Theory history: Submitted 2009-02-10, Doubtful 2009-05-11, Debunked 2011-02-05
Organic Acid ProblemThe submachine is created as an admission test for an university in the future.
The submachine itself is a simulation that somehow erases your memory, so u dont know who u are anymore. However, ur knowledge and brainpower(IQ) is kept so they can test it in order to see how smart u are.
The administrators also left hints (Mur) to help u get through some of the puzzles and this test.
Probably at the end if u die in the submachine someone will unplug u from the simulation and u will still be alive in reality, even though u failed the test.
At the end those who will get out of the submachine and understood it will succeed and be admitted into that school.
This idea came to me when i thought of the chemical component in sub4 ( naphthalene (also known as naphthalin, naphthaline, tar camphor, white tar, albocarbon, or antimite), soap (CH3-(CH2)n - COONa) and the iron(III)oxide (also known as ferric oxide, hematite, red iron oxide, synthetic maghemite, colcothar, or rust. Its chemical name is Fe2O3)which form the acidic oxide (aka acidic anhydrite, which reacts with water to form an acid) and also in Sub5 with the bathtub(C6H8O7+H2O, aka citric acid, a weak acid found in citrus, limes and lemons), those things are here to test ur chemistry knowledge.
Also the teleporters probably exist already in the future. As for the wisdom gems, well, knowledge is power, probably this is the message of the test
I kinda doubt that the we are in the scenes that we see, since some movements are almost impossible to achieve, leaving the possibility of a 2D simulation.
Another theory related to this one is that probably you are already admitted into that university and submachine is sorta like a NVQ so that u can apply for the job of cryptography.
Theory history: Submitted 2009-02-10, Likely 2009-05-10, Still alive 2011-02-07, Debunked 2016-01-13
Player-is-Liz TheoryAn organic acid is weaker than a strong acid (like the sulfuric acid), but this does not mean that it is less corrosive, it means simply that it releases less hydrogen atoms when mixed with water, which means a high concentration of citric acid can dissolve a metal box. Plus the metal used to wrap the wisdom gem could be a "weak metal" such as the alkaline earth metal group. And also maybe the wisdom gem, in order to free itself from the box, it generates a small dose of radiation to make the metal unstable, since we all agreed that the wisdom gem is intelligent on its own, which means it has an AI, right? :D Finally this also shows the applicant that in an impossible situation (how am I gonna open this box?), you have to try insane stuff like dissolving it into an organic weak acid and maybe it's gonna work. In the submachine it worked so it just thought the lesson to the applicant, which is to think extravagantly.
Theory history: Submitted 2009-03-15, Still alive 2009-05-11, Debunked 2009-12-12
You are Liz, a friend of Mur's whom he corresponding with while he was in the lighthouse regarding the seemingly magical powers of his karma arm.