A kind of time travel based on The Constant time moves?

[Cassielu]

When Wagstaff examined the WX-78 sitting on the nightmare throne, he said:

Quote

ROBOT_PUPPET = "Is that...? But it couldn't be!",

For Wagstaff, this level of surprise is clearly not normal. He had never been so surprised by anything that his first reaction was deny it and think it "couldn't be". And WX-78 wasn't the craziest thing he'd seen in The Constant.

Quote

FISH = "Remarkable! Upon its death, 'X's appear on its eyes.",

HAWAIIANSHIRT = "The flowers have fused into a pattern! Fascinating!",

So that begs the question: What surprised Wagstaff so much?

 

Is WX-78 itself?

In a recent host of horror short, we can see WX-78 meeting Wagstaff. Very cold. WX-78 was clearly not the one to provoke a reaction in this old bastard's heart.

Spoiler

Is the fact that WX is sitting on the nightmare throne?

If Wagstaff was not surprised by other survivors on the throne, the possibility that WX, who entered The Constant, would appear on the throne should not have come as a surprise to him.

Quote

FEM_PUPPET = "I must discover a way to transfer our positions.",

MALE_PUPPET = "I do so wish I could supplant him.",

 

In the WX-78 short, it can be seen that the WX was being built at the same time as the portal was being built:

Spoiler

But for Wagstaff at DS, he hasn't started building the portal yet.

In other words, WX-78 had not yet been built.

Quote

TELEPORTATO_BASE =
        {
            ACTIVE = "An inspired design! I must remember it for building future portals!",

This provides an explanation for Wagstaff's extraordinary Speech: he was surprised to he saw the future. A robot that he planned to build but hasn't built yet.

So the WX-78 is like the orange soda and the license plate, but it's recent enough and its connection to Wagstaff deep enough that Wagstaff realized it was from the future.

Quote

TRINKET_13 = "I've never seen such an ingenious opening device on a tin can!",

TRINKET_16 = "I hypothesize this came in through a rift.",

 

[kiwikenobi]

41 minutes ago, Cassielu said:

Is WX-78 itself?

It might be the first time he's seen WX since he sent them away. He might have assumed WX wouldn't have been able to survive.

44 minutes ago, Cassielu said:

If Wagstaff was not surprised by other survivors on the throne, the possibility that WX, who entered The Constant, would appear on the throne should not have come as a surprise to him.

Maybe he assumed that a person/creature had to be organic to be taken by the throne, so he was genuinely surprised that he was wrong.

 

And he says "future portals." He must have already made a portal, a "past portal." I think he's talking about additional portals based on the teleportato's now that he's seen it, but he must have built a portal already, or he wouldn't be there in the first place.

[Reiko24]

2 hours ago, kiwikenobi said:

but he must have built a portal already, or he wouldn't be there in the first place.

he isn't there though. It's just a projection, transmission. He could have projected into the Constant and saw all the interesting, useful things it has, and decided to build a portal.

[grm9]

7 hours ago, Cassielu said:

But for Wagstaff at DS, WX-78 had not yet been built.

WX was made when wagstaff's hair wasn't grey and his hair is grey in DS tho? He seems to be using the portal in wilson's house to project himself into the world in DS too, since the visual stuff on low hp.

[kiwikenobi]

44 minutes ago, Reiko24 said:

he isn't there though. It's just a projection, transmission. He could have projected into the Constant and saw all the interesting, useful things it has, and decided to build a portal.

Fair point about the projection, but he clearly already built one, since he sent WX through it. He still says "future portals" as if he has one or more he already made to compare ones he'll make later with.

[-Nick-]

The time flows in the constant like a do-si-do, forwards and backwards.