Warning! This post contains spoilers for The Platform 2.
Zamiatin keeps mentioning the mathematical imaginary number inThe Platform 2, making it hard not to wonder what it means and how it reveals the truth behind his backstory. InThe Platform 2’s opening moments, Zamiatin and Perempuan find themselves in the same cell of the central vertical prison. Although the two are initially careful about trusting one another, they soon warm up to each other and open up about their past lives and the actions that led them to join the prison system.
Perempuan’s backstory reveals that she is in the pit to repent her actions from a time of upheaval because she cannot help but feel responsible for the death of an innocent child. Zamiatin traces his story back to his career as a mathematician, highlighting how his obsession with the imaginary number ultimately led him to live in the central vertical prison. However, asThe Platform 2reaches its endingarc, it becomes evident that there is more Zamiatin’s obsession with the number than meets the eye.
The Imaginary Number In Mathematics Explained
The Square Root Of -1 Generates An Imaginary Number
In mathematics, the square root of any number, negative or positive, is always supposed to be non-negative. Owing to this, the square root of no real number results in -1. Since this highlights a limitation in mathematics, the concept of imaginary numbers was introduced,where the imaginary unit i equals the square root -1. The inclusion of imaginary numbers allows one to expand the scope of the number system in mathematics by including complex numbers.
The Platform 2 Timeline Twist Explained: When It’s Set & How It Connects To The Original Movie
The Platform 2 features a new batch of characters, but a key twist reframes the story and makes its link to the original even stronger.
When Parapuam asks Zamiatin how he ended up in the prison, Zamiatin claims he is not as dumb as he looks. He then explains that long before he landed in the central prison system, he was a mathematics professor. However, he soon grew so obsessed with the imaginary number that it ruined his life and led to a series of events that ultimately resulted in his imprisonment. AsThe Platform 2progresses, it becomes Zamiatin is not being honest about his past and his obsession with imaginary numbers.
Why Zamiatin’s Hates The Imaginary Number In The Platform 2
He Claims His Obsession With The Number Ruined His Life
Zamiatin claims that imaginary number made him question the fabric of reality becauseit highlighted how mathematics, often perceived as an absolute and unchanging truth, is built upon assumptions. He was so disturbed by this discovery that he eventually left his job and his family, choosing to live with existential contemplation. Even during his darkest days in the central prison, when he has no access to food, Zamiatin keeps scribbling the imaginary number on his wall as if it were a lifeline connecting him to the truths about his life he is not willing to accept.
He keeps claiming that imagining things does more harm than good, yet he paradoxically seems to cling to many of his lies.
Through his hate for the number, Zamiatin also seems to channel his anger towards other aspects of his life that are imaginary. He keeps claiming that imagining things does more harm than good, yet he paradoxically seems to cling to many of his lies. As his arc inThe Platform 2nears its end, it becomes evident that Zamiatin’s preachings about the imaginary number reflect a deeper struggle within him.
Why Zamiatin Lied About His Tragic Backstory & The Imaginary Number’s Influence
Zamiatin Struggles To Face The Harsh Truths About His Life
Zamiatin’s interview before his imprisonment reveals that the imaginary number had nothing to do with why he ended up in the pit — he lied. He was never a mathematician. Instead, he dropped out of school when he was 16 years old. His interview also reveals that he never left his family. They kicked him out after growing frustrated with his inability to follow a stable path.
Tadashi Ito
Bárbaro 21
Hoping to instill some discipline in him,his parents sent him to the pit. However, as seen inThe Platform 2’s opening moments, Zamiatin initially refuses to take accountability and feeds his own ruptured ego by telling himself more imaginary tales and lies. When his actions ultimately lead him to one of the lower levels of the pit inThe Platform 2, he finally realizes where he went wrong and sets himself on fire to ensure that at least his death is not a lie.
The Platform 2
The Platform 2 is the follow-up to the original dystopian thriller set in a vertical prison. This installment explores new layers of its brutal regime, delving deeper into its social hierarchy and survival dynamics. Directed by an unknown filmmaker, the sequel continues to challenge its characters' moral boundaries.
