Much of the reason to go with Eike is to listen and watch as the threads of the story(s) unfold. Some of these are critical choices, and they will affect the final outcome. Eike always has choices - who to talk to, what to do, and at times what to say. They are often the direct result of Eike's choices. They are smooth in their playing, but with an occasional lag in lip-synching. These are many, and much of the 10 chapters of Eike's efforts are played out in this way. Or the music used at the right moments to heighten the mood of the scene.Įike's actions and interactions are all revealed through animated cutscenes. Nor can his ears fail to register the lilting quality in the voices of the first two, or the mystery and maybe menace in the voice of the last. He may not notice the detail in the buildings and other surroundings, in night or in day, or in the sound of his footfall in snow or the exhale of his hot breath, but he can't help but notice the striking appearance of Margarete or Dana, or Homunculus in particular. The town and the times through which Eike moves are beautiful and lustrous. The alchemist can reveal each critical time, and either Eike acts decisively to avoid his destiny, or he dies at the ordained time. Spend 10 minutes in the past, and he will be 10 minutes closer to his death in the present. Everything takes real time: a conversation, exploration, an action. It passes in real time, and whilst Eike can change time, he cannot stop it. Not just in passing through it, but in its passing. There is plenty of time, but it must be respected. Ironically, given that Eike has time in the palm of his hand, death will sometimes result from a lack of time. Other deaths will be by misadventure, a result of a lack of effective action before the critical time. The intervention of Homunculus will enable Eike to move on. Knowledge is the key to their avoidance, and death provides that key. Indeed, cause may even become effect.Īnd as he struggles to find the key to live, he will continue to die. Not only his life, but also the lives of others will be affected, and the threads of all will become increasingly tangled. He may keep as much as possible to himself, or he may openly interact with those around him, but he can't help but cast a shadow, one which the butterfly effect may turn to stain. His passage through time will also cause ripples of its own. Eike must find the rock at the centre, or eluding one death will simply put him in the path of another. Eike's life is like a pond, and his death ripples across its surface. The future is, however, not so easy to manipulate. But Eike is like the rest of us, and as such, deeper thought will inevitably be swamped by the basest of desires - Eike wants to live. Were Eike more metaphysical or philosophical, he might never begin, preferring instead to debate Homunculus on the notions involved. He may succeed in another, but it would no longer be his time, and his "self" would be compromised. Various theories on the nature of time would concur, at least in this universe. The means are seemingly simple change the past to affect the future.įate or destiny would dictate that Eike must fail. Now he has been offered a chance to prevent it. He knows this because it has already happened. Review by Steve Ramsey (March, 2003) Eike knows he is going to die.
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