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berryblooo · 10 months

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A Terrible Brother and A Worse Doctor: The Elusive Vache

Cross-posting from HoYoLAB.

Disclaimer: Spoilers for Slices of Life Before the Furnace: Origin of the Medicine and Blizzard Immunity, Natasha's Companion Quest chain.

In Origin of Medicine, when Oleg tasks the Trailblazer with checking up on the overworked Natasha at her clinic in the Boulder Town, we learn that the doctor has patients who have been absent for their scheduled check-ups. In her stead, the Trailblazer tracks down the missing patients and attempt to persuade them to go to the clinic.

The patients are stubborn in their refusal: why go for paltry treatments at Natasha's when the Mutual Aid Society has an easy cure for their ailments?

If this sounds like snake oil, that's because it is. At the conclusion of the quest we learn from Natasha that the "wonder medicine" being sold is the leftover results of experimentation on residents of the Underground by a former Overworld doctor, Vache.

Natasha tells the Trailblazer this:

"There was once a brilliant Overworld doctor with unmatched pharmaceutical skill. The doctor was set on developing a medicine that would steel the human body against the cold. He named his research project 'Blizzard Immunity'. But his research met with obstruction time and time again, the biggest factor being a lack of test subjects. Tampering with the human immune system carries huge risk, and nobody in the Overworld was willing to submit themselves to such experiments. As such, the doctor got in touch with his sister in the Underworld, claiming that he wanted to support the medical effort below ground. Naturally, his sister was overjoyed. After all, as far as medicine was concerned, her brother had always been the standard she'd strive to attain. She brought her brother underground and entrusted him with her clinic and laboratory. Issuing free medicine to the needy was just Vache's way of conducting experiments on his test subjects. On some level, his reagents were able to alleviate the patients' suffering... but nothing more. They would forget their pain for a while, and neglect their regular treatment plans. The result... patients with mild illness would attribute their recovery to the so-called wonder medicine, while patients with serious illness would quickly deteriorate... and sometimes die."

The sister in question is, of course, Natasha herself.

Natasha is the adoptive daughter of a prominent medical family in the Overworld, Yevgeny and Vanessa Harrower. Following in their parent's footsteps, Vache and Natasha enrolled in Belobog's medical school. While they initially had a close, loving relationship as brother and sister, Vache began to change the further he got into his research.

"He was gentle and introverted. But when it came to work he would be absurdly obsessive... like a completely different person. Whenever I made a mistake on an experiment, he'd bite my head off... and then a while later, he'd apologize and comfort me. He was conflicted in that way."

The source of his obsession: Blizzard Immunity.

From a young age, Vache wanted to develop a cure for the Eternal Freeze that plagued Belobog that would allow humans to withstand the frigid cold and thus rebuild abandoned settlements in the Snow Plains. This ambition, when met with roadblocks in the Overworld, would become single-minded obsession that drove him to seek out vulnerable human test subjects in the Underground.

After observing differing reactions to hot and cold from subjects with Fragmentum Corrosion, Vache began using said corrosion in his Blizzard Immunity. The "wonder cure" he handed out in secret to patients was not a miracle medicine that could heal any illness, but mere reagents that were nothing but temporary relief for symptoms and a way to continue observations in his research.

When his wrong-doing was uncovered by Underground leaders, Oleg had him banished and permanently denied access to the Underworld.

"The day I learned the truth was the day I no longer recognized my brother."

In the second part of her companion quest, Blizzard Immunity, Natasha learns from her family's butler that Vache had been sending correspondence for up to two years after his banishment to the Snow Plains - letters addressed to Natasha.

"Natasha, thank you very much. You helped me find the missing piece in the development of Blizzard Immunity."

This reveal, along with the unexpected sincerity conveyed from the letters, spurs Natasha into heading into the Snow Plains to search for Vache herself. The Trailblazer joins her to help. While out in the Eternal Freeze, the two encounter a troop of patrolling Silvermane Guards. After explaining their purpose for being this far out in the wilderness, they learn that the soldiers received special medicine from a mysterious doctor out in the plains which helps them withstand the cold.

Natasha deduces that this could be no one else but her brother, Vache. The guards inform her that he is elusive, only ever being encountered in person once, and since then the medicine has been dropped off at a specific location for them to pick up. In fact, they haven't seen him in two or three years, and it's unclear if he is still alive and well.

Natasha and the Trailblazer hurry to what was known as the location of his research base. It's a dilapidated shake nearly consumed by the snow, and appears to be long abandoned.

And it's guarded by a Fragmentum monster.

After defeating the creature, they are able to investigate the house. There, they find some of Vache's research notes. His last experiment recorded was two years ago, leaving off on a positive note of progress. Then, there's nothing. With no other clues, leads, or indication of what may have become of her brother, Natasha concludes that he finally succumbed to the cold he had spent his life trying to conquer. With the Trailblazer's help, she builds a grave for him off in the snow and says her final words to him.

"I can't forgive him for what he's done. But I nor can I say that I don't miss him... Maybe I should be glad. The medicine might not have been what he wanted it to be, but it came to something. Maybe he found some inner peace. They'll remember him as a murderer... as someone whose experiments brought great harm to the innocent. Vache doesn't deserve to be remembered as a "doctor". I know that very well. But maybe this Blizzard Immunity can now bring benefit to others... even if it was made by a monster."

"One day, the world will see a perfect Blizzard Immunity."

And that's seemingly the end of Vache's story.

Or is it?

A rule of thumb in story-telling is this: If there's no body, death cannot be confirmed.

There is no definite conclusion about Vache's fate. It is entirely likely that after years in the Snow Plains, the Eternal Freeze killed him, with a lack of resources and appropriate shelter. If not that, he just as easily could have fallen victim to the Fragmentum and turned into a monster - perhaps the very one lurking outside his laboratory that Natasha and the Trailblazer defeated.

Or, maybe, Vache had another breakthrough in his research into Blizzard Immunity. The medicine had already progressed far enough that the Silvermane Guards are able to wander the Snow Plains without danger, and Belobog in uncomfortably hot for them.

With a lack of test subjects in the wilderness, who else did Vache have to experiment on but himself?

Say he was taking every new version of the medicine. Like the soldiers, Vache would become more and more immune to the freezing temperatures. The closer to the city, the hotter it would be for him. His initial purpose was to help humanity venture deep into the Snow Plains and reclaim the lands they lost.

What else does Vache have to lose, now that he is banished and nearly forgotten?

I believe Vache is still alive and has wandered further into the Eternal Freeze. I believe he has perfected Blizzard Immunity, and with the Fragmentum at his fingertips, has probably enhanced his body to something beyond human, but not quite monster.

When we left Belobog in the main story quest, the civilization has been freed from the Stellaron and worsening conditions, but given the centuries of its influence, Jarilo-VI's ecosystem and climate has been drastically altered. It probably won't ever return to how it was long ago, and it will take many years of hard work to reclaim even a fraction of what humanity once had.

But there is hope. When we return to Jarilo-VI in the main story, I believe it will feature the people of Belobog starting to venture deeper into the Snow Plains. And who might we run into there?

In fact, a large reason why I have this theory is because I think Vache is not only alive, but will be a prominent character in Jarilo-VI's future storyline.

And I think he'll look a little something like this:

That's right. I believe Vache is a potential Il Dottore expy from Genshin Impact.

His Fatui Harbinger title says it all - he is The Doctor.

Thus far all the expies in Honkai: Star Rail have been from its sister game, Honkai: Impact 3rd. Himeko, Bronya, Seele, even Natasha, plus many more. Welt is actually the same Welt from HI3. While there haven't been expies from Genshin Impact (yet) it has been established that the world of Genshin does exist within the greater universe of HSR.

In Herta's Storage Unit within the space station, you can find Windgliders from Mondstadt, Wings of Flights.

There techincally already is a Genshin Impact expy in game, though he hasn't been seen yet. It's none other than our pigeon-loving friend, Timmy, mentioned by Natasha herself.

Dottore's past in Sumeru mirrors Vache's. He was a young, promising scholar who entered a prestigious school to pursue his research, which stemmed from an obsession with creating "enhanced humans" that could surpass even the gods. Like Vache, the pursuit of his research led him to using unethical and horrifying means to achieve progress.

It's implied that Dottore, then known as Zandik, conducted medical experiments on patients and was investigated by the Akademiya for an incident during field research that resulted in the slaughter of one of his classmates. [1][2]

In the cases of medical experimentation, Zandik studied the effects of Eleazar on patients, not in an attempt to cure, but utilize its effects to enhance humanity. After investigation, Zandik was eventually expelled from the Sumeru Akademiya.

Some time after then, Zandik is approached by Pierro, leader of the Fatui Harbingers, and is offered membership. [3]

"Will you call me a monster, a madman?"

Two researchers who fell into obsession to achieve their goal, desiring to find a way for humanity to adapt, overcome, and become something greater than the forces of the world.

Both are banished due to their unethical research.

One joins a military and political organization of a foreign country where he is given free reign to conduct his experiments.

The other is presumed dead.

For now.

EDIT - Added after original posting.

After completing Natasha's companion quests, the player recieves Blizzard Immunity Lab Records - the last of Vache's research notes.

The notes describe a sad and horrific fate for Vache after he tests an experimental agent on himself. The implication is that Vache is able to give the Silvermane Guards a more stable version of Blizzard Immunity before succumbing to the deleterious side effects of the earlier version he injected.

It's extremely likely that Vache is well and truly dead.

On the off chance he isn't, however, I think he has a lot of story potential.

#honkai star rail #hsr theory #hsr lore #il dottore #natasha hsr #vache #bloo writes theories

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