Let me guess if I'm right.... (spoilers)

[Shit on the Mirror Ball]

I have left off where the woman is running back down one of the mine shafts looking for something while the man is waiting back at the tram

Simply basing my guess on the 'game' that was being played in the basement of the gas station...

The man and woman are being subjected to a turing test and the 'ghosts' they are seeing are scientists right outside and around their virtual environment.

Also - the reference to the film 'Stranger than Fiction' "Your story is either a love story or a tragedy - you need to figure out which to know what fate waits for you"
the number 5 dice roll determined this story is a tragedy according to one of the 'ghosts'

[Shit on the Mirror Ball]

So one of the two will die for the sake of studying the survivor's psycho/emotional reaction to the loss.

Ah.....reminds me of dating all over again! "She's ran off with some dude with a much larger ****; how does that make you feel....deep down inside?"

[eli]

fam they were just playing dnd

[Shit on the Mirror Ball]

Originally posted by eli:

fam they were just playing dnd

Play through the first ten minutes again - it looked suspiciously like they were plotting courses for people

[dawnppelganger]

Yes, you are definitely onto something. Emily, Ben, and Bob are characters who show up occasionally and even talk about playing the game again in Act V with the glowing twenty-sided die. (Shannon finds it in Conway's jacket if you put it in your pocket at the beginning of the game.) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2061696656 And no, they were not playing dnd, eli. When you look at the table, it has road maps on it, and when you talk to them, they explain the rules: "roll a 2, 9, or 12 pick a new anxiety, roll a 5 put your marker anywhere on the map. Appendix C: Table of Psycho-geographical Anxiety/Address Correlations says roll a die and place a marker on resulting street address. I don't think you can win, it's a tragedy." It's like Zathura or Jumanji where the game becomes real life. The rules of their game say if you roll a one, you drive into a ditch, but when I first picked up the die, rolled it, got a one, placed it back on the table, left the basement, then played normally, I didn't see a difference in the story. So the number on the die doesn't affect the outcome of the game.
The game is about studying the survivor's psycho/emotional reaction, as seen by the dwellings in the museum being constantly observed and recorded. Not sure how much Emily, Ben, and Bob are actually involved in that study though. They seem to be normal people, not ghosts, throughout the story, but why did they ignore Conway like he was in a different realm? Very mysterious.

[Shit on the Mirror Ball]

Originally posted by dawnppelganger:

They seem to be normal people, not ghosts, throughout the story, but why did they ignore Conway like he was in a different realm? Very mysterious.

Conway is in a state of depression with one foot in Bardo and heading there quickly; the others ARE in Bardo

Bardo /Hades the Tibetan dream world or land of the dead was captured quite well in 'The Entertainment' where the protagonist was locked into a place holder without much interaction; Only allowed to psycho/emotionally endure the build up to an inevitable horrifying climax without too fine of a point added to what was coming to seek retribution nor the punishment / penalty that followed there after.
I've personally discovered these types of nightmare sequences intended to scare the dreamer awake if they have stopped breathing, are going into paralysis or simply need to use the toilet.

I assume Conway to be in his early fifties and, as a single male about to become dis-enfranchised, (the Antique Shop is going out of business) he's slipping off his cracker.

[dawnppelganger]

The supposed ghosts in the basement, Emily, Bob, and Ben seem to be real people. In Limits and Demonstrations, Bob, Ben, and Emily are in the art museum. And in Un Pueblo de Nada, Bob and Ben are listening for ghosts in the static while Emily films WEVP. Then in Act V Emily speaks at the funeral. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2034644772 The whole ghost thing is confusing me. I don't understand who's alive and who all the ghosts are and what those distillery workers are, some strange invisible skeletons that glow when you click on the magnet. And Conway is turning into that.
Even though I had accepted Conway's fate years back, when Act V came out, I was back at it, trying to save Conway. But I really should give up trying because they did say, "I don't think you can win. It's a tragedy."

[dawnppelganger]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2000760499 I got KY Rt. 0 a few years ago, so when I first saw The Entertainment I recognized it as what had happened before Junebug sang to Conway, but then I looked up and saw spot lights, then at the exit sign where I read the reviews, then at the table and finally realized that I was in a play. I had to watch it over again to fully appreciate it and get that feeling you described, debating whether to bolt, watching it play out, unable to stop the train wreck. Then I noticed Carrington, Lula, Donald, Joseph and Will behind me, watching the play. I suppose that makes sense, the poetic, artsy people being there, and Carrington likes to make experimental plays and after Act V he did mention he wanted to make another play.
I wonder if the whole story of Conway inspired Carrington to make The Entertainment and Conway plays the skeleton guy at the end, because Conway did want to help Carrington, and by the end Conway was a full on skeleton. He could be the skeleton actor.

[Shit on the Mirror Ball]

Originally posted by dawnppelganger:

Spoiler Alert: This message is about all five acts.
I got KY Rt. 0 a few years ago, so when I first saw The Entertainment I recognized it as what had happened before Junebug sang to Conway, but then I looked up and saw spot lights, then at the exit sign and read the reviews, then at the table and finally realized that I was in a play. I had to watch it over again to fully appreciate it and get that feeling you described, debating whether to bolt, watching it play out, unable to stop the train wreck. Then I noticed Carrington, Lula, Bob, Joseph and Will behind me, watching the play. I suppose that makes sense, the poetic, artsy people being there, but Joseph and Bob are sitting together. Are they both from the land of the dead, tormenting Conway together?
Like I said in my last comment, I have to play again to remember when I saw these supposed ghosts. I believe in Limits and Demonstrations Bob, Ben, and Emily are in the art museum. And Bob falls asleep in Un Pueblo de Nada. Then Bob buries the horses in Act V. The whole ghost thing is confusing me. I don't understand who's alive and who all the ghosts are and what those distillery workers are, some strange invisible skeletons that glow when you click on the magnet. And Conway is turning into that.
Even though I had accepted Conway's fate years back, when Act V came out, I was back at it, trying to save Conway, as you probably noticed in my last comment, I tried everything I could think of. I still haven't taken Junebug's IOU to the distillery to cash it in, because I can't figure out how to do it, if that's even an option. It may just be some worthless object you carry in your ephemera. But I should give up because they did say, "I din't think you can win. It's a tragedy."

Oh, I noticed it was a play...I didn't know that Conway was the protagonist watching it all go down (making that half hour of game time much more relevant) I thought 'The Entertianment' was just a 'meanwhile elsewhere in Bardo' (such as most of David Lynch's stories run together featuring the damnations of various people whom do not know of one another).

From what you've written above I would assume

Conway lost his job...
...took up drinking himself to death
and the glowing skeletons are representing 'death by damaged liver'
coming to collect the souls of those fallen to the bottle.

Curiously it appears the author decided to address the 'Cartesian Theater' (brain in a vat) theory briefly at the start only for the sake of foreshadowing the story to be a tragedy as randomly decided on a dice throw by an undisclosed experimenting party.

[Shit on the Mirror Ball]

Originally posted by dawnppelganger:

I wonder if the whole story of Conway inspired Carrington to make The Entertainment and Conway plays the skeleton guy at the end, because Conway did want to help Carrington, and by the end Conway was a full on skeleton. He could be the skeleton actor.

I'm nearing the end of Act III - the debt for Conrad's leg being fixed is owned by the electric company; hence the glowing skeleton leg to show the electric company owns his flesh and blood.

Now ....about that Cave and Xanadu (remember what I mentioned about the Cartesian Theater above?)
Xanadu is a redundant cArticifcial Virtual Environment built to help the miners find their way out of the cave they are already trapped in. (most likely also referencing Plato's Cave)

Route Zero was originally closed off..I'm assuming as it collapsed taking the miners who were building it in the tunnel's collapse.

Whenever you travel on the Zero you'll notice that a lot of the landmarks are the same objects the miners were using in the shaft to mark their tunnels (think back to when Conrad is first in the mine shafts on that cart and you're using those same land marks to determine which tunnel to explore.)

Here's what I'm guessing happened:
After Conrad lost his Antique Shop driving job he fell into debt with society around him; that debt to be paid off by working the mines - an injury in the mines furthered his debt.
The other miners, whom died in the collapse, were working the mines to pay off their drinking habits.

[dawnppelganger]

I copied this directly from kentukyroutezero.com/the-entertainment/
'The Entertainment' was first presented at the Buffalo Street Student Theatre on the evening of November 16th, 1973, with the following cast:
HARRY ESPERANZA ............. Edgar Foy
LAWRENCE SLADE .............. Allen Vogel
PEARL SLADE ................. Sarah Wakefield
ROSA SLADE .................. Sydney Mueller
EVELYN HICKMAN .............. Paula Graves
BAR-FLY ..................... Uncredited
The production was directed by James B. Carrington. The setting was designed by Lula Chamberlain. The plays 'A Reckoning' and 'A Bar-fly' were written by Lem Doolittle, and later adapted by Joseph Wheattree for simultaneous performance as 'The Entertainment.'

I am guessing that YOU are playing the role of bar-fly, but it doesn't say who plays the Hard Times Distillery worker looking in the folder, only at the distillery tour Zeke said he picked them up. I do believe you are correct about bar-fly being in state of bardo, watching the damnations of various people, knowing you all will have to serve Hard Times at the distillery. I don't think skeletons are in a different realm because everyone sees them, many interacting with them, like Mary Ann at the Bureau was waiting for her order and said Shannon didn't look like them. I am still having trouble piecing the story all together; how the 'game' at the beginning is connected to the rest of the story. So you are probably right about it "only for the sake of foreshadowing the story to be a tragedy as randomly decided on a dice thrown by an undisclosed experimenting party."

[dawnppelganger]

Your comment that the glowing skeletons are representing 'death by damaged liver' made me laugh. Someone a few years back suggested that the skeleton parts on Conway meant injuries because in Act IV on the boat, his old shoulder injury acts up, so he gets a skeleton arm. But then why is everyone that works for Hard Times distillery a skeleton, even if they have no injuries. It makes more sense that the glowing skeleton means someone owns you, like you mentioned above. But then what about his arm? Maybe since he grabbed a beer out of the cooler, now he owes for that too? And why did he become a full on skeleton when Shannon turned her back for a moment and they took him away? Conway told Shannon on the Zodiac boat that Hard Times offered to consolidate his loans. It totally makes sense that debt turns you into a skeleton, but it seems to be only to Hard Times. In The Entertainment Harry says "All they want is debt! They feed on it! They put it in the whiskey!"

Shannon said something about the junk in the mines was to keep from getting lost in the mines. It's also important to navigating the zero. The combination of the two items will take you somewhere special. Certain combinations show up at different times throughout the game, some give clues to Conway's back story, other's are nothing. If you completely explored the caves, then when you go to deja vu you will see where the tram stopped right next to the zero. After Shannon mentions the deja vu, they drive away and the scene zooms out, showing the mine shaft. There is a shadow that looks exactly like Conway's shadow. Conway's ghost? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2034645458

[Shit on the Mirror Ball]

Originally posted by dawnppelganger:

Spoiler Alert: info about Act IV
Your comment that the glowing skeletons are representing 'death by damaged liver' made me laugh. Someone a few years back suggested that the skeleton parts on Conway meant injuries because in Act IV on the boat, his old shoulder injury acts up, so he gets a skeleton arm. But then why is everyone that works for Hard Times distillery a skeleton, even if they have no injuries. It makes more sense that the glowing skeleton means someone owns you, like you mentioned above. But then what about his arm? Maybe since he grabbed a beer out of the cooler, now he owes for that too? And why did he become a full on skeleton when Shannon turned her back for a moment and they took him away? Conway told Shannon on the Zodiac boat that Hard Times offered to consolidate his loans. It totally makes sense that debt turns you into a skeleton, but it seems to be only to Hard Times. In The Entertainment Harry says "All they want is debt! They feed on it! They put it in the whiskey!"

I've traveled the zero a lot the past few years and really enjoyed it, found it relaxing, maybe because I tend to rely on landmarks. That's good you noticed - Shannon gives you the clue about not getting lost in the mines and it's also important to navigating the zero. The combination of the two items will take you somewhere special, (except the pendulum's not with the casket, it's with the animal bones) but you learn pretty quick. Certain combinations show up at different times throughout the game, some give clues to Conway's back story, other's are nothing. If you completely explored the caves, then when you go to deja vu you will see where the tram stopped right next to the zero, they stopped digging right there. Not sure what that means though, a collapse? I remember the mine flooded, but the zero has no water. Have to look into it more.

Is there a variant of Christianity or another religion that suggests people wind up eternally damned to the earth if they're greedy and indulge too much? That's the moral I gained from Grimms' 'The Gingerbread House' ('Charlie & The Chocolate Factory' seemed to suggest the direct opposite - greedy kids were ejected from the simulacrum taking with them their malady suffered in the factory).

About Conway becoming completely skeletal after only injuring his leg --> I think the distillery would have most like purchased the debt from the electric company.
Now consider ACT III and The Mountain King - those skeletons appeared to be slave workers so perhaps this was the fate of Conrad and others in debt; mocking their living existence in Hell.

And quite commonly we tend to dream we are working a job that we hate....American Horror Story was the first time I seen someone address that with Papa Legba and one of the protagonists visiting him in a Chicken Shack in Bardo where she worked.

Of course, realistically, such a continued monotonous existence would not be practical nor lucrative for any surviving parties behind scenes. I've viewed my dreams as sort of a 'moat' and much more miserable alternate existence so that we don't try and escape Earth in our sleep before our time is served. (I imagine folks with the most horrible real lives also have the most terribly dreams to ensure they keep waking back up each morning) =)

Continued....

[Shit on the Mirror Ball]

.....Continued.

Aside from alternate existences and Skinner Boxes; the path that usually leads to these philosophies is depression and questioning what we are doing on Earth in the first place.

Following suite one might start monitoring closer what they think, how they think and how events around them synchronise some times leaving one to wonder if, in deed, we're being monitored within a simulation or replicating diorama of a set period of time long past.

The type of pondering which led to Carol's 'Alice in Wonderland.'

So the spiraling mine caverns and Route Zero may also represent being lost in philosophical questioning ( 'Rabbit Holes' / 'Existential Crisis' ) --- There was also a self help book we read in college written by a man who mentioned ( I'm not sure if he was the catalyst for the term ) 'The Downward Spiral' or a series of questioning (once a person loses reverence for life ) that opens window to a number of unsettling science ideas which have yet, to civilian awareness, no answer or disclosure. ( I know this is promoting of Blind Faith but I personally find that dangerous and would offer that everyone maintain some suspicion ( I think this is more or less what Buddah had suggested as well ) ).


So as I follow:

Conrad lost his driving job
Took up mining, drinking and depression
Wracked up a big debt
Now he's dying and fallen into Existential Crisis; questioning the downward spiral

Also: That's interesting that 'The Entertainment' was based on a forty plus year old Lynch-like stage play; Imagine that might be what this whole game is centered around.

[Shit on the Mirror Ball]

Originally posted by dawnppelganger:

Spoiler Alert: info about Act IV
Your comment that the glowing skeletons are representing 'death by damaged liver' made me laugh. Someone a few years back suggested that the skeleton parts on Conway meant injuries

It just came to me

I'm pretty sure Conway died in the mine; thus his whole body had to be replaced
Since he wracked up a debt in Bardo which he couldn't pay the distillery removed his afterlife identity and turned him into one of the mining slaves.

I also think his after life is a parody if his life up to the few years before he died.

If you remember back towards the beginning in the mines again right before that chapter ended Emily left Conway alone on the cart with his crippled leg for a few minutes; she went back down one of the dead end tunnels and found miners caps - she came back to Conway unsettled but didn't bother him with what she found or was thinking.

[Shit on the Mirror Ball]

I've just ended Act III
The skeleton at the end of The Entertainment was called 'Zeke' : he's a driver for the distillery

I'm starting to think this all a comedy totally mocking how completely stupid our social structure is no matter what governmental template your nation subscribes too.

I'm not sure if it's true but going by this story I suspect Kentucky's entire economy depends on whiskey, electricity and those mislead to believe they have a debt to society.