The Ark

Mentions

• totheark's username breaks down into "to the ark"
• In the totheark video Exit, "WHEREIS THEARK" flashes briefly at the end.
• In Entry ######, the audio says: "We will wait for you no more. Control is being taken away from you. From the start it's been a game for us. Not anymore. I'm coming for you. And you will lead me to the ark."
• All of the totheark videos are tagged with "ark" in their youtube tags, except for Fragments and Entry ######.
• In Entry 79 Jay picks up a paper that reads, "Find Alex/Find the ark"

Observations and Speculation

• Tim/The Masked Man and/or totheark need to get to the Ark for some reason and Jay is their method of doing that.
  • This would explain a great deal of totheark's actions. He has often been close enough to harm Jay but has never shown an interest in doing so, despite his apparent great interest in Jay.
  • This could explain the events of Entry #33 through the idea that totheark needs to isolate Jay from distractions so that all he's doing is looking for the Ark. Tim/The Masked Man could have been intentionally separating Jay and Jessica and getting Jay back on the trail in one fell swoop, by planting the safe code and them immediately chasing Jay away from the hotel as soon as he'd gotten them.
• There is a great deal of water imagery that gets used in the totheark videos, as well as references to water in the titles of the videos such as Deluge. This would lend some credence to the theories that, like Noah's Ark, the Ark in Marble Hornets is some sort of refuge or salvation.

Main Theories

These are the theories that either have a lot of support or a lot of supporters.

• The Ark could be a place or a thing that renders one immune to or safe from the Operator's influence. Totheark would want it because he too is aware of, and possibly stalked by the Operator, and if totheark is also Tim/The Masked Man, it's almost certain that he too is being stalked.
  • blue5213 suggested that Jay may know where this is or be in possession of it; however, Jay is not immune to the Operator's influence so this is unlikely.
• The Ark is the boiler room/basement from Entries #22 and #23. "WHEREIS THEARK" appears in Exit, which was a reply to Entry #13, which takes place at a structure that many speculate to be the outside of the building that houses the boiler room.
  • It is widely speculated that totheark wants to find his way there because it is a place that the Operator frequents. This ties in with the theories suggesting that totheark and Tim/The Masked Man are allied with or worshipping the Operator, but can also be explained by Tim/The Masked Man needing something from that place.
  • Totheark and/or Tim/The Masked Man may need Jay to lead him to the basement, either because Jay has some special access. This would explain why totheark kept goading Jay to return to the house over and over.
• The Ark, similar to the Ark of the Covenant, is a repository of knowledge, particularly knowledge concerning the Operator and possibly how to escape him or defeat him.
  • The Ark is the recorded knowledge of the Operator on tape.
    • The Ark is the final, undestroyed tape from the original filming of Marble Hornets, apparently still in Alex's possession as of Entry #26.
  • During the first part of season 2, a theory came up that the Ark was the mysterious safe in Jay's hotel room, which turned out to contain his tapes from the seven missing months.

Other Theories

• The Ark doesn't actually exist, and was simply something that totheark made up to rationalize the horror of the Operator. (1)
• The Ark is not a thing, but is rather a label for some form of escape or salvation from the Operator.
  • That salvation is the passing on of the role of The Masked Man, and possibly death. (1)
  • Aerokinetic suggests that the Ark is a method of forgetting the Operator, and thus escaping him. This could be supported by some of the scribblings from Alex's wall-of-crazy that Jay found in the house and posted in Entry #19.5, saying "forget what I see".
• The Ark actually has something to do with the bible.
  • The Ark has to do with the biblical flood, or a similar upcoming flood that is related to the Operator.
  • The Ark refers to the Ark of the Covenant or a similar religious vessel.
• TruthxLiesxMagic suggests that the Ark is a specific safe house that others have been to, and that The Masked Man is under the impression that Jay can lead him there to recover.
• The Ark is an object of worship or interest to the Operator and/or Tim/The Masked Man. (1)
  • The Ark is one of the cameras used in filming Marble Hornets.
• The Ark is a room or place outside of reality that is mostly safe from external forces (the Operator) and is much like this world but very different. This is proposed by the EverymanHYBRID crew that released a 'hidden-secret video' entitled "Welcome to the ARK"; but since MH mostly stays away from other series (EMH, T12, etc.) this may not be true.
• Alex is working with the Operator (the flood) and totheark is trying to get us to saftey (the ark) with the help of Tim as Masky and someone as Hoody. They are trying to stop Jay from meddling.

Disproved or Discredited Theories

• The Ark is not Alex R. Kraile. Alex's middle name does not start with an R.
• The Ark is not Alex's tapes that were given to Jay. Their destruction in the burning of Jay's apartment in Entry #25 would tend to discount this possibility.