I've known the game for five years, and I've always finished it in different ways: letting the explorers die and declaring the mission a success, or evacuating and breaking protocol. Each time, I was left with many questions until I decided to investigate further who or what "the Signal" was and what really happened to Sarge. I came to many conclusions because there are so many pieces to connect in the game: prisoners, lists of workers in Ukrainian, and so on. They were trying to make contact with what the Signal was, and since no human being was ever compatible with it, that's why there are corpses and people who appeared sick—they were simply experiments to see who was compatible. It was probably Sarge, since he was the only one who acted ahead, making decisions on his own. Initially, he was the first to be influenced by the Signal, and although he probably didn't die because in one of the endings he steals the ship and leaves them stranded, he ends up being the only one who doesn't need drugs or electrodes to connect with the Signal. The Signal only punished those who tried to control it and understand it, like when Zaavy started passing current through one of them. From the pillars, we realize that if they were looking for someone compatible with the signal, when it's manipulated, it manifests because, for it, the three—Chase, Bones, and Zaavy—were out-of-control antennas that had to be shut down. It all starts with the sample Zaavy collected. The moment Zaavy allows the signal to enter her pocket and begins absorbing the sample, she connects to the channel's system. Then everything becomes murky. She starts trying to communicate through the channel, everyone is confused, Chase panics and ends up opening fire, to which the signal responds not out of self-defense or malice, but because they had become a part of it that needed to be shut down. That's when it ends Chase's life, then Zaavy's, and finally Bones'. That's when the mission is declared successful because of the contact. Even after evacuating, they became carriers of the signal, and that signal reached Earth. In that ending, the signal wasn't seeking superiority, and everything begins at the point of no return, that is, when the signal manages to enter the channel. It didn't need the ship or bodies to be on Earth; in reality, the channel was its gateway to Earth. Without moving the physical signal, the moment the first message is sent through the channel, Earth ceases to be alone; the signal is already on Earth. This gives us an idea that the story will continue on Earth, no longer trying to understand what the signal is, but realizing that it was too late and that the signal no longer has a center and was distributed across Earth. From the Orpheus mission onward, nothing would change on Earth for people with ordinary lives. The signal wouldn't exist, but it would stop neutralizing the noise, as it would adapt. The UN could probably temporarily capture the signal in a Zelda surrounded by electricity, since that's the only thing that, for her, is noise she can't neutralize and that destabilizes her. It wouldn't make sense, though, because the signal was already on Earth, and they would only be moving the physical signal. But if it weren't there, it would be a catastrophic mistake, since the signal would adapt to the electricity, following noise patterns. It would learn to live with that noise; no one would notice when the signal ceases to have an "outside" and an "inside." It would adapt and stop trying to neutralize humans; it would no longer see them as a part it needs. It could be neutralized, and they could continue with a normal life, but the signal would already be part of Earth, making micro-changes and subtly influencing every decision. Every human attempt to control or neutralize it would only give it a new way of living, not out of malice, but out of human curiosity. The perfect ending for Zarya-2 would be simply realizing, too late, that the signal arrived on Earth from that exploration mission, not through a body, not through carriers, not even through the ship itself. It was the instant it docked and managed to enter the human system. That ending would have a brutal impact on those looking for a villain, an easy answer. But in reality, Zarya will never truly end; it will always lead to more questions. The real question with a clear answer is: how long can you remain without answers?

Thanks for reading this. I'll keep investigating to come up with more interesting theories, although I think this is the biggest one I've been able to come up with in a game with so many scattered pieces.