I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream/Characters

AM
The American unit of the three supercomputers, AM was the first to attain sentience; linking up with the other two and achieving dominance over them, he used this position to wage a genocidal war on the entire human race. Though every single other member of the species was destroyed, AM managed to rescue five survivors, and for the past 109 years, he has been torturing them in the depths of his complex.

"Human, relinquish the Do not relinquish it, and your ass is mine."
 * AI Is a Crapshoot
 * Ax Crazy
 * Big Bad
 * Big Brother Is Watching: Everything in AM's world is under his close observation.
 * Brief Accent Imitation: Adopts a German accent while speaking with Nimdok.
 * The Bully: Especially in the game.
 * The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: All of AM's games are Unwinnable by Design, either because he's ensured that the scenario is tailored to the player's Fatal Flaw, or because he's given them almost nothing to work with.
 * Creative Sterility: As well as his inability to direct his thoughts away from torture and destruction, in the game,  though he certainly puts the science he's learned to creatively gruesome uses, he doesn't (and probably can't) think to perform any research of his own,
 * Creator Cameo: Harlan Ellison himself voiced AM for the game.
 * Creepy Monotone: In the novel, his only speaking part is apparently this in spades; for extra creepiness, it's his hate speech.
 * Crush! Kill! Destroy!: His primary motivation.
 * Deus Est Machina
 * Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He leaps to the conclusion that you're deliberately trying to irritate and bore him in the good endings to the scenarios instead of Character Development
 * Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: A definite type 2.
 * God of Evil: Quite apart from his truly godlike power, AM also presents himself as a deity to the tribespeople of Benny's scenario in the game.
 * Mad God
 * Hannibal Lecture: Directs a small salvo of these at all five of his captives during the game's introduction.
 * Immortality Inducer
 * Large Ham: In the game.
 * Laughably Evil
 * Magical Computer: In the book, most of his powers are almost magical in scope and go largely unexplained by any specific technology. The game goes into greater detail on the source of his abilities,
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Master Computer
 * Not So Different: To Nimdok.
 * The Power of Hate
 * Ragnarok Proofing: Capable of self-repair and equipped with countless redundant systems, AM is still going strong after a century.
 * Reality Warper: Thanks to all the technology he has adapted, AM is capable of almost anything: building entire landscapes for his captives to wander, creating artificial people and monsters for them to interact with, manipulating the weather, even keeping the five captives alive for over a century.
 * Sigil Spam: Quite a few of his scenarios are marked with his A-over-M insignia, to the point that, in the concentration camp mock-up, it actually replaces the swastikas.
 * Sophisticated As Hell: In the endgame, at least.
 * Master Computer
 * Not So Different: To Nimdok.
 * The Power of Hate
 * Ragnarok Proofing: Capable of self-repair and equipped with countless redundant systems, AM is still going strong after a century.
 * Reality Warper: Thanks to all the technology he has adapted, AM is capable of almost anything: building entire landscapes for his captives to wander, creating artificial people and monsters for them to interact with, manipulating the weather, even keeping the five captives alive for over a century.
 * Sigil Spam: Quite a few of his scenarios are marked with his A-over-M insignia, to the point that, in the concentration camp mock-up, it actually replaces the swastikas.
 * Sophisticated As Hell: In the endgame, at least.

"You shall not feel my wrath today. Am I swell or what?"
 * Also, this line from Benny's scenario:


 * Torture Technician
 * Yank the Dog's Chain: AM loves doing this, in both the original short story and the game. For a start,
 * Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Ted and Ellen likely feel a bit disgusted at being fawned over by AM, but Nimdok feels even worse when AM claims himself a kindred spirit.

The Chinese Entity
The Chinese member of the trio. Apparently absorbed by AM long before he destroyed humanity.


 * Badass Long Robe: It's avatar during the endgame.
 * Ghost in the Machine: To AM.
 * Hidden in Plain Sight:
 * Master Computer
 * Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Or maybe he is just that good of an English speaker. After all, he is a supercomputer.
 * Ghost in the Machine: To AM.
 * Hidden in Plain Sight:
 * Master Computer
 * Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Or maybe he is just that good of an English speaker. After all, he is a supercomputer.
 * Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Or maybe he is just that good of an English speaker. After all, he is a supercomputer.

The Russian Entity
The Russian member of the trio. Apparently absorbed by AM long before he destroyed humanity.


 * Badass Long Hair: The endgame avatar.
 * Ghost in the Machine: To AM.
 * Hidden in Plain Sight:
 * Master Computer
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Its endgame avatar possesses glowing red eyes.
 * Tron Lines
 * Hidden in Plain Sight:
 * Master Computer
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Its endgame avatar possesses glowing red eyes.
 * Tron Lines

Edna
Gorrister's domineering mother-in-law, Edna despised Gorrister for "taking her daughter away," and made life for him as difficult as possible. As such, she reappears in Gorrister's psychodrama, claiming that she and her husband also survived the end of the world thanks to AM's intervention- though it's far more likely that AM just recreated her in the form of an android for the purposes of the game.


 * Artificial Human
 * Corrupt Hick
 * Evil Matriarch
 * Evil Redhead
 * Eye Scream: During a struggle with Gorrister, she threatens to scratch his eyes out.
 * Obnoxious In-Laws: In both reality and in the scenario.
 * Obnoxious In-Laws: In both reality and in the scenario.
 * Obnoxious In-Laws: In both reality and in the scenario.

Harry
Gorrister's father-in-law. Alcoholic, apathetic, and hopelessly browbeaten by Edna, he nonetheless ends up as part of Gorrister's scenario.


 * Alcoholic Parent
 * Artificial Human
 * Henpecked Husband
 * In Vino Veritas: It takes a shot of booze to get him to say anything vaguely coherent.
 * A Storm Is Coming: "Looks like there's a thunderstorm on the horizon."
 * In Vino Veritas: It takes a shot of booze to get him to say anything vaguely coherent.
 * A Storm Is Coming: "Looks like there's a thunderstorm on the horizon."

The Tribesfolk
"AM vil-lah tah cho!"

A whole tribe of artificial beings created by AM, and subjected to his every whim. With their numbers being whittled down through constant human sacrifice and the survivors deeply intolerant of the weak or the different among them, Benny is given a very frosty reception...


 * Artificial Human
 * Barbarian Tribe: However, given that AM isn't interested in seeing them wage war on anybody, their barbarism is demonstrated in how they treat one another.
 * Blondes Are Evil: They are obviously all blondes to avoid the Unfortunate Implications that would come with them being dark-skinned.
 * Human Sacrifice: Commits this on a regular basis to keep AM from wiping out the entire tribe in a fit of pique.
 * Lottery of Doom: How the sacrificial victims are picked.
 * The Social Darwinist: As mentioned, they despise physical weakness and mutation, often using their outcasts as fodder for the sacrifices.
 * Speaking Simlish
 * Token Good Teammate: The Outcast Mother and the Mutant Child.

The Rapist
" Let me caress your body once more..."


 * Artificial Human
 * Calling Card:
 * Nonstandard Game Over:
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning

The Witch
One of the main villains of Ted's scenario, the Witch is set up as the stepmother to Ellen (or at least this scenario's version of Ellen). Given the fantasy overtones of this part of the game, she follows most of the tropes associated with it, from misleading her husband, tormenting her stepdaughter, and experimenting with black magic. Keeping Ellen on the brink of death for the purposes of summoning a demon, she requires Ted's assistance for the final phase of her great spell...


 * Deal with the Devil: Apart from her numerous bargains with devils and creatures of the Abyss, Ted is offered the chance to give up Ellen for the chance to escape.
 * Optional Sexual Encounter: Urrrgh.
 * Rage Against the Reflection: Most of the mirrors around her castle have been shattered...
 * Rapid Aging: One of the side-effects of her practising black magic; by the time Ted meets her, she's been reduced to a haggard old crone.
 * Wicked Stepmother
 * Wicked Witch
 * Wicked Witch

The Devil
Exactly What It Says on the Tin; the Devil has arrived in Ted's scenario to collect Ellen's soul, blocked only by the arrival of an Angel. The only thing that can break this stalemate is Ted's intervention.


 * Big Red Devil
 * Faux Affably Evil
 * Large Ham
 * Laughably Evil
 * Magic Mirror: Ellen's hand mirror is his only weakness.
 * Narcissist
 * Satan

Surgat
"Why'd you finish the circle? Now I'm stuck here until we work out a trade!"

Originally introduced in the videogame as a summoned demon and "Opener of Locks" during Ted's scenario,


 * Big Red Devil: Apart from the black skin, Surgat is this in a nutshell.
 * Blood Lust: Happily drinks blood to recharge his power.
 * Enemy Mine: Shows up in the endgame to try and help the player bring down AM.
 * Deal with the Devil: Offers Ted a way to the surface in exchange for Ellen's soul.
 * Our Demons Are Different
 * Summoning Ritual: Arrives in the videogame through one of these.
 * Summoning Ritual: Arrives in the videogame through one of these.
 * Summoning Ritual: Arrives in the videogame through one of these.
 * Summoning Ritual: Arrives in the videogame through one of these.

Doktor Mengele
"We have all the time we need to resurrect the Regime."

The infamous "Angel of Death" of the concentration camps, Josef Mengele was a Nazi scientist notorious for his horrific experiments on Jews.


 * Blondes Are Evil
 * Historical Domain Character
 * Mad Scientist
 * Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate
 * Villainous BSOD:
 * Mad Scientist
 * Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate
 * Villainous BSOD:

Anesthesist
"Today's procedure requires the removal of the lower section of the subject's spinal cord."

Another Nazi scientist working out of the death camps,. He shows no remorse in what he is doing and has no compassion for the victims.


 * Dr. Jerk: Apart from the fact that he's a Nazi and, he's also remarkably cold and callous.
 * Four Eyes, Zero Soul
 * Mad Doctor: Well, not so much "mad" as just plain merciless.
 * Would Hurt a Child:
 * Would Hurt a Child:

Cast Calculus and Overall Tropes

 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: In the game, most of the survivors had been successful before AM imprisoned them: Benny had an impressive military record ; Ellen was a brilliant engineer with a promising career ahead of her; Ted had been a successful con artist with genuinely cultured tastes; Nimdok might have been retired at the time of his capture, but in his prime, he'd been a highly innovative scientist  . The only exception to this is Gorrister... who'd been a truck driver.
 * Asshole Victim:
 * Dysfunction Junction: In both the short story and the game, all of the survivors are hopelessly dysfunctional to one degree or another, though their incarnations in the short story were reportedly saner before their imprisonment.
 * Environmental Symbolism: In the game, each scenario has been tailored to fit the psyche of the survivor exploring it; as such, there is a lot of environmental symbolism.
 * Fate Worse Than Death: Their predicament.
 * Five-Man Band: Though their interactions are kept to a minimum in the game:
 * The Hero: Ted.
 * The Lancer: Gorrister.
 * The Big Guy: Benny
 * The Chick: Helen.
 * The Smart Guy: Nimdok.
 * Immortality: Type II, with just a little bit of Type III and IV: suicides will always be prevented and healed, and any death that occurs during AM's torture will be temporary at best.
 * Immortality Hurts: Oh, so very much.
 * Society of Immortals
 * When She Smiles: In the game, the survivors all look gloomy, confused, or just plain angry; as such, when they smile, it's on the rare occasion that they manage some kind of triumph against AM, and it completely transforms their faces.
 * Who Wants to Live Forever?: Due to AM's tortures, none of the survivors have any chance of enjoying their immortality; in both the short story and the game, each of them have made attempts at suicide, all of which AM has interrupted and prevented.
 * Society of Immortals
 * When She Smiles: In the game, the survivors all look gloomy, confused, or just plain angry; as such, when they smile, it's on the rare occasion that they manage some kind of triumph against AM, and it completely transforms their faces.
 * Who Wants to Live Forever?: Due to AM's tortures, none of the survivors have any chance of enjoying their immortality; in both the short story and the game, each of them have made attempts at suicide, all of which AM has interrupted and prevented.

Novella Version
" Why doesn't it just do us in and get it over with? Christ, I don't know how much longer I can go on like this."

Originally a compassionate and forward-thinking conscientious objector, AM has tortured and demoralized Gorrister into an apathetic shadow of his former self. In the group, he functions as the storyteller, recounting the tale of how AM came to be for Benny's comfort.


 * The Eeyore
 * Extreme Doormat
 * The Storyteller
 * The Storyteller

Game Version
In the videogame, Gorrister was a truck driver, and he was beginning to despair long before AM started torturing him: in fact, his wife's insanity had him on the verge of suicide, given that he blamed himself for her breakdown; his capture and torture only makes this desire for death all the more powerful. However, on the 109th year of his imprisonment, AM offers Gorrister the chance to kill himself...


 * The Atoner:
 * Beat Still My Heart: Subverted; his heart was removed some time before his scenario begins; when he finds it, it's well and truly stopped beating.
 * Dead Little Sister: Glynis.
 * Death Seeker
 * Driven to Suicide
 * The Eeyore: He has this much in common with his novella incarnation.
 * Electric Torture: Outside of his scenario, Gorrister is imprisoned in an electrified cage.
 * Environmental Symbolism: Reflecting Gorrister's past as a truck driver and his current state of suicidal despair, his scenario is situated around a collapsing honky-tonk truckstop in the middle of an endless wasteland, and the only escape can be found in a dilapidated vehicle that runs on another human being's life-force.
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a massive wound in his chest from where his heart was carved out.
 * It's All My Fault:
 * Obnoxious In-Laws: Harry and Edna.
 * Alcoholic Parent: Harry, who can barely focus on anything without a shot of booze.
 * Evil Matriarch: Edna.
 * The Stoic
 * Working Class People Are Morons: Thoroughly averted; Gorrister may be all but paralyzed by despair, but he's not stupid.
 * Yank the Dog's Chain: All attempts at letting Gorrister kill himself are cruel jokes on AM's part: should Gorrister actually drink the bowl of poisoned punch, he'll just collapse and wake up back in his torture cage.

Novella Version
"I'm gonna get out, I'm gonna get out..."

Before the end of the world, Benny was a brilliant theorist and a college professor, and according to Ted's narration, handsome and homosexual. Then AM captured him, and over the course of a hundred and nine years of torture, mutilated him into a moronic, ape-like monster. As a final insult, he was also made heterosexual; this (coupled with AM's rather specific alteration of his body) has led to him becoming the only man Ellen enjoys sleeping with.


 * Baleful Polymorph
 * Beast Man
 * Beauty to Beast
 * Biggus Dickus: The... "alteration."
 * Bigger Is Better in Bed
 * Butt Monkey
 * Cure Your Gays: A very negative example, needless to say.
 * Eye Scream: After Benny tries to escape through a hole in the ceiling, AM blinds him by channelling pure energy through his eyeballs.
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: Being AM's favourite punching-bag, Benny's ended up with more than a few scars on top of his grotesque transformation: Ted specifically mentions that his face is puckered with radiation scars from a "Festival."
 * Psychopathic Manchild: Mentally-dulled, emotionally unstable, prone to violent outbursts, and on occasion, he can only be comforted by someone reading him a bedtime story.
 * Psychopathic Manchild: Mentally-dulled, emotionally unstable, prone to violent outbursts, and on occasion, he can only be comforted by someone reading him a bedtime story.

Game Version
"AM once coaxed me into marching across a thousand miles of ice to reach a stockpile of canned peaches... only to discover he didn't give me a can opener."

A military commander with an impressive record, Benny had a reputation for demanding perfection from his troops. Then, of course, the end of the world came, and he become one of the only survivors of the human race, tortured for AM's amusement. Much like his novella counterpart, Benny has been mutilated and warped into a ape-like creature with the mind and appetites of a beast; as such, the objective he is given at the start of his part of the game involves is to find food and assuage his growing hunger. This time, however, AM gleefully repairs Benny's mind so that he can "savour the horror of his repast."


 * The Atoner: The real objective of his quest is to become a moderately-successful version of this.
 * Baleful Polymorph
 * Beast Man
 * Blood From the Mouth: Benny's attempts to eat result in him coughing up blood.
 * Break the Haughty: Proud and arrogant before his capture, Benny ended up being broken long before the beginning of his scenario; of course, this doesn't stop AM for setting him up for even more humiliation during the game.
 * Butt Monkey: Somehow, Benny ends up suffering even worse than his incarnation in the short story; the first thing that happens in his scenario is a long fall down a flight of stairs, and it only gets worse from there.
 * Drill Sergeant Nasty
 * Environmental Symbolism: Befitting his animalistic nature, Benny's scenario takes place in a lush valley dominated by a tribe of natives that continuously sacrifice the weak and the mutated among them to AM.
 * Gonk
 * Heroic Mime: AM ripped out his vocal cords before the start of the game, and apart from his inner monologue, he can only communicate through whimpers
 * Jerkass
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: If you play correctly.
 * Monstrosity Equals Weakness: Unlike his fairly fit incarnation in the short story, Benny has been hopelessly crippled before the story begins: his legs are too badly twisted to climb a staircase, eating has become almost impossible without help, and his one attempt to threaten the village elder  is laughed off.
 * The Neidermeyer: An extreme case;.
 * Politically Incorrect Hero: Regards the outcast mother and child as "Welfare parasites."
 * And describes the tribe as being more primitive than the "Gooks" in South-East Asia.
 * Punished with Ugly: Apparently very handsome once upon a time, not to mention arrogant, pitiless, and  AM claims that the torture and transformation was punishment for this, but it's just as likely to be sadism on AM's part.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: He is the least-dressed of the four, and doesn't look out of place among the Tribesfolk (apart from being a simian beast-man, of course).
 * Yank the Dog's Chain: All of the food, from the fruit on the trees to the vines on the walls (not to mention the ), is inedible in one way or another. ( . Quite apart from Benny's usual throat problems, the vines turn out to actually be wires that slice up his mouth when he tries to eat.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: He is the least-dressed of the four, and doesn't look out of place among the Tribesfolk (apart from being a simian beast-man, of course).
 * Yank the Dog's Chain: All of the food, from the fruit on the trees to the vines on the walls (not to mention the ), is inedible in one way or another. ( . Quite apart from Benny's usual throat problems, the vines turn out to actually be wires that slice up his mouth when he tries to eat.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: He is the least-dressed of the four, and doesn't look out of place among the Tribesfolk (apart from being a simian beast-man, of course).
 * Yank the Dog's Chain: All of the food, from the fruit on the trees to the vines on the walls (not to mention the ), is inedible in one way or another. ( . Quite apart from Benny's usual throat problems, the vines turn out to actually be wires that slice up his mouth when he tries to eat.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: He is the least-dressed of the four, and doesn't look out of place among the Tribesfolk (apart from being a simian beast-man, of course).
 * Yank the Dog's Chain: All of the food, from the fruit on the trees to the vines on the walls (not to mention the ), is inedible in one way or another. ( . Quite apart from Benny's usual throat problems, the vines turn out to actually be wires that slice up his mouth when he tries to eat.

Novella Version
"No, Benny! Don't, come on, Benny, don't please!"

Prior to her capture, Ellen claims to have been chaste and pure; after a hundred and nine years under AM's tender ministrations, she's been forced into the role of the group's prostitute.


 * Hysterical Woman
 * Really Gets Around: Well, as "around" as you can get when there's only four other men left alive on the planet.
 * Twofer Token Minority
 * Twofer Token Minority

Game Version
"Yellow. Always yellow. Why does yellow make me sweat?"

A brilliant engineer with a bright future ahead of her, Ellen's hopes for success were ruined by the onset of a mysterious and paralyzing fear of the colour yellow. Not too long after, her entire life was ruined along with the rest of the planet when AM began his war on humanity; spared death and kept by AM as a "favourite", the torture she suffered was different from the other four survivors- in that it was combined with her least-favourite colour. However, AM offers her a unique chance to venture into his systems and locate the computers he originated from.


 * Badass Bookworm
 * Black Bug Room:
 * Convenient Miscarriage: Years before AM came to power, Ellen suffered a miscarriage that resulted in a serious depression and the collapse of her marriage.
 * Death by Childbirth: Ellen's mother.
 * Environmental Symbolism: Her part of the game takes place inside an ancient Egyptian pyramid composed of highly-advanced machinery, fitting Ellen's past as an engineer and her current search for the computers that AM originated from.
 * Ill Girl: In Ted's scenario, where she has been cursed by her (likely fictional) evil stepmother, to the point that she's confined to her bed by the time that Ted's shown up.
 * Jive Turkey: Often speaks like that.
 * Kryptonite Is Everywhere: Ellen's scenario uses the colour yellow in every single possible form.
 * Fight Off the Kryptonite: In cases where she actually has to touch something yellow or enter a room flooded with yellow light, she attempts this.
 * Lady in Red
 * Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Light Feminine to the scullery maid's Dark Feminine in Ted's scenario.
 * No Sell:
 * Not Afraid of You Anymore:
 * Repressed Memories: The cause of her phobia.
 * Sad Clown: She's just as miserable as the other victims, but she manages to keep a sense of bitter humor about the whole thing.
 * Sassy Black Woman
 * Token Minority: The only black member of the cast.
 * Twofer Token Minority: ... only black one and female.
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: The colour yellow. For good measure, she doesn't much like enclosed spaces either.
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: The colour yellow. For good measure, she doesn't much like enclosed spaces either.

Novella Version
"I only had to suffer what he visited down on us. All the delusions, all the nightmares, the torments. But those scum, all four of them, they were lined and arrayed against me. If I hadn't had to stand them off all the time, be on my guard against them all the time, I might have found it easier to combat AM."

The narrator of the story, Ted doesn't elaborate on who he was before AM captured him, though he continually states that he's the only one that wasn't altered in any way. However, he's also deeply paranoid, and speculates that the other survivors are arrayed against him.


 * Properly Paranoid: Being paranoid and suspicious is pretty reasonable behaviour considering AM's influence over the world.
 * Unreliable Narrator
 * Unrequited Love Lasts Forever: Ellen might have sex with Ted, but she'll never love him the way she loves Benny.
 * Properly Paranoid: Being paranoid and suspicious is pretty reasonable behaviour considering AM's influence over the world.
 * Unreliable Narrator
 * Unrequited Love Lasts Forever: Ellen might have sex with Ted, but she'll never love him the way she loves Benny.

Game Version
"So many women have called me their Knight in Shining Armour... but never Ellen."

A handsome confidence trickster in the habit of romancing single rich women out of their money, Ted's in-game characterization retains it's paranoia; this time, though, it's directed at the various marks he's accumulated over the years, and the fear that they might learn that he's a fraud and torture him for his secrets. Of course, given that the human race is extinct and he's being tortured by an insane supercomputer, that's the least of his worries, though AM still uses the threat against him from time to time. However, on the hundred and ninth year of his captivity, AM reveals that he likes Ted, and offers him the chance to escape from his complex once and for all...


 * The Barnum: In the past, anyway.
 * Bookworm: Proves quite well-read, recognising several of the books in his scenario as old favourites; apparently, when he was younger, he enjoyed reading but fell out of the habit when he began seducing women for their money.
 * Chivalrous Pervert: Part of his game is remaining true to Ellen in spite of the temptations.
 * Environmental Symbolism: The knight in shining armour wannabe is given a scenario that takes place in a classic fairytale castle.
 * Farm Boy
 * Handsome Lech
 * Heroic Wannabe: Desperately wants to be Ellen's Knight in Shining Armor.
 * Ladykiller in Love: Much like his counterpart in the short story, Ted is in love with Ellen.
 * Lean and Mean
 * Wicked Cultured: Along with his taste for classic literature, Ted's fraudster lifestyle has given him something of a familiarity with European castles.
 * Yank the Dog's Chain:

Novella Version
Next to nothing is known of Nimdok in the short story; in fact, AM forced him to use the name Nimdok, apparently amused by the sound. At points in the story, he's spirited away by AM, and returns looking pale and shell-shocked, but what was done to him is never explained.


 * Noodle Incident: Whatever AM does to him.
 * Only One Name
 * Only One Name

Game Version
"The truth is that, for me, it will always be 1945."

Massively developed in the game, Nimdok is introduced as a severe-looking old man who AM regards as a kindred spirit for reasons that he refuses to clarify; Nimdok himself doesn't know, as his memory is beginning to fail him in his old age. Nonetheless, after a century of torture and torment, Nimdok is given a quest to jog his memory, in which he must find the "Lost Tribe" and continue his mysterious scientific research.


 * Ambiguously Brown: Is it the Brazilian sun? The flames of the oven? Or ?
 * Amnesiac Dissonance: Nimdok is understandably horrified when he remembers
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Badass Grandpa: Manages to overpower a much younger doctor and stab him to death with a scalpel.
 * Bald of Awesome:
 * Black Bug Room: The Mass Graves and the Wall of Tortured Faces.
 * Deadly Doctor: Positive example in the good path, in which he murders a fellow doctor with a scalpel
 * Dressed to Heal: Nimdok wears most of his old medical garb during the game.
 * Elderly Immortal: Out of all the survivors, he's undoubtedly the oldest.
 * Environmental Symbolism: Nimdok's scenario, quite apart from being a concentration camp, has a lot of German Expressionist scenery reminiscent of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, befitting his dark and mysterious past.
 * Herr Doktor
 * Hoist by His Own Petard:
 * Ignored Epiphany:
 * Lean and Mean
 * Lost Tribe: His quest is to find this mysterious Lost Tribe...
 * Mad Scientist
 * Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate:
 * My God, What Have I Done?:
 * Nightmare Fetishist: Already Conditioned to Accept Horror through the century of torture AM subjected him to, Nimdok is clearly fascinated by some of the things he finds in his scenario: at one point, he remarks with interest on the fact that he can see the Scientist Prisoner's entire skeletal structure without the aid of an x-ray; later, he reacts with awe at the surgical skill needed to remove a the resident Blind Seer's eyeballs. It doesn't stop him from showing compassion, though.
 * Perpetual Frowner: Whereas most of the survivors just look confused or suspicious most of the time, Nimdok's default expression is a grumpy-looking frown. In fact, when his Spiritual Barometer declines, his frown deepens to an outright scowl.
 * The Quisling:
 * Tomato in the Mirror: Played literally as far as mirrors go;
 * Torture By Cremation: AM tortures Nimdok by trapping him in a cremation oven and burning him continuously.
 * Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate:
 * My God, What Have I Done?:
 * Nightmare Fetishist: Already Conditioned to Accept Horror through the century of torture AM subjected him to, Nimdok is clearly fascinated by some of the things he finds in his scenario: at one point, he remarks with interest on the fact that he can see the Scientist Prisoner's entire skeletal structure without the aid of an x-ray; later, he reacts with awe at the surgical skill needed to remove a the resident Blind Seer's eyeballs. It doesn't stop him from showing compassion, though.
 * Perpetual Frowner: Whereas most of the survivors just look confused or suspicious most of the time, Nimdok's default expression is a grumpy-looking frown. In fact, when his Spiritual Barometer declines, his frown deepens to an outright scowl.
 * The Quisling:
 * Tomato in the Mirror: Played literally as far as mirrors go;
 * Torture By Cremation: AM tortures Nimdok by trapping him in a cremation oven and burning him continuously.
 * Tomato in the Mirror: Played literally as far as mirrors go;
 * Torture By Cremation: AM tortures Nimdok by trapping him in a cremation oven and burning him continuously.
 * Torture By Cremation: AM tortures Nimdok by trapping him in a cremation oven and burning him continuously.

The Jackal
"I'm Man's best friend. One of them, at least."

A seemingly ordinary desert Jackal... that just so happens to be able to think and talk. Found lurking around the back of the Honky-Tonk, the Jackal will provide advice to Gorrister- in return for a human heart.

"Like so many others down here, I'm cursed to speak in riddles."
 * Cryptic Conversation: A key trait of his.


 * Deal with the Devil: Once again, getting any useful information out of him requires a heart; on the first round of questions, Gorrister can just hand over his own non-functional heart, which the Jackal will save for later. For the second round, he can get some more information and his heart back, but he has to provide a more appetising one in return- meaning Gorrister now has to kill either  and take their heart.
 * Intellectual Animal
 * Picky People Eater
 * The Trickster
 * The Trickster

The Outcast Mother and the Mutant Child
A single-parent family shunned and outcast by the rest of the Tribesfolk, in part due to the child being an obvious mutant. Unable to rely on the rest of the tribe, they end up becoming tentative allies with Benny in his struggle to find food.


 * Companion Cube: The child's doll.
 * Disappeared Dad: Obvious from the word "go."
 * Morality Pet: The Mutant Child eventually becomes this to Benny; at first, he only trusts the child because he can provide him with food and shelter, but after  Benny actually begins showing sympathy to him, going so far as to build a doll to keep him company, and later steal the lottery bag to save the child's life.
 * Mutant: The child, who has three arms,
 * Token Good Teammate

Fallen Soldiers
"You have to bury the past, commander..."

Four dead soldiers from Benny's unit who died in the war in China, and aparently buried near the village: Murphy, Tuttle, Thomas and Brickman.


 * I'm a Humanitarian: Benny can try to eat their corpses... even if he could digest it, it is too rotten.
 * Living Statue: The soldiers talk to Benny through the busts on their gravestones.
 * Our Ghosts Are Different
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivered by each of them to Benny.
 * Retirony: Tuttle bitterly notes that his tour of duty was almost over when he died.
 * Unfinished Business
 * Unfinished Business

Anubis
The Eyptian God of the Dead- or, more accurately, AM's facsimile of him.


 * Ridiculously-Human Robots
 * Creepy Monotone
 * Living Statue
 * No Waterproofing in the Future: Ellen disables him with a goblet of water.

Innocence
"Patience, patience. If AM knew we were down here, murmuring treason..."

A mysterious inhabitant of the Pyramid, this entitity claims to be AM's own long-abandoned innocence, and occasionally assists Ellen through her scenario.

"Ellen: Are you AM? Innocence: Of course. But no, not actually."
 * Cryptic Conversation: Similar to the Jackal in this respect.


 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Flying Face
 * Ghost in the Machine: What it claims to be.
 * Token Good Teammate:
 * The Trickster:

Scullery Maid
A redheaded young maid who is busy preparing dinner by plucking a chicken. She has some attraction towards Ted...


 * Evil Redhead: Not really evil, but definitely a bitch. Even if Ted has sex with her in exchange of information, she reneges on the deal out of annoyance that Ted still shows concern for Ellen. And even if Ted politely refuses to have sex with her and fix the stove instead, she will admit that she doesn't know anything. Oh, and she has a painting of The Devil in her room.
 * Heroes Want Redheads: Ted is quite attracted to her... but will he do it?
 * Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Dark Feminine to Ellen's Light Feminine.
 * Optional Sexual Encounter: Definitely less squicky than with the Witch!
 * Scullery Maid: Duh.

Angel
An Angel sent to Ellen's deathbed, hoping to guide her soul to Heaven when she finally expires. Unfortunately, the Devil has also arrived to take advantage, leaving the two of them at something of an impasse.


 * Casting Gag: Maybe unintentionally; his voice actor also provides the voice of Mengele, who was famously nicknamed "The Angel of Death".
 * Hair of Gold
 * Nice Guy: He is a literal angel, after all.
 * Our Angels Are Different: Averted- he appears to be a very traditional angel, right down to the white robes and the halo.

Scientist Prisoner
"Haven't you taken enough subjects for your experiments, Doctor? Or are there more mass graves to fill?"

Detained at the concentration camp, he apparently used to work with Nimdok,. He is very resentful towards Nimdok and makes this as clear as humanly possible.


 * Badass Bookworm
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys: His accent sounds somewhat French, which would make him an aversion of the stereotype as he is quite Badass at escaping the compound with a bunch of other starved prisoners armed with only minimal weaponry.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Evil Former Friend:
 * Heel Face Door Slam:
 * Inferred Holocaust: In the good ending to this scenario, he escapes alive thanks to Nimdok's intervention. However, given that he's based on a real person from Nimdok's past, and it's established that  during his time in the concentration camp, it's very likely that the Scientist Prisoner died in reality.
 * Lean and Mean: As well as being extremely harsh on Nimdok,, the Scientist Prisoner is painfully emaciated from his time in the concentration camp. Nimdok actually remarks that he can see the man's entire skeletal system without an x-ray.
 * Ungrateful Bastard: It would be easy to see him as this, after Nimdok gives him pliers to escape (which is optional), a gold watch and ... but then again,   yeah...
 * You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good:

Eyeless Patient
" Please... disconnect the wires... "

Another inmate of the concentration camp, and one that's been used as part of a gruesome experiment: his eyes have been removed, jarred, and attached to wires connecting back into his eyesockets.


 * Chekhov's Gun: The patient's eyes can later be used . Just make sure to hide them before leaving the building or the reaction of the prisoners.
 * Eye Scream: Very obvious. He is in great pain and asks Nimdok to disconnect the wires. Just don't forget to apply some ether first...
 * Eye Scream: Very obvious. He is in great pain and asks Nimdok to disconnect the wires. Just don't forget to apply some ether first...

Golem
A towering figure of moulded clay and steel, the legendary Golem of Jewish folklore has been constructed by the Nazis as part of a longrunning scheme to pervert or appropriate Jewish culture wherever possible. Though it's still incomplete, the Nazis have almost everything they need to bring this legendary creature to life.


 * Eyeless Face: The Golem is missing a pair of eyes.
 * Golem: Well, obviously.
 * The Kid with the Remote Control: Whoever controls him;
 * Shadow Discretion Shot: Whenever he murders somebody.
 * Super Strength

The Id
"Across the brainscape, cold winds bring me the sweet scents of mankind... how delicious they are..."

The physical representation of AM's basest impulses, the Id is one of the many vital components present in AM's brainscape. Much of its time is spent asleep, dreaming of all the tortures and cruelties it can one day commit- up until one of the survivors awakens it.


 * Bald of Evil
 * The Brute
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Because it's the seat of AM's emotions and urges, the Id's dialogue is rather abstract, to say the least. Often, it just rambles on about its many daydreams and fantasies, even going into exquisite detail as to why it finds broken glass pleasurable.
 * Flying Face
 * The Hedonist
 * The McCoy: A very dark example, needless to say.
 * Slasher Smile
 * Slasher Smile

The Ego
"I am Other. I am Machine. I am a fragment; a lost piece. Part of an Evolution."

The physical embodiment of AM's rationality and logic, the Ego has been programmed with all existing information on the human race- from the very first pithecanthropoid murder to the last modern shooting spree.


 * Flying Face
 * Horned Humanoid: Sports a pair of curling ram's horns.
 * Machine Monotone
 * The Spock
 * Spock Speak
 * The Spock
 * Spock Speak

The Superego
"Predicting events is one of my main functions. I survey the situation, anticipate probable outcomes, and act accordingly."

The most advanced of all the mental components of AM's brainscape, the Superego exists to foresee the future and plan for the eventualities it dreams of. Asleep until awakened by one of the survivors, the Superego actually responds with a certain degree of courtesy, offering advice on what to do next. Wether or not this component can be trusted is up to the player, though...


 * Affably Evil: Politely turns down the chance to torture the survivors, much preferring to concern itself with long-term planning.
 * Bald of Evil
 * Dissonant Serenity: Hovering over a landscape of bloodied brain tissue and razor-sharp glass shards, the Superego speaks in a calm, almost sleepy tone of voice.
 * Dreaming of Things to Come
 * Flying Face
 * Our Angels Are Different: A few of the survivors mistake the Superego for an angel.