AIK

**AIK** is a major character in *Mr. Rainer's Solve-It Service* who appears in multiple different routes of the game.

## Appearance

AIK wears a white raincoat with a red button on each side of the collar and red eyes. He wears his hood over his short, black hair. He has red, freckle-like markings that cover his white skin. They have a high-intensity at the top of his head and horns, but fade out towards the middle of his face. These red dots are also seen at the tips of his finger and the backs of his hands. When out of etherium, AIK's eyes become wide and blank. When recharged, his eyes regain a white dot in their center.

AIK is seen shapeshifting into a spider-like creature in order to help ÜLAR scale a wall, and has white skin with red markings in this form as well. When transforming back to his normal form, his raincoat apperas to be composed of mostly white swirls with some red and black portions.

In the left branch, AIK is seen with a large black creature that has creeping tendrils that he appears to have some control over.

## Personality

Throughout the story, AIK is a very curt and mysterious character, the only exception being when he is first seen carrying around a mysterious box. During this encounter, he is seen to be more tense and afraid, and is much more nervous than he is at many other points during the story. However, he still carries a give-and-take mindset as he does throughout the game, always wondering how helping others will benefit him. When traveling with ÜLAR, he is mostly frustrated at ÜLAR's ignorance of the world around him, until he eventually begins to fear ÜLAR.

During the left branch of the story, AIK is a very formidable character who is only interested in aiding Reverse ÜLAR if it benefits him. He doesa appear to gain some interest in the anomaly that is ÜLAR towards the end of the route, but not much is seen of him.

## Story

During the right branch before the player even knows his name, AIK is seen as a nameless person carrying a box ÜLAR presumes to be ERIK in DOME MÜ. ÜLAR has the option to either approach or follow AIK, with the decision changing the end route of the game.

### Approaching AIK

If approached, AIK will tell ÜLAR to not get any closer and ask what he wants. When asked about ERIK, AIK inquires about how sharing his information would benefit him. ÜLAR offers the Gyges Umbrella in exchange for information, upon hearing that it makes you invisible, AIK takes it as payment and tells ÜLAR that ERIK was taken in by staff.

### Following AIK

While being followed, AIK is seen collapsing onto the ground with his eyes blankly open. He is dragged and carried by a mysterious grey raincoat-hjörian. ÜLAR follows the two through a portal to a wide area with a large black pool at its' center, where the grey raincoat-hjörian tells AIK that he will be reunited with his friends before dropping him into it. Desperate to figure out how to escape his new prediament, ÜLAR saves AIK from the pool where he is surrounded by numerous other raincoat-hjörians and recharges him with etherium.

AIK immediately pushes away ÜLAR upon awakening, and ÜLAR notes that he has a weird voice, wondering if it's for a frequency reason. AIK appears to know ÜLAR, but not the ÜLAR the player currently plays as during this route. Using a transformation patch to become a spider-like creature, AIK takes ÜLAR through the pores in the ceiling as thanks for getting him out of the rainwater.

As the two traverse through the tunnels, AIK explains The Healing Swarm, also known as psyworms, and how they infest raincoat fibers trapping one's mind in a simulated reality. He refuses to disclose his thoughts on his own kinappers, and complains about how little ÜLAR knows of the world. Returning to his normal form, he welcomes ÜLAR to The Tunnels, attributing all odd behavior to Dark Patterns.

In the Tunnels, AIK leads ÜLAR down a hidden hatch into his vault. Specimens of flora and fauna are seen contained in glass jars along with clutter littering the floor. Telling ÜLAR not to touch anything, AIK goes to his screens to work on something. Eventually climbing up the ladder, AIK seems to be horrified by some unknown thing seen above the door, presumably ÜLAR attacking him or someone else.

ÜLAR blacks out, and upon waking up sees a shaking and terrified AIK clutching a crumpled SOUND STAR. AIK releases ÜLAR, telling him to get out.

### Left Branch

AIK is first seen when Diviner ÜLAR goes to The Tunnels in order to get AIK to investigate "ÜLAR's" coat. Orbs that surround the space trap the Diviner with threads. With a large black creature behind him, AIK asks what business ÜLAR has with him. Hearing that the raincoat came from the Garden of Brilliance, AIK decides to investigate the raincoat in exchange for a Picture Book found in DOME ÖÖKRON.

After Diviner ÜLAR loses to GUNNAR, AIK messages ÜLAR about the abnormalities in the coat. Most of the code appears to be gibberish, and the parts he understands only cover basic life functions and limited data storage. It's also note to deny patches and is unable to regenerate on its own.

### Hidden Route

`**The following content contains spoilers for Mr. Rainer's Solve-It Service.**`

In what is presumably DOME ÖÖKRON, AIK is seen wordlessly walking along a white path through a series of mysterious housing units with a determined expression on his face. As he continues farther along this path, he comes across numerous black spikes littering a white field as he goes towards a cave-like area with a black entrance.

Once AIK enters this area the scenery changes back to the typical red the rest of the game has as black thread emanate from a mysterious source up ahead. He steps closer as runes like those seen when HEINO uses his VIRTUE of telekinesis sprawl across the background. He approaches a figure suspended from the ceiling with black threads. The figure's head is also covered in black threads, and AIK carries a ball of black thread, presumably ÜLAR's raincoat from earlier in the *Bouquet for Ephemerality* route.

AIK tells the suspended figure that he has brought want that figure has requested, and tells this figure to uphold their end of the deal. He also states that he will retrieve the Overseer's coat, a word used for the creator of the world in the creation myths RENE spoke of. AIK then leaves, but is ambushed by black threads. A "noise" screen is then seen as Diviner ÜLAR receives the blank file from AIK.

`End of spoilers.`

## Trivia

* GUNNAR calls AIK *"maa-alune"*, an Estonian word that roughly translates to "Underground." Perhaps a reference/insult about how AIK lives in the Tunnels.