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| “ | Watch where you step! Don't say a word! You'll be in trou-ble if the Boys have heard! | „ |
| ~ In-game nursery rhyme. |
The Boys of Silence are an enemy type in the 2013 action-adventure video game BioShock Infinite. They are brainwashed and enslaved servants of both Zachary Hale Comstock and Elizabeth.
They play a unique role in the game, as they don't directly attack the player like any other enemy in the series. They can, however, summon others to do their fighting for them. They were once normal citizens of the floating city of Columbia, the main setting of the game.
History[]
The Boys of Silence are not encountered in the first parts of the game, as they're only seen when Booker DeWitt travels to an alternate timeline when Elizabeth is captured and begins to take a more malevolent and domineering role in that timeline.
The player does not get to see exactly how the Boys of Silence are formed, but what is clear, is that young boys were forced into brainwashed servitude by Elizabeth.
They have also gained the ability to create "tears" (rips in reality that act as a portal to other timelines), due to Elizabeth somehow giving them that power.
Appearance[]
The Boys of Silence wear blue school uniforms that fit the time period of the game (1912), yet the most striking alteration to the Boys are a large metal helmet somehow attached to their heads, replacing their actual heads.
Because of this, the player never sees what the Boys of Silence look like under their helmets. Their bare hands show signs of aging, despite the Boys being young. In other words, their hands look like those of an adult.
Behavior[]
Any semblance of their original personalities prior to being transformed into a Boy of Silence is completely erased. They act as sentry guard lookouts, standing in one spot and constantly turning their heads, looking for any intruders, especially Booker himself. They are found when Booker travels to Comstock House.
When searching for intruders, they emit a white light. When they're momentarily spotting the player, they emit a yellow light and keep looking in the direction of where they last saw the player; this is something they do for just a few seconds. Upon fully detecting the player, they show their hostile nature by emitting a red light, summoning many brainwashed child minions called "Lunatics" to fight for them with the use of tears, then vanishing.
The Boys of Silence do not engage in combat themselves, as Lunatics do all the fighting. Boys of Silence cannot be fought or killed in any way, as their job is only to act as lookouts and summon Lunatics, then disappear afterward. Where the Boys disappear to not explained, though it's likely they travel to another dimension, given their ability to control tears.
Depending on the layout of an area, the player can use stealth to sneak past the Boys. However, some areas are completely blocked off by Boys of Silence, and the player is forced to confront them and their respective Lunatics to make progress.
The Boys of Silence have been altered in a way where they can't speak normally. They can only make eerie, echoed howls. When angered, they emit an echoed, piercing scream.
Lunatics[]
Lunatics and the tear effect.
As mentioned before, Lunatics are the servants of the Boys of Silence. This means they are essentially servants of servants, as the Boys of Silence are servants of Elizabeth and Comstock. Lunatics do not fight the player right away, and only begin fighting when a Boy of Silence fully detects the player. The Lunatics wear masks of presidents of the time: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
The creation of the Lunatics stems from citizens in Columbia being punished for not following Elizabeth's orders. They are individuals exposed to themselves across every single dimension across time and space all at once, this puts them in a state of never-ending confusion and cognitively dissonant suffering. This is evident when they say somewhat nonsensical things when attacking, or even of their own suffered existence.
The player cannot harm a Lunatic until a Boy of Silence summons them. They do not use firearms, and will instead attack with melee weapons. This, coupled with the fact that they are stronger than most enemies in the game mixed with their high numbers, make them a formidable threat if they engage. While idle, they can be doing random things, such as just standing in one spot with nothing to do, pounding on walls or even saluting a nearby Boy of Silence.
Trivia[]
- In the DLC Burial at Sea - Episode 2, a Boy of Silence can be seen in one of the buildings owned by Jeremiah Fink, possibly implying that Fink himself might be the creator of the Boys of Silence, not Elizabeth.
External Links[]
- Boys of Silence at the BioShock Wiki
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 Villains
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Rapture Ryan Security Fontaine Futuristics Fontaine Fisheries Atlas' Followers The Rapture Family Splicers Others Columbia Fink Manufacturing Columbia Police Authority Fraternal Order of the Raven Vox Populi Slate's Soldiers | ||