Directive 8020: Story and endings, explained

The Cassiopeia set out to Tau Ceti f, a planet 12 light-years away from Earth, with the Andromeda following behind. They arrive at the planet, having crash-landed following a hull breach by an unidentifiable meteor carrying an otherworldly contagion inside.

The contagion—known as the Growth—spread rapidly, taking the form of the esteemed and determined crew. It mimicked their appearance, voice, and copied their history. Once extraterrestrial life has been acknowledged, there are strict rules to follow: Directive 8020.

How does the Growth know so much about the crew? Where is Andromeda? What is Williams hiding? Here's the story of Directive 8020.

WARNING: Major spoilers throughout.

• Directive 8020: Story, explained
  • The Cassiopeia
  • Corinth - Andromeda was never coming
  • The truth
  • The Growth
  • What is Directive 8020?
• All Directive 8020 endings, explained
• Is The Curator in Directive 8020? Obol coin, O Death, and Dark Pictures teaser trailer, explained

Screenshot by Destructoid We follow Carter and Simms to start, the Sleep Technicians of the Cassiopeia. While repairing structural damage, Simms discovers the Growth in the ventilation shafts. She is killed off-screen, her body copied to confuse and dispose of Carter.

The narrative timeskips repeatedly, jumping back and forth across 24 hours. We see the rest of the crew wake, concerned about where the Sleep Technicians were. Eisele investigates Simms, especially given the irrefutable lack of danger both technicians faced when working together. Carter's body is found, already in the early stages of decomposition. This, paired with Young discovering Simms' body, only creates more confusion and paranoia. But the real concern is how they've heard both technicians speak and seen Simms walking around.

Screenshot by Destructoid The crew slowly gathers clues: Carter's last recording warning them that Simms was trying to kill him, the technicians' decomposing corpses, and Growth Williams burning himself to death. The Growth was actively sabotaging the Cassiopeia, causing it to crashland on Tau Ceti f, where it could continue to assimilate, consume, and control what the crew knew. Paranoia festered; they no longer could assume the people around them were real. It didn't help that Williams was acting suspiciously the entire time, showing clear signs that he knew more than he let on, having a direct line to Earth where the others didn't.

Once they finally acknowledged that this foreign life was deadly and hellbent on destroying them, they turned to Directive 8020. Divided, Stafford had to make the call whether to send a distress call or a warning to Andromeda via the Charybdis probe outside. A select few venture out, and Anders gets lost. The Growth impersonates her using another Utility Strap. But how?

Screenshot by Destructoid Finally, the big reveal that was hiding inside the narrative time jumps. When Young sends the message out to the Andromeda, she uncovers old transmissions. Some corrupted, others visible, showing how this isn't the first time the Cassiopeia has landed on Tau Ceti f, nor is it the first time this crew has been on the planet. The big plot twist is that this crew of 10 (Williams included), are clones.

Screenshot by Destructoid Williams, well aware that he's not the original, joined the mission to make sure the others never went off-course. His company, Corinth, had created Cassiopeia in the image of Andromeda, the real ship that would land on Tau Ceti f once it was deemed safe enough. The true mission of Cetus was that Cassiopeia, a vessel meant to carry each cycle, was an experiment to study, understand, and neutralize the Growth. There was no Andromeda behind them as they were led to believe. Though they were the thirteenth voyage of the Cassiopeia, the thirteenth batch of the crew, their survival was on the line. It didn't matter to them that they weren't the original.

The former Science Officer, McNamara, learnt of the cloning program and was removed, replaced by Anders. Cassiopeia underwent a delay, waiting for Young to sign the cloning contract. This was eight years prior to the events of Cycle 13, where the first Cassiopeia landed on Tau Ceti f August, 2065. Cycle 13 launched in 2073.

Screenshot by Destructoid There's a question of ethics surrounding Directive 8020 once the curtain drops. Sacrificing the few for the many is the obvious, rational choice, regardless of any conflicting feelings we may have for the martyrs. In this case, the clones are synthetic, yet they bleed, have memories of their original, and plan to make good on their promises to their loved ones. It's made worse by the behind-the-scenes manipulation by Earth to pull the strings and alter how each cycle handles the Growth. Take Anders, for example, who was specifically hired because of Cooper, and wanted to leverage their relationship to get better results. Yet their reactions to the Growth hardly changed. Yes, they're clones, but they're humans too, forced to suffer on repeat for the good of mankind.

Screenshot by Destructoid With every cycle, the Growth evolves and learns more about the crew invading its territory. It developed communication and consciousness, a hivemind that tricked and camouflaged with the crew. It learnt how to get under their skin (e.g., emulating the citizens Cooper was ordered to abandon in a fire that killed 600), further proof that the crew isn't mere clones. Its motives unknown, yet in thirteen cycles, the Growth had developed technology to fight back and defend their land. This was, of course, the meteor they sent as a projectile into the Cassiopeia at the start of 8020.

This meant that while Corinth believed they were winning the war—sending troops unaware of the enemy's existence until it was too late—the Growth gathered intel with every cycle. Earth was learning, and so was the lifeform.

Screenshot by Destructoid Earth believed they were making progress at the cost of expendable lives that, on paper, shouldn't matter. But in actuality, the crew had thoughts, memories, and feelings that made their suffering real. Uploaded in hypersleep moments before launch, the crew wakes outside of Tau Ceti f as the latest cycle, closely followed by the next, three months away. Just how many cycles would there have to be? When would Earth deem their actions wrong? And are we allowed to leave a dying planet to colonize another that's equally desperate to survive?

Young, wanting to follow her father's footsteps and do the right thing, realizes that the mission is inhumane. She makes a wish that decides whether Earth's survival or keeping our humanity is more important. This determines what she tells Cycle 13 in a message from Earth that drives the crew to escape Tau Ceti f.

• Screenshot by Destructoid
• Screenshot by Destructoid

[/url] [/url] [/url] Directive 8020 was created by Corinth following the 2003 UFO crash in Iraq. This means House of Ashes and 8020 are set in the same universe. Williams' intel shows Eric, Nick, and Jason — the cast of House of Ashes — that the vessel came from Tau Ceti f. Upon discovering the lifeform thanks to Charybdis, Corinth devised a plan to send in a team of clones to subdue it. Any contact with the form would result in quarantine and sacrifice, for the threat of bringing the lifeform back to Earth was too high. This was really a deterrent to ensure the clones stayed on Tau Ceti f for their originals were alive and well on Earth. Their existence was purely to research, serve, and die.

Screenshot by Destructoid The Directive 8020 endings are separated into four scenarios or questions you could ask as the game concludes:

• Does Cycle 13 survive?
• Did Young tell them about the vacant Cassiopeia ship?
• Did the crew return to the Booster Ring?
• Is the cycle broken?

Screenshot by Destructoid If members of the crew survive, the question is, where did they end up? Any impostors on board kill the remainder of the crew. Williams dies from the reactor explosion, and the real Anders surely suffocates in her suit if both get left behind. Or perhaps the Growth came out victorious again, having killed all crew members.

Meanwhile, if Cycle 13 survives (without bringing the Growth with them), their fate is left in the hands of the originals. But we know that no one wants them returning to Earth without completing their mission, as Carter and Simms were terminated in a previous cycle when they returned to cryosleep due to tampered stasis fluid (installed in every cycle to kill any Cassiopeia survivors).

Screenshot by Destructoid If Cycle 13 ends up on the Booster Ring, an SOS beacon is sent out, likely to be received by the next cycle. While it's ambiguous, the survival of the crew waiting for rescue on the Ring is unlikely. Each cycle is three months apart, and we know the originals back on Earth (aside from Young) prioritize the mission's success over their clones' survival.

Screenshot by Destructoid Of course, the best ending is the entire crew making it to the empty Cassiopeia, where what comes next would be determined by the original Eisele, for entering hypersleep would surely kill them. Here is where the ending splits once again. The final moment comes down to Eisele's Destiny: Humanitarian or Scientist? In a way, the story is about making Eisele realize these clones are as human as she is. Eisele will either stop the cycle, or nothing will change, but Young is apprehended for her involvement in Cycle 13, regardless of her wish.

Screenshot by Destructoid While it wasn't obvious in the first playthrough whether The Curator was present in this Dark Pictures installment, there is a secret to unlock in episode eight that brings this enigmatic character back into action.

Just like all interactive horror titles, Directive 8020 wants you to explore every inch of the Cassiopeia; specifically, the ventilation shaft in episode eight at "The Way Back" Turning Point. Use the fuse next to the door you're supposed to go through and backtrack ever so slightly to the vent around the corner. Go through and solve the simple server room puzzle using your Utility Strap. This will give you a Simms recording and the Obol coin, unlocking The Curator. He will now appear in five cutscenes scattered throughout the story, identifiable via the "O Death" Turning Points in the menu.

• Screenshot by Destructoid
• Screenshot by Destructoid

[/url] [/url] [/url] Upon finding all of his appearances, The Curator will offer the teaser trailer for the next Dark Picture.

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