Originally Posted by
Malashaan
A somewhat disorganized collection of thoughts follows.
Very provisional theory: In Zero Sum the world ends, but it appears it is a simulated world (all we ever were, just zeros and ones, etc.). However, the simulation is set up based on a prediction or knowledge of those events actually happening and the real world ending. That could just be a prediction based on other simulations or, I think more likely, some of Year Zero's events were not within the simulation. In particular, the solutions backwards initiative really did send warning of the future catastrophe in the real world back in time. The machine from the cover is being used by some group in (approximately) the present day to run simulations trying to find a way to avoid the catastrophic event. The dial in the bottom center shows the est(imated) date of the termination event (i.e., when the world "ends"), and the deviation count right by it measures either: difference from what actually occurred (or an initial prediction of what will occur) or difference from a desired outcome that avoids the disaster.
Other thoughts: the presence dial is visually connected to four jack sockets. They could be outputs but I think they're more likely to be inputs. Under that construction, The Presence in the simulated world is the manifestation of external inputs by the controllers of the simulation. This could be a mechanism by which the controllers provide more specific direction to/control over the simulation than the broad, general parameters provided by the other controls.
D.O.F.: I concur with the suggestion that this is degrees of freedom. It spatially coincides with other controls about the complexity of the simulation, and the number of degrees of freedom is a key factor in the complexity of any simulation. The more interesting question is what are those degrees of freedom in this context.
KDSV: I'm fairly confident DRanged hit this one on the head - it refers to the measure of societal development.
Button Marked "advanced self-awareness": Interesting concept - the obvious interpretation is that it makes at least some of the simulated subjects aware that they are a simulation. This fits with the lyrics of Zero Sum (the simulants realize at the end what they are).
S.A.S.C.: This is very interesting. It appears to be the label for the 7.516M number. I agree that the number is probably the current population within the simulation, but none of the proposed meanings of SASC fit well with that. What is the connection between the population and S.A.S.C.? Or does the number mean something else and we're being distracted by the fact it matches world population well?
Missing Portion: What are we not seeing? Based on the size of the lower unit and the apparent modular construction, it seems likely the top unit is the same size. Based on that assumption, we can only see about half of it. What else is on that unit? In particular, what is shown on the (what appears to be a) dial above "bias" and "tolerance"? Those two buttons appear to relate to whatever that is.
Monitoring World Active: What does this mean? It could just mean whether the simulated world is currently being monitored, but a more natural grammatical construction for that would be something like "world monitor" with idle and cycle options available. "Monitoring World Active" more naturally implies that there is a separate monitoring world that can be idle or cycling.
The Big K: It is very prominent and stands out in that it doesn't serve any obvious function, unlike the other components. It could be a manufacturer's logo (which in itself could be relevant), but it is in a somewhat odd location for that. It could also be a label added by the controller indicating it is unit K, suggesting there at least 10 other units. These could be modules for the simulation (e.g., the block above of which we can see half is module J), or could indicate several distinct simulation systems running simultaneously. In the latter case, does that mean there is something special about K (a rogue simulation?) or is it just one example of a wider scheme?
The tape: I feel like I can see something in the shape of the tape (it's not flush) that might be brought out with processing, but I don't have any photo processing software on hand or the time to play around with it.