The Lightning-Struck Tower

[Electric Jesus]

I know not a lot of you will be familiar with Tarot cards, but I think they hold a lot of significance in relation to the story of Black Ops 2. They are used to divine the future. The card that caught my attention the most is the lightning-struck tower.

This card is the Tower. Its design has many many variations. However, one of the most popular depicts a building being struck by a bolt of lightning. This is sometimes thought to symbolize god destroying the Tower of Babel. As some of you may know, this tower was built by men so that they could ascend into heaven and become as great as god. He destroyed the tower and scrambled their speech so that they could never unite under such a blasphemous goal ever again. This is supposedly why we have different languages now.

Obviously this connects to the game because the TranZit Easter Egg is called the Tower of Babble. However it holds even more significance than just having a name in common.

Take a look at this version of the card's design.

almost every variation shows the tower being broken in half horizontally at the top. Look familiar?

Die Rise - High Maintenance

Finally let's take a look at the card's importance within the art of divination. Here are a few things the card is thought to represent.

-Chaos

-Sudden Change

-Revelations

-Downfall

-Ego Blows

It is thought to symbolize failure. Specifically failure that has briefly masqueraded as a victory. the Tower represents the paradigms constructed by the ego, and the sum total of all schema that the mind constructs to understand the universe. The Tower is struck by lightning when reality does not conform to expectation.

"What breaks my pride, will break your skull."

Another thing to note about this card is that it is always just after the Devil card in a deck.

The card seems to me like it tells the tale of the earth starting around the missile impact, specifically following Richtofen's journey to gain power. As each step results in a tower being charged with electricity (lightning) and Richtofen is on the rise, only to be (potentially) thwarted by Maxis, I believe Maxis represents God in this metaphorical Babel scenario. Richtofen represents the egotistical men who try to reach his level of power, and the N4 are merely his puppets.

I might be a bit late to the party on this one, but I thought it was kinda interesting. If anybody has a deck of tarot cards you should check for any more potential significance.

Edit: Sorry but I can't get the format to cooperate. Forgive the odd spacing between paragraphs.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Electric Jesus

[Young Gucci Messiah]

You make some great points in this! Keep up the good work.

[InfestLithium]

More connections to the Tower of Babel, eh? Man I absolutely love these kind of relationships. Good eye, friendo!

 

The first tarot card also shows what appears to be a crown falling off the tower as it's struck by lightning. I would so much as believe that it IS a direct referenced to the Tower of Babel, if not, a visual representation of it. Mind if I continue this systematic approach like you did with the High Maintenance cheevo image?

 

 

Mined Games - In Buried, be their pawn.

 

Weren't those people who constructed the tower basically pawns of the mastermind behind the tower? Just as you had stated, the N4 are the pawn of either Maxis or Richtofen. For the allusion's sake, we'll say Richtofen since he was the "architect" of the tower(s). In continues the Tower of Babel scenario and follows it step by step. It's almost inception when you think about it; in one map, we're constructing a tower for power, yet the entire grand scheme is to build one monolithic network of towers to further embrace ultimate power. 

 

Kudos.

[Electric Jesus]

A few other cards that caught my eye: (note that most cards have an optimistic meaning and a second dark underlying meaning.)

The Fool

This represents the beginning of a new cycle. However it implies that energy is being wasted or that someone's actions are in vain.

"Letting go to begin again."

The WHEEL! OF! FORTUNE!

This represents a turning point, or the end of a cycle. Suggests a superior power is present, and expansion or development.

I'm sure there are more. These are kind of general and could be applied to a lot of scenarios.

I remembered that I actually have a deck laying around somewhere. I think I'll take a closer look to see if anything looks familar.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Electric Jesus

[Electric Jesus]

Another thing that I neglected to mention is that juxtaposition is what gives most cards their meaning. Their relationship with each other shows their significance, and they are less meaningful on their own.

For example as I said before, the Tower always comes after the Devil. If Maxis = God, then Richtofen = Devil. The Devil card represents egoism, materialism, and obsession.

That could describe Richtofen's attitude towards gaining power. Thus the Devil's relation to the lightning-struck tower is that the devil's plans are broken. In the story "The Tower of Babel," one might say that the men who planned to reach heaven were influenced into doing so by the Devil. This would be the Devil's way of undermining God's power.