[SPOILER] Plot Discussion Thread *Spoiler Alert*

[FromTheSidelines]

I would strongly advise against interpretations that err on the side of literal. The only take on the situation we get is from Mandus, and even if I didn't think he was almost completely incoherently mad I would still bet there was bias to be found in his accounts. Hell, maybe NOTHING in the game literally happens, we have no way of knowing. The notes not made by Mandus could have just been things he dreamed up. So I don't think we need things like 'astral projection' to explain what's going on. I think the main character's less than stellar mental health is explanation enough for a lot of discrepancies and inconsistencies.

Keeping that in mind, here are my theories:

Spoiler below!

The great uncle he refers to is Daniel. He mentions his uncle having journals of travels to several locations. It's not too big of a leap to attribute this to Daniel given his diary of his trip to Algeria and his quest to find answers regarding the Orb he found there. I'm not saying Alexander cannot be related to Oswald, but I don't like that theory much, given that we're not even sure Alexander qualifies as...well, human. And it wouldn't surprise me if old Alex arranged for the blame for it all to fall on Daniel in case their experiments couldn't be completed.

This is one that's been just about nailed down by every one here, but:

Spoiler below!

The egg Oswald mentions is in fact an Orb that he finds in Mexico. The orb shows him the future, and this vision of the future makes him go mad.

On the nature of the Egg, Mandus, and the Engineer:

Spoiler below!

One thing we can be clear on is that Mandus is cut in two at some point: one part of him that regrets and wants to forget all that he's done, and one part of him that revels in it. The latter part is the Engineer. The way I see it, there are a couple of different ways we can view the Engineer's true nature.

1) The Engineer is another facet of Mandus's personality that is brought to a life separate from him via the power of the Orb.

2) The Engineer is another facet of Mandus's personality that is merely imagined up by Mandus. A personality he projects out of himself do to his horror and self-loathing. When he's talking on the phone, there is no other voice. The voice we hear is inside his head.

3) The Engineer is a separate entity from Mandus altogether that is either the consciousness of the Orb itself or a being from the world of the Orbs that uses it as a conduit to get to Mandus.

As for this point that was brought up:

Either way, if we seriously take into account theory with Orb, then there is a bigger issue - the Shadow. From Amnesia: DD we know that only someone who mentally and spiritually strong can actually control and use orb without consequences (like Weyer and Alexander). Daniel was weak and thus Shadow begun to hunt him (he even didn't use Orb, he was just around it!). And let is be honest, Mandus is far less strong person, in terms of mental condition, than Daniel. So here is the question - where is the Shadow then? Are we going to deny the fact that game set is in the same universe? If not then rules are unchanged.

One of the theories I remember about the Orb from TDD was that it wasn't interested in killing Daniel until he wanted to use it. His colleagues who were researching it at his behest and were subsequently killed could've found out about the Orb's potential for power and planned to use it in a way that displeased its guardian. While Daniel has nightmares, it isn't until he meets Alexander and starts working with the thing that there is any tangible proof (Castle filled with slime, anyone?) that the Shadow wants to kill him.

If Mandus is in possession of an Orb...is he using it? Or is it merely affecting him and the world (the tangible one or the one of his imagination) without him actually having to consciously use it?