Headscratchers / Control

Men's and women's restroom signs in The Oldest House.

• A security briefing found early in the game mentions that things that are easily recognized as representative of a concept or archetype are not allowed in The Oldest House. The exact danger of this isn't specifically stated, but it can be presumed that such things are at high risk of becoming Objects of Power or Altered Items. This is seen enforced in multiple facets of the FBC business, such as the vending machines that just have generic product descriptions instead of brand names. So why do they have those placards denoting the men's and women's restrooms? You know, the ones with the representations of a man and woman on them? That's some of the most recognizable iconography in the world. By the logic of the game, wouldn't signs that say "Men" and "Women" pose less danger to FBC personnel?
  • You could just as easily ask about all of the American flags laying around in the Executive office. Or Ahti's having a brand named music player. I have a pet theory that many of the interior furnishings and articles of the FBC are actually supplied by the Oldest House itself, which is creating them from a archetypal templates, and that these particuar objects are not quite subject to the same rules and risks of being altered objects as items such as food brought in by the staff. Think about it, the Beaureau is decorated in brutalist and mid century modern styles, highly iconic of the stereotypical "Gmen" and what Federal Office would be complete without plenty of American flags? There are also the computers that are notably dated, probably circa mid 70s but that I suspect have as much horsepower as is required for the beaureaus work.
    • Ahti's player is all but stated outright to already be an Altered Item, as it's what he gave Jesse to let her navigate the Ashtray Maze.
  • It's not quite the same thing - all of the Objects of Power seen in the game are iconic items that have a universally recognized USE. The restroom signs are not eligible in the sense that people don't USE them for anything themselves, they simply point to another object nearby - if anything were in danger of becoming an OOP it would be a toilet itself (or more likely the Toilet Seat, an incredibly iconic item), the sinks, or the toilet paper rolls.
  • It's not explicitly stated in the game, but Dr. Darling's videos implied to me that items became Objects of Power or Altered Items if they triggered strong emotional reactions. The Fridge item contained the last drawings of a man's dead son, the rubber duckie delighted and then terrified a young girl, the Ramen sign made people hungry and homesick, etc. While seeing a bathroom sign might be a temporary relief if you need to use the toilet, it doesn't bring out that same intense feeling.

Mr. Scratch in the AWE DLC.

• It's never elaborated upon, but the doppleganger Alan faces in the AWE DLC claims to be Thomas Zane... Isn't? Or is he?
  • He looks like Alan, but from his own game we know that Alan looks close enough for the inhabitants of Bright Falls to mistake him for Zane. So, he is Zane?
  • He seems unfriendly to Alan and can only regurgitate the explanation for Zane's film-making backstory from Control. So he is Scratch?
  • He is not voiced by either Mac Cafrey (Zane) or Poretta (Wake), so he is neither?
  • The entire confrontation takes place within the Oceanview Motel. Could he be another fragment of Alan's mind, like Scratch?
  • We may never know for sure, in Night Springs.
  • The implications seem to be the Dark Presence using the background of Thomas Zane to try and manipulate Alan. By presenting what seems to he a friendly face along with a history of another person that Alan does know about but never met personally to get Alan to write as he's been refusing to do. If it can then it could manipulate Alan into letting it loose, but the Dark Presence isnt terribly subtle so even after years of degrading Alans mental state he still isn't falling for it.

Hiss in Dimensional Research

• The Hiss are clearly unfazed by The Ashtray Maze as there are about fifty entities to fight during the Ashtray Maze mission, but one would assume that Dimensional Research lacked them at least through Doctor Darling's construction of the massive HRA protecting the door to the Hedron Chamber. At the end of the Ashtray Maze, the Black Rock slabs that seal the sides of the Firebreak open and close to allow Jesse entry, and one assumes that Polaris' protection negates Hiss following her there. So, how in the world did the Hiss push into the Dimensional Research sector to take advantage of Jesse unsealing the Hedron Chamber anyway?
  • The Watsonian answer is that they've either been throwing so many Hiss into the Ashtray Maze that some of them happened to get out by sheer luck, or that they've been screwing with the architecture of the Oldest House the whole time trying to get access without going through the Maze, and they finally managed to backdoor in only just before Jesse got through.
  • The Doylist answer is that there's a trope for that, for how enemies appear inside previously sealed rooms and past puzzles where they logically shouldn't be able to be without getting past whatever obstacle the player had to for entrance, because in an action game its boring to get into a sealed area with nothing to fight, it wouldn't be an epic climax if you just walked in with nothing to threaten you.
  • Its also possible that Trench gave them access before regaining enough control/being forced by The Board to kill himself. He was the last person attuned to the Ashtray after all and thus dictates who gets access.