Say it in Red | Episode 27: AI: The Somnium Files, part 2

Say It In Red

Did you know that your Irises aren't fully identical? Each of your eyes contains a slightly different pattern of color and lines that formed long ago, each one unique even within the same person. No matter how many eyes you search through in the world, it's possible that you'll never find one with an Iris pattern exactly like your own. In this way, our Irises could serve as unique identifiers in the same way that retinal scans and fingerprints already do, which leads us to an important and definitely relevant question: if the cops tried to use your eye to charge you with murder, would that be fucked up or what?
This week, Sara and Runa reach the conclusion of their playthrough of AI: The Somnium Files as they finally play through all of the B side routes, unlock blocked pathways, discover the identity of a Mysterious Person 'X', and learn the valuable lesson that all along, it's the MILF right beside us that we should've been swooning over.
If you haven't checked out our first episode on AI: The Somnium Files, then you should definitely go back and give that a listen before continuing: There will be both spoilers here for the game in general and elements of our discussion that pick up where we left off in part 1.
As we mentioned in our last episode, AI: The Sominum Files (2019) is a sci-fi crime procedural, psychological thriller, Kotaro Uchikoshi puzzle, and at times a gritty Noir drama following Special Inspector Date Kaname as he tracks down clues about a series of brutal serial murders. In the B side routes of the game, surprisingly few murders occur by comparison - Shoko Nadami still dies at the very start of the game, but while many other people are put into serious danger and the threat of death looms closer than ever, the New Cyclops Killer doesn't claim quite so many victims here... What could have caused this difference? Why does Date sometimes remember the events of previous routes just when he needs to recall that vital information? Why does Date see Iris's frozen corpse in Mizuki's Somnium? Who is So Sejima's son? And, most of all, how many times will boss pull Date aside and say those three special words that every supercop wants to hear: 'Psync with them!'
Also, please listen through to the end to enjoy hearing Runa's live reactions to the Nirvana Initiative trailer, which she had heretofore never before seen. You can watch along and listen to Sara and Runa's reactions in real time by watching the version of the trailer in this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isYEhEMpHfk
As always, if you enjoy the show please give us a rating and review wherever you listen! You can also follow the podcast twitter at sayitinredpod on twitter, and you can also find more episodes and information on our patreon at patreon dot com slash sayitinred!
Content Warnings for this episode:
General: Repeated mentions of eye trauma, eye removal, and murder will occur all throughout our AI: The Somnium Files episodes as the crimes at the center of this game involve these elements. Our discussions in this episode also include numerous mentions of ableism within the game and the genre, particularly surrounding mental illness and conventions of its use in explaining criminal behavior.
01:06:45 to 01:08:00 - Description of Eye dislocation and Eye Trauma