Thoughs on the Mirror Isles: The Odyssey of the Trader
I am still contemplating the Trader, but here are my initial impressions:
# Introspection, seeking
For me this character represents personal development, introspection, seeking, reflection (pun intended), possibly of the author himself.
He literally says: "As a boy, I peered ahead into the dazzle of my own becoming, squinting to see what lay in wait down one pathway or another."
We can observe different phases and aspects of his personal voyage, his Odyssey.
He states that one, if not *the* motivations was that: "I caughts a glimpse of my soul by the light of a distant mirror..."
# Trade
I think the term 'trade' may have both the literal meaning of Trader, merchant, one who trades goods; and one's own trade, the metaphor for ones own profession, for example being a game designer or even the path of a seeker/learner.
The voice mentions the 'Old You' would have settled with an earlier mirror but he says his standards are higher now. It means he is getting farther and farther in his search, voyage, perhaps getting to deeper truths.
# Symmetries
There are many references to symmetries.
He starts in a green, mild area, midday, but then progresses through the duality of cold/icy to warm/desert. He also mentions being past the middle of his life, looking back and going forward: "Today I turn back and see my choices by their shadows, stretched in the long light of the past; the post-noon sun calls me forward, drawing me with warm and lustrous rays.
There seems to be a kind of tension between taking the mirrors back, as possessions, and using them to move forward. It is related to the tension between showing off progress to other people, or doing something for yourself, with "no witness but yourself* (one of the audiologs also raises this question)
At one point when there are already 2 traders, with pretty opposite paths, revolving around money ("I don't carry around a bunch of gold, like you."). Maybe this is a reference to how a person can choose to do their *trade* for money or for artistic purposes. But there is no judgement, just different values. It feels to me a bit like Jon Blow saying that finally his plans are coming to fruition.
In another puzzle there is a tension around focus: seeing fine, and seeing blurrily (being confident and unsure).
There are also mentions of feeling lightness, heaviness, being better worse, etc., I'm sure there will be many more examples of symmetries.
# Mirrors, copies, infinity
With the mirrors he can make infinite copies of himself and explore all possibilities, timelines, aspects of himself. Again, the first quote about different pathways. This way it can be both interpreted as a literal journey, with choices being made with the current state as a result, or just like in the quote, just placing mirrors, and peering into possibilities. I am not sure if there is a 'bottom' to the search. The search itself is the destination, total exploration.
When he says, he is looking for a mirror in pristine condition, maybe he is referencing looking for a new possibility he has not explored before. The early mirror are scratched, probably they were used many times as the earlier stages are used more frequently to get to more distant, branching paths. He keeps coming back, always looking for the 'newest' mirror.
He has gone Inception on himself, but instead of getting out, he keeps going back in.
Every new discovery is changing him and he fears that the further he goes the more he will change, irrevocably or get lost/addicted to the search.
# Misc
There was one level with the two thieves that hints at other characters having possibly used the mirrors.
I find it interesting that the mirrors are at an angle. Of course the mechanic would not work otherwise, but thematically it makes me think if there ever will be a setup or mirror where he can look at himself directly.
A fun tidbit: when he spoke about leaving his wife and child, it immediately made me think of the statues in The Witness:
"If you want, you'll bring your son a gift greater than any you ever brought back from a courtesy voyage."
"If I don't want?"
"The you won't want."
