Soma (2015)

Spoilers from SOMA below!

My name is Simon Jarret. Unfortunately, I don't have much time left. Doctors give me a few months or a year if I'm lucky. All because of a car accident in which I suffered a brain injury. It causes internal bleeding. Even excessive stress can be fatal.

I am in contact with Dr. Peake of Saint Mary's Hospital in Toronto, but I don't know how much these visits will help me. Dr. Peake says I need to have regular checkups to drain the blood that accumulates in my brain. It's good that she also prescribed me something for nightmares because I'm still tormented by what happened that evening. I was together with Ashley. Ashley, unfortunately, was not as lucky as I was. It all feels like someone 'above' flipped a coin. You live, you die.

I need to get my shit together. I was supposed to order flowers for the funeral. Maybe Jesse will be able to help. Jesse is one of the few people who seem to understand my problem. We work together in a bookstore. His sense of humor cracks me up. Today he called to say he's keeping his fingers crossed that my next consultation will help solve my "dying thing." What a guy!

Dr. Munshi recently contacted me. He claims that he may be able to help solve my problem. He seems to be very keen for me to see him. I have an appointment booked, and even though I don't think it will lead to any breakthrough, Dr. Munshi convinces me that this scan will help him understand my situation better. This will apparently give him a clearer picture of what he can do for me. It's better than waiting with my hands crossed and hoping for the worst.

Dr. Munshi's clinic seemed to be in an unused office building. The curtained windows, cables hanging from the ceiling, and the lack of staff gave me an odd feeling about that place. I looked around the room because I began to doubt whether this was a good decision. Dr. Munshi turned out not to be a real doctor but a researcher collecting data on how to help people in a similar situation to me. His reassurances helped me overcome my distrust, and we could get started.

The whole process took only moments. And more importantly, I did not feel any pain. I must have lost consciousness for a while. When I woke up, I was not able to recognize the place: strange suits on the wall, computer terminals, and locked doors. How did this happen? And where did Munshi go?

I stood up, trying to understand what had happened during the scan. Unable to get out, I broke the glass window. I could access a conversation recording between a woman and a man from a nearby terminal. They were the ones who put locks on the doors and cut off the electricity. They locked the area down and evacuated. But why? And what do I have to do with all this? Does it have anything to do with that dark ooze dripping from the ceiling?

In one of the rooms, I found machines. They resembled cybernetic dogs at first glance. They were suspended strangely, hooked up to a wall. As I got closer, I could promise that one of them had moved. My heart started pounding, and I remembered Dr. Peake's words about avoiding stress. After touching one of the machines, I again had access to a recording of someone trying to communicate with it. How is this possible? How am I able to listen to these recordings? My thoughts were rushing, but as I was trying to piece these things together, I got interrupted by a terrible noise on the other side of the wall.

Soon after, everything went dark. I didn't have to wait long, and suddenly the darkness was pierced by a monstrous rumbling at the door. And that jeering laughter! I gathered the courage to open the door when the noise died out. Slowly, I stepped inside. On the floor against the wall lay a headless body. How could anyone do something like this? I looked away, unable to stand this horrifying scene. A strange device caught my attention on the table. It looked identical to the one I saw on the poster (Omnitool) in the room when I woke up. I decided to take it with me and connect it to the terminal I saw there.

After connecting to the terminal, I found a file. There would have been nothing strange about it except that it showed my and Dr. Munshi's names. How is that possible? Could someone transport me here during the scanning process?

The terminal also had a short instructional video explaining how to use this new device. John Strohmeier was its author. Who cares! I just want to get out of here. I picked up the Omnitool. It has a proximity panel that unlocks doors. I remembered a sealed door nearby. That is where I could put Omnitool to the test. Behind the door was an underwater tunnel, and I found another recording on the wall. From the conversation, I deduced that it was on the Upsilon station, and those who worked here were fleeing to a station called Theta. ​ After a while, I managed to find a room where I hoped to make contact with someone who had survived or who could help me. Taking steps toward the terminal, I heard the voice of a man breathing with difficulty. I approached with caution. It was not a man. It was a machine. Any attempts to communicate with it failed. The nearby computer was not working due to a lack of power. This robot must have caused this. It was connected with two tubes to the terminal. After disconnecting one of them, the robot told me to stop because it needed "it." I tried to reconnect the wire, but it was fruitless. After disconnecting the second one, the robot stopped "breathing." Did I kill it? What am I saying? It’s a machine. After all, machines don't breathe! I don't know what to think about it myself anymore.

I restored the power and heard a female voice calling from a nearby computer. She was at the Lambda station. The poor quality of the connection didn't allow us to talk for long, but I learned from her that I should head upstairs, where it should be easier for us to establish communication. While looking for a passage, I came across a strange creature. It moved slowly, making loud cacophonous noises. I found an escape stairwell, but my way was blocked by hot steam. I tried to get through and only burnt myself in the process. It was necessary to find the valve that closed the steam.

My burns were quite extensive, so I could not move as fast. I noticed a strange opening, a small hole. It appeared connected to all those tentacles I had seen throughout the Upsilon. When I moved my finger closer, the mechanism engulfed my hand! I expected the worst, but I could easily remove it after that. Not only was this strange and unexpected, but it also made the burning pain go away and made me feel better.

Out of nowhere, the massive creature directed its lights at me. I moved closer to the corner, motionless, trying not to flinch. To my surprise, the monster charged in my direction. I didn't wait. I didn't want it to get me. Fortunately, its mass made it a relatively slow pursuer, though determined.

I ended up in a room where I found someone's drawings and some mattresses. Someone still lives here! I heard a male voice calling Amy and Rogers from the other room. I remembered Amy from the previous transmission. Could it be someone who knows them? He may know where I can find them. I sure hope so.