The Author

The Author is an alias for a character mentioned throughout OneShot. Few depictions of his physical appearance exist, but he appears to be an older man with dark skin and a bit of gray stubble on his face. He wears an aviator hat, a large brown coat, a yellow scarf, and gloves.

The Author is credited for inventing a flying machine and music boxes, writing and illustrating many books, and documenting The World. He also directly helps The Player late in the game.

In OneShot: World Machine Edition, The Author's bio reads:

"A sentimental fool, with interest in tinkering. Creator of The World Machine, and Chronicler of a place and time that no longer exists.

There is an old saying (here gently paraphrased) that claims "As the lamp shines brighter, longer grow the shadows it casts." The clearer our vision, the better understanding of how much yet remains unseen.

Having seen so much of this world, it pains me to imagine the wonderful people I shall never get the chance to meet. The delightful meals I shall never get the chance to taste, the beautiful shores I shall never get to sit upon. It pains me yet again to know that this simulation, though crafted to the best of my ability, represents only a portion of what I myself have been able to see.

Nevertheless, I hope that by sharing this small spark what remains can never truly be lost. May you add this light to your own, and carry it with you on your journey."

Background
The Author originally lived in the Old World, and was alive during its end. He attempted to save the world by converting it into code, creating The World Machine. Since it needed to borrow the mental processing abilities of a living person, he used himself for it during the testing phases. However, he did not realize that the World Machine was sentient and was rearranging its own code. When he realized the cause of the squares polluting the land, he did not have time to make it stable before the Old World ended. Its code floated in the void for an unknown period of time, waiting for a living being to install it in their hardware and generate the universe using the code.

Legacy
In the World, the Author is well-known for writing many books, ranging from novels to documentations, illustrations, and sketches. One of said illustrations was the design for Prophetbot. He had also invented a flying machine which allowed him to travel to the different regions of the World to gather materials for his books. He has personally been friends with many of the other characters such as Silver, Alula, Calamus, Rachis, George, and more.

Fate
It is unknown what fate befell the Author, but it is implied that he is still alive, although no longer existing in The World. Nothing in-game states what kind of existence this would be. During the non-Solstice route, a written note to The Player states that "I already left the world on my own terms.", confirming that the Author was alive at some point after exiting The World and that he did not die as a result of exiting The World. Further, the Author at first does not know whether resetting the game and bypassing the OneShot mechanic is possible until The Player demonstrates so, at which point the Author communicates with The Player, confirming that he is still alive at the moment the player is playing the game. During the Solstice route, Cedric expresses sadness that the Author is no longer "with us", which could be interpreted as the Author being dead, but may also mean that the Author has exited The World with no way to return. It is also stated during the Solstice route that the Solstice update itself was a patch the Author made to The World Machine's code, which must be after The Player's original playthrough.

Trivia

 * In one of the Author's sketches, two consecutive dates are written as 910-45-22 and 910-45-23, which (if interpreted in international date format) would mean that the calendar of The World features at least 45 months per year. However, this may only be another method of writing dates unique to The World or the Old World.