MGSV: Hospital Scene & Intro Theory?

[Suvanna]

Hi! Me and a friend have came up with a solid theory about the first scene of TPP - the hospital scene. If you're not familiar, watch the two videos below~
Please pick apart any things, and give some feedback. I'm very sorry if I've made any errors but we ran this through our info and timelines to see if it makes sense and it's plausible and checked out fine.

I'd recommend only beginning to read it if you are a die-hard Metal Gear fan and/or are deeply interested in Metal Gear story/lore, since it's pretty damn long.
EDIT: All ♥♥♥♥ 's are Moby "♥♥♥♥".

The following is based off these videos, as well as previous game's lore:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kevw_xPL8Yc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPc6PibpuW8

So Big Boss (BB) awakes from his coma, the British flag on the wall indicates that he is in a British colony and also alludes to it being related to Cipher. We believe that this hospital is a Cipher hospital under Zero's control. This could explain why Kaz is missing from the hospital (although he definitely would be discharged much earlier than BB), and why no one BB knows is even there, or anything pointing towards someone he knows ever being there - Diamond Dogs (DD) couldn't enter a Cipher hospital nonchalantly to visit BB.

The end of the trailer has a female voice say "V has come to". This would mean "V has come to his senses", with "V" being patient number 5 - BB. This woman is likely a nurse letting Cipher (Zero) know that BB has awoken from his coma OR she is an undercover DD operative, informing DD that BB is awake, and to put into motion DD's rescue operation - either way, DD finds out that BB has awoken, most likely due to the invasion of the hospital that ensues, which they were anticipating.

Then, Zero, who's purpose of sending BB to a Cipher hospital was to keep him in-check since it is well-known that Zero likes to keep BB under his control in one way or another, orders his Cipher troops to invade the hospital to capture BB - since he now no longer has any severe medical issues (after all, if BB is in a coma, they can't just keep him locked up in a cell, they have to wait for him to awaken to be sure he's okay).

Zero doesn't care for the other patients - they do not have muscular bodies so they're not soldiers and therefore they are probably just normal patients - and orders a shoot-to-kill operation to retrieve BB. In one scene in the trailer BB is shot at with a crowd of patients around him but he is unscathed; they are military men shooting and they have a decent enough aim to do so. In another scene, right at the end, a soldier aims at BB who is lying on the ground. In previous scenes, other patients lying on the ground are shot, so it is obvious BB is their target, and is definitely being kept alive. This supports our idea that Zero ordered these soldiers to retrieve BB - now clear of major medical issues, Zero can get BB back and try to keep him under control. The reason Zero uses so many men is because he knows BB will attempt to escape, and that BB is a very skilled soldier. Ultimately, they fail, seen in the trailer, as Ocelot picks up BB and they start riding off.

The next part is Ishmael - the guy with the bandaged face. Journalists playing TPP were forbidden from saying ANYTHING about Ishmael other than that he exists, and his name. This alludes to 2 things: That Ishmael is a key character to the plot, or that Ishmael isn't real. The latter is more believable because Ishmael is never seen in any other trailer or gameply footage after the ambulance crash (more on that later), and for the very reasons I will discuss next.

We know the story of Moby ♥♥♥♥ plays a part in TPP. Ishmael is the name of the protagonist, and in the trailer a huge firey whale appears in the sky. This leaves Ahab. The first words Ishmael says, he says "I am you", more on that later, he also calls BB Ahab. Ahab is also a key character in Moby ♥♥♥♥. What's interesting to note is that Ahab loses a leg (like Kaz) and receives a prosthetic (like Kaz), which could indicate that Ahab is Kaz and Ishmael is BB, with Ishmael being the lone survivor of Ahab's crew - possible since Kaz's story ending isn't definite yet, which could tie in with his death at the hands (or flippers?) of Moby ♥♥♥♥. Since there isn't much other information, we will move onto the next part - the escape.

DD knows BB has woken up and that Cipher is attempting to now capture him. With years to plan this, they know the layout of the hospital and just need to rendezous with BB, but with so many Cipher troops, they can't just storm the place. Midway through the trailer, we see a ginger character, seemingly a child, who looks like Psycho Mantis due to the sleeveless black top and gas mask - although Mantis' reason for wearing the gas mask was personal, to block out other people's minds, so the relationship between the two is a bit iffy. Nevertheless, if we assume this child/teen is infact a psychic, seen by his uniform AND that he appears in the hospital scene in an elevator infront of Ishmael and BB, as well as seemingly manipulates fire in the shape of a whale to engulf a helicopter, this fits with the next part.

So DD's rescue operation consists of only Ocelot and this psychic child, the child will use his psychic powers to guide BB out of the hospital, and Ocelot will pick him up on his horse. We believe that the reasoning behind Ishmael saying "I am you" when BB asks him who he is, is because he is an apparation created by the psychic delving into BB's mind. Since DD knows the hospital layout, the psychic creates Ishmael out of BBs mind, hence why his shot of digoxin (which actually slows heart rate but increases blood pumpinh) as a "pick me up" has no effect on BB and why after being on fire (seen in the trailer), he has no burns on his bare body, and why his face is wrapped up. Ishmael, directed by the psychic, helps BB through, but lacks character - he hastily urges BB on through the hospital, without much 'care' for someone he "watched for 9 years". The psychic himself uses his powers, killing some soldiers and taking down a helicopter by manipulating fire to further help BB escape. BB and Ishmael then escape the hospital and someone with bandages is driving an ambulance, with BB in it too (we assume Ishmael is driving it), but it crashes. This is a non-lethal crash faked to let the psychic remove Ishmael, as Ishmael is now nowhere to be seen. BB then gets out of the crashed ambulance and meets Ocelot, who helps him escape.

The other thing to take note of is the appearance of Volgin. Volgin died in Snake Eater, after a flash of lightning sets him on fire. An apparation of Volgin appears in the hospital, several times, and one time riding the fire unicorn/pegasus thing. BB was there when Volgin died, and we believe these are hallucinations (due to the nature of him appearing and disappearing) caused by the psychic's affiliation with fire and also delving into BB's mind to create Ishmael. Due to Ishmael being a part of BB's mind, that would support BB being Ishmael and Kaz being Ahab. Ahab dies - hence Kaz not resurfacing in MG1 and beyond - but Ishmael survives - hence BB.. surviving to MG1 and beyond (the next game after TPP chronologically).

What we don't know is who Moby ♥♥♥♥ is - the one who antagonises Ahab (Kaz) and Ishmael (BB). The one who kills Ahab and fails to kill Ishmael. The one Ahab and Ishmael chase but fail to kill. It could be Skull Face, because Ahab wanted to get vengeance on Moby ♥♥♥♥ - the attack on Mother Base being instigated by Skull Face, and making Kaz want to get revenge, up until he dies at the hands of Skull Face, leaving Skull Face and BB to live. The one who destroyed Mother Base is most definitely Moby ♥♥♥♥ - it may/may not be Skull Face, we don't know yet.
Additionally, in the trailer, when BB and Ocelot are on Ocelot's horse, a random strike of lightning makes his horse frightened and stop - a random strike of lightning relates to Volgin's death (which was caused by being set on fire by a random strike of lightning) and Volgin's ability to manipulate electricity - but if Volgin is a mere hallucination, then why does Ocelot's horse see the lightning? It's possible it's unrelated, though.
Finally, there is another 'apparition', at the very end of the 2012 trailer, just before the "Moby ♥♥♥♥ Studios" (a fake studio name made up to instigate the meaning behind the story of Moby ♥♥♥♥ tying in with MGSV), a gas-masked soldier looks at BB and behind him is a weird.. as my friend puts it- "floating coat" figure, with 2 stilts for legs of which one ends prematurely, and the other continues. Weird. Could be another hallucination from BB's mind, or something else, we don't know.

Though if the character matchups to Moby ♥♥♥♥ are correct, making BB Ishmael and Kaz Ahab and Skull Face Moby ♥♥♥♥, then Kaz will perish to Skull Face in one way or another (he dies indirectly, as he drowns in a whirlpool during a fight with Moby ♥♥♥♥), and BB will be there and survive the encounter.
We also have no more information on the psychic ginger kid and why he creates a fire whale, but he has no soul so it's fine.
Additionally, Volgin's appearance in the hospital could be psychological hallucinations or a real entity, as ghosts definitely exist in the Metal Gear universe.

Thanks for reading! If you have anything to pick apart, please comment it, I'd be happy to discuss amending any of this. I purely thought all of this up because I have nothing better to do for 2 weeks, and yes, I have too much time on my hands. I'm also going to sleep now, so I'll have to reply tomorrow morning ^_^
Hope you enjoyed :) .

[Zeke]

Kaz dies during the events of MGS1, Found "Dead in his chair" or something.

[vøid]

Such a long post, where's our potato ?

[Kethanid]

Just a few things off the top of my head. Digoxin also can cause massive hallucinations, related to what BB sees? Unsure. One scene showed agent Raidenovich on fire, flailing around the room. Flashbacks caused by the gas mask kid? Ocelot being a child of the Boss and The Sorrow would kind of make sense that he's guiding BB out of his dream state and back into the real if possible. Also when BB first gets out of the first patient room and you hear the music like the mission is about to start, there's a helicopter passing the window, Morpho is your main transport in GZ, and possibly in TPP, but in greek mythology if Morpho is a play on Morpheus, Morpheus was the god of dreams, with the ability to transport people through them. Related? Who knows. Just rambling.

[Warren]

Sup guys co-creator here, bumping this thread up again

[SEND MY BODY TO ARBY'S]

Not sure about how the hallucinations came to be, but the picture they're painting is pretty clear.
Big Boss is obviously Ahab, he is driven mad in his quest for vengeance against whoever destryed the MSF. "V is come to" is actually a reference to this, BB is back and he is a creature of pure vengeance at this point.
I know that Ishmael(whoever he stands for) is supposed to be a harsh contrast to the behavior of Ahab. It could be Kaz, but it could what remains of BB's old self.

[Sapporto]

i thought the whole 'Moby D!ck' is just a refrence kojima used to explain the whole revenge thing(at the end it leads to the downfall of some characters) about this metal gear story? Also kojima seems to be throwing in a lot of book refrences including 'Lord of the Flies' saying that humans will resort to being a savage beasts to survive(the whole evil exist in everyone).

remember Kojima does love playing mind games so i think everything we've seen so far can turn out to be totally different(but still the same location) when the game releases. Examples: Most of all his MGS trailers changes everytime until the final release trailer.

also the burning man seems to be a real character since there is one scene who launches fire fragments back at soldiers. I think the Psycho mantis looking dude just help creates teh illusion of a burning demon to those near both of them. (may also be related to volgin or not since their suit looks a like).

[Kethanid]

http://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-phantom-pain-could-be-taking-place-in-cyprus/

[Kethanid]

Another interesting thing i read was that Ishmael could also mean outcast or outsider, beyond the biblical reference. And Morpheus the god of dreams would communicate or sway peoples dreams through two dream gates, one made of ivory and one made of *horn*.

[Law]

Originally posted by Ezikeyal:

Kaz dies during the events of MGS1, Found "Dead in his chair" or something.

Pretty much this. Liquid had him assassinated and then assumed his identity days before the events of MGS1.

[Sapporto]

also if you guys are loving the whole MG: V release hype watch this dudes channel he does a lot talks about MG: V related content including speculation about whats going to be in the phantom pain

https://www.youtube.com/user/YongYea/videos

[i suck willy]

Yikes my mind blew a circuit, maybe i'll try to keep up with the mgs story to its full capacity?, interesting what you came up with though. If i'm honest i'm less interested in the story and more interested to see if it is possible to infiltrate/exfiltrate and complete a mission objective without force? although i suppose i shouldn't expect the main story missions to cater to this but side-ops i'm hoping for the best undetected gameplay mechanics without force?.

[Suvanna]

Originally posted by Law:

Originally posted by Ezikeyal:

Kaz dies during the events of MGS1, Found "Dead in his chair" or something.

Pretty much this. Liquid had him assassinated and then assumed his identity days before the events of MGS1.

Thank you for that, my bad!

[SEND MY BODY TO ARBY'S]

Originally posted by slirazer:

Yikes my mind blew a circuit, maybe i'll try to keep up with the mgs story to its full capacity?, interesting what you came up with though. If i'm honest i'm less interested in the story and more interested to see if it is possible to infiltrate/exfiltrate and complete a mission objective without force? although i suppose i shouldn't expect the main story missions to cater to this but side-ops i'm hoping for the best undetected gameplay mechanics without force?.

It's funny, that's how I was. I was stoked for this game because it's about as close to Deus Ex as a game has gotten since 2000. I played GZ and realized I had no fckn idea what was going on, then ended up getting really engrossed in the story. There are a few good videos on the series narrative, but I would recommend playing MGS3 and 4, and reading about the other entries. The first two solid games are really dated as far as gameplay and Portable Ops/Peace Walker are PSP games so they play weird.
Overall though, Snake Eater is a masterpiece and the closest thing to a main entry predecesor to this game.

[Bukkacracy]

Ishmael is Solidus. That is why he says "I am you".

Solidus was created in a way that was different from his two brothers though it is never explained. Whatever procedure they used to clone him somehow made him an exact copy of Big Boss. Logically you could assume this also made him appear to be the same age.

Notice how he also sounds exactly like Big Boss? That is why he has to cover his face in bandages. To keep Big Boss from seeing that they look exactly the same.

As for the Moby Di ck reference "Call me Ishmael" I think you are close but it is not Kaz that is being alluded to. It is Big Boss. Big Boss is on a mission of revenge in this game, we don't know his exact motives yet but it could have something to do with his mortal enemy taking one of his limbs like Captain Ahab and his white whale.

If we assume Solidus is Ishmael the narrator from Moby Di ck it makes sense on the grounds that in Moby Di ck, Ishmael said "His quenchless feud seemed mine" which goes along with Solidus as a character. Being the most loyal to Big Boss' dream he could be the Ishmael of this story.

The other possible reason for naming Solidus Ishmael is the biblical root of his name. For instance Ishmael is the oldest son of Abraham while Solidus looks the oldest of all the clones. God also promises Ishmael his own nation in the bible while Solidus is placed in the presidency of the United States by the patriots. Lastly God described Ishmael as going to become a "wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." which describes Solidus almost perfectly.

Also Moby Di ck (the whale) is most likely Cipher/The Patriots as both BB and Solidus spent their lives fighting it. You can also find alot of resemblance between a white whale and Outer Heaven from MGS4 and Arsenal Gear from MGS2.

[Porucznik Kloss]

Pass the time.