#signalis analysis

[nightly-valkyrie]

I feel like bioresonance, as it's shown in Signalis, is pretty interesting.

Despite how little is known about it in universe, the player actually does get told quite a lot when compared to some other vague concepts of key importance (The Empress, The Great Revolutionary, etc...). But the player isn't just told about it, they're also shown alot of cases in which it is used, be it subtly or rather overtly. Some of it requires reading between the lines, but others, the game just kinda just says: "Yeah that's because of bioresonance".

I am curious as to how other people interpret this power, especially because I feel like at first they kind of present it as a nebulous stand in for what a lot of other sci-fi series have in terms of mysterious mind power. Like, Star Wars has the force, the cyberpunk genre tends to dabble in telepathy or other similar powers, Warhammer 40k has its psykers, Locked Tomb series with Necromancy, etc... Where bioresonance feels like it differs from these other powers, though, is in the scale. When cataloging all the things bioresonance has been used for, and is implied to be useful for, it manifests less as a little-understood power that's use spans from telepathy and telekinesis, to enabling Replika creation. Rather it comes off more and more as literal god powers, or more specifically the power to create reality. Spoilers under the cut:

One of the earliest uses of the power that also comes across as it's most obvious use is as essentially mind reading or telepathy.

It's used by the Kolibris as a form of peacekeeping, rooting out dissenting thought, or detecting trouble before it reveals itself. We know that they can use it to communicate with others but is especially useful within the cadre. Through these units we also learn it can be used to create illusions, that it can be used to directly harm people, and that in universe it probably functions on a wavelength in some way as it's affected by the radio. A document on the Kolibris calls them the most bioresonantly capable Replika to be created, and while I don't necessarily doubt that's the case I don't think it's as straight forward as they are "the best" at bioresonance. This is because the of the Falkes. It's worth mentioning that these units as of the events of the game are still considered "prototypes" so it may mean they aren't being considered in what units are most bioresonantly capable, and upon their release would then take on that title from the Kolibris, but for the sake of argument I want to continue as if they are included in the comparison of capability.

According to Yuri Stern, Kolibris are incapable of telekinesis, a power that Falke on the other hand is clearly able to use. But on top of that Falke also appears to have the power to manifest both her spears and her halo at will. Prior to her awakening neither is anywhere to be found, and she also manifests the shields later. This contrasts the Kolibris who are only able to create illusions. (Falke likely can also create illusions, and communicate telepathically through her switching between appearing corrupted and normal, and also her calling corrupted Aras mid-fight, but we also see the Mynah do the same so there's not much proof in that. So if she can it's to a lesser degree). With that in mind it's very possible that Falke isn't so much better at bioresonance than the Kolibris, but rather is a savant in a different field of the power all together, possibly even multiple or all. And where the Kolibris are far more capable of utilizing the full range of power their field of bioresonance they command, Falke only scratches the surface of her own. Hers being the direct creation and manipulation of reality, hence why she is called a regarded as a god. Other feats Falke can be seen doing range from, using blasts of the power, which seem to take the form of orbs of space which appear manipulated in a way that looks similar to gravitational lensing (gravity will come up again later).

I've also seen it implied that the arena changes which occur during her fight are also an expression of her power to shape reality around her. This idea of her power being widely encompassing of the spectrum of bioresonance, but to a lesser degree is furthered by comparing her then to Ariane. She appears to have a far more vast command of the power if it is to be believed she is the reason for the cycle repeating ad infinitum. She even seems to trump the Kolibri's command as her power is attributed to have been the reason Elster's (And her own) memories were placed in Falke's mind. This is likely also the reason that the LSTR-S2301 was never commissioned as the power somehow rewound time (while also implanting the unit with the LSTR-512 memories and remaking her every time she dies in the facility... Sierpinski Elster stuff is weird, she could be a whole post on her own :/). A book found in the Itou bookstore also says that the power has been used to klimaform planets, and even create artificial gravity. In another place its stated that bioresonance is essential to Replika creation and without it the process is likely impossible. While the first two are vague in how the power is used, it is interesting that the power is essential for creating Replikas, as it means that its power of creation isn't limited to non-living things as Replikas are alive, and bioresonance is essential to make them that way. All of this together paints a rather clear picture that the scope of possible applications of bioresonance isn't only unknown in universe, but even speculatively it appears to have no limit at all. A sufficiently skilled bioresonant adept may be unstoppable with a free ticket to change reality however and whenever they like. The only limiting factor being, first their rarity, and two their supposed loyalties. We know these individuals are rare as there is special exception made to their discovery, and even rarer is their ability to use the power.

We know that their supposed loyalties may be a issue as the Nation very likely kills any with the power they don't think that can have perfect control over. As any who can command the power well and decides they don't want to bow to either the Nation or the Empire could very well become a problem for both. Therefore it makes sense why we are told they are arrested even if suspected of being able to control the power

Julia is probably dead btw, not mentioned, but we know somebody with the same last name was trespassing and died in interrogation.

Its possible that those allowed to live are given markings denoting their status, the forehead is clearly visible and would allow them to be kept track of. Something that feels rather fitting, considering the inspiration behind the game.

ANYWAY, that's the post. I definitely got a bit rambly, and probably forgot stuff. I may just add them in edits or by reblogging my own post but I hope this was interesting. It's no surprise that this is a sort of god power, with all the talk of god-like beings and individuals becoming gods, but to see/explore the actual extent of this truth is pretty interesting regardless!

[j-m-rnr]

How "You" (the player) Made Elster Suffer

SPOILERS FOR SIGNALIS (and its endings)

What elevates video games to an experience that you can only get from said video games and not from books or film or shows is one particular quality: "interactivity". You are not a passive viewer in (most) video games, and a few game developers take this idea to the next level: having your interactions--your agency--affect the outcomes of a game's narrative and direction. In a more typical fashion, a game might have you select a speech option amongst a handful in order to change an event, or to choose your player-character's morality at that moment in time. Perhaps the game might even hit you with a visual reminder that your actions have consequences, or "they will remember that."

Signalis has this quality too, but it's one that often gets overlooked when discussions are had about the game because it's not obvious that it's happening. But rest assured, Signalis remembers 'how you play.' The variables involved are a decently sized list, but for now, the core of what you need to know is that there is a distinct playstyle difference between someone who gets the Promise ending versus someone who might get the Memory or Leave ending. (We will also discuss the Artifact ending briefly afterwards.)

The core of this thesis is that your first playthrough--and your first ending--is incredibly important because that ending is the punctuation at the end of what ought to be a blind playthrough. For extra context, Yuri Stern (one of the two devs behind Rose Engine) once wrote that there were no 'good' or 'bad' endings in Signalis. There is an ending screen that we all get that shows us our own statistics and performance, but the endings were not designed to 'rate' us on how well we performed. Instead, look at the endings from the perspective of Elster. What did Elster experience in your playthrough? Consider how she might have felt at the conclusion of the journey that you, the player, put her through.

If you saw the Promise ending, then Elster had to suffer. In order to get Promise, Elster not only has to kill as many enemies as she can find (and potentially kill those same enemies again), but she also needs to receive a significant amount of damage over the playthrough. Elster needs to be both brought close to death (Deaths Cheated) and entirely die more than a handful of times. The longer your playthrough is or the longer you hold Elster in this "hell" of a reality, as it is described, it becomes even more likely that Elster will receive the Promise ending. Thus, if you genuinely struggled with Signalis' gameplay on your first playthrough, you most likely got the Promise ending. On the other hand, if you were aware of how to get the Promise ending (perhaps this wasn't your first time) and deliberately saw Elster through this process, consider the following: what is Elster's reward after doing violence and having violence done upon her? That a playthrough defined by combat, death, and ultimately failure, ends cloaked in an overwhelming amount of red, and Elster has to commit one more act of violence on the one person she actually cares about.

Elster's Promise ending is as much a physical struggle for her as it is an emotional one. Without getting too deep into an "in-universe" reading of the endings, what we can say for certain is that the fact that this particular ending was titled as 'Promise' leaves me to believe that the emotions centered around the 'Promise' between Elster and Ariane are weighed down by a very real and very deep pain. In this way, one could describe Promise as the more cruel and severe of the endings. Again, this is NOT to say that Promise is a bad ending. Rather, it is the tip of the iceberg.

In order to get the Memory ending, you would have to play Elster quite literally like a machine: fast, efficient, and with few errors. Memory is given to players who cleared through the game without much trouble, maybe even to a point of mastery. Did your Elster only kill enemies out of necessity? Did she always keep a forward momentum, rarely getting hurt and seldom dying? Maybe you, the player, are no stranger to survival horrors. Or perhaps games in general come more naturally to you. Regardless of how well you might have performed, the conclusion for Elster here is finding an Ariane who does not remember her.

What is the reward supposed to be if you--by most survival horror metrics--played well? Perhaps reward is the wrong word. Perhaps Ariane's actions (or her reactions to Elster) ought to be viewed from another angle. Because look at how Elster reacts to Ariane forgetting her: "It's okay. Please, let me stay by your side a little longer." This scene, for what it is, shows you that no matter how perfect or proficient you might be, someone else could make a mistake. Someone else could forget the promise they made with you. And yet--despite all that--to Elster, Ariane's forgetting did not matter. Because to her, she made the journey, she made it to Ariane's side. And in the end, that's all that mattered to this Elster. It was getting there. That's what was important: the Memory. A heartbreaking ending, surely? But wait, there's more.

There's Leave.

This is perhaps the most peculiar (and contested) ending not just because of its content, but because it requires some highly specific and deliberate actions in order to even unlock--even more so than Promise and Memory. Whereas Memory had Elster focusing on moving to her destination quickly and Promise focused on having Elster linger in the 'hell,' Leave is affected by Elster doing the most to keep herself physically and emotionally safe.

repeatedly attempting to open already known locked doors

exhausting NPC dialogue beyond what they already have to say

having Elster heal constantly as soon as she's hit, staying in blue/nominal health

having Elster far overstay her welcome in those 'memory' sequences (such as on the Penrose, on the beach, and any scene that involves the first-person perspective)

Instead of immersing Elster in the cruelty of the 'hellish reality/dreamscape' she finds herself in--

Instead of having Elster focused on a distinct goal--

If you had Elster linger in the environment, in the presence of other characters, and the past (her 'happier times' perhaps), Elster instead finds a state of twilight.

Because the Leave ending starts off the same as the other two: Elster still finds her way to the Penrose, goes inside, read Ariane's notes, finds the body of the original Elster-512, receives the same prompt just before heading to the cryopod that read "Go Home?" and when she accepts it, where does she go? Back outside.

Instead of back out to the endless red desert from before, she's met with a blue, calm night sky seemingly reflected by water. Quite literally, this is the Elster's "twilight." Twilights are a literal signifier for a period of time between daylight and darkness (and vice versa) but they could also signal a period of obscurity and ambiguity. After tossing away her armor and curling up on the ground, Elster almost looks peaceful. Maybe. Because after all that the player put her through (and also what they did not), can we surmise that Elster was able to at least find a little relief at the end?

We never see the inside of the Cryopod in this ending and I have to ask why? Did Elster never go inside? Or was there no one in the cryopod at all?

Allow me to briefly introduce a new idea (I know it's late in this already long essay but stick with me): have we yet considered that every piece of text that shows up on screen like the ones we see above (unless otherwise identified as Alder, Falke, Isa's memory) has always been Ariane talking to Elster? Because here's another detail about Leave, it's the only ending to not include "Remember Our Promise".

We find in Ariane's own notes near 1:1 phrasing as she described why she wanted to leave Rotfront on the Penrose. What comfort could Ariane possibly find after these words flash on the screen: "In the end, I had to leave you behind. I wanted to see you again, but it's too much. Forgive me." That is, unless, the final words in Leave were not meant for her by Elster but for Elster by Ariane. Again, if we're viewing the game from the perspective of the player's/Elster's interactions and experiences having a tangible effect on Elster, then who's to say it did not also do the same with Ariane? How did Ariane feel after witnessing Elster try so desperately to survive, healing at every available opportunity, checking locked doors that would surely never open, talk to other Replikas that were surely doomed? Was the pain too much for Ariane as she realized that this Elster would rather soak in the memories of happier times than to deal with the pain of the cycles? Perhaps Leaving after such reality-bending nightmare is reasonable response for both Ariane and Elster. But this is not to say that Leave is the happier ending.

One last thing: the Artifact ending. In fact, acquiring the Artifact ending is in and it of itself a meta-narrative ending. By pure technicality, Artifact is an ending where those who found it first (and the resulting players who looked up the guides made afterward) dig much deeper in the game--into the nature of the dreamlike reality itself--to find a new conclusion through mutual means. In other words, Artifact could not be obtained without multiple players controlling multiple Elsters convening and contributing together, like in the scene showing the graves surrounding a newly created or conceived 'tesseract'--that shiny object in the center, which is also the symbol of the game itself.

And the results of their (half-literal and half-figurative) ritual was conceiving a new reality?/present?/ideal? where Elster and Ariane are finally together. Does this mean that, with their efforts combined, they found a way to beat death and live with each other once again? It's almost like this ending serves as a congratulatory thank you from the developer just as much as it might serve as an actual extension of the game's events into something new?/hopeful?/neverending? Perhaps it can also be as simple as viewing the dance that Elster and Ariane share as complete and utter wish fulfillment for the viewer (for the player and whoever the Red Eye is). But the Artifact ending rabbit hole is another talk for another time...

Back to Yuri's words from earlier,

"I wish people would be more open to let others figure out for themselves how their ending made them feel. Instead of telling a streamer "you got the best ending!", maybe you can ask "did you think this was an interesting conclusion?" and they can decide if they liked it or not."

If you made it this far, I would like to thank you! Did this perspective of player agency affecting the ending of Signalis make the game more interesting to you? What made your first playthrough of Signalis interesting in the first place?

[rcwar-var]

Some analysis about cultural details in SIGNALIS。

Little spoiler。

[b1dl0]

[lintwriting]

The Red Eye, Godhood, and the King in Yellow

red eyes are everywhere in signalis. surveillance cameras with blinking red lights following your every move, the symbol of the nation is a red eye, those monitors with red hexagons like a wall of red eyes, hell even your viewscreen

Even Ariane's eyes are red, as she's associated with the red eye, which itself is associated with The Flesh and The King in Yellow and The Empress and bioresonance.

I think this is because in a lot of ways, Ariane is the god of this time loop. It is by her will and bioresonance that we're trapped within it. In this place where reality is in debate, where her beautiful dreams ARE our reality. Some interpretations of the King in Yellow view him as a metaphor for the death of god in the face of decadence, of when artists and philosophers decide that there is no truth higher than their own art, where the beautiful mask becomes reality.

God in the West, in many ways, is connected authoritarianism, what with the Calvinist idea that he predetermines who goes to hell, his all-seeing eyes, his demand for strict obedience. In a lot of ways, Ariane is stuck recreating the Nation's authoritarian control over her life with the power of her own authoritarian godhood, over and over in those loops, like the cycle of abuse, trauma, flashbacks, and learned helplessness, until we put God out of her misery with our own two hands.

[ihaveforgortoomany]

The Isle of the Dead painting by Böcklin in R1999

(Ignore the watermarks I cant get rid of them)

Back with another "Reverse 1999 really likes making obscure references to paintings" and this one features in the special EP for 1.9 'Reasons' performed by Dead Marbles.

(Fun fact: I am not an art history major lol, the Oath of Horatii painting was for a French Revolution essay, and a saw a YT short for the Seventh Plague from Hell painting)

(Credit to YT georgieegames for offhandedly mentioning the painting when reacting to the EP, also I recognise the painting from Signalis ... And Im realising the pipeline of doomed yuri again heh)

Heres the full shot from the EP. For this painting is harder to discern the intention of its inclusion since the original painter never gave a clear explanation to the painting. What we do know about the painting is its multiple versions, the one above is the 1880s one, other variations include a white and black photograph version with each version showing the walls growing as the figure in the boat gets closer.

(For the EP there are flowers present (maybe roses from the thorns but I cannot see them clearly)

The interpretation most go by is that the figure on the boat is Charon and that they are travelling towards death on the River Styx or River Acheron. The Manus or the Aperion followers that left the island with Sophia are depicted here (you can see the outfit under the cloak in certain closeup shots).

Honestly Arcana is an omen of death at this point, her presence ends in the death, torment and destruction of others.

Alright this part will be tricky to explain and again I am not an art major.

One of the few things Böcklin said about the painting was that it was reminicent of a dream. He was part of the Symbolist Movement that focused "on the use of abstract and metaphorical language and images to represent the absolute truth" (Hypercritic). Freud was also writing similar ideas at the same time. This idea of searching to depict the absolute truth in abstract ways could link to Sophia's search and vengeance in the phenomenal world, seeking a truth that 37 or Aperion could not give her.

The composition does create a feeling of confusion and lack of direction, while the Manus are all heading towards Arcana and Sophia, only Arcana is left assured in heading towards the dark abyss behind her. The whole EP is Sophia's resolve and aftermath of learning the futilty of the teachings she tried to follow: now as part of the Manus having to seek a new path that she may be necessarily be sure of but must follow through regardless.

This is the general idea I got from the painting, its fun to do these (the only one I havent been able to do is the painting in the scene between Constantine and Druvis in Book 3/4 since the painting is too faded and AI has fucked up google search)

[quinnydoll]

No quotes from a game have had more layers to me than the initially angsty feeling line, “Perhaps, this is hell”

Let me paint a picture for you. This line came up for me after more than 12 hours of fighting through a host of encounters with what seems to be actual undead cyborgs who all seem to have one singular goal: to kill you in particular.

This whole time, your character has one goal in mind, one singular goal which is her driving force for the entire time she’s spent stranded with a downed ship and a missing partner: Keep your promise. If you’ve played Signalis in its entirety, and at least gotten the “Promise” ending, you know that the promise in question in its literal form isn’t as romantic as one might hope for through the course of the game, but I think there’s more to it than that.

In the end, it doesn’t matter what the promise is, it’s entirely metaphorical, it’s a plot device. The promise is Elster’s driving force to keep going forward, to push to find Ariane. Elster’s promise in the end is to come back, to come home.

I choose to read this line as a rejection of the idea that what Elster is doing is just a pointless hell for the sake of prolonged suffering. Perhaps, this is hell. Perhaps, this is just an agonizing circle of pain, but why should you just let the idea that this world is here to make you suffer make you not fight for what you care about?

anyway, play Signalis if you haven’t, it’s really really good.

[luminescenthunter]

*Signalis spoilers included in this post!!*

One of the questions I have on repeat in my mind with all I know from my Signalis playthrough so far is: "How many times has Elster been through this?"

This question first (solidly) came up when the elevator incident happened- When Adler says his bit and pushes Elster into the open shaft and, instead of falling and dying, lands on a cushion of bodies that look strikingly similar to her.

It's not an insane amount, but it's enough to be intentionally disturbing and attention grabbing.... Until you go down to the next floor below and realize "oh. It's a lot fuller than it initially appeared."

And it's reinforced much later than that, as Elster finds her way to the 'Threshold' in the red area, coming across more on her way.

Truly, how many times has Elster been here before? How many times has she woken up and searched? How many times has she died/been killed?

It's definitely been hundreds. Who knows, maybe even thousands?

I feel like she maybe acknowledges this in the red Threshold area. There's just something (or a few somethings) about that scene...

But, in the end, it doesn't matter. She's made a promise. And she'll do anything to keep it.

[hazzzyrider]

big pink neon hearts popping into my eyes when you let me sit on your lap and infodump on you about SIGNALIS, the award winning indie survival horror game about communist space lesbians beyond the oort cloud separated yet bound by something intimate and horrifying beyond any earthly comprehension

[iidsch]

I never participated in the tlou discourse because I hadn't played any of the games, but now that I've watched someone play the first game I gotta ask........ why was everyone so mad about the plot of part II when part I is far worse. Like I'm sorry wdym Joel escapes with Ellie, completely ignoring her autonomy to decide wether she wants to do this or not, kills her mother's friend and former guardian and lies to her, dooming all humanity, just because he wants to be a dad again and he's too much of an asshole to get a new wife? Fuck this guy fr, glad he gets killed in part II!

[jofiah]

man, the more I think about Signalis, the more frustrated I feel with my playthrough of it. I streamed it, so I was helped by chat a little bit, but the whole time I feel like I was just Not Getting It... like, I was waiting right up until the end for some plot beat that would make it all make sense, and that didn't seem to happen? I can't stop thinking about the game, but also how lacking my ability to figure things out for myself is. It must have been so frustrating for Signalis fans to watch me play and fail to understand what's happening so hard...

I'm annoyed at myself for not getting it, especially since I used to consider myself quite analytical, and thought I'd be good at figuring things out and understanding symbolism :x

[rcwar-var]

Some analysis about cultural details in SIGNALIS。

Little spoiler。

[wealmostaneckbeard]

can i get your sources and more reading material on nihilistic lesbianism? i am genuinely curious about the theoretical framework

Nihilistic Lesbianism is the belief that lesbians exist and that they are, to some degree, insignificant. It occupies the middle ground between Purposeful Heterosexuality (the purpose of life is to find someone of the opposite sex that you can make babies with) and Sapphic Chauvinism (love between two women is inherently superior to all other relationships). To ascribe aspects of divine power or purpose to a woman's love for another woman is delusional. To think that one could find salvation through procreation is equally delusional.

Any work that depicts the existence of lesbians, while emphasizing how little impact their sexual orientation has on their lives, is canon to nihilistic lesbianism. One example is the game Signalis where various lesbians (confirmed and unconfirmed) are subjected to horrifying political machinations and incomprehensible cosmic forces. The victims are chosen, not because of their sexual orientation, but merely because they happened to be alive in the wrong place and time. Under different circumstances, a different group of people could've been the victims. Or that other group is subjected to the same crisis as the lesbians, and neither of them survive.

Which brings us to broadening the scope of the ideology to form Nihilistic Homosexuality. It is the belief that homosexuals of all genders exist, but their significance to the universe is negligible. It is also a rejection of the perpetuation of multigenerational trauma which is seen as a necessary evil by heteronormative ideologies.

In conclusion, the only good thing about a tragic narrative is that it has to end and the best way to do that is with love.

Sources are below the cut:

I MADE UP THIS IDEOLOGY AFTER PLAYING SIGNALIS!

I AM THE PRIMARY SOURCE!!!!

I TRIED USING GOOGLE AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS

[lintwriting]

signalis, hope, and coping under authoritarianism: what does the artifact / lily ending mean?

“You’re like a fish that’s only now discovering that her whole life has been dictated by the movements of sea currents. That’s what ideology is. It’s like there are these invisible forces everywhere, pushing and tugging you this way and that, and you don’t even know they’re there.” “Is it even possible to imagine a world without ideology?” “Of course it’s possible.” - Disco Elysium (2019)

Hope - 我的未來不是夢 - My Future is Not a Pipedream

Something notable about Signalis is that although the anti-authoritarian politics are so visceral and in your face, the characters themselves rarely seem to comment on it. The closest thing we get is Elster calling the Nation of Eusan's flag useless.

You could imagine a different kind of video game would have Elster work in an underground resistance movement, but here, the most we get is Elster trying to save her girlfriend off the books and a comment about the flag. In fact, some players leave the game thinking it's "non-political."

The endings, similarly, feel visceral but mostly leave players confused. Different endings in video games are usually tied to player choice, and usually it's satisfying and direct. In Signalis, it's much more confusing and arbitrary, like the way many players say that the more experienced you are, the harder it is to achieve certain endings.

That's not usually the case in video games, because each ending is supposed to represent a player's choice, and often each run's ending reflects the player's individuality. There is some aspect of that, like "cowardice" or "aggression," but it's quite abstract and left to interpretation.

I think the endings and the politics are similar in feeling visceral and confusing because it represents the nature of choice under authoritarianism for Ariane and Elster: there's no freedom of choice, only the illusion of choice and the orders of the state.

Elster and Ariane are like the fish in that Disco Elysium quote. They live their whole life under authoritarianism and don’t know any different, because the water is an irrefutable constant to them (though Ariane maybe knew a little of what’s out there thanks to the book shop). The regime pushes them around and dictates their life like water currents, unseen but felt.

I've said it before, but this is best exemplified by two of the important settings in the game -- Serpinski and the Penrose. They represent the 'choice' Ariane had in the direction of her future before the events of the game. She could go to her death at a cruel prison mine, or she could join the space program to find a new world. She chose the latter, but it was an illusory choice -- both roads would've led to her death anyways, as she comes to find out on the 3000th cycle aboard the spaceship.

all the other characters are stuck repeating the choices in this time loop, until they're meaningless enough to not be choices at all.

Similarly, we don't get the choice to fight back against the regime. We barely get a choice in the 4 endings, but even that is illusory -- none of the endings are happy ones, and all of them are equally true, according to the Devs.

That exemplifies the point of authoritarianism--the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom, or choice.

Yet, Elster and Ariane found a place where they COULD imagine that the Nation's ideology doesn’t matter. Where authoritarianism doesn't matter. Being with each other on the Penrose, far away from any prying red eye of their surveillance state. It’s their own tiny world, and it reflects the way Elster doggedly pursues Ariane in-game rather than engage with the politics around her.

It reminds me of this comment I read about the lack of a happy ending in Signalis:

"For the longest time I thought Signalis had no happy ending but I realized it did have a happy ending... The game just happens after that good ending was supposed to end. Ariane and Elster lived happily together having escaped the regime's rule through the Penrose Program for what we can only assume was a lengthy enough amount of time to travel space to other planet(s) until the ship naturally broke down, but Elster is trying to cling on, refusing to accept that death is inevitable. Elster has the same mentality of a relative refusing to unplug their grandpa despite him having already happily lived his life to it's conclusion, instead she painfully extends Ariane's existence on life support when Ariane just wants to die peacefully because she already accepted its inevitability." - @SymbolCymbals2356 June 28, 2024 on Signalis and The Dissolution of Self: A Video Essay

The tragedy of Signalis is that they couldn’t truly escape authoritarian ideology. Their happy ending was a passing illusion.

And the Promise is Elster learning this fact over and over again, that she has to kill this happy ending, this dream, her denial, with her own two hands. The beauty in the tragedy is that, for them, it was indeed possible to imagine a world without ideology, but only for a little while.

coping under authoritarianism: what do the endings mean?

Under this interpretation, the endings correspond with the different ways people cope under authoritarianism, all equally useless at changing the outcome.

Memory is like Ariane has returned to being a fish. A return to ignorance, not really knowing anything. Ignorance is bliss.

Leave is like when people say “I’m going to go off into the wilderness to escape society” (which means death anyways because people can’t survive without society) because they’re unable to handle their bleak political reality.

Promise is facing it head on and accepting it, despite how much despair that brings.

And the Lily Ending is like intentional denial.

The Lily Ending

It’s like the Great Gatsby where Gatsby delusionally thinks he can go back in time to before Daisy married someone else for money.

It's like Ki-taek’s delusional dream that he’ll earn enough money buy back that mansion and his father’s freedom in Parasite.

It's like Puella Magi Madoka Magica's Homura Akemi stealing the power of her lover-turned-god so she can bend reality to have more time with her beloved, even though she knows this reality is unsustainable, either due to the energy needed to maintain it or because the god is starting to remember the old.

They know the reality, but choose to pursue delusional hope anyways.

Elster uses an Eldritch ritual to turn back the clock to before she and Ariane realized they were doomed, so they can have one last dance together, maybe for eternity. And yet, the red eye of authoritarianism is like a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

The Red Eye itself is a pretty flexible symbol, which the game points out to us by name dropping pareidolia, so it can represent many things: the evil god Elster sacrificed to in order to gain the power to bend reality, Ariane watching as Elster uses Ariane’s bioresonance to play dolls with reality, or the oncoming doom of realizing that their future is a pipedream.

Either way, the feeling of cold comfort/delusional hope remains the same. This is why this ending is the "special one" despite not being any happier than the others. It's emblematic of what Elster's character is doing throughout the game: Elster doesn't care about the world around her because she is focused on her own world, her life with Ariane. Her pipedream, her special brand of denial, of ignoring her political reality.

[some-creep]

So I didn't watch the video (and I'm not going to because. Idk about you guys but if I REALLY like something I generally don't watch videos about it.) But my friend mentioned watching a signalis video where they compared it to. American psycho.

[deepfriedtrout]

Yo. Signalis writers out there. I have a pretty funky idea I'm leaving out for you because I cannot write for the life of me