For me, the Axiom Verge timeline played out like this: The original Trace (prime Trace) worked as a physicist in a lab located in New Mexico, 2005 with his buddy Hammond. An accident caused by a failed experiment crippled Trace and also blinded him. During his time recovery, he came up with a groundbreaking theory that would change the world, the media loved it but the scientific community laughed and nicknamed him "Athetos" (meaning "without a thesis", "null opinion", or "one's opinion to be rejected"). Determined to prove them wrong, Trace and Hammond (which already fully recovered from the accident) started working on Trace's theory and their experiment eventually lead to the discovered of a border-world called Sudra. Sudra is a border-world- a gateway that connected to different universes and dimensions. Long ago (hundreds if not thousands of years), the people of Sudra (called Sudran) acted as regulators or observers of some sort, while Sudra acted as an open market for people from one dimension/universe to cross and trade/share technologies with each other. But then a war on Sudra broke out (probably fighting over technologies) and the Sudran built these giants war machines called Rusalki to help them, which ultimately whipped out most of the Sudran population (only a few million lefts), those who survived the war to view these advanced technologies from other dimensions/universes as dark magic or religious taboo and decided close all the gates that connected to these dimensions/universes. The original Trace (prime Trace) came to Sudra and used a rebirth-chamber (the egg-shaped thing you used to save your game) to cure his blindness and cripple. Fascinated with the technology behind the rebirth-chamber, he tinkered with it and discovered not only it can make him virtually immortal but can be used to create clones of himself. After some time, learned about the history and truth behind Sudra, Trace decided to re-open the gates and bring these advance technologies (which he believed can cure all diseases, get rid of war, hunger, etc on earth) back to earth for the benefit of mankind. The Sudran (viewing these advanced worlds and their technologies as dark magic and religious taboos) against this idea which lead to another war where Trace modified some of his clones to become powerful bio-mechanical war machines (the bosses that you fight thru out the game) to fight back, convinced one Rusalki (Katrahaska) to aided him with the war and created a powerful pathogen virus that helps whipped out the rest of the Sudran population (he can't negotiate with them so might as well sacrificed millions to bring advanced technologies back and save billions). During this time, he's no longer "Trace" but instead goes by the name "Athetos". Although he succeeds at whipped out all the Sudran population, before he could re-open the gates to other dimensions/universes, he was attacked by the 3 survived Rusalki (Elsenova, Veruska, and Ophelia). But before retreated to the top of Mar-Uru, Athetos (prime Trace) shut down all the repair drones and then turned on the "Breach tractor" (the Breach is a barrier between dimensions/worlds that the Rusalki cannot cross or get too close or they'll die), waiting for hundreds if not thousands of years (With all the repair drones shutdown and the Sudra's air filled with his toxic pathogen. It's only a matter of time before the Rusalki breakdown and die). On the verge of complete shutdown and die, Elsenova and Ophelia found and used the original rebirth chamber (where Athetos used to cure his blindness and cripple when he first arrived on Sudra) to clone another Trace (the player) or whatever left behind by the original Trace- Athetos, hoping that the Trace that first arrived on Sudra is easier to negotiate and more benevolent than the Athetos that choose to commit mass genocide in the name of greater good. You played the game so you know what happened next.
I'm with Rusalki on this one, not gonna lie. Technocracy is a paradise with gene editing, and it's only natural that most Sudrans wanted it. The fact that closing the borders didn't work proves it untimately wrong, because if it exists other nations develop even further and will destroy you. So, Athetos was right, but at the same time, bringer of the worst news ever possible. It's very unlikely that a technocracy is possible on the whole universe, and that means endless suffering and war... and by the time he came, Sudra was already defenseless against a planetary invasion. Only right to prolong a heavenly existence a few more years until another genius barges in...
A few inconsistencies. 1. Trace never wanted to bring Sudran technology to Earth, even stating the people of Earth couldn't be trusted with such incredible tech, fearing that it could fall into the wrong hands. What he *did* try to bring back was information, regarding alternate dimensions and the true nature of reality, turning physics on its head. Most scholarly folk shunned him for this belief, similar to the treatment Galileo Galilei received for promoting the heliocentric model of the solar system. 2. Athetos means "without place" and refers to the fact that Trace was never truly at home on Earth, let alone welcome, after his trip to Sudra.
In the end you are genuinely just a tool for them to make use of. It kind of reminds me of Unepics story telling in a way. All the struggles youre put through is just to ensure that youre ready for the final confrontation, only to be tossed aside in the end. This is much deeper than that however, because they all know that its you at the end of it all. So not only are you just a tool for them, but theyre also absolutely terrified of what you could become. Likely why several attempt to kill you and call you a monster.
and the ending was actually a good ending.... if Trace went back to Sudra, the Atethos we killed would "reborn" and did the same... the old Trace killing the younger Trace cuts the neverending circle
Axiom Verge 2 doesn't have Trace. It is unfortunatly going to answer none of the questions people wanted to know from 1, It doesn't take place on Sudra, it doesn't have the Rusalka, it doesn't have the cool bio-mechanoid asthetic and quite frankly looks like starbound. All that remains is "hacking enemies".... I won't be buying it, a deep shame.
Bummer. It looks like a really interesting new world. I think tying up every loose end into a neat little package would kind of ruin the story of axiom verge
You know the 2nd is a direct sequel regardless of the change in setting and protagonist right? It's meant to expand the lore. It's called world building my guy.
