Daryl Hope

"The glory of the awakening makes up for the fall."

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Daryl Hope is a fictional character featured in the videogame Dry Drowning. He only makes one brief appearence in Chapter 3 but his influence on many of the events featured in the main plot is later revealed to be massive.

## Psychological profile:

Daryl is incredibly calm and caring. His love for his wife is true and genuine, enough so it hasn't changed at all despite 50 years having passed since their marriage.

## Biography:

Formerly a professor at the University of Nova Polemos, Daryl is mostly known for his studies on how contemporary art can contribute to shape society. He got married at 19 but he and his wife were never able to have children. Due to both physical and mental problems the two were eventually transferred to the Island together.

## Character overview (spoilers):

Daryl Hope was born before Nova Polemos was even founded, meaning he was one of the few people old enough to remember what life was like before the city's degeneration, having ultimately witnessed in person all of its past history as well as the social transformations that progressively turned it into a technological prison. This was likely a relevant factor both for his successful creation of the figure of Pandora and for his decision to spawn a myth in the first place, a decision ultimately determined by his memory of all the haunting horrors the city had gone through. The mythical antagonist he chose to create purposefully incarnates opposite values compared to the ones Nova Polemos relies on: chaos, passion, art and subversion as opposed to order, rationality, technology and obedience.

Whether he carried out Pandora's murders on his own or with help from someone else remains still unknown, much like his real relationship with Jennifer Kingston and Robert Herrington, the two people who ended up taking the blame for his murders due to Mordred Foley's actions. It should be noted the detective's plan was not just prompted by his desire to win at all costs but also a desperate move aimed at putting an end to the murders, in that he hoped the real killer would stop after a plausible scapegoat was convicted in his place. The consequent interruption of the murders implies Daryl must have found Mordred's offer enticing, possibly also because of its timing: by then the artist had become very old and couldn't afford to move freely anymore due to having been interned in the Island. The hiatus would also allow him to prioritize the protection of his wife Mery, whom had also been deported along with him. Since the main motive that prompted him to designate a successor and stage Pandora's return six years later was avoiding her possible eviction, it can be argued Daryl is still capable of harboring genuine feelings of affection despite having turned into a serial killer (something Mery confirms in her last interrogation, firmly believing her husband had sacrificed his life to save her own). Daryl Hope also played a crucial role in Mordred's own acquittal after the detective had been put on trial himself for falsifying evidence, as Chapter 4 reveals Daryl was the one who blackmailed David Casey into bailing the detective out. The dynamic behind Daryl's ability to easily abduct both David and his sister despite being trapped in the Island remains unclear but likely saw him exploit his influence over the Island's owner in order to blackmail him into silence as well. His intent to save Mordred has multiple possible interpretations: on the one hand it could be argued he did so with the clear intent of eventually luring the detective into chasing Pandora once more (thus helping the myth grow even stronger) but it could also be argued Daryl might have just wanted to return the favor after the detective managed to put the blame for his murders on someone else.

## Trivia:

* Daryl Hope's name is likely a reference to hope lying on the bottom of Pandora's box, as narrated in Greek mythology.