Story Analysis

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This guide attempts to explain my interpretation of the game's abstract and metaphorical story using fact-based "evidence" that is found throughout the game; however, the authenticity of said evidence cannot be fully trusted because we are forced to view things through Leah's skewed perspective. Furthermore, I also decided to list many irrefutable facts, as well as transcribe all of the game's text, that we witness as players for ease of access and so that you can come to your own conclusions. I've also included hyperlinks to all real-life topics that I reference so you can read about them in more detail. "Birdie" appears to be the name for a virus of some kind which initially infected at least two separate water sources and managed to spread before it could be contained. This is supported by the following: Introductory text: "A bird landed on water today" "It flew away" "Com'ere, Birdy" "Oh, too late" The bronze globe in the study emits a strange odor which can be a metaphor for a world that is rotting or decaying. Many organisms begin to smell foul when they start to putrefy. If the "Sample Liquid" in the study is viewed under the microscope, it shows an actual image of the real-life Influenza A virus, sub-type H5N1, also known as "Avian Influenza" or "Bird Flu". As the game progresses, Birdie also mutates and appears to gain the ability of airborne transmission which allows it spread even further. This is supported by the following: At 2:00 P.M., the mystery caller phones to tell Leah that Birdie has grown wings today. This is odd because it may have also landed on water "today", according to the introductory scenes, and this puts the game's passage of time in question. The USA and Russia also disappear from both world maps after a separate trigger, possibly indicating that Birdie fully infected those countries or even eradicated their populations. At 3:00 P.M., Alaska, Greenland, and mainland Asia disappear. At 4:00 P.M., the mystery caller phones to tell Leah that Birdie is on its way over Africa. At 4:02 P.M., the mystery e-mailer sends Leah an e-mail urging her to kill Birdie before "she" sends it over Europe. It is unknown who "she" is referring to in this message. At 5:51 P.M., the mystery e-mailer sends Leah another e-mail informing her that it just flew over Europe. At 8:00 P.M., South America and Southeast Asia (including Australia and New Zealand) disappear. At 10:00 P.M., Canada disappears. Southern Europe and the western part of the Middle East also disappear after a separate trigger. At 12:00 A.M., Africa disappears leaving the world map completely empty. Refer to the Chilling Phone Calls and Frantic E-mails sections for full transcripts of all phone calls and e-mails. Leah is possibly a scientist who is researching a vaccine for "Birdie". This is supported by the following: She lives in an upscale house which is well-maintained. In the study, there is a microscope and a "Sample Liquid" which are unusual objects for someone to have in their own home especially since the Sample Liquid depicts an image of the H5N1 virus when viewed under the microscope. Also in the study, there is a bookshelf whose books are missing their content and there are three books on the table beside the microscope whose titles are smudged but nothing is mentioned about their contents being missing: Bookshelf: "The books have titles, but the pages are blank." Three books: "Assorted books with smudged titles." Presumably, this means that these three books are the only ones which are applicable to the virus amongst the whole collection. Leah receives a number of frantic e-mails from an unknown sender referencing "birdie". Refer to the Frantic E-mails section for a transcript of each e-mail. The Pesticide items are possibly a metaphor for antibodies which are used to kill the bugs on the plant while the bugs are possibly a metaphor for part of the virus. Refer to the Watering the Plant section for more information. Leah also appears to be surviving at home alone and we can infer the following from various hints throughout the house: The house has no exits which could be a metaphor for Leah self-isolating. This is supported by the next point. Both bathtubs are already filled with clean-looking water whose color appears to be a healthy crystal blue, presumably taken as a precaution against the virus when it was first discovered. The baguettes on the table in the enclosed dining room are mentioned to have been hardened after days of exposure, possibly representing the amount of time that Leah has gone without food and/or water. Throughout the game, Leah must water the plant in the main hallway at least three times in order to progress. Whenever she interacts with it, it is stated as being very dry: "The plant looks very dry." This is supported by the fact that the baguettes in the enclosed dining room have been stale for days: "The stale loaves of bread have hardened from days of exposure." Leah watering the plant could be a metaphor for drinking the water for herself but the plant is more likely a metaphor for Leah herself because the clean-looking water is soon revealed to have already been infected by the virus. After Leah recovers from her intense fever at 8:00 P.M., the water is shown to have a light brown hue. The water then very quickly changes color to a reddish-brown at 10:00 P.M. and a blood red at 12:00 A.M. The changing color of the water could also be symbolic of Leah's desperate thirst as well as her body's need to drink water: it is initially a pristine crystal blue, presumably to tempt her into drinking it (similar to a seeing a mirage of an oasis in the desert). After she drinks enough of it to sate her thirst but also send her into an intense fever with hallucinations, it quickly reveals its true colors as it becomes darker and unhealthier. The fire is most likely a metaphor for Leah having an intense fever which causes extremely vivid hallucinations after she drinks the supposed clean water three times. This is supported by the following: At 3:26 P.M., the mystery caller phones Leah and this is exactly when her fever becomes its worst. At 4:00 P.M., the mystery caller phones her again to tell her to "sleep it off". Leah becomes unable to interact with many objects around the house during the raging fire which could represent being unable to focus or perform basic tasks while under the effects of an intense fever. The bathtub in the bathroom on the first floor is empty, possibly implying that Leah knows that she shouldn't drink any more water while she's already experiencing the worst part of the sickness. The bathroom on the second floor is locked, possibly implying the same as above. If Leah attempts to re-enter the basement while fire is raging, the heater will explode and the explosion will send her back up the stairs to the first floor. This could be a metaphor for her temperature spiking. Leah going to bed on the second floor could also represent her temperature rising since hot air naturally rises. When Leah wakes up, her bed has fallen through a hole on the second floor and is now on the first floor which could be a metaphor for her temperature dropping after the worst of the fever, especially since cold air naturally falls. This is also supported by the fact that the heater will display the following message whenever you interact with it (before and after the fever): "A functional heater." The heater only being accessible before and after the fever could be a metaphor for her body regulating its temperature properly and that the fire really was a spike in her body temperature. When Leah wakes up, both bathtubs are full again (albeit with a light brown tinge). The "fire" did no physical damage to the house except in two