What I think is happening SPOILERS

[BurgerVault]

It all starts with Ariane, Lister and the Penrose mission.

The Penrose mission is named after the Penrose Triangle, also called the impossible triangle because it can't be modeled in 3d. An appropriate name for a suicide mission that can't be completed. Basically a Penrose ship is launched outside of the solar system into the vastness of deep space to scout for resources. The occupants only chance of survival being to find an already habitable planet, which is statistically unlikely. It's an unnecessary waste of life probably cooked up by some cold political officer. But Ariane chooses it over being sent to the reeducation camp on Leng because she'd rather be alone. But she's not alone, Lister is with her and they fall in love and it's beautiful baby.

Sadly it can't last forever, 30,000 cycles later Lister is dead and the Penrose is trashed. Whether it's crash landed somewhere or is still floating through space we don't know. But somehow Ariane is still alive. Alone and suffering, she starts blasting out a bioresonant signal that eventually reaches back to the solar system.

Now this might not have done anything, but at the very edge of the solar system, stationed on Leng, is a Falke unit. AEON'S bioresonant super weapon. Falke is the first to fall ill, but in reality is the source of the illness. She starts amplifying and broadcasting Ariane's bioresonant signal. This causes the disease, the replica's madness and it's also what calls Lister units to Leng. They're all looking for...'someone.' It's very much an "I got a letter from Mary," type scenario.

Now this of course is just speculation, but I feel pretty confidant about it up to this point. After this point though I'm not so sure. But here's some more thoughts.

The game seems to take place in several location's but I don't think we ever leave Leng, rather our perception of it is twisted by the Falke unit. An ability we know she has since she uses it during her boss battle.

Who's Isa? Well she's Erica's twin sister and Erica, I believe, is Lister's gestalt. Them being twins might mean they have a similar neural pattern which is why she's also called to Leng looking for 'someone'. There's some issues with this theory. Like assuming Lister looks like her gestalt, why doesn't Isa recognize her sister? Also if the Penrose has been in space for 30,000 cycles shouldn't Isa be an old woman by now? If we assume a cycle is a day then that's 82 years. Do gestalts not age? Or is there some space-time dilation happening that I'm not smart enough to comprehend?

Finally I think the red expanse we see Lister traveling through to get to the Penrose is a visual representation of her trying to send her Falke amplified Bioresonant signal back to the Penrose. Success would cause her own Lister corpse to reanimate so that it can fulfill her promise to Ariane.

So what do you think? Agree, disagree? Please share your thoughts.

[Muscarine]

Lister ?

What language do you play on ?

There are interesting bits such as the Penrose name which i didn't even think about looking into
Funnily enough that's also a door symbol in Nowhere, now i'd like to know if the other door symbols have specific names we can find somewhere else throughout the game

I did think about looking into Sierpinski though, which is another triangle named after a polish mathematician, a fractal principle about repeating patterns

This pattern is present on the King in Yellow book, but also on Replika bed sheets, and on Falke's outfit as you can see on her shoulder while you're doing the Owl frequency puzzle

Which leads me to this : it seems your interpretation completely omits the fact that there's a loop going on

I know quite a few people like to link Falke and Ariane through bioresonnant communication at the origin of everything going south, but with Falke and Ariane looking exactly the same, i just don't believe it's that simple

I've seen a theory that the Falke model was based on Ariane and we're a long time in the future after the events of Penrose 512, but that'd mean Ariane's body was recovered from the Oort Cloud, and a whole lot more improbable implications

What it could mean though, is that Falke is indeed based on Ariane, but because we're not in the real world anyway, Falke (and every other Replika we see in the game) wasn't created by the Eusan nation, she's an Ariane construct

And speaking of lookalikes, Isa, Erika, Alina, Ariane, Falke, even Elster (and her Gestalt presumably named Lilith Itou although this really isn't a certainty to me) have many interchangeable cutscenes shots between all of them

What made you come to the conclusion that Erika is Elster's Gestalt ?

[BurgerVault]

I don't think there is a loop, at least not a temporal one. Everything that happens does so in chronological order. If there is a loop it's from different iterations of Elsters arriving at Sierpinski and carrying out the same scenario over and over again. I'm using the elevator shaft full of dead Elsters as proof of that and Adlers physical decay as proof that time is passing normally. Of course this could all be symbolic so it's up to how you want to interpret it.

As for Falke and Ariane similar looks, I honestly didn't notice. These anime faces all look rather similar. That said, Falke can control our perception of reality, so there's no reason she can't make herself look like Ariane. Another possibility is Falke is modeled after a bioresonant gestalt that Ariane happens to be a descendant of.

As for Erika being Elster's gestalt, I'm honestly just guessing. I'm assuming Isa must have some connection to Elster and that's the most obvious possibility. Another one is that Isa and Erica are descendants of Elster's gestalt (presumably Lillith Itou). People being copied is explored with the Replicas, but Gestalts have a form of that too with similar people appearing across a genetic lineage.

I do think whatever's calling the LSTR units to Sierpinski called Isa there as well.

[Triple-D Lloyd]

Originally posted by Muscarine:

Lister ?

-cut-

Well, the Falke=Ariane thing is immediately wrong because in-game documents state that the Falkes are modeled after the glorious leader and her daughter.

The room right before the final boss hall seems to indicate that Ariane and Isa never actually met, but that Ariane saw a picture of Isa in uniform once and decided to join the military based on it. Given the plot that happens (Isa immediately knows you're looking for someone without being shown the photo, Isa is also looking for someone, Isa is missing a right eye, Elster loses the same eye), it's more likely that Isa is the soldier that the modern LSTR units are all copied from

[Muscarine]

Originally posted by KingHadas:

I don't think there is a loop, at least not a temporal one. Everything that happens does so in chronological order. If there is a loop it's from different iterations of Elsters arriving at Sierpinski and carrying out the same scenario over and over again. I'm using the elevator shaft full of dead Elsters as proof of that and Adlers physical decay as proof that time is passing normally. Of course this could all be symbolic so it's up to how you want to interpret it.

It doesn't

Hence the white armor, hence the two Sierpinski, hence Adler literally saying so in his diary, him referring to a single LSTR unit, and hence this quote, by Adler, again
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2887508677

Among so many other cues i'm gonna get accused of making up again because i'm not doing a wall of text every time someone wants to deny the fact that the game is a loop

There are a lot of things i can get behind not agreeing with because every contradicting theory has its share of holes, but if we're still stuck with a portion of the community convinced there's no loop we aren't going to get anywhere

Originally posted by Triple-D Lloyd:

Well, the Falke=Ariane thing is immediately wrong because in-game documents state that the Falkes are modeled after the glorious leader and her daughter.

Our Falke is still exactly Ariane but with black hairs
i.e. Our Falke is not actual Falke, but an Ariane construct
Which is why i specifically said i don't deny the existence of the "real world" outside of what we witness during Elster's journey

[Triple-D Lloyd]

Originally posted by Muscarine:

-cut-

I dont think theres a literal physical time loop, but a memory-based one; bioresonance is stated to implant memories and feelings and tying in with the theme of radios, Ariane's call to Elster is looping and thus resetting the "simulation" without changing the world, which would explain how theres 4 stories worth of elster corpses in the Leng facility's elevator shaft, and Adler noting that he has multiple sequential diary entries all with the same date; if it were a true time loop there would be no repetition of pages and no corpses

Of course, this all depends on which interpretation of the game you take, the protestant one (everything is literal, the eldritch being is real, multiple separate LSTR units physically traveled to leng, rotfront, and whatever hellhole Ariane crashed on via the alien gates) or the more abstract one (entire game takes place on the Penrose, and consists of Ariane brainblasting Elster's comatose corpse with her memories until she finally wakes up and does her job)

As for Falkes' resemblane to Ariane, I did note that but just chalked it up to the artstyle

[Exile]

Originally posted by Muscarine:

Our Falke is still exactly Ariane but with black hairs
i.e. Our Falke is not actual Falke, but an Ariane construct
Which is why i specifically said i don't deny the existence of the "real world" outside of what we witness during Elster's journey

If you look at the profile photos in the dossiers of every Replika type, they are all identical in terms of facial features, only the hair and makeup are different. There might be some significance to this, but I'm more inclined to think it was just to save dev time and/or because it's anime style. It's clear that they have different biological origins. You're going to need a better argument than "they look the same" to argue that Falke is a creation of Ariane.

[Muscarine]

I do totally agree it's an abstract loop, not something we can actually place in a proper timeline

As for Falk<>Ariane, it just doesn't seem plausible, especially for a game with that much attention to detail, to just reuse and recolor assets and be done with it

Falke[preview.redd.it]

Ariane[preview.redd.it]

Also,

Ariane[preview.redd.it]

Isa[preview.redd.it]

And then the redundant bandages, and missing right eye

Isa[media.nichegamer.com] (same bandages as Ariane, but reversed from mirror view)

[Sekhriat]

Originally posted by Exile:

Originally posted by Muscarine:

Our Falke is still exactly Ariane but with black hairs
i.e. Our Falke is not actual Falke, but an Ariane construct
Which is why i specifically said i don't deny the existence of the "real world" outside of what we witness during Elster's journey

If you look at the profile photos in the dossiers of every Replika type, they are all identical in terms of facial features, only the hair and makeup are different. There might be some significance to this, but I'm more inclined to think it was just to save dev time and/or because it's anime style. It's clear that they have different biological origins. You're going to need a better argument than "they look the same" to argue that Falke is a creation of Ariane.

Small correction there. They are all similar but they aren't identical.

EULE have rounder eyes and face, slitghtly bigger nose and smaller mouth than a STORCH.
KOLIBRI's head is smaller than most. And it keep on going. They all are in the same "zone" and it's easier to see when directly compared than by going from memory alone but aren't identical like the portait of Falke and Ariane. (On a side note, their song theme is also the exact same, played in reverse.)

I don't know if they are supposed to be the same person or anything but there's an obvious link the devs are trying to show between the two.

[Muscarine]

Originally posted by Sekhriat:

(On a side note, their song theme is also the exact same, played in reverse.)

Wow

Blew my mind

Amazing find

Originally posted by Sekhriat:

EULE have rounder eyes and face, slitghtly bigger nose and smaller mouth than a STORCH.
KOLIBRI's head is smaller than most. And it keep on going. They all are in the same "zone" and it's easier to see when directly compared than by going from memory alone

To me they're more "Ariane's variations of Elster", each of them representing a very specific human trait like inquisitive, motherly, social, etc

So in other words, Elster fragments

edit - Just verified the reversed theme and indeed, exactly the same in reverse
Such a great find, thank you

[Exile]

Originally posted by Muscarine:

I do totally agree it's an abstract loop, not something we can actually place in a proper timeline

As for Falk<>Ariane, it just doesn't seem plausible, especially for a game with that much attention to detail, to just reuse and recolor assets and be done with it

Falke[preview.redd.it]

Ariane[preview.redd.it]

Also,

Ariane[preview.redd.it]

Isa[preview.redd.it]

And then the redundant bandages, and missing right eye

Isa[media.nichegamer.com] (same bandages as Ariane, but reversed from mirror view)

This is actually is something I hadn't noticed before. I don't think it automatically means Falke isn't real though.

In Nowhere we see Alina's diary entry talking about her hair turning white and how she's losing her sense of who she is. Falke's diary talks about likewise being overtaken by another's personality and memories. In a previous cutscene we see a line of Elsters facing a line of "Arianes", so it's possible Falke was subjected to this process after being defeated.

She would have had to shrink over a meter to fit in the cryopod and is looking pretty good for having so many spears in her face, so I'm not totally certain it's not just art reuse though. Ise is the other major candidate for the "Ariane" we meet at the end, given that cutscene.

[BurgerVault]

Originally posted by Muscarine:

It doesn't

Hence the white armor, hence the two Sierpinski, hence Adler literally saying so in his diary, him referring to a single LSTR unit, and hence this quote, by Adler, again
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2887508677

Among so many other cues i'm gonna get accused of making up again because i'm not doing a wall of text every time someone wants to deny the fact that the game is a loop

The trouble here is because the world of Signalis' features psychic shenanigans and perception altering powers I can choose to refute all of these points to fit my interpretation.

There aren't two Sierpinski's, there's one that's being twisted by bio-resonant radiation over time.

Adler could just be crazy. He claims things are looping, but his actual body seems to be decaying in a rather linear fashion (Isa's too).

And finally him referring to a single LSTR does not negate the possibility of other iterations. I didn't refute the white armor bit because I'm not actually sure why that proves she's in a loop.

Now the evidence you posted linking Ariane and Falke is solid, but like Exile said above me there are alternate interpretations.

[neo2157]

One theory I've heard about why Falke looks like Ariane is that she's the gestalt, Personally I don't think they would have sent her on a suicide mission if they knew she was a powerful psyker and personally I don't think you can have your neural pattern copied and be left completely unscathed. (the book on rotfront mentions they don't understand the after affects well which implies to me you are negatively impacted by the process.)

Also I don't think they just continued wondering aimlessly in space, they get a message telling them its a one way trip and the reactor shielding will start failling at cycle 3000, arianes last entry was close to 6000 so plenty enough time to reverse coarse. (leng is also the furthest planet away from the sun in that solar system, so it would make sense that would be were they crashland.)

[Mute]

It's more than 262144 cycles for Ariane. Falke is not Ariane but she was affected her by touching Bioresonance-related artifact in the mines (gate or whatever we see in the ending), that's how it all started on S-23 Sierpinski - it got pulled into Bioresonance. Isa (and Alina) were projected by Ariane. "Remember our promise" was not just about Elster.

[neo2157]

Originally posted by Mute:

It's more than 262144 cycles for Ariane. Falke is not Ariane but she was affected her by touching Bioresonance-related artifact in the mines (gate or whatever we see in the ending), that's how it all started on S-23 Sierpinski - it got pulled into Bioresonance. Isa (and Alina) were projected by Ariane. "Remember our promise" was not just about Elster.

Isa's significance to the plot is something I still don't really get. Like its clear she and her sister died before the events of the game take place. other then that the alter at the book store seems likes it trying to suggest something with ericka's picture being damaged similar to the photo we start with thats to damaged to see us, I do find it rather suspicious they both died within such a close time frame though.

[Brother Tinnitus]

I don't think I would have bought the game if i knew it would be this confusing