Editing Quest:Ruby Quest/Theories

This is a compilation of all the current theories for [[Ruby Quest]].

They will be ranked RIDICULOUS, UNLIKELY, PLAUSIBLE, VIABLE, or LIKELY based on how likely they are to be correct. If proven (Ha! Not bloody likely), their status will become CANON. If debunked, their status will change to DEBUNKED, with the old status <s>crossed out</s>. DEBUNKED theories require REASON FOR DEBUNK.

'''LIKELY''' theories have lots of evidence behind them barring a significant twist.

'''VIABLE''' theories have some evidence behind them but are open to interpretation.
	
'''PLAUSIBLE''' theories have little to no evidence behind them.

'''UNLIKELY''' theories are either a considerable but not ridiculous stretch or have conflicting support, with some evidence behind them and some evidence against them.

'''RIDICULOUS''' theories have little to no evidence behind them, and are also very silly.

If you create or record a theory, please write "Courses of action suggested by this theory:" and list them in '''bold text'''. Try not to hurt yourself thinking too hard.

==GRAND THEORIES==
Put possible explanations of the entire scenario here. Also called "Quicksand theories," because even if one of them is right, there is no escaping their consequences and no courses of action are really suggested by them. If one of them is true, it won't really change how the story progresses.

==== Science Disaster ====
'''LIKELY'''

Part 5 indicates that Ruby appears to be trapped in an underwater medical research facility called The Metal Glen. Medical reports suggest that Ruby entered the facility of her own volition, enlisting in what appeared to be a research program designed to treat incurable illnesses. When conventional treatments were ineffective, the facility adopted a novel treatment of unknown nature (originally championed by Red). This new treatment appears to have produced results (apparently curing Ruby's blindness), but also triggered a chain of events that led to The Metal Glen falling into turmoil, including inducing mutations in patients that led to unpredictable and violent behavior and memory loss.

It is unknown to what extent things have changed at the facility. Apparently cheerful pictures show a lineup of all the patients, and videos show that patients and staff used to mingle with some freedom. Currently, however, aside from some clean-up during one of Ruby's blackouts, whatever staff remains appears to have little control over the facility. Blood and body parts are strewn everywhere. The "holding room" is covered with graffiti indicating that things have been wrong for some time now. The facility may have been largely out of control when Ruby awoke, but Weaver has hinted that Ruby may have done something shortly after waking up that triggered additional trouble. However, it is possible that the facility is still under control (at some level) by potentially unscrupulous staff. It is unknown if there are any inhabitants of the facility that are not suffering mutations of some sort.

The nature of the treatment is still unknown, but under this theory is presumed to be science-fictional in nature rather than supernatural. Supernatural occurrences can be explained as hallucinations. However, this makes it difficult to explain the current state of the brig, with its strange physics and growing rift.

==== Supernatural Disaster ====
'''LIKELY'''

This theory is identical to the "Science Disaster" theory, except it allows for supernatural elements. Under this theory, the "novel treatment" suggested by Red may have been magical in some way, as implied by the strange symbols that have appeared around the facility. Suggested supernatural influences include Cthulu-like figures, demons, malevolent gods, etc.

==== Grand Hallucination ====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

Everything is happening in Ruby's mind: Ruby is hallucinating all events while she is still trapped in the coffin, Ruby is in hell/purgatory, it's a virtual reality simulation, or any other variation of IT WAS ALL A DREAM.

'''Courses of action suggested by this theory: Suggest Ruby pinch herself. Otherwise, this is just a quicksand theory where anything can happen.'''

==== Birthday Party ====
<strike>TOTALLY VIABLE</strike> '''RIDICULOUS'''

All of the events thus far have been an elaborate hoax that will culminate in a surprise birthday party for Ruby. Under this theory, The Metal Glen is a treatment facility for horrifying but well-adjusted mutant abominations who, with the help of the amused and indulgent staff, decided to induce temporary amnesia in Ruby to run her through a gauntlet of horror, "just like she always wanted." All the notes and video footage have been forged and planted. At the end, the entire cast will surprise Ruby with a cake and sing Happy Birthday.

Support for this theory comes from the point-and-click computer game The White Chamber, which Weaver has cited as a major inspiration for Ruby Quest. In The White Chamber, the "ultimate" ending reveals that the entire game has been a joke played on the protagonist in preparation for a surprise party. Further support for this theory comes from the fact that Ruby has suffered no serious injuries during the quest, despite facing terrible apparent dangers. Presumably, the Hound's accidental scratch is why she is no longer allowed to participate in the fun of scaring the living hell out of Ruby.

==== Furry Porn ====
<strike>RIDICULOUS</strike> '''CANON'''

The Metal Glen is the set of a high-budget porn studio specializing in guro, tentacle, and amnesia fetish erotica. All of the characters are actors playing out predetermined roles, and Ruby Quest has been an clever scheme to slowly convert all of /tg/ into furries.

 <@TG_Weaver> I'm amazed that you guys have taken this long to realize the true plot
 <@TG_Weaver> it's all a very elaborate, specific porno
 <@TG_Weaver> for people who have cthulhu/amnesia fetishes

 <@TG_Weaver> Are you kidding? I gave everything away
 <@TG_Weaver> It's a porno

==FACILITY THEORIES==
Put theories concerning the nature of the facility itself here.

===== Asylum =====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

The facility is a real installation deep underwater. Any FUCK YOU PHYSICS incidents are hallucinations or illusions.

===== SCIENCE! =====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

The facility is a real installation deep underwater. However, for some reason it does not abide by normal physics. It does not abide by normal physical laws because of science fiction technology.

===== Meddlesome Elder Gods =====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

The facility is a real installation deep underwater. Strange physics and other supernatural occurrences are, well, supernatural. Clearly, the facility dug too greedily, and too DEEP.
The facility workers may or may not have had an idea of what they were getting into.

===== Changing Spaces =====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

During Tom's second imprisonment and Ruby's first blackout, the facility was not repaired/cleaned. Instead, they were both moved to a different but similar set of rooms. This supports non-supernatural explanations.

===Broken Physics Brig Room===
=====Red Caused The Rift=====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

Red caused the enormous rift when he "cut ???" in Ruby's vision-hallucination-whiteout that occurred after Stitches gave her the cross peg.

=====Broken Physics Room Linked to Stitches=====
'''UNLIKELY'''

During Tom's sojourn in the broken physics room in part five (after finding the walkie-talkies) he witnessed the rift widening. From our POV, it widened toward the top-left of the screen. 

This was near the moment in time that Ruby had her second (third?) encounter with Stitches- she witnessed Stitches' head begin to fall apart, with the top-left (from Ruby's POV) section becoming unstitched and falling away. This theory will be made more plausible if the broken physics room continues to correlate with Stitches' physical condition. Ha-HA! Take THAT, causality!

'''Courses of action suggested by this theory: Think about keeping Stitches intact, calm, and relatively safe, at least until the Broken Physics Room is no longer needed or useful.'''

==CHARACTER THEORIES==
Put theories on the characters, their purposes, their actions, and their motivations here.

===Theories Concerning Ruby===
====Ruby is Going Insane====
'''LIKELY'''

Several of the events in the story make it seem that Ruby's grip on reality is failing. Possible instances of hallucination include:

Her third eye appearing (she was the only one to experience this and her character prevents her from asking Tom to verify).

Her "waking dream" in which she seemed to wake up from bed, take a key from her dresser that may have actually been a filing cabinet, and attempt to interact with Tom. When she did, she came to her senses, and found it was the dummy.

Her corpse in the "DO NOT OPEN" box. Although she was highly perturbed by this sight Tom had no apparent reaction to it, and when asked about the box, he only mentioned the finger bowl.

<strike>The Dummy in the room where she woke up and the eye painting in the bear zombie room both seemed to "watch" her as she moved about.</strike> Confirmed by Tom's presence.

 Jan 16 07:13:08 <TG_Weaver> 2) Ruby may be going bonkers.
 Jan 16 07:13:13 <TG_Weaver> This seems a reasonable assumption

'''Courses of action suggested by this theory: Do not trust all of Ruby's perceptions and rely on Tom for verification of anything that seems odd, out of place, or scary. This includes threats, if possible.'''

====Ruby is Psychic====
'''VIABLE'''

So far, Ruby has had four hallucinations or visions.  Of those, three turned out to be true in one or more ways.

The first was directly after the Hound fight, and Ruby's vision was herself safe at home. There was nothing particularly significant about this vision, and though she found a key during it, the dream didn't obviously do anything to highlight the key (which may or may not have existed in the real world). However, if she is indeed developing psychic abilities, this was the moment of their first arrival (probably due to the injury sustained in the fight).

The second hallucination was while touching the corpse that was nailed to the wall (who was probably Stitches the Bear). It's not entirely clear whether the body grabbing her hand and calling her name was real or not, but the following sequence featured Tom complaining of eye pain, Red in possession of the Eye Dial, and Red "cutting the world" as the hallucination shattered.

We later find that Tom lost his eye during the time of that vision, that Red (presumably) stole the Eye Dial and hid it in a safe, and that the main room had been sliced in half with a bizarre physics-bending rift. Even if the third is coincidence, the fact that Ruby knew ahead of time that Tom's eye was injured, is telling.

Ruby's third hallucination was right after waking from the second, when the met Tom. She had a momentary vision of Tom with four arms -- which, of course, was later revealed to be quite literally true.

The fourth was when Tom finally opened the Do Not Open box. Tom apparently saw nothing but a bowl of fingers, while Ruby had a hallucinatory vision of her own corpse in that box. Later, on viewing Red's video, we find that Ruby was indeed apparently killed and stuffed into that box.

There is also a bit of circumstantial evidence for this theory (and the following one); for centuries, the Third Eye has been a metaphorical reference to what we would call psychic power.  (It corresponds to the "brow chakra" in Indian medicine, which is responsible for guidance and intuition.)  Ruby has manifested a literal third eye, which may not be coincidental.

'''Courses of action suggested by this theory: Apparent hallucinations should be considered warnings or visions.'''

====Ruby is Dead====
<s>PLAUSIBLE</s> '''CANON'''

Ruby was listed as deceased in two official looking documents, and a video was shown of Red assaulting Ruby some time ago, and stuffing her body into the DO NOT OPEN box, where it was discovered by Ace. Though, he ALSO was the one who reported her deceased, and the corpse wasn't seen by Tom, so questions are raised by this theory.

A lot of recent evidence - accident form, experiment file, and video of Red beating her down, show that this is pretty likely to be true. However, we see, for a brief moment of the video, Ruby is still alive. She may not have died after all, but it seems possible.

Stitches and Tom have both also, apparently, died and come back to life, greatly supporting this theory. <strike>There has been no evidence of Tom's death, and Weaver has implied that Stitches may not have "died" as we suspected.</strike> Oh wait, scratch that. Filbert's confirmed that almost everyone here is dead, most notably DEFINITELY Ruby, Tom, and Stitches.

=====Ruby is Supernatural=====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

Quote from IRC that may have relevance or may just be a red herring. The quote was in red text:

 <TG_Weaver> If man is 5
 <TG_Weaver> And the devil is 6
 <TG_Weaver> Then God is 7

Ruby was listed in the documentation as "Subject #7" and she was being held in "Cell #7." Tom was also kept in cell/storage #5 in a more recently found letter. This could possibly mean a number of things if it's not simply an attempt to throw us off. Ruby may be a ghost. Ruby may be in some sort of causality paradox or alternate dimension, or she may be living in a fractured reality. She may have even created a causality paradox, alternate dimension or fractured reality herself a la Donny Darko. 

This may lend some credence to the "psychic ruby" theory, which is at the time of this writing listed as viable. 

Additionally, Ruby's third eye is in the same location that the iconic "Third Eye" or "Inner Eye" found in certain eastern spiritual traditions is in. The Third Eye is usually symbolic of someone having attained enlightenment or divine awareness in Eastern religions. Elsewhere, it symbolizes clairvoyance, precognition, and out-of-body experiences.

The eye may be in the place it is because it was the first thing Weaver thought of.

'''Courses of action suggested by this theory: No courses of action, but it does allow us to categorize any apparent inconsistencies (such as Ruby's postmortem documentation) in the story as being encounters with an alternate reality, the "real" reality, or perhaps a "possible" reality.'''

====Ruby is a Ghola-Like Clone====
<s>PLAUSIBLE</s> '''UNLIKELY'''

In the sequels to the Dune books (not the fake ones, but the ones by Frank Herbert), there are clones of people, called "gholas."  These gholas are born in special tanks, and are the exact clones of whoever's DNA they came from.  The thing is, they are able to retain the memory of their past, but only after a traumatic moment.

Perhaps we can adapt this to RQ; if Ruby dies, then gets clones, but the clones have no memory of her past.  This can also fit in some of the things Ruby sees, such as her extra eye, the seeing of her dead body, and some of the blackouts she has after emerging from the box.  Only after some type of moment will she be able to remember her past.

AGAINST: According to Filbert, Ruby's memory loss is due to her death and subsequent regeneration.

====Ruby is the Original Monster====
<s>PLAUSIBLE</s> <s>'''UNLIKELY'''</s> '''PLAUSIBLE'''

Red beat down Ruby, apparently in an attempt to kill her. Maybe she died, maybe not. In either case, Red would probably have some motivation to do so. Red may have killed her because she is the original abomination, and he was attempting to stymie the experiments going on there by taking out the key person.

Ruby is obviously some kind of mutant due to her third eye. In her file, it seems to indicate that it is dangerous for her to get hurt or put into a crisis. If Red beat her, she may have gone all monstery. And when she got clawed by the hound zombie and lost three days, she may have done so again.

'''AGAINST:''' <strike>Stitches died well before Red attacked Ruby, and #6 was isolated for becoming violent and unpredictable.</strike> Ruby was the one who murdered Stitches by shoving him over a railing, long before she died. She appears to have begun suffering from some kind of insanity, presumably as a result of the medical treatment.

'''Courses of Action Suggested by this theory: If wounded, get the hell away from Tom!'''

====Ruby is the Cure for the Infection====
<s>PLAUSIBLE</s> <s>CANON</s> VIABLE?

Ruby seems to have the least beastly and dangerous mutation. She doesn't have terrifyingly massive jaws, or weird T-Rex arms, or a ravenous lamprey mouth growing out of her eye. Just a third eye. While she is afflicted with whatever condition, she has a fairly benign mutation. Perhaps she is able to keep the mutation from being dangerous. Red, in his desperation to escape, may have tried to kill her in an attempt to let all the monsters kill whoever is keeping them, or to create a diversion to go about the business of blowing himself up.

Her file seems to mention that it is important for her not to be hurt. This may be because she needs to be alive for the experiments to work. Also, as mentioned, she has an apparently benign mutation, as opposed to the violent and gory mutations of others.

</s>If Filbert is to be trusted, confirmed.</s> Filbert confusingly stated that Ruby was "the cure"--that the new medical treatment cured her blindness and made it unnecessary to eat or drink, but then went on to say that her death had messed things up, and that she was now "bad." Whether or not the "infection" can be removed is still unknown.

====Ruby allowed Red to Assault her Willingly====
<strike>PLAUSIBLE</strike> '''UNLIKELY'''

Ruby didn't seem to make any attempt to resist Red or Escape from him. It could be that she was lucid at this point, knew that she was dangerous if not why she was dangerous, and had agreed to be killed for the sake of the others in the facility.

'''AGAINST:''' In the video, Ruby seemed unaware of Red's impending attack, and reached out of the box with a trembling hand when she saw Ace.  Red's notes imply that he attempted to kill Ruby due to her mean right hook.

====Ruby's Violent Actions====
Put theories on Ruby's apparent attempts to murder Red and Tom seen in the recordings, as well as her remembered attack on Stitches, here.

=====Induced Insanity=====
<s>VIABLE</s> LIKELY

Ruby attacked Red and Tom out of psychosis, brought on by the new "treatment" that Red proposed.

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE: Ruby's flashback of her attack on Stitches indicates that she pushed him into the fans without intending to. This occurred after everyone began receiving the new treatment. Unless Ruby is an extremely unreliable narrator and consummate actress, she feels remorse and confusion over these actions.

=====Ruby was Already Insane=====
<s>PLAUSIBLE</s> UNLIKELY

Ruby attacked Red and Tom out of psychosis, and she was psychopathic to begin with.

CONTRADICTING EVIDENCE: There are no indications of violent behavior on Ruby's part until the new medical treatments began.

=====It Was Not Ruby=====
<s>PLAUSIBLE</s> UNLIKELY

The recordings were faked, or "Ruby" in the recordings was actually a third party capable of disguising itself as other characters. It has been hypothesized that "#6" could be such a shape-shifter. If the Animal Crossing theme is continued, the logical character capable of shape-shifting would be Blanca, the cat without a face.

CONTRADICTING EVIDENCE: Ruby's flashback of her attack on Stitches appears to indicate that she was the one who made the attacks, but was not in sane control over her actions.

=====Ruby Was Possessed=====
<s>PLAUSIBLE</s> VIABLE

It seems that the facility was being used to experiment with some new kind of medical procedure or therapy, that much is fairly certain. But what is the nature this treatment?

Several odd symbols and markings appear throughout the building. It is possible that some kind of Lovecraftian power was being experimented with for medical usage-- the odd holding tanks where Tom discovered his note to himself that read "don't trust 7" seemed to be connected to a peculiar symbol or diagram. Additionally, several of the tools we've made use of have been strange symbols, sigils like the wooden disk, and seemingly arcane tools such as the ODD STAFF. 

It's possible that the treatment, which perhaps relies on some dark and malevolent power or entity, exposes the subject to said evil power in some way and causes them to lose their minds. It is also possible that such exposure makes the subject vulnerable to possession.

NEW EVIDENCE: Red's and Filbert's notes and testimony seem to indicate that "something" came along with the new treatment proposed by Red.

=====Ruby was Lucid and Knew What She Was Doing=====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

It could be that Ruby had a good reason for attacking Red and Tom--perhaps she knew something that made this course of action justifiable or even necessary.

===Theories Concerning Tom===
====Tom Gouged Out His Own Eye====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

Tom's story simply doesn't add up. He was dragged up a ladder by a creature he did not see, which gouged out his eye, locked him in a room, and left? Sounds like something Red might do, but Tom didn't see his attacker. But in the Brig, he was sitting in the corner of the room, away from each and every entrance into the room. There is no way something could have snuck up on him. On top of that, his story is that he lost his eye as soon as we left him, explaining the blood. But, he still had his eye when we saw him on the computer monitor, well after he was taken away.

It is also possible that his eye was taken sometime between the two events. The story may be that he lost his eye as soon as we left, but Ruby spent some time in the rooms beyond before coming back, which leaves "as soon as" up to Tom's sense of time.

It is also possible that the abomination was invisible, therefore Tom could not see it. This, however, could be just a hallucination that actually harmed the one who saw it. Such as Ruby with her third eye. She complained of a severe headache before her eye appeared, just like Tom did before his eye vanished.

So, why is his eye missing? Maybe he was trying to save himself from something worse than loss of depth perception. What if he had transformed, down there, while he was weak on Arsenic and feeling miserable? He fled upstairs, and met Red up in the Monitor Room. Red wasn't going to deal with a monster Tom, and locked him in the room where we found him later. Eventually, Tom knew something was wrong with himself, and that he was monster. To stop the infection from spreading, he removed his own eye.

When Red eventually saw this in the monitors, he knew Tom was safe again, and let him back out. Tom doesn't remember Red from that first encounter because Tom was still a monster. Tom isn't telling Ruby any of this for the same reason Ruby is hiding her third eye - they love each other, and don't want the other to worry about it.

Variant: while poisoned, Tom hallucinated a monster and lost the eye while wandering around in confusion. It was still likely Red that locked him in, though.

PLAUSIBILITY: While initially very likely, new evidence from Part 5 has shown that the room he was taken in was the Holding Room, which means it is exactly FOR holding prisoners. In addition, his mutation was growing extra arms, and had nothing to do with eyes, so if he was crazy enough to try to destroy the mutation, then he wouldn't have started with his eye. He also identified his attacker as Ace, who we know also carried away Ruby and hid her from everyone else too.

How exactly he lost his eye is still up in the air, however, but it has become more unlikely that Ace was at fault, <s>especially since Ace is the facility's doctor.</s>

====Thousand Toms====
'''RIDICULOUS'''

Everyone is a Tom Clone.

Ruby is a Tom Clone with rabbit ears. The Bear was a Tom Clone. The Hound was a Tom Clone. Tom is 3 Tom Clones. Even the fish in the tank are Tom Clones. Red is a Tom Clone.

Or was it a Tom Clone is Red? We're not sure.

Either way, everything is Tom, even the hamsters running in wheels that power the facility.

Of course, such hamsters need a leader, and the leader is a clone of Red, who we have already established is a clone of Tom.

===Theories concerning Red===

====Red's Mobility====
[[Image:3D map overview - pipe ends here.jpg|thumb|right|The pipe simply ends, right where the metal box in the back room is.]]'''PLAUSIBLE, but UNLIKELY'''

Red's room was sealed by the Cross Peg most of the game. But, he was apparently able to get in and out of his room. Of course, he likely had the cross peg, and may have given it to Stitches when he hung him up on the wall (see [[Ruby_Quest_Theories#We.27ve_Seen_Stitches_Before|We've Seen Stitches Before]]). But, how would he get down from there without being able to open the floor hatch?

Well, there is a tarp on the ceiling of his room. Maybe there's a secret passage. And the image to the right gives a good hint where it goes - the blue line pipe is in Red's room, goes down the monitor room, into the Z Hatch room, and simply stops at the back room, inside of a metal box. We know the pipe can't go anywhere between the back room and the dummy room, because that window there shows the walls are somewhat thin. So, it is quite possible that the metal box is a secret exit, and unlike Tom, Red is more than thin enough to crawl through to the Z Hatch room.

====Red showed up because he lost the peg====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

Somehow, Red lost the peg (someone stole it from him?), then, unable to return to his hideout or find the peg, he revealed himself to Ruby. After pulling down the tarp, he discovers the peg in Stitches' hand and (knowing Stitches or whoever placed Stitches there, with the peg) starts laughing madly.

The wall with Stitches was a trap set up for Red, the peg being the bait. But Red can see the trap, so he lets Ruby get the peg and trigger the trap. Because Ruby wasn't the trap's target, she survives, but over the time (3 days?) Red can use the peg to access his hideout. He returns it later, for reasons yet unknown.

====Red had romantic feelings for Ruby====
'''UNLIKELY'''

His concerned look after Ruby when she had hooked him may have been of friendly and platonic nature, but it is also possible that there were deeper feelings involved. This might also explain the lack of footage right after Ruby and Tom kissing in the latest record. Whether he ever told Ruby about what he felt, and how she might have reacted to this, is open to interpretation.

''This is actually borderline ridiculous, but there's no evidence against it, it doesn't defy any great laws of physics or common sense, and I kinda like it, so I decided to add it anyway''

====Red Quest====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

Why did the back room release gas the moment we turned the power back on? There are 3 possibilities:

1) It was a defense system that was already active, and needed power.

2) It was a defense system that needed power, and someone activated it after we turned the power back on.

3) It was a defense system that needed power, and someone activated it before we turned the power back on.

Since 1 and 3 are effectively the same, and the window of opportunity for number 2 is however long it took the analyzer to dispense an antidote for arsenic, it is safe to say the system was active beforehand and the chip was removed to turn it off. Therefore, someone must have had the Rubber Gloves and the Hook, and was in that back room when the poison gas was released the first time. To deactivate it, he pulled out the chip with his gloved hands and the metal hook. Then, to prevent someone (Like Ruby) from doing something stupid and reactivating the gas, he hid the gloves, hook and chip separately - the gloves in his own locker, and the chip and hook inside a box in the Monitor room, then glued the box shut. He kept the hook and the chip together in case he needed to pull the chip out again. 

Going by the [[Ruby_Quest_Theories#Red.27s_Mobility|Red's Mobility]] theory, he didn't need the door to the monitor room to get in, so he smashed the panel. So, this leads us to assume that if any of this happened at all, it was Red's doing, and he didn't count on Ruby having /tg/, and hence Wikipedia, in her head.

====Red Killed Time====
'''RIDICULOUS'''

When Red used the eye pendant in the vision that the God Zombie sent Ruby into, he not only ended the dream, but affected the physical world possibly even before the story even started. The laser intersected Tom's head, Tom's eye was missing later. The gibberish when the laser was being used was scrambled terms from earlier threads. The HUGE UNEXPLAINED GAP appeared. The broken physics room. The back room was no longer filled with blood and the closet Bear was in now has shelves instead of zombies. The tube is no longer broken, neither is the mirror. The things which could be used to kill the Plant Zombie no longer exist. Tom said that nothing happened when asked about the past, while Bear certainly counts as something, possibly more evidence that Bear didn't even happen in this timeline. Ruby's inventory changed, gaining the key and losing the items that the altered past no longer gave her to opportunity to collect.
:gap in the theory: at first, after Ruby exits the room, the changes are only partial. It's after she looks into Tom's eye that the major change occurs. Still, this might be simply because her fractured mind expected to see the room as it had been before.

Even moreso what could lead to this is somewhat reminiscent of Silent Hill. In Silent Hill, dreaming/falling asleep/mirror-like interaction was used to transition to The Otherworld. Perhaps the second "world" that Ruby and co. end up entering is the Otherworld of the Metal Glen.

====Red is A Ghost====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

How Red ends up dying is obviously planned, and it is not considered that he was never really there in the first place. Even though Red helps Ruby in certain situations, and he is proven to be a viable resource, he is often found sitting on the couch like nothing has happened.

In addition, one of the most recent installments shows that Ruby somehow decided to try and kill Red with her Right Hook. She split one half of his mouth open and then was hauled away. Red is suffering from injuries in the last shot of the video, and is on his knees in pain. Perhaps later he died of this injury, and was put in a situation similar to Ruby's.

He was put in a revival chamber somewhere in the facility, and mutated to the extent of having a wide-open mouth and a somewhat warped mind. He went about his business as normal until Ruby showed up and "The Shit Hit The Fan".

Since Stitches was first encountered (Second? See We've Seen Stitches Before) as a gory mess, it could be that the closet he was in was not a regeneration closet and that he was near death and crazy, just as Red was. He and Red seem to follow the same timeline, and given that Stitches was encountered (mostly) okay the second (third?) time, they may also follow the same plotline as well.

====Murder Theories====
=====Red Killed Himself To Stay In Control=====
'''CANON'''

Red wants to be in control, and even if it is the illusion of control.  He tells himself that he is not trapped, yet he appears to be in the same situation as Ruby and Tom.  He refuses to answer questions, and even helps Ruby in some instances to either help or to further convince himself he is in control.  In order to preserve that desire to be in control, he kills himself, going out on his own terms with a smile on his face.  Perhaps Ruby and Tom's presence and desire to find out why they are not in control compounds the fact that he does not have a role in deciding his future, so he kills himself.

The theory is supported by Weaver's description of Red's feelings on the matter:
  <TG_Weaver> You know, from Red's point of view, he won. He never got caught. He never got beaten. 
 He never gave up. And he exited on his own terms. And most of all, he died with a smile on his face.

In addition, his death caused Ace to pay him a visit, just as a bomb Red made went off. It is quite clear Red had this all planned out from the get go.

===Theories Concerning "Stitches"===
====Stitches is Useless/Stitches is a Red Herring====
<strike>VIABLE</strike> '''UNLIKELY:''' He certainly appears to be a recurring character.

When stitches was revealed from behind the tarp, there was a fish painted in blood next to him. Blood is red, a herring is a fish. "Red herring" is a phrase that means "misleading clue." Google that shit, nigga. This could merely have been a visual pun or it could have been a suggestion to regard Stitches as a distraction. When Weaver was directly questioned about the connection between Stitches and this possibility, he did not deign to answer.

Additionally: The poem "The Metal Glen," part 5 lines 3 and 4:

 The bear cried "This is just our lot,"
 And surrendered to his pain.

"The Metal Glen" Part 6 line 6:

 The bear knotted up himself and died

When Ruby encountered Stitches after Red's bomb exploded, it was apparent that he had Bear ears. 

'''Courses of action suggested by this theory: Do not rely on Stitches for anything. If he turns out to be helpful in some way, fine; but do not bank on it and do not turn Ruby's or Tom's back on him.'''

====Stitches was a Hallucination====
<strike>VIABLE</strike> '''PLAUSIBLE''': Even if he is indeed a hallucination, he's a persistent one.

Several of the events surrounding Stitches don't seem to comport with reality as it's experienced afterward. (the white out, etc.) However, we did receive an item from Stitches - the cross peg - which makes him being completely unreal a bit unlikely.

====Stitches is Benevolent====
<strike>CANON</strike> '''UNLIKELY'''

It seems that Stitches was prevented somehow from communicating with Ruby. He did supply her with an item, or at least show it to her.

When we confronted the half-transformed Stitches, he knew he was losing control, and did what he could to get away from us before he could harm us. He clearly means no ill will towards Ruby, but likely has little control over the matter.

AGAINST:
Stitches appears to have little control over his actions, and is clearly still unpredictable and violent. Also, Weaver commented on this very entry:

 Jan 16 07:13:20 <TG_Weaver> 5) Stitches has been confirmed to be benevolent.
 Jan 16 07:13:22 <TG_Weaver> This, not so much

'''Courses of action suggested by this theory: Do not expect Stitches to be hostile while he's lucid. As long as he is not being manipulated, he can be considered <strike>trustworthy</strike> not murderous to the extent that his condition allows.'''

====We've Seen Stitches Before====
'''LIKELY'''

We know we have seen Stitches before his appearance under the tarp, that much is confirmed by Weaver. This theory as to where we saw Stitches has not been confirmed yet.

Weaver told us we'd seen Stitches before. But, where? After some looking, it was concluded the only possible place was the first time we entered the back room behind the Z-Hatch. There was a face peering at us from behind the window, and when we looked, it was gone. This face could not have been the Hound Zombie, because the Hound's ears hung very low, and we saw no such ears on this figure - just like with Stitches.

Moments later, we see a shadow in the back - presumably the Hound Zombie descending upon and eviscerating poor Stitches. Having been sufficiently mutilated, he was left for dead. The next time we see that room, the window is mirrored.

As to how Stitches got on the wall afterwards, there is no evidence, but it is possible Red put him up there later while Ruby was passed out. If he did, he is probably also the one who dragged Ruby on to the Do Not Open box.

However, it is similarly disputed that the black shadow, though it seems to have a triangle meaning an ear, is actually the back of Ace's head. There is little proof other than the shadow itself. Perhaps Stitches had recently been eviscerated, and Ace was coming to clean up the mess.

Now, however, it seems that he was sufficiently eviscerated by those fans, so mauling by the hound zombie seems unlikely. Unless he's just a pity character getting ripped apart over and over...

====Red Attacked Stitches====
'''VIABLE'''

If we witnessed Stitches through the window from the Back Room, (where the gas and the pneumatic tube were) we also witnessed another figure through the window before the view was blocked by a mirror. It has been hypothesized that this could have been Red, who proceeded to attack stitches and affix him to the wall. This could be a possible explanation for Red's maniacal laughter after Stitches was revealed from behind the tarp. Although it may have taken a lot of work, Red would have had three entire days to torture and/or string up Stitches, and cover him with the tarp while Ruby was out of it.

This theory is made more likely by the fact Red attacked Ruby, showing he clearly does have aggressive tendencies.

===Theories Concerning "Ace"===
====Ace is Hostile====
'''LIKELY'''

He chased us through the facility with a weapon. It's still possible he may not have wanted to do any serious harm either Ruby or Tom, but that's only a distant possibility.

It was hinted by Weaver in the chat that he doubted hugging Ace would be a good idea. <citation here> Ruby also has an 'unfriendly feeling' towards him, and he is the one who locked her in the initial locker, according to Ruby's memories. All in all, we don't trust him.

However, this does not mean that Ace intends permanent harm. He may believe himself to be acting in the best interests of the facility, and even in the patients' best interests.

===Theories Concerning "F"===
==== "F" is in charge ====
'''PLAUSIBLE'''

"F" seems to be the director of the project answering only to "the board," presumably of the company that is funding whatever project the facility is being used for.

==== "F" is a bird ====
'''DEBUNKED'''

<s>Continuing the trend of character names coming from Animal Crossing, "F" may be short for Franklin, the name of a bird from AC. Evidence for multiple bird characters comes from The Metal Glen poem, which speaks of "birds" in the plural.</s>

He's... well, not a bird, so...

===Theories Concerning #6===
====#6 Is A Shapeshifter====
<strike>VIABLE</strike> <strike>DEBUNKED</strike> '''PLAUSIBLE?'''

 Jan 16 07:13:38 <TG_Weaver> 7) #6 might be a shapeshifter.
 Jan 16 07:13:40 <TG_Weaver> This... uh

==Debunked theories==
===Gas is a Mutagen===
<strike>PLAUSIBLE</strike> '''DEBUNKED'''

The gas is the reason for the mutations. Ruby, the Hound, and the Bear (and possibly Red) are known to be infected, and all of them were either next to the Back Room (Bear and Hound), were in the back room when we activated the gas (Ruby), or are commonly assumed to have been everywhere (Red). Tom is not infected at the moment because he has never been near the gas. Ruby is growing her eye where it is because the gas entered through the claw wound.

Alternatively, going by the [[Ruby_Quest_Theories#Tom_Gouged_Out_His_Own_Eye|Eye Gouge]] theory, the gas went through our pneumatic pipe and up to Tom. It likely infected him when he opened it to get the antidote, and got in his eye. This would be why he gouged it out after the antidote was received, instead of earlier.

DEBUNKED: Ruby's condition has apparently been around since birth, and we are in an experimental medical facility. Therefore, its quite likely everyone who is mutated is either like that because of their condition, or because of the experimental cures. The gas is a defense system, so it is very unlikely to be an attempt at treatment or anything like that.

===Tom Clones===
[[Image:Tom clones.png|thumb|right]]
<strike>PLAUSIBLE</strike> '''DEBUNKED'''

The Tom we see now is not the same Tom we saw back then.

Made after part 3, the theory went that the original Tom died from arsenic poisoning. The Tom we met after our dream was a new Tom. The evidence for this includes: Tom vanishing, Tom appearing somewhere no one had access to, Tom reappearing suddenly right where we left him. I would go into more detail, but Tom's story has mostly checked out. The discrepancies don't lead us to think he is someone else entirely... but there are still problems with his story.

===Red didn't kill himself at all===
<strike>PLAUSIBLE</strike> '''DEBUNKED'''

The picture with the dead Red doesn't have a blood trail between the wall Red wrote on and the place he is lying dead, while he'd need a lake of blood to write all that he's written. Also, suicide by passing several spikes through your head can be quite difficult to perform.

The theory has been officially proved wrong since Weaver said the trail is absent for simplicity of drawing.

===Red was Murdered===
<strike>PLAUSIBLE</strike> '''DEBUNKED'''

It must be pretty hard to drive a pair of wooden spikes through your head, draw some words on the wall, then walk back to the middle of the room and pose for us. Something out there could have killed Red.

The only real hole in this theory is WHAT is written on the wall - NEVER CATCH ME NEVERNEVERNEVER fits Red's personality perfectly, so the killer either knew him very well, or it really was a suicide.

DEBUNKED: He definitely committed suicide to lure out Ace. His bomb and letter confirm that he wanted Ace there, and his suicide was the way to lure Ace out of hiding.

===Stitches is /tg/===
<strike>PLAUSIBLE, but UNLIKELY</strike> '''DEBUNKED'''

Stitches could be an in-game manifestation of /tg/. He seemed to want to communicate with Ruby, he showed her an item, and he was "stitched together" like some kind of Frankenstein's monster. This could be symbolic of the nature of /tg/, which is also a mosaic of personalities and minds. He also seemed to be bound or hindered somehow and was surrounded by what looked like images and text. This could be symbolic of how /tg/ has trouble making decisions and taking action because of its inability to reach consensus. 

Weaver said that we'd seen Stitches before <citation here> and may well have been talking about /tg/, but this theory loses water considering that we may have seen him from the gas room while searching for Tom's antidote.

'''DEBUNKED:''' Stitches seems to be a regularly-occurring character, like everyone else in the facility. He appears on Weaver's cast lineup and has been shown to be semi-lucid at least once.

==== "F" is a dead or missing staff member ====
<s>PLAUSIBLE</s> '''DEBUNKED'''

"F"'s arm was found and used on the hand scanner. Even if he is still alive, he appears to have fallen in to some trouble. <s>Other body parts we have found may have belonged to him as well.</s>

'''DEBUNKED:''' Now that we've seen him, we know that he's alive, well, and paranoid, and he cut off his own hand to stave off the infection.