Rucks

Rucks
Rucks image
In-Game
Alias:	The Stranger
Gender:	Male
Nationality:	Caelondia
Location:	The Bastion
Behind the Scenes
Voice Actor:	Logan Cunningham
Music:	What's Left Undone The Pantheon (Ain't Gonna Catch You)

"Now The Kid sees somethin' stranger still; his mind races.
Did anyone else survive?
Sure enough, he finds another. He finds me.""

— The Stranger

Rucks is the narrator of the game Bastion, first introduced as "The Stranger".

He is the first survivor of the Calamity that The Kid meets.

On December 9th, 2011, Supergiant Games announced the release of The Stranger's DLC, which will include a new Who Knows Where Sequence that reveals more of Rucks' character lore and Caelondian history.

Biography

Rucks created the Rippling Walls and the Bastion.

Plot

Role in Bastion

The Kid meets "the Stranger" for the first time when he arrives at the Bastion. After the Calamity, the original cores powering the Bastion have inexplicably been rendered inert. The Stranger sends The Kid to scavenge for more in ruins of Caelondia.

Rucks possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of Caelondia, the Old World, and any mementos the Kid discovers. His name is not revealed until The Kid brings Zulf back to the Bastion, whereupon Rucks introduces himself as a courtesy.

Spoiler Warning: Below Consists Of Important Plot Details. Read At Your Own Risk!

Secretly aware of the true cause of the Calamity, Rucks believes that repairing the Bastion is the best way to atone for its terrible consequences, even if it means stealing cores (and later, shards) from other living survivors.

"Best thing we can do for those beasts right now is put 'em down, quick and clean. There's only one kind of mercy left these days. Look at it this way. It's either them, or us. But if we win, they win too. Our Bastion is everybody's gain, not just ours. Unfortunately, there's no explainin' this to a simple Beast."

— The Stranger

Ending

While the Bastion was touted as an emergency sanctuary, the true form of the Bastion includes the ability to "resurrect" the world. By accessing the memories of the cores, the Bastion could theoretically alter time and return the world to a point before the Calamity.

A secondary function also exists; an Evacuation protocol that would instead send the survivors to a new world.

While Rucks appears ambivalent, his role in the ending is to encourage the player to Resurrect the World, opposing Zia.

Speculation

• Rucks alludes to being involved with the Mancers in the construction of the Bastion. It is likely that Rucks is a Mancer himself. Rucks' intimate knowledge of the Calamity, as well as the creation of the Calamity Cannon supports this theory.
• Rucks may also be a Mason, as he remarks that "there are only two of us left" when The Mason vigil is completed. He also states that he carried a Cael Hammer, signature implement of the Masons, back when he was a "fightin' man."
• When The Triggers' Achievement is completed, Rucks remarks "The Triggers, my brothers. Bravest men I ever knew." He often refers to a fondness for the Army Carbine as well, since he most likely carried one as a Trigger himself. If the kid equips Cael Hammer and  Army Carbine Rucks comments that those are the weapons that he used when he was in the army. 
• Rucks seems to speak some Ura, enough to translate a few words from the Hidebound Journal.
• Some fans theorize that Rucks is the Kid from a different timeline. This stems mainly from shared traits like white hair and brown eyes, as well as Rucks' remark that the Kid reminds him of his younger self.
  • It's subtle, but the Kid has a bandage on the right side of his face, while a close up of Rucks' face reveals what could be a faded scar in the same spot, if it isn't a wrinkle.
  • Additionally, Rucks has the head of a Cael Hammer strapped to his waist. Both Rucks and the Kid also have City Crests strapped to their belts. Both wear red bandanas around their necks.
    • This could be because of his time spent in the army, or hint at Rucks being the Kid from a different future.
  • Others believe that these are just the genetic traits of the Caels.
    • This is untrue, as during the Kid's Who Knows Where, Rucks says his white hair "did him no favors" in Caelondia. Additionally, during the Restoration ending, Zulf's Caelondian fiancee has blonde hair.
  • Alternatively, Rucks' hair could be white due simply to the fact that he's old.
• Some argue that Rucks' detailed narration and awareness of the Kid supports the timeline theory; however his narration is vague during the final level, as the Kid is "too far away", and Rucks cannot "hear" him anymore. Therefore, Rucks spends the time swapping stories with Zia instead.
  • Rucks states that he invented both the Bastion and the Rippling Walls himself. In order to have done either, in an alternate timeline, neither the Bastion or the Rippling Walls would exist. Therefore, the Kid would have to have had invented Time Travel to go back and invent either.
• Yet another possibility is that Rucks is the Kid's unknown father. Rucks' involvement with multiple guilds and top-secret projects would explain his disappearance.
  • Rucks himself could be unaware of the possibility of being the Kid's father.