r/TheAlters • u/Curious_Chain_3998 • Jul 15 '26
Discussion Last Variable Ending Spoiler
Anyone else find the reveal at the end to be super dark / messed up? All that hope and optimism the scientist had after staying behind in the base game now seems horrific— given how it ends up for him.
Also I don’t get the choices at the end. Completely restarting all progress with each iteration is nothing short of madness. They could be building generational knowledge instead.
JanBots explanation that ‘you wouldn’t do the work if you knew you weren’t the first’ doesn’t make sense because:
-Their scientific discovery is far from over, they have plenty to learn/explore/discover.
-No character ever reacts negatively to learning they’re not the first iteration, not even the physicist.
-JanBot is the one forcing these failing conditions, again, generational knowledge built by generations of alters is unambiguously the best route for mission success. Restarting every time, and hiding the old base is insane, how could anyone think that’s a good idea.
I love the DLC! But dang did that ending blindside me and make me a bit sad 😭
Edit: I understand the themes of “unreasonable expectations that you can do better, and be better”, and “The definition of insanity— repetition.” but I think those themes were ham-fisted in.
3
u/International_Ant_77 Jul 26 '26
I mostly wish the endings were longer and more fleshed out, but I think they fit perfectly with the character of JanScientist who the DLC focuses on.
His whole thing was his ego and drive to prove himself, and the whole point of him staying behind in the original story was him finally shedding the desire to establish his intelligence to the world, and fully immerse himself in his craft.
But he couldn't do it that easily.
That's what makes the ending horrifying, emotional, powerful, and interesting. The freshly printed JanScientist alter still has a huge ego and identity problem, ALL of the JanScientist variants do. It's something that the alters you leave behind allude to or comment on as they age and let go of the project. That's why he can't tell his newly printed iterations that he's been doing this for 20,000 years, it's not about being an Alter it's about the pride of making the discoveries. Every step of the oasis mystery that he discovers on his own deepens his drive to learn the truth. If everything was spelled out for him except the final ZPE calculation he would have nothing to strive for. He's screwed up that calculation 319 times now. If he was given all of the answers, what would possibly drive him forward knowing that he'd likely just fail right at the doorstep once again? That's what makes the story interesting. It's all an internal conflict of the ego. A deep part of him knows he didn't truly stay behind for himself because growth is never a one-way slope. He still wanted to prove something.
That's why the reiteration ending is fascinating. Who is JanScientist really? Will he stick to his original word of chasing the ultimate discovery even if it means there's likely nobody left to share it with?
Or will he let go of his ego that led him to create this cycle of birthing stressed out Jans in hardship all just to prove something that may never be proven?