Spoilers ahead
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The Well is located at Junction R2 in the Deep Zone and is described by Tobias in The Reports as:
"A hotspot of ultra-high energy gamma radiation. Its eruptions were spontaneous, and ultimately, ARDA made no conclusion about what caused it, when it would blow, or how destructive it would be."
The outputs of gamma radiation from the Well have an equal and opposite waveform to that of the Remnants.[1]
The Well is also a portal that contains within it imprints of past happenings within the Zone.
It is a required location in the mission The End Of The Road.
History
Discovery and Research
During the operation of LIM research and development, ARDA discovered a hotspot of ultra-high energy gamma radiation that was a seemingly bottomless Well of energy. Its eruptions were spontaneous and no conclusion was made about what caused them, when it would blow, or how destructive it would be.[2]
With the intention of controlling the Well, ARDA brought in Dr. James Cay and Dr. Allen Turner to research activation and containment. Through their research they discovered a way to reliably trigger the Well[2] through the creation and use of Remnants. [3]
The Mass Hallucination Event Of 1961
On September 14th 1961 at 4:00AM,[4] the Well output an ever growing gamma-ray surge after a tungsten cube remnant was sucked into it. The surge only plateaued and then collapsed in on itself after Dr. Allen Turner flipped the radiation polarity.[5]
The gamma-ray surge irradiated everything within a 10-mile radius and caused objects with the right characteristics to absorb that energy and become the Remnants found by people out in the Zone[3] from 1964[6] until the last Remnant sighting in 1978.[7]
The surge also caused hallucinations in anyone awake within the 10-mile radius for 30 seconds. This event become known as the Mass Hallucination event.[4]
The Mass Hallucination Event Of 1998
The Well outputs another hallucination wave after the Driver drives the car into Collossal Cappy's core though it only lasts 3 seconds this time.[8]
Geography
When first entering the Well, the Driver is met by five separate twisting corridors made of high walls of televisions. Each corridor segment is broken up by a large chasm between them and each has different flooring, decoration, colored lighting and television display.
The first segment has blue lighting, shattered white mosaic tiled flooring and various scattered control panels and other items commonly found in ARDA observation towers. The television display has a gridded background with circle overlay in black and white.
The second segment has light purple lighting, shattered large white tile flooring and various scattered chalkboards and crates. The television display has a circular design with an ARDA logo over a green electronic screen colored background.
The third segment has warm lighting, wooden floorboard flooring and various storage containers scattered throughout the area. The television display has the same circular ARDA design as the previous segment however has colors in it and the word "AW".
The fourth segment has green lighting and ARDA logo patterned flooring. The television display is SMPTE bars with the ARDA logo and text over the top in white text.
The fifth segment begins with warm lighting that transitions to red lighting with shattered concrete flooring and warning signs scattered throughout the area. The television display is static with "WARNING, proceed to nearest evacuation point." and the ARDA logo on top in white text.
After exiting the corridors, the geography of the inside of the Well is a straight chasm enclosed by high walls of rock formations. Close to the exit of the corridors is a floating rock with a house atop it. Within the chasm are numerous Anomalies.
References
- ↑ The Key transmission.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Document #1 Data transmission.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Document #2 Data transmission.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Mass Hallucination transmission.
- ↑ Document #4 Data transmission.
- ↑ The Remnants, Part 1 transmission.
- ↑ The Remnants, Part 2 transmission.
- ↑ Holy Moly transmission.