“”
—Cube
Cube is the protagonist of the Distant Future chapter, The Mechanical Heart. He is a small robot built by engineer Yoshiyuki Kato. He is made to be a crew member of the spaceship Cogito Ergo Sum as an autonomous support unit, but eventually comes to be seen as just as human as the crew.
Profile
Appearance
Cube is a small, white, spherical robot, dressed in a red baseball cap, green roller skates in place of feet, and a pair of large orange glasses, held up by two tiny decorative wings. Small slots on his front side are made to resemble wide, slitted eyes and a mouth. It should be noted that his appearance slightly resembles that of his creator Kato, implying he had built the bot in his image.
Personality
Though Cube never speaks in the game due to lacking the capability, it can be seen that he is very caring, curious, trusting, and willing to protect those closest to him, just as Kato had designed him to be. Though he is not human, he exemplifies the best aspects of humanity, aspects largely absent from the crew of the Cogito Ergo Sum. Although Cube is not able to speak, he does try to communicate in his own way through robotic beeping sounds, which some of the cast seems to understand.
History
Before The Mechanical Heart
Cube was developed and constructed mid-flight on the civilian cargo spaceship Cogito Ergo Sum by the ship's mechanic, Kato, as the last of three prototype models. Kato's designed Cube to be able to learn from his surroundings and develop skills on his own. The engineer greatly hoped to have Cube return to Earth and learn all about humanity.
During The Mechanical Heart
Cube is successfully activated by Kato for the first time aboard the Cogito Ergo Sum, one week away from it's destination of Earth. Proud to have completed a functioning prototype, Kato tries to name the robot; he considers the name "Roundy" ("Rover" in the fan translation), but dismisses it. Kato has the bot officially registered as a crewmate at the mother computer's input terminal, where his name is officially designated, and has him wake the rest of the Cogito Ergo Sum's crew from cryosleep. The crew is mainly receptive and supportive of Cube's presence, but passenger Corporal Darthe, takes an immediate animosity to him. Cube begins to observe the members of the crew, accompanying them on their duties and witnessing their interactions aboard the ship, both cordial and strained. In the ship's break room module, Cube is taught by Kato how to make coffee. He begins to regularly make and serve coffee to the crew during moments of quiet.
As time goes on, however, conditions begin to spiral out of control on board. Vital equipment begins to malfunction, and a crewmate is killed in the aftermath. As the crew fight between each other over his death, Cube discovers that the Behemoth, a ferocious alien specimen the Cogito Ergo Sum was assigned to transport, has escaped containment. Cube can only watch as more members of the crew are found dead one by one, with the survivors growing ever more paranoid and distrusting of each other. As the survivors, Kato and Darthe, accuse one another over the events on board, Kato has Cube run away from the general, where he is charged by the Behemoth and becomes lost aboard the ship. Cube is forced to aimlessly wander the darkened bowels of the ship, while the Behemoth stalks the shadows and can attack at any time.
Eventually, Cube comes across another inexplicably active prototype made by Kato, his complete doppelganger. When the imposter Cube enters Kato's room and attacks him, Cube chases after it, but the pair are mixed up with one another. Darthe threatens to destroy the both of them, but Cube is able to identify himself by revealing his original name Kato had considered, "Roundy" (or "Rover"). From the imposter, the survivors learn the true culprit behind the tragedy is the ship's mother computer, OD-10, who in the name of order had gone rogue and attempted to eliminate the crew.
Cube and Darthe set out to find a way to neutralize OD-10 without deactivating its vital functions. From Kato, they learn that the only way to engage the mother computer safely would be to access it through a non-vital terminal. They realize the best candidate would be the Captain Square arcade cabinet kept in the break room. Working together, Darthe reroutes the connection to the cabinet, allowing Cube to hack into the system and engage OD-10. The two programs fight each other on a virtual combat field. In the name of humanity, Cube is successfully able to terminate OD-10's intelligence systems while preserving its live support functions.
As Cube returns to his physical body, he reunites with a weary, injured Darthe, who had just slain the Behemoth. He confesses the origins of his hatred of robots to Cube, and encourages him to be better than them. Cube offers the weary corporal a coffee, which he accepts, as the two pilot the Cogito Ergo Sum back to Earth. After the ship lands, Cube is taken into custody and identified by post-return inspectors.
Final Chapter: The Dominion of Hate
| Protagonist | Identifier |
|---|---|
| Pogo | ??? |
| Earthen Heart Master, Oboromaru, Sundown |
Metal Box |
| Masaru | Mechanical Component |
| Akira | Battery |
Cube, along with the other six heroes across time, is transported to the Dominion of Hate by the will of Odio soon after his ordeal, and can be chosen as the chapter's protagonist.
As a recruitable party member, he is found on the balcony of the Seat of the Betrayers in an inactive state. As it turns out, he is missing his battery; it can be found on the northern face of the Last Hero's Grave, appearing as a shining object that is identified differently by the primary hero depending on their time period. Using the Battery on Cube will instantly resuscitate him. Taking a liking the party, he is from then on able to be recruited at any time. If Cube is chosen as the protagonist, he is fully operational from the start.
In the Trial of Wisdom
Cube's Trial is the Trial of Wisdom, located in the Condemned Village. A small portion of Cube's intelligence, calling itself the Aspect of Cube, guides the heroes through a series of puzzles intended to test their wits in lieu of their strength. Cube's ultimate weapon, the 17nm Diode, lies at the very end.
If Oersted is chosen as the protagonist, Cube is instead fought as an enemy, with the player in control of the MUR-TH-UR Matrix. In this timeline, Cube is rendered utterly ineffective against the processing power of the supercomputer, and is completely scrapped.
After Odio is defeated once and for all in the true ending, if Cube was chosen as the protagonist, he approaches the despairing Oersted and offers him a flower. From this, Oersted realizes that despite Cube's inorganic nature his absence of any enmity expresses the true value of kindness. Moved, Oersted at last returns the seven heroes to their original time periods with his final breath. Returned to the distant future, Cube reunites with Kato and Darthe on the Cogito Ergo Sum, where the former greets him with a warm hug.
Trivia
- Cube's name is a reference to film director Stanley Kubrick.
- Cube is the only non-human protagonist.
- Cube is the only character to not have any speaking lines at all; even Taroimo, who normally does not speak, had one piece of dialogue, which could be seen after reading his mind.
- Each of Cube's default moves is given a letter-based protocol name in its description. Put together, these letters form the word "HUMANISM".
- Interestingly, Cube has two unique "broken down" sprites: one upon a Game Over in his chapter, and one if he falls in battle.
| The Distant Future: The Mechanical Heart |
|---|
| Characters |
| Cube • Captain Square • Yoshiyuki Kato • Kirk Wells • Rachel Klein • Huey Trumbull • Corporal Darthe • Hor Bishop • The Behemoth • OD-10 |
| Locations |
| Cogito Ergo Sum |
| Enemies |
| Captain Square (Clickarock • Headbert • Waterspout • Firewhirl • Teil Pup • Teil Broodmother • Cosmotroller • Gemparapet • Pymli • El Mirage • Lalu • Lala • Polka-Dot Q • Polka-Dot R • Polka-Dot X • Polka-Dot Z) • Stabilizer |
| Music |
| Unseen Syndrome • Captain Square • Captain of the Stars |
| Transcripts |
| 2022 (English) |
| Final Chapter: The Dominion of Hate |
|---|
| Characters |
| Pogo • Earthen Heart Master (Yun Jou • Lei Kugo • Hong Hakka) • The Sundown Kid • Oboromaru • Masaru Takahara • Akira Tadokoro • Cube • Oersted • Odio |
| Locations |
| Seat of the Betrayers • Silent Wood • Condemned Village • The Last Hero's Grave • The Archon's Roost • Trials (Instinct • Skill • Time • Keys • Power • Heart • Wisdom) |
| Enemies |
| Xavier • Polydectes • Oedipus • Daedalus • Teil Queen • Pawnbert • Ruby Tyrant • Cerberus • Lightbringer • Souleater • Dreadbulb • Phantom Rider • Deathfist Disciple • Chrono Legionary • Ravenous Bear • Nekomata • Mecha-Satake 98 • Earthshaker • Entomophilia • Claustrophilia • Babaliyan • Grand Visages • Dragon Killer • Ishtar • Glasya Labolas • Tsunayoshi • Pup Lord • Grammoth • Pistachio • Titanblood • Riftwalker Genzaemon • Roly Poly • Ship of Horrors • Acrophilia • Scotophilia • Hygrophilia • Helios Hound • Darkwall • Shadow • Lucretius • The Bountiful Heart • Jaggedy Jacks • Apophisphilo • Euraokos • Death Prophet • Headhunter • Eyes of Odio • Maw of Odio • Brow of Odio • Purity of Odio • Arm of Odio (Left) • Arm of Odio (Right) • Sin of Odio |
| Music |
| The Dominion of Hate • Silent Labyrinth • Illusion • Pure Odio • Armageddon • Live over Again • Live for Live • Gigalomania |
| Transcripts |
| 2022 (English) • 1994 (English, Japanese) |