TSUKI Project

The Tsuki Project front page

The TSUKI (月) Project was a website based on the belief that our reality is just one system among many in existence, and that when we die, we ascend to the next system.

Several references to the anime TV series Serial Experiments Lain were present on the website and its multi-reality theories.

History

Origins

On January 15, 2017 a 4chan user began a thread anguishing about his "daydream world telling him to die before August 28". Other anonymous posters asked him questions about his situation, which he answered them, remarking that "they're comfy and it feels good to have others talk about your daydreams".

He made two other threads on January 20 and 26 respectively. In both threads, he was mocked by doubters and asked questions by believers - themes that would repeat throughout the history of the Project. It was in the latter thread that he first began to call himself Tsuki.

The first thread in which Tsuki asked for others to "leave your world behind for a better one" was on January 29. When a user expressed interest in doing so, Tsuki instructed the user to draw a picture which included a code. Tsuki declared that all users who signed up would "be transported as long as you die any time after 1st of Jul, 2017. Dying of old age included, but suicide also included. Dying before the set date will cause your EID to be reset, cancelling the transfer", and stated that he was "hoping for maybe 25-50 people in total, and we [he and the corporations he represented] have until Jul 1st to recruit." He was pleasantly surprised that there were "so many requests it doesn't fit on one A4", and the thread closed with over 400 replies.

The phenomenon continued through February. The anons of /r9k/ derided it, debated it, and clung to it as the only thing that made life worth living. But, it remained a hit-and-miss thing: two threads failed to receive any replies, one of which was made by Tsuki himself. By the second week of the month, Tsuki had begun to make a website. The stories continued to pour in: of ordinary people, struggling with mental health and poor surroundings, finally finding acceptance.

The TSUKI Project alleged that by joining the website, the users called migrants, would transfer from Life (our present system) to LFE, the next system once they died, but warned users to not commit suicide.

The website gained interest from the internet community after being featured in numerous YouTube videos. Several theories were born from it as some said it was a hoax, others a death cult or even a marketing stunt for the release of a new game/TV series. Most information on the website was purposely cryptic with links leading to images of static and black and white pixels, leading even more theories about encrypted messages hidden on the website.

In 2018 the website came under fire due to the suicide of a seventeen year old boy directly influenced by the TSUKI Project. The TSUKI Project website has since been taken down and the last few users migrated to INITIATE or left completely.

Much of the website was later debunked, and/or explained by Apollobase.

Serial Experiments Lain

Many theories from users about the TSUKI Project made link with the anime TV series Serial Experiments Lain. In fact, the website itself made it clear by having the protagonist on its banner. Many users believed that the Tsuki project was based off the anime, however it turned out it was based on a visual novel.

Lain herself became the mascot of the website and gained great affections from the users. As the website worked as a forum around the TSUKI Project, it was a prevalent place for sharing Serial Experiments Lain pictures. Some subscribers used the website as a fansite for the TV series without believing in the claims made about Systemspace, though a survey of over 1,000 users had results indicating that most claimed to believe it was real.

Credits

The Cult of Systemspace (youtube; by Initiate)

Apollobase (apollo)

INITIATE.SPACE (initiate)

TSUKI Project website (archived)

TSUKI Project website (mirror)

The TSUKI Project explained (reddit)

Systemspace Compendium archive