Ending Discussion (SPOILERS, obviously)

[MarcusStuhr]

I think the story is sort of running along a parallel: You, the player, are the trusted friend reading Phillip's messages, and the game itself is showing Phillip's experiences.

I am still a little confused about how to piece all this together. There's that blue mist, mutation from human to something "infected," the Tuurngait's collective self... not sure how it all fits. So the Tuurngait has existed for a long time, even before the humans, and somehow the humans mined and discovered the Tuurngait and tried to capture/utilize them? Was was the Tuurngait's form of "attack"? "Infection"? I'd have to play both Penumbras again to get a better idea for what was going on (at least now I know what Red was really going through -- he probably had a Clarence of his own, but for a much longer period of time, explaining his insanity), but I'm trying to figure out why the humans even created the mines, what they were precisely after, and what the Tuurngait did in retaliation, and why Phillip needs to warn others of even entering that mine.

It doesn't seem like the earth is in much danger from the Tuurngait -- there was only one visitor (Phillip) that entire year entering the mines (as seen from the diagnostic program in the Research Room). It seems like everything would eventually just die off... I mean consider all the stuff Phillip went through to even get to the Shelter! Everything's so bottlenecked down there, and the path is so long and extensive. Is there really any danger to anyone other than those who enter the mine? It seems like no rational person would never do so unless they had some circumstance or connecting reason (in Phillip's case, his father).

Also, what was up with the gunfire evidence? Was this during some sort of Tuurngait retaliation or against the infected?