The Man in the Wall

“You're not supposed to be in here! You're going to ruin the surprise!”

The following article/section contains spoilers. Please finish Chimera Prologue quest before proceeding.

“Orokin secrets cannot remain secret forever! Start talking!”

The following article/section is conjecture. Content is subjected to change/removal as the game progresses. Please do not use this article for critical in-game information.

Hey, kiddo.

—The Man In The Wall

The Man in The Wall (also known as "The Indifference" and "The Lidless Eye" by the Red Veil) is a mysterious enigmatic being associated with the Void. First appearing during The War Within, it has a more prominent appearance during Chains of Harrow, revealing it to be a potential threat that few anticipated, and even fewer prepared for.

Lore

General

A mystery even to the Lotus, Rell purportedly became aware of The Man in the Wall during the Zariman Ten Zero incident. The true nature of The Man in the Wall is disputed, with both Rell and Palladino claiming it to be a personification of the Void's power that existed well before the Zariman arrived, while the Lotus (and Margulis before her) insists that it is a gestalt entity created by the Operators' experiences during the incident. Regardless, The Man in the Wall treats the Operators with some degree of familiarity, nicknaming them "kiddo" during direct encounters. It was also mentioned during The War Within that the Operator's father refered to them the same way.

The War Within

While the Operators do not encounter the entity directly, the Man in the Wall would periodically talk through the Operators as they confronted their past, particularly in regards on how they dealt with their parents, who were driven insane by the Void, and how they viewed their Void-borne powers, some of which were sealed away by Margulis for the Operators' safety. As the Operators learn to unlock said powers, Teshin comments that the Void is a world that "watches and dreams".

The entity's true colors however show themselves when the Operator chooses what to do with the Elder Queen's relinquished Scepter; choosing to dispose of the Kuva flask attached to it, or relinquishing the flask to Teshin for safe keeping will result in The Man in The Wall admonishing the Operator's decision, while consuming and embracing the Kuva's effects will have The Man in The Wall congratulating the Operator instead.

Chains of Harrow

As the Tenno learn of Rell, an Operator who was cast out by both his fellow Operators and Margulis herself, they learn of how Rell came into contact with The Man in The Wall and with the help of the Red Veil's predecessors, find a means to keep it at bay. Rell, who had been denied the cryosleep that would preserve the other Tenno, ultimately chose to transfer his spirit directly into his Warframe, in order to keep The Man in The Wall from attacking the Tenno.

Though it succeeded for quite some time, both the strain of being stuck in a "Transference Loop", and the growing strength of The Man in The Wall (strongly implied to be a direct result of the Operators unlocking their sealed potential during The War Within) slowly drove Rell insane, with a portion of the Red Veil following suit. Realizing that Rell would continue to suffer no matter what the Tenno did, Palladino, who was serving as Rell's only means of communication with the rest of the Veil, mournfully requested the Tenno to destroy Rell's vessel so that he could finally rest, passing the burden of holding The Man in The Wall at bay to the Operators that once shunned him.

After ending Rell's ordeal, a doppelganger of the Operator, strongly implied to be The Man in The Wall itself, will appear either sitting on the Market, Codex console or sitting far behind the Scanner, greeting the player with "Hey Kiddo" when they focus their camera on it and disappearing as soon as the player looks away. The doppelganger will continue to make sporadic appearances throughout the Orbiter any time the player enters it (either by logging into the game or returning from a mission), behaving just as it did the first time.

The Sacrifice

While not involved with the quest itself, if the player encounters the Man in The Wall after completing The Sacrifice, it will ask the Operator if they're feeling better, as the Operator had witnessed  Excalibur Umbra's memories during the quest and believes that they killed Umbra's son Isaah. After confirming the Operator's memory, the Man in The Wall simply states "Good" and vanishes from the player's sight, regardless whether the player looked away from him or not. All future appearances of the Man in The Wall will exit in a similar fashion, though he can still disappear as soon as he leaves the player's sight.

Chimera Prologue

The Man in The Wall is found donning the Lotus's headgear in the Orbiter's Personal Quarters with a sinister laugh before vanishing. The Operator interacts with the helmet, where they are taken to Lua. The figure, still donning the headgear, seemingly mocks the Tenno but at the same time acts as a "guide" and leads the Tenno to the Reservoir, where they first encountered the Lotus and Ballas in the chamber during the Apostasy Prologue. The Man in The Wall invites the Operator to enter a portal that appeared at the end of the chamber.

Railjack

After the Tenno completes Rising Tide and finishes construction of their Railjack, Cephalon Cy instructs them to find a Void Key on Lua to activate the Reliquary Drive, the Railjack's power source. As the Tenno near the drive, The Man in the Wall's voice can be heard.

After inserting the key, the void energies in the drive slowly dissipate to reveal a large mummified finger, which can be seen wiggling. The Tenno are then greeted by The Man in The Wall, sitting on top of the drive, waving at them with its index finger bent.

The Man in The Wall makes no appearance during Rising Tide if the quest is played before The War Within.

Notes

• The Man in the Wall's voice is dependant on which voice type is used by the operator, and usually speaks with an unsettling, loud tone, most likely to spook the player.

Trivia

• The Man in the Wall doesn't seem to be affiliated with any other enemy faction.
• It is unknown if The Man in the Wall is an ally or enemy. He seemed to have caused great distress to Rell and tried to ambush the player multiple times, but also guided them to Ballas during the Chimera Prologue. As such, The Man in the Wall's motives remain unknown for the time being.
• The Man in the Wall will randomly appear in the Orbiter after completing the quest Chains of Harrow.
• During the transmission leading up to the Ropalolyst, Natah reveals that she's aware of the Entity's existence, claiming to have heard the void's voice herself.
  • During Chains of Harrow, the Lotus initially said she believes that The Man in The Wall is just a myth or a delusion of those who were exposed to the Void.
• "He Who Waits Behind the Wall" was the answer to one of the Solaris United ARG questions, implying a possible connection. This question was asked twice (once during the introductory stage and once on the 6th of November, as a call and response form of authentication); the answer was the same both times. This may imply a connection between either Vox Solaris as a whole and the Indifference, or between Business and the Indifference.
  • It should be noted that "He Who Waits Behind The Wall" is a commonly used title for Zalgo, a fictional otherwordly entity heavily associated with creepypasta and internet memes. Whether this response was a reference to Zalgo, the Man in the Wall or both remains unverified, but the "corrupted" text used in these messages is also commonly used in relation to Zalgo.