You wouldn't expect a game filled to the brim with serious messages about firearm manipulation and about combating a mysterious malevolent force that can send killdrones after you to have heartwarming moments. But when you use your Mindtech to look deeper into the messages it's trying to teach, you will find something much greater.
Unmarked spoilers ahead.
- The Threat Echo tapes contain the last words of people who were about to kill themselves, and these are all massive Tearjerkers. However, if you survive the Threat's attempt to kill you while listening to one, you'll see that the people in the tapes didn't actually commit suicide. You'll receive a subsequent Threat Recovery tape that explains the rest of the story, about how the people managed to survive and turn their lives around for the better.
- The Receivers are pretty much the inversion of a Suicide Pact. They, as a group, really do care a lot about helping people out of difficult situations, and have turned around the lives of people who were nearly Driven to Suicide. They also make strong efforts to teach initiates to help others who are in such a situation as well.
- One of the tapes talks about how people who are suicidal typically don't ask friends and family for help, because they're saving that for when they really need it, without realizing that they already do. The Tape Receiver then explains that You Are Better Than You Think You Are and that if you're feeling suicidal, you should ask for help.
- The Receivers cry foul at Suicide as Comedy, and explain to you that if someone makes a joke about hurting/killing themselves, it could be a cry for help. The tape explains that you should take it seriously, reach out to the person, and help them.
- Several of the lessons that the Receivers preach are all about trying to be an All-Loving Hero, and taking active steps to shape your life and those of others in a positive and healthy way."To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way they are."
"You can't love someone else unless you love yourself first."
"You gain nothing by making others feel jealous of what you have."
"Remember to take all things in moderation (even Receiver training)."
"Hate is drinking poison and expecting your enemy to die."
"The only thing evil can't stand is forgiveness." - Within the finished Compound, the Receivers have no targets shaped like humans, only ones shaped like circles or killdrones. Receivers seek to help people save themselves and others — in an environment where there's no reason to dull anyone's aversion to killing their own kind.
