Part 29: Submachine 10: The Exit

Part 29
Submachine 10: The Exit


Last time, we explored the rather annoying Royal Storage Facilities. I hope we can make some more progress this time and visit more than one area. Let's start by jumping to OIO.

♫ Thumpmonks - Submachine 10 - Radiator


RTL
In any case, this new area is called the Resin Mine, and the first thing we find is this huge drill, which went straight through the floor tiles.

... And no, I do not know why the music tracks have these rather unusual titles.


RTL
We can release one of the drill clamps, but for the other, the handle is missing.

Yes, thanks, I figured.


The other Drill Clamp handle isn't far, it's in the pile of resin blocking our way further left.


RTL
We attach it, release the clamp, and now we can pull the lever on the left.


This turns the lamp green, meaning we can pull the handle to move the drill out of the hole.

Before we climb down, I realized we can't go much further without exploring to the right of the entrance Portal as well.


Where we find another hole. Lots of resin in this Resin Mine, isn't there?


At the bottom of the shaft we grab the Range Confirmator.

Right, we need to make two more red lights go green.

This game has a handful of direct written hints such as this one, some more necessary than others. I think Submachine has been moving away from those as the series went on, but with a game as complex as this, I suppose it's a welcome compromise.


Back to the big-ass drill. Down here there's a weird circular light effect.


The cause is in this side shaft, an already enabled Range Confirmator. That would be the first green light.


Climbing down further, I once again find myself wondering who made these tunnels and for what reason. It looks human-made instead of it being a part of the Submachine's plan.


To the left we find a Range Confirmator socket for the one we're holding. There's also a hatch that won't open.


The circular light effect now appears here, as well.


Above the right hatch, we find the third Range Confirmator socket already.


This hatch has a handle with which we can open it, so let's go on.


We're completely blocked from going further, but at least we find a Air Lock Handle.


RTL
This lets us open the hatch on the left, where we find the final Range Confirmator.


We can crawl a bit further left, where we find a hard to see, easy to miss Picture. Believe me, having to go search for this later on because you missed it is not fun.


It has a symbol, similar to the one we found in the Storage unit.


We place the Range Confirmator, backtrack out of the drill shaft, into the other hole, where we can now pull the handle.


The cable is released and then locked into another position.


The large hatch on the other side has opened, and we find a Karma Portal.

A second area done, luckily not all areas are as big as the Storage Facilities. Anyway, let's take the leap this time.


Recognize this place?

If not, the name of this track will help.

♫ Thumpmonks - Submachine 10 - Submachine 4 Redux


It is with great pleasure that I welcome you back to the Rooftop of The Lab. The ladder to the Attic is broken, and the background is completely black now, but it's the same old Lab.

As we grab the Force Field Plasma Canister for our inventory, the forcefield turns off, letting us continue.


The window here still has a metal plate bolted to it, but someone put a Light Sphere transporter here.


Inside, this seems to be another part of the Lab's Research Base. Another one of those Sub-Bot pod things, and to the right a ladder, and a Note.

This is big. It proves without doubt our suspicion that there's time travel involved in Submachine somehow. It also means that we cannot be sure whether Mur and Liz are death or alive in our current time frame.


RTL
Down the ladder, we find the broken Sub-Bot, and a Ladder Step on the chair, which we'll take.


To the right we find some wall device that tries to scan us.

Apparently we are neither, because the gate doesn't open. We can click the ash tray to move it in front of the scanner (while the ash and cigarette butts fall off - we're so clumsy), but apparently an ash tray isn't exploration staff either.

We'll have to come back later.


For now, we'll backtrack through the Resin Mine, to go a new Portal destination, OOI.

♫ Thumpmonks - Submachine 10 - Kill Catch


RTL
This is the Iron Pyramid, and once again we start by going left. That thing on the wall doesn't do anything in its current state.


The only way is down.


To the far left, there's this Anubis head. Clicking on it makes it turn.


And then makes you teleport to another Anubis head with a wall on the right. We won't explore this area just yet, instead we will take the Anubis teleport back to the left wall.


This device is to the right of the lower end of the ladder. We can't use it yet.

This is all there's to see on the left side of the Portal.


To the right from the Portal, there's this ladder going both up and down. To the top of the ladder, another Picture.


This one has two symbols - hieroglyphics? - on it.


Going left from the top of the ladder that's to the right of the Portal takes us to this other ladder. Are you still following? This place isn't too big but it has a bunch of very similar rooms.


Anyway, here at the very top of the Pyramid we find another picture, more hieroglyphics.


To the left of THAT ladder, there's just this box.


Where were we? Ah yes, the ladder to the right of the Portal. To the right of that is this thing with hieroglyphics on it.


We got two Pictures, with two hieroglyphics each. Both of them have a bird on it, and the four symbols on each of the cubes are unique. I turned them so the bottom two match one of the Pictures, and the middle two match another. We'll just need another hint for the top symbol to solve this puzzle.


Taking the ladder all the way down, we find another wall device similar to the one next to the Portal. It's similarly useless.


And at the end of this corridor, there's the Anubis head we teleported to before. Yeah, those are just a quick way to go from one side of the Pyramid to the other. They can be confusing for a moment if you think they bring you to a separated part of the Pyramid, but they're harmless otherwise.


That's the Iron Pyramid done for now. Shall we explore one more location today? Yeah, why not. IIO it is.

♫ Thumpmonks - Submachine 10 - Extranet


RTL
This area is known as the Karma Studies Facility, and you'll find out why soon enough. For some reason, when I was recording this, I apparently had a surprising fondness for going left.


To the far left, the building is crumbled. But we can use the Force Field Plasma Canister to create, well, a light bridge.


Doesn't take us anywhere useful, though. Let's instead take a look behind the door we just passed.


In this study there's a Note, and there's nothing useful hidden in the cubbyholes.

To the right the microscope view.


And on the other side of the room is the telescope. The view is strange - why would there be green dots out in the void? But if the note is trying to say the microscopic world in this place is the same as the macroscopic world, it doesn't really work because the patterns are completely different.


Downstairs, yet another Sub-Bot, and hidden quite well under the stairs, a Triple A Battery. Which will turn out to be a surprisingly important item. It's always funny how in puzzle adventure games, the most innocuous things always turn out to be important.


To the right, we find a second Vector Finder. I also enjoy opening the little doors on the Sub-Bot pods whenever I can, even though that serves no purpose whatsoever.


That's it for the left side. To the right of the Portal, the first thing is another door.


I... just need to move... some stuff out of... the way.


Much better. So what kind of experiment is going on in here?


Okay, some dots under the microscope.


We put the Karma light on... and now the dots form a dense cluster. Interesting. Further experimentation shows that turning the light off makes the dots scatter again.


To the left is another door which leads to yet another corridor.


In the back room, we find another device like the one back in the Storage unit. It's similarly inactive.


To the left, we find a third Vector Finder in the cabinet. Perhaps there's an even better prize behind door number two?


Oh.


The magnifying glass (does this thing have Karma in it?) just gives us a close up of the human skull behind the dish, in case you were interested in seeing that.


Back to the front of the building, what's left is the area further right.


Instead of taking the stairs, you can sidle along the wall to go to this dead end.


There's another part of this Facility behind the door downstairs.


Ooh, so many choices. Let's go left first.

I'll just leave this note up for discussion in the thread.


RTL
The door to the back on this side takes us to this room, where we can't do anything for the moment.


Skipping the middle door, there's one more to the right.


It takes us to this interesting device. First, let's grab the fourth Vector Finder from the floor.


Secondly, we discover that the Karma in this device seems to 'heal' the shattered piece of wall. We know that Karma, especially the Karma Portals, can destroy things, so this is quite the finding.


Finally, behind the middle door is one of those Karma Portal devices. It's not active, but there's a bunch of Vector Finders in the things on the floor. We'll plug ours in as well.


Crap, we're one short, to the back left. Well, that means we'll just have to come back once we find it.

See you next time, when we'll take the Portal to new and exciting places.