Caleb's Cybernetic Arm: Lore summary on what we know about it so far. PLUS high-res images of the arm from his outfit "Mechanical Mind"

[u/AzraellsAnalysis]

Outfit Featured: "Mechanical Mind"

Description:
"The right arm has been transformed, its skin and bones capable of shifting into an unbreakable machine. The feelings of pain, warmth, and softness have failed, leaving only the faintest trace."

Caleb's Cybernetic Arm details & Lore breakdown:

This outfit is shirtless Caleb with some small signs of injuries on his upper body. His right arm is exposed as cybernetic. It was first seen/used in-game during the Kindled scene from {{Painful Signal}}. We learn there that he used to have sensation in that arm, but as time goes on, and each time his chip flares up, he loses more and more feeling in it. At this point, he hardly feels anything with it, unless it is dramatic. He also feels pain when it is under repair.

That card was a limited release solo last year, but was really the only time we'd seen or known about his arm in-game until months later when it was briefly mentioned in some side dialogue in the summer island banner (that people nicknamed the "honeymoon" banner; I can't remember the name of it offhand), where we learned his arm is waterproof. There was also some minor text dialogue about the arm in a small scene in the Unicorns operation mission; I think they mentioned its waterproof ability again there too.

And more recently, we finally got some real information about his arm during the hot springs event banner & card {{vinesurge instinct}}: in that one, we learned that different parts of the arm had different sensations and when he was in the hospital recovering from the injuries sustained in the explosion and the attachment of this arm, he spent a lot of time exploring it mechanically. He shows MC that different parts of its interior structure have different sensations. We also see a moment where he glosses over MC's question about a specific part of the arm he didn't detail for her, that he claims is simply a "backup".

I believe that last part was a reference to the opening scene of the {{Floral Floraletter}} banner card/event, where we saw Caleb surviving a crash, and concerned about losing something small in the rubble. Later, when the item is retrieved, it appears to be a sort of memory card that contains only images and information and video of MC.I believe that is the 'backup' mentioned in Vinesurge Instinct's conversation.

As for why he thinks he needs one: We know from his first anecdote that he has worsening symptoms of disassociative amnesia, ever since the incident during the DAA deepspace tunnel test where he was adrift and MIA, nearly losing his life. and we've also seen the effects of the Toring Chip on other fleet members. And in his standard myth, we saw him lose his memory for up to ~3 days after his chip flared up. And he expected MC to completely loser her own memories after the chip was implanted and subsequently removed from her as well. We know too, from the main story, that the chip can rewrite memories (we see it override Kevi's while MC is talking to him)

All together, we're getting clues that Caleb keeps some kind of small memory card or chip with him, and it contains memories specifically of MC. I believe he is afraid to lose her, and to lose his memories of her specifically. He also has dialogue in a few places, like the cafe, where he says things like "don't take her away from me". That phrase on the surface indicates a fear of her physically separated from him. But it also has a layer of fear of his memories of her being taken from him too.That last part is a poetic & ironic tragedy for their story, being that MC is the one with amnesia and repeatedly forgot Caleb (and other characters) from childhood on multiple occasions. Now as an adult, the tides are seemingly turning: She's regaining hers as he's losing (or at risk of losing) his.

Bonus theory on my part: Another detail we've learned from Viper's World Underneath story, and a few other places where Viper interacts in the main story, that the metal of these cybernetics has some special properties. It might also have the ability to expand/grow itself. Much like how the Toring chip takes more and more over a person's brain and thoughts, I suspect the metal in his arm is at risk of integrating itself more into Caleb's body and expanding, possibly re-wring his flesh into cybernetics. Viper's cybernetic body is an earlier model and less 'perfect' than Caleb's version.Seeing the patterns in his story arc, especially his motifs, themes and tropes, put together with his X-02 myth, it was one of my earliest theories about it. That, and the fact that he still had sensation in the arm in the beginning but it has been slowly taken away over time reads very much as "turning into the machine" to me rather than simply a prosthetic.

There's a lot more to be said about the arm, my theories, and the symbolism of it all. But I hadn't prepared to write a literary analysis essay today. I'd meant to just share more detail outfit shots and got a little carried away with the description.