I think I get it (Ending Spoilers)

[-CSM- Abamor]

I think I get it (ending spoilers)

So, just got done with the game after a single 150+ hour playthrough, where I've done, collected and read everything there is.

It's going to be a long one, but if you've felt confused/upset/backstabbed by the ending in question - I promise you this will be worth your time.

I went for the Skif/Faust ending, was shocked as much as everyone else by that "Doc was actually Faust all along" reveal, but the more I thought about it - the more it made sense to me.


Faust.


Let's start from the beginning - Faust is a human turned sentient controller. He is not deformed, mentally impaired or hostile as all the other controllers are and has, as mentioned by his creator Dvupvalov, one more crucial and defining feature - free will. During that dialogue with Skif on top of Duga he mentioned being a "stalker looking for adventure long time ago", but he "took one awkward step" and his "world plunged into darkness". I believe it's safe to assume that he was a stalker before the Zone, as we know it in the games, even existed (between 1986 and 2006, so still a radioactive exclusion zone, still all the horrible Project X shenanigans going on, but no noosphere kaboom yet), got caught trespassing on Duga (I presume) and subsequently used in the "Controller" program as a test subject. As for the "world plunged into darkness" part - we all know he can actually see (his pistol's name, the fact that he even uses a pistol, the ending reveal scene where he clearly has normal eyes, all other controllers having functional eyes, and so on), so I assume that this is in reference to the horrors he had to endure while in captivity (and his blindness was a trick intended to instill religious belief and awe in people around him).

On the topic of that "free will" thing - he operated as the Monolith's "voice" (while it was controlled by C - Consciousness) not because he was conditioned to do so, quite the opposite, he was so good at this precisely because he chose to do it (as mentioned by Dvupvalov). He was the perfect religious leader for those poor bastards, cared for them and whole-hartedly believed in the Monolith. His specific version of it (wink-wink). More on this later - but when you confront him with the whole "You are just a controller, the Monolith is just a device used by those green-tube eggheads" thing, his answer is something like "Yeah, sure you would think that".


The Doctor.


So, he is not in the game. At all. The first time you see him in that psi-dome-thing - it's Faust. Let's brake it down.

Strelok (by his own words) did not see Kaymanov in years (no wonder he doesn't know about the switch).

The mercs that Strelok sent after him - didn't see/fight Strider, the only survivor in that house mentions that this (the mercs looking like they found themselves on the wrong side of a blender) was all done by THE DOCTOR himself. That same survivor says that the guy was going through Geiger-counter-melting radiation zones like it was nothing without even a gasmask, and when he put two bullets in him - the man just shrugged it off, got close and incapacitated him. Hmmm. I know those mercs probably don't actually know exactly what the good Doctor looks like, but you'd think they could tell him apart from a middle-aged Monolith commander in full uniform, right?

The very next mission he gives you is to infiltrate the Monolith hospital near by and, without killing anyone (what a good man), steal a regeneration device to "save" Strider. But when you bring the device back to his house - Strider is so back that he almost kills you, only for the good Doctor to step in at the very last moment and, not without regret (what a drama), save your life by killing the poor thing (what a guy).

More over - I don't think that THIS Strider is real either. Think I got too close to the Brain Scorcher while it was still active? Think again.

What do we know about the house? It's surrounded by a bunch of psi-emitters. If you go to that place before you are tasked with finding the Doctor - you can enter it, but the dome will only contain an empty field and a healthy dose of psi-damage for your gray friend. So this field makes your brain go boo-boo and messes up your perception of reality via a psi-field. Our "Doctor" gets blasted with an emission while we are still under it's effect (and then just hangs around there like nothing happened in the last cutscene), but Richter reaches us like the entrance to the basement did not get buried in rubble. Also - do you remember when Faust reveals himself in that ending? That's right - exactly when he crosses the border.

"But we know Strider is dead. We saw and talked to his ghost-noosphere-imprint-thingy when we went to the Orbita station!". Did ya now? Could someone explain to me how plucking a board from a machine that creates ILLUSIONS (from X3 on Cordon) and putting it into a one-way noosphere TV costitutes talking to the dead? Not convinced - you can find an audio recording while at Orbita, where Scar convinces Professor Ozersky to join him by tricking him into thinking that he can speak to the deceased member of the original Spark group (Ozersky blames himself for this dude's death. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?). And we all know how Scar and his illusion are.

"But why tho?", right?


The Zone.


Here is where this gets real speculative. I am 100% open for your own opinions and suggestions on this topic, but this is what I've gathered.

Listen to the way Faust describes the Zone while pretending to be Kaymanov. The OG Doctor gave off this "I messed up, I need to seclude myself from the world and make amends by healing everything that suffers because of me" feel. He did not want Strelok to go North and "fix" his wrongdoings. He just wanted his "son" to be well. Faust, while wearing his disguise, describes the Zone as a living being that suffers due to how it was brought on and how it is being treated by all humans (he even shows it to you the way he sees it while on Duga). He wants to set it free. This is his Monolith.

While every poor stalker that was indoctrinated by the device was turned into a human automaton and only heard commands from it - Faust, being it's willing and mentally enhanced servant, heard and understood more via that connection to the Noosphere. He heard the Zone itself. And when the Monolith fell silent - he was distraught and looking for a way to "reconnect" to it again. And he did. At the Swamp. Remember that recording? He's not talking to the Monolith. He's talking to the Zone.


Skif.


Now, to sum things up and provide a full picture.

How does Skif tie into all of this (I'll be skipping over a lot of plot points here, this post is long enough).

He was the Zone's agent since the moment he touched that artifact in his apartment. See those flashing moments from the future in the ending cutscene? They are not just a recap of your decisions - they are instructions that Skif was implanted with.

So, our protagonist is now acting on the Zone's behalf. He heads in, gets ambushed by Faust's Monolith loyalists that got tipped off by Hermann and looses the Alfa artifact.

Faust uses the Alfa to establish connection on the Clear Sky's base in the Swamps, receives his "orders" from the Zone, but... and this is an important "but" - those orders are not what he expected. I imagine it going something along the lines of "Hey, stop messing with Skif and let him do the thing. Better yet - aid him. He's my chosen conduit". Faust, at this point in time, still yearns for the good ol' days under the Monolith. Him, his god and his brothers being a single entity with a common greater purpose.

So, what does he do? He defies his "God". Remember the thing about his free will? He starts using the X network to locate all ex-Monolith stalkers and plans to reconnect them all to it, and later, using the Duga, all the stalkers in the Zone too.

He hands over the scanner with the Alfa inside to Skif, but does not kill him (I bet he could), tasks his loyalists with building a network of those good ol' Monolith psi-antennas (those are capable of reaching the Monolith in CNPP by themselves, see CoP for reference) and activates them just when the Alfa establishes connection with the Generators.

He needed Duga and Alfa to convert all people in the Zone, but we foil his plans. This is where he starts to see the error of his ways. What did he refer to Skif as during that talk on Duga? "Envoy of the Monolith". "You stood by His side, carrying out His will, and now you've come for me. I have angered Him and that is why you are here - seeking revenge and the reward."

*Note - if you don't accept his hand while climbing onto Duga - you'll get up yourself and have that dialogue. If you do accept his hand - he'll let you go and you will fall to your death. I think it's his way of seeing for himself if you are up for the task the Zone bestowed upon you. You'll have to turn away every faction that has it sites on the Zone to carry it's will (Spark, Ward and Strelok). Trust no one but yourself (or your programming).

After that - you get through all of his gaslighting in that psi-funhouse of his, and you are ready to go. He trusts you with the keys to his God's future.

As Skif said to Richter (If I'm not mistaken) - "I now understand that this artifact in my kitchen was not a random event - it was a cry for help".



So, what do you guys and girls think? Did I hit the nail on the head? Or did that anomalous moonshine from Dvupalov + activated Brain Scorcher combo hit ME on the head a little too hard?

Glory to the Monolith.

Update:

You, my brothers and sisters are awesome! This is exactly what I wanted from this post - a discourse around the game's ending that will eventually bring us closer to the truth.

After reading your comments I'm currently gravitating towards a slightly different Interpretation that I will share below. As for the original post - I'll leave it as is.

So, I now believe that almost all that we see In this ending's cutscene (besides the moment Skif enters the pod and the Doctor/Faust reveal) takes place in the past.

1. Skif's apartment, the anomaly and the alfa artefact (with the addition of implanted commands).

2. The scientists are performing the sabotaged Second Carribean Experiment, during which anomalies (not new Zones) pop up all over the world (similar to Skif's apartment, but without the alfa). Perhaps they are a kind of a diversion by the Zone itself to get the thing out there into the world but without powers-that-be being able to know where it ended up (and if it did at all). Don't quote me on that last part.

3. The globe at Kaymanov's basement (self explanatory and ties into 2).

So, that just leaves us with the Doctor/Faust scene. Now the line about all hidden things coming out to the light makes a whole lot more sense. Skif now knows how everything started. But this also means (since that globe/scientists part was all it the past) that we don't actually know what exactly happened (to the Zone/World) after Skif entered the pod! We just know that Faust felt this change. So this - is an open ending! Which means (for me, at least) that it is indeed the canon one, since it's the only one that leaves us guessing what happened next, allowing the authors to continue the story.

[@rtemii]

Wow i have same minds in my head,))

[Monolit_Woods]

I agree with most of your points, hit them on the head. I also like this ending more due to it also being more closer to Roadside Picnic in terms of the future event thats can happen (It makes the idea of the Zone being in crimea possible like the very first concepts of the franchise before they chose ChNPP). Glory to the Monolith!

[Chris]

this all leads to skifs ending.. and if skif entered the pod he can't get out of there.. alive that is. or mby the artefact heart of chernobyl has other unique properties....
Only left are Degtyarev, Richter, and Faust... and if i remember correctly years back in pre order bonuses there was somethin about a meta human thing, whid nft that got cancelled.

damm.. i hope the upcoming multiplayer isnt a story dlc.

[Dupa]

I agree with pretty much everything youve said. I think the most important lesson is that this is FAUSTS ending, not Skif or the Zones. The zone with or without the C-conc have never been expansionistic.
Fausts ending is his "best" future after his original plan is destroyed. Hes like a militant preacher, spreading his gospel to anyone, no matter if they want it or not. That was his approach with Duga, the monolith/zone pushed back via skif, he recognizes Skif as a true agent of the zone, as such Faust realize he cant go against him.
Thats also why he shifts his goals from forcing everyone to "find" his god (via PSI-brainwash), to putting the world in contact with his god by creating the zones all over the world by manipulating Skif (via the doctor and related tasks).

Skifs "flimsy" motivation to go and act in the zone is clearly by design, as you said the zone selected him and made him its agent. My theory is that Skifs true purpose is to prevent the Ward to take control of the Zone, as it will prety much mean its destroyed. The ward ending showing you flashbacks that you failed your task to stop the ward at every turn.

I believe this makes the Strelok ending the "right/canon" one. Its the only one where Skif is in control of himself and still in the Zone.
Also i dont believe that ending means Faust is dead:
When you shoot the doctor the Psi emitters stop working as you rush to the basement. The doctors head is towards the door, his axe on the ground.
Once you emerge from the cellar, if you look out the window you see a corpse, but its laying in the other direction, his head behind the stump so you cant see it and the axe is fastened in the stump once again. All the PSi-emitters are again active (but without the dome).
Richter is asking if you killed the doctor, dude didnt you just walk by his corpse?
My theory is that this is a trick, its either the body of the "real" doctor, or a Psi image. Faust is alive and will reappear as an antagonist or possible ally in DLC or sequel, fighting against Streloks control.

[-CSM- Abamor]

Originally posted by Dupa:

I agree with pretty much everything youve said. I think the most important lesson is that this is FAUSTS ending, not Skif or the Zones. The zone with or without the C-conc have never been expansionistic.
Fausts ending is his "best" future after his original plan is destroyed. Hes like a militant preacher, spreading his gospel to anyone, no matter if they want it or not. That was his approach with Duga, the monolith/zone pushed back via skif, he recognizes Skif as a true agent of the zone, as such Faust realize he cant go against him.
Thats also why he shifts his goals from forcing everyone to "find" his god (via PSI-brainwash), to putting the world in contact with his god by creating the zones all over the world by manipulating Skif (via the doctor and related tasks).

Skifs "flimsy" motivation to go and act in the zone is clearly by design, as you said the zone selected him and made him its agent. My theory is that Skifs true purpose is to prevent the Ward to take control of the Zone, as it will prety much mean its destroyed. The ward ending showing you flashbacks that you failed your task to stop the ward at every turn.

I believe this makes the Strelok ending the "right/canon" one. Its the only one where Skif is in control of himself and still in the Zone.
Also i dont believe that ending means Faust is dead:
When you shoot the doctor the Psi emitters stop working as you rush to the basement. The doctors head is towards the door, his axe on the ground.
Once you emerge from the cellar, if you look out the window you see a corpse, but its laying in the other direction, his head behind the stump so you cant see it and the axe is fastened in the stump once again. All the PSi-emitters are again active (but without the dome).
Richter is asking if you killed the doctor, dude didnt you just walk by his corpse?
My theory is that this is a trick, its either the body of the "real" doctor, or a Psi image. Faust is alive and will reappear as an antagonist or possible ally in DLC or sequel, fighting against Streloks control.

I don't think that Skif being free from the pod and/or under player's control is necessary for the plot of the DLCs. If you think about it - both Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat were just upgraded expansions for Shadow of Chernobyl (same engine, assets, even locations). So, if it will be a similar case with 2 and it's DLC's - I think it's reasonable to assume we'll be playing as a different character (maybe Strider :O).

[Hashi23]

I think the ward's ending is the true one, since it reveals that Skif is actually an agent working for C-Consciousness and the flashbacks are the instructions he was supposed to follow, since the Ward and C-Consciousness are pretty much the same faction as they were created by the same people and have the same goals, not to mention that the Colonel also mentions that the agents of C-Consciousness are constantly getting better, harder to identify and are even outside the zone. It's for that reason that the first thing to do for the Ward was to identify those agents (Again this is also mentioned by the Colonel), and the first thing that happens after the generators are activated in the ending is that a screen activates revealing what Skif is seeing, implying that he was an agent all along and was successful in his mission. Again this is just my theory.

[Unmensch]

I feel like there should be another 5th ending, where Skif just leaves X7, or confronts everybody, including Faust. I feel like Richter is acting way too mysterious and is able to do way more than your ordinary stalker. I was actually expecting him to be sort of a Zone embodiment (like that boy from Mass Effect 3); I am glad they did not take this route. Plus, there might've been a way to break the sequence of events with that lamp we stole from Monolith to cure Strider, but it got cut out at some point. I see no sense of them adding it into the game first, marking it as a quest item and then forcefully deleting it from the inventory

[Spiritfarer]

Game just has too many questions unanswered, and big part is that literally every important part of the game could be an illusion. Kaimanov? Yes, if its Faust he can make you see what he wants you to see. Things on roof with Faust? Yes, same. Talking to Representative in visiograph? Yes (Strelok said that visiograph is the one of induced illusions). Father talking to the Dalin in the Scar's ending? Well i'm sure thats an illusion. Didn't think about Strider's meeting in Pod that way. Could be also an illusion. We saw with Wish Granter in SIRCAA how real are illusions from Skif's perspective.

In Strelok's route we don't speak with father Dalin properly in the Foundation. But in Scar's route we have Scar with us and with the same things happening father speaks right before we rip the thing off the table. Could Scar influenced on that somehow? When we talked with Visiograph, Scar was there. Scar shown Ozersky the dead Topol. Coincidence?

[Spiritfarer]

Originally posted by Unmensch:

I feel like there should be another 5th ending, where Skif just leaves X7, or confronts everybody, including Faust. I feel like Richter is acting way too mysterious and is able to do way more than your ordinary stalker. I was actually expecting him to be sort of a Zone embodiment (like that boy from Mass Effect 3); I am glad they did not take this route. Plus, there might've been a way to break the sequence of events with that lamp we stole from Monolith to cure Strider, but it got cut out at some point. I see no sense of them adding it into the game first, marking it as a quest item and then forcefully deleting it from the inventory

I'd say Rithter IS Zone's representative. Not exactly, but by idea. He's guiding you all along, and if you do the wrong decision, he gives you some thoughts about that. In Strelok's route he's speaking about dog, born in cage, and cage being the world for this dog. In Skif's route he just encouraged you and said that you're doing everything right. In Varta's route he's trying to kill you at the Foundation. Don't know about Scar's route tho, guess he speaks something about eternal tsukuyomi from Naruto is not the real life.
Or, if Skif is Zone's programmed agent, why couldn't Richter be another Zone's programmed agent. Feels like he is atleast.

Monolith's regenerative lamp is definitely some ♥♥♥♥ design. I was running from Varta's base after being captured and game just saved and lamp was deleted from inventory. Some kind of joke

[Spiritfarer]

Originally posted by -CSM- Abamor:

I don't think that Skif being free from the pod and/or under player's control is necessary for the plot of the DLCs. If you think about it - both Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat were just upgraded expansions for Shadow of Chernobyl (same engine, assets, even locations). So, if it will be a similar case with 2 and it's DLC's - I think it's reasonable to assume we'll be playing as a different character (maybe Strider :O).

We have Degtyarev in Pripyat somewhere and 2 locked locations near it :]

[Monkatraz]

After beating the game it turns out the most interesting lore discussion is on Steam of all places lol. The subreddit literally has people saying the story is a disgrace despite never having actually played the game... literally have seen people say it's stupid how they "retconned" the Doctor when it's clear the game is not telling you everything. Many only seem to care about this game being a vessel for their favorite type of mod sandbox (and I do love those mods, but they're not the actual Stalker).

Really good ideas here - the game talks about free will and agents too much for Skif not to be somehow part of that (although it's obvious with the Ward ending). I think Faust swapping out the Doctor makes total sense - there is a note you can pick up which basically says that the real Doctor hates the zone - and that matches with the idea that Faust is just appearing as him and that's why he's acting different. The game is also constantly hinting that you can be seeing illusions and it would make sense for at least one character to be an illusion, as in it's not the real Doctor.

I wonder if there is anything going on in regards to Noah (I think that's his name) from CoP, you can find his house but it's empty despite seemingly not being ransacked. And the Doctor has a pseudodog pet like Noah does. Might be reaching for straws

[Monkatraz]

Also something interesting is that nobody sees the Doctor directly except you - Richter doesn't, and everybody else who does could either be mistaken or is talking about him in the past. You do have to enter the dome to even see him, he walks outside the moment you enter the dome. Something interesting there but I haven't seen the cutscenes for the Kaymanov ending directly yet so I'm not sure if he could literally be a hallucination the entire time.

EDIT: The cutscene for when you go and maybe kill the Doctor literally has the camera work point out the emitters by Skif looking around at them - the game has some pretty intentional framing of things in its cutscenes so I think it's fair game to think about it. Also I think the game is intentionally having characters hide motivations and plans from you and making them not explain things - this can feel like the game is slightly schizophrenic but I think it's because many of the characters are trying to use you for their own ends, even Strelok is guilty of it.

[Spiritfarer]

Originally posted by Monkatraz:

I wonder if there is anything going on in regards to Noah (I think that's his name) from CoP, you can find his house but it's empty despite seemingly not being ransacked. And the Doctor has a pseudodog pet like Noah does. Might be reaching for straws

Saw nothing about Noah in s2. And as i remember, Doctor having pseudodog its something from the first Stalkers, so it'll be more valid to say that Noah has the dog like a doctor. To give a little more schizo, Noah, like Kaymanov, weared Coat and a Sweater in CoP.

Originally posted by Monkatraz:

Also I think the game is intentionally having characters hide motivations and plans from you and making them not explain things - this can feel like the game is slightly schizophrenic but I think it's because many of the characters are trying to use you for their own ends, even Strelok is guilty of it.

Thats why when you finish the game every ending it seems like the right one. Cause you see only that the character you're following wants you to see. And after that you're looking for other endings and it looks like completely different story.
Can't say its bad tho, quite unusual. Everyone is not 'good', everyone is using the character.

And yea, we're staying in this Dome full of psi-emitters. Could be just another induced illusion. And thats another question we don't know answer for

[GenezisO]

I agree with the most except this:

Originally posted by -CSM- Abamor:

He was the Zone's agent since the moment he touched that artifact in his apartment. See those flashing moments from the future in the ending cutscene? They are not just a recap of your decisions - they are instructions that Skif was implanted with.

but then you say

Originally posted by -CSM- Abamor:

*Note - if you don't accept his hand while climbing onto Duga - you'll get up yourself and have that dialogue. If you do accept his hand - he'll let you go and you will fall to your death. I think it's his way of seeing for himself if you are up for the task the Zone bestowed upon you. You'll have to turn away every faction that has it sites on the Zone to carry it's will (Spark, Ward and Strelok). Trust no one but yourself (or your programming).

These two things contradict each other. If he was an agent from the start, then Faust "testing" him wouldn't make sense since Skif was just fulfilling the Zone's will and couldn't make his own choice anyway.

What I think really happened with THIS ending is that your decisions (as you the player) made Skif the "chosen one" in a sense that he was the only one who remained loyal to the Zone and didn't part with anyone who wanted to use it in their own way, namely Ward, Spark or Strelok.
Skif is the only one in this whole big picture who remained impartial and truly wanted the greater good. But only if you, the player say so. The game still allows you to part with Ward, destroy the Zone and all that. So no, Skif can't be an agent from the start because you as the player are free to choose whatever side you want to part with.

"I now understand that this artifact in my kitchen was not a random event - it was a cry for help"
- this single line confirms the greatest mystery of them all:
Entire Monolith faction, all project STALKER agents (including Scar and Strelok at some point) and Faust were all just manifestations of the Zone trying to protect itself, nothing else. And it all comes full circle and makes sense now more than ever.

C-Con never became to exist, not in the way the scientists intended, because we know from Stalker 2 that human's soul/consciousness can't really live in Subtle Matter form, Subtle Matter only stores a distorted copy of one's soul but it's not really alive and can't act independently. So when those 7 scientists connected via the Heart artifact to create the C-CON, they really only created a mixed imprint of their individual consciousness and then Strelok shot the pods on top of it, killing the scientists physical form. So all that dialog Strelok had with the C-con using visiograph in Shadow of Chernobyl, was just a echoed reflection of the C-Con, not the real C-con and all further visions and communication with the C-Con (even in Stalker 2 when Skif communicates with the Representative) was all just an illusion, discussion with a mindless robot so to speak. C-Con never existed, but the Noosphere kept it's "image" and memories of the scientists that went into the pods in the form of Subtle Matter, but the creation of the Monolith, their faction, stalker agents, it wasn't C-Con doing, it was the Zone's!

[GenezisO]

Originally posted by Dupa:

I agree with pretty much everything youve said. I think the most important lesson is that this is FAUSTS ending, not Skif or the Zones

and who do you think was Faust "working" for??? It was ALL the Zone's will and Zone's acting - the Zone used the C-Con Subtle Matter imprint to pretend that C-Con really came to be, but it was really the Zone itself taking a disguise, it's not the C-Con who created stalker agents or the Monolith, it was the will of the Zone itself, it was trying to defend itself from those who wanted to harm it, destroy it or abuse it for their own benefit

Originally posted by Dupa:

to putting the world in contact with his god by creating the zones all over the world by manipulating Skif (via the doctor and related tasks)

Why is everyone interpreting couple of lights on the map as if they all represent new zones emerging? The cinematic clearly shows that it's the Caribbean Experiment 2 timeline, parallel to when Skif wakes up in his flat and sees an anomaly in his kitchen, but now shown from the perspective of the scientists in the experiment control room. The only thing that cinematic reveals, is that such accidental anomaly didn't only appear in Skif's flat, but all over the world on random locations, but it was only a single and momentary appearance of an anomaly outside the Zone's perimeter, that's it. Nothing in the game implies the creation of other "Zones" so far from the Alpha artifact or the psi-field is even possible. So no, I don't believe that new zones emerged and I think most people misinterpret it.

Originally posted by Dupa:

Skifs "flimsy" motivation to go and act in the zone is clearly by design, as you said the zone selected him and made him its agent. My theory is that Skifs true purpose is to prevent the Ward to take control of the Zone, as it will prety much mean its destroyed. The ward ending showing you flashbacks that you failed your task to stop the ward at every turn.

You are both wrong about this and you both contradict your own statements. How can Skif be the Zone's agent when at the same time, game allows you to part with the Ward and destroy the Zone? It doesn't make sense at all.

No, what's really going on is that Skif is the only one in the big picture who doesn't have his own interest and is willing to help the Zone itself without any personal desire.. IF YOU, as the player, choose that to be the case! But you don't have to, because it's not a self fulfilling prophecy, you take the role of Skif and you are truly free to choose. Those flashbacks of failing to protect the Zone in Ward's ending is only the Noosphere telling Skif that he could actually save it, but chose not to.