- "I know to you and the others I look suspicious for a person you just met, but to me, how I am right now, everyone here is all I have. Because of that, I consider all of you very important to me! I don't want to hate anyone, I want to like you! I mean, if I don't... I'll be really sad..."
- — Sean to Eric in the Pod Room
Sean, whom the player is misled to believe is named Q, is an amnesic player of the Decision Game and one of the three main protagonists of Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma, the other two being Carlos and Diana. The player is led to believe he is a child trapped with a spherical helmet.
He is with Team Q during the Decision Game, which actually has another member named Delta, who went by the name "Q". However, due to "Q" apparently being a blind, deaf, and wheelchair bound old man, Sean was used to make the decisions on his behalf. The other members of the team are Eric and Mira.
Sean is very polite and nervous, but his suspicious appearance, as well as his status as a stranger who is not part of the game, makes him the subject of frequent abuse by Eric.
In actuality, he is a robot with a virtual identity. His virtual persona was created by Delta, who was in actuality Zero II, and modeled after a young boy called Sean that had died. His thought processes exist within a Quantum Computer, which sends out commands to his robotic shells. This virtual persona is able to simulate a full personality based around that of his namesake, including seemingly autonomous emotions, and free will. His apparent "helmet" is actually his robot body's head, and wires are able to extend out from his neck, which he can attach to the central control computer.
Appearance[]
Sean wears a white shirt with thin light purple stripes around its sleeves and chest. He wears gray overalls that don't reach very far down his legs. He has knee-high blue socks and brown shoes on. On his left sock, there is a red Power Button symbol printed on it. His left knee has a bandage on it. Like the other players, he wears a black bracelet on his left wrist.
Sean's keypad.
He wears a spherical helmet that somewhat resembles a pig. The helmet looks beat up, rusted and dirty. On the front of it is a blue-green circle outlining where his face would be. There are two holes covered with a screen in the circle where his eyes would be. Under the two holes is a thin crack. There are two more holes on top of the mask, also covered with screens. Their positions are where animal ears might be located. The left hole has a large orange stain around it that resembles a flower. Sean has a circular indentation on the left of his helmet with a button with a green ring. When the button is pressed, the circle slides open in half, revealing a numerical keypad. When the correct passcode is entered, the helmet is detached.
Sean showing his white blood to Eric to prove his innocence of not killing Mira.
It is implied Sean has Artificial Biological Tissue or a precursor since he also bleeds white liquid. This is supported because he explains that he has white blood.
Personality[]
Sean is a mysterious child-like robot afflicted with amnesia, leaving much of his personality unknown and mysterious. For example, when Sean is asked by Mira if he likes to read, he does not know.
Although naive, he is kind, honest, sincere, and pure of heart. Since he only knows the people who are participating in the Decision Game, he quickly grows fond of them and treats them almost like family. Despite being a robot, Sean expresses many moments of empathy, a stark contrast to some of the other human players. For example, Sean thanks Eric for telling him his abusive childhood, and is upset when Mira laughs in amusement. Sean is also horrified when Mira kills Eric. Sean is also deeply upset by the thought of Delta being left alone in the underground shelter, and runs back for him.
His virtual personality is therefore seemingly able to simulate a personality, to the point where he appears to exhibit genuine emotion, with the same being true for his actions, which are simulated to the point of him seemingly processing autonomous free will. This makes Sean very similar to Luna, with both being artificial intelligences which demonstrate the concept of the "Chinese Room".
Due to being a playable character, some of Sean's actions can be determined by the player, leaving to varying interpretations of who he is.
Background[]
The Quantum Computer Dome, Sean's brain.
Sean is, in reality, a virtual persona that controls whatever inhabited robot is activated by the Quantum Computer Dome. He was built by Delta to resemble the original human child that the virtual Sean was based off of, in order to simulate a computerized life where he could achieve his dream, as well as to help him with execution of the Decision Game. His dream was to live a peaceful life, cured of the disease that his original self died from. Sean doesn't have a head under his spherical mask, instead he just has the top of his neck that serves as a plug which can connect to the Quantum Computer Dome and allow him to program into it.
Zero Time Dilemma[]
Sean's persona was brought into existence for the first time upon waking up at the beginning of the Decision Game in the Mars Mission Test Site (Dcom), when he is held prisoner in a room with Mira and Eric, and they don't recognize him. Akane, Junpei, Carlos, Phi, Sigma, Diana are unable to see Sean. Eric thinks Sean is creepy and doesn't want to be near "it". Immediately Eric accuses him of locking them up in the confinement room. Sean replies, "It wasn't me," spooking Eric. Their conversation is cut short by the arrival of Zero II.
Later, at the Underground Shelter, Sean accompanied Q-Team, with Eric, Mira, and Delta, for the Decision Game created by Zero. Since Delta appeared to be a heavily disabled old man, Sean handled most decisions made by Q-Team during the events of the game. While in reality he had no memories due to only just being "born" as a virtual persona prior to the Decision Game, he assumed himself to be a normal boy who had lost his memories due to amnesia, an assumption that was shared by Mira and Eric.
Throughout the majority of the game, Sean is made to look like his name is Q and that he is the leader of the team. However, it turns out that the entire time, the name Q belonged to Delta, who was with the Q team the entire time in Ward Q, and was thought to be a heavily disabled old man who couldn't hear or speak and was in a wheelchair.
In the last few timelines of the game, Sean learns how his consciousness is virtual creation rooting from a machine inside the Underground Shelter's Quantum Computer Dome and that his body was a robot that had numerous replicas, all capable of being inhibited by this virtual consciousness. He also learns that his "amnesia" was actually a result of him not existing prior to waking up with Mira and Eric. Zero further cryptically explains to him that one of the reasons he was created was in order to fulfill the original Sean's dream of living a peaceful life, free from the illness that he died from.
HAPPY END (Virtual Reality)[]
Sean is in Ward Q searching for Mira and Eric when the current casualties of the game are announced: Akane, Junpei, and Carlos (C-Team) are dead, so is Phi, Sigma, Diana (D-Team), and Eric. Mira was the successful escapee of the game and Sean is stuck in the bunker, asking if the situation is reality.
Sean's happy and perfect virtual reality life.
He is led to the Quantum Computer Dome by Zero II where it is revealed to him that he is merely a program designed to show Zero the "world through your (Sean's) eyes." He was modeled based on the personality and body of a boy named Sean who died of an illness at age 10. Zero prompts Sean with another Decision Game. He can choose to press the button and have his consciousness uploaded into a VR simulation within the quantum computer, where he will be happy, but in a simulation. Also, his existing body and consciousness will not disappear and will live on in the reality with Zero. If he does not press the button, his simulation data will be erased and he will die permanently.
Pressing the button and then choosing the appropriate option will reveal the simulated Sean's life inside the virtual reality. He is in a hospital bed where his parents rejoice over his survival, and Sean begins going to school and gets presents after his recovery. He vows to be the happiest boy ever.
CQD-END: 2[]
In this ending, Sean escapes the Underground Shelter. Sean is able to move due to radio signals sent by a satellite connected to the quantum computer.
During one of his visits to Mira's jail, Eric brought along Sean who eventually opened a hole out of her cell to allow Mira the chance to fix her past crimes using the transporter device. Before Eric could fully process what had happened, Mira and Sean were already heading off to the horizon.
"Q" misdirection[]
The game's status screen is meant to fool the player, as the "Q" refers to Delta.
Across the game, the player is mislead via a variety of ways into believing that "Q", the leader of Q Team, refers to the amnesiac boy. However, "Q" refers to Delta, a character that despite being present with Q Team throughout the game was always off screen from the player's perspective, partly due to being the player's point of view, and thus remained hidden from them. In fact, Sean is never referred to as "Q" throughout the entire game, by any character.
Sean reveals Delta, the identity of "Q", to be Zero.
This misdirection is revealed to the player in the "Q" fragment close to the game's climax, when Sean announces that Zero's identity is that of Delta. He points to the screen, and Eric tells "Sean" that he's just yapping, because that "old man's name is Q." Sean and the others comment that them, and Mira, all knew the person as "Q", before the player then sees Delta rise from his wheelchair, and are made fully privy to his existence for the first time. At this point they are shown a flashback of "Q" being brought in as one of the participants during the Mars mission experiments (Dcom).
Promotional material & in-game misdirection[]
Sean being called "Q" on the official website.
In promotional materials for the game, Sean was called "Q". However, this is actually an intentional misnomer. The reasoning for Sean being labeled as Q in promotional material is unknown, but it is possible that the "Q" used during promotions was supposed to stand for "Quantum Computer", which is, in fact, the true nature of Sean's identity. Alternatively, it may have been referring to how Q-Team uses Sean as the replacement for "Q" during many rounds of the Decision Game, due to "Q" not being able to do anything himself. However, it was mostly likely mainly for the sake of misleading players in order for the twist regarding the true nature of "Q" to work.
Throughout the game various techniques are used to make the player believe that "Q" refers to the boy, and to hide the presence of the real "Q". One of these is the fact that Mira and Eric, who know Sean by his actual name, never once call him this until the misdirection is revealed, instead referring to him with generic terms like "the kid". The general reason as for why the others within Q ward do not interact that often with "Q" is due to them believing him to be an old man that is both deaf and blind, and restricted to a wheelchair. As well as this, moments in which the characters do, in fact, attempt to interact with "Q" are made to look as though they're interacting with someone else instead. One of the prevalent examples of this can be seen during the "Radical-6" fragment, during which Eric begins talking to an "old man", whom he thinks might be able to answer back despite seemingly not having the ability to. The camera panning down to show Gab prompts the assumption that he's talking to the dog.
Throughout the game, the notion that "Q" does not refer to Sean, and that Sean is not the leader of Q-Team, is upheld in subtle ways that a player might miss their first time through. One such example of this, is that when Zero II announces that "Q" is the leader of Q-Team, Sean is not shown on screen. When Diana and Carlos were announced the leaders of their respective teams, the screen focused on them. Moments such as these, as well as the other uses of misdirection and moments in which the truth behind "Q" is heavily implied, in turn act as foreshadowing. An extensive list of most of the game's foreshadowing can be found here.
Quotes[]
- "It... it wasn't me..." (first words)
- "Eric! Calm down!"
- "Oh, I know! I think it's called "moe"! Akane is so cute!"
- "If just one more person dies... One more... Just one more..."
- "I'm really sorry..." (shooting Delta)
- "What...? What are you doing?!" (to Mira when she begins goring Eric)
- "W-Wait a minute... What makes you think that was all a joke...? It was such a sad story! He just told us he's been holding in this painful past the whole time... How is that a joke?!" (to Mira after she laughs)
- "What...? No... Mira... Why did you... Wh-What's wrong with you, Mira... Stop... Stop this...!" (being stabbed by Mira)
- "I can't go... I can't leave him behind, sorry!" (running back to either Gab, Delta or both)
- "I gotta be the world's happiest kid!" (HAPPY END)
- "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" (when his head falls off)
- "YOU MONSTER!" (to Delta for killing Gab)
Trivia[]
- It is unknown, but possible, that Sean is a GAULEM.
- Sean is able to recognize that Akane's portrait in the Study is of the "moe" art style.
- Sean's official robotic designation is "Sean 729", which is 9 cubed and has a digital root of 9. He is also shown to have 8 spare bodies, giving him a total of 9.
- It is possible that Sean was programmed so that if Mira and Eric became stuck on one of the puzzles, Sean would help out. Possible evidence for this is the Pod Room -- Sean knows of the sliding game for unknown reasons: "Oh, I know that game, too! ...Why do I know that?" It is also likely Mira may have known the answers, as she is Zero's accomplice.
- From a developer perspective, Sean's design allows for cutting corners. By having a masked player as one of the main players, fewer resources are required for facial animation or lip syncing for both English and Japanese dubs. Cost/corner-cutting is also visible in other aspects of the game, such as how Junpei (despite having it in all the promotional art) never wears a jacket.
- His helmet code is 61404091. According to Uchikoshi, it's not random and was set up with a clear intention. This is most likely the date that Delta was sent back in time, but backwards. April 16th 1904 as 16 04 1904 or 61404091.
- If his age is considered the same as the real Sean's it makes him the youngest player in Zero Time Dilemma, at 10 years old. Alternatively, if you go by how long ago his virtual persona has existed, it would mean that he was only just "born" that very same day.
- This also makes Sean the young character to have an on-screen "death", as he is fully "killed" when his persona is erased in the "Complete Death" bad end.
- Sean has been called a "being that's most similar to the player".[1] This may hint that Sean is ?, hence Sean's amnesia, and that his consciousness was swapped with Kyle Klim in the future. However, this is currently only a speculative theory. This is also complemented by Sean saying that he has heard of Radical-6 before.
- As an amnesiac, Sean's counterparts are K and Seven. Regarding K, Sean shares the trait of being masked and having a name consisting of a single letter, although "Q" is a misnomer.
- Sean's favorite dish is meat pie with celery and peanut butter.[2] This is nonsensical because Sean is a robot, and robots do not generally eat food or possess the ability to taste.
- It is however possible that this was the original Sean's favorite dish, and this preference is a result of Zero recreating his personality.
- It is implied by Zero's snail anecdote being a true story involving most of the cast that Sean was actually the boy whose life was going to be saved by the surgeon. Additionally, if the story of the "Old man and the boy who met at the hospital" is also to be considered true, that would mean that Zero met Sean shortly before he died, hence why his usage of him as a model.
- There are hints of Sean being a robot:
- Sean's doll motif in the Study Room is a matrioshka doll, alluding to the fact that head is removable and that there is "something else inside" his head, just like one.
- Early on in the game, Sean lifts up and shakes the Force Quit Box with ease. When Sigma and Phi try to lift it, they comment on how heavy it is. During this scene, though, the player doesn't know that all the Teams share the same Ward, so it's possible the player could conclude that there's simply something different about the box in D-Team's lounge.
- Sean knows things which are unusual that a human child would know, and recites informational robotically. For example, he has "memorized" the names and locations of the Heart Ripper's victims. In the study, Sean tells Eric that recoil can be avoided with the proper stance, something which is also unusual a child would know. In the biolab, Sean identifies a UV irradiator and mentions it's used mostly for drying and strengthening adhesive materials.
- When Sean is shot by a grenade launcher in the study, as well as stabbed by Mira in the lounge, there is no visible blood.
- When Q-Team is trapped in the pod room and about to be executed, Eric is thrown across the room by either Sean or Mira. It's unclear who does it because of how the scene was directed. If Sean was the one who threw him against the wall, that demonstrates strength a young boy shouldn't have had.
- When Eric discovers Mira's body after escaping the pod room, he picks up Sean and holds him up against the wall, apparently trying to strangle him. Sean fights him off and shoves him across the room, again demonstrating unusual strength.
- When Carlos, Akane, and Junpei attempt to leave through the X-Door using passes from another timeline, Sean appears and executes the penalty against them, exhibiting inhuman strength, enough to throw all three members of C-Team across the room and putting a small dent in a metal wall.
- His sock has a power symbol on it.
- Sean's head can be unlocked as a customisation option in AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative. Aiba or Tama can wear it over their own head. The game refers to it as Q's head to avoid spoilers.
Gallery[]
