The Kronorium should be read upside down + evidence.

[Rapt]

Was doing a quick analysis of the BOTD intro.
Noticed the following:

This is the way up the book/ apothicon symbols should be.

 Notice the zombie symbol etc.

Now look at the pages inside when cover is the correct way up..

 

Look at the paths on the right hand side of the book.
They are clearly the paths from the left side of the timeline but flipped.
Also notice the Lunar Lander and PaP on the left page ingame are from the right page on the timeline.

This means the timeline we read needs to be rotated 180 degrees to align correctly with the symbols on the cover.

 

Now, notice how Richtofen reads the book.


Solo Richtofen is reading it upside down.
And he passes it to his other self who claims to have read it before.

 

He also proceeds to read it upside down, you can just see the top symbol below.

They telegraphed this so clearly it must be significant.
Makes me think it was hint about the unsolved significance of the timeline's layout.
Which is something JB constantly hammered on about in interviews.

If anyone has thoughts on this I'd love to hear them!

[anonymous]

Upside down, could that refer to events occuring reversed? 

By changing the future we alter the past. How? Well the Aether is timeless, so I think that once Richtofen entered it, he could influence events in the past. If he was shot dead in 1945, before his Grand Scheme and before him entering the timeless Aether, we might thereby alter the past as well. Time itself goes linear, but not in a realm outside space-time

[anonymous]

@Rapt I'm curious if it could be about the mysterious 'House' radios we had in the Giant and Zetsubou no Shima.

Quote

"Day 66. The children are gone and the house feels empty. I miss their laughter, their games. The sirens have not sounded for several months. I do believe that we may have turned the tide on the battle, but at what cost? The radiation levels from the fallout remain dangerously high. I can only pray I live long enough to confirm that my plan was indeed successful and the dark presence that has haunted our dreams, that infected every facet of our existence, has finally been vanquished."

This radio sounds like 66 days have passed on since a nuclear winter started. Maxis mentions that the sirens have not sounded for several months and the tide of the battle is likely turned to his advantage, but at what cost? It sounds like a genuine pyrrhic victory; a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. This is the inevitable outcome of any nuclear war. But...what war is this? Initially I was thinking he invented nuclear weapons for the Nazi's in World War Two, but he calls the enemy "the dark presence that has haunted our dreams and infected every facet of our existence". This would clearly refer to the Apothicons. Seems like the Great War against the Apothicons ended with a nuclear winter?

Quote

"After so long in isolation, we have begun to believe that we were the only survivors of the catastrophic event that had shaped our lives. Supplies were beginning to run low, and I was forced to prepare for the worst outcome. Just as I feared that we were truly alone, just as I feared that the end was near, there was a knock at the door"

Another mention of a catastrophic event that is presumably this nuclear war. Maxis thought he was the sole survivor of the event, staying alive in the House, though it seemed like he wouldn't last any longer himself as well as the survival supplies were running out. But then, Monty knocked on the door.

Quote

"In these dark days, I find myself clinging to the belief that there may still be a way to set things right. Though my understanding of the ethereal realm remains limited, I am convinced that the manipulation of the energy fields within all matter is vital to uncovering the dimensional gateway itself. It is my sincerest hope that somewhere in the realm beyond my beloved Samantha still lives. I can only pray that Edward will have the courage to fulfill the vow he made all those years ago."

This partly overlaps with an excerpt of Maxis' Diary that was released at the same time as Buried. I always assumed this was Griffin Station Maxis who wrote this diary, but of course, a soul captured in a computer terminal doesn't have any diary. So is Maxis' Diary of House Maxis? Also, in the Timeline this event is directly followed up by Maxis exploring other dimensions and discovering Empty Earth.

Quote

"Reality itself is shifting. I find myself reflecting on memories I am not longer sure are my own. Beyond the window, I saw a wasteland stretching far as the eye could see. I saw scourge visited upon the Earth. I saw the children withered before my eyes. That was before... before he came. Samantha has been returned to me once more, as have you Edward... as have you."

The wasteland, the scourge, the children withering; These were all consequences of this nuclear war. But Monty brought the children back.

Quote

"The siren has not sounded in many months. I am... confused, by the changing world around me. I look at my hands, and they are not the hands I remember. The wrinkles, stains and liver spots that textured my skin have disappeared, as though time itself was unraveling against its natural order. Is this the end, or a new beginning?"

This is interesting, time going backwards?

Quote

"She may have been returned to me, but I fear she is not as she was... In recent months, she has barely said a word. When she did, it was only to cry out for him; to call his name. What have I done?"

What was it Maxis' fault?

Quote

"He explained everything to me, he will explain everything to you. Though his very presence defied logic, defied reason, he told me that he would help. I could not refuse"

Monty explained Maxis and Richtofen about his plan to extract the four souls and bring them to the House.

Quote

"I thank you for your sacrifice Edward. Your courageous actions have opened new avenues of opportunity. It is my dearest hope that we may one day set things right and prevent these terrible events from ever unfolding."

Ah, at least some optimism in Maxis' radios.

Quote

"Remember what I told you Edward, the scars left by Samantha's past actions allow us to communicate across the rift. Follow my words: I will find you. When you release the beacon, I will secure your extraction and destroy the site. Remember, the burden is yours to carry Edward. The others must never know the truth."

I feel like this 'truth' is more than merely the fact that they should kill their other selves. After all, Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo already realized this after Der Eisendrache. Could Richtofen and Maxis blame themselves for something else? Did they initially cause the nuclear winter and withering of the children?

Quote

"You swore a promise to me, Edward. It may have been a long time ago, but I am sure you will not have forgotten. You swore to follow my instructions, to comply with my every order. You swore to enact whatever plan I conveyed to you, all in the hope that we could overcome the chaos that we, ourselves have created. You have kept your word. However much it pains my heart, I owe it to you to confess. I'm sorry Edward, I have withheld certain truths from you"

Maxis being an asshole

Quote

"Whoever you are, wherever you are, I have one message. One message that must be remembered at all costs. The child must be protected"

Why? What is the significance of the child?

Quote

"Look around you Edward, the giant sleeps. This facility was once alive with activity, now it is a graveyard. Group 935 are no more. What remains of their work has been scattered to the four winds, only echoes and shadows remain. The test subjects can never be allowed to awaken, the havoc that could be wrecked upon the future by such simple-minded individuals would be catastrophic. Heed my warning"

The testsubjects can never be allowed to awaken. In the Timeline, it is stated that Richtofen awakened the other Ultimis, so I assume this refers to this event. Why is this so important? I mean, the only thing it would eventually lead to is Richtofen swapping for Samantha in the MPD and the destruction of Earth. It also fits with the following excerpt of the Timeline: 

 

"June 11th, 1943

Richtofen is contacted from the House by Maxis, who warns that “The test subjects must never be allowed to be awakened, the havoc that could be wreaked upon the future by such simple-minded individuals would be catastrophic.”

 

So this radio we encounter in the Giant is recorded two years earlier, in 1943. To me it seems like the outcome of awakening the testsubjects, the destruction of Earth, is the ultimate doom Maxis is so afraid of.  I also get the feeling there is a whole loop and story going on outside our perspective, the one that is told by the comic loading screens. What is your interpretation of this? 

[clueless]

On 8/26/2020 at 7:18 AM, anonymous said:

I mean, the only thing it would eventually lead to is Richtofen swapping for Samantha in the MPD and the destruction of Earth.

Considering this Maxis wasn't trying to literally rip the planet open for his own nefarious purposes and was likely shell-shocked from being a sole survivor of a Scorched Earth, I think being afraid of the destruction of Earth would not only valid but would become an obsession for this particular Maxis.

[Lioss10]

On 8/26/2020 at 2:18 PM, anonymous said:

This would clearly refer to the Apothicons. Seems like the Great War against the Apothicons ended with a nuclear winter?

I believe the nuclear(?) war is the key in understanding the rest of the message and the time of this radio. We can't forget that 115 also has radiation.

Could it be that this radio is two months or more after the events of moon?

We know that Maxis is in the aether, since he contacts the Victis group.

He has been in the house for a period of time, and then Origins happens and Sam goes to the house > Origin's ending.

Also I believe the battle is against the zombies/Richtofen, not the apothicons.

On 8/26/2020 at 2:18 PM, anonymous said:

"After so long in isolation, we have begun to believe that we were the only survivors of the catastrophic event that had shaped our lives. Supplies were beginning to run low, and I was forced to prepare for the worst outcome. Just as I feared that we were truly alone, just as I feared that the end was near, there was a knock at the door"

He says "we", could he also refer to Victis?

He could also refer to the children, but he began the radio with saying they were gone, so I doubt it.

 

--

The two thing that I'm unsure of are the sirens and the disappearance of the children.

For the sirenes, It could be the sirens after Moon's rockets, but Victis are so far in the future that makes me somewhat doubt it.

But about the children, I don't know about that. Did Monty take them? But it's implied that Monty brought them back. if we assume the returned Sam and eddie are from Origin's post Origin, then where did the first children come from?

 

I might be off the mark, but this is what I think.

[RichKiller]

On 8/26/2020 at 2:18 PM, anonymous said:

Quote

"Remember what I told you Edward, the scars left by Samantha's past actions allow us to communicate across the rift. Follow my words: I will find you. When you release the beacon, I will secure your extraction and destroy the site. Remember, the burden is yours to carry Edward. The others must never know the truth."

I feel like this 'truth' is more than merely the fact that they should kill their other selves. After all, Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo already realized this after Der Eisendrache.

Highly disagree here. This is a truth that he would "Tell them later, not now, tell them later". (DE Richtofen)
Meanwhile Richtofen says in the giant "I must remember, they others can never know".
You also miss the context here.