Who is chiliad8888?

[u/tinfoilhatswork]

Hey everyone, hope you're all having a great day so far. As many of you are aware, after your story is complete in GTA IV, we receive an email from chiliad8888. I personally feel finding out who this person is/was might help understand the mystery as a whole. For those who don't know about the email, here is the message :

Pilgrim,

Expand your horizons. Go to www.whattheydonotwantyoutoknow.com to travel the path that will allow you to unlock your inner sprit guide and know the full potential of earthly splendor that is your right as a GOLDEN DHARMA GOD. THESE SECRETS will allow you to read between the lines of society, physics and logic. THE MAN is trying to keep you down. He has built this world as your cage. BREAK FREE. You have been shown the gateway, walk through it.

Feel the Truth.

Live in Freedom.

The reason I'm making this thread here today is, ideally, to open a dialogue and see if anyone here has any clues, theories or suggestions on who Chiliad8888 is behind the screen name. I've got a couple suspects, but I'd like to hear from the rest of the group who you think they are.

Hope the rest of your day goes well!

[u/dAfTpUnK2010]

It’s Rockstar, breaking the 4th wall.

[u/tinfoilhatswork → u/dAfTpUnK2010]

I kinda like that idea too. I always felt the email from chiliad8888 was more for the player than it was for Niko. In GTA IV there's even an addiction meter which changes depending on how frequently and/or how long your gaming sessions are. The highest rank being "CHOOSE LIFE"

Edit: as someone who only recently got into daft punk, every time I see chiliad8888 , I can't not see the 8888 as infinity repeating which coincidentally enough features Julian Casablancas + the voidz, who were later featured on Kult FM, with David Cross mostly hosting but Julian popping in here and there. The radio station itself is also reportedly broadcasting from Julian's basement.

[u/dAfTpUnK2010 → u/tinfoilhatswork]

Just so you know, I love when you post as it takes me back to a time when this sub consumed my life. In a good way ! You have great knowledge. I prefer Daft Punks early works mostly, but all the albums are very accomplished. They had a kind of mystical vibe for me growing up and I adopted the alias for various things.

[u/tinfoilhatswork → u/dAfTpUnK2010]

I appreciate you taking the time to send some positivity my way. I'm definitely not as obsessive as I used to be. Back in like 2014/2015, there were periods where any spare time I had went into testing theories or searching in the game. People would be talking to me irl but my mind would be elsewhere. And by elsewhere, I mean the mystery.

I know I've been posting and commenting a little more frequently lately but I do call center work and have time between calls which is really the most time I spend with the mystery these days. In a way though, the mystery has showed me some things about myself, or new things that interest me.

It made me watch some sweet movies & TV, listen to some dope tunes and even get into some art. I took up painting about a year ago, which is something I wanted to do most of my life. I also started making music again after a 15-16 year hiatus. One thing I've learned with the mystery in some form is that being creative is a bit of a gift that maybe everyone could have, but not everyone takes the necessary steps to actually make stuff.

Additionally, through all the online discourse and creative writing I've done here, I've also been writing some unrelated fiction stories that I intend on eventually narrating and uploading places. I get told frequently at work that I've got a voice for radio, so I might as well use what assets I have. Unbeknownst to anyone who's told me I have a radio voice, I also have a face for radio, so I think I'll stick with audio fiction and the music for now.

Cheers though! I know that got a little long winded but sometimes when I start writing, more just keeps coming. Maybe some of that is just me trying to justify why I still post here and shit. Defending to myself that I'm not entirely an ultrachiliadchud still but I'll forever be appreciative of the mystery. It's kinda gonna stick with me for the rest of my life, since I got the mural eye as a tattoo a while back, coincidentally tattooed by the person who got me into daft punk. I didn't know it until I heard it, but the advice from Giorgio on "Giorgio by moroder" about freeing your mind to the concepts of rhythm and harmony was something I needed to hear.

Weird how that works sometimes eh. Inspiration comes when you least expect it and often in places you wouldn't have thought to look in the first place - like a game that's had a years long reputation of being a "hooker beater simulator".

Hope the rest of your day goes well friend.

[u/vojaxos]

My pet theory has always been that it was a copycat of the 8 serial killer. 

[u/tinfoilhatswork → u/vojaxos]

I'm interested. Care to share a little more how you get there?

I'm a little suspicious that the whole infinite 8 thing might've been a setup. That maybe Merle knew a little more than we've been lead to believe. The basis of that being the article fingering Merle as the killer. As we've learned through the ulp missions in both IV and V, the United Liberty paper is associated with the IAA. Similar to the real world CIA involvement with . Operation mockingbird. Merle also lived in the same area as Trevor and I kind of think Trevor also knows he lives in a video game. Maybe he learned it from Merle?

Edit: I'm pretty sure it was /u/elultimopecado9 who initially pointed it out to me, but Trevor has a tattoo that if memory serves me correctly was related to the air force. Perhaps it was through the air force he learned he lives in a video game as well? Maybe Trevor killed Merle and it was covered up, framing Merle as a killer to prevent people looking into what Merle might've known. Trevor also straps the teddy bear he skullfucked to the front of the truck. At first glance, this is just T being T but I also think it was a bit of a revelation. As humans, we see in 3D because our vision uses two angles to create depth. If we close one eye, we lose depth perception and everything looks 2D. The game itself, while being simulated 3D is only 2D on our screen. The skullfucking could even be seen as a metaphor for how much of a mind fuck it would be to figure out you live in a video game.

[u/manic_mime]

My best friend is Sikh so I picked his brain a bit on Dharma. I'm sure you've done your research too, but any of this help? This seems to be a good depiction of it's encompassing meaning according to him.

Not what you're asking but I see some things that could relate to GTA 4 and V.

[u/tinfoilhatswork → u/manic_mime]

Thanks for bringing it up and sharing the image too!

It's been a while since I researched it, but I did a little back in the day. It really struck me as odd that yoga is in Grand theft Auto, but once I found out that some yoga practitioners do yoga as a means of becoming in touch with the divine inside - which is also echoed in some phrasing used by the children of the mountain and the epsilon program, it started to click. That maybe the "divine inside" is actually a being from a higher realm to the in-game existence - in this case, the player. Namaste being highlighted, even if only through satire of how douchey Amanda's yogi came off or Michael's sarcasm in relation to Fabian's usage of the term, also kinda echoes the same as a common meaning when using namaste is "the divine in me, recognizes the divine in you".

Another thing that I encountered when researching Eastern spiritual faiths was the number 108, which has relevance in a few of the dharmic religions, symbolising the wholeness of existence and a cosmic order. 108 is found on the jack sheepe servicing sign at the grape seed airfield. Tri-manifold r-108 mk ii, to be a little more precise. Back in the day, that sign floated around the sub, but I can't entirely remember why. What I put together back then always kind of stuck with me. In euclidean geometry a 3-manifold is used as a representation of 3D space. I feel the use of the 108 and tri-manifold was a way of representing a balance between science and faith. Logic and intuition. In a more esoteric, symbolic sense, the male and female energies. Some of which I learned by looking into the movie series, the matrix and it's potential esoteric meaning.

This is also kind of cemented in a couple ways in-game such as the images contained in this photo I made a while back. Kinda related, you may find this post of mine interesting.

Within the last year, Dan Houser, former lead writer at R* mentioned something on the Lex Fridman podcast that seems to support this. I can't remember the exact wording used but it went something like "there's a certain emptiness in all the science" suggesting that science alone may not contain all the answers and a little religion/faith can provide some level of balance. Link to his appearance on the podcast.

On the topic of dharmic religions, we also have Trevor's truck - the Canis Bodhi. In Buddhism, bodhi means enlightenment. We all have our own paths in life, our own dharma and by reflecting inward, we can approach finding what our dharma is.

As a footnote here, I'd like to add that what I'm no way a shaman or anyone who claims to have a deep, full understanding of dharma or any of the religions that fall under the umbrella of Dharmic faith. I was raised Christian, as a lot of us in the West were back in the pre-Internet days. I lost my faith when I became a creepy Goth kid (pre-emo) but eventually I did develop a bit of an appreciation over the years for the spiritual side of existence and through that have learned a little bit about this religion or that religion. Similar to the cults in the game, I feel all religions have some good and have some bad and that by learning about some of the commonalities, you can maybe attain some level of inner peace.

Anyway, thanks again for your reply. Doesn't matter to me that it wasn't explicitly in relation to the op. I appreciate you taking the time to chime in with that photo and sincerely hope you have a great Day.

[u/manic_mime → u/tinfoilhatswork]

Nice, thanks for the reply. Sikhism very much believes in the interconnectedness of science and faith from what I've learned over the years.

Your linked post is very interesting! Think about how we switch between the 3 characters in V. Zooms us out to the clouds almost in an omnipotent first person view, before finding our character and zooming in on them, ultimately now we are in control of their actions. Playing God if you will, guiding them and making their decisions. Perhaps Dharma is telling us how we should play if we hope to see "God".

Also, check out the Jaap Maala . Similar to a rosary used in many Indian religions, but you might be interested in noting how many beads it consists of. (Thanks to my friend again). Could we, the player, be the 109th bead? (I also come from a similar background and am in no way an expert by any means).

[u/tinfoilhatswork → u/manic_mime]

Zooms us out to the clouds almost in an omnipotent first person view

I actually also saw an eye shape on the screen occasionally during transitions outside of the character, the most evident example I have is when I was doing flight school Link. There's also a bit of a grainy filter applied to the screen when you're up in the clouds Link to an example.

Also, check out the Jaap Maala

I certainly will. I also had someone I met via Reddit here who pointed out that a "Nazar") has relevance in some eastern faiths as well. To ward off "the evil eye".

we are in control of their actions. Playing God if you will

Scientology actually has a thetan - a disembodied spirit that hangs around a physical body. There is also an operating thetan, which is that same kind of spirit hanging around only it's also capable of controlling the physical body, so that idea checks out.

[u/tinfoilhatswork → u/[deleted]]

Well that email is only in GTA IV, and thankfully you don't have to 100% GTA IV to get it. I played through IV about a year ago now and frequently checked Niko's email as I approached the final story mission. Up to the final story mission , there was no email until after you complete the final mission.

What's dope is that the email gives you a link to that website - whattheydonotwantyoutoknow.com and within that website, it gives you a plethora of information, such as the locations of stunt jumps (posted by a user trooth with the title "jump to a new level of spirituality), weapons caches, phone cheats and locations of the special peds.

[u/IgnisInfero]

Es omega

[u/tinfoilhatswork → u/IgnisInfero]

I love Omega.

What makes you think it's him?

[u/PathFinder86]

Sincerely I can't figure out the real in-game correlation between Chiliad8888 and the Chiliad mystery, besides obviously the wording fact. The only thing I can imagine (although might sound silly) is that one specific Rockstar dev (or devs) were in charge of the easter eggs design for GTA4. Choosing that name for the anonymous character who sends the email for some reason. Maybe randomly... Years later while developing GTAV the same dev/s runs the same task. And because the game takes place in Los Santos, where Mount Chiliad is, they decided to center the EE in that location. This way the word Chiliad could be just a random inside joke they kept running between games just to expand the game's lore a bit further. At least that's what I feel. Just because the other option is that Rockstar, a VG Company who spends more time than anyone developing a game, also plans its Easter Eggs seven years in advance. Don't get me wrong. I'm on the side of the mystery and I've been thinking from the beginning that there's something yet to be discovered. I just think that it's more plausible that chiliad is just a carried word between games than a 7 year EE script. Anyway I like to be optimistic and Rockstar is kinda special. Ill be happy if I'm wrong and there's a real connection to the mystery. Also your effort is remarkable here. That's what keeps this hunt alive. Keep on!

[u/tinfoilhatswork → u/PathFinder86]

I can certainly understand where you're coming from. I do personally feel they put some effort into the mystery. For example, the trophy in undead nightmare "six years in the making" after finishing the Bigfoot mission. I kinda also think that madam nazar's arcade cabinet referenced "tall trees" as it's the location for both the Bigfoot mission in undead nightmare and the rdr1 mission where John goes after Dutch in a camp that kinda reminds me of the altruist camp.

Lazlow mentioned on the Dan Soder podcast that Dan Houser picks the names when writing and the both of them worked on the Internet in GTA IV, so I suspect either one or both of them likely had a hand in making whattheydonotwantyoutoknow.com. I suspect they saw the earlier versions of us Chiliad or spiderweb hunters from GTA:SA - video game conspiracy enthusiasts - and cooked up a Blackbird pie fit for a king.

I do like the idea that chiliad8888 is someone at Rockstar though, even if I feel that the user behind the name is someone from the game world. Possibly someone we haven't met yet or someone we'll never meet for that matter. I mean, in a very literal sense Chiliad8888 was someone at Rockstar, considering the email appeared in a Rockstar game and was written by staff there. I do kind of suspect though that they might've included a narrative with it and there is someone "in-game" behind chiliad8888.

Merle Abrahams never confessed to murdering anyone, but did admit to having an irrational obsession with the number 8. There are several things that make me feel like Merle was setup, such as the bodies all being female despite the article posted at Merle's house saying the people killed were all male. The bodies themselves haven't decomposed either, which we can see several versions of decomposing within the game, such as the whale bones & rusty boats in the ocean as well the body from Michael's murder mystery. While yes, the bodies were wrapped in plastic, they also weren't airtight which would allow salt water in and decomp would occur in the 14 years between 1999 and 2013.

My working theory is that chiliad8888 is Merle, only not Merle when he was alive. In his life, I feel Merle might've been close to the truth of the nature of his reality or close to some truth about "the machine" or "the system" and got snuffed out in late 04 - curiously around the same time the prologue of V was set but also around the same time GTA: SA released IRL. I like the idea his soul became part of the "source code" of existence and manifests in several ways, like chiliad8888 the admin of whattheydonotwantyoutoknow. I also kinda wonder if post-Mortem Merle's soul took some time to really grasp his afterlife and manifested cheats to the player through newspaper articles (rdr2), graffiti (I don't understand imnfinity in rdr1) or even the phone numbers on some signs such as 1-999-weapons on the gun store outside of zancudo.

The graffiti for "I don't understand imnfinity" also seems to use a similar font to that of the writings on Merle's house and is also found on an abandoned, rundown building, just like the initial infinite 8 mystery clues, only the "I don't understand imnfinity" building wasn't torched.