Questions and Potential Answers

[Nolan]

The goal of this post is to be a subjective unpacking of, tomorrow won't come for those without █████.

First, what is going on with the setting? Celestial Card Type One is described as: “The Eldest. Distorts continuity, converting affected areas into liminal spaces.” Every area in this game is a liminal space. This would hint that one of The Eldest Celestials is interfering with the setting. That is why Ori and Rem start in an abandoned hotel without any explicit explanation.

Second, what is going on with time? One of these Celestials could be stopping the continuation of time and leaving the two stuck in a time loop. I do not believe that, in the Noise ending, Ori starting and ending the story lying in a bathtub is a coincidence. Even in the silence ending, the time loop would still be present. The message that Ori receives before entering the last veil mentions “Worms squirming under the skin.” This is a clear reference to the “Her Worms” PO-KA and Celestial Card Type Six. For those that do not know the “Her Worms” PO-KA, it goes as follows: “One day, I woke up with an itch. There were tiny worms squirming under my skin. They wanted out. So I scrubbed my epidermis off, bit by bit until everyone could notice them poking out. At last, we were seen.” Then, Six is described as finding: “shelter under the host’s skin, emitting a gel-like substance that amplifies emotional sensitivity.” This is evidence that even in the Silence ending, the Celestials are still in control. Also, more than once Ori mentions before starting a Sunday class lesson, that doing the lesson feels familiar. Ori may be doomed to repeat these lessons, and the plot overall, till the end of time.

Third, what is going on with multiple iterations of Ori and Rem at the starting floor? I believe that this is an overlap between two different runs of the time loop. This overlap though does not cause too much interference as Rem is already dead and Ori is standing up but is non-responsive. My best guess as to why there is this overlap is that Ori needs the violet blood to get the time loop moving along. My best guess as to why Rem is dead is that Ori killed him in that specific time loop run. While this does sound extreme, there are potentially an infinite amount of unique time loop runs. There has to be at least one, time loop run, where Ori kills Rem. The fact remains, an iteration of Rem is dead, in what is supposed to be Ori’s room, which would make Ori the primary suspect.

Fourth, why does the Conductor look like an older version of Ori? The answer is that it is an older version of Ori. I assume that the time loop has called elements of the past, present, and future to mix. The level four badge for this game is a drawing of Ori dressed as a chorister that is titled “Conductor” which is definitive proof of this. This mixing of time would explain why in the flashbacks of Ori watching the purification (of Mari), Rem is right next to Ori, but they do not remember each other at the start. On top of that, this would also explain why in the Silence ending, Ori does not recognize Rem, even after all they had supposedly been through.

Fifth, why did Ori betray the Church in the Noise ending? In the story told in the Indulgences, it is made clear that through the make-believe going on in the Forest between Ori and Mari, Mari wants to control the narrative. Ori has no problem with this, and it is almost like he needs someone to be in control of his narrative. This need is shown when Ori begs Rem to be the new narrator in this make-believe game. Even in the Silence ending, if Mari is not ultimately in control of Ori’s narrative, the Church certainly is. No matter what, Ori has others defining his story. That is why, when talking about memories on the Circle floor, Ori says: “There’s something not right with me. It’s as if I have no story to tell.”

Sixth, why does Ori need a Rosary? Ori needs a Rosary because, in this future humanity, humans do not have memories. Evidence of this can be found in Rem’s essay titled “End of Sentimentality: “Very few will regret the changes we went through, as we would no longer remember. Without memory, there’s no nostalgia. Without nostalgia, there’s no exploitation. Without exploitation, we have achieved absolute freedom.” Ori cannot remember what he is supposed to be doing without a reminder from the Rosary. Also, he would not have knowledge if he had no memory, so that is also why the Rosary tells him what to do. That is why Ori is described as “the forgetful one.”

Seventh, what does violet mean? First, I will list every sentence or word that appears in violet text: “A man is a slave to no one. Faith. Lie. Sacrifice. Solve. Cube. A person. Only then tomorrow will come for humanity. Hydrated. This body is no longer your sister’s. Nails. Narrator. Hero. Promise me, Ori. I’d be able to see you again. Person. Him. Violet.” Love is also called a violet word, and every veil name is technically in violet text. I do not know if it is possible to be able to box in all those sentences and individual words, all with their unique context, into one coherent encompassing meaning. Perhaps a common meaning behind most of them is that they relate to taking control of your narrative and/or having an imagination. The narrative piece would fit in with: “A man is a slave to no one.” There is the question though of would, “This body is no longer your sister’s,” be related to taking control of one’s narrative. After all, the context behind that quote is Mari’s body being taken over by the Alien. Isn’t Mari losing her narrative? I believe that this is Mari taking control of her narrative. At the Noise Ending, the Alien recounts how Mari wanted to go to the stars. The Alien fulfilled her wish and said: “Your genetic material will give color to a land billions of light years away.” Mari is called the “Origin of life” and I assume that does not encompass all life in the universe, but that title seems to be liberating and what she wanted. Then, “faith” and “love” both relate to having an imagination. This may just be cherry-picking though. Anyway, perhaps the real name of the game is tomorrow won’t come for those without violet.

Eighth, why does Conductor tell Rem to, "stay hydrated," and why is, "hydrated" in violet text? My best guess comes from what the Alien said about Mari at the beginning of their monologue: "She walked with her head held high, with water drowning out her senses. She was violet." This would imply that "water" or an overabundance of water is associated with control of one's narrative and imagination. That is why "hydrated" is in violet text. But why would Conductor tell Rem to do something that is associated with Celestials? This goes back to that even in the Silence ending, the Celestials are still the ones in control. In order for the time loop to continue, Conductor would have to be polluted to some degree or be an illusion. That may just be a stretch though. Honestly, the hydrate part still perplexes me.

I do not know if any of this was helpful, but it was a try. I may update this over time. Feel free to recommend any questions I could try to answer. I also have jotted down most of the lines in the game, if anyone wants any of the lines.