I haven’t seen the Synedrion ending yet but surely just blowing up the Palace doesn’t work? How does NJ ‘clean the oceans’ of the pandoravirus anyway?
It would make more sense if Project Nemesis was actually research into the Yuggothian entity’s way of controlling the virus, and NJ found a way to scramble it. Then you go to the palace and place a big signal scrambler, effectively pausing all pandoravirus activity as Yuggoth can’t tell it to do anything. Then later on there can be talk about a cure which neuters the pandoravirus molecule completely.
Just by eliminating alien forms of life. Virus was not controlled in any way anymore. It wasn’t released on the scale it was previously. With time NJ and PP could create some advanced sub-drones which could hunt down any PV life-form. And with proper knowledge minimize risks of virus spread. Surely this ending was the least ‘safe’ for the people living in the ‘aftermatch’, but I wouldn’t say it wasn’t possible to win over the Pandoravirus.
I just finished the Synedrion ending and watched the one for Anu (never ever gonna let those creepy mutants win, not on my watch) and I’m more than convinced now.
The NJ ending is actually a defeat. The ending cinematic is what the Yuggothian entity, now safely in his new palace, is leading you to believe.
After the nuke disintegrates the palace to smithereens, the yuggothian entity realised two things: one, these new natives are as feisty as the old ones he had to deal with a million years ago, and two, he now has an excellent opportunity to ‘fake his own death’ after these idiots thought a simple nuke on nothing more than an avatar construction can somehow sever advanced psychic telepathy perfected through billions of eons.
So he simply stopped ordered the pandoravirus to stop, and severed contact with all but a select few of his minions. Whilst most of the mutated burned under NJ and Phoenix steel, the few elite quietly rebuilt a new palace, and he then safely downloaded himself to his new crib without anyone noticing. As soon as that was done, he pasted a big “VICTORY!” screen to the idiot player who thought a nuke would solve a microbiological problem.
Only The Exalted realised what is going on, and that’s why she’s trying to fight back still.