to the bottom of the Ziggurat & witnessed the creatures imprisoned inside the obelisks, a sense of uneasiness came over me and I had to record it. I swear the thing looked at me and screamed. I stood and waited as two additional creatures were locked inside the obelisk and I promise the other two didn't make a sound or look at the Ruin seeker (me).

The description for the Cavity described it as an effect of "exposed fossil", and the Cavities occur at various breaches in the sarcophagi "pipes". Earlier in the Instruction Booklet, on Page 3, it describes "fossils of self" having been discovered, which we now believe to be the Void-Touched. The Void-Touched, of course, are entombed within the sarcophagi, which draws some sort of power from them to enable the Grace Altars. It seems clear to me that the fossil being "exposed" is the same as the "fossils of self", that is, the Void-Touched, though whether it refers to the literal Void-Touched themselves or to a sort of "fossil energy" is unclear.

Interesting reference: 'The Farthest Shore' Was a book by Ursula Le Guin in which the farthest shore refers to the realm beyond death. It was a very popular book and the third in the Earthsea saga!

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Earthsea is on my TBR List. I have heard nothing but good things about the series, but did not know that! Books are another favorite hobby of mine so I will move it up on the list

For me, the sound those Obelisks make when they are opened up freaks me out. Like it's in pain.

@darloth

10 ай бұрын

They also drop some blue magic/soul orbs when activated and then slam down. About as many as killing one produces, in fact. And there are so many they could probably be replaced after the next ruin seeker cycle, so their production might even be temporary…

The more I dig into Tunic's lore, the more I think that the magic in this game has something terribly "wrong" Yes, we can use some man made artifacts to use it (from basic stuff to high end technology like the shotgun), but the true essence of magic is something that creeps me out.

at 1:13: have you notice that purple create sometime screams while its being encased in the obelisks? (its random for each one showing up just wait and you'll see one starts to screaming) thats another detail i notice on my second visit to that place (trying to go through the ziggurat for 2nd time to see if there some place reachable by dashing after the cathredal) because on first one i dont see they screams and thought just same so i continued in my opinion, they looked like panicking right after they woken up as if they didnt want to being encased

@TheIrishAlchemist205

4 ай бұрын

Yep, I think the first or second one I saw did. I stood there for a minute and literally, actually, felt a bit sick to my stomach. Then I got to the bottom of the ziggurat, and felt sick all over again.

The healthbar in the game is actually translated to represent your current will. So no the fossils don't hurt, but make you feel hopeless and lose your will to live

Just as some creatures release mana when they die as you strike them with their sword, the corrupted foxes, overwhelmed by miasma, die within their sarcophagi after being prayed to by the ruin seeker, as their life is converted into power, and mana is left behind atop it.

After you activate an obelisk, a couple of MP refills pop out of it. The only time this happens is when you defeat an enemy. Therefore whenever you activate an obelisk/sarcophagus, you are -killing- the creature inside it to generate power. The obelisks then are a kind of horrible battery with an infinite shelf life-the immortal creature inside will live forever until the power is needed.

This is great! I just finished the game and was immediately curious about what the manual actually said and the lore behind it. Perfect timing to find this video and your channel!

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Glad you found it!!

Great video! I'd like to point out that fossils is in general the term that the game uses to describe the obelisk fox creatures, like reported in the second history/lore panel. (the fossils, annealed visioon of the future). This goes back to the theory that actually the monoliths are the fox people themselves, just in a cyclical way, after the crack in the canonical plane forced the "old ones to become their predestined self", to then the cycle restarting and them rediscovering them, and finding the "origin of life"therein

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

True. There is also one other instance of the word “fossil”, which refers to the dark purple crystals in the quarry. The illustration for the panel on page 4 implies the crystal is a byproduct of the miasma foxes. I think these crystals are a big part of the puzzle too…the Cathedral’s architecture shows the Heir holding these crystals and (I have to double check but) the swords the zombie-like foxes use seem to be made of a similar material. 🤔

@zeeb2190

Жыл бұрын

@@JessZakilly I assumed the swords of the zombie foxes were like, a pale recollection of the heirs sword (since they're also coated in a miasma aura)

Discovering the truth of the powered columns effed with me.

What a great video! I haven't seen someone who talked about Tunic lore at this level of detail. Please, keep doing this! Would love to eventually see your interpretation about the whole history of this game

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!! That’s my goal, but looking at smaller pieces first to puzzle it together. Glad you enjoyed it!

I just beat the game today, good ending via the help of some guides because I'm no good at puzzles, but naturally I needed some lore insight. Have loved each video you've put up so far and have dropped a sub. Can't wait to see some more from you!

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed them and welcome in! And congrats on the good ending too!

Excellent video! Difficult to hear you at times due to the music volume being so high, but really enjoyed this exploration of Tunic's mythology.

My current theory is that the truth they discovered is that they are a video game. The Librarian knew this through his research but was unable to do anything about it because he did not have access to the Holy Cross. But you do. The question currently is, does the second language discovered in the music hide any essential plot? Or is the jokey dialog with the faeries the most it'll uncover?

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

No plot in ARG that I’ve seen, but have we as a community found it all? The devs are very quiet about where the ceiling is so we have no idea! Most of the ARG/trunic findings are cool Easter eggs, but not very plot focused so far. I love your theory! What clues would point them in that direction I wonder. Could it be somehow the save files themselves are canon and that’s how they realized?

@HappyWulf

Жыл бұрын

@@JessZakilly he has drawings of game carts on his black boards. He knew what to do, but no way to do it. The relic required to do it exists in another reality, our reality. The golden cross is the controller. I don't know how far the sound translation has progressed, but I'm sure the title screen music has something. I can hear it. But I don't have the training to know what note is what key.

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

You’re right, but how does the Librarian know? What was the clue that led him to believe the universe is a cartridge? That’s what I’m on a mission to find out. The official Finji discord has a compilation of what’s been found in the tones of the music and other sound effects. You can find the discord link on the Tunic game website if interested. :)

pink miasma is the symbol of creation (thats why you fight strange creatures before the blue key boss) and dark/purple miasma is the symbol of power (the cute birds becoming very agressive and the alligators becoming stronger)

Such a informative great video. God bless you and keep grinding

This is a great video! Great Job Jess! Keep it up!

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Came in through the back entrance to quarry for first time, not knowing about the other entrance. Only got the mask at the bottom which made it pretty tough. Then got to the quarry door and nothing happened. Took me literally hours, since I just backtracked, not seeing the hidden paths to get to the other side initially 😂 great video!

This game man! THIS GAME! Love the video Jess! :)

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!! :D

Thanks for these lore review videos, it seems no one can connect all the dots by themselves! 🦊

I started playing Tunic last week and i was absolutely floored as i stumbled upon 'this World below'. So glad someone does Videos about the lore, its so fascinating to me.

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

So glad you’re here and enjoyed it!! I’m actually working on the next video now :)

@chrizzlyx

Жыл бұрын

@@JessZakilly cant wait to see it!

Great video! I haven't seen anyone go into this much detail into the lore of the game, it's nice to get some of my questions answered! Also maybe turn down the music a bit next time it's a little hard to hear you speaking

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!! Appreciate it and appreciate the feedback!

Great video. Thanks for all the effort.

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

No, thank YOU!

Hey! Just saw my comment featured. Nice! Your channel is definitely the best I've seen regarding Tunic. Everyone else is satisfied with surface level lore.

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! The best part of Tunic is the same feeling of community similar to older games where we would share hints on the school yard about a breakable wall if you put a bomb in exactly the right spot

@JamesOsyris

Жыл бұрын

@@JessZakilly I remember that happening with Pokemon and Mew or Missingno

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Yeah! Mew under the truck!

Interesting analysis for an interesting game! Thanks for posting!

Wow, I love your Tunic lore videos so much

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much and thanks for the feedback!! Still learning so this is good info!

@shpoonmcflurry5394

Жыл бұрын

@@JessZakilly Holding thumbs for another video ❤

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Can’t wait to earn it!

Fantastic video, I learned so much! The music is a bit loud in parts though so it was hard to listen with full attention

Love the video! Friendly suggestion. Level the music a little lower, so we can hear your narration better! ❤️

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the feedback! Audio is still a big learning curve for me 😅

@MightyAlbert

Жыл бұрын

@@JessZakilly i use DaVinci resolve my my videos. There is a very easy suit for audio levels built in 😄

Nice. I played through Tunic a few months ago. I really enjoyed it.

You re criminally undersubscribed to.

Great storytelling :)

being around the miasma and letting it drain your health down since it cant kill you, if you back out of the game to the main menu, the menu turns redish pink like the miasma when you are in that state.

When you first go through the Ruined Atoll, you see one of those Miasma spiders crawling on a distant island out of the screen sights. Not sure if it makes a return but has some implications for the Atoll I think

What did you mean by the spiders resembling creatures entombed in the obelisks? 👀 I’ve just beat the game and have been so invested in the lore; and it’s great finding a video this well researched 👌

Aren't the friendly Hushers those little chicks on the ruined atoll that always run away and never attack? (but you can still kill them and get nothing)

@julianlak1017

Жыл бұрын

That’s a bit dark lol the abandoned young of the corrupted birds

I wish the game had told me from the start that these big cubes held delicious delicious fox jello

Very interesting! Sadly, your voice is often covered by the volume of the music. Is there a way to re-publish a clean mix without re-publishing the video? Otherwise great work! Keep going!

The Heir is definitely connected to the miasma, during my playthrough on a livestream (ill post the streams later this year or next year as per completed stream video but i also streamed many other games so the evidence is late) i have wrongly speculated that the heir and the miasma where one and the same or that the miasma creatures was under the control of the heir. i also incorrectly suspected that there was an evil deity and that it was the reason for the heirs imprisonment. i also took the sword from the grave heartlessly because i am not a good person (that was a portal joke, but i can be a heartless wardroid in videogames)

Great video, good job, the music is a bit loud.

@JamesOsyris

Жыл бұрын

I'd say maybe a tad, but luckily it's a simple beat so words are easy to make out.

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thank you and thanks for the feedback! Editing audio is skill I’m still working on so this is good info!

You know, I didn't realize that the manual blatantly lied to you about the miasma not hurting until I saw the clip of it draining your max hp AND your hp at the same rate right after you read the manual page.

For future reference, you might wanna turn the background music down in your videos. Makes it hard to hear what you’re saying. Great video tho, been trying to dive into Tunic’s lore

I think the canon is the code. This game may have to be cracked to find the true ending.

Ok so, I'm still learning Tunic's lore and while I've only beaten the game once, I always interpreted the battle as a cycle. Mind you I never translated the runes, but for the Librarian I actually referred to him as "Tunic's" (I name the Ruin Seeker we play as that for simplicities sake) Father of sorts. The reason I thought this was it made sense, why go through the effort of making respawn points, hero graves, and experimenting with the obelisks and risking the Miasma infecting you. Also the Music had a lot to say being a slow piano, as if this was a sad moment. He's also the only Ruin Seeker outside of The Heir that we see (Ironically The Heir being Tunic's mom is also something I believe)

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

I love how this game is ambiguous enough that we have to put our heads together as a community to figure everything out! The music is such an important context clue, like you mentioned and the sad tone of the beginning makes you think the librarian is more than just a random boss. My theories on the Librarian are slightly different but this is why I love this game, we can all interpret it differently and still enjoy it. I made a video about my thoughts on the Librarian, if you’re interested, check it out here -> kzread.info/dash/bejne/eKKWpZeCqK3fl8o.html

@lml55

Жыл бұрын

@@JessZakilly I saw that, and I never noticed the game cartridge on the board, but looking back there were some hints he had been to the Quarry, also quick thing, do you think he know the Scavenger Boss (personally my fav boss), probably not as she compared to the Librarian she seems to be way more of a brute (she literally kicks you when you are down)

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Yes! She’s very mysterious because the translations about her don’t hint at much. For a while I was tossing around the idea that the Librarian maybe hired her to help him excavate/steal the blue key, but I haven’t found any evidence to support it, so I’m back to square one with her. The Scavenger boss is definitely on my radar though too!

@lml55

Жыл бұрын

@@JessZakilly My personal theory is she's sorta mob boss and the Scavengers are from a different land, specifically beyond the mountain door. They are like a invasive species, taking the obelisks for themselves, and trying to harness them. We cannot go to their land, as the game has no in universe (aka files) renders of them, just their species. In my eyes, this explains the advanced technology that's beyond anything else, only 2 guns exist the automatic we can find, and the revolvers those reaper things have. Basically what I'm saying is, The Scavengers come from a different land, or maybe a different game entirely, entering through something like the Megadrive Cartridges did with Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Interesting ideas!

What I want to know is why does praying to the obelisks activate them? Kneeling before them and paying them respects feels like it should have a positive outcome and yet it is heavily implied that the creatures inside die (they leave behind motes of magic, something that only happens when you kill certain creatures). Not only that, but according to the Tunenic translation of their noises but they repeat "Who? Who? Who?" over and over when you activate them. Why do we pray to them? Why do we kill them? Are they relieved to be killed? Or are they scared?

oh dang i just thought the purple fox died (and was connected to the obelisk that you shut down in the cathedral), and not that it escaped to the monastery

I'm wondering why only the power lines at the ruined atoll have miasma fluid inside them, while the broken lines everywhere else in the world do not leak any such fluid

Health is called Will in game

They make me think of Trigun.

My unanswered questions: - If there are twisted miasma creatures inside of the obelisks, then why are the obelisks full of crystals when the scrappers break them apart? Do the creatures turn into crystals when the obelisk is activated? - Why do you receive environmental "willpower sapping" when walking through the lower quarry, yet NOT when you're inside of the Ziggurat, even when surrounded by all the ooze? (Seriously, you can take your mask off in there and you're fine). Or, for that matter, when you're in the quarry at night, when it's covered by a massive ocean of ooze? I have a theory about this. I think the ooze itself doesn't sap your HP bar -- the crystals do. Or perhaps it's some chemical reaction between the crystals and the ooze. You might notice that the ooze is bright purple, but the harmful miasma is black with a purple glow, which suggests it is somehow different after it has come in contact with black crystals. And the crystals could be just remnants of the twisted creatures after they have been "activated" by prayer. This explains why miasma creatures sap your willpower (they are living creatures who have drunken the ooze), and why broken ley lines also sap your willpower (as they carry ooze through activated obelisks, which have creatures/crystals in them). The lower quarry is covered in crystal dust and therefore saps your willpower, but standing beside an ocean of ooze does nothing. The theme song of the quarry is called "Carbon Harvest". The scrappers must have a reason to recover the activated crystals. Perhaps if you dump crystal dust into the giant ooze vat, that's how you get the twisted miasma creatures to rematerialize, giving you renewable energy?

And how all hostile creatures turn purple before or as they charge an attack against your fox

that moment, when you get to the facility with the conveyour belt was so horrifying, that i would stand there for a minute just to hold myself together. same goes with the elevator with all the skulls... this game twist your sanity so hard and unexpected... "for them, we are nothing more, than THIS: #[Duracell]

Maybe this ancient civilization discovered that in our reality, they were part of a game? Maybe we are the ancient gods, and the miasma is a leak between realities. It's an endless cycle because hundreds of thousands of people played the game, which repeats the story indefinitely. Buy discovering the truth, the protagonist shared it with the heir and stopping the cycle. At least in one timeline

Actually there are friendly birds in the ruined atof. There are some birds that don't attack you and just run away. Likely these exact same birds drank the miama and become corrupted.

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, exactly! That’s the point I was making.

this is noita levels of secrecy

If the cavity things give you depression then how does the scavenger mask work?

@zeeb2190

Жыл бұрын

the depression is transmitted via air

8:19 i was supposed to pray there? I just walked away so idk

I find it very curios that the crystals in the manual are represented as black tears in reality. Maybe wherever the 'radiation' is, whatever made the manual can't see into?

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Ohhh interesting, so the manual-maker doesn’t see that they’re crystals, and instead just sees them as a void?

@climbinggiant4744

11 ай бұрын

@@JessZakilly If you whip out the manual while near a crystal and look behind the manual, you can see why.

Finished the entire except beating the final boss…gave up…too difficult.

What’s with these kinds of indie games and having some kind of abyss darkness area like hollow knight this game and a few others I can’t remember the name of

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

I don’t know but I’m here for it, one of my favorite tropes

I never killed one single clone of ourselves , i would feel so bad xD Tunic is too cute

devs want us, the players to pray their weird gods

@EvilEye0

11 ай бұрын

Or perhaps we, the players, are the gods, and the little foxes dance, and play, and suffer, and die, for nothing more than our fleeting entertainment.

I couldn't hear the music turn it up

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for feedback! I’m still learning audio editing

@jeffersonlopes1868

Жыл бұрын

@@JessZakilly I'm sorry for being rude, the content was great hope u did a great job

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Not rude at all!

Music too loud. Solid video otherwise 👍

@JessZakilly

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! And thanks for the feedback! :)

The music volume is to loud, can barely hear what you say. Good video otherwise.

This is quite an odd reading of the game… it’s a form of wilful formalism being forcefully applied to a postmodern text… and I feel as if I’m seeing this increasingly (which is not to say more of it’s being made; just that I’m seeing it)… It’s a little bit worrying as it feels like we aren’t comfortable with the self-awareness of media. Instead we feel this desire to establish deep canon and lore instead of considering how texts relate to structural issues. Perhaps I missed it but, do you consider the ‘holy cross’ simply being the d-pad? How the librarian is aware of its existence on a cartridge (that was never there)? The many hand scribbled notes or the existence of the game manual at all? The need to use a phony save file to complete the game? How do these self-aware and postmodern elements of the game fit into discussions of the game’s canon and lore? Do people not like thinking about what games mean in relation to reality? To gaming culture and economics? Shifting trends in player preferences?

@DreamersOfReality

7 күн бұрын

There is actual lore. The world of Tunic is not a metanarrative allegory. It just so happens to canonically take place within a video game. The world within the cartridge is real.

@cmck1777

7 күн бұрын

It isn’t real though. Climate change is real. Israel and Palestine are real. We’re real. The role of videogames in shaping human communication is real. The political implications of a text discussing and allowing both cycles of violence and peaceful communication as its climax is real. The political implications of humans deciding to discuss the formal aspects of that text instead of its political implications… And all of that is so much more interesting than the ultimately disappointing overthinking required to imagine this story as not being the product of collective human imaginations networked together at a specific point in history.