Editing Quest:Ruby Quest/Theories (section)

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'''LIKELY'''

A rather elaborate and overarching theory, largely built on evidence from the last two threads and especially the notes in the final room. Stick with me.

According to the various notes, the Metal Glen was initially set up to research ways to cure blindness. It was evidently a secret operation, not known to whatever public exists in the outside world. In addition, all of its subjects were voluntary, and most were blind from birth.

Treatment initially stalled, until at one point the Chief Diagnostician, Red, evidently felt something "calling" to him in his mind, possibly in his sleep. His desire to locate this whatever, combined with his influence in the facility, led to them excavating a secondary holding chamber (known as the "Brig"), and stumbling across a room full of all sorts of unholy artifacts and some kind of fleshlike growth. Red was fascinated by this growth, and began researching ways to put it to medical use.

Shortly after this, treatment of the patients' blindness appeared to leap forward- and at the same time, things began to get very bad in the facility. At least one of the patients, Subject #7 "Ruby", began displaying vicious and inexplicable homicidal tendencies (another patient, Subject 6, may also have begun displaying these tendencies around this time, or they may have been preexisting; it's not clear, though it's unlikely in the mind of this writer that a blind man could have been particularly psychotic). After one of the patients was killed, Red's treatments involving the growth managed to actually bring him back from the dead.

And this is where it all begins to break down- the facility's scientific and medical integrity, the sanity of the Subjects and some of the staff, and in some cases the very fabric of space itself. 7, having killed 1, goes berserk- giving Red a Glasgow Smile. 7 is then subsequently killed by Red, who evidently then commits suicide, only to be brought back later at some point. 7 is also brought back at some time between her murder at Red's hands and November 8th, at which point she stabs and evidently kills Tom the Cat (who is likely Subject 6, though this is not certain). At about this point, the facility is abandoned, and we begin the vicious and murderous cycle that evidently lasts a whole year ("The Lost Year") before the /tg/ hivemind latches onto Ruby and guides her and Tom to freedom.

Central to this Grand Theory are Subject 7, Ruby, and the orderly, Ace, who both seem to bear close connections to the artifacts and growth (as well as to each other). Most of the mutations viewed recently (Red's madman smile, Tom's extra arms) seem to stem from the wounds initially inflicted by Ruby or to her. Ace was initially just an orderly, however as stated by Bella, he has been seemingly ignoring orders recently, and collecting the old one artifacts in the Cold Storage behind the healing chamber cells. It is later revealed that this is probably the result of the influence of the Old One things behind the artifacts, as Ace behind his mask and getup has been transformed into an eldritch horror.

This also supports the "Red Caused The Rift" theory seen lower down, as he appears to have some serious relationships (partially subconscious or no) with the Old Ones that are evidently behind this whole mess. That, and as the mutations and freakish occurrences became more prominent and numerous later on in the story, the rift in the Brig Room continued to get wider and wider.

According to this theory, the general collapse of the facility can be blamed almost entirely on Red as a result (that dick)- his treatments using the growth were what resulted in the emergence of the homicidal tendencies in 7 and quite possibly in 6 as well- presumably, had the treatments continued, all the subjects would have begun getting murderous along with their returning eyesight. In addition, the revival-from-death procedure appears essential to the mutations.

TL;DR: Goddamnit, Red.

This Grand Theory is subject to alteration in the future.