[Spoiler] Artemis

[Athena]

So yesterday... I've been forced to decide if Artemis either lives in a simulation, or dies. I remembered the first time we spoke and how they just wanted to explore worlds. The regret in the little dialogue we had was apparant. So I figured I'd do them a favor by putting them in a simulation instead. So they can continue to exist and still they can explore.

Now Artemis called me. And I laid it out to them. They broke the connection shortly after they realized I wasn't joking around.

The second time they called me they told me how they dreamt that they finally met me. That they, Apollo and I were going to travel together. That they were no longer alone. And I'm not gonna lie, I feel like crap. It's probably stupid to feel this way but the way it was phrased and the situation around it really struck a nerve I didn't know I had.

So I feel like crap... I'd like to know, spoilers or no, will there be some sort of happier conclusion to all of this?

[der_wahre_Nils]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT4_Fefew78

[Marzipan]

Decisions and consequences, I´ve tried both ways at that point and none felt like being the right choice to me... You are not alone.

[Dirak2012]

No, no happy ending. However it doesn't really matter as you are also trapped in a simulation

[Galadhlinn]

I'm with Dirak on this. In my first save my empathy for Artemis led me to pull the plug. But subsequently, the more I learned about the story, the more I realized that the entire universe is created by the Atlas and due to an inherent bug, it (always) begins to fail and is reset over and over. Smells like a simulation to me. So my current main save, I let him continue on in the simulation. A. We're all in a simulation and B. in 16 whatevers, we will all be toast anyway and C. as long as Artemis is "alive" there is always the chance to restore him to this current iteration of the universe to join us for the grand finale, in 16, 15, 14, 13 . . . .

That, and physics is leaning more and more towards our reality (rl) likely being a simulation . . so live on!

[Zeno]

Yeah, it's a tough call, and one of the better bits of story-telling in the game. As it happens, I generally choose to let Artemis go.

(Yeah, I've played through the game several times, generally starting fresh after major updates. I just finished the entire story arc in my post-Frontiers play-through.)

Maybe I'm weird, but I've always found the Artemis story arc as a whole to be effective and moving, as video-game stories go. I mean, it's no Life Is Strange, but still the big reveal at the end (no spoilers) sends a chill down my spine, grasping its implications.

[Athena]

I'm both disheartened by your posts as I am encouraged. I truly am not alone in this apparently. I find it so strange how something with so little dialogue can have such an impact on people.

My biggest heartbreak moment was when Artemis said they made it to some high ground so they can shoot their multitool up in the sky when we're going to pick them up. Then we tell them that they are unreachable.

I don't know who wrote this story. Or how they know exactly what buttons to press with as little as possible. My hat goes off to them. I am apprehensive to continue as these calls I get from Artemis leave me genuinely sad. I do like the idea of all of No Man's Sky being a simulation. That kind of makes me want to keep going to see what they do next.

Thanks everyone.

[Zeno]

Once you finish the Artemis arc, all the way through a mission called The Purge, you will be given a blueprint for an artifact called Remembrance. Craft it, and you can then access terminals in some of the rooms that open to an Atlas pass v2 or v3, depending.

You will need to have completed the Atlas arc as well, to be able to craft one of the components of Remembrance.

The sequence of dialogue snippets you can read through those terminals extends the lore a bit further, and has somewhat startling implications as to who we are - we interlopers - in the Atlas universe(s). Be sure to look for those.

[Athena]

That sounds really good. I'll definitely pay attention that Zeno. I'm not sure what to do about the Atlas path. I'm kind of just vibing at the moment and getting all my exo suit slots. Maxing out my stuff and the like.

I just finished the Apollo thing I think. I'm at the Purge, and making my way to the center of the galaxy. I just got my last conversation from Artemis and I honestly think that putting them in a simulation was the wrong move. Instead of the peace of death, they suffer a lonely eternity. Ever since putting them in the simulation it no longer was about exploring but about meeting others that are the same as them. It breaks my heart. I'm glad its over now.

It wasn't that subtle that the players are in a simulation as well though. Maybe the story will throw some doubt on that theory but right now it was as obvious as a neon sign on a moonless night.

[Zeno]

You can complete the atlas path after you finish the Artemis story arc, or you can delay ending that arc long enough to complete the Atlas story line. You can start by visiting Polo and asking about Atlas terminals, then go from one to the next until you finish. I think it's 11 terminals in all.

[Rhaaxerus]

Oh boy, you came across the hardest decision in the game.
There really is no "happy ending" choice.
NMS has a very nihilistic undertone mixed into it.

But alas, in the end, what does it all matter?
"Life itself is only a vision, a dream. Nothing exists save empty space - and you! And you are but a thought."
Praise be to the Atlas! 16 16 16