Some of the best words ever spoken are those that do not make sense, these lines require you to search you brain for an answer to a simple riddle. Sure, they sound cool, but as cool as they are to hear this never stops being honestly confusing but at the same time thought provoking. Bioshock Infinite has many of these quotes that truly confuse but also provide such a high level of thought behind them that you can’t argue with their genius.
Bioshock Infinite quite prominently features the Luteces Robert and Rosalind who appear at many points during the story often speaking in riddles spouting many lines I find quite quotable. The main one that comes to mind though when I think of these characters is one they share that perfectly represents the ideas of Bioshock Infinite as a game. In a game about alternate dimensions and the changes that happen between worlds all because of a single difference this quote represents the true differences when perspective is considered.
“Lives, lived will live. Dies, died will die.”
Robert and Rosalind Lutece, Bioshock Infinite, 2013
The fragility of live, the mere changes that can occur all by a single decision, this is what this quote talks about. In every world a different choice is made, and each world is born from these little decisions, I could go into immense detail talking about this in Bioshock Infinite but for now this quote is important to consider. A single change in the timeline creates many rippling effects each supplying different outcomes and a complete change in story, while Bioshock Infinite tells a cohesive story that ties in well with itself when all decisions are considered it still is all over the place at times. But when we consider alternate dimensions we expect some things to become confusing and this makes things more exciting, there is just so much to consider, so much which requires hours of thoughts especially when we consider life itself.
Across Booker and Elizabeth’s adventures in Columbia we come across many changes in the world all affected by a simple tear in the world which accesses other dimensions. Along with this we encounter many moments which play the idea of live and death and how a choice impacts it all, how things change simply because of actions. Think about the line Dies, died will die, one thing that Bioshock Infinite seems to constantly suggest is that life always happened but the time you exist comes down to certain aspects hence the first part, but the second it comes down to you and some of the choices you make, dies is present, died is past, and will die is future. Each as suggested by the quote is a matter of perspective the laws of each universe or dimensions if you prefer govern the exact idea of the statement and how the perspective changes based on specific actions, and by simple movement time completely alters and the events of one universe no longer exist instead a new reality is born, a new perspective. Where one may be long dead in one universe, in another there live has only recently been cut short, but in another they are living a potentially happy life, sure they will die but the perspective changes based on the previous events.
The ideas can be pursued for the opening quote, “lives, lived, will live”, as we know this is still all governed by the world itself but there is more, as previously mentioned it seems existence is a necessity, it is impossible to never exist in one world and yet live in another. One of you can be dead, house a whole new identity, or even live an entirely unique life that changes up how we would see things but no matter what we must refer back to “lives, lived, will live”. Our lives are mandatory but the perspective changes by dimension, we will exist at one point and simply by stepping into this other world we can see a true change in the very nature of existence.
or the entire mass of what is basically discussed throughout the Bioshock franchise it would take a genius to devise such clever ideas, and Bioshock Infinite particularly demonstrates this. The Lutece’s are some of the most interesting and well developed characters I have seen to date, and the very lines they utter are filled with such thought and a willingness to force the player or a person themselves to consider far different more farfetched idea’s. The aforementioned mentioned quote “lives, lived, will live. Dies, died, will die.” Is a perfect demonstration of the thoughtful commentary that Bioshock Infinite delivers that forces you to think and wonder what more they could be going on about, they lack direction and say some truly unique things.
