Meryl Silverburgh
Meryl Silverburgh is a female video game character who features in Metal Gear.
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Biography
Meryl Silverburgh (Japanese: メリル・シルバーバーグ, Hepburn: Meriru Shirubābāgu) was a female human who was born in 1987 where official records claimed that she was the niece of Roy Campbell. Unknown to her, she was actually the biological daughter of Campbell from an affair he had with his younger brother's wife. Her adoptive father Matt Campbell was noted to had later been killed in action during the Gulf War when she was young. She came to be raised in a house of military traditions where she trained herself throughout her childhood to be a soldier. Meryl came to learn of and admire the FOXHOUND unit where she heard of exploits of her 'uncle' and Solid Snake who were members back in their younger days. Silverburgh came to join the Army after graduating high school and received extensive psychotherapy and some limited gene therapy designed to prevent any attraction to the opposite sex.
During a weapons testing exercise on Shadow Moses Island, Meryl joined FOXHOUND as an emergency replacement in 2005, after several soldiers had been reported missing. Following her arrival on the island, FOXHOUND and the Next-Generation Special Forces revolted against the U.S. government, took over the island's nuclear disposal facility, and stole Metal Gear REX, which had been developed in secret by ArmsTech. Though initially believed to be an unfortunate coincidence, it was later revealed that the Pentagon had deliberately assigned her to Shadow Moses that same day in order to force Roy Campbell to withhold vital information from Snake during the events of the Shadow Moses Incident. Meryl refused to join in with the rebellion and was taken prisoner, placed in the adjacent holding cell to the DARPA Chief Donald Anderson. Before this, however, ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker gave Meryl a PAL card before undergoing a torture session by Revolver Ocelot. This PAL card could be used to activate or deactivate REX, and could only be used once.
After the DARPA Chief's death, Meryl's cell guard, Johnny Sasaki, unlocked her door after she began banging on it. Seeing an opportunity, Meryl quickly subdued him, and stole his uniform and Codec. Shortly thereafter, Meryl, disguised as a Genome Soldier, met up with Solid Snake, whom she initially thought had murdered the DARPA Chief and mistook for the terrorist leader Liquid Snake. After both fended off an attack force of Genome Soldiers, Meryl ran to the nearby elevator, where her mind was taken over by Psycho Mantis of FOXHOUND. Firing her rifle, she kept Snake at bay, before escaping to another floor. Meryl later used the stolen Codec to contact President Baker about her escape. Eventually Meryl and Snake began working together, after the latter learned of her Codec frequency. She managed to stay hidden by using her Genome Soldier disguise, and informed Snake of the facility's role as a WMD development lab, which he had previously believed to be a simple disposal facility. Meryl briefly blew her cover during a later conversation, and broke her Codec in the process of escaping, after Snake had contacted her regarding his rescue of Dr. Hal Emmerich.
Later, the pair met up on the first floor basement of the nuclear warhead storage building. She gave the PAL card to Snake and then the two headed to the commander's room where Mantis again took control of Meryl's mind. Meryl held her gun against Snake, but Snake, realizing she was not herself, managed to knock her out. Snake then dispatched Mantis and he and Meryl headed north in order to destroy Metal Gear. Along the way, due to her brief possession by Mantis, she also knew which was the safe path for them to cross in regards to a Claymore-laden minefield. However, Meryl was shot and subsequently captured by FOXHOUND member Sniper Wolf. Snake pleaded with Meryl to hold on to life, and assured Campbell he would rescue her, and not for anyone else, but for himself. Snake engaged in a sniping duel with Wolf and was eventually lured into an ambush by her where he was also captured. Snake was then put through a series of torture sessions by Ocelot, who threatened to kill Meryl if he submitted to the torture. Snake held on throughout the torture for Meryl's life, and eventually escaped confinement.
Meryl was later brought on top of REX by Liquid while Snake was unconscious, although Liquid was unsure if she was still alive. Liquid then wired her to a nuclear bomb and fought Snake on top of REX. She was rescued by Snake after his fight with Liquid and the two embraced, but a Codec call from Otacon forced them to make a quick escape before bombs were dropped on the base. Finding a jeep, they made their escape. During their escape, however, they were pursued by a relentless Liquid. Eventually, both jeeps collided on a cliff edge. Liquid would later die because of FOXDIE. Snake thought he would also die from the virus, but Meryl told him not to say it. The two then discovered an abandoned snowmobile. After Campbell faked Snake and Meryl's deaths by saying that their jeep crashed into the ocean, Snake and Meryl retreated together, hoping for a normal life. Before leaving Shadow Moses, however, Snake revealed his name to Meryl; David.
Overview
Personality and attributes
It was noted that she had a tattoo of the FOXHOUND unit's 1990s logo painted on her left shoulder.
As she had heard about Snake from her uncle before meeting him, Meryl also had a sort of hero worship for Snake. However, when she learned that he only considered himself a killer and not a hero with the personal admission that the only heroes he knew were either dead or imprisoned, Meryl was slightly saddened to hear that Snake apparently loved war and didn't want it to end, and even questioned whether all heroes in history were like that. Mantis detected that Snake had a large, growing place in Meryl's heart and Liquid suggested that Meryl had indeed fallen in love with Snake before the final battle. In return, Snake showed uncharacteristic concern for her, much to Naomi Hunter's intrigue.
Powers and abilities
After joining the Army, she was said to been subjected to some limited gene therapy.
Notes
- Meryl Silverburgh was created by Hideo Kojima where her design was made by Yoji Shinkawa with her featuring in the setting of the Metal Gear universe.
Appearances
- Metal Gear Solid:
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: (2015)
External Links
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