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PATHOS-II
PATHOS-II
35°13'2.26"N 36°1'46.78"W[1]
Location Mid-Atlantic Ridge, North Atlantic Ocean
Main Facility Site Theta
Administration
• Overseer Keith Fourqurean
• Chief Factor, Upsilon Jane Adams
• Site Service Engineer Heather Wolchezk
Divisions P.-II Security
P.-II Logistics
History
• Established 2060s
Geothermal plant is constructed Around 2063[2]
Omega Space Gun is active 2093 – 2103
(10 years)[3]
Impact Event January 12, 2103
Depth 64m – 4114m
(209ft – 13497ft)
Population 60[4]
Welcome to PATHOS-II — Your Expressway to the Stars.
PATHOS-II; Slideshow Narrator[src]

PATHOS-II is a multinational research organization headquartered in the Pathos-II Research Facility,[5] a sprawling underwater research complex located at at the coordinates 35°13'2.26"N 36°1'46.78"W[1] on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean. It was likely built off of the nearby archipelago of Azores, being approximately 592km southwest from the closest population center of Lajedo on the westernmost isle of Flores Island.

While autonomous and self-sufficient, the multinational corporations Haimatsu Technologies and Carthage Industries had stakes in its operation. It's also possible that the United Nations had some involvement as well,[6] which would make sense given the various institutions worldwide that had a vested interest in PATHOS-II's Omega Space Gun.

PATHOS-II's main facility/on-site headquarters are Site Theta. In terms of surface administration, PATHOS-II has a main port/off-site headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal, an auxiliary port in Cádiz, Spain, and satellite offices in New York and London.

It is the primary setting of SOMA, along with the mini-series Transmissions.

History

PATHOS-II was initially built to conduct thermal mining during the 2060s and, later, developed the Omega Space Gun. It has a diverse staff of scientists and engineers from all across Earth involved in multiple research projects such as marine sciences, hydroculture, and deep sea construction. An artificial intelligence known as the WAU was used to oversee primary operations of the facility.

Terminology

  • Function — The official term used for the occupation of personnel on PATHOS-II. “Profession” is used once, on Brandon Wan's ID badge, and “Position” is used once on an old key personnel report for Theta.

Sites

Pathos II

A simplified map of PATHOS-II's primary sites.

PATHOS-II consists of eight underwater platforms and one surface platform, Site Omega. Sites Upsilon, Delta, Theta, Lambda and Omicron are located on a relatively shallow section of the ocean floor referred to as the plateau. Sites Tau, Alpha, and Phi are located on the Omega Sector, a small section of the abyssal plain that lies below this plateau owned and operated by PATHOS-II.

The known depth of PATHOS-II below the surface ranges from 64m – 4114m (209ft – 13497ft), with the average depth of PATHOS-II below the surface being 1206m (3956ft), and if the surface location of Site Omega is included the average depth of PATHOS-II in all its entirety is 1055m (3461ft). Discounting all elevation extremes (Sites Tau, Alpha, Phi, and Omega) the average depth of PATHOS-II is 105m (345ft) below the surface.

  • Site Upsilon - 99m (324ft)
    • Upsilon contains the facility's primary power generation plant. Geothermal boreholes are used to generate electricity. Upsilon also contains extensive facilities used to service and maintain PATHOS-II's collection of robots and Universal Helpers.
  • Site Lambda - 96m (314ft)
    • Little is seen of Lambda in-game, but it is known that Lambda contains a shuttle transit hub that connects all of the other sites. It would have also served as a welcome center for any potential visitors.
  • Site Delta - 64m (209ft)
    • Delta is a small site situated atop an outcropping that extends up from the Abyss. Consisting of several disconnected buildings, a comm antenna and a small control center, Delta is primarily responsible for manufacturing aerodynamic projectile shells for payloads to be launched from the Omega Space Gun.
  • Site Theta - 153m (501ft)
    • Theta is the main facility of PATHOS-II. Its one of the larger stations, containing extensive research and development laboratories, staff living quarters, and administrative offices.
  • Site Omicron - 115m (377ft)
    • Omicron is located on the edge of the plateau, overlooking the Abyss. Omicron is dedicated almost entirely to research, primarily focusing on marine biology, hydroponics, and the effects of structure gel. Omicron also operates the Abyss Climber Rig (ACR), an elevator used to ferry personnel to and from the sites located in the Abyss.
  • Site Tau - 4114m (13497ft)
    • Tau is located in the Abyss, approximately half a kilometer from the lower endpoint of the Climber. Guide lights illuminate a path between the Climber and Tau, used to safely traverse the Abyss without provoking the wildlife. Tau contains several maintenance areas and living quarters for the crew stationed there, as well as a cargo transit system that connects to Phi, originally used for shipping payloads to the space gun.
  • Site Alpha - Depth Unknown
    • Alpha is a secret installation, whose existence is not known by all but a select few of PATHOS-II's staff. Alpha is where the WAU's central core is located, and the origin point of its influence across the station.
  • Site Phi - 3802m (12473ft)
    • Phi is also located in the Abyss, and primarily houses the Omega Space Gun. Phi possesses a receiving depot connected to the rail system from Tau, used to load payloads into aerodynamic "bullets" which are then loaded into the space gun for launch.
  • Site Omega - 0m (0ft)
    • Omega is a topside installation, situated at the point where the space gun's barrel reaches the ocean surface. Omega is primarily a meteorological outpost.

Dialogue

Main article: PATHOS-II/Dialogue

Behind the Scenes

PATHOS-II was originally supposed to have another station, Site Mu. It can be gleamed from early graphic concepts by David "Didi" Satzinger that Mu was to have been located between Omicron and Tau, possibly originally serving as the station for the Abyss Climber Rig in the Omega Sector.

Gallery

Pre-release

Logos

Field Service Technician Briefing

Shuttle Slideshow

Other

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Coordinates listed by the ARK tracker. The coordinates are corroborated by a map seen at Theta of PATHOS-II in the North Atlantic Ocean, which shows PATHOS-II's location being at those coordinates.
  2. A Beast Like Any Other
    When the geothermal plant was constructed some forty years ago, it was not considered reliable enough to be entirely trusted, so the batteries were put in so that if power production failed, the station would not go completely dark.
  3. Omega Space Gun Launch Log Week #491
    After ten years of impeccable operation the Omega Space Gun will shut down, but it took an apocalypse to be made redundant.
    - Vic Auclair
  4. The monitor seen in the Shuttle in Upsilon B's Shuttle Station gives personnel counts for all sites, listing Upsilon A with 8 personnel, Lambda with 4 personnel, Theta with 24 personnel, Omicron with 12 personnel, Delta with 4 personnel, and Tau with 8 personnel.
  5. Carthage Industries maintenance checklist Name of the PATHOS-II complex as seen on a clipboard with a maintenance checklist from the Carthage Industries department Carthage Cargo Administration.
  6. Not only was the United Nations originally intended to appear on props, there's also the similarity between the logo of the UN and the logo of PATHOS-II, compounded by an early version of the PATHOS-II logo found on some shirts across PATHOS-II that looks nearly identical to the UN logo.

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