Outside the Box

Template:PuzzleInfobox Outside the Box is the gold puzzle in the Verdant Canyon area of The Talos Principle 2.

Puzzle Elements

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Overview

As you enter the puzzle, you find a swapper with an inverter in it, and a Gravshifter available to you. There is an area of the puzzle walled off with a purple barrier with a hexahedron. There are a couple of surfaces where the gravshifter can create a gravity well, and two Plasma Doors that control access to a little area. The progress wheel is above that area.

Hints

A basic hint:

[ hint ]

Although the name of the puzzle is Outside the Box, that is not much of a hint. Instead try exploring the area inside the room blocked off by the purple barrier. What equipment will you need to bring with you to make progress in that room?

If you're having trouble getting started:

[ hint ]

The first thing to do is to get the hexahedron on this side of the forcefield. Use the gravshifter.

If you're having trouble moving the gravshifter:

[ hint ]

The gravshifter typically does not move itself. However it moves other objects. What if the gravshifter was sitting not on the ground, but on top of another object?

If you're having trouble figuring out what to feed the swapper:

[ hint ]

You don't need the inverter until you're ready to pass the two plasma doors. By that point, all your equipment should already be on the correct side of the purple barrier.

If you crossed the two plasma doors but can't find the progress wheel:

[ hint ]

After you cross the plasma doors, the progress wheel is still a level above you. There is a grav-shiftable ceiling above you.

Solution

[ solution ]

• 
  Take the Hexahedron and bring in to the upper platform. Place it down in front of the opposite metal surface.
• 
  Use the Gravshifter to bring the Hexahedron over.
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  Place the Hexahedron in front of the opposite surface. Place the Gravshifter on the Hexahedron: both items will fly to the other side.
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  Take the Gravshifter between the two Plasma Doors and send the Hexahedron to the other side one more time.
• 
  Swap the Hexahedron for the Inverter and place it down in front of the metal surface.
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  Use the Gravshifter to bring the Inverter over.
• 
  Connect the Inverter to the red Emitter and the blue Receiver and place it down in front of the opposite metal surface. The laser is blocked for now.
• 
  Use the Gravshifter to send the Inverter to the other side. The laser connects.
• 
  Use the Gravshifter on the metal ceiling and finish the puzzle.

Story

On solving the puzzle, we hear the next snippet of dialog from Cornelius:

When I got back to New Jerusalem, I hid the truth. Not just about Athena and the island, but everything. My grief. My personal opinions about where the city was headed. All of it. I became the dusty old curator people wanted me to be.
Except, of course, that the whole thing was a front. I didn't care about the museum, and I certainly didn't care about the Archive Scholars and their endless, tedious discussions, no matter how much they fawned over me. No, what I needed was access to the tools. Studying the Archive hasn't answered any of our questions about humanity, but it has taught us something, and that's data recovery.

—Cornelius (3)