Pax

"Puny human!!! Will you worship me?"

- Pax, in the Bandersnatch video game

Pax, also known as the Thief of Destiny, is one of the possible villains of the 2018 interactive Netflix movie Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. The villain of Jerome F. Davies' legendary choose-your-own adventure novel Bandersnatch, Pax is also being incorporated into Stefan Butler's videogame adaptation of the book; however, as time goes on, Pax's apparent role in the downfall of his original creator becomes a frequent topic of discussion, and soon begins to feature as a central figure in Stefan's apparent descent into insanity. However, whether Pax is real, metaphorical or simply a product of mental illness is dependent on the player's decisions - and ultimately their interpretation of the entire narrative.

Appearance
Described in a documentary as a "lion-creature," Pax is depicted in Jerome F. Davies' sketches as little more than a nightmarish skull-like face haloed in a mane of wild hair. This remains the basis of its depiction in modern media, with the cadaverous faces and wreaths of bestial hair appearing in designs, in the game adaptation, and even on tabs of LSD handed out by Colin Ritman. Stefan Butler's game expands on the rest of his body - presumably based on descriptions from the original novel - providing Pax with a relatively humanoid body.

However, it's not until later in the story that Stefan himself actually meets Pax in the flesh, either encountering him in the aftermath of a bad acid trip in Colin's flat, or during an attempts to unlock his father's safe. Here, Pax appears as snarling monstrosity layered in dark, leathery skin and shrouded in thick, yellowish fur; his face is once again skeletal, sporting colorless black eyes, a lipless mouth lined with sharp yellow teeth, and an empty cavity instead of a nose.