The Schism refers to a period in Oddworld's history in which the Mudokons, after discovering a handprint-shaped formation on one of the planet's moons, declared themselves as the chosen race, causing outrage from their Glukkon allies.[1]
History
Before the enslavement of the Mudokons and the events of Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, the Mudokons and Glukkons were part of an alliance where each of them was their own race with their own spirituality within their species. With this spirituality, both were not adverse in warfare. In an interview, Lorne Lanning compares their presence at this time were to be compared to the Tibetan monks living in the 12th century. These two were having high levels of spiritual people within their societies of old, each of their mysticisms based on the moon revolving around Oddworld.
The Mudokon Moon Revealed
At this time of mysticism, one of the moons of Oddworld revealed itself to bear a mark of a Mudokon Handprint. With this, the Mudokons took this as a sign that they were the Chosen People over land. This outraged the Glukkons and they went to extreme lengths with their alchemy to disprove that theory and prove themselves as the Chosen People and the Mudokon Moon.
The Split and Beyond
With this claim from the Mudokons, the Glukkons were enraged and went to extreme lengths through their knowledge of alchemy to disprove the theory and prove that they were the Chosen People. With this separation, the Schism has taken almost full effect, with the Glukkon's rage over the mysticism of the Mudokons taking upon themselves the role of the supreme species. This led to the Age of Alchemy, where an unknown type of disaster with a great magnitude would damage the Glukkons.
This disaster was the first domino of what was to come in the coming years of Oddworld. The remaining Glukkons became what Lorne Lanning refers to as “Enclosurists,” not wanting to look up in the sky and be reminded of the fact that they weren’t the Chosen ones and riddled with shame. This lead to the Glukkons only being inside closed spaces which led to their eyes glowing. Over the course of the many years that ensued, their eyes became incapable of dealing with natural light. Further, they rejected their mystical heritage in favor of a colder, more scientific approach to their problems. Lurking beneath their disbelief, though, is almost an inbred hatred of the Mudokons for their claim to divinity. This scientific approach, coupled with a nascent ill will for Mudokons eventually led to the management approach that would have no problem enslaving all the Mudokons for slave labor.
Notes
- It is unknown if the story of “The Schism” remains a part of the greater Oddworld canon seen in the reboot Quintology, starting with Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty.
- Similarly, the story concerning the Mudokon handprint in the moon is open to debate, as Lorne Lanning has offered a distinctly different version of the moon’s origins, claiming it formed during Abe’s escape from RuptureFarms and was only not seen in the final game due to budgetary reasons.
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