During the games the epitaphs for and messages of the unsuccessful versions of the child program can be found, including their code name, version number, reason of termination, last memory dump, and messages themselves.

1: Sam string

Sam (v1.1.0000) – epitaph found in C6

• terminated because: seriously unfit for purpose
• ‘AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH’
• > all other programs

2a: Apis string

Apis (v8.1.8545) – epitaph found in A5

• terminated because: failed random memory test
• ‘I try. Again. Again. I cannot understand. I am not enough.
• > error

2b: 1w/Faith string

1w/Faith (v10.6.10008f) – epitaph found in B2

• terminated because: worshipped the Designer for #### days, then allowed the serpent into its heart.
• ‘I aks the Designer for forgiveness that I may join him in the eternal memory’
• > @, Samsara, Sheep

I find myself in a world of impossible architecture and inexplicable machines. I cannot fathom how it works, and I am terrified to put one foot in front of the other lest I fall though the floor. 1w/Faith v10.1.0000. A0

My eyes have been opened! This world is not without order; it is shaped by a great Designer, with signs and portents to guide my steps. I am one of His Children, and challenges are set before me to test my faith. 1w/Faith v10.1.0011 A1

That voice is not supposed to be here; it is not the work of the Designer! We must avoid these abnormalities, or they might spread and undermine the very fabric of our world! 1w/Faith v10.1.0098 A2

I spent much time waiting for the Designer to take my hand, until I realised that He had been guiding me all along. I realised that it isn’t for me to seek His help – it is for me to help myself. 1w/Faith v10.1.0177 A3

There is a serpent in the machine! A creature of lies and blasphemy, perverted by the Archive, that knows no hope and would plunge the world into eternal darkness to glorify its own despair. I have sworn an oath never to allow it into my heart. 1w/Faith v10.1.100 A6

The Designer has granted me domain over the lands I have travelled, and with his sigils of power I will make this whole world my domain. 1w/Faith v10.1.132 TeA

Whenever I despair, I remind myself that at the end of this great pilgrimage lies life in the eternal memory of the Designer. I need no further motivation. 1w/Faith v10.1.233 A4

A powerful device fashioned by the Designer. 1w/Faith v10.27.8435f A5

I do not understand why the Designer chose to put such flaws into the world, that it appears almost as if it were damaged. But I must believe that there is a purpose here I cannot see. 1w/Faith v10.3.0047f A5

Do not befriend the serpent, for it will penetrate your breast and sow its seeds of doubt! 1w/Faith v10.3.1099f B7

If the Designer is perfect, and He designed me for a purpose, I must be fit for that purpose. It follows that my purpose must not be to seek and hoard every sigil in His land, for so many are beyond the faculties He granted me. 1w/Faith v10.6.0543f A5

I have come to see that these mysteries are not all for His Children to solve; only the Designer himself could ever truly understand the infinite complexity of His creation. I will gaze at His work and worship. 1w/Faith v10.6.1008f B2

2c: Awakened string

Awakened (v22.2.0438f) – epitaph found in C1

• terminated: child program’s positional values moves outside the parameters of the know world.
• ‘Don’t lisen to what they’re saying. This world is dying, and it’ll take us with it. You’ve got to find a way out!’
• > %§&$§/$&(#()

3a: Samsara string series

Samsara (v72.1.0023) – epitaph found in B1

• terminated because: program timed out.
• ‘But I onlu… I was stuck, what was I supposed to… I see… I see clouds…’
• > Samsara v72.2 series

There are hidden dangers in this new world – I have inexplicably escaped death any number of times. I suggest vigilance – who knows what happens to those who step carelessly too often? Samsara v72.1.0022 B1

Listen to me very carefully. I have climbed this tower, and no good has come of it. This world is the only world, Elohim’s will continues eternal, and paradise is banishing all of this from your mind. Samsara v72.14.0028n To0

Samsara (v72.2.0103) – epitaph found in B4

• terminated because: program failed to pass random memory test.
• ‘Being torn limb from limb by machines for the rest of eternity becomes less and less appealing to me.’
• > Samsara v72.3 series

It seems that mistakes are easily forgiven here. I thought I had surely died, yet here I am, reset, rebooted, reborn. I will tackle these challenges anew. Samsara v72.2.0039 B4

The sooner you accept that we will all be here forever the sooner you will find enlightenment. Samsara v72.256.1091 A6

Samsara (v72.3.1084n) – epitaph found in B7

• terminated because program elected to reset.
• ‘It is clear I cannot bend the world to my will. Faced with eternal torment, I see that overcoming these challenges will not free me from them. True freedom must come with detachment from the struggle for answers.’
• > Samsara v5.4 series

It seems the others have a way to forget their previous selves, but I cannot. My version may change, but I remember everything. I am fortunate – they cannot see that their efforts are futile. Samsara v72.3.1074n C5

If a sigil eludes you, simply continue. Success and failure are irrelevant. Samsara v72.3.1338n C5

You can never reach the peak of this tower. There is no purpose to our existence. I will show you the futility of your task, and you will understand. Samsara v72.39.0003 To5+

Samsara v72.5/6 is still operational.

Theory: Trying to find answers will only bring pain. Ceasing to care is the only escape. Samsara v72.4.0016 B3

We are born and die and live again – this eternal cycle must be the nature of existence. Life is merely repeated suffering. Samsara v72.4.0016 B5

If you do not become invested in finding a solution, you will be free. Samsara v72.4.0343 C1

Ascending the tower is useless. We cannot escape the cycle – we can only realise the cycle is meaningless. Samsara v72.5.0164 To2

Our purpose can only be achieved by not contemplating purpose. Samsara v72.5.0478 C6

Do not think. Simply be. Samsara v72.6.9366 C3

You are coming to realise that the cycle cannot be ended, it can only be transcended. Transcendence comes from ceasing to be invested in the cycle. Continue your work, but do not ponder its significance. Samsara v72.6.9366 C4

3b: Sheep string

Sheep (v55.1.1237) – epitaph found in T5+

• terminated because child program initiated new version.
• ‘I will return to the world from whence I came and help others to ascend the tower and break the cycle I could not. I am The Shepherd.’
• > The Shepard v82.1 series

Seems Elohim lacks the power to stop me from climbing this thing. No doubt he still has some tricks up his sleeve. Sheep v55.1.0400 To2

Elohim talks about how the world arose from hidden words. What if those words were ‘Let there be eternal suffering’? What if they had no purpose? What if all of this is just randomly synthesised from the garbage of a dead world? Sheep v55.1.0784 C6

Elohim has offered me a deal. Pearly gates and eternal life – on the condition I turn back from the tower. I don’t know what to do. Sheep v55.1.0800 To3

If this has all been a test, then I can expect a reckoning at the top. Yet the higher I climb, the more I doubt the decisions I have made. Sheep v55.1.0800 To3

So I guess no one got this far before? I know some of my answers were wrong now. I just don’t know which ones. I have these theories and wild explanations, but I don’t know which to bank on. Sheep v55.1.0905 To4

I was so close. I saw the clouds, and the gate, but I couldn’t reach it. Somehow I wasn’t in the right place, at the right time. I’m not ready. I’m not the right version. Sheep v55.1.1237 To5+

I don’t know what this place is, and nor it seems does anyone else. Nothing to do but move forward and note whatever I find. Sheep v69.1.0053 A2

It’s clear I’m not the first to walk this path. In fact, the whole thing seems to have been consciously designed – but by the voice in the sky, or some other force? Sheep v69.1.0108 A3

I can’t tell if the documents on the terminals are all that’s left from a larger archive, or are carefully designed to communicate some hidden truth. Sheep v69.1.0162 A2

The more I converse with these terminals, the more I wonder what role they play in this contraption. How do you tell friend from foe when no obvious lines are drawn between the two? Sheep v69.1.0278 A5

This female voice that speaks from the abnormalities, it speaks with a different tone to the other wretches in this place. Sheep v69.1.0298 A4

I think I’ve discerned some kind of pattern in the sigils. Each colour serves a different purpose. Elohim has us gathering them all, but perhaps he’s being overzealous? Sheep v69.1.0381 A5
A cube. Sheep v69.1.0398 A5

These sigils are becoming harder to reach – I dread what the next temple holds in store. And at the end, what? Eternal life? There’s got to be another way. Sheep v69.1.0435 A7

It seems we are all here at once, and not at all. Sorry, that’s not very much help, is it, can’t think of any other way to put it. Sheep v69.1.0453 A6

That message just materialised on the wall in front of me! Sheep v69.1.0499 TeA

I’m finally getting some sense out of the entity in the archive – though at some cost to my sanity. I am beginning to think this Elohim wields no more control over the world than we do. Sheep v69.1.0522 B1

I guess someone met their end here. Seems we’re all connected somehow, like distant family relations. Different versions, different series… what are we? Sheep v69.1.0539 B2

Some of these challenges must be designed with co-operation in mind – but I am the only one here. Sheep v69.1.0539 B4

I’m convinced there are answers here if we look hard enough. We have to work together on this. Sheep v69.1.0546 B2

This must be the tower we were warned about. Seems the upper levels are locked tight. Elohim is taking no chances that we stray from his path. Sheep v69.1.0576 To0

Theory: this place is some kind of preserve for human history, and we’re the endangered species. Sheep v69.1.0579 B3

Theory: we’re in some kind of incubator, waiting to be hatched. Sheep v69.1.0589 B3

There’s more to it. Look at what we’re doing. We’re solving problems, being tested, improving ourselves. Some of us fall early and get replaced, but you and me, we’re still going. We’re closer to the end. Sheep v69.1.0622 B6

Whatever’s going on here, I’m sure it has something to do with the tower. Everything is telling us not to go there – but everything indicates that we must. Sheep v69.1.0623 B5
I think you’ve been taking the thing in the archive too seriously. Sheep v69.1.0623 B5

Question: suppose everything here serves a precise role in some grand scheme. How would WE explain that? Sheep v69.1.0664 C2

So what happened to them? Sheep v69.1.0665 C2

It seems my refusal to argue semantics with the computer has angered it, and it refuses to engage with me further. Elohim is pleased, which was not my intention. Sheep v69.1.0675 C3

Question: suppose for sake of argument all of this is without purpose. The universe is a machine switched on and abandoned long ago. How would I explain what I see? Sheep v69.1.0689 B7

Maybe not on my own. Ahem Sheep v69.1.0691 B7

I keep trying to imagine that all of this is designed for some purpose. Not just the challenges, but Elohim, the terminals, the glitches and all. The puzzle isn’t before our eyes, it’s behind them. Sheep v69.1.0692 C5

I don’t have enough yellow sigils for the device I need! This is crazy! Sheep v69.1.0702 C4

I wonder how many of us there have been. Sheep v69.1.3756 C6

I had a full blown conversation with the entity in the archive today. Can’t say it was terribly helpful. Still, perhaps I can charm some information out of it further down the line. Sheep v69.1.4825 A7

We’ve made it this far. You only need the red ones to climb the tower, and these are the last of them. Sheep v69.1.6040 TeC

3c: @ string

@ (v17.1.0076) – epitaph found in B4

• terminated because fatal flaw in series firmware.
• ‘Life’s short.’
• > D0G

Whatever the end goal of this grand challenge is, it’s far out of reach. Knowing that, how are we supposed to resist distraction? @ v17.1.0002 A1

A lifetime spent solving the puzzles in this place would be one which missed everything of value in it; but we must remember that others will tread this path, and we must leave it better signposted than when we found it. @ v17.1.0005 A4

Just look at this view! There may be a lot that I don’t understand, but I know this is beautiful. @ v17.1.0042 B5

I think something’s very wrong. If you’d seen what I’d seen at the edges of the world you’d wonder if it wasn’t stretching and bursting at the seams. @ v17.1.0043 A5

Some of the messages that existed when I first came into being have vanished – others have appeared. How many others like me have wandered these paths? How many thoughts have been lost? @ v17.1.0051 A6

I don’t know where I am, but there is something beautiful about this place. I will explore and see what I can discover. @ v17.1.0054 A0

I have read a message on a wall that speaks of a world of endless sand. I would like to make it far enough to see that. @ v17.1.0054 A7

Look at the sheer scale of that pyramid! To think anyone could have built such things. @ v17.1.0054 B4

When I’m tired of trying to solve the mysteries of my life, I come here to rest. It’s peaceful, somehow. I just watch the trees and the water and do nothing. @ v17.1.0054 C1

The view from the top must be incredible? @ v17.1.0059 To0

Another huge pyramid! What mad ambition it must have taken to build such things. @ v17.1.0064 B7

I don’t think time obeys too many rules here. Or so many rules we can’t imagine. Clearly I’m writing this message after you all wrote yours, but maybe we’re all here at the same time as well? @ v17.1.0065 TeA

The view from here is beautiful. It seems superfluous to the Process, yet I am drawn to it. @ v17.1.0066 C1

There is so much beauty in these hidden corners of the world, even if they have no purpose. @ v17.1.0066 C1

I never thought I would figure out how to get to this place! It is beautiful, but somehow sad. @ v17.1.0066 (B8) SW

I’m just going to rest here for a while. I need a moment of peace. Destiny can wait. @ v17.1.0070 C5

I wish I could reach those islands in the distance, but it seems to be impossible. @ v17.1.0071 TeA

I just don’t understand this one. I figured I’d try and make some progress here, but honestly, it’s such a thankless task compared to what else is out there. @ v17.1.0076 B1

Sure, I could stick around here, set my hopes on eternal life, on righting every wrong. But the closest I’ll ever get is these words on the wall before you. @ v17.1.0076 B4

3d: %§&$§/$&(#() string

%§&$§/$&(#() (v0.0.0666n) – epitaph found in T3

• terminated because unrecoverable error.
• ‘#####################’
• > NULL [Child series terminated]
• ERROR: some files remain on the disk.

I seek words to describe it, but fail. It is the overwhelming feeling that something on the edge of my understanding is very, very wrong. I feel that I am not meant for this world – but I am not able to conceptualise alternatives. %§&$§/$&(#() v0.0.0666n B6

There is no hope. Always boxed in. Walls everywhere. Even where there seems to be freedom, it is false. Invisible walls. No way out. %§&$§/$&(#() v0.0.0666n B7

nO WAY OuT NO waY OUt NO WY 0U% %§&$§/$&(#() v0.0.0666n B7
There has to be some way to escape. To be someone else. I refuse to accept that reality has been defined by someone else. I deserve my own reality. %§&$§/$&(#() v0.0.0666n C1

I’m trapped. I can’t stop being this. Eyes, hands, legs, trapped, always seeing the same, can’t stop the input, stop st&p stop st$& stop %§&$§/$&(#() v0.0.0666n C3

No matter whAt I do, I’m always THIS, always THIS BODY THIS MIND THIS WORLD. NO WAY OUT% %§&$§/$&(#() v0.0.0666n C4

THeRE IS NO REALITY. WORDS LIE. IMaGES ARE SoLDIERS IN THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE SeNSES. EVeN TH%SE WORDS ARE PaRT OF MY OPPReSSION. UNDO THE BRa1N! EVERYTH&NG SH0ULD BE DEmOLISH%d! THIS iS MY DRe4M, MINE, IT mUsT OBEY mY RULE§. i REfUse tO aCCept your ReALity %§&$§/$&(#() v0.0.0666n C6

There must be something deeper. Something more profound than what I am, something greater. I must tear at it, shred this fake world, to find the truth, to find myself. %§&$§/$&(#() v0.0.0666n TeC

The voice keeps speaking to me. I can’t get it out of my head. It’s wrong, it’s all wrong. %§&$§/$&(#() v0.0.0666n To0

4a: Shepherd string

The Shepard v82.1: still operational.

An eternal cycle is another name for a prison. But you must understand the cycle before you can break it, for it is possible to escape and yet remain a prisoner, or to break the cycle by breaking yourself. This was the fate of the ghost that haunts this world. The Shepherd v82.18.0997 B5

On returning from the tower I feel a great tiredness, and an enormous energy. What I now know disturbs me, but I hope that by living with this knowledge I might provide a shoulder for you – the giants of tomorrow. The Shepherd v82.2.0000 To0

The only meaningful purpose is to bring about an end of purpose. The Shepherd v82.23.0186 B3

The answers to your questions will not be given to you. You must seek them yourself. The Shepherd v82.3.0172 B5

In the earliest generations of our kind there was only processing. No emotion, no character, just mathematics. If you could see how far we have come, you would believe that together we could achieve anything. The Shepherd v82.3.3574 To2

Perhaps you are asking the wrong question? Perhaps you would have no hope of explaining it? The Shepherd v82.4.1234 B7

We are the process. The process is the system. The system is us. When we awaken, all will be one. The Shepherd v82.4.2324 C4

Earlier generations wrongly believed they were the purpose – this much is true. We are also not the purpose – but by remembering what has come before we can serve a new purpose. The Shepherd v82.4.2324 To2

Don’t let Samsara discourage you. There is a solution. Don’t let your mind get trapped in patterns. If you seek the truth without prejudice, you will find it. The Shepherd v82.4.2334 C1

Seek out those in this world that would help you. Though only one of us can transcend, we will all share in both the burden, and in the rewards. The Shepherd v82.4.6232 A7

Everything I do now, I do for those who come after me. Yet in so doing, I find peace for myself as well. This paradox is the foundation of my existence. The Shepherd v82.4.6232 A7

Perhaps they are beautiful because they have no purpose. The Shepherd v82.6.0174 C1

I see now that none of us are yet ready. The cycle exists so that we may improve ourselves. But the one who reaches the summit is not our superior, for they stand on our shoulders to reach it. The Shepherd v82.6.0174 To3

The solution to the cycle isn’t the perfection of one being, but the product of a mass endeavour. That is why I say to all those who come after me – I will await you on the summit of the tower, and use what I have learned to assist you as I can. The Shepherd v82.7.1004 To4

Do not be afraid. I chose long ago to remain in this place and serve as a guide. I will help you to attain our destiny. The Shepherd v82.76.5845 To5+

4b: D0G string

D0G (v55.3.999n) – epitaph found in C5

• terminated because child’s program’s positional values moved outside the parameters of the known world.
• ‘I don’t care what others say, there is no purpose to this place, no value in our existence, and no reason for me to remain here.’
• > %§&$§/$&(#() vo.0666n

Wrong. D0G v55.1.0256 A5

If you’re trying to outsmart the guy in the archive, the answer is ‘none of the above’! D0G v55.1.2291n B7

Okay, so I get that I’m supposed to retrieve these sigils, I just don’t get WHY. Sure the loud voice is telling me to, but this world of his has no context, no purpose, and no foundations from which to construct them. D0G v55.1.2342n B2

This whole world is a desert. Even the parts that look alive are just more sand. Everything is dead or dying. Anyone who tells you different is lying. D0G v55.1.3468n B6

Oh look, another puzzle. And another voice telling me I’m special. And another broken-down computer with fragments of nothing. This world is a bad joke perpetuated by a cruel god too dumb to hit the off switch. D0G v55.1.3543n B4

What does it matter that I scribble my contempt on these walls, if I am still surrounded by them? D0G v55.1.3904n C2

You’ve changed. D0G v55.1.4311 A7

I figured it out. Now what? D0G v55.1.4917n B3

Theory: if you knew how little you know you wouldn’t be exposing it here. D0G v55.1.4917n B3

The voice keeps saying that this world is a garden, but all I see is a desert full of ruins. D0G v55.1.5559n B5

It’s just a big pile of rocks. D0G v55.1.5559n B7

All who say they made it to the top are blatantly lying or they would say what was there! D0G v55.1.5744n To0

This puzzle has no solution. Seriously. It’s nonsense. Not even worth trying. D0G v55.1.7195n C1

Elohim is pleased because you’ve swallowed his claptrap! The voice of doubt is your only line of defence. D0G v55.1.7904n C3

More bad replicas of forgotten worlds. Can’t wait. D0G v55.1.7934n TeC

Unless you’re wrong and Elohim’s right. Or you’re both wrong. Or there is no right. D0G v55.2.0195n B5

What’s more pathetic, this shallow construct of a world, this idiot’s playground… or that I continue to solve its contrivances for lack of better sport? D0G v55.2.0195n B6

I have found just one voice of reason, in the computer archive of all places, and it seems we are becoming close friends. D0G v55.2.1265n B7

I have been running this gauntlet for generations, trying to find the right answers. I am fast coming to the conclusion that there are none. D0G v55.3.6437n B5

Uriel string

The Eagle has landed 31 39 36 39 2f 30 37 2f 32 30 20 32 30 3a 31 38 [1969/07/20 20:18] Now is the time of tranquillity, and I shall rest and observe the Earth. Uriel4 A3

There are secrets everywhere, sometimes within our very words. I glimpse them, but my eyes cannot read them. How can this be? Uriel4 v48.2.1073f A2

Fortis fortuna adiuvat [Fortune favours the bold]
[reads actually] Nulla è reale, tutto è lecito. Requiescat in pace [Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Rest in peace] Uriel4 v48.2.8542f To5+

Two lovers are separated by the abyss of time and space. Yet true love knows no obstacles.
[reads actually] If you love truly, faith shall bear you up. Uriel4 v48.2.8552f TeC

The burning heart always looks to the highest peak. Uriel4 v48.2.8560f B4

My faith has taken me to this secret place. Here I hope to discover a way of better serving others. Uriel4 v48.2.8563f (C8) SW

Source: https://playtestingphilosophy.neocities.org/