| “ | Beyond the shadow you settle for, there is a miracle illuminated. | ” |
— A line from Zane's poems, narrated by Jesse Faden | ||
Thomas Zane was a figure who was deeply involved in the repeating Altered World Events at Cauldron Lake near Bright Falls, Washington. He was an artist who disappeared at Cauldron Lake in 1970 — becoming trapped in the Dark Place underneath the lake.
Zane's backstory has seemingly changed over time with the development of the Remedy Connected Universe. In the first Alan Wake, Zane is presented as a poet and diver who allowed himself to sink into Cauldron Lake in order to be reunited with his lover Barbara Jagger, who drowned in the lake. In Alan Wake 2, Zane claims to actually be Thomas Seine, a Finnish auteur filmmaker who came to Bright Falls to establish an artist commune in the 1960s, with the poet merely being a fictional character he played in his own film, "Tom the Poet." His involvement in the events at Bright Falls suggests that his backstory may potentially be influenced by the reality-altering effects of Cauldron Lake, whether through his own works, Alan Wake's writings, or otherwise.
Biography[]
Alan Wake[]
Much of Zane's backstory as presented in Alan Wake comes from the manuscript of Departure, Thomas Zane was a well known poet and a keen diver before his death. He came to Cauldron Lake sometime in or before 1970, and was inspired by his lover Barbara Jagger to write poems about her. He also discovered the paranatural ability of Cauldron Lake to make fiction affect reality, and was spurred on by his assistant Emil Hartman to experiment. One morning in 1970,[1] Barbara went swimming and drowned under mysterious circumstances. When she died, Hartman convinced Zane to write her back to life using the power of the lake. Although Zane was successful, the unintended consequence was that the Dark Presence took over Barbara's body.
When Zane realized what he had done, he attempted to fix his mistakes by using the power of the lake to write himself, Diver's Isle, and everything else involved out of existence entirely. As a contingency, Zane also wrote that any of his belongings left in a shoe box would remain in the real world. He then used the lake's power to write a character called Alan Wake, who would someday come to Cauldron Lake and defeat the Dark Presence using a light switch called the Clicker imbued with magical power. Zane then put on his diving suit, took the possessed Barbara, and jumped into the lake, diving deep into the interdimensional Dark Place beneath it.
Zane sacrificed his own human body to the Bright Presence, and it and the Dark Presence in Barbara's body rose to the surface of the lake to continue their conflict. The spirits of Thomas and Barbara, meanwhile, descended ever deeper into the Dark Place, where Zane recited a final "master poem." In doing so, he created a "baby universe" where he and Barbara could live happily ever after.[2]
In the aftermath, Diver's Isle was said to have sank due to volcanic activity, while Zane was recorded as having gone missing. The Federal Bureau of Control is suggested to have investigated and covered up these events, labelling the sinking of Diver's Isle as one of the recurring Altered World Events at Cauldron Lake.[1]
Control[]
Thomas Zane is mentioned as Jesse Faden's favorite poet. However, he and his works have seemingly been erased from history, with Jesse being one of the only people who can still remember him. According to a therapist who Jesse once visited, the only records of an artist named Thomas Zane are a European filmmaker who came to the United States in the 1960s. When discussing a line of poetry by Zane which Jesse liked, the therapist assumed Jesse had written it herself, despite Jesse's protests.[3]
AWE[]
A person claiming to be Thomas Zane briefly appeared before Alan Wake in AWE, witnessed by Jesse Faden through the spiral-marked door in the Oceanview Motel. Instead of being in a diving suit, Zane appeared in person, and looked identical to Alan Wake. He claimed that he wasn't a poet, but instead a filmmaker, and "Thomas Zane the poet" was just an old character of his. While offering Alan a drink, he tried to influence Alan into writing his escape from the Dark Place, while also claiming that he was dealing with Scratch in the real world.
After witnessing this scene, Jesse Faden's memories also seem to shift: she first remembers Zane as a poet and then, claiming that she "always remember[s] that wrong," re-remembers him as a filmmaker.[4]
Notes[]
- In Alan Wake, Thomas Zane was originally voiced by James McCaffrey, who is also the voice actor for Zachariah Trench. In AWE, the person claiming to be Zane is voiced and portrayed by Ilkka Villi, who is also the motion capture actor of Alan Wake.
- In Alan Wake 2, Zane is portrayed again by Ilkka Villi. Like in AWE, Zane claims this to be his true identity, saying that his persona as a poet and diver (as in Alan Wake) was based on a character he played in his film "Tom the Poet." However, a poster for "Tom the Poet" found in Watery claims it is based on a novel written by Alan Wake, as do posters for the film found around the Dark Place (but using "Alén Veikko" instead of "Alan Wake").
- In the narrative of Alan Wake 2, Zane the filmmaker came to Bright Falls in the 1960s, purchasing a manor in the woods where he opened an art colony. He called this commune the Oceanview Hotel, a name highly similar to the Oceanview Motel, a Place of Power under investigation by the FBC. Storywise, no specific connections between the Motel and the Hotel are known; however, the Oceanview Hotel has also appeared as a location in the Dark Place where Zane the filmmaker is staying, and it contains the same door symbols as seen in the Motel (apart from the spiral symbol associated with the Dark Place).
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bright Falls Summary
- ↑ This House of Dreams
- ↑ Jesse Therapy: Polaris
- ↑ Jesse Faden: "That was the Alan Wake? The famous writer? He disappeared years ago. It was all over the news back then. And Thomas Zane was with him. The poet. No, wait. He was a filmmaker. I always remember that wrong."