Shifter Energy Nodes (SENs) were a technology created by the Ripple Effect Corporation in order to power a Polyhedron Reality Shifter. Nodes were shaped like common polyhedrons: active nodes floated above the ground and spun in mid-air, contained a glowing, multicolored energy. Once the energy was absorbed into the PRS, the dead casing would drop to the ground.
For some reason, each reality seemed to have its own polyhedral shape for its SENs.
Shapes[]
| Reality | Shape | Patch | Pop-Up | Visible SEN | Described |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poison Pill | tetrahedron | Y | -- | -- | -- |
| Night Springs Park | octahedron | Y | Y | Y | -- |
| Oceanview Hotel | icosahedron | Y | Y | Y | -- |
| REC | sphere? | Y | -- | -- | -- |
| Side-Scrolling | cube | -- | Y | Y | -- |
| Door's Desert | dodecahedron | Y | Y | Y | -- |
| Logos | pentagonal trapezohedron | -- | -- | -- | Y |
Background Information[]
- During Alan Wake 2, in Return 1: Invitation, Saga Anderson can find a notepad in the woods near Cauldron Lake, on top of a "UFOs and U" book. From context, it seems to be Sheriff Tim Breaker, who can't see any objects in the sky, but if he blinks repeatedly he can see the afterimage of an Octahedron. This matches with the location of the Octahedron SEN found in Night Springs Park, suggesting Breaker may be remembering something a variant of him previously witnessed, or is seeing through dimensional walls, also lending credence to Expansion 1: Night Springs depicting "real" events in some manner.
- Shifter Energy Nodes may be a reference to the Chronon Field Regulator (CFR) from Quantum Break, which was an icosahedron. They also behave in a similar fashion to free-floating Chronon Sources.
- While in context, the "shifter" in Shifter Energy Node likely refers to the Polyhedron Reality Shifter, it may be a nod to QB's Shifters.
- Arriving in each reality flashes a 2D drawing on-screen of that reality's polyhedral shape as seen from above. In cases where neither this flashing nor the SEN is seen, the shape is also shown as a jacket patch on The Actor's right arm.
- Of the seven shapes shown or suggested, five of them are Platonic solids; the exceptions are the sphere and the pentagonal trapezohedron. Ignoring the presumed sphere, the rest are the same shapes used as dice in various tabletop roleplaying games, explaining the presence of the pentagonal trapezohedron among the other Platonic solids.
Tim Breaker's whiteboard in Alan Wake 2, discussing visions of polyhedrons, and the possibility that he's just dreaming of RPG dice.
Gallery[]
