[SPOILERS] Eide Discussion Thread

[Sim]

According to Dictionary dot Com[www.dictionary.com] -
Eide comes from the Greek word "Eidos," meaning "Something seen" or another possible synonym being "Form."

Originally posted by Dictionary dot Com:

Greek eîdos something seen, form; akin to Greek ideîn, Latin vidēre to see

Who or what Eide is remains unknown, but it is known that Eide is a feline with an injured ear.
Possible suspects are as follow:
-Mae's aunt
-Mae's grandfather
-Casey

Some people argue it is impossible that Mae's aunt is Eide, seeing how Eide is referenced as a male by his fellow cultists. She also does not have any damaged ear.

Mae's grandfather also had notches in his ear, similar to Mae's. It is also known that he was a miner seeing how after the boxes from the crawlspace are removed, Mae found a tooth. It is referenced that angry miners removed a tooth from their boss.
The grandfather allegedly died in Possum spring.

Some people argue that Casey might in fact be Eide, though not many evidences are there except him being a feline and having been kidnapped by the cultists.
From his lost person sheet, we can see that Casey does not have any notched ear, though we are not sure since when the picture was taken.

[MENTOR]

I want to say there was an early build where Mae kicked off Eide's helmet when he/she grabbed her at the end, and it had the outline of a cat head that may or may not have been Aunt Molly. The helmet removal has since been patched out, however.

[Ragingsword]

another reason that it not might be molly because when we first see him molly shows up immedietly at the scene

[astromyxin]

It's none of these people. It's clearly a man, since they keep referring to him as such, even after he speaks. They would know Aunt Molly's voice. Mae's grandpa was a labor union/agitator guy - he's diametrically opposed to everything these people stand for and it makes no sense for it to be him. Same with Casey. I don't think it's supposed to be anyone that we meet in the actual game, and if it's anyone, I would vote for it being.. like... the cat dude from the city counsel or something.

[Jackalope]

I thought that it looked like Bruce. If you talk to him and see him in person he looks kind of like the guy Edie? I mean I am sure its a guy, but I got a story line where Bruce claims he is leaving to "go home" to his family and the preacher is upset cause I think she knows that he doesn't have a family and if he does they are dead, cause he talks about having a daughter. Its the way she acts when she finds out he left and we tell her what Bruce told us. I think they were using nicknames or something too, cause they claim to be townsfolk, but I never found anyone with this name Edie. Plus they said they are "getting old" So I think it may be Bruce, cause he was torn ears and looks old. I think too that these people we see in the mines might be the vagrants we meet. If you keep talking too Germ, you run into a few vagrants. And most consider each other to be "family" since they all seem to know each other.

[MENTOR]

Wasn't the implication that Bruce got killed by the cult? He fits their target profile; drifter, not a member of the town, shady, etc. Don't forget that the town council also voted cleanly to not allow Pastor K to let him stay at the church. (Which to me implies that they know about the cult and planned to sacrifice him.)

[astromyxin]

I'd go so far as to say that you're missing the entire point of the game if you think that the homeless guy or the crust punks are in the secret society of conservative dudes who sacrifice so-called worthless people (homeless, drifters, etc.) to keep the town safe from destruction. The game has a very pointed political message about the misguided conservatism of small town America, and this group really represents (or basically IS) the mine bosses, etc., that want to bring jobs back to the town but actually have no idea what it's like to work hard and struggle. Bea criticizes them for this, at one point, in the cave. The authors of the game are not making an apolitical game or one that is even open to a variety of interpretations about the politics in it. It's not exactly preachy, but it definitely wears its leftist message on its sleeve - from the history of Mae's grandpa and the other secret society of workers, to the stories in the constellations, to the city council and their interactions with Bruce.

[MENTOR]

Uh, what? The game reads more about the need to move on and things ending thany sort of strange message about conservatism. I'd want to see confirmation from the devs that they somehow made a political statement game than one about people needing to grow up and move on. Seems like you're reaching.

[Tux]

The politics of the game are open to interpertation. The cult is SUPPOSED to be sympathetic but gravely misguided. Even Bea the young socialist feels bad about killing all of them even though she hates them. Mae is even more sympathetic to them because she sees how similar her own feelings are to theirs during their confrontation. Mae loves the town as much as the cultists do but comes to realize that she loved the town, not for it's own sake, but because her friends and everyone she knows lives there. The cultists lost sight of this and so were willing to sacrifice the PEOPLE of Possun Springs for the sake of the ECONOMY of Possun Springs, which is inherently without meaning. This is the failing of american conservitisim that the game highlights. The game does NOT promote "♥♥♥♥ everything our grandparents built because they were racist sexist bigots" nihilistic, bitter, self-destructive modern leftism.

[MENTOR]

I'd say the cultists were totally justified if sacrificing people meant staving off natural disasters. And, to be clear, they never sacrificed residents *of* Possum Springs. (With the exception of Lurv, who left that arm in front of the Clik Clak.) The cult mentions this explicitly - they only grab drifters and transients; not actual residents of the town.

Also, I'm inclined to believe that Mae would be sympathetic to their cause; possibly because she's some sort of budding monster birthed under the shadow of the Black Goat. Her mom mentions having tons of miscarriages ("You're a miracle baby!"), Mae regularly talks about eating people or a desire to eat people (seen mostly when speaking with Lori M.), and she's incredibly violent. That's an entirely separate topic to the original point of the thread, though.

[Tux]

I'd say Casey was a resident of Possum Springs. Besides it is hardly the cultists' place to judge when it is their style of ruthless utilitarian capitalism that is killing Possum Springs in the first place.

[MENTOR]

Casey was grabbed because they knew he was going to become a meth dealer just like his cousin and visit more damage onto Possum Springs than they'd ever save by keeping him alive. It was the best course of action.

And I don't know that I'd consider what the cult is doing as 'ruthless capitalism'. Remember, the town has a long history of fighting for workers' rights and standing up against bad bosses; both things that 'ruthless capitalists' typically dislike.