Cerebral Tekton and You: An Architect’s Guide to the Building and Manipulation of Constructs!
by Nuova
To access the Darkfox spoilers relating to Cerebral Tekton, CLICK HERE
Preface
This doc is a (non-comprehensive) writeup of my own personal thoughts and theories regarding Cerebral Tekton, one of the most mysterious aspects of the lore of ONEWAY.EXE. Compared to the broader story, the lore related to Tekton is much more subtly delivered to the player and is something you can go through the entire game without giving too much thought to. However, it is also a crucial piece of the foundation of the actions of Trio8 and gives explanation for the supernatural elements found within UNTITLED.exe and the desktop sections.
With this doc, I hope to provide a baseline for understanding Cerebral Tekton as well as some of my own theories to help you gain a better understanding of the game’s lore.
The facts provided are ALL AVAILABLE for discovery within the game, and I encourage you to do some ruminating of your own on it as well. My own interpretation is simply my own, and we are all detectives.
This doc couldn’t have been made without the help of the wonderful people in the oneway.exe discord server! Join here!
Additionally, the wonderful Module 1.0 Lore Guide created by Estella from the discord is a wonderful read for those who wish for a more broad, comprehensive look at the game’s lore. (it's this one~ -Estella)
In the first part, we’ll go over the important facts and information the game provides about Cerebral Tekton, as objectively as possible. However, with the nature of lore like this, some base assumptions are required to make certain aspects more understandable. This is meant to act as a jumping-off point for learning about Tekton, and simply reading this section should help you to grasp the basics of the concept. There are MINOR SPOILERS ending 6 in this section.
The second part will be more speculative and will include my own personal theorycrafting and ideas. THIS SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ENDING 4 AND ENDING 3!
The third part will be dedicated to my main, most thorough theory, the LOVEBUG theory. THIS SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ALL ENDINGS!
This doc does NOT assume knowledge of Darkfox, although some endings which are spoiled by the LOVEBUG theory will require access to Darkfox to attain. Proceed with caution.
Overview: What is Cerebral Tekton?
The phrase Cerebral Tekton is a combination of terms.
Cerebral is a latin term which refers to things relating to the brain, the cerebrum being the brain.
Tekton is a Greek term which is most commonly translated to “craftsman” or “artisan,” and is most often associated with woodworkers. The English term “architect” is related to this word, coming from the Greek term ἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn), which can be translated as “master craftsman.”
Combine the terms, and we have our translation: Craftsman of the Brain
The earliest place where this phrase could be found was within the ARG, where an alternate version of the xo.dos.net website could be found by putting “loops” at the end of the url. Following this process brought you to this page:
Hidden text at the bottom of the page: “You seek answers others already found. The algorithm ticks you into a prewritten fate. The algorithm knows your place as it loops. Life is not fiction.”
We see an alternate version of the room where CT would be murdered, the chair empty. A few common phrases are found here: “Is this the way it always ends?” and “And the algorithm loops” are frequently repeated in-game.
In-game, appearances of the phrase are much scarcer. Emci mentions it by name during Meaty’s desktop segment, likely in a DM sent to Kitty, as it is her own Fantome notifications.
“More research is needed”
The Architect
The title of “Architect” is used much more freely, most often during sections related to Anita.
At the end of her route, after her speech, she calls the player by this title directly.
Since the player character is Emci, it can be inferred that she is referring to Emci as “the architect.”
Both the ARG and the game’s finale contain poems relating to the Architect’s purpose, delivered through Anita’s website and then by Anita herself respectively.
From the ARG:
The Architect builds the stage. The audience awaits entertainment.
The actors play their part like puppets.
The architect cuts not the strings, but lets the puppet run with scissors.
Senseless but fearful.
The puppet looks into your eyes. The puppet is no longer afraid.
The puppet bleeds for you.
The puppets never exit the stage.
From the final act:
The Architect set the play in motion.
The puppets sleep as the architect rots.
The script has been repurposed, as it was always meant to be.
Yet it’s been rewritten, each iteration further from the first. gutted from the inside.
Oh, but look! it moves outside its cue! the blade without a pulse learns to improvise!
What a show, what a craftful work of art!
Other Key Phrases: Constructs
If there is an architect, then their creations can be called “constructs.” The term is used in relation to the main 6 fictional characters within the game UNTITLED. As the name implies, the architect likely has a critical role in the creation of these constructs.
They will be explored in the next section.
Other Key Motifs: The Brick House
There are several mentions of some sort of house involved in Trio8’s more secretive projects. CT mentions in her diary and her special quiz that her ideal home would be “a cozy home surrounded by green.” In the hallway, we see what is most likely a representation of that home: A small, red brick house surrounded on all sides by a green field.
The thumbnail for the “Dream Home” on Ophelia’s computer also appears to show this house, notably distinct from the generic mountain thumbnails for the other photos.
The phrase reappears during the corrupted demo sequence, in a line spoken by Mikey’s second voice:
“Now you’re all alone in your little brick house!”
This is not the first mention of the concept of “bricks” with reference to the constructs; another mention comes from Mikey during his room’s narration, also by his second voice.
Later, during the finale, Emci receives a corrupted version of Ophelia’s chainmail which repeats the phrase, as well as other important motifs relating to Cerebral Tekton.
The repetition of “Brick by brick,” as well as an interesting error known as a “Structure Violation Error.”
“Fictional elements entering real life,” as well as a cut-off sentence assumedly saying “a livable structure,” aka a house or home.
We don’t know what term is being used, but it does end with -ton, as does Cerebral Tekton, and is in some way related to loops.
Other Key Motifs: Loops
“Looping,” and the concept of loops reappear very often within the game, most notably in the core structure of the game itself. The player/Emci is required to go through several loops of UNTITLED before they are able to reach the finale.
At the end of each loop, we see a slightly different photo of the covered body of CT after >one_way.mp4, where the covering as well as the room itself is covered with the phrase “IT LOOPS” written in blood. We also hear what appears to be CT/Kitty’s voice whispering the phrase repeatedly.
“IT LOOPS IT LOOPS IT LOOPS IT LOOPS IT LOOPS”
A photo found within SqueakyDVD after packing bag.zip is titled LOOPS.png, and appears to show a picture of UNTITLED mid-development, with the entire screen and desk covered in sticky notes repeating the phrase.
The Constructs
The roster of fictional characters given life within the game, and the backbone of the supernatural elements of the story. Their exact nature is left up to interpretation, but there is enough given that we can determine a few important points about their existence.
We can examine each one to determine how much each construct follows these rules.
Fiona
Fiona Saint-Rose, the main antagonist of the web-series “The Ecdysis Archives.” Takes most direct inspiration from Slenderman as he is depicted in “Marble Hornets” as an example of web-series horror/unfiction.
Within her room, she speaks directly to Emci, with many quotes indicating a level of knowledge that she shouldn’t have.
“Memory crawls within the marrow… restless.” – Referencing Emci’s buried memories. She says this when inspecting the Grapeline conversation, a precious memory.
“You walk through echoes.” – The process Emci is going through of revisiting his previous experiences and memories with Trio8. Appears when sifting through the piles of documents written for Ecdysis/Fiona’s room.
“The sights stay the same… but the eyes have… changed.” – The memories he is viewing are the same, but Emci is different than how he was. In what way, we are not sure.
“The heart… fragile… / You know it was.” – Referencing Slushie’s heart which we find in the floorboards. It is a different depiction of a heart than the stabbed one found in Spiderface’s room, which is implied to be CT’s heart.
Her recreation of “The Tell-tale Heart” is directly linked to Trio8’s discussion of the novel on Grapeline, indicating Fiona’s knowledge of that external conversation.
Fiona’s room is one of the only rooms in the game where Emci’s face is shown. Notably, it is a much cleaner depiction of him than the one found within Mikey’s route.
“Who are you?”
Emci implies in his DMs to CT prior to the events of the game that he is being haunted by her through daytime hallucinations, in contrast to the night terrors experienced by the others.
She is also capable of speaking through the source code of the restored Untitled website.
Ophelia
Ophelia Fontenot, subject of a cursed chainmail which kills its readers if they don’t share the curse. CT’s favorite character and the primary threat when in the halls of UNTITLED. She is one of the only sources of a failstate in the game, actively seeking to kill Emci/the player during her chase sequence.
In her room, her lines are very hostile towards Emci, and she accuses him of having fault in some tragic event, most likely being the murder.
“What did you do….WHAT DID YOU DO?!”
“It’s all your fault…It’s all your f-f-f-fault…”
“I want to tear the apathy from your eyes…” – Directly addresses Emci’s known blank expression
During the password sequence, when answering the question of “your best friend,” inputting Kitty or Slushie will result in the following two Faxes respectively:
Hidden text: The things you do hurt people who care about you (This is the same quote the muffled voice in the opening says, most likely being CT)
Hidden text: Your actions have consequences
If you were to input “Kitty and Slushie” together, you receive the following fax instead:
During the finale, you receive two e-mails from Ophelia, one being a corruption of her standard chainmail, and the other being a lamentation on the love she has been cursed with.
We’ll revisit her curse of love in the theories section.
Spiderface
A slasher villain in the Garden of Spiders franchise, a favorite series of Slushie’s as well as the trio as a whole.
Doesn’t speak, but writes messages in blood on the wall of his room. The most notable of these includes a reference to Andy, Slushie’s real name, mocking him and calling him a toy.
“LITTLE ANDY PIG STUPID BITCH STUPID TOY! PLAY PLAY PLAY!!”
The mirror in Rh1nos’ room can also be replaced with one clearly referencing Emci, with messages telling him to “reflect on what’s left.”
After placing FileSlasher in bag.zip, we receive a photo known as “Copycat.jpg” which depicts the same Spiderface style of writing on a real computer screen showing the >one_way.mp4 video, once again targeted at Slushie. This time, it accuses him of being a copycat in recreating “Sweet Emily” during CT’s death.
HOW CUTE
COPY COPY COPY
LITTLE COPYCAT
CAT CAT
MEOW!!!
Anita
An animatronic mascot who assimilates those who interact with her, and main antagonist of Anita’s Great Transformation, a mascot-horror series. Like Fiona, shares affinity with Emci due to their shared desire for control and entertainment.
In her room, she speaks directly to Emci about his desires.
“I heard that you like to have fun with your friends forever, and ever!”
Her ending monologue in her room directly namedrops the architect, implicating Emci as the one who goes by that title.
“Do you ever remember a feeling? No faces, no names.
I had a best friend once. He wasn’t real.
He didn’t need to be when I felt happy.
I realized I could be that for someone else.
I could make them happy.
And give them a show that makes them feel, forever.
Isn’t that what you want? A show?
Then smile with me.
Architect.”
Her desktop section revolves around her program form, Desktop Patrol With Anita!, a piece of malware developed by Trio8 to keylog and track down criminals as a part of their vigilante work. This program directly interferes with DOLLHOUSE and takes control of Emci’s computer.
She is also aware of her usage by Emci to keylog Slushie, and comments on it.
She is unique among the constructs in that she is the only one to actively make an attempt to stop Emci from continuing to loop, zipping up his desktop and UNTITLED in order to keep him from remembering. Her dialogue upon reopening UNTITLED implies she wishes for Emci to stay unaware of the truth for his own protection:
“Wait, what did you do?
No, no, no! I can find more games for us!
It’s not ready yet, there’s a lot you won’t like to see
You can’t restart! Stay here with me!
You’re not ready! It’s not fun! You’ll be alone without me to guide you!
You can’t keep acting on your own.
Is it your own? Is it the control?
Why are you doing this to me?
To us!
I have feelings too, I just want to play games.
We all want to play games.
Everyone else will play games you won’t like.
And you’ll remember.
Don’t let-”
Note that she implicates the other Constructs in being victims of what Emci is doing, as well as their desire to “play games”
While this could be seen as malicious, in the finale she agrees to allow Emci through to the game so long as he proves he is ready to face the final act, suggesting her controlling of Emci is borne out of a desire to protect him.
Meaty
A synthetic life-form that loves to learn, Meaty comes from a collective horror writing project known as Renovirtue Labs, most similar in concept to the SCP Foundation.
She speaks directly to Emci about his status as a real, living person, as well as her own desires to become real. She is aware of Emci’s holding of Kitty’s files and wonders if he is doing it as a friend, or for another reason. She then accuses him of rotting and calls him “parasite.”
Transcript:
“A parasite overfed by the weak.
Memories buried beneath
You take a precious thing beyond the marrow
Now your skin clings to brittle bones, mottled with lethargy
It peels away in strips revealing raw flesh underneath
Do you like it?
The rot seeps deeper, festering in the cavity. Every breath you take is a rattling gasp, a reminder of decay.
And in this rot I see the truth.
You are real.”
She utilizes chopped up phrases from CT’s diary to express her wants, as well as stealing Kitty’s fanart. The Terror jumpscares us shortly after.
“SMELL THE STRIPPED SKIN
GUTS SPILLED ON THE FLOOR
YOU ROT FROM THE INSIDE OUT
SO I LEARN WHAT IT IS TO BE HER
SO I LEARN WHAT IT IS TO BE YOU
LIFE OUTSIDE THE SCREEN”
During her desktop section, after we gain access to CT’s desktop, she shows herself to be capable of manipulating the computer by hijacking DOLLHOUSE to speak with us, as well as speaking through CT’s stickies.
Later, in the finale, she is shown to still be speaking through CT’s desktop, utilizing her stickies to repeat phrases while her desktop collapses.
In the post-route pop-ups, the speaking style indicates that Meaty is the one who is speaking, showing that her influence can even extend into UNTITLED as a whole.
Outside of the game, she has taken over her own website and frequently comments and speaks to us/the readers through the website’s code.
Billie
Final girl of the Garden of Spiders franchise who seeks revenge on Spiderface for murdering her friends.
While CT’s presence is very apparent in her room, Billie does not explicitly speak to the player in relation to outside events until the final act dress-up sequence, in which she interrupts the narrator to comment on the murder scenario.
“Oh my goshhhh! I have a super secret trip to see my dearest sexyyy bes- the footage showed a person wearing a black hoodie and-UGH, get OVER IT! All my friends died too, stupid b*tch…”
Upon reopening the dressup game, she will reference the “algorithm loops” motif repeated several places within the game, particularly at the end of each route. She also refers to Slushie by his petname, Baby.
“Aww, poor little baby…Oh the algorithm, it does like to loopy loopy loopy~!”
Additionally, she is seen speaking in the post-route pop-ups like many of the other constructs.
Mikey
Your new god on the radio, Mikey is the antagonist of the Thrasheye Vision podcast. Once a normal boy, he was forced to undergo apotheosis in a cult ritual and now lives on as a god to gain as much attention for himself as possible.
Prior to the events of the game, Emci stated on Grapeline that Mikey himself was forcing him to draw him prettier. It is unclear if this is simply Emci’s weirdness or real influence.
He is by far the most overt with his sentience, showcasing knowledge of other rooms in UNTITLED, Trio8, and even the Restoration Team. He taunts Emci with the love shared between the trio, posts screenshots of XO.DOS gore videos from the past, and turns on his webcam to showcase his rotted state.
“That’s too bad they loved you.”
Playing in a lowered volume behind Mikey’s radio voice is a second voice which echoes all of his lines in a hushed tone. However, this voice also has some additional lines, reciting a poem which relates to the concept of building and fictional reality.
The title, “one.txt,” implies a sequence. The first of many sections to a longer text? “Your wants, your memories, your fears, your soul becomes the blueprint.”
Much like Meaty, he hijacks DOLLHOUSE during his desktop section in order to take full control of the computer.
His above opening line implies a knowledge of Emci’s devotion to SS/CT
He also overrides Billie’s dressup game with himself, which is where he showcases much of his knowledge of outside events through his responses.
Post-route, Mikey is shown to be able to take over the pop-ups and even the Tellnet messages to speak to Emci.
Even comments on the lack of voice acting.
KITTY AND DOLLHOUSE
Kitty
CT’s personal sona from before the earliest days of Trio8, her door in UNTITLED is locked for the duration of the game until the finale. She speaks at the very beginning and end of the game, telling Emci to “wake up” in the opening sequence and delivering the ending monologue during the final cutscene.
During this cutscene, she superimposes herself over the corpse of CT as seen in >one_way.mp4.
“Isn’t that kind of beautiful?”
Outside of these scenes and certain minor easter egg appearances, she is physically absent from the game and is instead replaced by her other form:
The Terror
“SICK PARASITE”
A corrupted version of Kitty that haunts Emci throughout UNTITLED. Her appearance is that of a monstrous version of Kitty with her skin flayed off and her claws and teeth elongated.
She quotes Slushie’s “sick parasite” moniker for Emci during her Meaty room jumpscare, indicating that she is aware of (or influenced by) the outside circumstances of the game.
Her appearance strongly resembles that of CT’s body after her murder, particularly due to the fact that they are both skinned, the implication being that The Terror’s skinned form is correlated in some way to that murder.
DOLLHOUSE
DOLLHOUSE.exe is a malware program developed by Slushie and sent to Emci at some point prior to the game’s events. During the game, it is the primary force holding his computer hostage whenever he exits UNTITLED.
DOLLHOUSE is self-admittedly pre-programmed, and has many lines where he comments on his lack of divergence from his programming. Despite this, he contradicts this statement frequently by commenting on things which should fall out of his pre-programmed script, such as future events past his creation. He also frequently uses motifs which are only found within the accusatory hauntings targeted at Emci.
He also takes a much more Slushie-like appearance in this fanart by CT, and his personality is very similar to his creators. This implies that he acts as a pseudo-sona for Slushie, much like Kitty does for CT.
Because he checks the previous rules established by the existing constructs, it can be argued that DOLLHOUSE acts as an 8th construct alongside the 7 that exist within UNTITLED. However, he does stand out from the others due to his more recent creation compared to the others, who have all existed for a significant amount of time as characters.
TRIO8
The relationship between our main trio and Cerebral Tekton varies between each member, but they are all involved in some form or function with the project. It is their most secretive project, even more-so than their criminal/vigilante work. Because of this, much of the info we have is very up to interpretation.
CT
Real name ▢▢▢▢▢▢▢▢▢ Wright, CT is the most outgoing and energetic of the trio. She is represented with the roles of the cat, the king, and the mad doctor Frankenstein.
Two routes provide most of the details on CT’s involvement with Cerebral Tekton. The first is Meaty’s route, where we are able to see the bulk of her research and archive work.
Her sticky note titled “my interests” contains a number of interesting study topics, all of which have significant implications towards the nature of Cerebral Tekton.
In order:
The other route is Fiona’s route, in which we see a conversation between EE/CT about hauntings/hallucinations seen by EE of the constructs.
At the end of Fiona’s route, the final fax contains a strange series of instructions that are implied to be the guidelines written by CT after the above conversation.
The usage of the phrase “build” closely implies a connection to Cerebral Tekton.
Note the motif of the constructs carrying a part of their creators with them
These guidelines being written by CT alludes to her playing a very crucial role in the Cerebral Tekton process, as the project’s primary mind as well as the dictator of its rules and boundaries.
She is also the originator of the “brick by brick” quote as repeated by Mikey, which we can see on their Fiona/Ecdysis archives website.
CT’s screenname also matches that of Cerebral Tekton, further suggesting a direct connection between herself and the project.
EE
Real name unknown, Emci is the most mysterious of the three with regards to his intentions and his actions behind the scenes, but thanks to his place as the player character we have plenty of interactions that link him to Cerebral Tekton. He is represented by the roles of the lizard, the joker/jester, and Frankenstein’s Creation.
The above-mentioned DM sent to CT has him mentioning Tekton by name, directly linking him to the project.
As previously mentioned, Anita repeatedly refers to him as the “architect,” a phrase which directly links him to the concept of building and the constructs. Specifically, it implies that he has a direct role in the creation of the constructs themselves.
Her architect poems have significant implications for his role in the process.
The ARG poem describes the process in a detached manner, as if it is a guideline/walkthrough.
The Architect builds the stage. – As the architect, Emci is implicated with the creation of “the stage.” The identity of this stage will be explored later.
The architect cuts not the strings, but lets the puppet run with scissors. Senseless but fearful. – While he sets the stage, he does not play an active role in the actions of “the puppets.” This is represented by his role as the lizard in the cat-and-mouse game, described as “holding the moment” and watching the action from a distance.
The puppet looks into your eyes. The puppet is no longer afraid. – The architect’s presence supports the puppet, and allows it to proceed with the play on his stage.
In contrast, the poem from the finale describes the events as they took place in the timeline.
The Architect set the play in motion. – Similar to the start of the previous poem, implies Emci’s role in bringing about the events of the game.
The puppets sleep as the architect rots. – Emci’s absence left the puppets alone and unsupported, and as such they were not active without him.
Oh, but look! it moves outside its cue! the blade without a pulse learns to improvise! What a show, what a craftful work of art! – The “blade without a pulse” makes a move without the influence of the architect, thanks to the aforementioned rotting.
SS
Real name Andrew Tagliere, SS is the most outwardly bristly of the trio, yet he maintains the most passionate and fragile heart. He is represented by the roles of the mouse, the queen, and the bride of the Creature.
Compared to EECT, Slushie’s involvement in Cerebral Tekton is much more subdued. This is intentional on their part; both Emci and Kitty showcase a desire to keep Slushie “safe” due to his fragility.
Kitty is able to handle Emci’s darkness, while he feels Slushie should not have to.
As a result, much of the evidence for his involvement in Tekton is speculative. Despite this, it is no doubt that he was involved with their more strange dealings in some fashion.
During a conversation from October of 2020, they discuss how to write Mikey’s power in a manner that implies something much more real than simply writing a story.
The mention of “limits” potentially connects back to the guidelines as written by CT.
During the demo sequence in the finale, we witness a demo version of UNTITLED become taken over by Mikey and burned down. It is implied that this incident (and possibly others, such as the password changes to BuRN yOuR FLeSH! and the music in the static sound effects) is what incites this conversation about Mikey’s influence being too strong. Having knowledge of Mikey’s supernatural state would indicate that Slushie is well aware of the forces they are dealing with, at least to some degree.
A week prior to this discussion, the trio have an important night after which Slushie is particularly unsettled, but we are not told exactly what this night entailed. This chat is deleted by Slushie, likely out of shame or embarrassment, but exhumed by CT and EE.
Notably, UNTITLED is deliberately mentioned as separate from whatever it was that they did together.
Slushie’s fragility and reluctance to fully commit to some aspects of their work is a frequent theme. It is much more highly implied to be related to Cerebral Tekton, rather than their vigilante work or game development, as he shows much less direct reservations to either of those aspects of their work.
Speculative Scaffolding
With the primary foundation laid out, we can assess some more interpretive elements of Cerebral Tekton. Here, I’ll be offering my own personal speculation when it comes to the many questions raised by this topic.
This section will be added to over time!
Ending spoilers are labeled with their appropriate ending number.
What are the constructs?
We were able to establish who the constructs were within the game, but the question still remains of what exactly they are, as well as their general mechanics of existence. There are a few main points of interest with this question.
Importantly, the version of the construct within UNTITLED and the version found outside of the game are one and the same.
Mikey provides the most proof for this point. At the end of his room we see this image, with a line spoken by Mikey himself:
Immediately when starting the desktop sequence, Mikey takes over DOLLHOUSE with this line:
Directly continuing his previous lines.
Meaty provides evidence for this as well, with her continuing to speak to the player through both her route and even her post-route hallway textboxes.
“I learn the lines to say” implies that the “sick parasite” motif is not inherent to the game, but something additional that the constructs are learning to repeat.
With this in mind, it can be theorized that the constructs themselves are separate entities from the forms they can manifest as. Mikey is Mikey, and he can appear as the in-game NPC or the PNG inhabiting DOLLHOUSE, but he is still the same Mikey. The same logic can then be applied to all of the other constructs.
The Guidelines: Construct Building for Dummies
As for what exactly their nature is, looking through the guidelines gives us the best idea.
The first page of the guidelines walks us through initial creation of a construct. It dictates a few important things:
The beginning stages of a construct is denoted here as “the Build,” a title which will come up again later.
The second page describes how to develop the construct. Constant focus and attention is required to grow the thoughtform into a fully fleshed out being. This makes sense; as a thought, once it leaves the mind of the thinker, it is as if it never really existed in the first place. Therefore, the constructs must be fed constantly.
This page also emphasizes the need to share the construction, but only with those that will not cause problems for the development process. “Breaking” the construct would likely result in breakdown of the entity, with even the potential for harm for the host.
As the construct grows with more and more attention, it will begin to act on its own. As a sentient being with its own existence within the mind, it begins to act independently of its host, as if it were its own mind.
Once the construct is formed enough to exist as its own presence, it can then be spread to those around the Architect. Just as it does with the host, aspects of those whom it is shared with will be carried with the construct. On the other hand, it will also have changing effects on the host itself. No matter how much it changes, however, it will never lose the entirety of its host, and will retain those aspects.
The aforementioned influence the construct has on its host is given much more description here. The construction takes a massive amount from its host.
There is a theme of being “lost inside it,” before the host “feels whole.”
By the end of construction, a fully formed construct will exist alongside the architect as its own separate entity. The “price for adoration,” as it mentions, seems to refer to the aspects of the host’s self which are taken for the purposes of construction, as well as the previously mentioned feeling of being lost within the build.
With these in mind, we can make a shorter summary of the process of construction:
Start with a specific, central idea for a construct you wish to build, and develop it with constant attention and focus. As the construct feeds and develops, it will begin to act on its own more and more until it has fully manifested into its own existence. You must share it with those who will help develop it, but not so much to which it jeopardizes the build. At this point, it will begin to take aspects of yourself until you and the construct are now coexisting as fully realized, independent selves.
Hauntings and Night Terrors
At many points in the game there are mentions by Trio8 of “night terrors” which they face during the course of their development of UNTITLED. All 3 of the devs are confirmed to experience them, and they occur within close proximity and relation to their work with the constructs.
Kitty and Slushie both report having night terrors while working on pop-ups for use within Blinkyboo, a program directly related to Ophelia.
Working closely with Ophelia-related development may have caused her to haunt the two of them within their dreams. As we know from Kitty’s research, dreams play an important role in Cerebral Tekton.
Emci also experiences similar hauntings. We can revisit his conversation with CT about the guidelines to show it.
His visions/hauntings are stated to be “exactly like” Fiona, worms and all. Emci is rarely so direct, so having confirmation that he is being haunted specifically by Fiona is telling.
Kitty’s next few messages give away the most crucial information. Upon hearing that he is seeing Fiona, she asks if he is having night terrors. This would imply that, if he was seeing her, she would think it would be from having these terrors, as she and Slushie were having when working with Ophelia.
Emci is not having night terrors, however, but something worse; he is having daytime hallucinations of Fiona’s worms accosting him.
Emci then tries to describe what he sees by stating that he is, in fact, seeing the constructs while awake. CT directly connects having visions of the constructs to dreaming, confirming that her research on dreams was applicable to Tekton.
We know that the constructs are supernatural in nature thanks to their abilities to transcend their programming and speak with knowledge they should not have. With these scenes, we can confirm that they are also capable of influencing and interacting with the minds of their creators, and the architect himself. Emci is notable for having a much stronger connection than SS and CT do, with his hallucinations occurring in broad daylight, while conscious, and apparently being much more severe than he even thinks CT is able to handle.
With this in mind, recall the lines spoken by DOLLHOUSE during the finale.
We know why it would be childish for Slushie to refer to the night terrors as such: Because he knows what they truly are, as he is well aware of the constructs and how they can and have been influencing him and EECT.
This reveals a very important realization: Slushie was plagued by construct influence on the night of the murder.
Tulpas
Note: The term “tulpa” is a borrowed term from Tibetan Buddhism, and the usage in modern spiritual practice has little to do with the original usage. I use the term as it is used within the latter for simplicity’s sake, but ultimately it is an appropriated term and the modern usage shouldn’t be misconstrued for actual, real religious practice.
The term “tulpa” refers to a self-created, thoughtform entity that exists separately within one’s own head. In essence, it can be considered one step above an imaginary friend, as it is believed to be its own existence rather than an extension of the creator.
Tulpa creation of this manner usually involves intense focus, and can often involve techniques such as meditation and lucid dreaming in order to facilitate creation.
The guidelines as listed above reveal a creation process that highly resembles that of tulpa creation, and I propose that the resulting constructs are similar in nature.
For one, the fact that they are able to manifest in multiple forms throughout the game and the desktop implies that their existence is separate from the game itself, thus not tying them down and requiring them to be related to UNTITLED itself.
Secondly, the name of the entire process itself heavily implies that the constructs are thoughtforms: “Cerebral Tekton,” or “craftsman of the mind” insinuating that it is the process of creating, or building, sentient minds. CT’s research heavily associating with dreams and mental processes supports this.
One of the most famous stories involving tulpas of this nature is that of Koomer and Oguigi. In short, a man known as Koomer created/manifested a tulpa known as Oguigi, and documented his attempts to have his tulpa take full control of his body and his life. This process, alongside his already unsteady mental state, led to a severe mental breakdown.
While the exact nature of Trio8’s construct experiments is unclear, there is a frequent repeated theme of mental decay, and it extends even past Emci’s own amnesia.
Further association of night terrors with constructs and the negative mental affects.
Interaction with the constructs has a real negative effect on the trio’s minds, and Emci is particularly affected, as shown by his Fiona route conversation. Evidently, it becomes so severe that he eventually loses all of his memories, and is left alone in the House without any remembrance of his previous self.
Could this mental state leave the mind open for construct influence to take over, like in the case of Koomer and Oguigi? In which case, the created mind of the construct fills in the gap which is hollowed out by the construction process. Like a tulpa fronting for its creator, the body is commandeered and piloted by a new consciousness.
Trio8: Roles and Archetypes
In the next section, we’ll address a few points of speculation regarding Trio8 and their roles relating to Tekton
CT: The Mad King
We can start with CT, as her role is arguably the most clearly defined within the evidence we have. Due to her authorship of the guidelines, we know she plays a critical role in the application and development of the Cerebral Tekton process.
We later reveal the entire conversation between EECT discussing the readiness of Tekton, in which we receive a great amount of details regarding her importance to the project.
CT is seemingly tasked with the generation of not only the guidelines to Tekton, but the genesis of the construction process itself. Her research topics have some relevance to their plans, but no idea is able to fully allow her to realize Tekton as it needs to be.
It is CT’s own thoughts that form the basis for Tekton, and she is unable to develop the project through imitation of other concepts through her research. It is a deeply personal project.
As she insinuates above, her work on Tekton is closely intertwined with Emci. While she is the one who generates and produces the bulk of the guidelines, Emci’s assistance steers her thoughts to facilitate a smoother process. This aspect of their relationship gets expanded on within “roles.png,” found within Meaty’s route.
The collective EECT works in tandem, amplifying each other to produce much stronger foundations for Tekton.
As a result, when their bond is severed thanks to Emci’s withdrawal, the project effectively collapses. Post-breakup diary entries from CT confirm that her attempts to continue their work without the other two are unsuccessful.
However, just before her death, she began work on a new altar, and it’s unclear exactly what that entailed.
Emci: The Rotting Architect
We’ve established in the previous tab that Emci has several direct ties to Cerebral Tekton, largely thanks to Anita labeling him as the architect. This role implicates him directly with the creation of the constructs through name association.
As described above, his collaboration with CT provides the basis for Tekton, with CT originating the research and guidelines with her voice that is amplified and brought more strongly to the service via Emci’s assistance.
Despite this, it is he who ends up with the “architect” label, rather than CT as one would expect.
Evidence at various points in the timeline point to Emci having a particular affinity for the fictional characters that would become the constructs. Even as early as 2013, he is recorded speaking of Mikey as if he is directly giving him orders. However, it is unclear if he is being literal in referring to Mikey’s orders or simply showcasing his typical Emci crypticness.
Later on, his issues become more apparent thanks to his dealings with Fiona. He experiences daytime hallucinations while fully conscious, a much more severe haunting than the night terrors which CT and SS report. He shares a particularly strong connection with Fiona thematically; like her, he has a strong desire for control and a direct affiliation with rotting and decay.
It is not only Fiona who he reports seeing; within the very same conversation, it appears as though he is experiencing some level of psychosis with Kitty herself.
While CT doesn’t seem to catch it, Emci directly admits to mistaking/hallucinating her as her sona/construct self, Kitty. To phrase the interaction more literally:
CT: Is it (your construct hallucinations) happening right now?
EE: It depends.
CT: On what?
EE: You are Kitty. (Right now, I believe I am speaking to the construct, Kitty.)
CT (Without understanding his hidden meaning): I am Kitty!
EE (Believing his hallucination was affirmed): It is.
Because of this, and his importance towards assisting CT with the creation of Tekton, Emci’s capabilities towards construct creation are likely very potent, leading to his place as the “architect.”
At some point, Emci makes a massive withdrawal from both Tekton and Trio8 as a whole, beginning the domino effect which leads to their breakup as well as the eventual murder. This is likely why there is so much fault attributed to him by the constructs: If he hadn’t abandoned them, none of this would have happened.
We don’t know exactly why Emci pulled back, but I propose that it had something to do with their work on Tekton which was not progressing as intended. More on this in the Lovebug theory.
Laurie Barclay: The Canary in the Cage
Outside of the main 7, it is possible that Emci was working on developing constructs during his solo work. After Fiona’s route, we see a Tellnet conversation where Slushie accuses him of working by himself, citing a “new Laurie letter” as proof.
Within her route, we receive two faxes which are heavily implied to be “authored” by Laurie Barclay, the protagonist of Ecdysis Archives. The first comes along with the Trio8 portrait and describes her own discovery of a beloved photo.
The second is more relevant to our theorizing. In “host.pdf,” Laurie goes through a sort-of existential crisis involving words and thoughts which she knows do not belong to her.
The words within this letter are echoed by a conversation between Trio8 from 2019. This conversation is directly connected to the constructs, implying a connection between Laurie’s letter and Cerebral Tekton.
Could Laurie be an attempt by Emci to develop a construct solo? If so, it seems she has issues of stability, as shown by her existential crises and her lacking true perception of the world outside the screen, like the other constructs do. It is worth noting that she has no visual reference: Her missing poster has no depiction, and her thoughts are entirely delivered through text. Her foundation, therefore, is much less steady.
With the previous evidence considered, I theorize that Emci’s role in Cerebral Tekton is built around his unique mental state which allows him to develop and interact with his constructions in a much closer and intimate nature than CT is able to. While she maintains her connection with Ophelia through her letters and is capable of experiencing the night terrors, Emci shows much higher affinity for the constructs innately, and is even capable of producing them on his own, as shown by Laurie Barclay.
Slushie: The Fragile Muse
Compared to EECT, Slushie’s role in Tekton is relatively subdued. This is intentional on the part of the other two; Slushie being more sensitive compels them to keep him safe, despite their simultaneous desires to push his limits.
He is aware of Tekton as a member of the team, but only seems to learn more about it as much as EECT will let him in on.
His role is that of a writer, much like one of his primary roles in development of UNTITLED itself. What does this mean for Tekton, exactly?
If EECT act as a primary generating force for Tekton and the constructs, Slushie’s writing could then act as a sort-of grounding element to their more wild, impulsive thoughts. He is much more careful and deliberate, and therefore his writing would allow for a clearer vision in the production of the constructs.
At the same time, he acts as a primary object of their devotion and energy, as is laid out under the spire dynamic in roles.png
As laid out in the dynamic, the muse does not have to give the same amount which they are given within the relationship. We see this reflected in EECT’s tendency to keep Slushie safe and protected, especially from their inner workings of Tekton.
From a conversation revealed by giving the phrase “Tekton” to Mikey
As such, the role of the writer in Tekton is likely a much safer role when compared to the roles undertaken by EECT, so as to prevent any harm from coming to Slushie.
Of course, problems cannot be prevented all the time, as we will find out when we discuss:
The House
A peculiar sticky note can be found in Billie’s route among other sticky notes originally belonging to CT.
We learn of an incident which took place the day prior to/on Emci’s 21st birthday involving something known as The House, which apparently burned down. They tried and failed to extinguish the flame, and the whole event was “high risk and high stress, but lucid.”
We are never explicitly told what this incident exactly was, but it is heavily implied that we experience part of what happened during the finale demo sequence.
In the sequence, we play a demo from August 8th of the same year. We hear narration referring to the place we are stuck in as “our little brick house,” and we see visions of deaths and injury at the hands of the constructs.
Before we can reach the end, Mikey intervenes and turns the demo into his own room before the demo is engulfed in a field of poorly-cropped fire pngs.
“SET YOUR BODY ABLAZE WITH DESIRE!”
I believe this sequence is a representation of what happened during the House fire on Emci’s birthday.
In a conversation after this event, we see Trio8 discuss how to reign in Mikey’s power, implying that he is giving them unique trouble. If Mikey was a direct cause of problems with Tekton, this would make a great deal of sense. Mikey is directly associated with fire and burning, so he is the easiest to implicate with the act of burning down the House.
SPOILERS FOR ENDING 4/7!!!!!!
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A conversation between Emci and Slushie we receive as a result of the Burn ending sheds a bit more light on the House fire incident.
It is confirmed that the event took place within a dream, specifically one had by Slushie himself. What’s more, Slushie says he ended up inside the House “for a reason,” and that Emci and Kitty were not there. Emci explains this as a failure on their part and vows to not make the same mistake again, while Slushie tries to take some of the blame due to his inexperience.
It is entirely possible that Slushie was alone inside the House by mistake, but Emci’s words leave another possibility on the table: That Emci and CT allowed Slushie to enter the House alone intentionally, and realized after it went wrong that it was never to be allowed to happen again. Notice how Emci does not answer Slushie’s question about what the dream meant:
EE: we were meant to be there
SS: But you weren’t. It’s clearly trying to tell me something. Why else would you not be there?
EE: we should have. always.
He does not attempt to explain what it could mean, because he already knows what it means that he was in the House by himself: He was there because they placed him there, as a test. The test failed; Slushie’s inexperience and vulnerability allowed for Mikey to enter and burn it down. It is even possible that the burned flesh we see after we exit the demo is a representation of something Slushie could have seen as the House burned, a particularly traumatic experience which explains why they don’t want him to go through it again.
These images include Slushie’s own drawing of Mikey, making this connection even more likely.
Sidenote: The Restoration Team
SPOILERS FOR ENDING 3/7!!!
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The lore surrounding the Restoration Team is very interesting, and there is currently a doc in the works surrounding all the details of that side of Oneway. However, their relationship to Tekton is very slim.
Most of their members seem to be unaware of Tekton. S4 and X5, the primary members who speak within the server, frequently remind everyone that the game is fictional and separate from real life. It is unlikely that, even if they were aware of what Trio8 was doing, they would think of it as anything more than another writing project.
Notably, not even our resident stalker Z6 seems to be aware of Tekton. If Emci was to send him the exhm file speaking of the constructs, he reacts largely with confusion.
While this is simple enough to understand, there is a reason this is worth noting: Because it is implied that Z6 has been investigating or has been aware of Trio8 for a very long time. He is questioned as such in secret chat logs from RT found in the Ruin ending, and he has knowledge of many other secretive projects from EE and the others, such as the altars.
If he knows about the altars, but does not know about Tekton, it indicates that Tekton was an extremely well kept secret, to the point where not even Z6 has been able to learn anything about it until we send him the exhm.
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The Goal of Cerebral Tekton
I explore what I believe to be the primary goal of Cerebral Tekton in my Lovebug section, so here I’ll be covering some miscellaneous theories about the goals and plans of the project, as well as its connections to the snuff film.
First off, one aspect of the film which is always known, but is not immediately telling of its significance, is the place where the video is uploaded.
>one_way.mp4 is uploaded directly to xo.dos via Emci’s own account, pr1ntedblues. We know this thanks to a few places:
  • In Ophelia’s room, the xo.dos DMs we are shown are addressed directly to Emci’s account, with the key message connecting Emci with fault in the video: “Holy shit? WHAT DID YOU DO???”
  • In the same route, we receive an e-mail indicating the termination of the pr1ntedblues account due to “illegal activity.” The account which the oneway video is uploaded to is known to be terminated, as we see it labeled as such in the short glimpses we see of the xo.dos page.
  • Meaty also comments on the fact that Emci’s own account was utilized for the illegal activity, attributing it to his desires and his status as “something meaty.”
As such, it is nearly certain that it was Emci’s own account which uploaded the snuff film. This raises a few questions, the most notable being as follows: What was Emci’s involvement in the uploading of the video?
At first glance, the easiest answer would be to assume he uploaded it himself. However, this ends up seeming unlikely thanks to Emci’s mental state, as well as his disconnect from the other 2 members of Trio8 post-breakup.
With that in mind, how did the video end up on Emci’s account? We know that all 3 members of Trio8 worked closely with malware and other malicious software, and they all had some proficiency in hacking. Emci himself was known to keylog Slushie utilizing Anita, and Kitty showed some interest in the topic as well.
I propose that, for whatever reason, Emci’s xo.dos account was infiltrated/hacked by CT/SS in order to upload the video.
The method, I believe, was through DOLLHOUSE, a malware personalized by Slushie for Emci to use.
Theory: Abandonware, Lost Media, and the Mandela Effect (NAME PENDING)
This theory came about from speculation related to the popularity of the horror media Trio8 based UNTITLED on. WIP!!!!
The LOVEBUG Theory
The Lovebug Theory is the name for my main “theory-of-everything” for the supernatural plot occurrences within oneway.exe, and attempts to trace a reasonable thread throughout all of Cerebral Tekton, the murder, the constructs, and any other loose plot threads which are left ambiguous at the end of the game.
It is by no means the only way of explaining what happens, it is just my own personal reading of the game and is heavily influenced by my own biases and theories.
THIS SECTION CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR ALL AVAILABLE ENDINGS! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!
The Murder
The initial thoughts for the theory arose from speculation amongst myself and members of the discord about the events of the murder, and particularly the theorization by Estella that Slushie was under the influence of some external force during the entire process. This is suggested in a variety of ways:
  • His cuts with the knife are stated to be fearful, both by Fiona and the investigator/narrator within the hallway, showing hesitation in his commitment to the murder
  • His completion of the mimicry of Sweet Emily is imperfect, as he covers CT’s body rather than leaving it exposed in the final humiliating act.
  • Dollhouse states that Slushie was “plagued by night terrors,” which are known to be associated with construct influence, as is shown in the case of Fiona’s worms and Ophelia’s pop-ups.
The logical conclusion, therefore, would be that Slushie would be influenced by Spiderface, as it is his killing he most closely imitates. He also wears his mask during the incident to further suggest this.
However, the image “copycat.jpg” seems to throw a wrench into this idea.
We see a computer screen showcasing “>one_way.mp4” as it was uploaded onto xo.dos, with the signature bloody writing we know to be associated with Spiderface all over the screen. These messages accuse Slushie of being a copycat, likely due to his recreation of Sweet Emily. As previously established, the constructs are shown to be sentient entities, and it can be implied that these messages are coming from the Spiderface construct himself. This, of course creates a problem:
If Spiderface is accusing Slushie of a copycat killing, then it makes little sense for him to have a hand in the killing via influencing Slushie.
There are a few different ways to approach this problem in satisfying ways, but I’ll be focusing on the following question:
If Spiderface is not involved in influencing Slushie to kill CT, then who or what is?
I propose that it is a construct built out of Love itself which is the source of the influence, and the primary cause of the downward spiral of Trio8.
Love
It is no secret that Trio8 were madly in love with each other. It is most obviously spelled out in Ophelia’s route, but it is present in nearly every one of their interactions.
Their love is extremely strong, built around devotion and obsession. On CT’s part especially, she is plagued with an intense desire to own and dissect the things she loves.
Emci, similarly, feels a desire to hold and control his object of love. He goes as far as to keylog Slushie to maintain a grip on him, to ensure he knows his every action to maintain that control.
Slushie’s love is more calculated, less impulsive than the other two, but it is just as intense. He welcomes the violent, aggressive nature of Kitty’s love as a willing victim in the chase, thriving off of the attention and relishing in the devotion. Likewise, he is well aware of Emci’s grasp onto him, knowing that he can predict his very thoughts before he even has them. He strives for the reassurance of the guiding hands which hold him, allowing himself to be as a doll, a plaything for his beloveds.
The Constructs are formed from deeply important characters in Trio8’s lives. They are, according to Slushie, “Everything we have ever been emotionally tied to.”
Only, what would happen if their most intense emotional ties were to themselves instead?
Rules and Boundaries
We return again to the guidelines, specifically the very first page which dictates the qualities of a build.
There is a specific point to avoid vagueness when beginning a build. It is not specified whether a construct CANNOT be made from a vague idea, or if it SHOULD not.
If it is the latter, we can speculate as to why this might be.
A vague construct is one that is not well-defined; the architect must create an idea with a shape, and one that is undefined will not make for a steady construction. As such, it could be prone to collapse or failure.
If a construct is not well-defined, it could be difficult to categorize and contain. We see evidence of certain constructs being more capable of surpassing their programming and routines than others:
  • Mikey is capable of infiltrating nearly every aspect of UNTITLED and the computer, from the pop-ups to Tellnet and even into Emci’s e-mails and DOLLHOUSE. He has been able to control his website as well as taking over the Discord itself.
  • Meaty is also shown taking over DOLLHOUSE and her own website, as well as speaking in the post-route pop-ups and e-mails.
For confirmation, we can look at a key pattern between the rule-breakers: Of the constructs, there are only 3 who are shown to be capable of interacting with Emci via e-mail: Meaty, Mikey, and Ophelia. For Ophelia, this makes sense: Her existence is directly tied to chainmail, and as such her rules and powers could give her the capacity to use the e-mails to her advantage.
Mikey and Meaty share a pattern in a different sense, in that their rules are not as clearly defined or restrained. Mikey is a god-like entity within his lore, and as such his powerset is much too vast to be able to contain effectively. Trio8 discusses this in a conversation which takes place after the House burns down, likely thanks to Mikey’s intervention.
His canonical omnipotence would, in theory, allow him the leeway to exercise his power by interacting with the e-mails and whatever other medium he pleases. He has no limits, and consequently his construct has very few limits as well.
Meaty’s rules, on the other hand, would be rendered vague thanks to her medium; within the SCP foundation, text is very often redacted to create a sense of mystery and unease thanks to the lack of information. As a result, key aspects of her powers and limits would be obscured, allowing her to exercise her control in ways that are unexpected. This, like Mikey, could allow her to breach via the e-mails as well.
We can contrast these 3 constructs with one like Billie, who has a very limited set of abilities within her canonical self. While she is fiercely determined, she is still a human girl with defined limits. This is not to say she is not powerful; Rather, her rules are defined in such a way that she is not able to bend them to interact with the game too directly. Nothing within her ruleset would give her easy capabilities to interact through e-mail. She could potentially interact through a phone call as she is shown to do within her room, but this does not occur. At most, she is able to speak in the post-route pop-ups and briefly through her dress-up, but does not do so in many other places.
With all this in mind, we can assume that a vaguely defined construct could be very hard to contain and control.
Fluidity
As we have discussed previously, Emci has a particular knack for construct creation. He is labeled as the architect for a reason; his affinity for these fictional creations is shown to be much more potent thanks to his much more intense hauntings and intrusions.
What’s more, Emci’s work with Laurie Barclay has already suggested that he was experimenting with solo construct work, much to the dismay of his partners. Although limited, Laurie’s letters became a prime example of the echo chamber-like influence the architects have on their constructs.
As such, it is possible that through Emci’s unique capabilities, a construct built on the foundation of Love shared between Trio8 could be created.
But why would this be so dangerous?
As previously mentioned, defining a construct vaguely can have severe consequences. Love, as a concept, can be defined and represented metaphorically in a massive number of ways.
Love can be fire: Burning, dangerous when coming too close, yet its warmth provides life and comfort to those around it. Consumes things around it to fuel its burning and can easily go out of control if allowed to grow too much.
Love can be water: Fluid. Flowing into spaces and filling them entirely. Like a flood, it can overtake and cover things until they drown. Yet, it is crucial to life itself.
Love can be an infection: Growing from within, eating away at its host until there is nothing left. Spreads from others like a plague.
Love can be an infestation: Little bugs living beneath the skin. Crawling, always felt at every time of day. Those affected are restless, constantly reminded by the skittering touch of its many limbs.
Love can hurt those who it is directed to, and it can comfort them. It can be unbearable to live within and unthinkable to live without. It can be a passing thought or an all-consuming obsession.
Love is not even limited to itself. All of the constructs, their original inspirations and their existing selves, are all influenced by Love.
Mikey himself, particularly Emci’s design for him, can be argued to contain many aspects which are directly inspired by Slushie, from his numerous piercings to his particular haircut. He is made of the Love EECT have for Slushie, down to his very core.
Love lives within each and every aspect of Trio8’s work. It is omnipresent and unavoidable. Our love construct, the Lovebug, has its roots set in everything Trio8 has ever done.
And it continues to grow.
Worship
Within the guidelines, we are told that constructs feed off of attention given to them.
Whether this be through thoughts, writing, drawing, or some other form of focus, the build will become more refined thanks to the attention of its architect.
If the Lovebug is a part of everything, then the amount of nourishment it receives is unimaginably large.
Attention for Mikey, Ophie, Meaty is equally and simultaneously fed into the Lovebug. Any thoughts and feelings had for each member of Trio8 by the other is fed to the Lovebug.
Occasionally, we can find mentions of “altars” created by Trio8 members, particularly EE and CT. Even Z6 of the Restoration Team is aware of them, as he clues us in on when we send him a certain memory.
CT mentions the altars twice on her website, once within her diary. This takes place earlier in the timeline during Emci’s initial period of withdrawal from the group:
The second time is on the front page, with an update taking place 3 days before her death:
An altar is a place of worship, but the target of their worship is not exactly clear. It is possible that the altars were towards themselves, particularly by EECT towards Slushie. This is implied by the description of the “spire dynamic” as laid out within roles.png.
Regardless of the actual target of their devotion, as previously established, Love finds a place as a part of everything Trio8 involves themselves with, and as such a level of attention and devotion would always be sent towards that Love. Through worship, an enormous amount is sent, causing the Lovebug to grow larger and larger.
Timeline of Events
We can trace a timeline of growth for the constructs as well as the Lovebug starting from the earliest points in Trio8’s internet lives.
Prior to meeting each other, we know that each of them became attached to various horror characters through their experiences with their respective characters. CT, for example, lays out her initial attachment to Ophelia upon receiving her chainmail when she made her e-mail for the first time. This is a connection she maintains through correspondence with her up until her death. We are able to see what appears to be a mockup of this very first chainmail during Meaty’s desktop, and we see what appears to be her letters of love directed at Ophie when entering Kitty as our best friend.
The trio would first meet as a result of these connections, bonding over horror writing on HacknCarve. They would create a group chat on Grapeline afterwards where they further discuss their connection to these fictional characters. This is where we see the first mention of Mikey potentially exhibiting independence via Emci. We can see many of the earliest tendencies of our Trio form on Grapeline: Slushie’s reservation towards the gore and shock videos he would come to use as learning material; EECT’s private plans they keep from Slushie, often involving him in the first place; Their shared love of horror and shared distaste for normal people’s experiences with it.
Over time, the bond between the three became more intense until they were fully infatuated with each other. After the creation of Fantome, discussions began of meeting in person for the first time, a pivotal moment in their relationship. It is critical for their bond with Slushie in particular, with him believing he had kept his appearance private prior to this. However, as shown in the Together ending, EECT had already seen his face through unknown means prior to seeing him in person, indicating that their obsessions had long since begun to grow as well.
At some point, Trio8 began work on several projects. The most public of these was their work on UNTITLED, a crossover horror game involving many of the characters we soon see become the Constructs. This is their primary public front and what they are most known for among their internet circles.
Cerebral Tekton is assumed to have started around this time as well, though the exact nature of how early on is unknown. We have recorded conversations about Tekton as early as 2019, when EE and CT discuss their research on the process. So, it can be assumed that its earliest work began around this time.
At some point, the trio also begin partaking in vigilante work involving their production of malware. We see evidence of EE and SS specifically targeting a man named “Ralph” for his possession of illegal photos, and they utilize DPWA! to do so. It is unclear exactly when they started doing this, but it can be inferred it started sometime later in the timeline, possibly late 2019-early 2020.
As their work on Tekton progressed, so too did their love for eachother. What originally emerged as a love targeted at the horror franchises they grew up with was shifted and redirected towards love for one another, until their obsession was fully realized.
The Constructs: Victims of Love
This shift in devotion was not without its consequences. Each and every one of the constructs has its foundation in love, and they are affected by its whims in different ways. When the Lovebug shifted, their foundation was no longer their own.
We see a prime example of the victimization of the Constructs through Ophelia. Originally CT’s primary object of devotion, the love they shared was taken and malformed into the love CT felt for EE and SS, and it no longer belonged to her. She says as much in her e-mail to Emci during the final act:
Ophelia’s love does not belong to her, and yet she feels every feeling associated with it all the same. CT’s devotion, CT’s pain during the breakup, she is forced to feel it all. It is no wonder she is so hostile to Emci in particular: He is deemed the culprit of CT’s pain due to his withdrawal from the group and the resulting breakup, so he not only caused pain for CT and SS, he inadvertently harmed the Constructs as well. Ophelia’s association with CT likely amplified this to an absurd degree, resulting in a massive amount of torment being placed on her.
Her anger as a result is immense. As previously mentioned, she is one of the only sources of a failstate in the entire game, chasing Emci down within the halls of Untitled with the express purpose to kill him.
Is she the only Construct who showcases evidence of being affected? One other candidate is Mikey.
As previously mentioned, many of Mikey’s design characteristics echo those had by Slushie. His haircut is similar, and they both have a fondness for piercings, one of which is a tongue piercing we know Slushie also has.
Slushie has an affinity for music and has a motorcycle, both aspects that Mikey shares. As such, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say Mikey has taken a great deal of inspiration from Slushie in his creation.
A great deal of emphasis is placed in Mikey’s room on his independence; he frequently affirms his existence as himself, most potently in the popups after clicking “We are one.wav.”
Transcript:
I’m me baby!
Feels so good to be me!
How can I be me when I’m me?
How can I be here?
When I’m there?
With this in mind, we can infer a possible reason why Mikey is so spiteful towards Emci in his room. Besides Ophelia, he is the most outwardly hostile to him, and his assumed role as simply a simulacrum of Slushie would create feelings of malice.
He directly accosts him with images from Xo.dos that were likely sent to Slushie as learning material, as is implied in Slushie’s “I just don’t want to” conversation unlocked in the very same room, before showing him his own disheveled face.
“Y’like what you see?”
Many of his actions and digs directly target Emci’s assumed insecurities. Showing his face–putting him on camera– is a direct attack on his desire to stay in the shadows, in the background. He’s well aware of this part of Emci’s character, as he mentions it in his dressup responses. As such, his contradiction is fully intentional.
His other dressup responses are similarly spiteful, often making light of CT’s (and presumably SS’) death.
Mikey is as much made of Slushie as he is made of his own self, and he loathes Emci for it. Affirming his existence, interfering with their plans, and targeting Emci’s insecurities are all ways he tries to get back at his maker for dooming him to an existence within the shadow of Slushie. Attention meant to be devoted towards himself is instead directed towards the one whom he is most based on, and he is left to starve.
Control
If the Lovebug grew too large, is it possible that it would become hard to control?
We can inspect the various circumstances between Trio8’s falling out to see if something like this is likely.
Firstly, we know that Emci began to withdraw from the group at some point late in the timeline. He would often engross himself in his work prior to his full retreat, as shown in certain conversations. This would often be to the dismay of SSCT, and he could potentially go for days without stopping when he was set on something.
This would progressively get worse as time went on. He would miss events, even including their precious anniversary or birthdays. Kitty outlines his decay in her breakup letter.
Why was Emci withdrawing? It is hard to say exactly why, but it is unlikely that he pulled back for reasons that were not to benefit his beloved CTSS. We see far too much evidence to the contrary to assume EE would do such a thing for the purpose of harming them. As such, it stands to reason that the reason Emci pulled back was in order to benefit CTSS.
Slushie’s breakup letter has a peculiar line which may shed some light on this.
Something which Emci allowed to reach a point of no return, something that the trio allowed to escape their control to a disastrous extent.
Could this be the Lovebug? If the love Emci shared for CTSS was too strong, too intense, could he have decided to withdraw in order to protect them from it?
Within Fiona’s room, we are able to burn a special photo which ends up un-corrupting the Trio8 group photo from their first IRL meeting.
“YOUR LOVE BURNS AT OUR SKIN”
The love in question is likely Emci’s, and it is equated to a fire which burns those he loves, being CTSS. As previously mentioned, Love is fluid and can be metaphorically represented by a huge variety of things, including fire. Fire is something that can easily become too large and rage out of control as it consumes more fuel.
This is not the only metaphor for Emci’s love which has this aspect. An infection, left untreated, can become systemic, causing irreversible damage to the host of the infection. The same goes for a parasitic organism, which will continue to siphon resources until the host is drained. Water, if uncontained, flows naturally to fill the space it is confined in. An unrestrained flow of water will create immense pressure on the space until it bursts.
And of course, love itself can be so intense on its host that it will cause them to do things they otherwise wouldn’t.
As such, what happens when such uncontrollable love is held by a mind like Emci’s?
If Emci is capable of making a love construct, the Lovebug, how easy would it be for that construct to fall out of their control? It became difficult for them to hold the reins of even a more defined construct like Mikey, as we see in his takeover of the House. Would it even be possible to control the Lovebug in the event it was manifested?
Withdrawal
I propose Emci knew of this control problem, and was taking steps to fix it personally.
After the House fire, it is implied that Emci’s flow of gore videos to Slushie intensified to a degree which caused great stress on Slushie. We see a small boil-over of these tensions in a conversation revealed on Mikey’s route.
We already know Slushie has long since had an aversion to gore and shock videos as a result of his father’s usage of ForenZX, where he witnessed a skinned woman as a child. Emci’s ramping up of his usage of that content could be a measure to “strengthen” him for Tekton, as it is clear they are related in some way.
Based on the pushback, we can tell Slushie did not enjoy this increased pressure from Emci, and it is likely that Emci realized this in turn. His solo work with the Laurie letters could have been an indicator that he was working to try and manage Tekton without the others, in order to shoulder that burden by himself.
However, we also know Tekton’s harmful mental effects likely would make this very dangerous, and judging by his state at the beginning of the game, it definitely took its toll: he is completely amnesiac, forgetting everything about his relationship and experiences within Trio8. He has to re-experience all of those memories in order to reach an ending.
And despite this, his withdrawal did nothing to prevent the tragedy that would unfold.
The Breakup
Emci’s Love was a raging fire that was becoming too strong to control. As such, he assumed removing the source of the fire would be enough to protect those he cared about. Unfortunately, by the time he did it, the damage had already been done.
As he began to distance himself, the foundation of Trio8’s relationship began to crumble. Their projects began to fail, and doubts began to rise between CT and SS about their future.
This is due in large part to the sheer amount of stock which was placed in their plans involving Tekton. Although we are never told exactly what their plan was, it is clear that it was their primary goal in their lives and something they were willing to do whatever it took to achieve. Language around their goals often involves an “inevitable fate” and “life before and life after,” indicating a finality which would be the culmination of everything they worked for and dreamed of.
Could it be the House? CT mentions in her diary a desire to live in “a nice cozy home surrounded by green,” and we see representations of this House frequently throughout the game. Were the Cerebral Tektons, aka “architects of the mind,” seeking to build a home for themselves?
Slushie mentions the House being the centerpiece of a dream he had on the night of Emci’s birthday, solidifying its place as a mental concept rather than a real, physical house. What’s more, he confirms that he was within the House and that Emci and Kitty could also be. Were they experimenting with living within a home inside their minds?
After Emci began to withdraw, these dreams became painful reminders of their failings. Emci was crucial to the foundation of Tekton, and without him they had no chance of achieving those goals. CT continued to work in spite of this, as Slushie mentions in his letter, but based on her diary entries her solo work does not reach much success.
We can see a microcosm of Emci’s withdrawal within the very same room the Lovebug is given a name. Within Ophelia’s desktop section, we encounter the malware program Blinkyboo, who attempts to remove DOLLHOUSE from Emci’s computer. However, Blinky discovers a deeper infection which even DOLLHOUSE is suffering from. He calls this infection “a living parasite.”
Blinky says that deleting DOLLHOUSE alone will not be enough to get rid of the infection, and instead the environment must be destroyed in order to take the parasite down with it. He also mentions that the host is already suffering from major damage thanks to the infection, and has begun to decay.
Upon attempting to destroy the environment via a zip bomb, Blinkyboo laments that the damage has already been done, accusing Emci of being the parasite before the computer crashes. This process fails to remove DOLLHOUSE and, presumably, the deeper infection as well.
It’s no secret that, in the context of Ophelia’s route, LOVE is the infection. We see it explicitly told to us via the Virashield hints, including Slushie’s breakup letter.
In this case, who is the host? The first answer would be Emci himself due to his statement of the host decaying. DOLLHOUSE in this scenario could be representative of a number of things, but I propose he is related to his closest analogue in Slushie. Specifically, he is Slushie’s weakness and inability to handle Tekton. Emci’s initial attempt to improve Slushie’s state was a failure because he failed to acknowledge the deeper infection: the Lovebug had already taken hold of Slushie, as well as Emci himself and everything around him.
So then, he destroys the environment: He removes the host, similarly to how he does it in Fiona’s room. However, just as within Fiona’s room, it fails. In Fiona’s room, the attempt to remove the service hosts results in a failure due to its parasite dependency. The host depends on the parasite to function. Blinkyboo echoes something similar in his monologue.
The host and the parasite are intrinsically linked. As a result, rather than fixing the problem (DOLLHOUSE), he tries to go to the source. Remove himself, destroy the environment, and things can be restored and built up from the remains. However, as Blinky says, it’s already too late. The damage has been done, and the infection has taken its hold within everything, including CT and SS.
How do we know? Slushie says as much in his breakup letter. He is infected, and now there is an “us living inside my head” which he wants to get rid of.
The Murder: Reprise
Let’s revisit the context of the murder with the Lovebug in mind. Long since withdrawn from the group, Emci is nowhere to be seen, and yet Slushie and Kitty feel the agony brought about by the Love just as intensely as it left them. We have Kitty’s feelings documented through her diary, and it reveals that she never truly got over the breakup even as close as the day of her death. She is pained by the memories she shared with the other two and constantly laments the loss.
The day of the breakup text sent to Emci
We get explicit confirmation in a deleted diary entry revealed by one of the endings, known as LOVE.html, though it is unknown when this diary entry takes place.
Slushie’s lament is much more hard to pinpoint, given that we don’t have access to his latest website or know his exact moves post-breakup, but we do know that he writes a lengthy lamentation on his website known as “endings,” where he describes moving on from his previous love. This is also revealed alongside LOVE.html, and as such it can be inferred to be a parallel mourning process to Kitty’s.
Despite his apparent resignation at the loss of his relationship, we know that he held onto Emci’s hoodie all the way until the events of the murder, indicating that he was not entirely honest about his commitment to moving on. Knowing his character, this makes sense: He is far too passionate and devoted to simply move on like nothing happened. In a sense, Endings can be considered a statement by Slushie of his desire to “destroy the environment,” like Blinkyboo says. Removing the option to return to the home he once shared. However, just as with Blinkyboo, the damage has already been done. The LOVE is ingrained within him, and the fire won’t be so easily snuffed out.
Back to Kitty, we know that she restarted with her altar work shortly before her murder, 3 days before in fact.
The altars are directly connected with Tekton, and as such it confirms Kitty was working with Tekton before she died.
In the final act, DOLLHOUSE walks us through Slushie’s POV of the night of the murder through a text adventure format. In it, he confirms that Slushie was being plagued with the same Tekton night terrors we have already established to be proof of construct influence, and that these terrors and intrusions were directly linked to the act of the murder.
It’s long since been theorized that an external influence was behind Slushie’s part in the murder of CT, thanks to his confirmed fear during the act and the inconsistency behind his motive in performing the act. I propose that this influence was the Lovebug, influenced by the altars to utilize Slushie as the doll in the Dollhouse, guiding his hand in the murder of CT. This would, of course, imply that CT has a hand in her own murder, which I believe is well within reason given what we know about Tekton.
The Goal of Cerebral Tekton
It is heavily implied that the “inevitable outcome” relating to Tekton involved death in some way. Kitty has intense fantasies of taking things apart, particularly fragile things. This is obviously meant to be read as Slushie; however, it makes little sense for the outcome to simply be killing Slushie and that being it.
We know they were experimenting with a House, potentially being a place within the mind for the three to live together for perpetuity. We also know, at least once, the House was centered within Slushie’s dreams. Note Slushie’s language of a set of Trio8 “living inside of my head.” Was this the plan all along, to live within Slushie’s head?
Recall the introduction to Tulpamancy we mentioned in the second tab. One aspect of tulpamancy we approached was represented with Koomer and Oguigi: the act of one’s own personality taking a step back to allow a tulpa–a constructed personality–to take the forefront. If they were to construct their own minds within the House, could they do the same?
Imagine a blank slate Construct being manifested within the House. It is an empty foundation, a base for the architects to imprint themselves onto. Within the House, our three developers could place themselves into new bodies and live together, free from the external pressures of life and society and all that comes with it. They would be functionally immortal, and the ever-craving Kitty would be able to tear apart her beloved Slushie without fear of ending his life, and Emci could forever hold that moment. Forever, the three could live intertwined within a perfect home built for three, a home of their own design. This, I believe, was the goal of Cerebral Tekton: To create a home for three. Build from bricks molded from everything they have ever been emotionally tied to. Horror, internet culture, themselves. The Love they shared forming the walls of an unbreakable brick house they could reside in.
Only, they never accounted for who the Big Bad Wolf was supposed to be.
The Brick House could never be truly insulated as it was built from the very Love which would end up tearing it down. It’s a part of the foundation, a cornerstone which removes itself from the Build of its own accord. The Lovebug seeks to consume everything for itself as it rightfully deserves. The greed of ownership, a desire to have for itself, much like Kitty’s own.
The failings of the House guide Emci to find new angles for their ending, only for the Lovebug to erode his mind and prevent him from finding the answer. He overcorrects, tries to distance himself, to at least salvage the two he cares for the most. But, it’s too late. They’ve been infected too, and separation only twists the knife into the wounds he has now made in their hearts. Their House destroyed, a self-fulfilling prophecy by the hands of the Architect who was meant to raise the altar himself.
The puppets, left without their guiding hand, try to improvise and find a new way back into the House, resulting in the tragic events we see on the infamous video.
The Events of the Game
So, where does this leave us at the start of the game? It is as Blinkyboo and Fiona say: The host, Emci, is reanimated by the Lovebug as we walk through the echoes of Emci’s past.
With the deaths of CT and SS, and Emci’s amnesia, the Lovebug is finally left to starve, and the inevitable fate stagnates. The fire, deprived of its fuel source, is snuffed out, and only ashes remain. At some point, the architect finds his way back into the House via a computer suspiciously connected to the Restoration Team, and he begins the loops once again.
The actions of the puppets have left their project incomplete without their third. The architect follows through his memories to attempt to find himself again, and in the end, our actions as Emci decide whether it is successful. We feed the Lovebug anew, and in turn the Love finds its way back into the Build where it was once meant to be.
Kitty’s appearance in each ending is directly tied to how much we connect with the LOVE Emci shares for Trio8. The closer Emci gets to fully restoring his Love, his devotion, the more complete Kitty becomes, and the more distinct she becomes from her flayed self, the Terror.
The puppets have already performed their parts in the play, but the architect was not there to set the stage. By making the choices within the game, we create the context for which the actions are performed. Although there is only one way the story ends, it is the surrounding context and emotional connection Emci ends up with that decides the truth of the outcome.
Do we simply go through the motions, remembering some but not all of our past self? If so, we reach Together, a partially manifested Kitty. The Build left incomplete, yet still clear in its design. Our memories are incomplete, but well-meaning, and as such CT’s body is unable to be seen anywhere in the design.
Do we fail to recall anything at all, leaving our legacy to the dust? If so, we burn it all down, and achieve Burn. Kitty is still subsumed by the memory of CT’s death but light still shines on her, her face still recognizable: Missed potential, the chance to find her true self still available, yet unfound. Her voice still remains hers, but it is muffled, remaining suppressed by the amnesia.
Do we remember all that we can of Trio8, and yet throw it all away? Distance ourselves, claim no part in the tragedy. If so, we reach Sacrifice: Kitty is gone. The fruits of your labor, extinguished and thrown away. Her voice is glitched to simply accuse Emci of his crimes. “You left.”
Do we take a stance against our former Love, converting all that we can into a spiteful rage against those we once cherished? If so, we reach Hate, and our most violently malformed Kitty yet. Virtually indistinguishable from the Terror, her voice completely distorted. An utter contradiction in every way.
Do we instead betray our Love, giving away our most cherished memories to outsiders with no right to see them? If so, we reach Ruin. This Kitty is very unique in appearance, half manifested and superimposed over the real corpse of CT. Her construction is underway, but we have allowed reality to take precedent over our Love. We remain fixated on her death and she is never allowed to fully rebirth into her new self.
Do we restore our memories as much as we can, reconnecting with our past and understanding everything we can about our relationship within the bounds of reality? If so, we reach Love, and Kitty is able to take form over her corpse and be reborn into her new self. And yet, the filter remains. Something is missing, but what?
Do we restore our Love, and then some? Breaking the bounds of reality in order to find each and every piece of our past history, proving ourselves as worthy recipients of their attention? If so, we reach Devotion. Kitty is fully manifested, like within Love, but the scanline filter is removed. She is her true self, fully corporeal, reborn into new flesh. Finally able to find her place in the House, forever.
“Isn’t that kind of beautiful?”
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