Embodied Cognition

Template:PuzzleInfobox Embodied Cognition is the Gold Puzzle in the Flooded Valley area of The Talos Principle 2.

Overview

The puzzle room is composed of three spaces:

• The main room contains a Connector, a red Emitter as well as twoReceivers that unlock the Progress Wheel.
• A small room to the side is blocked by a Plasma Door that can be opened from both sides. The room contains a blue Emitter and a red Receiver.
• A third room, behind a Purple Barrier, contains an Accumulator and a window to the small room.

Hints

A basic hint:

[ hint ]

Since the name of the puzzle is Embodied Cognition, understand that at some point, you'd be putting your own body to use.

If you're having trouble getting started:

[ hint ]

Throughout the puzzle, you need to be able to get the accumulator to switch colors. How can you get the accumulator to pick up a blue color?

If you're stuck with intersecting lasers:

[ hint ]

Think carefully about which receiver absolutely must be fed by the connector, and which can be fed by the accumulator to avoid intersecting lasers. How can you get the instruments to that color and then maintain it?

If you have figured out the positions but are struggling to charge the accumulator:

[ hint ]

It is possible that you are able to position all the instruments in the right positions, except the accumulator is still blue but you want it to be red. And you're unable to charge it red because there is a blue laser in the way. Can you reposition the instruments? Can you reposition yourself?

Solution

[ solution ]

• 
  Take the Accumulator and charge it red. Use it to open the Plasma Door.
• 
  Bring the Connector inside the small room and connect it to the blue Emitter.
• 
  Head back around, discharge the Accumulator and charge it blue using the Connector.
• 
  Connect the Accumulator to the blue Receiver to reopen the Plasma Door.
• 
  Bring the Connector outside of the small room. Connect it to the blue Emitter and both blue Receivers. The second laser is blocked for now.
• 
  Discharge the Accumulator, and connect it to the red Emitter. The laser is blocked for now because it intersects the blue laser from the Connector.
• 
  Place your body so as to block the blue laser from the Connector. The red laser is now free and the Accumulator becomes charged.
• 
  Connect the Accumulator to the red Receiver by the Progress Wheel and finish the puzzle.

Story

Solving this puzzle rewards us with another bit of dialog:

For Athena, Miranda's death was final, and it was the finality of it that was so unbearable. Even with the technology we were creating, there was no way of reaching back into time to save her. We were moving forward, relentlessly, the days flying by, and with every day Miranda was further away. I think that was the first time I really understood what it means that time is a dimension. I could measure the distance between us in minutes, hours, days... years...
But if what broke Athena was accepting that distance, for me it was the opposite. I refused to accept it. The universe had already taken so much from us. It didn't get to take my daughter.

—Cornelius (3)