Loop 16

**Loop 16** is the sixteenth loop of Gnosia. It and the subsequent loop upon victory make up the final "tutorial" loops in the game, introducing the player to the Bug role.

## Summary

When attempting to start the 16th loop, the player will experience a glitch in Setup stating that due to an error occurring "in the linked universe", their role is now Crew Member. Once the loop begins the player speaks to Setsu about this, who explains that they've never heard of such an error occurring before. They caution the player to be wary: irregularities might occur in this loop as a result, but they hope that it might shine light on how to escape the loops. Setsu and the player exchange information again, though this time Setsu's role will be randomly generated.

Though the player doesn't notice anything strange upon entering Main Control, after the discussion the player notices a glitch in their vision. The loop proceeds as normal until the player reaches the end, one way or another. Suddenly, the world begins disintegrating and the player learns about the Bug role: if the Bug manages to survive until either the humans or Gnosia win, the Bug will win and end the universe instead.

If the player is eliminated at any point, be it due to being put into cold sleep or being investigated by the Engineer, the player will return to the setup screen like normal. From here they can proceed as usual and may initialize loops as normal. Inevitably the error will pop up again, and any such loop will open with the player talking with Setsu about it. They note that the same error has occurred and encourages the player to try and survive for as long as possible. If the player fails twice or more, Setsu will recommend that the player try to make their loops easier to win by reducing the number of Gnosia present or increasing the number of crew members. The two exchange information about their roles again and the loop proceeds as normal until the player finally wins.

Once the player wins, the next loop will occur immediately, not giving the player the chance to use the setup menu. It opens with Setsu explaining that the Gnosia are not their only enemies: the Bug also exists and must be identified early lest the universe be destroyed. They note that while the Bug can't be eliminated by the Gnosia, they can be eliminated by Engineer investigation - and thus finding the Bug should be the Engineer's top priority. They suggest the Bug is a sort of glitch in the universe that paradoxically does and does not exist: the Gnosia can't eliminate the Bug because the Bug doesn't exist, but the Engineer's observance of them exposes this inconsistency and causes the Bug to be erased from existence.

Setsu whispers to the player that it took them about 20 loops to figure everything out, and the loop continues as any other with randomly-assigned roles.

## Script

### Day 1

 **Player** | * [[#|]]

### Post-Failure Loops

 **Player** | * [[#|]]

### Post-Victory Loop

 **Player** | * [[#|]]

## Trivia

* If the player attempts to begin this loop without enough "room" for the player to be the Bug, an error message will appear prompting the player to increase the number of crew members.
* If the player is eliminated in these loops by being investigated by the Engineer, there will be unique ending text as the game continues to avoid telling the player their true role.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Gnosia\_/comments/t33jjp/minor\_extra\_dialog\_failing\_to\_survive\_as\_bug\_for/