Chapter.04: Drawbridge and the Evolutionary Redefinition of "Connection"

1. Introduction: The Existential and Fundamental Question, “Should we have connected?”

Once, Sam Porter Bridges, a legendary Porter, traversed the torn North American continent, reconnecting people sinking in isolation and fear with the invisible bond of the “Chiral Network.” His solitary journey was colored by a somewhat utopian cause of reintegrating a divided humanity. The world was connected, knowledge was shared, and it seemed humanity would once again begin to walk together as one grand community. However, the desolate world of DEATH STRANDING 2: On the Beach, envisioned by Director Hideo Kojima, thrusts a heavy and extremely cruel existential question against the hopeful conclusion of the previous game. Namely, the fundamental doubt: “Should we have connected?”

This report serves as the fourth record to unravel this colossal philosophical proposition presented by Kojima Productions. We will conduct a thorough, multifaceted deep dive into the practical dissolution of the former government-led organization “United Cities of America (UCA)” and its operational unit “Bridges,” the existential significance of the newly established private organization “DRAWBRIDGE,” and the evolutionary redefinition of “Connection” they bring about.

This analysis relies on Kobo Abe’s literary theory, the view of life and death in ancient Egyptian mythology, the mechanisms of mass extinction in biology, and the merits and demerits brought about by the “excessive connection” akin to social media that modern society faces. In this article, we will logically separate and intersect the historical and physical “facts (lore)” explicitly stated in the game with the “speculations” deduced from environmental storytelling and cultural backgrounds, thereby restoring the truth of this world enveloped in silence and sorrow.

2. The Formation of the Private Organization “DRAWBRIDGE” and the Philosophy of “Rope and Stick”

2.1 [Fact] The Transformation of the UCA and the Organizational Structure of DRAWBRIDGE

In a world where several years, or perhaps decades, have passed since the unprecedented calamity brought about by the Death Stranding phenomenon, the United Cities of America (UCA), once an absolute authority, has drastically transformed its role. The centralized framework of the nation-state has reached its limits, and the construction and maintenance of social infrastructure have transitioned to the private sector. At the center of this shift is the private corporation “DRAWBRIDGE,” founded by Fragile.

Unlike a singular state power like the UCA, they operate with massive financial backing from a mysterious patron named “Charlie.” The true identity of this Charlie is none other than Die-Hardman (John Blake McClane), who once reigned as the supreme authority of the UCA. As a commissioned task from the mega-corporation “Automated Public Assistance Company (APAC),” DRAWBRIDGE is responsible for establishing Chiral Network connections in new regions beyond the borders of the former American continent, such as Mexico and Australia.

Their mobile base is a massive submarine-type landing craft called the “DHV Magellan.” Instead of physically traversing the dangerous spaces covering the surface, this vessel possesses a unique navigational capability to read the “Tar Currents” flowing deep within the earth’s veins, allowing it to submerge and surface at any location around the globe.

2.2 [Fact] The Slogan of “Rope” and “Stick” Engraved in the Logo

The ideological stance of DRAWBRIDGE as an organization is most directly expressed in their symbol mark and the accompanying slogan. The text is as follows:

“Both Rope and Stick, To Protect and Connect, Together, For Tomorrow.”

While the previous organization, “Bridges,” justified unconditional connection as a “bridge,” the name “Drawbridge” implies a function of physical and psychological “defensive disconnection”—it can be lowered to connect when necessary, and simultaneously raised to sever ties when a threat approaches. Although their primary objective is delivery, their units are heavily armed, adopting an aggressive and technologically advanced approach.

2.3 [Speculation] Kobo Abe’s Literature and the Justification of Defensive Connection

This concept of “Rope and Stick” is a direct quotation from the philosophy of Kobo Abe’s short stories “Rope” and “Stick,” which form the ideological foundation of Director Hideo Kojima, while simultaneously functioning as an evolutionary antithesis to the previous game. Kobo Abe defined the “Stick” as “the first tool to keep bad space away” and the “Rope” as “a tool to draw good space closer.”

Sam’s journey in the previous game was an act of single-mindedly stitching the world together using the “Rope” (strand). However, that indiscriminate connection based on pure goodwill produced a massive curse as a byproduct. As the trailer’s question “Should we have connected?” suggests, while the infrastructure of the Chiral Network brought knowledge and hope to the people, it also connected fanatics like Higgs and the invisible malice lurking in the abyss of the network. Just as the “excessive connection” in a social media society triggers the amplification of malice, echo chambers, and the violence of cancel culture, a defenseless rope easily turns into poison.

Therefore, the philosophy of “Rope and Stick” upheld by DRAWBRIDGE can be said to be an essential adaptive mechanism for humanity to advance to the next evolutionary step. They have discarded the blind idealism of connecting everything, adopting the existential choice of fending off threats with the “Stick” while tying down only the connections truly worth protecting with the “Rope.” This is an attempt to reclaim the subjective right of choice—“who to connect with and who to block”—into the hands of individuals, validating “defensive disconnections” such as blocking, muting, or retreating into private communities in the modern digital space.

3. Ancient Egyptian Mythology and the Divergence of Life and Death: “Ha” and “Ka” in the DRAWBRIDGE Crew

The crew members of DRAWBRIDGE uniformly harbor deep traumas of loss and possess unique DOOMS. To decode their abnormal states of existence, it is necessary to use the “view of life and death in ancient Egyptian mythology,” repeatedly mentioned in scattered memos and past lore within the game, as an auxiliary line.

In Egyptian mythology, human existence is said to be composed of a dualism: the material body, “Ha,” and the spiritual, vital soul, “Ka.” The Death Stranding phenomenon, taken to its extreme, is a phenomenon where the laws of the world that bound this “Ha” and “Ka” collapsed, causing souls to lose their bodies and wander the living world (becoming BTs), and bodies to lose their souls and rot away (necrotize). The members of DRAWBRIDGE embody the “transitional period” of this extreme divergence phenomenon.

3.1 [Fact] Characteristics of Key DRAWBRIDGE Members

Their ecological or metaphysical states are summarized in the table below.

3.2 [Speculation] Dollman’s Solitude and the Existence of the Digital Avatar Society

Dollman’s existence is the most symbolic example of the “extreme divergence of Ha and Ka” caused by the Death Stranding phenomenon. He has been liberated from the physical constraints of a biological body, living by housing only his soul (Ka) in a small doll (a pseudo-Ha).

This is not merely the presentation of a sci-fi deformity. In modern highly information-oriented society, people leave their physical bodies (Ha) behind in their rooms and project their minds (Ka) into “dolls” such as social media icons or 3D avatars in the metaverse to communicate with others. Dollman’s figure depicts the extreme north of this “humanity that has undergone informational evolution” with biting irony and sorrow. Can a connection unaccompanied by physical pain truly be called a connection? Dollman’s comical yet somewhat hollow presence is the very likeness of our overly digitized society.

3.3 [Speculation] “Nun” in Egyptian Mythology and the Amniotic Fluid of Tar

“Tar,” which Tarman and Tomorrow are deeply involved with, is generally abhorred as sludge where death, destruction, and the remnants of the past accumulate. However, delving deeper into the story of DRAWBRIDGE reveals that Tar is not merely a symbol of the apocalypse.

In ancient Egyptian mythology, the infinite abyss that existed before the creation of the world, the chaotic sea from which all life and gods were born, is called “Nun.” The Tar in the world of Death Stranding is the exact metaphor for this “Nun.” The DHV Magellan, which navigates by utilizing the Tar Currents (the bloodlines of Chiralium) flowing continuously deep underground, is practically equivalent to the solar barque of the underworld traveling through the “amniotic fluid of the realm of death.”

Tarman’s act of communicating with the Tar through the absence of his right arm is channeling with the realm of death. Even more decisive is the fact that Tomorrow (later Lou) sustained her life and grew within the sea of Tar. This proves that Tar is death (the extreme of entropy) and, at the same time, the primordial amniotic fluid (womb) that nurtures new life and promotes evolution (negentropy). The universal truth that creation only comes after destruction resides within the pitch-black viscous fluid.

4. APAC and The President: A New Extinction Named “Managed Stagnation”

To follow the journey of DRAWBRIDGE, we must unravel the true purpose of the massive shadow lurking behind them—namely, their client, “Automated Public Assistance Company (APAC),” and “The President” who stands at its apex. In this work, they embody the most ruthless scientific and metaphysical dystopia brought about by “excessive connection.”

4.1 [Fact] The Truth of APAC and Automated Porter Assistance System, and the True Identity of The President

APAC is a private corporation that operates an extremely advanced AI system called “Automated Porter Assistance System,” ostensibly leading infrastructure development and the expansion of the Chiral Network in unexplored regions like Australia. According to The President, their technology was developed based on iterations of the chiral framework once built by Bridges.

However, the true identity of this President is not a mere human leader. He is an entity awakened as a single gestalt lifeform, formed by the fusion on the Beach of the “souls (Ka) of 4,000 humans” who lost their lives in a massive Voidout in the past. Through death, they lost their individual boundaries and formed as a colossal collective unconscious. The hologram figure the player sees is nothing more than a calculated “persona” (mask) prepared by these 4,000 souls to converse with living humans.

Astonishingly, APAC and The President had repatriated “Higgs” (Troy Baker), who blocks Sam’s path, from the Beach, and further armed him with their proprietary Ghost Mechs. In other words, the threat DRAWBRIDGE faces was an artificially designed “false flag operation” orchestrated by their employer, APAC.

4.2 [Speculation] “Managed Stagnation” by AI and the Loss of Existence

Why did APAC do something that would threaten DRAWBRIDGE, which they operate with their own funds? The reason lies in the ruthless algorithm for human salvation derived by The President. Their true objective is to confine humanity in a cage of “Managed Stagnation.”

The President’s logic is extremely utilitarian. “To avoid The Sixth Extinction (Last Stranding) by an Extinction Entity (EE), we simply need to forbid humanity from craving evolution or taking barbaric actions that generate unexpected friction.” By intentionally unleashing Higgs, a “symbol of fear” (external threat), onto the surface, they instilled in people a despair toward the outside world. Driven by fear, humanity would voluntarily flee into shelters, sever physical contact with the outside world, and choose to live solely within the safe Q-pid network (virtual connection) managed by APAC.

This is a perfect metaphor for the dangers inherent in real-world Silicon Valley techno-utopianism—an “optimized dystopia” driven by AI and algorithms. It is an attempt to stave off biological death by thoroughly eliminating pain and discomfort (friction) and connecting all people to a sterile, clean-room-like network. However, from an existentialist perspective, this is nothing less than the “extinction of the human soul.”

The President, a fusion of 4,000 souls, has completely lost the “friction arising from the boundaries with others,” such as love, sorrow, anger, and personal trauma. To them, connection is not the clash of individuals, but a “complete assimilation” where all colors of paint mix together to become a characterless black (Tar). The future presented by APAC was the quietest and most cruel apocalypse, robbing humanity of the “feeling of being alive” as the price for avoiding extinction.

5. Friction with Ghosts (Ka) and the Adaptive Radiation Toward “Tomorrow”

The underlying conflict structure between DRAWBRIDGE and APAC is not a mere hegemonic struggle between corporations or a battle of good and evil. It is an extremely philosophical struggle over “Evolution.” Unraveling the history of biology, mass extinctions were not merely the destruction of life, but an indispensable process to clear the niches of old ecosystems and promote the explosive evolution (adaptive radiation) of new life. Without the “friction” of the crisis of extinction, life can never cross the dimensional barrier.

5.1 [Fact] The Grudge of Neil Vana and “Nirvana”

Standing in Sam’s way, as if resisting the algorithm of “stagnation” designed by APAC, is the ghost of the past, mercenary Neil Vana (Luca Marinelli). He is the man who once tried to help Sam’s wife, Lucy, escape, and as a result, caused a Voidout and lost his life.

Neil’s soul (Ka) found no peace even after death; harboring complex love, hate, and regret toward Sam, he relentlessly attacks Sam as a literal ghost. Appearing with a bizarre look, blindfolded and gagged, he is the very embodiment of the chagrin of a human trapped by the curse of the past.

5.2 [Speculation] “Hostile Connection” as Friction and the Salvation of the Soul

While The President (APAC) feared pain and tried to confine humanity in a safe cradle, Sam and the members of DRAWBRIDGE chose to go out into the outside world again and “connect,” unafraid of getting hurt. And ironically, what saved Sam from spiritual death (fixation on past trauma) was not a safe network, but the intense “friction” (physical and mental clashes) with adversaries like Higgs and Neil.

The struggle with Neil Vana was an unavoidable rite of passage for Sam. Just as the sound of his name implies “Nirvana” (the absolute silence and salvation in Buddhism where the fires of earthly desires are blown out), it was only when Sam clashed with Neil’s ghost with all his might (beating each other with Sticks) and understood the truth at the bottom of that soul that Neil was finally released from the chains of the past and able to reach Nirvana (peace). Furthermore, through this confrontation, Sam learns the truth behind Lucy’s death and the whereabouts of his lost daughter, Lou.

Engaging deeply with others sometimes involves pain to the point of shedding blood. However, it was precisely because of this connection accompanied by “friction” (the intersection of Rope and Stick) that Sam was able to overcome his own trauma, purify the ghosts, and move forward himself. Such salvation of the soul could absolutely never occur in APAC’s network, which has eliminated pain.

5.3 [Fact and Speculation] The Evolutionary Singularity Shown by the Transformation from Lou to Tomorrow

At the climax of the story, at the very moment Higgs goes berserk at the end of his revenge and is about to pull the trigger of the “Last Stranding” (complete annihilation), the one who broke through the desperate situation was the girl Tomorrow, who manifested in a giant form and devoured Higgs himself.

This Tomorrow was none other than “BB-28 (Lou / Louise),” whom Sam had once risked his life to protect, having rapidly grown after passing through the abyss of the Tar. Possessing the factor of an Extinction Entity (EE), she was once treated as a tool (Bridge Baby) and trapped in a pod on the boundary of life and death. By her own will, she accepted the Tar (Nun) and evolved into an entity that embodies the very concept of “Tomorrow.”

This is the proof of humanity’s ultimate evolutionary adaptation to the “Death Stranding phenomenon,” which was a symbol of death and extinction. In the game system, the player can arbitrarily toggle the Q-pid on and off; this incorporates into the narrative the fact that “connection is not an absolute good, but a choice accompanied by risks (an increase in BTs).” Connection is indeed a curse that brings the realm of death (the Beach) and the living world closer, heightening the risk of ruin. But at the same time, just as it transformed Lou into Tomorrow, it was also a powerful catalyst that elevates humanity’s soul (Ka) and body (Ha) to the next dimension.

Fragile finally loses her life at the conclusion, but the will she protected to her dying breath was never extinguished. Tomorrow inherits the late Fragile’s equipment as a Porter and the strange “Tar hands” that symbolize her, heading toward a new horizon. This is the most beautiful moment of the inheritance of a cultural meme (RNA) that transcends death, going beyond mere genetic inheritance (DNA) from parent to child. Death is no longer a complete severance, but has been incorporated as part of a new ecosystem via the Beach and the Tar.

Conclusion: The Curse of “Connection” and the Resistance to Extinction Beyond It

Through the grueling journey of DRAWBRIDGE, the final answer to the question “Should we have connected?” presented to us by Kojima Productions is by no means an innocent and simple affirmation.

“Connection” was not the omnipotent magic that solves everything, as Sam in the previous game tried to believe. As APAC’s President proved, if one attempts to automate connection as a system and eliminate individual pain and sorrow through algorithms, what awaits there is a slow extinction (stagnation) named the “homogenization of the soul.” Furthermore, connecting deeply with others is nothing less than the dangerous act of drawing the “shadow of death (the Beach) possessed by others,” such as Higgs’ madness or Neil’s grudge, into one’s own defenseless domain.

However, even so, what Director Hideo Kojima tried to depict through the lore of this work is a blood-pumping existentialist resolve: to relentlessly fend off incoming hostility and pain with a “Stick,” while never letting go of the “Rope” and continuing to engage with others.

Even if one sinks into the sea of death that is Tar, has their body (Ha) torn apart, and is crushed by the sorrow of losing a beloved soul (Ka), the connection accompanied by “friction” (pain) that arises between oneself and others is the only energy that makes humans human and guides humanity to the next evolution (negentropy).

At first glance, the crew members of DRAWBRIDGE are a hodgepodge of broken beings. A woman wandering the brink of death, a man who lost his arm, a medium who transferred his soul into a doll, a woman with a unique constitution that makes it rain. Yet, they do not try to hide their imperfections. Acknowledging each other’s missing pieces, and sometimes clashing, they step forward into the unknown territory of Tomorrow while remaining imperfect. The connection they forge is not the uniform, sterile network forced by AI or the state, but a raw and extremely beautiful bond born from the clumsy touching of individual wounds.

“Should we have connected?”

To that question, the footsteps of the DRAWBRIDGE crew treading the wasteland answer quietly, yet powerfully:

No matter how cruelly the fate of extinction approaches, we will fend it off with a Stick, tie down our loved ones with a Rope, and simply continue to resist. That is the most noble and poetic resistance that life can sing in this beautiful world colored by death and enveloped in silence. We connect to be hurt, and we connect to welcome Tomorrow.