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Self

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Self (also known as That Guy, David, Transcendental Will or Transcendental Intelligence) is a mysterious character that's alluded to in the game, but never directly addressed. Self represents the player, or an entity that is extremely close to the player's will.

According to the Chronology of Remember 11, Yukidoh Satoru initially referred to this character as a "Transcendental Will". After committing the killing spree at Awazumi Hospital‏‎, Inubushi Keiko asks "Where is Self?" Satoru borrowed her terminology and refers to this character as "Self". Due to his hatred for Self, Satoru also refers to it as "That Guy" to avoid giving it respect with a proper name.

Description[]

Self is a being with no concept of time or space. Past, present and future are condensed to a single point, making Self a zero-dimensional creature [1]. It is an absolute will which can subjugate and dominate the wills of humans. Because of this, Self is likened to a god [2]. Any choice it makes can greatly alter the course of reality.

In a meta sense, time doesn't exist for Self since the player can access all scenes at their liking, traveling back and forth. The player can subjugate characters by making choices for them.

Unconscious Influence[]

Self can indirectly influence characters. The world enforces the player's will in ways even the player may not fully understand. A rather clear showcase of its influence is in when deciding what to eat in Kokoro Chapter: Alice in Disorderly Clothes, everyone yells in unison whatever the player has chosen.

It is possible that Self is the source of many "miracles". An important one is the connection of the satellite phone on the 6th day despite 1 in a million odds [3]. More importantly is how the cabin residents survived the plane crash without a scratch. Self may have intervened to ensure the survival of Kokoro to continue her story.

Murder of Yukidoh Sayaka[]

Self's influence is the main driver of the story, namely through the accidental "murder" of Yukidoh Sayaka.The real Satoru hates Self for "killing" Sayaka. The player only sees Sayaka once in the prologue, and never again through the entire story. Since the player doesn't physically kill Sayaka during this scene, she must have experienced a "personality death".

This death could have happened in one of two ways:

  1. Self may have mistaken Sayaka for Inubushi Keiko and deleted the Sayaka personality as a result
  2. Self caused Satoru to commit an action that "kills" the Sayaka personality

In order to get revenge for his sister, Satoru devised a plan to "kill" Self by trapping it within an infinite loop.

Satoru's Transplanted Memories[]

See also: Pronouns

After Enomoto Naoya's body falls off the clock tower while housing the personality of the real Satoru, [ORE] takes over the body, believing itself to be "Satoru". [ORE] is a personality created by Self using the information collected from Kokoro's route.

After taking over Enomoto's body, the body refers to itself as [ORE] for the rest of the story. Prior to this, Enomoto's body refers to itself as [ore], which is the pronoun the real Yukidoh Satoru uses to refer to himself. [ore] and [ORE] are not the same being, which is confirmed by TIPS 93 [4].

Self transplants memories into "Satoru" [5][6], but they are incomplete for two reasons. First, Self's knowledge itself is incomplete[7], limited only to what it has seen from Kokoro's route. Second, Self only transplants memories that it believes the real Satoru should have. That's why he immediately recognizes Mayuzumi, but only feels slight familiarity with Yuni and Yomogi.

From early on, [ORE] feels it is being controlled by another being whose true form it doesn't understand [8]. This being is Self.

Information [ORE] Knows[]

  • Satoru's name and age [9]
  • The current date (Jan 11, 2012) [10]
  • Layout and structure of SHPIA [11][12]
  • The fact that only 3 people should be in SPHIA (Yuni was not originally present) [13]
  • Inubushi's name after seeing her once [14]
  • Inubushi's past [15]
  • The fact he climbed the clock tower [16]
  • The accident on Mount Akakura and the 4 people there [17]
  • His hatred of pumpkins [18]. We learned this earlier from Kokoro's chapter [19]
  • His hatred of things attached to his wrist [20]
  • His relationship with Mayuzumi [21], like the duration [22], going "round and round" with Mayuzumi & "Article 100" of the Japanese Constitution. However, he doesn't know who he felt about her, only making guesses [22][23]
  • Details about Yomogi [24], Utsumi [25] and Kokoro [26] after hearing their names. It is logically possible him to "remember" details about the cabin members if he read about them in the news after the crash was discovered [27]
  • His "usual glass" in the kitchen on the first day [28]

Information [ORE] Does Not Know[]

  • Yomogi or Yuni immediately, though he is familiar with their faces [29][30]
  • Kokoro's face from the reflection on the first day [31]
  • The name "Hotori" [32]
  • His goal or purpose in life [33]
  • Anything from before January 11th, including place of birth, his childhood or even his parents [34][35]
  • Why he's at SPHIA [36]
  • Why Utsumi or Yuni are at SPHIA [37]
  • How he and Mayuzumi started dating and how they broke up [38]
  • Why he climbed the clock tower and the identity of the shadow [39]

Fetal Relations[]

Since a fetus has no concept of boundaries, either in space or time, it is a being that can be considered "zero-dimensional".

Self is repeatedly likened to a fetus. In the TIPS regarding "The Meanings Behind the BGM Titles", the song "Self" is described simply with "胎動" meaning "fetal movements" [40]. In Kokoro Chapter: O Great Sephirot, Our Master, the body of the fetus feels like it is the only existence, absolute and all-powerful.

The space-time transfer device is kept in The Third Area with Utsumi while she was carrying twins. Since Self is likely responsible for the operation of the device, its presence in the Third Area symbolizes Self's proximity to a fetus.

Metaphors and Analysis[]

Coffee[]

Enomoto explains the function of the space-time transfer device using coffee. He likens Kokoro to coffee with milk and Satoru to black coffee. Enomoto refers to the black coffee as pure, while the milk "contaminates" the drink. Satoru’s consciousness is pure: it is completely occupied by [ORE]. Kokoro’s consciousness is impure: it is a mix of Self and Kokoro’s influences.

Sekijukansei[]

The existence of Kokoro is necessary for Satoru to exist as he does. In the story, this is expressed through the proverb sekijukansei ("red accepts blue entirely"). In order for [ORE] to exist as Satoru, he needs to know what the player knows about Satoru from the Kokoro route. Without the Kokoro route, [ORE] in the Satoru route would have no memories at all. Therefore, Satoru can only exist because of Kokoro.

In addition to that, Kokoro is associated with red (red text in her endings, red border in the text dialog) while Satoru is blue.

Kagome Kagome[]

The last line of the song is "Who's that behind you?", referring to the player who observes the world through the character's eyes. Inubushi Keiko says the song is a metaphor for a baby being born, and the song refers to "kagome", literally meaning "cage woman" or "pregnant woman". Kokoro calls herself "kagome" in her epilogue, likely referring to fact that she housed the infant's personality and "carried" the player's perspective. In Inubushi’s interpretation of Kagome Kagome, the baby died due to a miscarriage. Perhaps this alludes to the death of Self.

TIPS[]

The tips that appear during Kokoro's route are all in the third person, whereas the ones in Satoru's route are occasionally in the first person using the pronoun [ORE]. Self is usually just an observer, while [ORE] truly believes he is Satoru.

Trivia[]

  • The Japanese term for "That Guy" (アイツ) is gender-neutral and may refer to a female as equally as a male. A more correct name may be "That Person".

The song "Self" plays in only 4 sections, namely:

  • Satoru Chapter: Awakening - Bad end - Utsumi kills Inubushi. Self escapes the infinite loop by remaining in Enomoto's body until he's taken to a mental institute.
  • Kokoro Chapter: Abyss of Despair I - Bad end - Utsumi kills Inubushi. All evidence of life in the cabin is erased and Kokoro is sent back to the crash where she freezes to death. She notices the shadow behind her and is consumed by nothingness.
  • Kokoro Chapter: Abyss of Despair II - Bad end. If Satoru was stabbed by Utsumi while trying to protect Inubushi, Kokoro is sent back to the crash and is consumed by nothingness.
  • Kokoro Chapter: Struggle Against the End - Kokoro goes over the newspaper again

Aside from the last scene, the song "Self" only plays when Kokoro is retroactively not saved from the crash. This perversion of history only happens if Utsumi kills someone. Since Utsumi is the mother of the fetus, perhaps her actions were able to affect Self in a way that nothing else could.

References

  1. ↑ TIPS 88— For this person, there is no past. For this person, there is no future. To be more accurate, the concept of time does not exist for this person. For this person, the past, the present, and the future are all condensed into a single point.
  2. ↑ TIPS 099— In this case, "Master" means God - that is, an 0th-dimensional being.
  3. ↑ Kokoro Chapter: Man-Made Miracle (Full Text)
  4. ↑ TIPS 93— I am [ORE] and not [ore]. There are two of "me" here. And if that's the case, who exactly is [ore]? And if that's the case... Who exactly is [ORE]?
  5. ↑ TIPS 54— Just whose ACE memories are these, I wonder? The fact remains that "my consciousness" belongs to me, but it is in fact possible that "my memory" is one that was originally someone else's and not mine. And that this someone had planted the ACE-reduced memories inside me, so that even I myself am not aware of how and why that happened exactly.
  6. ↑ TIPS 88— 11 years before 2012—— That's where it all began. But Satoru... You... know not of this.
  7. ↑ TIPS 54— Why not A〜F, but ACE...? Why didn't they transplant BDF as well...? Could it be that... It's not that they didn't transplant them, but... that they couldn't? Could it be that, just like me, this other person lacks BDF? Can I assume that this limited knowledge composed only of ACE was all that was available to this person? And that, therefore, it was for this reason that this person couldn't put any other memories inside me? It might be that I'm only able to know what this person knows, and if this person doesn't know something, neither can I. My memory and this person's memory are the same.
  8. ↑ "I felt like a marionette, with my strings being pulled by someone whose true form I didn't know. That someone rules my memories, and perhaps even controls my body. The fact that I'm walking around the room now... is it really because I wanted to?"— Satoru, Satoru Chapter: Trickster (Full Text)
  9. ↑ "First, my own name.... My name is Yukidoh Satoru. I'm 21 years old.", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  10. ↑ "Today is Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 AD.", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  11. ↑ "As for this facility, SPHIA... I know everything. The small rooms arranged in every direction, this living area in the center, the kitchen, the surroundings enclosed by a high wall, the clock tower above the facility....", Satoru Chapter: Trickster (Full Text)
  12. ↑ "I am in SPHIA, the Specified Psychiatric Hospital for Isolation and Aegis. The layout of SPHIA is also roughly inscribed in my mind. I'm more or less familiar with my current surroundings.", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  13. ↑ "The people here at SPHIA are Inubushi Keiko, Utsumi Kali, and me. According to my memory, only the three of us should be here.", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  14. ↑ "Straight black hair that fell to her chest, white skin so pale it was almost transparent.... There's no mistake. It's Inubushi Keiko. In my memory, the name "Inubushi Keiko" was linked to the figure of this girl.", Satoru Chapter: Shadow (Full Text)
  15. ↑ "Inubushi Keiko has DID. After the incident in Awazumi, she was institutionalized here. I know the full story of the tragedy that occurred in the hospital.", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  16. ↑ "Something struck me. I was climbing a spiral staircase and stood on top of the clock tower, then.... I couldn't remember what happened afterward.", Satoru Chapter: Trickster (Full Text)
  17. ↑ "Next up, we have Mount Akakura. The crash of HAL18 last year, and the three survivors who were later buried in the avalanche. These facts are clearly etched into my memory. The people in the shelter: Yomogi Seiji, Fuyukawa Kokoro, Mayuzumi Lin, and Kusuda Yuni.", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  18. ↑ ""Pu, pu, pu, pumpkin soup?!" As soon as she said it, a chill ran through my body. It made my hair stand on end, and I felt as though I was breaking out in hives. "W, wait a second, Utsumi-san! I beg of you, anything but that! Please spare me! I... really hate pumpkins. They're all runny and slimy! Isn't it disgusting? Even the way they look, all rough like a rock, is hideous!""— Satoru, Satoru Chapter: Break-Time (Full Text)
  19. ↑ "So you don't like pumpkin or cucumbers, right? Fuyukawa-san doesn't like cucumbers... and Yukidoh-kun doesn't like pumpkin. That's how it is."— Utsumi, Kokoro Chapter: Breakfast Is Good for You (Full Text)
  20. ↑ "Anyway, having anything attached to my wrist feels annoying to the nth degree. How do I say this... I can't settle down, it's annoying and kinda itchy.... I probably didn't notice the wristwatch until now because I had my mind full of other things. But now that I'm aware of it, it's hopeless. This kind of thing bothers me so much I can't stand it.", Satoru Chapter: Virgin-Ceiling (Full Text)
  21. ↑ "It would take forever to try and list the things I remember about her. The fact that we were going out, several episodes in our relationship, some noteworthy conversations, and so on.... Sometimes I feel like I remember more about Lin than I do about myself. I know all there is to know about her. Lin was a very important person to me (much more so than as just a romantic liaison).", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Lin and I parted ways over eighteen months ago. It may be a bit cold to say this, but by the time of the accident, I simply didn't love her as much as I did before. Of course, losing her was... sad. Sad, but certainly not to the point where it would cause me to develop a personality disorder.", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  23. ↑ "When I learned that Lin had died.... Was I sad? Did I cry? In the shelter cabin of 2011, when I got to see her again, I didn't thank my lucky stars or jump for joy. Ordinarily, if I'd known she was still alive, it'd be natural for me to feel supreme joy at the news. But no such emotion came forth from me. Why...? It's because, while I was aware of the "fact" that she'd died, I didn't feel any "sadness" over having lost her.", Satoru Chapter: Calmness (Full Text)
  24. ↑ "Yomogi Seiji―― Age 35. A mountaineer by trade. If I'm not mistaken, he should have a wife and kids. Why...? Why are all these clear memories of him suddenly coming to mind...?"— Satoru, Satoru Chapter: Animus (Full Text)
  25. ↑ "Utsumi Kali.... [... ] I do know her. I could even vividly recall her appearance. Silver hair, brown skin, gentle eyes, voluptuous chest.... As usual, I didn't know why I knew that. Nor when, where and how I met her...."— Satoru, Satoru Chapter: Trickster (Full Text)
  26. ↑ "Fuyukawa Kokoro, female, 20-years-old. 3rd year student of Kyumeikan Women's University, majoring in criminal psychology. This time, the question "Why do I know the woman named Fuyukawa Kokoro?" didn't come to mind.", Satoru Chapter: Trickster (Full Text)
  27. ↑ "I was familiar with the names of Yomogi, Yuni and Kokoro. This is probably because I remember the plane crash. Yomogi and Kokoro, who were discovered together with the decomposed body of Lin, plus the sole survivor, Yuni, may have been etched so deeply into my head that I couldn't forget them.", Satoru Chapter: Calmness (Full Text)
  28. ↑ "I opened it and took out a PET bottle full of mineral water. In the cupboard beside it, I found my usual glass. Picking it up, I filled it to the brim."— Satoru, Satoru Chapter: Trickster (Full Text)
  29. ↑ "As I thought, we've met somewhere before, right? Or am I mistaking you for someone else? Hey, can you hear me, old man?"— Satoru, Satoru Chapter: Persona (Full Text)
  30. ↑ "No, more than just a face that "I'd seen." It was a face I should've been very familiar with. However, I couldn't remember anything beyond that. Where we met, when I saw him, whether or not he knows me too...I don't remember a thing. Nonetheless, the feeling that "I know this boy" was spreading somewhere deep within my chest.", Satoru Chapter: Persona (Full Text)
  31. ↑ "A face I have no memory of―― The image reflected there was that of a young girl."— Satoru, Satoru Chapter: Animus (Full Text)
  32. ↑ "That was the first time. The first time I'd heard "an unfamiliar name." Hotori...? There shouldn't be anyone with a name like that in SPHIA, but..."— Satoru, Satoru Chapter: Trickster (Full Text)
  33. ↑ "I'd lost sight of my purpose. I didn't know what I was trying to accomplish. I don't remember having ever received instructions on what to do from anyone. My will didn't even guide me into doing anything, not a thing. My will was nothing but a null vector. [...] I felt as if something was missing, as if my core had been completely disconnected and stolen away."— Satoru, Satoru Chapter: Trickster (Full Text)
  34. ↑ "I have no recollection of any events (except for a select few) from the time of my birth up until now. Strictly speaking, my memories begin "the moment I began having the dreams about that mountain cabin.", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  35. ↑ "Where I was born, what my childhood was like, how I'd lived until now. I don't even remember my parents.", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  36. ↑ "And how about something more recent? How long have I been in SPHIA? Why am I here? Why? What for? What's my goal here? The only possibilities that sprung to mind were that I was a patient here, or a staff member.", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  37. ↑ "On the other hand, Utsumi and Yuni are still a mystery to me. Why is Utsumi in SPHIA? The way she put it was.... "I'm working here as a psychiatrist." ...But those words now lacked credibility.", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  38. ↑ "Well, come to think of it, I can't really say that I remember everything about Lin either. I remember a lot from when we were dating, but I'd forgotten something quite important. Namely, the beginning and the end. In other words, how and why we started dating, and why we broke up....", Satoru Chapter: Great Mother (Full Text)
  39. ↑ "Someone had pushed me off the top of the clock tower, or so it seemed. I had witnessed it myself. I'm sure. However, I couldn't seem to remember who it was, no matter how hard I tried. The reason why I'd gone up the clock tower was still a mystery too.", Satoru Chapter: Transmit (Full Text)
  40. ↑ TIPS 98— 胎動／セルフ
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