#z-8

Okay, so the beginning of the game tells us this:

We are a criminal tasked with exploring the blood ocean, in a makeshift submarine not designed for the depth of the ocean we're tasked to explore with no time for training.

Inside of the Iron Lung you have nothing but a map, some buttons, and a terminal tucked away in the back.

If you're able to get into the terminal after the lore update, you find a bunch of information. One bit of information is about the Blood Oceans.

So far, four of them have been discovered, two of which the COI have control over. Moon AT-5 (where the game takes place, which is newer!), and Moon Z-8.

Moon Z-8 is where most of the COI's Conviction Realization program happened prior to the COI finding Moon AT-5.

Now, the COI are definitely interested in what's on Moon AT-5, enough so that they would put a suboptimal craft into the 'waters' just to get their answers.

Now, as a convict desiring your freedom you are part of the COI's Conviction Realization program.

The Conviction Realization program is typically done using the SM-13 craft, our baby, the Iron Lung.

But, there IS another submarine that the COI use, typically by their own scientists! The SM-8.

So, my theory regarding this is that while the 3 burner subs (SM-13s) were being used for Conviction Realization on Z-8, after discovering AT-5 they sent the SM-8. The SM-8 saw something that peaked the COI's interest (the monster, the light, the oddly building like structures, you name it). But then the SM-8 was lost after they went down again.

But how did you get roped into all of this? What did you do to get sentenced to this?

Filament Station.

This makes it seem like all of the EIC's current convicts are essentially POW's that were loyal to Eden. (As seen via our boy Simon!)

Now, take a peek at that line near the top: Last updated today [5/378]

Now look at that last line: -with the final ones expected to repay their debts and integrate into c.o.i. society by 381 eic

There are more convicts to go through realization after you, and the COI has two more burner subs. Let that sink in for a second...

Yeah.

Now, moving on, there's one other thing in the sub apart from the terminal, a note from a previous convict.

Now, as I've shared before, I firmly believe that this note was left by a convict that never set foot on AT-5. I believe that this convict was in the Iron Lung on Z-8. Now, I believe that the convicts who go theough the Conviction Realization program on Z-8 have one of two endings.

Either they find something interesting enough that the COI are appeased, or they die trying by continuing to search desperately for something only to run out of oxygen and suffocate. Either the COI gets something interesting or they lose a drain on their resources. Either way they win.

Now, why was the note not found? I firmly believe that they didn't care. The terminal being onboard? The movie shows that the COI are able to access the images that Simon took, are able to remotely control the ship so long as it's in range. This is done via the terminal.

Every now and then they redact the data, but who cares if the convicts see something they shouldn't, they're likely to die anyway. And with the SM-8 out of commission the scientists need a way to do their work too, they can't afford the resources to make another SM-8, but with the right entries and access keys they can keep working, safely. And what better way to test the bounds of safety than by using a convict?

So, the terminals local database is kept up to date, and the first convict to go through Conviction Realization on AT-5 goes down.

And Simon just wants to live.

But the COI put the collective first.

After all, it's so much bigger than us...

Now, all of that being said, I have to leave off with this: The movie really missed a great opportunity for a brief moment of hope only to be followed by a deadpan 'what the f---' scene by leaving this part out: