[Lore] Empathy Module - Disconnected Short + ARG ending

[Wumpair]

With the end of the Expectamus ARG, I decided to rewatch the old Disconnected Short; I found an interesting detail that I think was overlooked earlier!

When WX and Wagstaff are fighting, WX throws this:

And now look at this frame from the comic...

It is the exact same dohickey! And with its heart-shaped design, it reminds me of the empathy module (the one Winnona connects to, which causes WX to regain all those memories and eventually destroy it in the Disconnected short).

My interpretation: It looks to me that Wagstaff was actually the one behind the design of the empathy module for WX, as he hoped his colleague would still remain somewhat human! I think that the oval-design that WX destroys by the end of the trailer is the old version of the module, while the cylindrical-design that Wagstaff puts on the table in the comic is an improved version; but WX rejects it, throwing it away in a frenzy! Clearly, the argument Wagstaff had, is that this is crossing a line, and that they are no longer human, it must be stopped. The fact that the old design was also disconnected within their main body, suggest that that one too WX decided not to connect inside themselvs right form the very beggining. Was it human-WX who made that choice, or was it the robot who decided that it is time to cut the human part out, and when Wagstaff came up with the new module, they simply did not install it properly? I think this was the critical moment when the mind split into two, the heartless automaton and the man, who, now, without anyone to change the IV that kept them alive has witnessed their creation outlive them.

 

Either way, it is crazy that of all people, Wagstaff would be the one who designed something that was meant to amplify one of the most positive parts of humankind - their ability to understand others, and be able to comprehend others feelings by trying to see through their eyes... Damn, never would I have expected Wagstaff to be the one; and yet this was there the whole time!! 4 years ago, it was already there in this animatic, and we all missed it (I at least for sure did; I just though WX was throwing some junk at Wagstaff from anger)!

Can I just take a moment to aplaude Klei on their story crafting, and the lore they created for DST?! I don't have words to descrive it, the ending of this ARG really made me look at WX in a whole new world, it was very emotional. Thank you everyone in the team for creating this beautifull story to share with us!! 

[Popian]

1 hour ago, Wumpair said:

the IV that kept them alive

On a surface level it looks like this is what is happening, but the ingredients in the field notes (that had things found in North America and Europe most likely set in North America) had toxicants that would result in things like kidney failure.

How does someone who was able-bodied "suddenly" become bedridden? We can assume it is one of:

• Illness relapse
• Self-induced
• Wagstaff
• Someone else/convenient magic (bad storytelling!)

A relapse is given context with Wagstaff's stomach problems after portal travel. Is it from eating the apple, using Woodrow(?)'s portal (Wagstaff prefers to use his explosive portals to avoid this defect), or any portal? It is not shown directly that Woodrow suffers from these symptoms, however.

For anything else, it rests on the purpose of the IV. Is it for feeding because Woodrow has trouble/refuses to eat, or a dialysate to manage kidney failure? What is going on with the blanket/dress that makes the stomach to leg area look bloated?

[Bumber64]

We see that Wagstaff and robot WX regularly used the projector (rather than the portal) to enter the constant. (I don't think human WX has ever used it?) I'm pretty sure the mechanical portal leaves users stranded in the Constant. (Is the Webber spider a product of the projector, or a random fluke of the portal?)

I assumed that the IV was to keep human WX alive because he's almost completely paralyzed while piloting robot WX. If he was buying time for a terminal illness, he may have always been planning on dying while connected to his new body. Wagstaff obviously wasn't letting that happen on his watch.

Edited yesterday at 02:36 PM by Bumber64

[Popian]

12 hours ago, Bumber64 said:

We see that Wagstaff and robot WX regularly used the projector (rather than the portal) to enter the constant. (I don't think human WX has ever used it?)

Wagstaff:

1. Enters the Next of Kin portal
2. ???? Hamlet or nothing if Hamlet happens after
3. Exits the portal in Woodrow's lab

WX78 is in the Constant shown entering in Disconnected, controlled remotely by the helmet...

Woodrow's lab has a working portal. It's not far-fetched to think it implies prior use, keeping in mind that it might not have. The projector is hidden behind a curtain and Woodrow is not shown using it, so it is safe to conclude that Woodrow did not use the projector because it wasn't a major plot point or attached to it in any way.

12 hours ago, Bumber64 said:

I'm pretty sure the mechanical portal leaves users stranded in the Constant. (Is the Webber spider a product of the projector, or a random fluke of the portal?)

Wagstaff either found a way back from the Constant or immediately teleported to Woodrow's lab. The spider is a good support of the previous idea, suggesting that his portals "malfunction" in a special way that allows escape (then explodes).

13 hours ago, Bumber64 said:

I assumed that the IV was to keep human WX alive because he's almost completely paralyzed while piloting robot WX.

The IV consumption montage can be interpreted in different ways. I think it depicts the start of an addiction to piloting and working on WX (technically able to hook up oneself and vulnerable to tampering) but other interpretations such as showing the time Wagstaff has been looking after Woodrow are valid if they do not contradict what has been shown.

13 hours ago, Bumber64 said:

If he was buying time for a terminal illness, he may have always been planning on dying while connected to his new body.

The cybernetics research adds weight to this, though it's still in "we don't know, but possibly" territory.

13 hours ago, Bumber64 said:

Wagstaff obviously wasn't letting that happen on his watch.

No matter how I look at it "bad Wagstaff" seems to be the dark reality. There is the build up that he does things less out of compassion and more to further his own goals. There is the fact that he acts suspiciously when producing the cylindrical empathy module and is bothered that Woodrow is working on the robot and not the portal. Looking at the state of the lab, Woodrow never cared or was not allowed to work on the robot again.

There are a lot of unanswered questions with the closing of a major chapter (WX skilltree+ARG) that's less likely to be revisited with Wagstaff "gone". We don't know what the cylindrical empathy module is supposed to do. We don't know who chose to disconnect the rounded empathy module.