A collection of the evidence suggesting a cyclic time loop

[AetherialVoices]

 

A collection of the evidence suggesting a cyclic time loop

 

Time loops have been seen many times in Zombies. Examples include the Shangri-La Easter Egg, Die Rise (and most likely most of the Tranzit trilogy), and Mob of the Dead. There is one thing that every time loop in Zombies history has in common. "Accept your fate, begin anew!" This quote is more significant than most people realize. When characters are stuck in a time loop, they cannot repeat the cycle until all of them die. Meaning if they screw up and can't complete their mission, they all might as well kill themselves and start over.

 

Now for the evidence for a loop starting with Origins and ending somewhere after Gorod Krovi (we don't know the end of the loop because it is still going currently).

 

Quotes:

 

Spoiler

 

Origins:

 

Spoiler

Doctor Edward Richtofen:

 

"Even death is no escape!"

Possibly related to "Accept your fate, begin anew".

 

"Once again Maxis, our lives und deaths are intertwined."

Possibly related to "Accept your fate, begin anew".

Samantha Maxis:

 

"You don't even remember how long this has been going on... How long we have been trapped here."

Make of this what you will.

 

"You cannot prevent what is coming, Edward. The loop must be closed."

The first mention of "The loop must be closed".

 

Doctor Ludvig Maxis:

 

"The paradox must be resolved. The loop must be closed."

The first mention of the full quote. The second mention of "The loop must be closed"

 

The Giant:

 

Spoiler

Opening Cutscene:

 

Corporal Tank Dempsey:

"Dammit Richtofen, I thought we were done with this!"

Doctor Edward Richtofen:

"What can I say, Dempsey? Things change."

They imply that they have done this before and thought they were finished.

 

Corporal Tank Dempsey:

 

"We've gotta piece it all together, Tak. Why the fuck did he come here, AGAIN?!"

Again? This is a different Richtofen. When did this Richtofen come here? Is Dempsey remembering pieces of a cycle that they are in?

 

"I'm kinda hopeful that this Richtofen will end up better than the last one. Hell, couldn't be any worse!"

Is he referring to the Richtofen that just died? Or is he possibly remembering the Richtofen of a previous cycle?

 

Captain Takeo Masaki:

 

"This day, I will find another path. I will find a way to continue our journey."

It is quite possible that he is talking about finding the path to breaking the cycle, so that they can continue, and eventually finish, their journey.

 

"Sometimes my dreams are a portend of the future. I fear what new terrors my visions may bring."

The visions Takeo! What do they mean!

 

Doctor Edward Richtofen:

 

"MY GOD! What have I done?! Stop it, Edward... breathe... It's okay... It's okay. This is important. This is what you have to do. Even if another part of you dies each and every time."

He is implying that he has done this several times. Three possibilities, #1: Cyclic Time Loop, #2: Multiple Universes (disproved via cipher), #3: 115 Induced Delusions.

 

"I have triumphed before, I will triumph again."

Suggestive of him succeeding there in a previous cycle.

 

"I have lived this before, I will live it again!"

Suggestive of him going through previous cycles.

 

"I have seen everything, done everything. What more is left for me?"

Perhaps this is him reflecting on his previous trips through the cycle, wondering what more he could do to break the cycle.

 

"Must I embrace my fate, begin anew?"

He is acknowledging a cycle here with this quote. Contemplating whether he has failed and needs to restart.

 

"They have returned! Changed! I know the feeling."

This can be interpreted several ways. One of which is a cycle.

 

 

Der Eisendrache:

 

Spoiler

Opening Cutscene:

 

Corporal Tank Dempsey:

 

"This wasn't how it was supposed to go. We were supposed to secure the package, and be in and out clean. Instead, the whole thing's been one disaster after another. I should never have trusted you, Richtofen. Never."

This is also what he says at the end of the Easter Egg. The cutscene shows him lose his trust in Richtofen right there, however there is no sign of this once the map starts.

 

Corporal Tank Dempsey:

 

"I've seen this in action before. Hate to see what it can do all powered up."

He says this about the Summoning Key. At what point did he see the Summoning Key in action? The Giant? He was a bit preoccupied at that point.

 

"Richtofen said he's been here before. Is that crazy evil Richtofen, or this new 'man with a plan' Richtofen?"

Could be Richtofen indirectly saying he has been through previous cycles.

 

"Field report: The German War Machine we commandeered suffered a malfunction. And when I say malfunction, I mean it took an RPG straight to the face."

He says this despite us seeing in the cutscene the Giant Robot get shot in the right shoulder. Also, if you look at the Giant Robot outside of the map it has its right arm.

 

Sergeant Nikolai Belinski:

 

"This bow, this arrow, I know what it can do."

How does he know the power of the bows? He has never seen them before (on this trip through the cycle at least).

 

Captain Takeo Masaki:

 

"Though released from its torment, I believe we will see dragon once more."

He was right. We saw the dragons again in Gorod Krovi. How did he know this? His visions. And where do his visions come from? We don't know.

 

"I feel we have encountered him before. But I know not when, how, or why."

He is speaking about Dr Maxis. At no point that we know of did Takeo encounter Dr Maxis outside of Origins. This could very well be him remembering a previous cycle.

 

"We must not let Richtofen fall. Our fates are bound to his!"

This could be referencing "accept your fate, begin anew".

 

Doctor Edward Richtofen:

 

"This will not be the first time I've seen you die, Dempsey!"

Sure, this could be interpreted as the multiverse. However, I would like to point out that Richtofen is quite adamant about the different versions essentially being different people. It seems hard to believe that he would throw that away for only one quote.

 

"I have been here before. I know what we must do. We must return the rocket to the Earth by whatever means necessary."

Even if he had come to Eagle's Nest before, how would that let him know what to do? I think the more logical explanation is a cycle.

 

 

Zetsubou no Shima:

 

Spoiler

 

Corporal Tank Dempsey:

 

"'Chew til you die' huh? Been there, done that."

Could be metaphorical, but a) Dempsey isn't really a metaphorical kind of person, and b) it's a pretty weird metaphor.

 

Sergeant Nikolai Belinski:

 

"I wait, knowing what is coming, knowing it cannot be stopped."

Nikolai has memories of events yet to unfold. This could be the effects of being in a cycle.

 

Doctor Edward Richtofen:

 

"Are you afraid, Dempsey? You really shouldn't be. This isn't how you die!"

This could be hinting at him going through this in a previous cycle and Dempsey lives.

 

"I know this. I have seen this. The skull must first be purified."

He could have gone through this in a previous cycle.

 

Gorod Krovi:

 

Spoiler

 

Doctor Edward Richtofen:

 

"Failure is a thing of the past, Takeo. I have experienced it time und time again, but no more. We will complete our mission."

With most of his missions, this one especially, if he had failed there would be no chance to fix things. Everything would end there. Unless they were in a cycle.

 

"I'd honestly prefer it if you didn't die, Dempsey. You've no idea how hard it was for me last time!"

This one is quite damning. He is directly referencing Dempsey dying in this situation before.

 

"More ammo. Ah, wunderbar! The perpetual cycle of torment can continue!"

Perpetual: Adjective, Never ending or changing. Cycle: Self-explanatory.

 

"Vaporization by laser is not as fun as it looks. Personal experience."

Could be multiverse, but I really do think that this is the cycle.

 

S.O.P.H.I.A.:

 

"I'm leaving now. Maxis, I must go to him. The paradox must be resolved. The loop must be closed."

And the most damning phrase comes back again.

 

 

 

Now for the other evidence.

 

A) Richtofen has the blood vials before Origins.

 

B) Nikolai had the chink in his armor from being shot by his other self back before Origins.

 

C) Most opening cutscenes have several inconsistencies with the maps themselves. The most notable is the Der Eisendrache opening cutscene. It shows an interaction between Richtofen and Dempsey that doesn't unfold until the end of the Easter Egg. It also shows the right arm of the Giant Robot being shot off despite character quotes stating differently and being able to see the Giant Robot with its right arm outside of the map.

 

D) The trailers and music videos consistently show the Origins characters failing, dying, or both. This cannot really be a representation of the multiverse because of...

 

E) This cipher: 

EDWARD AS YOU KNOW IT IS IMPERATIVE YOU AND THE GROUP FIND THE EXACT VERSIONS OF YOURSELVES THAT I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED IN EACH UNIVERSE ONLY BY KILLING THAT VERSION OF YOURSELF IN THAT PARTICULAR UNIVERSE AT THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT IN TIME WILL WE BE SUCCESSFUL ONCE EACH OF YOUR OTHER SELVES ARE KILLED ACROSS ALL UNIVERSES REMEMBER WE ARE ONLY IMMUNE BECAUSE WE OPENED THE PORTAL IN FRANCE BUT I AM AFRAID THIS MIGHT NOT BE PERMANENT I FEAR THERE IS SOMETHING M ISN T TELLING ME AND THAT THERE IS NOT MUCH TIME LEFT FOR US

We also hear a quote from Richtofen in Zetsubou no Shima telling Dempsey this:

"I've told you before, Dempsey. It is essential that we remove all fragments of our other selves."

Now we are starting to get a different perspective of what they are doing. This isn't about the souls. It's about eliminating all other versions of themselves.

But if that wasn't enough, here are some words directly from Jason Blundell himself:

"You need to read the ciphers. There was a couple of messages that very specifically point out that they have to go to a certain universe, and a certain time and place to be able to remove all the versions across all the multiverses of each character. That- That's explaining a lot right there!"

And now we start to see how multiverses can't explain the trailers. There is only one opportunity to start a chain reaction across all the multiverses to eliminate all the versions of a character. Should they fail in that universe, they have failed in all universes. But here is where it gets interesting. Should they fail, Richtofen will be aware that they should embrace their fate and begin anew. The others would likely not share his motivation. This would most likely lead to conflict amongst allies. This is shown time and time again. Nikolai has vivid memories of this, and Takeo has vivid dreams and visions of this. And the truly damning thing is that they share some of the same exact moments in their visions and memories. They both remember Nikolai killing Richtofen in a fire.

 

Anywho, that's all I've got for now. If you have anything that should be added, please tell me so I can add it.

[AetherialVoices]

Ah, finally finished! Took long enough. Too long to be honest. Glad it's finally done!