The Stranger
From MYSTlore
The Stranger was a friend of Atrus and his family, and is known to have aided Atrus on several occasions. Despite that, very little is known about this person; not his/her name, origin, appearance, birth or sex[1].
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[edit] History
It is believed that the Stranger was a human from Earth, who in 1806 AD (9462 DE), probably lived or passed near the place nowadays called Eddy County, New Mexico. Thus, he came across Atrus's linking book to Myst, which had fallen through the Star Fissure (and presumably ended up close to the Cleft) when Atrus escaped Riven 33 years earlier[2].
The Stranger linked to Myst and discovered Sirrus, Achenar, and Atrus still trapped in their individual prisons. The Stranger was faced with a choice[3], and ultimately freed Atrus from his prison in K'veer. The Stranger stayed on Myst for some days, and then linked to Riven to attempt the rescue of Atrus's wife Catherine. In the process he met Gehn and managed to trap him in a Prison Book. By opening the Star Fissure, he hastened the demise of the Age, and summoned Atrus to be reunited with Catherine. He then fell into the Fissure, presumably returning to Earth.
Some ten years later, the Stranger found his way to Tomahna to visit Atrus's reestablished family, and also visit the newly completed Releeshahn. Shortly after the Stranger's arrival, the Releeshahn descriptive book was stolen by Saavedro, who had been trapped on J'nanin by Atrus's sons and sought revenge. The Stranger followed Saavedro and linked through Atrus's lesson Ages until finding him in Narayan. He ultimately freed Saavedro to return to his people,[4] and returned the book to Atrus.
Another decade later, Atrus considered releasing his sons from their prisons. By that time, the Stranger had grown to be his most trusted friend, and Atrus asked his opinion on the matter. Before any conclusion could be reached, however, Yeesha was mysteriously kidnapped and the Stranger injured. The next night however, he managed to find a linking book to Serenia where he visited Dream and obtained a Spirit guide[5]; eventually he solved the mystery, which led to the death of Atrus's sons.
[edit] Background
The Stranger is an IC ("In Character") reference to "you, the player", who actually sat at the computer and played through the original game Myst and its sequels. The authors intended the character to be invisible, nameless, silent, and blank, so as the players could identify themselves better with the protagonist and have a more realistic gameplay experience. However, after the expansion of the D'ni universe backstory and mythology, the Stranger came to be a certain historical person of Atrus's life, although still his identity is blank. The name "Stranger" has been adopted in the fandom to refer to that character, based on a reference in Gehn's personal Journal.[6]. The "stranger" is once more referred with that name in Yeesha's adult journals.
Some fans believe that the logo of the original Myst and remakes, a falling man figure seen over Myst Island, is supposed to be the only depiction of the Stranger, linking to Myst. However, others believe this figure to be Atrus falling in the Fissure, as seen in the game introduction.
In Myst V the player is addressed by Atrus as "old friend", leading some to believe that this was in fact the Stranger despite the time gap. In an Uru conversation with Dr. Watson, he revealed (or at least claimed) that he was actually the player character in Myst V.[7]
[edit] Appearances
[edit] Featured
[edit] References
References
- ↑ Due to the English verbal custom, the Stranger is often referred as "he", however the Stranger's gender hasn't been revealed. As this poll indicates, most fans do visualize the Stranger as male and refer to "him" in the various forums and mailing lists.
- ↑ According to a Myst Guidebook, the Stranger found the Myst book in a San Francisco library. He read the book, which described perfectly an island, and saw the linking panel in the final page. This information can't be canon, since the linking panel was not in the final page (it was on the first ones), and also the Stranger (if the theory he is human is correct) could not read the book, since it would be written in D'ni.
- ↑ Since the main storyline of Myst is non-canon, the exact actions of the Stranger concerning the prison Ages and reaching Atrus have not been canonically resolved. Since (unlike in the game) there is no communication through linking panels, it is not known how the Stranger knew to find the correct combination to the fireplace, and to visit D'ni without trapping himself in the process.
- ↑ This is a point where the player has a choice. One can get the book, leave Saavedro stranded, and link back to Tomahna. This is considered a "sad ending" and it's more probable that the happy ending is canon.
- ↑ In Serenia, the Stranger can be decided to be either a Child of Fire, Child of Water or Child of Wind, which depends on the player's actions in the game. Of course the 'canonical' choice (like everything concerning the Stranger) has not been determined.
- ↑ "A stranger has arrived on Riven - with a Linking Book to D'ni..."
- ↑ Quoted chatlog with Dr. Watson