[SPOILER] Plot Discussion Thread *Spoiler Alert*

[Lazoriss]

I actually didn't like what little we hear of Weyer - the idea of some random human somehow being able to completely negate the inhuman powers of the universe made Daniel's experience feel less impressive.

But all three Amnesia games feature a protagonist under the thrall of some supernatural force. The Stone Egg drove Mandus to create a living slaughterhouse, the Soapstone made Justine a sadist, and Daniel was hounded with nightmares (perhaps this also shattered his psyche?) Weyer apparently has power over these artifacts, rather than them controlling him.

What kind of monstrous things could he do? More importantly, how can we make this kind of character a compelling villain in a cosmic horror story?

Well one thing I do like about the Amnesia games is that the characters are never black-and-white. Weyer could make a potentially interesting character. I would like to know his motives for amassing such power, and how he is able to do so.

I think Justine was a always a sadistic nutcase. Even as a child she was pretty disconnected from others emotionally and rather cruel/blunt. I think that the Orb just amplified it. Also, I don't think the star soapstone itself has any real magical properties. But wherever there is a star stone in an old ruin, there's an orb nearby. I'm rather sure Justine's father had an orb, but most likely kept it locked up somewhere. I don't know if Justine ever handled it, but she seems to know it exists. "What will that perfect sphere bring?" Perhaps she dreams about it? The writing on the wall is highly suggestive of the orb communicating with her somehow (and driving her further into insanity).

I also think Orbs will adjust its visions to something you desire, further driving you to do what it wants. Daniel was probably an archaeologist (or at least a student/intern in the field). he dreamt of what appears to be a awe inspiring city. Mandus is an inventor and therefore dreams about a great machine...

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And yes, pretttty sure Mandus touched the orb (there was a note/loading screen that told of him cradling the egg in his coat), but also very interesting point in the children having also touched it, and even having touched it first. I didn't notice anything about the twins having a reaction to the orb, other than the sea thing and wanting to take it home. I mean, yeah, they heard the sea, but it didn't seem to do much to them.

But the Guardian of the orb doesn't start acting immediately. It took a while before the Shadow started hunting Daniel. And the children were killed pretty soon afterwards, so maybe that satisfied the Guardian or something.

And I think that it's pretty obvious why the orb is referred to as the egg. When the kids find it, they tell Oswald that they found "an egg" because they don't know what it is, so Oswald starts calling it the egg, too.

Yeah, you might be right there. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the Orb showed Mandus those visions of his children with the intent of him killing them. Overall, Mandus seemed to follow the Orb's sway wonderfully. There was never any reason for the Guardian to do anything. There is the fact that no Shadow appeared after Mandus started to sabotage the machine. You could possibly explain that by saying the Orb was already so heavily connected to the machine, and was most likely using most of its energy just to start up despite being so crippled. Throughout the first good chunk of the game you constantly hear the machine trying to run (and ultimately failing). It also needed Mandus to start it up again, so killing him wouldn't have been an option.

There's also my earlier theory about part of Mandus also being inside the Machine as well. it might have felt very conflicted about attacking and killing its creator/father...