Ergo Proxy - Episode 23:Proxy/Deus ex Machina

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Proxy

To love. To be all powerful. To create. To be flawed. To defy one's fate.
All of these themes have stunning development and exposition. I want to explain the philosophical conclusions and commentary they have, but maybe the best way is to tell the story itself.



Once there was a Proxy.

He was a god among gods. He was given his task by the The Creator itself. The humans who created his world. They forged his life, gave him his soul, and then gave him a planet to shape and populate.

And he did. In his youth, with his divine power, he created a city.

It was a paradise full of citizens and autoreivs.
Everything was perfect.

Everyone had everything they could want and everyone took joy from their vital roles in upkeeping the clockwork miracle that was their city system. It was all carefully balanced. No details were overlooked. Every citizen was carefully sculpted so that they could love their life and their place in the perfect society. No one could ask for more.

And most of all they loved their creator. They loved Proxy One, for the glorious gift of paradise he had given them. They worshiped and venerated him. They cherished and prostrated for him. They loved and idolized him.

And slowly, he began to despair.

He saw the flaws in their perfection. They could never become more than what they were. They could never grow or surpass their pitiful predetermined purposes. They could never create something new or surprise their creator because they were only as good as he had made them, and he had made them soulless puppets.

But it was forgivable because the system they were all a part of was beautiful, perfect, and magnificent. It ran with a simple perfection. Flawless and smooth, it spiraled onward, never missing a beat as all of its parts cycled in perfect synchrony. Proxy 1 watched it and smiled.

His creations began to displease him. They aggravated him. More and more he could little stand to be around them. He did not yet know the full reason why.

Perhaps then he saw citizens that somehow, did have potential to grow. Who defied the system in an attempt to improve themselves and the world they were in. And they were rejected. They were rebuked and destroyed by the system. And Proxy One was angry. He was angry because he began to realize. The system they all upheld was flawed and disgusting too. And all of it is because Proxy One himself

You are a god. You have everything. Can do anything. And yet.
And yet.

Everything you have done was a sham. Everything moldered before your eyes. First tiny flaws, then maggots that multiplied until the whole thing dissolved into a horrible repulsive heap. Something so utterly unholy and it was the best that you, a divine being, created out of pure good intentions. It was supposed to be beautiful. It was. You thought it was. But somehow it never was.

And it crawls toward you, slavering for you to feed it. And you gaze on the sorry thing with hatred and disgust but a twisted sort of love because it is the best you could ever do, even though it also destroyed the-best-you-could-ever-do. It is a reflection of you, and you know that. So you hate it and you love it.

But most of all, you are alone.

You aren't aware of it, just the empty place inside you. The smiles covering up the nothing behind. Maybe it is ignorance, maybe it is denial. Underneath you want someone to seek you out. To see your sorry hide for what it is. Someone to forgive you, and then someone to understand what sort of creature you are. All of your goodwill, all of your flaws. You want them to come and to peel back the layers, and you want it to be painful, but you want to stand naked before someone else and be judged. You want to know whether they would look on you with fear and repulsion or with sadness and love. You want to know which you should look on yourself as. You just want to finally know.

You cannot even see past that. But if you could, you would see what was past the future where you are loved. Where you are seen and understood, and are accepted. Then you can fall down from forcing yourself to stand up for so long. Then you can cry and feel and hope and leave the past behind. Then you can see a future that isn't an endless dark tunnel. Then you can begin to stand up, teach yourself how to walk, and go somewhere else than this painful place.

But that is beyond you. That comes after. Right now, you want to prove that you are real. That you exist. And maybe that you have a right to exist.

You want to touch another life. Have it touch you. Just a shred of contact. A flash of understanding between two. A seed of love, forgiveness, understanding, empathy. That might make it all worth it. Lift you up just enough so you can turn your eyes to see where you are and begin to think.

It hurts to see our creations, our children. They are so malformed. Why can't they be better? They come to us, but we can do nothing for them, and we turn away in loathing and shame. They come to us and profess their love, but they do not understand us and they do not love us and they do not want to love us. They worship us, but that is a worthless thing. We want something deeper. Something they cannot give us, even if they wanted to. They cannot understand us. They cannot understand us.

So we despair. And sometimes we rage at the world we were born into, that let us create but we could not create what we needed to create. We cannot create something to love us. We can only create puppets and toys and they cannot love us.

We found love with another. We loved the other proxy. We turned our back on our hateful world and we left them all behind to lose ourselves in love. I do not know what happened to that love, but it was thin. It was patched together from our sadness, our fear, our hatred, and our despair. It was our escape from it, but all it was, was a way to freeze time. It did not let us leave. It only let us sleep. That love was real, but it was shallow and got us nowhere.

So we tried to remake ourselves. If we could not be loved for who we were, then we would erase ourselves and become something that could be loved. So we cut out the parts that could not be understood and dropped the pieces that were left into the world we had created. We tried to be one of them. But we could not give up all that we were, for we still wanted to be loved. And wanting to be loved means wanting to be loved for who we are. So we did not make puppets to love us and we did not erase ourselves completely. And so of course our creations turned us away. They should have, because we failed them and are not perfect like we tried to make them. We are not what we wanted to be, and they are not what we wanted them to be, and they see that we are not what we should have been. We are all imperfect and we all hate it in each other and we are sorry we are like this.

We are sorry we failed you. We deserve to be punished just like we wished to punish you when we saw your own imperfections.

And what way is there out of this? The system yet reinforces the system that cannot improve.

The imperfections. The imperfections.

That is how we found our way out. The imperfections created new lives. They created new things that we could not have created ourselves. And we learned to stop looking for perfection and instead look for life. And we learned to see. And then they saw us. Saw us for who we are. Broken but struggling, just as they. And we learned to love one another. And we learned to love the world and through the world, ourselves.

And so we gave up perfection. And we found what we were missing, even though we were a god.


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






"The ark an cradle will nurture you, but it will not educate you."

"We discovered the torments of a creator." "And yet, we still loved them."
"The creator wishes to be loved as well." "It's as if I can feel his solitude and despair in the very depths of my soul." "That despair. That pain is the reason they must all be punished."
"You've been manipulated. Buried under the burdens of failed creations and have brought the destruction of man the cusp of its rebirth."
"The Shadow knows. It knows there is a price to pay at the fate of those who would demand a god for a godless world."
"The human race had to be destroyed. They brought this world to ruin, then ran away. Oh how they ran."
"Much in the same way that you ran away from Romdeau, a world of your own making."
"I understand. I know what it is to be rejected, treated like you were nothing."

"I no longer care who I was before I came what I am. I am my self and that is all I need. There's only one truth that really matters to me"

"[We are both definitely Ergo Proxy] But you are not Vincent Law!" "What's wrong with you? They mean nothing to you but failure!"
"This world doesn't deserve to be saved!" "What difference does it make? Do any more need to die!"

"Because I can't let myself forget any more. I'm not talking about remembering the mission that was programmed into me. It's the faces I encountered, the confrontations we had, the love and support given. The life."

"What is it draws you to that existence? It is dark. It's cold. And there's never any knowing what horrors lie ahead." "But that's it. That's what life is. Is all that you said but someone's waiting for me there."

"She plagued you and yet she still loved you. She offered her love to flawed broken souls and in that we found freedom."



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

Daedalus and Real play out the myth further. Real, Daedalus's child, is given wings, then flies to close to the sun and dies because of it. (Proxies will die if exposed to blue skies/direct sunlight. This is because, once the earth has healed enough, they are no longer needed.)

"There's no place for the sub-humans out there."
"Bringing mankind back through the proxy system. It wasn't supposed to be the first option."
"Even you and I are obstacles, despite our pain and love. Our souls are ruining everything. We're in their way."
Mankind left earth to survive in space in the Boomerang Project while the earth healed. It is in the name itself "Boomerang," - they always intended to return. However, the proxy project was a safeguard. The domes and the sub-humans were created to help the earth heal and repopulate if the original humans were wiped out during the interim. Hence the word "Proxy" - the agents of the creator. That is why they were programmed as they were.

Proxy One says that Re-L's actions are no longer required. Her services then were either attempting to kill Vincent, bringing Vincent to Proxy One, or simply being a citizen of Romdeau. And she chose her own truth, which was to pursue truth at any cost and to show Vincent that she understands and trusts him regardless of his being a 'monster' or a 'god.'

"Autoreivs were nothing more than bit players. Their revolt helped bring about the system's ruin."
It seems that Autoreivs were never really an option to survive and repopulate the earth. Cogito isn't really designed to make them self-aware and able to survive in the new world, but instead to destabilize and destroy the world. It is spread by the proxy to destroy the domes to make way for the first option. That is it's purpose. (Maybe it has another possibility of make the autoreivs fit to survive, maybe it was accidental. The rest of the autorevis don't really seem capable like Pino, Kristeva, and Iggy were. I don't really know what is up with Pino saying she hears the proxy and the others were told not to listen.

"Its an elegant system."
"In fact, we are left to be some kind of monster. And old world demon in a new age."
And just as they were programmed to create new arks for mankind, they were programmed to destroy themselves when they are no longer needed. They had no place in this new world. It is the Pulse of the Awakening they fight each other and destroy themselves. With the coming of blue skies, they are not allowed to live. With mankind's successful return, it is already set within the project to destroy everything that was in the way. The Domes were set to collapse with the loss of the Proxies and the Cogito. I'm a little muddled how much the Pulse of the Awakening is to make the sub-humans survive on their own and how much it is to make them die off for the coming of the original Humans. "But why did they give us souls? We wouldn't suffer if we had no souls." The practical reasons are these - souls along imagination, innovation and creativity. It is necessary to be a leader and a creator, to have these things. Souls also come from the intelligence and the experience of seeing the creations with their own lives, suffering, and dreams. Souls also imply that imperfection and free will that allows something to learn, evolve, and become greater than itself. Perhaps souls are necessary for a being to be a god as well. Perhaps it is also because the Creators, the Humans, wanted their proxies to be as they are. To dream and to suffer the same way. To be made in their own image. To be understood by their creations....
"The creator wishes to be loved as well. It's as if I can feel his solitude and despair in the very depths of my soul. That despair. That pain is the reason they must all be punished."


In case there is any confusions: Proxy One says that "Vincent is just an after image, left behind by Proxy One's despair, a puppet, a phantom, an impostor --- accept it, you and I are the same." That could mean that the Vincent persona is a mask to hide behind for Ergo Proxy, but it could also mean that Ergo Proxy is the copy of Proxy One. And Vincent says that they are both definitely Ergo Proxy. Proxy One calls Ergo Proxy a prodigal son (sarcastically) and then says that ErgoVincent will live, even though normal proxies are susceptible to the sun's rays. All of that seems to indicate that Proxy One created ErgoVincent (He's not a normal proxy, he doesn't have his own necklace - only Monad's or Proxy One's - he looked and acted and thought like Ergo/Proxy1 until after the journey etc etc)

So that seems a pretty safe conclusion. It gets confusing when it comes to the question of why and when.
---------------------------

Daedalus.....
He only wished to love and be loved.
"But it was more than [you] could give."
He knows. He knows. He knows he knows he knows, but that doesn't help that it breaks his heart to know it. He loves her, and he loves that she is who she is, and he would't change her or manipulate her. But that means he has to love that she does not love him in return.

And he tries as much as he can to do it. He even does it, but it destroys him from the inside out.

He takes care of her to the end. He tells her everything and tells her to leave him for her own safety as he lies dying. He watches her struggling against her fate after he has given up and he loves her for it. "You never change. It sickens me." And he smiles with such forgiveness and love when she calls his name. He finally gets her to understand. "And as for me... I..." "Deadalus...." "I'm sorry, Daedalus." "I'm sick of your apologies." He just... wants her to love him.... but he loves her for who she is, and she cannot.

Run Re-l!
Very good.



[VIEW SPOILERS]

Deus ex Machina

Proxy One says that he is Vincent and Vincent is him - the quick cuts show the bookstore episode, where Vincent was facing what then seemed to be his subconscious. So it was Proxy One forced Vincent to realize that he was Ergo Proxy.

Well, there are some things to go back and re-read in the previous spoiler tags. A lot of things that you may not have realized were taking place the first time around. But hopefully you know everything there is to know other than the foreshadowing by now. Otherwise I've done a poor job.

[/SPOILERS]


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Kristeva's story, while worthy and ought to have more exposure, is straightforward enough that I won't cover it.

Proxy One says that the mask that Ergo Proxy wears is the "mask of one who would deny his fate." This is interesting, because in the beginning Ergo Proxy denied his fate by running away, forgetting his past, and trying to be a citizen rather than a proxy. And at the end Ergo Proxy may be wearing it because he wants to be more than a Proxy, and change the fate that has been allotted him.

"I have faith."
This is a strange thing for Re-L to say to me.
Faith in ... Vincent? Faith in that the future will be changed by our futile efforts? Faith that doing our best, we are making things better and not worse? Faith in a god that learns from its imperfections? Perhaps it is that she knows she cannot face the world alone, and so will now rely on the others she has found that she can trust.

"Because even if your future is inevitable and nothing but pain awaits me. I'm still doing what I think is right."
Another quote that I love, this time spoken by Re-L. I really do believe this.

Once again I feel dissatisfied with how much I put into this (not enough). There is lots more I could and should have explained about plot and mechanics of the universe, but that feels so dry and I can't remember what I have and have not said. There is more to be said about Pino, Re-L and Vincent in a reflection of their growth and realizations. There are other ways to speak about the proxies and the meaning of being an imperfect god. There is Proxy One's twisted narrative. Their is Raul and Pino and Kristeva. There is the idea of truth, fate, and self-created purpose. There is more to be said about love and the meaning of love. There is speculation about what the humans intended and how they will react. There is tracing the chain of creators and created and comparing and contrasting the relationships. Humans, Proxies, Subhumans, autoreivs.... There is the idea of self-awareness and souls emerging. But for some unknown reason I want to publish this tonight and who knows if I will get back to it. Selfishly it is also because I have other less monumental things I want to write about, but this will be my 100th post on this blog. (!!!!!) And I want it to be this one.

The guide should remain a work in progress, but I don't know if I will actually follow through. Certainly it could and ought to be a lot better composed and organized. Certainly I should add images like I mentioned before. I guess I ought to trust myself a /little/ more since I never (ever) thought I would get as far as to write for all 23 episodes.
I should celebrate.


Fun fact - this is now 103 pages long and about 60k words! Whoah! I bet you didn't know you'd read a book-length analysis of this junk! Just one month shy of 2 years in the making (29th November 2012 - 28th October 2014) ***edit: Oh, I also just passed 10k pageviews for the blog as a whole.

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Ergo Proxy - Episode 22:Bind/Bilbul

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Previous: Ergo Proxy - Episode 21:The Place at the End of Time/Shampoo Planet
Next: Ergo Proxy - Episode 23:Proxy/Deus ex Machina

Bind
Raul manages to shoot Ergo Proxy once, but the next ones don't hit his mark. He backs into the elevator aiming at Ergo Proxy, though his gun has no more shells. Ergo Proxy survives only because he ripped his own arm off, preventing the spread of the proxy-killing substance.

Pino is drawing the pictures that she leaves in her home Raul to find. She ends up leaving because her papa isn't coming home and there are people hunting for infected autoreivs she has to avoid.

I'm not sure, but I believe that Ergo Proxy strangled Re-L as well. It is unclear, but she is clutching her throat and grimacing when the show resumes. Her voice isn't ragged, but that might have been oversight. I used to think she fainted, but I'm not really sure anymore.

Kristeva continues to perform her duty, but Re-L recognizes that it is also out of love and choice, not just programming.

The citizens are no longer in denial, but the city is no more honest than it used to be. It is my opinion that this is only a phase of progress on the way to a truly functioning society for these people, but that isn't necessarily right. If it isn't right, I am just as conflicted as Re-L over what is better and more real. The hatred and killing is just another form of denial, but what's more, what if the citizens really can't reform them ways to think for themselves. What if the only way they can survive and maintain themselves is within the twisted system or Romdeau. If that is the case, maybe they deserve to die to make way for a society that can succeed.

"I'm Real Mayer, of course." "No, I'm Re-L Mayer. I don't know what you are."
After Ophelia I don't blame Re-L for being rather rude here...

"You helped Vincent remember Monad. That's me, I'm Monad."
But she's Real Mayer.

"And how the hell do you know who Vincent is." "I need... Vincent."
Real seems to be supernatural in a number of ways. She grew up in the span of months, she knows things she couldn't have known, and she feels things she couldn't have reason to felt. Somehow she seems to be a reincarnation of Monad. Or creepily, she may be Monad brought back from the dead. Daedalus clearly didn't intend it, but she has Monad's memories and maybe soul. Daedalus only meant for her to be Re-L, though perhaps a 'better' version.

"Please, there's no need for him to suffer any longer. I can free him from his burden as the Creator." "Creator?" "Romdeau. He created Romdeau." I don't blame you if you don't believe her. It is out of nowhere and Real is a total unknown for the most part. But after the collective confirms it, and Vincent having a vision and saying he remembers doing it...I think you'll just have to accept that this is the reality of Romdeau.

Daedalus.... also is showing emotion. He used to be so calm and collected, almost unnervingly so. Even recently he would quietly intone, "You're hurting me." But suddenly he yells, "Vincent Vincent Vincent! I don't care!" Re-L is stunned. I don't think she has ever seen him act this way, and she hadn't realized he would do such a thing in reaction to her anguished pleas for guidance. I don't know if you either have realized. Daedalus always seems so placid and content to do what he can, and he seemed to care for Re-L as an ally with a common goal and common proclivity. But, it seems, there is a lot more he didn't make apparent. (at least, to my undiscerning nature...) Daedalus loves Re-L. He wants her to love him, but he's never tried to push her, just hoped she would some day admire him the way he cherishes her. It's mixed up and hidden behind his duties to her and his fascination with research and his snarky attitude. I'm not sure he ever realized it, and I'm not sure if it is just expressing itself now because he isn't that aware of what he is doing anymore. But it's there and it's real.

Re-L certainly never realized.




Re-L can finally get the answers she has been fighting for since the beginning. The Proxies are gods that created the domes. Vincent created Romdeau, but he left it. None of this is figurative. This is literally the reality of this world. The (already aged) Regent was appointed by Vincent, so it was probably within the last 50 years. Within that time Romdeau attacked Mosk. "To ignite the dying embers of our lost glory. A measured act of vengeance." Romdeau was dying without it's proxy and they were angry at their own god for abandoning them. "But Monad stole our light and sealed us in this place with our eyes forever closed. Our vision would no longer be capable of shining on the earth." Monad stole Ergo Proxy, and thus doomed them to a slow death. The collective isn't completely alive, and the city's consciousness isn't either, but they still can fade away and cease to be.

"The irony of the creator's silent return to the city is not lost on us."
I'm not really sure what irony. Maybe it is that the creations gave up on their god, but their god did not completely give up on them. Maybe it is that they were searching for their god, but didn't notice when he had returned to them. Or maybe it is because they rejected his Vincent persona.

There is an inexplicable scene from Episode 17 of the cave paintings of natural birth, and Re-L makes an inexplicable comment. "That means we're the Creator's anguish." I'm pretty sure this only makes sense after seeing the next episode, and even then I'm not sure why Re-L knows or says it.

Daedalus picks up the yarn trail on the way back to the lab. This is a re-enactment of Daedalus's namesake, whom escaped his labyrinth using the red yarn. I don't think that Real is Daedalus's escape, more the symbolism is the way the characters are (in a limited way) caught in fall towards their individual fates. If that is true... then Raul dashing the ball of yarn from Real's hands may tie right back into his determinism to buck his own fate, perhaps even allowing the others to evade their's. (Or... more likely I just want Raul to be a hero in some (any) fashion.)

Daedalus is acting strangely. He is back to being aloof and cryptic, but he's doing it in a sort of "reeling" way to me. He is affectionate, then sarcastic, then polite, then cruel, then impudent and finally brash. I think this is Daedalus feeling despair. He is sweet because he longs so much for Real(Re-L) and he has some hope again that she will care for him, but he is also on the edge of being suicidal because his entire world is deserting him. Not just Romdeau's endowed raison d'etre, but his love abandoning him, his society breaking down, and his genius becoming useless (it will be without a city to support and use him). I cannot imagine the blow it would be to be finally believing that your love cares for you, only to hear her say she didn't save your life for your sake, but for the sake of the one you don't want her to love. Daedalus, despite being given what would seem to be a perfect life with blessed abilities and personalities, is cursed to never have the thing he has discoverd that he desires most. "When I look into her eyes, I want to see my reflections." He cannot make even his creation love him.

"We cannot know the mind of the creator."
"But if a proxy is omnipotent, why did he abandon his creation? Why did he leave this world in chaos?" "There were limits to his omnipotence." "Left, with the disappointment in himself." "But he was an imperfect god, and so his creations, like him, were also imperfect."

If Ergo Proxy were the creator, then how much of everything was by his intentional design. If he created the city and set up the system, then he could easily have guided it's future including Re-L. Personally, I can't imagine it is so, but that is mostly because I am used to listening to Vincent who is just as 'set up' as the rest since he knows nothing of the predetermined fates allotted. But if one were a god. An imperfect god. Wanting to be destroyed. Wanting to be loved. Wanting to be more perfect and wanting to be able to create perfect creations... None of this seems unlikely to happen. And what about the creation? Should they follow the will of their creator, when it was the reason they were created. Can they even disobey it? I will speak more about it later. "No one ever gets to choose who they are born as. No matter what sort of being they are." It seems that Ergo Proxy really did have a death wish. He says that he "knew it would end with [Re-L's] gun at your head." It's hard for me to believe from the context, but I suppose Ergo really did give up and wish to die, at least at some point. Maybe not the entire time, but reflecting back on who he has been, he still seems to be on the verge of wanting to die. "You can. If you want." Re-L looks confused or surprised, and either she knew all along or she figures it out when Vincent acknowledges her choice.

"He's revealed himself to us so many times."
The other proxy was there instead of Vincent in these scenes:
The "awakening" message.
The second pendant left and the destruction in the memory vault.
"That which is divided must become one."
Standing on a building in Romdeau.
Preventing Re-L from shooting in the last episode/being shot/ripping his own arm off.


I have tried to use Ergo Proxy instead of Vincent when it is not clear or when it was the other proxy.

"Even if this is the truth for Romdeau, it is not the great truth you may find for yourself." "A truth that cannot be communicated, it must be realized. For all creatures, no matter who or what they are, truth must be derived from self." "So each of us has to find our own truth." I thought that this was a very western idea, that our purpose is to find our purpose, so I'm surprised that this is being said so bluntly here. However, I do agree with the idea and it is central to Ergo Proxy's themes, that truths are found and created by what we do and seek to know. Fate and raison d'etre, logic and emotion, free will and questioning, each play a role. I believe the statues are communicating a powerful sentiment Re-L expresses in the next episode, and what Re-L, Raul, Pino, and Vincent have all be struggling with the entire time. Not what purpose to create for themselves, but whether they can create one for themselves, and in effect, escape some other fate.

"As long as evil and shame abide. In silence we will find our joy."
Do not awaken us until the end. To rest in peace.
This is the same quote from the statues that opened the series: (from the first episode guide:
It is my pleasure to sleep and even more to be stone:
As long as shames and dishonor may last,
My sole desire is to see and feel no more.
Speak softly, I beg you, do not awaken me.)
It seems to me that everything was building to this point for the collective. Now they view their time as up and their raison d'etre as over. They give the future over to the still-living.


[VIEW SPOILERS]

Bilbul

"Please, there's no need for him to suffer any longer. I can free him from his burden as the Creator."
Monad is already stating her purpose and role. She has no regard for the reason Vincent suffers, all she cares about is stopping the pain, even if it's by is by a cloying nepenthe. His burden, his duty, his blessing or his responsibility. It is unknown what it means to take on the mantle of Creator. (Certainly the series deals almost exclusively with the downsides of what we almost exclusively think of as nothing but of godsend.)

I don't really approve of the psueomagical creation of Monad. Even if we are dealing with god-powers, I don't understand or like that she has the memories and feelings of Monad, as if her DNA contains her personality or something. I can deal with her growing up in a week and even her sprouting wings, but I get hung up over her weird knowledge and sentiments.

I feel bad for not speaking of Daedalus, but I too will deny him this episode. Next time, perhaps, I will tell his full story.
But for now, someone else will speak of him.
(from the same author, of Quinn and Hoody)

I appreciate how and what the collective speaks. They are wise, but they do not know everything. They go ahead an say everything, I believe, however they do say it cryptically. It just seems to be their nature, and I appreciate it.

Re-L thinking of the cave paintings seems to indicate that she has seen through to the reason for the creation of the Proxy Project, or at least that there are Creators of the creator. Her statement that we are the Creator's anguish I take to mean that the domes are the left over haphazard replacements of humanity, but maybe I am missing what it is supposed to allude to. In any case, I don't really grasp what is being indicated in that scene. It seems odd for Re-L to be thinking of those sorts of things, I don't know how she would know or guess at it.

The entrance to Proxy One's throne is absolutely a reference to the first montage of images in the show. There is even a bird that flies over as they approach!

[/SPOILERS]


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Sorry, it's a little hard for me to remember what was unclear to me the first time I watched through, and also what I have said in the last 2 years during this guide. I really should go back through, post relevant images, and rewrite/condense repeated content. I'm not sure how unclear it was that it was not Vincent killing Donov. I guess not clear at all since there wasn't any other option until the end of this episode. I am so used to knowing it is not-Vincent that I think of that before I think of it being Ergo and then a surprise that it is not. Also Donov Mayer might not even be a name that is that familiar, maybe "The Regent" or another of his names was the one that was most prevalent and the only familiar one to most watchers.


Re-l's question of "What if the truth is too terrible to ever be unleashed?" is a little esoteric and stated in an awkwardly blunt way, but the central idea behind it afflicts me deeply. I hardly ever contemplate it. I question myself constantly, but in a less piercing way than what I am thinking of now. "What if what I think is real, isn't." "What if what I believe is right, is wrong." "What if what I've been trying to do my entire life isn't just false and flawed, but truly unjust." These statements feel flat and they don't evoke the depth and emotional truth that I've plunge into. Again, rarely, but... once, I ... truly contemplated that question... the thought led me to become hysterical for a few moments. It was ... unlike most anything else I have felt.

It is one thing to ask if we will ever know the truth, but it is vexing to consider if it might be better if we never understand.

This reminds me of a conversation I had where I was considering a rather Utopian world that incorporated civilians carrying guns. If everyone didn't shoot unless provoked by mortal danger, valued life deeply, and was careful to only shoot after consideration, I felt sure that there was nothing inherently wrong with having the sort of power over life and death in the hands of good people. But, in the course of this discussion, I began to be convinced that we are too flawed. Not in that we are bad people, (in the thought experiment it's pre-set that that isn't the case.) but that, even with cation and good intentions we still aren't able or worthy to have the power of even a single lethal weapon ... That conclusion deeply troubled me. It means that we probably shouldn't allow ourselves to wield really any power as individuals, and that is extremely sad to me. I want us to have flaws we can overcome. And I was forced to realize that I don't think or at least am not sure that we can overcome the mistakes we make in snap judgments. I don't know if we can ever be trusted to act correctly when presented with what we think is a pressing threat.

"It's you. Hello me. It's nice to meet you."
Yaaaay. Scriptwriters gotta have fun.

I'm sorry for the quality of this episode guide. Hopefully I'll be able to revamp it, (and others?) but in case I do not.... I apologize.

All Episodes: Ergo Proxy Companion Viewing Guide
Previous: Ergo Proxy - Episode 21:The Place at the End of Time/Shampoo Planet
Next: Ergo Proxy - Episode 23:Proxy/Deus ex Machina

What's the secret to direction?

How am I supposed to know what to do when?
How am I supposed to take control of my life and make wise decisions and plan ahead?
What am I supposed to do with
all of this freedom
and these open options
and this directionlessness?

There used to be a path, and the path came to an end.

Some people advise finding a new path - a place to work and a company to climb.
Some people advise trailblazing - adventure and never settling down.
Some people advise a sedentary lifestyle - full of the things that comfort me most.

And what about me? What do I think is what I would grow best at?

I change so much, so often, am still such a being of formlessness and possibility.
My nature is not to settle, but also not to move forward.
(I move in circles and with a peculiar sanguine aimlessness that lands me in places I didn't know existed.)
So how to keep myself moving forward, and keep myself vaguely on some germane area of interest?
I think I might drop concerning myself with the second bit, I think I'll become an expert without purposeful focusing and I think I'll naturally keep falling into my own interests.
But moving forward?
Well I am generally very good at managing to do everything necessary within the time alotted. I can keep planning the necessary things just before I need to.

But.
That was "need to." That was "necessary things."
Those don't exist anymore.

What do I do?
What do I want?!
God help me, I don't know?!
There isn't an answer to that because I am the only one with the answer. And I don't have one!!


I don't have one.....

Will I be happy?
I don't know how the "real world" will react to my efforts, so I don't know exactly how I'll interface with it, but thusfar I've been doing just fine it seems. And I think I definitely have the capability to lead an extremely full and rewarding life. Whether I do, or take many years before I accomplish learning how to do so.... I am far less sure about. I'm a little more sure because of ... well, muni. It seems like together we'll end up practically jumping into a meaningful and wonderful existence after some rearranging and trying at it.

But what about the near future. What about thinking and taking on the mantle of directing the course of my life? Of being in charge of every facet of my life, and thus the very direction it takes?
How do I do that?
How do I think?
How do I make sure I move through life in the right fashion for me?
What is important?
What will cause what to happen?
How do I create my future?

I have been working on changing myself, so that is a first step at least. Starting the setup. Starting the foundation.

But what about the launch? Well, that isn't as important as the running... what about the running? The running of my life? How do I do that?
I can do it functionally.
But how do I do it well?

I guess.... practice.
I'm too unique for a simple answer, though friends and advice will surely shed some light.



When I begin leading my life...
When I pick a direction and start out that way...
Who will I become?
Who is that person?

Ergo Proxy - Episode 21:The Place at the End of Time/Shampoo Planet

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Previous: Ergo Proxy - 20:Sacred Eye of the Void/Goodbye, Vincent
Next: Ergo Proxy - Episode 22:Bind/Bilbul

Ah, the final episodes. These episodes are full of content, both spoken and unspoken. There are a lot of answers finally given. And yes, Ergo Proxy really does give a lot of answers to a lot of questions that have been lingering since the beginning (unlike the Mosk events have implied). A lot of the themes are taken head-on in a satisfactory way. However, the content isn't terribly simple, and takes a bit of thought before it is understood. At least, that how it was for me. A lot of it is just flat out said directly, but for whatever reason I was still confused. I did not get the significance, the themes or many of the plot details revealed, let alone the more obscure stuff that can be surmised from combining the information given here, with hints throughout the rest of the episodes earlier.

A lot of the stuff I didn't notice, I've taken the liberty of already pointing out somewhat along the way, and a lot more I'll explain here. Where I had to do a little digging a few days later, looking up what was being said and why and what Proxies are and.... basically everything, hopefully you'll be able to read and understand without having to work it out alone. I'm not sure if it was because I was blind, or if it really is that hard to know what is going on. In either case, this is the beginning of the end. The next three episodes are continuous and closely linked, but I'll be discussing them piece-meal even though they really are one final episode in most respects. I'm doing this only to make it easier on me for management purposes.

Onward!

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

The Place at the End of Time

The name "Shampoo Planet" is from a book about Generation Y and its lack of caring for other individuals while getting swept in by capitalist culture. At least that is my not-at-all-professional guess from skimming the wikipedia article. I don't see anything immediately interesting or relevant, so that's all I have to say on that.

It takes Pino about 12 seconds to say three numbers... about 4 seconds per number she says. Four seconds times 30,000 is about 33 hours worth of continuous counting. Which would be possible and consistent with the characters. Buuuuut I'm not sure that is what the authors were going for here. Curiously I couldn't find any significance of numbers in the 30,000 range. So I'm not really sure what to say other than Pino is an ood mix of child and autoreiv and has been drawing her tally marks all over the Centzon Totochtin.

So first Vincent returned to the city. Then Re-L finally followed him, despite the likelihood she would be put to death if she were discovered. Pino was told to wait behind, but follow third after waiting for a long time. This is a dangerous situation for all of them. They all have different reasons for being convicted of serious misconduct and probable termination verdicts.

The immigrants coming to Romdeau are an interesting reminder that now we know some of the lives they are emigrating from.

Pino's first encounter with the dome is very closely a mirror of the scene when they left. The same vent, the same rattling, the same wind and the same forbidding doorway. The vent is open and so she easily enters the dome. This is the first sign of difference. From here on many events will parallel with how Romdeau was in the episodes before they left.

It seems virtually all of the autoreivs have been infected with Cogito. But something is different. Rather than making them free to make choices, they seem to be paralyzed, breaking down, and repeating canned lines like "why am I who I am?" without actual drive to understand themselves. I don't fully understand this turn of events. I believe that the most likely case is that these autoreivs did not have a more stable mind to deal with their new freedoms like Pino did. Some go out of control when faced with an emotional dilemma like Iggy, but I think these autoreivs don't really have anything to live for, so they sort of just... shut down. Without someone else to give them a reason to live, they discover they don't really have a self-given reason to live and faced with this dilemma go into a series of errors that result in a coma of sorts. I think it is fair to say this is comparable to the citizens of the dome too. Some react to their new self-deterministic society with fear, paranoia, denial, violence, or other delusions. I don't see why the different autoreivs might also have a range of reactions to their own sudden free-will. It is also possible that Daedalus or some other part of the dome created an anti-cogito virus that attacks them when they show signs of cogito, or some other countermeasures that mess with the original virus's 'natural' course. This might not even be cogito, but another iteration of the virus designed to spread and kill the autoreivs.

Reminder: Re-L is extremely capable and can take care of herself in pretty much every situation.

I find the encounter with the Autoreiv Disposal Unit pretty funny. This location is the same office and this character is the same character that was Vincent's supervisor way back in the first episodes. No, really, that is the same silly mustache from back then too. Later on, in the Administrative Bureau rooms, the same fellow that was totally dependent on his autoreiv, is still totally dependent on her, even though she and the rest of the job has disappeared. Say what you will, at least in some instances, this series really pays attention to detail.

The interaction between Re-L and the Immigrant official is funny to me because he seems to be making fun of the audience a little, pointing out some of the theories of symbolism that could be going on here. "This whole problem has just about gone critical, we got to used to relying on Entourages" "...you're missing the entire point! We didn't actually need all these autoreivs in the first place! Wouldn't you agree with that, your Excellency?" He's right, in that the citizens relied too heavily on entourages. But it isn't just entourages, it is the system and more obviously, relying on authority. Hence it is a little tongue in cheek that he blames dependence on autoreivs, then turns to Re-L and calls her "your excellency" when it is dependence itself which is the problem. He even ends the conversation with a ploy to get himself "please, if you get a chance, put in a good word for us with the Regent, if you could."

Ergo Proxy starts to be remarkably direct in its exposition. A ton of information is thrown at the viewers and Re-L.
The Cogito has infected almost all the autoreivs. They are now being exterminated.
The bureaucratic system is falling apart in Romdeau.
Raul Creed is missing and presumably up to his own plans.
The launch of the Rapture was widely witnessed, and Re-L has it confirmed that it came from Romdeau.
"Nobody has told them anything." Here I think Re-L is referring to the need to recover a Proxy and the reality of what Cogito virus is, as evidenced by her experience with Iggy and Pino. Let alone the outside world recovering and the ability for them to leave with the correct medicine.
Vincent Law morphs into Ergo Proxy for days without returning and Re-L doesn't know if he will ever be Vincent again. "I should have... right then." She considers if she should have killed him as soon as he stopped being Vincent. Vincent is worth saving, Ergo Proxy is something else.

The killing of the autoreivs is a very interesting issue that the series brings up. Autoreivs are not humans, they are not even flesh and blood. The cogito virus is only a mechanical breaking of their pre-programming to follow directions. Yet the slaughter of all the entourages seems morally reprehensible. "Does cogito give them souls?" was a question early on. Is free will really what makes a soul? How can a parameter being removed, create a soul? And yet, that is exactly what seems to be the case. Pino and Iggy were real beings, just as much as the citizens of Romdeau. Here lies the most interesting comparison. Those citizens that give up their free will, who break down without having someone tell them how to live their lives - do they have souls? The parallels were explored early on in the series, and they return here. I would say that the citizens of Romdeau and the autoreivs are just as alive as the other. Maybe that means they are both alive, maybe that means they are both soulless. Maybe that means they are soulless until they decide to use their emotions and their free will. Whatever your opinion, I have to think that it is a mind that makes the difference, and not the material they are composed of.

The genocide of the autoreivs seems a reasonable turn of events. The people of Romdeau are in distress, and they are sheltered, undeveloped, and immature. They probably don't have the maturity to think of the wrongness of concepts like death and killing and sentience or equality. They were only concerned with their lives and their jobs and their corner of the perfect city. They want their old lives back and they want the problem to go away. They don't think of the future, of government, of resource scarcity or of social turmoil. They see things in black and white. Someone is either sick and broke the rules so they must be removed, or they are healthy and sane and following the rules. The idea of something going wrong in paradise was difficult for them to deal with in the first place, so once the problem is solved, of course things will return to normal in their minds. Progress and change don't happen. That doesn't even exist as a concept. They probably don't even know how much their actions resemble a revolution, "For Romdeau!" and Molotov cocktails being thrown. Nevertheless, they have been introduced to brutality. The killing, the beating, and the destruction won't fade until those citizens have died and taken the memory with them. There is no way for them to know that. On some level, they know what they are doing. "Diiiiie!" they scream, beating in the autoreivs. Something has to be alive for it to die. "Get him!" Something has to be gendered (and usually intelligent or adored) for it to no longer be an "it."

More little details: The blimp that flies by when Re-L walks through the main city of Romdeau, is later perched on by Ergo Proxy, who then crashes it. In a following scene the immigrants are shown under the wreckage, and it shows up one more time when Pino is seen under the wreckage of the same blimp.

The chief of the Administrative Bureau seems to change the topic when Re-L mentions that the citizens are dying, but in reality he isn't. The Aus der Wickel, or the ADW project "it's an absolute failure. Mortality rates are sitting at around 90%." "This is all the data the Health and Welfare Bureau have compiled on the short-term side effects of the ADW project."
"This is our first experiment with martial law provisions. The Security Bureau loves to talk themselves up, but well..." I don't want to say more. You figure out what is going on. (I certainly didn't until the third time going through or so. It was skimmed over and wasn't central to the plot.)
Later Daedalus explains. After all, he headed the project.
"The Wombsys has shut down... so Raul came up with the idea that we should try and change ourselves into something that wouldn't need the Proxy. That's how the ADW project was born. A grand attempt to reconfigure the human body. Not that it was ever going to work."

(But before we move on, back to the Chief at the Administrative Bureau)
"Honestly I don't know why they thought we needed to change everything in the first place. (gasp by Re-L) If our Fellow Citizens had just kept order withing the dome, everything would be fine. It's how we've always survived. We should have just stuck to what we knew worked."
I didn't realize until now the reason that Re-L gasps here. It's because he is one of the top officials, and he doesn't even know why everyone is dying around him. He thinks it is just an expensive experiment, not that the dome's source of life has been lost. Or anything else that has led up to the events now.

Incidentally, his entourage is still lying, dead, in his office beside him from when the citizens stormed in and killed her.

Vincent Law visits Monad's chambers. Interestingly Vincent Law accuses Donov Mayer of doing terrible things to Monad. (rather than Daedalus) It seems to imply that Donov did this out of more than just a need for a Proxy to supply power, but also out of some kind of anger or revenge. He realizes that he has her pendant, and that she is Proxy number 13. (XIII is thirteen in Roman Numerals in case you don't know that) He also has the pendant for Proxy number 1. (Remember, this is out of 500 or so proxies) Ergo Proxy has been pretty good about providing flashbacks instead of making you do the remembering yourself (or leaving you in the dust). Vincent Law seems to be regaining his memories, and then is interrupted. Perhaps because of his memories returning, he reacts and adopts the persona of Ergo Proxy, but falls back into a mix of Vincent Law and Ergo shortly after. Something about the way he leers and then says, "why aren't you afraid of me?" seems like he isn't naturally cruel, but has adopted it, perhaps in a psychological protection mechanism. I say this because people who are cruel or rude or angry often or otherwise hurt others, are doing it because they themselves do not want to be hurt. Not always, and Ergo Proxy up until now has seemed to just be brutal by nature. This really is the first time that there's any indication that there even could be any alternative reasons.

"I know how you feel. I loved her too." Wait, but this is the little replacement for Re-L that Daedalus created. Is her love from his own raison d'etre being transferred, or is there some kind of other mystical connection here? She also knows who Vincent is? Things are getting weird again.

Meanwhile, Re-L is coming face to face with how cracked Daedalus has become. He mistakes her for his second Re-L until she demands to know about why people are dying and the ADW project. It still takes him awhile to accept that the original Re-L has returned, and then he only acknowledges her as "the traitor." Presumably not for failing at her mission, but for leaving him for so long. He gave up on her, and started to blame her for his losing her.
"Let me tell you something interesting. Raul was not the one that ordered the attack on you. I think this is your floor. Now why don't you talk to the man in charge."
"Grandfather. It was grandfather that did all this."
I'm not sure how much Re-L is clued in that Daedalus is more or less trying to send her to her death. The details about Donov Mayer being the one to try and kill Re-L with Cogito were revealed back in episode 10, when Raul confronts Daedalus the first time.

Interestingly the immigrant hunting autoreivs is the same one that tried to hunt Vincent that Pino overheard, back when she first was accused of being infected with Cogito. The lines used are similar to when she overhears them hunting Vincent.
"He's not just another autoreiv." "This could be my chance for a big promotion!" versus
"Boys, I think we just got a promotion! All it takes is something like this to get yourself noticed!"

Ergo Proxy appears. The collective "greets" him.

"Why have you returned? Now you show yourself, now that it is much too late. What do you plan on doing now? Time has already run out, Creator."
"The Regent loved you. The Creator built Romdeau. Brought us into being. Provided us with autoreivs. Helped produce offspring." Ergo Proxy isn't only a power source, but a literal God. He really did create Romdeau. The series is really going full speed ahead with answering a lot of the questions the series has put off until... well, now.
"The Regent hated you. Why do we exist? Who can ease our lonliness? Why did you abandon us? Why didn't you love us?" I find it interesting that the anger is all expressed in anguished questions.
"The Regent searched. He searched not for the creator, but the one who'd stolen his heart. The Monad proxy. The creator returned to Romdeau unbeknownst to us. Disguised as an immigrant from Mosk. The creator stole Monad, and left us again." All of this could have been figured out earlier from all of the statements and intimations and hints dropped along the way. No, you probably wouldn't have realized or even understood what Monad is if you just watched the series without analyzing every line. Or maybe I just am bad at realizing things and thinking about them. Experience has taught me its the latter, despite my own expectations of myself...
"The creator thinks, therefore we are. No matter how we may think. The creator is already not." This seems to imply that the collective and Romdeau either have decided to reject the creator, or else have grown out of needing such a role in their life. "And now he has returned to us once again. Our wish. All worlds are the thoughts of the creator. We are that which is thought. We think, therefore we are. Our raison d'etre." This is double or triple speak for many ideas and themes. The Collective wished for the creator to return. (Why did you abandon us?) But they discovered some ideas. Worlds are thoughts of the creator... and we are that which is thought. (A creator creates by thinking, and we can think) We think, therefore we are. Our raison d'etre. (Decartes famous finding: To prove we exist, we need only acknowledge that we think. The collective has created their own reason for being, and the need nothing else other than to think to have it. They are free from needing a God and free in terms of free will.)

The song Pino hears is the same that she was playing back in episode 17 on the piano she finds.

Re-L witnesses Ergo Proxy killing her grandfather, and yet she can't seem to shoot him. And she still loved her Grandfather, despite all he did. Destroying the dome, hunting Vincent, and attempting to kill Re-L. She doesn't (and we don't) understand why Ergo Proxy is acting like this. It doesn't make any sense for Vincent Law, and we still don't really know who or what Ergo Proxy is besides dangerous and powerful. Re-L still doesn't shoot and Ergo seems on the verge of .... something? And then Raul appears and shoots Ergo Proxy, using an FP shell.

[VIEW SPOILERS]

Shampoo Planet
The Cogito virus was supposedly another alternative to provide another kind of life to thrive on the barren earth. It resembles the relationship with the humans and the subhumans in many many ways. Perhaps if the subhumans died off, or were unable to cope with the sudden sentience of their autoreivs, then the autoreivs would prove superior and replace them. A sort of Darwinian competition or second option for civilization to continue.
Vincent was unintentionally spreading it, because it has something to do with coming in contact with Proxies. Maybe it is because Proxies are brimming with supernatural magic, it just rubs off on autoreivs. It beats me.
Maybe this other strain of cogito has been the work (intentional or not) of Proxy 1 then. It makes some sense to me that he would also spread cogito, and that his version would be a sort of existential or nihilistic version that leaves the autoreivs in the state Pino finds them. However, my favorite theory is the one I already said - this is just another form of effect that sentience has, because all the autoreivs react differently purely because their minds are all different seeds to begin with, the same way humans are varied in their psychologies.

Despite Romdea falling apart and being throttled by Ergo Proxy, Donov Mayer dies with a smile on his face. He really was obsessed with seeing the creator again. Enough to create Re-L, capture Monad, and hold onto life this long. Love and hate between created and creator. (See: Iggy, Donov, Re-L, Proxy 1.) Also love and hate between creator and created. (Humans, Proxy 1, Romdeau, Kazkis)

There isn't that much to say that is spoilerific. We are nearly at the end of the series and much of what was obscured for me I've already hinted at and spoken of.
The reason piano music is playing in Raul's house. (That is Raul's house.)
The ADW project being an attempt to allow humans to reproduce 'normally.' ("Not that something like that would ever work.") I wonder if mortality rate is 90% for the children or for the parents attempting to bear children.
Oh, right. Ergo Proxy acts weird in the Regents room because that is crazed Proxy One, not Vincent Law. The collective didn't even figure that one out.
I don't know why Proxy One kills the Regent. For all I know it is merciful, the Regent wanted to praise Proxy One and serve him above all else, if Proxy One appeared and then left again, he'd just die miserable with no duty and no god to worship. It might be in contempt of Re-L and to drive her to anger as well.

The FP shells presumably are blue-sky-sunlight that spreads throughout the Amrita cells.
I'm a bit confused that Re-L doesn't shoot considering she was thinking about it before hand and was "created to kill Ergo," by some reports.
I'm just going to assume that as much as Re-L can figure out with information she has now, she has figured out. She seems really really sharp, and she is part of the Intelligence Bureau.

"It would appear that Raul does not like being the loser. Or maybe winner."
I'm not totally sure what has happened to Raul, other than what was shown last episode with his plans, and the general havoc-inducing course his emotions have been running.

Real loved Monad, either because that is her "mother" or perhaps as a "sister" or even just loving herself, since she seems to have Monad's memories to some extent.

[/SPOILERS]


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As Pino leaves the ship we see a strange crack in the cliff in the shape of a cross.
The cross symbol has been used in several other situations. I think it is sprinkled about as a reminder of the religious themes and perhaps just as a cool and mysterious "other culture symbol" addition. Which was apparently the case in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Who knew? Thinking about it, this also happens in Death Note a little. (I looked up a little of Serial Experiments Lain, Wolf's Rain, and those don't seem to include any advertently western religious elements. There are, however, a lot of shows that use the "angels and demons" theme with crucifixes adorning everything)
Instances of the cross symbol in Ergo Proxy:
This crevice they hid the Centzon behind. Episode 21

The pillar in the center of the city holding up the dome. (Shown when Re-L calls it a "boring paradise") in Episode 1, and Episode 22.

The Regent's room layout itself (I noticed it in Episode 3 when writing this guide. It's subtle, but I think there)

The book in Hoody's library with a snake and cross Episode 6. (probably just ancient art thrown in to show his real-or-pretend knowledge)

Maybe that crevice is supposed to more closely resemble the necklace Vincent has. I'm not really sure.

The immigrants are probably able to deal with the autoreiv problem best since they aren't born and bred within the Romdeau system. Being recently involved in the study of nature and evolution, I can't help but notice that this is exactly why diversity and suboptimal mutations or sexual reproduction takes place. The immigrants which were at a disadvantage because they didn't have pre-determined roles to fit into, are now at a unique advantage because they can deal with those roles disappearing or changing. Traits that aren't good, are still important to persist for awhile in case they become beneficial. Then those traits can be spread into a population that could use it. That is why sexual reproduction is superior to asexual reproduction. This is almost relevant because of the wombsys being a form of asexual reproduction, except not at all because that is consciously directed and not based on the population that came before and okay I'm way off topic, sorry.

"Fellow c-ci-citizens. Stay in your homes. A curfew is in eff-fffect. We ask that you wait to receive instrrructions from the Citizens Intelligence Bureau -Bureau -Bur-eau. Anyone caught breaking curfew without permission will be pu-pu-punished." I'm pretty sure this is entirely unintentional and unrelated, but (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iZMD_eCpEo, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQtZPNjc2gY)

Note: Sorry, I seem to have discovered that it actually is spelled Romdeau, and my switch to Romdo was incorrect. Mosk is still Mosk and not Mosque or Mosc though. Bleh. I will have to fix this. ----7/7/15: fixed---- And while we are talking about names: Donov Mayer is the Regent is Grandfather is His Excellency is the Head of the Administrative Bureau (not to be confused with the chief of said bureau). His entourages are The Collective, the Administrative Bureau, Entourages, the statues. Too many names!)

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Previous: Ergo Proxy - 20:Sacred Eye of the Void/Goodbye, Vincent
Next: Ergo Proxy - Episode 22:Bind/Bilbul

Ergo Proxy - 20:Sacred Eye of the Void/Goodbye, Vincent

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Previous: Ergo Proxy - 19:The Girl with a Smile/Eternal Smile
Next: Ergo Proxy - Episode 21:The Place at the End of Time/Shampoo Planet

The Sacred Eye of the Void

A couple of things immediately hint that something is wrong with what is going on.

The necklace on Re-L is shown, first in the mirror in the opening scene, then when she wakes up during the night and looks at it.

What is more noticeable as odd is the Administrative Bureau treating Raul normally and Raul being submissive again. The dreamlike portrayal of eyes and necklace hint at a dream sequence. It makes sense to be suspicious of the following scenes, and it also make sense that Vincent would not have cause to believe that something is wrong. (He wouldn't know about Raul's changes in personality... which makes it odd that the Administrative Bureau chides him at all...? What about Daedalus, how does he know Daedalus except by stories from Re-L?) What Vincent should notice is Re-L's change in personality. She is much much more docile and pleasant. Vincent probably doesn't notice because this is his imagined or created version of her. And perhaps there is some element of "dream-logic" going on making everything "make sense" to Vincent more than it really does. As Vincent's dream (induced/manipulated/controlled by Swan) it should be an imperfect representation, with some elements of Vincent's own thought style and desires. (in everyone, in Re-L, in Daedalus. Everyone is more calm, laidback, and polite than they actually are. All of the submissive qualitative speech patterns, "sorry, I just, I hope, maybe, I get that feeling, I was wondering, there's nothing I can do" self depreciating, second guessing, are native to Vincent and suddenly acquired traits by everyone else.)

The second shot of Swan shows the chain of her Proxy necklace, which glints. There are a lot of glints in this episode, trying to provide hints at the necklace and other-ness of Swan. The sight of the necklace at the end of the episode seems to tip Vincent off that Swan is a proxy. It may be coincidence and he is realizing it from all of the events clarifying and becoming obvious they were constructed. Just something to keep in mind.

Another quick note: the Administrative Bureau says that now Re-L has returned, the city is saved. They are referring to her retrieving a proxy to power the city, though that hasn't been revealed yet.

Some of the strangeness is explained away by Swan's rationalization: Re-L is more docile because of Vincent's influence as an alternate personality. It is funny, because Re-l is more docile because she is in Vincent's mind, not he in hers.

Some plot points are furthered in this episode as well: Re-l's relationship with her grandfather is spoken of: Donov's one role is to manage the city of Romdeau, and his raison d'etre supersedes his cares for other things, such as his adopted granddaughter. Re-l in real life has a different reaction to his behavior, but the series doesn't pass up this opportunity to reintroduce the conflict and theme.

I'm a bit confused why Pino is shown to be so very emotionally volatile than normal in her first scene. My guess is that she is representing Vincent's ego a little. She is a symbol of his valuing himself (for himself), and is furiously struggling to validate him, but is also a very repressed part of his personality. I'm not sure.

It doesn't sit well with me that Vincent wants to see his other life in Romdeau. I care more about mind than body, so it seems to me that he would not be interest or worried so much about his physical body. If anything, it would be disturbing to see myself outside myself. I would react with "that isn't me" and repulsion rather than desire to find out what happened to "me" and care about that other body/person.... that's my initial reaction anyway. After being stuck for months I'd probably be more used to it and feel differently. Maybe.

Well. Things are making sense plot-wise until Re-L drops her mug and cuts herself. It is difficult for the artists to show the split-personalities and to explain in a few words what is going on. They attempt to do so with the flashes between Re-L and Vincent, trying to show it is still Re-l's body, but Vincent is controlling it temporarily. There is also a lot of repetition of scenes and phrases, illustrating the cyclical, winding, and doubling back that dreams take. After Re-L cuts herself, it all stops being a story that can be told linearly, or being a believable or sensible series of events without being a dream or a hallucination by Swan. I think what happens is that Vincent falls completely for the control of Swan, and so starts to succumb to her spell. He believes he isn't real, and asks her to tell him how to eliminate himself. He disregards that they are drifting between locations and that Swan is easily teleporting around him. I think this is not portraying a realistic dream anymore, but illustrating the state of mind Vincent is in, and the full control Swan now has, rather than trying to be a realistic series of events. That was more an opening plausible construct to get Vincent to this point. (To make things more confusing, this may be a more realistic portrayal of what is actually happening, with the fight between Proxies in a dream reality) Swan wants to see Vincent's desires to control him even further. To the point of being able to kill him.

Vincent's desired past reveals a lot about his hopes. He doesn't want to be a Proxy at all. He does want power, though maybe that is less important and more convenience than anything. (why not be rich, if you could have it with no detriments?) He focuses more on being adored than commanding. He wants so much to get along with everyone. Re-L, Daedalus, Raul, ... and he wants everyone to get along with everyone else too. He wants Daedalus to be Re-l's brother.... that is too convenient, Daedalus is still making her happy, but the competition isn't there to make Vincent uncomfortable or challenged to win Re-l's attention....

Swan betrays herself a little by telling Vincent to imagine a past he desires, and then telling him its his fault Re-L is confusing his desires with her past. Vincent started dreaming because Swan asked him to, and now it's his fault things have gotten worse?

The dreaminess continues. They have a lot of fun with the looping back and forth, and confusion with the direction of time. If we pretend that Vincent is still controlling Re-L, then the series of events of Pino releasing Ergo Proxy, reflect the supposed "real events" that took place earlier. (Vincent (Ergo Proxy) was released by an infected autoreiv, "You let him go" accusation by Swan, "He's going to kill me!" shout by Re-L)

When Vincent pulls out the pendant from nowhere, it shows that he is knowing it is a dream and lucid controlling it.

"You've lost sense of your own sense of place, that is why you'll never find a place to belong."
I don't know why Swan is talking about this, or if Vincent really is totally dependent on being liked by other people. I know he has been struggling with that, but regardless, it is an interesting theme. People have to find worth in themselves, and not rely on the world's recognition of them. Simply put that is because the world won't know them, won't always validate them, and that it isn't a reason by itself. Everyone has to create their own meaning, and after that, they can turn to achieving additional meaning from serving the world's interests. It is a matter of foundation.

There is a William Swann, whom deals with the psychology of how others see oneself. Things related to self identification and self verification, which seems in line with the themes in Ergo Proxy and this episode.

I can't figure out Swan. I think she is trying to kill Vincent. (her method is to get him to reject all hope, making him have nothing to live for and become suicidal, or at least so lost in pain and loss she can take advantage and kill him. This same conflict was used by Ophelia Proxy back in episode 14.) But she also seems to say some things indicating she is pursuing him romantically. (I can't stand men who have the stink of other women.) She also seems to want to help him reject his Proxy side and face himself. ("just take off the pendant," her later smile when he 'wins,' "Take care") As a psychiatrist, maybe she has made it her goal to help the other proxies achieve peace and face their mental problems? Or maybe she really is just crazy and out to kill like the rest.

The end of the dream is more mixing of earlier parts of the dream. Vincent still is a mind inside Re-L. He kills Ergo Proxy, whom he released (using Re-L's body the entire time?). Pino runs up, I don't know what her position (symbolism?) here is.

Vincent's behavior throughout the episode (and series) continues to reinforce that Vincent cares deeply for Re-L. Earlier in the series it was a blind crush. Later it became a solidified instinct. Now he knows her, and sometimes it is just a need, other times it is a strong desire borne of his relationship with her. After the dream is over, they touch each other and voice their concern, while trading roles on the ship like partners. Re-l too. She shows her vulnerable side to him, the fears she has. I suspect her request for the pendant is from a little push by Swan, and not really her personality to do so.

"I think, therefore, you are. Is that it?" This is a line from Anamnesis, episode 11. It is said by Ergo Proxy, speaking about the self in relation to the external world. It may also have something to do with Proxies, but I don't think that is how it is being used. I would, in a little tinfoil-hat-esque-way, suggest it is playing with the way couples rely and need each other, and become different people because of the other.

Remember Hoody's tall tales? What were they?
"You think proxies are monsters? You don't know much about anything." They are power sources and "godlike" immortals.
"They have the power to change their appearance into any form they choose" The Ophelia dome proxy.
"They can disappear with ease, leaving no trace that they were ever there." Most proxies have a habit of disappearing...
"They can also enter human beings and take control of their mind and body." This happens in this episode, or at least dreams.
"They can summon lightening bolts and scorch the earth with their power." The lightening between their eyes when in a death-lock.
"They can even conjure up flaming planets from the sky!" Well, this might be a slight exaggeration.
"Simply step into the wilderness and you'll find them crawling all over the place." They've encountered something like nine proxies now? Monad, Ergo, Senex, Kazkis, hideout, Ophelia, QQQ, Will B Good, and Swan. (The City Lights bookstore owner was probably just a figment of Vincent's.)


[VIEW SPOILERS]

Goodbye, Vincent
Another interesting part about Re-L's reflection on her grandfather, is that it is shared by Vincent's role as proxy. "In the end I was simply serving my grandfather's interests." Creators too, end up being demanded by their creations to serve. - Lead us! Be a Holy God! Inspire us! Tell us what to do! - It would be improper of a God not to behave as a God with its creations. Creations will demand that Gods demand reverence. "In the end, I was simply serving my creation's interests."
I am not sure that is how it has to be. I wonder at how it could be otherwise, with Gods walking as one among their creations and their creations expecting their Gods to be far different than our image of powerful beings beyond earthly bounds. What makes a God a God? It isn't just their power, it is their minds. They are beyond human reasoning. They are either tyrants, or tricksters, or unfathomable. They are not weak, needy, or human in their mental facilities.
Ergo Proxy plays with the results, if they were humanlike in their flaws, needs, and desires. What if Gods wanted to be loved. For themselves. What if they wanted to be accepted as normal and understood as... individuals. Could they? And if they couldn't, then what would that do to them? To be so powerful, but so helpless and ... normal. I will talk of this later, as the next three episodes really directly address this much more strongly thematically.

Swan doesn't seem to have a dome. I wonder if she is a ghost haunting a dome that has completely disappeared from existence, or if she is wandering, or perhaps her dome was entirely a mental construct and that is the form she likes to take too. Vincent defeats her. "Proxies will fight how Proxies will fight" I guess. (Nightmare Quiz Show, ep 15 quote)

As soon as Swan asks Vincent to imagine a past he desires, there is a flash of blue skies and green plants... this suggests either that as a Proxy, Vincent knows how the world used to be and what that sort of paradise would look like, or that it is deeply implanted in the Proxies to desire and try to create a world like that. I really do think those flashes are memories of Earth, implanted or not.

I read some theories that Vincent faces his Proxy side and destroys it as a symbol of the id and what he doesn't like about his instinctive desires. It does seem that from here on he is much more a unified self rather than a broken up series of desires, but I think that is more from the journey overall than this confrontational encounter. He does seem to realize his desire to help Re-L and care for her much more directly. He does seem to trust himself and believe in himself much more later. But I don't really think the facing the Id and shooting it is the symbolism going on here. I think it is much more a simple rejection of Swan's control and winning by maintaining his devotion to Re-L and his hope for a good life. Or something like that.

[/SPOILERS]


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If you can't explain to a child, if you can't break it down to the actual fundamentals of why and how, then you are the one who doesn't understand. I think that is basically true for most all things, both technical and emotional. This is why forcing to explain to someone else, to translate by breaking it down to something that can be translated to another, often clears things up for oneself as well. (speaking broadly) This is why children are perceptive. They deal in things stripped of the extra (sort of superficial) layers that bury all the actual reasons and causes.
I assume it is very plainly wrong that Vincent is doing what he is doing when he can't explain to Pino. Pino going along to kill Re-L is only an emphasis, not the cause of that certainty.
"I have to kill her to save her" This is an interesting phrase to me. That sensation of having to do something wrong to do something good.... It usually is the evidence that it is totally false, no matter the "good" that may come of that "something bad". I think if you have to do something bad, either that "bad" isn't really bad, and then it is all good. Or else that something is actually bad, and then it doesn't matter, the wrong outweighs the right.

I'm not very fond of this episode. I think it does a lot more jumping around than is necessary or helpful. However I do appreciate the attempt to portray something very difficult to portray. They didn't really pull it off, but I admire that they tried. I just don't think it's my taste in a premise. To many mind games, not enough reason or substance behind it happening in the first place. Too fuzzy and non-solid rules, yet treated in a cold and factual sort of way that implies it is supposed to make sense. It doesn't add anything and instead detracts from something that could be strongly a mood piece. Things just sort of happen because "dreams." I can appreciate that as a reason when it is an artistic portrayal of feelings. I am thinking of some movies I have seen. Studio Ghibli (Miyazaki) I think does dreams right. A more serious version of dream-like-ness as storytelling method would be something more like Tree of Life, Black Swan, 2001, or Rivers and Tides about Andy Goldsworthy. In all of those I appreciate it, and enjoy it. (even if that is the exception for me)

All Episodes: Ergo Proxy Companion Viewing Guide
Previous: Ergo Proxy - 19:The Girl with a Smile/Eternal Smile
Next: Ergo Proxy - Episode 21:The Place at the End of Time/Shampoo Planet

Ergo Proxy - 19:The Girl with a Smile/Eternal Smile

All Episodes: Ergo Proxy Companion Viewing Guide
Previous: Episode 18:Sign of the End/Life After God
Next: Ergo Proxy - 20:Sacred Eye of the Void/Goodbye, Vincent

The Girl with the Smile

I hate this episode. I hate this episode. It's not as bad as it used to be, but it still sucks.

Two things:
Will B. Good and Smileland are Walt Disney and Disneyland. Eastern animation, western animation. Stuff.
Utilitarianism good or bad? Happiness, whether there can be different kinds of happiness.

There. That's it. That's the episode.

whooooooooooo.


Pino learns some stuff and matures and learns to care a bit more. Vincent and Re-L trust her some more.

A proxy that seems to not be insane is found. A proxy is not fought by avoiding contact. He runs the Smileland dome as director. (*cough* dictator *cough*)

They flirt with the concepts of purpose and unused ideas and artists and creators trying to control their creations.

Pino can't cry, so raindrops.

[VIEW SPOILERS]

Eternal Smile
Nope.

[/SPOILERS]


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This episode still sucks.
(I might go back and add some more thoughts, but honestly, I'd like to leave this as is.)

All Episodes: Ergo Proxy Companion Viewing Guide
Previous: Episode 18:Sign of the End/Life After God
Next: Ergo Proxy - 20:Sacred Eye of the Void/Goodbye, Vincent

Ergo Proxy - 18: Sign of the End/Life After God

All Episodes: Ergo Proxy Companion Viewing Guide
Previous: Ergo Proxy - 17: Never-Ending Battle/Terra Incognita
Next: Episode 19:The Girl with a Smile/Eternal Smile

Sign of the End

A silhouette of Ergo Proxy is seen dancing at the blaze destroying the city.

I forget if I've mentioned before, but they use the surface of the moon as texture for the ground the Rabbit flies over.

Well. Okay. I took a long time waffling over this episode because I was trying to put together a timeline of events, and I can't seem to figure out some of the order of things nor reasons for them taking place. It's a damn shame, because the narrative I want to tell seems to be fatally incomplete without at least a theory on it. But since I can't seem to find any evidence one way or the other, I'm loathe to randomly assign a sequence and an explanation, leaving one gap in an otherwise mostly continuous sequence. It's been irking me every time I come back to write again, and after trying again to figure it out, I keep just walking away in exasperation. But I'm getting nowhere and I have the nagging feeling that I'll figure it all out a couple more episode guides from now, and be temporarily incapacitated by how things so easily slide into place with hindsight. OH WELL. HERE WE GO DESPITE EVERYTHING.
....
oooooooh.
I think I've figured it out this time.

And it does seem to slide into place painfully easily for the most part.

----------


"I can't believe they pushed it this far. Romdeau completely destroyed the city of Mosk. I wonder what Vincent would do if he knew."
Okay, I really have been away for awhile. I had to dig this back up, but remember way back in episode 7? Of course you do! /sarcasm. Daedalus informs Re-L the following lines: "But before that I'd better tell you everything. Right from the very beginning. We called it the Monad proxy. It was plundered from the Mosk dome."
Tadaa! That's how Re-L knows that Mosk suffered damages, and that it was at the hands of Romdeau. (sometime before Deadalus's birth, since he was created in some capacity to look after Monad.) The clip is played later in the episode, as they ascend to the central chamber of the Mosk dome.

"No, this place looks like it's been this way for quite awhile."
I'm not sure why Re-L informs Vincent of her clues that Mosk wasn't destroyed only by the recent attack from Romdeau. Maybe she is refraining from keeping most secrets from him. (but not all, as she doesn't tell about Romdeau and Monad's unsavory relationship.... I wonder.... is it because it is a shared bond with Daedalus that she won't betray? "Our little secret"? It's not the same secret, but they do keep their confidences.)

"Grandfather must have sent the light. But why now? Is he trying to catch another Proxy?"
Iiiiiii'm not sure why she thinks "the light" came from the Regent. I guess she just traced the flight path from Romdeau's location? If she knew of the Rapture missile, surely she would have called it that, rather than "the light."

Vincent doesn't seem to recognize anything about Mosk. Re-l makes a joke, which is pretty harsh, that he "doesn't even recognize his own city center." (maybe citizens don't normally visit the city centers, so maybe it's a little less harsh. I'm guessing that she just is a bit mean-spirited and regretted a couple moments later speaking before processing her words. *cough* I know I've done that.) Vincent knows her pretty well to already know Re-L means it as a joke. They have grown together surprisingly closely.

"You have spent your existence seeking a God who betrayed you. I am free of your illusions. I seek no God and ask for no salvation. I only wish to destroy."
Raul's switch to destruction as a goal doesn't seem clear to me. He had reasons to desire destruction before, but somehow he went from specific reasons to praising destruction itself. Only that isn't completely true either. He doesn't seek destruction for destruction's sake, but as a method to escape fate, it would seem. "You seek to deny destiny by hastening destruction." (This is in contrast to Kazkis) But this too seems problematic. How and why is destruction a method of escape from destiny? My guess is that Raul prefers it to construction merely because of its speed and scope. Raul is overly attached to destruction, but I think what he is motivated by is freedom and escape, rather than destruction itself. Destruction is just a way of breaking out, being uncontrollable and unpredictable. It is a way to move out of the realm of status quo (Which he started out dedicating his life to maintaining) and strike out in new directions beyond the demons of fate that chase him. He is such a tragic figure, knowing his own weaknesses and failures, but trying to fight on despite how screwed up everything, including himself, is. "I ask for no salvation." He only asks the chance to keep fighting.

"Even if our ultimate downfall is inevitable, Romdeau will not perish as long as we are willing to fight."
Raul has swing completely to the other side of a system of values. When once he put great faith in the system and procedure, now he puts great value on the individual and the will.

"And yet we must evolve! We have no choice! We must all learn to do without God from now on. I will not despair."
"Resist for Romdeau, is that it?"
Raul seeks to destroy the old ways for the sake of protecting the city. He thinks that the best way for Romdeau is to improve, and the best way to improve is to rewrite from a better foundation. He thinks the old ways are no longer good enough. It is a little ironic that he says "they have no choice" but to try and defy fate.

"You hope I'll share in your suffering."
"Raul. Soon you will know. The greatest death. The crushing failure. That which is our despair."
The collective seems to believe, that even taking such new and drastic measures, even fighting as hard as possible to survive against fate, that fate will still prevail and destroy everyone.

"Without a past, can I even prove I exist?"
Fun fact: even with a past, can you prove the past is real? It's an old philosophic conundrum. What if all your memories were invented a second ago? How could you tell?

"Why can't we live without a Proxy? Why did Romdeau have to steal a Proxy from someone else?"
These are important questions. The domes need a Proxy to maintain power. Proxies are like gods in this way. But they also are like a god in their insane strengths and supernatural powers. Proxies were created and released... it's still unclear in many ways how the pieces fit together.

"Maybe forgetting was the only way his mind could protect itself.... but if his memory holds the truth...."
It is a basic dilemma. If you could forget something, even a very unpleasant something, you lose all that you learn from it. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - George Santayana. However, is every truth worth knowing? This same question is asked back with Kazkis, "The truth is like that too. Someday your eyes will be burnt by the light of truth and you will know eternal darkness."

Pino is developing quickly. She keeps being herself, both autoreiv and child. She can see inhumanly far. She reads children's stories and thinks of them as real. She calls the place "scary" and tells Re-L she is "sorry." Then she is reminded she has an infinite memory and batteries. She detects power automatically and memorizes the screens that flicker on in an instant.

"If I were a simple machine, all of this would be so much easier."
This is a huuuuuge theme. I'll skim over here and talk about it more in depth in later episodes, but a central question of Ergo Proxy is "why can't we be lesser?" It's a neat twist on the often more demanded "why aren't we better? Why aren't we naturally more thoughtful, more intelligent, more perfect, more capable, more powerful?" Instead, autoreivs wish they didn't think or feel. Humans wish they didn't think or feel. They insinuate that they could be happier serving mindlessly instead of "asking these questions." That being said, it's pretty sad that Amnesia was loaded with the task of carrying the memories that Ergo sought refuge from, but even so, he was created for the job. However, he notes: "Conscious entities will sometimes amputate their memories to save a failing sense of sanity. Dementia or amnesia, take your pick. Thank god we met before it ever came to that." And Amnesia, in giving the definition and reason for amnesia implies that he too forgot something in order to protect himself....
("How you met her" must be Monad.)

"I want you to make this your top priority."
"Do I put this ahead of reviving the Proxy?"
"The last thing we need is another God"
Unknown project. Is Raul seeking to destroy Romdeau further by not caring about God and the damage the loss of it is causing the city?
"You're a very odd man... going to such ridiculous lengths."
"I just want a revolution. Will you help usher man in the sublime state we were meant to hold?"
"Alright."
Raul is intentionally written darkly here. He shown as very volatile, dangerous, radical, and nearly evil. We don't know his plan. He does have the attitude of a revolutionary, which is by necessity harsh and to some extent "the ends justify the means." They intentionally avoid telling his plan so you are faced with how he seems versus how he is. It is interesting to ask whether his arrogance is really arrogance. He wants to play God ("how unnatural"), and the series is asking, "is that wrong?"
"I just don't think getting rid of God will change anything."
"Exactly. It doesn't change anything. We need to manifest change down to the cellular level."
He wants to leave the old ways. Since the wombsys isn't operating, they need some way to live without God.... you figure it out. The last episode isn't a coincidence it seems. (It is a little crazy how our own prejudices for "natural" play into how we judge Raul. It would be a common reaction to go from condemning to praising him on this reason alone. I'm not even sure it can be qualified as a reason at all.)

Red Yarn. "He's beginning to crack." Never show that smile.
The red yarn I would be loathe to ascribe meaning too, except yarn takes place in a myth involving the figure Daedalus. Daedalus gives a ball of yarn to the man going into the Labyrinth, so that he can rescue his beloved from the Minotaur and escape the maze safely. It's not clear if the yarn in replacement Re-L's hands is supposed to be helping Deadalus, Raul, or Replacement Re-L herself. Since this is yarn and fate is a theme in this episode, it may also have to do with the Fates whom spun, measure, and cut the threads that guided everyone's lives in Greek myths. They are called the Moirai.
Daedalus has lost both Re-L and Monad, and so his raison d'etre is crumbling. It is a little more than just that. Daedalus is stronger than just his predetermined raison d'etre, but he isn't strong enough to face that and have loved and lost Re-L. He did care for her. And it seems romantically, as he (even more creepily) raises the replacement Re-L to "never show that smile to another man."

Vincent seems to have some kind of subconscious guiding him, even way back at the start when he defied Re-L and kept the pendant.

"So, you're still here. I was sure I'd finally killed you. But you're just a symbol of what I'm fighting aren't you? That's fine. I will destroy you regardless. Because I am not afraid of you."
Vincent and Raul. Their relationship changes here. Now Vincent is fate and the mindlessness of the dome, when once before he was trouble and defiance of the dome's predetermined fate. Raul lives for the truths he has found. Things like freedom and will and survival. Before he followed protocol and authority. Raul is fighting his earlier self, in this sense. And he accepts that. He decides he will live for the future, rather than the past, though the past is what haunts and drives him. (I admire his relationship with symbols and values.)

Sorry, the awakening message might be just as lame as it seems. The same message in both cities, indicates the truth is in Romdeau, not Mosk. At least as a plot point. As a term itself, Awakening is still a mystery. Why are the proxies triggered by each other, leading to all these terrible fates?

"Vincent Law. What are you? Another pendant. What was another pendant doing here? That which is divided must become one. Is that supposed to be Vincent and Ergo? And if it is. Then whoever broke the autoreiv and stole the memories was..." It cuts to a startled stare at Vincent (before or after?) he interrupts her. The awakening message, is Vincent telling himself where to go? It doesn't make much sense.

"We've encountered many proxies, but none of them were the one we're looking for.
Monad was responsible for everything. The message, like a thread linking the two pendants.
The connection between Monad, Vincent, and the Proxy. The answer lies there, I know it."
These lines have double meanings. Don't take them at immediate face value, but do know they point towards knowledge unrevealed.



[VIEW SPOILERS]

Life After God

Re-L thinks it was Romdeau's assault to collect Monad that reigned such destruction. She is partially right. I do not think it is happenstance that her next comment, "I wonder what Vincent would do if he knew?" The answer is basically before her: Proxy 1 went mad when Monad was stolen and destroyed (as well as for other reasons).

Quick sequence of events:
Proxy 1 and Proxy 13 (Monad) are created.
They in turn create their respective domes according to plan.
Proxy 1 falls in love with Monad, perhaps after he loses purpose, perhaps during his prime.
Proxy 1 creates the Regent and commands him to rule.
Proxy 1 leaves Romdeau for Monad, Romdeau suffers and the Regent waits.
Unknown order:
The pair realize the fate of the planet and the Proxy Project.
Monad helps Proxy 1 erase his memories and gives him her necklace.
Proxy 1 begins to give in to despair, and he creates a second version of himself, immune to sunlight. But Ergo Proxy runs away instead, only wanting to be loved, and thus desires to become a citizen in his own city. (The one problem with this, is I do not know how Ergo Proxy obtain Monad's necklace. She was asleep... so it must have come from Proxy 1. But why does he remember Monad at all?)
Monad also gives in to despair, after losing all hope once her lover has erased himself and her other lover has embraced the destructive tendencies within himself. (or maybe after being dragged back to Romdeau? (Probably before, she would be weaker after becoming crazy and losing hope) Or maybe as soon as she accepts his memories and loses him? (Kazkis theory))
Monad is dragged back to Romdeau, and Mosk is destroyed in the battle. (this is at least before Daedalus was born)
Ergo Proxy shows up in Romdeau.
Proxy 1 fully loses it and begins to punish the Creators, launching the nuclear warheads, Ergo still resists joining (visions of Proxy 1's recent doing, or memories? If the missiles are near Romdeau, it must be history. (the citizens would have seen it) It is probably history).
Proxy 1 now also angry at his creations (for their treatment of Monad?), continues his plans for his vengeance.
Proxy 1 manipulates Raul to launch the missile. It destroys Mosk.
Proxy 1 arrives at Mosk to watch the destruction.
Proxy 1 is shown crying and holding the necklace.
Vincent wanders around, feeling sick from a second Proxy nearby. He goes to the ship to wait.
Proxy 1 opens the memory vault and destroys the memories of Ergo Proxy. (Is he smiling and crying because of his lust for destruction? Is it because he is destroying his last connection with Monad? Is it because he is destroying his own past for good? Is it in contempt for Ergo Proxy's foolishness and weakness?)
Proxy 1 leaves.
The party discovers the memory vault.
They discover the necklace and decide to return to Romdeau.

Previous uncertainty:
(I'm.... not sure if Proxy 1 has his memories erased too. I'm not sure if Vincent cannot remember because he had his memories erased, or because he was never at Mosk, and was created after Proxy 1 erased his memories. If that is so, then how does Ergo Proxy end up with Monad's necklace? does Proxy 1 give it to him, having already left Monad? His memories of the memory vault, are they shared older memories before his creation, or are they because he had his memories erased? Does Amnesia say "that which is divided, must become one" because Proxy 1 split his personality after having his memory erased into Ergo, or because Ergo and Vincent must supersede Proxy 1? Is it a message from Monad to bring balance between Ergo and Proxy 1? Or is it a message from Monad asking for Ergo back once more? Or is it a message from Proxy 1, calling for Ergo once more?)
Yes. Proxy 1 had his memory erased. He also "ran away" as stated in the last episodes this way. He knows of the memory vault this way too. The reason Vincent has a key, is because both Monad and Proxy 1 had a key. Proxy 1 must have given him one, or perhaps Ergo stole it.
The reason Vincent goes to Mosk is because he also is tracing the history of Proxy 1, not necessarily the history of the Ergo created since. His memories of Mosk are "The city's completely destroyed. Just like in my memory. The place I was created. Where I became what I am?" so he was created after Monad was captured. Perhaps even in the memory vault room, in remembrance of Monad. The message about divided was for Proxy 1 somehow, it is unknown how. It might have been from Monad to reunite with him. Or from Monad to ask him to become his old self. Or it could be from himself, to guide the future how he hatefully decided long ago.

Proxy 1 created Ergo/Vincent. It gets confusing when it comes to the question of why and when.
There are several theories and I still haven't settled on one.

One reason is just despair and fractured desire to run away. It might have been unintentional. (This is appealing because the Vincent persona for Ergo Proxy is like that - it seems to be partly unintentional and partly to try and hide behind a new life. It would be a nice mirror of each iteration on down to be making the same mistakes.)

One reason is for revenge, Proxy One wanted to live on to keep haunting the humans and help getting back at them. (Proxy One talks a lot about revenge and hating what the humans did and how "they must be punished." It's fair to guess that all of his actions are motivated by that now. He does say that Vincent continuing to live "will be the most fitting punishment." )

One reason is in remembrance of Monad's sacrifice, a sort of 'I am not good enough, but maybe I can create a version of myself that is better' (I say this because a common theme are is the attempt to create something perfect, but being unable because oneself is imperfect. It's also because Proxy One let Monad down, and the timing of ErgoVincent's creation seems to be around that time. It seems like maybe making a copy that could love Monad in Proxy One's place, while he erased his memories, might have been a possibility. This doesn't really fit though and obviously failed. )

One reason is so that this clone could take care of Proxy One's jobs, leaving Proxy One would be free to live his life in a different way. (Proxy One is bitter at his assigned role, but can't fight it because it is part of who he is. "We cannot truly defy the creators' " Which he must surely hate. He also talks about how he ran away from his obligations, and this might have been another desperate attempt to do that. Ohhhh and I just realized, maybe he didn't want to be the one to kill Monad with his own hands either...)

Whatever the intention, ErgoVincent definitely didn't follow Proxy One's plans, whatever they were. But that is more or less because ErgoVincent was a copy of Ergo Proxy and Ergo Proxy always runs away from his duties until he learns better. He either messed up or succeeded to well depending on how you look at it.


Amnesia notes: "Conscious entities will sometimes amputate their memories to save a failing sense of sanity. Dementia or amnesia, take your pick. Thank god we met before it ever came to that." And Amnesia, in giving the definition and reason for amnesia implies that he too forgot something in order to protect himself.... think about it. "Thank god we met before it ever came to that." Meanings and meanings - this sentence seems an ironic flasehood, but my guess is that it is more. It is true. Amnesia did meant Proxy 1 and restore his memories before it ever came to that. Then Proxy 1 left, and Amnesia had fulfilled his role... and lost his purpose. Having been infected with Cogito, he struggled to find meaning, and so remained a "keeper of the memories" forgetting the past so he could still wait for the time when "the one" would return.

"And yet we must evolve! We have no choice!
We must all learn to do without God from now on.
I will not despair."
Double speak. We must evolve, meant both figuratively and literally. Mentally, systematically, individually, and biologically as a species. Both evolve to be able to survive without god, and evolve the ability to evolve. Again, mentally and biologically.

It is interesting that Monad likely sat on the throne overlooking Mosk, and Re-L feels some deja-vu there. She even sits in Monad's place, reflecting the connection they share and reliving Monad's past. It foreshadows the encounter with Ergo, the creator of Romdeau, in her grandfather's room later.

I'm sorry if you were watching this for the first time and got to sympathize with Raul immediately, because Raul is naturally such a flat character that you give no forgiveness to. Which is his brilliance. It is only if you pay attention and care that all of his nuance comes out. He seems to act completely unreasonably and be playing this mostly cliche role.... He goes crazy because he goes crazy, seems to be the only explanation. But then... it turns out.... he's actually the deepest character in the series or at least I've fallen for him hard enough to think so. And I only gave him credit the second time through when I started to see things from his perspective. And then I realized he is actually a second hero, though a broken and tragic one. But by circumstance, not by character. And that circumstance, is that he is terribly terribly alone in his fight to care.

[/SPOILERS]


////////////Reactions:

"We'd go crazy if we had to remember everything."
I'm tired of hearing this stated in science fiction. Why is this considered true? At least with "eternal life is awful" there are some reasons to think that. But perfect memory doesn't seem to have real drawbacks. The only claim I've heard is a tenuous: "then we'd spend our days reliving the past" which is pretty bogus logic to me.

"You set aside an ancient thermonuclear device for who-knows-what-foolishness. Then you gave it the criminally ridiculous nickname 'Rapture.' ... I'm amazed it took this long for something to go wrong."
Raul, you might be my favorite character.

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