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| “ | He has the book. We can't kill him, but you don't have to let him go free. We can put him in the prison. I built the prison. I have access to the prison. [...] It's impossible to leave that prison once you're locked away. | ” |
—Sam proposing to lock Dream in the prison[1] | ||
Pandora's Vault, also known as the prison, is a massive prison complex filled with complicated redstone contraptions built by Awesamdude and Dream.[2] Many features of the prison are considered top secret and will not be revealed to the public. Sam himself, along with BadBoyHalo and Antfrost, were installed as the guards of the prison.
It was used to house Dream as its primary prisoner in the main cell, and later Ranboo and ConnorEatsPants, until Technoblade (who was also imprisoned in the prison from June 6 until September 14, 2021) broke in and freed the three on November 28, 2021. The prison was abandoned after the breakout until January 29, 2022 when Technoblade, Eret and Tubbo imprisoned Sam for kidnapping MICHAEL and killing Ranboo. Dream later killed and released Sam, taking the prison as his base.
Purpose[]
After Dream came into possession of the Revival Book, he became scared that perhaps other people might possess the means of revival as well. This would have meant that even after beating a powerful person fully, they would still be able to come back. To resolve this, Dream came up with the idea of building a prison. If anyone ever tried to stop his goals or hurt the server, they could be stopped by locking them up.[3]
When he realized that the server was turning against him, Dream planned to put himself in the prison temporarily.[4] This was to make the other server members believe that Punz had betrayed him during the Disc Confrontation and was not on his side. That way, nobody would ever think to kill both Dream and Punz at the same time.[5]
History[]
Construction[]
On December 4, 2020, Dream paid Sam a stack of diamond blocks to build an inescapable prison.[6] Dream only told him that the prison was for someone capable and that they could not kill whoever it was. Dream also wanted the prison to be finished by the end of the year.[7]
Pandora's Vault wall and interior on the early building streams
The prison was constructed on a massive dirt platform built in the middle of the ocean behind the quartz mansion. It is mainly constructed out of obsidian and blackstone. Sam spent a massive amount of time building the exterior of it. On December 15, Sam finished the exterior of the prison.[8] He also estimated that the interior of the prison is over 20,000 blocks.[9]
On January 9, 2021, in a conversation with Eret, Sam estimated that he had spent fourteen full days online and many more hours offline planning with Dream working on the prison.[10]
On January 13, 2021, Sam showed Ponk the second room that was found on the other side of the nether portal in the entrance hall. Sam also showed Ponk the prison guardian's key book consisting of three pages. However, Ponk was only able to see the first page with Sam explaining he would have to change all of the codes within the prison if the other pages were shown.[11]
Planned imprisonment[]
- Main article: Disc Confrontation
Dream before being taken to prison
During the staged Disc Confrontation on January 20, 2021, Dream said that the prison was originally not planned for Tommy, but that he had supposedly changed his mind and decided to imprison Tommy. When Dream threatened to kill Tubbo, a coalition of the server led by Punz came to aid Tommy in fighting Dream. After Tommy killed Dream twice, Dream revealed that he had the Revival Book, making Tommy hesitate to take Dream's final life. Sam then proposed that they could lock Dream in the prison so that they could always make him revive somebody. Everyone agreed with that idea and Dream was escorted to the prison, just like he and Punz had planned.[12]
Visitors[]
Tommy in the prison entrance room
The following day on January 21, 2021, Tommy visited Dream in the prison. Dream showed Tommy around the cell and apologized for his actions, although Tommy had a hard time believing him. Dream said he was glad that Tommy visited him and that he wanted him to visit again. Tommy asked Dream to write five novels as homework for his next visit, which Dream agreed to. When Tommy wondered who Dream missed the most since he was imprisoned, Dream told Tommy that he should go.[13]
Later that month, Ranboo decided to visit Dream. He was allowed to bring in his memory book and had a confusing conversation with Dream about how he had helped Dream with tasks in the past.[14] When Ranboo tried to visit again some time later, Sam refused to let him in after he could not remember having visited the prison before. Sam eventually banned Ranboo from visiting the prison altogether after Ranboo was unable to explain why he had signed the prison waivers with a different name and had erased their contents.[15]
BadBoyHalo with Dream in the cell
BadBoyHalo visited the cell soon after and noticed that Dream only had a clock for entertainment. Dream said that he would sometimes burn the clock to get Sam to come into the cell to talk to him. He admitted that he would sometimes get less food if he did that, making Bad worried that Sam was starving Dream. Bad became even more concerned when Dream hurt himself in the lava outside of the cell, which Dream explained was something he did to keep himself entertained. Bad promised Dream that he would improve the conditions of the cell once he became a prison guard.[16]
After he left the cell, Sam pressed Bad on whether Dream had done or said anything to him. Bad said that Dream had burned his clock again. This angered Sam and he considered not giving him a new clock, though Bad tried to change his mind. Bad also told Sam that Dream had gone into the lava, but Sam dismissed it and said Dream just wanted attention.[17]
A joke[]
On February 7, 2021, George, vandalized the prison by breaking a block of blackstone. He joked about breaking Dream out of the prison and bringing him back to "freedom." Sam, infuriated with George's actions, replaced the block and made a threat, stating that if George was to commit the action again, Sam would take all of his canon lives.[18]
Sapnap's visit[]
Sapnap visiting Dream
Sapnap visited Dream on February 9, 2021. Dream was on strike and communicated with Sapnap by writing in a book. Sapnap thought the cell looked a bit run down as some of the regular obsidian had been replaced with crying obsidian. Dream explained that this was because he had tried to create a Nether portal by trying to set fire to the lectern. Sapnap said that Dream had to stay in the prison for a while, maybe even forever, but Dream replied that he would get out eventually. In response, Sapnap threatened to take Dream's final life if Dream ever escaped.[19]
Dream asked Sapnap to pass on a message to Ranboo, which Sapnap agreed to. At the end of the conversation, Sapnap managed to make Dream talk to him after he asked him to stop throwing his clocks in the lava. When Sapnap exited the cell and said this to Sam, Sam became suspicious that Dream had told Sapnap anything else and (non-canonically) killed Sapnap so he could check the prison gate.[20]
Security breach and lockdown[]
Sam showing Bad and Ant around the prison
On February 21, 2021, Tommy went to visit Dream one last time to tie up remaining loose ends. However, during the visit, a series of explosions were set off somewhere in/near the prison. Tommy screamed for Sam to let him out, but Sam said that he had to check the security issue and that Tommy would be stuck in Dream's cell in the meantime.[21] Later on during the day, Sam gave Bad and Antfrost tours as the new guards of the prison. He stated he was worried as something had happened earlier and that he needed them to be on high alert and constantly report back to him.[22]
Dream before killing Tommy
Nine days later, Tommy asked Sam to let him out, but Sam said he still had to investigate more. Tommy and Dream had also noticed a cat that had teleported to Tommy inside the prison. Dream said that he loved the cat and that it gave him hope that he could live a better life in the prison, leading to Tommy killing the cat. Dream responded that Tommy had just given him even more motivation to escape and that he would get his revenge on anyone who had wronged him.[23] Tommy started to doubt the existence of the Revival Book, saying that Schlatt could not have had a book like that and no one else had seen the book. The two got into a fight where Tommy kept insisting that the Revival Book was not real. This ended in Dream killing Tommy and taking his last canon life, telling him to go see Schlatt in person.[24]
Potential plan[]
After Tommy's death, Quackity found Sam at the house he had built on an island away from everyone else. Sam was upset about Tommy's death and felt bad about letting him die. Quackity assured Sam that it was Dream who had killed Tommy and that Sam was not to blame in any way. He convinced Sam that they should kill Dream, and they both left to go to the prison. When they arrived, Sam changed his mind and told Quackity that they could not kill Dream since he still had the Revival Book. Quackity was angry but eventually relented. He said that somebody had to teach Dream a lesson some day, and that he would be the one to do that if Sam was unable to.[25]
Tommy leaves prison[]
Tommy leaving the cell
Dream revived Tommy three days after his death. He asked Tommy about how he felt and about the Afterlife. Tommy talked about the Afterlife, saying that it was a pitch black void and that it felt as if he was being grinded up. He also talked about seeing the other members of the Afterlife. Tommy said that the Wilbur in the Afterlife was worse than Dream himself and asked him to not revive Wilbur. Dream said that he would use the book to revive Wilbur so that Wilbur could help him escape the prison. Tommy asked him to burn the book, but Dream had already burned the book and memorized its contents. Tommy wanted to kill Dream, but stopped out of fear that killing Dream might lead to him being imprisoned again.[26] Sam found out a few days later that Tommy was alive and quickly brought him back from the cell. Tommy was furious at Sam for allowing him to die and not freeing him after a week. Tommy left the prison, warning that he would sue Sam.[27]
Quackity's visit[]
Quackity receiving weapons from Sam
When Quackity learned about Dream reviving Tommy, he became determined to obtain the Revival Book for himself. On March 16, 2021, he met up with Sam and said that Dream still had power with the Revival Book and that Sam had no control over him at all. He proposed that they should torture Dream to get him to give up the Revival Book. Sam agreed to the plan and gave Quackity his weapons and shears once they were in the prison. Quackity took them into Dream's cell and demanded that Dream tell him about his knowledge from the Revival Book. Dream refused and started yelling for Sam when Quackity revealed he had weapons. However, Sam did not answer Dream and stayed silent. Quackity vowed to visit Dream every single day to torture him until he would give up the Revival Book.[28]
Ponk steals keys[]
Sam torturing Ponk for the prison's keycards
On March 23, 2021, Ponk stole the prison's keycards, showed one of them to HBomb and Niki, and refused to return them to Sam. In response, Sam killed Ponk and took one of his canon lives.[29][30] However, unbeknownst to Sam at the time, Ponk had many more books in his ender chest. After Ponk's first death, Sam built a torture chamber and trapped Ponk inside. The next day, Sam used multiple torture methods, including cutting off Ponk's arm, to retrieve the eleven remaining books Ponk had in his possession.[31]
Break in with Drista[]
- Note: The following event is considered non-canon, meaning that it is unrelated to the overall Dream SMP storyline.
On April 9, Drista, Dream's sister in real life, decided to play on Dream's computer. Because Dream had access to admin commands, Drista broke into the prison in creative mode with Tommy following her in. Tommy was amazed by the prison's redstone interior. However, Dream discovered what they were doing and yelled for Drista to get off his computer.[32]
Ghostbur's visit[]
Dream and Ghostbur before Wilbur's revival
Since he had been killed and revived by Dream, Tommy wanted to try and kill Dream in the prison. On April 29, 2021, he planned to have Ghostbur visit Dream while he followed behind him invisibly with the Axe of Peace. They made it to the cell, but Tommy accidentally showed that he was holding the axe before he could use it to attack Dream. Sam ordered Tommy to get back on the bridge while Ghostbur stayed behind in the cell. When Tommy got back to Sam, Dream took Ghostbur hostage and threatened to revive Wilbur if he was not released from the prison. Because Sam refused to let Dream go, Dream ended up reviving Wilbur in the hope that Wilbur would help him escape.[33]
The note to Techno[]
Quackity torturing Dream
On May 22, 2021, Quackity questioned Dream about his relationship with Technoblade. Dream admitted that Techno was one of his only allies. Quackity then handed Dream an empty book and ordered him to write a note to Techno to get him to visit the prison. In return, Quackity would not torture Dream for a week. When Dream refused, Quackity threatened to kill him and said that Sam would not step in to save him. Quackity swung his axe around Dream and then started hitting Dream with his sword. Dream screamed and pleaded for him to stop, promising that he would write the note to Techno.[34]
Technoblade's visit[]
On June 6, 2021, Technoblade visited the prison, as Quackity had told him days before that Dream wanted him to visit and had mentioned the favor.[35] Upon reaching Dream's cell, Dream yelled at Technoblade, saying it was a trap by Quackity and Sam to get him in prison. Despite trying to warn Technoblade, it was too late for Techno to escape. Sam told Technoblade that he was a major threat to Dream's escape since they had worked with each other in the past.[36]
Sam trapping Techno in the cell
Sam then lowered the lava, trapping Technoblade in the cell with Dream. Dream began to panic and said that his only option of escaping the prison was gone. Technoblade, however, calmed him down and told him they still had some options left. Dream doubted Techno's words, saying that he had been stuck in prison for six months. However, Technoblade acknowledged that it must have been hard but added that he had friends who could help them. As Techno looked through Dream's few belongings, he saw that there were books and quills. Technoblade then asked Dream to write down everything he knew about the prison and how many guards there are, pointing out that Dream was the one who had commissioned the prison to be built. Dream then proceeded to write.[37]
Technoblade's stay[]
On June 21, 2021, Technoblade streamed a "podcast" inside the cell. Dream told Techno how he was being tortured every day and that there was nothing to do in the cell since the clock had been removed. He was relieved that he had not been tortured ever since Techno had joined him in the cell. When Dream burned himself in the lava, Techno was alarmed and thought that Dream needed to see a psychologist.[38]
Dream and Techno with the bell
Dream wondered what would happen if he tried to revive somebody who was not dead. Techno thought it might clone him so they could create an army of Technoblades who could protect Dream from being tortured. Dream used the Revival Book on Techno, but it summoned DreamXD to the cell instead. DreamXD granted them one wish, which Techno used to get a bell in the prison. Dream became distraught that Techno had not wished for a way to escape the prison.[39]
In the end, Techno came up with a way to try to escape the prison. Dream would break the obsidian blocks under the toilet area while Techno would keep watch.[40] Over the next three months, they managed to break a few blocks in the toilet, but their progress was continuously interrupted whenever somebody entered the cell.[41]
Technoblade's escape[]
On September 14, 2021, Quackity visited Dream to try and get the Revival Book. He threatened to kill Technoblade knowing that Technoblade was Dream's only hope of getting out. After some conversation and Dream refusing to give up the book's information, Quackity decided to kill Technoblade. He pulled out a diamond pickaxe and attacked him, saying the same words that Technoblade had said during their duel.[42]
Quackity about to kill Techno
Quackity nearly killed Technoblade, but Technoblade was teleported into the Syndicate meeting room with an ender pearl stasis chamber by Philza who had coincidentally read Techno's Will around the same time. Technoblade quickly told Phil everything, and they prepared to destroy the prison in revenge. Techno then left and retrieved the prison's blueprints from the spot where he and Dream had first met.[43]
Right after Techno disappeared, Sam encouraged Quackity to torture Dream to make him talk about what had happened with Techno. Quackity continued to hit Dream with his shears while Dream begged for him to stop. Dream kept repeating that he did not know where Techno was, so Quackity left the cell and said he would kill Dream if he did not find Techno. After Quackity and Sam did a brief check around the prison to find out how Technoblade had escaped, they looked into the main cell to find that Dream appeared to have escaped as well. Sam put the prison into full lockdown, activating the prison's alarm system, while Quackity travelled to Las Nevadas to inform its citizens and prepare for an attack.[44]
Searching for Dream[]
Sam finding Dream
After Quackity left, Sam continued his search for Dream. After searching around the prison, Sam entered the main cell. Upon searching inside the toilet, Sam found Dream hiding in the hole he had secretly mined. Sam interrogated Dream on what he and Techno had done while Dream kept pleading with Sam not to tell Quackity he was still in the prison. Sam initially said he was going to tell Quackity, but Dream continued to beg him not to. He pointed out how Sam was supposed to protect him and that Sam did not want him dead. Sam responded that he was only supposed to keep Dream in the prison, not protect him. Sam eventually agreed not to tell Quackity, although he said he was not required to continue to feed Dream and that the raw potatoes had been Dream's own idea.[45]
When Sam was about to leave, Dream hesitantly asked if he could go to the courtyard since he had been in the cell for so long. This made Sam angry because he thought that Dream intended to escape through the courtyard. Dream said that the courtyard was secure, and Sam replied that this was only because he had sealed it up. He said that everything Dream hated about the prison had been his own idea and that he should be thankful. Dream fell silent as Sam continued to talk about how Dream deserved everything and that next time it might be Sam who came into the cell instead of Quackity to torture Dream. He ordered Dream not to ask him to go to the courtyard and threatened to tell Quackity about Dream if any more "shenanigans" happened.[46]
Imprisonment of Ranboo[]
Techno seeing Sam put Ranboo in the prison
Some time later, Sam went to visit Ranboo at his house. He told Ranboo that he was there to arrest him and put him in prison. Ranboo asked if Sam was talking about the time Ranboo had requested for Sam to put him in prison. He said he was fine now and did not need that anymore. Sam replied that he had figured out why Ranboo had requested that and commanded Ranboo to follow him to the prison. He also made him drop all his armor and weapons.[47] While Technoblade was scouting Pandora's Vault on November 27, 2021, he witnessed Sam escorting Ranboo into the prison. Techno attempted to stop Sam from imprisoning Ranboo, but failed.[48]
Prison jailbreak[]
- Main article: Pandora's Vault jailbreak
After obtaining blueprints of Pandora's Vault hidden by Ranboo, Technoblade devised a plan to infiltrate the prison. Techno's plan was to enter the prison where there was a vulnerability in the Mining Fatigue protection measure deep under the ground. He also enlisted the other members of The Syndicate to aid him in setting up the escape plan before the infiltration and creating distractions outside after breaking Dream and Ranboo out.[49]
On November 28, 2021, Technoblade executed his plan. Techno dug a tunnel into the spot where the vulnerability occurred. He then swam through the lava and reached the maximum-security cell. The original plan was to have Dream teleport over the netherite barrier with an ender pearl, but it had to be revised since the netherite barrier was replaced by a new construction of blackstone and glass blocks that was secured against tampering with observer blocks. Technoblade instead used TNT to blow up the barrier, triggering the alarm and alerting the guards.[50]
Dream, Ranboo, Connor, and Techno during the jailbreak
After breaking Dream out of the cell and providing him with supplies, Techno led him towards the main prison cells to try to free Ranboo. However, upon entering the cell control room, the two were met by Sam, who fired arrows at them. Nonetheless, the two progressed towards the lava hallway where they met Sam and BadBoyHalo. After killing BadBoyHalo twice and blocking off the guard entrance to the room, Dream and Techno swam through the water hallway into the next room where the Sam blocked off the entrance to the cells. Stuck, Dream and Techno backtracked to the lava room to review the blueprints and find a way to reach Ranboo.[51]
After reviewing the blueprints, Techno mined through two blackstone blocks and breached one of the cells. However, to Dream and Techno's surprise, they found Connor there, who was imprisoned for stolen valor. After a bit of confusion and questioning, Technoblade used levers to open the iron doors, and accessed Ranboo's cell. United, the four made their way out of the prison through the spot Techno infiltrated from.[52]
While making their way through the tunnel, the four were met by Sam, who chased them out. Once outside, the party of four encountered several other members who had been gathered there by Sam. Seeing that Dream was broken out, members began to attack the group. Sam then took Ranboo hostage in an attempt to get Dream back in the prison, but after much refusal, Sam killed Ranboo. Technoblade initially attempted to kill Sam in retaliation, but after Phil and Niki spawned withers, the group fled on horses and lost the mob.[53]
Ant and Bad quitting
After the breakout, Sam repaired the main cell and decided to keep watch in case Dream had not set his spawn in a new location. However, he closed Pandora's Vault after realizing that Dream would not come back.[54][55] BadBoyHalo and Antfrost also quit their position as guards since Sam refused to take responsibility for the breakout and blamed it on them.[56][57][58]
The Revengers[]
The Revengers putting Sam in prison
On January 29, 2022, Technoblade, Eret, and Tubbo teamed up to rescue MICHAEL from Sam and take revenge. Techno had received a book with Sam's location from Dream while they were imprisoned together, and the group soon arrived at Sam's island. Sam surrendered after the others attacked him and showed them where he had kept MICHAEL. They decided to lock Sam in the prison as revenge for him kidnapping MICHAEL and killing Ranboo. Sam was escorted to the prison where he was locked in the main cell.[59]
Dream's return[]
The following day on January 30, 2022, Dream encountered Sam in the main cell. Dream had taken the prison as his base since he had needed a safe place to stay where nobody was going to find him. Dream thought it was karma and justice that Sam was now locked up as he had let Dream get tortured, had only fed him raw potatoes, and had kept him imprisoned for a year. Sam admitted he had looked forward to Dream being tortured every day because they could have finally killed him if he had given them the Revival Book. Dream told Sam that he would take revenge on Quackity and that he would keep Sam in the prison for a year and then kill him. He said he would figure out the prison's keycard system and that he would visit Sam soon.[60]
Dream confronting Sam
Dream visited Sam again the next day. He asked if Sam thought he was a good person, and Sam replied that he knew he was, because he had done everything for the greater good. They discussed all the things that Sam had done that others hated him for. Dream thought that Sam was similar to him, except Dream was able to recognize that his actions were bad while Sam lacked self-reflection. Sam then said that he would have let Dream leave if Dream had given him the Revival Book. This made Dream angry since Sam had said the previous day that he would have killed Dream. Dream gave Sam some steak and threatened not to come back if Sam lied again.[61]
Sam was alone in the cell for several days afterward. He tried to think of ways to break blocks but realized he would starve to death before he could do that. Sam became worried that Dream would not come back and that he would die. He kept insisting to himself that Dream was the bad guy and he was the good guy, and that he only had bad things happen to him because of Dream. He wrote in one of the books that he was not the bad guy and that Dream, Techno, and Eret were the bad guys. Sam started to try and break one block before he died so he could get out of the prison.[62]
A day later, Dream came back to visit Sam. After giving Sam food, Dream asked what made him a bad person, and Sam not a bad person. Sam proceeded to list several things that Dream had done, but Dream explained that he had a reason for everything bad he had ever done. He thought that good and bad were a matter of perspective and that everyone on the server had done bad things. He considered himself and Sam to be bad people but not evil, because an evil person was somebody who did bad things for no reason at all. Dream promised to let Sam out of the prison the following day, under the condition that Sam accepted he was a bad person and gave Dream access to the keycards of the prison.[63]
Dream about to kill Sam
Dream returned the next day and made Sam follow him out of the cell. Sam gave him the Warden Access keycard, and the two of them went through the whole prison while Sam explained how everything worked. When they were in the entrance room, Sam asked if he was free to go now. However, Dream said he could not let Sam go so easily after he had kept Dream in prison for a year, had fed him potatoes, and had let him get tortured. Dream proceeded to kill Sam with a pickaxe so he would have the same scar as Quackity.[64] After taking Sam's first canon life, Dream let him out of the prison.[65]
Wilbur and the discs[]
On June 6, 2022, Tommy told Wilbur about what Dream had done to him during his exile. Wilbur came up with a plan to use Tommy's discs to get Dream to leave Tommy alone forever. After Tommy gave Wilbur his discs, they made their way to the prison to trigger the alarm which they thought would lure Dream to the prison. To their surprise, Dream immediately came towards them from inside the prison.[66]
Wilbur and Tommy encountering Dream
Wilbur threatened to kill himself if Dream did not do what he said. He made Dream write a book that said that L'Manberg was a legitimate nation from the start and that Dream was a terrorist. Wilbur then gave the discs to Dream and told him to burn them. When Dream complied, Wilbur and Tommy left the prison. Wilbur revealed to Tommy that the discs had been fake and returned his real discs to him. He said that as long as Dream thought the discs had been burned, he had no more power over Tommy.[67]
Tommy's plan[]
On November 10, 2022, Tommy decided that he had to kill Dream, as he felt that he would have no peace otherwise. He had discovered that Dream lived in the prison after following him and camping outside the prison for days. Tommy asked Tubbo for help to kill Dream and the two planned to ambush Dream in the prison the following day.[68]
Pandora's Vault overgrown
When Tommy and Tubbo entered the prison the next day, they saw that the inside of the prison looked run-down and was overgrown with vines, moss, and dripstone. They found Dream in one of the cells in the cell block, which he was using as his base. After a lengthy fight where they chased Dream through the prison, they ended up outside the main cell. Tommy and Tubbo got low on health and blocked themselves in the main cell. They took the potions of harming from the dispenser above the toilet and threw them at Dream. Tubbo ended up dealing the final blow that killed Dream.[69]
Dream and Punz chasing Tommy and Tubbo
After Dream's death, Tommy and Tubbo decided to start a new nation the day after. They went to Sam to tell him the news, who was relieved and planned on going back to the prison. They also visited Punz to get him to join their new nation. Punz was shocked that Tommy and Tubbo had managed to kill Dream. He asked them to follow him to something that they could use for the new nation. Punz led Tommy and Tubbo down a staircase where he eventually revealed that he had a Revival Book too. He revived Dream and together they captured Tommy and Tubbo.[70]
Back to the prison[]
Dream and Punz took Tommy and Tubbo to the prison where they had to drop everything from their inventory and ender chests. Tommy and Tubbo were put in a previously unseen room containing an obsidian platform suspended above lava. Dream and Punz went on to explain why they had staged the Disc Confrontation and their various experiments with the Revival Book. They revealed that they planned to kill everyone who refused to join them to fix the imbalance they had caused with too many revivals.[71]
Tommy and Tubbo trapped in the prison
Dream said that he and Punz had tested many different limbos, but had not yet tested what happened if somebody died in a selfless way. He pointed out a wooden pressure plate in the lava, which one person could use to activate a way out of the prison. The other person could then escape while the person on the pressure plate would die. Dream and Punz left the room to make Tommy and Tubbo decide who would die. However, Tommy had secretly kept his discs on him and used these to activate the pressure plate, leading to both of them managing to escape.[72]
The nuke[]
After escaping, Tommy and Tubbo wanted to fire a nuke on the prison to kill both Dream and Punz at the same time. Tommy decided to act as bait to keep Dream and Punz in the prison together. He went into the prison and encountered Dream and Punz in the main cell. They had a long conversation where they talked about their motivations for various past events. Tommy ended up getting killed by Dream after he asked how Dream could talk about death like it was nothing.[73]
Tommy facing Dream and Punz
In limbo, Tommy had a vision of Dream with his friends at the beginning of the server. When Dream revived him, Tommy told him that he finally understood that Dream had just wanted friends and for everything to be simple again, which was also what Tommy wanted. Dream wondered if perhaps it was not too late for them to work together, but the siren of the nuke sounded before they could do anything else. The nuke hit the prison shortly after, destroying the entire building and killing everyone inside.[74]
Prison features[]
Security measures[]
In order to secure the prisoner inside, there are many measures being taken to keep them from escaping.
General security[]
- Walls - The walls are said to be multiple layers of pure obsidian, making breaking through nearly impossible. Meshed into the walls are observers that are able to detect someone attempting to break out or into the prison and either activate an ender pearl stasis chamber or send a text message to the prison guards.[75]
- Elder guardian Mining Fatigue - Elder guardians give level three Mining Fatigue, which makes it incredibly difficult for a player to break blocks by slowing down breaking to 0.27% of normal speed. With multiple layers of obsidian and other precautions being taken, the walls are hard to mine. Dream has mentioned that it would take nearly nine hours to break a single piece of obsidian in the wall.[76]
- Soon after the prison opening, It was shown that the Mining Fatigue area expanded far beyond the prison area, covering the Badlands mansion and the Prime Path. Several members alerted this to Sam, who investigated & rectified the problem.
- Observer grid - There are layers of observers underneath blocks to alert guards using a redstone system when blocks are broken or placed.[75]
- Text messages - Using an undisclosed method, the prison guards are said to be able to get warning texts when certain portions of the wall are broken into, meaning that a night escape is futile because the guards can always be warned of any undergoing escape attempts.[75]
- Nether portal grid - In order to enter the main cell, visitors must enter through a series of different nether portals that are controlled by the warden. The portal system has been built in such a way that it is impossible to build any other portal in the nether to gain entry.
- Spawnlocking - When the prisoner enters the cell, they are forced to click a bed before being catapulted with redstone back into the cell. This method would also work if they were to die and respawn, as they would be pushed back into the cell and making it impossible to escape by dying. According to Dream, the spawnlocking mechanism is sufficiently sophisticated enough that once a prisoner is detained, they are unable to break the bed to respawn at the world spawn.[77]
- Item-specific keycards/item sacrifice - In order to enter certain places, books with specifically generated code that cannot be replicated ("key cards") must be dropped into a hopper system. There are many points that need special keycards to pass through throughout the system. In the case that the warden gets killed and someone collects the key cards, the warden can push a button at their spawn to disable all key cards.[78]
- Guard spawn - The prison uses an ender pearl stasis chamber that would teleport guards if an ender pearl in a bubble column were to hit a block. The stasis system is hooked up to activate if the prisoner were to escape or set off an alarm. The method would teleport them into a chamber that would splash them with harming potions, killing and respawning them in a place that would equip them with full enchanted netherite and weapons, and splash them with many buff potions. Personal items of the guards are collected upon their death, protecting them and securing the prison.[79]
Visitor security[]
- Item/effect check - Visitors are ordered to stand in a series of rooms to be checked for potentially dangerous items or potion effects that would not allow them to let the prisoner out.
- Weakening - Visitors are given harmful effects before entering the cells. If anything is to go wrong, visitors can be easily be killed.
Main cell[]
The main cell
The cell consists of an obsidian box with one side open for access in a large chamber surrounded by lava. The lava can be cut off for access to the cell, and a retractable bridge separates the cell from the rest of the prison. Inside the cell is a cauldron filled with water, a lectern for reading books, and a chest filled with book and quills. Netherite blocks that can be retracted split the cell from the entrance. There is also a small pool of water under the spawn mechanism of the prisoner. The pool is also used by the visitors as an exit. To exit, potions of harming are dispensed above, killing the visitor and respawning them outside the cell.[80]
Later on, it was revealed that some of the obsidian blocks had been replaced with crying obsidian as a security measure.[81] There also used to be a clock in the cell, but Sam later stopped replacing the clock after Dream kept burning it to get Sam to visit him. The main cell was holding Dream until November 28, 2021, and held Sam as its prisoner from January 29, 2022 until February 4, 2022.
Experiment room[]
The experiment room was built some time after Dream escaped the prison but then returned to take the prison as his base. It features an obsidian platform suspended by chains above a lava pool. There is a wooden pressure plate in the lava which can be activated to open a way to the outside of the prison. Activating the pressure plate also causes the whole room to be engulfed in lava. Dream and Punz built the room to test what kind of limbo somebody would have if they died a heroic death by sacrificing their life for somebody else.[82]
The courtyard[]
The courtyard
The courtyard is a room covered in grass and flowers with a small stream running through it. Its ceiling was originally open to the outside, but Sam sealed it after Dream complained that it was a security concern. While prisoners were meant to be able to visit the courtyard every now and then, the room never ended up getting used since Sam did not want to allow Dream out of his cell.[83]
Prison entry protocol[]
To visit the prison, the visitor must summon the warden by clicking the button at the entrance hall and travel through the Nether portal grid controlled by the warden. Upon entering, the warden at the desk has the visitor sign waivers waiving the prison's responsibility and gives the visitor the responsibility for all risks. In addition, the visitor is vetted through interrogations with questions regarding the visitor's visit history, relationship with the prisoner, and the location of residence.[84]
After questioning, the visitor is reminded by the warden that anything the warden or guards say must be followed. After the vetting process, the visitor must deposit all items into a locker. They are provided a key that must be stored in an ender chest. To visit a prisoner in a cell in the cell block, the visitor will only go through one security check before being allowed to see the prisoner. If they are visiting the prisoner in the main cell, the prisoner will go through another security check, a water hallway, and a lava hallway before allowing to set their spawn. After that, they are put on a flying machine that takes them to the prisoner's cell.[85]
Warden[]
| Warden | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Date joined | Notes |
| January 20, 2021 | Founder, head of the administration. | |
 Dream (claimed, de-facto) |
January 29, 2022 | Founder and bankroller. Assumed de-facto control and mockingly declared himself Warden following Sam's imprisonment.[86] |
Guards[]
| Guards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Date recruited | Notes |
| Feburary 21, 2021[22] | Recruited by Sam on February 21, as he needed more firepower to keep the prisoners from escaping. Resigned in protest of Sam's behavior as Warden/refusal to "take responsibility" for the breakout.[56][57] | |
| Feburary 21, 2021[22] | Recruited by Sam on February 21, as he needed more firepower to keep the prisoners from escaping. Quit as a guard after returning from his break and being accused by Sam of neglecting his duties since he remained on break even after the alarm sounded when Dream escaped. Resigned in protest of Sam's behavior as Warden/refusal to "take responsibility" for the breakout.[56] | |
Prisoners[]
| Prisoners | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Time | Notes |
| January 20 - November 28, 2021 | Purposefully let himself get imprisoned during the Disc Confrontation to make it seem like Punz had betrayed him.[5] Members of the server decided to imprison Dream instead of killing him in case they needed him to revive somebody with the Revival Book.[87] After reviving Tommy, he was tortured every day by Quackity for months to make him give up the Revival Book until Technoblade was imprisoned with him.[88] Eventually broken out by Technoblade.[89] | |
| February 21 - March 1 March 4 - March 12, 2021 |
Trapped during security lockdown after a series of explosions occurred during his last visit.[21] He was killed by Dream on March 1,[23][24] but was revived by Dream three days later.[26] On March 12, 2021, Sam found out that Tommy was alive, and Tommy was let out of prison.[27] | |
| June 6 - September 14, 2021 | Trapped in prison by Sam after he visited Dream due to a trap by Quackity.[90] Sam said that Technoblade had been imprisoned because he was the main threat to Dream escaping.[91] On September 14, 2021, Philza activated the stasis chamber in the Syndicate meeting room and teleported Technoblade out of the prison.[43] | |
| November 27 - 28, 2021 | Imprisoned by Sam after Sam thought he had figured out why Ranboo had asked to be imprisoned before.[47] Freed during the breakout of Dream, but was killed by Sam shortly after.[89] | |
| Unknown - November 28, 2021 | Imprisoned for stolen valor.[92] Freed during the breakout of Dream and Ranboo.[89] | |
| January 29 - February 4, 2022 | Imprisoned by Technoblade, Tubbo, and Eret for the kidnapping of Michael, killing of Ranboo, pre-emptive incarceration of Technoblade, and torture of Dream. Kept as a prisoner of Pandora's Vault by Dream, citing the same reasons.[93] Released off-screen after being killed by Dream.[65] | |
Visitors[]
| Visitors | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Date | Visiting | Notes |
| Unknown (possibly the first visit to happen. Sam stated that this visit occurred not long after Dream was imprisoned.) | Dream | Visited during his "Enderwalk" state. Notably, he erased the legal documents that Sam provided before signing, leaving only the phrase "I hereby assume" and his name in Enderman language.[94] It is unsure how many times Ranboo has visited, as Dream told Sapnap "he's stopped visiting," implying that Ranboo visited more than once.[95] On June 21, 2021, Dream confirmed in a conversation with Technoblade that Ranboo had visited him the most outside of Quackity.[96] | |
| January 21, 2021 | Dream | Visited Dream to check on him after the events of the Disc Confrontation. He made Dream write books for him (which Dream later burned).[97] | |
| January 30, 2021 | Dream | Visited Dream to see what he was up to. He saw the bad living conditions within the prison and wanted to improve it.[98] | |
| January 30, 2021[99] | Dream | Planned to visit to confront Dream. Began to hallucinate, was told that he was Dream's best friend, and had the voice return.[14] | |
| February 1, 2021[100] | N/A | Attempted to visit Dream, but had failed initial security protocols when asked if he had visited the prison beforehand, not remembering his first visit. Was confronted with the documents of his visit by Sam shortly after his failed visit. Sam banned Ranboo from entering the prison from this point forward, but also by request from Ranboo.[15] | |
| February 9, 2021 | N/A | During Ponk's prison visit, he kept making fun of Sam saying that he was "too serious." This led to Ponk being kicked out of the prison since Ponk refused to listen to Sam's instructions.[101] | |
| February 9/10, 2021[102] | Dream | Planned to originally visit Dream as a joke, but later actually did. Dream revealed to Sapnap that he had tried to break out using a lectern, but had failed. Sapnap threatened to take Dream's final life if Dream ever broke out of prison. Dream wanted Sapnap to pass a note to Ranboo, "(:", which he did.[103] | |
| February 21, 2021[21] - March 1, 2021,[23][24] March 4, 2021[26] - March 12, 2021[27](imprisoned) | Dream |
Originally went to visit Dream for the last time. However, TNT was set off during his visit. Tommy screamed for Sam to let him out, but Sam said that he had to check the security issue, and Tommy would be stuck in Dream's cell in the meantime.[21] Tommy asked Sam to let him out after nine days, but Sam said he still had to investigate more.[23] Tommy and Dream got into a fight over whether the Revival Book was real, leading to Dream killing Tommy and taking his last canon life.[24] Dream revived Tommy three days later. He asked Tommy about how he felt and about the Afterlife. Tommy responded that the Wilbur in the Afterlife was worse than Dream himself and asked him to not revive Wilbur. Dream said that he would revive Wilbur to free himself from the prison.[26] Sam found that Tommy was alive and quickly brought him back from the cell. Tommy was furious at Sam for allowing him to die and not freeing him after a week.[27] | |
| March 16, 2021[104] - June 6, 2021 (visited everyday) | Dream | Quackity convinced Sam to allow him to visit Dream and torture him to get the Revival Book from him. Dream tried to get Sam to intervene to save him, but Sam did not respond while Quackity told him his intentions. Quackity visited every single day to torture Dream until he would give him the information in the book.[28] | |
| April 2, 2021 | N/A | During a non-canon TommyInnit video, Drista briefly broke into the prison with Tommy and they saw the inner workings of the prison.[32] | |
 TommyInnit (invisible) |
April 29, 2021[105] | Dream | Tommy made a plan to kill Dream using Ghostbur as a decoy and invisibility potions to get in. However, on arrival at the main cell, Tommy revealed the axe he was carrying too early which allowed Sam to see and stop him. In the ensuing chaos, Dream killed Ghostbur and revived Wilbur.[33] |
| June 6, 2021 - September 14, 2021[90] (imprisoned) | Dream |
Believing that Dream wanted to use The Favor, Techno entered the prison to see him, aware that it could have been a trap laid by Quackity. This suspicion turned out to be true, as Quackity and Sam were working together to imprison Technoblade along with Dream.[106] Quackity visited them three months later to try to get the Revival Book information from Dream. He threatened to kill Technoblade to get Dream to hand over the book, but Dream refused. Quackity then decided to actually kill Techno, saying the same line that Technoblade said while killing him in their duel.[42] However, Technoblade was teleported into the Syndicate meeting room with an ender pearl stasis chamber by Philza who had coincidentally read Techno's Will at around the same time.[43] | |
| September 14, 2021 | Dream, Technoblade | Visited Dream to try and get the Revival Book. He threatened to kill Technoblade if Dream did not give him the Revival Book, and then tried to actually kill Techno after Dream refused. However, Technoblade was teleported into the Syndicate meeting room with an ender pearl stasis chamber by Philza. After torturing Dream for information on Techno, Quackity and Sam did a brief check around the prison. When they returned to the main cell, Dream appeared to have escaped as well, causing Sam to put the prison into full lockdown and Quackity to go to Las Nevadas to secure it and prepare for possible war.[43][44] Dream was found hiding in a hole in the floor by Sam. Dream begged him not to tell Quackity as he was sure Quackity would kill him, and Sam eventually agreed.[107] | |
Gallery[]
General images[]
Blueprints[]
After the jailbreak, Dream shared the prison's blueprints, drawn by @camruna.[108]
Trivia[]
- Pandora's Vault is named after Pandora's box, an artifact from Greek mythology with all the world's evils inside it.[109] Dream and Sam named the prison Pandora's Vault as it was meant to be a vault that "contains evil."[110]
- Out of character, Sam mentioned that he and Dream originally planned to add a water system to the game where Dream had to be actively drinking water in the prison, which would be another way to make Dream weak. They also planned for Dream to get punished with less water or only saltwater bottles if he misbehaved. They ended up not adding it as it would have been too much work to implement.[111]
- Additionally, Sam explained that he had tried to put Ravagers in certain areas of the prison that would drop down from the ceiling, but he could not get them to work how he wanted to due to their AI making them get stuck and die.[112]
References[]
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