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 (Jan-Feb 2017)

On January 15, 2017 a 4chan user began a thread on its /r9k/ board 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.

As progress on the site proceeded apace, an anonymous poster claimed that there would be "closed systems", but was ignored. Two days later, Tsuki made multiple threads seeking advice on /r9k/ about what "communication technology" he should add to his website: forum, imageboard, or IRC. Fatefully, Tsuki considered and rejected IRC, but did decide to have an imageboard.

The big week (February 19-26, 2017)

The website opened partially on February 19, 2017. While Tsuki continued to talk about "looking into" IRC, events forced his hand as the first Systemspace Discord (later named Firstspace or Oldspace) was announced in that very same thread. He had also made a thread on Lainchan about it.

The 4chan thread where Tsuki announced the website received over 500 replies; but nothing lasts forever, and an anon made a new thread which, in its turn, received almost as many as the thread it continued. The new thread hosted a firestorm of controversy: pro- and anti-Tsuki posters called each other "normies" and otherwise insulted and mocked each other. There was, however, serious debate about whether to believe or doubt Tsuki. Tsuki welcomed such debate at this point, because the Project was "also an experiment on human doubt".

Another thread brought two new features which would endure throughout the lifespan of the Project; people self-identifying by numbers that showed the order of their registration (which would later be referred to as "migrant numbers"), and thinking about what they would be or do in LFE. By late February posters had begun to fear "movement of redditscum and other shite" who would "most likely follow us right until" the new imageboard; but they were hopeful that "good moderation" could keep it "a new home for 'robots' [users of /r9k] and lainons (from lainchan)" and prevent it from devolving into "/r9k/ lite normie central".

By 24 February, prospective registrants could upload their pictures with codes on them to the website instead of posting them in successive Systemspace threads. Even though Tsuki did not post at all in one of those threads, it continued to be abuzz with activity as a nascent Systemspace community was quickly growing; an anon received a hand-drawn picture for their birthday, another spoke about how they couldn't "stop thinking about LFE", and others enthused over the possibility of seeing "otherworldly landscapes" "in person".

Debate also raged about whether Systemspace was preferable to traditional religions like Christianity, or whether it was compatible with them after all. For example, a user compared the Christian requirements to go to church every Sunday, pay a tithe, and believe in Jesus or else go to Hell for eternity to the Systemspace requirements to draw and photograph a picture with a "simple code" and stay alive until the 1st of July, and found the latter much more preferable. The imageboard opened on February 26, 2017.

Glory days (February 26-April 22, 2017)

"Glory days, they'll pass you by..."--Bruce Springsteen.

The epicenter of the Systemspace community quickly shifted to the new imageboard (boards.systemspace.link) and the Discord once they were created. The young community was unaware of how ephemeral they would be, and so did not archive them well. The 4chan archives now become a side window on the Systemspace community, not the main source.

A thread was made on 4chan's "/x/" (Paranormal) board about the Project where it was greeted with interest.

By March 7, 1,500 slots had been made available; the Project also fell under criticism for gathering its people together on Discord.

Through March, recruitment for the TSUKI Project began increasingly to focus on the comforts (or as they would call it themselves, "comfy") of the community rather than the inherent merits of transferring to another System with memories intact. Of course, they, chief among them NYPHVR, "one of the 4-5 (I'm pretty sure it's 5) mods we've chosen", also had to refute certain arguments supporting the opinion that it was a "suicide cult". He had to point out that only death after July 1, 2017, could transfer a soul to LFE, thereby allowing people who joined at least a few months more to find new reasons to live on, and counter the idea that Tsuki ever encouraged suicide in any way.

While the number of dedicated Systemspace threads decreased once the new imageboard was started, Systemspace-related content began to spill over into unrelated threads, like dating threads, game threads, and threads about hoping to be reborn in a different body.

By March 30, 2017, the first Discord had allegedly "died" because of "one underage Russian girl".

Despite minor hiccups, things seemed to be on the up and up through March and April. The number of registrants reached four digits and increasing numbers participated in the community. Then the dam burst.

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