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Rat (AKA Jacob Lester) is a minor character appearing in Season 1, and major character in Season 2.
Rat appears briefly in the first season as Jacob Lester, a member of the Visser Historical Society, and the first resident of Visser interviewed by Melody Pendras.
In the second season, he reappears as Rat, an LMG employee in The Outpost in The City, initially without a name. He performs surgery on Daniel Powell on behalf of LMG, replacing much of his body with audio equipment, and continues monitoring Dan after his surgery.
Personality[]
Jacob Lester is a hostile, nervous man who is quick to criticize and uncomfortable talking to other people, especially those outside The Historical Society, who he believes have "limited perception". He is often trying to make himself appear more important than he actually is.
Some 22 years later, his exposure to weirdness has affected him a great deal, both in terms of his personality and his personal memory, which is heavily absent to the point of forgetting his own name (or so he claims). Nicknamed Rat, he is an impish creature and difficult to read due to his contrary nature, tendency toward deception, and understanding of the world around him. He is very childish, both in mannerisms and personality; he never swears, is very excitable, tends to sulk and always does things on his own terms. Unlike Jacob, he is outwardly very friendly and quite chatty. Because of his tendency to deception and secrecy, it's difficult to gauge how many of his apparently well-meant actions have some kind of ulterior motive. He has no concern for the suffering of others and easily disregards the pain he causes for the sake of his own interests.
Without his God and his cult, Rat has begun to feel lonely and lost in a way he cannot fix. He is outwardly very polite and accommodating with people he wants to like him - notably Dan (his favorite "creation") and his bosses at LMG - but is dismissive and uncaring with people he deems unimportant or uninteresting, such as Clara, Lou, and Suit. He also talks badly about the bosses behind their backs. He is impatient and either is incapable of or simply refuses to see things from other people's perspectives. He is very curious and knows how to get things to work the way he wants them to (regardless of how they should actually work). He dislikes confrontation, generally avoiding it, and sulking when he can't.
He takes great pride in his work and delights in sharing it with others. He sees beauty in the weird and horrific and wishes to share it with the world, especially people he likes.
Visual Appearance[]
Jacob is never described.
As Rat, it is implied he has either modified his body, or become changed by other means, to a point beyond being immediately recognizable as human, and while reflected in his array of nicknames, it's unclear what exactly is inhuman about him. He still has knees, hands, and he can still wear a shirt or jacket. He is implied to be shorter than both Dan and Suit. In addition to walking he sometimes "scurries".
History[]
Early History[]
Little is known about Jacob Lester prior to the first season, though at some stage before becoming interested in "various histories of buildings and cities and designed objects" he worked in park management, and had a great fondness for gardens. Whether he stopped working there before or after moving to Visser, he no longer seems to in Season 1.
Season 1[]
Melody first encounters Jacob on February 17th, 1994, on the 6th floor of Visser, as a member of The Visser Historical Society, though he is hostile and unwilling to talk. She meets and eventually interviews him on April 3rd, 1994, on the 16th floor. It is unclear if he lives on either floor, though possible he may have been visiting Samuel on the latter occasion. He is heard for the last time on the 6th floor again in another meeting on April 13th, recorded by Jesse Lewis. He frequently accompanies Samuel with dealing with residents they dislike.
Before Season 2[]
After the collapse of Visser, Jacob is left lonely and without his society or god. He begins to dive more deeply into sorcery and esoteric modification (seemingly primarily on rats and himself), slowly forgetting who he is while becoming a sorcerer of apparently notable name, his "flesh writings" on par in notability with Michael Waters' audio diary. Some time before August 2016, he is hired by LMG, listens to season one of the podcast, helps LMG create a fake ad as part of a ritual, and hollows out Caroline Levi to create Suit. After August, sometime, Rat and Suit travel through to The City and settle in to the Outpost. Rat begins constructing the device for Dan's body, and makes a deal with The Curator for components. He seems to have secretly done his own exploration, or else research, as he has knowledge of matters in the city beyond what is accessible to even Dan.
Season 2[]
Skills and Abilities[]
- Shortcuts: Jacob demonstrates the signature teleportation of Visser dedicates, able to move around the building with ease, and vanish when he needs to. Rat possibly demonstrates this in The Outpost as well (E15).
- Altered Anatomy: Rat does not need to eat, drink, or breathe to survive. He can't eat, unclear if he can drink, and he still breathes, considering it to be fun. Unclear if he needs to sleep, but he apparently still can.
- Favors: By offering various bodily fluids (assumedly to The Choir), Rat can effectively perform minor miracles, which he uses to make his various technologies and creations do strange and useful things.
- Sorcerer: Rat has some history as a skilled ritualist, his "flesh-writings" on par in notoriety with Michael Waters' audio logs and the diaries of Viola Cranvis.
- Possibly Immune to Bullets: Provided the scroll he sang was authentic, people attempting to shoot Rat will fail, and will instead "reexperience the birth trauma and become shattered, a being cast into the wind, all flailing limbs and gnashing teeth."
Relationships[]
Samuel[]
Samuel's right-hand man, Jacob takes stock in everything he says. The leader of the Visser Historical Society, Samuel is idolized, Rat repeating his speeches word-for-word even years later.
Melody Pendras[]
Jacob is hostile to Melody, apparently wary of her actions and intentions. They only talk on-record twice, Jacob becoming nervous and antagonistic before leaving the scene.
Rat seems to be aware he has history with Melody, but the details and extent of his knowledge are unclear. He's displeased at her stopping Visser, but still seems to want her respect, acting friendly when meeting her in person, hoping she can "look past [their] shared history", and (since he doesn't set off any alarms) not posing any real threat. Melody dislikes him immensely.
Visser[]
His "God", Rat remains a dedicate to Visser decades later. He feels at home with the other devotees.
Daniel Powell[]
Dan and Rat see each other quite differently. Dan understandably distrusts and initially dislikes Rat, becoming easily frustrated with him, while Rat is a big fan of Dan from the podcast and sees Dan as his prize creation. Rat cares a lot about Dan, though it's difficult to tell how much of this is just as his project, and how much is as a friend. Rat wants Dan's friendship - something he asks of nobody else - but seems to care more about the idea of Dan, and his approval, than who he actually is.
As his "finest creation", Rat takes great pride in showing Dan off. Like Clara and Lou initially, he doesn't consider Dan to be the same person as he was before the operation. Rat believes Dan is now more like him, and so should think and feel the same, though he also gets upset when Dan acts differently to on the podcast, stating "that version of you is a lie, and I am very disappointed". He has trouble grasping why Dan bothers worrying about "the humans" (Clara and Lou). While Rat seems to worry about Dan, sometimes helping him get around or scolding him when he doesn't take care of himself, it rarely extends beyond physical, seemingly worried his prize project will be damaged. He is determined that Dan learn to love and appreciate his new body, and connection to The City, to approve of the hard work Rat is so proud of.
While Rat adores Dan as a friend and creation, greeting him cheerily, calling him cute, and getting joy from Dan using his "nickname", he has little respect for Dan as a person. Rat consistently dismisses Dan's autonomy, never considering if Dan should have a say in his own body, even incubating a Leviathan within him with neither Dan's knowledge or consent. While he apologizes for hiding the last bit, he's never sorry for anything else, believing, until the end, that Dan should be grateful for everything he's done. Rat's patience for Dan's thoughts and feelings varies, and although he makes some gestures of comfort (such as showing him the Theramin Room), he appears to have no actual room for Dan's worries and opinions, usually dismissing them out of hand.
He seems to also frequently withhold useful information, ensuring Dan becomes better acquainted with both The City and his new body in order to find it. When Dan eventually asks Rat and Suit to leave the outpost with him, Rat agrees, having no reason to stay.
Over time, Dan begins to relax around Rat, even showing some care for him, though it's unclear how much of this is pity, as Dan believes Rat has been "kicked around enough". While any trust Dan develops for Rat seems to be ruined following his "birth", he has a hard time blaming Rat for the awful things he's done, believing he's become "confused", and simply trying to treat him kindly. For obvious reasons, the two are never able to connect interpersonally.
Suit/Caroline Levi[]
Rat treats Suit as a fairly successful project, and more an object than a person, insisting to Dan they are an "it". Suit, while to the benefit of LMG's middle management, is stated to have been Rat's own experiment. Rat is fairly pleased with his work, enjoying seeing Suit be "filled" with another soul, and using her for activities such as Dan's operation.
Rat and Caroline appear to have some sort of unspoken history, though there are no details available about it. Rat is very much aware of Caroline's cult activities, and Caroline knows full well that Rat is like he is by his own choices. Rat is not especially fond of her, but does not dislike her in the same way she detests him, instead mostly curious to how what he's done has affected her.
Clara[]
Neither Rat nor Clara are particularly interested in getting to know the other; as an unchanged human, Rat sees Clara as different, uninteresting, and unable to understand him. Likewise, identifying Rat as part of the weirdness, Clara has no interest in getting to know him, and as with Dan and Suit initially, seems to avoid interacting with Rat whenever possible. Even when Clara becomes comfortable with Dan and Caroline, she shows no interest in talking to, let alone befriending, Rat. Though he casually refers to her and Lou as friends, he is nonchalant about their possible deaths, and is surprised Dan cares whether she survives.
Lou[]
As with Clara, both Lou and Rat seem to have little interest in getting to know one another. It's implied they spoke briefly before Dan's introduction, though Lou never attempts to strike up conversation with Rat as he does with Dan. It's unclear if this is because of poor results previously, or whether Dan is simply more comfortable to interact with. As an unchanged human, Rat sees Lou as uninteresting, unlike him, and unable to truly understand him.
Appearances[]
| Episode Appearances |
|---|
Season 1[]Season 2[]
Season 3[] |
Trivia[]
- Rat frequently starts his sentences with "Oh,"
- He has played and enjoyed the Jak and Daxter series for the playstation
- Rat has heard and enjoyed the first season of Archive 81, supporting it on Patreon and commenting about it on Reddit. He ships Melody and Dan (much to Dan's dismay).
- He has not listened to much music since the early 90s.
- In the original script, he was going to sing no fewer than 3 times, once to Dan's ringtone in Episode 14, once with Dan and Caroline to fend off the Screamers in Episode 19, and once the Visser Song, also in Episode 19. These were all cut for unknown reasons.
| Characters | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | Daniel Powell • Liam Davenport • Melody Pendras • Tanya Molova • Mark Sollinger • Jacob Lester • Samuel • Jesse Lewis • Alexa Kesslen • Ratty • Iris Vos |
| Season 2 | Rat • Clara • Lou • Suit • The Green Lady • Mr. Brown • Cynthia • Dromen |
| The Golden Age | Oscar Waters • Alice Lidell • Patricia Roland |
| Season 3 | Nicholas Waters • Christine Anderson • Michael Waters • Aleister • Static Man • Teddy • Xkryxx • Sonder |
| Left of the Dial | The Clerk • Trucker |