The ritualistic murder on the DS15. Was that done by a Xiib'hanal? One of the logs mentions something inhuman coming out of the diving bell. But if so, what happened to it?
It was. And in my mind it was still stalking the decks of the DS15 - or perhaps it tried to dive back over the edge and drowned?
We did have a super early game mechanic where you could be hunted by something which would lead to ingame deaths and a cool motion tracker - and quite a bit of the story beats had this in mind. Thats why at most parts of the game there is a strong antagnonistic presense... the tumor creature, the scrubbers, the insect that bursts from the escape pod, and the ritualistic scalper.
You can actually see how it would have worked here:
https://twitter.com/StasisGame/status/1698010758364250392
While we ended up taking that out - we kept most of the 'things' that they would have to deal with at some point, and it actually worked out quite well in keeping the feeling of danger in the game.
The Cayne vessel that evacuated the DS15, the Sebastian. One of the logs seems to imply that something may have happened to it after it left, but it's unclear. Did something happen to it?
It was scuttled... if it was purposful, or just Karma, I'm not sure. :D
Also, I suppose Hadley is the "Mother" mentioned in the Cayne theology? How long did it take Cayne Corp to turn into a global cult anyway?
Yeah - Hadley lives on as The Mother.
World Timeline (these are from our internal Wiki to keep things in order):
1949 - Asia-Pacific pact (APP) prepares the C571 facility.
1950-2000, it is revealed that the APP formed after the second world war had continued Josef Mengele-like eugenics experiments outlawed by the Advisory Committee on Human Experimentation. These Unethical human trials led to many scientific breakthroughs and a rapid rise of the AP-Pacy countries as a unified super-power
The Asia-Pacific pact forced NATO and its allies into a financial cold war. This East vs West movement thrusts the world into dark times of mistrust.
1983 - Hendry Cayne is born
2000-2010 - A localized famine and new bird flu variant (ARG) , resistant to all drugs - devastated the region, killing a billion people. The Asian Pacific block capitulates as it sues for aid and an agreement is reached in which it is forced to pay reparations for their damage to the world economy.
2013 - Cayne Mining Limited (CML) was established by Hendry Cayne.
2015 - CML is appointed to debt recovery in the East Asian Pacific through mining asset administration for a 40 year contract.
2020 - Expropriation begins - In Hokkaido Japan, CML utilizes robotics to exploit deep mineral deposits though to be unreachable.
2040 - Hidden a mile below the surface in a bunker, CML discovers the C571 research facility and its library of experiments.
2041 - The extent of the unethical experiments found at C571 are purposefully leaked to worldwide outrage at the APP.
2042 - The press relabels the rise of the APP as a eugenics war and post-fact the aged leaders and ex-presidents of six countries are executed for crimes against humanity. Hendry Cayne is thrust into the limelight and assures the world that all forboden findings at C571 have been destroyed. His political career begins.
2043 - Hendry Cayne, though his corporate connections propose a worldwide ban of genetic modification research and human experimentation and its derivative technology citing the recent AP-pact revelations.
2044 - CML in conjunction with several NATO members establishes a biotech division to clandestinely continue the C571 experiments. CML and her associates establish several proxy companies and begin to profit immensely from new drug research.
2055 - APP debt repayment is now complete, CML withdraws from Japan.
2077 - CML publicly announces the Pan-Pacific Research amendment which negates the 2949 agreement, to legitimize the continued exploitation of the C571 research and remove the veil of secrecy. A host of media pundits agree that this is what the 100,000 victims of C571 would have wanted. Unbeknown to the public that this has been undertaken for almost 3 decades already.
2078 - The immense coffers of wealth that Cayne now controls has no limits and facilitates CML to expand its portfolio into pharmaceuticals, matter manipulation, space exploration, and a host of other exotic technologies.
2079 - Cayne receives the “Father of Humanity” award for his philanthropic contributions and contributes to science. He is worshiped as a deistic figure, sprouting a church and human-centric religion with Cayne as the benefactor.
2083 - Hendry Cayne is 100 years old and the Church of Cayne is officially recognized as a world religion with 100,000 members made up of the world elite class. Hendry Cayne now influences most of the world's bureaucrats and news media ensuring an almost facisitic control over society.
2085 - Inter-Solar exploration begins.
2090 - CML rebrands as a single mega-conglomerate, Cayne Corporation becoming the world's largest and most valuable company and Hendry Cayne the world's first multi-trillionaire.
2091 - The Church of Cayne now boasts a million members
2092 - Almost all employees work for a Cayne subsidiary and are debt slaves to the company. Joining the Church of Cayne allows up to 50% debt reduction.
2100 -The Tower is built and deployed (Later renamed the Groomlake)
2115 - Charles Cayne is ‘born’ a genetic clone but highly unstable and partially crippled.
2110 - The Church of Cayne now boasts a hundred million members. The tithe is 10% of our salary which is deducted automatically. Death results in passing of your debt to family members to be distributed evenly.
2121 - Hendry Cayne dies.The world mornes,
2134 - 50 Years of the Church of Cayne at 500 million devout followers making it the fastest growing religion of all time, it is no longer branded a cult and such heretical talk will result in absolute debt recall and indentured jail time.
2165 - The Events of STASIS 1
2170 - The Events of CAYNE - Hendry Cayne is reborn.
2171 - Hendry Cayne Day is made an official world wide holiday and all personal to company debt is reduced by 10.
2182 -2185 - The Events of STASIS 2
So - roughly 100 years to go from minor fringe religion to full blown global corporate theocracy.
if they're gone.
