Welp, here we are. I guess you wanna know what this all means, huh? What, they don't teach you how to read weird symbol language in human schools? Nah, don't worry, Frisk. You want me to be straight with you, I'll be straight with you. Hey, it's the least I can do for the future of monsters.
Those guys in the photo album, I mean the ones you don't know, they were my friends. Yeah, were. They're not really dead, but they're not alive either. More on that later. We were all coworkers, and that's where the badge comes in. Pretty much your standard-issue ID badge. "Dr. Sans. Lab assistant. Physicist. Full clearance." Yeah, I've got a doctorate. Believe it or not, I wasn't always lazy. I can remember a time when I actually wanted to accomplish something. Although that's gotten fuzzier for me over the years.
Now, the blueprints and the machine? You'd be right in thinking they're connected. But the blueprints were for a prototype. That scrappa junk behind the curtain is my own design, but I guess that's not surprising. All things considered, though, it's still in better shape than the prototype right now. The symbols on the blueprints, now that's personal stuff for me. Ya see, my boss liked to keep a lotta secrets. He didn't want any sensitive information leaking, so he spoke in this old language of his around us, his assistants. It's, uh, not easy to pick up.
Anyways, long story short, my boss built a time machine. He thought maybe he could find answers in other timelines on how to break the barrier. It was one of his better plans, but let's not get into that. Even now I remember the day he took it on a test run. It was supposed to be one quick trip, then we'd present it to the king. All our research… all our experiments… they built up to this moment. And then, with one flip of a switch, it all caved in on us.
The machine… wasn't ready. Something about irregularities in the power source… I barely had time to grab one of the interns and run. I thought… I thought everybody else was behind me. But when I cleared the blast doors…
Dammit, Tori's not gonna like it if I give you nightmares. Anyways, you're a smart kid. I'm sure you can put two and two together on where my machine fits in. Sorry, Frisk. Looks like whatever you wanted to do, time travel ain't your best bet. Hey now, don't look so sad, buddo. It's not your fault I gave up trying to fix this piece of shit.
Wait.
Just what were you trying to do, anyway?
I mean, you knew my secret-secret-triple-secret codeword, so this obviously ain't your first time in the Underground. And that expression you had when I mentioned my boss… I didn't even tell you his name, but you looked like you knew exactly who I was talking about. Come to think of it, you almost looked… relieved? And then there was that creepy shit you pulled to get me away from the others.
…I see how it is.
You think you can just play with us like toys, don't you?
We only exist for your entertainment.
No.
Then why did you tear it all away?