Fictional convention suggests that it’s likely someone we’ve
seen before, rather than someone entirely new. While it’s all up to personal interpretation at this stage, from where I’m standing there are only two major contenders.
I’ll start where my money is: this likely-lovely lady here.
While we know that the Sigma in ZTD is Doctor “Termites”
Klim, this is actually not their first meeting from his perspective.
VLR is just one of the potentially many ZTD bad ends. Following radical-6′s release, Diana traveled to Rhizome-9 to serve as a base for Luna. There, she would meet a presumably very different Sigma than the man she’d just played the Decision Game with – the same man in the same body, but 45 years younger.
If Sigma really did fall for Diana, that reframes a significant amount of his behavior on Rhizome-9. He didn’t design Luna at random, he built her modeled after a woman he’d fallen in love with – a woman he would want to raise his son. It also explains some of his behavior towards Luna herself – how painful would it be to see the face of the woman you love every day, knowing you’d chosen to sacrifice your chance at a life together for the sake of a better future? My personal sympathies aside, though, it does add another level of depth to Sigma’s characterization at minimum.
Beyond what we might speculate, it may also be wise to make note of what we’ve already seen from ZTD’s footage. Almost ridiculously, we see Sigma back at it again, suggesting Diana might look cute wearing certain clothing and making the occasional sexual joke in her direction. Could that just be dirty old man Termites reclaiming some of his classic fuckboi characteristics? Possibly, but it may be worth giving due consideration anyway.
Our second, less likely contender would be everyone’s favorite enigma, Phi. I find this somewhat less plausible given Uchikoshi’s strong no to their future potential here:
That’s a hard line in the sand with regard to their ‘canon’ potential, but it doesn’t negate the possibility of romantic feelings entirely.
Do I ship Sigma and Phi romantically? No. Would I be somewhat disappointed if their relationship took a turn for that direction? Yes. But I would be remiss in not at least mentioning the weight of Phi’s “I love you” to Sigma, which I discuss in greater detail here.
I may be biased in Diana’s favor because it adds a number of additional interesting elements to Sigma’s already rich character, but regardless of whatever Uchikoshi has cooking up for us, I’m sure it will be suitably heartbreaking. Sigma could be a test case for no good deed going unpunished, after all. Thanks for your question, anon!
Well, I loved Sigma yelling at Phi. You’ll have to
refresh my memory regarding any yelling at Diana, because I’m not
remembering anything like that off the top of my head – though I could be wrong.
In any event, it’s not like I liked it ‘because I don’t like Phi’, or anything
like that – allow me to explain.
I was really concerned for Sigma’s characterization before
this footage dropped. His arc is one of the most interesting in ZE, if not the most interesting, at least to me.
VLR shows us Sigma as a classic hero
character – heroic, brave, repeatedly self-sacrificing. He’s far from flawless –
I’m not inclined to sweep his fuckboi tendencies under the rug – but he’s
repeatedly established as a martyr figure. Dying for Quark, for Phi, staying
behind for Luna twice, never even considering saving himself before Phi or Kyle, etc. “Others before self” is kind of his gimmick.
In and of itself, that’s not especially interesting. Hero
characters are a dime a dozen – but we rarely see interesting consequences for
that sort of behavioral pattern. What is interesting, then, is his development
into Doctor Klim – Zero Senior. It’s brilliant continuity… we see someone with
the exact same set of virtues applying them to an exponentially broader scale. He
keeps up his established pattern of sacrificing himself, and his happiness, for
other people. And it doesn’t come cheap, or easily, or without consequences.
Instead, his characterization is believable. He’s old, he’s bitter and tired
and not painted as a perfect person. Does he tell Phi to shut up? Yes, he
does, but only in the context of trying to save her life. His interaction with her here bears some similarity
to his relationship with Kyle.
Dr. Klim is completely focused on the objective at
hand, which is (once again) trying to optimize his present circumstances to create the
best possible outcome at his own expense. He’s consequence-oriented. Is yelling
at Phi ‘nice’? No, but is it more important to be ‘nice’ than it is to intervene in her impending and hideous death by flame? What if shouting Phi down pulls Diana’s decision in favor of pulling
the trigger? Is it still the wrong decision?
Dr. Klim is once again creating a lesser evil to mitigate a larger one. Am I happy he yelled at Phi? Yes, I am – not because of
anything Phi ‘did’ or ‘deserved’, but because it’s a sign of good potential continuity
of his established character.
To Dr. Klim, being ‘good’ is more important than being ‘nice’. And, anon – I’m sorry if you find it upsetting, but I’m both inclined to agree with his philosophy and excited to see where his character arc will take us. Regardless, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
midnight-in-town 
