thinking of the players’ memories of their lives before the island which are very hazy save for specific instances, i might have a theory on why their recollection of the past is so fucked,
it seems to me the federation DID attempt to wipe all of their memories previous to their arrival on the island, and it also seems like it didn’t fully work, or at least not in the way they expected it to.
see, wilbur and phil remember each other. they KNOW they’re family, somehow, despite losing some of the finer details. same thing for spreen and missa.
similarly, spreen, missa, roier and mariana all have vague memories of each other. they’re able to recall past anecdotes and speak about them like it’s something common to all four, with only minor confusion at times. whatever bond it was they had before boarding the trains, it’s still with them. fragmented and vague, but there.
+ cellbit and felps, mike and pac, lifelong friends who have naturally kept their mutual fondness. they couldn’t tell you how they met, that specific memory long out of reach, but in the back of their minds they know they’re supposed to stay together. that being separated means something is very wrong.
there’s even cases like bbh and foolish, so devoted to orbiting each other they overrule the federation’s best efforts and reclaim their natural places — both of them remember being in similar positions before, in different worlds, different eras, or so they say. philza and fit have something like this, also.
none of these examples have access to the entirety of their past shared history. they don’t know how it began, how they came to find each other, where they’re going next. all they know is the now — how it is, how it feels.
this leads me to believe, that despite aiming to get rid of their memories in full, the federation was unable to erase certain connections from the players’ hearts and minds. however it is they’re doing it, the method isn’t failsafe and it can’t completely override deep impressions such as family and close friends. the islanders’ memories of love and care live on within them through these little jagged pieces, vestiges of what they have already been — someone’s child, someone’s brother, someone’s lover!
