Helena "Lena" Volin is a character mentioned in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. She has an apartment above the police checkpoint at the northeast part of Překážka. This apartment, which she shares with Petr Volin, is also the destination for the "Shots Fired" point of interest.
Biography[]
Helena and Petr Volin are augmented artists. By 2029, the augmented population in Prague had become marginalized by the rest of the people. One of the Volins' art patrons, a man named Jacob Zambon, suggested to Helena that she and Petr should move to Rabi'ah. Jacob claimed that he's watched Santeau's CEO Nathaniel Brown more than once on television speaking of how Rabi'ah will provide a haven for augmented people to be able to express themselves without fear of public opinion. Thus, Jacob stated that he was sure that augmented artists such as the Volins would thrive there.[1]
The Volins decided to move to Rabi'ah, but there was one obstacle—the two still needed an Aug permit in order to leave the city. The government had previously denied them permits. Thus, the only way to obtain a permit was to turn to a group of thugs (Drahomír's group) who operated a permit forgery ring. In order to obtain the funds for forged permits, the Volins sold off a substantial part of their possessions and also considered taking a loan from Santeau. Helena was concerned, but Petr promised her that it will be worth it. Petr compared the ordeal to merely buying concert tickets from scalpers at higher prices when the two were young.[1]
Unfortunately, the Volins were unable to meet the thugs' price demands. The thugs accused the Volins of walking back on a previously agreed price. Helena had decided that the two could not afford to spend everything they had, and also expressed concerns that the thugs are dangerous. Petr, still believing that a favorable resolution was possible, told Helena that he would arrive at their apartment to haggle with Drahomír's thugs.[2] Sometime later, gunshots were reported at the apartment.[3]
Notes[]
- Helena's apartment is ransacked and contains two blood spots on the floor, suggesting that both Helena and Petr were killed. The player is led to this location by reading the pocket secretary file "DATAFILE#1" sold by Kazatel, which triggers the "Shots Fired" point of interest.
- While never explicitly stated, it can be inferred that the thugs who were dealing with the Volins were Drahomír's group. One of the emails on Helena's computer mentions a "young girl" who explained the cost of the permit, seemingly referring to Milena Epstein.
- Helena's apartment contains an abstract painting with a pair of wings (which, in the Deus Ex series, often represents human augmentation, serving as a reference to Icarus' wings).
Cut content[]
In an unused email written for Helena's computer, Helena and Petr are stated to be siblings, a relationship that is not explicitly stated in-game. The unused email includes a quotation of a large portion of the eBook Contemporary Art Review that is found in-game in Helena's apartment,[4] suggesting this unused email was supplanted by the eBook. Concepts in other parts of the email, including the brother-sister relationship and other concepts, were seemingly discarded.
In the unused email, Petr shows Helena the description on Rabi'ah and suggests that the pair should move there with the help of Jacob's money; he writes: "We've got to try, sis. We may never get this kind of chance again. If Jacob can help get us there... Even just credits (he has enough)." Thus, in the pre-release concept, Helena may have first learned of the idea to move to Rabi'ah from Petr, and Jacob may have had a different role. Additionally, Petr wishes to relocate to Rabi'ah in part because he did not want to "end up like crazy Havel."[4] Havel is a character whose name appears in various game asset files, but was cut from the game.
Gallery[]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Emails on Helena Volin's computer
- ↑ "RE: what should we do!!" (pocket secretary message)
- ↑ "DATAFILE#1" (pocket secretary message)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Let's do it" (cut email)