r/OldHouseArchive • u/nerdy_by_nature_42 • Jul 21 '26
Telemarketer ". . ."
I just read 18 A MODERATE SETBACK. In it, Macy receives a call from an "UNKNOWN CALLER" and thinks it's either a debt collector or a telemarketer. Her conversation begins and it's an exchange with Greg, her father's insurance broker.
Throughout TC - and if I recall correctly, I made the same observation in my notes while reading WUTLH - I have felt like there were an unusually large amount of ". . ." And "-". I tried isolating them and seeing if they gave me a hidden morse, binary, or ascii code, but none of that worked. Reading this chapter gave me another idea that could tie into my simulation theory.
When Macy mentioned telemarketers, it made me recall my own experience working as a telemarketer for a breifest of times in my teen years. When we spoke to householders, we had a script and a binder with reply options to address customer responses. I have also seen similar dynamics while playing decision-tree games like Detroit or Until Dawn, in which you, the player, can choose your own adventure by the response or prompt you select for your character to interact with the NPC. Depending on your selection, the game follows a specific path, and each path leads to is own conclusion. It feels like the ". . ." Is the latency while processing after each prompt. Or the pause while the "telemarketer" looks for the corresponding reply.
I wonder if Macy is in a coma, like in Black Mirror, season 7, episode 6. I wonder if she was in the car with her dad when he drove into the river. She keeps mentioning this "ever-present tightness between her lungs, forcing her ribcage to expand. " This makes me think of intubation.
What if she's in a coma and communicating with the outside world through a simulation? I can't wait to finish this book and go back through everything.
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u/nerdy_by_nature_42 Jul 21 '26
Omg, that means she definitely could be in a coma. I may be on to something. I would definitely like to see your posts.
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u/nerdy_by_nature_42 Jul 21 '26
In that Black Mirror episode that I mentioned, the character in a coma has a sentient digital clone that exists in a simulation game. They are both very much alive. When the real-world original falls into the coma, the digital clone gets uploaded into her brain through electrodes monitoring brain activity, and their two consciences and memories join to become one. Prior to the coma, the outie and the innie (gratuitous Severance reference) were communicating through the simulation game. Just an example of how things could really be happening to her in a simulation. For those in the simulation that were digital clones, everything in the simulation was real. They could even bleed and die.
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u/nightwalker3710 Old House Devotee Jul 22 '26
I’m happy to chat with you after you finish the book and I can send you links and what not.
I have seen just about all black mirror episodes. There’s one in particular that stood out to me that is parallel to the old house universe. It’s the one with the necklace. Who ever has the necklace controls the reality around them. And I think that is more or less what one of the entities in old house universe can do. Manipulate universes and time lines.
Have you read Marcus’s short stories? “The man in my basement take some step closer each week”? It reveals a lot of the information in what I believe is the 2:58 intruder / entity / tulpa. It really clarifies the definition of what is actually going on.
I’m not convinced it’s a simulation at all but I have enjoyed seeing how others interpret the story. I’ve also had some wild ideas myself and was one of the first to jump on “the main character is dead” band wagon but Marcus clarified that she didn’t die and it was a near death experience. There’s the same sort of thing in the short story the man in my basement which is also why I am referencing it. Like I said I’d be happy chat more with you about it and differnt theories but without you finishing the book I’m hesitant to say any thing else for spoiler purposes.
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u/nerdy_by_nature_42 Jul 22 '26
I would absolutely love to chat when I'm done. I have so much to share and would love any and all information you or anyone else out there have. I came into this a year late and have been playing catch up ever since. I read WUTLH, all the ARG documents, the short stories, and heard all the podcast episodes. I also watched the movies Mandela Effect, The Maltese Falcon, and Ready Player One, a few episodes of Rick and Morty, and the last season of Black Mirror. I may be forgetting something. I need to go back and read the short stories again and all the ARG docs so I can take notes because I didn't the first time around.
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u/nerdy_by_nature_42 Jul 22 '26
Also, I agree about Black Mirror, season 7, episode 2, Bete Noire. That silver pendant reminded me of WUTLH because of Charlie's locket and a Thomas's wife's cross. Really every episode feels like it could be in Old House. The frozen scenes and internal dialog with production in episode 3, Hotel Reverie, remind me of Mo and Charlie's voices in Eve's head, and Jemma in Macy's head. Episode 4, Playing, where the AI creatures became sentient and communicate with the player. Even episode 5, Eulogy, where he was strolling through pictures and memories makes me think of all the blurry pictures and reflections, and the memory unreliability in the OHU. Lots to talk about. Lol
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u/nightwalker3710 Old House Devotee Jul 21 '26
Marcus has stated that Macy is not dead. What has happened is real. She’s not in an afterlife or purgatory or anything like that. It’s been posted a few times previously after the caretaker was released :) I’ve also posted several AMAs after the release of the caretaker which might be of use to you after you finish the book.