Saturday, August 13, 2005

Kuwabara, kuwabara.

METAL GEAR SOLID 2: SONS OF LIBERTY ENDING ANALYSIS by Kayla N. 08/12/2005 The ending of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is less difficult to understand than many seem to think. To fully understand the ending, I suggest that you play through the game at least twice as well as read through the more confusing parts of the script(go to www.gamefaqs.com to find one) several times. However, a lot of what is said during the ending of Sons of Liberty can be interpreted in multiple different ways. This is merely my interpretation of the more confusing aspects. I truly do not find anything confusing about it. Sons of Liberty’s ending is only as confusing as you make it out to be. When attempting to understand the ending, there are a few rules you should follow; it’ll make it less confusing: RULE #1: There’s a lot of information given to you in a short amount of time at the ending. Do not try to take all of this information in at one time! If you do, all that’ll happen is you’ll run yourself into little tiny circles trying to decipher what the fuck The Colonel and Rose are talking about. However, if you take in each bit of information by separating it into “what I understand” and “the shit that makes no God damned sense”,(again, I suggest playing through Sons of Liberty at least two times as well as obtaining the script) then you can move on and follow rule number two. RULE #2: “Find the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings.” Things in Metal Gear Solid 2 have a deeper meaning that what you may originally think! Not everything is just what you see or hear on the surface. The ending accounts for this; it is meant to be at least slightly baffling and utterly confusing. What you have to do is look at the startling information hidden between the crazy rambling of The Colonel and the more coherent information he gives. COLONEL : Raiden, are you receiving? We're still here. RAIDEN : How's that possible!? The AI was destroyed! COLONEL : Only GW... RAIDEN : Who are you? The virus was constructed to destroy any information contained within GW about the Patriots, meaning, the rest of GW would have been intact. Ocelot may very well have been the cause behind the Metal Gear RAY’s malfunctioning. OCELOT : I'm reading an abnormal impulse cascade throughout the neural network. I can't shut it down! SOLIDUS : What happened! OCELOT : Maybe -- some kind of virus -- SOLIDUS : The Patriots!? OCELOT : I don't know! SOLIDUS : Ocelot! What have you been up to? OCELOT : It's too late! Arsenal's system control is going haywire! ...It’s on an emergency ascent course! Thus, the part of GW that was stimulating cortical activity in the dormant part of Raiden’s brain using signal manipulation of his own nanomachines would still have been intact. The Colonel’s strange behavior while Raiden was inside Arsenal was merely a side effect of the virus destroying the information on the Patriots within GW. ------------------------- COLONEL : That man was not included in the simulation. He is not a factor in this mission. RAIDEN : What do you mean by that, Colonel? COLONEL : Because they were never a part of the simulation. They're an unknown factor. RAIDEN : You can take your simulation and...! We're out here, we bleed, we die! ROSE : Calm down! COLONEL : Raiden, do you copy. You must continue your m-mission. RAIDEN : I've lost all my gear. I need to locate Snake. COLONEL : He was never factored into the simulation. Leave him out of this. RAIDEN : I can't do much naked, especially in this temperature. The entire Big Shell incident was a recreation of Shadow Moses. It was a -- how shall I put it -- simulated incident. The Patriots created all of the variables, factors and conditions of the incident. This relates to what Ocelot mentioned: OCELOT : Everything you've done here has been scripted -- a little exercise set up by us. SOLIDUS : Exercise!? OCELOT : The S3 Plan was conceived as a means to produce soldiers on par with Solid Snake. That's what I told you. But the VR Training the boy was put through is not the meat of the project. You think this terrorist incident is your own doing, Solidus? THIS is the S3 training kernel -- an orchestrated recreation of Shadow Moses. SOLIDUS : What!? FORTUNE : All orchestrated...? OCELOT : Except for the appearance of the real Solid Snake. I wonder now, who sent for you...? Just as The Colonel said, Snake was not factored into the simulation. COLONEL : He was never factored into the simulation. Leave him out of this. ------------------------- OCELOT : ...THIS is the S3 training kernel -- an orchestrated recreation of Shadow Moses. Though S3 does not stand for, “Solid Snake Simulation”, what Ocelot says about the Big Shell being the S3 training kernel is true: the incident was created for GW to collect the necessary information on manipulating and controlling human will and consciousness. COLONEL : The S3 is a system for controlling human will and consciousness. S3 is not you, a soldier trained in the image of Solid Snake. It is -- a method, a protocol, that created a circumstance that made you what you are. ROSE : So you see, we're the S3. Not you. consciousness >noun 1 the state of being conscious. 2 one's awareness or perception of something. GW is shown to have effectively manipulated Raiden’s awareness and perception during the Big Shell incident. GW used Raiden’s own expectations and experiences to create The Colonel. ------------------------- COLONEL : To begin with -- we're not what you'd call -- human. Over the past two hundred years -- A kind of consciousness formed layer by layer in the crucible of the White House. It's not unlike the way life started in the oceans four billion years ago. The White House was our primordial soup, a base of evolution –- “To begin with -- we’re not what you’d call -- human.” This is obvious; GW is an AI, thus it is not human. Or, if The Colonel is speaking about the Patriots, then the explanation is also simple: Humans being humans have flaws, they make mistakes. Therefore, the Patriots may consider themselves “more than human”, in being that they do not believe they can make mistakes. Who better to correct the mistakes of humans and to ensure that they continue to evolve than someone who is “more than human” and incapable of making mistakes? “Over the past two hundred years -- A kind of consciousness formed layer by layer in the crucible of the White House. It’s not unlike the way life started in the oceans four billion years ago.” If we once again take the second definition of consciousness, in that it means “awareness or perception”, this consciousness that has been forming in the crucible of the White House over the past two hundred years could very well be just a confusing way to say that people were noticing the stupid fucking mistakes that the president and others were making during their terms in office. A crucible is a “container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures.” Ideas are substance, are they not? Or that they at least have substance, yes? Ideas usually become debated about over time, sometimes very heatedly. Thus, the substance of an idea may be subjected to very high temperatures of debate. Crucible also means “a situation of severe trial, or in which different elements interact to produce something new.” Lets take the second part of that definition into consideration: “in which different elements interact to produce something new.” The fifth definition of element is as such, “a distinct group within a larger group.” Remember the Philosophers. The original Philosophers were the most powerful men from America, Russia and China who joined together to defeat the Axis Powers and create a new world order. Are America, Russia and China not “different elements that interact to produce something new”? The three countries came together to create the Philosophers. The Patriots are a group of twelve men -- the Wisemen’s Committee. Since their backgrounds are uncertain, could they not all be from different elements of the government? These different elements interacted to collect all of the Philosopher’s Legacy and then created something new -- the Patriots. “It's not unlike the way life started in the oceans four billion years ago. The White House was our primordial soup, a base of evolution -- ” Life will forever evolve. Four billion years ago life began its slow process of evolution. Life is not the only thing that evolves, however. “The White House was our primordial soup, a base of evolution.” The idea of the Patriots began within the White House. Then the idea evolved and continued evolving until it became what it is at the end of Sons of Liberty. It started with the Philosophers, followed by an idea and then evolution of that idea. We are formless. We are the very discipline and morality that Americans invoke so often. How can anyone hope to eliminate us? As long as this nation exists, so will we. “We are formless,” makes the Patriots seem more like an advanced AI, correct? But they don’t have to be. Seeing as no one knows who the Patriots are, what they look like, etcetera, they are “formless”. A form is a “visible shape or configuration”. If something is “formless”, it would obviously be “without visible shape or configuration.” This could also mean that the Patriots are less prominent figures within the government; they don’t call attention to themselves. And why should they? The Patriots are a secret to all but the president they choose to run the nation. By being lesser known within the government or even the military, it would be much simpler to secretly run the nation. “We are the very discipline and morality that Americans invoke so often.” The discipline and morality that “Americans invoke so often” is just one more way that the Patriots have control over the population. Being disciplined is to behave in a controlled way. Morality is the distinction between right and wrong. The Patriots plan to use GW to control human will and consciousness, thus they would be able to control the population and their distinction between what is right and wrong. The discipline and morality is what the Patriots are: the controlling factor over the population(discipline), steering it in the direction of progress, in the “right’ direction, not the wrong, or bad, one(morality). “How can anyone hope to eliminate us? As long as this nation exists, so will we.” Even if the Patriots are brought down, who’s to say that the nation won’t continue in the direction it was heading while the Patriots were in charge? “As long as this nation exists, so will we.” This can be interpreted metaphorically and non-metaphorically. In metaphorical terms, even if the Patriots are gone, since they are the discipline and morality that Americans invoke so often, they will continue to exist within the nation. Their ideals, what they’ve spread throughout the nation will be what they live on through, even if they lose their actual control over the nation. If what he has said is not metaphorical, The Colonel could be saying that even if the Patriots are removed from power, what’s stopping other secret groups from gaining the same power and continuing where the Patriots left off? Not to mention, the Patriots more than likely have a failsafe in place, just in case they’re removed from power. RAIDEN : Cut the crap! If you're immortal, why would you take away individual freedoms and censor the Net? ROSE : Jack, don't be silly. COLONEL : Don't you know that our plans have your interests -- not ours -- in mind? RAIDEN : What? COLONEL : But in the current, digitized world, trivial information is accumulating every second, preserved in all its triteness. Never fading, always accessible. ROSE : Rumors about petty issues, misinterpretations, slander... COLONEL : All this junk data preserved in an unfiltered state, growing at an alarming rate. ROSE : It will only slow down social progress, reduce the rate of evolution. COLONEL : Raiden, you seem to think that our plan is one of censorship. RAIDEN : Are you telling me it's not!? ROSE : You're being silly! What we propose to do is not to control content, but to create context. RAIDEN : Create context? context >noun 1 the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea. 2 the parts that immediately precede and follow a word or passage and clarify its meaning. When Rose says that what they are doing is “creating context”, the meaning seems a little unclear at first. What context are they creating? If we take the first definition of context, however, it is made clearer. “What we propose to do is not to control content, but to create the circumstances that will speed up social progress and increase the rate of evolution.” ------------------------- RAIDEN : Rose -- does she actually exist? ROSE : Of course I do, Jack! You have to beLIEve me! RAIDEN : Damn... “You have to beLIEve me!” The capitalizing of the three letters, “l”, “I”, and “e” within believe is interesting. There are a few theories rolling around inside my head about the “lie” within “believe”, however, most of them are less than coherent enough to put into words. Perhaps it is just another “trick” imposed by GW, I’m not sure. Of everything said in Sons of Liberty, it is the only line that spins me in circles, the answer constantly and always evading me. ------------------------- OTACON : Well, we were right about them being on Manhattan, but... SNAKE : But what? OTACON : They're already dead. All twelve of them. SNAKE : When did it happen? OTACON : Well, ah...about a hundred years ago. SNAKE : What the hell? “They’re already dead. All twelve of them.” Concerning the apparent fact that the Patriots are all already dead and died one hundred years ago, we know that this cannot be true. 1970 The United States accumulates the remainder of the Legacy. The US branch of "Philosophers" changes its name to the "Patriots." The American Philosophers became the Patriots in 1970. The Big Shell incident occurred April 29th to the 30th, 2009. It had only been thirty-nine years since the American Philosophers had become the Patriots. If the names of the Patriots on the disc that Otacon analyzed did truly die one hundred years ago, then the only conclusion that I can make is that the names on the disc are aliases that the Patriots took up. OCELOT : Yes, it's me. The Boss has accomplished her mission. The Philosopher's Legacy is now safely with us... in America's hands. With this money... yes, the Philosophers can finally be revived. I'm always at the CIA's disposal... ...Mr. Director. We know that all of the original Philosophers died before 1970. We also know that the CIA Director was behind collecting the rest of the Philosopher’s Legacy. If the Patriots are in fact people, then wouldn’t the CIA Director have been one of the original Patriots and even still be one in 2009? However, with the Philosopher’s Legacy completely in America’s hands, couldn’t it be assumed that some of it was used to construct advanced AI used to control the country from behind the scenes? All in all, remember that I’m just theorizing and that this is definitely not all that could be conceived from the ending of Sons of Liberty. It is merely my take on the ending. Thank you for reading. Written after finishing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for the second time =D It was a lot easier the second time around. For one thing, since I knew exactly where the C4 in strut A was, it only took me 100 seconds out of 400 given to get down there and freeze it. I can also now recognize Ames on sight and I know exactly how his heart beat sounds: lubdub lubdub beep! lubdub And I only let Emma drown once! XD (it was an accident! I got lost! >> And she wouldn't have died if that stupid bomb hadn't of been in the way <<) It only took me nine hours to beat Big Shell again and those nine hours were completely worth it =D Well, anyway, Xio came over Wednesday(she brought Metal Gear Solid 2 with her since she was borrowing it and I wanted to play really badly >>) and spent the night. Yesterday we went to the Isabella County Fair(six hours of fun! And, erm, a little upset stomachness, too. Just on the ferris wheel though.). We rode pretty much all of the large rides. I almost got sick on the ferris wheel and the hang glider ride felt kind of different from usual. My chest got all constricted while I was on it and it made me a little dizzy(that never happens to me on that ride!), but I felt better once I'd took a break after the ride. We played a few games. My dart skills paid off. My mom paid for three darts and Xio, herself and me each threw one. I'm the only one who hit a balloon and Xio and my mom didn't even come close. I got a The Osbourne's framed picture; it's pretty cool. I've got another one like it hanging on my door, but that one has South Park on it ^^ Today I wrote up my analysis on Sons of Liberty's ending. I don't find it the least bit confusing; I understand pretty much every single word. My birthday is one month and one day away. So far I've asked my mom for: the Sin City DVD The Metal Gear Solid comic 3-12 Case Close volumes 4 and 5 Rurouni Kenshin volumes 3 and 4 And when I go over to my dad's next I'm going to give him his list which is: Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory(I just want it for the multiplayer and you can thank X-Play for making it so enticing XD) Metal Gear Solid(the one for PS1) The Bourne Ultimatum Have to go to the school on the 18th for pictures, schedules, choosing of the lockers and to meet the teachers. There's a new teacher, too. He's teaching Social Studies and Phys Ed apparently. I just hope he's not some old guy... >> I go back to school on the 29th o_o which is kind of interesting since the last I knew we were going back on the 30th. *shrugs* I guess that teacher breakfast thing will be on the 28th now? The student council's supposed to go in the day before school starts and cook a welcome back breakfast for the teachers. Well, they'll call beforehand so I'll know soon enough. Supposed to email us too, but I haven't been able to log into my school email all summer and that's the one I put down for my email. I think the next chance I get I'm going to change it; even if I could check my school email I'd hardly ever do it anyway. I'll see if I can have my email contact changed my gmail account...I check that constantly >> Well, I'm off to do other things. -DDG

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