Part 13: Submachine 5: The Root

Part 13
Submachine 5: The Root

Last time, we explored most of the Root and gathered two Wisdom Gems, the second of which we got by dissolving a Metal Box in acid.

♫ Thumpmonks - Submachine 5 - Old Bricks


Next to the bathtub was this receptacle. We put the Coil in.

This powers up something, elsewhere. The easiest way to figure out where, is to look at the surroundings. It seems that all of the Root is actually relatively close together (the transporters are connected by cables), and similar-looking parts are next to each other.


To (0,2), it is. The screens here now show runes.


RTL


Our notes are really coming in handy. We quickly go and retrieve the Coil, which luckily stays charged.


Back in (0,0) there was another Coil receptacle.


Which activates this panel in (2,0).


We got all secrets now. Once we finish the game we can go see what they unlock. We picked up the light bulb, so let's see what's down in (2,1).


After passing that damn gate again, we can now see there's a passage down here.


RTL


Activating the ruins from the screens we saw earlier and turning the screw makes the ladder descend.


And we find a place that looks similar to what we saw in the Ancient Ruins. As far as I know there's no way to pass the spikes to the left. What we can do is lift the upper part of the statue. Good thing we picked up that Lead Casting when we did.


So, how the hell are we gonna lift the other parts? We didn't find any other castings or jewels.

Well, our protagonist is a lot smarter than whoever explored the Ancient Ruins.


Yup, we just take it out and put it in the next part of the statue.


Down there is the third and final Wisdom Gem, just sitting in a corner.

We're actually done in the Root. We go all the way back up, through that damn gate, take the teleporter to (0,0), and then climb back out of the building and towards the Portal device.


Time to go to the Corridor and finish this game.

♫ Thumpmonks - Submachine 5 - Corridor


We power up this place by putting the Wisdom Gems into the wall slots, then pull the handle. The door automatically closes, and...


The Mover, as this thing is actually called, takes us away, off into the distance.




Well, let's go check the Secrets, shall we?

♫ Thumpmonks - Submachine 4 - Bonus Area


This secret section is different from the last one in that each Secret unlocks a room, instead of needing all of them to unlock all the bonus rooms. But before doing that, let's go left real quick.


The other button simply takes us back to the main menu.


Going back into the game, we end up in the starting room and get a Secret Location item in our inventory that just takes us back to the bonus area at any time. Anyway, we put one of our Secrets in the slot on the wall to open the gate.


Each of the rooms has a screen to look at and a note to read, and of course the gate to the next room.


I've seen 'escape' type games where puzzles seem to have nothing to do with your goal. I have to say, in Submachine it feels like most of them are there for a purpose. You simply have to do them or you can't continue. Why previous visitors left things as they are is still anyone's guess, though.


LogicalFallacy already mentioned this in the thread, and Mateusz confirms it here, there were originally more plates. These would indeed let us access 43 locations (count them if you like). In some part of Submachine Universe, there's empty lockers which could hold 12 more plates. Those could theoretically take us to way more locations, but I don't know if they were part of the same transporter network.




These secrets give a neat look into the creator's mind.


The final room has no more gates, of course.


That was a bit optimistic, Submachine 6 was released in October 2009.

And as a matter of fact, that is the next one on the list. We'll learn a lot more about the true nature of the Subnet next time, in Submachine 6: The Edge.