#timestamp conspiracies

So the sequence where Simon discovers the previous SM-13 pilot's Eden message happens between 00:26:15 to about 00:30:16. Simon takes 8 pictures over the course of this sequence to light what he's doing. Since they aren't the focus of the scene, most of the pictures are not visible to the viewer, or if they are, they're just slivers.

The picture visible at 00:26:34 though—

After the line is cut and the SM-13 falls/is dragged into the caves, Simon repeatedly takes pictures to light up the interior of the rover; about eighteen pictures if I counted correctly. The ones we see are as follows (pulled from DeadlyMelodic's website):

All of these photos are taken while the rover is powered down and unable to move. So hypothetically Simon should have been taking pictures of the exact same patch of rock over and over, but instead we see that something is moving out there.

So, either:

The walls are moving

The rover is drifting

Something is on top of the camera

That's the goddamn Eel

The sequence where Simon maps the caves and find the SM-8 starts at about 00:57:24. The SM-13's coordinates at the start are 702.07, 652.77. He's relying pretty heavily on the camera at the start, his process being: take a picture, mark his surroundings on the map, rotate the rover's direction by 90°, repeat.

Above is the condition of the map at 00:58:25 (hi Ellie), right at the start of Simon's mapping endeavors. At 00:59:35, we cut to Simon glaring at the aggressively taped down camera shutter as the tape slowly peels off.

(side note: Simon's stuck using medical tape, my guess is a micropore paper surgical tape, which 1. is intended to stick to skin/gauze/porous surfaces, not metal, and 2. doesn't even stick to its intended surfaces very well in my experience. Somebody please get Simon some duct tape.)

Based on how much used tape is seen lying on the floor at 01:00:35, this is just the most recent of many attempts to keep the camera going while he navigates and charts the caves.

This seems to have been a decently effective method, as we get a glimpse of the map at 01:00:13, and Simon's made significant progress in charting the caves:

Speculation:

My best guess as to what happens off screen leading up to 00:59:35 is as follows:

Simon tapes down the camera shutter and starts to navigate based on the resulting pictures, periodically getting up to take notes of his surroundings on the map. The constant stream of pictures also allows him to an eye out for any hazards (like Ellie). He makes significant progress with this method, but it has its drawbacks.

The tape doesn't last long, so Simon is constantly having to get up and either re-adhere or add more tape to the camera shutter to keep it going.

He gets increasingly frustrated with the limited time the shutter will stay taped down, building up to the interaction seen at 00:59:35, where Simon has layered tape over the button and is nervously watching it slowly betray him.

David, directed to the Convict: "This actually is bigger than us, man. Because if that's a skeleton down there, that means this ocean supported life. Things could be alive down there right now! Food! Air! We need this! Not just the COI, all of us! We need this! It's the first shred of real hope we've had in twenty f..."

Inferences:

Twenty four. Twenty four years since the Quiet Rapture, or at least since what remains of humanity had a shred of hope.

If we're assuming the movie places the Quiet Rapture in the same year as the game (357 EIC, 2349 AD), that puts the current year at 381 EIC, or 2373 AD.

UPDATE 5/30/26

Timestamp 01:06:51 reveals the current year: 386 EIC. See later reblogs for details.

Speculation:

Twenty four years since the Quiet Rapture... sounds right. Given the the SM-8's manual was requisitioned on April 1st, 366 EIC (timestamp 00:04:56), that puts the SM-13's second(?) voyage as happening about fifteen years after the SM-8.

Nine years to discover the moons, build at least eight hemorovers, send out at least eight voyages, probably more. Then, after the SM-8's destruction, fifteen years, five more hemorovers, six-ish more voyages (assuming that the SM-13 had one voyage before Simon's).

Ava/The Captain: "Is. There. Damage!? Just tell me if there is a problem with the sub because if you fell, the hull could be punctured, which means a leak, which means flooding, which means you die!"

Inferences:

"Fell" implies that the SM-13 is moving along a surface (the ocean floor), not through the liquid medium.

Earlier, timestamp 00:14:17, Ava/The Captain asks "Did you fall?" This implies that the COI tow ship can't monitor the SM-13's depth, at least in this instance. This is also supported by timestamp 00:02:54, Ava/The Captain says "Just keep an eye on your depth while you're down there... make sure you're not wandering down too far into the red."

This also implies that the tow ship can't monitor the condition of the SM-13. Confirmed at 00:15:19; Ava: "Good. I can't... see much, but it seems like the hull is in one piece,"

Speculations:

If I had to guess, the tow ship monitors the SM-13's tether, keeping it slack to allow for freedom of movement along the ocean floor. The incident at timestamp 00:13:32 where the SM-13 is struck on the port(?) side, then again on the stern(?) side, pulled on the tether and alerted the tow ship that something was wrong.

David, directed at the Convict: "To be honest with you, Captain's had a consolidated stick up her ass since the Quiet Rapture, but... but she cares about her crew. Some more than others, but, y'know."

Inferences:

Ava and David have known each other, at least in a professional sense, since before the Quiet Rapture.

Ava has likely been in whatever military structure the COI was formed from, and potentially has held rank, since before the Quiet Rapture.

Speculation:

If we're assuming that Ava and David have been a part of whatever military structure the COI was formed from (I'm going to be basing this off of American Naval hierarchical structures because the manual of the SM-6 was based loosely on NATOPS manuals), then they would have been 18 at the time of the Quiet Rapture at the very least. Likely older, unless the future comes with lowered age requirements for military service.

"A Familiar Voice," directed to Simon during flashback:

"...They have a tree. It'll feel just like home."

"Simon, don't be like that."

"You'll love it there."

Inferences:

This is the only dialogue that I can confirm is from "A Familiar Voice." Based on tone and context, I'd say this is Simon's mother or maternal figure. This conversation reads as a mother trying to console a child who's upset about having to move.

These pieces of dialogue are interspersed with other flashbacks pertaining to Simon's experiences related to Eden. That, in addition to the referenced tree, leads me to believe that Simon's mother is referring to Eden.

From there, I can reach the following conclusion:

Simon is not from Eden. He moved there as a child or young teen. Unsure if this is before or after the Quiet Rapture, though I'd presume before.

David, directed to the Convict: "That shouldn't have happened at all. The camera's wired into the black box but I- I must've wired it into the backup battery? I don't know. We were in a rush."

Inferences:

The SM-13's camera is wired into the black box and its power supply, which is separate from the main power supply. This is confirmed at 00:43:24; the SM-13's engine fails, the camera is the only system that remains operational.

David specified that he wired it, meaning he at least had a hand in repairing the SM-13 before its second(?) voyage.

Speculation:

Why are they rushing? Beyond the obvious "humanity's running out of resources and we're all going to die." The Captain was willing to cut corners with Simon's oxygen (timestamp 00:18:38) because of the urgency of the skeleton's discovery. Had they discovered something during the SM-13's maiden(?) voyage that would justify rushing to the point of faulty wiring?