What The Heck Were They Doing Out There???

Ten years after the original game and Harry's still searching for his daughter.

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Droo
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What The Heck Were They Doing Out There???

Post by Droo »

Replaying Shattered Memories again. Just got to wondering what the heck Cybil was doing driving Harry out to the forest in the first place before she had to stop the car due to the snow. Isn't she taking Harry to the police station? I would think the station would be likely closer to town.

Further, the location where the car stops is facing TOWARDS town, but if you look around while she's driving, she turns just out of town before she stops.

In the words of the movie version of Cybil: "What the fuck is going on here?!"
"Oh yeah, I've been here before
I can see it with eyes closed
Shadows that look like blood
Dead as far as the mind goes
Fear that comes from my head
Lives in the mirror"
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AuraTwilight
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Same as Dahlia, Michelle, and John: She's taking Harry further and further from where he actually needs to go.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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NeoAquarius12
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Post by NeoAquarius12 »

Hmmm, I never thought about it. I suppose it was a necessary move for Cheryl's story to go to... part of Harry's quest takes place in the woods where she has all of these dormant memories. So, Cybil had to take Harry out there even if realistically, that doesn't make sense.
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Yuki
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Post by Yuki »

Except Cybil actually tries to help Harry; that makes little sense to me.
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Post by NeoAquarius12 »

What I was meaning to say is that... In order for Cheryl to give her full and comprehensive version of the story to Dr. K., Harry had to get to the woods that she was so familiar with, somewhere where she would like to have had a father figure with her. Since Cybil is a recurring element of movement (Cheryl more than likely was in the police car more than once)... she uses Cybil as a plot moving device to put Harry into that location so she could try and put him into context there. So, Cybil is helping, but only really for Cheryl's telling of the Shattered Memories story. Better?
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Post by lesboctopus »

cheryl is an excellent storyteller then, creating plot moving devices on a whim! i'd love to hear it from Dr. K's perspective.


"and then, uhh.. they were driving, ya see.. and the snow got SO HEAVY so cybil had to run away from the car! yeah, that's the ticket!"
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Post by NeoAquarius12 »

Dr. K. is either really amused wih what she's saying... or really saddened by it. All I know, at the end, he's pissed about it. lol
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Post by FiliusMartis »

I always figured she got badly turned around driving in heavy snow. Doesn't she say she needs to see where they are when she gets out of the car?
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Post by Escapist »

I've always seen as Cybil as the representation of Cheryl's desire of acknowledge the truth and move on, to finally live a normal live.

Or maybe is K's way to push Cheryl through moments in her life: she is the one who sent him to Levin Street, she is the one who took him to the forest, she is the one who tell him to go to the School's Gym, she is the one who dragged him to the hospital. Because of her Harry had to flee from Lisa's Apartment, and finally because of her the player learns the truth of Harry.

LOL. Haven't realized this. She is definitively Cheryl's desire to go to Dr. K's o:
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Except Cybil actually tries to help Harry; that makes little sense to me.
So does Michelle and Dahlia, but they clearly take him off course. Keep in mind that since the characters aren't real, their conscious intentions and agendas don't have to match up with what their puppetmaster is actually making them do.

Cybil could be fully confident in her desire to take Harry to where he needs to be, but not be aware that she's actually taking him somewhere else. Furthermore, she tells Harry to stay put and not leave the car, and no longer how long you wait, she'll never come back, and whenever she calls, she keeps telling Harry to stay put, or to wait for her somewhere,and we all know that if he does, she ain't coming back.

Cybil isn't helping Harry at all. She's a false ally.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Post by Arsonist »

She could have been taking him to the police station tough. We have no idea where it's located.
Cybil isn't helping Harry at all. She's a false ally.
I wouldn't go that far. She's the only character who proposes answers.

"When I was at the station, I pulled a file on "Harry Mason"..."

"I know you're not Harry Mason!"

She's just constantly interrupted by Cheryl's fear (the ice).

Further more, she brings him closer to Cheryl after he drowns (to Alchemilla).

Cybil is the rational side of Cheryl, therefor, the most helpful one when it comes to the shattering of Cheryl's fantasy.

You know, I think that the major flaw of SH:SM is the fact that no matter who asks what, we can easily shrug of any question with "Doesn't matter. It never really happened anyway/Of course it doesn't make sense, it's all a delusion."
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Post by Yuki »

Arsonist wrote:She could have been taking him to the police station tough. We have no idea where it's located.
Cybil isn't helping Harry at all. She's a false ally.
I wouldn't go that far. She's the only character who proposes answers.

"When I was at the station, I pulled a file on "Harry Mason"..."

"I know you're not Harry Mason!"

She's just constantly interrupted by Cheryl's fear (the ice).

Further more, she brings him closer to Cheryl after he drowns (to Alchemilla).

Cybil is the rational side of Cheryl, therefor, the most helpful one when it comes to the shattering of Cheryl's fantasy.

You know, I think that the major flaw of SH:SM is the fact that no matter who asks what, we can easily shrug of any question with "Doesn't matter. It never really happened anyway/Of course it doesn't make sense, it's all a delusion."

This is pretty much what I was gonna say. She constantly saves him and tries to find the truth; if Cheryl didn't want her to, wouldn't she go try to find the file then either "not find it" or forget to look?

And I also agree with the flaw being "Well, it's a delusion". If we go with that idea, nothing in the game whatsoever is valid.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

She could have been taking him to the police station tough. We have no idea where it's located.
The car wasn't going to go over that bank of snow, brah. They were stuck.
I wouldn't go that far. She's the only character who proposes answers.
I'm aware, but these answers don't actually assist Harry's search for Cheryl, which is his actual mission. He's not really interested in the truth of his own existence, and learning it is infact antithetical to his goals, from his perspective, because of Cybil destroys the delusion too early, he will never find her.

Plus, she's the number one factor that summons the Ice Nightmare, which is full of monsters that literally hold Harry back. If we removed Cybil, Harry could conceivably find Cheryl a lot soon.
Cybil is the rational side of Cheryl, therefor, the most helpful one when it comes to the shattering of Cheryl's fantasy.
...which isn't Harry's goal, thanks.
You know, I think that the major flaw of SH:SM is the fact that no matter who asks what, we can easily shrug of any question with "Doesn't matter. It never really happened anyway/Of course it doesn't make sense, it's all a delusion."
The same could be said of all the games, really. They all take place in planes of existence that are basically dream worlds. What matters isn't the actual sequence of events, but the psychology of the characters, which SM does stronger than a few of the other games.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Post by Escapist »

Yuki wrote:
Arsonist wrote:She could have been taking him to the police station tough. We have no idea where it's located.
Cybil isn't helping Harry at all. She's a false ally.
I wouldn't go that far. She's the only character who proposes answers.

"When I was at the station, I pulled a file on "Harry Mason"..."

"I know you're not Harry Mason!"

She's just constantly interrupted by Cheryl's fear (the ice).

Further more, she brings him closer to Cheryl after he drowns (to Alchemilla).

Cybil is the rational side of Cheryl, therefor, the most helpful one when it comes to the shattering of Cheryl's fantasy.

You know, I think that the major flaw of SH:SM is the fact that no matter who asks what, we can easily shrug of any question with "Doesn't matter. It never really happened anyway/Of course it doesn't make sense, it's all a delusion."

This is pretty much what I was gonna say. She constantly saves him and tries to find the truth; if Cheryl didn't want her to, wouldn't she go try to find the file then either "not find it" or forget to look?

And I also agree with the flaw being "Well, it's a delusion". If we go with that idea, nothing in the game whatsoever is valid.
The game's not Harry's journey: for me it's Cheryl's life. And even though it could be a delusion, it would be a totally worth one.
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Post by Droo »

Does anyone have an explanation that doesn't assume Cybil et al don't actually exist? Because I already rejected that theory ages ago. :D
"Oh yeah, I've been here before
I can see it with eyes closed
Shadows that look like blood
Dead as far as the mind goes
Fear that comes from my head
Lives in the mirror"
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Post by FiliusMartis »

I already said an idea that is extremely simple but possible if Cybil is real: she simply got turned around in the snow. It happens. It's clearly a plot device to get Harry to the woods, but it's also very possible that driving in heavy snow like that someone would make a wrong turn and end up completely turned around.

It's deceptive in it's simplicity, isn't it?
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Post by Droo »

I somehow doubt it. Cybil has been a cop in Silent Hill for a long time. I can't see her getting THAT badly turned around.
"Oh yeah, I've been here before
I can see it with eyes closed
Shadows that look like blood
Dead as far as the mind goes
Fear that comes from my head
Lives in the mirror"
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Post by FiliusMartis »

And yet the entire reason she stops the car is to see where they are. She's said as much in every playthrough- does she say something different at any point that I'm not aware of? Otherwise, my point stands, if she knows where she is and is comfortable that she's going the right direction then there's no reason to stop the car at all.

I am curious as to why you are insistent upon her being real though...
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Post by NeoAquarius12 »

I think that the characters exist in reality outside of Harry's adventure. They are real people that Cheryl knows and has somehow connected with and thusly, has conected to fer father. The Cybil we see is the aid of justice... she tries to help Harry, even when she knows it doesn't make sense (ie - pulls him out of lake at end)... this Cybil is a plot device, one used by Cheryl to produce a story that is blended with her own experiences. I am not sure if this helps anyone, but I though maybe a bit of clarification on what I saw might help.
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Post by Yuki »

NeoAquarius12 wrote:I think that the characters exist in reality outside of Harry's adventure. They are real people that Cheryl knows and has somehow connected with and thusly, has conected to fer father. The Cybil we see is the aid of justice... she tries to help Harry, even when she knows it doesn't make sense (ie - pulls him out of lake at end)... this Cybil is a plot device, one used by Cheryl to produce a story that is blended with her own experiences. I am not sure if this helps anyone, but I though maybe a bit of clarification on what I saw might help.
Er, we know for a fact at least some of the characters Harry meets are based off of real people; the Sleaze and Sirens ending shows the real Harry about to have a threesome with Lisa and Michelle. We have no evidence to support that Cheryl actually met Cybil, though.
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