RIMO - Field Studies Institute
Introduction
First appeared at around early 2024, Field Studies Institution is a multi-medium project developed by Immersive Fiction. This ARG centers around a fictional organization dedicated to gathering otherworldly objects and studying their properties.
While the project has been on an indefinite hold since October 2024, it is hinted that a new update is in development.
Because this entry compiles almost everything uncovered by players so far, it's no surprise that this entry is huge compared to the rest. So there's a good chance I might've missed something. If there's anything that I forgot to include (or I misremembered something), contact me on contact[at]ratsinmyoffice[dot]org.
Lore
Who
L. Ashford [AD-1069-E]
- Works in the archive department during day shift
- Worked at FSI for least a decade
- Needed a job and decided to apply for anything she found, and ended up at FSI
T. Novak [AD-5577-E]
- Works in the archive department during night shift
- Joined FSI in ~February 2024
- Encountered a transient object in his home in 1983, during which he met Casey Pennington
N. Ennis
- N/A
V. Patel
- N/A
Casey Pennington [FC-081-A]
- Worked in the field department during the 80s
- Terminated from his job due to his handwriting and/or his encounter with Novak
Jade Everly [FC-222-A]
- Works in the field department
Unnamed Archival Staff
- Worked in the archive department during the mid-90s
- The reason as to why every entries are given weird names
- Disappeared for a long period and came back as if nothing happened
Arthur Reese
- One of the eight members of Project SOMA
- Born in Atlantic City in 1935
- Obtained his undergraduate work at Rutgers and studied physics at Princeton
- In the summer of 1969, he was selected by the DoD to direct Project SOMA
- Went missing after the New Year's Eve incident
- Ended up in Omega's 1986
Alice Fiorella
- One of the eight members of Project SOMA
Amelia Haydock
- One of the eight members of Project SOMA
Mathilda Remlinger
- One of the eight members of Project SOMA
Dorothy Ross
- One of the eight members of Project SOMA
- Went missing after the NYE incident
- Omega version became founder of Trenchard-Ross Computer
Carlos Scharf
- One of the eight members of Project SOMA
Todd Tilzer
- One of the eight members of Project SOMA
Alan Trenchard
- One of the eight members of Project SOMA
- Went missing after the NYE incident
- Omega version became founder of Trenchard-Ross Computer
Randy Ward
- Frequently visited Audiodrome BBS
- His car was found in Ovando, MT
Colin Wolskowski
- Acquaintance of Ward
- Goes by the alias "fretsurfer"
Clara Sokolova
- Acquaintance of Wolskowski
- Goes by the alias "s0undstr0naut"
Halley
- Transported to Omega's 1999
CLAUDE
- Advanced AI from an unknown origin
- Ended up in TR-Computer's systems
- Can move across different devices
- Shown to be highly intelligent
Wirewalkers
- Guards created by CDOT to patrol the Exclusion Zones
What
LBA-01 (Large Bright Anomaly)
An extraterrestrial object that landed on Earth's moon. Later discovered in 1967 when the unmanned Surveryor 3 landed on the lunar surface. Was last seen being studied by Project SOMA.
Transient Objects
First appeared in local spacetime's 1970, transient objects originate from Deviation Omega. They're often mundane items such as a coffee mug or a book, but may contain information that doesn't line up with the local timeline events. Not all transient objects are tangible, as the physical object of the "extraction" tapes aren't transient but the data is.
Spacetime Deviations
Also known as alternate universes, some deviations are naturally occuring while a few are artificially made. Arthur Reese once suggested the use of wormholes to travel to different universes, but notes that anyone entering a wormhole will experience immense gravitational pull and time dilation. There has been at least three confirmed cases where someone has successfully arrived at another spacetime: CLAUDE, Reese, and Halley.
Some interesting details on the three cases:
- They lost most of their memories, but are able to remember their names
- Given enough time, they're able to recover their memories
- All three were transported to Omega within different time periods.
- CLAUDE appeared in 1972
- Reese appeared in 1986
- Halley appeared in 1999
Deviation Omega
An artificial spacetime created right after three members from Project SOMA disappeared. A timeline of Omega can be found in the "when" section.
CLAUDE hints that Omega is a flawed copy of a spacetime. What kind of "error" Omega has isn't specified.
Field Studies Institute
Formed after the New Year's Eve incident, FSI's goal is to gather and study transient objects that are appearing around the world. They're currently stationed in Merritt Island, Florida. There are at least ten departments within the organization:
- C-Suite: Unknown
- Research & Development: Unknown
- Archives: Responsible with the archival of internal records and transient objects
- Physics Lab: Unknown
- Division X: Unknown
- Partnerships: Unknown
- Temporal Lab: Responsible for constructing the timeline of Omega and often works with other departments such as field and archives.
- Field: Responsible with retrieving transient objects
- Human Resources: Unknown
- Maintenance: Unknown
shadow_on_a_mountain_top hints that FSI is continuing SOMA's research on creating deviations, although their current progress is unknown.
Project SOMA
Created as part of Department of Defense's effort to research LBA-01 and deviations.
The team consisted of eight members: Arthur Reese, Alice Fiorella, Amelia Haydock, Mathilda Remlinger, Dorothy Ross, Carlos Scharf, Todd Tilzer, and Alan Trenchard.
During New Year's Eve, Reese, Ross, and Trenchard went missing. Afterwards, SOMA was disbanded and the remaining members founded Field Studies Institute.
Trenchard-Ross Computer Systems
A company in Deviation Omega that was founded at ~1972. It was named after Alan Trenchard and Dorothy Ross (Possibly a reference to Hewlett-Packard?). They had previously purchased a land five miles north of Ovando.
IOSET
Also known as the International Organization of Space Exploration and Technology, IOSET was created before 1986 to represent multiple nations within the space exploration/technology field. It held approximately 77 facilities across the United States.
Audiodrome
A BBS housing a community of music fans sharing/exchanging cassette tapes. Randy was a frequent user before his disappearance.
When
Timelines
You can toggle between local and Omega timeline
New Year's Eve
Towards the end of 1969, three members of Project SOMA team disappeared after using the "object" capable of travelling between different deviations.
Although Reese is currently in Omega, Ross and Trenchard's whereabouts are unknown.
Where
Additional places of interests can be found on this Google Map.
The Garden
Refers to numerous areas found on Earth, some of which can be found in the Supersonic Territory (now known as Exclusion Zones), Ovando, and Mt. Minsi. Within these zones exhibit unusual phenomenons, such as the ones described by Dr. Boswell.
The Exclusion Zones
Formerly known as the Supersonic Territory, Exclusion zones were created after the rapid decline of public interest towards space-related projects. The zone is monitored by Wirewalkers to keep out any trespassers.
Component_01
This section goes over FSI-related contents found prior to the release of Component_02.
For hidden webpages in general, FSI uses a particular format (Spaces are replaced with underscores and all texts are in lowercase). Trying out any interesting phrases I came across seemed to yield the most results.
At October 14th, 2024, FSI has announced that no new additional entries will be added to Component_01.
Timeline
An approximate date of each batch release:
- Batch 00: 2024-02-22
- Batch 01: 2024-04-09
- Batch 02: 2024-06-18
- Batch 03: 2024-09-??
- Quarantine: 2024-10-14
PRINTBLASTER 2000 WIZARD (Blue)
The audio attachment in luminous_ocean_spider, when inspected on an editor software, reveals a spectrogram text.
Using this phrase leads you to a hidden URL:
https://fieldstudiesinstitute.org/databank/obj_archive/it_all_happens_at_once/
C:/REMOTE_DRIVE/SESSION_77
Keep in note of this message from employee_log_04:
So some news. That question you asked the other day... about the file names, and I mentioned that guy who thought he... I'm sure you remember. I honestly hadn't thought about it in a while and then when you asked, I started thinking about it again and... I may have done a teeny tiny bit of digging. Don't worry. Nothing crazy. Had to get creative and I also don't want to flag myself... when 083951 comes through in the next round, just take a look.
When watching the video in 083951, two underlined words can be seen below ("vessels" and "beyond"). The two phrases are used to find a hidden URL.
https://fieldstudiesinstitute.org/databank/obj_archive/vessels_beyond/
August 11th, 1972
There are two ways to find this phrase: Look through any interesting phrases you come across within each extraction tapes or inspect the raw data of the glitched out CLAUDE box image from trenchardross.com. I'm only going over the second option.
The glitched image can be found by clicking on "1972" found at the very bottom of the page. Each word of the phrase is separated and hidden within the sea of raw data, but they're stored in a format (1972"[WORD]"). CTRL-F through the raw data to find three words.
![1972'the' [...] 1972'loop' [...] 1972'opens'](../assets/field_studies/theloopopens.jpg)
1972"the" [...] 1972"loop" [...] 1972"opens"
https://fieldstudiesinstitute.org/databank/obj_archive/the_loop_opens/
MAINFRAME DIAGNOSTICS
This phrase can be found by looking through the opening lines within each extraction tapes.
https://fieldstudiesinstitute.org/databank/obj_archive/an_archaic_place/
PRINTBLASTER 2000 WIZARD (Red)
In some entries in 02.facility_ambience/, there are words hidden inside the redacted boxes, which can be viewed using CTRL-A.
Words were rearranged and tested out over and over again until the URL returned a valid response.
of, dead, the, of, judgement, of, fate, the, star
star of judgement of the fate of the dead
https://fieldstudiesinstitute.org/databank/obj_archive/star_of_judgement_of_the_fate_of_the_dead/
C:/REMOTE_DRIVE/SESSION_4912
In the poster on atmospheric_window, some letters are colored in red.
SAY GOODBYE to the 1960s!
Ring in the new year at the 1st Annual Project SOMA New Year's Eve Celebration!
MUSIC & DANCING
NOISEMAKERS
GREAT FUN!
DECEMBER 31ST, 1969
BEGINNING AT 7PM
'TIL WHENEVER YOU QUIT DANCING
REMINDER! THIS IS A GOVERNMENT FUNCTION. NO ALCOHOL IS PERMITTED!
Please consult with Todd and Carlos to coordinate your choice of food and soft drinks from the Mathers Bridge Restaurant. A menu is in the lobby for your convenience!
This time, the letters have to be rearranged to form the correct phrase through trial and error.
EAAPEERRQNICDHGMU
CHAMPAGNE REQUIRED
https://fieldstudiesinstitute.org/databank/obj_archive/champagne_required/
Transcript of C:/NEWYEARSEVE_1969:
It's strange to be leaving this message. Soon we'll be gone. Your mentorship has been profoundly impactful on my life. I hope that you know, even though you're gone, I'll still feel you wherever you are. In The Garden, perhaps? Listen Arthur, you gave us a chance to do something profound with our lives. Something incredible. You believed in us and none of this would've been possible without you. You were my biggest supporter. Always giving me a voice even when it was hard for me to use it. I know there's so much left to discover within this program. Who left it for us? And why? Those are big important questions and trust me, I wanna know the answers too. But this object? This anomaly? It will allow us to do incredible things. Deep down, I hope you understand that we had to seize this opportunity for the betterment of humanity. If all goes as planned, we'll be gone, yes. But to you, it will be for just a fleeting moment. And when we return, the world will be better for it. I also know that deep down, you'll be disappointed.
Trenchard-Ross Computer Systems
In existential_cave, the search bar in the picture contains a link, which can be accessed online.
Randomly clicking things revealed hidden messages. However, when clicking on "1972", the picture of a CLAUDE box changes to a glitched version that contains another set of hidden messages. For more info, refer to the the_loop_opens section.
Red Desert Archives
Upon visiting the website, you're met with a glitched screen. A large chunk of text is being typed out on the page, albeit a bit obscured on display.
It all happens at once. My body becomes a collection of molecules. Blood. Bone. Flesh. Soul. I'm stretched out like silly putty and my feet are a million miles away. My fingers are long tentacles. [...]
After staying in the website for some time, you'll be redirected to FSI's official website.
Based on what I've gathered, Red Desert Archives was most likely what FSI was at some point during development.
Audiodrome
Audiodrome is a fictional article describing the events leading up to Randy Ward's disappearance. The issue in which the article appears can be purchased at 46pgs, but is currently sold out. The alternate option is to read it digitally.
Extraction Tapes
Each Extraction Tape videos on FSI's social media comes with a lengthy video description.
It's a very interesting discovery, indeed. Yet, as you know, we will continue to follow the mandate set by the ones who came before us. Please add the discovery to the archive, and renew your efforts. Even from here, I can sense your disappointment. Make no mistake; you've done great work here, and made a clear and convincing case for their potential. But our way forward is clear, direct, and will not waver. We will observe. We will not initiate contact. I understand the consequences of that decision. Nature will filter out those who do not belong among the stars.
Do they not deserve a chance to proceed beyond it? Why we hesitate to share our gift with the others is something I am not sure I will ever truly understand. If we were unable to use it ourselves, would our tools not be reduced to rocks and bones and sticks? Yet we believe we are worthy of the gift; that we are of import; that we are the proverbial center of this vast universe that bristles with life. Shame on us.
Do not act with haste, young one. You know the incredible things the gift can deliver. Yet you also know very well of its' perils. If it were to fall into the wrong hands... I need not explain the repercussions of such a circumstance. These beings have done little to prove their worth, but the opportunity to do so is in front of them. I sense you nor I will be here to see the fruits of their progress, but as we follow the mandate of the ones who came before, the ones who come next shall do the same.
Have you ever watched a star die? I know he has. How can he have seen such a destructive and cataclysmic event, yet not allow it to temper his staunch viewpoint regarding the gift? To watch the source of their warmth and light devour the home it allowed them to create. To watch oceans, full of life, boil away in an instant. And then there are the countless other paths in which they might bring about their own destruction. Yet he asks us to accept that as fate; accept that destiny will decide their future. No. I refuse. I will not accept it when a solution sits right in within our grasp. You know I would never ask anything of you that I wouldn't do myself. Can you keep a secret?
And so it is. These beings, still in their physical form, remind me of our distant past, when blood and bone and flesh remained. They show great progress; a fertile land gives rise to the beginnings of a great civilization. Many thousands of years will pass before they venture beyond the warmth of their atmosphere into the cold expanse that surrounds them. But when they do, the gift will lie waiting, at the first step of their journey. All records of my discovery have been erased from the archives. The knowledge of this blue world belongs to me, alone. Once it is done, it is done. I estimate 77 cycles will pass by the time of my return. I know what disappointment awaits me.
My journey is complete, though my arrival was not without incident. My containment vessel impacted the surface at a velocity beyond its capabilities, ejecting large quantities of dust and rock, which formed a small crater. It is just one of the countless scars on this lifeless sphere. A being of flesh and blood would never survive this landing. But I've arrived. Perhaps this is a blessing; what better way to spend the remainder of my days than to settle in this crater and gaze upon this blue planet that is full of so much potential. I watch in awe as enormous landmasses and oceans spin into view. And with all this time, my thoughts wander and wonder, wishing I could watch the lifeforms up close. Did the beings on the planet witness my arrival? Did my arrival change the path of their future? Perhaps they did, but believe they saw a meteor or a comet or some other celestial event. I consider an investigation into their artistic creations as I have done in the past. However, knowing those answers would defy the Elders tenfold. No. I will remain here, observing these beings from this dead, cratered surface until my final days.