Notice! This article contains spoilers for Silo season 2 episode 6.
Bernard and Lukas may not have decoded the cryptic message in Salvador Quinn's letter, but viewers created an intriguing Silo season 2 theory that explains what the letter could mean. Although Silo season 2, like season 1, is based on the book by Hugh Howey Silo books, it takes a lot of massive creative liberties that make the series significantly different from the source material. The Apple TV+ sci-fi show still stays true to the essence of the books, but features many unique stories and characters that book readers know nothing about.
One of these character beats revolves around a mysterious figure, Salvador Quinn, who was mayor of Silo 18 during the last rebellion. Although little appears to be known about what happened to Quinn, many story developments in Silo season two confirmed that he left a cryptic message in a letter he wrote to his wife. Tim Robbins' Silo character, Bernard, had already destroyed the hard drive containing Quinn's message. However, after Meadows mentions it moments before his death, Bernard's curiosity gets the better of him and he hires Lukas to decode it.
Salvador Quinn's Decoded Message in Silo Season 2 Explained
Some viewers have already decoded the first lines of the message
Although Lukas manages to fix the broken hard drive and extract many of its files, he struggles to understand Quinn's letter. He tries to apply a Caesar shift to decode the message, but it doesn't work. In Silo In the final moments of episode 6 of season 2, Bernard makes him his shadow to give him access to "The Legacy," in hopes that it will help him solve the mystery. While only time will tell if Lukas will decode the message, some viewers (via Reddit) have already discovered what the coded lines of the message mean:
“If you've come this far, you already know.
The game is rigged.
We think we are the chosen ones, but we are just one of many
The founders didn't build a single silo
They built fifty
And they created the safeguard
We were deceived.
We are not safe.
Our home is not a sanctuary, but a trap.
The fate of this silo is determined by another
Someone with the power to kill everyone here in one
Instant reason be damned.
If you don't believe me, go to the bottom of the silo,
Going down the tunnel, you will receive a confirmation there."
Salvador Quinn's letter is a warning: silo theory explained
The letter suggests that Bernard was deceived
The first lines of Quinn's message say something about them believing they are the chosen ones. This could mean that Quinn and Bernard were led to believe that their Silo would repopulate the world after the toxic environment outside became habitable again. However, as the letter suggests, this belief is a lie because the creators built a total of fifty silos. The fact that Quinn calls his Silo a trap and not a sanctuary suggests that they could be part of a grand experiment designed to determine which Silo would ultimately repopulate the world.
Quinn's message also points to another silo, which apparently has the power to kill people in everyone else in an instant. This could explain why Bernard is so worried about the rebellion, because he knows that if things go wrong, those in the lead silo won't think twice about shutting down Silo 18 and killing all the citizens. It also seems likely that the people of Silo 17 were killed by the creators who reside in the main and powerful silo mentioned in the letter.
If things get out of control in a silo, the creators will likely implement “the safeguard,” which involves refreshing everyone's memory using the drug.
The letter also says something about a safeguard, which could be linked to the cleansing protocol and the memory-erasing medication. If things get out of control in a silo, creators are likely to implement "the safeguard,", which involves refreshing everyone's memory with the use of the drug. Or the safeguard could be a reference to a safe haven in the outside world that has been specifically reserved for the survivors of the chosen silo. The end of the message asks the reader to come down the tunnel at the bottom of the silo to find evidence suggesting the tunnel could lead someone to other silos.
How will Bernard react to Salvador Quinn's warning
The warning will likely destroy how Bernard sees his world
The scale of how much Bernard knows about their world remains unknown. However, many story developments in Silo season two suggests he knows some half-truths about the consequences of rebellion. For example, he is not surprised to see Juliette entering another silo in Silo first moments of season 2. What scares him is that all the citizens in the other silo are dead. This suggests he has known about the existence of the other silos for some time. However, he may not have known that only one of the many silos would be chosen.
Once he understands the true scope of the inhumane experiment they are part of after decoding Quinn's message, his reaction may not be much different from Meadows'. Meadows was Bernard's loyal shadow before she read Quinn's message and realized that their world was much darker and more cursed than she imagined. After Bernard came to the same conclusion in Silo In future episodes of the second season, he may also question his own position as leader and resort to extreme measures.