Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture’s End Number Code Explained

At the end of Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture lies a perplexing string of numbers. Take a look.

Seems pretty cryptic, but the puzzle is more simple than it first appears.

The numbers follow a simple substitution cipher, a common way to turn a series of letters into a list of numbers. A = 1, B = 2, and so on. Deciphering the code requires but a bit of counting, the most difficult part is differentiating between the single and double digit numbers.

With a bit of letter sorting, the code translates into the following text:

“In the wake of a human being’s death, what survives is a set of afterglows, some brighter and some dimmer, in the collective brains of those dearest to them. There is, in those who remain, a collective corona that still glows – Douglas Hofstadter”

Douglas Hofstadter is a cognitive science professor, and these words come from his book I Am A Strange Loop, a work that theorizes on the metaphysical sense of “I.” In other words, Hofstadter explores how the way in which humans self-perceive and self-reference can illuminate the most intriguing and unique qualities of the human mind.

Perhaps the second biggest mystery in Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is the hidden sprint button, which The Chinese Room explained in a blog post earlier today.

For even more info on Everybody’s Gone to The Rapture, check out a rundown of an AMA from the game’s creative director.