Ahh , yes . Eight years of peace and prosperity . Where the biggest thing to worry about POTUS was a blowjob from a chubby intern . Damnit , now this crazy shit . <| sep |> Got a job working in a kitchen at 17 . During training they told me , everything gets cooked in the microwave . I left . Gonna charge someone $ 10 for a $ 1 ramen bowl put into a dish ? For real ? <| sep |> When has it ever shown up in the series ? Could whatever medium it was on , trigger the host to feel alive ? Some notable times when the symbol came up in no order whatsoever 1 . The symbol on the coffin Dolores , probably had something to do with her watching a host shooting a man ininto a coffin , the idea of being buried and being surrounded by the graves in the cemetery going into Pariah 2 . Gamblingdominoes on a table Ford , whilst walking through the town 3 . The symbol in Kissy ' s scalp MiB , not sure if he ' s the only one who sees that symbol , but it gave the MiB some direction to his boredom with the new narrative , similar to the feeling of an overplayed game 4 . Branding iron Teddy , when caught by the Confederates and triggering a momentary flashback 5 . The symbol showing up in the notebook with designs Ford , could be Ford ' s after all . Might have been a moment when Ford felt alive , while it wasn ' t actually physically there . As many people have pointed out , it may not necessarily be a physical place but rather a state of mind , a ' journey of selfdiscovery ' as Ford put it . You ' re absolutely right that it may have been when one truly becomes alive , not necessarily sentient . What could alive mean ? Breaking beyond the programming and finite combinations or permutation of choices ? To me , it ' s purpose and meaning as the MiB explained to Ford . Of course , this could also be completely off the mark , as Ford neither confirmed or denied it , and just waved it off .