"WE WANTED A CURE FOR MORTALITY" ― Note from SOURCE
SOURCE is another game related to the Mental Assistance Department, containing one of the memory cubes needed in it. SOURCE is the source of the Mind Walkers, the creatures that were being used to find the cure for mortality, but resulted in the deaths of many patients and takeover of the world.
Overview[]
SOURCE is a game created by Enrique_Graves, which can be accessed through the Mental Assistance Department, a game which he is associated with. Many codes and fake walls are used in the game that the players will have to find in order to progress through the place. In addition to being the original location of the Mindwalkers, SOURCE is one of the three places where they have officially settled, the other two being Castaway and Jalcrl Nwm. After noticing the sudden behavior change of Ipiprix after his return to the mountains, Enrique_Graves, one of the doctors, will steal his car and will go to this place he considers as the source of this madness, in order to find out what happened to Ipiprix. The doctors were in search of immortality and the Mind_Walkers were what they thought could be the cure. This did not turn out as planned, as they would try to take over the world.
Walkthrough[]
The player spawns in a closed-off area, near a road. If the player completed the game REJECTION and got Bart’s Memory Cube, they will have the same flashlight (F to turn on/off) that in the maze of the department. On one side of the road is a tent containing a bedroll and a laptop which displays the letters M.A.D. On the other side, Ipiprix's crashed car, a rock, and a red pad displaying a text box can be found. The player has to type "Mountains of Madness" in order to be teleported to the next area and continue throughout the game. Two hints concerning this code are given in games: The first is found on the note left by Enrique_Graves, located before the teleporter to SOURCE, if the player previously played the Mental Assistance Department and went to the end of the maze. The second, which can as well be considered as an Easter egg, is an octal code located behind the rock, which once translated gives “LovecraftFeb1936”. This name is actually a user, which alludes to Lovecraft’s novella "At the Mountains of Madness” whose first installment was published in February 1936. Once the code is entered, the player will be teleported to an area as dark as the spawn, but larger, surrounded by mountains, rocky cliffs, and where rock layers are all over the ground. In the center of the place are a kind of promontory with torches and a massive block in the middle, and a structure climbable with a huge red beam coming out of the top. On the ground of each side of the platform are written letters indicating the four Cardinal directions. Many MindWalkers can be seen in the distance, but they will disappear if the player goes near them.
In order to progress further, the player will have to find four masks, hidden all over the place by invisible walls or ground.
The first mask is near the spawn, in the North. It is located behind an invisible part in the right corner of the back wall. Inside, the clickable mask is found with the text "One" written above it, along with a note on the ground reading: "IT ALL STARTED SO SIMPLY".
The second mask is at the West side, behind an invisible part toward the middle-right of the back wall. The mask that the player has to click on has the text "Two". A note reading "WE WANTED A CURE FOR MORTALITY" is found on the ground.
The third mask is located at the South side, toward the right, under an invisible part in the ground of the third rock layer from the back wall. Above the mask is written "Three", and another note is found on the ground, reading: "BUT AFTER HIS VISIT TO THESE MOUNTAINS...". The small area can be exited with the truss next to the wall.
The fourth mask is at the East side, located behind an invisible wall toward the middle-right of the first rock layer from the back wall. The text above it reads "Four", and the note on the ground reads: "I DON'T THINK HIS IMMORTALITY IS FOR US".
Once the four masks clicked, the massive block at the center of the map would go down, turning out to be an elevator to some kind of cave or underground facility. The player has 190 seconds, or 3min10, until the elevator goes back up, closing the entrance. If the player exceeds this time limit, they will have to find the four masks again to reactivate it. While going down, the player will see some openings where several red lights that look like mindwalker eyes can be seen in the distance. After the elevator has reached the bottom, the player will access the last area of the game. The ground is made of rocky layers, surrounded by chasms. On the side of the perimeter, down the rocky layers, are attached cylindrical objects with red lights on top. The same objects can be seen later in Jalcrl Nwm. In the back of the cave is a massive mindwalker with an equally massive Crimson Catseye on top. At the end of the area, the player will find a decapitated Graves, who was killed by the huge Mindwalker. A blue cube sits next to Graves’ body: Grave's memory cube. Once touched, the player earns the badge "Memory Cube" and a message appears, reading: "You have found a Memory Cube. Collect all 4 cubes to understand everything, and to put an end to this madness. "You don't know what these creatures are, but you better leave before you end up like Doctor Graves."”
The player is then teleported back to the department.
Once the player has discovered a specific place after beating Jalcrl Nwm, a portal will appear somewhere in the spawn area of SOURCE. Going through it will take the player to another place, where they will be able to learn more about Grave's backstory and another character related to him.
History[]
SOURCE was created on 7/11/2018, and was last updated on 7/24/2021. In the spawn of the former version, there was a sign left by Graves reading: “STATE IT IF YOU DARE / HAPPINESS HAS ITS OWN SOURCE/THROUGH FEW DARE TO LOOK.” The player had to type “Mountains of Madness” in chat in order to be teleported to the actual SOURCE.
Trivia[]
- A secret is accessible through the last area of the game. It is part of a series of secrets present in each M.A.D game, which the player usually has clues about after discovering a specific place.
- A map of the area with the masks locations can be found in a part of the game “You Look Happy”.
- The creator of the MAD series makes many references to Lovecraft in his games, as the fantasy/sci-fi series has been a huge inspiration to create the myth. The name and the place the player goes through in SOURCE are directly inspired from the lovecraftian novella “At the Mountains of Madness”, first published in 1936.
- Before the revamp that happened in the other games as well, the player had a lantern in the inventory, which was the only means to light the way through the place.
Theories[]
- The Tower of the Liars is a deployable base sent from SOURCE
- The Tower of the Liars, found in Castaway, used to transport Mind Walkers to the middle of the ocean in order to make a base to experiment on the environment and living beings around it.
- It is said that the “Tower came from the sky”: This description is reminiscent of an alien ship of some sort, and shows that the tower hasn’t always been here, but only came at some point. SOURCE being the place that the Mindwalkers originated from in game, the Tower certainly comes from it too.
- The Tower of the Liars is the original Mindwalker’s mothership
- It is said that the “Tower came from the sky”: This description being reminiscent of a kind of alien spaceship could indicate the real origin of Mindwalkers. Though this isn’t mentioned clearly, the Mindwalkers would have most likely had an alien origin, and came to Earth from this mothership before setting up at SOURCE. It would explain as well the way the Mindwalkers travelled from place to place on Earth.
Gallery[]
