Control Resonant Soda Dispenser Puzzle: Testing Facility Pearl in Evacuation Zone 8

Testing Facility Pearl in Evacuation Zone 8 hides an Impermanence puzzle that blocks a locked research room. To open it, you have to turn five shifting objects into Soda Dispensers and lock them into their marked floor squares. The catch is that the objects don’t start as dispensers, and their starting shapes are randomized, so a fixed route rarely matches your run.

Quick answer: Set all five yellow-taped Impermanence squares to a Soda Dispenser (“Thirst Station”), then pull the console lever. Carrying an object across a yellow line cycles it printer → sink → oven → drink dispenser.

Where to find the puzzle in Evacuation Zone 8

The facility sits in the southern part of Evacuation Zone 8, near the survivalist bunker door on the street. Enter through that door and follow the drainage pipe down from street level into the test chamber. A fast travel door lets you return to Testing Facility Pearl later without repeating the tunnel route.

Location Map Overview — The map pins Testing Facility Pearl in the southern part of Evacuation Zone 8, reached through the bunker door and drainage pipe. Shown at 00:07 in Emmie Jacob Game Guides’s video. Image: Remedy Entertainment

Inside the main room, read the Shutdown Instructions document at the terminal console before touching anything. It confirms the rule that drives the whole puzzle: every designated Impermanence area must hold an object in its default state, and that default state is listed as Soda Dispenser. Only then will the lever initiate shutdown.

Puzzle Chamber & Explanation — The Shutdown Instructions at the console state that the default state for every Impermanence area is a Soda Dispenser. Shown at 01:17 in Emmie Jacob Game Guides’s video. Image: Remedy Entertainment

How the Impermanence cycle works

Every movable item in the chamber is an Impermanence object. When you pick one up and carry it across a yellow boundary line on the floor, it changes into the next form in a fixed sequence. Cross another line moving forward and it advances again. Cross a line while backtracking and it reverts to the previous form.

Step in cycle	Object form
1	Printer
2	Sink
3	Oven / Stove
4	Soda Dispenser (“Thirst Station”)

The Soda Dispenser only appears after the oven stage, so plan your crossings to land on that fourth form. If an object overshoots or sits on the wrong shape, walk it back over a line to step it down, then move forward again until the “Thirst Station” appears.

Mechanics & Identifying Zones — Yellow tape marks each target square, while yellow lines on the floor are the thresholds that transform the object you carry. Shown at 02:11 in Emmie Jacob Game Guides’s video. Image: Remedy Entertainment

There are five yellow-taped squares spread across the chamber floor and the raised walkways. Locate all five first so you know how many dispensers you need and where each one has to end up.

Solve the Soda Dispenser puzzle

Scan the room and note every yellow-taped square along with the loose objects lying around. Because starting shapes are randomized, work with the layout in front of you rather than a memorized path.

Pick up any object and carry it across the yellow lines. Watch the form change with each crossing and keep going until it becomes a Soda Dispenser.

Positioning Drink Dispensers — Once an object reads as a Soda Dispenser, set it down inside one of the yellow squares. Shown at 03:51 in Emmie Jacob Game Guides’s video. Image: Remedy Entertainment

Drop the dispenser inside a yellow square using the Drop Object prompt. Leaving it there frees you from carrying it while you handle the rest.

Repeat with each remaining object, moving back and forth across the lines as needed so the item is a Soda Dispenser at the moment it reaches its square. Fill all five squares this way.

Final Object Adjustments — Adjust the final objects across the thresholds, then use the Drop Object prompt to seat the last dispenser in its square. Shown at 06:26 in Emmie Jacob Game Guides’s video. Image: Remedy Entertainment

Return to the main terminal and pull the shutdown lever. This is the only action that completes the puzzle once all five squares are correct.

Confirming the shutdown and rewards

When the lever registers a valid setup, the console status changes from red to green and the sealed research room opens. If the light stays red, one square is still holding a printer, sink, or oven, so re-check each square and cycle any wrong object back to the dispenser form.

Step into the unlocked chamber and cleanse the Altered Item to claim a Power Upgrade Point (1/3). Collect three of these to improve your Power. On the side table you can also pick up the collectible note “Notes From Technician Washland”.

Console Activation & Reward Room — The reward room holds the Altered Item and the "Notes From Technician Washland" research note. Shown at 06:52 in Emmie Jacob Game Guides’s video. Image: Remedy Entertainment

To verify the pickup, open the Archives menu and look under the “Impermanence Threshold” category, where “Notes From Technician Washland” appears alongside other entries such as the Testing Facility Coordinates and Dr. Grant’s Voicemail. Seeing the note logged there confirms the room was cleared and the reward secured.