Ascension Easter Egg Guide (BO1): Steps, Solo Limit and Song

Ascension Easter egg overview

Secret	Players in original BO1	Result
Casimir Mechanism	Exactly 4	Each player receives a Death Machine for 90 seconds; no quest achievement or perk reward
Abracadavre	Solo possible	Three sickle-holding teddy bears start the song

Can you do the Ascension Easter egg solo?

No, not the main quest in unmodified BO1. Four distinct red buttons must be held together during a Space Monkey round; the decompiled script checks all four within roughly half a second. Two or three players also cannot complete this original sequence. PC fan mods change the rules, but those are separate unofficial versions and are not linked here.

Turn on the switch at the top of the central building. Ride each of the PhD Flopper, Speed Cola and Stamin-Up landers back to the center, then press the red button to the right of power to launch the rocket. The door below the rocket opens to Pack-a-Punch; an upgrade costs 5,000 points. Power and at least one purchased perk are needed for the monkey-round stage.

Obtain Gersh Devices and Matryoshka Dolls. Bring the upgraded Ray Gun (Porter’s X2 Ray Gun) and upgraded Thundergun (Zeus Cannon) for the finale.
Abracadavre is the song title, not the name of the main quest.

Casimir Mechanism: BO1 steps in order

Teleport the generator first. From the PhD Flopper / MP5K area, find the sparking, white-lit generator outside the playable boundary. Throw a Gersh Device so its black hole covers the generator. The generator disappears; a misplaced throw can be taken away by Samantha.
Use the terminal next. At the lander nearest Stamin-Up (Lander Ф), look below the stairs in the shallow water. Hold Interact on the lit computer until its screen displays the all-seeing-eye triangle. This lights the first mechanism lamp.
Coordinate four red buttons in a Space Monkey round. Put one player opposite Juggernog, one on the wall left of PhD Flopper, one on the other side of the Speed Cola doorway and one left of Stamin-Up. Hold the buttons together; a beep and announcement confirm success, a buzz means retry. If the monkey round ends, wait for the next one.
Hold the clock pressure area for 120 seconds. After rocket launch opens Pack-a-Punch, all four players must remain in the circle by the 12:00 clock in the room before the machine. Leaving resets the timer. The completion effect resembles a Nuke and ends the round.
Collect L, U, N, A by calling a ridden lander from another station. Spawn / centrifuge → Stamin-Up collects L; Stamin-Up → spawn collects U; spawn → Speed Cola collects N; Speed Cola → Stamin-Up collects A. Have a teammate call the lander to each destination. The letters require called flights; an incorrect route resets the spelling.
Free Gersh at the white orb near the crashed pod / Claymores by the Stamin-Up lander. Cover the orb with a Gersh black hole. During that same black hole, land upgraded Ray Gun splash, a Matryoshka explosion and a Zeus Cannon shot aimed at the hole from close range. The script requires all three; an upgraded Crossbow is not required. If the hole closes before all hits register, throw another Gersh and retry.
After Gersh escapes, all four players get a 90-second Death Machine. BO1 gives neither permanent perks nor a Casimir Mechanism achievement. Ascension has four separate ordinary achievements unrelated to the Easter egg: The Eagle has Landers (35 Gamerscore), They are going THROUGH! (35 Gamerscore), Space Race (45 Gamerscore) and Chimp on the Barbie (35 Gamerscore).

Ascension Easter egg song: Abracadavre

Abracadavre was composed by Kevin Sherwood and sung by Elena Siegman. Hold Interact on all three bears holding sickles, in any order. This music secret can be done solo.

Three Abracadavre bear landmarks: spawn near Olympia, Stamin-Up lander gate and Speed Cola lander wall. — Original editorial diagram, not a game floor plan or screenshot. Positions are approximate, based on the listed sources; arrows show a suggested checklist order.

Spawn / centrifuge room: check the upper walkway near Olympia. The song page and Destructoid describe a barrel near Olympia; the map Wiki says to go upstairs, turn right and check the walkway end, while Nazi Zombies Wiki says the centrifuge room’s second floor. These are alternative landmark descriptions, not separately verified extra bears.
Stamin-Up lander (Ф): behind the metal gate below the red star, near the initial Mystery Box position.
Speed Cola lander (Б): on top of the wall beside the lander area.

Other small secrets

BO1’s red telephones can play dialogue from the Five characters; this is not the Abracadavre trigger.

Space Monkeys attack perk machines. Protecting the machines through their round yields Max Ammo and a random perk bottle from the last monkey. References disagree on the interval: Casimir Mechanism lists 4–7 rounds, while the Space Monkey Wiki page says 4–5. Do not use a fixed interval as a countdown.

Common failures and conflicting instructions

Problem or conflicting claim	BO1 check / source distinction
Clock takes one minute in a guide	The BO1 script, Wiki and Zombies Codex specify 120 seconds; XC, CoD Zombie Guides and a Game Rant summary say one minute. Use 120 seconds.
Told to carry a Ballistic Knife or never shoot	Accelerated Ideas says a Ballistic Knife is needed; the script only checks everyone is inside the area. The Wiki advises no shooting; Zombies Codex permits it. The script contains no firing check.
Final weapon combination fails	Ray Gun and Thundergun must be upgraded, with Matryoshka Dolls hitting the same Gersh hole. Accelerated Ideas adds an upgraded Crossbow; the BO1 script records it but does not require it.
Expecting an achievement or all perks	XC / Zombies Codex mention a quest achievement and CoD Zombie Guides mixes in all perks. The BO1 script and achievement list support only the 90-second Death Machines.
Terminal used before generator	The script and Wiki put the generator first; XC omits it as a separate first step.
Buttons buzz or LUNA resets	Hold all four buttons together during monkeys; use exactly the called lander routes above.

Ascension Easter egg FAQ

Question	Answer
How many players are needed?	Four in original BO1, including its synchronized button stage.
What is the song?	Abracadavre — Kevin Sherwood, vocals by Elena Siegman. Three sickle bears, separate from the quest.
Do you need an upgraded Crossbow?	No according to the BO1 script; upgraded Ray Gun, Zeus Cannon, Dolls and Gersh are required.
Does the PS4 / PS5 port make it solo?	No confirmed rule change was found as of 2026-10-24. Do not apply PC mod or BO3 claims to BO1.

BO1 versus BO3 Zombies Chronicles

BO3 replaces PhD Flopper with Widow’s Wine and adds all perks to the finale reward. BO3 player-count sources disagree: Wiki / CoD Zombie Guides say four, Zombies Codex says 1–4; none of these changes establishes a BO1 solo route.

Ascension Easter egg video guides

Ascension - Casimir Mechanism Easter Egg

J4V4N0 · 2011 · 7:27

Follow the original-game mechanism sequence alongside the written timing and weapon notes.
Watch on YouTube
Black Ops Ascension Hidden Easter Egg Song / Tutorial

Sons0fJustice · 2011 · 7:42

Use the footage to recognize the three sickle bears and their surrounding landmarks.
Watch on YouTube

Each player loads from YouTube (youtube-nocookie.com) only after you press play; YouTube’s privacy policy then applies. These videos are made by other creators, who are not connected to this site.

How this guide was written

Checked against the listed sources on 2026-10-24 for the original Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010). We have not completed these steps in the browser version. This website does not host Black Ops game files. Community guides and decompiled scripts are reference evidence, not an official walkthrough or a recorded completion. Single-source details and source disagreements are identified above. No lyrics or audio are reproduced.