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Bringing this topic up again because I am an insane person. I think I have a more consistent answer for the eye colors of zombies, and it centers around the MPD. By default, zombies seem to just have Apothicon influence with red eyes. When the MPD is present on the Moon, however, the eyes by default are orange-yellow. When Richtofen takes over, he changes them to blue. The APD overrides the MPD in the local area in Alpha Omega to be white. Why are the eyes red in Mob of the Dead and Blood of the Dead? They are in a pocket dimension consisting entirely of Alcatraz Island and the unfinished bridge. No MPD. Why are the eyes red in Tag der Toten? Is is also a pocket dimension consisting of the Siberian Facility. No MPD. Why are the eyes red in Revelations? It takes place in Agartha where the Apothicons have brought their influence, but no Moon and no MPD. Why are the eyes red in Gorod Krovi? This I think is the crux of the wider answer. At the end of Der Eisendrache we teleport the MPD to Earth, remove its controller, and blow up the Moon on November 5th, 1945. The way fractures seem to work is that they build off of each other, so by blowing up the Moon on November 5th, 1945 in the Deceptio fracture, the Moon blows up at the same time in the Proditione and Agonia fractures. Gorod Krovi takes place on November 6th, 1945, so the Moon is now blown up and there is no MPD to influence the zombies, hence the red eyes. Why aren't they red in Zetsubou No Shima? Because ZNS takes place on October 18th, 1945, before the Moon is blown up. The MPD is still there. In Origins and Shadows of Evil, the Moon and MPD are still there, planted by the Apothicons ages ago, so the eyes are orange. I think this theory aligns with what Blundell said about the eyes mattering sometimes and something they don't matter. With this theory it doesn't really change anything that the eyes in Gorod are red, it's just that way because of when it takes place. Same with where Blood and Mob take place. But it does matter in certain cases where we need to know who is in the MPD.

I'm enthousiast to say that I have found a theory to explain the big paradox that bridges the Giant and Tag der Toten, and simultaneously the Cycle and the Broken Cycle. Both outcomes of the Multiverse requires the other one to exist, but how can this paradox be explained? Big thanks to @Forest Fire with his interesting discussions and thoughts on this subject, which sparked the idea of this thread. Also, you need a bunch of Cristopher Nolan brains for this one, so good luck. A Paradoxal Prologue A discovery made by no one else than our @clueless himself was a paradox that emerges in the Giant, a paradox that is proof that the Cycle has been broken before. To understand this we have to look at Mob of the Dead, the map that is essential to breaking Monty's Cycle. As you may know had Primis to travel through Alcatraz between Zetsubou no Shima and Gorod Krovi, however at some point in the Cycle a trap was set up. Essentially, the souls of the mobsters were used to create a pocket dimension (Mob of the dead), eternally trapping Primis, disabling them to proceed in Monty's Cycle (Blood of the Dead). During the climax of Mob of the Dead, the souls of the prisoners are transported to the Golden Gate Bridge. But this time, the plane doesn't crash because Weasel meant to bring them here. So what happens to the plane? Well, if the Cycle Continues, the purgatory Hell dimension does a "soft reset" that returns everything back to its former spot, and the only ones with memories are the Warden and Weasel. Icarus never makes it far enough to reach the storms Eventually though, the Weasel does win, stopping the Alcatraz Cycle and causing Monty's Cycle to break as well via Blood of the Dead's ending, Alpha Omega and Tag der Toten. So Icarus, flying through the sky, eventually flies through the storms overhead. In Zetsubou no Shima we get a glimpse of what such storms can do; temporal displacement. Point of the story: Only in a Broken Cycle can Icarus leave Alcatraz. And, ladies and gentlemen, what do we encounter on the roof of the Der Riese Waffenfabrik during the Giant? Icarus, the indication and proof that the Cycle has been broken before. This is the Giant's Paradoxal Prologue to our story… Dempsey: "Hey other me, if you're hearing this, then it means something's gone FUBAR. We're going to Plan B. Stick to that kraut bastard like glue. We need to find out what the hell he has been doing, what he's going to do. We may be able to get a fix on your location if you can trigger one of the paradox visualizations. Good luck, we're all counting on you. Oh, wait, what ever you do, don't get too close to the radioactive beacon. Makes your hair fall out." The Nexus Point I've devoted an entire thread to this which I can recommend to read, but I will summarize it here. The main point is that the events in the intro cutscene of The Giant is a so-called 'nexus point', an event where various timelines converge. And there are two possible outcomes, hear me out. Primis Nikolai, Dempsey and Takeo arrive at der Riese and persuade Ultimis Richtofen to join them and awaken the test subjects. What's more, they tell him to not open the MTD because that would unleash a great evil. Here's the split: either Richtofen activated the teleporter, or he doesn't. In case he doesn't, they will awake the test subjects and some radioactive event will occur, leading to the 'Fallout House' radios: Maxis is talking about a battle won, a nuclear wasteland, the children disappearing and himself suffering from a radioactive disease. Possibility 2 is that Ultimis Richtofen does activate the MTD: Primis Richtofen steps out and Monty's Cycle will happen. He is send by House Maxis, who is following Monty's plan to fix the world ever since the "knock on the door". Ever since, the past is changed and Maxis perceives that the children return and his radioactive disease is reversed. As the original outcome of the universe was changed, his old experiences first became vague memories, and then vanished completely. But this is not restricted to Maxis: Also Primis Nikolai, Dempsey and Takeo who initially firmly wanted to keep Ultimis Richtofen alive and awaken the test subjects, now fall into confusion and follow Primis Richtofen who obeys Maxis' mantra: "the test subjects must never be awoken". Completely reversed to their initial plan. Maxis: "Reality itself is shifting. I find myself reflecting on memories I am not longer sure are my own. Beyond the window, I saw a wasteland stretching far as the eye could see. I saw scourge visited upon the Earth. I saw the children withered before my eyes. That was before... before he came. Samantha has been returned to me once more, as have you Edward... as have you." Of course, Possibility 2 is what we directly see in Black Ops 3. But Possibility 1, the outcome that got overwritten by Possibility 2, is what happened prior. It is the outcome that eventually led to a "battle won" but with a very pyrrhic victory: A world destroyed by radioactivity. The Beacon Remember the Dempsey radio I quoted earlier? These personal messages to Primis Nikolai, Dempsey and Takeo are recorded before Possibility 2 overwrote Possibility 1, so outside Monty's Cycle. Dempsey states that they may be able to get a fix on other Dempsey's location if he and his pals can trigger a paradox visualization, coming back on that later. If you thought things were complicated, brace yourself for the next part. Now in Tag der Toten, you can hear Richtofen saying the following: "I remember something Samantha told me a long time ago. She told me her "dad had a plan"." This plan of Maxis, obviously referred to by Sam's quote in the Origins outro cutscene which took place in the House before Possibility 2 overwrote Possibility 1 (as the Cycle didn't happen yet), may include whatever led to "winning the battle and destroying the world". This old plan of Maxis was before Monty instructed Maxis the events of Black Ops III. Anyway, immediately after Richtofen saying this in Tag, Nikolai exclaims "Look, the Lighthouse is lit!". This sounds very much like Maxis saying: "Look, the Beacon is lit" after completing the Giant's 'Paradoxal Prologue' easter egg. In Blood of the Dead it is made clear that a lighthouse is a way to communicate across the Aether. So are our actions in the Giant essential for what happens in Tag der Toten, and vice versa? Is this why Dempsey mentions that he needs to get a fix on the location of his other self via a beacon that is radioactive? Talking about radioactivity, is the beacon the reason of the radioactive world that was a consequence of Maxis' plan? The description of Tag's Easter Egg is to "Resolve the Paradox". It could function, in a certain way, as a means to complete the paradox, the very paradox we were introduced at in the Giant. Tag der Toten is the final piece of puzzle for the odd radioactive timeline that was caused by Possibility 1 even before the Black Ops III Cycle started. Perhaps the fire and lava appearing in Tag during this quest as a consequence of '115 evolving' may be caused by the nuclear fallout of Maxis' plan. So before the Giant happened, Tag der Toten was already going on. Or no, what is better to say, Tag der Toten already happened: Time is irrelevant in the Multiverse. The crashed Icarus at the Giant is proof that plane has left the Alcatraz Cycle and that the Monty Cycle was broken before. But if you think we are finished, there is something else left. The End There is one thing you may be wondering: If Tag already happened, how could there still be a Multiverse with Element 115 at all? Consider this: We activated the Beacon while playing the Giant, which already takes place in Possibility 2. So to break the Cycle, the Cycle must already have occured. And I think the location that Dempsey wants us to trigger is that of the Frozen Forest. Remember this sequence: "I am the last of us, but I will be joining you soon my friends. -cough, cough- death is near. I hope what we have done doesn't come back to bite this universe in the ass. Thank god we will all be gone, because if Monty ever found this place, we would be in a world of shit. Maybe now, with us all gone, the children will truly be safe. -D " This sounds very much like the ending of Tag der Toten. Nikolai, Dempsey, Takeo and Richtofen die in the Frozen Forest so the children will be safe in a new world, without Element 115 and Aether. This may be what happened at the end of Possibility 1: Maxis mentions that the world is destroyed (the 'old' Aether Multiverse is presumably absorbed in the radioactive Dark Aether) and the children are gone (they left to the new world, Maxis explicitly says they are gone and not neccesarily dead). The Element 115 that is 'evolving' at the end of Tag is already the process of it vanishing from existence, and the world is annihilated in a radioactive fire. Now the sentence "awaken the test subjects" even makes sense: It regards Victis in their cryogenic slumber cells in Alcatraz. Because Primis travelled to the Frozen Forest, Victis is woken up and Tag can actually happen! So could the outcome of Possibility 1 not only be Tag der Toten, but also the dissolution of the Aether Multiverse in general? And then, Monty knocked on the door of the destroyed House, eventually triggering Black Ops III to happen which backwards affected everything so the Aether Multiverse was contineously re-established anyway again? If you came this far, cheers on that. Hope to see you in the comments!

Paying my respects to Ray Liotta, who passed away earlier today. He apparently passed away peacefully in his sleep, at age 67. I knew him best as Billy Handsome in Mob of the Dead, but I know he was a huge influence across generations of acting. Dude seemed like a genuinely good guy on top of his amazing roles and even better performances. Rest in peace, Ray Liotta. Your afterlife awaits, and I hope it's a good one.

A few corrections when it comes to specifics, because this EE is very buggy and for that reason there was a lot of misinformation. But according to trial and error and the code, this is a more accurate series of steps for Maxis' side: https://www.reddit.com/r/CODZombies/comments/gi9z1w/actual_die_rise_guide_for_maxis_side_tired_of_the/ The main contentious step is the "reincarnation is key" one. Apparently Russman has nothing to do with it. You only have to pack-a-punch the ballistic knife and go shoot the buddha statue or somewhere near it after killing enough zombies and triggering the "reincarnation is key" line. After that, for some reason Misty and Marlton have to be the ones to pick up the balls or the game will glitch. So I think he says, "Ah, yes! Do you see? The energy of their broken souls has been released! Their energy fields remain in flux. Matter must be transformed before it can be contained. The Spire must be energized as fire and light. Create a field with which to bind it." after shooting the buddha statue, implying you should use the trample steams and the balls to create the field. Then, after creating the field, he would say, "Excellent! The energy fields are changing, transforming, flowing. Ah, you are on the right path. You must look for objects of steel. With the appropriate weapon, their energy fields can be manipulated" with the weapon of steel being the galvaknuckles at the end. It's possible he might be using Victis' energy also, he just isn't implying it. But regardless, they are used to manipulate energy acquired in a different manner. I also find it interesting that it must be done in a specific way, hitting the different directions of the tower in a certain order, which feels like it would relate to some pseudoscience about energy and the poles, but I'm no expert there. As for what the balls are, they seem to be made of the same material as the lion statue and have a similar pattern to its neck collar. I have to assume it's just some kind of mysticism at play.

The serial number, printed on the tail of the plane, reads “194501”. There are a couple things we can determine from this, one is that the plane was manufactured in 1941, as the entire serial number would read 41-94501”. And two, is that they would identify themselves over the radio as “Yankee-501”, we can determine this because of the large “Y” painted on the side of the plane, and the last three numbers of the serial number. My theory is that Treyarch intended this to be an easter egg where the radio callsign (Yankee-501), is read as “Yankee SOL”, using L33T speak, or “Yankee sh*t out of luck”. Referencing the Americans, or Yankees, on board, being shit out of luck, they crash and subsequently all die on this night. Speaking of night, I assume that “NI7E” is simply supposed to be read as “night”, in L33T speak.

Intro Bringing up some occurances of this recurring theme for discussion In no particular order. If you can think of any more or have any ideas please discuss below! Examples 1) Archangel (Origins) The most clear example. 2) Chronicles Trailer This goes with the "minds eye" metaphor angle. 3) Physical globes Black egg looks much like a leyline globe Summoning key VERY similar + apothicon influence Shang meteor looks a lot like a globe also. But this time with physical geography instead of leylines. Conclusion Of course the obvious thematic interpretation is that it's about "control" and power. A strongly recurring theme. But with the Venus references in ciphers. The shrinking meteor with the baby gun. I was wondering if there might be another way to look at this that might shed some light on the origins of the Black Egg and the summoning key. I'd love to hear any ideas! Thanks for reading.

Just found this on the COD Zombies reddit before the post was deleted... But since I have came back to the site, this is the only evidence of the existance of BO2's DLC 5 with a screenshot of Der Riese running in-engine. As this was the list of enemies for BO2 DLC 5, it was going to be a Proto-Chronicles before becoming Chronicles.

High res picture of farm loading screen

Credits: To start things off thank you to "Lack of finding names" for contributing many photos of the early Green Run in a previous thread. It is generally understood that during the early development of Green Run, Jimmy Zielinski envisioned a Tranzit that was much grander than the the one that shipped at launch. "Anonymous" wrote an amazing thread discussing this in great depth going over cut game modes and features. Prototype Preservation Channel: **DISCLAIMER** INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC IS SPARCE, I APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INACCURACIES. Back in 2019 a YouTube channel by the name of "Prototype Preservation" disappeared just as quick as it appeared. This channel focused on early pre-alpha versions of Call of Duty Black Ops 2, mainly focusing on the multiplayer content showing the many ways that the game has progressed during its early development, also showing many features that were cut along the way. It is theorized that many of the dev kits they utilized were sourced from "Prototype Warehouse" on "Archive.org". However, it was directly by the hand of Treyarch that this channel was terminated as they have been known to send cease and desist letters to those who either obtain these dev kits or post media from them online. Multiple users have claimed that Treyarch has an automated tool to remove this type of media from the internet as it is posted. "It's a real shame Activision took down most of the devkits available on Archive.org. Prototype Warehouse had all the devkits for every cod game available there and all his youtube videos were taken down showing each game, but now it's hard to find any available devkits for bo2. The ones I do know that have them. Are just trying to avoid an C&D letter from Activision. Usually the first one is just to scare you, but most don't chance it with them." - RedxSkull There is without a doubt an early dev kit of the zombies game mode somewhere in circulation on the wider internet, and in fact Protype Preservation before their termination claimed to have a copy with early Green Run, even playing it claiming is was very different from the map Tranzit that we got at launch. This was said 3 days leading up to the termination of the channel, ergo the only footage of pre-alpha Green Run is now lost, assuming Prototype Preservation was served a cease and desist because of this claim. Since then several new pieces of photos/audio media have come up but no video exists of the early build online at all. Leaving the greater internet to wonder what early Green Run was like except the people holding these dev kits. Media: overview2.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM overview1.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM farm1.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM farm3.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM 1669178086858-alphatitlescreen.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM title1.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM alphatitlescreen1.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM town1.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM town.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM townalt.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM busdepot.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM busdepot2.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM farm2.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM farm.png - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM Screenshot_1.jpg - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM Screenshot_2.jpg - Google Drive DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM [img]https://i.imgur.com/tYoAL3O.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/tYoAL3O.png[/img]

This thread will be dedicated to an anthology series of various conversations from throughout the multiverse, catalogued for your reading pleasure. These are canon to the Storybook project.

Guten tag everybody! It is widely acknowledged that the labor we process during Easter Egg quests are not merely joyous and challenging minigames, but also often make sense on a story scale. Usually, the Easter Egg quests are being written by the developers also involved in working out the story, hinting at a clear overlap in the two concepts. Considering quest and story are one and the same, this doesn' t mean their correlation is always clear. It is for that reason that I created this thread, inviting all of you to participate in this ''think tank" of converting the actual steps of Easter Eggs into logic that makes sense in the story. Today I would like to discuss Die Rise, which, after looking into it, is a pain in the ass to convert it into story. Additionally to that, I never did the Easter Egg myself, and the sequence of steps sometimes differs a bit depending on the guides I found on internet, not making it easier either. But utilizing the quotes of Richtofen and Maxis, we may be able to make something of this. Connecting the elevators and the symbols So in this step, four players have to stand on four similar Chinese symbols that can be found on the elevators. After this, they have to stand on the same symbols appearing on the ground somewhere in the map. I found a quote of Maxis which is likely referencing to this step: "The alignment has begun. You are on the right path. Please, continue. You must trigger the symbols in the correct order, an order that only trial and error will reveal." It seems that standing on the elevator symbols led to an "alignment" which must be continued by triggering the symbols on the ground in the correct order. To understand this I think it is essential to understand the meaning of the symbols. The term "alignment" reminds me very much of celestial bodies, but of course that is nothing more than mere guessing. @DragonGJY I was wondering if you could make up something of this symbol, or if it may return in certain Chinese philosophies or mythologies? The spheres When obtaining a sniper rifle, Richtofen says the following: "We must neutralize any errant energy fields in order to prevent Maxis from enacting his plan. Take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the sources do not fall under his control, [laughs] if you can find them!" This is obviously a reference to the balls that can be found in the big Dragon board. These are "sources of errant energy fields". Now I have never done the Easter Egg myself, but can someone describe how these spheres look like? Do they look technological, like the Vril Sphere on Moon or perhaps even the Summoning Key? The Germans require the players to shoot them, teleporting them into the smaller Dragon statues in the spawn room. I'm think there is a possibility these spheres are artifacts of some kind, perhaps linked in some way with Dragons or Naga' s, ancient warriors of the Vril-Ya. They also seem to be tied with Shangri-La, so perhaps this sphere artifact originates from that site? http://blackopsofficialfansite.yolasite.com/resources/Singola-1.png After transporting the spheres to the small dragon statues, Maxis says this: "It is working! The sphere has relocated! Now, one more must be found." Richtofen' s path 1. From now on, Maxis and Richtofen' s path split up: Richtofen wants to destroy the spheres because they could help Maxis in doing his stuff, very similar to how Maxis orders us to destroy the Amplifiers in Buried because they are essential for Richtofen. Just casually sabotaging each other, and it seems that whatever toxicant is in the Sliquifier, rapid liquidation works the best: "The balls! It's all about the balls! You must purge their energy before Maxis interferes! Perhaps a rapid liquidification will suffice, yeah? Then do it!" Interesting that he mentions that this causes the balls to be purged of energy, like there was already some kind of energy inside. And whatever is inside the Sliquifier, it draws this energy away. 2. Taking care of Maxis' spheres, Richtofen requires you to place trample steams around the Tower, and shoot zombies at it. Note that this is very similar to Tranzit, where you must kill zombies under the Tower to power it up (either by releasing their 115 or their Life Fore). "The spire, it needs the energy of the undead. We must find a way to make our blood sacrifice" 3. After this, you need the Galvaknuckles to punch the Tower. "Only with your combined energy can we fully control the tower. You need a conduit for the electrical energy contained within your living flesh. Any ideas? Oh, I know. How about those electric knuckle-thingies?" Richtofen mentions the Tower requires the energy of Victis. Something to do with their souls? Maxis' s path 1. As for Maxis, he desires you to grab the balls and them them to the Buddha room. Two players must stand in front of the golden statues and kill zombies to charge the artifacts, presumably similar to how we charge the Apothicon eggs in Shadows of Evil? In that case, it is Life Force of the undead that is sucked in the egg-like artifacts. "The energy within the spheres is in flux. Fear not, we will need them in due course. Now, find the enlightened one. A blood sacrifice alone is not enough. Reincarnation is key." 2. You now need to stand in front of the Buddha statue ("the enlightened one"), and one of the players must, tragically, die. After this, someone with the Krauss Defibrillator must revive him. While reading some Easter Egg guides, it seems to be that Russman specifically is the one that must be reincarnated. Is that true? If that' s the case, it may have something to do with Russman' s elusive nature and the fact that his mind is fading away so often. Is his soul even his? 3. Now, use the Trample Steams to blast the artifacts at the Spire. Maxis will say the following: "Ah, yes! Do you see? The energy of their broken souls has been released! Their energy fields remain in flux. Matter must be transformed before it can be contained. The Spire must be energized as fire and light. Create a field with which to bind it." Additional evidence that the spheres contain the life force released at prior Blood Sacrifice. It is strange to me, however, that this couldn' t be done directly like we do with Richtofen' s quest in Tranzit: directly killing the undead under the Tower. Why did it had to be done via the artifacts? Perhaps to "cleanse" their life force from the Dark Aethereal spectrum and convert it into "light" Aether? Something I am not so sure about is when the following quote comes in. Can someone help me? "Excellent! The energy fields are changing, transforming, flowing. Ah, you are on the right path. You must look for objects of steel. With the appropriate weapon, their energy fields can be manipulated" The difference All in all, the two quests are quite similar. Except that Richtofen can directly use the energy of the undead, while Maxis needs to kill them in the Buddha room and converse their energy via the spheres. What' s more, Richtofen can directly use Victis' energy via the Galvaknuckles embedden in their living flesh, whereas morbid Maxis needs a full reincarnation of poor old Russman. Different types of the ethereal spectre perhaps? What' s also remarkable is the various mentions of "energy field", which, if I search that on internet, refer to the following things: Ahh, lots to chew on there, isn' t it @Mattzs? But we can get into that discussion later, first I'm interested how y'all think about the story-wise relevance of Die Rise' s Main Quests.

Ah, I remember correcting some steps of that guide. I'd like to emphasise that this is true. The quote, however, is "Reincarnation will reveal the way forward." Fun fact, it doesn’t matter who picks up the balls. I have proven that in a comment to the post you’ve linked. That quote is after having completed the sequential floor symbols step, not after completing the Trample Steam step. The "objects of steel" refers to the balls in the dragons' mouths, while the weapon refers to any sniper rifle. I consider the most-correct Die Rise Maxis Easter Guide to be either the current CoD Wiki Fandom's guide, or my guide which includes each of Maxis' quotes along with what triggers them divided into which steps they occur in.

Intro Hello again, today I’m bringing a little brain food for you all to chew on. @anonymous mentioned in a recent discussion the various different depictions of a “soul” we see through the Aether story. Which prompted some digging. After some research, I realised that every different depiction of the mind/body/soul we see through the story relates to a section of the soul as viewed by the ancient Egyptians. (that’s right, these guys who made a very brief cameo in the Buried intro cutscene) Disclaimer: All these aspects were considered “different” parts of the soul from the perspective of the Ancient Egyptians. However they have been used to depict the “entire” soul in various other religions and media. So, they could very well all just be different ways of depicting the same thing by Treyarch. A single "soul" not segmented. Or not. That’s up to you to decide. Sources: All quotes come from this Wikipedia page, through which you can find the academic references. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_conception_of_the_soul) All screenshots are from the video games, comics and related media released by Treyarch. Sources are given above each image. The Eight Components of the Soul Khet(physical body) “The physical form had to exist for the soul (Ka / Personality) to have intelligence or the chance to be judged by the guardians of the underworld. Therefore, it was necessary for the body to be preserved as efficiently and completely as possible.” Preservation of the physical human body... While initially it might seem that this is the clearest cut of the components, it is actually one of the more complicated. For the main reason that, unlike some of the other components, the depictions of this all relate to partially or completely unexplained sections of the lore. Namely: 1) The “Cryogenic Slumber Party”, achievement from Moon. 2) The comic book remake of the “Nacht” loading screen (below) 3) The Gorod Krovi Cipher #1 which relates the cryo-pods to the “Nuketown” drill, and blood vial “sequencing”. (the “drill” and “sequencing” not being understood either) “We will keep the individuals in stasis, on ice to speak, and continue the specimen rotation once we finish drawing more power from the drill. Oh, I almost forgot, the sequencing for the current blood samples is as follows: SSMJABR” Visual examples: Call of Duty - Zombies #6 Tag Der Toten Call of Duty - Zombies #3 Sah (spiritual body) "Spiritual representation of the physical body" Not much to go on for this one. In most interpretations these appear as humanoid “ghosts”. Much like we see in MOTD and BOTD. Visual examples: Mob of the Dead Blood of the Dead Ib (heart) This is where things get really interesting. “In the Egyptian religion, the heart was the key to the afterlife. It was essential to surviving death in the nether world, where it gave evidence for, or against, its possessor.” I won’t get too deep into the weeds here. But basically, a theory that some of us have been workshopping is that (ignoring the AO/Tag rewrites) the elemental shards (one of which we see in the comics) are the “hearts” of various characters, the elemental shards (that we see in Origins) are related to these. And the elements relate to the colours of 115 we see through the story. (Red Blue Green etc) I'll leave it at that, and avoid any more sidetracking. We see a “version” of this they used in AO/Tag with the elemental shard being the “souls” of our four characters bound into one “object” or “element” which was then that fabric of spacetime. (Or something along those lines, don’t quote me on AO/Tag stuff) The key relation though is the line “It was essential to surviving death”, as the nature of the shard (/s) is what keeps the cycle going, and is (as the quote says) the real thing keeping the four “alive”. The other relation is “it gave evidence for, or against, its possessor”. Which is exactly what we see with various music easter eggs (Kino, Origins etc). In the easter eggs the 115 (/elements /hearts) plays a song which reveals the true feeling or thoughts of whichever character is bound to that element/shard/heart. Visual examples: Call of Duty - Zombies #2 Origins (song “Archangel”) Kino der Toten (song “115”) Shangri La (we see here any early prototype of the idea of the elements as “hearts” back when the story was less defined) Ka (vital essence) “Ka was the Egyptian concept of vital essence, which distinguishes the difference between a living and a dead person” Very simple one here. The “vital essence” being present in a dead human body without the other elements of the soul causes reanimation and “zombification”. The essence is an energy source, that we can extract, as seen in various maps. Visual examples: Origins (soul boxes) Shadows of Evil (charging the eggs) Ba (personality) “𓅽 was everything that makes an individual unique, similar to the notion of 'personality'. It is sometimes depicted as a human-headed bird flying out of the tomb to join with the Ka in the afterlife” This one we see only a few times, mostly in BOTD. Thematically though it is mentioned various times. Specifically the “flying out of the tomb to join with the Ka in the afterlife” part is reference by the “Escape from the tomb” poster. The one we see in the House and ,more importantly, in that very same BOTD where the “bird” spirit forms are featured. Visual examples: Blood of the Dead (bird spirit form) Blood of the Dead (heavy handed thematic reference to the function of the bird spirit form with the "Escape from the Tomb" poster) Shut (shadow) "Egyptians surmised that a shadow contains something of the person it represents. Through this association, statues of people and deities were sometimes referred to as shadows. Another form the shadow assumes (is as) an object which would create a shadow." As with the Physical “cryo” components, this relates to an area of the story that is still being debated. And as you can tell from the quote it’s not completely understood by historians either. However, examples of this manifestation can be seen during the eclipses of various maps (Der Riese, The Giant, Shangri La) “object which would create a shadow”. We also see it related to the “evil Samantha” spirit in the Classified poster (half her face is in deep shadow with the eclipse Moon for an eye). While there is clearly something to this, the concept of “Shut” is not very well understood. It seems likely to me that this concept was merged with different philosophical ideas, such as the “duality of man”. For example, in “Shockwave” (from the aforementioned Classified) there are various relevant quotes, such as “evil” Samantha claiming to be a “shadow”, as well main “duality” references such as “noon and midnight, turn endlessly”. I won’t go any deeper into this one for now. Visual examples: The Giant (Moon casting a shadow) Shangri La ("object" casting a shadow) Classified Poster (lots of relevant symbolism here, more can be found in “Shockwave”) Sekhem (form) “Little is known about the Egyptian interpretation of this portion of the soul. Many scholars define Sekhem as the living force or life-force of the soul which exists in the afterlife after all judgement has been passed.” Here the real word understanding matches our understanding in the context of Aether. “Little is known”. I would put forward the children in the House as a potential example, but not with any certainty. (Potential) Visual examples: The Gift (Director’s Cut) Ren (name) “As a part of the soul, a person's name was given to them at birth and the Egyptians believed that it would live for as long as that name was spoken. Which explains why efforts were made to protect it and the practice of placing it in numerous writings.” In Aether this concept has seen some overlap with Lovecraftian concepts of the name (especially in BO3 onwards). This concept being that knowing someone’s true name gives you power over them, especially in the case of demons. Examples that spring to mind are Nyarlathotep disguising his true name as Tony "hale' Rapt as revealed in Gorod Krovi cipher #11. And also, Richtofen carving his name in Shangri La, which relates more to the Ancient Egyptian angle we’re looking at here. Visual examples: Shangri La Akh (intellect) “Relative to the afterlife, akh represented the deceased, who was transfigured and often identified with light. It was associated with thought, but not as an action of the mind; rather, it was intellect as a living entity. It was associated with thought.” We have a pretty clear example of this one. The spirit form of Gersh in Ascension and Gorod Krovi. In the easter egg we assist SOPHIA is extracting information from him. Information from learned experience, that would logically reside in the “intellect” rather than other areas of the soul. Visually, as a ball of light, he is clearly “identified with light”. We also hear him thinking out loud, and he talks to us during the easter egg, unlike other soul forms we encounter. Clearly a manifestation of “intellect” in my view. Another example is the light orb "soul" form we take when fast traveling in BOTD. As with Gersh, it is clear that this orb form transports our intellect and memory. These orbs can also talk and are aware of their surroundings, much like Gersh. Visual examples: Gorod Krovi (Gersh's "intellect" in its non-corporeal (soul) form) Blood of the Dead (playable character's "intellect" in its non-corporeal (soul) form) Conclusion That’s all I have on this topic. Please add any ideas and stuff in the comments. This is a really big topic and I tried to be as brief as I could to avoid it getting any longer than it is already… So I hurried over a few parts and missed some entirely. (brains in jars etc etc) Some related topics I might tackle in the future are the Ancient Egyptian “Book of going forth by day” (which has some strong connections to “Remember Forever”) and other sections from the “Book of the Dead”. Until then, thanks for reading. Rapt

Some of you may know of the Spitfire variant "Deep Voyager" from Black Ops 4. Something you might not know is that the gun flashes Morse Code when you reach the 250 kill requirement in zombies. The morse code it flashes is "-. . --." This translates to "Ned" this is a reference to Ned Land, a character from the Jules Vern novel "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" The variant itself actually depicts a specific scene, where a Giant Squid attacks the submarine the Nautilus. The character "Ned" referenced by the morse code is trapped in the brig during this scene. As the damaged submarine begins to fill with water. The morse code is a signal letting us know he is trapped. Obviously this variant also appears in MP. So it's just a fun little easter egg, and not really related to the zombies story. Although having a living thing trapped inside a weapon is an idea that has come up in zombies before in a few different ways. I still thought it was worth sharing though!

More BO3 Zombies Pre Alpha stuff! Includes early GobbleGums, Few ‘Giant’ Screenshots, and some Shadows of Evil. Oh and a Cold War Bonus of Die Mashine Dark Aether.

Although Die Rise itself had very little story, it introduced concepts which have been used since Origins to begin solidifying the Aether storyline. While examples vary, I want to bring in two of the unexplained examples: Now, since this post has inspired me to finally have a look into the Mahjong game, I thought I'll be sharing this: Mahjong has different types of tiles. There are those who are referred to as "Honor Tiles", which consist of the four winds, as well 3 dragons. So since the Easter Egg revolves around the dragons, this seems to be a good reason as for why picking this game to be used in the Easter Egg (beyond it being a a traditional Chinese game).

Now you said something interesting here, let' s dig a little deeper in it: Apparently, the order of the four different directions can be found by using the Mahjong tiles that are scattered around the map: 東 - East 南 - South 西 - West 北 - North This is not the first time the four cardinal directions are hinted in the story. On the Moon loading screen, one can see a picture of the Vril Interface in front of the MPD, with the following 'advertisement': The five Aztec deity names that are mentioned each stand for a cardinal direction: Cipactli (crocodile; east), Ehecatl (wind ; north), Cali (house; west), Cuetzpalin (lizard; south) and Coatl (snake; east). The ad mentions that the Vril Interface, or Mythos Disc, defines celestial patterns for someone's own "practical and magical purposes", which I assume are those of the MPD occupant's. These four directions also return in the mystic 'Vril Map' found in Call of the Dead. Tying this with the Global Polarization Device at Die Rise, it actually makes sense since it is generally believed that the Tower resonates the will of the MPD occupant through the Aether across Earth. In all four directions may not literally imply North, East, South and West, but coult hint at the four dimensions of space-time, manipulative for those that gain control over the Tower. The symbol on the Dragon sphere looks like a swastika to me, but not a Nazi (right-turned) but a Hindu (left-turned) one. In Hinduism, this spiritual symbol stands for a lot of things, but one of them is the four cardinal directions: North, South, East en West, symbolizing the flow of the universe. I' ll come back later to reply on the rest!

Requiem (15/15) Audio Logs (4) "The Zakarpatska Oblast" - Ravenov reveals to Weaver the location of Operatsiya Izbavitel. "Symbotic Relationship" - Strauss records his findings on three particularly unique crystals - and their special ability to forge an ancient aethereal weapon. "Russian to Russian" - Weaver formally introduces himself to Zykov - and makes a deal. "For Health" - Weaver and Carter share a late night drink and discuss the future. Documents (6) "Ancient Parchment" - A Dark Aether drawing of a deadly Aethereal weapon by the Zealot Sparagmos. "Collapse Report" - A document discussing the environmental collapse and terraforming of several Outbreak Zones around the globe, including the Ural Mountains. "Ancient Parchment 2" - Documentation of the crystals required to forge the Chrysalax by the Zealot Sparagmos. "Requiem Neutralizer Blueprint" - The design for field construction of an Aetherium Neutralizer, if an operator is compromised by the Phase. "Memorandum for the Board" - A memorandum from Requiem's Director discussing the events of Berlin and his involvement. "Progress Report" - A progress report for the Director regarding the progress of another operation. Artifacts (5) "The Chrysalax" - Forged in the pools of the Dark Aether, the Chrysalax combines three crystals, creating an Aetheral weapon that can transform at will between two forms. "Housing Unit" - A sufficient housing unit for constructing an Aetherium Neutralizer in the field. "Monitoring Device" - An adequate monitor for an Aetherium Neutralizer assembled from spare parts, capable of broadcasting status updates to the user. "Fuel Tank" - A makeshift fuel tank for an Aetherium Neutralizer, saucer-shaped to stabilize the volatile catalyzed Aetherium. "Aetherium Neutralizer" - It may not be professionally constructed, but this field-assembled Aetherium Neutralizer will still provide all the necessary protection from areas with high levels of irradiated Aetherium. Omega (13/13) Audio Logs (4) "Fully Operational" - Kravchenko pays an unexpected visit at Test Site Anna - and informs Peck of an alarming schedule update. "Deja Vu" - As Kravchenko and Peck run their eighth attempt to extract Zykov, a catastrophic miscalculation is made. "The Agreement" - Peck makes another phone call. "The Magnificent Two" - Gorev and Jager form a tentative accord should Operation Izbavitel fail. Documents (9) "Operatsiya Izbavitel Approval" - A letter from Chebrikov, giving Omega Group authorization to proceed with Operatsiya Izbavitel. "Order of Operations" - A memorandum from Kravchenko to Omega Department Leads, reviewing the order of operations on the day Operatsiya Inversiya is to be executed. "Test Site Construction Blueprint" - The design specs for the particle accelerator and the Amplifier tunnel at Test Site Anna. "Containment Chamber Blueprint" - The design specs for the Containment Chamber for Operatsiya Inversiya. "Location Targets" - Kravchenko discusses his thoughts on potential targets once Operatsiya Inversiya is complete. "Aetherium Gun Turret Blueprint" - The design specs for the Aetherium Energy Gun Turret, to be used as part of Operatsiya Inversiya. "Forsaken Photograph" - A photograph of the Forsaken, taken in the Dark Aether by one of Omega's Aethernauts. "ARC-XD Blueprint" - The design specs for the ARC-XD, a remote-controlled vehicle, carrying an Aetherium payload, capable of distracting undead enemies. "Anton Note" - A note written by Omega Officer Anton, discussing recent happenings at Test Site Anna. Maxis (4/4) Audio Logs (3) "My Control" - Grey vists Maxis at Requiem's Block 8 facility. "My Orders" - Weaver calls Maxis before Operation First Domino. "My Choice" - Maxis records her final personal log. Documents (1) "Maxis Approval Memo" - A report from the Director authorizing Maxis for Operation First Domino. Dark Aether (4/4) Artifacts (4) "Polymorphic Crystal Core" - Created by the hands of Sparagmos, the polymorphic crystal core can shift its form - the source of the Chrysalax's transformative powers. "Energetic Geode" - Highly volatile, the Energetic Geode is created from a Dark Aether Crystal impacted by an Aetherium energy blast. "Tempered Crystal Heart" - The fiery crystal heart of a Tormentor. "Catalyzed Crystal Shard" - When assembling an Aetherium Neutralizer in the field, catalyzed Aetherium crystals create an acceptable replacement for the Aetherium Orb, if one is not available.

NOTE: I have posted this at the wrong Topic, so Adimns, if you’re reading this, please removed the Cold War topic I may have accidentally posted by accident. I’m alive! Okay, since I’ve been of the radar, I have stumbled across some pre alpha zombies from BO3 and some BO2 Pre Alpha Stuff related to Zombies. I’ll keep editing this thread when I have time. I’ll start with the BO2 Stuff, someone by the name of Cashmint managed to get a hold these Pre Alpha Transit stuff (these are not gameplay screenshots but something he found in the BO2 pre alpha builds). There is a screenshot load of Shadows of Evil and Buried stuff so here’s an Imgur link Known ZM in-dev screenshots - Album on Imgur M.IMGUR.COM Discover the magic of the internet at Imgur, a community powered entertainment destination. Lift your...

Also, here is some early origins, and some network tests they were doing

I'm not really sure about it, but i hope there will be more stuff found. Also, here is a screenshot of a very very early version of die rise

I've came back to actually explain "Shallows of Hell" instead of give just an overview of story... First off the summoning keys location before the events of shadows of Evil is unknown at least too me, and Zetsubou No Shima takes place after shadows of Evil, so keeping the location before this a mystery would just make it less complicated. Second off I changed the four Aetherial keeping the Aether's Blight and JBZ.Rail_DG4, Instead I wanted to make it like Treyarch where it's one weapon that ties into the map, this being swords, being the Aether, Fire, Aquatic, and Thunder all with there unique ways to claim them, next are enemies 1- Zombies, the traditional enemy 2- Hell Hounds, to fit the whole hell perspective of the map, 3- Nepalms, because you can never go wrong with Nepalms 4- Keepers, Summoning Keys and apothicons 5- Margwas 6- Parasites 7- The Shadow Man (Bossfight side A) 8- Satan (Bossfight Side B) The weapons will also be Waw or WW2. (Due to the Time period) The music which is something most don't talk about because usually music isn't ever a thought for custom Zombies, but the music I think would have that Hawaiian vibe mixed with a legendary feel like origins but to go with the atmosphere... And finally the Story. The story takes place before the events of Mob of the Dead and Shadows of Evil, Group 935 Have a fictional island in the real island but have made some enemies. Jason D. Makow- Agent David Nadali- Guard Sophia Grey - model from England (Not Sophia from Gorod Krovi) And Dr. Hung Li- Scientist Group 935 had effected there lives in a way to where they all seek revenge so they plan a heist to steal an artifact from a Cargo Boat. The day arrives and the get the artifact just to be stopped in there tracks by a guard who accidentally lets out Fragments of the Dark Aether trapping them in an chaos like trial where it is at the brink of collapse, luckily the summoning key is still on the island leaving the four to survive. In the end after Satan is defeated, the summoning key is launched into an unknown location far from the island, they manage to escape by plane through a gateway opened while doing the Easter egg by shooting the Observatory trap into the "Eye"... And the map is whatever it just would have to include, Shangri-La Like temples, The cargo boat in ruins (like call of the Dead), A chamber for the swords and the summoning key, A facility for pack a punch, only accessible after collecting four relics on the island, a mask, a tomahawk, a vase?, And a dagger. An observatory Finally a beach where challenges would be. It's a shame I can't make this as I just don't have the time so this is only and idea and nothing more, thank you if you read this.

The "sacrificial ritual" heard under the city pre-Shadows makes more sense if they are actually killed. There are some Shadowman quotes and radios that could explain the yellow eyes fairly simply. The Shadows "pocket" encompassed the entire world, and the moon, some Shadowman quotes imply this. And they give an explaination why in the radios. This Shadowman quote references the whole world. And after we complete the rituals, this "pocket" expands to the entire dimension The reason the "pocket" in this case is so large is because the Apothicons have already seeded potentially the entire world (and the moon) with Apothicon life. (No to mention the ritual was supposedly carried out by a coven of professionals, instead of just some lone, amature "third rate occultist") They did this with a meteor shower which significantly expanded the range of their influence. Something which is a major differentiator between Shadows and Mob. So the Moon has already been assimilated into this pocket dimension. Hence the yellow eyes. The fact that the Apothicons already have limitied physical access to dimension 63 in order to seed biological matter as opposed to just inorganic 115 is likely due to dimensional instability caused by events in the Alcatraz pocket. Which was created in Dimension 63 many years previously.

Hey, bumping old topics is my business... and going off topic is too. Staying on the Lenne brand, since 2012. awwwwwwwwww yeah

For Shadows, I've gone between thinking it is a pocket and not a pocket, but I think I lean towards it not being a pocket dimension. The Mob and Tag ones were both formed around the deaths of the Mobsters and Pablo respectively, with neither able to die or escape. The Shadows characters don't seem to die but are drugged and transformed into beasts to serve the Shadowman. I think what is different about Morg City is that it is fully corrupted by the Apothicons coming from the rift stone. Our goal intially in the map is freeing the Apothicons who then proceed to corrupt and destroy Dimension 63. I don't see how they could do that if we only free them in a pocket dimension. As for the Crazy Place zombies, perhaps it is that Agarthan/Keeper influence, and they are simply "programmed" to defend the gateway from any intruders.

Great theory and yes, the dates Nov 6th (GK) and Nov 5th (DE) are too close to each other to be coincidental and unintended. I think the devs really meant it this way. It would simultaneously confirm the well-substantiated hypothesis that fractures are not merely based on the original timeline with some random changes here and there, but rather that the fractures are dependant on and influenced by each other. Agonia would in this sense be a fracture of Proditione, which is a fracture of Deceptio, hence the destruction of the MPD on the 5th of November in Deceptio also being an event in the other fractures (although only visible in GK since ZnS takes place prior). I only don't understand the yellow eyes in Shadows of Evil, since I consider that map as taking place in a pocket as well. Any thoughts on that? What's also interesting to note is the absence of yellow eyes at the Crazy Place zombies in Origins, rather being bright purple-ish. If red indicates default Apothicon/Ancient Evil/Elder Gods influence, would purple-ish be Keeperese/Agarthan influence? Question is, then, why do they fight us in Origins

House of Dust

Short note about the balls. First of all, the statues that hold them are so-called Foo Lions, a traditional aspect of Asian mythology. It is often depicted with a pearl in its jaws, and this ball is said to represent the "sacred breath", whatever that means (I suppose life force?) "The lion is one of the divine beasts of Chinese mythology, with the ability to drive off evil spirits. According to Chinese lore, stone lions are able to cleanse shar chi, or “poison arrows,” the negative force emanating from sharp corners, sickness, imposed authority, busy crowds and jarring structures such as lamp posts, obelisks and traffic lights. This ability to drive away negative spirits and energy explains the original placement of these statues at the entrance to Buddhist temples (...). A pair of lions is often seen guarding hotels, restaurants, banks and factories (...)." Cleaning negative energy eh? Richtofen when talking about the spheres: We must neutralize any errant energy fields in order to prevent Maxis from enacting his plan. The balls! It's all about the balls! You must purge their energy before Maxis interferes! Maxis: The energy within the spheres is in flux. The energy of their broken souls has been released! Their energy fields remain in flux. I think the balls are carriers of energy, able to change them to the positive or negative aide of spectrum

Great topic! There are more, less obvious references to Egyptian mythology in Zombies. One of them is a sign which is believed to be the Eye of Horus in Samantha's room. Can you see it above the shelf? Horus was a god whose right eye was the sun and left eye was the moon, which reminds me of something else: Horus is the god of heaven. The Sekhem (life force) doesn't reside with the Khet/physical body, but in heaven among the stars and gods. "It (Sekhem) is defined in a Book of the Dead as the "power" and as a place within which Horus and Osiris dwell in the underworld". In my opinion, this would fit quite well with the House, where we see Horus' symbol. The House can be considered as some kind of 'heaven' where the Sekhem of the children reside, even though their physical mature bodies (Khet) live in real universes. Another, more questionable appearance of Egyptian mythology is thought to be found in Shangri-La's track Pareidolia: "My nine eyes are fading by the blight" Nine Eyes is another way to refer to the Nine Realms, or nine facets of the soul. Another connection with your theory? Anyway, I am quite sure that the developers at one point stumbled upon the Egyptian conception of soul. The distinguishment between the appearance of a multitude of soul-types to us (House children form, Gersh-form, MotD afterlife-form, life force a la Origins chests, MPD cannister and Apothicon egg form, Avogadro form, etc) makes it clear that indeed there are different kind of souls in this story

That deserves brains! Congrats on finding your first undiscovered Easter Egg! Mind if I make a short video about it on CoDZ's YT channel?

Yeah I noticed it yesterday while I was playing BOTD!

This storyline fucks with my brain

This topic sort of came to me out of nowhere, and I wanted to share my thoughts because I don't think I've seen really any discussion on the topic. In Revelations, there are two stand out radios in which Dr. Monty simply recites lines from famous literature: From Shakespeare's The Tempest: From Dante's Inferno (The Divine Comedy): Because of the old fashioned language and seeming randomness of these references, I don't think they were given much thought before. But I got curious recently about the origins of these quotes and what they could mean from Monty's point of view. What do they say about his situation in Revelations? Let's start with the lines from The Tempest, one of Shakespeare's last plays. The Tempest is about a group of people shipwrecked on an island led by a magical person known as Prospero. Prospero was formerly the Duke of Milan, and fled to this island years ago after a coup. One of the leaders of the coup was on the wrecked ship, and Prospero wants to make amends and return home. One of the passengers from the shipwreck is the son of a King, and he falls in love with Prospero's daughter. Meanwhile, a plot is going on to overthrow Prospero and take his position on the island. The text that Monty quoted is near the end of the marriage of Prospero's daughter and the King's son, after a celebration. Prospero remembers the plot against him and realizes he will have to give up the power he has come to know. "Our revels are now ended. These our actors, as I foretold you, were all spirits, and are melted into air, into thin air" The spirits Prospero conjured for entertainment are now gone, and their celebration comes to an end. "and, like the baseless fabric of this vision, the cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve; And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little lives are rounded with a sleep." In essence, despite how grand it all appears, Prospero's magic and the life he has created on the island will soon be gone. The themes of the play seem to be about the insignificance of our little lives despite how much we place importance on ourselves. Now, the lines from Dante's Divine Comedy are actually the beginning of the first of three sections, called Inferno. In summary, The Divine Comedy is about Dante travelling through Hell, Purgatory, and then Heaven. Inferno begins with Dante in the middle of his life, feeling as though he has gone down a path of sin. The dark woods represent that sin and he feels as though he is doomed. However, there is a glimmer of hope as he approaches a hill and sees the sun's rays cast overhead. They will lead him down a more righteous path. With the explanation out of the way, why is Monty fixated on these works, and these passages in particular? One interpretation of his reference to The Tempest is that he places himself in the shoes of Prospero when it comes to the cycle that Monty has created. Perhaps he even realizes that inevitably he will fail and the cycle will be broken. It would be interesting if he was already aware of the fact he was delaying the inevitable. In this viewpoint, Monty understands the folly of his actions and knows that someday, the House and Agartha will be gone and there will be nothing more of his life. In this case, his reference to Inferno is perhaps him feeling that despite the negative connotations of his actions, there is still redemption to come for him. What that redemption could be, I don't know. There is some speculation we will see more of Monty in the future, and that could further tie into this interpretation of the text. On the other hand, another interpretation could be that Monty is ascribing The Tempest's passage to humanity as a whole. Unlike he and the Keepers, our lives are small and temporary. Every empire that is created will fall, and as individuals we will be forgotten. His reference to Inferno could be a metaphor for Richtofen's journey, finding himself surrounded in darkness, a forest of bad deeds committed by his other selves. Richtofen, like Dante, sees hope through the forest and a path to redemption in following the plan up to Revelations. What do you think is the proper interpretation of these references? Also, BONUS LORE TIDBIT: The Tempest was also referenced in Black Ops's campaign. The clearance codes inside the Pentagon that McNamara uses are Prospero, Ariel, and Sycorax. Prospero being the protagonist of The Tempest, Sycorax being a witch who previously inhabited the island, and Ariel being a spirit imprisoned by Sycorax and later serving Prospero. Interestingly, as McNamara says these sequences, Mason seems to hear them as number sequences (discussed more in this thread). Is there something to this literary reference? Is Kennedy Prospero, with a plot to overthrow him coming from inside the government? Anyway, thanks for reading.

I think these specific quotes/stories inspired some of the main themes and events of Aether. They were probably included here to give the story fans like us a deeper understanding of what we already know about the story, For example the quote from the Tempest: Long Explaination; This is basically the thematic inspiration for the Tag ending. The key difference being that the medium of a videogame is perpetual, unlike original theatre. So to actually give these characters their eternal "sleep" in this medium they have to all be killed and any potential for this to be undone to also be destroyed (via the distruction of the multiverse with the Agarthan Device, which removes any timetravel potential to undo or circumvent their deaths). Killing off all the characters in a way that cannot be unwritten is the only way to give the audience closure in a video game series that will be passed on for others to continue. (ie. "The only way for the characters and story to not be ruined by someone else with no respect or understanding of what this story means to the fans who grew up with it" is a more cynical way to put it.) In the medium of theatre they don't have to kill off all the characters at the end of play to give the audience and characters complete closure. Because the story in transitory. And will never be performed in that exact same way again. So that telling of the story only exists in the memory of the audience giving them complete ownership and closure. TDLR; This quote forshadows and is a meta explaination of why the Tag ending had to happen. You may disagree but I think that Tempest quote is pretty cut and dry. . The Dante quote is another can of worms entirely... Like @RadZakpak @anonymous you both said it looks to relate to the story trailers and the forest. Things we still don't understand fully. But the guidance of the morning rays could alude to the becon, or that blue light offscreen in the forest. Who knows. In a more general sense I'd say it's aluding to Richtofen's story. Which is partially unseen. Some of his story is a retelling of the story of Faust. He made a deal with the devil ("long ago I made a promise a vow to protect him in order to keep my version I have done bad things") Just like Faust his character flaw is narcissism. He values his own word above all else. In the same way as Faust refuses to break his deal with the devil when offered the opportunity and is dragged to hell, Richtofen makes the same mistake, keeping his word at all costs, killing his younger self and damning his soul to the eternity of the cycle. (hell) The Divine Comedy, is in the basic sense the story of a jouney from life into heaven. From Earth > Hell > Purgatory > Heaven. And we see all the aspects of that story in Aether. We see the "real world" the characters orignate from in various places and radios (the nuclear fallout world from radios, the "Dresden" line from the Moon loading screen etc etc) We see Hell very briefly in Blood of the Dead, where character is defined by action not motive (ie the Warden's actions). Most of the rest of the story takes place in purgatory, with it being an exploration of the characters and their motivations (especially BO3) And finally, we see the Beautific Vision from the end of Paradiso (Book 3 of The Divine Comedy) right at the end of Origins (only BO2 it's not the same in BO3) Not to get too deep into things (this is already long enough to be a standalone post sorry) but the BO2 ending was the original "Paradiso" ending. But due to time travel this ending was no longer an "ending" once BO3 had happened. Which is why in BO3 Origins we don't ascend into "heaven" at the end. We only get to stand staring at it after the cutscene ends and die. Because once Revelations happened the only way to get an "ending" was via the destruction of the multiverse in Tag. Which is why we see that cutscene from after Alpha Omega directly after the BO2 Origins ascent. Because it is immediately "undone" by timetravel. So we get the ascent there instead: (but of course we know Sam and Richtofen are being reused (the writers knew that as well) so they don't get a "beautific vision" ending sadly. Just a tunnel. Read into that as much as you like... Big TLDR; Tempest = Tag Ending Explained Divine Comedy = Richtofen's Journey Explained (and whole Aether story explained tbh) Faust = Richtofen's character flaws explained

Ooh I like this idea, kinda eerie as well! Also reminds me of the similarity of the Denizen's portals with the 'Aether tunnel' in Die Maschine and the portals the Agarthan zombies in Origins jump out of. I could see Broken Arrow attempting to artificially create such portal, thereby teleporting and mutilating the things found around the Axis Mundi: Nacht and the Denizens. Perhaps the Denizens could be a creation of Group 935 at the time Nacht was their outpost, transported and stored in the containers seen in the Kino stage. Ever since Nacht was abandoned, they roamed the forest around.

Had a bit of an epiphany just now in relation to the denizens of the forest, and I think they could be related to Nacht being at the location. I think this relates to Nacht being the center of the multiverse and the closest place on earth to the Aether, a theory I discussed here: In this theory I also said that the Frozen Forest, at least as seen in Tag der Toten, is just outside of Nacht in Morasko. Perhaps the experiment that spawned these Denizen of The Forest also incidentally teleported the bunker from Morasko to Hanford. Maybe they were originally inhabitants of Morasko, or maybe they were residents of Hanford mutated into what they are now by creating a connection to Morasko. The green lights used for teleportation around Hanford could be a byproduct of this transition as well.

Bringing up a real mystery here that I totally forgot about, nice job! I'm really fund on your explanations, and it is so strange that Monty simply cites these passages rather than a specific quote directed to someone (Primis). This begs the question, to whom is Monty citing this? If for himself or the characters, it could very well be for the reasons stated by you. But what if it is directed to us, the ones who play the game? I could see how these passages are meant as an inspirational tool for us to understand certain aspects in the story: What is the nature of souls, what is the Frozen Forest? Espessially that second passage reminds me of something concrete: A man standing in a dark forest, filled with memories. Then, the rays of sunlight start to rise brightly... Could this be related with what we see in the game-over screen of Black Ops III: the dark Frozen Forest but with an odd blue-ish light rising (Apothicon Sun?). Something is happening here, but we never knew what. There's also the 'Primis memory trailers', taking place in the dark forest but before the lights start to rise ("The mere breath of memory stirs the old fear in the blood"). Perhaps the synonym of a dark forest in Shakespeare's work is the same as the Frozen Forest in our forest. Like how we had a lot of Biblical metaphores in our story as well (Number of the Beast, Tower of Bable, etc).

Supply Run

Hey just wanted to say I read your story book and it is amazing. I couldn’t stop reading it and can’t wait for more chapters. Great job.

Here is an Idea "Shallows of Hell" This map takes place on a Hawaiian island owned by Group 935, this map would introduce a new crew, Jason Makow, Hung Li, David Nedalli, and Sophia Grey. There is two newly original wonder weapons, JBZ.Rail_DG4, and the Aether's Blight, with three others The Aether's Staff, The Aether's Bow, and The Aether's Axe. The story is Jason Makow lost something valuable and contacted Hung Li and the other two for a heist. -Intro- A month later a party is thrown from the island, while everyone is distracted the four characters meet up and sneak on to a Group 935 Cargo Boat but a guard spots the four and fallows them meanwhile Jason. Find his item, The summoning key, but as soon as he acquires it the guard grabs and accidentally releases the Dark Aether and the summoning Key flies off, during all of this a chain reaction goes off causing the Valcano on the island to Erupt causing demons to come crawling out. -endings- There are two endings, "Let hell break loose" In shallows of Hell, Face your Demons. or "Shadows of Hell" In Shallows of Hell, listen to his voice. By the end... The Summoning Key ends up in Morg City. The end

Thanks! It’s rare to see this kind of screenshots since they’re in Discord Servers and sometimes hidden by those certain users getting a hold from them from others who has those builds in BO3‘s case. BO2 on the other hand is harder since most of the Builds those guys told me doesn’t have Zombies in it sadly as it’s mostly Mulitplayer. But I hope an BO2 pre alpha Zombies build is found one day.

Excellent work collecting all of these images! Very interesting to see the design philosophy.

This one is for BO3, but there’s more BO3 Pre Aloha Zombies Screenshots in the way btw. Starting with Shadows of Evil!

These kind of chapters that do not represent something seen in-game are always interesting and surprising to read. I like it how dr. Okitsu remains a returning character, now instead of being some kind of wicked scientist we really know how evil this person is. Get some kind of Japanese Mengele feeling of this guy. Love the reference to temple complex being buit in the era of the Great War. I must say I am not fully sure why Ultimis went here. Perhaps it is because we aren't supposed to know yet (as far as I know, last chapter they were in Shi no Numa), or did I forgot things?

Chapter 8: "The One"

Amazing work Rad, you got the real Ultimis vibes described here, the characters come to life. Really laughed at some points as well. Two small points I have "The frame of the device illuminated, and as if it were unable to contain the row energy within" I think this must be 'raw' instead of 'row', but I could be wrong. Another thing is in the Fightclub-like scene that Nikolai and Dempsey start kicking each other for fun, it initially isn't made clear that the other guy is Dempsey. Maybe this is intended, and I already guessed this concerned Dempsey since he would be the only one enjoying such things, but wanted to make sure anyway.

Chapter 7: My Way is now up on the site and on the Google Doc: https://www.callofdutyzombies.com/story/book2-ch7/ Also, @Grimmstein made a cover for Book 2: Amazing work as always!

Chapter 6: Mystery

@Lack of finding names an idea popped in my head about this which is sole speculation but I am sure @Carnage Evoker would love it. What if the four classic maps were originally intended to be busstops in Tranzit? We have Nacht already. We also have zombies with mysterious badges of "Hanford Sanatorium" on them, which perfectly fits with a structure similar to Verrückt being somewhere out there. Der Riese, also referred to as "factory", would easily fit as one of the nuclear factories that were present at the Hanford Site. In the pre-Alpha concept art you posted earlier, we even see factories as an intended area in Tranzit. Shi no Numa would be a bit more tough to place, but it would actually fit quite well with the wooden barns, fences and other structures found in Farm. The area itself even seems to be covered in a green fog as opposed to the red colour encountered in the rest of the map, quite fitting with Shi no Numa. Now, the maps may not have entirely been put in Tranzit. Think of it more like Tranzit's Nacht, which is partly accesible and a bit changed when compared with the original map.

Also worth mentioning as I've just noticed it, in Shadows of Evil the Zombie eyes are yellow, and so is the glow from the parasites: In Revelations, when the giant Apothicon is present, again, the eyes of zombies are red, as well as the glow of the parasites: In addition, in the cardboard version of the Great War on the stage of Revelations, the eyes are red again and the giant Apothicon is in the background (just above the margwa in this picture:) It's possible this is just a case of artistic license, as the Primis crew are wielding the wrong staves, but it does provide some amount of evidence for the further connection. We can at least confirm at this point that the color has to do with direct influence from some being and has to do with proximity (Shown by Alpha Omega). The reason the eyes are yellow in Shadows may be the biggest mystery. My only guess is that perhaps yellow is the default, as has been speculated, and instances of red indicate direct, free Apothicon influence. Shadows is the only map to throw a wrench in that idea to my knowledge, and it may perhaps have something to do with the level of proximity and Apothicon influence there. The Shadowman is ever-present, along with the giant laser-boi in the sky, however these beings may not be controlled by this Apothicon blood, so to speak. Dr. Yena's research indicates that the blood is made up of tiny organisms and feels almost alive, like some kind of hivemind. It reminds me of the Hunters from Halo, which are made up of tiny, orange worms that form colonies, inhabit armor, and create a hivemind which can be seen as a single individual. The entire Covenant is not made up of these worms, just the Hunters. In a similar sense, the Apothicons may not be made up of Apothicon blood, which sounds stupid, but remember that Apothicon blood is just a name given by humans to understand it because it came from giant Apothicon beast. I would speculate that these tiny organisms were either assimilated by the corrupted Keepers from some unknown planet, now known as Apothicons, and used as blood for the giant flying type Apothicons, or these organisms were created in some of the dark experiments committed by the Apothicons that also produced the first teleporter and the MPD. The idea that these tiny organisms were used by the Apothicons to fight for them against their will is further enforced by the way the Blood acts in Tag der Toten. The Apothicon Blood begs to be freed, and asks for help from the player, guiding them towards trying to help them, when instead we use them to create the Agarthan Device. Assisting Victis in their quest seems counter-intuitive to what the Apothicons would want, but it would make sense if they are not necessarily willing allies to the Apothicon race.