Let's talk about the story! SPOILERS INSIDE

[Skater901]

So, I wanted to write down my understanding of the story, and get some help filling in the bits I've missed. :)

Story Summary/Timeline

Eigong is tasked with researching immortality for Solarians.

Eigong discovers that Ji is immortal, and starts researching on Ji. As part of the research, the Tianhao virus is accidentally created. Tianhao starts to spread and infect people, it's discovered, the focus of research changes from immortality to curing Tianhao.

Yi gets badly injured in an explosion when trying to get his Mystic Nymph to work. The Fusang roots heal him and effectively make him immortal, probably thanks to Heng. Later, Yi comes to work for Eigong, and Eigong thinks that Yi could be the key to immortality.

Eigong creates a serum using Ji's DNA. Does this happen before or after the Eternal Cauldron project is pitched? She tests it, and find it seems to work; on 90% of Solarians, it seems to stop the virus, but 10% seem to lose their minds (and suffer mutations?)

Developing a cure for Tianhao is taking a long time, and they realise they can't find a cure before all Solarians die from Tianhao. So Yi proposes the Eternal Cauldron Project; gather up a bunch of Solarians (clearly not all of them) and put them into cryo-sleep inside a facility build on Kunlun Island. However, in order to do that, they need massive amounts of power, and a massive computing network to provide simulations for all the Solarians in cryo-sleep.

Earth is discovered by the Solarians, and Yi's plan is to warp New Kunlun to Earth, kidnap a whole bunch of humans, and use their brains to power the Soulscapes.

Yi asks Heng to come with him on New Kunlun, but she refuses. Yi says he will come and ask her again just before New Kunlun launches.

New Kunlun launches early, and Yi doesn't get a chance to visit Heng again. This is where I'm really confused and need some clarity. Eigong does something to betray Yi (launching New Kunlun early? Yi finds out Eigong's immortality research is responsible for creating the Tianhao virus?), and apparently the rest of the council were in on it. Yi attacks Eigong, but is defeated, and seemingly dies. However, the roots on New Kunlun once again protect Yi and revive him.

Humans are picked up from earth and kept on New Kunlun. I am unsure if this happens before or after Yi is defeated by Eigong.

Yi is kept inside the roots for 500 years. In the meantime, Eigong continues her research. She discovers that the serum she created is ineffectual, and everyone who received it still dies to Tianho, except for those who mutated. Because of this, she comes to the conclusion that the mutation is not something to cure, but rather the next stage in Solarians' evolution. (It's possible that her decision was primarily to protect her ego; instead of admitting she failed, she can delude herself and others into thinking that she's successfully discovered the next stage of evolution, therefore all her work is successful)

Yi is awakened by Shaunshaun, and has to wait two years until the next human harvesting, so that he can break into the rest of New Kunlun and enact his revenge. Again, what exactly he's getting revenge for I really don't know.

Yi fights through all the other Sols, gathering their Sol Seals, in order to do... something. Along the way, he discovers that Eigong has decided that the mutations are the future.

Questions

So the biggest question is, what the heck happened at the start of the game that made Yi turn against Eigong and the council? This is the only part of the story that I really don't understand. I don't know why Yi first turned against the council and why he's trying to get revenge, and I don't know what he wanted to do with all the Sol Seals once he got them.

Other than that, there's a few questions around the timeline, but that could probably be fixed by looking at the various notes and stuff in-game. :)

[Skater901]

I've updated the initial post based on info provided, see what you think. :)

[mauricio.szabo]

Originally posted by Batterkap:

I didn’t suffer for 3 hours with the final Kung Fu Jedi for this, or am I just stupid and don’t understand anything)

or game about the "futility of existence"

Here's where oriental and occidental philosophies crash: this game mentions a lot "the Tao", which is a plot element but highly inspired on Taoism - a religion where emphasis is to live in harmony with the natural world, instead of trying to control it. That might explain why death is not seen as a "bad thing" in the game, where the "true ending" is basically Yi accepts that things must end already - it's time for Solarians to "return to the Tao" basically, and end all suffering they imposed themselves, AND the humans, by trying to prolong the inevitable.

[Several Birds]

Originally posted by Batterkap:

, in one all the cat people die, in the other they will most likely die... I didn’t suffer for 3 hours with the final Kung Fu Jedi for this, or am I just stupid and don’t understand anything)

or game about the "futility of existence"

I mean, the Tianhuo virus is itself a metaphor for death. Tianhuo happens to everyone, eventually, and removing the things that makes death a threat to begin with, removes their sapience and turns them into simple animals.

Tianhuo is a metaphor for death.
But it’s a worse death, a more terrifying, accelerated death because it came about as the result of Eigong and other solarians trying to “CURE” death for the nobility and the wealthy. The virus existed because of a desire to subvert the natural order, and became the ultimate enforcer of it.

Nobody is supposed to live forever. All things die. That is the way of things. The choice Yi is presented with is essentially, “do I continue harvesting apemen brains to keep the solarian minds active in the eternal cauldron while I search out a cure, or do I free the humans from the enslavement that I put them in?”

Because that’s the thing that I’ve not seen mentioned about the “regular” ending — to keep the solarians alive in stasis, to hold off braindeath, fresh ape brains and biomass will be needed in perpetuity until things can be solved so the Eternal Cauldron can keep running.

So you either let a dying race that is living off of the harvesting of humans exist in a half state, OR, you grant freedom to the humans, accept that it is your time to die, and rather than fight it, use it to allow others to live.

Narratively we also see what an unnaturally long life does to a person — Ji. It makes them lonely and tired, and they get to a point where all they can do is accumulate more stories, which is hardly a way of living. To the point that it is Ji’s earnest wish to die.

Yi has met what immortality does to a person and understands that, it’s not for him— not only is the price of maintaining immortality continued slavery, but also, even if it’s successful, it still won’t be what it promises to be.

So, yeah. The good ending is about Yi accepting that everything someday dies, and rather than fighting that, does his duty to undo the enslavement he directly caused.

Yi chooses not to link the fire and unnecessarily prolong Gwynn’s age of fire.