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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: General » ARG: Zoe's World
[SPEC] Wild ends and loose speculation...
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Mudbrother
Decorated

Joined: 09 Jun 2005
Posts: 160
Location: Virginia USA

 		[SPEC] Wild ends and loose speculation...
Well, I just thought while we're waiting for game updates that I'd post some strange theories and research I've done regarding this game's characters, location and stories. I've found some interesting stuff, and maybe things that add up to more than a coincidence. However on the other hand, I can't really link any of this concretely to the game as we know it. But I wanted to present my thoughts for you folks to consider and ruminate on, in case it sparked inspiration somewhere. Bear with me, some of this may be real left field. I wanted to thank my Historian friend Ben for helping me piece some of this together.

1. No Normans: What if Zoe/Leo/Veo's dimension has a slightly altered timeline than ours? In specific, what if the Normans were defeated before the battle of Hastings in their universe? A few things to support this idea:
a) Zoe's use of old anglo-saxon/germanic month names in her blog, although this use is inconistent elsewhere.
b) The Runiform script in one of the codes.
c) Latin and old english names on the 'exclusion zone' map. The town they mention is named 'Terrent' which means 'They were frightened off' in Latin (interesting in and of it's own.) Also on the map are Polius-by-sea and MT. Fealth. The first two are latin, and Fealth could be an old english derivation of the word faith or fealty.
d) And maybe this is going to far... but the evicted resident of Terrent that was quoted in the Informant was Jim NORMAN. Probably reading too much this time...

If the Normans hadn't invaded, use of latin and old (as opposed to middle) English names would be more prevalent. The old anglo-saxon month names might still see usage alongside of latin-based month names. More on this in a bit...

2. Zoe and Leo: I found these names kind of curious, and so did some research. They're Byzantine in origin, and in fact were the names of some of the Byzantine rulers. 2 relations of Leo and Zoe I found significant:
a) Leo VI the wise was emperor from 886-912. He married Zoe Zautzina as his second wife. Not terribly exciting, but I thought it significant enough to mention.
b) A more interesting Leo/Zoe, was the Byzantine Empress Zoe who ruled Constantinople and the Byzantine empire at the time of the great east-west schism, where Pope Leo IX and Constantinople Patriarch Michael I excomunicated each other, and caused a great rift in the Catholic church. I found that kind of interesting as it pairs Zoe and a powerful Patriarch (Dad?!) against another powerful male, Leo. It certainly seems reasonable parallels can be drawn from this story to the one we're playing.

3. A link: The preceeding two ideas actually end up linking together a bit... due to the great east-west schism the Roman Catholic church ended up allying itself with the Normans against the Byzantine empire. What if, in Zoe's dimension, The Byzantine Empire had gone to war with the Roman Catholic 'empire' and defeated both the church and the Normans. The schism happened about 1054, the battle of Hastings was 1066. Certainly the timing is right. Maybe the Byzantines allied with England to do this. But this could describe a feasible alternate-history that explains some questions about Zoe's world.

Well, I know all of this is long-winded, and quite potentially has nothing to do with this game.. but there were a lot of coincidences and I thought I would outline my thoughts. As I mentioned above, I'm not really sure how this would link into the game as we know it so far, except that if Zoe, Veo and Leo are historical parallels, it may give us a character framework. It may mean something later on... I would've loved it if the name Pemesent yielded a Latin meaning, but no luck...

A few other things I've noticed but haven't mentioned elsewhere:
1. Leo's flicker profile repeatedly mispells Pemesent as Peresent (which is an anagram for PRETENSE btw) I wondered if that might also suggest that Leo is from the 5th since there are (as Zoe says) small differences between dimensions, and the differences become finer the higher you go....

2. Zoe's last name.. Hay-Bote... Bote is german(ic) for 'Messenger.' She has said before "I am the Messenger" I think? Hay as a last name means 'hedged in' or 'protective' ... a hedged in messenger? a protected messenger? Could this point to the idea that Zoe may appear to be on the wrong side but perhaps is not?

3. Anyone think the blinking lights might represent a constellation? I've already compared it to Leo, and didn't see any similarity... Not sure what to do with the information if it did, either.

Ok, well I think I've rambled on long enough. Critiques, ideas, and pleas to shut up are more than welcomed...

-Muddy

PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:44 pm
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OneandPrime
Greenhorn

Joined: 11 Jun 2005
Posts: 7

 		stuff i've been thinking about
This is very interesting. I have been thinking something along similar lines. The reason why I was led to believe such was the link on the informant for a linguistics website under Text Info. The site is http://www.omniglot.com/ and focuses on alphabet systems.

My partner in crime has also become obsessed with this game and he said that he finds it strange that this storyline has started off talking about dimensions in the directional sense where the fifth dimension would allow you to move in time rather than space. This is strange as we seem to be dealing with an alternate reality rather than a time in the past or future.

Also, what's up with the travel to London aspect? I am talking about the ad banner for multi-access inc. that suggests "even London" http://www.imfriendly.co.uk/messages/45899101.htm

Does that mean that Pemesent is aware there is a place called London? How would they get there?

Any insight as to what the name "Veo" would mean? It's not an English name.

PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:01 pm
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Mudbrother
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Joined: 09 Jun 2005
Posts: 160
Location: Virginia USA

 		The Veo name connection is still bothering me. In my parallelism, he would represent the Patriarch of Constantinople (from Pater=Father/Dad) Thus Zoe calling Veo Dad. The only connection I can find right now between the word Veo and Michael I (the patriarch) is that Veo is Spanish for See. See is also a term for the seat of a bishop (or other high ranking church official.) I.e. the Pope is referred to as the Holy See.

It's a pretty tenuous connection. Why use Spanish?

-Muddy

PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:06 pm
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OneandPrime
Greenhorn

Joined: 11 Jun 2005
Posts: 7

 		hmmm
I dont know, but I think you are onto something. Does Veo have a Latin root?

PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:15 pm
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Mudbrother
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Joined: 09 Jun 2005
Posts: 160
Location: Virginia USA

 		None that I can find yet. I'm still hopeful.

PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 10:30 pm
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