Disseration de 30 pages sur Killer7 sur le forum Killer 7 - 28-12-2005 02:27:22 - page 2

Shayh

Niveau 10

28 décembre 2005 à 02:27:22

Master Harman governs the switches. When Garcian is in the
field, I think that Master Harman actually manifests himself
AS HARMAN´S ROOM. When we are inside Harman´s Room, in the
field, we are inside Harman himself. From within Master
Harman, we can access the other Personae and wake them up; we
can give the surgeon (also Master Harman) blood from our kills
and strengthen him; we can save our progress, when Samantha is
in a mood to serve. Samantha´s felicity in saving the game is
a reflection of Master Harman´s experience with her, as a
caretaker: she only does her job one eighth of the time, and
the rest of the time she´s slacking off or behaving abusively.

Why is Master Harman catatonic most of the time, then?
Master Harman´s catatonia is a safeguard of H. H., to prevent
Harman Smith´s spirit from becoming uncontrollable. When he
was given a physical body and free will, Harman Smith allied
himself with Kun Lan. He became a traitor. When H. H. had Emir
kill Harman Smith, he incorporated Harman Smith´s ghost into
the whole psychic matrix--but, he did so in such a way that
would leave Harman Smith unable to betray H. H. again.

Master Harman is what happened to Harman Smith, when his ghost
was incorporated into the psychic matrix as a Persona. Since
most of the vital energy of the whole psychic matrix exists
within Garcian, Harman Smith´s Persona can only become
activated if Garcian chooses to engage him. Here, then, is the
safeguard: Master Harman can only become active when Garcian
wishes to activate him--and, he can only speak and act
according to the ways in which Garcian desires him to speak
and act. Garcian desires a Shogun-like master: therefore,
Master Harman speaks to Garcian in the tone of a warlord
sending a loyal soldier on a mission. Master Harman only
carries authority because Garcian wants him to have authority.

Garcian serves as both the lock and the key for Harman Smith´s
psyche. When Master Harman disappears--as Garcian explains to
Mills--something happens that H. H. didn´t expect. As the
chess game parallels the dramatic events on the spiritual
level of the narrative, let´s look at what happens in that
game, when Master Harman disappears:

Kun Lan: "Check." *moves*

H. H.: "What a coincidence. Check." *moves*

Kun Lan: "This time, the game is mine." *moves*

Kun Lan appears to have made a surprise move that nullified
the defense that H. H. established, in the chess game. This
"surprise move" is reflected on the spiritual level of
narrative, in the awakening of Harman Smith´s Persona.

How did Harman Smith´s Persona awaken? Johnny Gagnon.

While we don´t know how, Gagnon is implied to have clairvoyant
powers. He can perceive and communicate how Garcian and the
Killer7 use the medium of television to communicate. However,
he cannot perceive the Remnant Psyches, which is implied by
his observations of KAEDE:
"Kaede Smith spurts blood from her arms. What a sick sight!
And then what did she do? She flattened a wall, right before
my eyes. She must have taken out some kind of barrier. That´s
what Kaede´s blood can do! Sometimes her arm sucks blood.
That´s some stuff I didn´t need to see, either!"

He attributes KAEDE´s barrier-breaking abilities to her blood
alone, and he does not mention Iwazaru´s wife. His accounts of
the deaths of the Remnant Psyches are historical observations,
rather than explanations of the ghosts who he sees around the
Killer7. He also believes that the Harman Assassins are a
different group from the Smith Syndicate.

In his final letter, he writes: "I asked Master Harman. Asked
him to kill you."

Given Johnny Gagnon´s extraordinary resourcefulness in digging
up information, it is likely that he found Master Harman in
Garcian´s trailer and "used all of [his] resources" to wake up
Harman Smith.

Johnny Gagnon is Kun Lan´s secret piece, used at the right
time to make a devastating move against H. H. Emir Parkreiner
has been asleep for years; H. H. would have no interest in
dispersing the veritable powerhouse he has in the Killer7.
Only Kun Lan has the motivation or power to have instigated
Gagnon´s investigation, by prompting Gagnon to gradually
awaken Emir from his identity as Garcian. In the process of
awakening Emir, Gagnon also awakened Harman Smith.

The experience of rebirth, in most instances, involves a death
to past life and a clean slate. When Emir Parkreiner became
incorporated in the psychic matrix that deconstructed and
reformed his soul, he was "reborn," albeit not as an infant.
He was "reborn" as a monster, a shape-shifter. However, in
most religious beliefs of reincarnation, a reincarnated
person´s former identities are accessible still, as memories.
Certain chance encounters with objects and experiences, in a
current life, that associate with an earlier life may bring
about a recognition of memory that was buried at the time of
rebirth.

Gagnon´s purpose is to give information to Garcian--and to
Master Harman, who experiences everything that Garcian does in
the field--that other people will not provide. It is implied
that the people around Garcian deliberately shield him from
his own history, since Mills apparently knew about Garcian´s
belief in Harman´s existence WHILE KNOWING that Harman was
dead, physically. Gagnon was used as an informant who did not
know the consequences of giving information. As Master Harman
gained more information through Gagnon´s letters, he began to
awaken from his sedation--and more fully became Harman Smith.

When Garcian meets Harman Smith for the first time, in SMILE
PART ONE, Harman Smith directs Garcian to Coburn Elementary so
that Garcian can retrace, finally, the buried history that led
to his present identity. However, Harman Smith is not fully as
strong as he might become. He reappears, briefly, in Harman´s
Room in Garcian´s trailer as a subdued Persona, between SMILE
PART ONE and SMILE PART TWO. As well, he seems to remain
attached to Garcian´s physical presence, given his immobility.
(Notice that, even after he´s awakened to his identity as
Harman Smith, he is still never seen standing.)

Only after Garcian finally learns his original name--Emir
Parkreiner--can Harman Smith separate himself from Garcian´s
control. As Garcian moves through the Union Hotel, during
SMILE PART TWO, he revisits each of the Personae´s death.
Without the Vision Ring, Garcian cannot retain the Personae
any longer; when he remembers how he killed each of the
Personae, he is forced to confront the fact that he--Emir--is
psychologically distinct from the given Persona. In other
words, when he revisits his murder of Kevin Smith, in the
lobby, he must recognize psychologically: "I am myself, and
you are not me. Because we are not the same person, I can kill
you." As he realizes that he is NOT the Killer7--but only Emir
Parkreiner--each of the Personae enter into the Forbidden Room
and excuse themselves from H. H.´s service.

During the second Forbidden Room scene, Kun Lan snidely
remarks that "[they´ve] been interrupted again." H. H. then
asks, "Has another come to surface?"

Kun Lan´s dialogue implies that they have been visited
recently by successive people. H. H.´s dialogue implies that
these visitations are the "surfacing" of people. I propose
that, here, Kun Lan and H. H. allude to their experience of
Garcian´s awakening into his identity as Emir. As Garcian
revisits each murder, the spirit of the victim "surfaces" like
a bubble--that is, he or she rises to the top of the hotel,
through the elevator, and enters the Forbidden Room. These
events occur parallel to Garcian´s loss of each Persona,
because he can no longer identify himself AS them.

When Garcian enters into the Forbidden Room, the second time,
Harman Smith (having traveled with him) kills the impressions
of both Kun Lan and H. H. Afterward, Garcian goes to the roof
and frees himself from Harman Smith´s power, by killing the
Third Eye on his teenage self. He opens the case, sees the
Killer7´s weapons, and collapses: bewildered and truly alone.

Here, the credits roll: Emir Parkreiner has become whole
again. The consequences are two-fold. First, he is aware of
himself, completely. Second, he is alone for the first time,
spiritually, since his birth in 1942.

Afterward, Emir Parkreiner assumes his identity without the
Killer7, as the true son of Kun Lan. While he is alone,
spiritually, he is not yet free of the spirits that associated
with him. Since H. H.´s psychic matrix has been dissipated,
the Remnant Psyche of Kun Lan--Iwazaru--is now free. The sole
influence left within Emir is the diminuitive Kun Lan. Because
of this, he cooperates with Matsuoka. Without Kun Lan around
to control the Heaven Smiles, the Heaven Smiles no longer act
in the interest of terrorizing America alone.

As the leader of the Japanese people, Matsuoka desires to
protect Japan from the Heaven Smiles, who are now without
their Shogun, Kun Lan. Three years pass: Emir and Matsuken
work together to eradicate the Heaven Smiles. Emir seems to
have retained his reputation as a shape-shifter, since
Matsuoka says to Emir: "You boys are almost done. You don´t
need to go around killing everybody anymore." Without the
balance of H. H.´s presence within his soul, Emir becomes
violent under the impulses of the diminuitive Kun Lan.

Yet, Emir also possesses some free will. Because he possesses
free will, he can decide whether or not to kill Matsuoka. If
Kun Lan were fully in charge of Emir, he would not have
allowed Matsuoka--and the Yakumo--to die.
What happens to Emir, after the credits roll?

There´s absolutely nothing in the game that so much as hints
at what happens to Emir after the end. However, I will hazard
a guess, based on the rules that seem to govern the spiritual
universe of Killer7.

When Emir kills Kun Lan´s spiritual remainder, he becomes
mortal. His immortal qualities have depended upon his identity
as his father´s son--as the son of an immortal, cosmic being.
When he kills the last Heaven Smile, he destroys the last
shred of immortality within himself and becomes only human.

This fate, I think, explains why Matsuoka says: "No more
terrorism, hail to the free world. But I wonder, what´ll
become of you guys if terrorism is the law of nature? You
know, you should kill me now, because you don´t want us
hanging around. Know what I mean? If I´m alive, I´ll give you
a run for your money--even an assassin like yourself. Better
be prepared, because blood must atone for blood."
As an "adopted son" of Kun Lan, Matsuoka has insight into
Emir´s existence that most people do not. If the last Heaven
Smile is also the last bit of immortality left in Emir, then
Matsuoka knows that Emir will be mortal and MUCH less powerful
after killing the remainder of Kun Lan. "If terrorism is the
law of nature," then Emir will have a lot of people after him-
-and he won´t have the resources left to defend himself.

Emir will not be reborn. His death is the end of his cycles of
life, and the end of the drama until Shanghai, 100 years
later.

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III: SYMBOLISM [#III]

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While the game is rife with symbolism, two issues seem most
frequently called to the audience´s attention: first, the dis-
tinction between forces of good and evil; second, the use of
chess as a metaphor for the events of the game. I would like
to use this section to address these issues exclusively.

Other symbols are present in the game, even if they are not
mentioned in this section. In other sections of this document,
I have addressed less significant symbols as they have seemed
relevant to the story.

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(A) YIN-YANG VS GOD-DEVIL INTERPRETATION OF HARMAN
AND KUN LAN [#IIIA]

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I think that the yin/yang VS God/Satan issue can be resolved
by looking at the theme of hybridization that permeates the
game. The color schemes in the game suggest that a yin/yang
interpretation is valid: H. H. wears all black, and Kun Lan
wears all white. Yet, there´s even a reversal here, because H.
H. controls white chess pieces, while Kun Lan controls black
chess pieces. The yin/yang distinction is a decidedly Eastern
dichotemy; a more Western dichotemy is the God/Satan
distinction, which alludes more to the Western spiritual
tradition of Zoroastrianism.

There are ironies laid out all over the place. Harman is the
Yin: passive, white-dressed-in-black. Kun Lan is the Yang:
active, associated with light. Yet, Harman´s "Queen" piece is
Garcian: black-dressed-in-white. In the Eastern sense, Harman
and Kun Lan are complementary opposites; yet, along the more
Western lines of Zoroastrian spirituality, they use the
elements of the world to dramatize their struggles with each
other.

I don´t think that they are impossible to discern, though,
simply because they are ironies. Part of thesignificance of
Kun Lan´s irony, for example, is that he is the active
principle of the East (Yang)--associated with light and
heaven--and, yet, in the symbolism of the West, he is
associated with Lucifer, the light-bearer who masquerades as
an angel.

Shayh

Niveau 10

28 décembre 2005 à 02:29:26

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H--[Q]: Who gunned down Kun Lan and H. H. during the second
cut-scene of the Forbidden Room? [#VH]

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[A]: Good old Harman Smith.

Notice that H. H. looks at the person who enters the Forbidden
Room and says, "Well. Look who it is. Haven´t seen you in a
long time." When I first watched this scene, I thought that H.
H. spoke with inappropriate condescension to Garcian. As well,
his remark that he hadn´t "seen [him] in a long time" didn´t
make sense, since he was in fairly regular communication with
Garcian.

Then, I figured it out: He spoke condescendingly, because he
was addressing the Remnant Psyche of Principal Harman. He had
obvious disdain for the man who looked like him, but betrayed
him.

Further, as we see when we play as Harman Smith in Killer8,
Harman is the only character with a Tommy Gun, which is what
seems to have been used against Kun Lan and H. H.

It seems that old President Harman knew his number was up, as
a Remnant Psyche. The six main killers of the original Killer7
had already been laid to rest: as soon as Garcian destroyed
the Third Eye on Emir, President Harman´s Remnant Psyche would
be released, too. He took the last possible chance he had to
get revenge on the two divine beings who had caused so much
havoc in his life.

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I--[Q]: In the LION mission, how can Garcian/Emir run from the
Coliseum (in the Pacific Ocean) to his trailer (in
northwest America) to the Coliseum again? [#VI]

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[A]: I think that Garcian´s Trailer-House, the Forbidden Room
of the Union Hotel, and the Coliseum are all connected-and I
mean physically, though not concretely.

Lemme try to unknot that for you. For reasons that are never
explained directly, the Coliseum (in the Pacific Ocean) goes
down to a sublevel-where you can walk into Garcian´s living
room. This is either a tremendous glitch, or an important
detail.

Likewise, the basement of Garcian´s Trailer-House goes down
into the depths of the Coliseum. Somehow, he is able to run
about fifty feet on an island in the Atlantic Ocean and make a
detour by his kitchen, in Washington State.

Similarly, Garcian is able to walk through the back door to
his Trailer-House, and walk into the top floor suite of a
hotel in Pennsylvania. (Note that I think that the room he
walks into, after finding Samantha dead, is the top floor of
the Union Hotel. Look through the windows during the cutscene:
you´ll see atmosphere that you shouldn´t be able to see from
the one floor of a Trailer-House.)

A couple of other things strike me as odd about the set up.
The most major one is the fact that it´s a Trailer-House.
Those things don´t even have basements. Likewise, unless it is
a double-wide, I can´t imagine having enough room for a large
room, like the suite. The second fact-more subtly-comes from
something Kun Lan says, during gunning scene in the Forbidden
Room. He says, "Time here is warped."

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J--[Q]: What happened with H. H. and Kun Lan, during the first
scene in the Forbidden Room? [#VJ]

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[A]: I believe that the two freak out, because "things are
astir." (Not a quote from the game; my own phrase off set by
quotations.) Samantha is dead; Harman is gone; and Garcian has
just overheard them describe the trauma of his past. Clearly,
things are going a little rustier than they expect, in
Garcian´s mind.

An interesting aspect of the divine/immortal beings in Killer7
is that they depend upon human beings, as hosts or vessels. At
the time of the gunning scene in the Forbidden Room, both Kun
Lan and H. H. seem fatigued-bored, even. I think that this is
because both of their "vessels" have disintegrated: H. H. is
losing Garcian/Emir, and Kun Lan has just lost Nightmare.
Their chess game has even come to a halt-the game they love
more than anything. Without their physical vessels, the chess
game (which is a symbol of all of the activities in the human
world) cannot resolve because neither divine being has the
energy he needs to play.

I don´t think that Garcian could have entered the Forbidden
Room, from his Trailer-House, unless the remnant psyche of
Principal Harman had awoken. The remnant psyche of Harman is
the sole layer between Garcian and H. H.--and with that layer
absent, Garcian can intrude upon the very working of the
spiritual fabric that dictates historical events.

One important difference between the two Forbidden Room scenes
is how Garcian and Harman react to the presences of H. H. and
Kun Lan. Garcian only gives them a little shock. Harman mows
them Al Capone style. Harman´s got a lot more rage pent up
than Garcian does, apparently.

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K--[Q]: The whole set-up with the gymnasium at Coburn seemed a
little deliberate. Who set it up? [#VK]

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[A]: I expect that Kun Lan set it up. If he can dissolve
Garcian´s spiritual balance (psychotic though it may be), he
can unravel H. H.´s vessel--and, therefore, gain the upper
hand. To do this, he has to awaken Garcian to his past
identity: Emir.

Note how the entire scenario in the gymnasium plays out like a
chess game, visually; also note how it plays out like a trap.
A number of Heaven Smiles appear, and they are equal to the
number of personas within Garcian. They are totally black,
like Kun Lan´s chess pieces. And they take them out, one-by-
one, diagonally, like pawns taking more powerful pieces on the
board. (Also note that Garcian´s suit is white--the color of
H. H.´s pieces.)

I expect that the flaw in Kun Lan´s plan came from the
Benjamin Keane. Kun Lan likely expected Nightmare to be ready
for Garcian, with the Golden Gun and black Heaven Smiles at
his command. However, the Ben Keane caught him off guard and
hoisted him on the stage rack.

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L--[Q]: Why would Benjamin Keane kill Greg Nightmare? [#VL]

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[A]: Greg Nightmare who controls Coburn--and, by consequence,
controls who will become the next President of the U. S. A.
Keane didn´t win the "election" like he hoped.

In other words, Ben Keane wanted the elections rigged in his
favor--so, when this didn´t happen, he rigged Greg Nightmare!

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M--[Q]: What´s the deal with the Golden Gun? [#VM]

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[A]: Think of the Golden Gun as a holy sword. The Golden Gun
was Emir´s token, I think. The usual signifiers are at work:
the gun is made of gold, connoting that it is special;
further, it is the weapon of an agent possessed by God (or a
God-analog); as well, it is made of the metal that was deemed
most holy by alchemists. (Nevermind the fact that an actual
golden gun would melt after the first few shots.)

The black Heaven Smiles, I think, are pure Heaven Smiles. I
think they are the raw essence of the evil within a Heaven
Smile, without a human host. Previously, the Killer7s´ guns
could kill the Heaven Smiles, because they could kill the
physical body of the host. Now, they cannot, since no physical
body is present. Nightmare is in possession of the Golden Gun,
to keep Garcian away from the one weapon that will work
against the black Heaven Smiles. Note, also, that Garcian
lacks the Vision Ring. He most probably sees the Heaven
Smiles, now, as those three victims in ANGEL saw them.

The Golden Gun may have been a reference to the popular James
Bond movies, which are also referred to in Johnny Gagnon´s
"Pigeon Letters." (The names of the pigeons are also the names
of women characters in the films.}

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N--[Q]: The game doesn´t give a specific date for the
recording of Hulbert´s cassette tapes, in the SMILE
chapter. How do you come up with the year 1996? [#VN]

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[A]: Hulbert opens the first tape, by explaining: "It´s been a
few days since the Presidential election. Today´s the fourth
Thursday in November."

So, let´s look at election years. The last one we had was in
2004, and they occur every four years. These are the
possibilities, then: 2000, 1996, 1992, 1988, 1984, 1980, 1976,
1972, 1968, 1964, 1960, 1956, and 1952. I stop at 1952,
because this is the election year closest to Emir´s death.
Hulbert describes Emir´s birthdate as "1942," and then pauses
and says, "That´s over 50 years ago."

From this, I conclude that the recording of the cassettes
comes at least 50 years since 1942. 1942 plus 50 equals 1992.

The first cassette tape explains that the first cassette is
recorded during an presidential election year. I assume that
the only election years in question are 1996 and 2000, because
the election of 2004 would have been at least 60 years since
1942. Given that it seems likely that Hulbert would have
expressed the time span in tens, I think that 2004 is too late
of a date to place the recording of his cassettes.

Between 1996 and 2000, I choose 1996. The intro movie of
SUNSET describes the resolution to ban nuclear weapons in July
3, 1998. It seems more likely that concern would arise (with
respect to electoral validity) given the later developments to
stop all international commerce.

To quote the narrator, again: "The international society,
under the motto of ´Protecting the world from international
terrorism, ideology terrorism, and cyber-terrorism,´ stopped
all air transportation and closed every network station in the
short span of two years, to reduce the likelihood of
terrorism. The world had changed.

"In the year 2002, a network of intercontinental expressways,
bridging the Atlantic Ocean, opened, connecting the two major
sides of the world. In the following year of 2003, the
construction of a mass scale distribution system began, and
the man-made landmass large as a city was built over an ocean.
The use and research of nuclear energy was banned, and all
radioactive waste and materials were disposed of at an energy
disposal facility in the Gibsoft Islands, a remote set of
islands off the coast of the Indian Ocean."

In other words, the resolutions of 1998 began a process that
resulted in U. S. cooperation in a global unification of the
economy. Note that Hulbert´s communication comes a few days
after the election--meaning, someone suspected fraudulent
practices only a short time after the election had taken
place. Since the winner of the 1996 election is held
responsible for the U. S. policy changes that resulted in the
1998 resolutions, I expect that that was the year of Hulbert´s
cassettes´ recording.

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O--[Q]: Who´s the guy sitting next to Harman Smith, in the
Union Hotel? [#VO]

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[A]: Quick answer: he´s Johnny Gagnon.

Johnny Gagnon´s last letter narrates that Harman Smith was
laughing with him. Laughter, of course, is Kun Lan´s calling
card. We also know that Kenjiro has been touched by Kun Lan,
from the intro scene to Sunset, Part 2. Since Harman Smith--in
the suite of the Union Hotel--is aligned with Kun Lan, and
since his identity is the Harman who worked with the Yakumo, I
believe that he and Kenjiro would cooperate with each other.

When Harman Smith explains that he already sent Kenjiro away,
I believe that he sent Kenjiro away to make a hit on the man
who is seen gagged, and who falls off the building.

Harman tells Garcian that he "handed over" Kenjiro, to get
Garcian to go to the school. Johnny Gagnon knows what Garcian
looks like--but not what Emir looks like. In his mind, Garcian
(as part of the Killer7/Harman´s Assassins) is distinct from
Emir. Therefore, when Harman tells Garcian that "the man you
are looking for" is at the school, Johnny thinks that Garcian
is going to kill Emir.

Between the time that Garcian goes to the school, and the time
that he returns, Harman Smith has killed Johnny Gagnon, and
Johnny Gagnon is a remnant psyche of Harman Smith. In other
words, the man who we see handing Harman Smith the hat is a
subservient ghost of Johnny Gagnon.

Shayh

Niveau 10

28 décembre 2005 à 02:32:38

At the end of the game, if the player allows Matsuken to live,
we see him standing with a stern facial expression as Japanese
military technology hurtles toward America. Given his "divine
ordination" and the Japanese political party that is most closely
aligned with conservative Japanese political ideals, I think
that Matsuken represents the reinstatement of Japanese
emperorship and the destruction of democratic freedom.

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AC--[Q]: Who is the person who leaves messages for Garcian on
the answering machine? What´s that message about?[#VAC]

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A: The person who leaves messages for Garcian on the answering
machine is Christopher Mills, the contact agent between the
U. S. Government and the Killer7. The message is a code, so
Mills can let Garcian know that there is work to do.

The message is: "Hello, Mr. Smith. The election is drawing near.
Have you decided on your vote? If you haven´t, please let the
Republic party make the most of your precious vote. Thank you,
and have a nice day."

The meaning of Mills´ contact message is subtle. We should look
at his use of the terms "election," "vote," and "Republic party."

"The election is drawing near," Mills says. "Election" carries
weight as a political word in both democratic and dictatorial
contexts. When we speak of "an election," in American democratic
politics, we refer to a specific instance when citizens who are
registered to vote cast ballots for candidates; the winner "wins
the election." In a dictatorship, "an election" is the assignment
(often the self-assignment) of a political figure to a given role.
One may be elected to a position of power by popular consent, as
in an ideal democracy, or one may be elected to a position by
hubris, power, or divinity. Often, the phrase "divine election"
is used with respect to a person or group of people who are chosen
to carry a significant burden for the sake of others.

Matsuken was "elected" to the position of the U. N. Party´s leader
by Kun Lan´s intervention, much as Emir Parkreiner was "elected"
to the role of the killer (and consumer) of the Killer7, including
Harman Smith. These elections occured in the past; they were
epiphanies wherein indecision had reached its climax and a single
path was chosen.

The irony of Mills´ use of the word "election" involves Emir´s fate,
and the host of the Killer7. When Garcian (as a "game player"
controlling the Killer7) chooses between the Personae, he is casting
a "vote" for each of those Personae. A person is elected to carry
out a designated task; likewise, Garcian elects certain Personae for
certain tasks. MASK is chosen for the removal of specific obstacles;
Coyote is chosen to move around difficult terrain; and Garcian himself
is chosen for the recovery of the dead.

Regardless of the Persona "elected" to a given task, Emir Parkreiner--
as the base personality on whom the Personae and Harman Smith are piled--
votes for all Personae except his own true identity. One "election" that
draws nearer with each mission is the final encounter at the Union Hotel,
wherein Emir effectively eliminates all of the possible candidates for
his identity, leaving only himself.

Once the internal "election" is resolved, Emir may turn his vote--his
power to decide--toward the outside world. At the end of the LION
chapter, the player is given the option to either kill Matsuken or
let him live. This is a moment of election, wherein Emir is no longer
elected by anyone--neither Kun Lan nor H. H.--and takes the power that
they once possessed as his own. He "votes" for either Japan or America.

The use of the phrase "Republic Party" struck me as awkward, when I
reflected upon it. A casual listening might lead a player to conclude
that Mills has disguised himself as a campaigner for the REPUBLICAN Party.
In American political culture, the Republican Party is currently the more
ideologically conservative political force; prior to the election of
John F. Kennedy, however, the Democratic Party had been the more
ideologically conservative party. (The Democrats´ election of Kennedy--
a Catholic--into public office aroused the prejudice against Catholic
Christianity in the politically conservative South, starting a regional
migration of political allegiance toward the Republican Party.
Prior to this shift, the Democrats had been ideologically conservative.)
The history of the Republican Party is important, here, because it
reveals that the ideological identity of a given political party is
not static. Ideas change, and so do political parties´ identities.

So, if Mills had meant "Republican" party, we would be led to believe
that he was posing as a conservative ideologue; however, in the projected
political future, even this identity would be hard to determine, since
"Republican" has meant both ideological liberalism and conservatism.
I think that this suggests that we should pay attention to the specific
word he chooses: "Republic Party."

Any reference to the American government´s structure as "a democracy"
equivocates America´s real political operation. Certain, America is
"democratic"; however, it is not a democracy. A true democracy entails
the literal voting participation of every single member of a nation.
On a small scale, true democracy is more probable to succeed, since the
number of votes are maintained more easily than with a large population.
On a large scale--such as the United States´ current size--such a method
of governmental operation is impossible to execute efficiently. Instead
of a true democracy, the United States of America´s government is a
"democratic republic." Note that "democratic" is the subordinate word,
and that "republic" is the dominant word.

When Mills describes himself as "from the Republic party," he confesses
that he sides with the United States of America´s historical identity.
Mills believes that the United States´ political structure allows power
to politicians because of the population´s conscientious approval. In
the world of Killer7, he could not be more wrong.

Linda Vermillion calls Mills a slave because "the government´s interest
was his interest." She asks the rhetorical question, "Is making a move
for the interest of the country an assassin´s job?" She then introduces
herself as "a protector of the country." While her references to "the
government" and "the country" seem equivocal, the distinction implied
in her speech is important. Mills believed in the government, as he
learned of its structure; Christopher Mills was a patriot who served
his country through the underground societies within its bounds.
Regardless of the culture of deception and intrigue that he surrounded
himself with, he never doubted that the authority of the government of
the United States of America--a democratic republic--trumped all of the
subversive crowds within its borders. When he began acting in the
interest of the nation he believed in, the shadow government (whose
disguise was a democratic republic) murdered him.

Linda Vermillion contrasts herself with Mills, when she describes herself
as "a protector of the country." She protects the shadow government
whose activities Mills threatened, by acting on his belief in the power
of a democratic republic.

Mills´ use of the phrase "Republic party" implies that he and the Killer7
believe that they work for America´s historically recognized identity as
a democratic republic. At the end of the game, Emir Parkreiner--a mass
murderer who may still be noble, as a political character--must use his
power to decide whether he will defend the Republic or not.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AD--[Q]: Why does Garcian find all of the personae´s weapons in
his attache case? [#VAD]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: My and other´s initial reaction to Garcian´s discovery of
the other personae´s weapons in the attache case was to conclude
that Garcian, himself, was all of the Killer7. However, I do not
think that is the correct conclusion.

The six members of the Killer7 who the player can choose among,
while in the field of action, are considered separate from Garcian
Smith. However, since Garcian seems to be either a stable physical
entity (as Garcian Smith) or a fluctuating physical entity (as the
other personae), it makes sense that he would carry all of the
other killers´ weapons with him. They come in and out of
existence, using his body, and he must carry their guns with him.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AE--[Q]: Why doesn´t Garcian remember having killed Harman Smith
and the other assassins? [#VAE]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: "Garcian Smith" did not exist until Emir Parkreiner had killed
Harman Smith and the other assassins, and then had gained the psychical
powers of Harman Smith.

Think of "Garcian" as the identity created within Emir, when he
became the master of the psychical universe that the Killer7 inhabit.
When Emir Parkreiner´s memory was recovered, "Garcian" died. Emir
remembered killing Harman and the assassins; Garcian could not,
because his identity and memory began immediately after Emir took on
Harman Smith´s powers.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AF--[Q]: Why does Emir still carry the attache case in the LION
chapter, if he no longer has the third eye? [#VAF]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A}: The most immediate answer that I would give to this question
is that the developers didn´t have the time or interest to create
a whole new character model for Garcian, just for the LION chapter.

Even if it is laziness, though, the evidence is in the game that
Emir continued to carry the weapons of the Smiths after he became
"freed" of their existence as personae. It is possible that the
end of SMILE only dramatized the end of H. H.´s existence within
Emir Parkreiner. Garcian died, because "Garcian" only existed as
a "servant" of H. H., who communicated with Garcian through the
form of Master Harman.

The condition of Kun Lan´s binding, though, has also been removed.
H. H. is no longer within Emir´s psyche to keep Kun Lan chained,
and the power of resurrection that Emir gained from killing and
"consuming" Harman Smith were originally gifts from Kun Lan. So,
it seems likely that Emir retained his power to shape-shift and
resurrect the dead; he simply lost the guidance and control that
H. H. had had over him, when he was Garcian Smith.

Also, note that when Matsuken addresses Emir, he says: "You boys
are almost done. You don´t need to go around killing everybody
anymore." Matsuken seems to know that Emir represents a group
of psyches, since he refers to Emir as "you boys." Surely, Matsuken
has spent quite a bit of time around Emir, since his later words
imply an extended professional relationship: "I wonder. What´ll
become of you guys if terrorism is the law of nature? You know,
you should kill me now, because you don´t want us hanging around."
I think that all of this means that Emir retains the power to
change forms. Consequently, I think that he carries around the
attache case with the others´ weapons, so that he can do his work
as a professional assassin.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AG--[Q]: What´s up with Samantha and the lights? [#VAG]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: I think that this has to do with the white/black, light/dark
distinction between H. H. and Kun Lan. Kun Lan is associated with
white; H. H. is associated with black. Darkness is H. H.´s true
environment. Presumably, since the chain of inheritance of Kun
Lan´s power (from Harman Smith to Emir Parkreiner) still has the
power of Kun Lan--white--at its root, it would make sense that
Master Harman would only be able to communicate with Garcian in
the light--through the power of Kun Lan that has been manipulated
to serve H. H.´s ends.

When Master Harman asks Samantha to turn on the lights, he is
returning to darkness--returning to his natural element within
Emir´s psyche--and giving the "light" of Kun Lan´s powers back to
Garcian, so that he can use it in the field of action.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AH--[Q]: Why are KAEDE´s and MASK´s names capitalized? [#VAH]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: This question has a simple answer. They are capitalized because
they are the only first names out of all of the Smiths´ that were
originally written in Japanese characters, in the Japanese release.
The other Smiths´ names were written in English characters.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AI--[Q]: What are the circumstances surrounding Yoon-Hyun´s
"untimely death"? Did Emir kill him at the same time as he
killed the other members of the Harman Assassins? [#VAI]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: Emir did not kill Yoon-Hyun at the same time that he killed
the other members of the Killer7 group. Yoon-Hyun was crucial to
the effort to silence all media attention to the murders of the
Harman Assassins. He would not have been able to do so, had he
been killed.

The specific circumstances surrounding Yoon-Hyun´s death are
unknown. It seems likely that he would have been killed because
of his knowledge of the murders of the Harman Assassins; having
the knowledge that he had, when involved in government intrigue,
makes for a shortened life span.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AJ--[Q]: What´s the deal with the whole Russian Roulette scene?
[#VAJ]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: Benjamin Keane´s a little crazy. He says so himself, in fact,
when he says, to Garcian, "We´re sick people, you know that? We
only feel alive when our lives are on the line."

Benjamin Keane started the Russian Roulette game for the thrill,
and, also, to create an impromptu "contract" with Garcian Smith.
He seems likely to have known who Garcian was; he wanted Garcian
to kill the President, so that he (Keane) could become President.

Shayh

Niveau 10

28 décembre 2005 à 02:33:45

Keane also just assisted in the murder of Greg Nightmare. The
man had more than enough reasons to play a suicidal game.

Thematically, the game also touches one of the themes in the
game´s narrative: voting. What determines whether or not the
bullet will be in the chamber, when a player of Russian Roulette
pulls the trigger? Arbitrary chance. What are the consequences
of that arbitrary chance? Life or death.

Think about the choice at the end of the game. Emir must choose
whether or not to kill Matsuken. This, in itself, is like Russian
Roulette. If Matsuken dies, Emir lives; if Matsuken lives, Emir
dies. Likewise, if Keane dies, Garcian lives; if Keane had lived,
Garcian would have died.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AK--[Q]: Why are Emir´s eyes green in LION? [#VAK]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: SUDA 51 has answered this question in an interview,
explaining that the eyes are green to indicate that Emir has
awoken fully to his bloodthirsty nature.

The green eyes indicate that he is fully under the power
of Kun Lan, his true father, who also has green eyes.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AL--[Q]: Why do the remnant psyches sound like they are talking
through a garden hose? [#VAL]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: There are two answers to this. First, when the game was
made originally in Japanese, the characters´ lines were spoken
in clear English. However, the language was closer to Engrish:
English made slightly incomprehensible through Japanese trans-
lation. Knowing that native English speakers would be disturbed
by the poor grammar and syntax, the developers decided to present
the voices garbled and accompanied with grammatically correct
subtitles.

The second answer is that the voices help convey their other-
worldly nature. When we, as players, can only understand the
content of their speech by reading the subtitles, we are given
more strongly the impression that Emir has a complex, intimate
relationship with the shades. When we talk to the remnant
psyches, we are encountering them through Emir´s perspective;
he possesses the power to converse with them, and we can only
take meaning from the subtitled text, his mental "interpretation"
of the remnant psyches´ speech.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AM--[Q]: Why is Travis in a tuxedo? [#VAM]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: Straight up, the man´s got class. He´s not all wife-beaters
and jeans, you know.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AN--[Q]: Was Master Harman really at the table with
Toru Fukushima? [#VAN]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: I think so, yes.

Fukushima sits at the table, and so does Master Harman. No other
chair has been presented to Master Harman, implying that he has
his own chair. Second, after Kisugi has shot Fukushima, Master
Harman escapes Kisugi´s gunshots by pressing on the table and
rolling backward. This choreography would not be possible, if
the person was sitting in anything other than a wheelchair.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AO--[Q]: Are the three Harmans separate identities, or are they
all the same person? [#VAO]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: I think that the entity collectively known as "Harman" is
expressed differently, in each of his three parts.

Think of the concept of the Christian tripartite God, who is
divided into the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The
Father is the transcendant, holy absolute; the Holy Spirit is
the will of God working in the world; and the Son is the human
incarnation of the Father´s love for the world.

In Harman, then, we see an analogous division: H. H. is the Father,
since his will is the absolute moral authority; Harman Smith is
the Holy Spirit, since he is the "active" will of Harman in the
world; and Master Harman is the Son, since he is the human incar-
nation of Harman.

Harman´s biggest problem is Harman Smith. Imagine if the tri-
partite God had sent His Holy Spirit to the world--and the Holy
Spirit was able to decide and act against the Father´s desires.
This is something like what happened to Harman. When his Holy
Will--Harman Smith--entered the world of men and politics, he
became corrupted toward Harman´s nemesis: Kun Lan. (This cor-
ruption is how Harman Smith gained the powers of resurrection.)
By sending Emir Parkreiner to kill and "consume" Harman Smith,
then, H. H. was able to bring his delinquent part under control.
Without this, the total identity of Harman would be always off-
balance.

In a real sense, Harman is at war with himself.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AP--[Q]: How did Garcian gain the power to resurrect the dead?
[#VAP]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: Originally, Harman Smith had the power to resurrect the
dead. However, when Emir Parkreiner killed Harman Smith, he took
Harman Smith´s Vision Ring. With the Vision Ring and the awaken-
ing of Emir Parkreiner´s "third eye," he was able to consume
the souls of those who he had killed along with their powers.

So, for instance, when Emir consumed Dan Smith, he was able to
use Dan´s persona along with the Colatteral Shot. Likewise,
when he consumed KAEDE Smith, he was able to use KAEDE´s persona
along with her Blood Shower abilities.

His slaying and consumption of Harman Smith, then, allowed him
the ultimate power of all: the power to resurrect from the dead.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AQ--[Q]: Are Susie and Ayame Blackburn the same person? [#VAQ]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: No, they are not. Ayame Blackburn is alive and VERY well
during the game--specifically, during the boss fight of the
first half of ENCOUNTER. Susie Sumner has been dead for quite
a while, by this point.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AR--[Q]: Who was Hulbert? What was his purpose? [#VAR]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: Hulbert was an FBI agent, who was murdered on a mission to
investigate Coburn Elementary School to determine the political
integrity of the United States´ voting system.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AS--[Q]: Dan Smith beat Emir to the draw in the Union Hotel
flashback, but he didn´t shoot. Why not? [#VAS]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: In my layout and timeline of the events of the Union Hotel
murders, Dan Smith the last of the Smiths killed before Emir took
on Harman Smith. Also according to my timeline and interpretation,
Dan Smith had been resurrected from the dead at least once before
his murder at the Union Hotel.

He knew that his boss could resurrect him from the dead; he knew
his boss was a total badass assassin. And his boss was on the
floor immediately above him. He may have waited to shoot because
he was pretty sure he wouldn´t be permanently killed by the shot.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AT--[Q]: MASK De Smith seems out of place among the Killer7. He
isn´t bloodthirsty, and he´s a hero to children. What´s with
that? [#VAT]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: I think that this is intended to call our attention to the
nature of heroes. A quotation from the Konami game "Metal Gear
Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" reads: "There´s not much of a difference
between heroes and madmen."

In the way that comic book characters often are heroes, MASK De
Smith is a hero. He has a secret identity; he undergoes multiple
transformations, each time revealing a deeper super identity; and
he is portrayed as a defender of the weak. When he speaks his
classic line to Jean DePaul, he implies the purity of his own
strength: "Children are pure. They know who is the strongest."

When MASK De Smith kills, it is for the sake of justice. When
Dan Smith kills, it´s because he´s crazy and he simply loves
killing. Both are the same, in their actions. We judge them
differently based on their motivations toward identical actions.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AU--[Q]: Why couldn´t Garcian revive the Personae after they were
killed by the Black Smiles in the Coburn Elementary Gymnasium?
[#VAU]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: A couple of reasons suggest themselves.

First, Garcian no longer possessed the Vision Ring. His powers
of clairvoyance and resurrection seem to have been contingent upon
both his "third eye" and his possession of the Vision Ring. The
"third eye" allowed him to perceive supernatural activity; the
Vision Ring allowed him to act within the supernatural realm.

Once he lost the Vision Ring, he lost the ability to act within
the supernatural realm. However, until he climbed to the roof of
the Union Hotel, he could still perceive the supernatural realm.

Second, even granting Garcian the power to resurrect the dead after
giving up the Vision Ring, he had none of their remains. It is
important that after every death of a Persona, in the game, Garcian
can retrieve some parts of their body in a brown paper bag. He
doesn´t have any of this, after they are killed by the Black
Smiles.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AV--[Q]: Is there any significance to the way that the Personae´s
powers work? [#VAV]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: Yes, I think so.

All of the Personae´s powers suggest elements of their deaths, in
the Union Hotel. All of the powers are inversions of the elements
of their deaths.

Kevin Smith was in disguise, but his disguise failed. In the
Killer7, Kevin Smith´s disguise is perfect: he turns invisible.

Con Smith did not hear Emir enter his room, and he did not run
away. In the Killer7, he has perfect hearing and he can run at
impossible speeds.

MASK De Smith was completely nude, exposed, and he died without
putting up a fight. In the Killer7, he is disguised entirely, and
he is the superhero-in-residence.

KAEDE Smith was a coward; she ran away when she had the chance to
warn the remainder of her comrades, and she hid in a closet. In
the Killer7, she instead slits her wrist and showers forth blood--
an action reminiscent of self-sacrifice, the opposite of her be-
havior in the Union Hotel. As well, instead of placing a barrier
between herself and a threat--as she did when she hid from Emir in
the closet--she removes barriers.

Coyote Smith hid unimaginatively from Emir. In the Union Hotel,
Coyote had the option of climbing onto the fire escape to flee.
Lacking the imagination to do so, however, he was killed when Emir
instead used the fire escape to catch Coyote off guard. In the
Killer7, then, Coyote possesses the ingenuity and cleverness that
he failed to display at the Union Hotel.

Dan Smith talked a lot of trash, bragged to Emir´s face, and even
beat Emir to the draw. In the end, though, he was unable to cash
the check his mouth had written. In the Killer7, then, he is
still a braggart, but he is able to follow through with the claims
made in his speech. He is even able to fire the devastating
Colatteral Shot--a supernatural version of the gunshot that could
have saved his life from Emir Parkreiner, in the Union Hotel.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AW--[Q]: Why does MASK De Smith get so many powerups, when the
other members of the Killer7 do not? [#VAW]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

[A]: Again, I think that MASK De Smith´s powerups are intended to
reflect his quality as a superhero. Every superhero transforms
from his or her "secret identity" into a super identity. MASK
De Smith is such a superhero, he transforms from super identity
into super identity into super identity.

He rocks the proverbial party.

--------------------------------------------------
---------------
AX--[Q]: Does the singer with the guitar at the beginning of
ALTER EGO have any significance? [#VAX]

--------------------------------------------------
---------------

Shayh

Niveau 10

28 décembre 2005 à 02:34:20