The Call of Duty Zombies community has been chasing the elusive “Impossible Easter Egg” in
Black Ops 3 since its release in 2015, a puzzle so cryptic that former Treyarch director Jason Blundell once quipped it was “tucked away in a vault” and to “ask again in 8 years.” As we approach that eight-year mark, YouTuber THEGAMINGREVOLUTION, alongside collaborators like Ducky and CodLoreFacts, has cracked the code, uncovering a revelation that redefines the Aether storyline. Here’s everything you need to know about the biggest breakthrough in Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Zombies history:
A Leaked Document Sparks a Revolution
The journey began with a leaked developer hard drive, uncovered by Twitter user Nanikos,
containing files from Black Ops 3’s development. Among them was a document detailing the
game’s ranking system, which included a surprising narrative blurb about John Dee, a 16th
century mathematician, alchemist, and advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. The document, as detailed
by THEGAMINGREVOLUTION in his initial video, describes Dee detecting “ripples in the Ether”
in 1592, caused by Group 935’s first teleportation experiments at Der Riese.
Using an “Etherioscope,” Dee heard voices whispering “Sem” and “Richtovar,” later witnessing zombies rise in his lab after an etheric shockwave from the Moon DLC’s Earth destruction in 1600. This
led him to found the Esoteric Brotherhood of Deresurrectionists to protect reality from Aether
related threats, under the guidance of a mysterious “man of shadows,” hinted to be Dee himself,
possibly immortalized by experiments in 1608.
THEGAMINGREVOLUTION proposed that this “man of shadows” was not the Shadowman, as
initially assumed, but Doctor Monty, the godlike narrator introduced in Black Ops 3. The
document’s alignment with Monty’s actions – preserving reality alongside the Keepers –
contrasted with the Shadowman’s Apothicon-driven destruction.
In-game evidence, like the Der Eisendrache book John Dee, Illuminated De-Resurrectionist and a cipher reading, “I cannot appear directly to you… you guys are really making hard work of this. M,” supported this theory.
The most compelling clue came from a Revelations radio where Monty recites Act IV, Scene I
from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, a play whose character Prospero is widely believed to be
inspired by John Dee. This, paired with Monty’s British mannerisms (like spelling “rumour” with
a “u”) and the Revelations House resembling pre-industrial England, suggested Monty was
John Dee ascended to a higher plane.
We can also see evidence of this still within the Ranking and Calling Card systems in Black Ops 3
The Max Rank in zombies is referred to as a “Deresurrecitonist.” And a calling card seems to
depict the Esoteric Brotherhood of Deresurrectionists being created
Cracking the Steganography Puzzle
The breakthrough came in THEGAMINGREVOLUTION’s latest video, where the community, including Ducky and a keen viewer Amelia Romanova, solved a Steganography puzzle hidden in Der Eisendrache’s 24 book titles. Inspired by Glitching Queen’s earlier work and a Treyarch
developer hint pointing to Dee’s influence in Shadows of Evil’s rituals, the team focused on the
book titles, such as John Dee, Illuminated De-Resurrectionist, Mysteries of the Vril, and Elemen 115 – Powering the Future. Unlike traditional ciphers, Steganography hides messages in plain
sight, a method Dee used in his communications with Queen Elizabeth I, as outlined in the 16th
century text Steganographia.
Guided by the work of Alexander Waugh, who explored Dee’s cryptic coding methods in relation
to Shakespeare’s authorship, the team applied the “Triple Tau” concept – a symbolic marker of
three T’s hiding a fourth, reflecting Dee’s belief in the Quaternary (four elements) within the
Ternary (Holy Trinity). This was often a sign that a hidden message was nearby, and when laid out in a grid based on the game’s texture sheet, the book titles revealed a pattern. On the ninth row, the number “115” and nearby letters “AAE” (the first, first, and fifth letters of the alphabet,
echoing Element 115) formed a T, flanked by three padding T’s.
This arrangement yielded the phrase “TITLE IS DR MONTY,” with a final “TEE” derived from the 115 T shape it sits inside, a method commonly used by John Dee inside his hidden messages. You can also see a red 115 written in game next to the book DIRECTLY BELOW the ending to this message in the list, German Military Zombie Manual. This would cap off the bottom of the message, with the “red” indicating to stop at 115. This would mean the entire message is “TITLE IS DOCTOR MONTY”, pointing directly to Doctor Monty’s name being something different than this self given title.
The timing of this mystery being placed, early in Black Ops 3’s DLC cycle with Der Eisendrache,
suggests Treyarch hid this clue to hint at Monty’s identity without spoiling the broader narrative.
The methods of solving John Dee steganography featuring the Triple Tau were also considered
some of the hardest cryptography to solve at the time, making sense of why Jason would refer
to this easter egg as one we were “not going to get.”
Debunking the KN-44 Hypercube Theory
A common question arising from this discovery is: what about the KN-44 Hypercube? Many in
the Zombies community, including prominent creators, have long pointed to the Hypercube
image – a blueprint featuring the KN-44 weapon – as a key to the Impossible Easter Egg.
However, THEGAMINGREVOLUTION’s findings, bolstered by developer insights, suggest
otherwise, and it’s worth addressing this respectfully given the passion behind this theory.
In an interview with Glitching Queen, the artist who created the KN-44 Hypercube revealed they
had free rein over the artwork, choosing an AK-47-inspired design and adapting it to the KN-44 to fit the game’s aesthetic, not because it was mandated by the story team (Glitching Queen’s)
This indicates the KN-44’s inclusion was not a deliberate clue tied to the Impossible Easter Egg.
The insider knowledge here coming from the very developers who worked on the KN-44 image
seems to be irrefutable evidence. Furthermore, the leaked developer documents highlight that
the KN-44’s frequent appearances in Black Ops 3 were often an inside joke at Treyarch, poking
fun at how the fans had elevated it in their minds – not a narrative cornerstone.
For instance, a cut blueprint for Dr. Monty’s factory in Der Eisendrache, similar to the Hypercube, was scrapped before release, suggesting the Hypercube was more about illustrating Monty’s manipulation of wall buys – pulling weapons four-dimensionally to chalk outlines – than a grand puzzle piece.
The documents also reveal a planned feature for Gorod Krovi called the Vril-Strom Wurfel, a
Vril-powered cube intended as a gameplay mechanic, not an Easter Egg component. Its design,
described as a steampunk-inspired blue cube, aligns with the Hypercube’s aesthetic, hinting it
may have been intended to tease this Aetheric Power source as well. While it’s possible
Treyarch considered integrating the Hypercube into the Impossible Easter Egg later, especially
given the community’s focus on it, the developer’s comments and the timing of the book titles in
Der Eisendrache (early in the DLC cycle and close to Jason’s interviews) make it unlikely.
The Hypercube’s significance seems tied to Monty’s mechanics, not the core narrative solved by the book titles or any large scale lore revelations. Fans of the Hypercube theory should keep
exploring, especially considering one of the constellations may have been spotted on a Der
Eisendrache monitor recently, but the evidence strongly points to the John Dee Steganography
as the true heart of the Impossible Easter Egg.
Rewriting the Aether Storyline
This discovery redefines the Aether storyline. THEGAMINGREVOLUTION posits that Monty, as
John Dee, and the Shadowman, likely Edward Kelley (Dee’s occult partner who channeled the
Apothicon-like Enochian language), were human before ascending. Their friendship, strained by
Kelley’s corruption by the Apothicons, mirrors the Keepers’ split into benevolent protectors and
the malevolent Apothicons. Monty’s creation of the cycle – a looped reality to preserve existence
while seeking to save his friend – stems from Dee’s guilt over Kelley’s fate. The Kronorium,
written in Apothicon and possibly translated by Dee, may contain manipulated truths, casting
doubt on the official timeline’s claim that Monty and the Shadowman were always Keepers.
The “Impossible Easter Egg” is not a singular reward but a narrative unraveling, challenging
players to see through Monty’s and the Shadowman’s unreliable narrations. As Nikolai notes in Tag der Toten, both were corrupted by the Aether, not as cosmic deities but as humans caught
in a cycle sparked by Group 935’s teleportation. This revelation restores the significance of
World at War and Black Ops 1’s clandestine experiments, making them the catalyst for the
entire saga.
It seems that Jason, as a fan of cryptography and stories, made his magnum opus Easter Egg
an incredibly difficult puzzle that hides perhaps the greatest reward he could think of: an entire
second storyline hidden beneath the one we experienced.
What’s Next for Zombies Fans?
While the core of the Easter egg – Monty as John Dee – appears solved,
THEGAMINGREVOLUTION believes more messages may hide within the book titles, as Dee’s
ciphers often contained multiple layers. The community is now tasked with refining the grid’s
uncertain lines, marked by Ducky as white boxes, to uncover additional secrets. Sources like Waugh’s lectures and historical cryptography texts, cited in the video, provide further avenues for exploration.
This discovery is a testament to the Zombies community’s dedication and Blundell’s love for
intricate puzzles. As THEGAMINGREVOLUTION notes, Dee and his contemporaries hid
messages for the joy of discovery, a philosophy mirrored in Treyarch’s design. Fans are encouraged to revisit Der Eisendrache, explore the book titles, and share findings. For more on the cipher’s origins, check Glitching Queen’s foundational video, and check out THEGAMINGREVOLUTION’s video series on the investigation for more detail into what we’ve discussed here.
The End
The “Impossible Easter Egg” has transformed our understanding of Black Ops 3 Zombies,
proving that the true reward is the journey of unraveling Treyarch’s deepest secrets.
Stay connected with any new updates on Black Ops Zombies as they release on our Twitter, and our YouTube Channel!
