Simon Jarrett, the protagonist of Soma, has a pretty hard time during the course of the game. From what’s already a rough start of waking up on a seemingly abandoned and rundown underwater research station to a whirlwind adventure that descends into the darkest depths both literal and metaphorical.
Over the course of the game, poor Simon has what can only be described as the worst first day on the job known to man, and you can only sympathize with him as things progress. For those yet to experience his part in this Greek Tragedy of a tale, or folks looking for a refresher on how the events of Soma played out, here’s what happened to Simon.
Who Is Simon?
Before diving into the murky waters of the story, it’s worth getting to know our character's backstory with a little exposition dump. Simon Jarrett is a Canadian man living in Toronto who worked at a bookshop called The Grimoire with his friends. It was a humble and happy life in a nice part of town and all was well. That all changed though when the accident happened.
Whilst traveling in a car with his friend and co-worker Ashley, they were hit by a mother of three that ran a red light while distracted by her children. Ashley sadly died at the site of the collision and Simon himself suffered a traumatic brain injury. Because of the accident, not only did he suffer severe brain damage that caused bleeding from his head whenever his brain swelled and pushed the skullcap out of place, he would also pass out if he became too stressed. And so he lived completely isolated and alone, never turning on the TV or radio lest he hears something that would unintentionally agitate him.
Worse yet, he also had his life expectancy extremely reduced to the point where doctors were giving him only a few months to live. Though he would undergo treatments to try and extend this, the outlook was not a positive one.
*Spoiler Warning For Soma's Story*
Simon's Tale
When we first meet Simon, his room is filled with takeout and frozen food to emphasize just how much of a recluse he has become. He’s also about to undergo an experimental brain scan by a Ph.D. student called David Munshi. The scan was part of a research program that was focused on reconstructing brains that were damaged for one reason or another. It supposedly had the potential to benefit millions, and could expand Simons's lifespan from mere months to a couple of decades. With so few options left, he naturally took part.
Unfortunately, the treatment fails and over time Simons's brain began to weaken and deteriorate faster than expected. It would reach a critical condition only a month after the scan, and after a final meeting with Munshi, Simon would ask for his scan to be kept in storage so that it would at least help others in the future. Not long later, Simon passed away.
A Rude Awakening
Cut to 100 years later, and suddenly Simon is awake once more. Confused as to what has happened and how he got on an underwater base 100 years in the future, what follows is a rough encounter with creatures known as Mockingbirds – mutated monstrous constructs – and the discovery of his only ally, Catherine Chun.
The base is called Pathos-II, and is part of a series of corporate-funded research stations scattered around the ocean. Partially run by the UN and multiple conglomerates, Pathos-II was tasked with researching undersea life and new technologies, like the Omega Space Gun; a massive canon that was supposed to revolutionize space launches.
Unfortunately, like every undersea base in a horror setting, something went spectacularly wrong. In the case of Pathos-II and its crew, their resident AI went haywire and used a substance known as Structure Gel to mutate and transmogrify wildlife and the occasional unfortunate crewmate into shambling abominations of pale flesh, electronics, and LEDs. A fate worse than death, but a twisted attempt to preserve all biological life in any way it could.
The Submerged Realm
In his new horrible home, Simon sets off across the various substations of the facility. After an incident involving a room flooding and a confrontation with Catherine Chun, he discovers that he no longer has a human body, but is instead inside a diving suit. Held upright by the body of a now deceased staff member. As it turns, out both Simon and Catherine are in fact the conscious versions of the scans taken of the originals. Whilst Simon is in the suit, Catherine is inside another robot.
Here he learns that the Earth was hit by a comet known as Telos. The subsequent impact, ash clouds, and fallout from the event ruined entire continents, reducing cities to rubble, and sending giant Tsunamis that scoured the globe. All life got brutally wiped out and those that managed to survive in bunkers were cut off by thick clouds of ash and debris. As far as they know, nobody is left alive by this point. Those that remain are merely scanned consciousness of the former crew still under the illusion that they're living breathing people, despite the sad and often sorry state of disrepair some of them are in.
Into The Abyss
From there, things take a turn for the philosophical as the concept of self, death, and consciousness are constantly toyed with in an often heart-wrenching fashion. As it turns out the last remnants of Humanity are brain scans living inside an artificial reality within a device known as the ARK, essentially a big hard drive for human consciousness.
The device was set to be launched into space to leave the ruined planet behind in the hope of finding something out there. No matter how slim a chance it was, it was safer than remaining in a collapsing and rotting base at the bottom of the ocean. But unfortunately, the device remains at site Tau, whilst the launching device is at site Phi. So Simon sets off, besting various mutants and Mockingbirds along the way. Before getting to Tau, he has to swap his consciousness into a Heavy Diving Suit in order to survive the extreme pressures in the deep abyss where the site is located.
The Sad Truth
Heavy Suit found and consciousness transferred, it's at this point Simon discovers the truth behind the scanning process. It's not a transfer, it's a copy, and the original doesn't go anywhere. There are now two Simons, with the one inside the Heavy Diving Suit having to continue their mission, whilst the original is left behind.
It's got some heavy implications for what's to come. Simon descends into the darkness after choosing to either leave or euthanize the original copy of himself. Eventually arriving at site Tau where he finds the ARK being kept safe by the last surviving human Sarah Lindwall, herself being of an advanced age and essentially on her deathbed. After being bequeathed humanity's last hope, Simon sets off for site Phi, encountering the WAU and either leaving it alone or destroying it depending on your choice.
Simon's Fate
Arriving finally at site Phi after one monstrous encounter with a mutant after another, Simon discovers the human remains of Catherine Chun, his one friend this entire time, and who was apparently originally killed by a co-worker whilst trying to launch the ARK. Together they make one final transfer of their consciousness into the device as it's loaded with its precious payload. They joyfully meet within the simulation as the ARK is blasted deep into space, and to a future unknown.
However, it's not as cut-and-dry happy ending as it first may seem. Because the versions of Simon in the Heavy Diving Suit and Catherine in the Omni Tool get left behind. Enraged, Simon berates and argues with Catherine, who in turn gets stressed and causes her Cortex Chip to overload and fritz out, killing her. Panicked and pleading to not be left alone, the second Simon copy's fate is left unknown as the screen fades to black and the credits roll. Perhaps he eventually became like the other Mockingbirds or is still there, alone. Either way, it's a pretty grim end.