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Items is the name given to a series of anomalous events and discoveries within PATHOS-II. These range from objects or entities to strange occurrences which have not been explained. They are catalogued in the form of text documentations and accompanied on occasion with video logs.

These documents were unlocked during the course of the ARG (alternate reality game) of SOMA and can be found now on its official website, although the text itself is mostly corrupted, leaving out major chunks of information. Four short stories were also added after the release of the game and focus on various characters mentioned throughout SOMA.

Item #1264

Item1264

Item #1264, dubbed the "Surveyor", is a case in which an unknown operator had begun taking control of several security cameras inside Lambda for a brief period of time.

Document on SOMA website.

Item #2656

Item #2656, dubbed the "Vivarium", is an item which served as the prototype for the ARK.

In the video log, Imogen Reed attempts to get the Vivarium to function with little success. Near the end of the log it seemingly shuts itself down before displaying an exact replica of both the room it is in and Imogen herself. The simulated Imogen appears to be panicking while the real Imogen freaks out and runs off-screen to shut down the Vivarium. The video then corrupts afterwards.

Document on SOMA website.

Item #3098

Item3098

Item #3098, dubbed the "Amalgam", details a control board in Upsilon that has become severely corrupted due to Structure Gel leaking from the ceiling above it.

Document on SOMA website.

Item #4017

Item #4017, dubbed the "Mockingbird", is a Mockingbird model which has obtained a brain scan of Adam Golaski's mind.

The video log is divided into two sections: the first part has Imogen Reed interviewing Mockingbird while the second part involves the real Adam Golaski confronting it.

In the interview, Mockingbird is convinced that it is a fully functioning human despite being a robot in disrepair on the floor. Imogen attempts to get the Mockingbird to become aware of its condition, such as making it aware of the fact that it is not standing when it says it is. When challenged with this the model becomes highly aggressive, leading to Imogen ending the interview.

In the confrontation, Imogen instructs the real Adam Golaski to begin talking to Mockingbird. Upon seeing Adam it is amazed by how similar they look. When the two realize they are the same person, they begin telling each other questions to see how much they know of each other until Adam asks Mockingbird what his father's last words were, which at the time no one else even knew he was dead. Mockingbird answers the question successfully, shocking Adam. Imogen attempts to get Adam to continue the interview but he bolts out of the room, effectively ending the confrontation.

Document on SOMA website.

Item #4510

Item #4510, dubbed the "A Beast Like Any Other", is a story which describes the evacuation attempt of Gavin Finley and Louise Meuron from Upsilon to Theta.

Document on SOMA website

Item #4520

Item #4520, dubbed "The Coin Flip", is a story that portrays the brain scanning process of Peter Strasky, Baxter Rogers and Robin Bass by Dr. Catherine Chun.

Document on SOMA website

Item #4530

Item #4530, dubbed "Good Bye Mr Munshi", details the life of Dr. David Munshi after Simon Jarrett died.

Many years after Simon's death, when Munshi is in his seventies, he is interviewed by a journalist named Andrew Mackrell. In it Munshi decides that Mackrell's lack of knowledge about his work can be used for him to "set it straight" and denounce the idea that his only motive for his work was simply to bring Simon back to life.

Mackrell then brings up the topic of Dr. Berg's death, with Munshi angrily saying he does not wish to speak about it. Mackrell asks him if he would bring Dr. Berg back to life if he could, seeing as how they were life-long friends. Munshi responds by stating that although Dr. Berg and Simon's minds could be brought back, it would not be them as they would no longer technically be human. He also states that their new states would make them go mad and become unstable.

Mackrell brings up a hypothetical scenario in which Berg and Simon could be brought back in a stable state, asking if Munshi would still accept them as them. Munshi repeats the question to Mackrell regarding his wife. He responds by stating he would and that a technicality such as not being fully human would not stop him from loving her regardless. The interview concludes afterwards.

Document on SOMA website

Item #4540

Item #4540, dubbed "How to Climb A Mountain", details the life of Antjie Coetzee as the operator for the Omega Space Gun at Tau.

Document on SOMA website

Item #5104

Item5104

Item #5104, dubbed as "Pseudomemory", is a piece of data found in Omicron's which the WAU is mis-interpreting as its own memory, therefore it keeps replaying the "memory" over and over again to try and remember more details about it. The data itself is a short clip of someone walking on the shore of a beach.

Document on SOMA website.

Item #7889

Item #7889, dubbed the "Death of Sarang", was an incident in which Mark Sarang committed suicide shortly after having his brain scanned onto the ARK.

Document on SOMA website.

Item #8682

Item8682

Item #8682, dubbed the "Warning", describes a transmission received from Upsilon showing Imogen trying to communicate. The message was received a few weeks after she was pronounced dead.

Document on SOMA website.

Trivia

  • Some of the video logs were filmed as part of the Transmissions live-action series made by Imago Films, for the promotion of SOMA.
  • Several letters with a scrambled signal animation can be spotted in the descriptions of items #1264, #3098, #5104, #7889 and #8682. The letters (al - ahp - ai - s - wht), when rearranged, form the phrase "what is alpha," which is most likely a hint intended to be used for the SOMA ARG.
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