Taylor

Taylor is the main protagonist of the games Lifeline, Lifeline: Silent Night, Lifeline: Halfway to Infinity and Lifeline: Beside You In Time within the Lifeline Series.

They were a science student and Cadet on the starship Varia before it crashed on the desert moon, where they became the sole survivor. Their gender and appearance is never specified.

Taylor sends communications with the player to help determine their course of action. They are currently either dead or alive depending on the choices the player makes throughout the game.

## Profile

### Appearance

Taylor's appearance was part of the story and mystery of the Green series. Taylor also mentions in Halfway to Infinity that they were overweight before, indicating that Taylor's weight around the time of Lifeline: Halfway to Infinity is about average or below. Taylor often has a considerable beef with the Green.

### Personality

Taylor is a generally upbeat person with a good sense of humor that carries them during stressful situations. When undergoing certain stress Taylor can get upset easily, though, and the player often has the choice to tell them to calm down or to take a breath. They often get scared by the situations they face, and Taylor does not react well to fear, an example of which being Taylor's squeamishness witnessing the Greens' brutality while possessing the rat bodies, which caused them to vomit. Taylor considers themself to be nonathletic and brings this to attention most times they're met with a physical task. They viewed Colby as a mother onboard the Varia.

Taylor's inexperience with their survival situation is often combated with jokes about what is happening around them, often at their own expense. Taylor is shown, and has been considered to be, very sarcastic and snarky. They make many references to pop culture, and quote song lyrics occasionally. They normally communicate using proper grammar and punctuation, though this changes whenever they're in pain or under extreme stress.

Taylor seems to be relatively susceptible to the optical hypnosis the Green are capable of. They quickly fall under the hypnosis when first meeting the aliens, but are able to break themself free relatively easily, both with the help of their lifeline and some of their own thought patterns.

[SPOILER] Alex Esposito likely knows or knew Taylor personally from Austin.

[SPOILER] In Lifeline: Halfway to Infinity, Taylor describes their connection to the player as being like their relationship to a beloved cat they had adopted back in Austin. The cat, named Tom Haverford (a reference to the television show Parks and Recreation), had "horrible stomach problems" and stank, having been at the shelter, Pets Alive!, for months. They described him as being so underweight that the shelter wasn't sure how old he was, with matted and patchy fur. Despite telling their lifeline that they and their family hadn't intended on adopting that day, Taylor explains that the cat greeted them, putting his two paws on their shoulders and laying his head against their cheek as he began to purr. Although Tom Haverford had special needs, Taylor attests that Tom Haverford was "holding out for someone who would open his cage and accept him for who he was" and that he rewarded Taylor's decision to embrace him with unconditional love. Taylor then says they think "all he ever really needed was a lap to fall asleep in" and "he just needed to know that he was cared for". After drawing this comparison, Taylor drives it home by telling their lifeline "it's kind of a dumb, clumsy metaphor... but I'm obviously the Tom Haverford here. I'm smelly. I'm underweight. Space travel has treated me unkindly. But none of that mattered to you. You saw that I needed help -- needed someone to care -- and you answered. You came to my rescue," and thanks the player, in a show of emotional vulnerability.

[SPOILER] In Lifeline: Halfway to Infinity, Taylor meets a future version of themself as a consequence of an anomaly in space and time while orbiting a black hole. Taylor names their future self T2, short for T2aylor. At first, T2 appears to be helpful but, as events play out, it becomes evident that T2 was covering up their duplicity and ulterior motives. This T2 apparently has a scar across their face and, in time, it is revealed that T2 is an infected Green. Taylor thanks the player for not succumbing to them and suggests that the player is a true friend. In the optimal ending, Taylor struggles against T2 before casting the two of them into the black hole, escaping imminent death by infection and assimilation via the Green occupier T2 had been tasked with forcing onto Taylor.

[SPOILER] In Lifeline: Beside You In Time, Taylor is more genial with T2. It is revealed early-on that T2's connection with the Green hivemind has been cut off, Taylor and T2 both finding themself in another universe. The pair of them work together to escape a space station, Celadon Ace, and the sentient A.I. that runs it, HelpBot QTC—a construct that is revealed to derive great enjoyment from lying and obscuring communication goals between Taylor, T2, the lifeline, and itself. Through it all, T2 makes strides in their development as a character, gradually becoming a tragic protagonist after having previously been an antagonist; 'tragic' because they will die one way or another at the end of the game.

## Possible Ways Taylor Dies

* Freezes to death on ship.
* Freezes to death on peak.
* Dies of injuries.
* Dies from aliens.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/spotlight-series-three-minute-games-lifeline-interview/