Rewriting Zombies

[caljitsu]

Howdy folks.

This will be my last post of the year, apologies for the lack of content up until now.

 

I've had an idea for some time now of what Zombies would look like if it were totally cohesive from start to finish. We know there was somewhat of a rough plan from 'Mob of the Dead', but I cannot stress the word "rough" enough. Furthermore, we still have a whole two seasons of content before BO2 that only fit into the grander puzzle retroactively, and arguably some of BO3 doesn't really fit too.

 

What I'd like, as a community, is to set about rewriting the continuity, though just like Monty, I think these rewrites ought to be "nudges", therefore:

 

Spoiler

 

RULES:

No removing maps

 

No alteration of map locations

 

No alteration of the end goal in Tag Der Toten - Everyone is destroyed/locked within the Aether, Samantha and Edward take The Way Through to an untainted world. (though alternative endings a la 'Mined Games' may be added)

 

Main Quests can be changed, though the ending of the quest must be kept (essentially) the same

 

Side eggs may be added

 

Radios may be added

 

Clutter (photos, documents, chalkboards etc) should DEFINITELY be added

 

As an example, I had the idea for this thread after wondering what it would have been like if we were first teased the existence of the Elder Gods in Call of the Dead, as they were researching it there to some degree, maybe having the VR11 use it's blood as ammunition, as we know it was able to bring monkeys back from the dead.

 

You get the gist now, I hope this thread is fruitful and remember to let your imaginations run wild!

 

 

 

 

 

[RichKiller]

This is a fantastic idea. 

[anonymous]

Nice idea indeed! To be honest, so many things can still be possible if we simply ignore the Timeline with the exact events and dates written down. Can we do this like MMX's 'a Zombie Trilogy V.III' thread, where people can comment many times about seperate parts of the story (and also assist and critisese each others stories, making them more complete)?

 

I'll start with the beginning: Perhaps Nacht der Untoten was, in oposition of merely an airfield that witnessed a crash of Wehrmacht trucks transporting the undead, a part of an area used as a research station by Group 601. Behind home to the very first investigation to brainwashing via the aether, what would later inspire projects like the American HAARP and Soviet DUGA. The American HAARP was constructed by ex-members of Group 601, and HAARP was actually the original name the Germans gave to a similar device with such powers they were building, thus the note found in 1945 in Shi no Numa, stating the words "might be powering HAARP".

 

In Nacht der Untoten we don't encounter a large structure like the later Cold War ones, but we do see various interesting towers, antennae, etc. Group 601's HAARP prototype was not one great single structure, it was an entire field covered with multiple, small ones. 

 

We were once given a message by Treyarch, talking about "strange radiosignals coming of Nacht der Untoten". This talks about the manipulating of the radioaether, something HAARP and DUGA were also notorious for. The fact this message came from a seemingly American source gives me the idea the US had infiltrants in Group 601, and one certain person comes up in my head: the (grand)father of Marlton Johnson. Remember how Marlton says "I dont want to remember this place" when he enters the Nacht bunker in the scortched cornfields of Hanford? I think he remembers this from old archieved he got into via his father. Maybe his (grand)father was discovered to be an American spy and executed in Germany. The OSS might very well try to hide this for his family, but many years later, Marlton tried to find out and digged deeper. He found out about Group 601, about the later American cooperation with them, and in fact, this might be the reason why he distrusts his government and hunts down Broken Arrow facilities (as he is present in Nuketown).

 

Back to World War II, Group 601: with manipulating the Aether came a great risk.

 

"These subterranean philosophers assert that by one operation of vril, which Faraday would perhaps call "atmospheric magnetism," they can influence the variations of temperature--in plain words, the weather; that by operations, akin to those ascribed to mesmerism, electro-biology, odic force, etc., but applied scientifically, through vril conductors, can exercise influence over minds, and bodies animal and vegetable, to an extent not surpassed in the romances of our mystics. To all such agencies they give the common name of vril."

 

Several functions of the HAARP are noted above, like influencing the weather. Rather, it also seemed to affect electro-biology, and the Aether in the air caused deceased bodies to rezurrect. The transcription of Treyarch also speaks about a "second outbreak at Nacht der Untoten", implying that there were multiple. At the end of the war, an Allied plne crashed due to a severed magnetic field at that location. At that time, Group 601 was already overrun by an outbreak and the bunker was abandoned....

 

(Based on @RadZakpak's OoFM post)

[ProjectKMR]

Oh dear god just when I thought my creative juices for Zombies were gone, the community revitalizes it for me. This is probably the best idea I've seen in a very long time. I will be sure to participate.

[RadZakpak]

Great idea for a thread! I've done two threads with a similar concept in mind, filling in blanks left behind by Treyarch: The Agonia Fracture We Didn't Get To See, and The Origin of Dr. Monty I Would Like To See.

 

Today, though, I want to further increase the significance of Broken Arrow by re-introducing them in Black Ops 3 rather than Black Ops 4. Broken Arrow's exploits in Classified and Alpha Omega are some of my favorite parts of BO4's lore. There are only vague hints of what Broken Arrow is all about with their first mention in BO2, then in BO3 they are randomly mentioned by SOPHIA: "Maxis told me he had a plan. He said Broken Arrow showed him how to open up new worlds. It has been so long...I miss him."

 

Then we see Victis visit their facilities in the comics, and bits and pieces come together from the timeline, but really we don't have much of any set up. Then BO4 comes around, massively expanding what we know and giving us a great time frame of how Broken Arrow came to be from Pernell's constant attempts to push for it, and ultimately his downfall as he tried to use the power of the Elemental Shard to Ascend to the Aether. Apart from that, we don't really get a sense for what their other exploits are. SOPHIA's quote about them opening new worlds references their motto, but we really haven't seen them do any such thing, more literally speaking. We know they were capable of inter-dimensional time travel in some capacity, according to Russman in Tag:  "I been around a lot longer than you, boy. Back at Broken Arrow, we wrote the book on interdimensional time travel! It wasn’t a very good book, too many inaccuracies. But we still wrote it."

 

So much power left unchecked, and yet we have no idea what exactly they've accomplished. Imagine, if you will, there are vague hints throughout BO3 hinting of Broken Arrow's influence. Perhaps in every fracture dimension, Broken Arrow dipped their hands in and exploited these futures. This idea sort of builds off my Third Ludvig Maxis theory. To summarize, the Maxis of the Agonia fracture was contacted sometime after he created SOPHIA by Pernell, or someone else of Broken Arrow, teaching him how to open new worlds. They set the seeds in motion to influence this Maxis to create Zero Base, where he would acquire the Kronorium for Victis to later find after every Maxis is wiped from existence by Monty.

 

Imagine also that instead of the Illuminati being the ones to help Richtofen build the Alcatraz lab, it was Broken Arrow, or at least both Broken Arrow and the Illuminati. They seem better equipped for that kind of thing anyway, and perhaps it is in their best interest the cycle continues as well. We never truly got much more about the "two angels" that visited Pernell, but they may have guided him, and to an extent Broken Arrow along the path.

 

With this in mind, imagine that Primis Richtofen after the Great War, who realizes he has only perpetuated the cycle, tells Pernell the truth. Pernell would disobey the angels' demands, trying to help Richtofen break the cycle by creating a future in Alcatraz where there is a cryopod for him to give Nikolai the Kronorium, and instead he traps Primis there in order to break the cycle. Only after realizing they are breaking the cycle does Monty/the Shadowman force Pernell into becoming the Avogadro. 

 

These are all just possibilities, but I would have enjoyed a little more set up for Broken Arrow, and I feel Pernell's fall to insanity came way too quickly and he became way too evil. Tying Broken Arrow to many loose ends and little nudges throughout history and throughout different dimensions would have been incredibly interesting instead of them just repeating the mistakes of Group 935.

[anonymous]

@RadZakpak Brains!

[caljitsu]

So here's my current thoughts (I'll try my best to go map by map): (Part 1, I will reply with the other maps at some point soon)

 

Nacht der Untoten: Personally, I think this can remain almost entirely unchanged, perhaps just adding (blue of course) 115 interspersed throughout the plane wreckage and surrounding environment.

 

Verrückt: Far more character quotes from the crew consisting of "Tank" Dempsey, "Smokey", John "Banana" and Paxton Ridge, perhaps quotes in reference to Peter as well. Finally, perhaps add an area that would have served as Richtofen's place of work during his time there, notes could show the DG1 and DG2, various misc 115 stuff (remember we're only just now introducing it to players), possibly even a small drawing of some Keeper tech he had already discovered (Vril Device, MPD, that sort of stuff). Importantly, 935 logos.

 

Shi No Numa: FAR more Division 9 clutter - logos, research notes, and possibly a reference to "The Island" facility in a very small and vague capacity. The Doctor's Quarters could feature similar cloning sketches from that of those in Tag, giving the first hints at the true nature of the Ultimis that we play as. Additionally, feature 935 logos in the Doctor's Quarters. 115 meteorite is blue. Cornelius Pernell's voice is made consistent with BO4. 

 

Der Riese: Little needs to be changed here, other than perhaps two very vague references, that will only make sense to the player in the future. 1) Teleporters can travel through time, 2) Griffin Station exists. Also, add an image of a castle to the teleporter image pop-up (The lighthouse is already there, so this is more as another nod to a different facility). Additionally, as a sideplot, add a Maxis radio talking about collaboration with another group, group 601, in order to try and control the hordes as a temporary solution whilst he searches for the "Genesis Code". Pack-A-Punch plays the full jingle.

 

Kino der Toten: First and most obvious change is make the voice in the film reels Maxis. These main audio reels will make reference to Group 601 specifically using a wide array of mind-control techniques in order to aid Maxis with subject 26 - this will also make the Richtofen quote in this map ("They used the screen to implant the mind with instructions!") Make far more sense. As well as the film reels, add an audio reel player to Maxis' office in the projector room that will serve as a kind of personal log (Like Richtofen had in CotD). These will develop his character, but also (possibly in the final reel) plant a seed that We didn't get until Classified - that the initial teleporter research was bestowed to Maxis by "M". In the reel, Maxis will refer to this character only once, and only call him "He" but this will be in the context of him beginning teleportation research. Add drawings to Samantha's room. Add a lunar lander.

 

'FIVE': This is where things begin to get very interesting. Character quotes remain largely the same, as though McNamara had briefed JFK on "The Samantha Threat", the other two had not yet learned about it through the meeting. As rounds progress, McNamara and JFK may hint to the other characters as to why they were so calm about the existence of Zombies (both knowing about Sam and Broken Arrow). Introduce Broken Arrow through radios, though only somewhat, as this can't take away any of the "oomph" of Classified. Plant enough that players suspect Broken Arrow are continuing similar research to Maxis as was introduced in the last map (Maybe namedrop "zombie" and "mkultra" in the same document or audio reel). Finally, in some form of radio or document, warn about a Russian initiative that are pursuing the same research as Broken Arrow

 

Ascension: Once again, little needs changing here. The one addition I would make in a radio is have reference to a Siberian Ascension group operation.

 

Call of the Dead: 935 mountain facility is partly visible, though has been covered mostly by rockfalls and avalanches, making it totally inaccessible to the players. The boat now features Ascension group sigils. Within the Lighthouse, documents can be found from the 935 era referencing "The Tunguska event has had a lasting effect on the surrounding land and the life (or un-life, as it is now) within, however there is some sort of colossal organic mass in the nearby ocean. Diving teams to be dispatched" - this of course being The Elder God, the true source of the Tunguska event.

 

Shangri-la: Add the keeper statutes from either side of its Revelations counterpart to the temple, however they are significantly destroyed to the point where the player cannot see their faces. When the temple is opened at the climax of the main quest, have concentric-circles visible in the stonework and blue 115 crystals lacing the walls, a-la the Crazy Place (this will make sense later). 

 

Moon: On spawn, make reference to being glad to get out of the Pentagon. 

[anonymous]

Noice ideas! The only conplains I would have is that I actually like Verruckts lack of 935 insigma, SNN's Div9 insigma and CotD's Ascension Group insigma. Gave us quite some space and freedom to theorize about. But yeah, looking back on it, it would make sense if the logos were present