Submerged Structure

The **Submerged Structure** is a location on the Stranger. It is a large metal structure suspended by chains in the Reservoir.

## Description

### Features

As its name suggests, the Submerged Structure is a bell-shaped structure lowered into the water of the Reservoir. It can only be accessed from below by diving into the water. There are three large chains attached to the structure which were used to lower it into the water. The mechanism to control the chains has been burned. The structure has two antennas on each side which indicate its connection to the simulation of the inhabitants of the Stranger.

Inside the structure is a sealed vault in front of a green fire. Dozing off, meditating, or dying while holding an Artifact here connects the Protagonist to the interior of the version of the Submerged Structure inside the simulation.

### Dam

The Stranger's sails activate around seven minutes into the loop to move the spacecraft away from the impending supernova. Due to the strain this puts on the Stranger, the dam starts breaking down. 13 minutes into the loop, the dam eventually bursts. The receding water exposes most of the Submerged Structure to the surface. However, the entrance will still be underwater.

### Simulation

Inside the simulation, the exterior of the Submerged Structure can only be accessed by taking a raft from the Shrouded Woodlands, Starlit Cove, or Endless Canyon. There is a Vision Torch near the railing that shows a vision of the Stranger's Inhabitants moving the Sealed Vault down the stairs of the structure. The portholes on the sides of the structure can be used to view its interior. The interior can be entered by connecting to the simulation from the real-world Submerged Structure.

### Subterranean Lake

*Main article:* Subterranean Lake

The Subterranean Lake is an area in the simulation of the Stranger's inhabitants. The lake is located below the simulation version of the Submerged Structure. It can be entered by going down the stairs and then taking the elevator down. Its notable feature is the Sealed Vault that is located on the shore of the lake. The lake contains three islands, each with a structure that can be used to extinguish one of the symbols on the Sealed Vault. To access these islands, there are three interfaces on the lake's shore. Each has a sequence of five symbols with eight possible symbols for every position.

* The left symbol sequence
* The middle symbol sequence
* The right symbol sequence

### Sealed Vault

The Sealed Vault is a sarcophagus-like structure that exists in both the real world and the simulation. It is held shut by chains connected to symbols. Inside the simulation, the mechanism in front of the vault can be rotated to make the doors strain against the chains. This causes rays of green light to spill from the vault, revealing a vision that shows how to enter the Symbol Room in the Island Tower.

In the simulation, the Sealed Vault can only be opened by extinguishing the symbols from the three islands. The symbol sequences that should be used to access the islands have all been burned. The only way to reach the islands is by using three glitches of the simulation:

1. The left sequence requires dropping the Artifact and walking out of its render distance. This reveals how the symbol sequence controls parts of a previously invisible bridge. Aligning all parts of the bridge allows the Protagonist to walk over to the island and extinguish one of the symbols on the vault.
2. The middle sequence requires falling off the raft in between the "loading screens" of the different areas of the simulation. The simulation's areas are connected by a river that can be crossed with a raft. While inside the transition areas, everything will go dark and quiet as the next area is loaded. Falling off the raft at that point drops the Protagonist on the surface of the water of the Subterranean Lake. The island to extinguish the symbol on the vault will be straight ahead.
3. The right sequence requires entering the simulation by dying on one of the green fires. While dead, it is impossible to be woken up by the bells that guard the bridge to the island.

Once the Sealed Vault is open, a long hallway leads to a room with a telescope-like device and a view of the ringed planet. An artifact-activated elevator goes down to the bottom room that contains an instrument, seating, and a Vision Torch. The Prisoner is found in this room.

* The upper room of the Sealed Vault
* The lower room of the Sealed Vault

## History

When they discovered the potential of the Eye of the Universe, the Stranger's inhabitants built a spacecraft that could block the signal of the Eye. As they were devasted by how they had destroyed their homeworld to build the Stranger, they constructed a simulation modeled after their home moon. The inhabitants subsequently went to sleep inside the simulation connection buildings in the River Lowlands, Cinder Isles, and Hidden Gorge.

Sometime later, one individual woke up from the simulation and went over to the Eye signal blocker controls. They disabled the signal blocker, freeing the Eye's signal once more. However, the other inhabitants quickly caught this individual and reactivated the blocker. They built a sealed vault in the Reservoir where this individual was imprisoned, along with an Artifact to connect the simulation. A bell-shaped structure was then constructed around the vault. This structure was subsequently submerged within the Reservoir.

Inside the simulation, the Prisoner connected to the Submerged Structure along with the Sealed Vault. Other inhabitants connected at the same time as them to move the Sealed Vault further down to the shore of the Subterranean Lake. The vault was sealed with three symbols, with the means to extinguish them locked behind three symbol sequences.

The symbol sequences were initially stored inside the Symbol Room of the Island Tower. However, these were burned later. Versions of the code sequences were also stored in the Forbidden Archives across the simulation, but even these were destroyed at some point. This left the Prisoner completely isolated and confined inside the simulation forever.

## Trivia

* It is possible to open the Sealed Vault without using the glitches by entering the correct symbol sequences. The middle and right sequences were found in the game's files, as there are 32,000 possible combinations for each of the sequences.

* The correct left symbol sequence
* The correct middle symbol sequence
* The correct right symbol sequence

* If the correct symbol sequences are used to open the Sealed Vault in the simulation instead of the glitches, the Vault in the real world can be seen opened as well. The Prisoner's physical body can be seen inside, with their Artifact lit if the Prisoner has not walked into the water inside the simulation.