Pocket Dimensions 2 - The Forest

[Rapt]

The Forest as a pocket and its implications.

 

Intro

Hello everyone! This is a second thread carrying on from the post made by @anonymous which can be found here

 

That thread began delving into the nature of pocket dimensions, the house, the giant, the beacon etc.
(PS: I hope one day @RichKiller will reveal his theory about the beacon as a long form post he has some amazing insights which are not commonly known)
But anyway, those topics themselves form an extremely complex web.
So today I will be focusing on something a little simpler, a single concept that is easy to digest.

The logical inevitability of the Tag der Toten ending.

To begin I would just like to state that the nature of “pockets” and “fractured shadows of reality” as they are referred to are not entirely understood. So please understand that when I use the term “pocket dimension” throughout I am referring to either or both of these concepts, be they the same or slightly different. It is simply to make this easier to explain, apologies for oversimplifying the concept.

 

The Theory

 

The Setup

This theory posits that the “forest” (aka the campfire location seen in the Black Ops 3 menu) is a pocket dimension created by the poisonings committed there during the Tag ending.
To illustrate this point please refer to the following images

 

This theory was sparked by a similarity I noticed between the Shadows of Evil intro cutscene and the Tag der Toten ending cutscene. In both cases we see a very similar visual representation of individuals being poisoned.

In Shadows of Evil this poisoning (and the chanting heard below the city which we can assume was some form of ritual) lead to the creation of a “fractured shadow of reality” it was also predicated on the murders carried out by each of these individuals.
They were all murderers. They were all poisoned.
 

Now for the similarities. Just as in Shadows we know that all of those poisoned had committed murder, we know from the Black Ops 3 maps and the World at War character bios that all of these individuals were murderers. The Primis crew having killed their alternate selves (it could be argued that seppuku and turning off life support isn’t murder, but they killed living people nonetheless), and the Ultimis crew having various comments in the bios about the people they killed which I will omit here for the sake of brevity.
So as with Shadows, so it is with Tag. They were all murderers. They were all poisoned.

 

The Logical Implication

So, if the forest seen within the Black Ops 3 menu is a pocket created by the Tag ending, then for Black Ops 3 to happen (which it does) Tag der Toten must also logically happen.
This is what could be called an “over-cycle” a logical paradox waiting to be resolved that bridges above both Black Ops 3 and 4.
This paradox is resolved by the creation of the pocket by the deaths at the campfire in Tag.
So, that’s the theory.
Because we see the Forest Pocket in BO3 (and the memories trailers) Tag der Toten always had to happen.

 

Loose Ends

The fragments of Richtofen’s other attempt to break the cycle can be seen through various sources: The Giant intro, The Giant radios, image of Ultimis Richtofen with Primis, the Rev Dempsey cipher etc.
However, the concrete nature of the existence of the Forest pocket as seen in the Black Ops 3 menu is dependent on the creation of this pocket as seen in the Tag ending cutscene.
It was Richtofen’s ace in the hole.
There is of course some debate to be had around the nature of pockets. Was there a ritual in the forest unseen? Is that what the ominous glow seen in the background indicates?
I leave that for you to decide.

Final Thoughts - Ultimis Prevailed

One final point I will leave you to mull over is that nature of this quote.
“Primis will fail, Ultimis will prevail”
In the Tag ending Eddie is the only crew member who survives the Aether.
We see his soul walk with Samantha out of the Aether into the new world.

The goal of Primis Richtofen was to save his friends.
“When I died, I felt nothing, when Dempsey died, I felt something, when Takeo died, I knew I had to save them”

The goal of Ultimis Richtofen was always to use others for his own ascension.
“I still do not trust my unconventional allies, but they are of great use to me.”

So, who really prevailed at the end of the Aether?

Whose goals were fully realised?
Ultimis Richtofen.
Ultimis did prevail.

Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed this theory.
I tried to keep it short but with Zombies theories it is always an impossible task.
Peace!
 

[anonymous]

Great write-up and nice plottwist in the end, that is quite sad actually. It is quite remarkable that indeed, the characters in the Forest die the same way as those in Shadows of Evil, forging a twisted reality of Morg City. As stated in the other thread, I believe this may be one feature of pockets: four souls have to be sacrificed to create the pocket. This doesn't only go for Morg City and the Frozen Forest, but also for Alcatraz where the souls of the four mobsters hold the pocket dimension together. Interesting enough, the souls of the four main characters (Nikolai, Takeo, Dempsey and Richtofen) were already connected with each other and the Aether via the Elemental Shard. Makes me wonder if this has any effect on the pocket itself: Is the Frozen Forest connected with the Elemental Shard?

 

Another feature that seems to be unique to pockets is the fact that it is unseen for the Eyes of the House. In Blood of the Dead it was revealed that Primis couldn't be seen by House Maxis nor by the deity Monty. It seems to be isolated, locked-off and outside the scope of the House, with Monty being unable to physically interact with it. This very same characteristic is known to apply for the Forest.

 

"Thank god we will all be gone, because if Monty ever found this place, we would be in a world of shit. Maybe now, with us all gone, the children will truly be safe." - Dempsey

 

It is generally believed that this cipher originates from the Forest, as Dempsey is coughing and stating it is so cold. Notice how he states that he believes Monty may be able to trace him. This may be a reason why Monty wanted their souls in the House, he could track them anywhere. At one point, in a reality where Primis didn't die, Monty even discovers the Forest.

 

Anyway, very interesting thread Rapt. Also curious how it relates to Nacht der Untoten and the whole idea of this place being the centre of the world, so to say. I will brainstorm on this more but now it is very early in the morning haha.

[Intelligence Quotient]

Monty could've discovered the Forest because, when in possession of a Soul, he can use it to spy.

[Loredude]

He couldn't have because the souls weren't sent to the house

[anonymous]

6 hours ago, PoppaQuad said:

He couldn't have because the souls weren't sent to the house

Well thinking about it, we only see Monty in the Forest in the "Monty cutscene" which was released just prior to Revelations. In Revelations, all souls were in the House, so it could definately be

[clueless]

On 4/8/2021 at 1:16 AM, Rapt said:

Is that what the ominous glow seen in the background indicates?
I leave that for you to decide.

I like to think it's the Light from the Shore, growing ever dimmer as reality begins to fade away, until all that is left is the empty echoes of a time now passed.