The Downtown experiment in the Unsupervised Science quest hides inside Testing Facility Reade, on the eastern side of the Deserted Area. It is the object-transformation version of the puzzle, where every appliance you pick up has to become a Thirst Station soda dispenser before it will register in the yellow floor markers. Once all five markers are filled, the console shuts the experiment down and opens the sealed room behind it.
Quick answer: Carry each appliance across the yellow floor lines until it turns into a Thirst Station dispenser, set one in every yellow square, then activate the console to complete the shutdown.
Where Testing Facility Reade is and how to get inside
Testing Facility Reade sits in the Deserted Area of the Downtown district, marked on the map once you have the coordinates. The map pin points at the underground lab, not its entrance, so you reach it through the construction building above and a drainage pipe below.

Since Hiss forces are inside the unfinished building, defeat them before searching for a descent. Start by opening the map and setting a marker near the facility and the Deserted Area to track your route.


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Add to Google Preferences →How the object transformation puzzle works
The appliances scattered around the room are not dispensers yet. The Shutdown Instructions note beside the terminal names the Thirst Station soda dispenser as the required default state, and the whiteboard nearby shows how the states change. You must transform each item before it counts.

Carrying an object across one of the yellow floor lines changes its form. The forms cycle in a fixed order, so each crossing advances the item one step toward the dispenser.
- Printer
- Bathroom sink
- Kitchen oven
- Soda dispenser (Thirst Station)
Moving forward across a line advances the state; backtracking reverts it to the previous form. The dispenser only appears after the item has passed through the oven state, so you cannot skip straight to it. Jumping around the dividing lines while holding an object lets you control the sequence and reach the dispenser faster.
The Downtown room is the most forgiving version of this puzzle. All five yellow squares sit close together in the lower section, and the items convert once you bring them near the main puzzle area, so simple back-and-forth walking is usually enough.
Solving the Downtown soda dispenser puzzle
Five dispensers need to fill five yellow squares. The items are spread across the lower floor, the corners, and the walkway above, so gather them one at a time and convert each before placing it.


Activating the console and confirming the shutdown
With all five squares filled, return to the computer terminal beneath the whiteboard and press the interact button to Activate Machine. This completes the puzzle and shuts down the experiment.
Success is confirmed when the objective changes and the sealed back room opens. Then climb the stairs and catwalk to the upper chamber, now unlocked, and collect the rewards inside.
Rewards for shutting down the Downtown experiment
Completing the Downtown facility hands over one of the Power Upgrade Points needed to improve your Power, plus a lore collectible and quest progression.
| Reward | Detail |
|---|---|
| Power Upgrade Point | Counts toward the three needed to improve Power |
| Collectible | “A Note From Dr. Milbeck’s Cardiologist” |
| Talent Point | +1 |
| Undefined Reading | +1 |
| Downtown progression | +120 points, raising Downtown to rank 6 |
Grab the Power Upgrade Point from the node in the back room and inspect the cardiologist’s note on the desk before you leave. Shutting down the Downtown facility is one of six experiments in Unsupervised Science, and clearing all of them is what eventually opens the route into the Threshold.






