History WMG / OFF

There are similarities between the Batter and an Elsen (one being appearance). It could be possible the Batter didn't want to comform to what the Elsen's way of life was (nothing but work). So, he donned a baseball cap, decided the Zone Guardians had to be destroyed, and became the Batter. The Batter doesn't make the noise that the Elsens do, because he doesn't want to have anything to do with them in that aspect. He keeps calm and collected (seemingly uncaring) in situations, so as not to get too stressed. What happens if [[spoiler: you side with The Judge?]] He [[spoiler: finally becomes stressed, and turns into the creature you see (his burnt form).]]

The secretaries are described as demonic humanoid spirits. Maybe they're not really demonic but angry and seeking revenge on [[spoiler:the batter for ending their lives]]?

[[WMG: The secretaries are the lost souls of [[spoiler:the elsens left in the zones when they are purified]].]]

This is confirmed with [[spoiler:Sugar and the player alongside the Judge]], but this could extend to other characters as well. Early on, the Judge mentions that the Batter has no "physical order", whatever that means. And while Japhet sees him as human, Dedan views him as one of the Spectres, and it's unknown what Enoch thinks of him. Perhaps only people who see the Batter as hostile can see [[spoiler:his "bad" form]].

AfterTheEnd, exposure to fallout (it's been mentioned that the game's elements are all rumored to cause cancer, so nuclear involvement is likely) mutated his mother and father. Hugo was born sickly, but with powerful psychic abilities - as he was too young to control them, his mother channeled them to recreate the world. Of course, everything turned out more than a little strange as he knew nothing about the previous world or concepts like death, but the survivors figured it was better than nothing and set out to improve it. However, at some point, Hugo's parents succumbed to radiation sickness and died. Hugo brought them back, but in warped forms because of how he remembered them (the Queen's tentacles and [[spoiler: "Bad Batter"]] were how they looked because of mutations). His relationship with his father further colored things; he's a sociopath because he neglected Hugo, who couldn't conceive of any positive traits in him. The final nail in the coffin was that the resurrection process seriously messed with the Batter's brain, which led him to [[spoiler: try and wipe everything out and start anew.]]

AfterTheEnd, exposure to fallout (it's been mentioned that the game's elements are all rumored to cause cancer, so nuclear involvement is likely) mutated his mother and father. Hugo was born sickly, but with powerful psychic abilities - as he was too young to control them, his mother channeled them to recreate the world. Of course, everything turned out more than a little strange as he knew nothing about the previous world or concepts like death, but the survivors figured it was better than nothing and set out to improve it.
However, at some point, Hugo's parents succumbed to radiation sickness and died. Hugo brought them back, but in warped forms because of how he remembered them (the Queen's tentacles and [[spoiler: "Bad Batter"]] were the result of their mutations). His relationship with his father further colored things. The final nail in the coffin was that the resurrection process seriously messed with the Batter's brain, and the disconnect between both of his lives led him to [[spoiler: try and wipe everything out and start anew]].

But they were separated from him when he was just a baby, so he made the Queen and The Batter to replace them. Now that Hugo is a small child, he doesn’t remember his real Mama and Papa, which is why he says in his diary/notes things that Zacharie is just his friend. Furthermore, Enoch is Sucre’s father, making him Hugo’s grandfather.

* On a less serious note, all the Guardians have a quirk to them. Dedan's is pedalos, Japhet's is books, Enoch's is cake. The Batter's would probably be [[NotSoStoic roller coasters]].

And he has his title because he can judge whether or not [[spoiler: the world continues to exist]], which is why whether he lives or dies determines the ending. He was snapped out of his DespairEventHorizon by the Batter approaching the switch because he has a link to it, and he didn't oppose the Batter purifying other zones because [[spoiler: there's a chance for things to be rebuilt as long as the switch remains "on"]] (chalk it up to the...unique morality of being both a cat and Guardian).

[[spoiler:Knowing how sugar is made,]] it's somewhat suspicious how she manages to have so much in her room. Perhaps she was already mad and needed the sugar to calm herself, then had herself sealed in the basement by Zacharie after [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizing what she just did]].

[[WMG: The Batter is [[spoiler: a God deciding his creation is corrupt and deciding to end it all.]]]]

[[WMG: The Batter is [[spoiler: a God deciding his creation is corrupt and deciding to end it all.]]

[[spoiler: The entire game is a coma-dream of Hugo's, and represents his father trying to get through to him to tell him he has to die. He hides behind his childhood friends and his mother, and fears his father because he doesn't want to die, but in the end, the switch is still turned off.]]

* Delusion (most common schizophrenia symptom): Batter is dressed like a baseball player with the idea that he is meant to purify the world.

This is why he's one of the only characters you don't kill, one of the few that break the fourth wall, and the only one besides Batter and The Judge that's able to appear in Zone 0. It also explains how he's made out to be so important but outside of selling you goods and providing some exposition he really doesn't do much in game.

* Hallucination: The existence of the surrealistic Zones and The Room, including how he sees [[spoiler:The Queen (his wife), Hugo (his child), and his stressors/burdens (The Three Guardians)]], including hearing voices once 'Not Safe' begins all suggest hallucinations. Perhaps this is the reason for the note at the beginning that says "Keep your volume on to get the full experience".

* The reason why Zacharie doesn't show up in Zone 0 for most of the game is because he's busy doing business in the other zones and the warehouse is empty, anyway.

When wandering the purified zones (1, 2, and 3), the song heard in the background is called "Not Safe." The song consists of desperate thumping and cries for help. During the game, Enoch mentions that without him, the citizens of the zone will fall into an eternal nothingness. It could be speculated that these cries for help are the Elsens lost in this nothingness and are desperate to escape, instead of them just disappearing.

He is freeing himself of all internal stress (Zone 1), worries (Zone 2), desires (Zone 3), and dependence (The Room).

He is freeing himself of all internal stress (Zone 1), worries (Zone 2), addictions (Zone 3), and dependence (The Room).

The room seems to imply the three were good friends at the start, and most of Dedan's cruelty is towards the Elsens. Perhaps seeing his friend try his best to please them, only for the Elsens to reject them due to their own paranoia, and watching him descend into madness due to his best efforts getting (unintentionally) thrown back on his face, embittered him against them. Perhaps he now thinks trying to be nice to the unappreciative morons that reduced one of his only friends to a violent madbird isn't something he's gonna do, and takes his rage out on his employees.

!!!It was Japhet's madness that made Dedan the jerk he is in-game.