If everything you thought and did was observed by a higher power, did you ever truly have control? KARMA: The Dark World has a trippy story that’s surprisingly full of emotional and thought-provoking moments.
Clearly inspired by George Orwell’s 1984, KARMA is set in a dystopian, totalitarian world. Everything you think, feel, and want is orchestrated by the Leviathan Corporation. What was once a land where war tormented its residents daily has since become “peaceful” with pure ignorance and subservience. In an alternate timeline where Germany remains split in half, we follow Daniel McGovern, a Roam Agent, who is ordered to investigate crimes by diving into the minds of the key suspects.
Who’s really in control?
Here is our full rundown of the mind-bending tale—KARMA: The Dark World.
I’m going to refer to the protagonist as “Daniel” throughout as there are multiple versions of this character. I will write Daniel when referring to the real version and the events correlating to his past to reduce confusion.
Warning for spoilers throughout.
KARMA: The Dark World plot, summarized
The trippy story of KARMA: The Dark World sets place across Daniel’s lifetime. Mystery is built up from the start as we’re thrown into the deep end, wondering where we are and how we got here. In true psychological horror fashion, “Daniel” doesn’t remember anything. We’re introduced to the Old Man and discarded vessels of people that came before us. Here, we learn that we must travel into the abyss to learn what happened, unearthing “our” memories from within.
Living through Daniel’s memories, we start to pick apart the incident that erased his sister’s existence from his mind, all in the name of uncovering the ultimate truth through our investigation into Sean Mehndez. Diving into suspects’ minds, we begin to lose ourselves inside them, and realize that perhaps, we’re doing more harm than good. But can we really trust MOTHER?
KARMA: The Dark World story, explained
The prologue
“Daniel” woke on a hospital bed, a single portrait of a forgotten time hints at what’s to come. But who are we? The start of KARMA saw Daniel enter the Cultivation Room where subjects were grown like plants. While this isn’t revealed until much later on, we find out that these subjects are all Daniel, or copies of him. The Old Man (later revealed to be Daniel too) was growing, testing, and terminating subjects based on whether they can restore memories.
We finished calibration and met the Old Man, who sent us to the abyss. He seemed to know who we are, but his memories weren’t intact either. He’s surprised we’ve woken with amnesia. “Daniel” is sent back to 1966, where the Old Man promised they’ll meet again on the other side.
The cassette tapes are key, being the main component to jump from memory to memory. Interesting, “Daniel” alluded at the truth incredibly early on, specifically after he picked up the first tape when he said: “Am I awake? Or…did I never wake up?”
“Daniel” is transported back to his first day at Leviathan Corporation. Mentions of his sister are made here, but through our time as a Roam Agent, we slowly forgot her as our reality was manipulated by MOTHER. Without consent, Daniel was forced to join the Leviathan Corporation in 1968, following his family’s incident. He joined the Thought Bureau in 1972. Daniel immediately started serving MOTHER, becoming its property. He quickly forgot where he came from.
Our story truly begins back in 1976, East Germany, as “Daniel” is tasked to investigate Sean Mehndez, four years after joining the Thought Bureau. “Daniel” found a black substance called Dasein inside a container in Sean’s desk at the Clerical Office, a recent employment for Sean (having only worked their for six months). An apparition of Sean appeared and guided “Daniel” into his memories. But how did we get here?
The history of the Leviathan Corporation
Following the events of WWII, the GOLD RUSH team discovered underground research facilities underneath the Winston Institute in 1949. The facilities were destroyed, including all scientists and equipment. A black substance was uncovered, labeled Dasein. Its potential seemed beyond our comprehension, with high energy properties and entropy reduction capabilities.
Fred Ebert and Professor McGovern (Daniel’s father) launched the MOTHER project in 1953. This project created the Leviathan Technology Company as Dasein was the source for MOTHER’s existence and flourished under the new totalitarian way.
On March 24, 1968, Fred Ebert ordered for the children to be taken and experimented on as Lisa had telekinetic abilities that were stronger than MOTHER, he believed both children needed to be contained. Daniel and Lisa’s parents tried to hide them when Leviathan came, resulting in the mother’s death, and the kidnapping of their children. Lisa tried to save her father, but she killed Leviathan staff and injured Professor McGovern, mutilating his body.
Sean’s story
Sean was ordered to test Dasein, conducting research on the molecular level. He accidentally stayed overtime one time, where Sean found out that there’s scientists in the building running their own tests on Dasein. But these included human subjects. Corpses were used as a food source to feed a monster lurking deep inside the facility. Sean investigated in hopes of a promotion. His investigation only got him hurt however, where the monster targeted Sean. He lost his leg, where the Winston Research Institute gave him a prosthetic and a demotion after the incident.
“Daniel” wandered through abstract memories at the start of his investigation into Sean. The events are mostly told through Grace’s (Sean’s daughter) diary entries. After Sean’s injury, his wife, Heidi, grew tired of him because of his demotion (though the Winston Research Institute denies demoting employees). She left Sean and Grace.
Creating the ultimate work machine, Bluebottle was made as an addictive pick-me-up for employees to increase their focus, subservience, and lower their fatigue. This drove Sean mad as he could no longer see his daughter. Left alone and starving, her mother having disappeared 131 days prior, Sean sunk deeper into the Bluebottle, having his sanity drained by the continuous work.
Sean was handing out Dasein samples in exchange for money, which the Winston Research Institute caught wind of. Labeled as a thief and a traitor, Sean was used by Fred Ebert, the Professor, and Rachel as a pawn to lure Daniel in.
Rachel’s story
Rachel is the scientist that worked alongside the Professor, testing Dasein on human subjects. Rachel’s past is one full of darkness, as her body was used and sold time and time again by her parents to bring in money. Rachel tried to join the Winston Research Institute—to have a life of her own—but her father wouldn’t allow it. Veteran subsidy was rejected for Mr. Weis (Rachel’s father) who served in WWII. He decided to spend his days watching Rachel entertain men through a peep hole, controlling everything in her life.
Like many of us, Rachel was terrified of failure. She wanted nothing more than to see her past go up in flames—to be born anew. Her perspective on life was pessimistic, desperate for freedom and to have some semblance of control in her life. So, she became a scientist to research new life, to focus on something that wasn’t about her. A perspective different to hers, botanist Lucas saw change as something to embrace. Lucas wanted to leave and to take Rachel with him, but she was too used to being held down and shackled to her cage. By the time she realized she could leave, it was too late.
Lucas was given Dasein after being attacked by Rachel’s possessive father. This near death experience left Lucas critically injured. I assume Lucas fell into a coma, where Rachel attempted to revitalize him with Dasein. But, it only left his body deformed. Desperate to save his life, Rachel (against Lucas’s will and wishes) transferred his mind into a test subject whose blood combined with Dasein. Rachel used the diving helmet to help control Lucas so that he could eat. Although his body was clinically dead, some part of his consciousness remained intact, kept alive by the black substance.
Two minds in one body, Rachel and Lucas’s souls became one through their shared memories. Her repeated diving into the test subject meant that a part of Lucas’s consciousness transferred over to Rachel, bringing them back together. While he couldn’t speak or move, the pair felt connected once more. Daniel’s dive left Rachel brain dead, but her final words to him are incredibly important as they reference a massive revolution in KARMA: The Dark World. These were: “Little lamb… There’s really no difference between you and me.”
Daniel’s story
Daniel believed he is choosing to go to work, to serve MOTHER, but he’s just a puppet being strung along. He never chose to do anything. Labeled as a murderer and tormented by his actions, Daniel’s interrogations into the suspects on the case only left a trail of dead bodies. But this is what was always meant to happen.
Rachel’s final memory revealed Fred and the Professor were behind the entire investigation. It was a fabricated crime where both Sean and Rachel were sacrificed so that Daniel and the Professor could meet. This is because the Professor is Daniel’s father. Through years of conditioning, Daniel was brainwashed into forgetting his sister and believing his father was evil. While Daniel was affectionate towards the idea of his mother, this is explained by him being the property to the all-seeing, all-knowing MOTHER. His father is the virus part of Daniel’s brain, who would stop anyone probing into Daniel’s memories when they got too close to uncovering the truth.
We finally got to see what really happened at the incident through the father’s eyes; where his wife was murdered by Leviathan goons, and his children were taken. By observing his father’s memory, “Daniel” remembers who he’s supposed to be.
McGovern took control of Fred’s brain, similar to what Rachel did for Lucas. This is why Fred appeared on McGovern’s side even though he was the one that ordered Leviathan to take the children. McGovern has been working for years to free both children from their restraints. McGovern explained that Leviathan will continuously probe and test Daniel to uncover the truth, breaking his mind further with each dive. This tells us that everything we’re seeing right now is still a memory. But the timeline we’re witnessing is the most accurate one, where this version of “Daniel” is doing what the other vessels couldn’t.
His meeting with his father was cut short as “Daniel” must kill him to activate the virus that will protect Daniel’s mind when Leviathan probe him. As “Daniel” ran from his father (the virus), Lisa guided us to safety. The pair travelled through a space tunnel and piece together Daniel’s memories from his childhood, to link him and Lisa back together. We find the real Daniel at the end of the line for our version is purely an observer—a copy of him. Having one fractured memory on a loop of his mother calling him to dinner, Daniel is trapped inside his castle; where the sand represents his memories, the surrounding structures are his secret, and the waves are Leviathan diving back into his consciousness.
This heartfelt scene of young Lisa holding onto an old Daniel showed us how he held onto her secret for many years to the point that he started to forget it himself. Wanting so badly to see the secret once again—to remember Lisa once more—the loop is completed once Lisa returns the cassette player to Daniel.
KARMA: The Dark World ending, explained
We observe Daniel in the one memory he never forgot, but it’s finally complete. Lisa is here and she looks towards us—the copy of Daniel—and the man behind the camera. The television shows the years turning back, revisiting the secret Daniel never wanted to forget—his loving family—and a time when he was free. We take the camera from the young Daniel, hold it up, and click. The family portrait seen throughout KARMA is taken, but we can see it clearly now.
The post credits scene reveals the Transition Room where Daniel actually spent his days, rotting away inside a bathtub filled with Dasein, while his mind wandered inside a world fully controlled by MOTHER. Lisa and Daniel were always linked, but those sent to probe his mind (copies of Daniel) were trying to uncover the secret that would give Leviathan control of Lisa’s powers.
With a tear rolling down his cheek and a smile on his face, Daniel passed away (aged 28) knowing his family secret, and finally finding solace in having true freedom for the first time in his life. Lisa took him home, letting him spend his final moments in a freeze frame of his last family dinner. The Containment Room that previously held Lisa in restraints fell to the floor as she disappeared from this reality, where I believe she ascended beyond this material realm, free from her confinement.
